Geoff Pearson

A reminder about this seminar taking place with @scarletharris.bsky.social, this Friday. Scarlet's book is out now, with full open access, from @manchesterup.bsky.social.

'Understanding the 2024 Summer Riots in the UK: Three Case Studies'

- These events were riots not ‘protests’
- More people were involved than far-right activists
- There were significant community defence actions.

@ukri.org @behaviourresuk.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Have you just awoken from a seven year coma? If so, welcome back to reality, but I would advise you not to check the news.

Here's an interesting but little-known fact. Apparently Wrexham are owned by some American movie stars. The BBC don't like to make a big deal of it, but it's true.

I hope he puts the knife into that hapless idiot Skywalker, who can't even manage a routine landing when the conditions are a little drizzly.

"We called London a war zone and moved to Dubai by mistake"

It's bold for an American president to invoke World War II in order to criticise the British for being late to a war.

David Squires on … Gianni Infantino’s accomplishments in 10 years as Fifa supremo Our cartoonist on a decade of magic moments in the big job for world football’s leading ‘man of the people’

Here’s this week’s cartoon for @sport.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/football/pic...

Very proud of the Stretford End today.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/707...

Call me cynical, but I'm beginning to think the Board of Peace may not be all it's cracked up to be.

Bargain. Brilliant book.

Irish Independent: Man stole three coffee machines in a week from Monaghan department store.

How does he sleep at night?

The Mandleson arrest is just the type that could end up in litigation. Officers often struggle to apply arrest necessity lawfully, but this instead looks to be an issue of the reasonableness of the belief in the arrest reason (presumably PACE s24(5)(f)). Hence, the intel that MPS relied on is key.

“Television interview screenshot of FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaking indoors against an ornate gold-and-cream backdrop. On-screen subtitle reads, ‘That’s part of the market that we are in. Prices for some matches will go up, some will remain stable.’ Lower-third banner says ‘FIFA Pres. on World Cup Tickets’ with CNBC Money Movers branding.”

FIFA said it wouldn’t use dynamic pricing for World Cup tickets. In a totally unsuprising move, its president has now openly said it will.

Dynamic ticket pricing risks reduced transparency & prices ordinary fans out.

🔗 Statement with Euroconsumers: https://bit.ly/40qLNka

"Your personal life is your own business, as long as you act within a framework of which I personally approve."

Will sadly also see the end of the northern tradition of groups of pensioners hanging around bus stop asking "are we twirly?"

Indeed, quite often it can merely indicate they are throwing everything at it because they don't have a single watertight claim. I have the same view of claims containing lots of Latin.

What is going on with that lazy AI cover? Those are darts, not longbow arrows. You are confusing Robin Hood and Luke Littler.

Gold seized at Manchester Airport worth £1.8m awarded to police Greater Manchester Police awarded haul after stopping a man attempting to fly abroad with five gold bars.

Nice to see a policing news story (and a local one) with a happy ending. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act and Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme, half the recovered funds will go to charities and community groups in Greater Manchester.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Surely an Equality Act klaxon here?

Palestine Action: why the High Court ruled against the government, and what it means for the future of protest The court found Palestine Action’s activities had not yet reached the level, scale and persistence that would justify proscription.

theconversation.com/palestine-ac...

Halcyon Calcio: The beginning of our “Golden Era”, why Serie A was cooler than the Premiership - It’s a sepia tinted memory in all of our minds, Saturday mornings with our cereal sat in the living room watching James Richardson bring us the best of that week’sRead More

New on the Gentleman Ultra from The Calcio Blog...

Halcyon Calcio: The beginning of our “Golden Era”, why Serie A was cooler than the Premiership

www.gentlemanultra.com/2026/02/17/h...

Photo of a running shoe

New research by Dr Caroline Miles & Professor Rosemary Broad, @criminologyuom.bsky.social @manchester.ac.uk finds 68% of women runners surveyed in Greater Manchester & Merseyside experienced abuse while running — yet only 5% reported it to police.

blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2024/1...

It's impossible to identify the extent to which disorder at football increased post lockdown as the existing stats measures are, in different ways, very limited. But as you found here, both police and safety/security clearly *believed* there was an increase, which would also make sense in football.

Climber on trial for leaving girlfriend to die on Austria's highest mountain Kerstin G's boyfriend is accused of leaving her unprotected and exhausted close to the summit during a blizzard.

A tragic case, but one that will be of interest to those with interests in either #sportslaw or #criminallaw. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

An image brought to you by the same AI that some folk want driving cars, carrying out brain surgery, and in charge of our nuclear deterrent.

Looks a great methodology, John. And very relatable findings to other crowd gatherings?

Understanding the “new” disruptive behavior at live music events: Group normative (mis)alignment and collective self-regulation
Now published in ASAP journal.

Please share.

spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Yes, it's everywhere. And some of the pieces I've apparently published are excellent collaborations with people I've never met in journals that have never accepted my work. Peer reviewing now more important than ever.