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Brian Rooney

@brian-kieran.bsky.social
266 followers 504 following 218 posts

Striving to get to be older, kinder & wiser. Eclectic inerests: curious about people, the environment & social justice but also seeking awe. Living in Ireland but formerly of the UK. Not a fan of flag-waving fanaticism.

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Richard Morris @ahistoryinart.bsky.social · 5h
'Hammersmith Bridge from Chelsea.' Throughout his life Edward Seago was intensely interested in the transformation of the cityscape in various weathers and times of day. Here he captures a smoggy London afternoon in late autumn. This was painted around 1950.
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 6h
Today in the US is #IndigenousPeoplesDay. Held in opposition to the federal govt holiday Columbus Day and celebrates Native American culture and resistance to colonialism as opposed to the genocide, murder, slavery and torture brought by Columbus shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...
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Felicity Hayes-McCoy @fhayesmccoy.bsky.social · 15h
And so sad to see this from @carolecadwalla.bsky.social this morning www.instagram.com/reel/DecgpYH...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 16h
This is so moving to read, in light of where we are now.
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Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 16h
I just watched this intriguing and thought-provoking interview with Meredith Whittaker, head of the Signal Foundation. Trained in the humanities before she entered and became incredibly successful in the tech world. Worth listening and thinking about if you have 30 minutes. youtu.be/Y7lEm-sq64Q?...
youtu.be
Signal president Meredith Whittaker warns that AI could ‘supercharge mistakes’ in warfare | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
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Michelle Hughes Printmaker @michellehughes.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Two original Yorkshire landscape linocut prints found new homes last week. 😊 Top: Hutton-le-Hole. Bottom: Farndale towards Blakey Ridge. #YorkshireArt #YorkshireLandscape #NorthYorkMoors
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 13/10/2026
“Seeing women in technology roles is the reason I know my career aspirations are possible…”  Today, we’re celebrating Ada Lovelace Day at the Met Office and the women breaking barriers in STEM. Read their inspiring stories in our latest blog 👇 bit.ly/4hY4fZS #AdaLovelaceDay #WomenInTechWeek
bit.ly
Breaking Expectations, Building Futures: Celebrating the Women shaping the future of technology
This week, October 12-16, is Women in Tech Week, an opportunity to recognise the contribution of women across the technology industry and help inspire the next generation to see technology as a place…
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Clare Bonetree @blooyonder.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
www.katja-lang.com/works-on-pap...
katja-lang.com
Gallery 3 — Katja Lang
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Lady Feeding The Pigeons, painting by Salford-born Bob Richardson (b.1938).
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Tsarone 2 @indiastkali.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Thought for today, and every day...
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Brian Rooney @brian-kieran.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Wishing you a speedy recovery!
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Richard Morris @ahistoryinart.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
In Herbert Badham's 'The Night Bus,' (1943) the interior lights highlight the different figures and their gestures, all still, fixed in the moment. A woman reads a magazine, a man smokes, the conductor chats to a passenger.
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Thomas Fortenberry @thomasfortenberry.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
12 October 1964. USSR launched Voskhod 1. It was the 1st spacecraft with a multi-person crew, consisting of Vladimir Komarov (commander) Konstantin Feoktistov (engineer) and Boris Yegorov (doctor).
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
11 October 1915. English nurse Edith Cavell was sentenced to death in Belgium by a German military court. She had been accused of treason. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received condemnation by the Allies.
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eastlondongroup.bsky.social @eastlondongroup.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Another #SaturdayMorning has come round again so here's our traditional start to the day & week-end. This is "Interior" by Brynhild Parker that dates from 1930. It was one of 3 pieces by her that was in the collection of Sir David Scott along with another 14 by other ELG artists. #BrynhildParker
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Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳 @ancestralenq.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The volunteers preserving the few remaining AA road telephone boxes. Over 600 were constructed between 1911 & 1962. 👇 BBC News - The volunteers who care for a historic AA call box near Aysgarth - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
The volunteers who care for a historic AA call box near Aysgarth
Only 22 AA telephone boxes remain at British roadsides, with volunteers helping to preserve them.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 09/10/2026
👏 👏 👏 Congratulations to Navi Pillay, an activist, human rights investigator, and international judge, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. From Rwanda to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Navi Pillay has sought justice for the world’s worst crimes.
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Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Barcelona metro stopped for a minute today in respect to the family of Maricarmen Abascal who, as the screen explained, died this week aged 87 after being evicted from her Madrid home - where she'd lived since 1956-, sparking the wave of housing protests across Spain.
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Corita Kent, a US Roman Catholic nun, peace activist and Pop art screenprinting artist who helped shape the Pop Art movement and was also friends with Andy Warhol #WomensArt
Four images, including three of colourful screen print artworks and one monochrome photo of a nun in front of artworks on a wall
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Ophthalmologist Dr. Agatha Aboe led the medical campaign in Ghana to eliminate trachoma (leading infectious cause of preventable blindness globally). It worked. Ghana became the 1st country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate the disease, 2018. #WorldSightDay #WomenInSTEM
A low-angle, close-up portrait of renowned Ghanaian ophthalmologist and public health pioneer Dr. Agatha Aboe. Celebrated for leading the historic medical campaign that made Ghana the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate trachoma in 2018, she is captured looking upward and to the left with an optimistic, serene smile. Her black hair is neatly styled with shaved, patterned sides. She wears distinctive semi-translucent, light-blue-framed glasses and bright orange, teardrop-shaped beaded earrings that offer a vibrant color contrast. Her top is a simple, high-collared bright blue shirt. The background features a soft-focus, minimalist golden-yellow architectural column under warm, natural sunlight. The tight composition and uplifting lighting establish an empowering, visionary mood, symbolizing her historical significance as a leading global voice for Women in STEM who now exports eye-health roadmaps to other endemic nations
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Workers at Burton Menswear, Leeds. The Hudson Road factory became the world's biggest clothing factory, employing 10,000 and producing more than 30,000 suits a week (West Yorkshire Archive).
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Bacteriological chemist & refrigeration engineer Dr. Mary Engle Pennington, the "Ice Woman," revolutionized food safety by inventing the "cold chain." Her groundbreaking work on continuous refrigeration kept perishable food fresh from harvest to consumer. She was born #OTD in 1872. 🧵 #WomenInSTEM
A black-and-white photograph of Dr. Mary Engle Pennington (1872–1952), the pioneering American bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer known as the "Ice Woman." Shown from the chest up, she poses at a three-quarter angle, facing left while turning her gaze calmly toward the camera. Her expression is serene, intellectual, and confident, marked by a slight, knowing smile. Her wavy, light-colored hair is parted down the middle and neatly pinned back, framing her face and her thin, round wire-rimmed spectacles. She is elegantly dressed in a textured, small-checked pattern blazer over a collared blouse with a delicate, ornate pendant hanging from her neckline. Pinched to her left lapel is a prominent corsage featuring two light-colored, lifelike fabric flower blossoms complete with subtle leaves. The overall composition uses classic soft studio lighting that creates a gentle gradient across her face against a dark, featureless backdrop, capturing a dignified and scholarly mood that honors her monumental contributions to global food safety.
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
#OTD in 2006, Anna Politkovskaya--Russian investigative journalist & human rights defender--was murdered in her apt building in Moscow. #PressFreedom She exposed state corruption, opposed the Chechen conflict & wrote "Putin's Russia," a book critical of his rise to power & authoritarian shift.
A serious portrait-style photograph of Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya (August 30, 1958 – October 7, 2006). Globally revered for her fearless exposure of human rights abuses in Chechnya and her staunch criticism of Vladimir Putin, she looks slightly off-camera with a solemn, resolute, and deeply contemplative expression. Her face is framed by her signature silver-gray hair, parted down the middle and tucked behind her ears, revealing long, slender gold bar earrings. She wears oval, wire-rimmed gold glasses and a crisp, white collared shirt that stands out sharply against the composition. She is in the right two-thirds of the frame, balanced by a soft-focused, bright outdoor background of green and white bokeh on the left. The lighting is soft and even, highlighting her focused gaze. The overall mood is serious, reflective, and dignified, serving as a powerful visual testament to her legacy as a champion of press freedom who paid the ultimate price for her investigative work.
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
7 October 1927. Iinfluential psychiatrist Robert David (“RD”) Laing was born in Glasgow. He wrote extensively on mental illness especially psychosis. Many of his theories were very controversial, most notably, his view that schizophrenia was only a theory not a fact.
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Brian Rooney @brian-kieran.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It's hard to know if she is even aware of how badly she is doing in this interview.
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paulusthewoodgnome @paulusthewoodgnome.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Awful news. 'Former British banker and whistleblower Simon Andriesz, has died by suicide. He spoke about the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s mistreatment of whistleblowers, describing the personal cost of coming forward to his career, his health and his family.' www.thebanker.com/content/0228...
thebanker.com
Whistleblower who flagged Lutnick’s links to Epstein dies
The former British banker who spent more than 35 years working in financial markets has died by suicide
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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Barbara Castle MP, born #OTD 6 October 1910, walks through Cathedral Square, Blackburn. She holds the Equal Pay Act 1970, which she piloted through Parliament and into law. She was a Blackburn MP for 33 years.
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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
3/3 The Kykkos icon, Holy Mother of God with St Michael and St Dmitri, 19th Century Russian in Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery.
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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
2/3 St George defeats the dragon, a late 16th Century Russian icon in the excellent icon collection of Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery.
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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Blackburn Museum has a remarkably good, and large, collection of Greek and Russian icons. This triptych depicts Abraham and Sarah withvthe three angels, flanked by St George and St Dmitri. Greek, 1768.
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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The Fen bog oak table in Blackburn Cathedral. It's currently doing a tour of English cathedrals. As one Cambridgeshire native to another, I greeted it with familiarity.
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Brian Rooney @brian-kieran.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Does anyone, these days, have a political 'project'? Maybe policy nowadays is too focus-group oriented. Is that too cynical? To my simple mind, there is little milage in more & more 'libralisation' and perhaps a space (again) for 'let's see how the state/ state influence can do better?
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Plough Quarterly @plough.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Read Rachel Pieh Jones’s Substack about Annalena Tonelli: rachelpiehjones.substack.com/p/stronger-t...
rachelpiehjones.substack.com
Stronger than Death
23 years after she was assassinated, another woman is carrying on the legacy
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Tim Harford @timharford.ft.com · 05/10/2026
The race is on Sunday - wish me luck! Any further donations very very welcome. Thank you so much to all the people (many anonymous) who have pledged their hard-earned already. It's so kind.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The Jarrow Crusade, in which 200 unemployed men marched to London calling for government intervention to restore jobs, began on this day 1936. Unsuccessful at the time, but helped to shape postwar attitudes to employment and social justice.
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JulieW67 @juliew67.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#10minutesfromhome #ClassicMono #Stunday John Rylands Library Manchester
A black and white photo looking up a stone stairway st John Rylands Library Manchester on Thursday.
At the top is a beautiful arched stained glass window with decorative floral stonework at the top.
There are decorative stone arches on the ceiling and beautiful illuminated sconces on the walls. 
There is a young man stood at the top of the stairs admiring the architecture, he is silhouetted with the light of the window
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This Park Row Frieze in Leeds illustrates artistic talent, commercial ambitions but also the racial attitudes of its time. Created around 1900 by Edward John Dodgshun and Joseph Thewlis for the West Riding Union Bank. the sandstone relief depicts people involved in the bank’s international
Façade of Former Abtec House (Kenneth Hodgson House)
Edward John Dodgshun (1854–1927) and Joseph Thewlis (1862–1921)
18 Park Row, Leeds, West Yorkshire Image: Peter Farmer / Art UK
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Ben Wood @cosmichope.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
In a letter of 1928, Karl Jaspers wrote to Heidegger: “How my heart beats when you write about Kant! He’s the only one I actually trust”. For Jaspers (as for Arendt) Kant reflected the pure waters of European Humanism--an equal moral consideration for all human beings, regardless of geography.
Emmanuel Kant
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eastlondongroup.bsky.social @eastlondongroup.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Another #SundayMorning has arrived so here's our traditional "opener" for the day! This is "Sunday Morning, Farringdon Road" by Cecil Osborne from the first Group show at Alex. Reid & Lefevre at 1a, King Street in Mayfair. It is in the collection at Brighton & Hove Museums. #CecilOsborne
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eastlondongroup.bsky.social @eastlondongroup.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Today is the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. The painting has the title of "Cable Street" but it is actually a view of Grace's Alley just off Cable Street. It is by Albert Turpin who was arrested on the day & who would later become Mayor of Bethnal Green in 1946. #AlbertTurpin
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Prof Frank McDonough @fxmc1957.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
4 October 1936. Battle of Cable Street took place in Cable Street, Whitechapel, London. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, protecting a march by the British Union of Fascists (BUF) led by Sir Oswald Mosley and various anti-fascist and Jewish demonstrators.
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 03/10/2026
#OtD 3 Oct 1937 almost a year after their defeat at Cable St, Mosley's Blackshirts attempted to march through Bermondsey, South London. Met with strong local opposition and barricades in the streets, the march never arrived at its intended destination workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e35-...
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eastlondongroup.bsky.social @eastlondongroup.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I can't quite believe that October has arrived already (as has the autumn) & with it the shorter days to come but, one can't "stop the clock"! Here's our traditional start to every #SaturdayMorning: "Interior" by Brynhild Parker from 1930. #BrynhildParker #EastLondonGroup
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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
1. Tonight at Gillette Stadium, Zach Bryan, one of the biggest country music artists in the world, wore a Free Palestine shirt onstage. Gillette Stadium is owned by Robert Kraft, who pushed Ed Sheeran and his promoter to drop Macklemore from his tour. Bryan isn’t just a major country artist.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The Passage Leading To Lancaster Road, Salford, 1962, painting by Harold Riley (1934-2023).
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Peter Tatchell Foundation @petertatchellfdn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Botswana, a #Commonwealth country, turns 60 & challenges the story that postcolonial Africa is one of failure From extreme poverty at independence, diamond revenues helped build public services & democracy Africa’s achievements deserve recognition too
aljazeera.com
Botswana at 60 challenges the story of postcolonial African failure
Botswana showed that resource wealth need not condemn a country to corruption and underdevelopment.
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Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳 @ancestralenq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🧵The Land of Green Ginger, Hull, a street of residential & commercial buildings, formerly known as Old Beverley Street near Whitefriargate. Its naming is a bit of a mystery. It may refer to the storage & selling of spice ginger in the Middle Ages. The name change is thought to have occurred between
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Clare Kirk @digupyourancestors.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
This summer marks 90 years since the start of the #SpanishCivilWar. My husband's great uncle, Dick Mortimer, was a fish-curer from Hull, and a communist. At 18 he joined the #InternationalBrigade to fight fascism in Spain. I've shared his story, and some tips on researching brigaders, in a new blog.
digupyourancestors.com
A Hull fish-worker fights fascism
Hull fishworker Dick Mortimer was one of thousands of brave men and women who volunteered with the International Brigade to fight fascism in Spain 90 years ago.
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Elizabeth Catlett, Mother and Child, 1944 #womensart
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