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John Lubbock

@jwsal.bsky.social
3.8K followers 2.4K following 2.9K posts

writer / filmmaker / human rights / Wikipedia / Turkish stuff / he/him / PhD @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social / investigatinglambeth.substack.com

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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 18h
Despite the best intentions of LL Cool J, he was unable to end racism with bars like: “If you don't judge my gold chains, I'll forget the iron chains”.
r/wikipedia 10h • wikipedia.org
Accidental Racist: 2013 song by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J, controversial for its defense of "Southern pride" with a Confederate flag and LL Cool J lines like "RIP Robert E. Lee, but I gotta thank Abraham Lincoln for freeing me" and "If you don't judge my gold chains, I'll forget the iron chains."
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 22h
🚨🚨 @coe.int of Europe said yesterday that the #US formally notified it that it would leave the Group of States against Corruption, or #GRECO. Only two other countries have left GRECO before — #Russia and #Belarus. The fall of the #US on the world scene is striking. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
US withdraws from European anti-corruption panel in latest shift away from global groups
The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from a top European anti-corruption watchdog.
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SMD's pension @anothersmd.bsky.social · 19h
actually surprised cos i thought they were gonna run the clock down on this
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 20h
I’ve gone to my local coffee shop and there’s a guy out walking his cat on a lead.
A fancy leopard spotted cat walking between retro furniture in a coffee shop.The cat sits on a table next to a laptop with his owner out of shot holding the lead.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 20h
Waymo trying to claim its autonomous vehicles make cities more ‘liveable’, which raises the question: for who? Not for the workers whose jobs have been automated.
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Bruno Dias @brunodias.dev · 28/09/2026
What is happening is not that AI-generated cultural goods are replacing human-made cultural goods; what is happening is that capital is flowing out of the production of cultural goods *entirely,* making us all poorer for it.
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THE NERVE @thenerve.news · 21h
“That, to me, was an implicit threat. It feels very Palantir. Very Big Brother”: MP @labourlewis.bsky.social reveals Tom Watson has warned him over criticising Palantir By @carolecadwalla.bsky.social www.thenerve.news/p/clive-lewi...
‘We’re watching you’: MP Clive Lewis reveals Tom Watson has warned him over criticising Palantir. (l-r): Clive Lewis, Tom Watson and the Palantir logo, against a pink background
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Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 23h
Me and my grunge friends would’ve killed A.I. with hammers I can tell you that much
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Angry People in Local Newspapers @apiln.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is the proper use of a Freedom of Information request.
thestar.co.uk
This is how many times council has repainted ‘L’ on Pool Square street sign
Highways teams have attended Pool Square many times to repair the road sign due to a missing ‘L’
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Seeing a lot of people praising Burnham's conference speech and what he said about housing but it's all very vague stuff. Standard reports him saying “Energy, water, housing. Back under stronger public control." There's no detail of what this means. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
standard.co.uk
Key points from Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour conference speech
In his first Labour Party conference speech since entering Number 10, Andy Burnham laid out his plan for the country, covering care, pensions, housing, welfare, electoral reform, energy and water
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Really disappointing to see big name journalists repeat pie in the sky claims about AI with zero critical reflection.
George Eaton on Twitter: "Successful AI adoption could reduce UK borrowing by *£50bn* by 2030-31, says AI minister Kanishka Narayan, citing an OBR projection.

The dramatic economic gains AI could produce still aren’t appreciated enough in Westminster."
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404 Media @404media.co · 29/09/2026
A surveillance company wants to "close the gap" that Flock won't do, by pitching facial recognition on its cameras.
404media.co
Surveillance Company Tells Cops It Wants to Add Facial Recognition to Flock Cameras
A surveillance company wants to "close the gap" that Flock won't do, by pitching facial recognition on its cameras.
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We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 29/09/2026
Repealing Margaret Thatcher's ban on public ownership of water companies is wonderful But it means absolutely nothing if he does not then bring water into public ownership Our response to Andy Burnham's #LabourConference speech
A We OWn It tweet that says "🚨BREAKING  Andy Burnham has just announced that he will repeal Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies. This is good news, and a sign of just how intensely this government is feeling the pressure from the public.  But this means absolutely nothing if he does not then bring water into public ownership.  Instead, Burnham’s speech doubled down on regulation as a way to fix the crisis in our water system.  This is doomed to fail. When water companies are fined, they pass them on to us. When bonuses are banned, they call them something else.   Burnham has an open goal with Thames Water. The company is insolvent. And the only option to keep it privatised is to hand it over to US hedge funds.  Yet Burnham has failed to take them on today.  Andy Burnham must take Thames Water into special administration and keep it in permanent public ownership. And he can use legislation to make it easier to bring other water companies ..."
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is good but we have been here before and there are many vested interests who will try to stop electoral reform.
BBC: “Burnham announces plan to fight next election on promise of electoral reform
Burnham announces a new national commission on electoral reform, saying Labour will fight the next election on a manifesto to change the system "so that everyone's vote counts, and everyone's voice is heard".
We'll bring you more on this shortly.”
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Lewisham is yet to be convinced of the benefits of Andy Burnham.
‘Andy Burnham smells like piss’ written on a wall.
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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
On the one hand, it's a relatively small issue, on the other, eesh.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Huge attendance today at a staff-student meeting at @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social about the ongoing strike which the incompetent executive board continues in order to push through another round of redundancies, the third in 5 years.
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Lynne #TaxTheRich #WelfareNotWarfare. Eco-Socialist. Pro-🇵🇸 @bebsdotteragain.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations ends with a false positive and no arrests… Is this proof CRIME is NOT the real motivating FACTOR for its use? www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations ends with a false positive and no arrests
Freedom of information request finds six-month trial cost £320,000, used almost 100 police hours and led to just one – incorrect – alert
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Gotta say that I’m intensely suspicious about the US’ motivations and statements about this whole event. It would be good for the public to know more to stop all the speculation. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Rubio says foreign actor was ‘clearly’ behind suspected RAF Fairford plot
US secretary of state, who offered no evidence for claims, also says many people ‘disturbed’ that five suspects released on bail
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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Russell Brand, who's awaiting trial in London next month on rape and sexual assault charges, will moderate a panel at DC's MAHA summit tomorrow on reforming a U.S. health agency
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The NYT says these are the best TV shows of the 21st century, and I’m not sure which is the worst part of it, but putting Bake Off at 85 and Shogun at 86 feels wrong.
The New Work Cimes
The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21 Century



I WANT
SEE IT


IVE SEEN IT
I WANT
SEE IT









Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

51.
The Good Place (2016-2020)

口


The Wire (2002-2008)
Mad Men (2007-2015)

ロロロ
52.
53.
Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
Stranger Things (2016-2025)




Succession (2018-2023)

54.
The Bureau (2015-2020)




Fleabag (2016-2019)

55.
Insecure (2016-2021)




Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

56.
Nathan for You (2013-2017)




Veep (2012-2019)

57.
I Think You Should Leave (2019-present)




30 Rock (2006-2013)

58.
Chappelle's Show (2003-2006)




Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2024)

59.
PEN15 (2019-2021)



10.
Atlanta (2016-2022)

60.
Peep Show (2003-2015)



11.
The Office (U.S.) (2005-2013)

61.
RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-present)



12.
Arrested Development (2003-2019)

62.
Slow Horses (2022-present)



13.
Girls (2012-2017)

63.
The Thick of It (2005-2012)



14.
Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)

64.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013-2018)


15.
Six Feet Under (2001-2005)

65.
Mare of Easttown (2021)



16.
The Office (U.K.) (2001-2003)

66.
The Rehearsal (2022-present)



17.
The Americans (2013-2018)

67.
The Handmaid's Tale (2017-2025)




18. I May Destroy You (2020)

68.
Ozark (2017-2022)



19.
Chernobyl (2019)
口
69.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005-2012)
口

20.
The Crown (2016-2023)

口
70.
The Shield (2002-2008)

口

21.
The White Lotus (2021-present)

71.
Beef (Season 1) (2023)



22.
Lost (2004-2010)

72.
Squid Game (2021-2025)



23.
The Comeback (2005-2026)

73.
Barry (2018-2023)



24.
Deadwood (2004-2006)

74.
The Bear (2022-2026)



25.
The Leftovers (2014-2017)

75.
Ted Lasso (2020-present)



26.
Black Mirror (2011-present)

76.
Somebody Somewhere (2022-2024)



27.
Better Call Saul (2015-2022)

77.
Modern Family (2009-2020)



28.
Band of Brothers (2001)

78.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-present)


29.
Key & Peele (2012-2015)

79.
The Good Wife (2009-2016)



30.
Severance (2022-present)

80.
How To …
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Labour is happy to give your NHS data to a CIA-backed US corporation whose tools are used to commit war crimes like the bombing of the Iranian girls' school which killed 156 civilians. www.middleeasteye.net/news/labour-...
middleeasteye.net
Labour conference blocks motion to cancel Palantir contract over Israeli army links
Palantir has a £330m contract to process the UK's National Health Service data
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Peter Thiel finishing The Return of the King for the 10th time: 'no I still don't get it, why not keep the ring and take over from Sauron?'
Palantir founder Peter Thiel: "If you're evil, you're not bad. You're actually maybe kind of good."
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I've known Margaret for many years. Her advocacy for Kurdish rights is legendary, and she is a force of nature.
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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Fresh on the heels of similar complaints about OpenAI from mathematicians, a biologist says Anthropic’s Claude “discovered” the same system his team has spent years researching while sharing their unpublished work with Claude. It’s no longer just publishers & artists accusing AI labs of plagiarism.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today’s ridiculous Telegraph story is a melodrama about a design rebrand by the Imperial War Museum, which it says ‘critics’ are against. The only one quoted is Lord Ashcroft, who is annoyed that people weren’t interested in his collection of war medals.
The @elegraph
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Imperial War Museum rebranding because younger people can't relate to world wars
Institution to spend up to £lm on project to make exhibitions appealing to modern audiences
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
We no longer see most of the bodies of dead refugees who drown trying to cross oceans. When our press talk of irregular migration, it’s usually to magnify the voices of the right wing, spreading fear about ‘fighting age men’.
A Twitter post in French showing a photo by photojournalist Sameer al-Doumi of a dead body floating in shallow water on the beach of Hardelot, Northern France.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Bumper edition of Investigating Lambeth this week, with lots of news about the ongoing budget crisis and what this means for the library service, which the new Green-led council have promised to safeguard. investigatinglambeth.substack.com/p/whats-goin...
investigatinglambeth.substack.com
What’s going on with Lambeth’s budget crisis and libraries funding?
The new Green administration is having to contend with a huge budget shortfall and proposed cuts left over from the former Labour council.
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John Dipshit @wokeoaf.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“It’s not going to improve people’s lives here is it?!” I dunno man I’ve been watched children get murdered for three years straight now, it probably would improve our mental wellbeing if we stopped running cover for the murderers and maybe tried to do something about it
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solomonhughes.bsky.social @solomonhughes.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
(1)"Why aren't people building guillotine?" - a not-at-all-radical person asked me, after the latest billionaire excesses. Mostly I think because those same billionaires fund two very successful lines of defence. The first are the increasingly vicious "blame migrants not millionaires" parties...
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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
There is a genuine incomprehension amongst many journalists and politicians that anyone might care sincerely about Palestinians or seriously object to their indiscriminate slaughter. The natural human response to this genocide is something they simply cannot understand.
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András Forgács W @andraswf.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Nazis don't want you to remember their crimes
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Robin Moira White @robinmoirawhite.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Labour Party’s women’s conference on 26/9/26 was an embarrassing farce, with only 200 delegates of the 1,000 normal attendance (no major unions) in protest of the Labour Party’s shameful abandonment of trans people following the legally absurd ruling of the Supreme Court in FWS in April 2025.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Sorry but this is bullshit and not a reason anybody should leave the country of their birth. But frankly this guy has a track record of working abroad, having been in the US for 20 years and having set up a private equity firm in the US.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
They will do anything to prop up house prices and nothing to increase the supply of housing. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Andy Burnham announces scheme to help first-time buyers
The prime minister says he wants people without support from the "bank of mum and dad" to receive help.
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Ned Potter @nedpotter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Imagine five-years-ago-you hearing that *this* company, the company that did this stuff below, is the one the Bodleian have **partnered with** in order to let it train its model on their materials. You’d think it like something from dystopian sci-fi (and it basically is).
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Bumper edition of Investigating Lambeth this week, with lots of news about the ongoing budget crisis and what this means for the library service, which the new Green-led council have promised to safeguard. investigatinglambeth.substack.com/p/whats-goin...
investigatinglambeth.substack.com
What’s going on with Lambeth’s budget crisis and libraries funding?
The new Green administration is having to contend with a huge budget shortfall and proposed cuts left over from the former Labour council.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Sad to report that the Daily Telegraph is horny for Blair.
The Telegraph: Five tips to get arms like Tony Blair's in your 70s
The former prime minister's toned biceps took us by surprise this week - and show that muscle mass can be gained and retained at any age
• Ф501
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Tony Blair's impressive arm muscles were visible in a gym photo shared on Instagram by Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, speaker of Indonesia's Regional Representative Council (pictured left) Credit:
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
In the Latchmere pub near Battersea, there’s an old advert for a beer called Ol’ Luddite.
The advert, a white bulldog with red lettering over it.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
More anti South London behaviour from TfL. www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...
standard.co.uk
TfL opens consultation on proposed new London Overground line
The proposed new route would connect Hendon and Hounslow, and could remove around 650,000 car journeys a year across the capital
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Michael @therightarticle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Netanyahu to deliver defiant UN speech while facing protests and political isolation He should not be making a speech. He is a war criminal with a warrant out for his arrest. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/…
theguardian.com
Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver defiant UN speech while facing protests and political isolation
Prime minister will ‘highlight Israel’s achievements’ as he heads towards his toughest re-election challenge
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 24/09/2026
Police arrest far-right activist Daniel Thomas after dinghy slashed in Channel
theguardian.com
Police arrest far-right activist Daniel Thomas after dinghy slashed in Channel
Thirty-seven-year-old in custody suspected of committing crimes including ‘criminal damage to endanger life’ Daniel Thomas, the far-right agitator and anti-migrant activist, has been arrested on suspicion of “criminal damage with intent to endanger life”, two days after he filmed himself slashing the side of a dinghy in the middle of the Channel, while a rescuer was on board. Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary issued a statement saying that a 37-year-old man, of no fixed abode, had been arrested on Wednesday night “on suspicion of destroying ships or fixed platforms or endangering their safety under section 11 of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990”. Continue reading...
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Just bumped into James Cleverly campaigning for the Tories in a local byelection in my area. They asked what it would take to get me to vote Tory and I said ‘a lobotomy’.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
He just like me fr
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Frontier AI models are built on criminal acts. The NYT lawsuit against OpenAI has found that a Microsoft executive said AI was built on the “largest theft of labor in human history”. www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
404media.co
‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@chrismoranuk.bsky.social Hi Chris, I'm a PhD student looking at AI and journalism, and a number of people have suggested I get in touch with you to talk about your work. If you see this could you get back to me? I've emailed and sent you messages on LinkedIn but I guess you didn't get them.
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
You could forgive a lot of student debt for £30 million. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
Nick Clegg could make £30m windfall from datacentre startup Nscale flotation
The former UK deputy prime minister is a board member of the UK-based company and owns 917,000 shares
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John Lubbock @jwsal.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Tony Blair seems to believe that cutting off benefits to young people with anxiety and depression will somehow magically solve the youth unemployment crisis. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
independent.co.uk
End cash benefits for young people with anxiety to end Neet crisis, Tony Blair urges
A new report also calls for a pause on plans to equalise the minimum wage for younger workers
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
literally thousands of jobs in higher education were cut *last year alone* and there's been almost no media coverage and no government action
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Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I mean, any time now would be good. If it's not too much trouble
Headline: "‘Outright racist’ Daniel Thomas will face full force of law over any crimes, says home secretary"
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