Sam
@samdolan.bsky.social
Dad and son. Lecturer in Sheffield, UK. Physics, astronomy, maths, football (#ITFC), folk, fun and anti-fascism. D&D. Black holes and gravitational waves.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Reposted by Sam
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: “The thorough cleansing that we are carrying out now in southern Lebanon is unprecedented.
“They have nowhere to return to. Look at how it looks.
“And by the way, the world isn’t stopping us.”
“They have nowhere to return to. Look at how it looks.
“And by the way, the world isn’t stopping us.”
October 5, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: “The thorough cleansing that we are carrying out now in southern Lebanon is unprecedented.
“They have nowhere to return to. Look at how it looks.
“And by the way, the world isn’t stopping us.”
“They have nowhere to return to. Look at how it looks.
“And by the way, the world isn’t stopping us.”
Worried you may never achieve anything? Don't worry, you're in good company.
The median BlueSky poster is now older than the Venerable Bede when he began the Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The median BlueSky poster is now older than the Venerable Bede when he began the Ecclesiastical History of the English People
October 4, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Worried you may never achieve anything? Don't worry, you're in good company.
The median BlueSky poster is now older than the Venerable Bede when he began the Ecclesiastical History of the English People
The median BlueSky poster is now older than the Venerable Bede when he began the Ecclesiastical History of the English People
the headbanging Right have come up with a definition of English in which there are no English people
I'd love someone to point out to her that her definition logically means no English people.
Someone is English if their grandparents are English, who are English if their grandparents are English, who are English if their grandparents are English etc etc grandparents walk in from Doggerland.
Someone is English if their grandparents are English, who are English if their grandparents are English, who are English if their grandparents are English etc etc grandparents walk in from Doggerland.
October 3, 2026 at 9:39 AM
the headbanging Right have come up with a definition of English in which there are no English people
the Sheikhs of the UAE going far out of their way to say, yes, it was us, we did it, it was a sham all along, Man City is *our* state-sponsored club, we corrupted your league, ha, and if you try to do anything about it we will blackmail your government, hahaha
‘They consider the Premier League’s actions to have an influence on the bilateral state relationship, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing undisclosed information’2/
October 2, 2026 at 9:37 PM
the Sheikhs of the UAE going far out of their way to say, yes, it was us, we did it, it was a sham all along, Man City is *our* state-sponsored club, we corrupted your league, ha, and if you try to do anything about it we will blackmail your government, hahaha
Sheikh Mansour: Nobody but *nobody* gets to boss the UAE around, except for Iran, Saudi, Oman, US, Russia, and so on.
UAE warns Andy Burnham it may pull billions in investment for the UK's proposed Oxford-Cambridge tech hub—dubbed the UK's Silicon Valley—in retaliation over Manchester City's guilty verdict, per The Telegraph.
October 2, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Sheikh Mansour: Nobody but *nobody* gets to boss the UAE around, except for Iran, Saudi, Oman, US, Russia, and so on.
Reposted by Sam
"Issuing correction on a previous post of mine, regarding Man City. You do not, under any circumstances, 'gotta hand it to them'."
NEW Downing Street issues fresh statement on Man City case in an attempt to clarify Andy Burnham's comments to Chris Mason yesterday
October 1, 2026 at 4:03 PM
"Issuing correction on a previous post of mine, regarding Man City. You do not, under any circumstances, 'gotta hand it to them'."
Reposted by Sam
Have your media told you Russian drone bombed the metro bridge in Kyiv today while metro train was running with people inside ?
October 1, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Have your media told you Russian drone bombed the metro bridge in Kyiv today while metro train was running with people inside ?
Reposted by Sam
Look I try not to post or repost angry/reactionary stuff but sometimes I fail and wtf do you mean, how is Orban allowed into the UK at all, let alone to meet with far right agitators?! Surely he is on a watch list??
October 1, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Look I try not to post or repost angry/reactionary stuff but sometimes I fail and wtf do you mean, how is Orban allowed into the UK at all, let alone to meet with far right agitators?! Surely he is on a watch list??
Reposted by Sam
The video is now available from Fara Dabhoiwala's lecture at AIP last week—an account of a Jamaican prodigy, his failed nomination to the Royal Society, and the only known depiction of the first return of Halley's comet. A story almost lost to history recovered from clues hidden in a small painting!
“Black Genius: Race, Science, and the Extraordinary Portrait of Francis Williams”
YouTube video by AIP History
www.youtube.com
September 30, 2026 at 6:53 PM
The video is now available from Fara Dabhoiwala's lecture at AIP last week—an account of a Jamaican prodigy, his failed nomination to the Royal Society, and the only known depiction of the first return of Halley's comet. A story almost lost to history recovered from clues hidden in a small painting!
Reposted by Sam
The Pentagon is notifying millions of current and former U.S. military servicemembers and staff that hackers stole their *unencrypted* personal information during a months-long data breach. The agency that had the breach also handles ID and login/credential access to U.S. military systems and bases.
Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach | TechCrunch
The Department of Defense notified millions of current and former U.S. military personnel that their personal information had been stolen in a months-long breach.
techcrunch.com
September 30, 2026 at 7:37 PM
The Pentagon is notifying millions of current and former U.S. military servicemembers and staff that hackers stole their *unencrypted* personal information during a months-long data breach. The agency that had the breach also handles ID and login/credential access to U.S. military systems and bases.
so some of the men in balaclavas around the vans were actually police? and not dogging?? as had been previously assumed
‘“A farmer driving home in the early hours of Sunday morning saw the vans, surrounded by men in balaclavas,+alerted police at 1.36am. However, The Times understands the authorities were already on the scene by then because the suspect had called nearly one hour earlier.”’2/
September 29, 2026 at 9:44 PM
so some of the men in balaclavas around the vans were actually police? and not dogging?? as had been previously assumed
<scenery-chewing accent>
It makes no damn sense. Compels me though
It makes no damn sense. Compels me though
Suspect in RAF Fairford incident called 999 shortly before arrest ft.trib.al/slR1yXb
Suspect in RAF Fairford incident called 999 shortly before arrest
Motive for the emergency call is unclear, as police continue to investigate incident at air base used by US bombers
ft.trib.al
September 29, 2026 at 9:15 PM
<scenery-chewing accent>
It makes no damn sense. Compels me though
It makes no damn sense. Compels me though
Show, don't tell
Was interviewed by a US journalist today who asked if we were all panicking about terrorists at Fairford, which ended with me trying to explain dogging.
September 29, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Show, don't tell
I got bills, they're multiplying
And I'm losing control
And I'm losing control
September 29, 2026 at 4:45 PM
I got bills, they're multiplying
And I'm losing control
And I'm losing control
You got me! Yes, I did inflate club revenues by £900m over nine seasons using sham contracts. That's on me! I see now how it did not resonate with your sense of fair play. I resolve to do better in all future machinations.
Would you like help with anything else, such as money laundering?
Would you like help with anything else, such as money laundering?
September 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM
You got me! Yes, I did inflate club revenues by £900m over nine seasons using sham contracts. That's on me! I see now how it did not resonate with your sense of fair play. I resolve to do better in all future machinations.
Would you like help with anything else, such as money laundering?
Would you like help with anything else, such as money laundering?
Absolute vandalism 😠.
Across the UK, many good university departments are being shredded like this, and there is no end in sight ...
Across the UK, many good university departments are being shredded like this, and there is no end in sight ...
September 29, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Absolute vandalism 😠.
Across the UK, many good university departments are being shredded like this, and there is no end in sight ...
Across the UK, many good university departments are being shredded like this, and there is no end in sight ...
Four Lions 2
ngl "2 doggers, a lad out on the rob for diesel, a fly tipper and an actual terrorist get swept up into an international incident" would be a really funny premise for a slice of life British comedy
September 28, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Four Lions 2
Reposted by Sam
Fuel theft from HGVs parked over weekends at services. Barrels found in van. theft method is well established: the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) describes organised groups targeting stationary HGVs at motorway services and siphoning 100–600 litres of diesel in a single offence
September 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Fuel theft from HGVs parked over weekends at services. Barrels found in van. theft method is well established: the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) describes organised groups targeting stationary HGVs at motorway services and siphoning 100–600 litres of diesel in a single offence
Reposted by Sam
Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.
September 27, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.
Reposted by Sam
The bizarre culture that’s sprung up around Silicon Valley AI companies - which overlaps hugely with rationalist and effective altruist circles - appears to be seriously pressuring some women into attending sex parties for the sake of networking.
This is, needless to say, horrifying.
This is, needless to say, horrifying.
![taco belle
@ animalologist
Multiple things can be true at once
22h
The purpose of SlutCon is to help ease men who are scared of approaching women, and for women who simply enjoy flirting to be in an environment where that happens a lot, since there's generally a dearth of that
At the same time, many - probably most! - women do Not want to be flirted with or propositioned by men they don't know. When a small scene only has a handful of large, well-known events, each one has disproportionate impact on everybody's ideas of acceptable behavior among other members of their milieu.
Attending the same events = specific shared context. Means
you're somewhat on the same page.
I suspect that the men who publicly raised concerns about SlutCon's impact on the scene are being megaphones for private objections and distresses they've heard from women in the scene who would NOT be comfortable at an event like that, but who don't voice it publicly because they suspect they'd suffer socially for doing so. That going to SlutCon to be flirted with gives women social cachet, and squirming at the idea means you're [not cool, can't get with the program, are probably a wokescold or a prude etc etc other pejoratives] and therefore, that you'll be excluded or held at a distance
Now, if this scene were purely a social scene, that'd be perfectly fine. Don't go to parties that don't suit you!! The issue arises because it's NOT purely a social scene. This scene is inarguably tied up with Al safety, research, and the SF tech scene in general.
When consistently being invited to the right parties is professionally advantageous, and when SlutCon itself **is** going to be an excellent networking opportunity for people in those fields, it's not neutral that {sexual proclivities} are the filtering mechanism that determines who's in the room. It means that promiscuity & forwardness is explicitly professionally advantageous.
And, if the norms of SlutCon influence the norms of that milieu outside of the e…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qiknc4t5rq7yngvz7g4aezq7/bafkreibofbhecabcfimcooqfmhfkw5ycfc2adnfedemupo7aihs5fb7voy)
September 27, 2026 at 4:04 PM
The bizarre culture that’s sprung up around Silicon Valley AI companies - which overlaps hugely with rationalist and effective altruist circles - appears to be seriously pressuring some women into attending sex parties for the sake of networking.
This is, needless to say, horrifying.
This is, needless to say, horrifying.
my first week at the Northern Ireland Parades Commission went really well I think
September 27, 2026 at 2:50 PM
my first week at the Northern Ireland Parades Commission went really well I think
Most voters are not racist.
Most voters hate to see racist thugs attacking volunteers of the RNLI.
Most voters have core values based on decency.
So sick of weak politicians pandering to the "legitimate concerns" of the worst 10% among us
Most voters hate to see racist thugs attacking volunteers of the RNLI.
Most voters have core values based on decency.
So sick of weak politicians pandering to the "legitimate concerns" of the worst 10% among us
In other words decide what YOU believe and then sell that to the voters. Don't become PM and say I've no real faith in anything I believe in, can I borrow what I perceive your beliefs are so maybe you'll vote for me?
September 27, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Most voters are not racist.
Most voters hate to see racist thugs attacking volunteers of the RNLI.
Most voters have core values based on decency.
So sick of weak politicians pandering to the "legitimate concerns" of the worst 10% among us
Most voters hate to see racist thugs attacking volunteers of the RNLI.
Most voters have core values based on decency.
So sick of weak politicians pandering to the "legitimate concerns" of the worst 10% among us