Brave words, courageous action. Palestinian Lives Matter.

Looks like a treat in store…

A good thread on the kind of abuse and provocations directed at protesters but rarely reported in mainstream media. Brave, disciplined and peaceful reaction.

**COMPETITION** To celebrate the release of The Great Defiance in paperback in under 4 weeks, I've got two copies to give away! Just LIKE and RETWEET this post, and two lucky winners will be announced this time next week. Good luck!

Well said!

Thanks BBC Breakfast for raising awareness of prison leaver homelessness. Ministry of Justice says prison leavers in stable accommodation are 50% less likely to commit further crime. Surely, to prevent more victims, not a single person should be released homeless?📽️rb.gy/9ehexz

‘Building a world-class education system’ but only mention of higher ed in PM’s speech is ‘We’ll end rip-off degrees and massively expand apprenticeships’. Needs huge increase in the apprenticeships levy (a tax on business) to do that - and the jobs (apprenticeships are jobs).

Organised by prisoners, it was a unique event bringing academics, activists, students and prisoners together to think and share ideas about prison, hope and rehabilitation. I talked about the OU, cruel optimism of penal reform and negative capability. Oh yes, and penal dressage.

Last year’s Eurovision was an unexpected, diverse celebration of support for Ukraine. Uplifting and communal. Tonight’s is a cold refusal by the organisers to see that Israel’s genocide casts a long, dark shadow over all the glitz and glamour. Here’s hoping for mass disruption.

BREAKING: Following a strong student mobilization, the University of Barcelona has passed a motion to end ties with Israel.

BREAKING: In a historic victory for Trinity College students in Dublin, Ireland, their institution commits to cutting ties with Israel.

🇮🇪🇵🇸

obviously the national context is different in Ireland but TCD as an institution is pretty much identical to elite universities anywhere, so it's not as if elite academic institutions can't do this sort of thing. such is the subtle nature of precedent.

Book For First Nighters supplies books for those spending their first night in custody, to offer comfort & mental release.

“I think it’s really helped lots of people. Being able to choose makes them feel better. It’s made some people really happy.” –Prisoner

Katie's got a stellar line up booked for this one.

It was so lovely working with Anouk Essyad 🇵🇸 on this wonderful review of Routines Punitives, an important book about micropenalities that, “by highlighting common practices of punishment in various institutions, illustrates the continuum between care and coercion.” GRID

Dublin doing its bit. Students doing the right thing.

I contributed an article to a special issue of Genealogy MDPI on the ethics of family history research, in which I explore the hidden lives of my female forbears, and the ethics of writing about the involvement of some of my ancestors in the slave trade:
mdpi.com/2313-5778/8/2/…

Israel is heavily bombing Rafah, Gaza’s last place of refuge, in the middle of the night, killing scores of civilians, most of them children.

There are many others injured and buried under the rubble.

Don’t stop talking about Rafah.

Oscar Wilde, whose life was destroyed by imprisonment, said that “experience is the word everyone gives to their mistakes” - this shows it can be more than that.

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes’ (most often credited to Mark Twain.