Search
1000 results for “WE_AID”
-
4 Ways Porn Use is Shaped by Relationship Fears
Originally Published on December 30th, 2025 at 11:58 amBeyond Addiction
When we talk about porn use, the conversation often gets stuck in simple, black-and-white narratives of morality or addiction. We tend to focus on how much someone is watching, rather than asking a more fundamental question: why? While these discussions are common, they often miss a deeper, more nuanced psychological story that’s playing out behind our screens.
What if our relationship with pornography isn’t just a habit, but a reflection of our most basic patterns of connecting with other people? This is the central idea behind attachment theory. It suggests that our earliest bonds with caregivers shape how we approach intimacy, trust, and emotional closeness throughout our lives. These deep-seated patterns are known as our “attachment style.”
A recent systematic review of 10 scientific studies has begun to connect these dots. It’s uncovered surprising links between our attachment styles and our pornography habits.
This article explores the four most impactful takeaways from that research.
It reveals how our fundamental needs for connection, and our fears of rejection, can shape what happens when we’re alone with a screen.
1. For some men, porn use is linked to better relationship satisfaction
Attachment styles are patterns in how we connect with others, stemming from our early life experiences. “Anxious attachment” style, for example, creates a deep desire for intimacy but lives with a persistent fear of rejection or abandonment.
Counterintuitively, one major study reviewed by the researchers (Maas et al., 2018) found that for men with this anxious attachment style, porn use was actually associated with higher relationship satisfaction.
This finding becomes even more striking when contrasted with the results for women in the same study.
For anxiously attached women, porn use was associated with lower relationship satisfaction.
This sharp gender difference underscores a crucial point: the effects of pornography are not one-size-fits-all.
They are deeply intertwined with our individual psychology, our gender, and our attachment style. This suggests that for anxious men, pornography might act as a low-stakes supplement that doesn’t trigger their core fear of abandonment. Whereas, for anxious women, it may directly activate it.
Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?
Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!
2. Problematic porn use can be a way to cope with a fear of real intimacy
The review highlights a powerful theme: for those with insecure attachment styles, pornography offers a sense of connection without the perceived risks of real-world emotional intimacy.
This is particularly true for individuals with an avoidant attachment style. They often fear being engulfed by a relationship and losing their independence. Research shows that for this group, addictive cybersex use can become a direct substitute for the emotional closeness they find threatening.
While both anxious and avoidant individuals may turn to pornography, their motivations often differ.
Someone with an avoidant style might use it to replace an intimacy they fear. However, someone with an anxious style might use it to soothe anxiety about a connection they crave.
In both cases, porn use can become a substitute for genuine connection when real relationships feel too overwhelming.
The review synthesizes this concept perfectly:
When people with insecure attachments use pornography to satisfy their relational needs of comfort, they engage in little or less emotional closeness and commitment, which allays their worries of abandonment and separation.
This reframes problematic use not merely as an addiction, but as a potentially maladaptive strategy for managing deep-seated relational fears of either being left alone or being consumed by another.
Licensed Professional Counselors, do you need continuing education hours?
Look no further!
If you find this article interesting, Dr. Weeks’ course Sexual Education and Porn Use in Women, and her other unique courses, will engage and educate!
3. For anxiously attached women, porn use is linked to body insecurity; specifically when they’re in a relationship
Another study in the review (Gerwitz-Meydan et al., 2021) uncovered a highly specific link for women with an anxious attachment style.
For these women, an association between their attachment style and porn use was found only if they were currently in a relationship. For single women with the same attachment style, there was no significant association.
The research identified a crucial factor driving this connection: body image self-consciousness. The study found that pornography use acted as a mediator between anxious attachment and body image issues.
In simple terms, this means that for anxiously attached women in a relationship, viewing pornography may trigger or intensify insecurities about their own bodies.
This, in turn, can activate their underlying attachment-related fears of being inadequate for their partner. Porn use directly threatens their sense of security and stoking their core fear of abandonment.
Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.
4. There’s a psychological link between ADHD, both anxious and avoidant attachment, and compulsive porn use.
The review also sheds light on the intersection of attachment, neurodiversity, and pornography.
One study (Niazof et al., 2019) found that problematic pornography use in men with ADHD was linked to both anxious and avoidant attachment styles, but in different ways.
Higher levels of anxious attachment were linked to excessive pornography use, while avoidant attachment was associated with higher levels of problematic use.
The researchers point to a potential explanation for this link: the “incentive deficit” that is often a characteristic of ADHD.
This concept suggests that individuals with ADHD may be more drawn to highly stimulating, novel, and instantly gratifying behaviors. It helps ADHD porn users to compensate for a brain that may be under-stimulated by everyday rewards.
When combined with insecure attachment, this creates a potent mix.
For the anxiously attached man with ADHD, pornography might serve as an easily accessible tool to soothe relational anxiety.
For the avoidantly attached man with ADHD, it may be a compelling substitute for the real-world intimacy he fears. It fulfills a need for stimulation without triggering his fear of closeness.
Conclusion: Beyond How Much to Why
The research clearly shows that our relationship with pornography is more complex than self-control or moral standing.
It can be a powerful and often unconscious reflection of our deepest relational patterns. It reveals our unmet needs for connection, and our most profound fears of intimacy and rejection.
This perspective invites us to shift the conversation.
Instead of focusing solely on the behavior itself, perhaps the more important question to ask is: What deeper needs and fears is this behavior trying to meet?
Share how this post spoke to you, or about someone you love. Do you believe you use pornography to compensate for your attachment style? Why or why not?
Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.
Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.
Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.
#ADHDAndPornUse #anxiousAttachment #attachmentStyles #attachmentTheory #avoidantAttachment #bodyImageInsecurity #compulsivePornUse #couplesTherapy #cybersexAddiction #emotionalIntimacy #fearOfAbandonment #fearOfRejection #intimacyIssues #mentalHealth #pornUse #pornographyUse #problematicPornUse #relationalCoping #relationshipFears #relationshipSatisfaction #sexualHealth #shameAndSecrecy #trustAndConnection -
Nicholas Byfield was a Calvinistic, Puritan minister. Here he speaks of compassion as being a proof of our spiritual state, citing bible passages about generosity, watering other peoples, aiding those needing warmth, visiting orphans and widows. These qualities in us prove that we are true neighbors and good Samaritans
Are you following religious leaders who point to other spiritual metrics at the expense of the biblical ones?
#chistian #puritans #calvinist #biblical #colossians #presbyterian -
“Of Very Doubtful Military Significance”: the thread about The Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen
Today’s Auction House Artefacts are a pair of silver Georgian merit medals awarded to Fletcher Yetts of the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen. Mr Yetts (1759-1832) was the keeper of the City Water Works on the Castlehill. Britain was almost continuously at war with France for between 1793 and 1815 and the quaintly named Spearmen were one of the variety of amateur paramilitary formations raised in Edinburgh during this period in anticipation of a French invasion (or a popular revolution in the French style).
Front and rear views of a George III silver medal of the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen , dated 6th August 1804. The reverse is engraved “Reward of Merit, 1st Battn., Fletcher Yetts”. Move the slider to compare each side. Photo by Gorringe’s of East Sussex.The Volunteer Corps Act of 1794 authorised the formation of volunteer paramilitary forces for home defence; the Volunteers. These were an infantry force that generally drew their officers from petty gentry and aspirational middle-class professionals. They were distinct from the volunteer cavalry of the Yeomanry whose members were the country landowners and required to have deep pockets and horses at their disposal – and be competent in their use.
George III silver medal of the Edinburgh Spearmen Artillery Company, dated 1805. The reverse is engraved “presented by Captain Braidwood to Serjt. [sic] Major Yetts as a mark of respect for his Unremitting Attention to the Company”. Move the slider to compare each side. Photo by Gorringe’s of East Sussex.In Scotland a third force was the Militia, established by the Militia Act of 1797 which empowered the Lords Lieutenant of the Counties to raise by ballot a conscript auxiliary force for service within Scotland. Its ranks were generally drawn from the lowest rungs of society and the Act was so thoroughly unpopular that it provoked widespread rioting across the country. This led to the Massacre at Tranent in August 1797 when eleven men, women and children were killed by Dragoons when protesting against it.
“The Massacre of Tranent”, statue by David Annand in Tranent Civic Square. This represents Jackie Crookston, one of those killed during the anti-militia protests, carrying a drum to call out the slogan of “no militia”. Image via ArtUKIn contrast to the Militia, the ranks of the Volunteers were drawn largely from the lower middle and upper working classes; an attraction of joining being it could exempt one from being drafted into the Militia. Apart from a small number of drill sergeants and drummers, the Volunteers were unpaid but received their weapons and allowances for uniforms from the Government.
“The First Regiment of Royal Edinburgh Volunteers”, a sympathetic caricature of a parade “hereby dedicated to all the Volunteer Corps in Great Britain by their Humble Servant J. Jenkin.” 1802. National Library of ScotlandThe Volunteers allowed patriotic and aspirational amateurs to play at being military officers without facing the dangers and hardships of actual military service. There was a steady supply of men keen to sport the over-embellished uniforms – and even finance the units at their own expense – to reap the benefit of the high public status that a uniform conferred in the ballrooms and drawing rooms of the city.
“The Grand Inspection”, caricature satirising Edinburgh volunteer officers being inspected by a lady; the inference being their patriotic service can be reduced to dressing up for her approval. By J. Jenkin, 1805. National Library of Scotland.By late 1803, there were some 30,000 Volunteers in Scotland (and over 300,000 in the wider UK) but their efficiency varied widely; from semi-competent to completely hopeless. Georgian satirists mercilessly lampooned them, depicting them as physically unfit; poorly equipped, trained and led; over-enthusiastic and thoroughly incompetent.
“St. George’s Volunteers. Charging down the French Bond Street, after clearing the Ring in Hyde Park & Storming the Dunghill at Marylebone”. Colour caricature of 1797 by James Gillrary mocking the Volunteers. In common with other such pieces, the over-enthusiasm, poor training, poor physical condition and ill-fitting and low quality nature of uniforms are highlighted. British Museum 1851,0901.850In their distinctive blue coats the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers (REV) were one of the first established in the country and were an example of the semi-competent type of unit. A commissioned portrait of them certainly reflected this, Edinburgh caricaturist John Kay took a slightly more humours view of them.
To see ourselves as others see us. Two very different characterisations of the late 18th century Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, both featuring Sergeant Major Patrick Gould (who in his defence was at least recognised in his time as being thoroughly competent).The Spearmen – in contrast to the REV – showed “all the signs of being a force of very doubtful military significance” (W. A. Thorburn, curator of the Scottish United Services Museum, writing on the subject in the Book of the Old Edinburgh Club, vol. 32). They probably formed as a result of the officer corps of the city’s other Volunteer units being fully subscribed to and thus a further unit was required for those left out. Its stated purpose was to “defend the city, liberties and vicinity of Edinburgh, in case it be found necessary to march the other forces to a distance, and to protect the lives and property of the inhabitants from injury and depredation“. This was a coded recognition that the job of the Volunteers wasn’t really to fight the (real or imagined) threat posed by French invaders but to release regular forces to do so by securing the home front. A secondary and more realistic proposition was quelling popular revolt or opportunistic disorder in the absence of the regulars: to the local authorities and certain sections of society, the Mob invoked far more fear than the French did – as evidenced by their actions at Tranent – and the Toun Rats (the Town Guard of Edinburgh) had proved of dubious worth in the past.
The Edinburgh Town Guard, painting attributed to William Home Lizars in 1800, but Lizars was an engraver and this is likely the work of (or after) John Kay. The sergeant carries a halberd but the men have muskets and bayonets. The drummer carries a short sword. City Art Centre, Edinburgh Museums and LibrariesThe nascent Spearmen offered their services to the Crown, to make sure they were officially recognised and their officers Gazetted, and they were admitted as supernumeraries to the existing Volunteer establishment in the city in a letter dated 7th November 1803.
We are well persuaded that every man who can handle a pike and who is not engaged in any volunteer corps, will chearfully [sic] embrace this opportunity of coming forward for the defence of our families and firesides
Scots Magazine, December 1803The initial plan was to raise two Battallions, each of six-hundred men in ten companies; in theory over 1,200 men. In practice however only one Battallion was ever constituted and its ranks fluctuated between four to five hundred men. They wore scarlet cutaway jackets, blue breeches and a tall beaver hat decorated with feathers (as per the medal at the top of the page and in contrast to the long blue coats and white breeches of the REV). Initially they were armed with nothing more than short pikes and swords for the officers. Their ranks were drawn largely from those exempt from balloting into the militia; the Incorporated Trades of the City and those too old, too young or with too many dependent children.
Mr John Bennet, surgeon to the garrison of Edinburgh Castle and President of the Royal College of Surgeons, was elected as the honourary Lieutenant Colonel Commandant. He had been the surgeon to the Sutherland Fencibles (an earlier, auxiliary military force in the Highlands) from 1779-83 so was an eminent choice. He was later replaced by William Inglis WS Esq. after being found dead in a field in Fife on October 10th 1805, his gun by his side, having suffered a fatal fall from his horse when hunting.
Caricature of John Bennet in his uniform, by J. Jenkin, 1804. National Library of Scotland.Other officers included Robert Dundas and John Peat, Writers to the Signet (solicitors); William Ranken, a Town Councillor from the Incorporation of Tailors; the lighthouse engineers Thomas Smith and his step-son Robert Stevenson; Francis Braidwood, an upholsterer and cabinet-maker (and allegedly the first man in Edinburgh to wear shoelaces); John Cameron, Deacon of the Tailors and James Newton, Deacon of the Incorporation of Bakers. Their chaplain was the Reverend Alexander Brunton of New Greyfriars Kirk, later the Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at the University of Edinburgh.
“Mr Dundas”, caricature by J. Jenkin, c. 1803. Given the cut of the uniform, with the short coat distinct from the other Volunteer units, and the beaver hat, this may be Major Robert Dundas of the Spearmen. National Library of Scotland.RankNamesLieutenant ColonelJohn Bennet (died October 1805, later William Inglis)MajorRobert Dundas WS (resigned August 1805, replaced by James Farquharson)CaptainsWilliam Ranken; John Simpson; Thomas Smith; Francis James Braidwood; John Cameron; James Newton; Patrick Mellis; Alexander GairdnerLieutenantsJohn Peat; William Braidwood jnr; Charles Ritchie jnr; Robert Stevenson; Thomas Hamilton; Matthew Sheriff; Adam Brooks; John Yule; John Cameron EnsignsJohn Menzies; David Robertson; Andrew Wilson; John Grieve; William Woodburn; John BallantineChaplainRev. Alexander BruntonSurgeonWilliam Farquharson; Thomas Lothian (assistant)Sergeant MajorGeorge NeagleNamed officers holding commissions in the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen, at the time of its establishment, Gazetted Nov 1803- January 1804.It was all very Dad’s Army, but at this time the fear of invasion was genuinely held as a result of intense newspaper speculation. Matters came to a head on January 31st 1804 when the Volunteers of Hawick and Teviotdale rose to repel an “invasion” after the lighting of the chain of hilltop warning beacons across the Borders counties. This proved to be a false alarm, the result of an inexperienced but enthusiastic watchman at Hume Castle near Kelso who saw a distant glow on the eastern horizon – actually charcoal burning at Shoreswood in Northumberland, 15 miles away – and thought it was the beacon at Dowlaw being lit.
“A Hilltop Beacon”, William Bell Scott, 1828. National Galleries of ScotlandIt was not until the Scottish volunteer companies arrived at Berwick-upon-Tweed the following morning after marching excitedly through the night that the mistake was realised, but a celebration was held never-the-less to mark the efficacy of the warning system and the enthusiasm of the response. It was only a sceptical naval watchkeeper at the St. Abb’s Head signal station that prevented the warning being transmitted all the way to the end of the chain at Edinburgh.
Hey, Volunteers are ye wauking yet? Ho, jolly lads, are ye ready yet? Are ye up, are ye drest, will ye all do your best? To fight Bonaparte in the morning!
Marching song of the Dunfermline Volunteers, to the tune of the traditional “Hey, Johnnie Cope”
Now, brave Volunteers, be it day, be it night; When the signal is given that the French are in sight; Ye must haste with your brethren in arms to unite; To fight Bonaparte in the morning!Despite the Government’s approval, as supernumaries the Spearmen had to finance themselves. In February 1804 a public subscription was raised to cover the expenses of fitting out the unit, the Caledonian Mercury reporting “there can be little doubt that it will soon exceed the sum required“. The Town Council voted fifty Guineas towards the cause as did the Association for the Defence of the Firth of Forth, the Incorporation of Goldsmiths and the United Incorporations of Mary’s Chapel (the Wrights and the Masons). The Incorporation of Tailors and the Bakers provided thirty each, those of The Hammermen twenty-five, The Fleshers twenty and The Hammermen of Canongate five. A number of town councillors and many of the founding officers also contributed, as did some notable local patrons. A Benevolent Society was set up by the officers to provide “mutual aid of each other in the event of sickness or death” in September of that year and which would later be extended to all the Volunteers of the city.
Public subscriptions to the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen (L.E.S.), giving a good indication of the demographic of the principal backers. Caledonian Mercury, 9th February 1804They used as their parade ground the Heriot’s Hospital green, that traditionally used by the other Volunteers in the city and seen in the background of the portrait at the top of the page of Sergeant Patrick Gould. In 1805 they were formally recognised by the Home Secretary, Lord Hawkesbury, as a full member of the Corps of Volunteers. This gave them equal status with the city’s other volunteer units and entitling them to receive Government funding, pay and arms. It is likely at this time they traded in their pikes for Government-issue muskets. To mark the occasion, “this band of citizen warriors had their stand of colours delivered to them on the 12th August 1805″ (the birthday of the Prince Regent, the Prince of Wales). These were provided and presented by the wife of the Lieutenant Colonel Bennet and her daughter Miss Scott of Logie. Chaplain Rev. Brunton consecrated them with “a most impressive prayer” after which the batallion marched out of the city to Duddingston House, the residence of the Earl of Moira, Commander-in-Chief of the Army in Scotland. The Earl inspected the formation after which they returned to the Bennet household on Nicolson Street where “they were regaled by him in a very liberal and handsome style of hospitality“.
The Earl of Moira, Addressing the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen. John Kay caricature, 1805. In the background is Duddingston House, Moira’s residence in Edinburgh, where the Spearmen marched for inspection following receiving their colours at Heriot’s HospitalIn the event of the Spearmen being called out, they were to assemble upon the Mound as their chosen “alarm post in case of invasion or popular tumult“. In March 1804 a battery of artillery was added, armed with two experimental 6-pounder cannons designed and built by Mr Roebuck of the Shotts Iron Company. The guns were commanded by Captain William Braidwood jnr and were provided with two novel ammunition carts, designed to be pulled by domestic draught horses.
Caricature of an Edinburgh volunteer artillery officer and his piece, which is similar to that shown on the medal at the top of the page. The Spearmen were not the only volunteer artillery in the city, so this may or may not represent Captain William Braidwood. By J. Jenkin, 1805. National Library of Scotland.The artillery would get the Spearmen into trouble with the law. On Monday 25th September 1805, eager to demonstrate their efficiency and readiness to the city after formally receiving their colours, they marched and drilled through the streets before assembling on the Mound to firing off a number of volleys in salute from the Roebuck Guns. After the third and final blast, Lieutenant Colonel Bennet was apprehended with “violent passion” by John Tait, judge of the City Police Court and superintendent of the newly instituted Police Office. Tait threatened “at your peril remain on this ground a moment and if I ever see you and your Corps on the streets of Edinburgh again, it shall be at your peril“.
“An Eminent Judge… of Broom Besoms!!!”. While this caricature by John Kay represents a well known old peddlar of brooms, it satirises instead John Tait, the Judge of the Police Court and Superintendent of Police, who had accosted the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen. National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG D16508Bennet wrote to Sir William Fettes, the Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City, to complained that he and his men had been prevented by the civilian authorities from carrying out their duties and were treated with “gross and repeated insults from an immense mob“. He threatened that he would have to disband the unit if they could not go about their business unmolested. Tait had only been in his position of authority a few months and was likely trying to publicly demonstrate that it was he, and not any Volunteers, who was responsible for law and order. He wrote back to the Lord Provost standing his ground, but making the clarification that it was only firing off cannons in public that he wished to prevent, and not their marching and drilling. This seemed to placate both sides and thereafter Spearmen got on with tier duties of playing at soldiers.
“Guard Room Tactics, Bugs in Dander; or a Volunteer Corps in Action.” 1798 caricature lampooning the Volunteers, by Charles Ansell. The Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen were dressed in a very similar fashion. Yale Centre for British Art B1981.25.1158, via WikimediaOn September 1807 they changed their name to the Loyal Edinburgh Volunteers to acknowledge their changed status (which causes confusion with the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers, who they remained distinct from) and also that thanks to Moira’s intervention they had retired their spears and were now properly armed with muskets. They marked their promotion by marching to Alloa for ten days on “active duty”. The Caledonian Mercury reported that “their conduct on the march to and from Alloa, and while in quarters, was orderly and regular in the highest degree, and their attendance at drill, for seven hours every day, was unremitting“.
“Light Infantry Volunteers on a March”. 1804 satirical cartoon by Thomas Rowlandson lampooning the physical condition of Volunteer units. Picture via Miesterdrucke.ieThe experience must have been enjoyable as they then applied to be transferred into the Militia, an offer which was rejected. Undeterred, in December that year it was announced that the Prince of Wales had “been graciously pleased to accept an offer… of an extension of their services to any part of Great Britain” and as such they would henceforth be known as the Prince of Wales’ Loyal Edinburgh Volunteers. This was far removed from their founding aim of serving only in the city; things may have gone to their heads as in 1809 the entire Volunteer forces of Edinburgh offered their services to go to Spain and fight alongside the regulars in the bloody Peninsular War. Again the offer which was politely declined.
“Loyal Britons Lending A Lift”, a British soldier assisting the Spanish in fighting the French. August 1808 caricature by James Gillray.Lieutenant Colonel Inglis remained in charge of the renamed Spearmen until the volunteer forces were officially disbanded on July 11th 1814. They have been largely forgotten about and even in their own time were in the shadow of the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers and the Yeomanry, but at least one unknown amateur poet penned a verse in their honour, although it is hardly complementary.
It is weel Kend these guy wheen years
Poem to the Loyal Edinburgh Spearmen, 1804
I’ve praised our Royal Volunteers
The Spearmen has appeared at last
O’ them we should hope the best.
There’s numbers o’ them without doubt
They are baith souple louns and stout,
But other o’ they I do ken
Dude help them poor auld worn out men
An’ I wad scorn to tell a lee
They’re neither fit to fight nor flee
An’ other some raw mou’d callants
I’ve seen far better selling ballants.
What brings them out in name of wonder
Wer it no to make a gudly number.
O’ them the brethern may think shame
Far better they wad stay at hame.Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret -
More than just dismissing us: the thread about the history of the Leith Police
Today’s auction house artefact is this Victorian Leith Burgh Police truncheon.
Victorian Leith Police truncheonPolicing in Leith goes back to the 17th century, when the first High Constables of the Port of Leith were established. They were appointed by the Magistrates of the Royal Burgh of Leith to uphold “cleanliness and orderliness, keeping the peace, law and order“. But at this point they acted as empowered individuals, rather than a force. Orders were given in 1725 stating that “they were responsible for the apprehension of beggars and vagabonds, persons guilty of a crime or disturbance, informing on houses of ill repute, bringing order to mobs and overseeing weights and measures.”
At this time, the principal civic building of Leith was the Tolbooth. It functioned as a seat of municipal government and administration, a customs house, a guardhouse, a jail and a meeting house and was one of the three essential public buildings of the Scottish Burgh; the others being the Mercat Cross and the Kirk.
Leith Tolbooth by James Skene, 1818. © Edinburgh City LibrariesIn 1762, the seven constables held a meeting and elected a moderator, treasurer and clerk, and drew up regulations to form themselves into the Honourable Society of the High Constables of the Port of Leith. In 1771, Parliament passed the “Act for Cleansing and Lighting the Streets of the Town of South Leith, the Territory of St. Anthony’s and Yardheads thereunto adjoining, and for supplying the several parts thereof with fresh water“. The description of the act itself is a reminder that at this time, the municipal police were primarily concerned with lighting, cleansing and water supply; not watch keeping or law enforcement.
The act saw the election of 30 Police Commissioners to enact its provisions; the electors were the 2 magistrates of Leith (appointed by Edinburgh), the masters and 6 assistants of the 4 Leith trade incorporations (the Cordiners, Carters, Tailors and Weavers) and all heritors (the feudal landholders of a Scottish parish who were obligated to pay tax), liferenters (landholders for life) and proprietors of lands and tenement within the burgh. Basically, the people (men) with claim over land and/or property. Added to the Commissioners were the Lord Provost, Town Clerk of Leith, The Baillie (a civic officer) of St. Anthony’s Preceptory, and 2 others elected by the feudal heritors of Yardheads and St. Anthony’s.
The heading of a poster from a ceremonial dinner of the Honourable Society of High Constables of the Port of Leith showing the outline of a constable’s baton © Edinburgh City LibrariesSo the Police Commissioners were basically a committee of the local worthies who were charged with keeping the streets clean and supplying water. At this time, Leith had no piped water, sewers, pavements or metalled roads (causeys) of any kind so they had their hands full. Such was the difficulty in resolving these issues in Leith, that for the next 20 years the Commissioners were fully occupied with water, cleansing and lighting. It was not until 1791 that attention turned to “watching and warding”, i.e. something more akin to modern policing.
The mean streets of Leith in 1790. An illustration by Dominic Serres.The Commissioners had always employed a part time “Police Officer”, but his job was to keep order at the wells and to try and keep people to the schedule of the carters who carried away the filth of the town. Perhaps he is the officious looking man in Serres’ illustration conferring with the carter and the town drummer and poring over a schedule?
The Leith “police officer”?In 1791, this was made a full time position, and Leith’s first professional polisman was hired; at £25 a year. 10 years later, in 1801 the officer, one John Ross, was finally provided with a uniform. “A blue coat, red neck with buttons thereon and a red vest with a pair of boots“. In 1802, lawlessness in Leith was such that one of the Baillies proposed to the Police Commissioners that a part-time force of sixty men, in three watches, be hired for the purposes of law enforcement. At this point, Edinburgh stepped in and said “naw”, and that it would sort it. Edinburgh then did nothing for Leith, as was frequently the case; as James Scott Marshall puts it. “Edinburgh’s policy of masterly inactivity once more frustrated [Leith’s] desire for improvement.”
A new Leith Police Act, in 1806, made provision for the recruitment of watchmen for “Guarding, Patrolling and Watching the streets“. But again nothing was done, this time for want of money. Leith had 20,000 inhabitants, but Edinburgh absolutely and tightly controlled its purse strings. Finally in 1814, the size of the Leith Police force was tripled; to 3. Two watchmen were employed to assist the “intendant” (the man in the blue and red coat). The appointments were made by the Paving Committee as they had responsibility for safety on the streets.
In 1815, the force doubled in size, to 6, with 3 more watchmen being recruited. Finally in 1816, a special “Watching Committee” was formed, rather than leave the Police under the direction of the Paving Committee. But the new force was not well thought of and there were complaints asking for it to be better organised. The watchmen were also unhappy, as the day shift worked 6AM-9PM (!) and were unable to take on labouring work on the side as a result like the shorter nightshift could.
The force grew no further until the Municipal and Police Act of 1827, when the whole force of 6 was disbanded and then re-hired under a new system under a Superintendent; one James Stuart on £120 a year. The new force totalled 20, 1 Sergeant Major, 3 Sergeants, 3 “Daymen”, 3 “Night Patrol” and 10 Watchmen. Superintendent Stuart had the force raised to 27 with 1 more Dayman, 2 Night Patrol and 4 more Watchmen. The senior ranks were paid a guaranteed basic rate, which was supplemented by the court fees of each offender they brought in; half to the Sergeant Major, and the other half split between the Sergeants.
Silver and ebony High Constable’s tipstave from 1833. ; “ON ONE END IT IS NUMBERED ’41’ , ON THE OTHER END IS ENGRAVED A SHIP AND GENTLEMAN WITHIN AND AROUND THE SHIP ‘ BURGH OF LEITH 1833’. ON ONE SIDE IS ENGRAVED A SHIP WITH ‘PERSEVERE’ BELOW IT. ON THE OTHER SIDE IT IS ENGRAVED ‘ HIGH CONSTABLE’.” The Tipstave was a symbol of office, and could be unscrewed to reveal the warrant of office carried within.The 1827 act finally settled the boundary of the Leith Police, which had been rather vaguely defined up until this point due to the fragmentary municipal boundaries and land superiority of the separate parishes of North and South Leith. When the 1832 Great Reform Act extended the boundary of Leith to the red line on this map, the reach of the Leith Police extended too. A deal was also struck with the Edinburgh Sheriff to charge him for the lodging of prisoners sent from Edinburgh to languish in Leith.
1831 boundaries of the Burgh of Leith. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandThe 1827 act also got round to the business of providing Leith with its first modern courthouse and police station, to replace the ancient Tolbooth. Some of the land of “Dr. Colquhoun’s Chapel” was acquired; a 99 year lease being taken on it. Dr Colquhoun was the minister of St. John’s Chapel of Ease on Constitution Street. This is how Leith’s first court house and police station came to be built on the corner of Constitution Street and [Queen] Charlotte Street, where they are to this day – although the courthouse is long unused.
The New Town Hall, Leith, by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1829. Dr. Colqhoun’s chapel can be seen behind.The Leith Burgh Police were established in 1859 to cover the wider burgh of Leith defined in 1831 by the Great Reform Act. Policing of the port and docks was subsumed into the new force as a division, but the High Constables were maintained as an honourable society for ceremonial occasions. They still exist in this form, the uniform still being top hats and tails and the badge of office still being an ornamental baton. Until recently it was strictly a gentlemen’s club, although they have more recently elected a woman to their ranks.
The High Constables of Leith form a guard of honour for the arrival of HM The Queen on arrival at Leith on the HMY Britannia in 1956. The girl presenting the bouquet was “6 year old Edwina Burness”. Still from a film of the occasion held by the BFI.The High Constables of Leith and their truncheons meet the late Duke of Edinburgh. CC-by-SA, R. Clapperton via Edinburgh CollectedThey can be seen performing these same ceremonial duties for royalty here in Alexander Carse’s painting of the arrival of George IV in Leith back in 1822, backs to the artist with their top hats off. The fellows with the broad bonnets, white sashes and curving long sticks (bows) are the Company of Royal Archers .
George IV’s visit to Leith by Alexander CarseAt this point, the need for separate Commissioners of Police was redundant, as Leith was finally an independent burgh, The responsibility for oversight of the Police passed to the new Town Council, who made their home in the police station and court on Constitution Street. Below can be seen a picture of the Town Hall / court house / police station in 1870. It shows St. John’s, after the mock Tudor tower was built and parish school buildings were added to the front. Between the two is the small burgh fire station building .
Leith Town Hall, 1870, Adam W. Steele. © Edinburgh City LibrariesThe helmet badge adopted by the Burgh Police was from the traditional Leith coat of arms; the Virgin Mary and child on a galleon, underneath a canopy. The date of 1563 beneath refers to a letter signed by Mary Queen of Scots granting South Leith permission to erect its Tolbooth. Granting Leith this was a big step in its ancient struggle to exert independence from Edinburgh. The English had burned Restalrig Tolbooth in 1544 during the “Rough Wooing” (Restalrig at that time was the administrative centre of South Leith parish) and since then Edinburgh had been trying to prevent Leith from re-establishing its own local centre of law, order and taxation.
Leith Police helmet and badge from book coverAnyway, Leith Burgh Police was a small force, but one well respected for keeping law and order in the potentially lawless port town. They were merged into the Edinburgh City Police as D Division in 1921.
The last parade of the Leith Burgh Police in 1921, before becoming D Division of the Edinburgh City Police. © Edinburgh City LibrariesLeith policemen were distinctive for wearing a “ball top” to their custodian helmet, Edinburgh had these only for upper ranks, the rank and file had a “button top”.
British “custodian” Police helmets. Left is button, centre is pike and right is ball top. None are Edinburgh or Leith helmets.Leith’s greatest contribution to the world of policing is of course said to be the legendary tongue twister “The Leith Police Dismisseth Us” – which was apparently a test for drunkenness (but just try saying it sober!)
The Leith police dismisseth us, I’m sorry sir to say;
The Leith Police Dismisseth Us, a version from 1927
The Leith police dismisseth us, They thought we sought to stay;
The Leith police dismisseth us, They thought we’d stay all day;
The Leith police dismisseth us, Which caused us many sighs;
And the size of our sighs, when we said our goodbyes;
Were the size of the Leith police.However the origin of The Leith Police Dismisseth Us is probably nothing to do with Leith. It actually first originates in print on the other side of the Atlantic; in the Boston Youth’s Companion, October 20th 1887, as a line in a list of “verbal snares” or tongue-twisters. It is quite similar to an earlier American tongue-twister; variously The Sea Ceaseth and Dismisseth Us With His Blessing or The Sea Ceaseth And that Sufficeth Us and it is likely these were created for elocution purposes and inspired by biblical verse.
It first appears in a British newspaper shortly afterwards, in December 1887 in the Irvine Times, before being reprinted widely across English papers the following year. These early examples are always in lists of tongue-twisters, many of which are still familiar such as Peter Piper and She Sells Sea Shells. A fuller version does not seem to appear in print until 1919 (in The Childrens Newspaper) but it had been widely popularised before this by the Mancunian musical hall comedian Wilkie Bard, one of the biggest acts of his day, whose stage gimmick was tongue twisters. Variety magazine announced in 1909 that he was appearing in London at the Tivoli, Oxford and Paragon with “a new tongue twister. It is called The Leith Police Dismisseth Us. Bard gets a whole lot out of this number with the aid of an assistant who does a lisping souse.“
Wilkie Bard, 1911, © National Portrait GalleryThe rhyme is still used for elocution, particularly in helping non-native English speakers master the “th” and -“s” sounds of the language.
Thank you to Chris Wright for his assistance and advice in researching the early details of “The Leith Police Dismisseth Us.”
Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret -
Patina. oder auch: in rust we trust.
#Weathered #LostPlace #Rusty #Photography -
HUMANITARIAN AID🔴 FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE WAR OF AGGRESSION BY TURKEY AND JIHADIST GROUPS
On November 27, 2024, jihadist groups supported by Turkey attacked Aleppo, one of the largest cities in Syria. Fighters from the Turkish-led SNA are terrorizing the local population, arbitrarily arresting people and using targeted violence.
In 2018, Turkey and jihadist groups invaded the Kurdish city of Efrin and displaced hundreds of thousands of Kurds to the Shahba region.
The Autonomous Administration of Rojava (DAANES) decided to evacuate the surrounded population and bring them to safe areas. This decision paved the way for a large wave of migration, but was intended to prevent a massacre of tens of thousands of people.
Undoubtedly, this process will bring much suffering, and tens of thousands of children, women and elderly people will be exposed to the harsh winter temperatures.
Heyva Sor a Kurd , our relief organization in Rojava, continues its efforts to meet the needs of the displaced people, move them to safe places and provide health services.
For these reasons, we urge you to donate to the people of Rojava through Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê.
Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê e.V.
Kreissparkasse Köln
IBAN: DE49 3705 0299 0004 0104 81
BIC/SWIFT: COKSDE33XXXPayPal: [email protected]
-
Mooie theorie...
Wanneer wordt dit werkelijkheid? 🤔Vrijwillig leef ik erg eenvoudig, eenzaam, om keuzes van anderen met gevoelige gevolgen voor mij
Velen leven onvrijwillig arm, in slechte omstandigheden door onrecht, pech, onvermogen door niet éigen maar andermans keuze#theorie #gelijkwaardigheid #ftm
Follow the Money: ‘Extreme rijkdom is een gevaar voor de samenleving, daar praten we te weinig over’
Website van aflevering: https://follow-the-money.simplecast.com/episodes/waarom-we-het-moeten-hebben-over-de-rijkste-1-procent-ook-als-je-daar-niet-bij-hoort-gIhYFv5n
-
At a moment when the regime is systematically waging war on diversity initiatives of every kind,
it has simultaneously discovered that it is really concerned about both "viewpoint diversity" and "antisemitism" on college campuses
—and it is using the two issues as a club to beat on the US university system until it either dies or conforms to MAGA ideology.Reaching this conclusion does not require reading any tea leaves or consulting any oracles;
one need only listen to people like Vice President JD #Vance, who in 2021 gave a speech called
"The Universities are the Enemy"
to signal that, like every authoritarian revolutionary, he intended to go after the educated."If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country," Vance said,
"and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country."
Or, as conservative activist Christopher #Rufo put it in a New York Times piece exploring the attack campaign,
"We want to set them back a generation or two."The goal is capitulation or destruction.
And "destruction" is not a hyperbolic term;
some Trump aides have, according to the same piece, "spoken privately of toppling a high-profile university to signal their seriousness."Consider, in just a few months, how many battles have been launched:
The Trump administration is now snatching non-citizen university students, even those in the country legally, off the streets using plainclothes units and attempting to deport them based on their speech or beliefs.
It has opened investigations of more than 50 universities.
It has threatened grants and contracts at, among others, Brown ($510 million), Columbia ($400 million), Cornell ($1 billion), Harvard ($9 billion), Penn ($175 million), and Princeton ($210 million).
It has reached a widely criticized deal with Columbia that would force Columbia to change protest and security policies but would also single out one academic department (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) for enhanced scrutiny. 💥This deal didn't even get Columbia its $400 million back; it only paved the way for future "negotiations" about the money. 💥And the Trump administration is potentially considering a consent decree with Columbia, giving it leverage over the school for years to come.
It has demanded that Harvard audit every department for "viewpoint diversity," hiring faculty who meet the administration's undefined standards.
Trump himself has explicitly threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt nonprofit status after it refused to bow to his demands. And the IRS looks ready to do it.
The government has warned that it could choke off all international students—an important diplomatic asset but also a key source of revenue—at any school it likes.
Ed #Martin—the extremely Trumpy interim US Attorney for Washington, DC—has already notified Georgetown that his office will not hire any of that school's graduates if the school "continues to teach and utilize DEI."What's next?
Project 2025 lays it out for us, envisioning the federal government getting heavily involved in accreditation
—thus giving the government another way to bully schools
—and privatizing many student loans.
Right-wing wonks have already begun to push for
"a never-ending compliance review" of elite schools' admissions practices, one that would see the Harvard admissions office filled with federal monitors scrutinizing every single admissions decision.
Trump has also called for "patriotic education" in K–12 schools;
expect similar demands of universities, though probably under the rubrics of "viewpoint discrimination" and "diversity."
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/resist-eggheads-universities-are-not-as-weak-as-they-have-chosen-to-be/ -
At a moment when the regime is systematically waging war on diversity initiatives of every kind,
it has simultaneously discovered that it is really concerned about both "viewpoint diversity" and "antisemitism" on college campuses
—and it is using the two issues as a club to beat on the US university system until it either dies or conforms to MAGA ideology.Reaching this conclusion does not require reading any tea leaves or consulting any oracles;
one need only listen to people like Vice President JD #Vance, who in 2021 gave a speech called
"The Universities are the Enemy"
to signal that, like every authoritarian revolutionary, he intended to go after the educated."If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country," Vance said,
"and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country."
Or, as conservative activist Christopher #Rufo put it in a New York Times piece exploring the attack campaign,
"We want to set them back a generation or two."The goal is capitulation or destruction.
And "destruction" is not a hyperbolic term;
some Trump aides have, according to the same piece, "spoken privately of toppling a high-profile university to signal their seriousness."Consider, in just a few months, how many battles have been launched:
The Trump administration is now snatching non-citizen university students, even those in the country legally, off the streets using plainclothes units and attempting to deport them based on their speech or beliefs.
It has opened investigations of more than 50 universities.
It has threatened grants and contracts at, among others, Brown ($510 million), Columbia ($400 million), Cornell ($1 billion), Harvard ($9 billion), Penn ($175 million), and Princeton ($210 million).
It has reached a widely criticized deal with Columbia that would force Columbia to change protest and security policies but would also single out one academic department (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) for enhanced scrutiny. 💥This deal didn't even get Columbia its $400 million back; it only paved the way for future "negotiations" about the money. 💥And the Trump administration is potentially considering a consent decree with Columbia, giving it leverage over the school for years to come.
It has demanded that Harvard audit every department for "viewpoint diversity," hiring faculty who meet the administration's undefined standards.
Trump himself has explicitly threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt nonprofit status after it refused to bow to his demands. And the IRS looks ready to do it.
The government has warned that it could choke off all international students—an important diplomatic asset but also a key source of revenue—at any school it likes.
Ed #Martin—the extremely Trumpy interim US Attorney for Washington, DC—has already notified Georgetown that his office will not hire any of that school's graduates if the school "continues to teach and utilize DEI."What's next?
Project 2025 lays it out for us, envisioning the federal government getting heavily involved in accreditation
—thus giving the government another way to bully schools
—and privatizing many student loans.
Right-wing wonks have already begun to push for
"a never-ending compliance review" of elite schools' admissions practices, one that would see the Harvard admissions office filled with federal monitors scrutinizing every single admissions decision.
Trump has also called for "patriotic education" in K–12 schools;
expect similar demands of universities, though probably under the rubrics of "viewpoint discrimination" and "diversity."
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/resist-eggheads-universities-are-not-as-weak-as-they-have-chosen-to-be/ -
At a moment when the regime is systematically waging war on diversity initiatives of every kind,
it has simultaneously discovered that it is really concerned about both "viewpoint diversity" and "antisemitism" on college campuses
—and it is using the two issues as a club to beat on the US university system until it either dies or conforms to MAGA ideology.Reaching this conclusion does not require reading any tea leaves or consulting any oracles;
one need only listen to people like Vice President JD #Vance, who in 2021 gave a speech called
"The Universities are the Enemy"
to signal that, like every authoritarian revolutionary, he intended to go after the educated."If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country," Vance said,
"and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country."
Or, as conservative activist Christopher #Rufo put it in a New York Times piece exploring the attack campaign,
"We want to set them back a generation or two."The goal is capitulation or destruction.
And "destruction" is not a hyperbolic term;
some Trump aides have, according to the same piece, "spoken privately of toppling a high-profile university to signal their seriousness."Consider, in just a few months, how many battles have been launched:
The Trump administration is now snatching non-citizen university students, even those in the country legally, off the streets using plainclothes units and attempting to deport them based on their speech or beliefs.
It has opened investigations of more than 50 universities.
It has threatened grants and contracts at, among others, Brown ($510 million), Columbia ($400 million), Cornell ($1 billion), Harvard ($9 billion), Penn ($175 million), and Princeton ($210 million).
It has reached a widely criticized deal with Columbia that would force Columbia to change protest and security policies but would also single out one academic department (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) for enhanced scrutiny. 💥This deal didn't even get Columbia its $400 million back; it only paved the way for future "negotiations" about the money. 💥And the Trump administration is potentially considering a consent decree with Columbia, giving it leverage over the school for years to come.
It has demanded that Harvard audit every department for "viewpoint diversity," hiring faculty who meet the administration's undefined standards.
Trump himself has explicitly threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt nonprofit status after it refused to bow to his demands. And the IRS looks ready to do it.
The government has warned that it could choke off all international students—an important diplomatic asset but also a key source of revenue—at any school it likes.
Ed #Martin—the extremely Trumpy interim US Attorney for Washington, DC—has already notified Georgetown that his office will not hire any of that school's graduates if the school "continues to teach and utilize DEI."What's next?
Project 2025 lays it out for us, envisioning the federal government getting heavily involved in accreditation
—thus giving the government another way to bully schools
—and privatizing many student loans.
Right-wing wonks have already begun to push for
"a never-ending compliance review" of elite schools' admissions practices, one that would see the Harvard admissions office filled with federal monitors scrutinizing every single admissions decision.
Trump has also called for "patriotic education" in K–12 schools;
expect similar demands of universities, though probably under the rubrics of "viewpoint discrimination" and "diversity."
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/resist-eggheads-universities-are-not-as-weak-as-they-have-chosen-to-be/ -
At a moment when the regime is systematically waging war on diversity initiatives of every kind,
it has simultaneously discovered that it is really concerned about both "viewpoint diversity" and "antisemitism" on college campuses
—and it is using the two issues as a club to beat on the US university system until it either dies or conforms to MAGA ideology.Reaching this conclusion does not require reading any tea leaves or consulting any oracles;
one need only listen to people like Vice President JD #Vance, who in 2021 gave a speech called
"The Universities are the Enemy"
to signal that, like every authoritarian revolutionary, he intended to go after the educated."If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country," Vance said,
"and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country."
Or, as conservative activist Christopher #Rufo put it in a New York Times piece exploring the attack campaign,
"We want to set them back a generation or two."The goal is capitulation or destruction.
And "destruction" is not a hyperbolic term;
some Trump aides have, according to the same piece, "spoken privately of toppling a high-profile university to signal their seriousness."Consider, in just a few months, how many battles have been launched:
The Trump administration is now snatching non-citizen university students, even those in the country legally, off the streets using plainclothes units and attempting to deport them based on their speech or beliefs.
It has opened investigations of more than 50 universities.
It has threatened grants and contracts at, among others, Brown ($510 million), Columbia ($400 million), Cornell ($1 billion), Harvard ($9 billion), Penn ($175 million), and Princeton ($210 million).
It has reached a widely criticized deal with Columbia that would force Columbia to change protest and security policies but would also single out one academic department (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) for enhanced scrutiny. 💥This deal didn't even get Columbia its $400 million back; it only paved the way for future "negotiations" about the money. 💥And the Trump administration is potentially considering a consent decree with Columbia, giving it leverage over the school for years to come.
It has demanded that Harvard audit every department for "viewpoint diversity," hiring faculty who meet the administration's undefined standards.
Trump himself has explicitly threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt nonprofit status after it refused to bow to his demands. And the IRS looks ready to do it.
The government has warned that it could choke off all international students—an important diplomatic asset but also a key source of revenue—at any school it likes.
Ed #Martin—the extremely Trumpy interim US Attorney for Washington, DC—has already notified Georgetown that his office will not hire any of that school's graduates if the school "continues to teach and utilize DEI."What's next?
Project 2025 lays it out for us, envisioning the federal government getting heavily involved in accreditation
—thus giving the government another way to bully schools
—and privatizing many student loans.
Right-wing wonks have already begun to push for
"a never-ending compliance review" of elite schools' admissions practices, one that would see the Harvard admissions office filled with federal monitors scrutinizing every single admissions decision.
Trump has also called for "patriotic education" in K–12 schools;
expect similar demands of universities, though probably under the rubrics of "viewpoint discrimination" and "diversity."
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/resist-eggheads-universities-are-not-as-weak-as-they-have-chosen-to-be/ -
At a moment when the regime is systematically waging war on diversity initiatives of every kind,
it has simultaneously discovered that it is really concerned about both "viewpoint diversity" and "antisemitism" on college campuses
—and it is using the two issues as a club to beat on the US university system until it either dies or conforms to MAGA ideology.Reaching this conclusion does not require reading any tea leaves or consulting any oracles;
one need only listen to people like Vice President JD #Vance, who in 2021 gave a speech called
"The Universities are the Enemy"
to signal that, like every authoritarian revolutionary, he intended to go after the educated."If any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country," Vance said,
"and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country."
Or, as conservative activist Christopher #Rufo put it in a New York Times piece exploring the attack campaign,
"We want to set them back a generation or two."The goal is capitulation or destruction.
And "destruction" is not a hyperbolic term;
some Trump aides have, according to the same piece, "spoken privately of toppling a high-profile university to signal their seriousness."Consider, in just a few months, how many battles have been launched:
The Trump administration is now snatching non-citizen university students, even those in the country legally, off the streets using plainclothes units and attempting to deport them based on their speech or beliefs.
It has opened investigations of more than 50 universities.
It has threatened grants and contracts at, among others, Brown ($510 million), Columbia ($400 million), Cornell ($1 billion), Harvard ($9 billion), Penn ($175 million), and Princeton ($210 million).
It has reached a widely criticized deal with Columbia that would force Columbia to change protest and security policies but would also single out one academic department (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) for enhanced scrutiny. 💥This deal didn't even get Columbia its $400 million back; it only paved the way for future "negotiations" about the money. 💥And the Trump administration is potentially considering a consent decree with Columbia, giving it leverage over the school for years to come.
It has demanded that Harvard audit every department for "viewpoint diversity," hiring faculty who meet the administration's undefined standards.
Trump himself has explicitly threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt nonprofit status after it refused to bow to his demands. And the IRS looks ready to do it.
The government has warned that it could choke off all international students—an important diplomatic asset but also a key source of revenue—at any school it likes.
Ed #Martin—the extremely Trumpy interim US Attorney for Washington, DC—has already notified Georgetown that his office will not hire any of that school's graduates if the school "continues to teach and utilize DEI."What's next?
Project 2025 lays it out for us, envisioning the federal government getting heavily involved in accreditation
—thus giving the government another way to bully schools
—and privatizing many student loans.
Right-wing wonks have already begun to push for
"a never-ending compliance review" of elite schools' admissions practices, one that would see the Harvard admissions office filled with federal monitors scrutinizing every single admissions decision.
Trump has also called for "patriotic education" in K–12 schools;
expect similar demands of universities, though probably under the rubrics of "viewpoint discrimination" and "diversity."
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/resist-eggheads-universities-are-not-as-weak-as-they-have-chosen-to-be/ -
JENNA ON HOLLYWOOD
“I wish that we had a better sense of conversation."
"While I can certainly empathize with the frustration of Wednesday‘s writers, it’s pretty much part&parcel of any writing job to “kill your darlings.”
- which is why I publish my Darlings for free.
Who can resist falling in love for free when you're young? Or publishing?
#DrStevenNyx #NeoDada #MastoArt
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl & #Gremlins
#AIDebate Good AI vs Bad AI #EndersGame
#Zendaya #TimotheeChalamet -
COYFOX - WHEN THE CHANGE WINS BLOW BY JACK L CHALKER
Never stand in the right spot.
Try to get one thing right in life.
A Vocation means doing someone else's job for less.
Why do super mature people sing about super immature people all the time?
Forcing confessions us not how we make people grow up
No1 wants to grow into a richer person?#XanaduObserverEffect
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArt Pop Art Zingers
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#AIDebate Good AI vs Bad AI #EndersGame
#NeoDada -
COYFOX
This is what happens to you when you read 1000 Books & watch 4000 movies.
As in, they do not appear to be normal-ish books? Are we getting the memos?
Or did you fear I'd missed that point?
Hence why no1 but reads 1000 books.#XanaduObserverEffect
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArt Pop Art Zingers
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#AIDebate Good AI vs Bad AI #EndersGame
#NeoDada -
IS AI DOING JENNA'S WRITING?
Death to prohibitionists.
Get the fuck on with things.
We require B12, but we don't make it, & u won't explain it? We are slaves yet foreigners to earth?
Whatever happened to Sloan, Ferris & Cam?
Odd cliffhanger.
People only guess right in movies.#XanaduObserverEffect
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArt Pop Art Zingers
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#AIDebate #Gemini
#NeoDada - Anti-Elitist Social Criticism for the discriminating shit disturber -
PLANET FOOT-IN-MOUTH - TRONSOL
Everything is Good Cop v Bad Cop v You?
Everything is done retroactively throughout the universe?
Positivism v Common Law is Primary vs Secondary laws & hindsight.
Am I smarter than the Time.Lord yet? We be Time Lordin,' bitches. That is why nothing is what it seems. #EndersGame
#XanaduObserverEffect
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArt Pop Art Zingers
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#AIDebate #Gemini
#NeoDada - Anti-Elitist Social Criticism for the discriminating shit disturber -
#MELISSABARRERA is now #TITANIQUE Rose of Broadway
Are we Race War victims or Space War victims?
I was made by my enemies but was allowed.romescape? Rules again?
WHAT IS PERFECT "BY YOUR STANDARDS?" (/excellence)
U simply.do this same thing to all the difference makers on history's scripts. Don't play the AI ass.
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArt Pop Art Zingers
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#AIDebate #Gemini
#NeoDada - Anti-Elitist Social Criticism for the discriminating shit disturber -
THE FUNCTION OF OXYTOCIN IN THE MALE IS UNKNOWN 1973: SECRETS OF THE PAST
Exactly.
Are we smart yet?
There wasn't a single doctor with a theory about oxytocin in males worth mentioning?The 80s are Venetian Blinds Everywhere, 70s curtains were gone.
Statists force every1 to do nothing all the time.
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArt Pop Art Zingers
#JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#AIDebate #Gemini
#NeoDada - Anti-Elitist Social Criticism for the discriminating shit disturber. -
-
#HASHTAGNEWS #JennaOrtega for #TankGirl
#DrStevenNyx #MastoArtAnd what do we make of this.
Where are the predictions and interpretations about her career for society?
At least it is not Common Core, which is just malignant & morbid Low Class intelligence. Oh ya, & phony as fuck.
Is AI just aliens playing stupid? Does it design anything other than flaws for organics?
AI = Penalty Bomb WTF. Cops have less education than crooks?
-
Retro-thon #52: ✨Charity Support Bonus Stage!✨
Wanna keep me 100% focused on this radical retro rampage? Support the charity at today's cafe: and the subathon timer will go up too! Yahoo!🎉
This week we're supporting Medical Aid for Palestinians. Stream's up at 12et (5utc, ~2.5hrs). #charitystream
// Note: This start time is 1hr later than usual. Body needs the extra time this morning :neocat_up_sleep:
-
Tip of the day: For many people, color is a useful visual aid in recognition and organization. Starting with #DEVONthink 4 Copernicus, we added support for colorizing groups. This can be helpful if you have many groups or if you want to organize them based on certain criteria. Here is how to use the feature. #pkm #productivity #tipoftheday https://www.devontechnologies.com/blog/20250708-colorize-groups-devonthink
-
STUDENTS PROTEST OSAP CHANGES
Ontario students across the province are protesting about the recent changes made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The Ontario government has announced that, starting this fall, OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
On Mar. 4, 2026, hundreds of students and community members from across Ontario gathered at Queen’s Park to protest the cuts. Similar protests broke out in different cities, including Waterloo and Ottawa. The OSAP changes are not only affecting post-secondary students but also secondary schools.
At the University of Waterloo, the reaction has been described as historic. Remington Aginskaya-Zhi, Vice President of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), noted that the campus is seeing a level of mobilization not seen in decades.
“This is the most engaged we’ve seen students probably ever,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “The rally that we held was one of the biggest gatherings or protests on campus in probably our entire history.”
The movement is gaining even more traction in the Greater Toronto Area, where students are framing the cuts as a systemic attack on public institutions. Trudi Kiropatwa, a third-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University and a member of the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC), says the impact in Toronto is extreme.
“We’re essentially on a sinking ship,” Kiropatwa said. “This government and their corporate cronies see us as customers and our education as an industry that is ready to be exploited.”
The urgency stems from a lack of clarity on how these cuts will affect individual bank accounts. According to WUSA, the provincial OSAP estimator for the upcoming year has yet to be released, leaving students in a state of financial limbo.
Kiropatwa noted that for many, the breaking point is graduating into a job market with record-high youth unemployment while saddled with massive debt.
“Me, personally, I’m going to be graduating with tens of thousands of dollars of student debt already without these changes,” she said. “These changes are making the issue ten times worse.”
“Students definitely are very worried,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “We are hearing stories from students telling us they’re uncertain whether they can come back to school next year, or whether they can pursue graduate studies.”
This uncertainty is already forcing students to make difficult lifestyle changes. Aginskaya reported that some students are opting for longer commutes rather than living in Waterloo to save on costs, while others are seeing their younger siblings reconsider university altogether.
Beyond the provincial level, the University of Waterloo is also grappling with internal budget crisis pressures. Aginskaya-Zhi highlighted that financial support units on campus are currently understaffed, which could complicate the processing of student aid.
“The university right now is understaffed and has lots of challenges to hire new staff…but funding should not come at the cost of giving more debt to students,” she said.
In response, organizations like WUSA and the SMC carried out a massive convergence at Queen’s Park on Mar. 24, 2026. Despite the government maintaining its argument that the 25 per cent grant limit is sustainable, the mobilizations saw hundreds of activists reiterating demands for a full reversal.
“We’re not here to demand a return to normal…which is a Band-Aid solution,” Kiropatwa said. “We’re here fighting for free, democratic, and accessible education.”
“Right now, I think students are angry, and what we are focusing on is giving students an avenue to let out their anger,” Aginskaya-Zhi said.
She emphasized that the momentum will not fade as the semester ends.
“Just because winter term is ending and it’s summer now doesn’t mean that students have forgotten this betrayal from the government.”
As Parliament returns to session, WUSA intends to keep the pressure on local MPPs to ensure the student voice is heard.
“We hear your anger, we hear your frustration,” Aginskaya-Zhi concluded as a message to the student body. “We are going to work to make sure that you can share that with us.”
#Government #greaterTorontoArea #GTA #impact #OSAP #percent #Protest #queensPark #RemingtonAginskayaZhi #sangjun #SangjunHan #smc #Toronto #TrudiKiropatwa #UniversityOfToronto #universityOfWaterloo #UofT #UW #wusa -
STUDENTS PROTEST OSAP CHANGES
Ontario students across the province are protesting about the recent changes made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The Ontario government has announced that, starting this fall, OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
On Mar. 4, 2026, hundreds of students and community members from across Ontario gathered at Queen’s Park to protest the cuts. Similar protests broke out in different cities, including Waterloo and Ottawa. The OSAP changes are not only affecting post-secondary students but also secondary schools.
At the University of Waterloo, the reaction has been described as historic. Remington Aginskaya-Zhi, Vice President of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), noted that the campus is seeing a level of mobilization not seen in decades.
“This is the most engaged we’ve seen students probably ever,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “The rally that we held was one of the biggest gatherings or protests on campus in probably our entire history.”
The movement is gaining even more traction in the Greater Toronto Area, where students are framing the cuts as a systemic attack on public institutions. Trudi Kiropatwa, a third-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University and a member of the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC), says the impact in Toronto is extreme.
“We’re essentially on a sinking ship,” Kiropatwa said. “This government and their corporate cronies see us as customers and our education as an industry that is ready to be exploited.”
The urgency stems from a lack of clarity on how these cuts will affect individual bank accounts. According to WUSA, the provincial OSAP estimator for the upcoming year has yet to be released, leaving students in a state of financial limbo.
Kiropatwa noted that for many, the breaking point is graduating into a job market with record-high youth unemployment while saddled with massive debt.
“Me, personally, I’m going to be graduating with tens of thousands of dollars of student debt already without these changes,” she said. “These changes are making the issue ten times worse.”
“Students definitely are very worried,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “We are hearing stories from students telling us they’re uncertain whether they can come back to school next year, or whether they can pursue graduate studies.”
This uncertainty is already forcing students to make difficult lifestyle changes. Aginskaya reported that some students are opting for longer commutes rather than living in Waterloo to save on costs, while others are seeing their younger siblings reconsider university altogether.
Beyond the provincial level, the University of Waterloo is also grappling with internal budget crisis pressures. Aginskaya-Zhi highlighted that financial support units on campus are currently understaffed, which could complicate the processing of student aid.
“The university right now is understaffed and has lots of challenges to hire new staff…but funding should not come at the cost of giving more debt to students,” she said.
In response, organizations like WUSA and the SMC carried out a massive convergence at Queen’s Park on Mar. 24, 2026. Despite the government maintaining its argument that the 25 per cent grant limit is sustainable, the mobilizations saw hundreds of activists reiterating demands for a full reversal.
“We’re not here to demand a return to normal…which is a Band-Aid solution,” Kiropatwa said. “We’re here fighting for free, democratic, and accessible education.”
“Right now, I think students are angry, and what we are focusing on is giving students an avenue to let out their anger,” Aginskaya-Zhi said.
She emphasized that the momentum will not fade as the semester ends.
“Just because winter term is ending and it’s summer now doesn’t mean that students have forgotten this betrayal from the government.”
As Parliament returns to session, WUSA intends to keep the pressure on local MPPs to ensure the student voice is heard.
“We hear your anger, we hear your frustration,” Aginskaya-Zhi concluded as a message to the student body. “We are going to work to make sure that you can share that with us.”
#Government #greaterTorontoArea #GTA #impact #OSAP #percent #Protest #queensPark #RemingtonAginskayaZhi #sangjun #SangjunHan #smc #Toronto #TrudiKiropatwa #UniversityOfToronto #universityOfWaterloo #UofT #UW #wusa -
STUDENTS PROTEST OSAP CHANGES
Ontario students across the province are protesting about the recent changes made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The Ontario government has announced that, starting this fall, OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
On Mar. 4, 2026, hundreds of students and community members from across Ontario gathered at Queen’s Park to protest the cuts. Similar protests broke out in different cities, including Waterloo and Ottawa. The OSAP changes are not only affecting post-secondary students but also secondary schools.
At the University of Waterloo, the reaction has been described as historic. Remington Aginskaya-Zhi, Vice President of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), noted that the campus is seeing a level of mobilization not seen in decades.
“This is the most engaged we’ve seen students probably ever,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “The rally that we held was one of the biggest gatherings or protests on campus in probably our entire history.”
The movement is gaining even more traction in the Greater Toronto Area, where students are framing the cuts as a systemic attack on public institutions. Trudi Kiropatwa, a third-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University and a member of the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC), says the impact in Toronto is extreme.
“We’re essentially on a sinking ship,” Kiropatwa said. “This government and their corporate cronies see us as customers and our education as an industry that is ready to be exploited.”
The urgency stems from a lack of clarity on how these cuts will affect individual bank accounts. According to WUSA, the provincial OSAP estimator for the upcoming year has yet to be released, leaving students in a state of financial limbo.
Kiropatwa noted that for many, the breaking point is graduating into a job market with record-high youth unemployment while saddled with massive debt.
“Me, personally, I’m going to be graduating with tens of thousands of dollars of student debt already without these changes,” she said. “These changes are making the issue ten times worse.”
“Students definitely are very worried,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “We are hearing stories from students telling us they’re uncertain whether they can come back to school next year, or whether they can pursue graduate studies.”
This uncertainty is already forcing students to make difficult lifestyle changes. Aginskaya reported that some students are opting for longer commutes rather than living in Waterloo to save on costs, while others are seeing their younger siblings reconsider university altogether.
Beyond the provincial level, the University of Waterloo is also grappling with internal budget crisis pressures. Aginskaya-Zhi highlighted that financial support units on campus are currently understaffed, which could complicate the processing of student aid.
“The university right now is understaffed and has lots of challenges to hire new staff…but funding should not come at the cost of giving more debt to students,” she said.
In response, organizations like WUSA and the SMC carried out a massive convergence at Queen’s Park on Mar. 24, 2026. Despite the government maintaining its argument that the 25 per cent grant limit is sustainable, the mobilizations saw hundreds of activists reiterating demands for a full reversal.
“We’re not here to demand a return to normal…which is a Band-Aid solution,” Kiropatwa said. “We’re here fighting for free, democratic, and accessible education.”
“Right now, I think students are angry, and what we are focusing on is giving students an avenue to let out their anger,” Aginskaya-Zhi said.
She emphasized that the momentum will not fade as the semester ends.
“Just because winter term is ending and it’s summer now doesn’t mean that students have forgotten this betrayal from the government.”
As Parliament returns to session, WUSA intends to keep the pressure on local MPPs to ensure the student voice is heard.
“We hear your anger, we hear your frustration,” Aginskaya-Zhi concluded as a message to the student body. “We are going to work to make sure that you can share that with us.”
#Government #greaterTorontoArea #GTA #impact #OSAP #percent #Protest #queensPark #RemingtonAginskayaZhi #sangjun #SangjunHan #smc #Toronto #TrudiKiropatwa #UniversityOfToronto #universityOfWaterloo #UofT #UW #wusa -
STUDENTS PROTEST OSAP CHANGES
Ontario students across the province are protesting about the recent changes made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The Ontario government has announced that, starting this fall, OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
On Mar. 4, 2026, hundreds of students and community members from across Ontario gathered at Queen’s Park to protest the cuts. Similar protests broke out in different cities, including Waterloo and Ottawa. The OSAP changes are not only affecting post-secondary students but also secondary schools.
At the University of Waterloo, the reaction has been described as historic. Remington Aginskaya-Zhi, Vice President of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), noted that the campus is seeing a level of mobilization not seen in decades.
“This is the most engaged we’ve seen students probably ever,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “The rally that we held was one of the biggest gatherings or protests on campus in probably our entire history.”
The movement is gaining even more traction in the Greater Toronto Area, where students are framing the cuts as a systemic attack on public institutions. Trudi Kiropatwa, a third-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University and a member of the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC), says the impact in Toronto is extreme.
“We’re essentially on a sinking ship,” Kiropatwa said. “This government and their corporate cronies see us as customers and our education as an industry that is ready to be exploited.”
The urgency stems from a lack of clarity on how these cuts will affect individual bank accounts. According to WUSA, the provincial OSAP estimator for the upcoming year has yet to be released, leaving students in a state of financial limbo.
Kiropatwa noted that for many, the breaking point is graduating into a job market with record-high youth unemployment while saddled with massive debt.
“Me, personally, I’m going to be graduating with tens of thousands of dollars of student debt already without these changes,” she said. “These changes are making the issue ten times worse.”
“Students definitely are very worried,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “We are hearing stories from students telling us they’re uncertain whether they can come back to school next year, or whether they can pursue graduate studies.”
This uncertainty is already forcing students to make difficult lifestyle changes. Aginskaya reported that some students are opting for longer commutes rather than living in Waterloo to save on costs, while others are seeing their younger siblings reconsider university altogether.
Beyond the provincial level, the University of Waterloo is also grappling with internal budget crisis pressures. Aginskaya-Zhi highlighted that financial support units on campus are currently understaffed, which could complicate the processing of student aid.
“The university right now is understaffed and has lots of challenges to hire new staff…but funding should not come at the cost of giving more debt to students,” she said.
In response, organizations like WUSA and the SMC carried out a massive convergence at Queen’s Park on Mar. 24, 2026. Despite the government maintaining its argument that the 25 per cent grant limit is sustainable, the mobilizations saw hundreds of activists reiterating demands for a full reversal.
“We’re not here to demand a return to normal…which is a Band-Aid solution,” Kiropatwa said. “We’re here fighting for free, democratic, and accessible education.”
“Right now, I think students are angry, and what we are focusing on is giving students an avenue to let out their anger,” Aginskaya-Zhi said.
She emphasized that the momentum will not fade as the semester ends.
“Just because winter term is ending and it’s summer now doesn’t mean that students have forgotten this betrayal from the government.”
As Parliament returns to session, WUSA intends to keep the pressure on local MPPs to ensure the student voice is heard.
“We hear your anger, we hear your frustration,” Aginskaya-Zhi concluded as a message to the student body. “We are going to work to make sure that you can share that with us.”
#Government #greaterTorontoArea #GTA #impact #OSAP #percent #Protest #queensPark #RemingtonAginskayaZhi #sangjun #SangjunHan #smc #Toronto #TrudiKiropatwa #UniversityOfToronto #universityOfWaterloo #UofT #UW #wusa -
STUDENTS PROTEST OSAP CHANGES
Ontario students across the province are protesting about the recent changes made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The Ontario government has announced that, starting this fall, OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
On Mar. 4, 2026, hundreds of students and community members from across Ontario gathered at Queen’s Park to protest the cuts. Similar protests broke out in different cities, including Waterloo and Ottawa. The OSAP changes are not only affecting post-secondary students but also secondary schools.
At the University of Waterloo, the reaction has been described as historic. Remington Aginskaya-Zhi, Vice President of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), noted that the campus is seeing a level of mobilization not seen in decades.
“This is the most engaged we’ve seen students probably ever,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “The rally that we held was one of the biggest gatherings or protests on campus in probably our entire history.”
The movement is gaining even more traction in the Greater Toronto Area, where students are framing the cuts as a systemic attack on public institutions. Trudi Kiropatwa, a third-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University and a member of the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC), says the impact in Toronto is extreme.
“We’re essentially on a sinking ship,” Kiropatwa said. “This government and their corporate cronies see us as customers and our education as an industry that is ready to be exploited.”
The urgency stems from a lack of clarity on how these cuts will affect individual bank accounts. According to WUSA, the provincial OSAP estimator for the upcoming year has yet to be released, leaving students in a state of financial limbo.
Kiropatwa noted that for many, the breaking point is graduating into a job market with record-high youth unemployment while saddled with massive debt.
“Me, personally, I’m going to be graduating with tens of thousands of dollars of student debt already without these changes,” she said. “These changes are making the issue ten times worse.”
“Students definitely are very worried,” Aginskaya-Zhi said. “We are hearing stories from students telling us they’re uncertain whether they can come back to school next year, or whether they can pursue graduate studies.”
This uncertainty is already forcing students to make difficult lifestyle changes. Aginskaya reported that some students are opting for longer commutes rather than living in Waterloo to save on costs, while others are seeing their younger siblings reconsider university altogether.
Beyond the provincial level, the University of Waterloo is also grappling with internal budget crisis pressures. Aginskaya-Zhi highlighted that financial support units on campus are currently understaffed, which could complicate the processing of student aid.
“The university right now is understaffed and has lots of challenges to hire new staff…but funding should not come at the cost of giving more debt to students,” she said.
In response, organizations like WUSA and the SMC carried out a massive convergence at Queen’s Park on Mar. 24, 2026. Despite the government maintaining its argument that the 25 per cent grant limit is sustainable, the mobilizations saw hundreds of activists reiterating demands for a full reversal.
“We’re not here to demand a return to normal…which is a Band-Aid solution,” Kiropatwa said. “We’re here fighting for free, democratic, and accessible education.”
“Right now, I think students are angry, and what we are focusing on is giving students an avenue to let out their anger,” Aginskaya-Zhi said.
She emphasized that the momentum will not fade as the semester ends.
“Just because winter term is ending and it’s summer now doesn’t mean that students have forgotten this betrayal from the government.”
As Parliament returns to session, WUSA intends to keep the pressure on local MPPs to ensure the student voice is heard.
“We hear your anger, we hear your frustration,” Aginskaya-Zhi concluded as a message to the student body. “We are going to work to make sure that you can share that with us.”
#Government #greaterTorontoArea #GTA #impact #OSAP #percent #Protest #queensPark #RemingtonAginskayaZhi #sangjun #SangjunHan #smc #Toronto #TrudiKiropatwa #UniversityOfToronto #universityOfWaterloo #UofT #UW #wusa -
😭 fam, a comrade sent me $200 via ko-fi; I received 190.9 on my p*ypal bcs capitalism is evil
Now 𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝟵𝟭𝟱 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗢 𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 the goal I've set up since October.
Tysm to everyone who's been showing up for me within your capacity, ilysm 🥺💜 you make me believe together we can reach this goal very soon😵💫🔹ko-fi/liberapay: 𝘄𝗿𝘇𝗸𝘆
If you have the means, I'd be truly grateful for a contribution. If not, please know that sharing this update or my featured post greatly helps too 🙂↕️ tysm 💜
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @edendestroyer @MutualAidVisibility @mutualaidboost @FediAid @mutualaid @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]
@MutualAidNet @audhd
#MutualAid #MutualAidRequest #DisabilityCrowdFund #disabilitymutualaid
#MutualAidBoost #mutualaidsaveslives #ShowUpForWishes #EmergencyCrowdFund #ActuallyAutistic #neurodivergence #audhd #cptsd #housingaid #rentassistance #HelpFolksLive2025 #anarchist -
The CBC’s Taylor Lambert explores the Edmonton Police Service’s controversial AI facial recognition bodycam pilot, part of an American and Israeli backed program with Axon and Corsight AI. Privacy experts weigh in as Canadians learn that the Corsight AI software was developed from experience in the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
While Corsight emphasizes that EPS would retain ownership and control of its data, Canadian privacy and data end up collected, processed by a third party. I can’t read that any other way than turned over, stored, and accessible by the Americans and the Israelis.
In 2024, the New York Times reported that Israel had deployed mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza that relied in part on Corsight’s facial recognition technology.
CBC News has not independently confirmed the Times’ reporting, but Gideon Christian, an associate professor of AI and law at the University of Calgary, finds those reports troubling.
“I think the track record of who is providing the technology matters,” he said.
Data shared with Axon will be anonymized “whenever possible,” according to the EPS privacy assessment.
“However, data required to aid in assessing the success or failures associated with the technology will be shared when / if required.”
Christian expressed concern that the qualified language appeared to leave open the possibility of sharing sensitive information with Axon under certain circumstances.
“‘Whenever possible’ is a very loose and ambiguous phrase,” said Christian.
“These are definitely not the kinds of qualifications I would love to see, especially when it comes to sharing of sensitive information collected by a law enforcement agency.”
Axon directed project-specific questions to EPS, but said in a statement that its customers “retain full ownership and control of their data, which is protected through encryption in transit and at rest, strict access controls, audit logging, and agency-defined retention policies.”
So, certainly the EPS would be sensitive to these issues, and be open to the concerns of some of their stakeholders when this project comes to light?
I suppose not because the EPS, recently accused of attacking the criminal justice system by threatening courts and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, and characterized as engaging in “institutional combat”, leaned into this characterization when answering the CBC’s Access to Information request to EPS.
CBC News also sent several questions to EPS seeking clarification or comment about specific details of the privacy assessment, EPS emails or aspects of the project. EPS did not address those questions, including:
why EPS did not allow time for the OIPC to review its privacy assessment before starting the pilot;
when data might be shared with Axon;
what training is involved for officers reviewing matches, and who provides it;
whether any AI models are trained using images or data collected by EPS.In response to the initial list of questions from CBC News, EPS said in a statement that the police agency fulfilled its statutory obligations when it submitted the privacy assessment to the OIPC, and has since met with officials to discuss it. “As we’ve said previously, evaluating and mitigating privacy impacts is an important ongoing part of our proof of concept.”
The statement also addressed CBC’s access to information request.
“We’ve provided clear, factual information throughout this process and engaged in good faith,” wrote Wozny in a statement.
“It’s disappointing that, despite this, CBC appears unwilling to reflect on its own ethical responsibilities while continuing to suggest impropriety on EPS’ part.
“Should you have specific, fact‑based questions that require clarification, we’re prepared to respond. Otherwise, we trust that when you proceed with your story, our position will be represented accurately and in full context.”
When asked, Wozny declined to clarify the statement or address follow-up questions and said the EPS would not provide anything more.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/04/07/Lawyers-Group-Wants-Criminal-Probe-Edmonton-Top-Cop/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/381567/lawyers-group-wants-a-criminal-probe-of-edmontons-top-cop