Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Philippe Auclair

@philippeauclair.bsky.social

29K followers 790 following 5.7K posts

Writes and sings for Josimar, The Guardian and Tapete Records

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 13d

Many migrant workers who came to Qatar to build the 2022 WC infrastructure found themselves jobless after the tournament. @josimarfootball.bsky.social reveals how some of them have been recruited by the Russian army, are fighting and die on the Ukrainian front.

josimarfootball.com/2025/09/25/t...

The migrant soldiers - josimarfootball.com

For months, the Russian army has secretly recruited hundreds, if not thousands, of jobless migrant workers in Qatar to fight on the frontline against Ukraine.

josimarfootball.com

1 89 130

Reposted by Philippe Auclair

Men in Blazers Media Network @meninblazers.bsky.social · 2h

The Faroe Islands—population just 55,000—beat the Czech Republic 🤯

An astonishing result. The territory's population is smaller than the capacity of six Premier League stadiums, yet they've just won a third straight international game 🇫🇴

7 35 220

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 2h

I want to believe this.

1 5

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 2h

.....excuse me?

Reposted by Philippe Auclair

Tim Holyoake @timholyoake.uk · 2h

Any money raised for a statue would be better used to further the work of TNMoC, who have working replicas of the Bombe, Tunny and Colossus amongst other early UK computing hardware. I was there recently - they need support!

2 4

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 3h

"Expats"? Not "migrants"?

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 3h

Indeed, as the article makes clear.

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 3h

Let's have a new statue in Bromley-by-Bow, of this man, Tommy Flowers, the father of Colossus. An extraordinary story, an extraordinary man, to whom we all owe so much.

Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 4h

Going to university never occurred to him. “I had to get a university standard of education by study in my own time without the benefit of actually attending,” he writes.

Move over, Alan Turing: meet the working-class hero of Bletchley Park you didn’t see in the movies

The Oxbridge-educated boffin is feted as the codebreaking genius who helped Britain win the war. But should a little-known Post Office engineer named Tommy Flowers be seen as the real father of comput...

www.theguardian.com

3 9 38

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 3h

A good one too.

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 5h

"In the $250-$1m salary range". It sounds like an *awful* lot of money to this European. How many of these people are there in that income bracket in the US? And why do they matter?

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 5h

Shortlisted for the @fwaofficial.bsky.social "Football Book of the Year" when first published in hardback, and deservedly so.

Sam Kunti @samindrakunti.bsky.social · 8h

Happy to share that my book will be released in paperback next May, just in time for the 2026 World Cup.

It's available for pre-order.

www.waterstones.com/book/brazil-...

Brazil 1970 by Samindra Kunti | Waterstones

Buy Brazil 1970 by Samindra Kunti from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

www.waterstones.com

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 6h

At your/their disposal if any extra information is needed. We've been been following these guys (BK8) for years at @josimarfootball.bsky.social. Well worth looking into.

Reposted by Philippe Auclair

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 13d

The migrant soldiers - josimarfootball.com

For months, the Russian army has secretly recruited hundreds, if not thousands, of jobless migrant workers in Qatar to fight on the frontline against Ukraine.

josimarfootball.com

1 89 130

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 9h

Ha!

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 9h

The gnomes of the Melbury Road chapter, Kensington, are readying for Halloween.

1 29

Reposted by Philippe Auclair

Rob Morgan @durutti74.bsky.social · 13h

From TOTP this day in 1967, here's "Autumn almanac" by The Kinks

youtu.be/c_GolTRR0TU?...

The Kinks - Autumn Almanac (TOTP 1967)

YouTube video by Uncle Waldemar

youtu.be

2 10 28

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 12h

I don't care about derogatory comments on the supposed feebleness of the opposition in MLS. I'm just in awe of what Müller is doing for the Whitecaps and how his appetite and enthusiasm are undimmed at 36. A true great.

theprovince.com/sports/socce...

Thomas Müller saves Whitecaps from being screwed by farcical MLS VAR

Patrick Johnston: The Whitecaps have been one of the league's best teams this year and they pulled through despite some officiating nonsense

theprovince.com

6 3 38

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 13h

Not so by the way, we had the same problem when covering Qatar- and Saudi-related issues on the Football Weekly. To start with, we'd always quote denials/statements from their camp - until it became a farce. They kept denying bare facts. So we stopped doing it unless fair and absolutely necessary.

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 13h

I think it is more a problem of implementing editorial rules. It is right the Beeb should mention Israel's denial. The problem is that they fail to qualify their claims by adding that they are rejected by the UN and all NGOs. That would be providing proper balance.

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

My investigation into BK8 for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: josimarfootball.com/2024/05/15/a...

Another day in paradise - josimarfootball.com

Evidence suggests that Aston Villa and Burnley FC's official Asian betting partner operates from one of the most notorious cyber slavery compounds in Cambodia.

josimarfootball.com

1 2

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

This is Fermin Aldeguer crossing the finish line at the Mandalika circuit, promoting an illegal brand which has been linked to cyber slavery, in a country where online gambling is 100% illegal. Just add "news" to that brand name, and you're OK. Scandalous, but par for the course in 2025 sport. 3/3

1 4 30

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

..despite online gambling being not just illegal, but *criminalised* in Indonesia. BK8's way round it is to masquerade as a "news" website, "BK8 News", which is such a joke that clicking on the "badminton" tab leads to a story about Benjamin Seško signing for Manchester United. 2/3

1 14

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

Beyond absurdity. Illegal sports betting platform BK8, suspected of operating from the notorious Victory Paradise compound in Cambodia, is one of Burnley FC's partners, as well as the main sponsor of Moto GP Team Gresini - which just won the Indonesian GP, with the BK8 logo visible everywhere... 1/3

1 10 58

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

You can substitute "thousand" with "million".

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

Vertigo-inducing!

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

The problem is institutional. When there is no separation of powers, you end up with an autocracy.

1 1