Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Daniel Vernon @yeehawtheboys.bsky.social · 11h

Come on FENZ get Fire(fighter) wise!! Support your local firefighters on strike this Friday! Sticking for safer working conditions and fair pay! Talk more over at my substack: yeehawtheboys.substack.com/p/come-on-gu...

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RTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 7h

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is urgently seeking an additional 12,000 blood donations over the next four weeks as most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock.

Appeal for 12,000 blood donations over next four weeks

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is urgently seeking an additional 12,000 blood donations over the next four weeks as most blood groups have fallen to under three days of stock.

www.rte.ie

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Rania kinda🇵🇸🇵🇸 @raniacanadagaza05.bsky.social · 11h

🚨 I’m rania, Gaza.
My little girl’s arm was broken in the war, and my husband was injured.
We have nothing for winter—no clothes, no blankets300$.
help with treatment and warmth for my children..🙏
🔗 Donate here:

👉 gofund.me/d0cc0587

✅️ @mommunism.bsky.social

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 1d

IMHO Governments are great providers of jobs...e.g. health, education, police, armed services, and libraries #nzpol #nz #unions #workers
www.instagram.com/reel/DPx1qXd...

chrishipkinsmp on Instagram: "I’ve got some big news to share this week! Stay tuned. 👀View all 15 comments"

I’ve got some big news to share this week! Stay tuned. 👀

www.instagram.com

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 1d

*yes*

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2covet @2covet.bsky.social · 1d

#nzpol 🤣🎯💯

Roaring Marmot @roaringmarmot.bsky.social · Dec 2

Somewhere out there is the star who made this...

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 2d

People talk about billionaires living in bubbles...Peter Thiel (unwanted #NZ citizen) calls anything he doesn't like the antichrist...so that's: regulation, taxation, universities, anti AI sentiment and Greta Thunberg #nzpol
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Antichrist has long haunted American politics. Now it’s rearing its head again | Matthew Avery Sutton

From Silicon Valley to Michigan, the biblical figure is in the headlines. The shift from pulpits to politics is familiar – and dangerous

www.theguardian.com

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Samaa❤❤ @samaa0181.bsky.social · 2d

Urgent appeal
After my house was completely destroyed at the beginning of the war, I was surprised by the destruction of the apartment that would be my refuge.
I am homeless now, please support me
Your support helps me in the dark.
@mommunism.bsky.social
gofund.me/db56c7ce3

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Sarah Pallett @sarah4ilam.bsky.social · 2d

Labour promises to repeal the RSB in the first 100 days.
Let’s make sure they are able to keep this promise.
#nzpol

Duncan Webb MP @duncanwebbmp.bsky.social · 2d

The select committee report on the Regulatory Standards Bill is in.
📝166,000 submissions.
❌98.7% opposed.
Yet National are going to continue supporting it.
🗣New Zealand could not have been louder, but Luxon still isn’t listening.

Regulatory Standards Bill:
Select Committee Report:
166,000 submission total
0.7% supported
0.6% unclear
98.7% opposed

AUTHORISED BY DUNCAN WEBB MP, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS WELLINGTON

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Duncan Webb MP @duncanwebbmp.bsky.social · 2d

The select committee report on the Regulatory Standards Bill is in.
📝166,000 submissions.
❌98.7% opposed.
Yet National are going to continue supporting it.
🗣New Zealand could not have been louder, but Luxon still isn’t listening.

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 2d

Whoever created the line that technology will save dairy farmers really knew their audience. They can claim to be helping (which they want to do) BUT it acknowledges no wrongdoing on their part (bc farming is natural) AND requires that they make no changes. #nzpol
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Scientists fear weaker methane target signals wider retreat from climate action

After cutting methane targets, New Zealand has a choice: shoulder the burden at huge cost - or cause more warming to the planet.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Molly Shah @mommunism.bsky.social · 2d

Sharif has lost his home and has three small kids to take care of- help him rebuild

Sharif 🎬169 @shadowtrace.bsky.social · 2d

My friends,
I need your efforts with me as much as possible.
I cannot continue this journey alone.
The suffering is now doubled.
Your contributions will revive our hopes of enduring.
Pray for us to return to our work and normal lives.

chuffed.org/project/sharif

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Scotty - every day is a new outrage - NZ @scotty-nz.bsky.social · 2d

The Greens in Britain are really on a roll now

Green party reaches 100,000 members for first time after Polanski becomes leader

Green party in England and Wales has had near-50% rise in membership since since Zack Polanski took over last month

www.theguardian.com

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Dan Cooper @dancoopcoop.bsky.social · 2d

"while Labour talks about change, people can see in their weekly shop, their utility bills and crumbling services, Labour are offering more of the same."

Zack Polanski tells it like it is. Under Starmer, Labour is nothing but lie after lie after lie. #StarmerOut
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Green party reaches 100,000 members for first time after Polanski becomes leader

Green party in England and Wales has had near-50% rise in membership since since Zack Polanski took over last month

www.theguardian.com

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 2d

Got me, sorry, my bad

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 2d

#NZ dairy farmers win regularity coup. Methane (~50% of NZ's GHG emissions) reduction now consists of hand waving and future tech. #nzpol
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Graph showing New Zealand's green house gas emissions by gas. Carbon dioxide 41.3%. Methane 48.1%. Nitrous oxide 9.1%. Combined F gases 1.5%

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 3d

Video shows the immense level of destruction left behind by Israeli forces in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.

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Joy @joyfromghazza.blacksky.app · 3d

Hello friends, I am Joy, a writer stuck in #Gaza. I live in a small rented apartment after my house was destroyed during the #genocide
I have set a goal of $500 the week.
I GOT 2 donations only today!

Please help me to achieve it to pay the rent.

www.chuffed.org/project/evac...

#palestine

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Moonlight🌙🌙 @mo-on27.bsky.social · 3d

Please my friend 🙏🙏
No one supports me 😩
No one help me😭😭
If one dollar....
paypal.com/donate/?camp...
@mommunism.bsky.social
#Gaza

Help Nour complete her dream & protect her family.

Help Soliman Natsha reach their goal by donating or sharing with your friends.

paypal.com

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 3d

A select group of small business owners* double profits under the Luxon government.

*Gangs

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 3d

this is a great piece and it absolutely sucks that the outlet went for the ambiguous headline rather.

The idea that you can remain on X and "influence opinion" is equally true for creating a new Stormfront account, or a 4Chan account, or a TruthSocial account.

Our job is to kills its influence.

Did the centre-left bit of UK politics Twitter make an error in decamping en masse to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Twitter? The old site, now remade as X, remains significantly larger than the new, and much of the political class have failed to make the jump. Did those of us who went let our desire for a comforting liberal bubble undermine our actual influence?

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

The story of social media in the last few years is not one of a self-righteous liberal flounce, but of fragmentation: network effects are a thing, and if most of the people you like to talk to switch platforms, there feels little point in remaining behind. If we have lost influence, that’s at least partly down to the government’s reluctance to use its convening power to reshape the information environment, and its odd commitment to a site owned by someone who wants Keir Starmer in prison.

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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 3d

This is an exact encapsulation of why I moved to Bluesky.

No amount of handwringing in the Atlantic about how I owe some eternal Promethean suffering to the discourse is going to make me stay on a site I hate, that stopped doing anything for me professionally years ago.

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

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Laura @greenbirdo.bsky.social · 3d

It *now* grosses me out when I find out someone/orgs are still there. 🤮

A bit like people who still speak positively about Elon. I mean, what else does he need to do before they'll say 'no that's too much'?

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Reposted by Laura

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 3d

Tl;dr: no!

I think most of us left for our mental health because who wants to argue with trolls and bots?

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 4d

The platform formerly known as Twitter may be horrible, but it is still shaping policy. So were we all wrong to leave?

Was the left wrong to leave X for BlueSky?

The platform formerly known as Twitter may be horrible, but it's still shaping policy

www.newstatesman.com

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