Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 7h

Folks - if this 👆fires you up, take out a paid subscription to Jessica Valenti’s daily newsletter, where she documents the US’s war on reproductive health, including the online aspects which I’m watching like a hawk.

jessica.substack.com

Abortion, Every Day | Jessica Valenti | Substack

All things abortion. Feminist commentary & community. Click to read Abortion, Every Day, a Substack publication.

jessica.substack.com

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Reposted by Heather Burns

Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · 8h

"I don't have anything to hide why should I care about privacy?"

Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 17h

The politician in South Carolina who has introduced a bill redefining contraception as abortion also wants people who share websites to be charged with aiding and abetting homicide.

When asked why his bill redefines contraception, Cash admitted he believes certain forms of birth control are “an early abortion.” When pressed about allowing homicide charges against abortion patients—which could mean the death penalty in South Carolina—he shrugged it off: “It’s wrong to kill an innocent person.”

And when asked about whether someone could be criminally charged for calling an abortion clinic, or sharing a clinic website with a friend, Cash compared it to “sharing a website to find a killer to rub your wife out.”

“If you’re aiding and abetting the killing of an innocent person,” he said, “you’re going to be held accountable.”

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David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 14h

is this even plausibly consistent with U.S. international law obligations on the protection of refugees? i don't think so. but does american reporting ever really grapple with the fact that we are bound to global rules *that we helped develop*?

Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People

www.nytimes.com

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 14h

I read somewhere that when he applied to Harvard as a teenager, his application letter just had “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” typed at the top. That was the whole letter. He got in.

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Mike Rothschild @rothschildmd.bsky.social · 1d

There's a pretty good chance the most powerful person in the world is floating in and out of reality, making decisions based on what his staffers need from him in that moment, and not really understanding what's happening or why. And the entire GOP has just let it happen, so they can be on TV more.

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 1d

You have to wonder if White House staffers are simply showing him AI videos at this point and he thinks it's reality.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "The people of Chicago are walking around with MAGA hats. You have women, beautiful Black women, walking around with MAGA hats. 'Please let the president in and we don't care how he does it ... bring in the Marines.'"

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 17h

The politician in South Carolina who has introduced a bill redefining contraception as abortion also wants people who share websites to be charged with aiding and abetting homicide.

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 1d

The most recent season of the Revolutions podcast. Thank me later.

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 1d

I know the world is tough right now but this week a) Tim Curry re-entered the world and b) informed us that Frank-N-Furter was born at The Barras. I take my joy where I can get it.

Let's talk about "Rocky Horror." Can you describe how you created the look for Frank-N-Furter?
I didn't really create it myself. I was grimly unaware when I read the role and started to rehearse it that the national costume of Transylvania was a corset and whatever else you put with it. But the costume designer, Sue Blane, had worked with me before in a remarkable repertory theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, called the Citizens Theatre, where we had done a production of "The Maids," by Jean Genet. I played one of the rather grubby sisters, Solange. And Sue designed that outfit. For "Rocky Horror," she went to a market in Glasgow called the Barras, where all kinds of crap was sold, and she found a Victorian corset for three pounds. I wore it back to front.

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Jemimah Steinfeld @jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social · 1d

Holy smokes. Check out my prompt and then check out the answer on this Google AI overview about Liu Xiaobo. If anything highlights the problems of AI from a mis/dis-info perspective...

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 1d

why I am I not there

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 1d

When I was an undergrad in the 90s and I told my university that my sole parent was dying of a brutal illness, their response to me was “get the notes you missed from someone else. That was it. It hurts to this day. Nearly 30 years on, I can’t get used to universities actually supporting people.

A display of mental health support resources in the Strathclyde University library

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 1d

Unfollowed Sky News’ daily Trump podcast, whose hosts have got a little too sun-baked by their American lifestyles into covering the daily dystopia with that “lol, what about that!” tone.

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 2d

Just discovered that my book has been Trumped. Americans really will do anything to avoid dealing with privacy. 😉

A note on my book's sale page saying "We are currently unable to ship printed books to the US due to customs clearance issues."

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 2d

1/Stop everything and read/watch/bookmark this massive investigation between @motherjones.com @lighthousereports.com Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Paper Trail Media a vast global surveillance empire used to target politicians, journalists, tech CEOs, and... Jared Leto.
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you

We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

ow.ly

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Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 2d

I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?

Is it...requesting content moderation?

Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago.
The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 2d

G major baby

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 2d

So I was playing the Suzerain DLC yesterday (Rizia) and I managed to unlock the sequence of events which results in your 1950s conservative monarch having lots of sexytime with his butler. I feel this may be my peak gaming achievement. I found the side quest that leads to the magical gays.

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 2d

Hi @billgoodwin.bsky.social did you get the sense that Apple are dropping ADP for people who already had it enabled, which has been unaffected thus far, because their comments here sure seem to imply so.

Paul F Scott @paulfscott.bsky.social · 3d

'A separate case brought against the Home Office by Privacy International, Liberty and two individuals, which challenges the lawfulness of the technical capability notice, is expected to continue.' www.computerweekly.com/news/3666325...

Apple and Home Office agree to drop legal claim over encryption backdoor | Computer Weekly

Apple has agreed with the Home Office to drop its legal claim against a government order requiring it to provide intelligence and law enforcement with the capability to access encrypted data of Apple ...

www.computerweekly.com

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 2d

Those three words, in a Glaswegian accent, could be a shibboleth to get into a secret nightclub

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Paul F Scott @paulfscott.bsky.social · 3d

'A separate case brought against the Home Office by Privacy International, Liberty and two individuals, which challenges the lawfulness of the technical capability notice, is expected to continue.' www.computerweekly.com/news/3666325...

Apple and Home Office agree to drop legal claim over encryption backdoor | Computer Weekly

Apple has agreed with the Home Office to drop its legal claim against a government order requiring it to provide intelligence and law enforcement with the capability to access encrypted data of Apple ...

www.computerweekly.com

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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 3d

The right-wing campaign group that helped topple Roe v Wade in the US is now working to roll back abortion laws in the UK, with the help of Nigel Farage.

Its first step? Trying to create a debate around "free speech"
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 3d

I wrote a blog post a while back on how a lot of AIs sound like cocaine.

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Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 3d

What in the name of ChatGPT is this opening sentence from Liz Kendall?

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 3d

Apparently today is a Tory holiday for Margaret Thatcher’s 100th birthday, which brings to mind the greatest line ever spoken in a music interview, with the Glasgow electronica band Mogwai:

“So, Stuart, what is your song ‘George Square Thatcher Death Party’ about?”

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 4d

This is why I love the Netherlands. The British sign would be five lines long and contain multiple levels of passive aggressive pleading and apology. The Dutch just say “no balloon”.

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