Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 3h

"It started with an innocuous call by the Central Bank to choose the design of Russia’s new 500-ruble (about $5) note dedicated to the North Caucasus Federal District."

you can kind of see where this is headed but I was not disappointed by the details:
www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/10/14/r...

Russians Were Asked to Vote on the New 500-Ruble Bill Design. It Became a Political Lightning Rod. - The Moscow Times

It started with an innocuous call by the Central Bank to choose the design of Russia’s new 500-ruble (about $5) note dedicated to the North Caucasus Federal District. It ended in a spat between Chech...

www.themoscowtimes.com

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Reposted by Scott Rose

weeder @weeder.bsky.social · 10h

Many people have forgotten how to be kind. Even fewer rewind.

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Andy Greenberg @agreenberg.bsky.social · 10h

Researchers pointed a satellite dish at the sky for 3 years and monitored what unencrypted data it picked up. The results were shocking: They obtained thousands of T-Mobile users' phone calls and texts, military and law enforcement secrets, much more: www.wired.com/story/satell... 🧵👇

Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data

With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypte...

www.wired.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 21h

Absolutely brutal.

Bari Weiss: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

www.youtube.com

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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 22h

Remarkable words here from David Webb, who has done so much for corporate governance in HK and Asia. Due to serious illness, he is shutting down his website and transferring to a substack. Have huge respect for what he has done over the years webb-site.com/articles/shu...

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Sasha Slobodov @sashaslobodov.bsky.social · 1d

While traveling through Uzbekistan this summer, I became curious about the history of the Bukharan Jews and decided to examine how tourism is shaping what remains of the community, for my latest in @meduza.io's The Beet. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Back to Bukhara How memory, tourism, and the diaspora sustain the last vestiges of Uzbekistan’s Jewish heritage — Meduza

Best known as a stop on the Silk Road trade route, Uzbekistan’s ancient city of Bukhara was home to a thriving Jewish community for more than 2,000 years. But since the Soviet Union’s collapse in the ...

meduza.io

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 1d

worth the wait

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mave @mave.bsky.social · Feb 21

Overheard someone hiss into their phone, “I realize that, but I cannot miss Theodore’s bassoon recital,” and now I have a new catch-all excuse

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Ygrene @ygrene.bsky.social · 2d

reminder to check your kid’s trick or treat candy this year to make sure there isn’t any ai in it

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𝙱𝚊𝚋𝚎 𝚁𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 💀 @unfitz.bsky.social · Oct 11

I never finish anything. I have a black belt in partial arts.

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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 2d

I have a theory www.theverge.com/policy/79849...

American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming

The Frog is owning the president.

www.theverge.com

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 3d

МИНИ КЕБВБ "МИККИ"

Old still of Mickey Mouse grabbing his head in alarm as his faithful pal Pluto the dog looks on, also alarmed.

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 3d

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 3d

"GPUs, by contrast, appear to have a shelf life of just a few years before they need to be reassigned to more basic AI tasks. The math makes AI spending seem less like a flywheel than a hamster wheel."

www.bloomberg.com/news/article... by @chrisbeam.bsky.social

‘I Believe It’s a Bubble’: What Some Smart People Are Saying About AI

A growing group of critics say we’re in an artificial intelligence bubble. Is it true? If so, how would we know?

www.bloomberg.com

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evy kwong @evystadium.bsky.social · 4d

hi hello unpaywalled

The WIRED Guide to Protecting Yourself From Government Surveillance

Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions and jail his enemies. To carry out that agenda, his administration will exploit America’s digital surveillance machine. Here are some steps you can take to ev...

www.wired.com

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 4d

One weird thing about bubbles is that they can go on for a long time even after everyone has identified that it's happening. So I wouldn't bet money on it either way, but especially not in this specific way

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 4d

ARM is trading at 100x forward earnings and SoftBank already has $13.5b in margin loans backed by them, so probably this is all fine. What do I know

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 4d

SoftBank, once best known for having lots of money, is seeking a $5b margin loan (on ARM shares!) to invest in OpenAI

A generational all-in bet on AI infrastructure and we are nearing the finance equivalent of turning over couch cushions to find cash to pay for it
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

SoftBank in Talks for $5 Billion Margin Loan Backed by Arm Stock

SoftBank Group Corp. is in talks to borrow $5 billion from global banks, refilling its coffers at a time Masayoshi Son is accelerating the Japanese investment firm’s bets on artificial intelligence.

www.bloomberg.com

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Kip Conlon @kipconlon.bsky.social · 9d

Turns out they don't make guacamole at your table here. No one knows who that guy was.

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Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 6d

an incredible story about a Georgian crime gang that stole scores of rare and valuable editions of Russian classics (Pushkin, Gogol, etc.) from libraries across Europe.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

The Pushkin job: unmasking the thieves behind an international rare books heist

The long read: Between 2022 and 2023, as many as 170 rare and valuable editions of Russian classics were stolen from libraries across Europe. Were the thieves merely low-level opportunists, or were bi...

www.theguardian.com

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 6d

'NIQ’s Russia business in June used its social media channel to tout coverage of beer sales in “the new territories of the Russian Federation” — the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, whose annexation Russia announced in 2022 despite not fully controlling them'

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 6d

Consumer data group NIQ under scrutiny for work in occupied Ukraine on.ft.com/4nFRBjZ

Consumer data group NIQ under scrutiny for work in occupied Ukraine

Activity by US-listed company’s Russia division in annexed regions raises questions about international sanctions regime

on.ft.com

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Nick Kodama 🌲👻 @nickkodama.bsky.social · 6d

Should've used this photo

Guy in a frog costume facing ICE/police in Portland with the caption "analysis: what is the insurrection act"

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 7d

Zelda Williams: “And for the love of EVERY THING, stop calling it ‘the future,’ AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be re-consumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line”

variety.com/2025/film/ne...

Robin Williams’ Daughter Tells Fans to ‘Stop Sending Me AI Videos of Dad’: It’s ‘Gross’ and ‘Not What He’d Want’

Zelda Williams tells fans not to send her AI recreations of father Robin Williams, calling them "gross."

variety.com

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Scott Rose @rprose.bsky.social · 7d

The US healthcare system seems to be increasingly stacked against patients. This is a great explainer from @propublica.org on how to challenge your insurance company's denials of necessary care

www.propublica.org/article/heal... by @deldeib.bsky.social

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.

When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

www.propublica.org

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Joshua Erlich @joshuaerlich.bsky.social · 7d

“where’s the whale? did he get the whale yet?”

lindsey adler @lindseyadler.bsky.social · 7d

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