Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 2d

Love Krasz but this is unfortunately the Guns Don’t Kill People of books

Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Rachel Withers @rachelwithers.bsky.social · 3d

Imagine kicking the former national rugby captain out of your sports club instead of the gambling lobby.

To paraphrase Groucho Marx, who'd want to belong to a club that would accept Responsible Wagering Australia as one of its sponsors?

Bill Browne @browne90.bsky.social · 3d

Making his point for him -- just asking about the power of the gambling lobby gets Senator David Pocock booted from sports club the Prime Minister heads. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Former Wallabies star David Pocock booted from parliamentary sports club

Exclusive: Senator accused of bringing social club into disrepute after raising concerns about its association with betting lobby

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Jewish Council of Australia @jewishcouncilau.bsky.social · 4d

Read @sarahschwartz.bsky.social personal letter in The Guardian today | When you first heard me speak against this genocide, you heard my words as betrayal. But they were meant as love

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

When you first heard me speak against this genocide, you heard my words as betrayal. But they were meant as love | Sarah Schwartz

Not speaking would go against everything I was taught to honour: the righteous among the nations – those who refused to be bystanders to injustice

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Benjamin Clark @benjamin-clark.bsky.social · 6d

In today’s @crikey.com.au, I wrote about the furore over Albanese’s appearance at the UK Labour conference.

The problem wasn’t that it was partisan, but that he intervened in the internal politics of UK Labour, backing Starmer against a rising chorus of critics.
www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/06/a...

Albanese’s speech to UK Labour wasn’t partisan — it was factional

Why has Albanese stuck his neck out for the incumbent? Because Starmer has, in many, ways emulated Albanese.

www.crikey.com.au

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Save Meanjin @savemeanjin.bsky.social · 8d

"It took more than an hour after the story broke, and was covered by several mastheads, to receive official notice from MUP; a group email confirming Meanjin’s immediate closure." ~Emma Sutherland, Archives Editor at Meanjin in @artshub.bsky.social this weekend.
www.artshub.com.au/news/opinion...

I was the Archives Editor at Meanjin – its closure is baffling

As Archives Editor, Emma Sutherland had ‘read everything’ in Meanjin's past, but was unprepared for its troubled present.

www.artshub.com.au

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 8d

As stipulated 🙂‍↕️

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 8d

I’m actually well-regarded and successful.

Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 8d

I wrote about the man everyone loves to hate, @mattyglesias.bsky.social . www.kitchencounter.blog/p/mr-opinion

Mr Opinion

Matt Yglesias and his discontents

www.kitchencounter.blog

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 8d

h/t @maxread.info

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 8d

I wrote about the man everyone loves to hate, @mattyglesias.bsky.social . www.kitchencounter.blog/p/mr-opinion

Mr Opinion

Matt Yglesias and his discontents

www.kitchencounter.blog

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 12d

Wrote this the day Mahmoud Khalil was arrested. I was later deported for it.

Today a US federal judge confirmed what I wrote. open.substack.com/pub/alistair...

On the deportation of dissent

When I, an international student in the US, began writing dispatches from the protests at Columbia last year I felt as though good things were once again possible.

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 12d

Very proud of my colleagues right now--especially @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social and @alexabdo.bsky.social. But we could not have got this far without the superb trial lawyers at Sher Tremonte. Grateful to them for all of the time and energy they put into this case. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Noncitizens Over Pro-Palestinian Speech

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Phil Bildner @philbildner.bsky.social · 19d

This is such a useful resource from @penamerica.bsky.social

"What To Do If You’ve Been Doxed Or Placed On A Watchlist"

Please consider letting others know that this exists.

pen.org/what-to-do-i...

What To Do If You’ve Been Doxed Or Placed On A Watchlist

We map out steps you can take right away, and steps you can take to build resilience longer term against doxing.

pen.org

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Lasse Marhaug @lassemarhaug.bsky.social · 21d

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 20d

A lot of non-Americans feel embarrassed by their own fixation with the US. They shouldn’t.

Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 20d

open.substack.com/pub/alistair...

The only show in town

We're all trapped in here with you

open.substack.com

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 20d

open.substack.com/pub/alistair...

The only show in town

We're all trapped in here with you

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 22d

"Far from being an amoral free-for-all, liberalism is, in fact, extremely difficult and constraining, far too much so for those who cannot endure contradiction, complexity, diversity, and the risks of freedom.”

― Judith N. Shklar, Ordinary Vices

Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 22d

I think fundamentally, the ability to care about the rights of a small and vulnerable minority (of whom you might know no members) is an important sign of whether you are committed to human rights out of principle, or out of mere convenience.

Rose Schmits @roseschmits.bsky.social · 22d

Being nice to trans people really did turn out to be a load bearing part of liberal democracy ey

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 23d

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

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Reposted by Alistair Kitchen

lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 24d

From sootyempiric.blogspot.com/2025/08/woke...

(There is even a far more sympathetic and even more vindicatory narrative available. The woke crowd claimed there were a bunch of authoritarian bigot-fanatics waiting in the wings unless we suppress them through various fairly soft means, largely social pressure and ostracism at harshest. The reactionary centre spent ages saying they were ridiculous, and in alliance with the right basically won in the cultural sphere meaning we did not suppress those forces. Then American political life was in fact taken over by authoritarian bigots who proceeded to defund USAID because aid goes to too many dark skinned people and give the president power to review college syllabi. How were the woke not just right? Maybe their flaw was that their methods of suppression were not sufficiently harsh! Whether or not you think this is fair, for what its worth I think it oversimplifies too, I think it's obvious that this telling of events will clearly be tempting to plenty of people. Certainly in the near future, and who knows maybe for future generations too.)

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 24d

Australian masculinity, whiteness, loss, cane toads, Gerard Manley Hopkins… my neighbours who farmed worms... It’s all in there.

Please support the magazine, and Australian intellectual life, at this link: islandmag.com/next-issue

ISLAND | Australian Literary and Arts MagazineIsland Magazine

islandmag.com

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Alistair Kitchen @alistairkitchen.bsky.social · 24d

The culling of @meanjin.bsky.social shows just how fragile, and threatened, Australia’s literary ecosystem is. And yet the editors at @islandmag.bsky.social were willing to take a risk on a piece that tries to do… a lot