Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

John Saveland @johnsaveland.com · 15h

One crazy detail (of many) that jumped out at me: even the site of the xmas fireworks display is a reminder of Venezuela’s oppressive autocracy. El Helicoide is “a laboratory for beatings, electric shock, rape and other torture” for dissidents who protested Maduro’s falsified election win

Matthew Hay Brown @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · 16h

THE MOST MARAVILLOSO TIME OF THE YEAR For Maduro, it's become an annual tradition:

The economy’s in free-fall? Declare Christmas. Lost the vote but claiming reelection anyway? Declare Christmas. The U.S. is blowing up boats and threatening stronger action? Declare Christmas

wapo.st/4mXgp5X

Bracing for war, Venezuela’s Maduro starts Christmas early — again

It’s an annual tradition: Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, feeling pressure from opponents or enemies, plays Santa. Venezuelans aren’t buying it.

wapo.st

Reposted by John Saveland

Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 1d

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 1d

A unit in the Madagascar military broke from the government on Saturday and joined protesters who have been calling for the president’s resignation, raising fears of a coup attempt on the island nation off the coast of southern Africa.

Fears of a Coup Rise in Madagascar as Army Unit Joins Protesters

The unit appealed to security forces in this southern African nation to disobey their superiors and to refuse to shoot at demonstrators, who have rallied in the streets for more than two weeks.

nyti.ms

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María Ramírez @mariaramirez.bsky.social · 1d

“The UN has described the Sudan war as one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Militia strikes kill at least 60 in Sudan displacement camp, says El Fasher group

Drone and artillery strikes by RSF paramilitary group hit Dar al-Arqam shelter in western city, says resistance committee

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by John Saveland

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

Trump’s immigration crackdown is risking higher food prices for Americans, according to the Trump admin itself.  DOL warned in an obscure document last week that “near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens” is threatening “stability of domestic food production and prices for US consumers.”

Trump administration says immigration enforcement threatens higher food prices

U.S. farmers face labor shortages and potential food price hikes due to Trump’s immigration policy, the administration acknowledged in a Federal Registry document.

www.washingtonpost.com

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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 2d

Ladies and gentlemen, we did it. SB 79 has been signed.

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John Saveland @johnsaveland.com · 2d

If you don't know about the ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray, that's intentional – the Ethiopian govt is blocking journalists & aid from getting in & preventing Tigrayans from getting out.

Refugees who escaped report violence, rape, & "conditions bordering on serfdom." The ppl there are prisoners

The forgotten horror of Western Tigray

Three years after the end of Ethiopia’s civil war, abuses in the region continue

www.economist.com

Reposted by John Saveland

Reuters @reuters.com · 2d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 3d

In 1885, a mob of violent white men murdered dozens of ethnically Chinese citizens of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Wyoming authorities covered up the entire incident. The story of the mass murders is still being unearthed 140 years later.

When an American Town Massacred Its Chinese Immigrants

In 1885, white rioters murdered dozens of their Asian neighbors in Rock Springs, Wyoming. A hundred and forty years later, the story of the atrocity is still being unearthed.

www.newyorker.com

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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 3d

My statement on Middle East peace

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 3d

How to negotiate with Putin: First, make sure he knows he can't win
From @radek-sikorski.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/o...

Opinion | I’m the Foreign Minister of Poland. This Is How to Negotiate With Putin.

www.nytimes.com

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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 4d

New from me in @foreignpolicy.com: how the US has gone from leading a global push against transnational repression, to proactively supporting it:

foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/08/t...

Trump Is Supporting Transnational Repression

Instead of sheltering pro-democracy dissidents, America is now returning them for arrest.

foreignpolicy.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4d

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."

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Katy Glenn Bass @katygb.bsky.social · 4d

"The greatest weapon that the forces of regime change possess is the fear of inevitability. If everyone believes that Mr. Trump will succeed in reshaping America, he will." @himself.bsky.social on how civil society can win by sticking together (gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

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The Economist @economist.com · 4d

Zero Migration America will make its residents—native- and foreign-born alike—poorer by pulling down productivity growth and thus GDP per person. Problems will start to emerge quickly

Welcome to Zero Migration America

Closed borders will make the country smaller, poorer and less innovative

econ.st

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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 4d

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 5d

NEW: I spoke to clergy and faith leaders who've joined protests at the Chicago-area ICE facility.

Three say they've been shot with pepper balls, sometimes while praying.

All say ICE is also violating their religious freedom, and one is arguing it in court. religionnews.com/2025/10/07/i...

Religious protesters say ICE threatens religious freedom in Chicago

(RNS) — Despite potential danger, religious leaders and faith activists have been a visible presence at Chicago-area ICE protests, some waving signs with slogans such as ‘Love thy neighbor’ and ‘Who w...

religionnews.com

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Alex Hall Hall @alexhh.bsky.social · 5d

Excellent analysis by @laurathornton.bsky.social of the heartbreaking slide of Georgia back into Russia’s orbit, defying its citizens’ wishes for democracy and freedom www.justsecurity.org/122040/georg...

After Another Sham Election in Georgia, the Country’s Citizens Persist

Georgians will fight for their democracy. The ruling party is now one more paranoid, insecure dictatorship that knows its days are numbered.

www.justsecurity.org

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John Saveland @johnsaveland.com · 5d

Cameroon is “a case study in global neglect.” The international community must condemn its blatantly undemocratic elections, mediate a peace process, and fully prosecute the war crimes committed by the government and the separatists.

“The world needs to realise that Cameroon is in crisis.”

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 5d

Don’t allow Cameroon’s forever president to trample democracy again on.ft.com/3KEPluC | opinion

Don’t allow Cameroon’s forever president to trample democracy again

A festering civil war and a rigged election could spark chaos that would affect the entire continent’s security

on.ft.com

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Bill Frelick @billfrelick.bsky.social · 5d

"Education should never be used as a political pawn & parents should not have to worry from one year to the next if their children will be able to go to school." @michellerandhawa.bsky.social @hrw.org in "How Syrian children are being shut out of Lebanon's classrooms" www.newarab.com/analysis/how...

How Syrian children are being shut out of Lebanon’s classrooms

Government restrictions have effectively barred tens of thousands of Syrian children from school in Lebanon, as NGOs step in to teach those left behind

www.newarab.com

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5d

“.. Lower population growth as the president presses ahead with mass deportations will knock between 0.5 and one percentage points off America’s GDP growth between mid-2025 and mid-2026, according to S&P Global Ratings.”

@telegraphnews.bsky.social
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 6d

"At the Pentagon, some military lawyers, including international law experts within DoD’s Office of General Counsel, have raised concerns about the legality of the lethal strikes on suspected drug traffickers....

Multiple current and former JAGs ... told CNN that the strikes do not appear lawful."

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say | CNN Politics

The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple peop...

www.cnn.com

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PBS News @pbsnews.org · 6d

Rodrick Johnson, a U.S. citizen who was briefly detained, said agents broke through his door and placed him in zip ties.

“I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer,” the 67-year-old told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They never brought one.” https://to.pbs.org/4pWhXzN

Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago

Activists, residents and elected leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest cit...

to.pbs.org

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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 6d

🚨THIS IS A BIG DEAL. Chicago journalists are suing the Trump administration for using excessive force against reporters & protestors in violation of the 1A.
The press here is doing astounding work documenting how ICE is out of control. The violence they face in doing so is obscene.

The protests at the Broadview ICE facility and the federal government’s violent
attempts to silence the protesters became a story of great interest to the local Chicago media and
was also covered in the national press. Much of the coverage described the federal officers’
abusive tactics. Defendants sought and are seeking to quash this coverage by attacking and
intimidating members of the Press on the ground there.
85. Federal immigration officers at the Broadview ICE facility have repeatedly and
intentionally singled out persons whom they know to be members of the Press for violence,
assault, and intimidation. These assaults are not incidental or unintentional. They are undertaken
by design to intimidate journalists on scene and to frustrate and suppress coverage of the federal
officers’ actions toward protesters and immigration detainees

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Cleo Davies @cleodavies.bsky.social · 6d

Another PM quits in 🇫🇷, less than 24 hours after announcing the ministers in his government. Sébastien Lecornu quit this morning; he was nominated by President Macron immediately after Francois Bayrou quit as PM 9 September after loosing a vote of confidence. This is what could happen next 1/4

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