Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 8h

Imagine spending ages workshopping the perfect post-date text with ChatGPT and finally landing on “Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

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Reposted by Lauren Dobson-Hughes

Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 1d

I just feel like if you get to the point where a parade of orphans doesn't rip your soul right out of your body, it's possible you are incapable of morality.

الكسندرا ميراي @lexialex.bsky.social · 1d

Palestinian orphans in Gaza marching with photos of their dead parents

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Reposted by Lauren Dobson-Hughes

Kevin Carey @kevincareywb.bsky.social · 1d

Madagascar: ""Let us join forces, military, gendarmes and police, and refuse to be paid to shoot our friends, our brothers and our sisters," the soldiers at the base in Soanierana district said in a video posted on social media." sg.news.yahoo.com/madagascar-s...

Madagascar soldiers join protestors

Groups of Madagascar soldiers joined thousands of protestors in the capital Saturday, AFP reporters said, after announcing they would refuse any orders to shoot demonstrators.They called on soldiers a...

sg.news.yahoo.com

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Reposted by Lauren Dobson-Hughes

Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 1d

stop thinking right now

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Rachel Savage @rachelmsavage.bsky.social · 1d

Things are moving very fast in Madagascar. An army unit that was behind the 2009 coup has called on other members of the security forces to "join forces" and "refuse orders to shoot" at protesters.

Several thousand are on the streets of Antananarivo today, according to AFP reporters there

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 1d

(Highly recommend skipping the latest anti-woke outrage story unless you enjoy hearing Nigel Farage talking about tampons)

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 1d

But is it the vegans or the tampons that have shocked him

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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 2d

"There’s just so much that has been lost. Beyond just the basic immediate subsistence, can Gaza survive? I don’t know"

www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

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Reposted by Lauren Dobson-Hughes

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 2d

What remains of the GHF “aid” distribution site in the Netzarim corridor, after it was dismantled by the IDF as part of their withdrawal from the area

More than 2,500 Palestinians were killed in these sites while desperately seeking food

www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-ea...

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

Resilient Societies supports exiled democracy activists, and has a call for proposals for $8,000 for frontline rights groups rsocieties.org/call-for-app...

Call for Applications: Advancing Research from the Frontlines of Repression: Supporting Localized Knowledge on Civic Space – Resilient Societies

rsocieties.org

Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

You know when I think of countries that take advantage of the US and need to be punished with tariffs and aid cuts, I think Haiti. Those lucky chancers. Always living it large. Rolling in it at the US’s expense www.cgdev.org/blog/who-bea...

Who Bears the Burden? Tracking the Global Impact of Recent US Foreign Policy Shifts

Since January, the United States has adopted a range of foreign economic policies with negative impacts on the rest of the world, including higher tariffs on exports, taxes on remittances, and reducti...

www.cgdev.org

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

96% of countries most affected by US tariffs, remittance tax and aid cuts are low and middle income. The hardest hit was Haiti www.cgdev.org/blog/who-bea...

Who Bears the Burden? Tracking the Global Impact of Recent US Foreign Policy Shifts

Since January, the United States has adopted a range of foreign economic policies with negative impacts on the rest of the world, including higher tariffs on exports, taxes on remittances, and reducti...

www.cgdev.org

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

A major UK philanthropy is ending funding to US NGOs because it’s too risky. This has happened before in authoritarian counties like Hungary and India. It’s a new low for the US though www.devex.com/news/major-f...

Major foundation pauses grants to US, citing unclear policy changes

In a move likely to rattle global NGOs, one of the world’s largest foundations halts U.S. funding over policy uncertainty.

www.devex.com

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

My snow removal company has acquired a miniature cow farm, and has informed customers that this winter, every snow and tractor alert will be accompanied by a picture of a mini cow

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

“Greed will always destroy art, and Swift’s desire for profit—her need to sell product when she already has far more money than any one person could possibly require—has destroyed her ability to create anything of value” defector.com/taylor-swift...

No Good Art Comes From Greed | Defector

The packages arrived square and thin and carefully wrapped on Saturday afternoon. There were three of them, but only one was mine. If I could have rejected my package, sent it back from whence it came...

defector.com

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 2d

A genuinely chilling thread with detailed plans by the party further to the right of Reform, to systematically strip the status and deport 1.8 million people from the UK

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 2d

Restore Britain (Rupert Lowe, backed by Conservatives Susan Hall and Gavin Williamson) propose to strip 56,600 people who have been granted refugee status in Britain over the last eight years of that status and deport them.

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 3d

The UN is trying to transfer 18 babies from NICUs in north Gaza, to be with their parents in south Gaza. They had to abandon attempts to save two babies due to gunfire and quadcopters, and one baby has already died www.reuters.com/world/middle...

www.reuters.com

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 3d

It really can't be said enough: the goal of the "anti-woke" movement was always to destroy social norms against bigotry. And it worked. And there's a whole lot of purportedly "left" thinkers & commentators who helped it -- indeed, it couldn't have been done without them.

They should feel bad.

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 3d

New UK rules mean a 150% increase in refugee women and children living rough in northern France. While French police are paid by the UK government to stop refugees receiving free tents and blankets. So they sleep in the woods with their babies. Just grim www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/pol...

The babies at the border in northern France

As the United Kingdom suspends its refugee family reunion scheme, growing numbers of women and children in Calais and Dunkirk face inhumane conditions...

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 3d

Female genital cutting is increasing in South East Asia, with over half of procedures performed by doctors or midwives In Malaysia, 85% of doctors said they agreed with the procedure. The most common reason is 'regulating sexual desire' healthpolicy-watch.news/more-health-...

Growing Number Of Health Workers Are Performing Female Genital Mutilation In South East Asia - Health Policy Watch

CAPE TOWN - More and more health workers are performing female genital mutilation (FGM) in South and South East Asia – although the process is internationally

healthpolicy-watch.news

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Reposted by Lauren Dobson-Hughes

Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 3d

The world's in a bad way, but now and then something goes right

Headline: "Man who appealed Pelicot rape conviction handed longer jail term"

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 3d

I know Jane Goodall was revered by many in the environment movement, but it is pretty clear that she also harboured many seriously problematic colonial attitudes.

The 'overpopulation' stuff in particular was pretty bad, and as a concept the conduit of plenty of serious wrongdoing over the years

Rishika Pardikar @rishpardikar.bsky.social · 4d

This is from a very prominent conservationist from Kenya

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Reposted by Lauren Dobson-Hughes

David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 3d

We should also be wary when Israeli govt is still talking about ethnic cleansing, Netanyahu & the far right are still in charge and Trump still has visions of a Gaza Riviera dancing in his head. That said, we should all be grateful for anything that saves a life, heals a family, reduces suffering,

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David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 3d

There are many contentious issues remaining to be resolved. Neither side trusts the other. Furthermore, let's be careful about calling people who enabled the mass slaughter of Palestinians "peacemakers." Even if some them invoke scripture with their blessed are the peacemakers self-congratulation.

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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 4d

Another lobbying triumph to protect incumbents. Politics across Europe, talking about small companies and competition, acting to support existing large players.

POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 4d

The European Parliament voted today to ban plant-based and lab-grown products from having meat-related names such as “burger,” “sausage” or “steak” on their labels.

EU lawmakers back ‘veggie burger’ ban

The European Parliament slips prohibition of plant-based “burgers” into wider farm reform, sparking NGO outrage and political splits.

www.politico.eu

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