Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 3h

This is a great thread about the precarity people face and how that affects how they might engage in social action.

Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 5h

Every time someone drops into my comments asking about a general strike, I have to remind folks that unlike in Europe we have at will employment here allowing essentially anyone to be fired at any time for any reason, and health insurance tied to employment.

The amount of organizing

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 15h

this is a great piece and it absolutely sucks that the outlet went for the ambiguous headline rather.

The idea that you can remain on X and "influence opinion" is equally true for creating a new Stormfront account, or a 4Chan account, or a TruthSocial account.

Our job is to kills its influence.

Did the centre-left bit of UK politics Twitter make an error in decamping en masse to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Twitter? The old site, now remade as X, remains significantly larger than the new, and much of the political class have failed to make the jump. Did those of us who went let our desire for a comforting liberal bubble undermine our actual influence?

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

The story of social media in the last few years is not one of a self-righteous liberal flounce, but of fragmentation: network effects are a thing, and if most of the people you like to talk to switch platforms, there feels little point in remaining behind. If we have lost influence, that’s at least partly down to the government’s reluctance to use its convening power to reshape the information environment, and its odd commitment to a site owned by someone who wants Keir Starmer in prison.

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Roxana Hadadi @roxana-hadadi.bsky.social · 1d

the ending of THE GODFATHER, the best american movie ever made, doesn't work without diane keaton's final look --- at the realization of who she's married and what her life is going to become and what corruption lurks behind closed doors. unforgettable, inimitable work. RIP.

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Min. Foolish Farrakhan @uhohjaye.bsky.social · 1d

I am going to wear a crisp white button up, scarf and a wide belt around the house as I mourn.

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 1d

--> bsky.app/profile/mark...

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 1d

Mamdani talking lucidly and passionately about trans rights and history in a video that should frankly shame every politician who has hemmed and hawed and triangulated and said, "Well, but sports..." It's not that hard to tell the truth and stand for what's right. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEvV...

Until It's Done: Sylvia Rivera

YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC

www.youtube.com

Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 1d

This is so beautiful.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

I am so proud of this victory.

Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 2d

S tier. you win. (capers optional but hero status if included with this order)

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

I am honored!
I'll say hi from City Hall.

(I love capers but one or two always roll away... so I only order them if the bagel place knows to push them into the cream cheese.)

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2d

I know I'm focused on the wrong thing here but "mansion boy"???

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

Everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, red onions, tomatoes, lox. Will people vote for me?

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

The Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan is the kind of organization that *should* receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Absolutely fantastic work that should be a model for civil society and humanitarian work everywhere.

Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 2d

we were wrong about the Nobel peace prize but here’s some more about the emergency response rooms anyway news.un.org/en/story/202...

Youth-led ‘emergency rooms’ shine rays of hope in war-torn Sudan

With the war in Sudan triggering widespread violence and instability, youth-driven emergency response rooms (ERRs) are among a growing number of community-led initiatives reaching vulnerable civilians...

news.un.org

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

--> bsky.app/profile/pgou...

Philip Gourevitch @pgourevitch.bsky.social · 2d

Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to someone who enthusiastically supports the first extrajudicial massacre by Trump and his apparatus of her countrymen in small boats is bleak.

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

To wit:
bsky.app/profile/leah...

Leah 🐸 McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 2d

Machado issues her first statement since being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and makes a thinly-veiled appeal to Trump for US intervention in Venezuela:

María Corina Machado ©
@MariaCorinaYA
Follow
This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.
We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!
8:34 AM • 10/10/25 • 30K Views

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2d

The Speaker of the House is telling the Fox News audience that a peaceful demonstration by Americans on the National Mall will actually be a gathering of organizations the administration has designated as violent terrorists.

Seems bad?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Mike Johnson: "We're so angry about it. I mean, I'm a very patient guy, but I've had it with these people. The theory we have right now -- they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people ... "

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 2d

This is going to look like the award to Aung San Suu Kyi in the rear view mirror.

Machado has fought for democratic rule in Venezuela but.has demonstrated willingness to align with authoritarian actors for that end. Peace can be ugly sometimes.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

Leader of country’s opposition receives award after intense public and private campaign by Donald Trump

www.theguardian.com

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 3d

This movie is fantastic-- and so apt for today.

The Border Chronicle @theborderchronicle.bsky.social · 19d

New on The Border Chronicle podcast🦂👂

Filmmaker Alex Rivera on his Cult Classic "Sleep Dealer", and Creating a New Cinema for the Border 🦂🎥

@alex-rivera.bsky.social

Filmmaker Alex Rivera on his Cult Classic "Sleep Dealer", and Creating a New Cinema for the Border

See Sleep Dealer at the Fox Theater in Tucson on October 15 with an audience Q&A afterward moderated by The Border Chronicle.

www.theborderchronicle.com

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 3d

Color me shocked they all said yes.
Color me shocked they will have no Palestinian voices.

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 3d

New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS.

Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).

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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 3d

Keep your corrupt, grubby, abusive hands off Tish James, Donald Trump.

Your cowardice is showing — weak men seek revenge on powerful women who hold them to account.

But NY’rs don’t play. Our AG has been a fierce warrior for our rights, time & again. You better believe we’ll be there for hers.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 3d

The Attorney General of New York was just indicted by our tinpot dictator

Letitia James criminally charged in Trump’s latest effort to punish rivals

Prosecutor who sought charges was installed amid Trump frustrations with pace of investigations against rivals

www.theguardian.com

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 3d

Political weaponization of the federal judiciary continues apace

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 3d

The Attorney General of New York was just indicted by our tinpot dictator

Letitia James criminally charged in Trump’s latest effort to punish rivals

Prosecutor who sought charges was installed amid Trump frustrations with pace of investigations against rivals

www.theguardian.com

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 3d

Same.

Imani Gandy Corn 🎃 @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 3d

I would vote without question for anyone with the fucking stones to do this while refusing to 1) throw trans people under the bus and 2) fund Israel's genocide

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 3d

This is why I think the next Democratic president needs to use the EXACT tools that SCOTUS has handed Trump. Don't leave room for any distinctions.

Impound funds for deportation. Give ICE the USAID treatment. Refuse to collect government-backed debt. Purge MAGA loyalists from the executive branch.

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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 4d

Trump has been illegally bombing boats off the coast of Venezuela.

Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff forced a vote on reasserting Congress's role over war powers and ending this reckless
warmongering.

It failed 48-51.

Murkowski and Paul voted yes.

Fetterman voted no.

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Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 4d

DropSite receives confirmation that Hamas has agreed to a finalized version of the ceasefire framework and is prepared to sign it tonight

BREAKING: Hamas and Palestinian Factions Agree to Gaza Ceasefire Framework

“From our side, yes,” a senior Hamas official told Drop Site News.

www.dropsitenews.com

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 4d

My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly "carrying drugs," the US Attorney General says "Just like we did with cartels, we're going to take the same approach, President Trump, with Antifa."

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T. Ryan Gregory 🇨🇦 @tryangregory.bsky.social · 4d

Had anybody suggested trying *less* colonialism?

Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 4d

👉NEW -- Why Tony Blair governing Gaza would result in more war crimes

by Irfan Chowdhury

Soldiers who served under his command in Iraq got away with sexually assaulting prisoners, in scenes similar to Israel’s torture of Palestinians.
www.declassifieduk.org/why-tony-bla...

Why Tony Blair governing Gaza would result in more war crimes

Soldiers who served under his command in Iraq got away with sexually assaulting prisoners, in scenes similar to Israel’s torture of Palestinians.

www.declassifieduk.org

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Lina Srivastava @linasrivastava.bsky.social · 4d

Mid-day break reading: "Sholay" truly is one of the greatest films ever made.

(And this long-read doesn't mention it, but it also has one of the great theme songs ever.)

www.filmcomment.com/blog/sholay-...

Sholay at 50: How the East Was Won

Unchained: Ramesh Sippy’s swashbuckling 1975 epic mashes together tropes from westerns, dacoit films, silent comedies, and musicals to create an entirely unique cult classic

www.filmcomment.com

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