Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 20h

This is some Cult of Fener shit straight out of the Malazan books.

1

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 21h

Unbelievably based

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 1d

Chanting, "we are the body of Christ! The body of Christ will be free!"

This crowd has swelled considerably. Few hundred here now.

2

Reposted by Aidan

☀️ Starshine @starshine.bsky.social · 21h

I have friends (of christ) everywhere

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 1d

Chanting, "we are the body of Christ! The body of Christ will be free!"

This crowd has swelled considerably. Few hundred here now.

4 30 230

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 21h

Pound for pound, central Madrid might be the best part of any big city I've ever been to. Walkable, bikeable, transit-able, and alive without ever feeling overwhelmingly packed.

1

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 21h

*I wrote the above

1

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 21h

Totally fair (and I the above as someone whose Anglican church runs two soup kitchens + a women's shelter). I think the distinction I'd make is that Mainline charity tends to be project-based, whereas Ev+Pent charity/tithing is just "you're a member, you give us X% [usually 10] of your income".

2 2

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 21h

(Judaism + Islam have quite strong charity/giving ethics and lean liberal as voting blocks, but the libs still get swamped on pure volume of shots)

6

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 21h

This is one place where I think the religiosity gulf between the two camps really hurts the good guys. Tithing is built into the social expectations of Evangelical/Pentecostal Christianity in a way that it isn't in Mainline Protestant circles (let alone in nonreligious ones).

2 13

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 22h

I don't like that this is the answer but I think it's the answer

2

Reposted by Aidan

Starfish Who Can’t Think Something Witty @irhottakes.bsky.social · 1d

A fun fact about America is that our health secretary literally has less of a grip on reality than an Ork Painboy from Warhammer 40,000 second edition.

The rules for a "Vaxxine Squig" which immunizes Ork troops from virus outbreaks.

3 21 110

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 22h

As a private business owner, Trump got around this by having a large enough pool of potential contractors and business partners to stiff that he could just cycle through them. That doesn't work when you're bound to the same handful of counterparties - over and over again.

Steven S Smith @profstevensmith.bsky.social · 23h

Credible commitments are the essence of dealmaking. Trump & Repubs cannot make credible commitments.

2

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 23h

[Halifax has entered the chat]

5

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 23h

Hugely deserved

Bike Ottawa @bikeottawa.bsky.social · 23h

@cycletoronto.bsky.social wins @velocanadabikes.bsky.social’s National Cycling Advocate of the Year award for 2025 for successfully challenging Bill 212.

A much deserved award. Congratulations! 👏

2

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 23h

If I had authoritarian designs on the country I ruled, I'd make sure the military kept being paid regularly and well. But I am but a lowly history major; I'm sure these guys know what they're doing.

Aaron Fritschner @fritschner.bsky.social · 1d

A few minutes ago in the House:

- Speaker Mike Johnson officially cancels votes next week, extending the House recess through a fourth week

- House Republicans block Democrats from passing a bill to pay the troops during the shutdown, ensuring they will miss paychecks next week

House Press Gallery: During today's pro forma session, the Clerk read a message from the Speaker designating Tuesday, October 14 through Sunday, October 19 as a district work period.

Punchbowl's Briana Reilly: House gaveled in and out of its pro forma just now w/o recognizing Rep Elfreth, who was seeking to UC a mil pay bill from Rep Sykes.

Elfreth told reporters after that House Dems stand “ready and willing to take” up standalone legislation to pay troops.

2

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 1d

ICE agents goosestepping around in fog so thick they're accidentally arresting and detaining each other.

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 1d

The US seems to be having a clearance sale on Nobel Laureates.

Department of Economics @Universität Zürich 🇨🇭 @econ.uzh.ch · 1d

We are thrilled to welcome Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee as the new Lemann Foundation Professors to our department, beginning in the summer of 2026.

1

Reposted by Aidan

Scott Imberman @imbernomics.bsky.social · 2d

If he gets a Nobel then I’m going to start pointing out that the Econ prize is not a real Nobel.

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 2d

Trump’s desire for a Nobel Peace Prize has shaken up global diplomacy, as allies try to curry favor.

It may have even helped spur this week’s Hamas-Israel deal, one former Israeli negotiator said — a bid to help Trump cinch the Nobel before tomorrow’s announcement.

From @mbirnbaum.bsky.social + me

Trump wants a Nobel Prize. He’ll learn Friday if his campaign paid off.

President Donald Trump’s long quest for a Nobel Peace Prize has sparked an unusual global scramble.

www.washingtonpost.com

2 5 33

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 2d

A venn diagram consisting of two wholly independent circles labelled "things that happened" and "this"

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 2d

Ideally, it stretches out long enough that a major holiday (presumably Thanksgiving 2: American Boogaloo) gets absolutely FUBAR'd by TSA and ATC being shortstaffed. "Trump took your Thanksgiving flights home and also the regs that would've let you be compensated for them. Oops!"

1 1 6

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 2d

Thinking Leo would be Giuseppe Siri reborn was always a pretty extreme form of Tradcath copium, given that Francis appointed like 75% of the people who'd pick his successor.

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 2d

"Shut up and sprinkle incense"

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 2d

The contrast to Bethesda's response to reactionaries being Big Mad about Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is really stark.

4

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 2d

You won't find a more succint summary of Doug Ford's premiership than this.

Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 2d

Myers says this is another issue that highlights the need for Toronto to look at becoming a charter city. "Whether it's speed cameras, whether it's bike lanes, whether it's blue bins, we can't seem to make a decision without Doug Ford running interference because someone got in his ear."

1

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 2d

I get the sense that Pope Leo would very much prefer to not be in a situation where he has to excommunicate the sitting VPOTUS, but I also get the sense that Vance is committed to making that preference increasingly difficult for the Pope to stick to.

1 9

Aidan @aidanglc.bsky.social · 3d

Adam Tooze and the ghost of Timothy Mason sighing through gritted teeth as their works on the omnishambles of the Nazi economy move from the "History" shelf to the "Current Events" shelf.

Hal 10000 @hal10000.bsky.social · 3d

This is the sort of things that happens when you start screwing with markets. It constantly lurches from one side to the other as you try to get it back in balance, only making it more and more unstable.

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 3d

So this is funny.
The administration just issued a rule slashing foreign agricultural worker wages. And to justify it, in a public filing, Trump's Labor Department alleges that Trump's immigration enforcement has devastated the Ag workforce and caused a "risk of supply shock-induced food shortages."

3

Reposted by Aidan

The Fig Economy @figgityfigs.bsky.social · 3d

Personally I think it is bad that the man exercising the powers of the presidency is a demented lunatic and his copartisans and the media grade his statements on a normalizing curve taking that into account.

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 3d

The situation in America is not great. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

1 33 210