Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 5d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 6d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 18d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Andrew O'Neill @andrewoneillcomedy.bsky.social · Sep 9

Physio: have you got a band?

Me: yeah it’s kind of early 80s thrash, but more sort of crusty… Cold War themed! We’re actually playing on Thursday.

Physio:

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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · Sep 6

Dismayed by the "I loathe Gl**ner but his arrest should scare us all" takes. The bar for arrest over a social media post *should be extremely high*, but a guy who's harassed trans people 19 hours a day for 8 years, telling his 600k fans to attack any trans women they see, clears that bar v easily?

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Paul Eric Scannell @pauleric70.bsky.social · Sep 4

Hugh Bonneville took advantage of a live TV interview at the premiere for DowntonAbbeyTheGrandFinale to make a statement about Gaza. Watch the face of ITV News reporter Helen Keenan drop as he *goes there

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Adil Ray @adilray.bsky.social · Sep 1

Let’s be honest. Carswell is not alone. You don’t tweet unless you know it’s a popular belief. There are many in public roles, in pubs and at dinner tables who believe this. This is a persecution of Muslims in the UK and anyone with any sense of humanity, who cares about Britain must call this out .

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · Aug 31

Douglas Carswell has skirted the line and now he's crossed it.

This is disgusting racism from a former MP who now demonstrates who and what he is.

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Silvia Bethencourt @baterfly.bsky.social · Aug 29

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Matthew Hodson @matthewhodson.bsky.social · Aug 13

27 years ago, two years after the introduction of effective HIV treatment, the Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco’s lesbian and gay community newspaper, ran ‘No Obits’ as its headline.
It was the first edition not to report an AIDS death in almost 15 years.

The Bay Area Reporter front page, 13 August 1998.
The headline ‘No obits’ is written in red above the lead story.

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Natasha @nluepke.bsky.social · Aug 12

reskeet with a tweet you still think about

Picture of a tweet from user Ebert, @horsedivorce.

me: can you dust my wets?

server: can you just ask for Parmesan cheese

me, confused, lifts all of my spaghetti with my hands: please. My wets.

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liziziz.bsky.social @liziziz.bsky.social · Aug 12

This was the one I thought of straight away. I think it rewired my brain when I first read it.

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Keith Ng @keithng.bsky.social · Aug 7

AI is now capable of designing a record-breaking deep sea submersible on its own. This marks a new age of exploration and I encourage all my fellow AI champions to build one and get in it so they can celebrate this achievement from the bottom of the sea.

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liziziz.bsky.social @liziziz.bsky.social · Aug 6

My mum would play the Peter Rabbit songs by Dudley Glass on the piano and sing them to me when I was small ❤️ I recently found this lovely interpretation of them on YouTube, I still remembered all the words:
youtu.be/WEzXi5i2MaA?...

I. Four Little Rabbits

YouTube video by Tracy Dahl - Topic

youtu.be

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Jenna @jennaonthenet.bsky.social · Aug 2

David Byrne came to my band’s show at a gay bar in Bed-Stuy and sang This Must Be The Place with us and I still haven’t processed it

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · Jul 26

Some of the media want to portray the thousand people protesting on asylum as being a proxy for general public opinion.

They wouldn't want to say that about the much larger trans rights + allies protest of up to 100 thousand people

www.thepinknews.com/2025/07/26/l...

Tens of thousands protest UK transphobia as London Trans Pride returns

Tens of thousands took to the streets of the UK's capital today (26 July) to spread LGBTQ+ solidarity as part of London Trans Pride 2025.

www.thepinknews.com

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Philippa East (Author) @philippaeast.bsky.social · Jul 4

Okay folks! We’ve a real opportunity here. This petition is at 78,000 (ends 28 July!). With a good push, we can get it over the line.
MPs *don't need to stick to the exact petition topic*. We can brief them to discuss any & ALL issues with trans healthcare.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
1/🧵

Petition: Legally enshrine the right of adults to physically transition using NHS services

Introduce a law to legally protect the right of those aged 18 and over to transition using NHS services. This should specifically cover physical transition, including hormone treatment and surgery, as...

petition.parliament.uk

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Karrie @karriehiggins.bsky.social · Jun 30

A classic Penguin Book entitled Please Don't Touch My Arm with Your Arm - How I Died on a Public Bus complete unabridged

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · Jun 30

trickle down economics
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trick

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liziziz.bsky.social @liziziz.bsky.social · Jun 27

I went through a phase of moisturising with coconut oil during which I bought a tub of mint foot cream. Couldn't place why I smelled particularly delicious until I realised I was a walking Thai green curry.

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liziziz.bsky.social @liziziz.bsky.social · Jun 24

What actor's expression will stay with you for the rest of your life (a twofer)

Richard E Grant playing Withnail perfects a glassy eyed a manic grin while Paul McGann as Marwood looks on in bewildered horror

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🕊 Sharon ~ NHDogLover ⚖️ 🗽 @nhdoglover.bsky.social · Jun 21

Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966)
At Close of Day, 1941
#Art

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liziziz.bsky.social @liziziz.bsky.social · Jun 21

I haven't pressed play yet, sounds like I shouldn't bother?

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Sooz Kempner @soozuk.bsky.social · Jun 20

The lady who says "It seems that the 9-year-olds from the school have been...karate-ing the picket fences" in Jaws was snubbed for Best Supporting Actress and you know it.

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Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · May 21

I just saw a good example of what I was talking about with chatgpt being a crackpot generating machine.

A guy had started Wheeler's Spacetime Physics, and had a problem on page 2.

Wheeler expressed a square root as a power of 1/2.

√a = a^1/2. This is basic algebra, not physics.

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Jun 19

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

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