Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 6h

Who keeps casting him? Apparently, he does.

Allegedly, he attaches himself to a project as executive producer and puts up some of the budget as long as he can star in it.

Cosmic Marvel @dailycosmicmarvel.bsky.social · 8h

‘TRON: ARES’ has earned $14.3M in its opening day at the domestic box office.

For comparison, ‘MORBIUS’ opened to $17.3M.

42 190 780

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

The Onion @theonion.com · 7h

Israel Agrees To Go Back To Killing Palestinians On Less Frequent Basis

CAIRO—As part of a historic ceasefire agreement with Hamas following two years of war, the Israeli government reportedly agreed Thursday to go back to killing Palestinians on a less frequent basis. “I...

theonion.com

33 450 2.2K

Phil Kehoe @pkwhitaker.bsky.social · 8h

Genuinely never thought of this before

jsmlml.bsky.social @jsmlml.bsky.social · 10h

"Meteoric rise" does it for me. If there's one thing meteors are famous for not doing...

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Ryan North? But - he died... 30 years ago this very night!! @ryannorth.ca · 10h

I used to get mad when people misused "decimated" to refer to things that weren't 1/10th destroyed, but I've given it some thought and now I've done a complete 360 on it

99 410 3.3K

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Aidan O'Sullivan @aidanosullivan.bsky.social · 14h

3 7 25

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Classical Studies Memes for Hellenistic Teens @csmfht.bsky.social · 14h

51 360 1.7K

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Darach Ó Séaghdha @darach.bsky.social · 15h

It's almost as if moving their tax residency out of Ireland the day the Artist Tax Exemption was restricted had a negative impact on their reputation here!

Irish Number Ones @irishnumberones.bsky.social · 15h

U2's 21 number one singles in Ireland: seven in the '80s, seven in the '90s, and seven in the '00s. None since 2009: irishnumberones.com/tag/u2/

3 7 38

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

الكسندرا ميراي @lexialex.bsky.social · 1d

Naoise's brother is asking Irish people to please contact the government #Speirgorm

My sister @NaoiseDolan, alongside other members of the Thousand Madleens flotilla, has been abducted by Israeli forces while on a humanitarian mission to break the illegal siege and deliver aid to Gaza.
Please join me in urging the Irish government to demand their safe return.

7 290 380

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Dr. Johnathan Flowers, Blade Wielding Bisexual (Lordean arc) @shengokai.blacksky.app · 1d

Since Link is banned, his mutual aid Fridays have gone with him. This was one of the most altruistic things I’ve seen anyone on this site do.

In light of this, I’m gonna try to fill the gap.

Drop your mutual aid requests under this thread and I will repost them for as long as I can.

160 1.2K 1.8K

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Saoirse McHugh @saoirsemc.bsky.social · 1d

MM refusing to do anything on climate shows that he puts disproportionate weight on the opinions of lobbyists for data centers, car manufacturers, dairy, etc cause support for government action on climate change actually unites people across the country..so who is he talking about?

4 37 83

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Dr Robert Bohan @robertbohan.bsky.social · 1d

Irish library staff have been subjected to repeated harassment by far-right extremists, with attempts to remove queer books from shelves & threats of book burning. This new LGBTQ+ group is a welcome step for defending free speech, the library LGBTQ community & library users, in Ireland.

First LGBTQ+ network launches in Library Association of Ireland

The new queer network had its first meeting this October, marking a big step for the LGBTQ+ library community.

gcn.ie

1 19 70

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

sasha ↙︎↙︎↙︎ 🌹🏴 @2damntrans.bsky.social · 1d

DON'T celebrate Prime Day unless you have accepted Optimus Prime into your heart as your lord and saviour.

7 17 85

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

You Call Yourself a Film Critic @filmcriticmaybe.bsky.social · 1d

I mean if transphobes couldn't use SLAPP suits they couldn't win arguments so

Izzy Kamikaze @izzykamikaze.bsky.social · 1d

Stella O'Malley (7 years experience of well-funded anti-trans rhetoric) & Genspect (4 years of well-funded anti-trans advocacy) have taken legal action against 70-year-old Leonie O'Dowd (40+ years experience of counselling & supporting trans people) to shut her up. www.the-case.eu/latest/slapp...

It’s a SLAPP: Stella O’Malley Targets Psychotherapist and Rights Advocate Leonie O’Dowd – CASE

www.the-case.eu

6 18

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Tony - Pod Guy - Groves @tonygroves.bsky.social · 1d

I’d love to be a fly on the wall watching the Tangerine Idi Amin right now

THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2025
Illustration: Niklas Elmehed
Maria Corina Machado
"for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy"
THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE

3 4 23

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Conor Smith @conorsmith.ie · 1d

2 11

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 2d

I’ve never seen anything remotely this petty charged as bank fraud.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 2d

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

190 1.1K 5.1K

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 1d

The subtitles mangle his accent, but this guy from Belfast talking about seeing someone die in front of him in ICE custody is chilling.

Ashley Kuckelman @ashleyvotesblue.bsky.social · 1d

Donald Trump’s America - one horror story after another. 🤬💔

9 16

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Aliette de Bodard @aliettedebodard.com · 1d

RIGHT, I think I've got bibliography up to date except for some weird bugs that are with my webmaster
BTW, in case you missed it, I've got two free stories:
-Angsty f/f Annatar/Celebrimbor
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-...
-Death, grief, letting go and dragons: frictionlit.org/descendant/?...

The Breaker of Mountains and Rivers - Uncanny Magazine

Content note: torture Imawane has lost track of time, hanging in the chains—everything contracting to the pain in her legs, the pull of the chains on her wrists, the broken ribs, the breath that rat...

www.uncannymagazine.com

28 59

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Philip O'Connor @philipoconnor.bsky.social · 2d

Can we stop doorstepping both candidates with stupid questions like this? Connolly has a record of public service and statements that can be scrutinised and analysed deeply without resorting to this "gotcha!" tabloid nonsense.

Irish Examiner @irishexaminer.bsky.social · 2d

Catherine Connolly clarifies she would not hire someone on the sex offenders list

It followed Ms Connolly's comments during a Newstalk interview saying she would have to 'reflect' when asked if she would hire a rapist to Áras an Uachtaráin

dlvr.it

2 5 30

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 1d

The Situationists “sought to exploit new technologies and media, new performative strategies and interventions in everyday life in order to express a conflict between what they understood to be two sides of a new kind of war: not East versus West, but freedom and play versus oppression and horror.”

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

1 10 16

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Izzy Kamikaze @izzykamikaze.bsky.social · 1d

"The right believes that her message to children about sex is good because she’s telling the queer ones to feel bad, while the left’s message – that everyone should generally feel good about themselves – is grooming."

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

"The same people who believe it’s 'grooming' and 'sexualizing' for a teacher to read a book to children about two male penguins raising a child now want anti-science therapists to talk to kids about what God wants them to do with their genitals…"

www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/the-...

The conversion therapy case shows the right wants to talk to kids about sex but only to shame them - LGBTQ Nation

The right has said for years that talking about LGBTQ+ with kids "sexualizes" them. Now they're begging the Supreme Court to shame kids about sex.

www.lgbtqnation.com

2 5 20

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Micah @rincewind.run · 2d

Discworld QOTD, from Men at Arms

“If you had enough money, you could hardly commit crimes at all. You just perpetrated amusing little peccadilloes.”

Micah @rincewind.run · 3d

Discworld QOTD, from The Wee Free Men

Tiffany was on the whole quite a truthful person, but it seemed to her that there were times when things didn’t divide easily into ‘true’ and ‘false’, but instead could be ‘things that people needed to know at the moment’ and ‘things that they didn’t need to know at the moment’.

3 150 610

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Slava Greenberg 🩼🏳️‍⚧️✡️🇺🇦 in 🇳🇱 for 🍉 @slavagreenberg.bsky.social · 2d

“Genspect is a group whose primary policy goal is to end access to medical transition, though they have also advocated against the acceptance & inclusion of trans ppl in society, particularly in school settings. In 2024 the Southern Poverty Law Center officially designated it as a hate group”

Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 2d

A fringe group wants the field of psychiatry to regress back to the days when stereotypes and prejudices resulted in mental illness diagnoses for marginalized populations.

In a new reported piece, @evanurquhart.bsky.social examines Genspect's call for the re-psychopathologization of trans identity.

Hate Group Calls for Re-Labeling Transness as Mental Illness — Assigned

A fringe group with no expertise pushes the field of psychiatry to regress to a pre-scientific, prejudice-soaked view of trans people. It coincides with the far-right political agenda.

www.assignedmedia.org

18 41

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Izzy Kamikaze @izzykamikaze.bsky.social · 2d

CASE works to expose legal harassment and intimidation,
to protect the rights of those who speak out, and to advocate for comprehensive
protective measures and reform. CASE aims to help "free writers & campaigners from the crippling impact of vexatious lawsuits."

1 4 24

Reposted by Phil Kehoe

Izzy Kamikaze @izzykamikaze.bsky.social · 2d

CASE has also published today a useful explainer on the background to the case, in which O'Malley's action has resulted in suppression for the last 9 months of the entire LGBTQI+ special edition of the Journal of Irish Counsellors & Psychotherapists.
www.the-case.eu/latest/slapp...

It’s a SLAPP: Stella O’Malley Targets Psychotherapist and Rights Advocate Leonie O’Dowd – CASE

www.the-case.eu

1 13 39