Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 11h

a guillotine blade poised to drop, viewed from below

7 79

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Kelsey McKinney @mckinneykelsey.bsky.social · 16h

I loved this series when @sabs.bsky.social started it for us at Defector.com in March!!! defector.com/meet-the-civ...

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

2 28 140

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 19h

1 34

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Megan Greenwell @greenwell.bsky.social · 20h

Mom, can you come pick me up? They're playing "it's actually fine for K*tie P*rter to be an abusive boss because men do it too" again, and I'm scared they're going to dig out their "Carry Yourself With the Confidence of a Mediocre White Man" shirts.

1 13 180

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 1d

The literal reading of this statement is Pam Bondi is planning extrajudicial executions of random protesters.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 1d

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."

52 970 2.3K

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 1d

when the people who shuttered USAID learn of a diabetic single mother and her disabled son starving to death 9,000 miles away because of aid cuts, they don't see failure or dereliction or tragedy, but rather success: the people they view as unworthy of life are dying

She has no real way of explaining the danger of their situation to her son, who is 17 years old but cognitively closer to a toddler. And as a single mother too weak to forage, she has no real way of ensuring their survival. She also is too old to benefit from a recent policy change the Thai government made in a bid to prevent mass starvation, granting work rights to some of the 107,000 Myanmar refugees who, like her, live in Thailand’s border camps.

Her son never learned to speak, and needs her help with everything from getting dressed to using the toilet. Since the funding cuts, their survival has hinged on the charity of her Christian church, whose members occasionally give her handfuls of their rice.

She suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, and begins to sweat and grow dizzy when her hunger is at its fiercest. Some days, she eats nothing.

13 340 1.2K

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."

78 2.3K 4.9K

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 2d

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 2d

Here’s video of the incident

900 9.5K 17K

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 2d

i will UNPLUG THE WEBSITE before i let that happen

3

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Patrick Cosmos @veryimportant.lawyer · 2d

every time you read a story about how no-strings-attached direct payments to vulnerable, marginalized or otherwise needy people are a big net profit to the society disbursing them, and you ask "why doesn't america do that?", please know that this is the answer why

mac from always sunny saying "but who versus? who are we doing it versus?" because he cannot understand a plan that does not have a victim

6 94 670

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 2d

Hey CNN why are the gas prices on this photo so low? Ohhhh. I see. You're hoping no one notices this photo is from before the internet fucking existed. You shitheads.

CNN @cnn.com · 3d

"President Donald Trump and his top aides are using the word 'insurrection' more frequently to describe anti-ICE protests in places like Portland," writes Zachary B. Wolf. https://cnn.it/4pWYmzr

30 190 990

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 2d

disgusting, a disgrace to a fine web site defector.com/jaguars-junc...

Jaguars Junction: Week 5 | Defector

Jacksonville Jaguars move to a 4-1 record atop the NFL with a stunning victory. The news is so big and good that I’ve been cold calling people right out of the phone book to let them know about it. Wi...

defector.com

13

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 3d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

840 7.6K 16K

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 3d

will they set themselves to the work of atonement or be satisfied with a brand-saving disavowal? stay tuned to find ou[jaw falls off again, dog buries it in backyard]

Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 3d

“I voted for none of this."

Prominent influencers, including Theo Von, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Schulz, are starting to distance themselves from the president they helped propel to the White House.

Story: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

1 1 76

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 3d

gonna be at least 43 miserable old crabs asking advice columnists why they never hear from their adult children anymore in like 2035

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 3d

1. 4 months ago, The Supreme Court gave families a right to opt out of LGBTQ+ education in schools.

Now, in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the case originated, the results are in.

Only 43 families out of 160,000 students have exercised that new right.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Only 0.03% Opt Out Of LGBTQ+ Education In Maryland After SCOTUS Gives Them A Right To

After SCOTUS gave families a right to opt out of LGBTQ+ education, Montgomery County, Maryland is reporting only 43 families took them up on it.

www.erininthemorning.com

4 66

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 3d

there simply aren’t enough steakbrained loser pieces of shit out there for them to be able to fire guys who powerbomb unarmed women

Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 3d

That immigration agent who threw a woman to the ground, prompting DHS to declare his conduct "unacceptable"?

He's back at the courthouse.

And DHS still won't tell us his name.

Till Eckert @tilleckert.com · 3d

I recently reported on an ICE officer who was publicly reprimanded and “relieved of his duties” after shoving a woman to the ground in an NYC immigration court. Well, he’s back.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

Original story: www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

Photos: Carol Guzy

3 61

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

josh (oldfriend99) @oldfriend99.bsky.social · 3d

Everyone: children simply aren't "of the corn"
Stephen king: hold my beer

11 61 600

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Hemry, Local Bartender @bartenderhemry.bsky.social · 3d

"I'll approach it the way any reporter would—with an open mind, a fresh notebook, and an urgent deadline" is the telltale AI clunker here, checks every box. So ridiculous that this lazy piece of crap is in charge of anything

Ian Gordon @idgordon.bsky.social · 3d

If you'd like to delight in a side-by-side comparison, here's Bari Weiss' reported note to CBS staffers (left) and the one I cooked up on ChatGPT with a quickly dashed-off prompt (right). Looking forward to hearing from you in the days and weeks ahead!

2 12 99

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.com · 3d

CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.

ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't

CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.

ISILDUR: true

41 2.9K 10K

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 3d

Yes def one of my most-changed opinions from my 20s to now is that being famous to the extent you are recognizable to random members of the public went from sounding cool to me to clearly being an awful curse bsky.app/profile/ryan...

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 3d

extreme fame seems like one of those things that appears very desirable from the outside (and likely to lead to compulsive seeking behavior) but on the whole fuckin sucks ass

10 4 140

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Sen. Pumpkin Gogurt @ugarles.bsky.social · 3d

we're already in the middle of the Country Over party

Joe Sonka 😐 @joesonka.lpm.org · 3d

9 26 470

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 3d

lol

2

Kurtbert Barlowko @albertburneko.bsky.social · 3d

Bari Weiss signs huge deal to usher CBS News into its Vichy era: defector.com/bari-weiss-s...

The Ellisons and the rest of the billionaire class don't need the aerodynamic drag of association with fringier right-wing stuff; they want the prestige and lubricity of affiliation with important, elite institutions. That's the value proposition of the Ivy-incubated, Wall Street Journal and New York Times veteran Weiss: obsequiousness to power and capital without any of the wacky stuff, the imprimatur of elite consensus unburdened by any inconvenient commitment to reporting on the business of powerful people. What does this look like in practical terms?

1 15 77

Reposted by Kurtbert Barlowko

Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 4d

Look. Invading our own country is about as straightforward a case as you can have for impeachment. The GOP abandoning the Constitution is kind of the only story there is and it gets no coverage.

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 4d

Guys. I just had a crazy idea. What if the President DIDN’T deploy troops in American cities. Just a thought. Have we tried that before?

73 2K 7.5K