Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Tony Jenson @tonyjenson.bsky.social · 8h

Reposted

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 9h

You've probably seen the photos of the "Arc de Trump," spotted in the Oval Office.

Now read our story behind the models — and how initial plans for a temporary, triumphal arch have given way to Trump's desire to build a permanent monument.

Scoopy details at @washingtonpost.com:

Trump eyes a triumphal arch to mark America’s 250th anniversary

The arch would be constructed across from the Lincoln Memorial, on a small patch of federal land currently occupied by a traffic circle.

www.washingtonpost.com

47 53 98

Reposted

Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 12h

Farage on Gill and Pro Russian media bribes” I told him not to go. He defied me and went. I was completely unaware of any statements that he made."

Farage with pro Russian media (and wife of briber) on the day Gill made his statements in 2018

26 190 340

Reposted

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.

94 3.1K 11K

Reposted

Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 9h

The 'Arc de Trump' news has a kind of nauseating inevitability. It really was only a matter of time before some kind of Albert Speer style Germania plan bubbled up in MAGA brains.

3 2 15

Reposted

Skot Armstrong @skot.bsky.social · 10h

Man Juggling His Own Head,
Allain De Torbéchet c. 1880

#FlashbackFriday

2 8 22

Reposted

Rabih Alameddine @rabihalameddine.bsky.social · 10h

Ansel Adams (1902-1984)
Grand Canyon from Point Imperial, Arizona, c. 1942

3 22 240

Reposted

Rabih Alameddine @rabihalameddine.bsky.social · Aug 2

Societies never know it, but the war of an artist with his society is a lover's war, and he does, at his best, what lovers do, which is to reveal the beloved to himself and, with that revelation, to make freedom real.
-Baldwin

2 55 160

Reposted

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 11h

Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds

Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the Guardian Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop the abuse of contacts and access made in public office, an ethics watchdog has found. Last month the Guardian published revelations about Johnson’s conduct since leaving office. The Boris Files, a trove of documents from the former prime minister’s private office seen by the Guardian, suggested he repeatedly broke rules forbidding him from exploiting contacts made in office for private gain. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

64 120 250

Reposted

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 10h

Looking scared when confronted by masked armed secret police is officially a reason why they can now detain you.

thematthill.bsky.social @thematthill.bsky.social · 3d

Wow. Greg Bovino admits on camera that his agents can detain people if you look scared, change your demeanor, or grip a steering wheel too tight.

As his unmasked agents walk around with large guns to scare you, they may arrest you just for that — even if you're a U.S. citizen.

3 54 98

Reposted

Johnnie Jae @johnniejae.bsky.social · 1d

Let me take a minute to remind folks that Christopher Columbus did NOT discover new lands. These lands were already home to Indigenous peoples since time immemorial, they were never wild or in need of taming. We had language, culture and even a spiritual connection to Creator.

1 19 71

Reposted

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 1d

This isn't a "why can't we all get along" kumbaya moment. Its a moment to understand all the ways in which the people who created OpenAI, Anthropic etc claiming that their machine god will bring utopia, are the actual "existential risks" to humanity.

Raising billions of dollars to "save humanity."

2 53 190

Reposted

John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 1d

👆"He is the sort of writer who attracts what Jorge Luis Borges called 'terror-stricken praise'. His novels are dark and gloomy, favour atmosphere over plot and are written in long sentences and even longer paragraphs. Krasznahorkai: sounds like a sneeze, reads like Henry James having a fever dream."

2 8 21

cabinetstories.bsky.social @cabinetstories.bsky.social · 1d

Or Etonians circa Johnson, Cameron, Rees-Mogg & Kruger?

Reposted

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 1d

fucking WOOF

Scoop: Dominion Voting sold to company run by ex-GOP election official

Dominion is one of the biggest election equipment providers and was used by 27 states during the 2024 election.

www.axios.com

110 620 2.4K

Reposted

Dean Obeidallah @deanobeidallah.bsky.social · 1d

UNREAL: Norway braces for Trump’s reaction if he does not win Nobel peace prize. He may impose tariffs, demand higher Nato contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Norway braces for Trump’s reaction if he does not win Nobel peace prize

US president may impose tariffs, demand higher Nato contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says

www.theguardian.com

49 61 150

Reposted

Dan Kaszeta FRHistS @dankaszeta.bsky.social · 1d

Yet we have the idiotic Tory party promising a “British ICE”… what kind of defective person looks at this sort of thing as says “oooh we’ll take some of that here!”

CollinCountyDems @collincountydems.bsky.social · 1d

This is terrifying!

ICE breaks into this woman’s car in the pick-up line at West Loop Elementary school in Chicago and detains her before she can pick her kids up from school. (They were eventually let go after showing their documents)

This is Trump’s America.

3 4 24

Reposted

Nick Harkaway @nickharkaway.com · 1d

I am dealing with a “thorny problem” right now, today. It is hard and scary because IT IS ALWAYS HARD AND SCARY. But it is also where you do your best work. It is where stories go from “meh” to “WOW”. When I fix it - because that is the job - I will be that much closer to something worth reading.

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 2d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

17 70 410

Reposted

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 1d

It really can't be said enough: the goal of the "anti-woke" movement was always to destroy social norms against bigotry. And it worked. And there's a whole lot of purportedly "left" thinkers & commentators who helped it -- indeed, it couldn't have been done without them.

They should feel bad.

60 1.3K 5.1K

Reposted

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 1d

Nigel Farage accuses teachers of "poisoning our kids" on race issues.

Here's a reminder of what teachers and fellow pupils at Farage's own school remember of his own views on that subject.

www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...

55 700 1.4K

Reposted

Simon Spanton @simonguy.bsky.social · 1d

6 month old post wins this week's internet.

Elle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · Mar 23

this cat looks like one of the Old Master painters who's just slept with three servants, argued viciously with his annoying patron about the inferior ham he receives, and then painted his masterpiece out of spite

Collection of paints, brushes and pots on an old table. In the corner a large very fluffy cat sprawls in decadence

1 3 29

Reposted

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

Trump’s war on wind power has one very big exception: His own sons.

Eric and Don Jr. have been using scarce clean energy to mine for bitcoins.

Trump's war on wind power has one very big exception

The president's sons are using scarce clean energy to mine for bitcoins.

www.motherjones.com

8 86 220

Reposted

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

I really don't know what to do about a situation where a plurality of the group that (rightly!) takes up most government spending thinks that it is unrepresented in politics.

Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 1d

Hollow laughter

59 100 520

Reposted

Yair Rosenberg @yair-rosenberg.bsky.social · 1d

Shouldn't be overlooked: Trump's victory visit to Israel doubles as a straitjacket that binds Netanyahu's government to the agreement. You can't give Trump a standing ovation in the Knesset for his fabulous peace plan, then go back to bombing right after without embarrassing him. That matters.

7 16 79

Reposted

Cas Ⓜ️udde @casmudde.bsky.social · 1d

A professor is threatened online, has his flight canceled mysteriously, and this is all his university has to say:

“Rutgers University is committed to providing a secure environment (...) where all members of our community can share their opinions without fear of intimidation or harassment,

US anti-fascism expert blocked from flying to Spain at airport

Rutgers University professor who published book on antifa was informed at boarding gate that his trip was cancelled

www.theguardian.com

2 51 99