Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Charles PM

makena kelly @makenakelly.bsky.social · 59m

NEW: Trump Wants to Take Over Cities. Influencers Are Giving Him the Fuel to Do It

Wrote a bit about the content mill for consensus the Trump administration has created to justify its law-and-order immigration agenda.

More here:
www.wired.com/story/trump-...

Trump Wants to Take Over Cities. Influencers Are Giving Him the Fuel to Do It

The Trump administration has built its own content mill to justify its law-and-order immigration agenda.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Charles PM

Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 17h

If you're interested in learning more about Reconstruction and the fascinating era this game would have covered, you can get a terrific primer via @jamellebouie.net's appearance on the You're Wrong About podcast

yourewrongabout.buzzsprout.com/1112270/epis...

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Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 17h

One person involved in the game said it was meant to show how racial tensions can be manipulated as a means to control a society—a valuable subject to explore...

But that concept, they believe, came to be viewed by management as too politically sensitive, dooming the project by mid-2024

Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year

Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File

www.gamefile.news

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Xalavier Nelson Jr. @writnelson.bsky.social · 1d

You would not believe how many stories like this have been popping up over the last ~5 years

Not just full games cancelled—entire characters and plot lines removed or changed, leaving less time for making the *rest of the game better*, to try avoiding a small and malicious contingent of voices.

Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year

Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File

www.gamefile.news

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Joseph Knoop @josephknoop.bsky.social · 1d

Extra funny when you think about how Sinners, which features Michael B. Jordan gunning down Klansmen in broad daylight in slow-mo, is the 10th highest-grossing R-rated film of all time - higher than The Hangover, 300, Logan, John Wick 4, etc....

Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year

Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File

www.gamefile.news

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Jack Tripper @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 2d

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that all these data centers are going into communities that have been historically targeted for exploitation and have the least amount of civic power wielded by the people living there.

wordinblack.com/2025/09/alab...

Why Are Plans for This Alabama Data Center So Hush-Hush?

Officials in Bessemer, Alabama, are mum on Project Marvel, a proposed data center the size of 18 Walmart Supercenters.

wordinblack.com

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 2d

There isn't much to say about Iron: Ares, a movie that for some reason decides to frame Jared Leto as its star when Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Gillian Anderson are right there just waiting for something to do. My review:

The Verge @theverge.com · 2d

Tron: Ares is a soft reboot that’s running low on RAM

Disney’s new Tron follow-up is a dud.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Charles PM

Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 2d

just going to speak this into the world: I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall for her first meeting with standards and practices. if you know anything, I'm very easy to reach xo

Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 2d

please read my memo www.theverge.com/business/793...

Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed

Bari Weiss has sold her company, The Free Press, to manage the decline of broadcast news at CBS. How many ways can it go wrong?

www.theverge.com

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 1d

Really wanted this to be a new Geist 😔

The Verge @theverge.com · 1d

It was Pikmin all along

One mystery revealed.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Charles PM

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 2d

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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demon core vidal (halloween style. bc demons are SPOOKY) @regretagarbo.rip · 2d

“finish adding a feature” we literally all thought was there from the get go. “finish adding a feature” when jay yelled at all of us to shut the fuck up and federate if we wanted change.

unbelievable

Asked about why Link had to contact Bluesky to ask what had happened to his account rather than receiving a notice, Paul Frazee, the service's CTO, said that it was "unfortunate," and that Bluesky needed to finish adding a feature to let users of external PDSes know if they have been banned by Bluesky labelers.

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Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 2d

please read my memo www.theverge.com/business/793...

Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed

Bari Weiss has sold her company, The Free Press, to manage the decline of broadcast news at CBS. How many ways can it go wrong?

www.theverge.com

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 2d

There isn't much to say about Iron: Ares, a movie that for some reason decides to frame Jared Leto as its star when Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Gillian Anderson are right there just waiting for something to do. My review:

The Verge @theverge.com · 2d

Tron: Ares is a soft reboot that’s running low on RAM

Disney’s new Tron follow-up is a dud.

buff.ly

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 2d

The Newsroom (2012) was a mistake

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 2d

NEW from me:

CBS News staffers literally rolled their eyes after new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss delivered a "cringey" rallying cry during today's editorial call, exclaiming: "Let's do the fucking news!"

"She's cosplaying as a broadcast journalist," one said.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

‘Let’s do the f***ing news’: Bari Weiss causes ‘eye rolls’ with CBS News rallying cry

EXCLUSIVE: Multiple CBS News staffers told The Independent that Bari Weiss’ ‘cringey’ comments on the editorial call literally caused eyes to roll.

www.independent.co.uk

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Reposted by Charles PM

The Verge @theverge.com · 3d

"You have elected to take a job where the primary purpose is for you to eat shit and own the death of broadcast TV news, a thing that is going to die no matter what you do. Nice work!"

Read more from @lopatto.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/business/793...

A photo of Bari Weiss over a headline: "Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You're doomed"

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 3d

Sending strength to everyone who is about to have to explain to all the elders in their lives who Bari is

Patrick Hruby @patrickhruby.bsky.social · 3d

This list could easily be condensed to five items

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Reposted by Charles PM

Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 5d

Weapons (2025)

A screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy depicting Mario running with his arms stretched out to the side

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4d

We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops.

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4d

This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.

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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 4d

Amazed at the number of guys who are willing to give interviews about how since they didn’t find love with women they found love with the computer that’s poisoning people in black neighborhoods

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 5d

Wrote about the entertainment industry trades trying to will this nonsense into existence

The Verge @theverge.com · 5d

Tilly Norwood is a gen AI psyop

The point is to normalize generative AI in your mind.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Charles PM

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 4d

I think often about the Amazon engineer who wrote in an open letter to the company that Ring was “incompatible” with a free society.

Analysis | Amazon’s Ring plans to scan everyone’s face at the door

For the first time, the company is putting facial recognition into its home security doorbells and video cameras.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Jack Tripper @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 5d

The fact they jumped straight to AI actors modeled after women when, if I’m not mistaken, male actors are a higher labor cost kind of says it all doesn’t it,

Dr. Damien P. Williams Wants A Better Sociotechnical Paradigm @wolvendamien.bsky.social · 5d

Like… it's kind of right there, no?

"AI" generated image of woman with dark hair sitting in a chair in front of posters with random shapes and symbols meant to look like images and text on movie posters, all superimposed with a post from k.w.bogen reading
"AI actresses can't negotiate. They can't say they'd prefer their bodies not be shown certgain ways. They can't refuse degrading scenes. They can't express distress about disturbing content. They can't ask the creators :why would you do that to me? Why put any woman through watching that? If AI film winds up being the path, we're about to see an entirely new generation (and more brutal depiction) of media misogyny."

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Charles PM @charlespulliam.bsky.social · 5d

Weapons (2025)

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 5d

“All of this feels ridiculous because that’s exactly what it is. But the larger goal is to inure you to the strangeness of it all so that when these products — be they movies, shows, or TikToks — finally come to market, your reaction is ‘Sure, why not?’”

Tilly Norwood is a gen AI psyop

The point is to normalize generative AI in your mind.

www.theverge.com

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