Author | Lightnews

Hansi Munasinghe

@hansimunasinghe.bsky.social

420 followers 1.1K following 290 posts

Researcher 👩🏾‍💻 Cities and transportation policy | Sociology PhD 🔬 Immigration, social & political inequality | also here to chit chat about 📺 TV and movies, 📚 books, 🧶 fiber arts, 🌱gardening | 🇩🇪 🇱🇰 🇺🇸 she/her

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · Dec 6

Hi I'm new here! 👋🏾

I am a #sociology PhD and an applied researcher working on #publictransit #transportation #cities #urbanplanning #publichealth #envionment

Things that bring me joy:

👩🏾‍🍳 Cooking, baking and eating delicious food

📚 Reading #books

🌱 Learning about #gardening and #permaculture

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 5d

Mind you this woman *is* related to him - his dad's cousin, which I'm pretty sure is aunt once removed or something like that?

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 5d

Is your father's cousin not your aunt? Like aunt once removed or whatever???

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 5d

Calling all elders "aunt/uncle" is considered good manners in South Asian cultures, so when I heard about this *scandal* I assumed he called a random woman in his community "aunt". Turns out it was actually a relative, his father's cousin, which is like an aunt once removed or whatever right???

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 5d

i cannot believe that “mamdani calls a close adult relative an ‘aunt’ even if they are not literally their parent’s sister” is what counts as a “scandal” these days

Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 8d

This is several days old. But amidst so much else id missed it. That’s a stunning number. No wonder they about-faced. Reminder of the power of consumers in oligarch era, not subject to the same kind of targeting.

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 7d

*Fascists make authoritarian moves*

Weird opinion piece in major publication: Is this the right way to practice politics? 🤔

Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Randy @pamsson.bsky.social · 8d

I’ll be that guy. It’s really hard to rationalize the stand up to cancer MLB campaign knowing a LOT of the people on that field voted for a guy who is actively dismantling cancer research and picked a meth head who hates vaccines as his health guy.

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Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Alessandro Rigolon @alerigolon.bsky.social · 17d

The costs of America’s wasteful transportation and land use systems (and its failure to invest in rail) are becoming more evident:
- Cars are more expensive than ever
- Cities struggling with debt
- Some state DOTs are reducing plans to expand highways
- The housing affordability crisis

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 17d

They're gonna put a banner on the website blaming Democrats 😒

Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 19d

every young Republican staffer is a Nazi, it's that simple www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 18d

I still think about how COVID-19 gave the US the opportunity to finally provide some form of guaranteed and paid sick leave but noooooope.

Here we are five years later, and most of the US workforce is forced to show up sick or else lose pay or even risk losing their job.

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 19d

Website documenting book burnings in Germany in 1933.
verbrannte-orte.de/en

Scorched Places : Overview

Places of the national-socialist book burnings 1933.

verbrannte-orte.de

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 19d

"In service of all who are writing about book burnings today:
It wasn't just students
It wasn't just in Berlin
It wasn't only on May 10

We have documented 165 book burnings that took place between March and November, 1933."

web: verbrante-orte.de

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 19d

This account documents book burnings that took place across Germany in 1933. Even though the content is in German language, this history feels so important for people in the US to reflect on and engage with right now. I'll add a brief translation below:

#BannedBooks

Verbrannte Orte @verbrannteorte.bsky.social · May 10

Als Service für alle die heute über die #Bücherverbrennung schreiben:
* Es waren nicht nur Student:innen
* Es war nicht nur Berlin
* Es war nicht nur der 10. Mai
Wir haben in unserem Projekt über 165 Verbrennungen zwischen März und November 1933 dokumentiert.
verbrannte-orte.de
#KeinVergessen

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 20d

I'm sure there are too many of these stories but this was a recent fatal crash that has stayed on my mind
komonews.com/news/local/m...

Head-on crash kills driver in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood

A driver was killed in a head-on collision in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood Monday evening.

komonews.com

Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · 20d

Below is a collection of many other people of Italian heritage worthy of attention — people who have played an active role in the struggle for labor rights, gay and lesbian rights, human rights, and civil rights.
#TeachTruth Defend the #FreedomtoLearn

www.zinnedproject.org/materials/it...

Italian Americans Who Fought for Justice

Profile. Brief bios of people of Italian heritage who were committed to social justice.

www.zinnedproject.org

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 21d

TikTok has been serving me many 10-minute critical deep dives into Taylor Swift's new album, I'm seeing nothing on this here app? C'mon now we can do better than this on BlueSky!

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 21d

I keep being perplexed by the fact that some of the front runners of solar and wind power are states like Iowa and Texas, that are seeing major cuts under the current administration.

I think @robsandia.bsky.social should be campaigning on this!

Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 21d

Utah's Republican governor, Spencer Cox, is really not happy about the Trump administration killing the nation's largest solar project.

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · 22d

Finally gave into Hello Fresh coupons and browsed their recipes. And look what I found - spicy Sri Lankan inspired butter shrimp! #lka

Image shows a screenshot of the Hello Fresh website. Image of a bowl of rice topped with shrimp coated in a red curry sauce. Text underneath reads - global straight eats, s. Spicy Sri Lankan inspired butter shrimp with bell pepper, red onion, chili flakes and rice.

Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · Sep 24

Congratulations! Looks so creative and inspiring!

I would love to gift this book to myself because I could really use a dose of hope right now 😅

(My German is good enough to understand everything but struggle to form sentences so I am typing in English - sorry!)

Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · Sep 22

At a time when some use the language of feminism to attack trans rights, it’s vital to see feminist activists and scholars counteract such attacks. Feminist Legal Studies is inviting papers for a special issue that will explore how feminist goals and trans liberation are connected. Check it out.

✊🏾🏳️‍⚧️

Feminist Legal Studies @flsjournal.bsky.social · Sep 22

📣🏳️‍⚧️ Call for Papers

We are inviting papers for our special issue, “Feminist Responses to the Regression of Trans Rights: Strategies, Alliances, Hope.” The issue will be dedicated to trans-inclusive feminist legal analysis that addresses attacks on trans rights & lives.

Details below. Please share.

Call for Papers: Special Issue of Feminist Legal Studies

Feminist Responses to the Regression of Trans Rights: Strategies, Alliances, Hope

Amidst continuing backlash against trans rights, recognition and inclusion, two recent decisions from the UK have substantially impacted not only trans people’s legal status but also legal and social narratives of sex, gender and identity. The narrative that trans inclusion has a chilling effect on the rights of others, particularly women, has been adopted uncritically by both the UK Supreme Court in For Women Scotland and the Office for Students in its finding that the University of Sussex’s trans-inclusion policy had a chilling effect on free speech. These cases highlight a backlash that has been ongoing for some time, and sparks debates and fear of what may lie in the near future for trans people and kin, as well as other gender-variant persons, not only in the UK, but across jurisdictions and in a global perspective. The discourse of the ‘gender critical’ movement is splintering both the feminist and LGBT+ movements globally, with some aligning politically with the Far- and Christian Right against trans rights, adopting their terminology of ‘gender ideology’ and potentially posing a wider threat to sexual and reproductive rights.

While this a difficult situation for trans people, kin and allies, this special issue seeks to emphasise that legal battles – including battles (temporarily) lost – are also an opportunity to seek to reinforce old alliances and to form new ones, to find new legal frontiers and imaginaries, to reinforce the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of legal arguments as well as intergenerational memory of what feminist legal work is, has been and should be about. How, we ask, do these decisions (and those like them globally) reflect and reproduce structures of coloniality, heteronormativity and cisnormativity? What do these decisions add to critiques of legal feminism? What would be construct…

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Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Jennifer Molidor @jennifermolidor.bsky.social · Sep 23

The levels of evil in taking food out of the mouths of children…Mad about this admin’s disastrous cutting of SNAP, chopping meals in public schools, even ending support for climate-friendly local food? Don’t worry, we won’t track how many children are going without food

www.npr.org/2025/09/22/n...

USDA cancels survey tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food

The Department of Agriculture said it will end a longstanding annual food insecurity survey. Experts say the move will obscure the effects of recent changes that will lead to people losing food aid.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Micah @rincewind.run · Sep 19

cancelling Disney+ and Hulu is well and good but it’s not a huge hit on an individual level

but Disney adults? people who spend real money at the parks? you guys can make a dent, call ‘em up and tell them your vacation is postponed until they pull their heads out of their asses

River_Tam @rivertam.bsky.social · Sep 18

Heard from a friend at Disney+ that there are multiple levels of freakout internally, both from internal dissatisfaction, concerns about subscription cancelations, and of course the big one: concern about a boycott spilling over into parks and cruises.

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Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

Stone Cold “Crazy” Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · Sep 19

When you meet someone who wants you to be institutionalized, prosecuted, or killed, you should be asking yourself: what do I have in common with this person?

Tomorrow from Ezra Klein

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Hansi Munasinghe @hansimunasinghe.bsky.social · Sep 19

This is literally a thing that only exists in your mind.

Reposted by Hansi Munasinghe

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Sep 17

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com

“Today the United Nations commission that I lead is publishing its legal analysis of Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip,” Navi Pillay writes in a guest essay. “Our conclusion is stark: Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

Opinion | My U.N. Commission’s Finding: Israel Is Committing Genocide

The chief judge of the Rwandan genocide tribunal has concluded that Israel is guilty of the “crime of crimes” in Gaza.

nyti.ms

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