Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 6h

It’s almost like slavery never ended. shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/will-slave...

Will slavery ever end in America?

Celebrations of Juneteenth confuse history with aspiration

shahidbuttar.substack.com

Reposted by Shahid Buttar

Anodyne @anodynesix.bsky.social · 1d

"[I]t is company policy in many newsrooms to devalue Palestinian stories and to prop up Israeli military narratives. Over the last two years, memos have leaked from media organizations revealing... internal policies for covering the genocide—notably, by banning reporters from calling it a genocide."

Prism @prismreports.org · 5d

“As the genocide rages on, I am still struggling with how the term 'journalist' is given both to those on the ground who have died reporting important stories & those who have been complicit in these atrocities,” writes Samaa Khullar.

Abandoned by Western peers, Palestinian journalists remain steadfast

Palestinian journalists around the world say the Israeli military's targeting of journalists in Gaza—and Western media’s silence—has led them to think differently about their colleagues and their roles within the industry

prismreports.org

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Reposted by Shahid Buttar

Hobby Drifter in Tokyo @hobbydrifter.bsky.social · 7d

White people who have spent decades thinking “Born in the USA” is patriotic and “Every Breath You Take” is a great wedding song are suddenly very concerned about not being able to understand lyrics to some songs at the Super Bowl halftime show.

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 12h

To what extent is his addiction to FOX a reflection of a fragile ego requiring sycophants for validation?

The rise of the fragile “tough guy”

From police to our president, and the federal goon squads he has deployed from Los Angeles to DC, we all seem to exist at the whim of supposed “tough guys” whose reputations belie their weakness

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 12h

The power to kill without charge or trial is as deeply dystopian as it is outrageously bipartisan.

Trump’s arbitrary assassinations were enabled by Democrats

Observers reacted to Trump’s assassination of suspected drug traffickers presumptively described as terrorists, forgetting how Obama and his enablers cheered analogous drone strikes

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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Collateral Damage @coldamage.bsky.social · 12h

Khan Yunis, #Gaza.

When Germany did less than this to Warsaw, it led to the Nuremberg trials.

#FreePalestine #GazaHolocaust

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 1d

The latest unarmed flotilla mission intercepted by the Israeli Navy may have played a bigger role in compelling the peace plan than most observers realize. It confronted Israeli belligerence, which prompted a crucial international reaction whose impacts remain largely unobserved.

Who made the Gaza peace plan possible?

An international debate over the Nobel Peace Prize overlooked voices standing in solidarity and bearing witness to international crimes

open.substack.com

Reposted by Shahid Buttar

Anodyne @anodynesix.bsky.social · 1d

"Trump reportedly assured Hamas negotiators that he would guarantee that Israel would not resume the genocide after the first [ceasefire] phase ... Israel has a long history of breaking ceasefire agreements, and Trump did not hold Israel accountable when it broke its earlier ceasefire agreement."

Truthout @truthout.org · 2d

U.S. Central Command is reportedly establishing a “civil-military coordination center” in Israel, staffed with hundreds of troops, to monitor the newly implemented ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. officials have said.

US Sending 200 Troops to Israel, Establishing CENTCOM “Coordination Center”

The troops are reportedly in Israel to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

truthout.org

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Reposted by Shahid Buttar

The Volatile Mermaid @ohnoshetwitnt.bsky.social · 4d

ICE agents shooting an unarmed priest feels like a metaphor.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 4d

WATCH: Trump’s lawless Ice goons shoot an unarmed priest in the head with a pepper ball. Completely out of control.

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Harms Committed @harmscommitted.com · 3d

"Yes, an immediate deal that ends Israel's genocidal violence and mass starvation of Palestinians is critical."

"But Trump's longer-term vision for Gaza must be defeated."

"It's the moment for us to demand more."
#USA #WestBank #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #Genocide #EthnicCleansing

Trump’s Plan to Deprive Palestinians Any Say in Their Future

This is not the time for supporters of Palestinian self-determination to be quiet. It’s the moment for us to demand more.

theintercept.com

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Reposted by Shahid Buttar

Truthout @truthout.org · 2d

Overworked and understaffed, over 45,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente are poised to strike. For many of them, it’s becoming nearly impossible to ignore the sense that the incentives of profit and control are the prime reason behind too many changes.

23 Unions Plan to Strike Together If Kaiser Fails to Address Workplace Crises

Overworked and understaffed, over 45,000 health care workers at Kaiser Permanente are poised to strike.

buff.ly

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 1d

He and Biden and Harris have the blood of tens of thousands of Palestinians, as well as Donald Trump‘s reactionary legacy, on their hands.

7 ways Democrats made Donald Trump president

Constitutional terrorism has sadly bipartisan origins

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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awkword @awkword.bsky.social · 1d

🪦

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Anodyne @anodynesix.bsky.social · 1d

"María Corina Machado is a longtime U.S. ally, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year by a number of Florida Republicans, including then-Senator Marco Rubio ... In 2002, Machado supported the coup that briefly overthrew Venezuela's democratically elected President Hugo Chávez."

Truthout @truthout.org · 2d

Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has voiced support for U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and other efforts to topple the government; she aims to privatize the country’s state oil industry and has praised right-wing Latin American leaders, such as Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele.

2025 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Is Aligned With US Imperialism, Says Historian

María Corina Machado has voiced support for sanctions against Venezuela and praised right-wing Latin American leaders.

buff.ly

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 7d

What happened to Greta Thunberg is outrageous. She’s also not the first solidarity activist to be detained and beaten by Israel.

Throughout all this, remember how much worse Palestinians have had it for decades. shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/return-of-...

Return of the Jedi

The Israeli genocide in Gaza continues to grow more horrifying with every passing day—yet the global grassroots movement to end it has victories worth celebrating and building upon

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

It’s always good to see the judiciary show up for work. That said, anyone looking to the courts to defend democracy might consider not holding their breath.

It was our courts that began the right wing takeover—long before Trump came to the White House.

Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

“Making shit up to equate criticism with threats” seems to be the defining M.O. of this administration.

The rise of the fragile “tough guy”

From police to our president, and the federal goon squads he has deployed from Los Angeles to DC, we all seem to exist at the whim of supposed “tough guys” whose reputations belie their weakness

shahidbuttar.substack.com

Reposted by Shahid Buttar

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11d

Mamdani: "Every day, Trump wakes up and makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from. What is angering to me is not what Donald Trump does, because we've come to expect that from it. But it's the idea that we have to accept that as the law, as normal."

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

Brilliant commentary! Why accommodate such publicly visible frailty?

The rise of the fragile “tough guy”

From police to our president, and the federal goon squads he has deployed from Los Angeles to DC, we all seem to exist at the whim of supposed “tough guys” whose reputations belie their weakness

shahidbuttar.substack.com

Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

So much winning! I need to update this post to reflect yet another example

A dozen ways that the Trump administration is destroying America’s economy (Part II)

The Trump administration’s attack on the U.S. economy stretches well beyond tariffs

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

It’s amazing that institutions with such vast resources aren’t willing to stand up for their most supposedly sacred values.

To what extent are their leaders gripped by the same frailty as their leading antagonist?

The rise of the fragile “tough guy”

From police to our president, and the federal goon squads he has deployed from Los Angeles to DC, we all seem to exist at the whim of supposed “tough guys” whose reputations belie their weakness

shahidbuttar.substack.com

Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

Thank you for your advocacy! To what extent are the courts so co-opted that judicial independence has been reduced to anachronism?

A nation of morons

Watching Americans celebrate July 4 felt grotesque given the right wing revolution dragging America back to the darkest parts of its past

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

It might not be sustainable, but it was entirely predictable.

A dozen ways that the Trump administration is destroying America’s economy (Part II)

The Trump administration’s attack on the U.S. economy stretches well beyond tariffs

shahidbuttar.substack.com

Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

It’s almost like right wing voters are so hateful towards immigrants that they’re willing to shoot themselves and their families in the feet.

This isn’t even the first example of that pattern playing out.

A dozen ways that the Trump administration is destroying America's economy (Part I)

The candidate trusted by confused voters to improve the nation’s economy is doing precisely what he said he would—and no one should be surprised by the results

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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Shahid Buttar @shahbbles.bsky.social · 11d

You’re right, but perhaps ignoring the track record of whatever passes for journalism in the United States.

"Journalism" has fueled the rise of bipartisan fascism in America

Journalists embracing disinformation—usually to serve Wall Street and the Pentagon—made democracy a predictable casualty

shahidbuttar.substack.com

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