Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · 6d

I would find it very funny if USAID won this year's Nobel Peace Prize

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 6d

The fucking hypocrisy of the Trump administration.

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

International Particle Physics Outreach Group @ippog.bsky.social · 7d

📸 Miscellaneous from the CERN Non-Scientific Personnel Masterclass 💫
A few snapshots from the latest edition held on 1 October at IdeaSquare!

#CERN #IPPOG #Masterclass #IdeaSquare #ScienceForEveryone #Outreach

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · 11d

Have we passed peak social media? - on.ft.com/4nwwIYe via @FT

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · 11d

WTF

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 12d

Chicago, Illinois, 2025:

"They had the Black people in one van, and the immigrants in another van."

"They was bringing the kids down, had them zip-tied to each other."

"I kept asking, 'What is the morality?' One of them laughed. He said, 'Fuck them kids.'"

abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...

ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground

ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.

abc7chicago.com

Reposted by Tom McCauley

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 13d

Reminder that support for war crimes on TV was Hegseth's only qualification for the job; it's the only reason Trump knew he existed.

Secretary of War Crimes is the job he was auditioning for during his career as a drunken talking head on Fox.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14d

Hegseth: "We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement."

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · 18d

Thread.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 18d

As per usual: no mention of political violence against Democrats. The armed man near Kavanaugh’s house who turned himself in becomes an “assassination attempt” while the actual assassination of Melissa Hortman not mentioned. Attacks on ICE facilities are political violence but not attacks on CDC.

The WHITE HOUSE
45
47
K PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
Countering
Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence
Presidential Memoranda
September 25, 2025

=
The WHITE HOUSE
Section 1. Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence. Heinous assassinations and other acts of political violence in the United States have dramatically increased in recent years. Even in the aftermath of the horrifying assassination of Charlie Kirk, some individuals who adhered to the alleged shooter's ideology embraced and cheered this evil murder while actively encouraging more political violence. This was preceded by the 2024 assassination of a senior healthcare executive and the 2022 assassination attempt against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Two separate assassination attempts against my own life in less than 3 months took place during the 2024 Presidential election cycle. Riots in Los Angeles and Portland reflect a more than 1,000 percent increase in attacks on U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers since January 21, 2025, compared to the same period last year. Just yesterday, a shooting targeting an ICE facility in Dallas resulted in multiple casualties.
Separate anti-police and "criminal justice" riots have left many people dead and injured and inflicted over $2 billion in property damage nationwide.

Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · 21d

@cmsexperiment.bsky.social found in Togo

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

Jelani Cobb @jelaniya.bsky.social · 25d

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 22

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout.

On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar.

This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media.

Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

Photo of DOGE staffer Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old white man in a blue pullover, carrying a black backpack.

Photo of 53-year-old Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi. He is sitting, wearing white pants and shirt with a brown vest.

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · Aug 7

Defend WHAT now?

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · Jul 21

Yup. As I’ve said before, the right’s constant sense of grievance even as they control every branch of government stems from the fact that the base doesn’t really want specific policy reforms. They’re angry about cultural trends the government can’t really do anything about in a free society.

Bill McKay @mckay4senate.bsky.social · Jul 21

This is a great example of how conservative grievances are with society overall rather than government. It’s not even like a teacher told her; another student did! The only way around it is to police society so much that no child anywhere could learn about lesbians from anywhere and tell their kid.

Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 @reshetz.bsky.social · Jul 21

This entire story is just so batshit insane

“my kid learned about lesbians so now I’m gonna go and commit war crimes”

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · Jul 4

Sponsored by Brawndo

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · Jul 1

WTF. This sort of talk used to be beyond the pale. Now ...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jul 1

Trump calls for deporting US citizens: "We also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time ... many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that'll be the next job."

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

Science Magazine @science.org · Jun 18

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will build an unprecedented map of the universe—and discover billions of fast-changing objects. scim.ag/4kTwRE6

This giant, all-seeing telescope is set to revolutionize astronomy

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will build an unprecedented map of the universe—and discover billions of fast-changing objects

scim.ag

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Reposted by Tom McCauley

Jeremy Cliffe @jeremycliffe.bsky.social · Jun 18

Hell of a chart, this, from @financialtimes.com. Spot the JCPOA.

on.ft.com/4kSuQYO

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · Jun 15

"Galen is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice"

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Tom McCauley @tpmccauley.bsky.social · Jun 13

JFC, this story! I couldn't help but be reminded of John Dee "communicating" with angels.

They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...