Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by alex d.

History is What's Happening @historyiswhat.bsky.social · 19h

"Yellowhead Institute’s Mskwaasin Agnew detained, flotilla to Gaza ‘pirated by Israel’"

BREAKING: Yellowhead Institute’s Mskwaasin Agnew detained, flotilla to Gaza ‘pirated by Israel’

The Freedom Flotilla Commission said all boats delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza have been boarded by Israeli forces.

theeyeopener.com

1 11 13

Reposted by alex d.

Kittie @kittiepeters.com · 2d

delete chatgpt and stop using generative AI 🖤🤍

Sam Altman’s AI empire will devour as much power as New York City and San Diego combined. Experts say it’s ‘scary’ | Fortune

Andrew Chien told Fortune he’s been a computer scientist for 40 years but we’re close to “some seminal moments for how we think about AI and its impact on society.”

fortune.com

16 450 990

Reposted by alex d.

Florence Ashley @floralashes.bsky.social · 1d

I am glad to read the head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association supporting me and taking a stand for academic freedom!

Opinion: U of A's response to Charlie Kirk comments erodes academic freedom

This case cannot be separated from the broader landscape of academic freedom currently under strain in Canada and beyond.

edmontonjournal.com

1 35 110

Reposted by alex d.

Andy Grabia @agrabia.bsky.social · 6d

Between Edmonton Police interfering in an ongoing case and Calgary Police endorsing political candidates, we’re seeing law enforcement in this province cross lines that will only erode the public’s trust in their activities. You should also not vote for any politician who believes this is ok.

Calgary Police Association endorses Communities First party, Sharp for mayor

The union representing more than 2,300 police officers in Calgary is throwing its support behind the Communities First party for the upcoming municipal election.

www.ctvnews.ca

4 8

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 5d

#ucp will wait out this strike to turn parents & the public against #alberta teachers.

They will not address the issues underfunding of education is causing. They will deflect & gaslight until they divide us.

They run politics on anger, fear, & lies. Not what’s good for people.
#abed #abpoli

1 1

Reposted by alex d.

MondoAB @mondoab.bsky.social · 6d

"Something I have noticed after writing hundreds of articles on collective agreements is that public sector workers in Alberta have, over the last decade, seen years of wage freezes and below inflation wage increases."

The Alberta Worker @abworker.bsky.social · 7d

Today’s news story from @kimsiever.bsky.social

Alberta public sector wages falling behind

A recent survey showed that some public sector workers cannot make their monthly bill payments and have had to cut back on childcare and transportation expenses.

albertaworker.ca/news/alberta...

Alberta public sector wages falling behind

A recent survey showed that some public sector workers cannot make their monthly bill payments and have had to cut back on childcare and transportation expenses.

albertaworker.ca

3 12 26

Reposted by alex d.

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 8d

Once again, it is *faculty*—not administrators—who brought this case and won. Including UC Faculty Association chapters of the AAUP.

Court Rules in AAUP v Rubio: Trump Admin Violated First Amendment

The AAUP and partners sued to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty members for ideological reasons.

www.aaup.org

4 270 880

Reposted by alex d.

Aryn Toombs @aryn.bsky.social · 8d

Premier Smith acknowledges that maximum classroom sizes were not on the table in negotiations. That is something that I have heard from many teachers they want as part of the negotiations.

Smith said the government doesn't want caps for maximum flexibility.

1 2 7

Reposted by alex d.

M A Shane @mindfultalk.bsky.social · 8d

Keen to support Alberta Teachers?
Because they're putting it all on the line for OUR kids!

Here's how:

teachers.ab.ca/bargaining-n...

#abed #albertateachers #pubed #yeg #yyc #ATA

Community support information | Alberta Teachers' Association

Information for parents and public supporting Alberta teachers

teachers.ab.ca

4 3

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 8d

I don’t want $30 a day per child, I want a well-funded and thriving education system with well paid teachers and properly staffed schools.

#abed #abpoli #Alberta

The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 8d

The UCP accidentally posted their master plan for the teachers strike ahead of Smith’s presser.

$30 a DAY for kids under 12 starting at the end of October.

That’s it.

Imagine if they had just increased per student funding by $6000 a year per student?

#abpoli #abed #cdnpoli

2 8

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 8d

The party of “protecting children” reveals what type of parental rights they have in mind: control, silencing, and punishment.

The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 9d

At tonight’s “consultation”…

When a high school kid tried to raise concerns about the teachers strike, Bruce McAllister cut the kids mic and then suggested his parents should have beaten him more.

Listen to the clip yourself…

It’s…

Telling.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

2

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 8d

The party of “protecting children” reveals what type of parental rights they have in mind: control, silencing, and punishment.

Real Mike - Fake Ezzie 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 🌻 @fakeezzie.bsky.social · 9d

Here is a brave high school student *attempting* to ask a questions at the South Calgary Town Hall (separatist venting session). Before he even gets to his question or point, HIS MIC IS CUT OFF and Bruce McAllister suggests he should be spanked. #ableg #abpoli

www.youtube.com/live/Tk0p5_8...

Alberta Next: South Calgary Town Hall

YouTube video by Danielle Smith

www.youtube.com

2

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 9d

Absolutely!

1

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 9d

Complying in advance to fascist politics is not a good way to protect academic freedom, nor is it a good way to support those who do the hard work day in and day out to create an equitable world.

2

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 9d

"By placing me on leave, the University implicitly condoned and supported the targeted harassment of progressive academics across the United States and Canada for expressing a wide range of views critical of Charlie Kirk as part of a large-scale effort to have them terminated."
#UAlberta

Florence Ashley @floralashes.bsky.social · 9d

"Why would it bow to antidemocratic pressures by placing a professor on leave without their request, consent, or involvement? That any university would do this is beyond comprehension and is cause for alarm about the future of academic freedom in Canada."

What Happened to the University’s Commitment to Free Expression? Charley Kirk, uAlberta, and Me | Centre for Free Expression

I was shocked when the University of Alberta administration informed me, one of its law professors, that I was being placed on non-disciplinary leave for my social media comments in the wake of Charli...

cfe.torontomu.ca

2 18 37

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 9d

That privatization is cheaper and more efficient may be one of the biggest swindles of the last 50 years.
It’s a wealth transfer upwards.

#neoliberalism #abpoli #ableg

Petra Schulz @msthpetra.bsky.social · 9d

Danielle Smith told us privatization would “save money” and “fix wait times.”
Yet: Albertans are paying double.

Hip Replacement
Public ~$4,000
Private ~$8,300

Knee Replacement
Public: ~$5,000
Private: ~$9,000

By @lindawalkerwrites.bsky.social #ABpoli
lindawalkerwrites.substack.com/p/p3-youve-b...

Graph showing the differences and cost of surgeries in private and public facilities. Number is quoted in post, except shoulder surgery, also included in the graph.
In all instances the green bar graph showing cost in public facilities, is half the size of the orange graph showing private facility cost.

7 11

Reposted by alex d.

Petra Schulz @msthpetra.bsky.social · 9d

Danielle Smith told us privatization would “save money” and “fix wait times.”
Yet: Albertans are paying double.

Hip Replacement
Public ~$4,000
Private ~$8,300

Knee Replacement
Public: ~$5,000
Private: ~$9,000

By @lindawalkerwrites.bsky.social #ABpoli
lindawalkerwrites.substack.com/p/p3-youve-b...

8 31 57

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 13d

Very concerning, given transphobia/gender policing, "law and order" discourse, immigrant-blaming, resource extraction, protests + free speech on campuses and beyond, corruption, etc

Yet many keep helping to expand police power.

People need to connect the dots as to where this is heading.

2 6

Reposted by alex d.

The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 14d

Danielle Smith and the UCP are willing to give insurance companies more than double the raise in one year that they’re willing to give teachers in one year.

(Plus even good drivers will see a 7.5% increase on their insurance)

Telling.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli #abed

7 80 150

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 13d

Thinking of Dave Chappelle’s joke about how peculiar it was that cops always found crack on black victims in the 80s: “sprinkle some crack on him. Open and shut case, Johnson!”

Now FBI is like: “sprinkle some bullets engraved with woke messages. Open and shut case: it’s the radical left.”

1

Reposted by alex d.

الكسندرا ميراي @lexialex.bsky.social · 13d

Spanish and Italian Navy are meeting Greek, Turkish, Egyptian and Libyan Navy to accompany the flotilla to Gaza. Nobody is talking about it in public but every private chat is talking about nothing else. I wouldn't be surprised if an attack on a NATO state is what will finally bring this to an end

10 97 230

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 14d

“Residential school denialism, then, is not just an attack on truth. It also increasingly has many of the hallmarks of an attack on truth-tellers and anyone who is listening.”

“Confronting denialism is an ethical and shared responsibility.”

theconversation.com/confronting-...

Confronting residential schools denialism is an ethical and shared Canadian responsibility

Residential schools denialism is harmful on many levels, and jeopardizes Canada’s ability to work with Indigenous Peoples to create a stronger future.

theconversation.com

18 24

Reposted by alex d.

Wagatwe Wanjuki @wagatwe.com · 15d

it's so nice to see what a functioning judiciary looks like

"A transgender woman in the East African nation of Kenya has won a landmark court victory in which the judge not only found in her favour, but ordered the government to pass a Transgender Protection Rights Act."

fuck yeah

Kenya transgender rights victory hailed as African first

QNews LGBTIQA+ News

qnews.com.au

26 4.3K 15K

Reposted by alex d.

Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 16d

Bothers me when people discuss Left movements in the U.S. w/out underscoring the GENERATIONS of repression, surveillance, violence directed at movements. The "Left" is so disorganized is used as a joke but I hardly ever see those same people saying 'THE LEFT WAS TARGETED & DISORGANIZED by the STATE'

47 980 3.2K

alex d. @alexdacosta.bsky.social · 17d

www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...

Brazilians protest bill that could grant ex-President Bolsonaro amnesty

Protesters are angry over bills that could grant Bolsonaro amnesty after a coup attempt and give lawmakers immunity.

www.aljazeera.com

1