Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 8h

Yet another way in which Big Tech is socializing the immense social, environmental, and safety costs of their business model.

Dr. Prakash Kashwan @pkashwan.bsky.social · 1d

"The fire department in Jerome Township, Ohio has grown increasingly annoyed at two Amazon data centers...Since the first site was approved by local officials in 2021, first responders have answered a combined 84 emergencies...on top of regular safety inspections" #AI futurism.com/future-socie...

First Responders Are Being Overwhelmed by Data Center Fires

First responders in a small Ohio town have answered 84 emergencies between two Amazon data centers, all on the taxpayer's dime.

futurism.com

Reposted by Basav

Courtney Vaughn @courtneyvaughn.bsky.social · 1d

Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 21h

This South Side Weekly report on the Chicago building raid is well worth reading. Most striking to me are the indications of collusion between federal authorities and the building owner and management to effect a mass eviction at the blighted property. southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 8h

ICE and CBP need to be dismantled, period. Rogue agencies staffed by sadistic thugs.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 8h

Egregious human rights abuses by federal law enforcement. Every single agent involved in this raid needs to face criminal charges.
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

Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 21h

Sticking with car dependence is a failure of imagination, particularly when the wide range of benefits of ending car dependence is so clear.

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 1d

“In a city once choked with cars and infamous for its traffic snarls, Paris has pulled off a remarkable turnaround…the French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently.” Via @momentummag.bsky.social

A victory for FAST leadership.

Paris Pedals to the Top: How the City of Light Became Europe’s Best for Young Cyclists

The French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently

momentummag.com

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 1d

Right wing grifters are scared of streets with those weird things on rails. The absence of oversized gas-guzzling monstrosities is genuinely distressing to them.

Climate and Transit @climateandtransit.bsky.social · 2d

From the Portland neighborhood that every right wing grifter uses for their propaganda. So dangerous that families are walking with their kids! And commuters are heading home from work! Scary stuff!

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 1d

A taco review blog is doing way better journalism than the New York Times, with orders of magnitude less resources.

Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 2d

One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.

They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 2d

@lataco.bsky.social first began as a blog documenting local Mexican cuisine. Now, it’s an essential reporting powerhouse to the city as Trump’s mass deportation plot unfolds.

Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 2d

It's a pretty big deal that the NYC Bar Association--one of the most prominent and respected bar associations in the country--is accusing the President of ordering the "unlawful summary execution," i.e. murder--of civilians in violation of US and international law. www.nycbar.org/press-releas...

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 2d

Too many people forget the existence of Washington DC. Not as the seat of national government, but as a real city with real people.

John Breen’s Body @acab.dad · 3d

I do want to politely remind people that there have been National Guard troops from states with Republican governors in a city with a Democratic mayor for months now.

It just happens that city isn’t in a state and so it doesn’t have a governor who can say no.

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onion person @junlper.beer · 3d

look ai is completely destroying the world with massive pollution and is using up water at a concerning rate but at least you get to use technology that lies to you and is the primary propaganda mechanism by fascists

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 3d

I said what I said: Kristi Noem should be tried at The Hague for crimes against humanity.

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Boycott Citizens Bank @boycottcitizens.bsky.social · 9d

🚨 It's time to talk about about DHS's surveillance apparatus.

For a few months, I've tracked ICE contracts for a map of companies supporting the mass deportation agenda. Huge sums for detention, weapons, and—especially alarming—an array of tech for spying on immigrants and citizens alike.

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Gene Sharp Quotes @gene-sharp-quotes.bsky.social · Apr 21

"All governments rely on cooperation and obedience for their very existence. When people choose to withhold or withdraw that cooperation, governments are left without any pillars to support their weight."

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 3d

Far from a reckoning. These pathetic failures are still in charge of the Democratic Party's message. That's why we don't have an opposition party worthy of the times.

G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 3d

There has been basically no (public) reckoning with the democratic strategists who said that "raising the salience" of immigration/deportations in ~March would help Trump, which was obviously wrong at the time and has been proved wrong over the last 6 months www.gelliottmorris.com/p/kilmar-abr...

Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 5d

Incredible @perrybaconjr.bsky.social interview with Chris Van Hollen

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 3d

History will remember Leilani Payne as a hero, and the cowardly federal Gestapo officer who attacked her as a criminal.

Alex Baumhardt @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social · 4d

19-year-old Leilani Payne who got sprayed directly in the eyes by federal police yesterday is back out at the Ice facility tonight.

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 4d

If an armed agent of the state feels like they have impunity to attack a clearly unarmed and nonviolent civilian with chemical weapons because they didn't like what the person was saying, then it's clearly an authoritarian police state.

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 5d

Federal officer blasts chemical spray into vocal but nonviolent Portland protester, video shows

The interaction illustrates how federal law enforcement officers do use aggressive tactics against protesters who yell and needle officers but don’t appear to present clear physical threats.

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Boycott Citizens Bank @boycottcitizens.bsky.social · 5d

ICE couldn't terrorize our communities to this degree without the hundreds of companies that provide it with goods and services—many of which also have contracts with blue cities and states.

*View map from browser, not app. Key on bottom (mobile) or side (computer). Click on pins for more info.

Who's Profiting from ICE? - Google My Maps

ICE depends on a web of private companies, local law enforcement, and elected officials around the country to support its work. This map includes: • Organizations receiving funding from ICE from FY...

www.google.com

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Chris Kluwe @chriswarcraft.bsky.social · 5d

I am once again calling on state governors to mobilize their National Guards to escort congressmembers into ICE facilities so they can DO THEIR LAWFULLY ASSIGNED FEDERAL DUTIES

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 5d

Federal agents are overtly abusing their power to try to intimidate advocates and elected officials. We need ICE out of Illinois immediately and justice for people like Ald. Jessie Fuentes who are defending their communities.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/03/f...

Federal Agents Handcuff Chicago Alderperson At Hospital ER

In another incident caught on video Friday, federal agents inside a car randomly threw tear gas into a Logan Square street while people — including a 2-year-old — were outside nearby.

blockclubchicago.org

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 5d

The US is a dangerous country for journalists.

Truthout @truthout.org · 5d

Emmy award-winning journalist Mario Guevara was deported today to El Salvador – a country he fled over 20 years ago — in retaliation for filming law enforcement activities. Officers arrested him while he was reporting at a “No Kings” protest against Trump, even though he was wearing a “PRESS” vest.

Journalist Mario Guevara Deported After Reporting on Anti-Trump Protest

Human rights organizations have condemned Mario Guevara’s deportation as an authoritarian attack on the free press.

truthout.org

Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 5d

This should be the biggest scandal in the US right now. If it isn't, that's the failure of our establishment media.
newrepublic.com/post/201258/...

ICE Zip-Ties Children in Horrific Raid on Chicago Apartment Building

ICE agents forced everyone out of a Chicago apartment building in the dead of night.

newrepublic.com

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 5d

These assholes don't want transgender folks using public restrooms, so they shouldn't be allowed to use public restrooms either. Serves them right.

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 5d

Kristi Noem is mad they wouldn’t let her in to use the restroom in Illinois today.

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talia jane ❤️‍🔥 @taliajane.bsky.social · 12d

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Assata Shakur

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 12d

Just subscribed to The Handbasket to support outstanding independent journalism. You should, too!
www.thehandbasket.co/p/ice-agents...

ICE agents point guns at bystanders during violent arrest in Maryland

“What’re you gonna do? Shoot me?” one witness yelled. “Go ahead. Shoot me.”

www.thehandbasket.co

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Basav @basavsen.bsky.social · 12d

No self-respecting world leader wants to sit through a war criminal's speech.

Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 12d

A mass walkout of the UN General Assembly as Netanyahu prepares to speak.

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