Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Matt Collin

rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 4d

i had an opinion about the new tswift record after all
www.patreon.com/posts/140377...

“Eldest Daughter" is a symptom of my overall issue with Taylor Swift: the scale of her music just feels fucking off. In 2025, she's no longer a lovelorn kid singing about Romeo and Juliet; she's a 35-year-old billionaire who's played sold out stadiums all over the world. She's Taylor Swift. That's her name. Damn near every living person knows who she is, and she's singing about the internet? About the fucking comments section? When she sings "I'm not a bad bitch," is she even aware that she's lying, that she's worshipped by more girls and women than almost anybody else? Even her love songs feel incorrect to me on these grounds. When I think about the real circumstances of her life, I just start wondering where the songs are about the housekeepers, the assistants, the cooks, the drivers, and every other person who's changed her life way more than the man in the Musso and Frank's booth in "Elizabeth Taylor." I struggle to trust her as the lyrical steward of ordinary human experiences. I am certain it's been many years since she's had one the way I have them, with all the waiting for a table that implies, and the navigating of customer service phone trees, the dithering over $35 travel insurance that I can never decide if I actually need, the frantic emails about unpaid freelance invoices, the trip back to the grocery store for the thing I forgot when I went earlier in the day, and all the other boring crap I have to do because I can't buy up other people's lifetimes so they have to do it for me.

27 140 1.1K

Reposted by Matt Collin

Florian Hollenbach @fhollenbach.org · 7d

Are you interested in research on corruption/illicit finance/kleptocracy? We are hiring a Research Fellow at @acdatacollective.bsky.social: acdatacollective.org/wp-content/u...
Please share in your networks, this could be a great gig.

acdatacollective.org

23 16

Reposted by Matt Collin

Pascale Müller @pascalemueller.bsky.social · 8d

Farm owners convicted of exploiting migrant workers continue to claim millions in subsidies.

Our investigation traced dozens of EU payments to farms that have breached, are under investigation for, or have already been convicted of labour-related offences. @journalismfund.bsky.social

DeSmog @desmog.com · 8d

🔴 Revealed: EU Farm Subsidy ‘Bankrolls’ Widespread Labour Abuse

New investigation reveals how farm owners convicted of exploiting migrant workers rake in millions in subsidies 👇

www.desmog.com/2025/09/29/r...

Revealed: EU Farm Subsidy ‘Bankrolls’ Widespread Labour Abuse

This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe. Farm owners convicted of exploiting migrant workers continue to claim millions in taxpayer-funded subsidies, DeSmog can reve...

www.desmog.com

2 4 7

Reposted by Matt Collin

Stephen Abbott Pugh @stephenabbottpugh.bsky.social · 9d

The European Commission has opened infringement procedures against Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden after the countries failed to provide comprehensive access to beneficial ownership information ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Commission takes action to ensure complete and timely transposition of EU directives

The European Commission is taking action against several EU Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of measures they have adopted to transpose EU Directives into their national laws. T

ec.europa.eu

4 2

Reposted by Matt Collin

John Dell'Osso @johndellosso.bsky.social · 10d

New with the @postandcourier.bsky.social, @ajc.com and @istories.bsky.social...

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US sanctioned Sergey Khotimskiy and the bank he co-founded, Sovcombank. He finalized the transfer of as much as $43 million in real estate to his ex-wife before the sanctions.

Sanctioned Russian bankers plowed millions into this South Carolina resort

Russian bankers hit by U.S. sanctions bought multimillion-dollar homes in South Carolina’s Palmetto Bluff neighborhood and retail centers in Atlanta, Georgia.

www.postandcourier.com

1 6 5

Reposted by Matt Collin

The Institute for Fiscal Studies @theifs.bsky.social · 14d

The 7th World Bank / @odi.global / IFS Public Finance Conference starts tomorrow, with keynotes from LSE's Tim Besley and Norwegian University of Life Sciences' Annette Alstadsaeter.

🖥️ Find out more and join the livestreams here: www.worldbank.org/en/events/20...

4 4

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · 15d

Oooh thanks for pointing this out!

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · 16d

My post mortem of the US's Corporate Transparency Act
datadarkly.substack.com/p/america-la...

1 1 3

Reposted by Matt Collin

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 18d

Nick Kristof went to talk to some of the moms losing their beloved children to Trump’s aid cuts. We are paying storage on already existing food rather than release it to starving kids. “I loved my child so much” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

Opinion | Trump’s Most Lethal Policy

www.nytimes.com

8 160 400

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · 19d

Something seems a bit off about this figure. Seems unlikely that Disney would have made 100% of its revenue from one segment in any given year

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · 19d

3

Matt Collin @mattcollin.bsky.social · 21d

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

2 6

Reposted by Matt Collin

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 21d

I love London so much. So much.

Did you know that London has the lowest level of ethnic violence of any city of comparable size in the world?

Multiculturalism has in fact worked here. They just don’t want it to be true because we happen to have a Muslim mayor.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 21d

In London, hate will never win.