Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 9h

Sudan’s ERRs deserve a Nobel Prize : "A national network connects these local initiatives, and so doing sustains a fragile social fabric in defiance of warlords determined to rip the country apart...building the architecture of peace from the ground up."
www.globaldispatches.org/p/sudans-eme...

Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms Should Win the Nobel Peace Prize This Year

A grassroots network is saving lives in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis

www.globaldispatches.org

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 9h

“Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink looks at how hedge funds have gutted newsrooms across the country...selling off their assets and laying off workers...[M]ore than half the daily newspapers are either owned or controlled by hedge funds.”
www.democracynow.org/2025/10/8/st...

“Stripped for Parts”: Film Explores How Hedge Fund Plundered U.S. Newspapers

The new documentary Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink looks at how hedge funds have gutted newsrooms across the country. The hedge fund strategy of “distressed asset investing” invo...

www.democracynow.org

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 12h

Rita Morbia: "None of Canada’s current actions are enough to meet the moment. Canada needs a Special Envoy to Sudan as a catalyst to scale up our engagement in this horrific conflict."
www.mcleodgroup.ca/2025/10/suda...

Sudan’s “War of Atrocities” and Canada: Action Needed - The McLeod Group

McLeod Group guest blog by Rita Morbia, October 8, 2025 A War of Atrocities. Sadly, this title of the latest report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan is only too a...

www.mcleodgroup.ca

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 12h

U.S. coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, since Oct. 7, 2023: where were the Palestinians?
inthesetimes.com/article/gaza...

In 2 Years of Gaza Genocide, Sunday Shows on NBC, ABC and CNN Have Not Featured a Single Palestinian Guest

In a microcosm of the U.S. coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, since Oct. 7, 2023, influential Sunday news shows have not seen fit to book any Palestinians.

inthesetimes.com

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 12h

In the two years since the October 7, 2023, the U.S. government has spent $21.7 billion on military aid to Israel and $9.65 - $12.07 billion on related operations in the wider Middle East, for a total of over $31 billion and counting.
costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/HumanT...

The Human Toll of the Gaza War: Direct and Indirect Death from 7 October 2023 to 3 October 2025

Since October 7, 2023, over ten percent of the population of Gaza has been directly killed or injured in two years of Israel’s war in Gaza. In addition, writes political scientist Neta Crawford (Co-Fo...

costsofwar.watson.brown.edu

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 12h

To mark two years of Israel’s genocidal war, Gaza’s health ministry on Tuesday released an infographic with details on Palestinians killed and wounded in Gaza, including:

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 12h

Militants from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) have relentlessly attacked fuel tankers coming from neighboring Senegal and Ivory Coast, plunging the capital of the landlocked West African country into crisis.
apnews.com/article/mali...

Desperate search for fuel in Mali's capital as al-Qaida-linked group enforces blockade

Residents in Mali's capital, Bamako, are struggling with a fuel shortage due to a blockade by a militant group linked to al-Qaida.

apnews.com

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 12h

Emails show that David Frum and Douglas Murray drafted speeches for former Israeli UN Ambassador during Israel’s 2014 military campaign in Gaza, while CNN producer, Pamela Gross, coordinated private fundraising for Israel’s Iron Dome.
www.dropsitenews.com/p/david-frum...

David Frum, Douglas Murray Secretly Drafted Speeches for Israeli Ambassador

Leaked emails from former Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor show David Frum, Douglas Murray offering to write his speeches and a CNN producer fundraising for Israel’s Iron Dome during Israel’s 2014 war

www.dropsitenews.com

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 1d

Canada’s Pension Plan (CPP) has joined with BlackRock in an attempt buy and privatize Minnesota public utility, Minnesota Power, despite fierce opposition from lawmakers and consumer groups who claim that the acquisition is against the public interest.
prospect.org/environment/...

Private Equity Power Play in Minnesota

BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners and a Canadian pension giant want to buy a Minnesota-based utility. Gov. Tim Walz’s agencies have been in on pushing the deal.

prospect.org

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 1d

The United Nations says more than 12 million people have been displaced in Sudan since spring 2023.
www.cbc.ca/news/world/e...

Sudan's civil war has faded from headlines, but monitors say it's the largest humanitarian crisis in the world | CBC News

The UN says more than 12 million Sudanese have been displaced since its civil war began in spring 2023, making it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Aid agencies, including Medecins Sans Fr...

www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Brian K. Murphy

Tim McSorley @timmcsorley.bsky.social · 1d

With the apparently imminent tabling of a new version of the Strong Borders Act to supposedly fix privacy concerns, it's crucial to not lose sight of how this bill is also an attack on refugee and migrant rights. If those are not addressed, this new version cannot pass.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Government to table new border bill amid privacy concerns over C-2: sources | CBC News

The federal Liberals are set to introduce a new bill expected to mirror much of what's in their already tabled border legislation — but with some clauses that sparked concerns from opposition parties ...

www.cbc.ca

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 1d

"Palestinians have faced unrelenting bombardment, mass hunger and recurring displacement as Israeli fighting continues in the territory...These maps and charts illustrate the extent of destruction, Israeli control of the territory and the death toll after 731 days of war."
www.cbc.ca/news/world/g...

2 years into the war, these figures illustrate the scale of Israel's destruction of Gaza | CBC News

For two years, Palestinians across the Gaza Strip have faced unrelenting bombardment, mass hunger and recurring displacement as Israeli fighting continues in the desolate territory.

www.cbc.ca

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 2d

On the current crisis, and historical conditions, of formal stupidity in politics and social and economic policy :
www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/pol...

Stupidology | William Davies

The challenge posed by this political crisis is how to take the stupidity seriously without reducing it to a wholly mental or psychiatric, let alone genetic, phenomenon. Stupidity can be understood as...

www.nplusonemag.com

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 2d

www.cjr.org/feature/isra...

As the world awaits peace in Gaza, the Israeli government has been inviting content creators to come in and spread its message.

International media outlets have been banned from Gaza, save for tightly controlled embeds. Local reporters have been threatened and killed. But as the world awaits peace, the Israeli government has i...

www.cjr.org

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 2d

"We need a serious left project with all of its material underpinnings about what type of energy system we would like to build, or what type of green ecological society we would like to build.”
thebaffler.com/latest/schro...

Schrodinger’s Element | Ajay Singh Chaudhary

In her new book, Thea Riofrancos homes in on the extraction of lithium—and the thorny problem of an ecologically sound energy transition

thebaffler.com

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 3d

"The Combatting Hate Act will undermine our civil liberties. And far from combatting hate, it will—paradoxically—further institutionalize anti-Palestinian racism in Canada."
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

Carney’s so-called Combatting Hate Act is an attack on pro-Palestine expression

Pro-Palestine protesters routinely face specious allegations of hate that conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

www.hilltimes.com

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 4d

Manifestación en Madrid contra el genocidio en Gaza.
www.instagram.com/reel/DPZTVCV...

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 5d

Trump’s NSPM-7 memo deploys international counter-terrorism policy against domestic dissent and organizing
www.dropsitenews.com/p/trumps-blu...

Trump’s Blueprint to Crush the Left Draws from Decades of Counterterrorism Policy

Trump's NSPM-7 is a pivotal policy endangering free expression in the United States.

www.dropsitenews.com

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Reposted by Brian K. Murphy

International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) @iclmg-csilc.bsky.social · 5d

Canada must:

- Implement independent oversight of Canada Revenue Agency’s activities

- Thoroughly reform CRA’s approach to countering the risk of terrorist financing in the charitable sector, incl implementing the watchdog report's recs

- Abolish the CRA’s Review and Analysis Division (RAD) 1/

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 5d

The U.N. Human Rights chief said on Thursday that Haiti's use of lethal force against gangs was disproportionate and likely unlawful, saying its actions, including drone strikes, accounted for more than half of this year's killings and injuries.
www.reuters.com/world/americ...

UN rights chief says Haiti's use of drones 'likely unlawful,' hundreds killed this year

The U.N. Human Rights chief said on Thursday that Haiti's use of lethal force against gangs was disproportionate and likely unlawful, saying its actions, including drone strikes accounted for more than half of this year's killings and injuries.

www.reuters.com

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 5d

Mark Carney is out to dismantle Canada Post. What interests does that stand to benefit? And what could a revitalized public postal service look like? Dru Oja Jay joins Martin Lukacs to discuss how the post office could be a “genuinely positive nation building project.”
breachmedia.ca/why-mark-car...

Why Mark Carney is putting Canada Post on the chopping block ⋆ The Breach

Dru Oja Jay breaks down how dismantling Canada Post fits into Mark Carney’s austerity agenda

breachmedia.ca

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 6d

“Of all charities whose [Canada Revenue Agency] audits were completed by RAD [Review and Analysis Division] between 2009 and 2022, 67 per cent were discernibly Islamic, and 19 per cent were Sikh, according to the report.”
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

CRA couldn't justify why it was auditing Muslim charities: report | CBC News

The Canada Revenue Agency could not always justify why it audited certain charities for potential terrorism links, raising the possibility that its decisions "are driven by bias and discrimination," o...

www.cbc.ca

Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 6d

While Trump advised pregnant women to “tough it out”, JAMA spoke with the Brian Lee, professor of epidemiology at Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, to discuss his controversial study’s methods and findings and get clarity on the issues.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Study Author on Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy

This Medical News article is an interview with epidemiologist Brian Lee, PhD, about his study on acetaminophen use during pregnancy and children’s risk of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders...

jamanetwork.com

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 6d

A quite useful survey and comment from Ken Opalo on current discourse on ‘development' (and its malcontents), as represented in a collection of essays in the current issue of Foreign Policy.
www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-geopol...

The geopolitics of international development (after foreign aid)

You can't have nice things without strategic independence and policy autonomy

www.africanistperspective.com

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Brian K. Murphy @murphyslog.bsky.social · 6d

In imposing sanctions on human rights organizations, Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and Palestinian Center for Human Rights, "the Trump administration has undermined the rule of law, protection of human rights, and international justice."
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

Opinion | What Happened to Human Rights for Palestinians?

www.nytimes.com

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