Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by nanaslugdiva

Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 18m

buy now/pay later is straightforwardly predatory technology and should be regulated as such: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/m...

Sometimes Berman was able to pay off the entire balance for an item without a hitch. Sometimes she wasn’t. Whenever she found herself confronted with more installment bills than her bank account could handle, she would either foist payments onto her interest-laden Visa or apply for a debt-consolidation loan — a nifty stopgap she learned about online — which would satisfy the B.N.P.L. services enough to reset the high spending limits, plying her with fresh credit.

In 2023, when Berman finally steeled herself and sat down to total all her balances on a piece of paper, she learned she was $50,000 in debt.

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Tim Watson @timwatson.bsky.social · 16h

Today I'm thinking about the fact that the first Black person elected to Congress, John Willis Menard in 1868, was never sworn in and seated.

He won a special election for the US House in Louisiana after the previous rep died, but his white opponent (a Democrat, of course) contested the election.

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 2h

!!!

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 3h

twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross

photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 2h

AGREE

nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 2h

I do not see this quote at the link. Was it in something else?

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Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · 3h

"Too many people are busily promoting a version of "‘AI’ literacy” that is simply training students how to use and consume 'AI' 'properly' – whatever that means – and refusing to admit that there may be no ethical usage of a fundamentally unethical, abusive technology," writes Audrey Watters.

Without Our Consent

When I wrote last week’s round-up of “AI”-related news, I didn’t include any of OpenAI’s product releases, mostly because it’s 2025 and I’m exhausted by this game that tech companies and tech journali...

2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 2h

Musk & Trump own this.

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 6h

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 3h

👀

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 3h

The President of the United States is calling for the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois to be jailed.

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Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 3h

The Fraternal Order of Police is on the side of MAGA and against the people they are supposed to be "policing." I think this says a lot to the people who insist local police are going to be "resistance."
www.foxnews.com/us/national-...

National police union calls Chicago's refusal to help ICE agents 'shocking' violation of duty

Police union leaders called Chicago's alleged directive to not assist ICE agents surrounded by protesters a violation of law enforcement's duty to protect fellow officers.

www.foxnews.com

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Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 3h

In a fight between Pritzker and and police, who is going to win? This is what happens when both parties allowed law enforcement to become one of the most powerful political actors in the country -- a taxpayer-funded political movement that wants to kill people.

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 13h

I'm obsessed.

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 15h

yo they hired Mamdani video guys. someone's doing some thinking somewhere

Chuck Schumer @schumer.senate.gov · 17h

The government is shut down because Trump and the Republicans are hellbent on taking health care away from you.

And they won’t even come to the table to talk to us about it.

This is not about politics. It's about people.

Let’s break it down:

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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 16h

I’m seeing people (mostly in tech) whose timelines do not say anything about ableism and/or disabled people, suddenly sharing a video of a disabled woman targeted with clanker on tiktok. You’ll forgive me but I think appropriating disability when it’s convenient rhetorically isn’t a good look.

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🜲 James @jamesskeets.blacksky.app · 17h

Vibe Magazine ❌ Oct. '98

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damien 🥖🐈‍⬛🧣 @damien.zone · 17h

it says something that an external contributor does a better job communicating about the ins and outs of atproto than the bluesky team themselves 🙃

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ProfKFH @profkfh.bsky.social · 1d

Want a taste of *Sweet Taste of Empire*? See this pre-launch discussion w/ a former student about the book, my relationship to writing and to food -- and why it's not just about the early modern. #booksky #RaceB4Race #ShakeRace #writing #foodhistory #history
bcrw.barnard.edu/brown-sugar-...

“Brown Sugar Makes the World Go ‘Round”: A Conversation with Kim F. Hall on The Sweet Taste of Empire | Barnard Center for Research on Women

Tomisin Fasosi interviews Kim F. Hall on her new book, The Sweet Taste of Empire

bcrw.barnard.edu

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Plenary Popehat Power @kenwhite.bsky.social · 1d

It’s important to flood social media and news channels with news about how ICE lies, so that potential jurors see it.

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 1d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 17h

Employers pay fed taxes on your behalf. The money doesn't magically appear. It's yours. They send it for you. Gov can tell local companies to put fed taxes in escrow (or whatever) and make Trump come sue for it. Get creative! But try something. Don't throw your hands up and say oh well.

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Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 18h

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 17h

AG Pam Bondi had pre-prepared attack lines to use to deflect from answering questions posed by Senator @whitehouse.senate.gov at today’s hearing, including a note to respond to questions about Epstein by saying Whitehouse took money from Reid Hoffman.

www.rawstory.com/pam-bondi-sh...

Photo of Bondi holding a folder with her notes about attack lines to use against Senator Whitehouse

Details of the notes are in the linked story.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 17h

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.

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jenn schiffer 🕷️🕯️ @jennschiffer.com · 17h

this thread is the best communication for me so far on how all of the parts of the protocol and clients work together (and sometimes against each other)

Rudy wants revolution. @rude1.blacksky.team · 19h

I hear and see your concerns. Over the weekend, a couple users hosted on Blacksky's PDS were banned from the Bluesky app and thus the Bluesky API servers. This was a weakness of our system I've been aware of and hoped we had more time to address before any kind of public incident. 1/11

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 17h

it really is great to see someone who is skilled in professional communication do the job effectively.

I would love to see more of this in other places.

heikadog @heika.dog · 18h

god you're so incredibly good at comms, bless you

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nanaslugdiva @nanaslugdiva.blacksky.app · 17h

thank you so much for this update, man. good grief I knew you wanted to be doing anything else over the past few days.

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