Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sean Hoyer

sirosenbaum.bsky.social @sirosenbaum.bsky.social · 1d

I got really interested last year in the history of alchemical and Aristotelian-Christian thought about the nature of substance, purity and impurity, and how those ideas were applied to humans in the Inquisition and the Conquest. (Un)luckily those ideas are still alive and fucking us up today

Flaming Hydra @flaminghydra.com · 1d

TODAY: @sirosenbaum.bsky.social on a wretched little amicus brief filed by a bunch of philosophers on a court case involving trans girls in sports, and which does "not consider or even mention any real, flesh-and-blood women and girls or the lives they lead" flaminghydra.com/purity-tests/

Purity Tests

Among the cornucopia of horrors pouring out in our daily news, you may have missed this one. It’s an amicus brief, though not it’s not at all friendly, arguing that trans girls shouldn’t play sports o...

flaminghydra.com

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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 1d

Highland cattle are famous for their ability to "disco nap". Normally these brief, efficient sleeps will last between three and twenty minutes, deploying a variety of objects as pillows, including moorland boulders, cars or any particularly large dog or sheep who happens to be nearby.

A highland cow having a little nap on a boulder on Dartmoor (ok, it was actually scratching its head)

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Jojo she/her @jojofe24.bsky.social · 1d

The best way for english white people to fight racism is probably to do more to stop racism in uk government

Men like billy bragg have a platform, have influence, use that, call out the politicians and media responsible, share fundraisers, donate to fundraisers

Reclaiming a flag is not it

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 1d

My favorite fact is that in Florida the guns come from gun owners leaving the guns in their unlocked cars. The state allows for on person carry but establishments can still ban them so they leave them in their cars ulocked because that's smart, and people steal them.

Where criminals get their guns - Reveal

On this episode of Reveal, we learn where criminals get their guns and what cars can teach us about gun safety.

revealnews.org

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The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 1d

Crime drama fans have been left bewildered by Channel 4’s latest offering, which features a sleuth protagonist so neurotypical that he is completely unrecognisable as a detective, critics have claimed.

Audiences baffled as TV detective not even a little bit autistic

Crime drama fans have been left bewildered by Channel 4’s latest offering, which features a sleuth protagonist so neurotypical that he is completely unrecognisable as a detective, critics have…

thedailytism.com

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Zack Ford @zackford.bsky.social · 1d

While we have more research about anti-LGB conversion therapy, we do have research on attempts to force trans people to accept their gender assigned at birth. They were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide. The same harm is evident: www.science.org/content/arti...

New study reveals risks of transgender ‘conversion therapy'

Conversion therapy participants were more likely than peers to attempt suicide

www.science.org

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Zack Ford @zackford.bsky.social · 1d

We have ample research showing not only that conversion therapy DOES NOT WORK, but that it DOES DO HARM. This isn't just a question of whether it's effective; the bans are there to protect youth who cannot personally consent to the treatment from the documented harm. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

Conversion practices linked to depression, PTSD and suicide thoughts in LGBTQIA+ adults

Programs designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity are linked to depression, PTSD and suicidality in a Stanford Medicine-led study of more than 4,000 participants.

med.stanford.edu

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Roy Batty @on-tannhausergate.bsky.social · 1d

I’m tired of attributing Republican actions to their fear. They’re just shitty fucking humans that’s it. They have shitty fucking values. They’re shitty fucking people.

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

“No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”

George Pearkes @peark.es · 1d

Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT

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MFD @midefd.bsky.social · 1d

bsky.app/profile/sky....

Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 1d

Supreme Court: of course states can regulate, and restrict access to, medical procedures if there’s a compelling public interest

Colorado: (bans conversion therapy for minors)

Supreme Court: no not like that, we only meant abortion

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Ted Brassfield @tedbrassfield.bsky.social · 2d

I regularly see Palestinian and trans and Black voices get silenced. That behavior feels pretty toxic to me.

Oh, and the double standard on moderation lists - that's a new one, but definitely toxic, because it destroys the ideal that users choose their own moderation.

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Carl Marxman (CHAOS) @carlmarxman.bsky.social · 2d

One prominent example is the treatment of Jesse Singal, who made no secret that he was here to harass the trans community. He stayed, and the TOS was modified to benefit him.

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asura @asura.dev · 2d

- bluesky usernames, blocklists, etc had no word filtering
- a user quite literally posting elsewhere and then admitting on bluesky that they're trying to brigade bluesky is "innocent of any wrongdoing on the network"
- Staff is asking for examples of toxicity which will most certainly be ignored

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Esther Rockett 🚀 @estherrockett.bsky.social · 2d

The predominant toxicity on Bluesky is coming from its management: dismissing legitimate user concerns, quashing user-led decentralised moderation, and banning users for innocuous or fair use. But I get the feeling your question is intended to incite users to perceive the problem as other users

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Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 2d

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 2d

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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Adam McKay @ghostpanther.bsky.social · 2d

It’s almost disorienting to see something this nakedly wonderful put in place by a non Scandinavian Western government in 2025.

Way to go Ireland.

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 2d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Jubilee 🔞 @jethanded-wyvern.bsky.social · 2d

Oops,why did The Guardian have a goal to make its editing board worse, explicitly more transphobic and made out of liars?
bsky.app/profile/jeth...

Jubilee 🔞 @jethanded-wyvern.bsky.social · Feb 23

And remember. Higher-up figures within The Guardian had tried to make the damn org and paper more rancid in its transphobia.

Exclusive: Guardian writers and editor set up group to make Guardian more transphobic - Trans Writes

A group of senior writers and editors at The Guardian met as part of the company’s ‘Diversity and Inclusion Week’ to discuss pushing gender-critical narratives 'fearlessly,' with the paper's anti-tran...

transwrites.world

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Juni! 🥰 @literallyjustadog.online · 2d

something else I didn't even mention was that because of that whole situation, the person we were upset at you for not banning talked about me on his podcast.
I was doxxed a week later. my phone number, job, email, family members, *previous places of residence*
it specifically mentioned him in it

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jove skellington @jove.bsky.social · 2d

The latter per Paul

Paul Frazee @pfrazee.com · 2d

Applications that use the Bluesky backend (aka "appview") are still affected by Bluesky's moderation

There is a pretty aggressive push to make it easier to run your own backend, so that fewer apps end up reusing Bluesky's

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Ward Q. Normal (he/him) @wardqnormal.bsky.social · 2d

Again, if your business model ever leads you to think, "we need to get more engagement and input from transphobes, racists, and other assorted assholes," then you need to pause, reflect, and change course.

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 2d

Someone looking at all this with a cold eye might say that Miller and Hegseth are seeking control over the power ministries before a Vance ally invokes the 25th Amendment.

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Drex @drexasaur.bsky.social · 2d

It is darkly hilarious that their response to moderation criticism was to highlight the decentralized aspect of Bsky then IMMEDIATELY prove that to be a lie.

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Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 2d

If anyone works at CBS News and would like to leak to me about whats unfolding over there, my Signal is ParkerMolloy.86

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Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 2d

Hopefully the whole Bari Weiss thing and Ezra Klein thing starts waking people up to the fact that corporate media is mostly populated with mediocre people who have made millions and gained unbelievable influence because they threaten nothing and tell wealthy people exactly what they want to hear.

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Uncle Duke @uncleduke1969.bsky.social · 3d

Sign reads “Large Print Audio Books” over book store shelf. Inset picture of Garrett Morris from Saturday Night Live cupping his hands and appearing to yell.

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