Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 5h

Almost 9 months ago, our press colleague Anas Al-Sharif removed his press vest following the announcement of a ceasefire.

And then we saw what happened next. May we ensure the bombs actually end this time.

I wish he, and so many more, were here with us.

6 110 320

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 1d

"AI, in general, has not proven itself to be as good as human employees in most fields. But it doesn’t have to be. It only has to be good enough to convince the employers in these fields that its lack of quality is more than made up for by its potential to lower labor costs."

Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 1d

It takes no special technical expertise to know that
1) AI's main value proposition today is automating labor,
2) AI is going to supercharge economic inequality, and
3) If we do not get out in front of that policy-wise, we are fools.

www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/thinking-o...

Thinking of AI as a Social Problem

No need to know the unknowable. The knowable is bad enough.

www.hamiltonnolan.com

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Megan O’Toole @meganotoole.bsky.social · 1d

An average of nearly 100 Palestinians per day have been confirmed killed since Israel’s genocide began two years ago. Its attacks on Gaza continue to this day.

At least 92 Palestinians killed every day in Gaza for 2 straight years; U.S. opens the door for war with Venezuela

Drop Site Daily: October 7, 2025

www.dropsitenews.com

9 18

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 2d

“A single pack of diapers cost $600 at the time. Today, it’s 400 shekels, or about $120 — still impossibly out of reach. Most have to make do with a plastic bag tied up with string.”

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 2d

As the Israeli government enters the third year of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, mothers keep bringing new Palestinians into the world.

Mothers in Gaza Give Life to the Next Generation of Palestinians Despite Genocide

As the Israeli government enters the third year of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, mothers keep bringing new Palestinians into the world.

interc.pt

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 4d

A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A.

ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why.

A judge has ordered his immediate release.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

560 8.4K 22K

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 5d

According to eyewitnesses, armed ICE agents dragged kids out of their beds in the middle of the night, zip tied them and put them in rented vans while raiding an * entire apartment building* on the South Side of Chicago.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...

‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building

YouTube video by MSNBC

www.youtube.com

1.2K 7.2K 14K

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 6d

In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation. www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...

Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report

Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday, accordin...

www.mediaite.com

860 6K 16K

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Molly Shah @mommunism.bsky.social · 6d

Almost everyone I’m speaking with in North Gaza wants to leave and can’t because they are injured, sick or can’t afford it- those are the people Israel is calling terrorists now

Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 6d

READ: With at least half a million people still left in Gaza City, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a "final warning" for residents to evacuate, saying those who remain will soon be regarded as “terrorists or terrorist supporters.” mondoweiss.net/2025/10/isra...

Israeli Defense Minister says half a million Palestinians in Gaza City will be considered ‘terrorists’ if they don’t evacuate

With at least half a million people still left in Gaza City, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a “final warning” for residents to evacuate, saying those who remain will be regarded as “terro...

mondoweiss.net

10 260 320

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 7d

With news of the death of the Mormon church's president and expected successor, Dallin Oaks, resharing our @inkstickmedia.com + Salt Lake City Weekly piece that described Oaks' meeting progressive lobbyists, including "downwinders" protesting nuclear testing:

inkstickmedia.com/gaza-genocid...

Gaza Genocide Provokes Anti-War Dissent Among Mormons

Campaigners are targeting the hearts, minds and multibillion-dollar investment fund of the Utah-based faith.

inkstickmedia.com

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 12d

Mass walkout at the UN General Assembly during war criminal Netanyahu’s speech.

110 970 3.5K

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 21d

The about-face reminds me of how quickly Google restored this censored map once we at @inkstickmedia.com inquired about it... inkstick.substack.com/p/google-sup...

Google suppressed a map of US defense contractor plants. Until we asked why.

Google took down a map of publicly available addresses of arms plants for violating its policy on “dangerous & illegal activities.” It did so shortly after an outlet critical of Israel republished it.

inkstick.substack.com

2

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 21d

Amazing -- such quick impact. Great work @sludge.bsky.social!

We in the independent media space are David v Goliath re: how tiny our funding is compared to the entities we cover. But impact like this happens because those powerful companies hate when their dirty laundry is exposed.

Sludge @sludge.bsky.social · 21d

NEW: Democratic PR firm SKDK says it’s dropping its work with the Israeli government one day after Sludge reported it was under contract to build a social media bot program to “flood the zone” with pro-Israel messaging. readsludge.com/2025/09/17/f...

Following Sludge Report, SKDK Says It’s Dropping Its Israel Contract

The Democratic PR firm was under contract with Israel to build a social media bot program, but says it never worked on such a program.

readsludge.com

1 2 5

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Sludge @sludge.bsky.social · 21d

NEW: Democratic PR firm SKDK says it’s dropping its work with the Israeli government one day after Sludge reported it was under contract to build a social media bot program to “flood the zone” with pro-Israel messaging. readsludge.com/2025/09/17/f...

Following Sludge Report, SKDK Says It’s Dropping Its Israel Contract

The Democratic PR firm was under contract with Israel to build a social media bot program, but says it never worked on such a program.

readsludge.com

1 10 14

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 22d

That's part of larger trends we've reported on at @inkstickmedia.com, including that salaries at contractors have dropped since Reagan-era defense boom + the sector has shed ~2 million jobs inkstickmedia.com/what-a-loomi...

Unionization rates have also plummeted inkstickmedia.com/union-streng...

Union Strength Dwindles at Top Defense Contractors

Lockheed Martin to workers: "We are actively looking for ways to outsource your job.” New Inkstick datasets detail anti-labor trends at top Pentagon contractors.

inkstickmedia.com

3

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 22d

Incredible and dismal story by @hurwitz.bsky.social about a worker who needed to drive for Lyft and take shifts as a security guard to make ends meet when he started Boeing at $13/hour, despite having a college degree and being a military veteran.

Inkstick Media @inkstickmedia.com · 27d

Boeing unionists have been at loggerheads with the defense giant since early August. Now, they're slated to vote on a strike deal.

By: @hurwitz.bsky.social

inkstickmedia.com/boeing-worke...

Boeing Workers to Vote Friday on Potential Strike Deal

Boeing unionists have been on strike against their employer, the nation's fourth-largest defense contractor.

inkstickmedia.com

1 1 4

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 22d

Bone chilling. A relic for a future genocide museum. Via @matthewcassel.bsky.social @theguardian.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMyy...

'Our Genocide': How do Israelis feel about the war in Gaza? | On the Ground

YouTube video by The Guardian

www.youtube.com

1

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 28d

Bone chilling cruelty.

"When asked how his squad decided whether to shoot unarmed Palestinians, Raab said: “Its a question of distance. There is a line that we define. They don’t know where this line is, but we do.”

Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 28d

From a high school in Chicago to IDF sniper targeting innocent families www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich

Five-month investigation reveals how four members of one family were shot and killed in a single day and highlights a pattern in which Israeli troops target unarmed civilians

www.theguardian.com

3 4

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 29d

“There will not be an academic conference too marginal, no protest slogan too benign, no internet poster too obscure. Israel's goal will be no less than to ensure that one day, no one will ever have been against this.”

Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 29d

The judgment of history is not an inevitable emergence from academic rigor or plain documentation. It’s the result of political contestation as well. And the same imperatives behind present-day Israeli genocide denial will exist as long as Zionism does.

One Day, Zionists Will Continue To Deny This

Riffing off Sana Saaed's essay riffing off Omar El Akkad

www.forever-wars.com

1

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 29d

The judgment of history is not an inevitable emergence from academic rigor or plain documentation. It’s the result of political contestation as well. And the same imperatives behind present-day Israeli genocide denial will exist as long as Zionism does.

One Day, Zionists Will Continue To Deny This

Riffing off Sana Saaed's essay riffing off Omar El Akkad

www.forever-wars.com

3 35 110

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Joe Cirincione @joecirin.bsky.social · 29d

Israel feels free to violate international law and U.S. arms supply agreements to attack any neighboring country. Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, now Qatar. It is out of control.

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 29d

Reports of an attack, allegedly by a drone, on a vessel in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), while anchored outside the port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. The below video shows the moment of the incident. Keep it in mind when you read the next post. www.instagram.com/reel/DOXaR_M...

1 32 92

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

John Carl Baker @johncarlbaker.bsky.social · Sep 5

Ordinary North Koreans, already oppressed by their own dictatorial government, killed by the US for getting in the way of a covert operation

10 47

Reposted by Taylor Barnes

Adam Isacson @adamisacson.com · Sep 5

Wow, Venezuela bought those F-16s back in 1983, and the US has been blocking sales of spare parts for something like 20 years, how are they still flying

www.cbsnews.com/news/venezue...

Venezuelan fighter jets flew over U.S. Navy ship in "show of force"

Two armed Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets flew over the USS Jason Dunham on Thursday, multiple defense officials told CBS News — amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.

www.cbsnews.com

5 5 26

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · Sep 4

The LDS church is a high-impact target since it is believed to have the largest investment portfolio of any religious organization in the country.

And the church has taken influential stances in favor of disarmament in the past -- read more on the 'MX battle' inkstickmedia.com/interview-my...

Interview: 'My Dad Moved the Mormon Church on Nukes'

A charismatic Mormon attorney lobbied Latter-day Saints leadership to oppose nuclear weapons at a critical moment in Utah and the Cold War.

inkstickmedia.com

1 1

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · Sep 4

Utah friends -- our @inkstickmedia.com deep dive into the first-ever divestment and pressure campaign targeting the Mormon church re: weapons company stocks and Israel's genocide in Gaza is on the cover of the Salt Lake City Weekly.

Read more here: inkstickmedia.com/gaza-genocid...

2 1 3

Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · Sep 4

I published this interview with the disarmament community in mind, particularly those who think about right-left coalitions and engaging conservatives.

I was blown away Ed Jr.'s telling of how the church moved on such a major issue (nukes in Utah) and how racism/misogyny loomed larger than WMDs

Ploughshares @ploughshares.bsky.social · Sep 3

A charismatic Mormon attorney lobbied LDS leadership to oppose nuclear weapons during the Cold War. In this interview by @inkstickmedia.com's @tkbarnes.bsky.social, his son reflects on that legacy.
https://loom.ly/wnPulYs

Interview: My Dad Moved the Mormon Church on Nukes - Ploughshares

A charismatic Mormon attorney lobbied Latter-day Saints leadership to oppose nuclear weapons. His son shares behind-the-scenes details on the campaign.

ploughshares.org

1 3