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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,

@jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social
448 followers 208 following 144 posts

Toronto Canada/Sydney Australia. Activist, author, researcher, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto helenlenskyj.ca My latest book: *THE QUEST FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE IN SPORT* Emerald, 2025 My next book *CENSORSHIP, POLITICS AND SPORT*

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 07/10/2026
Noticing the nights drawing in? 🌙 October brings a big shift, with most of the UK losing over 2 hours of daylight this month. Do you enjoy the cosy evenings or miss the longer days?
Map of the UK showing daylight lost during October by region, with colored bands and city labels and values (Lerwick −2h40m; Stornoway −2h30m; Oban/Aberdeen −2h20m; Belfast/Glasgow/Newcastle −2h10m; Hull/Manchester/Birmingham −2h; Cardiff/London/Southampton/Plymouth −1h50m).
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Robin Moira White @robinmoirawhite.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Labour Party’s women’s conference on 26/9/26 was an embarrassing farce, with only 200 delegates of the 1,000 normal attendance (no major unions) in protest of the Labour Party’s shameful abandonment of trans people following the legally absurd ruling of the Supreme Court in FWS in April 2025.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Heather Paterson @heatherpaterson.co.uk · 27/09/2026
The account of the anti-gender movement in the UK shows that the coordinated anti-trans campaign began in 2017; it wasn’t a feature of public life a decade ago. Reject the fiction that it has “always been this way”. We can build something better. drive.google.com/file/d/1Tnhz...
drive.google.com
Hate Review 2026 - United Kingdom.pdf
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Every time someone links to this film, I have to repost it. It's one of the most significant bits of British 20th century art. Everything about it is incredible. Groundbreaking music production by Daphne Oram. Amazing camera work by Wolfgang Suschitzky (who later filmed Get Carter).-
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.destinyrescue.org.au
destinyrescue.org.au
Destiny Rescue Australia | Rescuing Children
Destiny Rescue exists to rescue kids from human trafficking and sexual exploitation and equip them to stay free.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Scott Dworkin @dworkin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Eric Trump tried to laugh off MapQuest for refusing to bend the knee to his father’s demands. What MapQuest put on a massive Chicago billboard 24 hours later is the most savage troll you will see all year: www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/trump-is-h...
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
The Saturday Paper @thesaturdaypaper.com.au · 11/09/2026
Read more: trib.al/3HkXy5r
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
c.org/hjVM6nr748
c.org
Sign the Petition
SAVE WESTERN SYDNEY KANGAROOS!
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 27/03/2025
Be warned - "It is the first time the OfS has imposed a fine on a university over a free-speech issue, and it paves the way for similar action against other institutions."
Record fine for university that failed to protect the free speech of trans critics
Daily Mail27 Mar 2025By Eleanor Harding Education Editor
SUSSEX University has been fined £585,000 over a transgender row which ended in an academic being driven out of her job.

The Office for Students (OfS) imposed the penalty following an investigation involving Professor Kathleen Stock, who was ‘cancelled’ on campus for her gender views.

It is the first time the OfS has imposed a fine on a university over a free-speech issue, and it paves the way for similar action against other institutions. It is also the highest fine handed out to a university by the OfS.

The three-year inquiry was based around university gender policies and whether they could be creating an unwelcome

‘The policy had a chilling effect’

atmosphere for gender-critical academics. It started in 2021 after a national outcry when Professor Stock, a philosophy lecturer, was hounded out of her job by student activists.

Professor Stock believes those born male should not have an automatic right to women-only spaces if they identify as female, which campaigners challenged.

Students launched a protest to get her fired which included demonstrations and defamatory posters. She resigned in October that year after continuing to receive hostility from not only students but also from colleagues and the University and College Union.

The investigation found Sussex’s transgender equality policy had a ‘chilling’ effect on Professor Stock’s views as well as those of students and other staff.

The policy forced tutors to ‘positively represent trans people and trans lives’ in their teaching, and banned what they called ‘transphobic propaganda’.

Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech at the OfS, said: ‘We know that Professor Stock changed the way she taught her course as a result. And we are concerned that a chilling effect may have caused many more students and academics at the university to self-censor their expression or
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
On the Waters of Klemtu Sandra Harris 2024
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
NPR @npr.org · 03/09/2026
Women in politics and pop culture are paying tribute to Gloria Steinem after her death at 92. Many called her not only an inspiration but a friend. n.pr/4xhvTa8
n.pr
Tributes to Gloria Steinem are flooding in, from Hollywood to Capitol Hill
Women in politics and pop culture are paying tribute to Gloria Steinem after her death at 92. Many called her not only an inspiration but a friend.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
QueerAF @wearequeeraf.com · 26/08/2026
A coalition of 142 feminist organisations have signed a manifesto pledging solidarity and support for "all trans and non-binary people” Read more 👉 www.wearequeeraf.com/understand-the…
Feminist orgs
A growing movement within feminism is seeking to reclaim the meaning of the term and take it back from anti-trans voices who've sought to co-opt it.
A coalition of 142 feminist organisations have signed a manifesto pledging solidarity and support for "all trans and non-binary people” and to “build a world where human rights, social justice, and equality are a reality for everyone" - TGEU
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 26/08/2026
Tip - they make everything up. It's helpful if you just start with the view they're all lying bigots who lie all the time and go from there.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Morgan J Freeman @mjfree.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Image
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Frankie de la Cretaz @thefrankiedlc.news · 26/08/2026
In all the talk of trans women & basketball, I wanted to share this profile I wrote of the Basketdolls, an all-transfemme pickup basketball league in Brooklyn. I would love to see the Liberty shout them out or donate to them in some way. This story was selected for The Year’s Best Sportswriting 2025
self.com
Let’s Hear It for the Dolls: A Day Shooting Hoops With Brooklyn’s Trans Basketball League
“You can play hard and have fun without the fear that you’re going to have to deal with pushback from someone.”
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Naheed Nenshi @naheednenshi.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Now, more than ever, Albertans must unite and send a clear message to the Premier and the White House. Danielle Smith's separatist referendum has weakened Canada before Donald Trump and the world. We won’t stand for it. We stand with Canada. Join us to Rally the Vote for Canada on Sat, Aug 29.
albertandpcaucus.ca
Vote For Canada
Engaging Albertans to build an economy for the future.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Sydney Bauer @sydney-bauer.com · 21/08/2026
Anyway thank you everyone that shared my writing today I am still very much looking for a full time job
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
thelocal.to/weaponized-e...
thelocal.to
When Environmentalism is Weaponized Against the Unhoused | The Local
From a proposed pollinator garden at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields to tree trimmings and ‘grass remediation’—how the city uses green rhetoric to displace the homeless.
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
thelocal.to/weaponized-e...
thelocal.to
When Environmentalism is Weaponized Against the Unhoused | The Local
From a proposed pollinator garden at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields to tree trimmings and ‘grass remediation’—how the city uses green rhetoric to displace the homeless.
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
opportunistic, eh????https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/08/21/toronto-municipal-election-councillor-saxe-switches-wards-as-registration-deadline-passes/
toronto.citynews.ca
Toronto municipal election: Councillor Saxe switches wards as registration deadline passes
In Toronto, 47 people will be vying for the mayoral spot with some interesting races for councillor seats as well.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
universities are not run by leftist profs they are run by corporate profiteer board members siphoning public $$ to tech partnerships "An Inside Higher Ed analysis of SEC filings turned up dozens of presidents paid handsomely for sitting on corporate boards." www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
the 10 presidents in Inside Higher Ed’s analysis who earned the most from outside board service in 2025.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 20/08/2026
They segregated jumping on shit
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
go follow @news.abc.net.au @abc-news.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Lucas-Rodd felt 'trans joy' wearing a binder but are they safe to exercise in?: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/bind…
abc.net.au
Lucas-Rodd felt 'trans joy' wearing a binder but are they safe to exercise in?
Binders are popular among trans and gender diverse people, but research is yet to show if they're safe to exercise in. The University of Western Australia has led the largest study so far in the search for answers, and the preliminary results are promising.
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Does Sophie Cunningham benefit from white privilege? Of course she does | Etan Thomas www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Does Sophie Cunningham benefit from white privilege? Of course she does | Etan Thomas
One of the player’s WNBA rivals said the Fever guard is treated differently from her Black peers. There’s plenty of evidence to back that statement up
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Fae Johnstone @faejohnstone.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Friends in BC: ACT NOW and let's push @davidebybc.bsky.social to restore funding to the ARC Foundation and safeguard SOGI 123 in BC schools! Send an email: queermomentum.ca/sogi
queermomentum.ca
Momentum
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Oh, the Inanity @jmcrowell.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
White and Kanter could not handle the spironolactone and estradiol, much less for two whole years.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
The Saturday Paper @thesaturdaypaper.com.au · 10/08/2026
Despite telehealth being an accepted tool across our healthcare landscape, voluntary assisted dying health professionals now risk prosecution for “inciting or counselling” suicide via a carriage service. trib.al/D0ZeZiY
trib.al
The case for telehealth in voluntary assisted dying
ANALYSIS: Labor’s new position on the use of telehealth for voluntary assisted dying would help end unnecessary suffering, if the Catholic Church and the prime minister would support it.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I'll try to find out more about this FIFA situation but remember that LA had a different legacy commitment from U.S. Soccer announced at the start of the World Cup that we haven't heard too much more about either. From my story here: www.torched.la/as-las-parks...
We always knew these megaevents weren't going to fix our public spaces, but we didn't expect our councilmembers to abandon them as well. The contradiction stings as money pours into our public spaces via brand activations — Nike throwing a soccer party in the empty Griffith Park Pool was a particularly wrenching gut-punch — leaving behind dubious benefits. The original Summer Olympics bid promised "new community green spaces" for LA, but the only
guaranteed legacy coming from LA28 — youth sports lessons — actually expires in 2028. Even the details of LA's World Cup legacy program with U.S. Soccer, announced by Bass last week, are perplexingly vague: "strengthening youth soccer opportunities and supporting affordable, community-based programming." (A previous "investment" by U.S. Soccer in partnership with World Cup sponsors Adidas and Kaiser Permanente resulted in an asphalt — yes, asphalt - soccer field
at an LAUSD school.)
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Fantastic reporting here by Libby Rainey that confirms what we've been hearing about the "clean zones" around LA28 venues: "Carter Hewgley, chief strategy officer for L.A. County’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, said his office had been told to plan for perimeters as wide as a mile"
laist.com
The LA Olympics is expected to displace unhoused people living around venues. So what's the plan?
L.A. officials say people living on the streets will likely have to leave certain areas come 2028. They don't know how they'll be moved or who will pay for it.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
The Big Story @thebigstory.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
#FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell World Cup stakes to private equity investors, including #Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, was scrapped after backlash. @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social of @utoronto.ca joins us to discuss politics, capitalism, private equity and boycotts lnk.to/bigstory
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Sydney Bauer @sydney-bauer.com · 03/08/2026
When we talk about who gets the privilege to get to the starting line of athletic competition being a political decision, this is what we mean.
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ju...
theguardian.com
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey used occupied land as a film set. That feels like a betrayal | Mohamed Sleiman Labat
The decision to shoot in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, where the Indigenous people can’t tell their stories without fear of imprisonment, helps erase our own brutal journey
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
elevennamedpeople.substack.com/p/its-not-ju...
elevennamedpeople.substack.com
It’s not just about sports
The Right uses sports to erase transgender people, casting exclusion as a path to “feminine” motherhood and a white nation. We need to believe them when they tell us that.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Johanna Mellis @johannamellis.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Will share more about this tomorrow!! TY Sean and Eleven Named People 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
www.asser.nl/news/intervi... Infantino has a solution - privatize FIFA
asser.nl
[Interview] FIFA's (in)dependent justice: the Balogun case
The 2026 World Cup has come to an end with Spain winning an intense game against Argentina. However, one of the main highlights of the competition will remain the Balogun case. Folaris Balogun, one of...
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 27/07/2026
The real love story behind Colin from Accounts: ‘I wouldn’t want to write with anyone else’
theguardian.com
The real love story behind Colin from Accounts: ‘I wouldn’t want to write with anyone else’
As the show takes its final bow, Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer reflect on ‘having a ball’ playing exes while being married with kids, ignoring notes from US TV executives and having ‘big old cries’ at the end It began, as all great romances do, with a nipple flash. When Colin from Accounts, the little comedy that could, started airing back in 2022, the world fell in love – hard and fast. It was a surprisingly prickly Australian show about Ashley, a student doctor (Harriet Dyer), and Gordon, an older, brewery owner (Patrick Brammall), who fall in love after she pops a boob at him, he hits a dog with his car, and they jointly land an astronomical vet bill and a new pet. The show shared its name with its furriest star – full name: “Colin from accounts payable, who is working on the big merger” – and it was as charming as the title suggested, winning fans across Hollywood and the world. That Brammall and Dyer were actually a couple, now married with two kids and a dog (no wheels), just made everyone love the show even more. Continue reading...
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I just finished my book on Censorship, Politics and Sport (Emerald, 2027), and thought a lot about these questions while writing - documenting *everything* and at the same time avoiding anticipatory self-censorship...
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 27/07/2026
Australian court rejects racial discrimination appeal by Pauline Hanson aje.news/45hnjk
Australian court rejects racial discrimination appeal by Pauline Hanson
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Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East @cjpme.org · 22/07/2026
CJPME joins more than 70 human rights, labour, faith, legal, Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian and civil society organizations in launching a national statement in support of the CMHR and its curatorial independence, vis-a-vis the Nakba exhibit. Read and sign here: www.ijvcanada.org/defend-cmhr/
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Dave Zirin @edgeofsports.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
My latest with Jules @thenation.com Trump just soils everything he touches. "Trump’s Reverse Midas Touch Even Got the World Cup" www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
Trump’s Reverse Midas Touch Even Got the World Cup
Of course fans roundly booed the president at the World Cup final: Damaging the integrity of anything he touches is true to the Trump brand.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 14/07/2026
Don't fall for this. Rowling wants trans people to self censor and to stop sharing the report. If this report really was as defamatory as she claims, she wouldn't be cheering on its spread. What she really wants is a costly settlement from AI UK, humiliating apology, and permanent silence.
​A screenshot of a thread on X (formerly Twitter). The main post is a quote tweet by J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling), which reads:
​"Shout out to all trans activists sharing the blacklist of women's and gay rights organisations published by @AmnestyUK! You're demonstrating very effectively that in spite of their hasty backtrack it can be easily accessed forevermore, increasing legal liability. Thank you! ❤️"
​Rowling is quote-tweeting a user named Lesbian Lenin 🇵🇸 🔻 🇵🇸 (@xstaffsuck), whose post reads:
​"The report btw, documenting how TERF orgs work hand in hand w/ anti-abortionists, christian nationalists, & anti-LGBT+ (yes, you too, c*s queers!) orgs to push trans genocide
​To be anti-trans is to be anti-abortion, is to be a christian nazi, is to be anti-queer
​Report is below"
​The user @xstaffsuck is, in turn, quoting an earlier tweet from J.K. Rowling, which reads:
​"Should any of the women's organisations targeted by @AmnestyUK's recent 'anti-rights' blacklist wish to take legal action, applications can be made to the JK Rowling Women's Fund. jkrwf.org"
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Michael Tomasky @mjtoma.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
From @melissagiragrant.com: "Since Trump returned to office, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is the tenth person federal immigration agents have shot and killed." trib.al/sOr88ID
trib.al
ICE Is Hoping You Won’t Notice the Man Agents Killed In Texas
The administration may have changed its P.R. strategy for Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The violence hasn’t changed at all.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 09/07/2026
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo called Houston home for 35 years. On Tuesday, an ICE agent shot and killed him. His family learned of his death from a video before anyone bothered to knock on their door.
New York City stands with the Salgado family in demanding a full, independent investigation and real accountability. To the Salgado family and any immigrant family in this city living in fear: we grieve with you and we will continue to stand beside you in the pursuit of justice.
Abolish ICE.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
go follow @news.abc.net.au @abc-news.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Aboriginal activist takes on logging company staff during trespass court case: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-03/ruth…
abc.net.au
Aboriginal activist takes on logging company staff during trespass court case
An Aboriginal activist has interrogated forestry company staff over their knowledge of cultural heritage as part of her defence against a trespass charge.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 12/06/2026
“Trump has used sports to his political advantage more than any president in recent history.” Political scientist and ex–soccer pro @julesboykoff.bsky.social on how Trump—like Putin before him—is the World Cup’s biggest winner.
motherjones.com
Sportswashed: FIFA's long love affair with authoritarians
Political scientist and ex–soccer pro Jules Boykoff on how Trump—like Putin before him—is the World Cup's biggest winner.
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 09/06/2026
1. This article has made waves. I have tried to push Mayor Mamdani to be better in my reporting, and I am sad that it has not worked. I have seen many questions about this story, and I want to talk about some of them. Read on.
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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Ah yes, the annual Pride meltdown 🌈
comicsands.com
MAGA Is Throwing A Bigoted Tantrum After 'Sesame Street' Celebrated The Start Of Pride Month—And Here We Go Again
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D., @jeffersonlenskyj.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
An academic who didn't want to waste time "writing sentences from scratch" and used AI instead is not an academic 🙄https://www.smh.com.au/national/uni-academic-admits-she-used-ai-to-write-opinion-piece-in-defence-of-ai-20260602-p6038j.html
smh.com.au
‘Odd choices of words’: How an academic’s AI use was exposed by her peers
Western Sydney University has acknowledged that the opinion piece, published by this masthead, was AI-generated using the author’s previous work.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 03/06/2026
“The principles I hold dear are gone,” 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley said after getting fired Tuesday night for criticizing Bari Weiss’ leadership at CBS News the day before, as submitting to President Donald Trump’s whims. “And so I must leave.”
motherjones.com
“The waste is heartbreaking”: fired Scott Pelley accuses CBS of courting Trump
His parting shot at CBS News describes a newsroom remade in Trump's image—and a teenager's Emmy speech that saw it coming.
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Reposted by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Ph.D.,
go follow @news.abc.net.au @abc-news.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
'Hush hush': How one footy club welcomed back a sex offender: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-31/tyre…
abc.net.au
'Hush hush': How one footy club welcomed back a sex offender
When a man who sexually assaulted a minor on a post-season football trip was welcomed back to the club with open arms, Megan decided she was done.
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