Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Andre Hernandez-Romero is the gay make up artist who was kidnapped and disappeared into the supermax El Salvador prison CECOT.

Why was he sent there? Because of his tattoos.

He came to the US legally in 2024. He sought and was granted asylum because he was trying to escape anti-LGBTQ+ violence and political persecution in Venezuela

He should have been starting a new life in the US. Enjoying the “freedom” to be who he is and love who he wants.

Instead he’s been locked in a prison in a foreign country because of an ICE mistake.

It’s the definition of cruel and unusual punishment

Today The Hill announced a prisoner exchange. The US has secured the release of 10 US citizens held in Venezuela in exchange for returning more than 250 Venezuelan men being held in the El Salvador prison

Hernandez Romero is one of them.

This young man who fled Venezuela because it wasn’t safe for him, has now spent months trying to survive a foreign supermax prison only to be swapped like a chess piece and sent back to the country he fled in the first place.

Keep saying his name. Speak out. He needs and deserves protection.

Abolish ICE.

https://www.advocate.com/news/andry-hernandez-romero-released-venezuela

#abolishice #ice #immigration #fascism #lgbtq #uspol

Covid has caused an increase in patients with Dysautonomia, a condition which destroyed my quality of life

Yet at Dysautonomia International’s big fundraiser, there was no mask requirement

Worse, they’re publicly stating masks don’t work & quoting the debunked Cochrane study

I’m generally not one to punch down on advocacy organizations because I think we need to fight like heck to lift one another up.

I appreciate that they had HEPA filters, corsi rosenthal boxes and were apparently providing free masks.
But I can’t sit silently when an organization that should be protecting people starts spouting far right rhetoric

What difference does it make if you put masks at the door when you’re telling people they don’t work?

If you’re not leading by example & wearing them yourself?
People look to these organizations to set the tone.

They assume they have our best interests at heart.

Dissuading people from masking during a pandemic is not advocacy. It’s not patient centred. It’s not leadership.
We’ve known for years that Long Covid often causes Dysautonomia/POTS.

There’s been such a significant increase in patients that there aren’t enough doctors to treat them.

Many have lost everything to the condition and are now fully disabled.
Yet this conference will end up causing more disability.

It will end up creating more patients when what we desperately need to do is stop the spread of Covid and start helping those who’ve been disabled already.

The best way to do that is to wear a mask.
Their post says: “there is insufficient evidence to show that mandatory masking in a public setting does anything to reduce COVID risk
Please read this Cochrane review, considered to be the definitive unbiased analysis of this important public health question”

That’s a lie.
They say that people feel “passionately” about the subject but then absolve themselves of any responsibility to actually protect the attendees.

They claim that doctors and Long Covid researchers agreed there was no need to mandate masks at the event.
I will be honest, I wish every indoor event and conference had mandatory masking.

I’m sick of people dying and becoming disabled from a disease we know how to prevent.

But I also recognize that almost no one is willing to require masks because we’re cosplaying 2019 “normal”
Hospitals, medical conferences and events for disabled people need to be the exception.

They need to do better.

They need to realize that they have a duty to do no harm.

They have a responsibility not to make sick people even sicker.
If they’re not willing to do that, the bare minimum they can do is not deride those who do take precautions.

They could encourage masking rather than spread lies that they don’t work.

They could refrain from sharing junk science that’s been largely debunked & discredited
We know masks work.

We know respirators work even better.

We know two way masking is better than one.

We know asymptomatic transmission is a very real threat.

We know all of this, and yet “advocacy” organizations are choosing to ignore it.

We have to push back on this. Over 400 million people have Long Covid. Many of them also have Dysautonomia.

Another Covid infection could wipe out whatever baseline they have left.

We need leaders and advocates to set the tone.

We need them to be honest about transmission

Above all else, we need them to stop the spread of Covid.

We need them to say “enough” to preventable death and disability.

We need them to wear masks and encourage others do the same.

When you know better, you do better

#longcovid #COVIDisAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #wearamask #maskswork #disability #ableism #eugenics #pots #Dysautonomia

Want to join our fight but not sure where to start? We’ve got a new program designed to break down that barrier. Join our upcoming training for new tools to help get your friends and family off the sidelines. https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/765804/?source=mastodon&medium=directpost

"The mission of all patriots now, while we can, is to do anything we can to make people aware of what is happening in our names so a) everyone knows and b) no one can claim they didn’t know."

Concentration camps will be filled -- with us.

(Hello, journalists?)

https://www.thefarce.org/we-must-stop-the-camps-while-public-opinion-still-matters/?ref=some-of-the-farce-newsletter

12 days, thousands of kilometers dodging potholes and cynical corporate PR—from Nehirowisiw Territory to Kanehsatake, swing through Wemotaci, then Mashteuiatsh—just to film land defenders giving CN and the clear-cutting psychopaths the one-finger salute. This clip, They Stopped the Train to Defend the Forest, is a taste of our full doc Defenders of the Forest, dropping soon and free for your solidarity screenings. Stay woke (LOL) and check 🔗 https://amplifierfilms.ca — this isn’t tourism, it’s frontline Indigenous resistance.

#DefendersOfTheForest
#TheyStoppedTheTrain
#IndigenousResistance
#LandBack
#StopLogging
#FrontlineSolidarity
#NehirowisiwTerritory
#Kanehsatake
#Wemotaci
#Mashteuiatsh
#FreeScreenings
#AmplifierFilms

Scrub this off your phone if you're traveling to this dump. https://www.patreon.com/c/BrianMcFadden

Travelers to the U.S. must pay a new $250 ‘visa integrity fee’ — what to know - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/18/visa-integrity-fee-what-to-know-about-new-travel-fee-to-enter-the-us-.html still want to visit #murica? I thought not...

Italian YouTuber Faces Jail Time for Showing Android Handhelds With Emulated Games - https://www.wired.com/story/italian-youtuber-faces-jail-time-for-showing-android-gaming-handhelds/ more #copyright absurdities

As a child I was taught that it's rude to point my finger at someone. I wish people nowadays were taught that it's also rude to point their phone's camera at somebody's face, even if they're not taking a photo or filming (taking someone's picture or filming them without consent would be more than just rude).

I wish more people would be considerate enough to just tilt their phones a bit when using them in public.
--
#privacy

Update no.2:

No, Substack did not moderate the comments I had reported. They are still up. How bad are they? So bad they make my stomach turn. One in particular - terribly racist and with 6 likes by other users - haunted me for days.

And:

I just wrote to Jason at 404 Media with links to the problematic posts and unmoderated comments. Let's see. (Longtime fan of @404mediaco here)

A quiet climate policy that was working has been axed - https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/environment/a-quiet-climate-policy-that-was-working-has-been-axed/ more self-harming stupidity by #ukgov

Fallout from #Epstein case widens as #Trump threatens to sue WSJ - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/18/trump-administration-news-today "US president contributed a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein’s 50th birthday album. "

How #Trump’s anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry – visualized - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/17/how-many-immigrants-food-industry-workers as with #brexit, but worse

UK Lawyers for Israel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui70R8PCkJ4 "🚨UK Lawyers for Israel Ltd has tried to silence various voices supporting Palestine. Their charitable wing has made public statements rejecting international law." #LedByDonkeys

In my earlier toot I cited "overt racism and antisemitism" but the screenshots I gathered - posts by a very popular account with zero moderation - also include:
- homophobia
- misogyny
- dangerous misinformation around health issues

and so much unchecked hatred. The list could go on and on...

1 billion dollar valuation for a company with zero content moderation is very problematic.

I need to check if my reports of abuse were followed up on (terribly racist comments I had found). Ugh.

Yesterday Substack reached unicorn status with a 1 billion dollar valuation. Yes, Substack, the publishing equivalent of a Nazi bar.

A couple of months ago I collected evidence of what the lack of moderation really does: putting unchecked racism, antisemitism & fatphobia out in the open.

I collected evidence of this but I'm not the right person to air this. Do you have recommendations about bloggers / journalists who might be interested?

… why someone saw the Bluesky post and wanted to warn Harriett. I fully understand how Harriett could feel shocked that it looked like I was talking about her on another platform. And I fully understand how Gottalaff would amplify that and try to stop me from harassing Harriett.

So please, do not send any negativity their way. Let us just all learn from this:

Never jump to conclusions about other people. If you see sudden strange behaviour from someone, ask questions before concluding.

7/7

"NEW:🚨A horror story emerges from hacked flight logs of the Mar15 flight to SLV: MASS DISAPPEARANCES.

It's possible:💔DOZENS of additional ppl the Trump admin sent to be imprisoned in SLV w/o trial *imprisoned there -names: never disclosed."
-A R-Melnick

"Flight manifests for 3 legally contested deportation flts from TX to SLV contain dozens of additional, unaccounted for pax than a previously pub #DHS list of ppl deported from the US on those flts.
#Deportations #USPol https://www.404media.co/flight-manifests-reveal-dozens-of-previously-unknown-people-on-three-deportation-flights-to-el-salvador/

Mega-billionaire Musk's sleaze and hypocrisy are boundless. One of his companies claimed to be a ‘disadvantaged business’ to get special federal treatment while he was wrecking agency after agency.

Destroying Tesla, his primary piggy bank, has never bee more important.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/17/elon-musks-neuralink-says-owned-by-disadvantaged-persons-in-filing.html