Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Sealing arrest records doesn’t change the fact that someone was arrested.

Good for the Colorado Times Recorder for standing up to a former city council member who tried to pressure it into removing an accurate story about her past arrest.

https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2025/04/five-co-springs-news-outlets-scrub-their-websites-of-an-article-about-the-arrest-of-former-gop-council-member/68555/

@kitoconnell@kolektiva.social This. Every time I see the stupid "blue states should secede" case made I am like "so you do not care about the poor and marginalized in red states? You are going to abandon them to fascism?"

Either we care about people or we aren't leftists. Full stop.

@Nonilex I hope people flood the system with reports of *actual* anti-Christian actions, such as deporting or imprisoning migrants, bombing children, cutting off aid to the poor, etc.

Europe’s race to rearm is pointless if its adversaries are waging war online - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/15/us-europe-military-spending-trump-ireland "The EU must immediately switch off the tech companies’ algorithms on its soil, at least until they are proven safe for democracy. " #algorithms #adtech #propaganda

Just ordered a new (to me - reconditioned) OnePlus 9RT phone on which to install LineageOS prior to my impending visit to my homeland... should be interesting. It will (eventually) replace my existing OnePlus6T running LineageOS (bought in 2020, but it's circa 2018). Gonna use some 5G on my own terms, baby!

The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage, a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China.

https://www.ft.com/content/20d0678a-41b2-468d-ac10-14ce1eae357b

#Ukraine #Russia #EU #US #Trump

The American left has a Texas problem.

Really, it’s a problem of Red vs. Blue. I’m not talking about the problem with treating decisions about how we govern society as if it was a horse race, or between teams at a sporting event. What I’m thinking about today — in the spirit of deescalating every conflict that isn’t with our true enemies (thank you, Margaret Killjoy) — is the way misconceptions about who lives in Texas, and how we vote, encourage an attitude of disposability and dehumanization.

As a Texas journalist, one cornerstone of my work has been making people understand that what happens in this state is relevant to them, even if they live outside of it. Southern states like Texas have been a laboratory for so much of the Republican policy that’s now being implemented nationwide by the Trump regime. More so, the lives of people here matter a great deal to me, and they should matter to you too.

So why do I see liberals from other states who are willing, even eager, to abandon the people who live here?

Read more in my #newsletter, #GonzoNotes: https://kitoconnell.com/2025/04/14/gonzo-notes-the-lefts-texas-problem/

#politics #USpol #Trump #activism #Texas #journalism

Big Journalism is still doing stenography instead of showing the reality of the Trump regime's headlong race into fascism.

At TechDirt, @mmasnick shows how journalism could work if it located a spine.

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/14/trump-bukele-plot-us-citizen-detention-in-salvadoran-torture-camps-while-defying-supreme-court-via-gibberish-responses-to-reporters/

Key quote: "If you don’t see all of this as one of the darkest days in American history, in which the President is openly embracing disappearing people without due process in the name of 'liberty,' you are a part of the problem. Fascism has risen in America..."

Trump & Bukele Plot US Citizen Detention In Salvadoran Torture Camps, While Defying Supreme Court Via Gibberish Responses To Reporters - https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/14/trump-bukele-plot-us-citizen-detention-in-salvadoran-torture-camps-while-defying-supreme-court-via-gibberish-responses-to-reporters/

Killed, dismembered and scattered: the Honduran father and son who made a stand against illegal logging - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/apr/14/killed-dismembered-and-scattered-the-honduran-father-and-son-who-made-a-stand-against-logging "The country is the most deadly to be an environmental activist – and the brutal murders of Juan Bautista Silva and Juan Antonio Hernández are the latest in a long line of violent acts against defenders"

Down by Law: Criminalization, Solidarity, and Survival in Europe is a collaborative graphic novel by ethnographers, artists, and activists that starkly and honestly illuminates people’s stories of those whose lives have been shaped by the social and political implications of criminalization across Europe.
Back the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ww3/downbylaw

[Freelance] UX Consultant at Open Knowledge Foundation https://www.fossjobs.net/job/11528/ux-consultant-at-open-knowledge-foundation/ #GetFediHired #fossjobs

The moral pygmies running Gannett are now taking orders from Trump. https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/gannett-will-stop-publishing-diversity-information-citing-trumps-executive-order/

Hello #Aachen (and nearby areas)! If you're interested in contributing to alternatives of big proprietary platforms (like #Codeberg :D - that being the alternative), I'm organizing a #Forgejo contribution workshop at the @cccac on Sunday, 20.04.2025 (next week), starting from 13:00.

Click here for more details. 🧵

Australian academics refuse to attend US conferences for fear of being detained - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/14/australian-academics-refuse-to-attend-us-conferences-for-fear-of-being-detained you'd be mad to go to #murica while mad king #trump is in power

Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/14/librarians-in-uk-increasingly-asked-to-remove-books-as-influence-of-us-pressure-groups-spreads?CMP=bsky_gu this is an awful development; needs to be mapped and fought #censorship #lgbt

Days BEFORE masked #ICE agents detained #Tufts University student #RumeysaOzturk to deport her, the #State Dept determined that the #Trump admin had not produced any evidence showing that she engaged in antisemitic activities or made public statements supporting a terrorist organization, as the govt has alleged.

#TrumpLies #immigration #law #StateSponsoredAbduction #DueProcess

I know this is EXTRAORDINARILY BAD TIMING but I am writing it to pin to my profiles.

So, I do a lot of stuff. I work in critical infrastructure. I volunteer operate career clinics. I teach and speak on the topics. I have not tooled my life to become wealthy by any means - I try to do ethical and interesting stuff.

Leaving X two years ago really hit my ability to be able to reach audiences. The hard fact is, I use the money I make on side gigs like commercial speaking to be able to do community stuff and run a free conference.

49/50 people reading this are not the target of this message. If you happen to be a security leader in an organization that hires speakers for security awareness, security education, or niche cybersecurity events - you can hire me! It's an important part of my ability to do more outreach, especially now with a massive and costly move.

If you are looking for a speaker in the next year, I have a easy to work with agent at https://www.leadingauthorities.com/speakers/lesley-carhart

My commercial prices are negotiable. I do not charge for community speaking. I cannot currently speak commercially in Australia and I am personally eating the cost of travel to the US for engagements.

If you wonder why people view "health" insurance CEOs with white-hot fury, ProPublica's detailed look into the contemptible actions of a Blue Cross boss (and his lawyers) should make it clear.

https://www.propublica.org/article/blue-cross-blue-shield-louisiana-insurance-lawsuit-breast-cancer-doctors

Key phrase: "...authorization (for surgery) never says we're going to pay you..."