andrew ⓕ lyons
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andrewfordlyons.net
andrew ⓕ lyons
@andrewfordlyons.net
Technologist for the humans and misanthrope for the machines. Works on digital safety and information security for media and good orgs. Opinions are my own and subject to drift.

NOTE: My skeets are ephemeral and self destruct after a while.
"In the realm of artificial intelligence the choice is even starker."

It's absolutely not.
January 25, 2026 at 1:31 PM
“I do feel scared, but at the same time, I know I have to take care of my people too."
January 25, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Ways you can help Minnesotans deal with the ICE jackboots if you're not there.
naomikritzer.com/2026/01/21/h...
How To Help if You are Outside Minnesota
Last edited January 22, 2026 I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you more or less understand the situation in Minnesota and I don’t have to explain it to you! That sa…
naomikritzer.com
January 25, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Hey, US TikTok users, did you know that one of the worst of the vile techlords -- Larry Ellison, who's totally in bed with Trump -- now has control of your personal data from that site?
The deal to secure TikTok’s future in the US has finally closed | CNN Business
The joint venture acquiring TikTok’s US assets has been formally established and has announced its leadership team, according to the company, one day before the deadline set by President Donald Trump for the app’s US assets to be spun off by Chinese parent company ByteDance.
www.cnn.com
January 24, 2026 at 6:36 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Belgium joins Spain in banning aircraft carrying weapons and military equipment to Israel from using the country's airspace or making technical stops, making it the second EU state to do so after Slovenia.
Belgium imposes arms embargo on Israel
Foreign Ministry confirms decision to Anadolu, which aims to prevent transportation of arms, military goods to Israel - Anadolu Ajansı
www.aa.com.tr
January 24, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
The mixed messages being sent to both ICE and the public will have consequences.
CNN put together a clip of JD Vance claiming ICE agents have "absolute immunity" followed by him two weeks later claiming "I didn't say that officers who engage in wrongdoing would enjoy immunity"
January 24, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
“History does not record many cases in which a power-mad leader careening toward tyranny suddenly regained his senses and became more moderate. On the contrary, the normal course of the disease is toward ever-accelerating deterioration and debauchery.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/o...
Opinion | The Coming Trump Crackup
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
And in true Russian style they sent a bill for the bullets
THEY TRIED TO GET A WARRANT TO CRIMINALLY INVESTIGATE THE WOMAN THEY SHOT DEAD
January 24, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
NEW: A federal court ruling in Minnesota, which notes ICE agents broke the Fourth Amendment by entering a family's home sans warrant, lands as ICE faces scrutiny over a secret memo claiming their agents can enter homes w/ administrative paperwork alone.
US Judge Rules ICE Raids Require Judicial Warrants, Contradicting Secret ICE Memo
The ruling in federal court in Minnesota lands as Immigration and Customs Enforcement faces scrutiny over an internal memo claiming judge-signed warrants aren’t needed to enter homes without consent.
www.wired.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Read this thread if you want an insight into what a huge chunk of the pro-Israel bloc in the US thinks is happening
January 23, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
An account of Iran’s protests from someone who just returned to the U.S. —“I write here as a person with a deep love for the country and the people, and after decades of research into its culture and history. I ask that you hold all of the pieces below together, not in opposition to each other….”
Beyond Black and White: Notes from Tehran
These on-the-ground notes from Iran reject oversimplification and one-sided narratives: "There is layer upon layer."
themarkaz.org
January 23, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
US law requires 2/3 Senate approval for international treaties
Trump’s Board of Peace has now officially been recognized as an international organization, according to the White House.
January 22, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
The DHS Form-205, a “warrant” of removal/deportation, is signed by an ICE official, not a judge. That’s precisely why it does not meet the Fourth Amendment standard.

(JD did go to Yale Law School so he legit may not know how the Fourth Amendment works)
JD Vance: "Nobody is talking about doing immigration enforcement without a warrant. We're talking about different types of warrants that exist in our system. Typically in the immigration system, those are handled by administrative law judges. So we're talking about getting warrants from them."
January 23, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
🧵 @jburnmurdoch.ft.com is spot on about the conditions in his FT piece. Liberal democracy held it together thanks to growth, good demographics, and the promise of a better future. Those days are gone, and that’s the "why" behind the erosion. However...
Democratic politicians have, though, pursued growth in GDP at the expense of other values. One response to @jburnmurdoch.ft.com pessimistic scenario is refocus on those values, combined with egalitarianism, sufficiency and quality of life. Not "it's the economy, stupid" but "it's the the society"
Is liberal democracy in terminal decline?
The old system worked under a set of conditions that are no longer present
www.ft.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:07 AM
Normalise not placating the little orange despot.
January 23, 2026 at 9:07 AM
Tantrum kid sending dis-invitations to everyone that didn't come to his party, lol.
Trump revokes Canada’s invitation to join Board of Peace https://aje.news/vntmlk
January 23, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Oh. Ok. Jesus. So this is the leader of NATO? A Geert Wilders ally? 😳

Because I had heard of Geert Wilders…
All bad things
January 23, 2026 at 8:17 AM
💯
Not exaggerating when I say that the collective action in Minnesota will be studied for generations if not centuries to come
January 23, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Excellent, must-read piece by Siamak Namazi, a former political prisoner in Iran.
Iran’s coming reckoning: Regime collapse is likely — democracy is not - Middle East Institute
bit.ly
January 22, 2026 at 1:32 AM
If people think the threat of tariffs is lifted, that's absolutely hilarious. Once it's been threatened, it can always be re-threatened. It doesn't go away until there's a penalty for threatening it.
January 22, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Here's what we know. https://cnn.it/4jOSjtU
January 22, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by andrew ⓕ lyons
Is it surprising that the Trump Administration didn’t like @governor.ca.gov Gavin Newsom's commentary? No.

It is consistent with their authoritarian tendencies.
January 22, 2026 at 8:40 AM
This U.S. invented "Board of Peace is an attempt to displace the UN and make the White House the owner of a new kind of Security Council. It's dumb and transparent, but interesting to see who's signing on.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Trump’s board of peace is an imperial court completely unlike what was proposed | Donald Trump | The Guardian
The US president’s global club was endorsed by the security council on a false prospectus and seems aimed at displacing the United Nations
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:32 AM
"Nothing is working as it should. No one is speaking in sentences that add up to anything sensible."
www.liberalcurrents.com/youre-not-cr...
You're Not Crazy. America Has Gone Mad
American politics has become so insane that being reasonable feels like a malady, and MAGA agrees.
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:15 AM