Michael Swanson
@affablehygge.bsky.social
Lawyers to birds, for birds and by birds.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Torture Techniques from CIA Black Sites Were Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Amnesty International, interviewing migrant detainees, identifies use of the confinement box. There can be no denying it is a torture prison
www.forever-wars.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
I repeatedly asked the Federal Government if the UN torture inspectors’ visit was on track and if the they would gain full access to all prisons and watch houses. They said yes when the truth was no. The Commonwealth funds 80% of all NT government, including its brutal jails. Open them.
December 8, 2025 at 8:10 PM
I repeatedly asked the Federal Government if the UN torture inspectors’ visit was on track and if the they would gain full access to all prisons and watch houses. They said yes when the truth was no. The Commonwealth funds 80% of all NT government, including its brutal jails. Open them.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Ahahahaha, with what safe places for young people in our society?
📢 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is encouraging children to catch up face-to-face ahead of the under-16s social media ban.
PM Albanese delivers message to kids ahead of social media ban
www.smh.com.au
December 9, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Ahahahaha, with what safe places for young people in our society?
Reposted by Michael Swanson
To recap:
•Rittenhouse killed 2 people at a BLM rally & raised $2M
•Shiloh Hendrix called a Black child the n-word & raised $800K
•Now Crystal Wilsey called a Black customer the n-word & has already raised $100K in 1 day
On thing remains clear—White supremacy remains extremely profitable in America
•Rittenhouse killed 2 people at a BLM rally & raised $2M
•Shiloh Hendrix called a Black child the n-word & raised $800K
•Now Crystal Wilsey called a Black customer the n-word & has already raised $100K in 1 day
On thing remains clear—White supremacy remains extremely profitable in America
December 8, 2025 at 9:13 PM
To recap:
•Rittenhouse killed 2 people at a BLM rally & raised $2M
•Shiloh Hendrix called a Black child the n-word & raised $800K
•Now Crystal Wilsey called a Black customer the n-word & has already raised $100K in 1 day
On thing remains clear—White supremacy remains extremely profitable in America
•Rittenhouse killed 2 people at a BLM rally & raised $2M
•Shiloh Hendrix called a Black child the n-word & raised $800K
•Now Crystal Wilsey called a Black customer the n-word & has already raised $100K in 1 day
On thing remains clear—White supremacy remains extremely profitable in America
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Kavanaugh pretty much just said this out loud
The practical effect of overturning Humphrey’s will be that Republican presidents can stack the formerly independent agencies with their copartisans and SCOTUS will be cool with everything they do but when a Dem POTUS does the same Roberts et al will declare all those agencies’ actions unlawful.
In a memo John Roberts wrote just 4 yrs out of law school, he said the “time may be ripe to reconsider the existence” of independent agencies & bring them back into the executive branch. Now he’s poised to end what he has long called “a constitutional anomaly.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
December 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Kavanaugh pretty much just said this out loud
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Justice Jackson nails it, but that this has to be spelled out is so depressing.
Justice Jackson to Solicitor General Sauer (just now, in Trump v. Slaughter arguments):
December 8, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Justice Jackson nails it, but that this has to be spelled out is so depressing.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
"Individual liberty" is when conservatives decide everything. Their concept of liberty is just domination, not freedom to do what they want, but freedom to force everyone else to do what they want. bsky.app/profile/donm...
The only way to assure individual liberty is to hand unprecedented governmental power to the guy engaged in blatant democratic backsliding
Kavanaugh: Broad delegations to unaccountable agencies are dangerous for individual liberty! We have used the major questions doctrine to prevent agencies from overreaching.
Sauer: MQD not a substitute for the removal power for the president
Sauer: MQD not a substitute for the removal power for the president
December 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
"Individual liberty" is when conservatives decide everything. Their concept of liberty is just domination, not freedom to do what they want, but freedom to force everyone else to do what they want. bsky.app/profile/donm...
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Supreme Court oral argument this morning, in sum
Sotomayor: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (derogatory)
Gorsuch: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (complimentary)
Sotomayor: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (derogatory)
Gorsuch: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (complimentary)
December 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Supreme Court oral argument this morning, in sum
Sotomayor: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (derogatory)
Gorsuch: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (complimentary)
Sotomayor: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (derogatory)
Gorsuch: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (complimentary)
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Donald Trump said he’ll “be involved in” deciding if Netflix can buy Warner Bros.
Is that an open invite for CEOs to curry favor with Trump in exchange for merger approvals?
It should be an independent decision by the Department of Justice based on the law and facts.
Is that an open invite for CEOs to curry favor with Trump in exchange for merger approvals?
It should be an independent decision by the Department of Justice based on the law and facts.
Q: Should Netflix be allowed to buy Warner Brothers?
TRUMP: That's a question. They have a very big market share. I'll be involved in that decision
TRUMP: That's a question. They have a very big market share. I'll be involved in that decision
December 8, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Donald Trump said he’ll “be involved in” deciding if Netflix can buy Warner Bros.
Is that an open invite for CEOs to curry favor with Trump in exchange for merger approvals?
It should be an independent decision by the Department of Justice based on the law and facts.
Is that an open invite for CEOs to curry favor with Trump in exchange for merger approvals?
It should be an independent decision by the Department of Justice based on the law and facts.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
A gay man from a country town once showed me the newspaper column of mine he'd kept in his wallet since (pre-socials) school; it said he was not alone & would find his people. Social media can be a lifeline for kids who're bullied, live in abusive home, or whose hobbies/interests are anti-anxiety.
A whole lot of not thinking things through with this policy.
Pretty much assumes everyone is a middle-upper class white, straight teenager with no issues living in a city
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Pretty much assumes everyone is a middle-upper class white, straight teenager with no issues living in a city
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I’m 15 years old and have a disability. Social media has been a lifeline – why is the government kicking me off? | Ezra Sholl
As I come to terms with life as a quadriplegic, Instagram and TikTok are a reminder I’m not alone
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:23 AM
A gay man from a country town once showed me the newspaper column of mine he'd kept in his wallet since (pre-socials) school; it said he was not alone & would find his people. Social media can be a lifeline for kids who're bullied, live in abusive home, or whose hobbies/interests are anti-anxiety.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
A whole lot of not thinking things through with this policy.
Pretty much assumes everyone is a middle-upper class white, straight teenager with no issues living in a city
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Pretty much assumes everyone is a middle-upper class white, straight teenager with no issues living in a city
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I’m 15 years old and have a disability. Social media has been a lifeline – why is the government kicking me off? | Ezra Sholl
As I come to terms with life as a quadriplegic, Instagram and TikTok are a reminder I’m not alone
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 9:28 PM
A whole lot of not thinking things through with this policy.
Pretty much assumes everyone is a middle-upper class white, straight teenager with no issues living in a city
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Pretty much assumes everyone is a middle-upper class white, straight teenager with no issues living in a city
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Michael Swanson
A Melbourne council is under fire for scrubbing a teenager from its magazine and website after receiving complaints about the child's Palestine-flag necklace
www.deepcutnews.com/p/melbourne-...
www.deepcutnews.com/p/melbourne-...
Melbourne council scrubs teenage volunteer from website over Palestine necklace
Child left in tears as APAN slams anti-Palestinian racism
www.deepcutnews.com
December 7, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A Melbourne council is under fire for scrubbing a teenager from its magazine and website after receiving complaints about the child's Palestine-flag necklace
www.deepcutnews.com/p/melbourne-...
www.deepcutnews.com/p/melbourne-...
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Seems like the Gold Coast genocide summit for councils is already paying dividends and that targeting children is a key theme
December 8, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Seems like the Gold Coast genocide summit for councils is already paying dividends and that targeting children is a key theme
Reposted by Michael Swanson
The Albanese govt is considering an East Coast gas reservation policy. And ok... but how about putting a 25% tax of gas exports so we stop giving it away for free?
December 8, 2025 at 3:41 AM
The Albanese govt is considering an East Coast gas reservation policy. And ok... but how about putting a 25% tax of gas exports so we stop giving it away for free?
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Albanese leaving Australian children to be massacred by the UAE is what? What is this man?
Labor is failing to meet even Scott Morrison’s moral benchmark here. He brought Australian children home.
Albanese is refusing to repatriate citizens from Syrian camps despite US warning leaving them there ‘compounds risk to all of us.’ Utterly shameful. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Albanese is refusing to repatriate citizens from Syrian camps despite US warning leaving them there ‘compounds risk to all of us.’ Utterly shameful. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Australia refuses to repatriate citizens from Syrian camps despite US warning leaving them there ‘compounds risk to all of us’
US offers to get Australians out of camps if they are issued with travel documents, but Labor has said ‘this is not something the government is considering’
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Albanese leaving Australian children to be massacred by the UAE is what? What is this man?
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Agreed. Do it now @albomp.bsky.social
@albomp.bsky.social
@australianlabor.bsky.social
@tonyburkemp.bsky.social
Get off your arse and Sanction Israel Now expel diplomats Freeze trade And clean out the Zioinst lobbyists
@australianlabor.bsky.social
@tonyburkemp.bsky.social
Get off your arse and Sanction Israel Now expel diplomats Freeze trade And clean out the Zioinst lobbyists
December 6, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Agreed. Do it now @albomp.bsky.social
Somehow the people calling for the defunding of the police are the extremists and not the people calling for public murders.
A Palantir billionaire just called for public hangings.
“It's time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable,” writes Joe Lonsdale.
This is where Silicon Valley authoritarianism is heading:
www.thenerdreich.com/joe-lonsdale...
“It's time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable,” writes Joe Lonsdale.
This is where Silicon Valley authoritarianism is heading:
www.thenerdreich.com/joe-lonsdale...
Joe Lonsdale Calls For Public Hangings
Silicon Valley radicalization escalates
www.thenerdreich.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Somehow the people calling for the defunding of the police are the extremists and not the people calling for public murders.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Every week a different loser freak from Palantir pops up, ganked out of his fucking mind, to shriek absolutely incoherent nonsense, and somehow none of these guys are being found dead of autoerotic asphyxiation.
December 6, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Every week a different loser freak from Palantir pops up, ganked out of his fucking mind, to shriek absolutely incoherent nonsense, and somehow none of these guys are being found dead of autoerotic asphyxiation.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
This is the ONLY all Australian think tank that should be presenting policy thinks to politicians.
Science led and fed with a huge dose of empathy and ethics.
And never shy about pointing at fails in aus govt.
Science led and fed with a huge dose of empathy and ethics.
And never shy about pointing at fails in aus govt.
For more big ideas on Australian policy and politics from the Australia Institute, the best way is to follow our staff directly!
Just click on this for a diverse range of informed perspectives, and follow @thepointau.bsky.social to make sense of the most important issues affecting Australia!
Just click on this for a diverse range of informed perspectives, and follow @thepointau.bsky.social to make sense of the most important issues affecting Australia!
December 7, 2025 at 12:27 AM
This is the ONLY all Australian think tank that should be presenting policy thinks to politicians.
Science led and fed with a huge dose of empathy and ethics.
And never shy about pointing at fails in aus govt.
Science led and fed with a huge dose of empathy and ethics.
And never shy about pointing at fails in aus govt.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Nothing like a summer in the electorate to bring a dose of reality
www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politic...
www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politic...
First whispers of discontent for Labor are coming from within
Labor has the space to do what it wants – and what it wants, apparently, is to be the Liberal Party of the 1990s.
www.thenewdaily.com.au
December 6, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Nothing like a summer in the electorate to bring a dose of reality
www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politic...
www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politic...
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Reposted by Michael Swanson
Boomers: It just sucks so much that everyone gets participation trophies now, you used to have to show real merit to get an award
Also Boomers:
Also Boomers:
December 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Boomers: It just sucks so much that everyone gets participation trophies now, you used to have to show real merit to get an award
Also Boomers:
Also Boomers:
Reposted by Michael Swanson
This would make a great comedy. World Cup matches are moved from New York and Los Angeles to small-town Texas and the foreign visitors and MAGA locals have all sorts of awkward interactions as they learn to enjoy the games amid madcap hijinks.
Monica Crowley claims Trump is "talking to FIFA" about potentially moving the World Cup out of "blue cities," but no decisions have been made
December 5, 2025 at 6:01 PM
This would make a great comedy. World Cup matches are moved from New York and Los Angeles to small-town Texas and the foreign visitors and MAGA locals have all sorts of awkward interactions as they learn to enjoy the games amid madcap hijinks.
Reposted by Michael Swanson
my measured conclusion upon review of the Supreme Court's order reimposing Texas's racially gerrymander is that the only thing the Republican justices hate more than district court judges is people of color voting
ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/texas...
ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/texas...
The Supreme Court Wants Republicans to Keep the House In 2026
A federal district court found that Texas Republicans’ redistricting proposal is an illegal racial gerrymander. The conservative justices couldn't care less.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 5, 2025 at 6:06 PM
my measured conclusion upon review of the Supreme Court's order reimposing Texas's racially gerrymander is that the only thing the Republican justices hate more than district court judges is people of color voting
ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/texas...
ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/texas...