sarahemclaugh.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

The Trump administration has asked Ukraine to withdraw an annual resolution condemning Russia’s war, and replace it with a toned-down U.S. statement that stunned officials in Kyiv, who perceived it as being close to pro-Russian, Siobhan O'Grady reports. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

submitted 20 hours ago • 2 comments

Kyrgyzstan recriminalized libel and insult on the internet and in media. "Under the new law, complaints will be handled by police and adjudicated by so-called administrative courts in an expedited format compared to civil law proceedings."

submitted 21 hours ago • 0 comments

the two major plot points of reacher season three so far are that no one will let him finish a meal and they found an even larger large man

submitted 1 day ago • 6 comments

Glad to see this law suit from @apnews.com. If the First Amendment means anything, it means the President doesn't get to dictate how news organizations describe the world. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

submitted 1 day ago • 4 comments

“Criticizing the government is not a crime.” It is significantly less than ideal that this needs to be said.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

BREAKING: The Associated Press sues three Trump administration officials over access to presidential events, citing the First Amendment.

submitted 1 day ago • 348 comments

this ongoing spyware scandal seems likely to get considerably worse for meloni. kudos to @skirchy.bsky.social for staying on this.

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

Salman Rushdie's attacker, Hadi Matar, found guilty of attempted murder.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Motion to dismiss Trump's "consumer fraud" lawsuit against J. Ann Selzer, filed on her behalf by @thefireorg.bsky.social today: www.thefire.org/research-lea...

submitted 1 day ago • 13 comments

Trump's pick for federal prosecutor in D.C., Edward R. Martin Jr., has now sent a threat/investigation letter to a member of Congress over a hackneyed "bring a gun to a knife fight" figure of speech during a CNN interview. Martin sees fit to pretend that it's a threat to a public official. /1

submitted 2 days ago • 13 comments

This is a shocker. Apple is winding down Advanced Data Protection in the UK, company says in press email, rather than build a backdoor for that government, which is impossible to do safely. Every Apple user in the UK is now less safe. Other countries not affected.

submitted 1 day ago • 5 comments

So if you criticize Elon Musk, Trump’s DOJ will send you this letter. Members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration. I will not be silenced.

submitted 2 days ago • 3432 comments

1/ The FTC is requesting comments on content moderation, in part because the chair is angling to label editorial decisions he doesn't like "unfair or deceptive trade practices." But consumer protection law is no talisman against the First Amendment. The FTC has no power here.

submitted 2 days ago • 8 comments

German police are investigating after a director from Hong Kong read out a pro-Palestine speech by an Iranian actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Police: “The statement [by Li] gives rise to initial suspicion of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations."

submitted 2 days ago • 6 comments

The Streisand effect... Indonesian punk duo Sukatani was forced to reveal their identity and pull their song "Bayar Bayar Bayar" (Pay Pay Pay), which mocks the country's corrupt police, from all streaming platforms. The song is now viral on social media. en.tempo.co/read/1977813...

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

The Democratic Party (Hong Kong) has decided to disband itself. thecollectivehk.com/%E6%B0%91%E4...

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

I cannot think of anything more profoundly un-American than a president declaring himself a “king”

submitted 3 days ago • 142 comments

no kings. no lese-majeste.

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

This is how oppressive of an environment exists in Thailand because of lese-majeste, the law banning insult to the monarchy — just for sponsoring legislation to amend this deeply unjust law, dozens of MPs are facing indictment for "breaching ethical standards."

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

The director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation says they've discovered plots by "at least three" different countries to "physically harm" government critics and human rights activists in Australia.

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Wow: City of Clarksdale, Mississippi got a court order yesterday directing a newspaper to delete an editorial criticizing city officials -- without a hearing. Here's the TRO issuing the prior restraint:

submitted 4 days ago • 256 comments

haven't been talking about it enough lately -- don't worry, I'll get annoying when pre-order starts soon -- but this year I'll have a book out on exactly these kind of pressures among students and academics

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

The leader of a Chinese Students and Scholars Association chapter in London said the Chinese embassy asked them to find out the names of students who took part in campus protests, including White Paper protests. Not good, but also no great surprise. blogs.soas.ac.uk/china-instit...

submitted 4 days ago • 2 comments

"If you care at all about the freedom to express dissent, to investigate the powerful and to hold the government accountable — even if it means saying 'mean' things about them — New York Times v. Sullivan must survive." — @anthonylfisher.bsky.social

submitted 4 days ago • 2 comments

While GovHK would no doubt argue it isn't repressing anyone because it never directly ordered most of these orgs to shut down, the truth is that it has deliberately created the conditions that make them unable to function freely or safely. Same goes for the Democratic Party if it decides to disband.

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

House Republicans ask AG Bondi to prosecute Code Pink and other organizations because they are "distributing information" about legal rights. dailycaller.com/2025/02/18/e...

submitted 4 days ago • 16 comments

I'd still rather take a situation where we're having to defend and fight on the grounds of our First Amendment law rather than the European model where, among others, things like seditious libel and insulting political leaders aren't even theoretically disallowed grounds for state punishment.

submitted 4 days ago • 4 comments

Placebo's Brian Molko has been charged with defamation for “contempt of the institutions" in Italy after calling prime minister Giorgia Meloni a “piece of shit, fascist, racist” during the 2023 Sonic Park festival.

The Trump administration has asked Ukraine to withdraw an annual resolution condemning Russia’s war, and replace it with a toned-down U.S. statement that stunned officials in Kyiv, who perceived it as being close to pro-Russian, Siobhan O'Grady reports. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Kyrgyzstan recriminalized libel and insult on the internet and in media. "Under the new law, complaints will be handled by police and adjudicated by so-called administrative courts in an expedited format compared to civil law proceedings."

the two major plot points of reacher season three so far are that no one will let him finish a meal and they found an even larger large man

Glad to see this law suit from @apnews.com. If the First Amendment means anything, it means the President doesn't get to dictate how news organizations describe the world. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

“Criticizing the government is not a crime.” It is significantly less than ideal that this needs to be said.

BREAKING: The Associated Press sues three Trump administration officials over access to presidential events, citing the First Amendment.

this ongoing spyware scandal seems likely to get considerably worse for meloni. kudos to @skirchy.bsky.social for staying on this.

Salman Rushdie's attacker, Hadi Matar, found guilty of attempted murder.

Motion to dismiss Trump's "consumer fraud" lawsuit against J. Ann Selzer, filed on her behalf by @thefireorg.bsky.social today: www.thefire.org/research-lea...

Trump's pick for federal prosecutor in D.C., Edward R. Martin Jr., has now sent a threat/investigation letter to a member of Congress over a hackneyed "bring a gun to a knife fight" figure of speech during a CNN interview. Martin sees fit to pretend that it's a threat to a public official. /1

This is a shocker. Apple is winding down Advanced Data Protection in the UK, company says in press email, rather than build a backdoor for that government, which is impossible to do safely. Every Apple user in the UK is now less safe. Other countries not affected.

So if you criticize Elon Musk, Trump’s DOJ will send you this letter. Members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration. I will not be silenced.

1/ The FTC is requesting comments on content moderation, in part because the chair is angling to label editorial decisions he doesn't like "unfair or deceptive trade practices." But consumer protection law is no talisman against the First Amendment. The FTC has no power here.

German police are investigating after a director from Hong Kong read out a pro-Palestine speech by an Iranian actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Police: “The statement [by Li] gives rise to initial suspicion of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations."

The Streisand effect... Indonesian punk duo Sukatani was forced to reveal their identity and pull their song "Bayar Bayar Bayar" (Pay Pay Pay), which mocks the country's corrupt police, from all streaming platforms. The song is now viral on social media. en.tempo.co/read/1977813...

The Democratic Party (Hong Kong) has decided to disband itself. thecollectivehk.com/%E6%B0%91%E4...

I cannot think of anything more profoundly un-American than a president declaring himself a “king”

no kings. no lese-majeste.

This is how oppressive of an environment exists in Thailand because of lese-majeste, the law banning insult to the monarchy — just for sponsoring legislation to amend this deeply unjust law, dozens of MPs are facing indictment for "breaching ethical standards."

The director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation says they've discovered plots by "at least three" different countries to "physically harm" government critics and human rights activists in Australia.

Wow: City of Clarksdale, Mississippi got a court order yesterday directing a newspaper to delete an editorial criticizing city officials -- without a hearing. Here's the TRO issuing the prior restraint:

haven't been talking about it enough lately -- don't worry, I'll get annoying when pre-order starts soon -- but this year I'll have a book out on exactly these kind of pressures among students and academics

The leader of a Chinese Students and Scholars Association chapter in London said the Chinese embassy asked them to find out the names of students who took part in campus protests, including White Paper protests. Not good, but also no great surprise. blogs.soas.ac.uk/china-instit...

"If you care at all about the freedom to express dissent, to investigate the powerful and to hold the government accountable — even if it means saying 'mean' things about them — New York Times v. Sullivan must survive." — @anthonylfisher.bsky.social

While GovHK would no doubt argue it isn't repressing anyone because it never directly ordered most of these orgs to shut down, the truth is that it has deliberately created the conditions that make them unable to function freely or safely. Same goes for the Democratic Party if it decides to disband.

House Republicans ask AG Bondi to prosecute Code Pink and other organizations because they are "distributing information" about legal rights. dailycaller.com/2025/02/18/e...

I'd still rather take a situation where we're having to defend and fight on the grounds of our First Amendment law rather than the European model where, among others, things like seditious libel and insulting political leaders aren't even theoretically disallowed grounds for state punishment.

Placebo's Brian Molko has been charged with defamation for “contempt of the institutions" in Italy after calling prime minister Giorgia Meloni a “piece of shit, fascist, racist” during the 2023 Sonic Park festival.

happy “not flu, not covid, but some mysterious third thing” season

I have somehow managed to get sick two Valentine’s Days in a row 💞