"James Dobson, who founded the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, died on Thursday. He was 89."
https://apnews.com/article/james-dobson-obituary-focus-on-family-51a9dbf50e26eaee2ac01d457e9d46aa
#News #OrganisedAffiliatedFuckers #Death #DeathAndTheGrabClawMachine #USpol
Other news sources you might consider, and should consider supporting if you are able;
404 Media ✅
https://www.404media.co
LGBTQ Nation ✅
https://www.lgbtqnation.com
ProPublica ✅
https://www.propublica.org
Rest Of World (tech focused) ✅
https://restofworld.org
The 19th ✅
https://19thnews.org
Texas Observer ✅
https://www.texasobserver.org
--
There are no doubt others, and I don't have decent visibility into the local news ecosystem in the United States, but there are plenty of alternatives to the New York Times or Washington Post.
Read broadly, verify what you hear, and always, ALWAYS trace things back to their source.
Be diligent in this, as it is very easy to get mired in mis- and disinformation, especially on social media.
For those of you who feel that mainstream US media is underreporting on the things that most concern you, a few things;
1) Verify it for yourself, don't just go by screenshots on social media, or by what other folks in your circles are complaining about;
2) Check local sources and investigate journalism outfits instead of just the broadsheets and the 24-hour news channels, and support them financially;
3) Add some international news to the mix.
--
Some suggestions for the latter;
The Associated Press
https://apnews.com
Deutsche Welle ✅
https://www.dw.com
El País in English ✅
https://english.elpais.com
France24
https://www.france24.com
Reuters
https://www.reuters.com
The Guardian ✅
https://www.theguardian.com
All of them have RSS feeds, although some are a bit harder to find. Checkmark is what I currently have in the mix.
And yes, #DontPayTheGuardian, for all the reasons listed here;
https://ngmx.com/@sindarina/110001922206762674
But their US coverage is hard to beat, and they can be read without sharing personal information.
Peer review of the Cass report;
"Using the ROBIS tool, we identified a high risk of bias in each of the systematic reviews driven by unexplained protocol deviations, ambiguous eligibility criteria, inadequate study identification, and the failure to integrate consideration of these limitations into the conclusions derived from the evidence syntheses."
"The Cass report’s recommendations, given its methodological flaws and misrepresentation of evidence, warrant critical scrutiny to ensure ethical and effective support for gender-diverse youth."
Unsurprised face 😒
https://bmcmedresmethodol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12874-025-02581-7
Background The Cass Review aimed to provide recommendations for the delivery of services for gender diverse children and young people in England. The final product of this project, the Cass report, relied on commissioned research output, including quantitative and qualitative primary research as well as seven systematic reviews, to inform its recommendations and conclusions. Methods We critically evaluated the Cass report and the research that was commissioned to inform it. To evaluate the Risk of Bias within the seven systematic reviews commissioned by the Cass Review, we applied the ROBIS tool – a domain-based assessment of risk of bias within systematic reviews. It focuses on four domains (i) study eligibility criteria, (ii) identification and selection of studies, (iii) data collection and study appraisal, and (iv) synthesis and findings. To maintain rigour, the ROBIS tool was applied to each systematic review by two independent assessors, within Covidence, with conflicts resolved by an additional two independent assessors. We also conducted a detailed critical evaluation of the methods used in the survey of gender services for young people in Europe, the two quantitative studies of health records, and the qualitative study on the experience of gender dysphoria among young people and the claims made in the Cass report based on these studies. Results Using the ROBIS tool, we identified a high risk of bias in each of the systematic reviews driven by unexplained protocol deviations, ambiguous eligibility criteria, inadequate study identification, and the failure to integrate consideration of these limitations into the conclusions derived from the evidence syntheses. We also identified methodological flaws and unsubstantiated claims in the primary research that suggest a double standard in the quality of evidence produced for the Cass report compared to quality appraisal in the systematic reviews. Conclusions We discuss these issues in relation to how evidence regarding gender affirming care is framed, the wider political context, and the future for gender affirming care. The Cass report’s recommendations, given its methodological flaws and misrepresentation of evidence, warrant critical scrutiny to ensure ethical and effective support for gender-diverse youth.
“The United States has withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP), a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched in 2021 to help emerging economies move away from coal and other non-renewable energy sources.
Other partners, including France, Germany, the European Union, the UK, the Netherlands, and Denmark, remain committed to the program.
The US exit will strongly affects South Africa and Indonesia, which are among the beneficiaries of the program.”
This is yet another consequence of pro-apartheid assholes in the White House 😒
https://www.dw.com/en/us-exits-93-billion-climate-deal-with-developing-nations/a-71847744
For the 1488th post in this thread, I’ll simply remind you of what that number stands for, in white supremacist numerology;
https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/1488
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Words
Fuck Nazis. Fuck white supremacists. Fuck everyone who aids or appeases them.
Our fight is for all, and for equal rights for all, in all its intersections. Black lives, trans rights, informed enthusiastic consent, accessibility, the works.
No one is safe until all of us are safe.
PUNCH NAZIS 👊🏻
1488/ 🧵
#OrganisedAffiliatedFuckers #BlackLivesMatter
#TransRightsAreHumanRights #ProtectTransKids
#MyBodyMyChoice #AbortionIsHealthcare #SexWorkIsWork #Reparations
From February 2nd, 2025;
“A criminal campaign which saw over 270 car exhausts stuffed with expanding construction foam is suspected to have been Russian sabotage aimed at discrediting the Green Party, according to German authorities.”
”Stickers were then left on the damaged cars depicting Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, the Green Party's chancellor candidate in the upcoming federal election, and bearing the message: ‘Be greener!’”
Organised, affiliated fuckers.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-police-suspect-russia-behind-car-vandalism/a-71517942
Related coverage;
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Thread continues from here;
https://ngmx.com/@sindarina/114014139926787899
1460/ 🧵
From February 4th, 2025;
"The UK’s chief auditor has said he is open to learning from Elon Musk’s US ‘department of government efficiency’, as he gave a speech warning that the NHS and special educational needs funding systems are becoming unsustainable.”
"Gareth Davies, who leads parliament’s National Audit Office (NAO), said his organisation was looking at international comparisons as it examined spending in Whitehall departments.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/04/uk-chief-auditor-elon-musk-nhs-sen-funding
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Thread continues from here;
https://ngmx.com/@sindarina/114013362835124989
1450/ 🧵
From February 3rd, 2025;
"The updates, shown in Github commits, are to a database for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Head Start program. They show a project called ‘Remove-DEI’, which reveal some of the back-and-forth that is happening behind the scenes to align federal agencies with Donald Trump’s executive orders that forbid almost anything having to do with race or gender within federal agencies.”
It's a purging of existence, and they don't care who sees them do it 😒
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Thread continues from here;
https://ngmx.com/@sindarina/114013184860177939
1440/ 🧵
From February 2nd, 2025;
"Radical right-wing movements like Germany's AfD party are on the rise worldwide. They are united by nationalism, populism and the fight against immigration. Their network is becoming increasingly transnational.”
"Strategies and successes in one country are soon adopted by other movements, according to political scientist Thomas Greven from Berlin's Free University. He considers the extent of the radical right's networking to be historically unprecedented.”
Organised, affiliated fuckers. Like we've been saying for almost a decade now.
https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-far-right-is-expanding-its-international-network/a-71530393
1428/ 🧵
Sindarina, Edge Case Detective
