Sums up the BBC

🖊️ Cartoon by Stephen Collins

#BBC

Remember when we were all worried that Huawei had filled our telecoms infrastructure with listening devices and killswitches? It sure would be dangerous if a corporation beholden to a brutal autocrat became structurally essential to your country's continued operations, huh?

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/20/post-american-internet/#huawei-with-american-characteristics

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Know your protest rights.

Six essentials from the good folks at #ACLU

#NoKings

This coming Saturday, October 18th, there will be large No Kings rallies in cities and towns across the US, as well as in other countries.

Some of us who want more than anything to be there will not be able to. Some, like me, can't get out of work. Others have medical issues which will keep them home. Others have no way to get to a rally. Still others would not be safe attending. Yet it galls us to miss the rally.

What can we do to participate? We can spread the word, and do our darndest to recruit people to go in our place. I have a friend who has supported the rallies but has been fearful of attending herself. When she saw how frustrated I am to miss this one, she said, "You've made up my mind. I'm going to this one. I'm doing it for you."

She is making a sign that will say "We are just the tip of the iceberg! For everyone you see here, there are others here in spirit. We are more numerous than you think".

I just got off the phone with another friend, who doesn't drive. She is going to call her mom and say, "If you'll drive, we could go to this together". And if mom agrees, hurray, there are two more people.

If you are like me, feeling useless because you can't be there yourself on Saturday, start talking to your friends. If you can compensate for your own absence by recruiting one, two, or three others, you will have helped.

Send them the link.

https://www.nokings.org/

#NoKings2

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House Oversight Dems looking for whistleblowers: what you need to know

Today the Oversight Dems posted on Bluesky: "TO ALL FEDERAL WORKERS: if you were illegally fired today and have information of wrongdoing or abuse of power by the Trump Administration, our whistleblower tip line is open. We want to hear from you. All whistleblowers are federally protected." It gave a link to their tip line, https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/contact/tip-lineThat last sentence is mostly accurate. You are federally protected in theory, but in practice is a much different story. This is quadruply true if you have a security clearance. I encourage any federal worker who wants to talk to Congress to do so, but to do so very carefully.Step 1 of being very careful is to talk to a lawyer first who handles federal whistleblowers. And, again, if you have a clearance, talk to a lawyer who handles national security whistleblowers. Even if you don't think you're blowing the whistle on national security misconduct. It doesn't matter what the misconduct is; all that matters is where you work. If you work for an intel agency--or even just have a clearance--those "federal protections" are a lot different and a lot more discretionary than if you work for the Department of Education. And even if you don't, there's a vast gulf between a legal protection and something actually stopping them from retaliating against you. Sure, if they fire you, you might be able to win a lawsuit, but only if you can go a couple of years without a paycheck to do so. That's why talking to a whistleblower lawyer is so critical. We can help you minimize the chances of retaliation. Unless you're setting out to be a martyr, that should always be in the back of your mind.Here is a non-exhaustive list of law firms and non-profits who handle whistleblowers, in alphabetical order except for my firm, which I'm going to put first because I am drunk with power. I've put an asterisk next to the ones that handle national security whistleblowers.*National Security Counselors - www.nationalsecuritylaw.org*Compass Rose Legal Group - www.compassrosepllc.comErlich Law - www.erlichlawoffice.comGilbert Employment Law - www.gelawyer.com*Government Accountability Project - www.whistleblower.org*Kalijarvi Chuzi Newman Fitch - www.kcnfdc.com*Mark S. Zaid - www.markzaid.comNational Whistleblower Center - www.whistleblowers.org*Whistleblower Aid - www.whistlebloweraid.orgBe safe out there.

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