Mastodawn

Age-verification mandates create barriers along lines of race, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigration status, and socioeconomic class. Here’s 10 (not so) hidden ways how. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/10-not-so-hidden-dangers-age-verification

10 (Not So) Hidden Dangers of Age Verification

It’s nearly the end of 2025, and half of the US and the UK now require you to upload your ID or scan your face to watch “sexual content.” A handful of states and Australia now have various requirements to verify your age before you can create a social media account.Age-verification laws may sound...

Electronic Frontier Foundation

LiveAndrew Nov 20

I grew up in a pretty culture-free environment. There weren't many books in the house and as for music?

K-Tel 40 Supergreats: My uncle lived in Dagenham, where I believe, K-Tel UK was based. During a visit in 1973/4, he gave me a double-cassette of this gem. The perfect balance of classic pop/rock and cheese. I managed to get this near-mint vinyl copy for £6.30!

Street Level: In 1978, my parents bought an ITT record player and three records. Street Action (below) was one and the other two were classical (Beethoven and Mendelssohn) that they obviously thought would look good in the living room. They played none of them. Instead, I stole the record player and the records and they lived in my bedroom. While not as good as Supergreats, this album had some awesome tracks including Cerrone's Supernature, which I advise all of you to listen to. This copy cost a grand total of £4.99!

Anyway, these two albums were hugely important to me and lead to my next purchases (Sex Pistols and Blondie), and the punk, Metal (NWOBHM) and Indie scenes and my love of all types of music over the past 50+ years.

LiveAndrew Nov 15

Working Class History Nov 13

#OtD 13 Nov 1938 American screen icon and Black Panther supporter Jean Seberg, who was hounded to death by the FBI, was born. She was targeted by COINTELPRO, which planted fake stories leading to the death of her premature baby and then her suicide https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8516/jean-seberg

Working Class History

LiveAndrew Nov 9

Several weeks ago I was walking through a local park, chatting with someone I thought of as a friend about my autism. Apparently I wasn't proper autistic like her relation just "modern" autistic like everyone is nowadays and that I should just get over any trauma that I'd accrued over the past 50+ years.

The "chat" ended with me hurriedly leaving my so- called friend, shouting back over my shoulder "I am autistic" and then sobbing on a park bench for five minutes.

Although self-diagnosis is absolutely valid, I'd just like to mention that I have been diagnosed twice by two separate clinical psychologists, 10 years apart with the process involving various tests, my medical history, school reports, a 30 page personal history, interviews with family members as well as a long and in-depth consultation with the psychologist. My son is also diagnosed autistic as well as ADHD and I have several cousins who have also been diagnosed. I also, when young, required, but never received, way more support than I do now. In my teens, I was selectively mute for 2 fucking years!

Traits evolve, support needs change, masking and learned behaviour hides a huge amount of shit. Strangely, I am not the same autistic person I am now compared with the autistic child I was over 50 years ago. Please stop comparing us to children that you know!

Anyway, in a recent Substack post, the lovely Lyric Rivera covered exactly what I was trying, in vain, to put across to my ex-friend.

https://neurodivergentrebel.substack.com/p/why-the-labels-high-functioning-and?r=5df6nv&triedRedirect=true

Why the labels High Functioning and Low Functioning Autism miss the mark and harm Autistic People

People confuse the spectrum (a circular gradient) with a line (high to low functioning or less autistic to more autistic) - and that’s a myth/miss-understanding of what Autism really is, because it ignores that much of what goes into making some Autistic People’s lives more difficult and cause us to need more support is the co-occurring disabilities (that aren’t required to have an Autism label) making people who are uneducated think those with more layers are “more autistic” when in reality it’s Autism+ (plus motor control differences like Apraxia and Dyspraxia, and plus intellectual disability, sometimes epilepsy, insomnia, and other things that aren’t required to be diagnosed Autistic).

NeuroDivergent Rebel’s Substack

LiveAndrew Nov 2

I've always loved this gate in my mother-in-law's garden. It no longer works but used to lead out to a bridle path.

LiveAndrew Nov 2

Danny's morning walk at Point Quay, Cornwall, UK

LiveAndrew Nov 19, 2022

Penpol Creek, Cornwall. A short walk with Danny after dropping Zoe off with her mum.