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Van Badham

@vanbadham.bsky.social

23K followers 1.2K following 3K posts

Guardian columnist, co-hosts The Week on Wednesday podcast, makes theatre, yaps a lot. Contact me: https://linktr.ee/vanbadham You should totally buy my book, QANON & ON: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults. It’s bonkers.

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Van Badham @vanbadham.bsky.social · 10d

My latest in the @australia.theguardian.com isn’t just about how we must regulate tech - it’s about how WE CAN.

#auspol

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

In a world where techlords rule us by whim, Australia’s stance against deepfakes is reason to celebrate | Van Badham

Could courage be contagious? Let’s hope so, because in the absence of powerful regulation, the normalisation of awful blooms

www.theguardian.com

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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 19h

This is why the inflatable costumes works so well -- it works the same way calling them "weird" or "creepy" did. It disrupts their narrative, and makes them seem pathetic rather than cool-and-cruel.

Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 1d

You need to see this:

“The show of force is the point. They want these images to be out…The Department of Homeland Security is walking around Chicago with a film crew.” @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 9h

I repeat: these Meta Ray-Ban perverts should be mercilessly and ruthlessly bullied and excluded from society.

Brianna Chesser @chessercat.bsky.social · 13h

Actual safety notice from my alma mater:

Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses being used exactly as everyone expected

The techbros are not okay (it’s a completely open campus…not all the buildings, obviously)

UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
Office of Public Safety

Crime Safety Advisory:
Suspicious Occurrence Reported

Dear USF Community,

We want to make you aware of recent reports of a suspicious occurrence on and around campus. Multiple community members have reported contact from an individual, described as male and wearing Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses, who has approached women with unwanted comments and inappropriate dating questions. Reports indicate that this individual may be attempting to post these interactions online under the account name "pickuplines.pov" on TikTok, Instagram, and possibly other social media platforms.

While no threats or acts of violence have been reported, we want our community to stay informed and take steps to support one another.
If you encounter this individual or any suspicious activity:

Take immediate action to report the incident at the time it occurs by calling Public Safety Dispatch.
.

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 6h

Tish James lit up the room last night — and her words echoed far beyond the walls of The United Palace. This is a fight for the future.

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Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 5h

Hey. Hi. Tom Homan is on camera taking a $50k bribe and no one knows where the money went. If this was any other administration, this would be non-stop on the news. Why are we normalizing this stuff?

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Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 8h

NEW: Adrian Fontes has CERTIFIED the results of the AZ-07 election of Adelita Grijalva. Mike Johnson is OUT of EXCUSES and should swear her in.

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Minka @minkab.bsky.social · 4h

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Adelita for Congress @adelitaforcongress.bsky.social · 7h

Speaker Johnson, you ready to swear me in?

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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 4h

"Shut down. I have been told to say shutdown."
"You realize your state is going to lose money when the government is reopened, because the budget will cut that promised funding..."
"................Shutdown."

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6h

COLLINS: The Dept of Energy just canceled $1b for a hydrogen hub that covers Montana. Is that taking away good-paying jobs?

SHEEHY: Of course it is. We want govt to be open

C: But the Energy Secretary says he would've pulled that funding even if govt was open

S: ... Well, that's unfortunate

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 4h

AZ AG Mayes: If I have to, I’ll take Speaker Johnson to court. There's no legitimate reason for him to refuse to swear her in right now. And it's not fair for Mike Johnson to be holding the state of Arizona hostage because he doesn't want to release the Epstein files.

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Matt Round @mattround.com · 9h

OpenAI’s strategy is very clear, it’s trying to get people - especially young people - so reliant on its products intellectually & emotionally (& now sexually!) that going without them becomes unthinkable. And they need signs of that strategy working to keep the funding flowing in

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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 8h

There is NO line.

newrepublic.com/post/201757/...

Mike Johnson Says ICE Shooting a Priest Doesn’t Cross the Line

The House speaker has yet to see any issue with ICE’s behavior in Chicago.

newrepublic.com

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George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 10h

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Van Badham @vanbadham.bsky.social · 9h

MAGA insist US gun deaths are due to abandonment of Christian values - but, inconveniently, Australia is ALREADY a Christian-minority country (only 46%, across all Christian denominations, compared to 62% in the US) and we have significantly less gun deaths than the USA.

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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 16h

one thing we can never allow to happen again is making someone president who is rich enough to fund endless frivolous lawsuits

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Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 19h

Apparently, they don’t hand out a Nobel Peace Prize to those who negotiated a ceasefire they had sabotaged a year ago just to get elected.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 9h

Nearly all the staff in the Office of Special Education have been fired as part of Trump’s sweeping layoffs.

These are the people responsible for protecting the civil rights of students with disabilities and ensuring they receive an equal education.

More needless cruelty on display.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 18h

It’s amazing how all the reporting is just memory-holing this part

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 14h

a real water is wet scenario here

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 14h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 9h

Gotta say, Argentina has to be feeling pretty smug about now… just took the US soy sales to China for themselves, and then doubled it up taking 20 billion dollars “feel sorry for me” money from American tax payers! Minted out!

bennythesnitch.bsky.social @bennythesnitch.bsky.social · 10h

CHINA IS LAUGHING AT HIM
Argentina’s soy exports to China soar amid US bailout, fuelling tensions in Trump camp
China’s soybean buyers turn to Argentina after tax drop, leaving US farmers sidelined and Washington unhappy
www.scmp.com/news/china/d...

Argentina’s soy exports to China soar, angering US

China’s soybean buyers turn to Argentina after tax drop, leaving US farmers sidelined and Washington unhappy.

www.scmp.com

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 9h

I go back and forth on if this would blow back on us, but I wouldn’t be SAD to see America’s Concerned Parents launch moral panic jihad against ChatGPT’s decision to permit their teenager to spend 12 hours a day making genAI Sonic-taur fetish porn.

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 10h

good news everyone!

chatGPT is now able to “mitigate the serious health issues,” according to trustworthy source Sam Altman, which means humanity can be trusted with the Revenge Porn Madness Spigot

Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 14h

Oh good, ChatGPT is getting "erotica for verified adults" later this year

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Van Badham @vanbadham.bsky.social · 9h

The @washingtonpost.com is fading because it is no longer the Washington Post: it is a billionaire’s pamphlet. The paper was its reputation for integrity; Bezos thought we were all stupid enough to pay money to look at the title instead. I do not regret unsubscribing.

www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

The Washington Post Is Running Out Of Readers Willing To Pay

Once a titan of American journalism, The Washington Post now struggles to reach even 100,000 print subscribers most days.

www.forbes.com

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 18h

wow. bezos has destroyed this paper.

karl rove knausgård @uhactually.bsky.social · 1d

Lmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

The Washington Post Is Running Out Of Readers Willing To Pay

Once a titan of American journalism, The Washington Post now struggles to reach even 100,000 print subscribers most days.

www.forbes.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 9h

As I've noted, central to Stephen Miller's propaganda is the claim that the Chicago complex targeted by ICE was "filled" with Tren de Aragua "terrorists."

Now @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social reports that the number of TdA members netted in that raid is down to *one.*

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 18h

The vice president of the United States is a clownish dipshit, Exhibit 64,532

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Krassensteins @krassenstein.bsky.social · 13h

Holy Crap!. This is amazing! Newsom certainly has a great social media game.

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