Susan J Cunningham
@susancunningham.bsky.social
Writer, editor, reporter, swimmer. Tech, culture, travel. Asia know-it-all.
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
NEW: Here’s our searchable list of federal judges who have ruled on the legality of ICE’s mass detention policy — with links to key decisions by each.
At least 380 district judges have rejected it in ~3,800 cases. 31 have upheld ICE’s approach ~180 times
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
At least 380 district judges have rejected it in ~3,800 cases. 31 have upheld ICE’s approach ~180 times
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Our running list of judges who have ruled on ICE’s mass detention policy
POLITICO is keeping track of the federal judges who have ruled on the administration’s effort to systematically lock up thousands of people.
www.politico.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:35 AM
NEW: Here’s our searchable list of federal judges who have ruled on the legality of ICE’s mass detention policy — with links to key decisions by each.
At least 380 district judges have rejected it in ~3,800 cases. 31 have upheld ICE’s approach ~180 times
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
At least 380 district judges have rejected it in ~3,800 cases. 31 have upheld ICE’s approach ~180 times
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
So after Trump pardoned Honduras's narco-president, the admin didn't just let him out--they canceled an immigration hold and sent a specialized team to **chauffeur him to the $1k/night Waldorf Astoria.**
“It's "absolutely fucking nuts,” said one official
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
“It's "absolutely fucking nuts,” said one official
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
February 18, 2026 at 1:21 PM
So after Trump pardoned Honduras's narco-president, the admin didn't just let him out--they canceled an immigration hold and sent a specialized team to **chauffeur him to the $1k/night Waldorf Astoria.**
“It's "absolutely fucking nuts,” said one official
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
“It's "absolutely fucking nuts,” said one official
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
🧪 US Food and Drug Administration (#FDA) reversed course and told #Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine. www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f... #vaccines
FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine
The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.
www.statnews.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:50 PM
🧪 US Food and Drug Administration (#FDA) reversed course and told #Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine. www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f... #vaccines
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
Review: In 2024, a French man was arrested for repeatedly drugging his wife of 50 years and inviting dozens of men to rape her while she slept.
“A Hymn to Life” is Gisèle Pelicot’s staggering account of the assaults and the life that preceded them.
“A Hymn to Life” is Gisèle Pelicot’s staggering account of the assaults and the life that preceded them.
Review | Gisèle Pelicot bravely went public as a rape victim. But her life collapsed.
After Pelicot learned her husband got strangers to assault her while drugged, the French woman testified in open court. A review of her memoir, “A Hymn to Life.”
www.washingtonpost.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Review: In 2024, a French man was arrested for repeatedly drugging his wife of 50 years and inviting dozens of men to rape her while she slept.
“A Hymn to Life” is Gisèle Pelicot’s staggering account of the assaults and the life that preceded them.
“A Hymn to Life” is Gisèle Pelicot’s staggering account of the assaults and the life that preceded them.
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
In terms of what cures are being lost:
- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease
- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease
February 13, 2026 at 5:44 AM
In terms of what cures are being lost:
- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease
- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
One of the greatest documentarians has passed after a long and deeply penetrating career. Frederick Wiseman's work was a cinematic insurgency of relentless, patient truth, but also a deep influence on a lot of narrative journalism, my own included. RIP.
February 17, 2026 at 1:07 PM
One of the greatest documentarians has passed after a long and deeply penetrating career. Frederick Wiseman's work was a cinematic insurgency of relentless, patient truth, but also a deep influence on a lot of narrative journalism, my own included. RIP.
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
RIP Robert Duvall
I can’t tell you how much I loved his perfect portrayal of Captain Augustus ‘Gus’ McCrae in Lonesome Dove. That look he gives at 1.14 just kills me every time.
One of the greatest that ever did it.
youtu.be/qBhDeUzlGPA?...
I can’t tell you how much I loved his perfect portrayal of Captain Augustus ‘Gus’ McCrae in Lonesome Dove. That look he gives at 1.14 just kills me every time.
One of the greatest that ever did it.
youtu.be/qBhDeUzlGPA?...
LONESOME DOVE Clip - Don't Underestimate Gus (1989) Augustus 'Gus' Mccrae
YouTube video by Western Movie Clips
youtu.be
February 16, 2026 at 7:51 PM
RIP Robert Duvall
I can’t tell you how much I loved his perfect portrayal of Captain Augustus ‘Gus’ McCrae in Lonesome Dove. That look he gives at 1.14 just kills me every time.
One of the greatest that ever did it.
youtu.be/qBhDeUzlGPA?...
I can’t tell you how much I loved his perfect portrayal of Captain Augustus ‘Gus’ McCrae in Lonesome Dove. That look he gives at 1.14 just kills me every time.
One of the greatest that ever did it.
youtu.be/qBhDeUzlGPA?...
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
Not completely well known... but Robert Duvall's first on screen performance was as Boo Radley in the great
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
always makes me cry
RIP Robert Duvall
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmI...
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
always makes me cry
RIP Robert Duvall
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmI...
February 16, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Not completely well known... but Robert Duvall's first on screen performance was as Boo Radley in the great
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
always makes me cry
RIP Robert Duvall
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmI...
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
always makes me cry
RIP Robert Duvall
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmI...
Oh, for God's sake. "#ArsTechnica published an article containing fabricated quotations generated by an #AI tool and attributed to a source who did not say them. That is a serious failure of our standards" arstechnica.com/staff/2026/0...
Editor’s Note: Retraction of article containing fabricated quotations
We are reinforcing our editorial standards following this incident.
arstechnica.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Oh, for God's sake. "#ArsTechnica published an article containing fabricated quotations generated by an #AI tool and attributed to a source who did not say them. That is a serious failure of our standards" arstechnica.com/staff/2026/0...
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
New week is almost here #MilkTeaAlliance & here is the upcoming events🧵
Both days this weekend Thai Friends have protested, demanding recounts, demanding transparency & accountability from the election commission. A small snippet of one protest posted by Manushya foundation here:
1/
Both days this weekend Thai Friends have protested, demanding recounts, demanding transparency & accountability from the election commission. A small snippet of one protest posted by Manushya foundation here:
1/
February 15, 2026 at 8:20 PM
New week is almost here #MilkTeaAlliance & here is the upcoming events🧵
Both days this weekend Thai Friends have protested, demanding recounts, demanding transparency & accountability from the election commission. A small snippet of one protest posted by Manushya foundation here:
1/
Both days this weekend Thai Friends have protested, demanding recounts, demanding transparency & accountability from the election commission. A small snippet of one protest posted by Manushya foundation here:
1/
🧪 "If wolves came on their own there would have been higher social tolerance of them. They would be better off now if they’d never been introduced.” nautil.us/howl-1191979/
Howl
The dark side of wolf reintroduction
nautil.us
February 15, 2026 at 7:17 AM
🧪 "If wolves came on their own there would have been higher social tolerance of them. They would be better off now if they’d never been introduced.” nautil.us/howl-1191979/
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
Not only did they murder hundreds of thousands of people. They also stole the money.
there's fierce competition, but this is one of the most stomach-turning things I've read in some time
Exclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show
The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief and an archit...
www.reuters.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Not only did they murder hundreds of thousands of people. They also stole the money.
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
OpenAI disbanded its mission alignment team, created in 2024 to promote the company's stated mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, per @caseynewton.bsky.social @platformer.news.web.brid.gy
Exclusive: OpenAI disbanded its mission alignment team
Joshua Achiam will become the company's chief futurist
www.platformer.news
February 11, 2026 at 5:14 PM
OpenAI disbanded its mission alignment team, created in 2024 to promote the company's stated mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, per @caseynewton.bsky.social @platformer.news.web.brid.gy
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
Exclusive: OpenAI pivots its California ballot fight to Legislature
Exclusive: OpenAI pivots its California ballot fight to Legislature
Should talks with state lawmakers not pan out, the Parents and Kids Safe AI Act campaign is reserving the option to go for the 2028 ballot.
dlvr.it
February 12, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Exclusive: OpenAI pivots its California ballot fight to Legislature
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 AM
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
The Hong Kong government has begun the process to de-register three companies linked to the Apple Daily newspaper and list them as "prohibited organisations," authorities have said. In full: buff.ly/ftf9cRe
Gov't to deregister 3 Apple Daily firms, list them as 'prohibited organisations'
The Hong Kong government has begun the process to de-register three companies linked to the Apple Daily newspaper and list them as "prohibited organisations," authorities have said.
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 5:15 AM
The Hong Kong government has begun the process to de-register three companies linked to the Apple Daily newspaper and list them as "prohibited organisations," authorities have said. In full: buff.ly/ftf9cRe
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
CTA’s alert is a solid #disinformation model for countering forged documents
-> name the tactic, map the vector, coordinate with #Tibetan group admins to halt spread, & publish a reporting channel:
-> name the tactic, map the vector, coordinate with #Tibetan group admins to halt spread, & publish a reporting channel:
CTA alert (11 Feb): forged document using the Dalai Lama's Office letterhead circulated in a #Tibetan Facebook group. Reminder to their @risk community to verify sources and report suspicious social media posts. tibet.net/central-tibe...
Central Tibetan Administration Issues Alert Over Circulation of Forged Document Using Official Letterhead of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – Central Tibetan Administration
Dharamshala: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has strongly condemned social media accounts that have been actively disseminating misinformation using the official letterhead of the Office of H...
tibet.net
February 11, 2026 at 2:36 PM
CTA’s alert is a solid #disinformation model for countering forged documents
-> name the tactic, map the vector, coordinate with #Tibetan group admins to halt spread, & publish a reporting channel:
-> name the tactic, map the vector, coordinate with #Tibetan group admins to halt spread, & publish a reporting channel:
#wapo Washington Post climate reporter: paper is dropping between 350 and 375 journalists. With the newsroom’s pre-layoff strength at 790 people, that means between 44 percent and 47.5 percent of the newsroom has been axed. washingtonian.com/2026/02/09/a...
Actually, the Washington Post Layoffs Were a Bigger Bloodbath Than You Thought - Washingtonian
The layoffs announced last week at the Washington Post were disfiguring to the esteemed news organization, with whole sections and departments—sports, books, staff photography—wiped away, and devastat...
washingtonian.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:50 AM
#wapo Washington Post climate reporter: paper is dropping between 350 and 375 journalists. With the newsroom’s pre-layoff strength at 790 people, that means between 44 percent and 47.5 percent of the newsroom has been axed. washingtonian.com/2026/02/09/a...
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
Not Japan related but y’day I was reminded of how infuriating this is when I saw an American leftist posting about how Jimmy Lai got what was coming to him because he’s a right-wing Trumpist. I don’t get this fixation with applying a US lens to politics everywhere like we’re just NPCs in their game.
This is correct.
(This is also why the Anglo understanding of the LDP drives me insane. Along with how this site and Twitter understood Nippon Kaigi.)
Sanseito's the closest to a "Western New Right" party, but even then the brainworms it has are more Japanese
(This is also why the Anglo understanding of the LDP drives me insane. Along with how this site and Twitter understood Nippon Kaigi.)
Sanseito's the closest to a "Western New Right" party, but even then the brainworms it has are more Japanese
Looking at reactions in the r/Japan subreddit on the recent Japanese elections and man, I characterize it as “lots of white Redditors talking about Japan”.
TBH there’s too much “view Japanese politics through a US political lens” here. I try my best to provide an authentic Japanese perspective.
TBH there’s too much “view Japanese politics through a US political lens” here. I try my best to provide an authentic Japanese perspective.
February 10, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Not Japan related but y’day I was reminded of how infuriating this is when I saw an American leftist posting about how Jimmy Lai got what was coming to him because he’s a right-wing Trumpist. I don’t get this fixation with applying a US lens to politics everywhere like we’re just NPCs in their game.
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
The Reparation Blog: Beating the Villain with a Slipper: Rituals of Reparation in Urban Hong Kong
by @myetcetera.bsky.social:
by @myetcetera.bsky.social:
Beating the Villain with a Slipper: Rituals of Reparation in Urban Hong Kong - CURE
cure.uni-saarland.de
January 26, 2026 at 5:28 PM
The Reparation Blog: Beating the Villain with a Slipper: Rituals of Reparation in Urban Hong Kong
by @myetcetera.bsky.social:
by @myetcetera.bsky.social:
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
VAN HOLLEN: All of your children?
LUTNICK: Yes, I took a headcount. Mr. Epstein asked to buy one of them, but I consider them to be a set, so I politely declined. I offered a nanny instead, but that was declined as she was in her thirties.
VAN HOLLEN: Very well then. Continue....
LUTNICK: Yes, I took a headcount. Mr. Epstein asked to buy one of them, but I consider them to be a set, so I politely declined. I offered a nanny instead, but that was declined as she was in her thirties.
VAN HOLLEN: Very well then. Continue....
VAN HOLLEN: Did you in fact make the visit to Epstein's private island?
LUTNICK: I did have lunch w/ him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me as were my 4 children and nannies. We had lunch on the island. That's true. For an hour. We left with all of my children
LUTNICK: I did have lunch w/ him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me as were my 4 children and nannies. We had lunch on the island. That's true. For an hour. We left with all of my children
February 10, 2026 at 5:51 PM
VAN HOLLEN: All of your children?
LUTNICK: Yes, I took a headcount. Mr. Epstein asked to buy one of them, but I consider them to be a set, so I politely declined. I offered a nanny instead, but that was declined as she was in her thirties.
VAN HOLLEN: Very well then. Continue....
LUTNICK: Yes, I took a headcount. Mr. Epstein asked to buy one of them, but I consider them to be a set, so I politely declined. I offered a nanny instead, but that was declined as she was in her thirties.
VAN HOLLEN: Very well then. Continue....
Why did Zhang Yimou's The Great Wall (《长城) #movie go so wrong? Even star Matt Damon called it "a turkey." Structure? Screenplay? Cultural perspective? US-#china co-production? ctexp.substack.com/p/how-did-th...
How Did The Great Wall Go So Wrong?
Ren Jingjing (任晶晶)
ctexp.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Why did Zhang Yimou's The Great Wall (《长城) #movie go so wrong? Even star Matt Damon called it "a turkey." Structure? Screenplay? Cultural perspective? US-#china co-production? ctexp.substack.com/p/how-did-th...
Lawsuits: “Borrowing heavily from behavioral & neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, [#Meta and #Google] ...embedded... array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” www.platformer.news/social-media...
Why the infinite-scroll childhood may be coming to an end
A lawsuit that begins in LA this week, along with a new investigation into TikTok by the European Commission, could change social apps forever. PLUS: AI ads at the Super Bowl and in ChatGPT
www.platformer.news
February 10, 2026 at 7:28 AM
Lawsuits: “Borrowing heavily from behavioral & neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, [#Meta and #Google] ...embedded... array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” www.platformer.news/social-media...
Reposted by Susan J Cunningham
🧪 What a colossally destructive mistake to close OHSU’s primate facility, ONPRC www.science.org/content/arti...
February 10, 2026 at 7:13 AM
🧪 What a colossally destructive mistake to close OHSU’s primate facility, ONPRC www.science.org/content/arti...
Almost 3,200 foreigners (Chinese, Indians, Nigerian, Vietnamese et al) somehow related to #cyberscams expelled from #Cambodia in first week of February. Allegedly 110,000 since Jan. 1. www.phnompenhpost.com/national/nea...
Nearly 3,200 foreigners expelled from Cambodia in first 8 days of February
Nearly 3,200 foreigners expelled from Cambodia in first 8 days of February
www.phnompenhpost.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Almost 3,200 foreigners (Chinese, Indians, Nigerian, Vietnamese et al) somehow related to #cyberscams expelled from #Cambodia in first week of February. Allegedly 110,000 since Jan. 1. www.phnompenhpost.com/national/nea...