Anna Forringer-Beal

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

ICE agents are paid a bonus for anyone they seize and that includes tourists- read this account from a retired tourist held for 6wks despite a valid visa and seriously think do you need to go to the States? World Cup and Olympics are huge issues imo

How a Planned Disney World Vacation Turned Into Four Months in Immigration Detention A 9-year-old shares her story of being held at the nation’s only operating detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.

She lives with her grandmother in Colombia and travels frequently to the U.S. to visit her mother. Her visa made them targets for ICE.

A trip to Disneyland ended with a 9-year-old, who had broken no laws, detained at Dilley, Texas.

www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

Verge headline: Mark Zuckerberg is taking the stand as social media goes on trial by Lauren Feiner Photo illustration depicts Mark Zuckberberg set against a field of Meta logos

The way that Meta and YouTube designed their products — allegedly luring users into a nonstop loop of taps and scrolling — is at the heart of this month’s bellwether social media trial, which sets the stage for thousands of similar lawsuits.

Read more from @laurenfeiner.bsky.social: buff.ly/ndKT7WQ

Fake law: Barrister suing Dan Neidle relied on cases from ChatGPT Demand for £8m supported by fake legal cases generated with AI tools – but that’s not the worst part of this shocking lawsuit

“‘Aaronson v Channel 4’ sounds real, but it’s completely made up, Koutsogiannis v Random House is a real case, but Kamal’s summary was totally wrong. And the citation number he used to refer to another real case, Riley v Murray, was a reference to an entirely different one”
https://bit.ly/3OqPjII

some hopeful news out there!

absolutely!! audiobooks are a fantastic way to read & they open up literature for so many people

The Global Story: Epstein’s global network: What the files reveal

for those following the trafficking and abuse allegations, this is a great round-up of everything we know thus far in the epstein files

open.spotify.com/episode/6mM5...

UK migration could be negative this year – how will that hit the economy? Universities, builders and health trusts are feeling the squeeze, as thinktank says effect of zero net migration could be similar to Brexit

Thinktanks warn zero net migration could hit like Brexit: slower growth & fewer opportunities for all.

Slashing migration won’t fix the cost-of-living crisis. It will pile even more pressure on our universities, NHS & the key sectors keeping the country running.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Cover page of Gay New York by George Chauncey

for non-fiction, gay new york by george chauncey (1994) is a good throwback - some really great archival research here even if the gender/sexuality theory is now a bit dated!

Black graphic with a quote attributed to Juana Rodriguez, ACLU client challenging an unlawful immigration raid in Wilder, Idaho: "My toddler was forced to witness an incredible amount of violence against people he loves and hear racial slurs about Latinos, experiences that no child should ever be exposed to. I'll never forget hearing his little voice pleading with me to give him food and water for hours on end."

As a proud U.S. citizen, Juana never thought she'd be zip-tied and detained by ICE for hours with her 3-year-old son, especially while attending a family-friendly event.

They’re two of hundreds of people we’re defending in court for being targeted in an unlawful militarized immigration raid.

Introducing the commission on research for better economic growth James Coe and Sarah Chaytor launch the brand new commission on research for better economic growth

'The majority of the UK’s publicly-funded research is carried out in universities, who now spend over £15bn annually delivering research.

Universities are the UK’s single best collective asset for economic and social prosperity'. 1/3

A photo of gallup

Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...

Today is the last day to respond to the government's horrifying proposals on "earned settlement" - the Amnesty guidance is very helpful, so there's no excuse for not doing it media.amnesty.org.uk/documents/Am...

Say no to Palantir in the NHS NHS England is rolling out software to run our health records from Palantir - fight back

Over 40,000 have taken action to keep Palantir out of the NHS.

Will you join them?
https://notopalantir.goodlawproject.org/email-to-target/stop-palantir-in-the-nhs/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_campaign=PalantirNHS&utm_medium=social_media

ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

NEW: ICE is leasing offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

The Detained Immigrant Bond Fund urgently needs replenishing so we can continue bringing home people like Elizer who have been granted release.

To donate and help reunite families ➡️: https://www.cluejustice.org/bond

Aliya Rahman is a U.S. citizen who was violently arrested by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. Rahman says she repeatedly told agents she was disabled, but they ignored her pleas for medical attention or other accommodation.

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/9/minneapolis_ice

LIVE: Israel approves measures to expand its powers in occupied West Bank

LIVE: Israel approves measures to expand its powers in occupied West Bank https://aje.news/9txfc8

non-fiction: elite capture stokely speaks when dragons fly a taste of power: a Black Woman's story assata tip of the spear soledad brother balagoon: a soldier's story

fiction: friday black stories model home raybearer archangels of funk bluff: poems Black arms to hold you up

some recs for Black history month! (and always!)

How to Survive in a House Without Walls After their home was obliterated, Rasha Abou Jalal and her family remain determined to build a new one, even if it must be built out of nothing.

How to Survive in a House Without Walls | The Nation

www.thenation.com/article/worl...

ugh men will literally go to convicted sex offender jeffery epstien before going to therapy

Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

Such a relief that 'science isn't political' and thus that 'pure research' can be conducted at the world's best seats of learning.

Handcuffs, interrogation, humiliation: Palestinians describe Israeli treatment at Rafah crossing The first Palestinians returned to Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing this week, after being stuck outside Gaza for two years or more. They described grueling interrogations, intimidation, and...

Handcuffs, interrogation, humiliation: Palestinians describe Israeli treatment at Rafah crossing – Mondoweiss

mondoweiss.net/2026/02/hand...

ohhh ‘democracy dies in darkness’ was aspirational

one of my favorite things about academia is that there’s only about one day a week where everyone is expected to be in the office. one of my least favorite things is that this is also the day they tend to schedule heavy drilling works.

Marimar Martinez, shot by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Good, Pretti deaths: 'I am their voice' In a wide-ranging interview with the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, Martinez discusses her shooting, the federal government’s failed attempt to prosecute her and the role she now sees for herself in a fi...

Marimar Martinez, shot 5 times by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Renee Good, Alex Pretti deaths

'I am their voice'

NEW w/ @adrianacardmag.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

GOP STUNNED: Democrat Flips Reliably Republican Texas State Senate Seat Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election in a Texas state Senate district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024.

Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a Texas state Senate election in a reliably Republican district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024

Why Israeli counterterrorism tactics are showing up in Minnesota A decades-long partnership has included resource sharing and a lot of joint training for ICE and CBP with their counterparts in Israel.

responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-ice-m...

US envoys to Israel blocked early warning of 'Apocalyptic Wasteland' in Gaza U.S. Agency for International Development staffers in early 2024 drafted a warning to senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration: Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland” with dire...

Reuters journalists reveal that Biden officials spent early 2024 covering up USAID warnings about atrocities in Gaza, apparently because they "lacked balance" or "diverged from Israel's version of events"
www.reuters.com/world/early-...

we desperately need data protection & privacy laws that keep pace with technology