Fenway Healthcare in Boston will only provide trans healthcare to age 19+

"We didn’t think this would happen here. For years, Massachusetts has been the place families point to when they say, “at least we’re safe here.” But on October 13th, Fenway Health, one of the most trusted names in LGBTQ+ care, announced it could no longer provide medical gender-affirming care for anyone under nineteen." — Rebecca Minor, We Thought We Were Safe Here: What Fenway’s Decision Reveals About Bureaucratic Fear, Oct 14

Fenway Health Restricts Treatment for Patients Under 19 In Capitulation To Trump: “This is a fundamental betrayal to the core mission of Fenway and the patients they serve.” s. baum, Erin in the Morning, Oct 14, 2025

MassEquality responds (PDF). Oct 15, 2025.

Contact the Trans Youth Emergency Project if you need help. You can also try GLAD Law. If you're a parent in a court case or going to mediation with the other parent, please write a parenting plan and try to anticipate situations like this that may affect your child.

What the heck was this email I received, then, post-Skrmetti?

Hate Crimes Awareness Month

For Hate Crimes Awareness Month, Michael Lieberman (no relation to me), SPLC Senior Policy Counsel regarding Hate and Extremism, has written Hate Crimes, Explained (dated today, October 17, 2025). It's on the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center. See also the SPLC's report We can fight hate and build community (October 7).

ICYMI: Arturo Dominguez, Jewish Academics Denounce Flawed ADL Antisemitism Hate Crime Data: The ADL’s audit of antisemitic incidents was characterized as ‘misleading and dangerous’ for Jewish people while glossing over the most targeted group, Black people, May 7, 2025

Trump 'peace plan' in Gaza is not holding

Good lord. @apnews.com

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) October 8, 2025 at 4:45 PM

“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit

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— James Medlock (@jdcmedlock.bsky.social) October 9, 2025 at 5:16 PM

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Israel claims that Hamas can turn over six more bodies of hostages. Hamas says it doesn't have them.

As a result, Trump is already saying that his "peace plan" for Gaza does not have to be obeyed by Israel. On October 15, he said Israel can police Gaza again "as soon as I say the word." The next day, he alleged that Hamas was killing people in Gaza and that if they persisted, "we will have no choice but to go in and kill them."

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No more free support for Windows 10 — pay or else your computer is e-waste

Jason Koebler writes yesterday for 404 Media that people are either going to keep using unsecure Windows computers or else throw the computers into the trash. Yesterday's

end of free Windows 10 support is an environmental disaster in the making, with as many as 400 million computers that cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 set to be cut off from receiving free security updates. The move is an egregious example of planned obsolescence that will inevitably result in the early deaths of millions of computers that would have otherwise had years of life left, and it is set to affect as many as 42 percent of all Windows computers worldwide.

“There’s 400 million computers that are going to enter the waste stream. That’s a disaster, just in terms of the sheer volume,” Nathan Proctor, director of consumer rights group PIRG’s right to repair campaign, said on the 404 Media Podcast. “And then you have people who are going to ignore the warnings and use a computer that’s insecure, so there’s going to [eventually] be some widespread security problems with these older, unsupported, no longer getting security updates computers.”

Koebler adds: "Notably, Microsoft is going to continue offering security updates to customers who pay for them, meaning that it would be trivial for the company to continue to offer critical security updates for free." In other words, the security update exists, it's just that Microsoft wants money, either by making people pay for the security update or by prompting them to toss out their old computer and buy a new one.

Also read: The Life and Death of Things: A Call for Action: Can ‘planned obsolescence’ — building things that don’t last, to maximise profit — be replaced by the sharing economy? Anouk Patel-Campillo, Ph.D. Medium, October 15, 2025

Somewhat relatedly: Human waste

In case you missed it: "Is it time to revolutionize the toilet?" Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, February 22, 2024

Trump's military aggression against South America

Stories to read:

‘Patently Illegal’: Experts Raise Major Red Flags About Trump’s Drug Boat Bombings: “As history shows, no nation can kill their way out of the drug problem,” argued one critic. Brad Reed, Common Dreams, Sep 24, 2025

Trump Anoints Himself Judge, Jury And Executioner Of Alleged Drug Smugglers: While the president jokes about the killings, legal experts worry he could use the same logic to target others, even those in the U.S. S.V. Date, HuffPost, Sep 25, 2025

Read this too:

"A confidential memo obtained by The Intercept that was sent to multiple congressional committees this week asserted that the president had sweeping discretion to order the executions of alleged drug smugglers because he had declared a state of “non-international armed conflict” against boats that are part of “designated terrorist organizations.”

But if the U.S. is at war, that’s for Congress to decide—not Trump—and the administration has offered no actual evidence to back up its claims that the vessels were linked to any drug cartel at all."

— The Chilling New Detail About Trump’s “Drug Boat” Attacks: Report: Donald Trump has apparently claimed the right to unilaterally declare war. Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, October 3, 2025

Trump’s phony war on Venezuela — and his larger war on reality: Why is Trump attacking Venezuela? All the usual reasons: Wounded pride, limitless greed and conspiracy theories. Andrew O'Hehir. Salon, October 5, 2025

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN, Oct 7, 2025

Fact check: Trump’s absurd claim that he saved 100,000 lives by attacking alleged Venezuelan drug boats, Daniel Dale, CNN, Oct 8, 2025

"The US military conducted yet another strike on a boat alleged to be trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board...This is at least the fifth time the US has announced such a strike." Six killed after US strikes another boat off coast of Venezuela, CNN, Oct 14, 2025

Not all of those five strikes were against Venezuela. One was against Colombia.

"The third publicly acknowledged strike on September 19 targeted a boat leaving Colombia..." (At least one US military strike on alleged drug trafficking boat in Caribbean targeted Colombians, CNN, Oct 15, 2025)

And:

"Venezuela escalation: President Trump said he was considering expanding his military operations in the Caribbean to include ground strikes in Venezuela, which would be a significant escalation of the campaign that has so far targeted vessels at sea. The Trump administration has said, without evidence, that those strikes had hit boats transporting drugs for cartels. “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said." NY Times, October 15, 2025

More info on Common Dreams and in the Washington Post

Trump said on Oct 15 that "he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to clamp down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs from the South American nation, but stopped short of saying they would have authority to remove President Nicolas Maduro." (CNN)

Some survivors after US strikes another suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, sources say, Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, CNN, October 16, 2025

Now they are surveilling everyone

The EU-Commission wants to negotiate a very sensitive agreement that would allow US authorities direct (!) access to police-stored fingerprints & facial images in Europe. Potentially, all travelers could be affected by this #EBSP – and people in need for protection. digit.site36.net/2025/08/29/e...

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— Matthias Monroy (@matthimon.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 6:39 AM

we need to abolish this shit

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— onion person (@junlper.beer) October 12, 2025 at 1:42 AM

Universities as military-industrial watchdogs: British colleges must never offer to monitor students for arms firms aoav.org.uk/2025/univers...

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— Dr Iain Overton (@iainoverton.bsky.social) October 9, 2025 at 6:25 AM

You may be interested in my two-year-old story: Transphobia Speaks in the Voice of Surveillance Capitalism: It believes it knows, and can shape, who we are and what we’ll do. (11 min read) Medium, Oct 2, 2023

Trump's assault on Chicago

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

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— Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie (@audrelawdamercy.bsky.social) October 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM

Q: We've seen images out of Chicago of federal agents shooting faith leaders with pepper balls and arresting journalists. Where's the limit for you on what's acceptable conduct by federal agents? MIKE JOHNSON: I've not seen them cross the line yet.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 14, 2025 at 9:42 AM

We have reached a point where you can morally differentiate yourself from Mike “If you want to know what I believe, just read the Bible” Johnson simply by acknowledging that shooting unarmed priests in the head is bad. newrepublic.com/post/201757/...

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— Sean Casten (@seancasten.bsky.social) October 14, 2025 at 7:04 PM

It appears ICE/CBP chased a vehicle, conducted a dangerous maneuver to intentionally cause a crash, then later tear-gassed bystanders.

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— The People's Fabric (@peoplesfabric.com) October 14, 2025 at 2:07 PM

Read: Federal judge demands answers from Trump admin on following order to avoid violent encounters with Chicago protesters, Bill Kirkos, Andy Rose, CNN, Oct 16, 2025