NEW: Billionaires (and their corporations) do not make for good neighbors. Read about four billionaires who are advancing a pro-corporate, anti-worker agenda across New York State. LINK: littlesis.org/news/ny-bill...
Derek Seidman
@derekseidman.bsky.social
writer + researcher • labor, corporate power, militarism, climate • contributor: truthout + littlesis • buffalo ny partisan
“The sheer scale of this consolidation is extremely alarming." On NextEra's acquisition of Dominion that will create a corporate mega-utility to profit off the data center boom - and what it all means for energy democracy and for ordinairy ratepayers. For @truthout.org.
NextEra’s Acquisition of Dominion Energy Would Result in Corporate Mega-Utility
The utility merger seeks to exploit the data center boom for profit and political clout, at ratepayers’ expense.
truthout.org
ICE continues to detain our neighbors with the help of billionaire oligarchs and corporate enablers. Learn who these are: littlesis.org/news/the-bil...
NextEra - already the biggest US electric utility - is acquiring Dominion, creating a truly massive corporate mega-utility. For @truthout.org - I dive into the deal itself, NextEra's sketchy background, the role of data center profiteering, implications for energy democracy, how to stop it + more.
Truthout@truthout.org · 3w agoThe utility merger seeks to exploit the data center boom for profit and political clout, at ratepayers’ expense.
Kushner has been catapulted into billionaire status by the growth of his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, whose key clients are Gulf state sovereign wealth funds overseen by the same regimes with whom Kushner is now involved diplomatically as a U.S. “special envoy for peace.”
New Billionaire Jared Kushner Is Mired in Conflicts of Interest as “Peace Envoy”
Jared Kushner, like the rest of the Trump family, uses the White House for personal enrichment.
truthout.org
NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has been making deeply politicized + conflict-ridden state pension fund investments by splurging hundreds of millions on Israel Bonds - NY taxpayer dollars that go straight to Smotrich's coffers to advance occupation + genocide. Must read from @noahhurowitz.bsky.social.
New York Comptroller’s Trip to Israel Raised Ethical Concerns, State Commission Said
Tom DiNapoli’s visit was sponsored by a group with financial ties to Israel Bonds, an investment vehicle that has become an issue in his primary.
theintercept.com
From its board of director ties to its credit agreements with weapons companies and AI, Citi finances and props up the corporate profiteers behind war, militarism, data centers and AI. Read the full story: littlesis.org/news/citi-is...
Today in news that should both terrify and enrage us:
Derek Seidman@derekseidman.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe U.S. Army is planning to give 50-year leases to the world's biggest private equity firms to build and operate data centers on Army land to service the military's growing use of AI. For @truthout.org.
The U.S. Army is planning to give 50-year leases to the world's biggest private equity firms to build and operate data centers on Army land to service the military's growing use of AI. For @truthout.org.
Wall Street Is Pairing Up With the Army to Build Data Centers
The Army data center buildout comes as the Pentagon increases its use of AI in military operations.
truthout.org
"The community resistance on both sides of the aisle is so enormous. This feels like the one thing that is connecting everybody together." My new @truthout.org roundtable with three organizers across the US fighting data centers - and their lessons for others.
Want to Resist a Data Center? These Organizers Share How They Did It.
Organizers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Arizona share strategies for resisting data centers in other communities.
truthout.org
Want to defeat a data center in your area? I interviewed three local organizers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Arizona on how they built movements against data centers in their communities. Lots of very concrete lessons and advice. For @truthout.org.
Want to Resist a Data Center? These Organizers Share How They Did It.
Organizers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Arizona share strategies for resisting data centers in other communities.
truthout.org
I interviewed Bill Hartung about his long history researching militarism and his reflections on the links between research and organizing, past and present. Part of an ongoing @mapthepower.bsky.social series on the history of movement power research.
Power Research and the Military-Industrial Complex: An Interview with Bill Hartung - Little Sis
An interview with the longtime researcher and author on his history doing movement research around militarism and the critical connections between research and organizing.
littlesis.org
NEW: We interviewed author Bill Hartung on his long history researching the military-industrial complex and the critical connections between research and organizing against militarism. Part of our ongoing series on the history of movement power research.
Power Research and the Military-Industrial Complex: An Interview with Bill Hartung - Little Sis
An interview with the longtime researcher and author on his history doing movement research around militarism and the critical connections between research and organizing.
littlesis.org
If WNY officials give $1.44 billion in public subsidies to a data center that almost nobody wants, people should at least know that the data center's owner will be a huge, Epstein-tied private equity firm led by megabillionaire Marc Rowan. For @truthout.org.
Truthout@truthout.org · 5mo agoResidents in Western New York are opposing a data center backed by an Epstein-tied private equity firm. buff.ly/S7mtZLK
I wrote about the massive private equity firm and megabillionaire CEO behind the proposed STAMP data center complex in Western NY. From Epstein, to Trump attacks on higher ed, to Gaza -- the power behind this data center stretches well beyond WNY For @truthout.org.
New York Residents Are Fighting a Data Center Backed by a Billionaire Trump Ally
Residents in Western New York are opposing a data center backed by an Epstein-tied private equity firm.
truthout.org
Residents in Western New York are opposing a data center backed by an Epstein-tied private equity firm. buff.ly/S7mtZLK
New York Residents Are Fighting a Data Center Backed by a Billionaire Trump Ally
Residents in Western New York are opposing a data center backed by an Epstein-tied private equity firm.
truthout.org
Michael Locker speaks at length about his long movement career, reflecting on the lessons and legacies of power research since the 1960s in this interview with @derekseidman.bsky.social jacobin.com/2026/02/powe...
The Power of Power Structure Research
Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an importan...
jacobin.com
Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an important weapon in civil rights, antiwar, and labor struggles.
The Power of Power Structure Research
Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an important weapon in civil rights, antiwar, and labor struggles.
jacobin.com
Wall Street is helping to drive the data center boom. I wrote about how one community in Wisconsin has come together to take on a data center proposed by QTS, owned by Blackstone, the world's largest private equity firm. For @truthout.org.
Grassroots Organizers in Wisconsin Offer Blueprint for Beating Back Data Centers
Private equity firms are investing heavily in new AI data centers, but local communities are finding ways to fight back.
truthout.org
My latest for @truthout.org mapping out the Trump-tied megabillionaire consortium that will own and operate the new US TikTok.
Truthout@truthout.org · 6mo agoA new U.S. TikTok spinoff is set to be owned and overseen by a tight-knit consortium of megabillionaires, many of whom have had direct business relationships with Trump and his administration. The deal puts Trump-aligned tech barons in control of nearly all major U.S. social media platforms.
NEW: “If we really want to change things… this means confronting the power structure that controls and benefits most from the current system.” Check out our deep-dive interview with Mike Locker, a key figure in the rise of movement power research since the 1960s.
Lessons from a Life of Power Research: An Interview with Mike Locker - Little Sis
A deep-dive interview with the longtime power structure researcher Mike Locker.
littlesis.org
I did some deep mapping of the megabillionaire consortium that will own and manage the new US TikTok spinoff. It's as bad as you might think. MAGA-aligned tech oligarchs now own all major US social media. For @truthout.org.
New US TikTok Spinoff Will Be Controlled by Trump-Aligned Billionaires
Trump-aligned tech barons are now set to control nearly all major US social media platforms.
truthout.org
Not just Larry Ellison—pro-Trump billionaire Jeff Yass is set to profit from the new U.S. TikTok on two sides. Also in the new ownership consortium: Emirati state-owned firm MGX, and Jared Kushner's circle. By @derekseidman.bsky.social:
New US TikTok Spinoff Will Be Controlled by Trump-Aligned Billionaires
Trump-aligned tech barons are now set to control nearly all major US social media platforms.
truthout.org
Read every word of this amazing interview on the organizing and resistance in Minneapolis.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 6mo ago"We had one hotel publicly refuse to house ICE, which became a big national news story when DHS went after them. That’s a hotel we were targeting, and it was mostly because of our pressure. We had two more hotels temporarily shut down to avoid housing ICE..." www.laborpolitics.com/p/how-minnea...
Now's the time to read this @mapthepower.bsky.social guide on how to research the corporate enablers of ICE.
Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE - Little Sis
Learn about how to research corporations collaborating with ICE in this new guide.
littlesis.org
Want to know how to research the corporations collaborating with ICE? My recent piece with @truthout.org walks you through six steps to understand where to push to weaken ICE's corporate power:
Truthout@truthout.org · 7mo agoIn response to the terrifying intensification of ICE over the past year, communities are mobilizing to protect each other, publicly denounce ICE, and form campaigns to peel away corporate support of ICE to weaken the various sources of ICE’s financial, political, and reputational power.
Check out our latest post: Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE We briefly highlight a few campaigns that are targeting ICE’s corporate collaborators and provide a guide on how you can research these corporations. littlesis.org/news/six-ste...
![Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE, By Lauren Parker. Communities are forming campaigns to peel away corporate support of ICE and weaken the various sources of ICE’s financial, political, and reputational power. White text on a black background. The background fades into an image of protesters standing behind a long banner that they are holding up at the front of a conference room. The banner reads, “Stop Avelo, Abolish ICE,” and shows the image of a woman with a baby and a blue collar worker with his fist up, a monarch butterfly is pictured on either side of these two characters. The bottom left side of the graphic reads, Read the full story at: littlesis.org/research/news/ [the link is in all lower case letters]. The bottom right side of the graphic shows the LittleSis logo in white.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eymmxnashedpt6yjtnqj6bju/bafkreifmyx4gevd75coaw4q6pwpbvfgu7wfpynrdmum4ym6dbtt3ldiybm)