Stephen C. Rea
@stevierea.bsky.social
Senior Researcher, Critical Internet Studies Institute (@criticalinternet.bsky.social, criticalinternet.org). He/him. Views my own; shares, likes, etc. =\= endorsements. Trying to devote my time to matters of concern to others or to no one in particular.
A day of remembrance and celebration Happy Fade In The Water day
for months, ive been trying to map out the ways the right and the left were uniting against data centers and AI both here's my story on my efforts, featuring steve bannon's anti-tech prophet, my girlfriend's high school english class, and the unabomber:
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.
wired.com
The board of a Michigan township agreed to rezone a terrain to make way for a data center. Residents opposed to the data center forced a vote on the matter, and they blocked the rezoning tonight: www.mlive.com/news/ann-arb...
Steve Bannon was boosting Tristan Harris and CHT on his show today. Hmm (Btw, that’s only surprising if you’re not paying attention)
Ugh, okay, you are free to ridicule the absolute a-hole conspiracy theorists who think the Spokane fires were deliberately set as “punishment” for the community rejecting a planned data center
Texas governor orders pause on new data center approvals pending audit reut.rs/45HgJzi
Texas governor orders pause on new data center approvals pending audit
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on approvals of new data center projects through the state's grid interconnection process, citing concerns that a surge in electricity demand could threaten reliability at a time when opposition to the projects is growing.
reut.rs
Really feels like the public sentiment against Flock just isn't going to reverse course any time soon (*whether that translates into enough cities officially removing them to render their network obsolete is a different story). Every day there's a new headline about vandalism now, lol
FOX 9@fox9mn.bsky.social · 22h agoEight Flock cameras stolen throughout Winona have authorities asking the public's help getting them back.
Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:
Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says
Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...
bloomberg.com
The most unbelievable part of The Odyssey was the flashback of Anne Hathaway being impressed by her husband’s party trick of shooting an arrow through a bunch of axes for what I imagine was the nine thousandth time
The US host cities for the 2026 men's World Cup claim that they were *verbally* promised $1 million each by Gianni Infantino and that FIFA hasn't paid up. Truly incredible stuff. www.nytimes.com/athletic/749...
Learn from recent local wins: Communities have successfully blocked, rolled back, or constrained ALPR deployments; this 2025 retrospective walks through examples and tactics you can borrow. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Local Communities Are Winning Against ALPR Surveillance—Here’s How: 2025 in Review
Across ideologically diverse communities, 2025 campaigns against automated license plate reader (ALPR) surveillance kept winning. From Austin, Texas to Cambridge, Massachusetts to Eugene, Oregon, succ...
eff.org
ICYMI heatmap journalism seems to have stopped a data center and gas fired power plant
Matt Zeitlin@zeitlin.bsky.social · 2d agobig @jael.bsky.social scoop: developer clearway isn't going forward with its data center and gas plant proposal (that had already been swapped out for an existing solar proposal) heatmap.news/sparks/clear...
As a Red Sox fan, I’m here for Babe tRuthers (at least post-1919; afaic he passed away during the Great Influenza epidemic)
Razzball@razzball.bsky.social · 2d agoThe whole Mariners' pen believes Babe Ruth didn't exist. Kinda want all MLB players to believe this and make the owners agree to it in next CBA
This is somehow being touted as a robust response to the many logistical, safety, environmental, and surveillance problems these robotaxis posed. It is NOT. Mullen's legislation basically just attempts to address emergency situations (of which there are many). www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
San Francisco mayor backs national robotaxi rules after Waymo meltdowns
July 4 traffic jams and power outage malfunctions have prompted public scrutiny of self-driving cars in the tech-industry town.
politico.com
“According to the Justice Department, the NAACP’s lawsuit [against xAI] threatens ‘artificial intelligence innovation’ and national security.”
Trump wants the power to stop the public from suing polluters
Trump's DOJ says citizens should no longer be able to enforce environmental laws.
arstechnica.com
💢REPORT | Since the ceasefire was announced in Gaza last Oct., Israeli forces have killed 1,250 Palestinians, including 270 children, 134 women, & 38 elderly people, & wounded 4,110, including 1,147 children, 700 women, & 175 elderly people. The report shared by the Palestinian side w/ mediators...
Justin Pearson and the movement against the pollution and politics of America's AI buildout. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Anger Over Data Centers Is Fueling a New Political Movement
Justin Pearson, a Tennessee lawmaker, has become one of the loudest voices amid a growing national backlash against the pollution and politics of America's AI buildout.
politico.com
‘Immediately stop all outdoor activities’: South Korea records its highest ever temperature - 42.5C #climatecrisis www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
‘Stop all outdoor activities’: South Korea records its highest ever temperature
Authorities issue alert saying indoor spaces without airconditioning are ‘dangerous’ as temperatures pass 40C for fifth straight day
theguardian.com
Haitian TPS holders walk out with a fitted ankle monitors after mandatory ICE office check in at Blue Ash Ohio facility. After Supreme Court decision to terminal Temporary Protective Status, many Haitian community members received notices to appear at the location.
Police chief say shooter found dead after ‘very chaotic scene’ near busy shopping area in Twin Falls
Shooting at In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Idaho leaves three people dead
theguardian.com
I am making it a habit to always look for the labor story behind these nasty scandals. The consumers are almost never the only ones being harmed.
The Diarrhea Lettuce Company Has Been Linked to Forced Labor
The lettuce-producing Taylor Farms was linked to the widespread use of prison labor before its involvement in a cyclospora outbreak.
futurism.com
From Mezabahnur Masum: There's much we don't know about the data center boom and its costs: water, electricity, and more. Solving that problem is harder than it looks, and the confusion might be by design.
With Texas’ Data Center Boom, Uncertainty Is the Business Plan
Proposed projects are driven by sketchy numbers nobody has to prove: inflated demand, water use most companies never report, power plans that route around ordinary review. Either way, the public pays.
texasobserver.org
Folks coming up with some weird justifications for mass incarceration.
Did any other sickos catch Candace Owens pointing her conspiracy theory cannon at IGDA and DiGRA in her Thursday show? She seems to think they are government psyop/money laundering fronts lmao
Rejecting LLMs isn’t about rejecting their utility or failing to be aware of their power —it’s about rejecting that political project; born out of an awareness that any use of these machines at all promulgates that project and assembles me into adjacent responsibility for its commission.
