I've decided that I am taking a complete social media break from now until September, because – why not?
keep your electric eye on me
@ubisurv.net
David M. Wood (DMW) Surveillance / Security / Cities / Technology / Human Rights / Environment https://ubisurv.net Personal account. ON A SOCIAL MEDIA BREAK
Paris, 2015 - world leaders pose for the cameras, pledging to keep global warming below 1.5C. Paris, 2026 - 40C heat in June as the world passes 1.5C, with 2C now inevitable & 3C & 4C likely in our children’s lifetimes. The greatest failure in the history of our species.
Big story from me and Aman Sethi about Palantir today. The headline should speak for itself. www.opendemocracy.net/exclusive-ho...
Exclusive: How Palantir harvested millions in UK tax breaks
In 2024, Palantir’s effective tax rate was just 8%, far less than the usual 25%, despite £25.3m of pre-tax profits
opendemocracy.net
Appropriate design of both buildings and cities could avoid the need for most powered heating and cooling. But here too, Europeans need to get over their unwarranted, colonial sense of superiority, and learn from Indigenous people and the Majority World. e.g. www.archdaily.com/971216/what-...
What is a Traditional Windcatcher?
In this article, we explore how ancient civilizations in Western Asia and North Africa have used windcatchers to adapt to the region's harsh climate conditions
archdaily.com
This is what they said about Jews. This is what they said about Italians. This is what they said about the Irish. He is definitely done being careful; the House Majority Whip has decided to go back to 1920s nativism, full stop.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.Tom Emmer: "Minnesotans are so afraid that you're gonna call us a racist, you're gonna call us an Islamophobe. You know what? I'm done being even the least bit careful. Somalis don't assimilate. And if they don't assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from."
Our site was hacked earlier this week & this important blog post by ‘Lisa’ about #spycops so-called 'genuine feelings' hadn't been backed up. Reposted here. Please share. policespiesoutoflives.org.uk/genuine-feel...
'GENUINE FEELINGS' & SPYCOPS ABUSES - by 'Lisa'
On Friday 19th June 2026, at the end of an emotional day for Helen Steel who was giving evidence to the Public Inquiry into Undercover Policing about being deceived into intimate sexual relationship w...
policespiesoutoflives.org.uk
Canadians may feel smug because the #USA has Trump, but #Canada is not fundamentally any better than the USA.
Guan Yang@guan.dk · last mo.should have just had the whole thing in mexico
At this point, advocating #fossilfuel expansion or even just business-as-usual, is promoting genocide and ecocide. I do not say this either to exaggerate or as an analogy. I mean it literally and very seriously.
At this point, advocating #fossilfuel expansion or even just business-as-usual, is promoting genocide and ecocide. I do not say this either to exaggerate or as an analogy. I mean it literally and very seriously.
The Met Police have announced a major expansion of facial recognition 👁️ The use of this flawed and discriminatory tech still lacks oversight, putting our rights on the back foot. We should be able to walk down the street with a full expectation of privacy and not being ID’d at every step.
Met Police to expand use of drones, facial recognition and AI despite concerns
The Metropolitan Police have announced a major expansion of technology across London, including drones, live facial recognition and AI.
channel4.com
All of the climate denier goblins who orchestrated and enabled fossil fuel burning are now blaming the impacts of their actions on not enough air conditioning
It's just one long stream of BS from these fossil fuel-backed clowns. Adopting their policies would destroy a million jobs (see next post) while creating almost none in return. Total environmental and social vandalism. The absolute state of "conservatism". www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Populist and rightwing figures take aim at Ed Miliband and UK net zero policies at ‘anti-woke Davos’
Kemi Badenoch, who joined US anti-abortion activists and European far-right parties at ARC, described energy secretary as a ‘villain’
theguardian.com
I saw a kid/teen ________________ (insert complaint about kids/teen existing in the public realm doing basically anything kids do) Then say: Kids just don't go outside now, when we were young we were outside all day and got up to all sorts of hilarious trouble.
@citizenlab.ca analysed Russian activist Andrey Pivovarov’s phone, finding that 🇷🇺authorities used forensic extraction tools by Cellebrite to gain access to his device & continued to use them for political repression even after the company had cancelled its contracts. citizenlab.ca/research/rus...
Russia Breaks Into Human Rights Activist's Phone With Cellebrite - The Citizen Lab
We analyzed Russian activist Andrey Pivovarov’s phone, finding that Russian authorities used forensic extraction tools made by Cellebrite to gain access to his device. A document prepared by Russian a...
citizenlab.ca
🧵NEW: For more than a decade, police in South West England have been quietly experimenting with algorithms to score thousands of people. Most of them didn't know anything about it. Over two years, me and Mark Wilding investigated the messy setup, multiple parts have now been scrapped
British Police Built a Sprawling Crime-Prediction Machine. Some Results Couldn’t Be Trusted
As UK police embrace the AI revolution, a WIRED investigation reveals the messy inside story of one region’s experiment with predictive analytics.
wired.com
Right now I'm in the epicentre of the heatwave, in southwest France, where the brutality of the heat has ground life to a halt. And I have to keep reminding myself: this is only the beginning.
Leah Stokes@leahstokes.bsky.social · last mo.The heatwave in Europe is so extreme, it's 25–32°F (14–18°C) above normal. You read that right. France recorded it's hottest day ever. The UK had its hottest ever June day. The ground is exceeding 122°F (50°C). People are dying. Tell me again why we shouldn't talk about climate change???
Can I just say how fucking wild it is that a man travelled to Montreal, booked a hotel room across from the Pornhub offices, fired BULLETS INTO THE WINDOWS OF PORNHUB, killed two bystanders and the Guardian does not mention Pornhub or WHY HE WAS THERE. Even as they warn against "copycat attacks."
Canadian police warn of possible copycat attacks after deadly shootout in Montreal
Assailant behind shooting that left three people dead wrote ‘incel’-like manifesto that was posted by a far-right outlet
theguardian.com
This is absolutely crucial. Platform capital is trying to make this a choice between stopping the #climatecrisis and accelerating #AI development. We should take them at their word... and stop the construction of planet-hostile #datacenters.
Elaine Burke@elaineburke.bsky.social · last mo.While you're cooking in the heat this week, do bear this in mind.
So-called surveillance advertising, which places ads based on individual online behavior, will also be banned from targeting children. The policy will take effect within a year. Read the full story: www.semafor.com/article/06/2...
UAE bans social media for under-15s
Children 14 years old or younger will be banned from having social media accounts, and 15- and 16-year-olds will only have access with parental controls.
semafor.com
Can you blame climate scientists for getting disgusted with politicians?: Climate scientists appalled by politicians' refusal to accept responsibility as heatwave hits France www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...
Climate scientists appalled by politicians' refusal to accept responsibility as heatwave hits France
Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Jean Jouzel and Christophe Cassou say that years of warnings issued from scientists about the consequences of global warming have not been taken more seriously.
lemonde.fr
Hahahaha. WTF “Starting June 23rd, Google’s expanding its facial recognition feature so that people you’ve tagged in your Familiar Faces library can continue to be identified when their faces aren’t clearly visible, using ‘additional non-biometric signals (body size, clothing color, etc.).’”
Google Home will soon get better at recognizing you
Fewer inaccurate notifications from Google’s smart home AI.
theverge.com
How average and extreme summer temperatures are changing in Western Europe. Graph: Robert Rohde. This will continue until we reach net zero emissions, whether you like it or not: it’s physics. @rarohde.bsky.social
The Prairieland 8 are political prisoners. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison
Activists accused of being part of antifa face harsh sentences in case seen as test of Trump’s crackdown on dissent
theguardian.com
Cars have grown 1.2cm longer, 0.5cm taller and 0.5cm wider each year on average since 2000, in what green groups call “relentless carspreading”. The increase in size “leaves people more likely to be killed in a crash and increases emissions that hurt lungs and heat the planet.” #CarSpreading
‘Carspreading’ could lead to extra 2,600 crash deaths a year by 2040, study finds
Analysis shows cars in Europe have grown longer, taller and wider every year since 2000
theguardian.com
Musk says not a single person has died due to him axing USAID. Sadly, part of my job involves tracking aid spending. So here’s a thread with just some of the people who lost their lives because of USAID cuts
Quite obviously freaked about being called in front of a Democratic congress in 2027.
Quinn Slobodian@quinnslobodian.com · last mo.In the last three hours, Musk has posted that USAID “was central to the creation of COVID-19,” “funded coronavirus research in China that killed millions of people,” “was used for terrorism,” and “killed millions.”
Too many people have the idea that #surveillance is about the gathering and processing of information. But it's *never* just been about that. Often, the main purpose is Intimidation and internalization of control, reducing the ability and willingness to think, organize, act and fight back.
Global Voices@globalvoices.org · last mo.Digital surveillance stops people from safely developing and expressing their identities, breeds trauma that can last for generations, and fractures the mind. By Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur for the rights to freedom of assembly and of association. globalvoices.org/2026/06/23/d...