Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 8hThis was the moment our PM announced support for what they are now calling the Pacific Link pipeline which would send an additional 1 million barrels per day of oilsands crude to the coast. I'm all for diversifying trading partners away from the US but this isn't that... #cdnpoli #bcpoli #climate 281
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 15hNew from @timnitgebru.blacksky.app and me: "It is high time for us to regulate usage of systems sold as “AI”, not because they are magical machines, but because they are error-prone products that shouldn’t be used in high stakes scenarios." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comForget ‘superintelligence’: error-prone AI nearly sparked world war three this month | Timnit Gebru and Emily M BenderThe risks of AI aren’t what we think they are, as a recent security incident between China and the United States reveals 8859356
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 29/09/2026Meta's "Muse" launched with a nasty zero day flaw that gave hackers the ability to spy on Mac users, openly gives root access to people pretending to be Muse agents, and invited strangers over to another guy's house without telling himkarlbode.comMeta's Latest AI Product Is A Terrifying And Hilarious MessAuthoritarian-friendly mass surveillance has never been more adorable 512064817
Reposted by Ben West 🦋404 Media @404media.co · 30/09/2026BREAKING: The Trump administration is using a grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the US to funnel their ongoing collection of Flock, Axon, and other ALPR data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under the White House’s jurisdiction, 404 Media has learned404media.coHow Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance ProgramHow the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program. 6213571071
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Over the summer, I visited Ukraine’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge AI weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match. Read more @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91611099/ins...fastcompany.comInside Ukraine’s secretive tech world building the future of warI visited Kyiv’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match. 023
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I'm so mad at David Eby right now... This election in the midst of the "trade war" is not only unnecessary and short sighted. The Trump regime has two more years in power. The next election in BC wasnt needed for two more years. He's about to potentially hand over power to pro trump folks in BC. 220
Reposted by Ben West 🦋🗝️🐍🦉🌙 Dolly 🗡️ Dagger 🍉🇺🇦📚🌈 @dollydagger6.bsky.social · 24/09/2026WHO DID THIS 15817
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 23/09/2026We can’t allow this man to get within striking distance of a viable presidential candidacy. 12748741145
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 14/09/2026This conversation with @naomiaklein.bsky.social and @astra.bsky.social couldn't be more timely. With the AI industry talking about *its own products' potential to cause human extinction* we drill into who might still want to build such technology, and why. Hint: it's in the title of their new book.bloodinthemachine.comThe End Times Fascists of AI, ft. Naomi Klein + Astra TaylorListen now (64 mins) | A conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor about “end times fascism” in the tech industry. 420666
Reposted by Ben West 🦋404 Media @404media.co · 03/09/2026Flock taught cops how they could surveil the No Kings protests and “small parades” using a mix of Flock’s technology and law enforcement’s own databases in a webinar last year. Here's a short clip from the webinar: @jasonkoebler.bsky.social reports: www.404media.co/flock-taught... 1189112
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker.com · 03/09/2026FBI tells me it's investigating the suspected breach at IDScan after a crime site let anyone to search the driver's licenses of 150+ million people, including the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. A DOD spox. told me it's aware and "evaluating" the report. Bypass for ad-blockers: archive.ph/5xFMqtechcrunch.comIt sure looks like hackers breached a major ID card verification service | TechCrunchAn identity theft search site claimed to have more than 150 million driver's license photos stolen from an ID verification service. The crime site has now shut down. 1176
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Cynthia Brumfield @metacurity.com · 02/09/2026Super scary - an identity theft service called Nexus is offering digital scans of identity documents for more than 170 million people in North America, including scans at airports and cannabis dispensaries. Krebs says the details check out. krebsonsecurity.com/2026/09/fbi-...krebsonsecurity.comFBI Probes Service Selling 153M+ Drivers Licenses – Krebs on Security 01511
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Charles Rusnell @charlesrusnell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026The U.S. ambassador to Canada reposted this 199760242
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Surveillance cameras are in Canada now... youtube.com/watch?v=5ojU... #deflock #cdnpoli #surveillance #privacyyoutube.comCanadian police quietly deploying AI-powered cameras, sensorsYouTube video by CBC News: The National 010
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 26/08/2026A democratic socialist AND a member of the Chickasaw Nation?! 338584
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 24/08/2026I could not be more grateful for @avilewis.ca being out there speaking on behalf of Canada in the midst if the most stupid trade war in history. youtu.be/5gEJOTQg0pY?... And thank you to @democracynow.org who have been doing some of the most important journalism on earth for decades. #cdnpoliyoutu.be“Most Stupid Trade Fight in History”: U.S. & Canadian Workers Lose in Trump’s New Tariff WarYouTube video by Democracy Now! 020
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 20/08/2026We joined @wearecasa.bsky.social @eff.org @georgetownprivacy.bsky.social along with other civil rights & privacy groups calling out data brokers who are sharing Maryland residents sensitive data with federal agents in violation of state law. www.npr.org/2026/08/20/n...npr.orgPrivacy advocates call on Maryland to investigate data brokersMaryland has one of the strictest data privacy laws in the country. But privacy advocates allege that data brokers are violating the law by selling data to police and federal immigration agencies. 13314
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 20/08/2026It was just racist bullshit 2625137
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Maddening bs as usual from Trump. He's posting AI slop about Keystone XL pipeline being back from the grave. And meanwhile the proposal requires State approvals, is a smaller pipe and only goes to Wyoming instead of Texas. Se routed to void Montana. Everything is a psyop with him. #cdnpoli 362
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Joe Uchill @joeuchill.bsky.social · 14/08/2026So, uh, historically in China, Iran and Russia, a lot of cyber criminals are employees of intelligence agencies either moonlight in crime or intelligence. Tools from a major government contractor (I-Soon) in China were regularly used in crime. Someone is going to accidentally start a war.nytimes.comTrump Gives Green Light to U.S. Companies to Aim Hacks at Cybercriminals (Gift Article)The practice would align the United States more closely with countries like China and Russia, where spy agencies have long relied on private-sector hackers to help with national security missions. 21710
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Tom Gibson @tmgibs.bsky.social · 10/08/2026469 federal judges ruled that ICE’s July 2025 detention memo was an illegal distortion of long-settled policy, triggering a historic judicial rebukepolitico.com‘We’ve never seen anything like this’: ICE’s detention crackdown swamps the courtsFamilies, lawyers and judges describe a year of frantic emergency cases after ICE began detaining people who have lived in the U.S. for years. 35345
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 11/08/2026New from 404 Media: ICE to spend millions to buy data from LexisNexis to then feed into a Palantir system. ICE has long bought data from LexisNexis, which feds use to map out a person's addresses, location, assets, etc. But now explicitly want to use with Palantir www.404media.co/ice-to-pay-l...404media.coICE to Pay LexisNexis Millions for Data to Feed to PalantirLexisNexis sells a massive amount of data to law enforcement, including ICE. New records indicate ICE wants to feed that data into a Palantir system. 5286183
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 11/08/2026“Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace.” – Unknown via @momentumdash.bsky.social 000
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 07/08/2026New: Flock planned to use cameras in hundreds of thousands of Uber, Lyft, and delivery driver vehicles as a way to collect more license plate data. Pitched the idea to an Attorney General. Would basically turn Uber/Lyft into roaming surveillance vehicles www.404media.co/flock-pitche...404media.coFlock Pitched a Plan To Turn Uber and Lyft Drivers Into Roaming Surveillance VehiclesA Flock presentation shows the company planned to use around 350,000 Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers to collect license plate data for its surveillance system. 30736499
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Ayana Elizabeth Johnson @ayanaeliza.bsky.social · 08/07/2026Well worth listening to what Ayisha Siddiqa has to say — on climate, law, and culture. Always a pleasure to be in conversation with her. Bonus: includes a stunning poem she wrote. ayanaelizabeth.substack.com/p/on-the-rig...ayanaelizabeth.substack.comOn the rights of future generations. 🌱 (Plus,poetry.)An interview with phenom Ayisha Siddiqa, my nominee for Cultured Magazine's 2026 young activist list. 0192
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 15/07/2026“The tornadoes were canceled by the wildfire smoke” is a particularly apocalyptic phrase. I’m not home in Maine right now (where this was happening), but I’m feeling the climate crisis in my body today, as I grapple with a bad flare from the Ontario wildfires while at a conference outside of Boston. 813120
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Dean Obeidallah @deanobeidallah.bsky.social · 06/08/2026UNREAL: New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Todd Blanche and DOJ for “stonewalling” its criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein in the state. Blanche is still engaged in a cover up for Trump! Yet GOP is going to confirm him. GOP equals Guardians of Pedophiles! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...theguardian.comNew Mexico sues justice department for ‘stonewalling’ Epstein investigationFiling by attorney general Raúl Torrez comes after DoJ appears to have ignored deadline for key Epstein ranch files 10560279
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Philip Bump @pbump.com · 06/08/2026A central part of why it seems like powerful, rich people live in a consequence-free world is that the social incentives to hold them to account have withered. www.ctinsider.com/columnist/ar... 𝟏𝟐-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 652250715
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 05/08/2026“Why is climate action so difficult?” Mainly because the people who benefit most from not acting just made $93 billion, about $700,000 per minute, in three months. www.theguardian.com/business/ng-...theguardian.comRevealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisisIran conflict windfall over three months reignites calls for companies ‘cashing in on human misery’ to pay for environmental damage 211960
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Getting tired of memes like this going around every time we have bad forest fires. We are not adequately angry at the the Epstein class, the end times fascists and their boot licking troll armies. Time to get in touch with our anger? #memes #fascism #forestfires #fossilfuels #climatechange 032
Reposted by Ben West 🦋evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 24/07/2026This matters a lot because people are constantly asking me if they should set up a duress passcode in order to fool law enforcement. 15368152
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 25/07/2026This seems like a step in the right direction against #surveillanceCapitalism in the workplace. thenextweb.com/news/uk-trib... The stuff companies are getting away with in terms monitoring employees should honestly be enough to spark a revolution against the machine(s). #ethics #workersRightsthenextweb.comRemote worker with anxiety wins discrimination case after employer refused to let her turn off her cameraA Croydon tribunal found Holiday Extras discriminated against a remote worker with anxiety, ADHD, and autism by refusing to let her keep her camera off 020
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 25/07/2026I formally propose that the preamble before the main section of LLM output be called the "gotcha". Because it's a gotcha moment when we see brainless repetition of #AI text like this #Canadian politician did. Also the AI agent is mimicking cognition saying I gotcha, you want this, not that. 100
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026ICYMI: i have my own bit part in this drama. @404media.co revealed that Madison Square Garden was keeping a dossier on me, in a folder titled "facial recognition activists." To be fair, I am a facial recognition activists. @fightforthefuture.org has led some of the most prominent campaigns on this404media.coMadison Square Garden Made Dossier on Activists Who Opposed Facial RecognitionThe document, titled “Facial Recognition Activists.docx,” includes specific activists’ comments about MSG's facial recognition program and tweets criticizing it. 15520
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Natanael, Tech janitor @natanael.bsky.social · 23/07/2026"“It’s concerning – and sends the message that [GrapheneOS] is criminal by default,” said Christophe Boutry, a cybersecurity and surveillance expert. Boutry and Bill Buddington, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, both said they had not seen a similar case."theguardian.comUS government targets Cop City protester over phone operating systemConcern over US effort to prosecute Sam Tunick, accused by authorities of wiping his phone using GrapheneOS 155
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 23/07/2026My friend @dawndreams.bsky.social sent me this video and honestly it's amongst my favourite videos ever. I raise my hat to you Donttarob (not sure if they are on here) for your socio political analysis of backyard animals. #politics #video #analysis #funny #economics #animals #capitalism 033
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 21/07/2026First, the VPD said they couldn't explain how they would spend $1.4 million city council gave them to police five blocks of Granville for seven weeks because it was an operational matter. Then they said they were still figuring out their plans. Now they're saying it's too complicated to reveal. 920950
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 21/07/2026Gee, seems like the arrest of Meta exec Josh Felker for sexting a child and Meta’s history of consistently lax standards around child protection might be related 5830201054
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Mark Zuckerberg's assistant at Meta, Josh Felker, who was responsible for Meta's "digital experiences for kids," was arrested after admitting he tried to sext a 13-year-old during an undercover sting. nypost.com/2026/07/20/u...nypost.comExclusive | Meta worker who developed ‘digital experiences for kids’ admits to trying to sext child in undercover NYC stingHe admitted he had been grooming and sexting someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl during a sting by vigilante group Predator Poachers Long Island. 16932921866
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 19/07/2026WTF is this cringe FIFA anthem? Gross. #FIFA #WorldCup 030
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Markham Hislop @markhamhislop.bsky.social · 16/07/2026The Hidden $19 Billion Cost of Canada's Wildfires Canada doesn't escape paying for climate change damages. Economist Dave Sawyer lays out the costs imposed on healthcare, workplaces, etc. by wildfire smoke. @enviroeconomics #cdnpoli youtu.be/KVrI7deOoSMyoutu.beThe Hidden $19 Billion Cost of Canada's WildfiresYouTube video by Energi Media 22616
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 10/07/2026This is a level of billionaire surveillance & control (and downright pettiness) that should send chills down all of our spines. To what lengths will Jim Dolan go to assess the "risk score" of MSG attendees? And why in the world would his enterprise identify their sexual orientation in a database?wired.comMadison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay CelebritiesAn MSG database tracked and categorized hundreds of celebs, famous Knicks superfans, and even some of Taylor Swift’s wedding guests. Labels included “LGBTQIA,” “DO NOT HOST,” and low to high “risk.” 9650193
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 10/07/2026Holy shit the accuracy 18858228
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 10/07/2026B.C. First Nation challenges dredging plan to accommodate larger tankers in Vancouver cheknews.ca/b-c-first-na... True leadership coming from Tsleil Waututh Nation while Carney and Eby and others keep trying to make things worse. #bcpoli #cdnpolicheknews.caB.C. First Nation challenges dredging plan to accommodate larger tankers in VancouverA British Columbia First Nation says it has launched a legal challenge against a plan by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to dredge Burrard Inlet to make room for oil tankers with larger loads to o... 1137
Reposted by Ben West 🦋404 Media @404media.co · 06/07/2026A Florida police officer met a woman on a TV set, surveilled her for weeks, stalked her, and nearly caused a head-on collision while chasing her to pull her over. Read now: www.404media.co/footage-show... 14397169
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 06/07/2026Another gross abuse of ALPR surveillance tech by a law enforcement officer in pursuit of a woman he refers to as 'a shiny thing.' This tech should be BANNED. Dozens of cities are working to do so- join them & fight back. Get the toolkit: www.flockout.org www.local10.com/news/local/2...local10.comKeys deputy misused official databases to pursue woman he met on set of ‘Bad Monkey’: MCSOAn arrested Florida Keys sheriff’s deputy misused official law enforcement databases in pursuit of a woman he met on the set of the television show “Bad Monkey,” according to documents obtained by Loc... 24028
Reposted by Ben West 🦋Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 08/07/2026social media platforms that operate to maximize engagement, nazi ideology built on hate and rage, weak regulation and enforcement... democracy is dying before our eyes and big tech is fuel powering it www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...irishtimes.comAI software that generates ‘rage bait’ developed by Germany’s far-right AfDAlternita platform uses Google Gemini, OpenAI and Claude to create provocative social media posts 3260136
Ben West 🦋 @benwest.bsky.social · 08/07/2026Good morning. Everything is totally normal in the world. Carry on. #dogsofbluesky #dog 0221