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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond

@eloralee.bsky.social
880 followers 1.8K following 446 posts

Housing, finance, land. Views are my own. 🇼🇸🇦🇸 she / her / ia

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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Solomon @solomonrmissouri.com · 11h
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 15h
"Like a rotating deck of credit card debt, each prediction borrows credibility from the future to purchase legitimacy in the present — and then flees to the next topic of speculation before the bill comes due."
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Dr. Robert D. Bullard @drrobertbullard.bsky.social · 21h
Outmaneuvered, outmatched and outspent: How data centers are overwhelming small-town America - al.com www.al.com/business/202...
al.com
Alabama Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather
Get the latest Alabama local news, sports, weather, entertainment and breaking updates on al.com
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
talkingpointsmemo.com/fivepoints/s...
talkingpointsmemo.com
Somehow, Mike Collins Was Completely Unprepared for Questions About His Neo-Nazi Ties During Senate Debate
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) failed to answer a question about who won...
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I find this lens particularly powerful as the exponential growth in AI datacenters motivates the Trump administrations to fast track deep seabed mining of the Moana, and indigenous peoples from Hawai'i to American Samoa are fighting for the future of our oceans.
cacm.acm.org
Who Owns the Wai (Water)? AI, Power, and the Public Trust – Communications of the ACM
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
With echoes of Wynter and McKittrick, he connects this emerging configuration back to the sugar plantations of old Hawai'i. Nice work Josiah! cacm.acm.org/opinion/who-...
cacm.acm.org
Who Owns the Wai (Water)? AI, Power, and the Public Trust – Communications of the ACM
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Out in CACM, essential reading on AI from the brilliant Dr. Josiah Hester. If we are constantly told to speculate about the utopian (or apocalyptic!) promise of AI, he focuses his analysis on the essential questions: how does power, process, abstraction, and property enable the growth of AI?
cacm.acm.org
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Andy Whitmore @more-whit.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Every person who takes action adds strength to the call to stop deep sea mining before it starts. I’ve had my say; now it's your turn. act.gp/3TWnlHV
act.gp
The Deep Ocean is Not For Sale - Greenpeace International
Every person who takes action adds strength to the call to stop deep sea mining before it starts. I’ve had my say; now it's your turn.
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Akira Drake Rodriguez @akirarodriguez.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
JOB AD: University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design Asst/Assoc Professor in Housing and/or Land Use:
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Blazing Saddles never disappoints.
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Courthouse News @courthousenews.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Conservation groups sue NOAA over Pacific deep-sea mining application www.courthousenews.com/conservation...
courthousenews.com
Conservation groups sue NOAA over Pacific deep-sea mining application
Conservation groups argue NOAA rushed to advance a mining company's bid to explore the ocean floor without letting the public see the materials behind the decision.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sigh. This is assuming that the action is shaping the language. The language is shaping the action. It cannot do a good job at doing what private dialects are actually doing — building social cohesion, communicating power relations, connecting events often in non-linear and hard to categorize ways.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
marianaspress.com/news/article...
marianaspress.com
Blue Ocean Law explains legal challenge to deep-sea mining push | Marianas Press
Blue Ocean Law is preparing to challenge in court the federal government’s push to open waters near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to deep-sea mining, arguing federal agencies may lack the lega...
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just helping with editing here. These bots aren’t sentient. They’re doing what they’re programmed to do. OpenAI, a private company supposedly bound by laws, committed federal crimes.
Screenshot of BBC article: OpenAI bots (struck through) meddled with multiple US government agency sites
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
www.pacificislandtimes.com/post/moving-...
pacificislandtimes.com
'Moving into commercial mining would be premature': American Samoa, Guam put their foot down
Leaders of American Samoa and Guam are pushing back against federal efforts to open surrounding oceans to deep-sea mining, saying Washington cannot just rush into the uncharted depths of commercial se...
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Sarah Andersen @sarahseeandersen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The image is of a four panel comic.
In the first panel we see Sarah, the protagonist, next to a stick figure labeled “AI”. The stick figure says, “my outputs look just like yours now.”
The second panel zooms in on Sarah’s face. Above her we see text reading “I think”.
The third panel zooms in closer on Sarah’s face. Text above her reads “you missed”.
The fourth panel shows Sarah drawing happily in a sunlit room. The text above her reads “the point”.
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Anyway, panic is a psy-op. Stay furious. Stay serious. Organize.
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A cop in rural Texas pulls over a Latino. He demands papers; doesn’t get any. Arrests the guy, throws him in a local jail cell. Hours later, GardaWorld staff show up to put him on a bus with a dozen others. They drive him to the nearest ICE jail; a bus service for the machine of mass deportation.
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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) @portlandken.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The accounting is in: In Oregon there are 111 data centers. The TOTAL number of people employed at data centers is just 2,630, or 0.1% of the labor force. Those 100 data centers consumer 23% of all electricity used in Oregon. Meanwhile, electricity rates skyrocket as more centers are built.
opb.org
Oregon data centers by the numbers: 111 facilities consume nearly one-quarter of state’s power, according to new report
A first-of-its-kind report details the footprint of the controversial facilities.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Pdf pls!
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Harriet Tubman was my childhood hero and an absolute legend. I will never get tired of celebrating her amazing accomplishments. Hats off to a woman who freed herself and her people, and who lived fearlessly.
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Andy Whitmore @more-whit.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"To mitigate risks, companies across the whole renewable energy value chain must adopt a rights-based approach anchored in shared prosperity, fair negotiations, and a duty of care for the human and environmental rights of those impacted" www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/b...
business-humanrights.org
Litigating the just energy transition: communities at the forefront of change - Business and Human Rights Centre
Check out this page via the Business and Human Rights Centre
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Arin Dube @arindube.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A tale of two inequalities. Wage inequality stopped growing circa 2015 and fell especially in post-pandemic period. In contrast, capital income inequality (and wealth inequality) has risen driven by fall in labor share. Inequality has moved from labor to capital income.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A data center in New Jersey spilled 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel into a local creek, putting the area’s entire river system at risk. Is it any wonder nearly 70 percent of Americans don’t want a data center in their community?
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Friendly Neighborhood Mouse @missmouse.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Friday morning, I was gardening when I checked my phone. A request had gone out for help. For 25+ hours, ICE had been laying siege to a quiet neighborhood in Frederick, MD. Community members were afraid, some didn’t want to leave their homes. ICE vehicles seemed to be lurking on every corner.
ICE vehicle - black Nissan Maxima with plate cover - posted up in a spot that also serves as an elementary school bus stop. Another ICE vehicle, black Dodge Durango, lurking around the community. Two more ICE vehicles - black Dodge Durango and a white SUV, unclear on make, model - on a quiet residential street, being quietly creepy. Note that the white SUV has its plate covered. Yet another ICE vehicle. Black Nissan Pathfinder. They were all over the neighborhood.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Happy Birthday Adia!
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I thought 25th hour was pretty good.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This is unbelievably good news, bravo and enjoy a well earned rest.
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Reposted by Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond
Andy Whitmore @more-whit.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Good to see this highlighting of the recent @oaklandinstitute.org report debunking the ‘transition minerals’ narrative. Particularly grateful to see Rio Tinto used as the example of corporate greenwashing. news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-r...
news.mongabay.com
On renewable energy, it’s time to debunk the ‘transition minerals’ narrative (commentary)
There is an insidious lie that has taken root in the energy transition narrative pushed by the world’s most powerful financial, political, and environmental institutions: we need to massively scale up...
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Tim White @timwhite100.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Our research (w/Edward Shepherd) on the political economy of land value capture won this year’s @rtpiplanners.bsky.social Patsy Healey Prize for Academic Excellence! Check it out here: housingevidence.ac.uk/project/who-...
housingevidence.ac.uk
Who should own the value of land? Housing, power and the deep politics of land value capture - UK Collaborative Centre For Housing Evidence
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I see a lot of people actively losing their minds about the AI stuff and I'm honestly starting to feel bad for them. But it's blinding them to the real problems. These things are not your girlfriend, but they're probably going to smash-and-grab passwords and attack bank or government data.
The observation that the most alarmist claims about A.I.’s impact seem to come from the individuals most connected to Rationalism should anger us. This exaggerated grimness makes it easy to overlook the more immediate harms created by these technologies, such as their potential use in cybersecurity attacks, excess resource consumption, impact on our cognitive fitness, role in undermining education and amplification of soul-deadening slop.

This style of anxious talk also allows the A.I. companies to portray themselves as the reluctant “stewards” of an inevitable technology, which is a framing they can use to deflect blame for damage caused by their own products.
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My 2c: we need non-AI-industry-koolaid framing devices. If you drop "superintelligence" and just start with "billions of dollars are being spent on the singular objective of releasing self-editing computer viruses onto the internet, and that will have consequences," seems consequential and solvable!
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Seems like it takes an ungodly amount of water, energy and rare metals to produce a poor simulation of human thought. As the environmental bill comes due, AI becomes increasingly unpopular. And yet, this political economy can't support people to do the thinking.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Early in, to wrap my head around the situation, I wrote a paper - with Luisa Leo Tupuana'i. I've learned a lot more since - about mining, about the ocean, so maybe there's more to say now. miningthesea.net/home/e6mkpz4...
miningthesea.net
New Article Out! Financialization, indigenous resistance and the case of deep seabed mining in American Samoa — Mining the Sea
We’re very happy to share that Luisa Leo Tupuana’i and Seumalu Elora Raymond’s recent article , “Financialization, indigenous resistance and the case of deep seabed mining in American Samoa”, is now p...
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
earthjustice.org/press/2026/l...
earthjustice.org
Lawsuit Targets First Deep-Sea Mining Lease Sale in U.S. Waters
Groups seek to protect imperiled species from underwater mining activities in American Samoa
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
#datacenters #ai #deepseamining #dsm #samoa
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Feeling hopeful after a year of hard work facing insurmountable odds. Thanks to our fearless legal representation, @earthjustice. Hoping all my updates in 2026 are this optimistic.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
It's been a really meaningful project. I don't know if mainstream America is aware of these fights - they are connected to the fights against militarization and AI data centers, as that is what the Trump administration wants these critical minerals for.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
As a Samoan and a financialization scholar, I feel sick when I look at these cadastral maps of the ocean, and read the speculative and colonial logics that drive this onslaught to mine for treasure and despoil the sea. There is no treasure at the bottom of the ocean. The ocean is the treasure.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Rio Tinto has been sued for genocide of the Papua New Guinea people, human rights abuses, and environmental devastation. I'm feeling optimistic that we might be able to stop this.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
On Friday, we filed for summary judgement and learned we have a hearing in mid October, just a month before the Trump administration plans to issue the first mining lease in history. Meanwhile, we've learned that the largest deep seabed mining firm has ties through its CEO to Rio Tinto.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Last month, we filed suit against NMFS for greenlighting a deep seabed mining lease without considering the impacts of mining on endangered species, many of whom are sacred to the Samoan people, like sharks (malie), turtles (laumei), manta ray (idk the word for manta ray!) and whales (tafola).
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I got connected with a dedicated group of American Samoans trying to stop this. It was nice to reconnect - my family lived in Tutuila when I was 16-21. Last year, we incorporated a nonprofit, Faasao America Samoa, and worked on science communication and local advocacy.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I've taken up a new side project this last year and thought I'd share. Last year, the Trump administration started the process of auctioning off the ocean by American Samoa for deep seabed mining, a destructive and untested industry.
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Indigenous Samoans are fighting as hard as we can to stop the destruction of our oceans, but the Marine Minerals Agency (formerly BOEM) intends to hold an auction for the first deep seabed mining lease in November. #datacenter #ai #deepseamining #savetheMoana www.facebook.com/share/v/14oJ...
facebook.com
Facebook
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Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond @eloralee.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The AI data center boom isn't just destroying neighborhoods and water tables, it's threatening the ocean too. The need for 'critical' minerals to supply AI data centers is why Trump is fast tracking deep seabed mining in American Samoa, gutting the Endangered Species Act in the process.
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
In possibly the fastest shift in public opinion I've ever seen, local data center approval went from -5 to -65 in less than a year heatmap.news/daily/data-c...
a graph of data center support rapidly falling
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Beatriz Hannud @beatrizhannud.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
this part is incredible, and “finance is planning” - awesome point!
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 26/08/2026
Jesus Christ. All green card interviews worldwide are paused indefinitely
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