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thesecretofdondons.bsky.social

@thesecretofdondons.bsky.social
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interested in using spatial tech + data for climate science and env justice

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 01/06/2026
last year the UN "ai for good" flagship conference mistreated me and censored my talk because i made the link between the ai industry (their sponsors) and genocide explicit. this year, ITU issues "content guideline" that, on a close read, sounds like a licence to silence criticism of ai/the industry
Content guidelines

The session should explicitly address how AI can be used to serve humanity.
Content must be original and not infringe on any copyrights or trademarks. If you will be using visuals, audio, or video that is copyright protected, you must provide consent from the original owner for the use of the content for your use in the AI for Good Global Summit.
Content must be compatible with the values, purposes, and principles of the United Nations, in both content and presentation.
Sessions should ensure regional and gender balance.
Content shall not be of a profit-generating or otherwise commercial nature.
Speakers must avoid any political endorsements, partisan messaging, or divisive rhetoric. We encourage speakers to focus on meaningful, solution-oriented dialogue that respects the diversity of our global audience. Please give thoughtful consideration to content that could be interpreted negatively by segments of the diverse, global audience. We encourage inclusive, respectful communication that resonates constructively.
Speakers are welcome to share their perspectives and beliefs, provided this is done respectfully and without undermining or disparaging differing viewpoints.
Please note that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has final editorial review of session titles, blurbs, and slides.
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 12/05/2026
folx, I’ve been working on AI "ethics" for almost a decade now & hate to tell you there’s no such thing as "ethical AI" the only "ethical principle" that works is regulating the shit out of the industry & to take back control of our autonomy, fundamental rights, freedoms & right to exist w/out AI
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 06/05/2026
Half the Urban Heat Island effect is currently mitigated by tree cover globally--but benefits are greatest for wealthy cities + suburbs. Current tree cover can only mitigate 10% of urban temp increase due to climate; maximal planting could offset just 10% more. More from @science.nature.org here:
nature.com
Trees halve urban heat island effect globally but unequal benefits only modestly mitigate climate-change warming - Nature Communications
Using global data from 9,000 cities, the study shows trees reduce half of the urban heat island effect but can offset only a small share of future climate warming, with cooling benefits unevenly distr...
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 25/06/2025
We also looked at institutions & nations that are producing the most surveillance. Top inst: 1.MSFT 2.CMU 3.MIT 4.Chinese Univ of Hong Kong Top nations: 1.USA 2.China 3.UK If an institution, nation or subfield authors papers with downstream patents, most are used in surveillance patents. 6/
a, Institutions and nations that have produced the most CVPR papers with downstream surveillance-enabling patents. For each institution or nation, most patented papers have been used in surveillance-enabling patents. b, Percentage of patented papers used in surveillance-enabling patents, stratified by institution, nation and subfield. For each institution, nation or subfield that has published at least ten papers with downstream patents, we show the percentage of these papers that have been used in surveillance-enabling patents (vertical grey bars) (n = 13,804, n = 18,272 and n = 19,413, respectively). We found a pervasive norm: if an institution, nation or subfield authors papers with downstream patents, most are used in surveillance-enabling patents. (Vertical grey bars are frequently above the 50% threshold; orange line). Whiskers represent the standard deviation.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 06/10/2025
perhaps the biggest story TFPever ran was a catastrophically shoddy argument that George Floyd ackshully died of an overdose. When confronted with irrefutable evidence that the piece was simply wrong, Weiss didn’t take it down, she asked her critic, @radleybalko.bsky.social, to come on a podcast.
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
As a former gamer, I cannot overstate how big of a deal this right-wing takeover of Electronic Arts is. Are they going to create video games where they kidnap and dismember journalists like Jamal Khashoggi?
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
UC-Berkeley gives Trump administration 160 names “related” to anti-semitism, mostly for voicing support for Palestinians. Judith Butler is among them, she calls this “McCarthyism” UC Berkeley gives Trump administration 160 names in antisemitism probe www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
sfchronicle.com
UC Berkeley gives Trump administration 160 names in antisemitism probe
UC Berkeley gave the Trump administration the names of 160 students, faculty and staff and info about their “potential connection to reports of alleged antisemitism” — sparking due-process...
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Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
After decades of being ignored and disparaged by companies promising to bring progress, the Anacé Indigenous community in Brazil says pushing back against a planned TikTok data center on community land is essential. restofworld.org/2025/brazil-...
restofworld.org
Indigenous group in Brazil takes TikTok to court over planned data center
The Anacé Indigenous community is going to court to stop a planned TikTok data center they say is being built on their land.
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Mike Elk @mikeelk.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Chris Smalls was profiled by every major media outlet when he lead Amazon victory on Staten Island. Shocking that not one outlet has covered the IDF detaining him in the Gaza flotilla
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Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition @freedomflotilla.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
More information: freedomflotilla.org/2025/07/26/i... @freedomflotilla.bsky.social
freedomflotilla.org
Israeli Military Attacks Handala in International Waters - Freedom Flotilla
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 26, 2025 Contact: Hay Sha Wiya +1-210-834-8155 media@freedomflotilla.org Israeli Military Attacks Handala in International Waters, Abducts 21 Unarmed Civilians The Freedom F...
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 03/07/2025
BREAKING: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported, says he was beaten, kicked and subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail.
bit.ly
Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he was beaten and subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail
Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he suffered severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation and psychological torture in the notorious El Salvador prison the Trump administration had deported him to in March, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
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Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Grateful for Murujuga traditional custodians standing up to oppose the "malignant normality" of a majority Labor govt approving a 45-year extension to a massively-polluting, Indigenous rock art cultural heritage-destroying gas project in #NationalReconciliationWeek, in a time of #ClimateBreakdown
sbs.com.au
Save our Songlines: Custodian launches legal action to protect rock art from North West Shelf project
Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper says she is 'sickened' that new Environment Minister Murray Watt would consider making a decision on extending the life of Woodside's gas project without visiting Mu...
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Catherine Bracy @catherinebracy.com · 30/05/2025
Helpful to understand that what we’re up against is literally a death cult.
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April Verrett @seiupres.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
BIG NEWS: Rümeysa, @seiu509.bsky.social member, has finally been released from ICE custody. While we celebrate her release today, we remain vigilant to keep fighting for everyone else unjustly detained! #4the1st
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has been released after he was arrested for allegedly trespassing at an ICE facility in New Jersey pix11.com/news/local-n...
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka wearing a brown jacket, black hat, red tie
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
A Venezuelan immigrant reportedly went the wrong way while delivering food in Detroit, ended up crossing the Canadian border, was taken into custody by U.S. authorities, and deported
freep.com
Venezuelan immigrant in Detroit makes a wrong turn at Ambassador Bridge, is deported
It is the latest immigration twist in a growing legal — and political — showdown between two branches of government.
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
New statement from Mohsen Mahdawi, dictated from ICE detention to his lawyers: "I am in prison but am not prisoned…Speaking of Palestine does not only qualify as freedom of speech but it is also about our humanity. Keep the hope alive. I will see you under the sun."
New statement from Mohsen Mahdawi, dictated from ICE detention to his lawyers:

“I don't want people to lose hope. Stay positive and believe in the inevitability of justice. This hearing is part of the democratic system as it prevents a tyrant from having unchecked power. I am in prison but am not prisoned. A system of democracy guarantees freedom of speech. Speaking of Palestine does not only qualify as freedom of speech but it is also about our humanity. Keep the hope alive. I will see you under the sun.”
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ACLU @aclu.org · 24/04/2025
NEW: The Trump administration admitted in a court filing that ICE lied about having an arrest warrant when they detained our client Mahmoud Khalil in retaliation for his protected speech. This confirms what we already knew: The government is intent on punishing Mahmoud by any means necessary.
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ACLU @aclu.org · 11/04/2025
BREAKING: An immigration court determined our client Mahmoud Khalil to be removable from the U.S. based solely on his political speech. The fight isn't over — we'll keep fighting for Mahmoud's freedom and all of our First Amendment rights in federal court.
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Land and Climate Review @landclimate.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Dana Zartner, Fabian Cardenas and Mohammad Golam Sarwar on the case of Te Awa Tupua: where the Whanganui River has been granted legal personhood after 180 years of colonial exploitation. Below is an excerpt from “Standing for Nature” via @islandpress.bsky.social www.landclimate.org/...
landclimate.org
A longstanding battle: Māori efforts to protect the Whanganui River - Land and Climate Review
In an excerpt from their new book, Dana Zartner, Fabian Cardenas, and Mohammed Golam Sarwar reflect on the most famous case of nature being granted legal personhood.
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John Smillie @johnsmillie42.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Looks like there were about 44k deaths last year from COVID in the US, putting it on par with guns and cars, so officially the level that "we" stop caring about it.
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Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 24/03/2025
NEW: Hossam Shabat’s Last Article Filed hours before his killing in an Israeli airstrike, journalist Hossam Shabat describes the resumption of Israel's scorched earth campaign in his hometown of Beit Hanoun. Translated through tears by Sharif Kouddous dropsitenews.com/p/hossam-sha...
dropsitenews.com
Hossam Shabat’s Last Article
Filed hours before his killing in an Israeli airstrike, journalist Hossam Shabat describes the resumption of Israel's scorched earth campaign in his hometown of Beit Hanoun.
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amitangshu @amitangshu.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
"The fact is: #decolonizing #science is not a politics of negativity. There is no place for ethnonationalist supremacy in the debate on plurality in science. What we are asking for is a collective celebration of different #knowledge traditions.”. My #TEDx talk is now online. youtu.be/Xw3a5MArZZI?...
youtu.be
Decolonising Science: Bridging Knowledge Traditions | Amitangshu Acharya | TEDxWageningenUniversity
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Mahmoud Khalil writing from a Louisiana detention center: "I have always believed that my duty is not only to liberate myself from the oppressor, but also to liberate my oppressors from their hatred and fear."
inthesetimes.com
My Name is Mahmoud Khalil and I Am a Political Prisoner
A letter dictated by Mahmoud Khalil over the phone from ICE detention in Louisiana.
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