Ben Werdmuller

San Francisco Police Illegally Spying on Protesters

“It’s feels like a pretty easy case. There’s a law, and the SF police didn’t follow it.” [Link]

Patriot Front Fascist Leak Exposes Nationwide Racist Campaigns

“The detailed inner workings and patterns of operation of fascists in the neo-Nazi organization Patriot Front have come to light after a massive leak from their chat servers. The exposed communications show coordination with their leader Thomas Rousseau to deface murals and monuments to Black lives across the United

Biden has nominated 8 Black women to become appellate judges

“As of Wednesday, with the selection of Arianna J. Freeman for the 3rd Circuit, the president has nominated eight Black women to the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals. Five have been confirmed, most recently on Thursday, when Judge Holly A. Thomas cleared Senate approval to join the 9th Circuit.

Fairness Friday: Harmony Health Clinic

‌‌I’m posting Fairness Fridays: a new community social justice organization each week. I donate to each featured organization. If you feel so inclined, please join me. This week I’m donating to Harmony Health Clinic. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Harmony Health Clinic “seeks to understand and serve the

Joe Rogan and the problem of false balance

“To illustrate this, I want to talk briefly about Joe Rogan, because a Facebook post about him is what inspired this article. Full disclosure, I am, to say the least, not a fan of Rogan. In my opinion he is (to quote a friend of mine), “a dumb person’s

How a Married Undercover Cop Having Sex With Activists Killed a Climate Movement

“In 2003, Kennedy had been sent undercover by an elite unit in London’s Metropolitan Police Service to gather intelligence on activists like Wilson. He spent seven years living a double life: He was a fearless organizer who had a shadowy backstory as a cocaine runner, but he was also

What the Discovery of an Extra Artery Means for Human Evolution

“"The study demonstrates that humans are evolving at a faster rate than at any point in the past 250 years," said Teghan Lucas, lead author of the study and an archaeologist at Flinders University, in a press release. In fact, Lucas predicts that the median artery will continue

Settling

Something I’ve learned over the last decade is that I have a very different relationship to place than many - perhaps even most - people. I come by it honestly. In my nuclear family growing up, each of us had a slightly different accent, shaped by our respective journeys. My dad’

Backlash as US billionaire dismisses Uyghur abuse

“Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya is under fire for saying that he - and most Americans - "don't care" about abuses against the Uyghur minority in China. [...] Boston Celtics Forward Enes Kanter, who has been outspoken about human rights issues and campaigned on behalf of the forced labour law,

In support of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act

I’d like to informally join the list of technologists who support the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Here’s the full text of the bill. Specifically, the bill would prevent “covered platforms” from prioritizing their products and services over those provided by other vendors in a way that

Over 40 small tech companies just stood up to Apple and Google

“The Act, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley, would keep large platforms like Apple and Google from excluding competitor products. Specifically, it prohibits businesses from using a companies’ data to compete against it, biasing search results against competitors, or requiring other companies to buy their own services

Three words popping up in LinkedIn job listings

“LinkedIn has been watching how different keywords correlate to engagement on company posts, and which words have been appearing more often in job listings on the site. The terms “flexibility,” “well-being” and “culture” all appear in LinkedIn posts more often than they did in 2019, LinkedIn revealed Tuesday in