#aidatacenters — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #aidatacenters, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.europesays.com/ie/684358/ Apple’s iPhone prices quadrupled since 2008. Here’s why #AIDataCenters #Apple #AppleProducts #AppleStore #BuiltInStorageCapacity #Carrier #Cost #customer #Éire #GB #GlobalShortage #IE #iPads #iPhone #Iphone15ProMax #IPhone17 #Iphone17e #IPhone18ProMax #IPhone7 #IPhoneDuo #IphonePrice #IphonePrices #IPhonePro #Ireland #Macs #MemoryChip #MemoryChips #price #PricyIphoneModel #ProMax #StartingPrice #SteveJobs #Storage #StorageCapacity #Technology #TimCook
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https://www.europesays.com/iran/288124/ UAE Rethinks 5-Gigawatt AI Campus After Iran Targets US Assets in Gulf #5GWAICampus #AbuDhabiAIInvestment #AIDataCenters #AWSFacilities #CriticalInfrastructureProtection #G42 #Iran #IranWar #PersianGulfSecurity #UAE #USUAEAIPartnership
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The Great Memory Robbery
For forty years, the computer business kept one promise better than any industry has ever kept any promise: memory got cheaper. Every year brought more bits for fewer dollars, so reliably that the whole culture of computing leaned on the assumption. Software bloated because RAM would cost less next year. Photographs went uncompressed because storage would cost less next year. Then, late in 2025, the promise snapped. A 32-gigabyte kit of DDR5 desktop memory, the sensible middle of the market, sold for under ninety dollars in early 2025. By December, listings touched five hundred. By the second of September, 2026, the builders' forums had settled on 375 to 400 dollars as the going rate, and the daily trackers showed the price still climbing this week, up ten percent in seven days. One index of the broad market moved from 445 percent above its old baseline to 486 percent in a single month this summer. The entire digital world has been repriced, and the repricing took about ten months. […] -
The Great Memory Robbery
For forty years, the computer business kept one promise better than any industry has ever kept any promise: memory got cheaper. Every year brought more bits for fewer dollars, so reliably that the whole culture of computing leaned on the assumption. Software bloated because RAM would cost less next year. Photographs went uncompressed because storage would cost less next year. Then, late in 2025, the promise snapped. A 32-gigabyte kit of DDR5 desktop memory, the sensible middle of the market, sold for under ninety dollars in early 2025. By December, listings touched five hundred. By the second of September, 2026, the builders' forums had settled on 375 to 400 dollars as the going rate, and the daily trackers showed the price still climbing this week, up ten percent in seven days. One index of the broad market moved from 445 percent above its old baseline to 486 percent in a single month this summer. The entire digital world has been repriced, and the repricing took about ten months. […] -
The Great Memory Robbery
For forty years, the computer business kept one promise better than any industry has ever kept any promise: memory got cheaper. Every year brought more bits for fewer dollars, so reliably that the whole culture of computing leaned on the assumption. Software bloated because RAM would cost less next year. Photographs went uncompressed because storage would cost less next year. Then, late in 2025, the promise snapped. A 32-gigabyte kit of DDR5 desktop memory, the sensible middle of the market, sold for under ninety dollars in early 2025. By December, listings touched five hundred. By the second of September, 2026, the builders' forums had settled on 375 to 400 dollars as the going rate, and the daily trackers showed the price still climbing this week, up ten percent in seven days. One index of the broad market moved from 445 percent above its old baseline to 486 percent in a single month this summer. The entire digital world has been repriced, and the repricing took about ten months. […] -
The Great Memory Robbery
For forty years, the computer business kept one promise better than any industry has ever kept any promise: memory got cheaper. Every year brought more bits for fewer dollars, so reliably that the whole culture of computing leaned on the assumption. Software bloated because RAM would cost less next year. Photographs went uncompressed because storage would cost less next year. Then, late in 2025, the promise snapped. A 32-gigabyte kit of DDR5 desktop memory, the sensible middle of the market, sold for under ninety dollars in early 2025. By December, listings touched five hundred. By the second of September, 2026, the builders' forums had settled on 375 to 400 dollars as the going rate, and the daily trackers showed the price still climbing this week, up ten percent in seven days. One index of the broad market moved from 445 percent above its old baseline to 486 percent in a single month this summer. The entire digital world has been repriced, and the repricing took about ten months. […] -
The Great Memory Robbery
For forty years, the computer business kept one promise better than any industry has ever kept any promise: memory got cheaper. Every year brought more bits for fewer dollars, so reliably that the whole culture of computing leaned on the assumption. Software bloated because RAM would cost less next year. Photographs went uncompressed because storage would cost less next year. Then, late in 2025, the promise snapped. A 32-gigabyte kit of DDR5 desktop memory, the sensible middle of the market, sold for under ninety dollars in early 2025. By December, listings touched five hundred. By the second of September, 2026, the builders' forums had settled on 375 to 400 dollars as the going rate, and the daily trackers showed the price still climbing this week, up ten percent in seven days. One index of the broad market moved from 445 percent above its old baseline to 486 percent in a single month this summer. The entire digital world has been repriced, and the repricing took about ten months. […] -
Sounds about right... A fitting metaphor!
#DataCenter Caught Watering Its Lavish Lawn While Human Neighbors Are on Year-Long Water Restriction
"You better believe that they are watering their entire green with so many sprinklers that it's literally making a giant pond."
By Joe Wilkins
Published Sep 7, 2026"When the #DenverCO board of Water Commissioners approved stage one #drought restrictions back in March, they did so facing some of the driest conditions in decades. According to the #USDrough Monitor, the watershed sourced for Denver’s water utility is experiencing a 'severe to exceptional drought,' while the Denver metropolitan area has been in a “severe drought.”
"As a result, residents and businesses have been asked to scale back. Denverites now have to limit watering their lawns to two days a week, chosen by address. And even on those days, customers are prohibited from watering between the hours of 10am and 6pm, Gadget Review reports.
"Yet as some 1.5 million customers honor the restrictions, one major customer is evidently refusing to close the tap: a brand new #AIDatacenter .
"In a now-viral video circulating on social media, an unidentified resident of Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood filmed the massive lawn of a data center being sprayed with copious amounts of water.
" 'You better believe that they are watering their entire green with so many sprinklers that it’s literally making a giant pond,' the woman says.
"The identity of the data center in question is unconfirmed, but it’s likely the new 18 megawatt facility owned by the cloud computing company #CoreSite. At around 170,000 square feet in size, the mammoth facility recently went live in #ElyriaSwansea, though not without sparking a wide-ranging debate around Denver’s zoning regulations.
"It isn’t known which tech companies are renting out space in CoreSite’s Denver facility, but elsewhere the company has proudly partnered with tech giants like #Amazon, #Google, and #Microsoft ."
Read more:
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/data-center-lawn-neighbors-drought-water-restrictions#AI #AIDatacenters #USPol #Colorado #WaterIsLife #Datacenters #Datacentres #WaterRestrictions #WastingWater #Drought #ClimateChange
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This power plant was once shut down by its own owner
Its owner shut down this nuclear plant because it was too expensive. Now it’s about to reopen—not because its power got cheaper, but because one customer is willing to pay whatever it costs.
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HT @waltbaldwin
NextEra secures US loan of up to $1.9 billion for restart of #Iowa #nuclearPlant
By Reuters
September 8, 2026Excerpt: "Iowa's lone nuclear plant, the #DuaneArnoldEnergyCenter, closed in 2020 after operating for 45 years. Operations are scheduled to resume in early 2029."
#AISucks #AIDatacenters #NoNukesForAI #NoNukes #NextEra #Holtec #RethinkNotRestart #AIBoom 💥
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#Massachusetts #datacenters need approval before getting a permit following new executive order
by Amal Elhelw, Tue, September 8, 2026
"Gov. #MauraHealey is now putting Massachusetts among a growing number of states taking a closer look at how data centers are built and who gets a say in where they go.
"For years, Massachusetts has promoted itself as a place for the technology industry to grow, including data centers powering the #AIBoom.
"As those projects have gotten bigger, so have the concerns about their impact on #electricity costs, the #environment, and local communities.
"Back in February, Gov. Healey said data centers need to power themselves, pay for it, 'and do it in a way that doesn't harm residents.'
"More than six months later, Healey said she's putting local communities in control.
"On Tuesday, she signed an executive order requiring local approval for new data center infrastructure.
" 'Unless a community says yes to a data center, we're saying no,' Healey said.
"The move comes after the Governor first paused new applications for the state's data center sales tax exemption in June, saying stronger protections were needed.
"That tax break was created by a law Healey signed in 2024, giving qualified data centers a potential 20-year sales tax exemption.
"On Tuesday, Healey addressed that, saying she signed that package but did not include the tax exemption herself.
" 'As I've seen things, I just didn't think that it was right for that sales tax exemption to apply in the midst of what we're dealing with right now, which is a lot of concern across communities in Massachusetts and this country about the impact data centers are having or could have,' Gov. Healey said.
"Tuesday's executive order also requires developers to prove that they're not going to harm the environments or communities where they want to build. They also have to provide their own clean energy on day one, and if they can't, they have to pay ratepayers for the energy they consume until their own supply is in place.
"Republican candidate for Governor, Mike Minogue agrees that Massachusetts is in an energy crisis.
" 'I would always let a local community have input, but in reality, today, we're seeing more override votes than ever before just for operations,' Minogue said. "What I want to do is give more money back to the towns and cities if they will reduce the stretch codes, which destroys the opportunities for many builders and developers.'
"A proposed data center in #WestfieldMA has yet to seek permits from state agencies. Should the project come to the state, the developer would need to present a Community Benefits Agreement and its plans to meet the state's water and energy expectations.
"The state currently has about 50 data centers, meaning Tuesday's announcement could help determine how many more Massachusetts is willing to take on."
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/mass-data-centers-approval-getting-205657908.html#USPol #MassachusettsPol #NoDatacenters #AIDatacenters #NoisePollution #EnergyConsumption
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🤖⚡🏢 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
#ai #aidatacenter #aidatacenters #datacenter #datacenters #artificialintelligence #openai #anthropic #meta #amazon #aws #microsoft #alphabet #google #oracle #business #businessnews
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Um... ☢️
A #Michigan #NuclearPlant shut down for good is being switched back on for #AI power
Story by Everett Sloane, September 6, 2026
"A nuclear plant on the shore of Lake Michigan that shut down for good four years ago is now weeks or months away from producing electricity again, in what would be the first time in American history a retired commercial reactor has been brought back online. #Palisades #Nuclear Generating Station, in #CovertTownship, Michigan, ceased operating in 2022 after Entergy concluded it no longer made economic sense to keep running. Its new owner, #HoltecInternational, is now racing to restart it, betting that the same wave of electricity demand from artificial intelligence #datacenters reshaping the U.S. power grid can justify resurrecting a plant that was, until recently, on a path toward permanent teardown. The attempt is being closely watched across the utility industry because more than a dozen other reactors were permanently retired nationwide over the past decade, and each one is a potential candidate for the same kind of revival if Palisades proves it can be done safely and on budget."
#AISucks #AIDatacenters #NoNukesForAI #NoNukes #Holtec #PalisadesNuclearPlant #PalisadesNPP #WaterIsLife #LakeMichigan #RethinkNotRestart #AIBoom 💥
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#GorhamME officials consider permanent ban on #Datacenters
Several cities and towns in Maine already have moratoriums on data centers, and others are looking to do the same.
by WGME Staff, Fri, September 4, 2026
GORHAM (WGME) -- "The Town of Gorham is considering a permanent ban on data centers.
"The town already passed a moratorium in June, temporarily banning them.
"On Tuesday, town councilors voted unanimously to have the planning board schedule a public hearing and find out if the ban should become permanent.
"Before the ban could go into effect, the planning board will need to vote to change the town's land use and development code."
Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/gorham-officials-consider-permanent-ban-on-data-centers-maine-economy#MainePol #DatacenterMoratorium #DatacenterMoratoriums #Datacentres #DatacentreMoratorium #Hyperscale #Hyperconsumption #AIDatacenters #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyWaste
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#GorhamME officials consider permanent ban on #Datacenters
Several cities and towns in Maine already have moratoriums on data centers, and others are looking to do the same.
by WGME Staff, Fri, September 4, 2026
GORHAM (WGME) -- "The Town of Gorham is considering a permanent ban on data centers.
"The town already passed a moratorium in June, temporarily banning them.
"On Tuesday, town councilors voted unanimously to have the planning board schedule a public hearing and find out if the ban should become permanent.
"Before the ban could go into effect, the planning board will need to vote to change the town's land use and development code."
Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/gorham-officials-consider-permanent-ban-on-data-centers-maine-economy#MainePol #DatacenterMoratorium #DatacenterMoratoriums #Datacentres #DatacentreMoratorium #Hyperscale #Hyperconsumption #AIDatacenters #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyWaste
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#GorhamME officials consider permanent ban on #Datacenters
Several cities and towns in Maine already have moratoriums on data centers, and others are looking to do the same.
by WGME Staff, Fri, September 4, 2026
GORHAM (WGME) -- "The Town of Gorham is considering a permanent ban on data centers.
"The town already passed a moratorium in June, temporarily banning them.
"On Tuesday, town councilors voted unanimously to have the planning board schedule a public hearing and find out if the ban should become permanent.
"Before the ban could go into effect, the planning board will need to vote to change the town's land use and development code."
Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/gorham-officials-consider-permanent-ban-on-data-centers-maine-economy#MainePol #DatacenterMoratorium #DatacenterMoratoriums #Datacentres #DatacentreMoratorium #Hyperscale #Hyperconsumption #AIDatacenters #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyWaste
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#GorhamME officials consider permanent ban on #Datacenters
Several cities and towns in Maine already have moratoriums on data centers, and others are looking to do the same.
by WGME Staff, Fri, September 4, 2026
GORHAM (WGME) -- "The Town of Gorham is considering a permanent ban on data centers.
"The town already passed a moratorium in June, temporarily banning them.
"On Tuesday, town councilors voted unanimously to have the planning board schedule a public hearing and find out if the ban should become permanent.
"Before the ban could go into effect, the planning board will need to vote to change the town's land use and development code."
Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/gorham-officials-consider-permanent-ban-on-data-centers-maine-economy#MainePol #DatacenterMoratorium #DatacenterMoratoriums #Datacentres #DatacentreMoratorium #Hyperscale #Hyperconsumption #AIDatacenters #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyWaste
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#GorhamME officials consider permanent ban on #Datacenters
Several cities and towns in Maine already have moratoriums on data centers, and others are looking to do the same.
by WGME Staff, Fri, September 4, 2026
GORHAM (WGME) -- "The Town of Gorham is considering a permanent ban on data centers.
"The town already passed a moratorium in June, temporarily banning them.
"On Tuesday, town councilors voted unanimously to have the planning board schedule a public hearing and find out if the ban should become permanent.
"Before the ban could go into effect, the planning board will need to vote to change the town's land use and development code."
Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/gorham-officials-consider-permanent-ban-on-data-centers-maine-economy#MainePol #DatacenterMoratorium #DatacenterMoratoriums #Datacentres #DatacentreMoratorium #Hyperscale #Hyperconsumption #AIDatacenters #NoisePollution #LightPollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyWaste
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🤖 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐀 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬?
#ai #government #usgovernment #aidatacenters #datacenters #OpenAI #Anthropic #Meta #Alphabet #SpaceX #Microsoft #MANGOS #pif #saudi #saudiarabia #china #norway #Oljefondet #taxpayers #Nationalization #Communism #Capitalist #entrepreneur
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It turns out that AI processes pose unique problems for data centres and the grids that power them.
“Compared to a traditional Google search that would consume about 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, an AI query—such as a ChatGPT- or Google AI-powered response—can use up to 10 times as much.”
“Dramatic fluctuations can affect power quality through harmonic distortions’ to the grid.”
Read this concerning report from my colleague Chris Bonasia at The Energy Mix!
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The Alberta government is not telling you the whole truth about the impact of data centres on electricity prices.
But when Premier Danielle Smith was confronted with a Pembina analysis showing prices for consumers are likely going up - by hundreds of dollars annually - she as much as admitted it was true.
Her suggestion was that Albertans should lock in power prices before the massive Meta data centre comes online. And Meta is the first of many with the electricity regulator planning to double the amount of grid power it provides to data centres.
This is a policy choice the government is making, because there are better ways to do this.
Read my latest report for The Energy Mix!
#ableg #cdnpoli #electricity #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #affordability
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#Texas Gov. #GregAbbott on #AIDataCenter Backlash: 'They Dug Their Own Grave'
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, August 23, 2026
"#NewYork Gov. #KathyHochul (D) and #Kentucky Gov. #AndyBeshear (D) have pushed back against the expansion of #AIDataCenters in their respective states. But with the increasing backlash from communities and individuals toward new #datacenter construction and expansion, even governors that have embraced the #AIRevolution, like #Pennsylvania's #JoshShapiro (D), are now moderating and talking about scaling back.
"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is one governor whose state has embraced the data center expansion. In November 2025, Abbott declared that Texas is the 'epicenter of AI development' in his announcement of #Google building three data center campuses to the tune of $40 million dollars.
"Fast forward to August of 2026, and Abbott acknowledges that much of the community resistance to the construction of new and existing data centers is the fault of the AI companies."
[...]
"Abbott is not wrong. According to a report from #DataCenterWatch, 64 billion in data center projects have been blocked or delayed in #Arizona, #Utah, #Missouri, #Oregon, and #California, to name a few. Even formerly friendly #Virginia is pushing back. #CommunityOpposition surrounds the lack of information provided and the lack of accountability taken towards the citizens who will be most affected.
"Water and power concerns loom large. Many of the newer development concepts, like entrepreneur #KevinOLeary 's 9 megawatt #StratosProject in #Utah, will have their own self-sustaining water and power systems. However, this did not prevent the backlash by #environmentalists and local activists to shut the Stratos Project down, and Utah state lawmakers ultimately backpedaled from their original approval and requested O'Leary cut the project's 400,000-acre footprint down to 10,000, about 75 percent. "
#AISucks #AIDataCenters #AIResistance #USPol #WorldPol #Datacenters #Datacentres #AIDatacentres #WaterIsLife #NoisePollution #LandIsLife #EnergyConsumption
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The AI data centre shenanigans in Alberta are getting more outlandish. More than 12,000 people attended a virtual town hall meeting, with many more left hanging when they weren’t invited to join the conference call.
Municipalities are hiding behind non-disclosure agreements, repeating marketing slogans directly from company promotions, and some are even signing agreements to act as agents for data centre proponents while also regulating them. Isn’t that a conflict of interest?
It’s the wild west for data centre developers with little or no guardrails for water use, electricity prices, farmland protection, noise/air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions or local community benefits.
It’s the perfect environment for misinformation to thrive.
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #water #electricitygrid #GHGemissions
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More than 20,000 people have writen to the First Minister calling for an urgent moratorium on hyperscale data centres in Scotland.
Please add your voice.
#Scotland #AI #datacentres #aidatacenters
https://greens.scot/datacentres -
‘Never seen this level of objection’: #Scotland pushes back against #datacentre boom
#Holyrood ‘inching towards moratorium’ amid concerns over massive proposed developments in #Auchtertool and beyond
by Aisha Down, 25 Aug 2026
"In a village 21 miles north of #Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself – 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches.
"Billed as the second-biggest datacentre in the world, the development in Auchertool, Fife, has attracted 1,600 objections.
" 'The public pressure is huge,' said David Torrance, a member of the Scottish parliament representing the village. 'I’ve never seen this level of objection to a local plan, and I have been in politics for 25 years.'
"Similar concerns are being echoed across Scotland, next to gargantuan planned developments in towns such as #Airdrie and #Larbert. In a matter of weeks, as the Scottish parliament comes back into session, the growing opposition could pose a challenge to #Britain ’s #AI strategy.
" 'The Scottish government is inching towards a moratorium,' said Kat Jones, director of the Edinburgh-based charity #ActionToProtectRuralScotland. 'MSPs return to parliament next week, after a summer in their constituencies where they have been hearing the concerns of local people about proposed #hyperscale #datacentres. They will be expecting action.'
"For months, #UK officials have been encouraging would-be datacentre developers to consider Scotland. In April, Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the UK’s National Energy System Operator (Neso), told a London audience to look north: 'If in the audience you have a big datacentre and you want to go to Scotland, please come talk to me, we will help you,' he said.
" 'They are coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought and the grid is struggling,' said Torrance.
"But Scotland, it turns out, isn’t having it. The proposal for Auchtertool is a behemoth: drawings show the 600MW datacentre towering over the village, dwarfing old stone houses and blocking the view of #fields and #forests.
" 'How can you possibly ask people to accept that?' Torrance said. 'You can see why the public is objecting.'
"Scotland has already started to take steps that could mean the Auchtertool datacentre – and dozens of others – may never be built."
#DatacentreMoratorium #DatacenterMoratorium #ScotlandResists #ResistanceIsFertile #Resistance #NoDatacenters #NoDatacentres #NoisePollution #LightPollution #ForestsAreLife #AISucks #AIDataCenters #UKPol #DatacenterResistance #DatacentreResistance
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‘Never seen this level of objection’: #Scotland pushes back against #datacentre boom
#Holyrood ‘inching towards moratorium’ amid concerns over massive proposed developments in #Auchtertool and beyond
by Aisha Down, 25 Aug 2026
"In a village 21 miles north of #Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself – 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches.
"Billed as the second-biggest datacentre in the world, the development in Auchertool, Fife, has attracted 1,600 objections.
" 'The public pressure is huge,' said David Torrance, a member of the Scottish parliament representing the village. 'I’ve never seen this level of objection to a local plan, and I have been in politics for 25 years.'
"Similar concerns are being echoed across Scotland, next to gargantuan planned developments in towns such as #Airdrie and #Larbert. In a matter of weeks, as the Scottish parliament comes back into session, the growing opposition could pose a challenge to #Britain ’s #AI strategy.
" 'The Scottish government is inching towards a moratorium,' said Kat Jones, director of the Edinburgh-based charity #ActionToProtectRuralScotland. 'MSPs return to parliament next week, after a summer in their constituencies where they have been hearing the concerns of local people about proposed #hyperscale #datacentres. They will be expecting action.'
"For months, #UK officials have been encouraging would-be datacentre developers to consider Scotland. In April, Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the UK’s National Energy System Operator (Neso), told a London audience to look north: 'If in the audience you have a big datacentre and you want to go to Scotland, please come talk to me, we will help you,' he said.
" 'They are coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought and the grid is struggling,' said Torrance.
"But Scotland, it turns out, isn’t having it. The proposal for Auchtertool is a behemoth: drawings show the 600MW datacentre towering over the village, dwarfing old stone houses and blocking the view of #fields and #forests.
" 'How can you possibly ask people to accept that?' Torrance said. 'You can see why the public is objecting.'
"Scotland has already started to take steps that could mean the Auchtertool datacentre – and dozens of others – may never be built."
#DatacentreMoratorium #DatacenterMoratorium #ScotlandResists #ResistanceIsFertile #Resistance #NoDatacenters #NoDatacentres #NoisePollution #LightPollution #ForestsAreLife #AISucks #AIDataCenters #UKPol #DatacenterResistance #DatacentreResistance
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‘Never seen this level of objection’: #Scotland pushes back against #datacentre boom
#Holyrood ‘inching towards moratorium’ amid concerns over massive proposed developments in #Auchtertool and beyond
by Aisha Down, 25 Aug 2026
"In a village 21 miles north of #Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself – 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches.
"Billed as the second-biggest datacentre in the world, the development in Auchertool, Fife, has attracted 1,600 objections.
" 'The public pressure is huge,' said David Torrance, a member of the Scottish parliament representing the village. 'I’ve never seen this level of objection to a local plan, and I have been in politics for 25 years.'
"Similar concerns are being echoed across Scotland, next to gargantuan planned developments in towns such as #Airdrie and #Larbert. In a matter of weeks, as the Scottish parliament comes back into session, the growing opposition could pose a challenge to #Britain ’s #AI strategy.
" 'The Scottish government is inching towards a moratorium,' said Kat Jones, director of the Edinburgh-based charity #ActionToProtectRuralScotland. 'MSPs return to parliament next week, after a summer in their constituencies where they have been hearing the concerns of local people about proposed #hyperscale #datacentres. They will be expecting action.'
"For months, #UK officials have been encouraging would-be datacentre developers to consider Scotland. In April, Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the UK’s National Energy System Operator (Neso), told a London audience to look north: 'If in the audience you have a big datacentre and you want to go to Scotland, please come talk to me, we will help you,' he said.
" 'They are coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought and the grid is struggling,' said Torrance.
"But Scotland, it turns out, isn’t having it. The proposal for Auchtertool is a behemoth: drawings show the 600MW datacentre towering over the village, dwarfing old stone houses and blocking the view of #fields and #forests.
" 'How can you possibly ask people to accept that?' Torrance said. 'You can see why the public is objecting.'
"Scotland has already started to take steps that could mean the Auchtertool datacentre – and dozens of others – may never be built."
#DatacentreMoratorium #DatacenterMoratorium #ScotlandResists #ResistanceIsFertile #Resistance #NoDatacenters #NoDatacentres #NoisePollution #LightPollution #ForestsAreLife #AISucks #AIDataCenters #UKPol #DatacenterResistance #DatacentreResistance
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‘Never seen this level of objection’: #Scotland pushes back against #datacentre boom
#Holyrood ‘inching towards moratorium’ amid concerns over massive proposed developments in #Auchtertool and beyond
by Aisha Down, 25 Aug 2026
"In a village 21 miles north of #Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself – 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches.
"Billed as the second-biggest datacentre in the world, the development in Auchertool, Fife, has attracted 1,600 objections.
" 'The public pressure is huge,' said David Torrance, a member of the Scottish parliament representing the village. 'I’ve never seen this level of objection to a local plan, and I have been in politics for 25 years.'
"Similar concerns are being echoed across Scotland, next to gargantuan planned developments in towns such as #Airdrie and #Larbert. In a matter of weeks, as the Scottish parliament comes back into session, the growing opposition could pose a challenge to #Britain ’s #AI strategy.
" 'The Scottish government is inching towards a moratorium,' said Kat Jones, director of the Edinburgh-based charity #ActionToProtectRuralScotland. 'MSPs return to parliament next week, after a summer in their constituencies where they have been hearing the concerns of local people about proposed #hyperscale #datacentres. They will be expecting action.'
"For months, #UK officials have been encouraging would-be datacentre developers to consider Scotland. In April, Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the UK’s National Energy System Operator (Neso), told a London audience to look north: 'If in the audience you have a big datacentre and you want to go to Scotland, please come talk to me, we will help you,' he said.
" 'They are coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought and the grid is struggling,' said Torrance.
"But Scotland, it turns out, isn’t having it. The proposal for Auchtertool is a behemoth: drawings show the 600MW datacentre towering over the village, dwarfing old stone houses and blocking the view of #fields and #forests.
" 'How can you possibly ask people to accept that?' Torrance said. 'You can see why the public is objecting.'
"Scotland has already started to take steps that could mean the Auchtertool datacentre – and dozens of others – may never be built."
#DatacentreMoratorium #DatacenterMoratorium #ScotlandResists #ResistanceIsFertile #Resistance #NoDatacenters #NoDatacentres #NoisePollution #LightPollution #ForestsAreLife #AISucks #AIDataCenters #UKPol #DatacenterResistance #DatacentreResistance
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‘Never seen this level of objection’: #Scotland pushes back against #datacentre boom
#Holyrood ‘inching towards moratorium’ amid concerns over massive proposed developments in #Auchtertool and beyond
by Aisha Down, 25 Aug 2026
"In a village 21 miles north of #Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself – 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches.
"Billed as the second-biggest datacentre in the world, the development in Auchertool, Fife, has attracted 1,600 objections.
" 'The public pressure is huge,' said David Torrance, a member of the Scottish parliament representing the village. 'I’ve never seen this level of objection to a local plan, and I have been in politics for 25 years.'
"Similar concerns are being echoed across Scotland, next to gargantuan planned developments in towns such as #Airdrie and #Larbert. In a matter of weeks, as the Scottish parliament comes back into session, the growing opposition could pose a challenge to #Britain ’s #AI strategy.
" 'The Scottish government is inching towards a moratorium,' said Kat Jones, director of the Edinburgh-based charity #ActionToProtectRuralScotland. 'MSPs return to parliament next week, after a summer in their constituencies where they have been hearing the concerns of local people about proposed #hyperscale #datacentres. They will be expecting action.'
"For months, #UK officials have been encouraging would-be datacentre developers to consider Scotland. In April, Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the UK’s National Energy System Operator (Neso), told a London audience to look north: 'If in the audience you have a big datacentre and you want to go to Scotland, please come talk to me, we will help you,' he said.
" 'They are coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought and the grid is struggling,' said Torrance.
"But Scotland, it turns out, isn’t having it. The proposal for Auchtertool is a behemoth: drawings show the 600MW datacentre towering over the village, dwarfing old stone houses and blocking the view of #fields and #forests.
" 'How can you possibly ask people to accept that?' Torrance said. 'You can see why the public is objecting.'
"Scotland has already started to take steps that could mean the Auchtertool datacentre – and dozens of others – may never be built."
#DatacentreMoratorium #DatacenterMoratorium #ScotlandResists #ResistanceIsFertile #Resistance #NoDatacenters #NoDatacentres #NoisePollution #LightPollution #ForestsAreLife #AISucks #AIDataCenters #UKPol #DatacenterResistance #DatacentreResistance
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Frustrated about the lack of information about data centres in Alberta?
One woman decided to take the bull by the horns and build a website - one source of truth about all the data centres operating, approved, under construction and proposed.
There’s nothing like it anywhere else, including on the provincial government’s website.
I asked Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, who has complained about misinformation at the recent town halls, several questions about transparency.
Despite promises to get back to me with answers…no response arrived as the publishing deadline came and went.
https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-woman-maps-out-the-facts-about-power-hungry-data-centres/
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #maps #GHGemissions
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Hmmmm... Something both the right and left can agree on! 🤖
‘I’ve Never Seen This’: Massive Collapse in Support for #AIDataCenters Captured in New Poll
“If you can think of a cohort of Americans, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t welcome a #datacenter in their area.”
Brad Reed, Aug 20, 2026
"A poll released on Thursday shows a massive collapse in support for building #ArtificialIntelligence #DataCenters among #Republican, #Democratic, and #IndependentVoters.
"The poll, which was conducted by Embold Research and published by Heatmap Pro, shows that 75% of Americans now oppose building AI data centers in their area, including 61% registering strong opposition."
"Just one year before, 42% of Americans said they opposed AI data centers in their areas, compared with 43% who expressed support."
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/data-center-poll-collapse#NoDatacenters #NoAIDatacenters #AISucks #USElections #USPol #Elections2026 #NoisePollution #WaterPollution #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #CommonGround
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Weekly output: Consumer Cellular + Airalo, SpaceX Starship recovery, American Airlines to restore seatback screens, Google AI for college students, Chinese robots, data centers disliked
After two weeks at home, I have about the shortest possible trip to the West Coast coming up: Qualcomm is hosting a “6G Leadership Day” event in La Jolla, Calif., on Wednesday and covering travel costs for invited journalists. I will, of course, include a disclosure of that in everything I file for PCMag from there.
Patreon readers got an extra post from me this week: a recap of what I learned at (and after) the Black Hat information-security conference.
8/18/2026: Consumer Cellular Taps Airalo for eSIM International Connectivity for Subscribers, PCMag
The fact that Consumer Cellular subscribers can’t take advantage of this eSIM promotion if they bought a phone from that service on an installment-payment plan made this a little more interesting to me.
8/18/2026: For Once, Elon Musk Underestimates SpaceX: A Recovery Team Has Saved Starship’s Upper Stage From Sinking, PCMag
When I wrote this, it wasn’t clear how SpaceX would get Starship’s second stage from Christmas Island to Texas. Now it looks like they’ve outsourced that work to the semi-submersible heavy-lift carrier Forte, operated by the Dutch maritime-services firm Boskalis.
8/19/2026: American Airlines Will Add Seatback Screens to Narrowbody Jets, PCMag
When I sent a question in to AA’s PR department requesting clarification on details like the sizes of the screens and whether the touted personalization features would include targeted advertising or the ability to set favorite movie and TV shows for future flights, I did not expect to get a reply less than two hours later saying the airline couldn’t provide those details because it needed to pick a technology vendor first. I also didn’t expect to scoop travel writers much more versed in AA like Ben Schlappig or Gary Leff, but that’s what happened.
8/19/2026: Google Is Now Offering 1 Free Year of Its AI Pro Plan to US College Students. Here’s How to Get It, PCMag
I was amused to see videos in Google’s press kit show Gemini Live’s Deep Research feature generate a report with a typo-struck title: “Classical Music in Vienna and it’s Historical Influence.”
8/20/2026: China’s robotics ambitions, Al Jazeera
The Arabic-language news channel had me on via Zoom, overdubbed as usual, to comment about a robotics conference going on in China (for a peek at that, see this brief report from Al Jazeera English). My main point: While the Trump administration can make it difficult for Chinese manufacturers of robots to sell into the U.S., there’s almost nothing it can do to stop the rest of the world from doing business with China.
8/21/2026: Americans Hate AI Data Centers Even More Fiercely Than They Did Just a Few Months Ago, New Poll Shows, PCMag
I missed this poll published by Heatmap News the day it came out, but after seeing enough AI boosters on X still angsting out over it, I decided the story had some legs. The attention that this climate-news site’s survey has kept getting leads me to think that I made the right call.
#AIDataCenters #Airalo #AmericanAirlines #ChinaRobotics #ChineseRobots #ConsumerCellular #dataCenters #eSIM #GeminiAI #GoogleAI #inflightEntertainment #MVNO #Qualcomm #S40 #seatbackScreens #SpaceX #SpaceXStarship #StarshipFlight13 -
Weekly output: Consumer Cellular + Airalo, SpaceX Starship recovery, American Airlines to restore seatback screens, Google AI for college students, Chinese robots, data centers disliked
After two weeks at home, I have about the shortest possible trip to the West Coast coming up: Qualcomm is hosting a “6G Leadership Day” event in La Jolla, Calif., on Wednesday and covering travel costs for invited journalists. I will, of course, include a disclosure of that in everything I file for PCMag from there.
Patreon readers got an extra post from me this week: a recap of what I learned at (and after) the Black Hat information-security conference.
8/18/2026: Consumer Cellular Taps Airalo for eSIM International Connectivity for Subscribers, PCMag
The fact that Consumer Cellular subscribers can’t take advantage of this eSIM promotion if they bought a phone from that service on an installment-payment plan made this a little more interesting to me.
8/18/2026: For Once, Elon Musk Underestimates SpaceX: A Recovery Team Has Saved Starship’s Upper Stage From Sinking, PCMag
When I wrote this, it wasn’t clear how SpaceX would get Starship’s second stage from Christmas Island to Texas. Now it looks like they’ve outsourced that work to the semi-submersible heavy-lift carrier Forte, operated by the Dutch maritime-services firm Boskalis.
8/19/2026: American Airlines Will Add Seatback Screens to Narrowbody Jets, PCMag
When I sent a question in to AA’s PR department requesting clarification on details like the sizes of the screens and whether the touted personalization features would include targeted advertising or the ability to set favorite movie and TV shows for future flights, I did not expect to get a reply less than two hours later saying the airline couldn’t provide those details because it needed to pick a technology vendor first. I also didn’t expect to scoop travel writers much more versed in AA like Ben Schlappig or Gary Leff, but that’s what happened.
8/19/2026: Google Is Now Offering 1 Free Year of Its AI Pro Plan to US College Students. Here’s How to Get It, PCMag
I was amused to see videos in Google’s press kit show Gemini Live’s Deep Research feature generate a report with a typo-struck title: “Classical Music in Vienna and it’s Historical Influence.”
8/20/2026: China’s robotics ambitions, Al Jazeera
The Arabic-language news channel had me on via Zoom, overdubbed as usual, to comment about a robotics conference going on in China (for a peek at that, see this brief report from Al Jazeera English). My main point: While the Trump administration can make it difficult for Chinese manufacturers of robots to sell into the U.S., there’s almost nothing it can do to stop the rest of the world from doing business with China.
8/21/2026: Americans Hate AI Data Centers Even More Fiercely Than They Did Just a Few Months Ago, New Poll Shows, PCMag
I missed this poll published by Heatmap News the day it came out, but after seeing enough AI boosters on X still angsting out over it, I decided the story had some legs. The attention that this climate-news site’s survey has kept getting leads me to think that I made the right call.
#AIDataCenters #Airalo #AmericanAirlines #ChinaRobotics #ChineseRobots #ConsumerCellular #dataCenters #eSIM #GeminiAI #GoogleAI #inflightEntertainment #MVNO #Qualcomm #S40 #seatbackScreens #SpaceX #SpaceXStarship #StarshipFlight13 -
Weekly output: Consumer Cellular + Airalo, SpaceX Starship recovery, American Airlines to restore seatback screens, Google AI for college students, Chinese robots, data centers disliked
After two weeks at home, I have about the shortest possible trip to the West Coast coming up: Qualcomm is hosting a “6G Leadership Day” event in La Jolla, Calif., on Wednesday and covering travel costs for invited journalists. I will, of course, include a disclosure of that in everything I file for PCMag from there.
Patreon readers got an extra post from me this week: a recap of what I learned at (and after) the Black Hat information-security conference.
8/18/2026: Consumer Cellular Taps Airalo for eSIM International Connectivity for Subscribers, PCMag
The fact that Consumer Cellular subscribers can’t take advantage of this eSIM promotion if they bought a phone from that service on an installment-payment plan made this a little more interesting to me.
8/18/2026: For Once, Elon Musk Underestimates SpaceX: A Recovery Team Has Saved Starship’s Upper Stage From Sinking, PCMag
When I wrote this, it wasn’t clear how SpaceX would get Starship’s second stage from Christmas Island to Texas. Now it looks like they’ve outsourced that work to the semi-submersible heavy-lift carrier Forte, operated by the Dutch maritime-services firm Boskalis.
8/19/2026: American Airlines Will Add Seatback Screens to Narrowbody Jets, PCMag
When I sent a question in to AA’s PR department requesting clarification on details like the sizes of the screens and whether the touted personalization features would include targeted advertising or the ability to set favorite movie and TV shows for future flights, I did not expect to get a reply less than two hours later saying the airline couldn’t provide those details because it needed to pick a technology vendor first. I also didn’t expect to scoop travel writers much more versed in AA like Ben Schlappig or Gary Leff, but that’s what happened.
8/19/2026: Google Is Now Offering 1 Free Year of Its AI Pro Plan to US College Students. Here’s How to Get It, PCMag
I was amused to see videos in Google’s press kit show Gemini Live’s Deep Research feature generate a report with a typo-struck title: “Classical Music in Vienna and it’s Historical Influence.”
8/20/2026: China’s robotics ambitions, Al Jazeera
The Arabic-language news channel had me on via Zoom, overdubbed as usual, to comment about a robotics conference going on in China (for a peek at that, see this brief report from Al Jazeera English). My main point: While the Trump administration can make it difficult for Chinese manufacturers of robots to sell into the U.S., there’s almost nothing it can do to stop the rest of the world from doing business with China.
8/21/2026: Americans Hate AI Data Centers Even More Fiercely Than They Did Just a Few Months Ago, New Poll Shows, PCMag
I missed this poll published by Heatmap News the day it came out, but after seeing enough AI boosters on X still angsting out over it, I decided the story had some legs. The attention that this climate-news site’s survey has kept getting leads me to think that I made the right call.
#AIDataCenters #Airalo #AmericanAirlines #ChinaRobotics #ChineseRobots #ConsumerCellular #dataCenters #eSIM #GeminiAI #GoogleAI #inflightEntertainment #MVNO #Qualcomm #S40 #seatbackScreens #SpaceX #SpaceXStarship #StarshipFlight13 -
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/amazon-data-center-largest-pollution-source-texas-usa
#jeffbezos #Amazon #ai #datacenters #aidatacenters #pollution #environment #jeffbezosdonation #jeffbezosworkstress #jeffbezoshasalreadyboughtyourtown #jeffbezosheadlookslikeadick #nobillionaires #nobillionairesshouldexist
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A data center three states away just raised your electric bill. Here’s how the trick works and 4 ways to fight back.
https://www.komando.com/tips/artificial-intelligence/a-data-center-three-states-away-just-raised-your-electric-bill-heres-how-the-trick-works-and-4-ways-to-fight-back/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT1PIFwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHkVP3iljo7CEPnVDhQ-nxNWA74gcMd9rgp1W529LmDnCXW3plix-eWTNdhwF_aem_m1NpiYkKzgsab5tXE2PR-A
#aiscam #aihoax #aidatacenters #electricityfraud #ElectricityBills -
"In this online event moderated by Lily Hu, Astra Taylor, Robinson Meyer, and Nicholas Rabb discuss the growing movement against #AIdataCenters, the political implications ahead of the #2026midtermElections and whether community organizing around this issue can lead to enduring coalition-building on a national scale."
https://youtu.be/R_jAAWnHEWA?si=cnOKHfz_Ox0T8XlG
#AI #dataCenters #tech #environment #activism #USpol #midterms #ecoactivism
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The Olds power plant/data centre is not in the public interest. Residents who’ve been fighting it for more than seven months are exhausted but elated. More than 900 people were granted intervenor status in the Alberta utility regulator’s hearing because it was determined they all could’ve been impacted.
It was too much, too close to people’s homes, and even without the government’s promised new rules around siting projects, the AUC said “enough.”
Read the breaking story!
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #saveolds #fossilfuels #climate
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#Indigenous at the United Nations Expose #AIDataCenters and #RaciallyBiased Misinformation
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, July 14, 2026, Updated August 17, 2026
"#AI data centers are rapidly being constructed on the land of #IndigenousPeoples without free, prior and informed consent from us."
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/07/indigenous-at-united-nations-expose-ai.html
#Inuit #InformedConsent #Mong #CulturalPreservation #AIHallucinations #WorldPol #IndigenousPeople #RespectTheTreaties #NoDatacenters #NoAIDatacenters
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The Energy Mix invited me to write an opinion/analysis of Sturgeon County’s late responses to my latest report on their declaration of an agricultural disaster, an outcome almost certainly due to climate change.
When asked about their approval of the Meta AI data centre, the mayor would not agree to an interview but one of the county’s managers replied a day and a half after the story was published. He had a lot to say (1,700+ words by my count) and we wanted you to read it first hand.
A non-disclosure agreement with Meta, a bylaw that blocks public input, “we have no authority” to consider climate change impacts, and absolutely no - we’re not looking at Meta’s conduct or court decisions finding them at fault.
Read the full response from Sturgeon County, with links to sources allowing for a deeper dive.
#ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #disaster #agriculture #climatechange.
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I'll have another piece about Meta's Sturgeon County AI data centre. It's coming out tomorrow and will be posted overnight.
The county's responses to my questions came in a day and a half late, but revealed some surprising things. So, we're running their full answers (with my commentary) in the Energy Mix Weekender edition on Substack. It's free to subscribe!
Most important question now is - WTH does "carbon-ready" even mean? And why is a government official now talking about this as if it is an actual "thing"?
Oh, and there's definitely been non-disclosure agreements signed.
In the meantime, here are seven ways governments can stop secret data centre deals, compiled by a US group called "Public Citizen."
TLDR: Just say no to NDA's
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Insurgent Candidate Victories Highlight Growing Movement Against #Corporate & #Elite Power: #JohnNichols
#DemocracyNow, August 05, 2026
Excerpt: "AMY GOODMAN: And let’s go to #WilliamLawrence of the #SunriseMovement —
JOHN NICHOLS: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: — who we just mentioned, who won his primary, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, defeated two opponents to win the Democratic House primary in Michigan’s 7th District, focusing partly on what you just mentioned: #AIDatacenters . This is one of his ads.
' WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m #WillLawrence. And #TechBillionaires want to turn this whole field into a massive #datacenter that’ll jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.
RANDY: They put that in, it’s going to plummet the values. It’s an existential threat.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m running for U.S. Congress because I’ve been afraid to stand up to corporate power. I’m backed by #BernieSanders, and I don’t take a dime from #CorporatePACs . '
ANJALI KAMAT: And in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, #DonavanMcKinney, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has a narrow lead over Congressman Shri Thanedar. This is a part of one of McKinney’s ads.
' DONAVAN McKINNEY: #ShriThanedar and the same #billionaires supporting #DonaldTrump are spending millions lying to you. They know that in Congress, Shri fights for them. I will fight for us — lower costs, higher wages, #MedicareForAll . '
ANJALI KAMAT: #AbbasAlawieh also won the Democratic primary for a seat in the Michigan state Senate. He was a co-founder of the #UncommittedMovement, which pushed for President Biden, and then Kamala Harris, to end U.S. support for Israel’s #WarOnGaza. This is Abbas speaking outside the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, in 2024, where the Uncommitted Movement pushed to include a #Palestinian voice at the convention.
'ABBAS ALAWIEH: Here is the scandal, my friends. Here is the scandal. The scandal is that there are forces within #DemocraticParty leadership who do not want us to talk about #Palestinian #HumanRights. But that’s not sustainable. This is a watershed moment. '
ANJALI KAMAT: John Nichols, can you talk about some of these other key races in Michigan and other states where progressives were challenging more establishment candidates, and just what you think is most important as a takeaway from yesterday’s primaries?
JOHN NICHOLS: I sure can. I’m delighted to do it, because the fact of the matter is that our national media too often focuses on the top-line races and misses the real dynamic, which you start to recognize is when you go down-ballot and you look at contests for U.S. House seats and for legislative seats.
And if you look in Michigan, what you’re seeing is, with Will Lawrence, an example of a real breakthrough win for a young candidate who ran a campaign on dynamic, fresh issues, including data centers. With #DonavanMcKinney, that’s still a close race. There are votes still to be counted there. But this is an incredible thing, because this is a candidate who didn’t have anywhere near the kind of money that his opponent did, and yet, with a real grassroots campaign on the ground there in Detroit and that region, ran very, very well.
And if we move beyond Michigan and you look around the country, what you’re going to see is that Tuesday night was a very good night for insurgent candidacies and for outsiders. In the #Missouri governor’s race, what you saw was kind of a remarkable result. #CindyHolscher, who’s a state senator out there and came from the outside — she wasn’t backed by the sitting governor, she wasn’t backed by a lot of Democratic Party leaders, and yet she won her primary for governor. And she did it by talking, again, about data centers and making that a very central part of her campaign. We’re starting to see a thread here. "
Full interview:
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/5/john_nichols_aug4_primaries#USPol #DSA #Elections2026 #USElections #IsraeliWarCrimes #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #GetMoneyOut #NoDatacenters
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Insurgent Candidate Victories Highlight Growing Movement Against #Corporate & #Elite Power: #JohnNichols
#DemocracyNow, August 05, 2026
Excerpt: "AMY GOODMAN: And let’s go to #WilliamLawrence of the #SunriseMovement —
JOHN NICHOLS: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: — who we just mentioned, who won his primary, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, defeated two opponents to win the Democratic House primary in Michigan’s 7th District, focusing partly on what you just mentioned: #AIDatacenters . This is one of his ads.
' WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m #WillLawrence. And #TechBillionaires want to turn this whole field into a massive #datacenter that’ll jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.
RANDY: They put that in, it’s going to plummet the values. It’s an existential threat.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m running for U.S. Congress because I’ve been afraid to stand up to corporate power. I’m backed by #BernieSanders, and I don’t take a dime from #CorporatePACs . '
ANJALI KAMAT: And in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, #DonavanMcKinney, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has a narrow lead over Congressman Shri Thanedar. This is a part of one of McKinney’s ads.
' DONAVAN McKINNEY: #ShriThanedar and the same #billionaires supporting #DonaldTrump are spending millions lying to you. They know that in Congress, Shri fights for them. I will fight for us — lower costs, higher wages, #MedicareForAll . '
ANJALI KAMAT: #AbbasAlawieh also won the Democratic primary for a seat in the Michigan state Senate. He was a co-founder of the #UncommittedMovement, which pushed for President Biden, and then Kamala Harris, to end U.S. support for Israel’s #WarOnGaza. This is Abbas speaking outside the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, in 2024, where the Uncommitted Movement pushed to include a #Palestinian voice at the convention.
'ABBAS ALAWIEH: Here is the scandal, my friends. Here is the scandal. The scandal is that there are forces within #DemocraticParty leadership who do not want us to talk about #Palestinian #HumanRights. But that’s not sustainable. This is a watershed moment. '
ANJALI KAMAT: John Nichols, can you talk about some of these other key races in Michigan and other states where progressives were challenging more establishment candidates, and just what you think is most important as a takeaway from yesterday’s primaries?
JOHN NICHOLS: I sure can. I’m delighted to do it, because the fact of the matter is that our national media too often focuses on the top-line races and misses the real dynamic, which you start to recognize is when you go down-ballot and you look at contests for U.S. House seats and for legislative seats.
And if you look in Michigan, what you’re seeing is, with Will Lawrence, an example of a real breakthrough win for a young candidate who ran a campaign on dynamic, fresh issues, including data centers. With #DonavanMcKinney, that’s still a close race. There are votes still to be counted there. But this is an incredible thing, because this is a candidate who didn’t have anywhere near the kind of money that his opponent did, and yet, with a real grassroots campaign on the ground there in Detroit and that region, ran very, very well.
And if we move beyond Michigan and you look around the country, what you’re going to see is that Tuesday night was a very good night for insurgent candidacies and for outsiders. In the #Missouri governor’s race, what you saw was kind of a remarkable result. #CindyHolscher, who’s a state senator out there and came from the outside — she wasn’t backed by the sitting governor, she wasn’t backed by a lot of Democratic Party leaders, and yet she won her primary for governor. And she did it by talking, again, about data centers and making that a very central part of her campaign. We’re starting to see a thread here. "
Full interview:
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/5/john_nichols_aug4_primaries#USPol #DSA #Elections2026 #USElections #IsraeliWarCrimes #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #GetMoneyOut #NoDatacenters
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Insurgent Candidate Victories Highlight Growing Movement Against #Corporate & #Elite Power: #JohnNichols
#DemocracyNow, August 05, 2026
Excerpt: "AMY GOODMAN: And let’s go to #WilliamLawrence of the #SunriseMovement —
JOHN NICHOLS: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: — who we just mentioned, who won his primary, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, defeated two opponents to win the Democratic House primary in Michigan’s 7th District, focusing partly on what you just mentioned: #AIDatacenters . This is one of his ads.
' WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m #WillLawrence. And #TechBillionaires want to turn this whole field into a massive #datacenter that’ll jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.
RANDY: They put that in, it’s going to plummet the values. It’s an existential threat.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m running for U.S. Congress because I’ve been afraid to stand up to corporate power. I’m backed by #BernieSanders, and I don’t take a dime from #CorporatePACs . '
ANJALI KAMAT: And in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, #DonavanMcKinney, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has a narrow lead over Congressman Shri Thanedar. This is a part of one of McKinney’s ads.
' DONAVAN McKINNEY: #ShriThanedar and the same #billionaires supporting #DonaldTrump are spending millions lying to you. They know that in Congress, Shri fights for them. I will fight for us — lower costs, higher wages, #MedicareForAll . '
ANJALI KAMAT: #AbbasAlawieh also won the Democratic primary for a seat in the Michigan state Senate. He was a co-founder of the #UncommittedMovement, which pushed for President Biden, and then Kamala Harris, to end U.S. support for Israel’s #WarOnGaza. This is Abbas speaking outside the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, in 2024, where the Uncommitted Movement pushed to include a #Palestinian voice at the convention.
'ABBAS ALAWIEH: Here is the scandal, my friends. Here is the scandal. The scandal is that there are forces within #DemocraticParty leadership who do not want us to talk about #Palestinian #HumanRights. But that’s not sustainable. This is a watershed moment. '
ANJALI KAMAT: John Nichols, can you talk about some of these other key races in Michigan and other states where progressives were challenging more establishment candidates, and just what you think is most important as a takeaway from yesterday’s primaries?
JOHN NICHOLS: I sure can. I’m delighted to do it, because the fact of the matter is that our national media too often focuses on the top-line races and misses the real dynamic, which you start to recognize is when you go down-ballot and you look at contests for U.S. House seats and for legislative seats.
And if you look in Michigan, what you’re seeing is, with Will Lawrence, an example of a real breakthrough win for a young candidate who ran a campaign on dynamic, fresh issues, including data centers. With #DonavanMcKinney, that’s still a close race. There are votes still to be counted there. But this is an incredible thing, because this is a candidate who didn’t have anywhere near the kind of money that his opponent did, and yet, with a real grassroots campaign on the ground there in Detroit and that region, ran very, very well.
And if we move beyond Michigan and you look around the country, what you’re going to see is that Tuesday night was a very good night for insurgent candidacies and for outsiders. In the #Missouri governor’s race, what you saw was kind of a remarkable result. #CindyHolscher, who’s a state senator out there and came from the outside — she wasn’t backed by the sitting governor, she wasn’t backed by a lot of Democratic Party leaders, and yet she won her primary for governor. And she did it by talking, again, about data centers and making that a very central part of her campaign. We’re starting to see a thread here. "
Full interview:
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/5/john_nichols_aug4_primaries#USPol #DSA #Elections2026 #USElections #IsraeliWarCrimes #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #GetMoneyOut #NoDatacenters
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Insurgent Candidate Victories Highlight Growing Movement Against #Corporate & #Elite Power: #JohnNichols
#DemocracyNow, August 05, 2026
Excerpt: "AMY GOODMAN: And let’s go to #WilliamLawrence of the #SunriseMovement —
JOHN NICHOLS: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: — who we just mentioned, who won his primary, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, defeated two opponents to win the Democratic House primary in Michigan’s 7th District, focusing partly on what you just mentioned: #AIDatacenters . This is one of his ads.
' WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m #WillLawrence. And #TechBillionaires want to turn this whole field into a massive #datacenter that’ll jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.
RANDY: They put that in, it’s going to plummet the values. It’s an existential threat.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE: I’m running for U.S. Congress because I’ve been afraid to stand up to corporate power. I’m backed by #BernieSanders, and I don’t take a dime from #CorporatePACs . '
ANJALI KAMAT: And in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, #DonavanMcKinney, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has a narrow lead over Congressman Shri Thanedar. This is a part of one of McKinney’s ads.
' DONAVAN McKINNEY: #ShriThanedar and the same #billionaires supporting #DonaldTrump are spending millions lying to you. They know that in Congress, Shri fights for them. I will fight for us — lower costs, higher wages, #MedicareForAll . '
ANJALI KAMAT: #AbbasAlawieh also won the Democratic primary for a seat in the Michigan state Senate. He was a co-founder of the #UncommittedMovement, which pushed for President Biden, and then Kamala Harris, to end U.S. support for Israel’s #WarOnGaza. This is Abbas speaking outside the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, in 2024, where the Uncommitted Movement pushed to include a #Palestinian voice at the convention.
'ABBAS ALAWIEH: Here is the scandal, my friends. Here is the scandal. The scandal is that there are forces within #DemocraticParty leadership who do not want us to talk about #Palestinian #HumanRights. But that’s not sustainable. This is a watershed moment. '
ANJALI KAMAT: John Nichols, can you talk about some of these other key races in Michigan and other states where progressives were challenging more establishment candidates, and just what you think is most important as a takeaway from yesterday’s primaries?
JOHN NICHOLS: I sure can. I’m delighted to do it, because the fact of the matter is that our national media too often focuses on the top-line races and misses the real dynamic, which you start to recognize is when you go down-ballot and you look at contests for U.S. House seats and for legislative seats.
And if you look in Michigan, what you’re seeing is, with Will Lawrence, an example of a real breakthrough win for a young candidate who ran a campaign on dynamic, fresh issues, including data centers. With #DonavanMcKinney, that’s still a close race. There are votes still to be counted there. But this is an incredible thing, because this is a candidate who didn’t have anywhere near the kind of money that his opponent did, and yet, with a real grassroots campaign on the ground there in Detroit and that region, ran very, very well.
And if we move beyond Michigan and you look around the country, what you’re going to see is that Tuesday night was a very good night for insurgent candidacies and for outsiders. In the #Missouri governor’s race, what you saw was kind of a remarkable result. #CindyHolscher, who’s a state senator out there and came from the outside — she wasn’t backed by the sitting governor, she wasn’t backed by a lot of Democratic Party leaders, and yet she won her primary for governor. And she did it by talking, again, about data centers and making that a very central part of her campaign. We’re starting to see a thread here. "
Full interview:
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/5/john_nichols_aug4_primaries#USPol #DSA #Elections2026 #USElections #IsraeliWarCrimes #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #GetMoneyOut #NoDatacenters