Originally published January 28, 2013 in Huffington Post Canada. Earlier this summer it filled my heart with pride and joy to watch my good friend Chief Rueben George stand before the sacred tree in the Arbor of a Sun Dance ceremony in Lakota territory, South Dakota and read a declaration
Have you ever watched a swearing-in ceremony for Canada's new ministers? I did so you don't have to and one detail stood out, the pledge of allegiance. It’s pretty wild that in 2025, ministers are still made to say a solemn pledge to be: "
I created this list of tools years ago for friends exploring privacy and security‑related software, and I have been updating and editing it since the pandemic lockdowns as more people began working from home. At the time many people I knew were asking me about options to better secure
If we believe in decentralization, not just as a slogan, but as a foundational layer, then we need to talk about billionaires. Not to punish success. But because concentrated power is centralization, and that power grows exponentially squeezing out middle class and working class people. A Thought Experiment Would you
There has been a lot of talk recently about how Gaza will be rebuilt. But there is no real discussion of rebuilding Gaza without first acknowledging the scale of its devastation, and the ongoing human rights crimes as literally millions of people starve and and hundreds more civilians are gunned
Our evolving relationship with AI assistants and the importance of how, and what, we ask it to do. By Ben West Read on Medium Update: This story was first posted years ago, before the explosion of interest in AI assistants like OpenAI, and the massive expansion of voice assistants now
Unlocking the Power of Non-Financial Blockchain Tech as Climate Solutions 🌏 By Ben West and Tarah Stafford - Originally Published in Refi-DAO blog Much of the discussion around blockchain technology is often focused on cryptocurrencies or the plethora of meme coins and scams that are often built on top. Yet as
“They had tears in their eyes as we entered the camp” Arrival of Coastal Totem Pole at Stand off at Standing Rock Brings Hope After the First Nations Totem Pole kicked off with an event in Vancouver the tour schedule now changed. Instead of visiting a community in Northern Alberta’
One of Professor Kathryn Harrison's posts caught my eye recently. It raised the question of whether having fewer children is an effective response to climate change. Her kids, Sophie and Sam Harrison, have been fighting climate change since they were young—a heartening reminder that the next generation
I never thought I would say this, but I think oil pipeline proponents are going to be happy about our new website that went live last week. My colleagues from ForestEthics (NOTE: the organization has now changed their name to Stand.Earth) in the United States have just launched a
Originally published on Medium: Ben West - 🐒🌻 on Medium It’s interesting to reflect on where we were when something started, what was motivating us and then consider how our plans turned out. It was a heck of a lot of work making that event a reality. I joked at
This is an article I originally published in the Huffington Post back in 2015, long before the explosion in value of cryptocurrencies and the massive jump in energy consumption tied to Bitcoin "mining". I was hopeful that alternative economic structures outside of the powers that be might blossom
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