Logan Williams
obtusatum.bsky.social
Logan Williams
@obtusatum.bsky.social
Mountains and websites; maps and birds; context collapse. Projects: https://subject.space/. Work: Data, research and technology for investigations @bellingcat.com. Personal account, posts/opinions are my own. New York via Amsterdam and Oregon.
As I understand it, RAD PACT is less about privatization for privatization's-sake, then it is an arbitrage play for housing aid dollars at the federal level. Privately-run subsidized housing can be funded through Section 8, unlike NYCHA-run buildings which need money from a shrinking Section 9 pool.
February 19, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
Breaking: NORA, a false flagged container vessel, detained by Danish authorities.
Kæmpe containerskib tilbageholdes af de danske myndigheder
Et mistænkeligt containerskib, som sejler under iransk flag, ligger stille øst for Aalbæk. Søfartsstyrelsen bekræfter at skibet tilbageholdes.
nyheder.tv2.dk
February 19, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
A maritime "false flag" isn't a conspiracy theory - it's a vessel sailing under fraudulent registration from a country that never authorized it. And now it's happening at scale through the web.

Out today with my co-author @pa.nton.cx and team at @bellingcat.com

www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...
Shipwrecks, Sham Papers and False Flags: Tracking the Company Behind It All - bellingcat
A shipwreck in India, an ammunition seizure in Senegal, and a raid on an oil tanker in Malaysia - all involving one recurring figure: Captain Suniel Sharma.
www.bellingcat.com
February 19, 2026 at 1:03 PM
In August, Suniel Sharma claimed in an FT interview that his ship registration company "International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana," disclaimed as fraudulent by Guyana and the International Maritime Organization, was no longer active and remained online but “not operational just informative."
February 19, 2026 at 1:24 PM
New York System has to be one of the wildest names for a restaurant, even setting aside the fact that they are not in New York.
February 18, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by Logan Williams
Made some improvements this week to my map of United States real property (federal land, buildings and other fixed structures)
- new agencies and better geocoding, including USPS, TVA and State
- filter by property type (e.g. "parking structure") and year built
- where available, actual land areas
What the United States Owns
Interactive map of Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP) buildings across the United States.
subject.space
February 13, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Someone made a music video with @calandscapebot.bsky.social clips! (@hunterowens.net !)
February 16, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Saturday birds around The Bronx; Red-shouldered hawk, Great blue heron, Hairy woodpecker, European starling. 🪶
February 15, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Made some improvements this week to my map of United States real property (federal land, buildings and other fixed structures)
- new agencies and better geocoding, including USPS, TVA and State
- filter by property type (e.g. "parking structure") and year built
- where available, actual land areas
What the United States Owns
Interactive map of Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP) buildings across the United States.
subject.space
February 13, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.

The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.

But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM
While unlikely to be directly related to the huge increase in foraged mushroom poisoning this year, it is interesting that Amazon is so full of Spanish-language AI slop.

When searching for mushroom guides in Spanish, 13 of the 16 books on the first page of search results appear AI generated.
February 12, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
📣 NEW! I’ve just released the BIGGEST and perhaps most creative project I’ve ever worked on!

“Searching for Birds” searchingforbirds.visualcinnamon.com 🐤

A project, an article, an exploration that dives into the data that connects humans with birds, by looking at how we search for birds.
February 12, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Sadly despite complaining myself I do know an answer. A weekend car rental in New York City can easily be $400-600 in the summer. And it's not even that cheap right now either. Even if you never drive in the city, with parking free and alternatives for weekend trips so bad, why wouldn't you keep it?
If you go two and a half weeks without using your car, why do you have a car?
February 11, 2026 at 8:25 PM
My DoD keeps scare maxxing itself

www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10...
February 11, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
Three months of ICE flight observations at MSP: since November 10 there have been 84 known ICE Air flights operating through Twin Cities, with an estimated 3,563 detainees, in shackles, sent away from their homes in and around Minnesota.
February 11, 2026 at 4:36 AM
This concludes the behavioural research experiment sponsored by Victoria University of Wellington. All remaining funds will be returned within 5-7 days. Thank you for your participation.
a society losing the plot in real time
February 10, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
It still seems unreal to me that humans will soon be flying back to the moon! They will be returning to Earth at a speed of 40.000 km/h, the fastest ever reentry of a crewed spacecraft.

This remastered video shows a similar reentry from the #Artemis 1 mission back in 2022 at 9x speed. 🔭🧪
February 9, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
🗞️ Nieman Lab republished the piece Scott Klein and I put together analyzing the decline of open-source news.

If you haven't checked it out yet, here's another chance.

https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/journalism-lost-its-culture-of-sharing-heres-how-we-rebuild-it/
Journalism lost its culture of sharing. Here’s how we rebuild it
The data are clear: The open-source culture that defined an earlier era of online journalism has collapsed.
www.niemanlab.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Logan Williams
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.

Hundreds of kids are still detained.

We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 12:25 PM
I would still like to know what Hakeem Jeffries was up to in Florida or the Caribbean over the weekend.
Where is Minority Leader Jeffries? He's not in DC or his district, both of which are freezing cold this weekend. The tree behind him looks to be a seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera), abundant only in Florida and the Caribbean.
February 9, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
Great article tracking local news stories about ICE detention centers. "After El Paso’s ME ruled migrant’s death a homicide, ICE sent the next body to an Army hospital", "Nicaraguan Man in ICE Custody Dies in Mississippi Hospital", "Lawsuit alleges inhumane conditions at ICE Adelanto facility"
February 9, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Wrote a new blog post with some data and lots of links.
Exploring ICE detention facilities
Statistics and stories from ICE's archipelago of detention centers, based on the first data release since "Operation Metro Surge" arrived in Minneapolis.
exclav.es
February 8, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Logan Williams
urbanomnibus.net/2026/02/wher... This is a very cool project reverse engineering Amazon shipping routes!
Where's My Package? - Urban Omnibus
Amazon’s logistical network is as extensive as it is abstruse. To get a sense of its scale, we reconstruct the regional distribution system, one order at a time.
urbanomnibus.net
February 8, 2026 at 5:04 PM