Ben Plouviez
@benplouviez.bsky.social
Retired and now tender of donkeys (2) and minder of cats (2) as well as reader of books (lots) and thinker of great thoughts (none really). Also maker of irritating jokes, so sorry (not sorry) about that.
Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
More than 100 medical professionals have declared a ‘medical emergency’ after queer activist Amu Gib refused food in prison, beginning one of the largest coordinated prison hunger strikes in the UK in four decades.
www.wearequeeraf.com/queer-activi...
www.wearequeeraf.com/queer-activi...
Queer activist among eight people on hunger strike for Palestine in UK prisons
One of the most significant prison strikes for four decades is underway, after queer activist Amu Gib refused food on Nov 2nd 2025
www.wearequeeraf.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM
More than 100 medical professionals have declared a ‘medical emergency’ after queer activist Amu Gib refused food in prison, beginning one of the largest coordinated prison hunger strikes in the UK in four decades.
www.wearequeeraf.com/queer-activi...
www.wearequeeraf.com/queer-activi...
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
If a stranger told you they were raising their newborn on advice from the chat robot you'd rightfully contact child services
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 4:22 PM
If a stranger told you they were raising their newborn on advice from the chat robot you'd rightfully contact child services
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
Radio 4 and BBC and Channel 4 News and all the papers completely skewing the Peggie story so your average person will have no idea what actually happened. Doesn’t this make you furious? Integrity in journalism is dead, not just in the US
December 9, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Radio 4 and BBC and Channel 4 News and all the papers completely skewing the Peggie story so your average person will have no idea what actually happened. Doesn’t this make you furious? Integrity in journalism is dead, not just in the US
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
A controversial opinion in the UK: having a standard emails job then sitting in a house you bought for a song and watching it rise exponentially in value due to political choices that have nothing to do with you is not it fact “working very hard to get what you have”
November 29, 2025 at 10:34 AM
A controversial opinion in the UK: having a standard emails job then sitting in a house you bought for a song and watching it rise exponentially in value due to political choices that have nothing to do with you is not it fact “working very hard to get what you have”
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
We all knew.
Which means they knew. And they let the bodies pile high. They should be in jail: Johnson, Hancock, Whitty, Harries.
They stood up there and lied to us, knowingly, every night. And 200,000 died.
#covidInquiry
Which means they knew. And they let the bodies pile high. They should be in jail: Johnson, Hancock, Whitty, Harries.
They stood up there and lied to us, knowingly, every night. And 200,000 died.
#covidInquiry
🗣️ Many will conclude what they knew already: the government acted too little, too late, there was chaos and toxicity, and later decisions were not backed by data.
@krishgm.bsky.social writes in the latest edition of our weekly long read newsletter, InDepth
@krishgm.bsky.social writes in the latest edition of our weekly long read newsletter, InDepth
Covid Inquiry: Too little, too late - too many lives lost
Many will conclude what they knew already: the government acted too little, too late, there was chaos and toxicity, and later decisions were not backed by data, writes Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
channel4news.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:12 PM
We all knew.
Which means they knew. And they let the bodies pile high. They should be in jail: Johnson, Hancock, Whitty, Harries.
They stood up there and lied to us, knowingly, every night. And 200,000 died.
#covidInquiry
Which means they knew. And they let the bodies pile high. They should be in jail: Johnson, Hancock, Whitty, Harries.
They stood up there and lied to us, knowingly, every night. And 200,000 died.
#covidInquiry
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
Just to be clear, it’s not that *trans* people could be banned, but that anyone who others suspect are trans. Whether they are trans or not is another matter.
"Trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look. The Times has seen the equalities watchdog’s final guidance, which Whitehall figures fear Bridget Phillipson is delaying to avoid a political backlash" [Times]
www.thetimes.com/article/82ee...
www.thetimes.com/article/82ee...
Trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look
The Times has seen the equalities watchdog’s final guidance, which Whitehall figures fear Bridget Phillipson is delaying to avoid a political backlash
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Just to be clear, it’s not that *trans* people could be banned, but that anyone who others suspect are trans. Whether they are trans or not is another matter.
Harley now working from home. (OK, actually he’s being scanned and is fascinated by the sight of his innards).
November 19, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Harley now working from home. (OK, actually he’s being scanned and is fascinated by the sight of his innards).
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
The only part they planned was the racism
They didn't think to actually deal with the issues
They didn't think to actually deal with the issues
November 18, 2025 at 10:22 AM
The only part they planned was the racism
They didn't think to actually deal with the issues
They didn't think to actually deal with the issues
Unbelievable that junior civil servants are still making this mistake. It shows how poor the corporate memory is after years of cuts, deskilling and managers not giving a toss. It’s the equivalent of a 1960s civil servants not knowing how to use a treasury tag.
The origin of this story is hilarious: the MoD accidentally revealed the locations of new munitions factories because they tried to redact a PDF by *highlighting the secret bits in black*, meaning you could still copy and paste all the original text.
MoD identifies possible UK sites for making explosives and ammunition
November 18, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Unbelievable that junior civil servants are still making this mistake. It shows how poor the corporate memory is after years of cuts, deskilling and managers not giving a toss. It’s the equivalent of a 1960s civil servants not knowing how to use a treasury tag.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
Nick Timothy, Tory MP most responsible for the Windrush scandal, gives Mahmood his support
November 17, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Nick Timothy, Tory MP most responsible for the Windrush scandal, gives Mahmood his support
OK so I’m here to pitch “The Repair Shop on ICE”, in which Home Office staff lurk outside the barn and seize valuables from anyone whose status doesn’t appear to be sufficiently settled, thereby helping with the huge cost of endlessly harassing refugees.
November 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
OK so I’m here to pitch “The Repair Shop on ICE”, in which Home Office staff lurk outside the barn and seize valuables from anyone whose status doesn’t appear to be sufficiently settled, thereby helping with the huge cost of endlessly harassing refugees.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
It really isn't clear how progressive and blue "Labour" can continue to co-exist politically.
These aren't disagreements over tactics and strategy. They have fundamentally different answers to core questions of political economy, society, and citizenship.
The overlap is very slim.
These aren't disagreements over tactics and strategy. They have fundamentally different answers to core questions of political economy, society, and citizenship.
The overlap is very slim.
November 17, 2025 at 8:27 AM
It really isn't clear how progressive and blue "Labour" can continue to co-exist politically.
These aren't disagreements over tactics and strategy. They have fundamentally different answers to core questions of political economy, society, and citizenship.
The overlap is very slim.
These aren't disagreements over tactics and strategy. They have fundamentally different answers to core questions of political economy, society, and citizenship.
The overlap is very slim.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
Labour policy is being celebrated by Tommy Robinson.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
November 16, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Labour policy is being celebrated by Tommy Robinson.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
This whole Streeting vs Starmer story is such a Westminster bubble inanity from a bored media class that has gotten addicted to toppling governments and abdicated any responsibility for what they're actually meant to be doing in a healthy society
November 12, 2025 at 12:31 PM
This whole Streeting vs Starmer story is such a Westminster bubble inanity from a bored media class that has gotten addicted to toppling governments and abdicated any responsibility for what they're actually meant to be doing in a healthy society
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
Labour continues to disappoint. They had a mandate to clear out the rot of the Tories, not carry out a watered down version of their mistaken policies.
🔴Keir Starmer’s Election Reforms Will Leave UK Politics Exposed to Dark Money and Foreign Interference, Warns Labour MP
The party’s former Shadow Democracy Minister said the Government was failing to take the bold steps required to eliminate foreign interference in our elections
The party’s former Shadow Democracy Minister said the Government was failing to take the bold steps required to eliminate foreign interference in our elections
Keir Starmer's Election Reforms Will Leave UK Politics Exposed to Dark Money and Foreign Interference, Warns Labour MP
The party's former Shadow Democracy Minister said the Government was failing to take the bold steps required to eliminate foreign interference in our elections
bylinetimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Labour continues to disappoint. They had a mandate to clear out the rot of the Tories, not carry out a watered down version of their mistaken policies.
So useful to have several estates off to which one can shuffle one’s inconvenient relatives. We should all have the wherewithal to do this.
October 31, 2025 at 7:17 PM
So useful to have several estates off to which one can shuffle one’s inconvenient relatives. We should all have the wherewithal to do this.
So the BBC needs two celebs with experience of handling sex scandals now Claud and Tess have stepped down. And Andy and Fergie are looking for jobs. Need I say more?
October 23, 2025 at 9:09 PM
So the BBC needs two celebs with experience of handling sex scandals now Claud and Tess have stepped down. And Andy and Fergie are looking for jobs. Need I say more?
If it’s just a case of “Take it on, see how it works out”, I’d be willing to be French Prime Minister for a couple of weeks.
I’ve got a French surname, if that helps.
I’ve got a French surname, if that helps.
October 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
If it’s just a case of “Take it on, see how it works out”, I’d be willing to be French Prime Minister for a couple of weeks.
I’ve got a French surname, if that helps.
I’ve got a French surname, if that helps.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
A Texas megachurch pastor and GOP leader has been arrested for crimes against children. Not Robert Morris, a different one. Not Josiah Anthony, a different one. Not Luke Cunningham, a different one. Not Tony Evans, a different one. Not Scott Crenshaw, a different one. Not Steve Lawson, a different o
October 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
A Texas megachurch pastor and GOP leader has been arrested for crimes against children. Not Robert Morris, a different one. Not Josiah Anthony, a different one. Not Luke Cunningham, a different one. Not Tony Evans, a different one. Not Scott Crenshaw, a different one. Not Steve Lawson, a different o
“The last time I checked it didn’t matter where you send people to.”
Kemi Badenoch asked where she would send the 150,000 people she says she would deport every year, replies that it's an "irrelevant question".
October 5, 2025 at 10:04 AM
“The last time I checked it didn’t matter where you send people to.”
Royal Parks closed?! What on earth will the imaginary migrants eat now?
Storm Amy live updates: London’s royal parks closed due to strong winds; Scotland hit by power cuts and travel disruption
Weather and flood warnings are in place across the UK and Ireland, where a man has been killed
www.theguardian.com
October 4, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Royal Parks closed?! What on earth will the imaginary migrants eat now?
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
I don't know when "I can code, so I can do anything" started, but it's a legitimate threat to civilisation and it needs to stop.
Bluesky, the comms platform run by tech nerds who stubbornly refuse to hire the comms staff they very obviously need
October 3, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I don't know when "I can code, so I can do anything" started, but it's a legitimate threat to civilisation and it needs to stop.
That surely must be Badenoch’s epitaph. In fact, it may appear on her gravestone: “The last time I checked, I was alive”.
October 3, 2025 at 1:00 PM
That surely must be Badenoch’s epitaph. In fact, it may appear on her gravestone: “The last time I checked, I was alive”.
Every time a man (usually a man) does something terrible and hateful (kills some people on a Manchester street, e.g.), news reports shout that this is Terrible and Hateful and Communities will Live In Fear… and then we wonder why horrible men (usually) go on doing these terrible and hateful things.
October 2, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Every time a man (usually a man) does something terrible and hateful (kills some people on a Manchester street, e.g.), news reports shout that this is Terrible and Hateful and Communities will Live In Fear… and then we wonder why horrible men (usually) go on doing these terrible and hateful things.
Reposted by Ben Plouviez
The "not take a penny in benefits" bullshit from Labour implies that if anything happens to you whilst you are here or you find yourself disabled, you can fuck off if you want to stay permanently. Even if you paid taxes for 9 years.
Rancid shit from a rancid party.
Rancid shit from a rancid party.
September 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The "not take a penny in benefits" bullshit from Labour implies that if anything happens to you whilst you are here or you find yourself disabled, you can fuck off if you want to stay permanently. Even if you paid taxes for 9 years.
Rancid shit from a rancid party.
Rancid shit from a rancid party.