Ben
@benzross.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben
Bizarrely, this post ISN'T about BORIS Johnson...
“In the journalism world, Johnson is best known for leaving two publications in disgrace after his plagiarism was discovered, and for taking—inadvertently, he said—money from a Kremlin-backed media organization, and for being a hard partier, difficult boss and surreally dedicated self-promoter”
Before Benny Johnson positioned himself as devoted husband and heir apparent to Charlie Kirk, the former BuzzFeed journalist was partying hard with the same mainstream media he now denounces.
“There was a lot of sex happening. A psychoanalyst would have a field day.”
“There was a lot of sex happening. A psychoanalyst would have a field day.”
December 18, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Bizarrely, this post ISN'T about BORIS Johnson...
Ice, by Anna Kavan. A masterpiece, brutal, difficult to read, and every time I do, I discover a completely new book to the one I remember. (Oh. And the author's biography is extraordinary too.)
Italo Calvino, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. Every time I read it, it’s an engine of change. Historical contingency? The complexity of reading sources and/or translation? All alive there. A great re/read! 🗃️
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Ice, by Anna Kavan. A masterpiece, brutal, difficult to read, and every time I do, I discover a completely new book to the one I remember. (Oh. And the author's biography is extraordinary too.)
Have the Republicans won anything this cycle?!?
November 5, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Have the Republicans won anything this cycle?!?
Reposted by Ben
I wrote my own Charlie Kirk obituary, and about valuing truth over manners: www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning
The white Christian nationalist provocateur wasn't a promoter of civil discourse. He preached hate, bigotry, and division
www.thenation.com
September 12, 2025 at 8:42 PM
I wrote my own Charlie Kirk obituary, and about valuing truth over manners: www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Am I really to understand that there are people who believe that someone faked the birthday letter from Trump, and did such a bad job that they didn't use any of the publicly available examples of his signature, and this failure to do basic forgers due-diligence is what proves the fake? #trumpletter
September 9, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Am I really to understand that there are people who believe that someone faked the birthday letter from Trump, and did such a bad job that they didn't use any of the publicly available examples of his signature, and this failure to do basic forgers due-diligence is what proves the fake? #trumpletter
So, am I to understand that Republicans are claiming that someone faked the birthday letter and when they did so, that person didn't use one of the obviously very well-known signatures which Trump uses?
Imagine believing that.
Imagine believing that.
Rep. Garcia: Trump is now walking into his own lie. First he says that it doesn't exist. We've proven that wrong. Now the White House is trying to play clean up and say it's not his signature. Again, that's being proven to be a complete lie. So the question to Trump is, what are you hiding?
September 9, 2025 at 8:16 PM
So, am I to understand that Republicans are claiming that someone faked the birthday letter and when they did so, that person didn't use one of the obviously very well-known signatures which Trump uses?
Imagine believing that.
Imagine believing that.
Reposted by Ben
The Line We Crossed follows climate activists as they cross the line into civil disobedience. Through the experiences of those who stood in defiance, it traces the quiet unravelling of our protest rights, as the UK’s sweeping new anti-protest laws are enacted.
📆 23 Jul + Q&A bit.ly/TLWCbdh
📆 23 Jul + Q&A bit.ly/TLWCbdh
The Line We Crossed - Bertha DocHouse
The Line We Crossed follows climate activists as they cross the line into civil disobedience.
bit.ly
June 25, 2025 at 9:58 AM
The Line We Crossed follows climate activists as they cross the line into civil disobedience. Through the experiences of those who stood in defiance, it traces the quiet unravelling of our protest rights, as the UK’s sweeping new anti-protest laws are enacted.
📆 23 Jul + Q&A bit.ly/TLWCbdh
📆 23 Jul + Q&A bit.ly/TLWCbdh
Reposted by Ben
Make sure everyone you know sees this before Saturday.
June 11, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Make sure everyone you know sees this before Saturday.
Reposted by Ben
STATEMENT: 'Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out Against Transphobia'
Read the statement online here: tinyurl.com/mud7va29
Co-sign the statement, fill in this form: forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiSc...
Read the statement online here: tinyurl.com/mud7va29
Co-sign the statement, fill in this form: forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiSc...
Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out Against Transphobia
We call on all trans-inclusive feminist academics and educators to sign this statement:
‘Not In Our Name’
We are non-trans feminist academics and educators. We write in support of trans rights, tran...
forms.gle
April 30, 2025 at 7:25 AM
STATEMENT: 'Not In Our Name: Feminist Academics and Educators Speak Out Against Transphobia'
Read the statement online here: tinyurl.com/mud7va29
Co-sign the statement, fill in this form: forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiSc...
Read the statement online here: tinyurl.com/mud7va29
Co-sign the statement, fill in this form: forms.gle/oDYgnobrMiSc...
So, as I understand it, the UK Supreme Court's position is that if a board has a requirement to appoint 50% women and does so, if some of those women are trans women it won't have satisfied the requirement - even though nobody involved in the entire process could (legally) know the women were trans?
April 16, 2025 at 10:46 AM
So, as I understand it, the UK Supreme Court's position is that if a board has a requirement to appoint 50% women and does so, if some of those women are trans women it won't have satisfied the requirement - even though nobody involved in the entire process could (legally) know the women were trans?
Reposted by Ben
A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls.
April 13, 2025 at 7:05 AM
A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls.
Reposted by Ben
We have had nearly two decades of panic about Free Speech on Campus and not a single case, not even the ones they made up, were as bad as what's happening now
This is the text of the email just sent to hundreds of international students telling them that their visas have been revoked due to activism or social media posts.
March 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
We have had nearly two decades of panic about Free Speech on Campus and not a single case, not even the ones they made up, were as bad as what's happening now
Reposted by Ben
1/9 I stress that I’m writing this in a personal capacity, not as a representative of the University of Sussex.
It seems Lisa Nandy spoke too soon when stating that the culture wars are over.
It seems Lisa Nandy spoke too soon when stating that the culture wars are over.
March 26, 2025 at 8:33 PM
1/9 I stress that I’m writing this in a personal capacity, not as a representative of the University of Sussex.
It seems Lisa Nandy spoke too soon when stating that the culture wars are over.
It seems Lisa Nandy spoke too soon when stating that the culture wars are over.
Reposted by Ben
It’s only a War Plan™ if it comes from the War Room region of the Pentagon. Otherwise it’s just sparkling unclassified policy discussion.
March 26, 2025 at 1:48 PM
It’s only a War Plan™ if it comes from the War Room region of the Pentagon. Otherwise it’s just sparkling unclassified policy discussion.
Reposted by Ben
I’m just saying if they come here to our country and live in New York City, the greatest city in the world, they should learn to speak the goddamn language, which of course is the Umani dialect of the Algonquian language family
March 23, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I’m just saying if they come here to our country and live in New York City, the greatest city in the world, they should learn to speak the goddamn language, which of course is the Umani dialect of the Algonquian language family
This research looks solid enough, but the interpretations of it seem wildly off-base, lecturing the Left on how they need to move right. The Greens did historically well last election, and Labour, despite a landslide from FPTP, got a worryingly low vote share. 1/n
Today @moreincommonuk.bsky.social
releases a deep dive into Progressive Activists, the most liberal/left leaning segment of the public. It looks at who this highly engaged group are, what they believe but also why their approach maybe leading to backlash against progressive causes.
releases a deep dive into Progressive Activists, the most liberal/left leaning segment of the public. It looks at who this highly engaged group are, what they believe but also why their approach maybe leading to backlash against progressive causes.
February 20, 2025 at 8:14 PM
This research looks solid enough, but the interpretations of it seem wildly off-base, lecturing the Left on how they need to move right. The Greens did historically well last election, and Labour, despite a landslide from FPTP, got a worryingly low vote share. 1/n
Reposted by Ben
The most naive take on what is happening in America right now is that Trump is pursuing ‘his objective’ of shrinking the Federal Government. Anyone who thinks that is his true objective needs to put their thinking cap on and sit in a dark room for a very long time.
February 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
The most naive take on what is happening in America right now is that Trump is pursuing ‘his objective’ of shrinking the Federal Government. Anyone who thinks that is his true objective needs to put their thinking cap on and sit in a dark room for a very long time.
Reposted by Ben
The measles outbreak in Texas is reminding me of the public letter Roald Dahl wrote about losing his daughter to measles in 1962, just before the vaccine was publicly available.
February 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
The measles outbreak in Texas is reminding me of the public letter Roald Dahl wrote about losing his daughter to measles in 1962, just before the vaccine was publicly available.
Reposted by Ben
The quickest way to a man’s heart is to insert a needle between the xiphoid process and left costal margin at a 15-to-30-degree angle, directed towards the left shoulder
February 14, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The quickest way to a man’s heart is to insert a needle between the xiphoid process and left costal margin at a 15-to-30-degree angle, directed towards the left shoulder
Reposted by Ben
