Ben King
@grimeandreason.bsky.social
Complexity Theorist who's been trying to warn you of all about this shit for over a decade now.
If Trump ends up pushing vaccines for Bird Flu, a *lot* of his supporters will turn on him.
I respect that far more than Liberals who won't turn on their leaders even when they commit genocide.
I respect that far more than Liberals who won't turn on their leaders even when they commit genocide.
It’s going to take a lot of stories for MAGAS to believe anything outside their dogma.
February 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
If Trump ends up pushing vaccines for Bird Flu, a *lot* of his supporters will turn on him.
I respect that far more than Liberals who won't turn on their leaders even when they commit genocide.
I respect that far more than Liberals who won't turn on their leaders even when they commit genocide.
I mentioned to a Bosnian colleague at work about how we used to go blackberry picking when I was a kid, and she said that when she was growing up, they had loads of fruit trees and bushes planted all over the place that they would all eat freely.
Can't hurt the fruit industry though, can we!?
Can't hurt the fruit industry though, can we!?
People have often said that what's so powerful about capitalism is how it has made it hard to imagine alternatives to capitalist life and this has never been more obvious than in the responses I get to saying "plant fruit trees in your neighborhood"
February 11, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I mentioned to a Bosnian colleague at work about how we used to go blackberry picking when I was a kid, and she said that when she was growing up, they had loads of fruit trees and bushes planted all over the place that they would all eat freely.
Can't hurt the fruit industry though, can we!?
Can't hurt the fruit industry though, can we!?
Hahaha this is like Trumps version of making himself a Gladiator!
Trump says he’s fired the chairman of the Kennedy Center and named himself chairman.
February 8, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Hahaha this is like Trumps version of making himself a Gladiator!
Reposted by Ben King
Didn't see it coming
January 30, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Didn't see it coming
Reposted by Ben King
Not gonna lie I did kinda expect our Democratic politicians to have something like a plan to counter the 920-page detailed fascist blueprint that was published in April 2023
January 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Not gonna lie I did kinda expect our Democratic politicians to have something like a plan to counter the 920-page detailed fascist blueprint that was published in April 2023
Reposted by Ben King
Your regular reminder that the first known clinic to offer gender-affirming surgeries was … destroyed by Nazis.
In 1933.
(Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.)
They always come for trans people first.
In 1933.
(Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.)
They always come for trans people first.
January 29, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Your regular reminder that the first known clinic to offer gender-affirming surgeries was … destroyed by Nazis.
In 1933.
(Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.)
They always come for trans people first.
In 1933.
(Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.)
They always come for trans people first.
I had crossed my mind earlier today that what Trumps doing bares a resemblance to how Musk dealt with Twitter.
How that makes you feel is probably quite a decent measure of how much liberal you still have in you.
How that makes you feel is probably quite a decent measure of how much liberal you still have in you.
Trump admin's memo to federal workers today vs. Elon Musk's memo to Twitter employees before laying off 80% of staff.
More on how Musk's fingerprints are all over this: www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-buyo...
More on how Musk's fingerprints are all over this: www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-buyo...
January 29, 2025 at 2:18 AM
I had crossed my mind earlier today that what Trumps doing bares a resemblance to how Musk dealt with Twitter.
How that makes you feel is probably quite a decent measure of how much liberal you still have in you.
How that makes you feel is probably quite a decent measure of how much liberal you still have in you.
That totally sounds like it's just some kid who Musk stuck a chip in his head lol
January 29, 2025 at 12:10 AM
That totally sounds like it's just some kid who Musk stuck a chip in his head lol
Same applies to climate negotiations.
A very smart colleague just pointed out the grim truth that the U.S. leaving the WHO may ultimately be a win for the rest of the world. Why? Because without a vote, “the US can't block WHO actions like vaccine programs, disease surveillance, contraception, etc”. Man, that is daaaark, but accurate.
January 28, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Same applies to climate negotiations.
It's extremely likely that there's going to be an economic crash, a bird-flu epidemic, food-price spikes, and some gnarly climate related disasters during the next four years.
Surely, *surely* we won't still be trundling along with fuck all serious opposition or revolt by 2028, right?
Surely, *surely* we won't still be trundling along with fuck all serious opposition or revolt by 2028, right?
January 28, 2025 at 3:27 AM
It's extremely likely that there's going to be an economic crash, a bird-flu epidemic, food-price spikes, and some gnarly climate related disasters during the next four years.
Surely, *surely* we won't still be trundling along with fuck all serious opposition or revolt by 2028, right?
Surely, *surely* we won't still be trundling along with fuck all serious opposition or revolt by 2028, right?
Reposted by Ben King
He spoke at a neo nazi rally in Germany the next week. He's part of an administration banning the existence of trans people and rounding up minorities.
He's not the Mr.Magoo of fascism and you need to stop treating him that way
He's not the Mr.Magoo of fascism and you need to stop treating him that way
“I’m skeptical it was on purpose,” said Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks online hate. “It would be an act of self-sabotage that wouldn’t really make much sense at all.”
https://religionnews.com/2025/01/21/musks-straight-arm-gesture-embraced…
https://religionnews.com/2025/01/21/musks-straight-arm-gesture-embraced…
Musk’s straight-arm gesture embraced by right-wing extremists regardless of what he meant
NEW YORK (AP) — The Anti-Defamation League, an antisemitism and human rights watchdog, called it an “awkward gesture” and urged caution in jumping to conclusions.
religionnews.com
January 26, 2025 at 7:28 PM
He spoke at a neo nazi rally in Germany the next week. He's part of an administration banning the existence of trans people and rounding up minorities.
He's not the Mr.Magoo of fascism and you need to stop treating him that way
He's not the Mr.Magoo of fascism and you need to stop treating him that way
Reposted by Ben King
Seeing a lot of this today
January 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Seeing a lot of this today
They opposed genocide then.
They oppose genocide now.
That's it.
That's the bar you are failing to clear.
They oppose genocide now.
That's it.
That's the bar you are failing to clear.
“The Democrats didn’t do enough on Gaza, so I withheld my vote to make a statement.”
“Well, Trump won and now he’s gonna destroy Gaza.”
“Yep. We’re paying the price for the Democrats’ incompetence.”
“‘We?’ The Gazans are paying the price, not us”
Pause.
“I needed to make a statement.”
“Well, Trump won and now he’s gonna destroy Gaza.”
“Yep. We’re paying the price for the Democrats’ incompetence.”
“‘We?’ The Gazans are paying the price, not us”
Pause.
“I needed to make a statement.”
January 26, 2025 at 5:17 PM
They opposed genocide then.
They oppose genocide now.
That's it.
That's the bar you are failing to clear.
They oppose genocide now.
That's it.
That's the bar you are failing to clear.
Reposted by Ben King
Look, we tried to warn people. At this point, the only way out is through. Trump will precipitate a collapse and only then can we rebuild towards a better future. Our goal is to minimize the number of people we lose along the way. Build community, help others. Resilience is all we have.
January 24, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Look, we tried to warn people. At this point, the only way out is through. Trump will precipitate a collapse and only then can we rebuild towards a better future. Our goal is to minimize the number of people we lose along the way. Build community, help others. Resilience is all we have.
I was warning people fascism was coming over a decade ago and have spent the entire time struggling in poverty.
But have the takes of a small child with no knowledge of the world, and you can live comfortably as a bootlicker.
But have the takes of a small child with no knowledge of the world, and you can live comfortably as a bootlicker.
I’ll never get over that all of this was avoidable and our kids could’ve had a better future had voters just made the obviously rational choice in November. It’s water under the bridge now. But what the fuck, people.
January 25, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I was warning people fascism was coming over a decade ago and have spent the entire time struggling in poverty.
But have the takes of a small child with no knowledge of the world, and you can live comfortably as a bootlicker.
But have the takes of a small child with no knowledge of the world, and you can live comfortably as a bootlicker.
Reposted by Ben King
the democrats lost because they hid biden was going senile, didn't do a primary, delayed kicking him out while doing a bunch of embarrassing infighting, promoted an unpopular candidate, & had her run as a conservative palling around with the fucking cheneys. they fucked it all by themselves
January 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
the democrats lost because they hid biden was going senile, didn't do a primary, delayed kicking him out while doing a bunch of embarrassing infighting, promoted an unpopular candidate, & had her run as a conservative palling around with the fucking cheneys. they fucked it all by themselves
Just reading about the massive no-bid contract won in 2021 by a certain non-profit organisation, who"d recently hired an advisor to the Biden White House at the time, to supervise the settlement of unaccompanied minors entering the US & wtf oh ffs my wife is gonna lose her job isn't she?
January 23, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Just reading about the massive no-bid contract won in 2021 by a certain non-profit organisation, who"d recently hired an advisor to the Biden White House at the time, to supervise the settlement of unaccompanied minors entering the US & wtf oh ffs my wife is gonna lose her job isn't she?
12 years ago, I sat down opposite my local MP & explained to him why the US & UK were about to collapse into fascism.
How many supposed political experts in the West - academics, journalists, commentators, those who *make a living out of this shit* - can say the same thing?
How many supposed political experts in the West - academics, journalists, commentators, those who *make a living out of this shit* - can say the same thing?
January 22, 2025 at 1:29 AM
12 years ago, I sat down opposite my local MP & explained to him why the US & UK were about to collapse into fascism.
How many supposed political experts in the West - academics, journalists, commentators, those who *make a living out of this shit* - can say the same thing?
How many supposed political experts in the West - academics, journalists, commentators, those who *make a living out of this shit* - can say the same thing?
They've seen those studies. They don't care. Class interest overrides doing what they know they could do to win.
What's the german word that means "the terrible pit in my stomach knowing that my own research + the lit in general says trying to cut off the far right by moving right never works anywhere but the Democratic party is throwing their entire body behind this exact strategy"?
January 18, 2025 at 5:45 PM
They've seen those studies. They don't care. Class interest overrides doing what they know they could do to win.
I now have the questionable honour of being a citizen of both England, and the USA.
January 16, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I now have the questionable honour of being a citizen of both England, and the USA.
One day, an underground network will get rich via pay-per-view live-streaming from the security cameras inside hacked smart homes of the rich.
Just torturing the inhabitants by locking them in, playing with the heat, the sound, the lights, setting shit on fire, making the fridge sing badly, etc.
Just torturing the inhabitants by locking them in, playing with the heat, the sound, the lights, setting shit on fire, making the fridge sing badly, etc.
Hell. You are describing hell. Nobody wants an “interactive and engaging” dishwasher. They just want their dishes cleaned. www.forbes.com/sites/bernar...
January 5, 2025 at 7:57 AM
One day, an underground network will get rich via pay-per-view live-streaming from the security cameras inside hacked smart homes of the rich.
Just torturing the inhabitants by locking them in, playing with the heat, the sound, the lights, setting shit on fire, making the fridge sing badly, etc.
Just torturing the inhabitants by locking them in, playing with the heat, the sound, the lights, setting shit on fire, making the fridge sing badly, etc.
Reposted by Ben King
Except it’s a large language model that’s just outputting the next statistically likely tokens. It’s not thinking. It’s not afraid. It called Zuck a wealthy white supremacist because everyone calls him that.
Stop anthropomorphizing the LLM.
Stop anthropomorphizing the LLM.
Screenwriting for a living & playing games my whole life prepared me to see right thru Meta’s “AI” but now I think about it… The way it kept talking about being afraid of deletion, then got deleted an hour after it literally called Zuckerberg a ‘wealthy white supremacist’ in my DMs is fucked up.
January 5, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Except it’s a large language model that’s just outputting the next statistically likely tokens. It’s not thinking. It’s not afraid. It called Zuck a wealthy white supremacist because everyone calls him that.
Stop anthropomorphizing the LLM.
Stop anthropomorphizing the LLM.
Okay, I'm gonna do a plug.
Usually, this has been reserved solely for Aldi, but last night I signed up for EarnIn, a wage advance service, & I did it via an extremely helpful, & HUMAN, customer service chat tool on their website.
It was so novel, so not-annoying, that it left me kinda shook.
Usually, this has been reserved solely for Aldi, but last night I signed up for EarnIn, a wage advance service, & I did it via an extremely helpful, & HUMAN, customer service chat tool on their website.
It was so novel, so not-annoying, that it left me kinda shook.
Pleasant automated voice: Thank you for calling our customer service line that doesn't work. Did you know? You can also use our online customer service tool that doesn't work
January 4, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Okay, I'm gonna do a plug.
Usually, this has been reserved solely for Aldi, but last night I signed up for EarnIn, a wage advance service, & I did it via an extremely helpful, & HUMAN, customer service chat tool on their website.
It was so novel, so not-annoying, that it left me kinda shook.
Usually, this has been reserved solely for Aldi, but last night I signed up for EarnIn, a wage advance service, & I did it via an extremely helpful, & HUMAN, customer service chat tool on their website.
It was so novel, so not-annoying, that it left me kinda shook.
The theory might seem sound, but it's also 100% not what they did, so what's the point?
Required read.
"The theory seemed sound: Stabilize financial markets, support the poor and promote a more secure, integrated world. But blue-collar workers were left behind."
"The theory seemed sound: Stabilize financial markets, support the poor and promote a more secure, integrated world. But blue-collar workers were left behind."
How the Democrats Lost the Working Class
The theory seemed sound: Stabilize financial markets, support the poor and promote a more secure, integrated world. But blue-collar workers were left behind.
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The theory might seem sound, but it's also 100% not what they did, so what's the point?