Benedict Carey Lewis
@bclmacro.bsky.social
Purveyor of fine Interest rate derivatives to the discerning.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
I often think about how the government hounded Aaron Swartz to death for scraping Jstor, yet all these AI companies scraped almost literally all of human knowledge (and continue to do so even when they're told to stop) and have had no criminal consequences.
November 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I often think about how the government hounded Aaron Swartz to death for scraping Jstor, yet all these AI companies scraped almost literally all of human knowledge (and continue to do so even when they're told to stop) and have had no criminal consequences.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
November 8, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
TIL
Virginia does not have bars. It only allows restaurants, and 51% of sales must come from non-alcohol. But of course it has liberal gun laws....
The more I learn about it the USA, the more I cannot fathom how we ever thought this was a serious country.
Virginia does not have bars. It only allows restaurants, and 51% of sales must come from non-alcohol. But of course it has liberal gun laws....
The more I learn about it the USA, the more I cannot fathom how we ever thought this was a serious country.
November 8, 2025 at 8:02 AM
TIL
Virginia does not have bars. It only allows restaurants, and 51% of sales must come from non-alcohol. But of course it has liberal gun laws....
The more I learn about it the USA, the more I cannot fathom how we ever thought this was a serious country.
Virginia does not have bars. It only allows restaurants, and 51% of sales must come from non-alcohol. But of course it has liberal gun laws....
The more I learn about it the USA, the more I cannot fathom how we ever thought this was a serious country.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Violence baguettes violence.
November 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Violence baguettes violence.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
it's not fair that i have to pay alcohol duty on wine i cook with but i don't think i should be able to capture the evaporated ethanol for distillation and take it back to ocado for a refund
November 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM
it's not fair that i have to pay alcohol duty on wine i cook with but i don't think i should be able to capture the evaporated ethanol for distillation and take it back to ocado for a refund
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Notable in today's YouGov that the centre/left bloc - Lab/Green/LD/SNP are on 54%. With Reform/Tories on 43%. That's the biggest differential in a long time.
I think useful to track blocs given instability between parties at the moment.
I think useful to track blocs given instability between parties at the moment.
November 4, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Notable in today's YouGov that the centre/left bloc - Lab/Green/LD/SNP are on 54%. With Reform/Tories on 43%. That's the biggest differential in a long time.
I think useful to track blocs given instability between parties at the moment.
I think useful to track blocs given instability between parties at the moment.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
"Do you recognize that sandwich?" is an all-timer cross-examination question.
November 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM
"Do you recognize that sandwich?" is an all-timer cross-examination question.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20 he has no heart. If he is not an idiosyncratic mix of borrowed principles mostly based on disagreeing with whoever has annoyed him recently by the time he is 35 he has no head.
November 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20 he has no heart. If he is not an idiosyncratic mix of borrowed principles mostly based on disagreeing with whoever has annoyed him recently by the time he is 35 he has no head.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
anyway look I just think it would be really good for the country if Matt Goodwin was bullied until he cried every time he appeared on television - I think it would be good politics AND add to the gaiety of the nation.
November 2, 2025 at 1:05 PM
anyway look I just think it would be really good for the country if Matt Goodwin was bullied until he cried every time he appeared on television - I think it would be good politics AND add to the gaiety of the nation.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had 12 million quid.
He gave it to someone he’d never met,
For something he never did.
He had 12 million quid.
He gave it to someone he’d never met,
For something he never did.
October 18, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had 12 million quid.
He gave it to someone he’d never met,
For something he never did.
He had 12 million quid.
He gave it to someone he’d never met,
For something he never did.
Making getting enough money to live contingent on sickness and then being surprised when long term sickness increases....
Non-pensioner benefits have been stable (roughly between 4-5% of GDP) over many decades
on.ft.com/4hfE9kr
on.ft.com/4hfE9kr
October 15, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Making getting enough money to live contingent on sickness and then being surprised when long term sickness increases....
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
October 15, 2025 at 12:35 PM
There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Guess which ruling family of Europe passed up this opportunity and the chance for the greatest alternate history ever.
![In 1867, Alexander II of Russia had offered Johann the purchase of Russian Alaska, but he refused as he believed the territory was useless.[7][8]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:g5vb4ggu7lf22b52qqvb2bqc/bafkreih3ia5rufbb2adiapelrsjedcefbpdioieqao3e5joozbqnueu5dy@jpeg)
October 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Guess which ruling family of Europe passed up this opportunity and the chance for the greatest alternate history ever.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
On the centenary of Thatcher's birth, there have been predictable calls for a memorial to her memory. But Britain's 2300 food banks serve that purpose already.
October 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
On the centenary of Thatcher's birth, there have been predictable calls for a memorial to her memory. But Britain's 2300 food banks serve that purpose already.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
No, you don't gotta hand it to him for possibly getting the third Biden cease fire eight months late after tolerating a mass starvation campaign and demanding a little ethnic cleansing and enormous bribes as a treat, and only because Netanyahu surprise bombed the chief bribe facilitator.
October 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM
No, you don't gotta hand it to him for possibly getting the third Biden cease fire eight months late after tolerating a mass starvation campaign and demanding a little ethnic cleansing and enormous bribes as a treat, and only because Netanyahu surprise bombed the chief bribe facilitator.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Ah, happy 88th anniversary of the day Oswald Mosley tried to sell fascism to Liverpudlians – and someone concussed him with a brick
October 10, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Ah, happy 88th anniversary of the day Oswald Mosley tried to sell fascism to Liverpudlians – and someone concussed him with a brick
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
anyway this is a distraction, whoever she is she is undoubtedly well turned out
October 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
anyway this is a distraction, whoever she is she is undoubtedly well turned out
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
In her lunch with the FT the OnlyFans CEO says her company pays more tax than the entire British fishing industry. Quite a stat.
October 4, 2025 at 9:09 AM
In her lunch with the FT the OnlyFans CEO says her company pays more tax than the entire British fishing industry. Quite a stat.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Fundamentally, if you were designing a refugee policy that annoyed everyone, then I'm not sure you could do much worse than still accepting refugees but turning them into a permanently precarious underclass.
But I was told that Keir Starmer’s conference speech marked a pivot away from imitating Reform and towards a bold new liberal something! I WAS PROMISED!
on.ft.com/4mGqFPF
on.ft.com/4mGqFPF
UK to scrap right of refugees to seek permanent residency after 5 years
Policy comes as Keir Starmer seeks to toughen stance on immigration and fend off Reform UK
on.ft.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Fundamentally, if you were designing a refugee policy that annoyed everyone, then I'm not sure you could do much worse than still accepting refugees but turning them into a permanently precarious underclass.
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
Central Banking Before 1800: A Rehabilitation by Ulrich Bindseil
An excellent summary and exploration of early central banking. It takes as its starting place, the prevailing thesis by Goodhart that central banking really began around 1800 with the Bank of England and
An excellent summary and exploration of early central banking. It takes as its starting place, the prevailing thesis by Goodhart that central banking really began around 1800 with the Bank of England and
September 30, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Central Banking Before 1800: A Rehabilitation by Ulrich Bindseil
An excellent summary and exploration of early central banking. It takes as its starting place, the prevailing thesis by Goodhart that central banking really began around 1800 with the Bank of England and
An excellent summary and exploration of early central banking. It takes as its starting place, the prevailing thesis by Goodhart that central banking really began around 1800 with the Bank of England and
Reposted by Benedict Carey Lewis
The Epstein-Trump friendship lasted considerably longer than the Confederacy.
They’re destroying our history!
A statue of Trump and Epstein was removed from the National Mall by U.S. Park Police, despite a permit allowing it to remain until Sept. 28
September 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
The Epstein-Trump friendship lasted considerably longer than the Confederacy.