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benbellows.bsky.social
Ben Bellows
@benbellows.bsky.social
3.2K followers 2.7K following 1K posts
Cofounder & CBO, Nivi Inc

A Michigan farm kid a long time ago. Husband, dad, researcher, neighbor, founder.

pubs: orcid.org/0000-0001-9205-6623

#UMich #Econ #PeaceCorps #Ecuador 🇪🇨 #CDC #UCBerkeley #Epi #PopCouncil #Kenya 🇰🇪 #Zambia 🇿🇲 #digitalhealth #AI
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benbellows.bsky.social
Wrapping up a really good week in Bogota and quick side trip to Zipaquira.
Mural of sellers on the outside wall of the Zipaquira municipal market Morning sun on a church in Zipaquira with a runner in red shirt in the foreground
November 9, 2025 at 12:21 AM
benbellows.bsky.social
Causal chain seems backward. Someone got a gold medal and then Apple has record setting financials 😒
October 31, 2025 at 1:17 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Did a rally in Takoma Park that had us protesters along a main avenue with traffic slowing to honk and show support. Not a difficult crowd for #NoKings, to be sure. Loads of support and good to catch up with the neighbors.
October 18, 2025 at 6:54 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Standing up for democracy on #NoKings October 18.
Two signs for an October 18 No Kings rally in the metropolitan DC area. Sign on the left reads "Protect democracy as fiercely as Mike Johnson protects pedophiles". Sign on the right reads "This was settled in 1776".
October 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
with credit to the post bsky.app/profile/drak...
The image is a stylized poster of a green frog wearing a red, white, and blue US flag cape, set against a two-tone background. The word “HOP” appears in bold, olive-green letters at the bottom, playing on the iconic Obama “HOPE” poster
October 13, 2025 at 12:52 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
A favorite moment last month on the farm.
Photo of a soybean field early morning in Michigan in mid September. Fog hangs over the low spots in the distance. Green woodlot in the background and pale blue morning sky
October 7, 2025 at 6:29 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Whereas 86Cruz sounds more like a dial-up service
2017 Twitter post by Yashar Ali (@yashar) displaying a screenshot of US Senator Ted Cruz's Twitter account likes including a favorite porn account. A scandal at the time.
October 1, 2025 at 8:43 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Seems wildly hypocritical, bordering on parasitic in the sense the GOP is weakening the body politic as it unjustly claims Democratic wins.

Screenshot from @heatmap.news Sept 8 newsletter
Screenshot from Heatmap's September 8 2025 newsletter with following text: Trump once called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act former President Joe Biden signed in 2021, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, “a loser for the U.S.A.” that “patriots will never forget.” Now he’s taking credit for the projects it’s funding. In recent months, signs have gone up around the U.S. bearing the president’s name on bridge projects in Connecticut and Maryland, rail-yard improvements in Seattle, Boston, and Philadelphia, and the replacement tunnel on an Amtrak route between Baltimore and Washington, according to The New York Times. “PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP” a sign by the road in southern Connecticut reads. “REBUILDING AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE.” Republicans had previously balked at similar signs bearing Biden’s name. As Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo wrote, “Senator Ted Cruz of Texas lodged a grievance with the Office of Special Counsel alleging Biden had violated the Hatch Act by using taxpayer dollars to pay for ‘nothing more than campaign yard signs.’” Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa (who recently announced her intention not to seek reelection after becoming a target of Trump supporters) gave the signs one of her monthly “squeal awards” last year, demanding to know how much they cost.
September 8, 2025 at 12:37 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Quote of the week in This Week In Africa

open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...
Screenshot of a tweet from Ken Opalo on X/Twitter quote posting "Europeans getting the 'African Summit' treatment, and not liking it." Ken is quote posting a tweet from David Adler showing a photo of European heads of state sitting semi-circle around the US President's desk. Europeans' faces visible to the camera, Trump just off camera. The tweet was selected as quote of the week in Jeffery Paller's newsletter This Week in Africa.
August 22, 2025 at 12:17 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Stanzas from Diponegoro by Chairil Anwar displayed in the Jakarta History Museum.

Written during Japanese occupation, the poem evoked historical struggle against colonization in a new drive for independence. “Maju” means to advance w/ determination, even at the cost of one’s life. Live free or die.
August 17, 2025 at 11:28 AM
benbellows.bsky.social
May 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Inspiring speakers at the Lincoln Memorial!

@standupforscience.bsky.social

And the signs are great 😊

“Vaccines cause adults”
Signs for the Stand Up For Science rally at Lincoln Memorial March 7. “Vaccines cause adults” and “we’re here to fund science not storm the Capitol” Sign at the Stand Up For Science rally “Keep rapists hands off of science” Francis Collins and a sign at Stand Up For Science rally that reads “An educated woman is dangerous for the oligarchy”
March 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
As the attacks on scientific advancement and institutions are felt, people are responding. I'm looking forward to the March 7th rallies.

bsky.app/profile/stan...
screenshot of a bluesky post from @standupforscience.bksy.social that reads "On March 7th, we’re Standing Up for Science— and against political censorship, autocracy, and fascism. Science stands at a crossroads. This is a wider fight for truth, for democracy, and for the future. We hope you join us."
March 2, 2025 at 7:04 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Quite the sunset this evening in the DMV
February 3, 2025 at 10:50 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Thank you @vanhollen.senate.gov for standing your ground at USAID!! No business in the Senate until Musk leaves DC.
February 3, 2025 at 6:08 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
The law has to come down hard on this reply guy.
February 3, 2025 at 2:51 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
There may be more than one
A screenshot of two Bluesky accounts labeled "Jim Stewartson, Antifascist" and "Jim Stewartson, counterinsur...". The text is cut off on the second account.
November 13, 2024 at 2:45 AM
benbellows.bsky.social
Early morning beach with blue sky in Grand Haven, Michigan. The light house and pier in the far distance.
August 31, 2024 at 10:49 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
Fun use of #NASA #landsat images to create words. Try spelling your name or your favorite microblogging website, ahem @bsky.app

landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/YourNam...
Collage of satellite derived images of land surface features that loosely appear as Roman letters
August 31, 2024 at 9:15 PM
benbellows.bsky.social
No, that's not how it's deployed nor recommended. We curate goal-oriented public health messaging on WA. No cost to individuals. Studies of behavioral messaging interventions show pop health impact. We run health campaigns. NLP used on backend content mgt

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
August 19, 2024 at 1:13 AM