Ben Eltham
@beneltham.bsky.social
Writer, journalist, researcher, trade unionist
Pinned
Ben Eltham
@beneltham.bsky.social
· Sep 8
RALLY TO SAVE MEANJIN
Thursday 11 Sep 9am
Outside the Melbourne University Publishing office, 715 Swanston St, Carlton.
A number of Australian writers and editors will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
Thursday 11 Sep 9am
Outside the Melbourne University Publishing office, 715 Swanston St, Carlton.
A number of Australian writers and editors will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
Reposted by Ben Eltham
"Thomas Hobbs writes about late Detroit beatmaker J Dilla’s unparalleled genius and how he inspired generation-after-generation of producers to move at their own pace."
J Dilla’s Music Will Always Sound Like the Future:
J Dilla’s Music Will Always Sound Like the Future:
J Dilla’s music will always sound like the future
On what would have been the late Detroit beatmaker’s 50th birthday, Thomas Hobbs writes about J Dilla’s unparalleled genius and how he inspired generation-after-generation of producers to move at their own pace
mixmag.net
November 11, 2025 at 6:45 AM
"Thomas Hobbs writes about late Detroit beatmaker J Dilla’s unparalleled genius and how he inspired generation-after-generation of producers to move at their own pace."
J Dilla’s Music Will Always Sound Like the Future:
J Dilla’s Music Will Always Sound Like the Future:
Yes, but what have they done for us lately
November 11, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Yes, but what have they done for us lately
Reposted by Ben Eltham
It's just been confirmed that Monash University is dropping Woodside as a partner because they don't align with their sustainable values. This is an incredible win for @stopwoodsidemonash.bsky.social who have run a dedicated grass roots campaign for years.
November 11, 2025 at 5:37 AM
It's just been confirmed that Monash University is dropping Woodside as a partner because they don't align with their sustainable values. This is an incredible win for @stopwoodsidemonash.bsky.social who have run a dedicated grass roots campaign for years.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Over the last 10 months, the federal government has cracked down on political expression with a persistence and viciousness reminiscent of some of the darkest periods of U.S. history. Welcome to the Third Red Scare.
The First Amendment Won’t Go Quietly
Welcome to the third Red Scare.
www.theatlantic.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Over the last 10 months, the federal government has cracked down on political expression with a persistence and viciousness reminiscent of some of the darkest periods of U.S. history. Welcome to the Third Red Scare.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Let go of what you can’t control so your hands can hold more snacks.
November 10, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Let go of what you can’t control so your hands can hold more snacks.
Nuclear waste reminds us that many new technologies simply never solve their safety issues
"New U.S. #nuclear boom begins with old, still-unsolved problem: Radioactive waste.
95,000 metric tons spent nuclear fuel (with a minority from weapons programs) sits temporarily stockpiled in water-filled pools or dry casks at 79 sites in 39 states."
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/09/n...
95,000 metric tons spent nuclear fuel (with a minority from weapons programs) sits temporarily stockpiled in water-filled pools or dry casks at 79 sites in 39 states."
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/09/n...
New U.S. nuclear power boom begins with old, still-unsolved problem: What to do with radioactive waste
As government and industry, from tech giants to utilities, commit to big nuclear power plants, there is still no clear solution for radioactive waste storage.
www.cnbc.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Nuclear waste reminds us that many new technologies simply never solve their safety issues
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Never used the phrase "cultural appropriation" before but, yeah: so you've worked out that dropping thousands of acres of data centre in the desert and draining the grid of electricity can help you create a totally pointless imitation of something of real cultural value... Well done tech bros!
November 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Never used the phrase "cultural appropriation" before but, yeah: so you've worked out that dropping thousands of acres of data centre in the desert and draining the grid of electricity can help you create a totally pointless imitation of something of real cultural value... Well done tech bros!
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Like ‘housing affordability’ ‘net zero’ has become one of those meaningless political sayings
Labors support for net zero hasn’t stopped them supporting new coal or gas or from spending billions on fossil fuel subsidies
My latest column on @thepointau.bsky.social
thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...
Labors support for net zero hasn’t stopped them supporting new coal or gas or from spending billions on fossil fuel subsidies
My latest column on @thepointau.bsky.social
thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...
Net Zero hides a truth the mining giants understand perfectly: nothing has to change
The point.com.au
thepoint.com.au
November 10, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Like ‘housing affordability’ ‘net zero’ has become one of those meaningless political sayings
Labors support for net zero hasn’t stopped them supporting new coal or gas or from spending billions on fossil fuel subsidies
My latest column on @thepointau.bsky.social
thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...
Labors support for net zero hasn’t stopped them supporting new coal or gas or from spending billions on fossil fuel subsidies
My latest column on @thepointau.bsky.social
thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...
Tamworth Council went to court to try and stop a wind farm. It didn’t go well. Tamworth Council argued that the wind turbines would be too big for local roads. The judge pointed out there is no approval needed to drive on a public road reneweconomy.com.au/youve-got-to...
reneweconomy.com.au
November 10, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Tamworth Council went to court to try and stop a wind farm. It didn’t go well. Tamworth Council argued that the wind turbines would be too big for local roads. The judge pointed out there is no approval needed to drive on a public road reneweconomy.com.au/youve-got-to...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
“they are very tricky, these neonazis”, says the minister, of nazis who <submitted a form under the Act for their nazi rally at Parliament House more than seven days prior as required by law>
November 9, 2025 at 8:54 PM
“they are very tricky, these neonazis”, says the minister, of nazis who <submitted a form under the Act for their nazi rally at Parliament House more than seven days prior as required by law>
Reposted by Ben Eltham
The AP tracked down details of some of the people killed in President Trump's military strikes on drug smugglers he describes as narco-terrorists.
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
November 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The AP tracked down details of some of the people killed in President Trump's military strikes on drug smugglers he describes as narco-terrorists.
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
Will it feature a mechanical eagle that eats his liver
A 450-foot Prometheus. A 500-foot George Washington. Tech investors are racing to build colossal monuments celebrating Western power.
America’s Tech Right Is Obsessed With Building Giant Statues
With proposals for a 450-foot statue of Prometheus on Alcatraz and a 650-foot George Washington, MAGA adherents are racing to build America’s largest statue.
bloom.bg
November 9, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Will it feature a mechanical eagle that eats his liver
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, started battering the country’s northeastern coast ahead of landfall on Sunday, knocking down power, forcing the evacuation of more than a million people.
More than a million people evacuate as Super Typhoon Fung-wong threatens the Philippines
Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, has started battering the country’s northeastern coast ahead of landfall.
bit.ly
November 9, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, started battering the country’s northeastern coast ahead of landfall on Sunday, knocking down power, forcing the evacuation of more than a million people.
Look I’m not one of those crazy Luddites or anything, but this does seem like it could be quite bad www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Australian man encouraged to murder his father by AI chatbot
Experts are calling for new regulations on artificial intelligence chatbots, after a triple j hack investigation uncovered a disturbing example of a chatbot encouraging a man to murder his father whil...
www.abc.net.au
November 9, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Look I’m not one of those crazy Luddites or anything, but this does seem like it could be quite bad www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
November 9, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Ben Eltham
'Inequality is not an accident of fate but the outcome of deliberate design — and therefore it can be redesigned.' Essential reading from @mrdtjames.bsky.social on the failed promise of fairness.
Australia’s biggest problem isn’t the next crisis — it’s the growing gap between those who sail through it and those who drown in it. If we can afford inequity, we can afford to fix it. www.thespencerstreetend.com.au/p/built-for-...
Built for Inequity
How Australia’s quiet architecture of policy and profit sustains disadvantage
www.thespencerstreetend.com.au
November 2, 2025 at 8:49 PM
'Inequality is not an accident of fate but the outcome of deliberate design — and therefore it can be redesigned.' Essential reading from @mrdtjames.bsky.social on the failed promise of fairness.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Edinburgh University is closing the Institute for Academic Development. Download these student resources while you can. Making notes, reading strategies, time management, dissertations and so on.
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
November 7, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Edinburgh University is closing the Institute for Academic Development. Download these student resources while you can. Making notes, reading strategies, time management, dissertations and so on.
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
“OpenAI is getting ready to run hat in hand to the taxpayer for subsidies.” After losing more than $13 billion this year, OpenAI officials are angling for a bailout. From @ryanlcooper.com:
trib.al/CUazMCQ
trib.al/CUazMCQ
OpenAI Is Maneuvering for a Government Bailout - The American Prospect
For artificial intelligence to ever pencil out, some truly enormous revenue streams will be required. And if you need trillions of dollars for data centers forever, there’s only one entity to turn to: Uncle Sam.
trib.al
November 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
“OpenAI is getting ready to run hat in hand to the taxpayer for subsidies.” After losing more than $13 billion this year, OpenAI officials are angling for a bailout. From @ryanlcooper.com:
trib.al/CUazMCQ
trib.al/CUazMCQ
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Just a little more gold and it will be perfect
November 8, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Just a little more gold and it will be perfect
What’s happening to British universities right now is a tragedy www.bbc.com/news/article...
University of Nottingham students fight 'insane' cull of courses
Traitors composer Sam Watts is among those against plans to cut University of Nottingham courses.
www.bbc.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:14 PM
What’s happening to British universities right now is a tragedy www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
'“Critics say” is the tell, and does it ever go on telling.'
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
'“Critics say” is the tell, and does it ever go on telling.'
Reposted by Ben Eltham
The fact that 30% of our stock market is wrapped up in “help-kids-kill-themselves” technology seems to be an important datapoint in the evolution of late stage capitalism.
ChatGPT advised a suicidal young woman on how to take her own life, telling her "If you choose death, I'm with you - till the end, without judging."
I wanted ChatGPT to help me. So why did it advise me how to kill myself?
ChatGPT wrote a woman a suicide note and another AI chatbot role-played sexual acts with children, BBC finds.
www.bbc.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 AM
The fact that 30% of our stock market is wrapped up in “help-kids-kill-themselves” technology seems to be an important datapoint in the evolution of late stage capitalism.
Reposted by Ben Eltham
The National Socialist Network held an antisemitic rally outside New South Wales Parliament today - astoundingly, it's emerged this afternoon that they did this with approval from NSW Police. www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...
Police allowed Nazi rally outside NSW parliament
More than 60 people attended Saturday morning’s rally after notifying police more than a week ago. The police commissioner said he had no idea it was going to happen.
www.smh.com.au
November 8, 2025 at 6:23 AM
The National Socialist Network held an antisemitic rally outside New South Wales Parliament today - astoundingly, it's emerged this afternoon that they did this with approval from NSW Police. www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...
Reposted by Ben Eltham
Are we invading Poland
November 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Are we invading Poland