Benjamin
@thebenjaminpine.bsky.social
This feed is me trying not to rant into the void, and invariably failing. Bradford / Cambridge. he / him.
I wrote a thing!! That article is a thing I wrote!
The government has announced £31mn in bus funding for Cambridge
My first article for Varsity!!
www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
My first article for Varsity!!
www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
Gov declares £31m bus investment for Cambridge
The funding will be spread through three years and is part of a national package worth £3 billion
www.varsity.co.uk
December 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I wrote a thing!! That article is a thing I wrote!
The government has announced £31mn in bus funding for Cambridge
My first article for Varsity!!
www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
My first article for Varsity!!
www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
Gov declares £31m bus investment for Cambridge
The funding will be spread through three years and is part of a national package worth £3 billion
www.varsity.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The government has announced £31mn in bus funding for Cambridge
My first article for Varsity!!
www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
My first article for Varsity!!
www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
Oh my god
www.economist.com/britain/2025... new guy just dropped
December 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Oh my god
Crazy that my academically rigorous degree at an academically rigorous university is academically rigorous.
Who knew
Who knew
November 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Crazy that my academically rigorous degree at an academically rigorous university is academically rigorous.
Who knew
Who knew
@hhorton.bsky.social reports NPR might not get the go ahead until 2026.
Notable that it's Treasury officials blocking it, because of 'concerns about the cost'.
Of course delaying it further means this vital infrastructure will cost more when it is built in the end.
www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
Notable that it's Treasury officials blocking it, because of 'concerns about the cost'.
Of course delaying it further means this vital infrastructure will cost more when it is built in the end.
www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
www.itv.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
@hhorton.bsky.social reports NPR might not get the go ahead until 2026.
Notable that it's Treasury officials blocking it, because of 'concerns about the cost'.
Of course delaying it further means this vital infrastructure will cost more when it is built in the end.
www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
Notable that it's Treasury officials blocking it, because of 'concerns about the cost'.
Of course delaying it further means this vital infrastructure will cost more when it is built in the end.
www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
“A technology that can only see what has been shown hitherto is badly placed to render visible alternative futures”
is a banger of a line on AI, written in this piece by my sociology lecturer (and others)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
is a banger of a line on AI, written in this piece by my sociology lecturer (and others)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:18 PM
“A technology that can only see what has been shown hitherto is badly placed to render visible alternative futures”
is a banger of a line on AI, written in this piece by my sociology lecturer (and others)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
is a banger of a line on AI, written in this piece by my sociology lecturer (and others)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
BBC News - Dewsbury-Cleckheaton road improvements scaled back over cost
This is extremely frustrating.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This is extremely frustrating.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dewsbury-Cleckheaton road improvements scaled back over cost
A report suggests the costs of a road improvement project are scaled back by more than £4m.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 8:24 AM
BBC News - Dewsbury-Cleckheaton road improvements scaled back over cost
This is extremely frustrating.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This is extremely frustrating.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC reporting that NPR has been "delayed". Devastating but unsurprising.
It underpins Bradford's transport and wider regeneration plans - where will the new station go? Where will trams go? It all relies on NPR!
@faisalislam.bsky.social
It underpins Bradford's transport and wider regeneration plans - where will the new station go? Where will trams go? It all relies on NPR!
@faisalislam.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
BBC reporting that NPR has been "delayed". Devastating but unsurprising.
It underpins Bradford's transport and wider regeneration plans - where will the new station go? Where will trams go? It all relies on NPR!
@faisalislam.bsky.social
It underpins Bradford's transport and wider regeneration plans - where will the new station go? Where will trams go? It all relies on NPR!
@faisalislam.bsky.social
Kind of vibing with the new Politics Live format/graphics/studio.
September 23, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Kind of vibing with the new Politics Live format/graphics/studio.
A fascinating report.
“The European Court of Human Rights has only three times ruled that the UK’s immigration rules violate the ECHR in the past 45 years.”
“Suggestions that the ECtHR ‘hinders’ the UK’s efforts to control immigration, do not stand up to scrutiny.”
“The European Court of Human Rights has only three times ruled that the UK’s immigration rules violate the ECHR in the past 45 years.”
“Suggestions that the ECtHR ‘hinders’ the UK’s efforts to control immigration, do not stand up to scrutiny.”
NEW: An Oxford report warns that misleading media coverage is shaping public debate on immigration and human rights.
The study finds the ECHR is frequently misreported in deportation cases, fueling misconceptions that erode trust in the legal system.
🧵 [1/8]
The study finds the ECHR is frequently misreported in deportation cases, fueling misconceptions that erode trust in the legal system.
🧵 [1/8]
September 19, 2025 at 8:41 PM
A fascinating report.
“The European Court of Human Rights has only three times ruled that the UK’s immigration rules violate the ECHR in the past 45 years.”
“Suggestions that the ECtHR ‘hinders’ the UK’s efforts to control immigration, do not stand up to scrutiny.”
“The European Court of Human Rights has only three times ruled that the UK’s immigration rules violate the ECHR in the past 45 years.”
“Suggestions that the ECtHR ‘hinders’ the UK’s efforts to control immigration, do not stand up to scrutiny.”
I like to think this is how Thomas Hobbes would express his ideas if he was alive today
Whenever for a moment I think human beings might be rational creatures I board a train with everyone clinging around the door for dear life and not a soul down the aisles.
September 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I like to think this is how Thomas Hobbes would express his ideas if he was alive today
“I know the price of a pint in the various pubs around King's Cross and Euston that were thronged with protesters on their way home.”
A great piece.
A great piece.
superb column from @stephenkb.bsky.social
“racism does not diminish through rising GDP but through the willingness of politicians to argue against it….”
www.ft.com/content/fbbd...
“racism does not diminish through rising GDP but through the willingness of politicians to argue against it….”
www.ft.com/content/fbbd...
Starmer and Badenoch are handling the far-right march all wrong
A look back to the days of Enoch Powell suggests a better model
www.ft.com
September 15, 2025 at 2:51 PM
“I know the price of a pint in the various pubs around King's Cross and Euston that were thronged with protesters on their way home.”
A great piece.
A great piece.
Extraordinary that
(a) these papers reported the Trump admin's claim of "transgender ammunition" uncritically
and that (b) there will be no accountability now that it's been disproven.
(a) these papers reported the Trump admin's claim of "transgender ammunition" uncritically
and that (b) there will be no accountability now that it's been disproven.
September 13, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Extraordinary that
(a) these papers reported the Trump admin's claim of "transgender ammunition" uncritically
and that (b) there will be no accountability now that it's been disproven.
(a) these papers reported the Trump admin's claim of "transgender ammunition" uncritically
and that (b) there will be no accountability now that it's been disproven.
Great coverage on BBC News, anchored by Matthew Amroliwala.
September 9, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Great coverage on BBC News, anchored by Matthew Amroliwala.
Jeremy Bowen saying on BBC News that, if today's attack killed all the Hamas officials in Qatar, the one top Hamas official left is in Istanbul.
And if Israel is comfortable striking Qatar, what's stopping them bombing Turkey?
And if Israel is comfortable striking Qatar, what's stopping them bombing Turkey?
September 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Jeremy Bowen saying on BBC News that, if today's attack killed all the Hamas officials in Qatar, the one top Hamas official left is in Istanbul.
And if Israel is comfortable striking Qatar, what's stopping them bombing Turkey?
And if Israel is comfortable striking Qatar, what's stopping them bombing Turkey?
Hugely important piece injecting some facts into the “debate” about asylum seekers.
“‘As the father of a daughter ...’ is a familiar refrain from men in power.”
So, “racially motivated violence...can be committed without being named as harm, since it claims to be defensive.”
“‘As the father of a daughter ...’ is a familiar refrain from men in power.”
So, “racially motivated violence...can be committed without being named as harm, since it claims to be defensive.”
‘“As the father of a daughter ...” is a familiar refrain from men in positions of power. Starmer’s evasive response endorses the narrative that the mere presence of asylum-seeker hotels in a community endangers women and children.’
New on the blog from Helen Charman: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/se...
New on the blog from Helen Charman: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/se...
Helen Charman | Of Flags and Families
The new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said in May (in an interview with Michael Gove for the Spectator) that she has...
www.lrb.co.uk
September 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Hugely important piece injecting some facts into the “debate” about asylum seekers.
“‘As the father of a daughter ...’ is a familiar refrain from men in power.”
So, “racially motivated violence...can be committed without being named as harm, since it claims to be defensive.”
“‘As the father of a daughter ...’ is a familiar refrain from men in power.”
So, “racially motivated violence...can be committed without being named as harm, since it claims to be defensive.”
So many problems could be solved if the govt listened to Not Just Bikes, case #7583...
August 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
So many problems could be solved if the govt listened to Not Just Bikes, case #7583...
Asylum seekers' stories are often overlooked.
Khador Mohamed fled Somalia to escape terrorism, coming in a small boat.
He doesn't know what will happen when he has to leave the Bell Hotel after the recent court ruling, was locked in during protests, and has faced abuse
via The Times/Georgia Bates
Khador Mohamed fled Somalia to escape terrorism, coming in a small boat.
He doesn't know what will happen when he has to leave the Bell Hotel after the recent court ruling, was locked in during protests, and has faced abuse
via The Times/Georgia Bates
August 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Asylum seekers' stories are often overlooked.
Khador Mohamed fled Somalia to escape terrorism, coming in a small boat.
He doesn't know what will happen when he has to leave the Bell Hotel after the recent court ruling, was locked in during protests, and has faced abuse
via The Times/Georgia Bates
Khador Mohamed fled Somalia to escape terrorism, coming in a small boat.
He doesn't know what will happen when he has to leave the Bell Hotel after the recent court ruling, was locked in during protests, and has faced abuse
via The Times/Georgia Bates
“One transgender woman in her 70s...was worried about being no longer able to attend her women’s gardening club.”
This is the real world impact of the Supreme Court ruling.
This is the real world impact of the Supreme Court ruling.
Hundreds of people come to parliament for mass lobby to explain to MPs case for trans rights, @peterwalker99.bsky.social reports - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
June 25, 2025 at 9:00 PM
“One transgender woman in her 70s...was worried about being no longer able to attend her women’s gardening club.”
This is the real world impact of the Supreme Court ruling.
This is the real world impact of the Supreme Court ruling.
This is a great video about all those unnecessary AI popups...
And not just because my comment is in it 😅
And not just because my comment is in it 😅
June 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
This is a great video about all those unnecessary AI popups...
And not just because my comment is in it 😅
And not just because my comment is in it 😅
The world is meeting to negotiate a treaty on plastic pollution this week.
It's a vital discussion - and could be as significant as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
We must reduce plastic production. We can't let fossil fuel interests get in the way.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMQX...
It's a vital discussion - and could be as significant as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
We must reduce plastic production. We can't let fossil fuel interests get in the way.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMQX...
The next crisis is plastic
YouTube video by Simon Clark
m.youtube.com
November 25, 2024 at 8:57 PM
The world is meeting to negotiate a treaty on plastic pollution this week.
It's a vital discussion - and could be as significant as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
We must reduce plastic production. We can't let fossil fuel interests get in the way.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMQX...
It's a vital discussion - and could be as significant as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
We must reduce plastic production. We can't let fossil fuel interests get in the way.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMQX...
This piece is by Lee Cain of Tory WhatsApp fame but it's still quite interesting.
"Governments of all political persuasions can quickly feel more like a media rebuttal service as they allow themselves to be shaped by events rather than shaping them."
"Governments of all political persuasions can quickly feel more like a media rebuttal service as they allow themselves to be shaped by events rather than shaping them."
November 17, 2024 at 10:41 PM
This piece is by Lee Cain of Tory WhatsApp fame but it's still quite interesting.
"Governments of all political persuasions can quickly feel more like a media rebuttal service as they allow themselves to be shaped by events rather than shaping them."
"Governments of all political persuasions can quickly feel more like a media rebuttal service as they allow themselves to be shaped by events rather than shaping them."
Some pretty strong words from the UK Foreign Office on Israel's operation in the West Bank.
The BBC's James Landale suggests that, until the US speaks out, Israel will carry on regardless.
The BBC's James Landale suggests that, until the US speaks out, Israel will carry on regardless.
![We recognise Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
[…]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vjrypvhfi4zbi7l2wua6j22k/bafkreiglkthwonifswuoh5j66h6cerxydwld62zzwfq4zxzpmbkzlbhb3e@jpeg)
August 30, 2024 at 8:23 PM
Some pretty strong words from the UK Foreign Office on Israel's operation in the West Bank.
The BBC's James Landale suggests that, until the US speaks out, Israel will carry on regardless.
The BBC's James Landale suggests that, until the US speaks out, Israel will carry on regardless.
Palestinians are burning plastic to make fuel in Gaza.
Israeli restrictions mean that this is one of the only ways to get fuel to transport the injured and dead.
(via Al Jazeera, 🔗 aje.io/itr7vh?updat... )
Israeli restrictions mean that this is one of the only ways to get fuel to transport the injured and dead.
(via Al Jazeera, 🔗 aje.io/itr7vh?updat... )
‘Shattered sense of safety’ in Gaza as Israeli forces intensify attacks
Israeli attacks on Gaza, mainly in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, kill at least 20 people this morning.
aje.io
August 27, 2024 at 10:15 PM
Palestinians are burning plastic to make fuel in Gaza.
Israeli restrictions mean that this is one of the only ways to get fuel to transport the injured and dead.
(via Al Jazeera, 🔗 aje.io/itr7vh?updat... )
Israeli restrictions mean that this is one of the only ways to get fuel to transport the injured and dead.
(via Al Jazeera, 🔗 aje.io/itr7vh?updat... )
The government needs to [pass the bill for a new line] from Warrington to Yorkshire" - aka Northern Powerhouse Rail.
"[…]This is in addition to starting work on key elements like a new station in Bradford."
📄Juergen Maier's rail+transport review, commissioned by Labour.
"[…]This is in addition to starting work on key elements like a new station in Bradford."
📄Juergen Maier's rail+transport review, commissioned by Labour.
August 27, 2024 at 10:13 PM
The government needs to [pass the bill for a new line] from Warrington to Yorkshire" - aka Northern Powerhouse Rail.
"[…]This is in addition to starting work on key elements like a new station in Bradford."
📄Juergen Maier's rail+transport review, commissioned by Labour.
"[…]This is in addition to starting work on key elements like a new station in Bradford."
📄Juergen Maier's rail+transport review, commissioned by Labour.