Ben
@benfields.net
🇺🇸immigrant in LDN
recovering academic
Trying to understand humanity with data, music, libations
Might not be looking in the right places
–
currently: Head of Data @lakaHQ
previously: @bbc @futurelearn @funandplausible
cf https://assemblag.es/@alsothings
recovering academic
Trying to understand humanity with data, music, libations
Might not be looking in the right places
–
currently: Head of Data @lakaHQ
previously: @bbc @futurelearn @funandplausible
cf https://assemblag.es/@alsothings
Reposted by Ben
Autolabelling service that tells you if a poster needs a wellness check or if they are watching sport
November 30, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Autolabelling service that tells you if a poster needs a wellness check or if they are watching sport
Reposted by Ben
Under Mahmood's current proposals, presumably would have been deported to Czechoslovakia in 1945, when it was "safe" again.
R.I.P. Tom Stoppard, playwright most famous for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain at the age of eight. He later discovered all four of his grandparents had died in the Holocaust.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain at the age of eight. He later discovered all four of his grandparents had died in the Holocaust.
Sir Tom Stoppard, playwright famed for his wit and depth, dies at 88
Winning an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love, he captivated the hearts of audiences for more than six decades.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Under Mahmood's current proposals, presumably would have been deported to Czechoslovakia in 1945, when it was "safe" again.
Reposted by Ben
On @cancelmedaddy.bsky.social, we coined the term "Cancel Culture Grift Economy" to describe how this works.
Years ago, my colleagues at Business Insider and I tracked YouTuber “cancellation” arcs. What we found is that for many entertainers, “cancellation” actually sets the stage for a redemption arc, one that can raise their profile higher than ever. It wasn’t career-ending. It was fuel.
November 29, 2025 at 9:39 PM
On @cancelmedaddy.bsky.social, we coined the term "Cancel Culture Grift Economy" to describe how this works.
Reposted by Ben
Reposted by Ben
This is a fucking nightmare.
Vinay Prasad of the FDA claims that he has proof that 10 children died from COVID19 vaccines, so the FDA will now target flu shots, look at whether people should receive multiple vaccines at the same time, and make the vaccine approval process significantly more difficult.
FDA to impose strict new vaccine requirements, claiming child covid shot deaths
Vinay Prasad, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, said his team concluded that coronavirus shots were linked to children’s deaths, necessitating a new approach.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:21 PM
This is a fucking nightmare.
Reposted by Ben
Slop Evader is a tool from artist and researcher Tega Brain that lets you search the web for results exclusively before November 30, 2022—the day that ChatGPT was released to the public.
'Slop Evader' Lets You Surf the Web Like It’s 2022
Artist Tega Brain is fighting the internet’s enshittification by turning back the clock to before ChatGPT existed.
www.404media.co
November 26, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Slop Evader is a tool from artist and researcher Tega Brain that lets you search the web for results exclusively before November 30, 2022—the day that ChatGPT was released to the public.
is there any seasoning or sauce on any of this? Cranberry from a can can only do so much
Karoline Leavitt's Thanksgiving spread. Please dissect.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
November 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
is there any seasoning or sauce on any of this? Cranberry from a can can only do so much
Reposted by Ben
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org/p/a-dishonor...
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org/p/a-dishonor...
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org
November 29, 2025 at 4:26 AM
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org/p/a-dishonor...
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org/p/a-dishonor...
Reposted by Ben
Average folks kettled ICE
ICE still FROZEN at Centre St & Howard in lower Manhattan right now as calls continue circulating for people to join.
NYPD arriving with barricades.
NYPD arriving with barricades.
November 29, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Average folks kettled ICE
Reposted by Ben
these fucking guys
November 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
these fucking guys
Reposted by Ben
a few candidates have talked about this but any Dem planning to run in 2028 should make it explicit: the next DOJ will, in fact, go after you if you’re funding this awful ballroom, or any other pay to play deals you make with this administration
Dimon on why JPMorgan Chase is not funding WH Ballroom:
We have an issue, which is anything we do, since we do a lot of contracts with governments here and around the world, we have to be very careful how anything is perceived, and also how the next DOJ is going to deal with it.
We have an issue, which is anything we do, since we do a lot of contracts with governments here and around the world, we have to be very careful how anything is perceived, and also how the next DOJ is going to deal with it.
November 29, 2025 at 7:32 PM
a few candidates have talked about this but any Dem planning to run in 2028 should make it explicit: the next DOJ will, in fact, go after you if you’re funding this awful ballroom, or any other pay to play deals you make with this administration
Reposted by Ben
Thing is, we DID hear about it at his confirmation hearing.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Everyone should read this terrifying thread about Hegseth’s published views wrt war crimes. It’s pretty fucking radical …. We needed to hear about this in his confirmation hearing.
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
November 29, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Thing is, we DID hear about it at his confirmation hearing.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
Every single senator who voted to confirm Hegseth knew he held these views about the laws of war.
They voted to confirm him anyway.
semi-structured random walks are one of my favourite discovery methods, for basically any media type
yes. i encourage everyone to find ways to watch random movies you know nothing about at least some of the time as a sanity check on your taste and a guard against algorithmic nicheification. you might find stuff you really like!
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
November 29, 2025 at 7:38 PM
semi-structured random walks are one of my favourite discovery methods, for basically any media type
Reposted by Ben
yes. i encourage everyone to find ways to watch random movies you know nothing about at least some of the time as a sanity check on your taste and a guard against algorithmic nicheification. you might find stuff you really like!
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 29, 2025 at 7:35 PM
yes. i encourage everyone to find ways to watch random movies you know nothing about at least some of the time as a sanity check on your taste and a guard against algorithmic nicheification. you might find stuff you really like!
Reposted by Ben
chat are we cooked
November 29, 2025 at 3:42 PM
chat are we cooked
@profanity.accountant do my numbers please
November 29, 2025 at 6:12 PM
@profanity.accountant do my numbers please
Reposted by Ben
“Did an officer have a higher allegiance than the one to the Fuehrer? At Nuremberg dozens of generals excused their war crimes by answering in the negative. They had to obey orders, they said.”
- Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 603
- Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 603
November 25, 2025 at 12:15 AM
“Did an officer have a higher allegiance than the one to the Fuehrer? At Nuremberg dozens of generals excused their war crimes by answering in the negative. They had to obey orders, they said.”
- Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 603
- Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 603
Reposted by Ben
It’s tiresome and repetitive but I think it may be imperative every time fascism tells this fundamentally antisemitic lie that every Jew who knows even a bit of what’s what—I know a bit—says explicitly “this isn’t for me. It’s against me & everyone human.”
Statement from U.S. AG Pam Bondi:
“Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump Administration’s fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first…
“Today’s settlement marks another victory in the Trump Administration’s fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first…
November 29, 2025 at 12:50 PM
It’s tiresome and repetitive but I think it may be imperative every time fascism tells this fundamentally antisemitic lie that every Jew who knows even a bit of what’s what—I know a bit—says explicitly “this isn’t for me. It’s against me & everyone human.”
Reposted by Ben
The Singularitarian fantasists who want us to elevate machines to consciousness are not interested in the happiness of all beings.
They want to degrade the biological body to a mere vessel, one they can discard. It's bunk theology for men who believe they're too smart and special to die.
They want to degrade the biological body to a mere vessel, one they can discard. It's bunk theology for men who believe they're too smart and special to die.
November 26, 2025 at 3:58 AM
The Singularitarian fantasists who want us to elevate machines to consciousness are not interested in the happiness of all beings.
They want to degrade the biological body to a mere vessel, one they can discard. It's bunk theology for men who believe they're too smart and special to die.
They want to degrade the biological body to a mere vessel, one they can discard. It's bunk theology for men who believe they're too smart and special to die.
Reposted by Ben
these guys love a lab leak theory because they hate science
While Makary spreads bullshit about the origin of HIV.
(To be clear, this has been thoroughly investigated and fits neither the timing nor the molecular epidemiology of HIV).
(To be clear, this has been thoroughly investigated and fits neither the timing nor the molecular epidemiology of HIV).
November 29, 2025 at 10:15 AM
these guys love a lab leak theory because they hate science
Reposted by Ben
Hey @erinbiba.bsky.social I hope this finds you
November 29, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Hey @erinbiba.bsky.social I hope this finds you
Reposted by Ben
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
Reposted by Ben
November 28, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Some real Nuremberg shit from the SecDef
November 28, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Some real Nuremberg shit from the SecDef
Reposted by Ben
If you don't think this is just practice in their minds for what they're gonna do here to us when Trump is done building his bunker. Why do you think they're going after elected officials saying "don't follow illegal orders" They got lots more coming
November 28, 2025 at 7:14 PM
If you don't think this is just practice in their minds for what they're gonna do here to us when Trump is done building his bunker. Why do you think they're going after elected officials saying "don't follow illegal orders" They got lots more coming