Ben
chobenjamin.bsky.social
Ben
@chobenjamin.bsky.social
Housing
Reposted by Ben
BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.
August 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
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Someone forgot to take down this webpage:

www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/v...
August 11, 2025 at 2:22 AM
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After mismanaging the MTA for 10+ years as Governor, Andrew Cuomo would now like to mismanage it as Mayor.
July 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
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An 82 year old congresswoman (who made headlines when she fell down the stairs in January) is clowning on Hakeem Jeffries' lame photo opp
July 3, 2025 at 1:11 AM
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but what do you really think brad lander hellgatenyc.com/brad-lander-...
June 28, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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This is a Hall of Fame reader comment on a very reactionary op-ed about Zohran Mamdani's victory that was published in my local paper today.
June 25, 2025 at 7:31 PM
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Atlanta’s Mayor Dickens declares himself to be in the Newsom wing of Dem Party supporting physical expulsion of homeless folks.

It’s a (not) proud tradition in Atlanta, where homeless folks were put on buses to get them out of town before 96 Olympics.

And he’ll get lots of support for this take.
“We want to make sure those unsheltered individuals don’t come anywhere downtown, and throughout the city of Atlanta, not just during the World Cup, but now"
-- Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens

Sounds a little harsh, man.

www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...
Atlanta plan to remove homeless in downtown Atlanta could bring arrests, judge says
Atlanta is scrambling to create housing for homeless people before the World Cup arrives, but a judge says the plan could lead to some arrests of homeless people.
www.ajc.com
June 21, 2025 at 9:45 PM
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live from the huge spontaneous anti-ICE protest after the agency used military-style tactics during a series of raids in Los Angeles today.
June 7, 2025 at 1:54 AM
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Opposing Andrew Cuomo is a non-negotiable for our membership. In light of today’s news that Jessica Ramos has endorsed Cuomo, our New York City CAP Council immediately voted to unendorse her on our ballots. @uawregion9a.bsky.social
region9a.uaw.org/news/NYCMayo...
June 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
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incredible lack of self-awareness from Pinker here
May 23, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman welcomed to Columbia College's graduation ceremony with sustained jeers and boos.

Minutes later, students break out in loud chants of "Free Mahmoud":
May 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM
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Meanwhile in Atlanta, an anti-homeless person vigilante attacks personal shelters.

Wondering how long Mayor, Governor, and AG will take to condemn attack on others’ property as they did so aggressively during #CopCity protests? When will *this* arrest be made?
Coalition calls for arrest of man seen tearing up tents at homeless encampment
Activists are calling for police to immediately arrest a man, they said is Davinci Barcelo, the CEO of Sweet Auburn Frontline Enforcement.
www.atlantanewsfirst.com
March 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
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Here's video of Steve Bannon doing a Sieg Heil today at CPAC. It is what it is and it's what Bannon intended. Don't let yourself be gaslit.
February 21, 2025 at 3:54 AM
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At protest against DOGE, Congressman Glenn Ivey tells NIH workers facing mass layoffs, "We're gonna make Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker of the House in two years, right?"
February 20, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Ben
The administration plans to lay off at least 40% of workers at FHA, the agency that provides mortgage insurance on loans for people who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for one. HUD, the parent agency of FHA, will discharge 50% of its workforce as well.

news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
Federal Mortgage Insurer to Lay Off Nearly Half Its Workforce
The Trump administration is planning to lay off at least 40% of the workers at the federal agency that provides mortgage insurance on loans for people who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for one, according...
news.bloomberglaw.com
February 18, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Reposted by Ben
NEW: Georgia’s governor promotes his Medicaid work requirement as a national model for reform.

Yet the program has cost taxpayers $86M, three-quarters of which has gone to consultants, and enrolled less than 3% of the quarter-million Georgians eligible.
Georgia Touts Its Medicaid Experiment as a Success. The Numbers Tell a Different Story.
Only 6,500 participants have enrolled in a program that has cost taxpayers more than $86 million — a warning for other states looking to impose restrictions on Medicaid in a second Trump presidency.
propub.li
February 19, 2025 at 12:15 PM
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Quite an exchange here between Judge Reyes and DOJ attorney on how "pronoun usage" affects military readiness.
February 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
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In Georgia, a mom facing eviction reached out to DFCS for help. They offered her nothing. Soon the agency took her kids away because of "inadequate housing."

The state then paid *$6,200 a month* to house her kids in foster care.

One of the most important and infuriating stories I read this year:
When Families Need Housing, Georgia Will Pay for Foster Care Rather Than Provide Assistance
In more than 700 cases over five years, Georgia reported inadequate housing as the sole reason for taking a child into foster care, a WABE and ProPublica analysis found. Advocates say it would be chea...
www.propublica.org
December 30, 2024 at 8:02 PM
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White House releases new data estimating the impacts of landlord joint price fixing (via algorithm) on rental prices in major cities, showing a pretty large impact in places like Atlanta: www.axios.com/2024/12/17/r...
December 18, 2024 at 12:01 AM
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“The union has demanded a $2 hourly raise in their first year of the contract, followed by $1.50 per hour raise in each of the second and third years.

Strand Books' management has offered 50 cents less for each year, according to Bermeo.”
Workers go on strike at NYC's iconic Strand Books, ask owners to pay more than minimum wage
The 110 employees manage the Strand's famous "18 miles of books."
gothamist.com
December 8, 2024 at 11:45 PM
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6 hours under martial law: a drunk scene report from Seoul www.theverge.com/24312920/mar...
6 hours under martial law in Seoul
On the ground from the protests outside the National Assembly building
www.theverge.com
December 4, 2024 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by Ben
Democratic Party aides are shown spraying fire extinguishers at the infiltrating army to keep them back.

I just want to add that I am a South Korean citizen and Seoul resident and I am *extremely* proud of South Korean democracy and this president has violated something I hold sacrosanct
December 3, 2024 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Ben
South Korean citizens helped lawmakers scale the National Assembly walls so they could bypass military barricades and vote against martial law.
December 3, 2024 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Ben
Incredible courage of South Koreans defending their parliament from President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt to overthrow democracy.
December 3, 2024 at 4:08 PM