Ben Eltham
@beneltham.bsky.social
Writer, journalist, researcher, trade unionist
You can/should read Emily Wilson's latest take on the Odyssey, but I'm logging on to convey my hairdresser's reaction. She was AGHAST that Nolan, with his million $ budget, gave Matt Damon ONLY 6 hair extensions. As a result, his hair did not blow around properly, & that ruined the film for her.
Very interesting review of “Saving Apartheid” by Augusta Dell’omo
Anti-Fascism and Far Right@ffrafaction.bsky.social · 8h agoWhat’s Really Behind the Far Right’s Obsession with South Africa? A new book looks at the roots of far-right obsessions with South Africa — and how they might be countered. inkstickmedia.com/trumps-south...
🚨Networks of bogus “news” pages are being used to spread vast amounts of pro-Hanson and One Nation propaganda on social media — as Hanson bans actual media. Pages aggressively spreading calculated disinformation in mass MAGA attack. Investigation 👇 theklaxon.com.au/i7z3
Sham pro-Hanson "news" pages flood social media – as One Nation bans actual news - The Klaxon
Networks of sham “news” pages on social media are being used to spread vast amounts of pro-Pauline Hanson and pro-One Nation propaganda — as Hanson bans actual media.
theklaxon.com.au
I see One Nation are opposed to the 15 Minute City. Makes sense, I prefer the old-fashioned 540 minute city you get on Punt Road
There’s very little evidence for this claim by the AFP, beyond their press conference. No charges have been laid
ABC News Australia@news.abc.net.au · yesterdayArson attack on Victorian defence manufacturer Lovitt Technologies investigated as ‘far-left terror’
Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.
I've never come across a rental listed by Harcourts that isn't mouldy. Also come join me on my live stream every Wednesday at 7pm AEST: www.twitch.tv/purplepingers 125 Blossom Park Drive, Mill Park VIC.
can’t believe our current all-ages literacy crisis is making me a little nostalgic for the pretentious “we publish experimental poetry chapbooks and have strong opinions on Melville and the 1800s fur trade” Literature Boys of my college years in the late 2000s/early 2010s.
Good old Sydney
Twitter Exile@twitter-exile.bsky.social · yesterday#PhillipBlair, an American anti-abortion preacher from #TorchOfChrist Ministries, boarded a packed Syd train at Martin Place & began lecturing passengers about sin, #jesus & unborn children. Commuters, led by #MalcolmFrawley (known as Book Man), repeatedly told him to shut up. #NoReligion #AUSPOL
War is profitable
Damian Carrington@dpcarrington.bsky.social · yesterdayBP profits more than double to $5.7bn in three months as Iran war sends oil prices soaring - "While BP banks enormous profits, millions of households are paying the price" #energycrisis #climatecrisis www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia It's been a year & people tell me they've changed their mind, feel safer now to sign, etc. So I'm sharing it again for them. We're almost at 2k & anybody from anywhere can add their names. openletter.earth/open-letter-...
getting tired of people on the left still launching substack newsletters after all the reporting on that company in recent years
Billionaire Merit Badges, by Ivan Ehlers, 2025, from TNY.
Truly startling - across swathes of England and Wales, dozens weather stations recorded ZERO rainfall in July, for the first time in their history www.newscientist.com/article/2583...
Parts of the UK endure first ever month without any rain | New Scientist
For the first time since records began, there was no rain at all for parts of southern England and Wales in July, in a “truly exceptional” month of heat and sunshine
newscientist.com
I don't think people are ready for this kind of joke yet.
Gas industry spin doctors love to explain to Australians why the gas export taxes seen in places like Norway and Qatar just wouldn't work here. The claims don't stand up to scrutiny. www.crikey.com.au/2026/08/04/g...
How do other countries tax gas?
Even though Norway and Qatar are fundamentally different countries than Australia, they do much better than us when it comes to converting gas exports into cash for their citizens.
crikey.com.au
'Social cohesion' is a dangerous phrase in Australian politics, writes Jeff Sparrow. www.deepcutnews.com/p/why-social...
Why 'social cohesion' is a dangerous phrase in Australian politics – Jeff Sparrow
The establishment loves this phrase. But as Ed Husic found out, imposing consensus from the top isn't democracy – it's erasure.
deepcutnews.com
Among people aged 65-69, there are an estimated 16,000 taxpayers with student loan debt, and 26,000 among those aged 60-64. www.crikey.com.au/2026/08/03/h...
A new generation of people are retiring with HECS/HELP debt. Expect more to join them
More and more people are beginning to retire while still owing repayments on their student loans. With higher course fees and bloated interest rate repayments, things will only get worse.
crikey.com.au
PHONy is holding a $120 fundraiser at The Tower Hotel (686 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East) tonight & some nogoodniks have turned up to say "Gidday!" www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
I see we've reached the point in this particular summer of extremes where we are now having to BLOW UP rocks in drought-striken rivers to help send water towards gasping nuclear power plants www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
South-eastern Europe faces heatwave energy crunch as Romania detonates Danube rock to increase water flow – Europe live
Explosives used to move a large rock and let more water flow to cool nuclear power plant
theguardian.com
"Why data centre greenwashing is about to explode” by climate analyst, @ketanjoshi.co Read the full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...
Something tells me Situational Awareness won't be the last big fund taken down by the crash in the KOSPI crash www.cnbc.com/2026/07/31/l...
How Leopold Aschenbrenner built a $45 billion AI hedge fund — and lost most of it in days
Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher-turned-hedge fund manager, saw a dramatic decline this week in his AI-focused fund, Situational Awareness.
cnbc.com
Last week I visited Tim Young at his farm in Norfolk. He and his family have been tracking the rainfall on their Norfolk farm since 1976, and the data shows the last six years have seen two-thirds the amount of rain compared with previous years. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘It’s too fast, too big’: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers
Drought and extreme heat are killing plants, driving up prices while also making some farms economically unviable
theguardian.com
"A worker who spends 2 hours commuting to sit on video calls with colleagues in other cities is not experiencing culture. That worker is experiencing theater.... many employees experience lost time, higher costs and lower autonomy." thehill.com/opinion/tech...
Return-to-office mandates are killing workplace trust
Attendance can be mandated. Commitment cannot. When leaders confuse the two, they do not rebuild workplace culture. They create a room full of people planning their exit.
thehill.com
Australia’s eSafety commissioner buried a report (released Friday afternoon) that shows the under 16 social media ban didn’t tangibly reduce teen social media use, and also resulted in parents tuning out of kids usage. We traded our privacy for no reason. theconversation.com/more-than-80...
More than 80% of kids still using social media despite ban, new eSafety report finds
The report provides more evidence Australia’s world-leading social media ban isn’t going to plan.
theconversation.com
I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
Lockdown people are so funny. They pull out their hair at the fact that schools were closed for five minutes, and then you ask them if they actually want to educate poor and minority children and they’re like of course not
Anger Over Data Centers Is Fueling a New Political Movement Justin Pearson, a Tennessee lawmaker, has become one of' the loudest voices amid a growing national backlash against the pollution and politics of America's Al buildout.
Anger Over Data Centers Is Fueling a New Political Movement
Justin Pearson, a Tennessee lawmaker, has become one of the loudest voices amid a growing national backlash against the pollution and politics of America's AI buildout.
politico.com
