Ben Eltham

We for one are reminded of this classic

Syria's Kurds caution Iran's Kurds against aligning with US against Tehran Kurdish residents of northeast ​Syria warned Iran's Kurds against aligning with the U.S. to fight the Iranian government, citing their own experience in Syria in recent ‌months as evidence their Irani...

Syria’s Kurds are warning their Iranian counterparts not to align with the US, saying Washington will eventually betray them and citing their own experience in the last few months as proof.

Almost 10,000 authors have come together to publish an empty book protesting the theft of books by tech companies to train AI models.

Titled Don’t Steal This Book, it is empty of text except the names of the authors involved.. 🧵

Thousands of authors publish ‘empty’ book in protest over AI using their work About 10,000 writers including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman join copyright campaign

We're handing out 1,000 free copies at London Book Fair over the next couple of days. If you’re there, pick up a copy!

A huge thank you to the thousands of authors involved.

Read more here: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

#DontStealThisBook

/end

Were not aprotagonist, we’re a belligerent

Is Australia at war? Legally, the answer is yes It's a reasonable question for Australians to ask given the government is sending a sophisticated reconnaissance plane — crewed by dozens of military personnel — to the Middle East. And legal experts ...

Yes, Australia is joining the war www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

Sure, although I’m not sure that referring to some undisclosed piece of paper really gets us out of some very tricky questions here

Westralia: an inevitable independence for WA or an ‘idiotic’ idea in a time of war? Authors of a new book argue secession could be a blueprint for eastern states but the government says it would leave WA with a weaker economy and no defence force

The latest harebrained WA secession strategy is being pushed by … Gigi Foster? www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

I say this every year, but:

The uni students I'm teaching are thoughtful, intelligent, will make everything they encounter better.

With a new addition for 2026:

They deeply hate AI.

Dramatic rise in water-related violence recorded since 2022 Experts say climate crisis, corruption and lack or misuse of infrastructure among factors driving water conflicts

As we witness the horror of attacks on desalination plants, we need to be aware, on a warming planet, conflict over water, using water as a weapon of war, & targeting people seeking water is on the rise

- in the past 4 years, it's nearly doubled:

share.google/p0PrSGiLMdz0...

I don’t quite understand your point here. The Australian sailors have been confirmed to be have been on the US sub. They were participants in naval combat

Saudi Aramco reducing output at two oilfields, two sources say Saudi oil giant Aramco has begun cutting ​output at two of ‌its oilfields, two sources said on Monday, after ​the vital Strait of ​Hormuz was choked by ⁠the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ​and subsequent attacks on ​the waterway.

Saudi Aramco reducing output at two oilfields, two sources say reut.rs/4bx8GZF

I’d imagine they poll at least 3-4%. They polled 5% last time

Rabobank on the unfolding worst case scenario:

Labor not running definitely helps Milthorpe

We could be seeing the emergence of an “Anyone but One Nation” vote here

Good times for Woodside too

BREAKING A strike targeting Bahrain's sprawling Al Ma'ameer oil facility has caused a fire at the complex along with material damage, state media reports.

Bahrain's state-owned energy company Bapco declares force majeure after waves of Iranian strikes targeted the country's energy installations

Palantir embedding staff in Defence and mining Australian data under contract with Trump-aligned company A Department of Defence contract for 'Industrial Intelligence Capability' obtained by Crikey is the first time that the nature and conditions of the controversial company's work with Australia has bee...

"The decision to rely on a US provider for sovereign defence work is something that unsettles many analysts" | Palantir embedding staff in Defence and mining Australian data under contract with Trump-aligned company www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/09/p... @openpolicy.bsky.social

Oil Jumps Most Since 2020 While Stocks Tumble as War Rages On

Always interesting to see the way the financial media reports these things … Bloomberg is headlining with “Oil up, stocks tumble, war rages on” www.bloomberg.com/news/live-bl...

This is your reminder that petrol does in fact have a use by date

Iranian journalist reports in front of the flames of a burning Oil depot.

Looking forward to Albanese explaining his support for the war when petrol hits $3/l

I get yelled at for saying this but for many hundreds of years people went to university not to get diplomas or be employable but because immersion in the humanities was considered foundational to a good life, and school must return to its original purpose: the joy of learning.

Welcome to the Garyneum, the 13 day period between the birthdays of Gary Numan and Gary Oldman.

"we will meet again in another life when we are both cats" back uppercase text above graffitti artwork of a black cat silhouette on a pearl-white painted brick wall - artist unknown

this lives forever rent-free in my head

2 orders

The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-lo...

🚨 'Edge was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-long project that cloaked eugenics, race science and sexual misconduct in Ivy League respectability' ⬇️
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...

👀

Significant milestone birthday. Spent it playing music with some old, old friends