Ben Eltham

@beneltham.bsky.social

13385 Followers 2094 Following

Writer, journalist, researcher, trade unionist

Screenshot from the Interim Report of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. Large parts of the report are redacted
Drill scene from 'Pi'
In 2009, I was a Marine in Helmand province during the height of the shift to counterinsurgency operations. We were heavily armed and trained for violence, as Marines are expected to be. But when we encountered local Afghans, we took off our helmets. We removed our sunglasses. We put a hand over our hearts, we looked the Afghans in the eye and said Salaam Alekum, or “peace be upon you.” If the situation allowed, we sat down. We drank tea. We talked. This wasn’t weakness or wokeness. It was strength, discipline and strategy. We were still Marines. When it was time to fight, we did so decisively. But we also understood something essential: You cannot intimidate your way into lasting security. You cannot terrorize a population into cooperation. And you cannot claim moral authority if your posture communicates only contempt or fear.
Kym Beazley's "knowledge nation" diagram, 2001
What the front page of Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology looks like on my phone. An empty box with a blue border.
Table showing likely job losses if national cultural institutions are returned to 2022 staffing levels.
Transport workers meet to discuss how to extricate their long load from a suburban street, western Victoria
Elon Musk with Donald Trump at the White House, 11 February 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Junya Watanabe, photo: NYT