jon ben-menachem
@jbenmenachem.com
criminalization, abolition, labor, politics, journalism—social science theory & methods too. sociology phd candidate @ columbia. @swcolumbia.bsky.social
Pinned
jon ben-menachem
@jbenmenachem.com
· Dec 8
Can speed cameras make streets safer? Quasi-experimental evidence from New York City | PNAS
Each year, approximately 40,000 people die in vehicle collisions in the United States,
generating $340 billion in economic costs. To make roads saf...
www.pnas.org
Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪
Are we really still doing cop training discourse
January 11, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Are we really still doing cop training discourse
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Chicagoans say police have violated both city and state laws prohibiting them from assisting immigration enforcement.
Chicago Residents Demand Investigation of Police Collaboration With ICE
Chicagoans say police have violated both city and state laws prohibiting them from assisting immigration enforcement.
buff.ly
January 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Chicagoans say police have violated both city and state laws prohibiting them from assisting immigration enforcement.
Well, perhaps the mayor can keep this in mind for the next round of budget negotiations
The MPD union, at least, has made it clear which side they are on.
This is the cost of DECADES of (everyone, everywhere) refusing to deal with the rising right-wing and white-nationalist involvement in policing.
This is the cost of DECADES of (everyone, everywhere) refusing to deal with the rising right-wing and white-nationalist involvement in policing.
January 10, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Well, perhaps the mayor can keep this in mind for the next round of budget negotiations
I feel like the dichotomy of home chef recipes is "We'll just brown half a stick of butter and add in some olive oil on top of there just in case" or "This recipe has 0g carb 0g fat and sooo tasty!"
January 10, 2026 at 7:49 PM
I feel like the dichotomy of home chef recipes is "We'll just brown half a stick of butter and add in some olive oil on top of there just in case" or "This recipe has 0g carb 0g fat and sooo tasty!"
Evergreen: If you know you hate someone’s writing, you can very easily block or mute them and even mute their name in your content settings. No need to tell me about how much you hate their work every time they post or publish
January 10, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Evergreen: If you know you hate someone’s writing, you can very easily block or mute them and even mute their name in your content settings. No need to tell me about how much you hate their work every time they post or publish
gender must be stopped
January 10, 2026 at 6:57 PM
gender must be stopped
:|
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says 29 people were arrested in downtown last night during a noise demonstration at a hotel reportedly housing ICE agents: "For those that are taking the bait and causing property damage or otherwise, there are consequences. We're holding the line here all the way."
January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PM
:|
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
I tried to turn my rage yesterday into something that brings us some light. For @newrepublic.com, I wrote about how 2020 prepared Minneapolis for the current crisis of Trump's DHS. newrepublic.com/article/2050...
Minneapolis Knows How to Resist This Violence
From George Floyd to Renee Good, the city has become all too familiar with fatal violence by law enforcement—and it knows exactly how to respond.
newrepublic.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:18 PM
I tried to turn my rage yesterday into something that brings us some light. For @newrepublic.com, I wrote about how 2020 prepared Minneapolis for the current crisis of Trump's DHS. newrepublic.com/article/2050...
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
hi! i would like to reup my request for ANY AND ALL PEOPLE FIGHTING DATA CENTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is [email protected]
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is [email protected]
January 9, 2026 at 5:33 PM
hi! i would like to reup my request for ANY AND ALL PEOPLE FIGHTING DATA CENTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is [email protected]
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is [email protected]
Not super familiar with this literature but I’d imagine the mechanism is just losing weight too quickly — the best way to preserve lean mass is a shallow deficit
+ approximately half of the weight loss while on GLP-1s is muscle and bone mass. The implications of muscle and bone mass loss for an aging population are considerable.
Many people who stop using weight loss drugs will return to their previous weight within two years, a new review of existing research has found. https://cnn.it/4jzMQHs
January 9, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Not super familiar with this literature but I’d imagine the mechanism is just losing weight too quickly — the best way to preserve lean mass is a shallow deficit
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
He's literally a firearms instructor for other goons. This is the training.
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social: "We have an ICE agent who should have been trained not to be in front of a vehicle and never to shoot into a moving vehicle, and yet this happened on [Kristi Noem's] watch. The whole POINT of Homeland Security is to make this country more stable and safe."
January 9, 2026 at 5:23 PM
He's literally a firearms instructor for other goons. This is the training.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
good point here: "By electing prosecutors less willing to confront police misconduct, two cities hit hard by ICE also found themselves with prosecutors less willing to stand up against ICE" slate.com/news-and-pol...
The FBI Is Already Obstructing the ICE Shooting Investigation. It Might Not Matter.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty can bring charges even without any arrest and is not one to back down from a case like this.
slate.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:51 PM
good point here: "By electing prosecutors less willing to confront police misconduct, two cities hit hard by ICE also found themselves with prosecutors less willing to stand up against ICE" slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Nearly 16,000 nurses in New York City are set to strike on Monday over safe staffing, workplace safety, health insurance benefits, and pay.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Thousands of New York City nurses set to strike amid contract disputes
Nearly 16,000 nurses to join union-led strike on Monday to demand large hospitals across NYC ‘put patients over profit’
www.theguardian.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Nearly 16,000 nurses in New York City are set to strike on Monday over safe staffing, workplace safety, health insurance benefits, and pay.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
:|
Mayor Mamdani confirms he was briefed on the two NYPD-involved shootings late last night, but says he didn't comment until this morning because he "wanted to make sure that everything that we shared with New Yorkers was the language that we wanted them to know about this."
January 9, 2026 at 4:24 PM
:|
Personally I am still trying to get my head around the fact that EWR constructed a new terminal but didn't actually link it to the AirTrain.
The EWR AirTrain isn’t serving NJT/Amtrak for 10 hours every weekday starting next week. Of course, it’s not during overnight hours when people aren’t trying to catch a flight. The daily shutdown starts precisely at the time of the first airport departure of the day. Disband the Port Authority.
January 9, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Personally I am still trying to get my head around the fact that EWR constructed a new terminal but didn't actually link it to the AirTrain.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Important context to "more/better training" arguments: the murder of Renée Good was a product of that training by someone who has trained others.
(I've seen same in civil rights cases; by moving where he did, he was intentionally generating a pretext to shoot her without genuine risk to himself.)
(I've seen same in civil rights cases; by moving where he did, he was intentionally generating a pretext to shoot her without genuine risk to himself.)
NEW: Jonathan Ross is former National Guard and Border Patrol and has been part of ICE's SWAT equivalent, a team leader overseeing FBI, ATF, and IRS agents, and a firearms instructor, according to testimony obtained by WIRED. This is from @hudsongiles.bsky.social and me:
ICE Agent Who Reportedly Shot Renee Good Was a Firearms Trainer, Per Testimony
Jonathan Ross told a federal court in December about his professional background, including “hundreds” of encounters with drivers during enforcement actions, according to testimony obtained by WIRED.
www.wired.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Important context to "more/better training" arguments: the murder of Renée Good was a product of that training by someone who has trained others.
(I've seen same in civil rights cases; by moving where he did, he was intentionally generating a pretext to shoot her without genuine risk to himself.)
(I've seen same in civil rights cases; by moving where he did, he was intentionally generating a pretext to shoot her without genuine risk to himself.)
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
+ approximately half of the weight loss while on GLP-1s is muscle and bone mass. The implications of muscle and bone mass loss for an aging population are considerable.
Many people who stop using weight loss drugs will return to their previous weight within two years, a new review of existing research has found. https://cnn.it/4jzMQHs
January 9, 2026 at 3:36 PM
+ approximately half of the weight loss while on GLP-1s is muscle and bone mass. The implications of muscle and bone mass loss for an aging population are considerable.
Yep, Claude Code is scary good.
“AI can only produce buggy code” is the new “AI can only draw deformed hands” btw, update your priors now so you don’t get caught massively offsides in the next six months.
January 9, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Yep, Claude Code is scary good.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
We are working to update this story as soon as possible, but here is the info we have:
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/01/portland-police-responding-to-report-of-shooting-by-federal-immigration-agent.html
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/01/portland-police-responding-to-report-of-shooting-by-federal-immigration-agent.html
Portland police responding to report of shooting by federal immigration agent
The report prompted Portland City Council to pause a public meeting.
www.oregonlive.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:43 PM
We are working to update this story as soon as possible, but here is the info we have:
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/01/portland-police-responding-to-report-of-shooting-by-federal-immigration-agent.html
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/01/portland-police-responding-to-report-of-shooting-by-federal-immigration-agent.html
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
The murderer’s name is Jonathan Ross. www.startribune.com/ice-agent-wh...
Star Tribune identifies ICE agent who fatally shot woman in Minneapolis
Jonathan Ross was dragged in a separate incident last year by a fleeing driver, according to court records.
www.startribune.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:07 PM
The murderer’s name is Jonathan Ross. www.startribune.com/ice-agent-wh...
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
The cop subreddits are in near agreement that the ICE officer was in the wrong, saying he put himself in a situation he shouldn’t and firing at a moving vehicle endangered other agents and bystanders.
Rightwingers on hellsite have all closed ranks around “don’t resist” and “people saying this murder was murder are doing incitement”
It honestly feels like that entire website functions for controlled opposition now but we also see bursts of similar nonsense rhetoric adopted everywhere so who knows
It honestly feels like that entire website functions for controlled opposition now but we also see bursts of similar nonsense rhetoric adopted everywhere so who knows
January 8, 2026 at 6:47 PM
The cop subreddits are in near agreement that the ICE officer was in the wrong, saying he put himself in a situation he shouldn’t and firing at a moving vehicle endangered other agents and bystanders.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Eleven American Samoans in Alaska face serious prison time for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. Theirs is a wild story of colonialism, cops, “voter fraud” panic, small-town beef, and family. I spent months on this + am so glad to now be able to share it: boltsmag.org/prosecuted-f...
Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It - Bolts
In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public official...
boltsmag.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Eleven American Samoans in Alaska face serious prison time for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. Theirs is a wild story of colonialism, cops, “voter fraud” panic, small-town beef, and family. I spent months on this + am so glad to now be able to share it: boltsmag.org/prosecuted-f...
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
The person who was shot in the face here is a local organizer who has been very active in the Movement for Black lives.
January 8, 2026 at 5:53 PM
The person who was shot in the face here is a local organizer who has been very active in the Movement for Black lives.