Joe Williams
@joewilliamskent.bsky.social
Walkable cities. Climate. Making stuff. Archaeology. Fungi. Music. Kent. London. General leftiness. All this and more. (he/they)
2020s Twitter turned me into more of a lurker than a poster, but maybe that'll change here.
#Vegan #RejoinEU
2020s Twitter turned me into more of a lurker than a poster, but maybe that'll change here.
#Vegan #RejoinEU
Reposted by Joe Williams
Refugees have often smuggled valuables so that they aren’t completely destitute on arrival at their destination. Sewing coins or jewelry into clothing as a nest egg for starting a new life. This is deliberate impoverishment followed by complaints about dependence on state resources.
November 17, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Refugees have often smuggled valuables so that they aren’t completely destitute on arrival at their destination. Sewing coins or jewelry into clothing as a nest egg for starting a new life. This is deliberate impoverishment followed by complaints about dependence on state resources.
Reposted by Joe Williams
Labour policy is being celebrated by Tommy Robinson.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
November 16, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Labour policy is being celebrated by Tommy Robinson.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
That's it.
That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.
Reposted by Joe Williams
You cant parachute asylum seekers into deprived areas, in completely inappropriate housing, then say those migrants are 'dividing our country'. You divided the country because you can't organise a basic service and process claims in a timely way
November 16, 2025 at 9:28 AM
You cant parachute asylum seekers into deprived areas, in completely inappropriate housing, then say those migrants are 'dividing our country'. You divided the country because you can't organise a basic service and process claims in a timely way
Grog-tempered Oreos
oh wow that’s crazy
oreos with bits of
of oreos. in them
Real Bits of Oreos
oreos with bits of
of oreos. in them
Real Bits of Oreos
November 14, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Grog-tempered Oreos
Reposted by Joe Williams
Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.
November 12, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.
Reposted by Joe Williams
Our new newsletter is newsy: www.galleybeggar.co.uk/campaigns/vi...
Features glad tidings about this beauty:
Features glad tidings about this beauty:
November 12, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Our new newsletter is newsy: www.galleybeggar.co.uk/campaigns/vi...
Features glad tidings about this beauty:
Features glad tidings about this beauty:
Reposted by Joe Williams
"A distracted pedestrian might cause a minor inconvenience. A distracted driver, enabled by street design that encourages high speeds, can end a life. To treat these as equivalent is to ignore the fundamental physics of power and force." -Lanrick Bennett
An Open Letter to NPR: Our Streets Are No Accident
In a world where we are constantly seeking self-improvement, National Public Radio’s Life Kit positions itself as a friendly guide…
buff.ly
November 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
"A distracted pedestrian might cause a minor inconvenience. A distracted driver, enabled by street design that encourages high speeds, can end a life. To treat these as equivalent is to ignore the fundamental physics of power and force." -Lanrick Bennett
Idea for a new law: if you insist on telling your colleagues "it's nearly Christmas" during November, you don't get any replies to your emails until January. After all, it's *nearly* New Year already.
November 6, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Idea for a new law: if you insist on telling your colleagues "it's nearly Christmas" during November, you don't get any replies to your emails until January. After all, it's *nearly* New Year already.
Reposted by Joe Williams
I know we're only supposed to be celebrating today but the UK is still trash - our swing towards allowing transphobia as a 'protected belief' is now allowing racism to become one too. As was the plan all along.
A District Judge has cleared Tommy Robinson on a terror charge because he found Robinson had a protected belief. How does that pass the 5th limb of the Grainger test?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
![Grainger criteria
To qualify as a 'philosophical belief' under the Equality Act, the belief must satisfy the five criteria set out at para 24 in Grainger plc v Nicholson [2010] and mirrored in the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice 2011. These are that:
The belief must be genuinely held
The belief must not simply be an opinion or viewpoint based on the present state of information available
The belief must concern a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour
The belief must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance
The belief must be worthy of respect in a democratic society, not be incompatible with human dignity and not be in conflict with the fundamental rights of others.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:noqaydlcbia5upq6va2p2znw/bafkreidbknxirxpcidqg6kgd7ejugwdwzncsxcm7foh6wxc5rf5qbs6pny@jpeg)
November 5, 2025 at 8:33 AM
I know we're only supposed to be celebrating today but the UK is still trash - our swing towards allowing transphobia as a 'protected belief' is now allowing racism to become one too. As was the plan all along.
Reposted by Joe Williams
Remember how just a few years ago during the worst of the pandemic when we saw how the govt can actually do big things and saw that our collective health & well-being are intertwined, and then corporations got mad that they lost a modicum of power and helped fund a backlash of amnesia and fascism?
October 30, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Remember how just a few years ago during the worst of the pandemic when we saw how the govt can actually do big things and saw that our collective health & well-being are intertwined, and then corporations got mad that they lost a modicum of power and helped fund a backlash of amnesia and fascism?
Reposted by Joe Williams
Guillermo del Toro speaks for so many of us.
(Can this please become a meme?
Thank you very much. And fuck AI.)
(Can this please become a meme?
Thank you very much. And fuck AI.)
October 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Guillermo del Toro speaks for so many of us.
(Can this please become a meme?
Thank you very much. And fuck AI.)
(Can this please become a meme?
Thank you very much. And fuck AI.)
About bloody time. I rarely drive, but when I end up needing to hire a car for a trip I have to plan the itinerary around avoiding evening/night journeys - these horrible lights are the sole reason.
Car headlights to be reviewed after drivers complain of being 'blinded' at night
Concern over the glare from brighter headlamps is prompting the government to review vehicle design.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 28, 2025 at 10:27 AM
About bloody time. I rarely drive, but when I end up needing to hire a car for a trip I have to plan the itinerary around avoiding evening/night journeys - these horrible lights are the sole reason.
Reposted by Joe Williams
The incumbent govt can pretty much do what it likes and has plenty of time to do it yet every article about the rise of Reform makes it sound like some act of nature that the establishment is powerless to stop
October 28, 2025 at 8:09 AM
The incumbent govt can pretty much do what it likes and has plenty of time to do it yet every article about the rise of Reform makes it sound like some act of nature that the establishment is powerless to stop
Reposted by Joe Williams
Given the party's refusal to act on Pochin's brazen racism, it should be as socially unacceptable to vote for Reform as it was in the early 2000s to vote for the BNP.
And we should be prepared to say this to people's faces.
And we should be prepared to say this to people's faces.
October 28, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Given the party's refusal to act on Pochin's brazen racism, it should be as socially unacceptable to vote for Reform as it was in the early 2000s to vote for the BNP.
And we should be prepared to say this to people's faces.
And we should be prepared to say this to people's faces.
Reposted by Joe Williams
Just a quick reminder that I'm giving a FREE talk online for Warner Library, serving the town of Sleepy Hollow in the US, tomorrow night at 7pm EST / 11pm UK
I'll be discussing Scooby-Doo and folklore with a particular slant on the gothic and folk horror
Join me!
warnerlibrary.org/2025/09/29/z...
I'll be discussing Scooby-Doo and folklore with a particular slant on the gothic and folk horror
Join me!
warnerlibrary.org/2025/09/29/z...
Zoinks! The Spooky Folklore Behind Scooby-Doo (Zoom), 10/28 @ 7 PM
For over half a century, a gang of teens – Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy – and their dog, Scooby, have captivated audiences with their supernatural sleuthing, operating under the banner o…
warnerlibrary.org
October 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Just a quick reminder that I'm giving a FREE talk online for Warner Library, serving the town of Sleepy Hollow in the US, tomorrow night at 7pm EST / 11pm UK
I'll be discussing Scooby-Doo and folklore with a particular slant on the gothic and folk horror
Join me!
warnerlibrary.org/2025/09/29/z...
I'll be discussing Scooby-Doo and folklore with a particular slant on the gothic and folk horror
Join me!
warnerlibrary.org/2025/09/29/z...
"“Our strategy is based on the idea we can unify progressive voters around a ‘stop Reform’ campaign,” one [Labour] MP said."
That strategy seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line then.
That strategy seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line then.
Local election wipeout would see off Starmer, MPs say after Caerphilly rout
Crushing defeat in Welsh byelection triggers renewed outpouring of anger and concern within Labour
www.theguardian.com
October 25, 2025 at 8:20 AM
"“Our strategy is based on the idea we can unify progressive voters around a ‘stop Reform’ campaign,” one [Labour] MP said."
That strategy seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line then.
That strategy seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the line then.
Reposted by Joe Williams
It's incredible just how on the ball trans people were about those US think tanks influencing British politics, going to great length to detail all these links and connections, only for it to fall on deaf ears because of how aggressively trans people were frozen out and disenfranchised.
bittersweet seeing parts of the lethargic british press sluggishly get around to wondering if US far-right religious think tanks are working to influence british politics. they are, yes! it is not secret! do your jobs better!
October 19, 2025 at 11:42 AM
It's incredible just how on the ball trans people were about those US think tanks influencing British politics, going to great length to detail all these links and connections, only for it to fall on deaf ears because of how aggressively trans people were frozen out and disenfranchised.
Reposted by Joe Williams
The border between Cantwara rīce (Kingdom of the Kentish) & Sūþseaxna rīce (South Saxons) is still the border between the counties of Kent & Sussex
A 1,400 year old ditch created to stop conflict, by marking the border to avoid confusion, is our southern woodland boundary
A 1,400 year old ditch created to stop conflict, by marking the border to avoid confusion, is our southern woodland boundary
October 19, 2025 at 7:45 AM
The border between Cantwara rīce (Kingdom of the Kentish) & Sūþseaxna rīce (South Saxons) is still the border between the counties of Kent & Sussex
A 1,400 year old ditch created to stop conflict, by marking the border to avoid confusion, is our southern woodland boundary
A 1,400 year old ditch created to stop conflict, by marking the border to avoid confusion, is our southern woodland boundary
Reposted by Joe Williams
Suppose you could modify your dog’s brain so that he could do improv comedy. Would he still be your dog? Would you be obligated to attend his shows?
October 18, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Suppose you could modify your dog’s brain so that he could do improv comedy. Would he still be your dog? Would you be obligated to attend his shows?
I've been having fun over the last couple of days experimenting with Pagan (a music sequencer for Android developed by @quintinfsmith.bsky.social). Enjoying it even more after finding this "How do I..." FAQ in the documentation.
October 16, 2025 at 9:24 AM
I've been having fun over the last couple of days experimenting with Pagan (a music sequencer for Android developed by @quintinfsmith.bsky.social). Enjoying it even more after finding this "How do I..." FAQ in the documentation.
Reposted by Joe Williams
Seems Farage's big idea of Brexit was bought and paid for by Russia in order to weaken Britain and its allies. So why would anyone trust Farage to run the country in anyone's interest but the foreign billionaires who buy his services?
Revealed: Leave.EU campaign met Russian officials as many as 11 times around Brexit
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018...
Revealed: Leave.EU campaign met Russian officials as many as 11 times
Founder Arron Banks was offered lucrative deals in talks with the ambassador
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Seems Farage's big idea of Brexit was bought and paid for by Russia in order to weaken Britain and its allies. So why would anyone trust Farage to run the country in anyone's interest but the foreign billionaires who buy his services?
Reposted by Joe Williams
Growing up, the main bus in my town was every 10 minutes and always packed. I didn't worry about timetables I just left the house and knew it would be there. Now it's every half hour and completely deserted. This is no coincidence. Fund buses properly and people will use them.
October 13, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Growing up, the main bus in my town was every 10 minutes and always packed. I didn't worry about timetables I just left the house and knew it would be there. Now it's every half hour and completely deserted. This is no coincidence. Fund buses properly and people will use them.
Reposted by Joe Williams
We have let cars break our brains. Seriously.
A parish council in Oxford has refused to install a bench on a quiet side street in case people sit on it and get hit by a car
www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/2552131...
#motonormativity
@apiln.bsky.social
www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/2552131...
#motonormativity
@apiln.bsky.social
Proposed 'eyesore' bench causes outrage among community
Plans for a new artistic bench that have been two years in the making have caused outrage among residents in Botley near an Oxford Brookes campus.
www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk
October 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM
We have let cars break our brains. Seriously.
Mom says it's my turn to be the French prime minister.
October 6, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Mom says it's my turn to be the French prime minister.
Reposted by Joe Williams
Roaring denunciation for anyone stating publicly that the Palestinians are human beings with rights who shouldn’t be slaughtered with total impunity; polite applause for swearing friendship to the fascist government that’s been handing out machine guns to civilians, for use on its subject population
October 1, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Roaring denunciation for anyone stating publicly that the Palestinians are human beings with rights who shouldn’t be slaughtered with total impunity; polite applause for swearing friendship to the fascist government that’s been handing out machine guns to civilians, for use on its subject population