John Munro
banner
johnmunro.bsky.social
John Munro
@johnmunro.bsky.social
Pedestrian Historian.
Imperialism Syllabus: http://tinyurl.com/ev4psh98
The Anticolonial Front: http://tinyurl.com/33d3exca.
Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/ykp7r5a9.
Pinned
In 2017 I started taking photos of books I've been reading: to keep a kind of record for myself and to celebrate books, authors, ideas, and pedestrian interaction with one's surroundings.
This and also the Labour-interfering-in-the-police-decision-to-keep-the-people-of-Birmingham-safe-from-racist-football-hooligans story....
the fun thing about the BBC story is that I can't actually read about it for more than couple of minutes at a time because it makes me feel too insane :)
The worst you can accuse Panorama of doing is making a misleading edit – and I’d dispute that! – to make *a point that was true*.

The programme aired without anyone seeing any issues with the edit. It was on iPlayer for a year without complaints. Donald Trump *did* incite Jan 6th.
November 11, 2025 at 10:36 AM
All the more reason to defend our communities against these vanity tanks with infrastructural intervention to keep them out of our streets.
November 11, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Public transport in Birmingham is lamentable, cycling is too dangerous for many by design, and our streets have been surrendered to speeding cars and gridlocked traffic.

The saddest thing is that, as other cities have shown, it's not that difficult or expensive to fix this.
Fun* update: bus subcontractor lost the contract, new contractor has taken over line but changed the time table so that now if I want to get to campus for 9am on a bus I have to leave my house at 7.30. I live 4 miles from work. #BrumIsBroken
joy: get to my bus stop, check the bus tracker & find my commuting route literally no longer exists. Number reassigned, no timetables, zero warning or information. I fucking hate Birmingham’s crappy underfunded infrastructure sometimes. It makes it hard to live here & there’s zero accountability 😔
November 11, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Mayors play a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis.

By reclaiming public space from the private property of cars, mayors can cut pollution, revive civic interaction, enhance public safety, and expand green space.

But only if they're willing to take on entrenched interests.
“Globally, despite extreme heat, floods and devastating wildfires, populist leaders, some sceptical but others in outright denial about the science, are talking up the costs of action rather than the consequences of inaction.”

6 global mayors defying climate denying populists
‘Politicians actually taking action’: six world mayors defying climate-sceptic populist leaders
From Sierra Leone to Milan, cities are crafting their own rules and innovations in the face of rising temperatures
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by John Munro
I’m old enough to remember when the Director General of the BBC categorically didn’t resign after one of its flagship politics shows literally photoshopped Jeremy Corbyn with a Soviet hat and painted red with the Kremlin in the background like some kind of Cold War-era communist mural.
November 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
An absolute outrage.

Lisa Nandy interfered in a police operations decision and lied about it in an attempt to subject the people of Birmingham to rampaging racist football hooligans with a well established track record of violence, as part of this government's support for genocide in Palestine.
The truth about Israeli club fan ban at Villa game
An eight page report, kept quiet by West Midlands Police, explains why they pressed for an away fans ban for the game between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Reposted by John Munro
It’s not just about what you remove (cars, noise, dirty air). It’s about what you add (people walking, a lot of bike parking, trees, outdoor dining, and room for kids to play safely). Amsterdam: 1986 and today.

Streets for people.

HT @hackneycyclist.bsky.social for the great before-and-after
November 11, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Labour's lies were an insult to West Midlands Police.

But more important, their intent was to put the people of Birmingham in harm's way.

And I hope the people of this city never forget it.
Left: Lewis Gooddall challenges Lisa Nandy over her lies in parliament over Maccabi, she doubles down on her lies

Right: The police advice confirming Lisa Nandy lied

Keir Starmer, Shabana Mahmood and Lisa Nandy, all told the same lie, they conflated public safety with antisemitism
November 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
"...a past that can never quite be forgotten."

Indeed. Find time in your day to read this, and think about it.
November 10, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by John Munro
Meaning of a white poppy and white poppy symbolism as Zack Polanski wears one
www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2131...
Meaning of a white poppy and white poppy symbolism as Zack Polanski wears one
Green party leader Zack Polanski was seen sporting a white poppy alongside a red one for Remembrance Sunday today - but what does a white poppy mean?
www.express.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Nathaniel Adam Tobias C̶o̶l̶e̶m̶a̶n̶ is such a mesmerizing lecturer. Listen in for their remarks on "Olaudah Equiano, Ottobah Cugoano, and David Lammy."
Launching the theme for UK LGBT+ History Month 2025
YouTube video by Schools OUT
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Another day of relentless violence against pedestrians in Birmingham.
We hope that the little girl who appears to have been driven into at a fuel station isn't badly hurt and is able to make a full and speedy recovery, however will likely suffer with the trauma of this incident for life.
Morrisons petrol station sealed off by police
Police sealed off the supermarket petrol station earlier this afternoon
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Pretty sure Lisa Nandy's attempt to interfere in a police operations decision and being dishonest about it in an attempt to expose the people of Birmingham to the violence of racist football hooligans is a more important reason why decent people would never again consider voting for her.
Lisa Nandy apologises for breaking rules on football regulator appointment
Report finds that new football regulator chair David Kogan had made two separate donations of £1,450 to the culture secretary.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
It would be nice, not least because the community could hear more from leaders about the suitability of police as a solution to this crisis.

Right now the police are expending resources looking for one random driver while everyone in power ignores the role of road design in this act of violence.
It would be nice to be able to tag the leader of our city council @cllrjohncotton.bsky.social but his account is apparently on broadcast only here, not listening.
My kids travel along this road every day to get to school.

And this is the second pedestrian run down on this road alone in just over a week.

I wish police would hunt the traffic engineers who designed this road to get these results.
November 9, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by John Munro
I was included in the @cyclinguk.bsky.social 2017 list of 100 women in cycling and am dismayed to see their transphobia.

The Supreme Court ruling may have enabled organisations to be transphobic but it does not mandate that.

Cycling UK can and should be as inclusive as they say they wish to be.
November 8, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by John Munro
😢
My kids travel along this road every day to get to school.

And this is the second pedestrian run down on this road alone in just over a week.

I wish police would hunt the traffic engineers who designed this road to get these results.
Pedestrian suffers life-changing injuries in Birmingham hit-and-run crash
Police are hunting a driver who hit a pedestrian in City Road in North Edgbaston and left him with life-changing injuries
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by John Munro
"Bold politics works. Not managerialism. Not triangulation. But the courage to tell the truth, and show how you will act on that truth": @zackpolanski.bsky.social. observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
Zack Polanski: ‘Hope has just won in New York – it can win here too’ | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by John Munro
Road violence in Birmingham is completely out of control
November 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
My kids travel along this road every day to get to school.

And this is the second pedestrian run down on this road alone in just over a week.

I wish police would hunt the traffic engineers who designed this road to get these results.
Pedestrian suffers life-changing injuries in Birmingham hit-and-run crash
Police are hunting a driver who hit a pedestrian in City Road in North Edgbaston and left him with life-changing injuries
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 8, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by John Munro
Zack or Reform. Socialism or barbarism.
November 7, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Zack or Reform. Socialism or barbarism.
November 7, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Another fun @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org #CircleTheCity ride this evening. Thanks, everyone!
November 7, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by John Munro
May the people of Birmingham never forget that this Labour government interfered in a police operations decision and lied about it in an attempt to ensure that racist hooligans could rampage through the streets of our city.
Maccabi fan ban was due to hooliganism, says West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police did not previously reveal its reasons because
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 4:24 PM
May the people of Birmingham never forget that this Labour government interfered in a police operations decision and lied about it in an attempt to ensure that racist hooligans could rampage through the streets of our city.
Maccabi fan ban was due to hooliganism, says West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police did not previously reveal its reasons because
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 4:24 PM