Charles Williams
@nicander.bsky.social
Charity content person. AFC Wimbledon fan. Trying to write a thing. Views my own. Was at another place as @randomventures
Reposted by Charles Williams
It shouldn’t be forgotten that a big piece of Mamdani’s campaign was simply “cities are cool and lots of people enjoy living in them” which in and of itself dismantles alot of rightwing talking points
November 7, 2025 at 12:02 PM
It shouldn’t be forgotten that a big piece of Mamdani’s campaign was simply “cities are cool and lots of people enjoy living in them” which in and of itself dismantles alot of rightwing talking points
I've been reading some early Blade comics from the 70s and there are some aspects of the character that have fallen a bit by the wayside, for example his profession as a jazz trumpeter
November 5, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I've been reading some early Blade comics from the 70s and there are some aspects of the character that have fallen a bit by the wayside, for example his profession as a jazz trumpeter
Reposted by Charles Williams
I desperately need this stupid A.I. bubble to burst already. I'm sick of these losers treating creativity like it's some problem that requires a solution.
November 3, 2025 at 10:54 PM
I desperately need this stupid A.I. bubble to burst already. I'm sick of these losers treating creativity like it's some problem that requires a solution.
Reposted by Charles Williams
If this were Twitter or Reddit, someone would then ask: "Ah, but aren't most of those in London?" and I would take great delight in replying: "No, London's homicide rate is falling and the city accounts for about a fifth of the UK's total, which is in line with its proportion of the population."
November 3, 2025 at 10:22 AM
If this were Twitter or Reddit, someone would then ask: "Ah, but aren't most of those in London?" and I would take great delight in replying: "No, London's homicide rate is falling and the city accounts for about a fifth of the UK's total, which is in line with its proportion of the population."
Reposted by Charles Williams
It always surprises people when I point out that the UK (population 70mn) has pretty much the same number of homicides per year as the city of Chicago (population 2.7mn).
Looking up death statistics (always fun and surprising) half of the 21,000 or so accidental UK deaths are falls, poisonings claim a quarter, far more than road accidents (7%) Knife/sharp object deaths account for around 260, guns 29.
Less than 600 homicides per year seems remarkable for 70m people.
Less than 600 homicides per year seems remarkable for 70m people.
November 3, 2025 at 10:20 AM
It always surprises people when I point out that the UK (population 70mn) has pretty much the same number of homicides per year as the city of Chicago (population 2.7mn).
Reposted by Charles Williams
Wherever we looked for the prominent flaggers and leaders of this movement, we found people smugglers and sex doll salesmen, people with dubious criminal pasts and people willing to put in a good word for Adolf Hitler.
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
The men who raised the flags
Nigel Farage says this summer’s movement was led by ‘ordinary people’ expressing their patriotism. That’s not what we found
manchestermill.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Wherever we looked for the prominent flaggers and leaders of this movement, we found people smugglers and sex doll salesmen, people with dubious criminal pasts and people willing to put in a good word for Adolf Hitler.
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
Driving to Gatwick through Bromley, there's about ten miles of road with a flag on every lamppost. I've never seen something so emotionally fragile and dishonest. Put a flag up if you like on your property, no one's stopping you, but the at-scale version of it makes them and the UK look pathetic.
Nigel Farage says this summer’s Raise the Colours movement was led by ‘ordinary people’ expressing their patriotism. Our reporters in five cities had a look and that’s not what we found.
November 1, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Driving to Gatwick through Bromley, there's about ten miles of road with a flag on every lamppost. I've never seen something so emotionally fragile and dishonest. Put a flag up if you like on your property, no one's stopping you, but the at-scale version of it makes them and the UK look pathetic.
If companies thought they'd sell more by not having any Black or Asian people in ads, that's what they'd do. They wouldn't, so they don't. So this beef (such as it is) is really with the British public for being insufficiently racist and far too comfortable with a diverse population.
Danny Kruger just told Nick Robinson that Sarah Pochin’s remarks weren’t racist because she was “driven mad” not by seeing Black and Asian people on TV but by their “over-representation”. Robinson didn’t ask what’s so maddening about over-representation. Is there a rule adverts have to reflect life?
October 28, 2025 at 9:55 AM
If companies thought they'd sell more by not having any Black or Asian people in ads, that's what they'd do. They wouldn't, so they don't. So this beef (such as it is) is really with the British public for being insufficiently racist and far too comfortable with a diverse population.
I've been away since Saturday and it's moved significantly since then.
I wonder if the race to the right is happening so fast that the politicians themselves can't keep pace with it. The policy mind behind this Bill is pretty extreme, I don't think they realised how extreme.
October 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I've been away since Saturday and it's moved significantly since then.
Reposted by Charles Williams
"The idea of deporting people with settled status is disgusting, and anyone proposing it should be immediately drummed out of polite society. Breaking promises made in good faith to our friends and neighbours is racist, extremist and immoral."
I'm basically shouting at the sky here, but still.
I'm basically shouting at the sky here, but still.
It’s racist, it’s extremist and it’s immoral
The right is still calling for deportations, and the government is still being cowardly about it. Also: London’s first green belt; some notes on a shark; and some news, on my next book.
jonn.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 1:22 PM
"The idea of deporting people with settled status is disgusting, and anyone proposing it should be immediately drummed out of polite society. Breaking promises made in good faith to our friends and neighbours is racist, extremist and immoral."
I'm basically shouting at the sky here, but still.
I'm basically shouting at the sky here, but still.
Reposted by Charles Williams
The lessons from Autumn 2021 should be:
> Govts should address their severe weaknesses + have a coherent programme
> Pay attention to the cost of living
> Journalists should stop huffing the glue of conference speeches being meaningful
And not:
> Everything's probably fine, election's not tomorrow
> Govts should address their severe weaknesses + have a coherent programme
> Pay attention to the cost of living
> Journalists should stop huffing the glue of conference speeches being meaningful
And not:
> Everything's probably fine, election's not tomorrow
October 12, 2025 at 10:41 AM
The lessons from Autumn 2021 should be:
> Govts should address their severe weaknesses + have a coherent programme
> Pay attention to the cost of living
> Journalists should stop huffing the glue of conference speeches being meaningful
And not:
> Everything's probably fine, election's not tomorrow
> Govts should address their severe weaknesses + have a coherent programme
> Pay attention to the cost of living
> Journalists should stop huffing the glue of conference speeches being meaningful
And not:
> Everything's probably fine, election's not tomorrow
Reposted by Charles Williams
To be absolutely clear, it is impossible to vote for a party that cannot bring itself to unequivocally defend the rights of people living and working legally in this country. Because arbitrary removal of legal rights, or sudden varying of terms, for some is ultimately a threat to everyone.
October 21, 2025 at 10:13 AM
To be absolutely clear, it is impossible to vote for a party that cannot bring itself to unequivocally defend the rights of people living and working legally in this country. Because arbitrary removal of legal rights, or sudden varying of terms, for some is ultimately a threat to everyone.
Reposted by Charles Williams
Is there are reason why no-one can just be normal...? These people need to go to some places that are neither SW1 nor the town square of a Midlands market town at 2 in the afternoon.
October 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Is there are reason why no-one can just be normal...? These people need to go to some places that are neither SW1 nor the town square of a Midlands market town at 2 in the afternoon.
THERE IS NO NON-MALICIOUS USE CASE FOR THIS TOOL TO ACCEPT ANY PROMPTS INVOLVING REAL PEOPLE
If only OpenAI could have foreseen the entirely predictable hazards of irresponsibly releasing this tech. I guess the estate of every dead person will have to individually request a special dispensation to no longer have disgusting videos made by OpenAI’s tools.
OpenAI pauses Sora video generations of Martin Luther King Jr. | TechCrunch
OpenAI is pausing AI video generations of Martin Luther King at the request of the late civil rights activists' estate.
techcrunch.com
October 18, 2025 at 4:40 AM
THERE IS NO NON-MALICIOUS USE CASE FOR THIS TOOL TO ACCEPT ANY PROMPTS INVOLVING REAL PEOPLE
Reposted by Charles Williams
How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.
October 8, 2025 at 8:20 AM
How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.
...what exact year is this supposed to be?
Regret to report that there is now a second, woke, version of Corned Beef of My Childhood doing the rounds. The corned beef is now cheese, and there’s a whole section about corporal punishment and eating disorders missing, but it’s still the worst poem in the world. #FacebookNews
October 15, 2025 at 5:44 PM
...what exact year is this supposed to be?
I'm not really a big R&B fan in general but D'Angelo's albums were mesmerising to me. Strange how someone can die and leave behind so little work but also at the same time so much.
October 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I'm not really a big R&B fan in general but D'Angelo's albums were mesmerising to me. Strange how someone can die and leave behind so little work but also at the same time so much.
They won't be talking about religion when they attempt this.
Right-wingers who think tactics they've used to criminalize abortion in the US will have the same kind of traction in the UK fail to grasp that religious fundamentalism is widely viewed as nuts in the UK, & has been for many decades, if not centuries.
As much chance of abolishing UK gun controls.
As much chance of abolishing UK gun controls.
The right-wing campaign group that helped topple Roe v Wade in the US is now working to roll back abortion laws in the UK, with the help of Nigel Farage.
Its first step? Trying to create a debate around "free speech"
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...
Its first step? Trying to create a debate around "free speech"
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...
October 13, 2025 at 3:55 PM
They won't be talking about religion when they attempt this.
This is really cool, Severndroog Castle is super-cool, as follies go.
Severndroog Castle, a tall folly in southeast London that offers clear views across the city, is going to trial an evening opening of its rooftop viewing platform.
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tic...
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tic...
Tickets Alert: Evening opening of Severndroog Castle
Severndroog Castle, a tall folly in southeast London that offers clear views across the city, is going to trial an evening opening of its rooftop viewing platform.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
October 13, 2025 at 8:23 AM
This is really cool, Severndroog Castle is super-cool, as follies go.
Reposted by Charles Williams
We should be asking this
c o n s t a n t l y.
c o n s t a n t l y.
October 13, 2025 at 3:54 AM
We should be asking this
c o n s t a n t l y.
c o n s t a n t l y.
Reposted by Charles Williams
I bang on about this a lot: I think the combination of a global pandemic, underregulated internet/SM, collapse/corruption of trustworthy media, plus now unregulated genAI, is a wildly toxic environment for radicalisation & mental health. We see the results of that in our politics & lives every day
October 13, 2025 at 7:00 AM
I bang on about this a lot: I think the combination of a global pandemic, underregulated internet/SM, collapse/corruption of trustworthy media, plus now unregulated genAI, is a wildly toxic environment for radicalisation & mental health. We see the results of that in our politics & lives every day
Look, I can see the arguments for digital ID even if I don't agree with them, and many reasonable people are in favour of it, but... come on. Govt has apparently never met a situation where it doesn't look to see how it can further reduce its levels of support: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Government to consult on digital IDs for 13-year-olds
There has been a backlash to the announcement a UK-wide digital ID scheme will be introduced by 2029.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Look, I can see the arguments for digital ID even if I don't agree with them, and many reasonable people are in favour of it, but... come on. Govt has apparently never met a situation where it doesn't look to see how it can further reduce its levels of support: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
For various reasons, I was briefly embedded with the Tory campaign in a marginal seat that they narrowly lost in 1997. I met a lot of young Tories then. They were really, *really* weird. But tbf I have not spent a similar time with other parties and maybe they all are.
Butterfield Voice: Nerd. Second Nerd. American. Buzznusswoman.
Are they hoping to start a Young Tory cosplay trend on TikTok
www.thetimes.com/article/8c9a...
www.thetimes.com/article/8c9a...
October 9, 2025 at 7:41 AM
For various reasons, I was briefly embedded with the Tory campaign in a marginal seat that they narrowly lost in 1997. I met a lot of young Tories then. They were really, *really* weird. But tbf I have not spent a similar time with other parties and maybe they all are.
It's all a bit of a shadow war really. If the Tories were reduced to c.40 MPs and 4th biggest party, I have no doubt that 75% would defect to Reform immediately.
Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (5-6 October 2025)
Reform UK: 27% (-2 from 28-29 Sept)
Labour: 20% (-2)
Conservatives: 17% (+1)
Lib Dems: 17% (+2)
Greens: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Reform UK: 27% (-2 from 28-29 Sept)
Labour: 20% (-2)
Conservatives: 17% (+1)
Lib Dems: 17% (+2)
Greens: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
October 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM
It's all a bit of a shadow war really. If the Tories were reduced to c.40 MPs and 4th biggest party, I have no doubt that 75% would defect to Reform immediately.
I haven't seen any Jurassic Park film. I've seen the clip with the shaking cup and the velociraptors. I get the general idea.
Inspired by a post I just saw in which someone admitted they hadn’t seen a single episode of Friends nor the film Love Actually… what cultural hole do you have that’s a bit weird for your generation?
I’ll go first: I haven’t seen Dirty Dancing.
I’ll go first: I haven’t seen Dirty Dancing.
October 5, 2025 at 12:42 PM
I haven't seen any Jurassic Park film. I've seen the clip with the shaking cup and the velociraptors. I get the general idea.