Joel Pierce
@joelpierce.bsky.social
Theologian and ethicist in Scotland. Minister's husband. Baker. Librarian.
Okay, this is just silly. Is the next step to bar BBC staff from reporting on anything Democrats say, since it won't be fawning approval of Trump and therefore even the reporting of it could be construed as somehow defamatory? Trump is a spoiled child and should not be indulged.
BBC tells staff they cannot quote Trump line removed from Reith lecture
Journalists not allowed to repeat Rutger Bregman’s corruption claims against US president in coverage of edit
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Okay, this is just silly. Is the next step to bar BBC staff from reporting on anything Democrats say, since it won't be fawning approval of Trump and therefore even the reporting of it could be construed as somehow defamatory? Trump is a spoiled child and should not be indulged.
Exhibit A in why it's a bad idea for Labour to remove the ability of refugees to normalise their status. In the US the TPS status relied on people with power not being monsters to refugees, not demanding they return to violent and chaotic situations. Well, we live in the age of monsters.
Trump says Haiti no longer meets requirements for TPS. Haitians have to leave
The Department of Homeland Security said TPS for Haiti ends Feb. 3, 2026, affecting over half a million people who may face return to gang-controlled Port-au-Prince.
amp.miamiherald.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Exhibit A in why it's a bad idea for Labour to remove the ability of refugees to normalise their status. In the US the TPS status relied on people with power not being monsters to refugees, not demanding they return to violent and chaotic situations. Well, we live in the age of monsters.
Reposted by Joel Pierce
“They had submitted extensive paperwork and paid fees. The foreign spouses had been fingerprinted and passed medical exams. None had criminal records. None had entered the country illegally. They had already been granted employment authorization.”
Illegal. Immoral.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Illegal. Immoral.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:38 PM
“They had submitted extensive paperwork and paid fees. The foreign spouses had been fingerprinted and passed medical exams. None had criminal records. None had entered the country illegally. They had already been granted employment authorization.”
Illegal. Immoral.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Illegal. Immoral.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Let's say worst case scenario for PA and they've been implicated in some serious criminality. I doubt it would come near to approaching anything an organised crime racket would do, and yet they're able to be tried in a normal courtroom. This whole system is farcical and antidemocratic.
‘Unavoidably unfair’: the secret courts system hearing part of Palestine Action case
The CMP system means Huda Ammori will not be allowed to know what allegations were made against her
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Let's say worst case scenario for PA and they've been implicated in some serious criminality. I doubt it would come near to approaching anything an organised crime racket would do, and yet they're able to be tried in a normal courtroom. This whole system is farcical and antidemocratic.
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Seen any of these lately in our politics?
November 25, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Seen any of these lately in our politics?
I'm in a village pantomime! So if you're in NE Scotland and are looking for some silliness to kick off your holiday season, come along and see me... and some other people with actual talent :)
November 21, 2025 at 11:44 AM
I'm in a village pantomime! So if you're in NE Scotland and are looking for some silliness to kick off your holiday season, come along and see me... and some other people with actual talent :)
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Mahmood/government should say explain *objective* of increasing time to settlement for 15 years for care workers who arrived 2022-24
Is it
A) to get them to leave? Why?
B) to save money? Then why not just restrict benefits?
C) to "encourage integration"? How? Will do opposite.
Is it
A) to get them to leave? Why?
B) to save money? Then why not just restrict benefits?
C) to "encourage integration"? How? Will do opposite.
15 years for people in medium skilled jobs and care workers too. I believe this goes down to 10 years if they earn over £50,270. Someone in a high skilled job earning over that qualifies in 5 years.
November 21, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Mahmood/government should say explain *objective* of increasing time to settlement for 15 years for care workers who arrived 2022-24
Is it
A) to get them to leave? Why?
B) to save money? Then why not just restrict benefits?
C) to "encourage integration"? How? Will do opposite.
Is it
A) to get them to leave? Why?
B) to save money? Then why not just restrict benefits?
C) to "encourage integration"? How? Will do opposite.
People say AI/LLMs well never be as bad as they are today again (i.e. they'll only get better from here). But... will AI companies ever have this much cash to burn again? And won't the infrastructure they're investing in decay? If they can't turn a serious profit fast, how will they buy new stuff?
November 20, 2025 at 11:56 PM
People say AI/LLMs well never be as bad as they are today again (i.e. they'll only get better from here). But... will AI companies ever have this much cash to burn again? And won't the infrastructure they're investing in decay? If they can't turn a serious profit fast, how will they buy new stuff?
It makes my heart sick to have a supposedly centre left government be introducing these terrible immigration policies. It's a sign that you're out of ideas when you lead day after day with new ideas to marginalise people who have chosen your country and are working hard to make a life in it.
November 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
It makes my heart sick to have a supposedly centre left government be introducing these terrible immigration policies. It's a sign that you're out of ideas when you lead day after day with new ideas to marginalise people who have chosen your country and are working hard to make a life in it.
All I want for Christmas is a government brave enough to explain to people that without immigrants much of what is valuable about British life would collapse.
Up to 50,000 nurses could quit UK over immigration plans, survey suggests
Exclusive: union leaders say proposed changes are immoral and could threaten patient safety if there is staff exodus
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:23 AM
All I want for Christmas is a government brave enough to explain to people that without immigrants much of what is valuable about British life would collapse.
Reposted by Joel Pierce
We should be horrified.. and yet the urgency to do anything has been lost...while armies of fossil fuel lobbyists continue to have a hegemonic presence at COPs
@readfearn.bsky.social:"The loss of corals at Ningaloo was part of the 4th & worst global mass bleaching event on record that exposed >80% of reefs in >80 countries to temperatures high enough to cause bleaching."
2024 was 1st calendar year w mean 🌏 temp exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial level
2024 was 1st calendar year w mean 🌏 temp exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial level
November 19, 2025 at 9:10 PM
We should be horrified.. and yet the urgency to do anything has been lost...while armies of fossil fuel lobbyists continue to have a hegemonic presence at COPs
Reposted by Joel Pierce
A strong immigration system doesn't need to be a cruel one.
It shouldn't need saying - but refugees & asylum seekers are real people, fleeing war and persecution.
This daughter of an immigrant is proud of our British and Labour values of respect and not turning our backs on people in real need.
It shouldn't need saying - but refugees & asylum seekers are real people, fleeing war and persecution.
This daughter of an immigrant is proud of our British and Labour values of respect and not turning our backs on people in real need.
November 17, 2025 at 11:02 AM
A strong immigration system doesn't need to be a cruel one.
It shouldn't need saying - but refugees & asylum seekers are real people, fleeing war and persecution.
This daughter of an immigrant is proud of our British and Labour values of respect and not turning our backs on people in real need.
It shouldn't need saying - but refugees & asylum seekers are real people, fleeing war and persecution.
This daughter of an immigrant is proud of our British and Labour values of respect and not turning our backs on people in real need.
It's tempting to write this off as a red state issue, but last week I was chatting with someone at an R1 in a blue state whose work is focused on historical race and gender dynamics about how she's finding it increasingly difficult to do her job. The lesson from the 1930s is this can happen fast.
'Courses that “advocate race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” now require presidential approval at Texas A&M system campuses, the system Board of Regents decided Thursday.'
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Texas A&M Requires Approval for Courses That “Advocate” Certain Ideologies
Many faculty members decried the new restrictions on race- and gender-related courses as an assault on academic freedom. Meanwhile, the board also discussed a once-per-semester systemwide course revie...
www.insidehighered.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:14 PM
It's tempting to write this off as a red state issue, but last week I was chatting with someone at an R1 in a blue state whose work is focused on historical race and gender dynamics about how she's finding it increasingly difficult to do her job. The lesson from the 1930s is this can happen fast.
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Imagine having a thumping majority in parliament and deciding to use it for something as squalid as this.
November 17, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Imagine having a thumping majority in parliament and deciding to use it for something as squalid as this.
Reposted by Joel Pierce
When you flee from home you take what you can.. and maybe sometimes you manage.. because you're already wearing it or something to hold on to jewelry or valuables that have deep meaning. Might be the last memory of a parent. And Mahmood is going to seize it from you
November 17, 2025 at 10:07 AM
When you flee from home you take what you can.. and maybe sometimes you manage.. because you're already wearing it or something to hold on to jewelry or valuables that have deep meaning. Might be the last memory of a parent. And Mahmood is going to seize it from you
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Research on this is clear: the uncertainty created by this policy will lead to people integrate less into British society. It is trading-off the reasonable policy goal of integration for the useless symbolism of immigration numbers. Bad policy to appease the far right.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK set to limit refugees to temporary stays
Shabana Mahmood is expected to say the era of permanent protection for refugees is over, in major changes to the UK's asylum and immigration system.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Research on this is clear: the uncertainty created by this policy will lead to people integrate less into British society. It is trading-off the reasonable policy goal of integration for the useless symbolism of immigration numbers. Bad policy to appease the far right.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Calling all educators!
Are you involved in delivering education in theology/biblical studies/religious studies etc? Librarians, this includes you!
We want your feedback on our books - and there's a prize draw to enter at the end.
Survey closes 2nd January. Click here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Are you involved in delivering education in theology/biblical studies/religious studies etc? Librarians, this includes you!
We want your feedback on our books - and there's a prize draw to enter at the end.
Survey closes 2nd January. Click here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
SCM Press survey Nov 2025: textbooks and educational resources
We would like to find out how our publishing is working in terms of serving educators in theology and related disciplines and their students at all levels.
If you are involved in delivering theologic...
docs.google.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Calling all educators!
Are you involved in delivering education in theology/biblical studies/religious studies etc? Librarians, this includes you!
We want your feedback on our books - and there's a prize draw to enter at the end.
Survey closes 2nd January. Click here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Are you involved in delivering education in theology/biblical studies/religious studies etc? Librarians, this includes you!
We want your feedback on our books - and there's a prize draw to enter at the end.
Survey closes 2nd January. Click here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Want to catch up on the conversation at the launch of Selina Stone's book A Heavy Yoke?
This is now on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA4d...
This is now on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA4d...
A Heavy Yoke Full
YouTube video by Hymns Ancient & Modern
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Want to catch up on the conversation at the launch of Selina Stone's book A Heavy Yoke?
This is now on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA4d...
This is now on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA4d...
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"Nelson and Gladys’s deportation, followed by made-for-television ICE sweeps in Los Angeles, shook Saddleback. The church’s Spanish-speaking congregation in Whittier saw attendance drop by 80 percent, Will Guzman told me."
This is what the church loses when nationalism is allowed to trump the peaceable kingdom of God.
They Led at Saddleback Church. ICE Said They Were Safe. - Christianity Today
A Colombian couple prayed with neighbors and raised their children in one of America’s most influential churches. What did we gain from their deportation?
www.christianitytoday.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:23 PM
"Nelson and Gladys’s deportation, followed by made-for-television ICE sweeps in Los Angeles, shook Saddleback. The church’s Spanish-speaking congregation in Whittier saw attendance drop by 80 percent, Will Guzman told me."
"If you believe joy is an act of resistance, in ICE detention you will hazard kindness. Hugging was prohibited; Gladys hugged anyway."
This is what the church loses when nationalism is allowed to trump the peaceable kingdom of God.
They Led at Saddleback Church. ICE Said They Were Safe. - Christianity Today
A Colombian couple prayed with neighbors and raised their children in one of America’s most influential churches. What did we gain from their deportation?
www.christianitytoday.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
"If you believe joy is an act of resistance, in ICE detention you will hazard kindness. Hugging was prohibited; Gladys hugged anyway."
This is what the church loses when nationalism is allowed to trump the peaceable kingdom of God.
They Led at Saddleback Church. ICE Said They Were Safe. - Christianity Today
A Colombian couple prayed with neighbors and raised their children in one of America’s most influential churches. What did we gain from their deportation?
www.christianitytoday.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This is what the church loses when nationalism is allowed to trump the peaceable kingdom of God.
Reposted by Joel Pierce
Some of our followers may be interested in this Seen&Unseen article by one of our researchers, Dr Henna Cundill: ‘How to help someone with ADHD to live well’
www.seenandunseen.com/how-help-som...
www.seenandunseen.com/how-help-som...
How to help someone with ADHD to live well | Seen & Unseen
www.seenandunseen.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Some of our followers may be interested in this Seen&Unseen article by one of our researchers, Dr Henna Cundill: ‘How to help someone with ADHD to live well’
www.seenandunseen.com/how-help-som...
www.seenandunseen.com/how-help-som...
This is something I worry about. And the thing is these companies could make machines designed for school use with controls around AI which schools could tailor. But they don't, because they're all looking to get students hooked on AI and lacking the confidence to work without it.
One result of AI ruining everything is a knee-jerk 'get computers out of classrooms' which really sucks for some disabled kids who have really benefited from access to tech. This is a really frustrating game of whack-a-mole.
His students suddenly started getting A’s. Did a Google AI tool go too far?
A Chrome browser tool features a movable bubble that provides information without typing a prompt, spurring a rise in AI cheating on tests.
calmatters.org
November 11, 2025 at 12:22 AM
This is something I worry about. And the thing is these companies could make machines designed for school use with controls around AI which schools could tailor. But they don't, because they're all looking to get students hooked on AI and lacking the confidence to work without it.