iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Today in local cafe chill - double espresso 👋☕️🇦🇺

Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Sure I’m Australian. But if you are eligible to vote in the US midterms in Nov, here’s a group of people there who need you to vote Democrat… Their lives depend on it and many of them can’t vote, Trumpy has demonised them: youtu.be/4vi55yULrIs?...

youtu.be

MAGA Freak Out After Trump Cuts Disability Benefits to Save $2 BILLION a Year

YouTube video by Paul's Politics

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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Happy 10 year anniversary of the best mic drop on Twitter. Hard to believe it’s been so long! Congrats @astrokatie.com

Katie Mack @AstroKatie
16h
Honestly climate change scares the heck out of me and it makes me so sad to see what we're losing because of it.

Gary P Jackson (RAT) @gary4205
@AstroKatie Maybe you should learn some actual SCIENCE then, and stop listening to the criminals pushing the #GlobalWarming SCAM!

Katie Mack @AstroKatie
@gary4205 | dunno, man, I already went and got a PhD in astrophysics.
Seems like more than that would be overkill at this point.

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

‘You Can’t Ask That!’ is an Australian ABC TV series that’s been running off and on from 2016 The episode I was in (2017) has been put on YouTube. I look very different now, but I still agree with what I said back then I’d encourage everyone, esp families, to watch a few of the eps & discuss… 👋☕️🇦🇺

youtu.be

People with rare conditions honestly answer public questions | You Can't Ask That | Full Episode

YouTube video by ABC Australia

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Currently happening… Vegemite and Cheese Scroll and double shot of Espresso 👋☕️🇦🇺

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6 News Australia @6newsau.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Thousands of university and high school students have walked out of class to protest the rise of Pauline Hanson, as One Nation continues to sit first or second in the latest federal polls WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJCb...

youtube.com

Students walk out of class to protest Pauline Hanson

YouTube video by SIX News Australia

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

It’s Census Night here in Australia 🇦🇺 If you haven’t done your Census, do it, the information is used in really helpful ways I’m Asexual. I’ve never been able to complete a sex survey, my answers are always unavailable I had to write it in, but I could 🥳 It was great to be seen, finally 👋☕️

youtu.be

Census night is here. What’s different in 2026? | ABC NEWS

YouTube video by ABC News (Australia)

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

You know what I’d do if I lived near the Tate brothers’ holding cells? Go and read to them just outside their cell all the books they obviously haven’t read Like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ 📚💪

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

A really good global summary from the BBC. No matter where you are, you have a say in this when you vote and hold them accountable 🗳️🇦🇺🌏 youtu.be/DnJsk8moq9o?...

youtu.be

How much of the world is on fire right now? | BBC News

YouTube video by BBC News

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Friendly reminder: Don’t label despicable people with medical or physical conditions they don’t have Having a physical difference (like cleft scars) is not a character flaw. Neither is ‘bed wetting’ nor ‘mouth-breathing’ Talk about how they are despicable, don’t use some feature others can’t help

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I cannot facepalm hard enough. This ‘new tariff’ is ridiculous on so many levels: Richard Marles says new US tariff on Australia 'makes no sense' www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

sbs.com.au

Richard Marles says new US tariff on Australia 'makes no sense'

Australia's trade minister has also demanded the removal of the "unjustified" tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Been hearing a lot about a speech Trump gave today Sorry I was too busy eating prunes Same effect but I like prunes 👋☕️🇦🇺

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ACCR @accr.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Values have to change. Incentives need to shift. Fossil fuels, which were for long so beneficial to humanity, have to be recognised as poisons. And petroleum companies must pay for backtracking on their promises, writes Jonathan Watts www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Fuel on the fire: why oil companies are profiting as the world gets dangerously hot

The scientific consensus is that burning fossil fuels drives the climate crisis, yet the world’s biggest oil companies are planning to increase production

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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Belgium’s overwhelming defeat makes it hard for Trump to lie the match was rigged. A lesson for us midterm voters.

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The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 07/07/2026

In the latest episode of What's the Point?, Dr Richard Denniss cuts through the noise surrounding negative gearing, capital gains tax and the ongoing media hysteria around Australia’s housing market. 🎧 Listen now: theaus.in/3SLMm7W

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Way to go Belgium! 🇦🇺❤️🇧🇪⚽️

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I’m proud of myself getting through some difficult things this year. I’m doing really well I did my Australian tax return last night at 12:58am on 1 July. That was not difficult at all Thanks ATO! Next year I hope it is a bit more difficult because I’ll be back at work 👋☕️🇦🇺

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Currently happening in an Australian cafe… Double shot of Espresso and a Vegemite and Cheese scroll 👋☕️🇦🇺

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Woot! SBSK on YouTube interviewed someone I haven’t spoken to in a while, but have a lot in common with… Christian has a similar condition to me, a very rare Bilateral Tessier Facial Cleft, although his is more complex than mine… Well done Christian, Lacey and Chandler: youtu.be/FMtevy8uck0?...

youtu.be

An Autistic Teen Born Without Eyes

YouTube video by Special Books by Special Kids

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Reposted by Bel Downes (Coffeewith…)

6 News Australia @6newsau.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

NEW VIDEO: Regional news bulletins in northern NSW have been cut and on-air redundancies have hit Channel 7, in the latest round of job cuts to impact Australian media WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu1V...

youtube.com

More job cuts hit Australian media with news bulletins scrapped

YouTube video by SIX News Australia

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

What’s with all the Seppo Journos writing off us Australians for the FIFA World Game against the US? I’ll be watching at 4am on Saturday… 👋⚽️🇦🇺 You know we thrive on being the underdog, yeah?

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Oh My God. Australia scored first! ❤️🇦🇺⚽️ #FIFAWorldCup

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Feeling very thankful for the roof over my head and no need to go out in the wind and rain today Also thankful for good friends that respect my need to not get blown over in public and have coffee earlier in the week Coffee and study today 👋☕️🇦🇺

static.klipy.com

Beyond The Boundary: Mirai Kuriyama in Rain

Alt: Beyond The Boundary: Mirai Kuriyama in Rain

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Just saw this on YouTube: Guard The Leaf, who did a Canadian response to this very Australian essay If you’re in the US, please read This is how I feel as an Australian towards the current US too. Though I wasn’t as enamoured as IFLA, I totally get the sentiment: substack.com/@ifloz/note/...

substack.com

Dear USA: When You Were Awesome

A letter to America from the boy in western Sydney who was once your biggest fan

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Today’s coffee with a people watching view in Lambton NSW. Double espresso. No sugar or milk was thought of during this delicious well made Australian coffee 👋☕️🇦🇺

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

How wonderful and deeply thoughtful was the opening of Eurovision 2026 Semi-Final 1? 🥰🥹 I’ll be up at 5am for Semi-Final 2 to see our Delta give her best 🇪🇺👋🇦🇺

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Today, May the Fourth, Star Wars Day, is my birthday… and my friends took me out for a coffee so early this morning that I actually got a Vegemite and cheese pastry! Day made 🇦🇺 How freaking awesome is all that! 👋☕️

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Major happies here… My Helen has a motor. As amazing as The Fellow is, it’s a matter of Stoic justice that I don’t make him give up his life to push Helen and me up hills I never thought I would buy a junk car, but I have bought a good wheelchair power assist Go Helen Wheels! 👋☕️🇦🇺

media.tenor.com

a person in a wheelchair with a rocket attached to the back wheel

Alt: a person in a wheelchair with a rocket attached to the back wheel

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

ICE has detained the only Texas licenced court interpreter for Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi languages despite all her correct paperwork. Doug Sharpe below states it plainly, but there are other reliable sources as well This is so ridiculous it hurts me as a Linguist: youtube.com/shorts/esPMp...

youtube.com

Texas's Only Court Interpreter Detained By ICE #fact

YouTube video by Doug Sharpe

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Too much admin and adulting done before 10am… So this is what you get from me right now… It’s AI, I can’t draw, but the double espresso and little cake were delicious 👋☕️🇦🇺

AI drawing from a photo I took of my coffee and cake. It looks like a child drew it

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

On a train station concourse with Helen Wheels and this very cool little kid launches into this incredible spinning rave dance right in front of me He was burning off energy before what I assumed was a long train trip But he was a great dancer and I was glad I wasn’t on the train with him!

media.tenor.com

a close up of a person doing a handstand in a bathroom .

Alt: Little ape doing a spinning dance

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Feeling a bit happy emotional… Paid off the wheelchair in full yesterday (Helen Wheels) and she’s been keeping me wound free for over two months now Yesterday was also coincidently my late mother’s birthday, she didn’t care for herself or me so it’s good to remember 14 Apr in a better care way 🧑‍🦽‍➡️🎉

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Watching the Artemis ll splash down from Sydney, Saturday morning 🧑‍🚀👋🇦🇺

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

If I get a Segway scooter for under my manual wheelchair how many laws will I be breaking where you live? 🧑‍🦽‍➡️🇦🇺😎

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

After he goes, people aren’t going to take drugs anymore. They will visit his library to trip balls.

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Cat Lover Cath @cathlovercath.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

John Lyon’s (on the ABC) analysis of the Orange Turd’s address is like a palate cleanser. He’s pretty much calling out all the lies & BS. Thank you John!!! #AusPol

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Shhh… Orange fart man is spluttering on camera.

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

So welcome to my wheelchair’s official naming ceremony… I haven’t had any wounds for two months now! 🎉 So my chair’s name is… Helen… Helen Wheels Helen, The Fellow and I are celebrating with a coffee and bakery treats, come and join us - thanks for all your support 🎉👋☕️🇦🇺🧑‍🦽‍➡️❤️

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

You have no idea how much I’m getting from a daily Stoic practice - deliberately sitting, reading and thinking about values Doing something about the things I can control versus the things I can’t, has really uncluttered my head And there’s no threat of eternal punishment if I slightly disagree

Half drunk coffee and spoon on cafe table.

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

For a timeline cleanse I thought I’d share a picture from Threads. And I’m going to tell you that a lot of us are waiting for the ‘Raptor’ on the 22 March It’s Threads. It was a typo. It’s now a Threads wide joke This is my new friend Rory who I hope will visit again during the Second Coming👋☕️🇦🇺🦖

AI picture of me and a dinosaur. I have my hand on their opposite shoulder. We are both looking into the camera.

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

One month anniversary of my wheelchair - and still no foot wounds. This means no more early morning nursing visits, a lot fewer medical appointments, no trips to hospital. More coffee with friends without serious foot consequences and I can walk around the house comfortably… Great investment 🎉🧑‍🦽‍➡️

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 17/03/2026

For an economy that works for all, we also need universal basic income. That is the only way to share 50 years of productivity increases with EVERYONE. scottsantens.substack.com/p/universal-...

scottsantens.substack.com

Universal Basic Income Is Your Productivity Dividend. It’s the Only Way to All Share What We All Built.

Why Universal Basic Income (UBI) Is the Only Way to Share AI and Productivity Gains With Everyone

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ⓘ 𝕆ligarch f*ckery detected @adelpreore.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Wow. Absolutely stellar presentation.

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Sometimes I have coffee near a big railway station. Just to watch the bags people choose to travel with. While I can’t photograph them, I also think some of these bags are being used to within an inch of their last breath. Imagine a bag holding a roll of heavy duty tape together.

media.tenor.com

a red plastic bag with holes in it is sitting on a table

ALT: a red plastic bag with holes in it is sitting on a table

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Currently happening in a cafe I’m in, in a fortunate place, writing a 5 minute comedy set that’s going to be awesome one day 👋☕️🇦🇺

Latte on oat, little blueberry cake, notebook on cafe table

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Quiet and delicious wandering to the cafe today to meet a friend… Latte on oat and Vegemite and cheese scroll 👋☕️🇦🇺🐨

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

So after galavanting around the neighbourhood for the last week my body has decided that I will not be physically doing anything today. This is a step up from needing to call community nurses in for wound care after toddling around the house for a day. I like this progress 👋☕️🇦🇺

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Bel Downes (Coffeewith…) @withdownes.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Took myself out for the night. Lasted longer than I thought I would, now happily exhausted at home. Great new venue 👋☕️🇦🇺 (Photos before crowd flooded in)

Empty stage and seats at Newcastle Comedy Club before crowd flooded in

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