J McLaren
@jmclaren.bsky.social
Author and dog lover - multitasking...mostly looking for the ball. Any articles from lcdviews.com should be taken with a bucketful of salt.
Pinned
What’s baffled, frustrated and oh, so many feelings, from early in Starmer’s gov is the lack of ambition on the screaming problems Tories created. Such a massive majority and sod all use of it. And now, use it or lose it is coming fast. Like his political bible is “PMing for Dummies, by B Johnson.”
February 7, 2026 at 12:32 PM
What’s baffled, frustrated and oh, so many feelings, from early in Starmer’s gov is the lack of ambition on the screaming problems Tories created. Such a massive majority and sod all use of it. And now, use it or lose it is coming fast. Like his political bible is “PMing for Dummies, by B Johnson.”
Reposted by J McLaren
This—by @iandunt.bsky.social—is the best thing I’ve read on the implications of this week’s shitshow for UK government, diplomacy and democracy
Starmer's moment of reckoning
Where is the competent boring government we were promised?
iandunt.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:37 AM
This—by @iandunt.bsky.social—is the best thing I’ve read on the implications of this week’s shitshow for UK government, diplomacy and democracy
Fairplay. The moment I discovered stovetop expresso makers my life improved.
“I’ve been cast at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony”
“What are you?”
“A stovetop espresso maker.”
“What are you?”
“A stovetop espresso maker.”
February 6, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Fairplay. The moment I discovered stovetop expresso makers my life improved.
This grim Mandelson business makes a lot more sense when you consider how supine our government is to the Mad King Donald across the pond... Ofc we'd choose a friend of Epstein to be Ambassador, in spite of a history of scandal (what would Trump care). Who else would Trump want?...ffs.
February 6, 2026 at 1:02 PM
This grim Mandelson business makes a lot more sense when you consider how supine our government is to the Mad King Donald across the pond... Ofc we'd choose a friend of Epstein to be Ambassador, in spite of a history of scandal (what would Trump care). Who else would Trump want?...ffs.
It’s all so grim. In spite of a catalogue of evidence saying don’t do it, they tried to make Mandelson Work, just like they’re trying to make Brexit Work…maybe it was just a botched Mandelson…
BREAKING: Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he’s “sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him”
February 5, 2026 at 11:39 AM
It’s all so grim. In spite of a catalogue of evidence saying don’t do it, they tried to make Mandelson Work, just like they’re trying to make Brexit Work…maybe it was just a botched Mandelson…
Neighbour who retired early due to serious ill health...waiting to receive civil service pension - was outsourced by Lord Dave and economic whizz kid Osborne...then brought back in, then outsourced, now all fucked. 68K civil servants waiting. We are governed by idiots who don't suffer consequences.
February 5, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Neighbour who retired early due to serious ill health...waiting to receive civil service pension - was outsourced by Lord Dave and economic whizz kid Osborne...then brought back in, then outsourced, now all fucked. 68K civil servants waiting. We are governed by idiots who don't suffer consequences.
Reposted by J McLaren
Something that unsettles me here lately is that I have to look elsewhere for any sense of what’s happening in Ukraine, and what’s happening in Ukraine is very bad indeed.
February 5, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Something that unsettles me here lately is that I have to look elsewhere for any sense of what’s happening in Ukraine, and what’s happening in Ukraine is very bad indeed.
Botched Brexit? Like Botched Car Crash? Botched Black Death Infection? Did the builders of Pompeii botch their town planning but not having a different lay out that would have caused the volcano to avoid the town when it finally exploded? Botched Pompeii.
Not sure ‘botched’ Brexit is the way to go. Particularly as Farage agrees, blames the Tories and threatens to make it even worse.
At some point you need to tell the truth. It’s not botched. It’s exactly what you get when you prioritise prejudice over pragmatism.
app.independent.co.uk/2026/02/01/2...
At some point you need to tell the truth. It’s not botched. It’s exactly what you get when you prioritise prejudice over pragmatism.
app.independent.co.uk/2026/02/01/2...
February 2, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Botched Brexit? Like Botched Car Crash? Botched Black Death Infection? Did the builders of Pompeii botch their town planning but not having a different lay out that would have caused the volcano to avoid the town when it finally exploded? Botched Pompeii.
Musing on a visual gag about the archetypal “Man with no name” from Westerns looking at a copy of his birth certificate.
February 2, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Musing on a visual gag about the archetypal “Man with no name” from Westerns looking at a copy of his birth certificate.
Reposted by J McLaren
This latest piece of corrupt fuckery from Reform was tucked away on pages 1 & 4 of the Sunday Times. So, while media rightly rages about the murky Epstein network, it stays wrongly quiet on the murky money networks that are trashing our democracies right now. Do we wait until the fraud is in No10?
February 2, 2026 at 9:19 AM
This latest piece of corrupt fuckery from Reform was tucked away on pages 1 & 4 of the Sunday Times. So, while media rightly rages about the murky Epstein network, it stays wrongly quiet on the murky money networks that are trashing our democracies right now. Do we wait until the fraud is in No10?
Is it just me…or is English (UK) vanishing off menu options for services/products made outside of UK?
January 29, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Is it just me…or is English (UK) vanishing off menu options for services/products made outside of UK?
BREAKING : USA SHOCKED to discover electing Mafia to government leads to Mafia Style Government!
So it’s another blackmail effort.
Homan: "The withdrawal of law enforcement resources here is dependent upon cooperation ... as we see that cooperation happen, then the redeployment will happen"
January 29, 2026 at 1:49 PM
BREAKING : USA SHOCKED to discover electing Mafia to government leads to Mafia Style Government!
Reposted by J McLaren
Free training on how to spot disinformation and misinformation for every adult would be be far more useful imho. Might actually get trust and the truth back into politics.
January 28, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Free training on how to spot disinformation and misinformation for every adult would be be far more useful imho. Might actually get trust and the truth back into politics.
Chimes to read it described as “adolescent” technology. Exactly how it feels to use a lot of the time. Also like ancient Word in which if you didn’t back the hell up out of everything every way possible you were at risk of losing a lot of work.
What a hullabaloo! I'm pretty sure it's all going to be fine... 🤢
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
‘Wake up to the risks of AI, they are almost here,’ Anthropic boss warns
Dario Amodei questions if human systems are ready to handle the ‘almost unimaginable power’ that is ‘potentially imminent’
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Chimes to read it described as “adolescent” technology. Exactly how it feels to use a lot of the time. Also like ancient Word in which if you didn’t back the hell up out of everything every way possible you were at risk of losing a lot of work.
Surely this self-owning Labour gov must be thrilled at Nigel “Shout at the Sea” Farage rapidly turning Reform into a safe house for washed up failed Tory MPs of former high profile. Deforming Reform.
January 26, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Surely this self-owning Labour gov must be thrilled at Nigel “Shout at the Sea” Farage rapidly turning Reform into a safe house for washed up failed Tory MPs of former high profile. Deforming Reform.
Reposted by J McLaren
This tabor pipe, found outside the Carpenter's cabin of the Mary Rose in 1981, is made of knotty boxwood
Tabor pipes were played with a Tabor drum by the same musician, which is why there are only three holes, so it can be played with one hand while the other beats out a rhythm.
Tabor pipes were played with a Tabor drum by the same musician, which is why there are only three holes, so it can be played with one hand while the other beats out a rhythm.
January 26, 2026 at 10:15 AM
This tabor pipe, found outside the Carpenter's cabin of the Mary Rose in 1981, is made of knotty boxwood
Tabor pipes were played with a Tabor drum by the same musician, which is why there are only three holes, so it can be played with one hand while the other beats out a rhythm.
Tabor pipes were played with a Tabor drum by the same musician, which is why there are only three holes, so it can be played with one hand while the other beats out a rhythm.
Reposted by J McLaren
Trump imposing tariffs...
January 23, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Trump imposing tariffs...
Undecided. lol. Wanted to grasp new tech so bought sub to a platform - using it to make apps for months. Really enjoying myself. Recipe/shopping app for myself. A few apps for my Mac. Social media blockers for the kids (unused lol). Football tipping app for a friend etc. Depends on use I suspect.
“If you are not gaining a new capability in exchange for the one you have outsourced, you may be conceding to the algorithms” writes Noel Carroll of the University of Galway
theconversation.com/is-ai-hurtin...
theconversation.com/is-ai-hurtin...
Is AI hurting your ability to think? How to reclaim your brain
AI is replacing tasks we have grown reluctant to do ourselves – thinking, writing, creating, analysing.
theconversation.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Undecided. lol. Wanted to grasp new tech so bought sub to a platform - using it to make apps for months. Really enjoying myself. Recipe/shopping app for myself. A few apps for my Mac. Social media blockers for the kids (unused lol). Football tipping app for a friend etc. Depends on use I suspect.
Reposted by J McLaren
Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.
Trump on NATO: "I've always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That's really the ultimate test. I'm not sure of that. We've never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan and this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, off the front lines."
January 22, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.
It’s now the big question, how much will the USA let Trump degrade them?
Trump on NATO:
"The problem with NATO is that we'll be there for them 100% but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us, if we gave them the call".
We did get the call on 9/11. 26 NATO members sent troops to defend the US. Hundreds died doing so. It was the only time Article 5 has been activated.
"The problem with NATO is that we'll be there for them 100% but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us, if we gave them the call".
We did get the call on 9/11. 26 NATO members sent troops to defend the US. Hundreds died doing so. It was the only time Article 5 has been activated.
January 21, 2026 at 7:28 PM
It’s now the big question, how much will the USA let Trump degrade them?
Just with a lot less style.
January 21, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Just with a lot less style.
When I was a teenager I used to give my Dad the books I had read to read. He did. It was a good thing we shared (Mostly sci fi, fantasy etc at the time). My teenage daughter has just spontaneously done the same. I will read and read. This makes me happy.
January 21, 2026 at 9:16 AM
When I was a teenager I used to give my Dad the books I had read to read. He did. It was a good thing we shared (Mostly sci fi, fantasy etc at the time). My teenage daughter has just spontaneously done the same. I will read and read. This makes me happy.
They could just keep pulling out spark plugs for non-essential things mid-flight? Forever? Presumably this plane can refuel in flight? Forever? Worth the carbon cost. This one time. Forever.
Trump’s Air Force One turns back to Washington after ‘minor electrical issue’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Trump’s Air Force One turns back to Washington after ‘minor electrical issue’
US president boards another aircraft to continue trip to World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:10 AM
They could just keep pulling out spark plugs for non-essential things mid-flight? Forever? Presumably this plane can refuel in flight? Forever? Worth the carbon cost. This one time. Forever.
I confess I don’t always look at this app or any app upon waking up. But when I do it’s normally because I’ve gone “Shit! Is he dead yet?”
January 21, 2026 at 9:08 AM
I confess I don’t always look at this app or any app upon waking up. But when I do it’s normally because I’ve gone “Shit! Is he dead yet?”