Jane McLaren
jwpolite.bsky.social
Jane McLaren
@jwpolite.bsky.social
CleanAir. Climate Change/ Wildlife/ Public Health. Support Science. Keep our NHS 1948 equity in "we the people" choosing when to see a qualified GP. Dont erode trust in the NHS with barriers to access. Employ more GPs.
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Good interview in the paper, this. I think Sadiq is right: London 'needs' to be less successful than it is for a bunch of political arguments here in the UK to work, hence the fictions being invented about it:
Populists attack London because it is ‘progressive and successful’, says Sadiq Khan
Rightwing attacks on one of the world’s most visited cities at odds with reality, says mayor
www.ft.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
‘The shamans of Siberia used the mushroom fly agaric to achieve ecstatic trances, drinking the urine of reindeer that had browsed on it. Our own Father Christmas may be a tortuous folk-memory of this cult.’

Charles Nicholl on St Nick’s trippy past, from the archive.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v0...
December 25, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
He seems angry.
Stephen Miller wants everyone at 60 Minutes who “engaged in this revolt” (aka told the truth) fired
December 24, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Our #Lego display cases are packed full of fabulously festive LEGO models for our MERRY & BRIGHT #OrkneyLibraryLego theme! 🎄🎁

All made by library users using our #Lego collection. Thanks to everyone who made us a #Christmas model! ❤️

Our first theme of 2026 will be SPACE! 🚀🛰☄️
December 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Everyone is porcupining and bracing for war. Finland has raised the reservist age to 65, bringing its reserve force to nearly one million. The memory of the Winter War with the USSR continues to shape Finnish thinking. yle.fi/a/74-20201345
Finland raises reservist age to 65
The reserve force will gradually swell to one million.
yle.fi
December 24, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Reposted by Jane McLaren
The holidays are meant for connection, not illness.

COVID, flu, RSV & measles can spread easily during gatherings, often from people who don’t yet feel sick. COVID in particular remains airborne, persistent & capable of causing long-term health impacts — even after mild or asymptomatic infections.
December 22, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
A safer holiday season doesn’t require perfection. It requires awareness, shared responsibility, and practical steps that reduce risk — like staying home when sick, improving indoor air, masking when needed, and testing around gatherings.

Care is not an overreaction.
It’s how we protect one another
How Not to Give or Get COVID for Christmas - WHN
No one wants to be sick for the holidays! Gathering with friends and family during the holidays can spread more than just good cheer; some guests could unknowingly pass along a viral illness like COVI...
whn.global
December 22, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Greta Thunberg arrested at a protest supporting Palestine Action hunger strikers
Greta Thunberg arrested at a protest supporting Palestine Action hunger strikers
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested in central London at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action hunger strikers.
news.sky.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE

This could’ve been avoided 30 years ago.

Maria Farmer’s 1996 FBI complaint has been unearthed in the Epstein files. It was the first time he was reported to the authorities. And they buried it.

“If the FBI had listened to me in 1996, there would’ve been no more victims.”
December 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
“The New York Times contacted Ms. Farmer about a report stamped with the date of Sept. 3, 1996. She broke down in tears.

“I’ve waited 30 years,” she said. “I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
HUGE NEWS from the new Epstein files:

Records show that Maria Farmer, who worked for Epstein, filed a "child pornography" report to the FBI in 1996.

The FBI has never before acknowledged that complaint. The case went nowhere, and mass abuse followed.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
Epstein Files Include 1996 Child Porn Complaint That F.B.I. Ignored
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Remember this?

James O'Keefe got Pam Bondi on video last May saying the FBI was processing “tens of thousands of videos” of Epstein “with little kids.”

Then she told reporters “There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn.”

www.mediaite.com/politics/att...
Attorney General Pam Bondi Was Secretly Recorded in Video Published by James O’Keefe
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was secretly recorded discussing the FBI's files on Jeffrey Epstein in a video published by James O'Keefe.
www.mediaite.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Sick and tired?

Influenza test positivity is very high in Ontario and remains the highest in children (5-11 yrs) at 73.3% and adolescents (12-19 yrs) at 67.3%. COVID-19 and RSV are also circulating.

These viruses are airborne: we get sick by breathing them in!

But it doesn't have to be this way!
December 22, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
“Destroying Knowledge”: Michael Mann on Trump’s Dismantling of Key Climate Center in Colorado | My interview earlier today with Amy Goodman on @democracynow.org: www.democracynow.org/2025/12/22/s...
“Destroying Knowledge”: Michael Mann on Trump’s Dismantling of Key Climate Center in Colorado
Climate scientists and meteorologists are sounding the alarm after White House budget director Russell Vought announced the Trump administration will break up the National Center for Atmospheric Resea...
www.democracynow.org
December 22, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
The Global Cooling Watch 2025 shows how smarter, fairer, sustainable cooling can save lives, cut pollution, and help billions stay safe from extreme heat.

More info: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

#YearInReview
December 22, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
In English we know it as “Carol of the Bells,” but the melody arises from a Ukrainian folk tradition of songs welcoming the new year and summoning the forces of nature to meet human labor and bring prosperity.
Do listen.
I wrote about the history here: snyder.substack.com/p/o-generous...
Another beautiful Shchedryk performance amidst ruins.

It was set in what used to be a DTEK thermal power plant — now destroyed by russia.

The contrast between russia’s destructive nature and the Ukrainian will to create beauty even in the darkest times is palpable.
December 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
As a historian I've looked at hundreds of thousands of pages of government documents. And I just have to say that aside from being obviously illegal and clearly suggestive of some major crime, this “redaction” business is not a position in which serious people or serious governments find themselves
There is no basis to withhold these images under the clear terms of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. None.
WOW: The DOJ has DELETED an image from its release of the Epstein files that shows photos of Trump in a drawer.

Yesterday, we noted that this image — file 468 — likely slipped through the cracks while officials were attempting to hide materials pertaining to Trump.

Now, it’s gone.
December 21, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
👇
Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics via Johns Hopkins U Press is now #20 in epidemiology in Amazon and 40% off...

Addresses the roots of Covid grievances (hint: never the flu) & how to realign preparedness to control silent spread:

www.amazon.com/Asymptomatic...
December 22, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
"Prior to contracting covid, I lived a very active life. I enjoyed my work as a nurse. The Government has said that the pay scheme was a temporary thing. But my illness hasn’t been temporary, none of us realised we were going to end up like this"
-

#LongCOVID
December 20, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
A new Australian study using a Bayesian network model estimates the risk of at least one Long COVID symptom 6 months after #COVID19 for completely vaccinated (2+ doses) people:

1st infection: 32%
2nd infection: 48%
3rd infection: 55%

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

1/2
Estimating risk of long COVID using a Bayesian network-based decision support tool
Long COVID causes substantial health burden globally, affecting over 30 % of adults who have ever had symptomatic COVID-19. Individuals at continued r…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
"Here's to more light."
This is the sweetest thing and I hope they keep hanging out periodically
December 20, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
I wanted to finish this before year's end & I did. 😁
I LOVED it.
Such a pleasure to read, information-rich, fascinating but accessible. 🎁🎅
Air-Borne by Carl Zimmer
www.scientificamerican.com/article/book...
@carlzimmer.com
Plant pathogens covered as well as human 💚
Even Norman Bourlag!
December 20, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
Most people have memory-holed 2020-2022, but we experienced generational trauma on a global scale and at some point that kind of thing bubbles up to the collective consciousness.

Then and only then will we realize the extent to which grief and loss looms over every decision we have made ever since
December 20, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
DOJ broke the law today by refusing to produce all the Epstein files. It also broke the law by redacting information other than to protect victims. Yet, the corporate media is acting that DOJ did us a huge favor.

Now, more than ever, help build independent, pro-democracy media. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0
December 20, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Jane McLaren
🇨🇦 Canadians need an answer to this question too, @mark-carney.bsky.social -
Good ventilation and air filtration are critical tools in preventing respiratory infections.

The Government must assess current standards in hospitals and schools — and act where they fall short.

#Flu #Covid #Ventilation

Full response 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-1...
December 19, 2025 at 12:50 PM