MarkEMcDonald
@markemcdonald.bsky.social
Passionate about children’s social care, and children’s rights, book lover, injustice hater, northerner, husband- seeking to uplift others. Previously at Just for Kids Law and Coram Voice
Posts own views, RTs not endorsement
Posts own views, RTs not endorsement
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
No shock here: The Guardian notes several phrases in the U.S. peace proposal to Ukraine appear to be directly translated from Russian.
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
No shock here: The Guardian notes several phrases in the U.S. peace proposal to Ukraine appear to be directly translated from Russian.
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
One standout is the line “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries,” a clunky English phrasing mirroring the Russian “ожидается.”
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Headline still there this morning. Some newspapers will be chuffed. Won't stop them waging war on the Beeb, of course.
November 21, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Headline still there this morning. Some newspapers will be chuffed. Won't stop them waging war on the Beeb, of course.
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
can we just ban llm based chatbots in all social, cultural and education spaces
I asked grok who was the better role model for humanity, Jesus Christ or Elon Musk. GUESS WHAT.
November 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
can we just ban llm based chatbots in all social, cultural and education spaces
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
So THAT’s why he called it that, he was missing his buddy
November 14, 2025 at 11:34 PM
So THAT’s why he called it that, he was missing his buddy
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
If one assumes Starmer will be gone after May, then the more they try to appeal to the right now, the more that leadership election is going to be about tacking back. (Especially if the Greens do well in London and other cities).
November 15, 2025 at 8:57 AM
If one assumes Starmer will be gone after May, then the more they try to appeal to the right now, the more that leadership election is going to be about tacking back. (Especially if the Greens do well in London and other cities).
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
The distortive power and influence wielded by billionaires and now trillionaires is incompatible with democracy.
November 7, 2025 at 7:13 AM
The distortive power and influence wielded by billionaires and now trillionaires is incompatible with democracy.
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
narrator: no, it cannot
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
Should facial analysis help determine whom companies hire?
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
econ.st
November 6, 2025 at 9:32 PM
narrator: no, it cannot
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Nigel Farage, whose party recently put a teenager with zero work experience of any kind, in charge of running an entire county, is currently giving a speech railing against "unqualified" politicians being put in charge of Government departments
November 3, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Nigel Farage, whose party recently put a teenager with zero work experience of any kind, in charge of running an entire county, is currently giving a speech railing against "unqualified" politicians being put in charge of Government departments
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
All in favour of shared spaces that get people out and about and it you’re going to burn money on gambling then yeah, better to do so with a friendly person on hand. But still some incredible “men’s mental health” lobbying against a gambling tax in the Sunday Times. www.thetimes.com/article/f115...
November 1, 2025 at 10:03 PM
All in favour of shared spaces that get people out and about and it you’re going to burn money on gambling then yeah, better to do so with a friendly person on hand. But still some incredible “men’s mental health” lobbying against a gambling tax in the Sunday Times. www.thetimes.com/article/f115...
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Updating my LEGO White House
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Updating my LEGO White House
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Turns out that for the last 24 hours the main link to become a subscriber and read the full story hasn’t actually being working! I tried to fire the finance, product and customer support teams for gross negligence but it turns out they’re all me.
So, er, if anyone wants another go today…
So, er, if anyone wants another go today…
I think this is the weirdest story I've ever reported. www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball...
The snail farmer of London, his mafia friends, and a £20m vendetta against the taxman
Terry Ball runs elaborate mollusc-based tax avoidance schemes that are costing London councils millions of pounds. Yet when London Centric tracks him down, an even stranger story emerges.
www.londoncentric.media
October 19, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Turns out that for the last 24 hours the main link to become a subscriber and read the full story hasn’t actually being working! I tried to fire the finance, product and customer support teams for gross negligence but it turns out they’re all me.
So, er, if anyone wants another go today…
So, er, if anyone wants another go today…
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
last i checked these young republicans were like 25 years old. but this is a classic case of infantilization to diminish the significance of the offense. www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Vance downplays group chat messages: ‘Kids do stupid things, especially young boys.’
The vice president called the texts "edgy, offensive jokes."
www.yahoo.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
last i checked these young republicans were like 25 years old. but this is a classic case of infantilization to diminish the significance of the offense. www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
What qualifies Kate Middleton to co author with Prof Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School on the subject of screentime and smartphones?
Her degree is in art history and her career was spent working for a clothing company.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Her degree is in art history and her career was spent working for a clothing company.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Kate warns too much screen time damages family life
The Princess of Wales says that smartphones and digital devices are causing an
www.bbc.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 12:22 PM
What qualifies Kate Middleton to co author with Prof Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School on the subject of screentime and smartphones?
Her degree is in art history and her career was spent working for a clothing company.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Her degree is in art history and her career was spent working for a clothing company.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
UAE has no democratically elected institutions, no free speech and an appalling human rights record.
Its economy functions on completely different metrics to the ours & ranks well below us for GDP
No serious person would ever think that we should emulate it.
But here's Tice calling us decadent
Its economy functions on completely different metrics to the ours & ranks well below us for GDP
No serious person would ever think that we should emulate it.
But here's Tice calling us decadent
October 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
UAE has no democratically elected institutions, no free speech and an appalling human rights record.
Its economy functions on completely different metrics to the ours & ranks well below us for GDP
No serious person would ever think that we should emulate it.
But here's Tice calling us decadent
Its economy functions on completely different metrics to the ours & ranks well below us for GDP
No serious person would ever think that we should emulate it.
But here's Tice calling us decadent
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
By integrating sharia law into our legal system? Not bothering with democracy?
We must emulate the United Arab Emirates, apparently.
Where to even start...?
Where to even start...?
October 7, 2025 at 1:39 PM
By integrating sharia law into our legal system? Not bothering with democracy?
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Amazed this is still going ahead - basic and obvious problem is that essentially everything local government does now is for the poor. You can’t move it around without really hurting poor people somewhere!
Some of London’s poorest areas could see their share of the children’s services funding formula halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government grants.
By me, for Politics Home: www.politicshome.com/news/article...
By me, for Politics Home: www.politicshome.com/news/article...
London Councils Face Losing Half Their Share Of Children's Services Funding
Some of London’s poorest areas could see their share of funding for children’s services halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government gran...
www.politicshome.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Amazed this is still going ahead - basic and obvious problem is that essentially everything local government does now is for the poor. You can’t move it around without really hurting poor people somewhere!
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
The revelations are detailed in a 1283-page court bundle disclosed in an ongoing tribunal against Carter-Ruck partner Claire Gill for her work on behalf of OneCoin – whose co-founder is now on the FBI’s most wanted list
Carter-Ruck partner prosecuted for ‘improper’ threat to sue
Claire Gill understood to be facing tribunal over letter attempting to silence victim of a huge fraud scheme, as reported by TBIJ
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:31 AM
The revelations are detailed in a 1283-page court bundle disclosed in an ongoing tribunal against Carter-Ruck partner Claire Gill for her work on behalf of OneCoin – whose co-founder is now on the FBI’s most wanted list
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
London libel firm Carter-Ruck tried to “silence” a police investigator who had been trying to protect the public from a $4bn crypto scam, new court documents reveal
City lawyers tried to ‘silence’ police fraud investigator
Carter-Ruck launched campaign against London detective on behalf of $4bn crypto scam, according to court documents
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:31 AM
London libel firm Carter-Ruck tried to “silence” a police investigator who had been trying to protect the public from a $4bn crypto scam, new court documents reveal
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
A lesser political leader would try to find a line that it's only natural, especially at a time like this, or arguing that it's a distraction from the real issues. Not Our Kemi. Deny, deny, deny the thing that there were many cameras pointed directly at.
Badenoch denies empty seats an issue at Tory conference
Badenoch denies empty seats an issue at Tory conference
On Monday, shadow chancellor Mel Stride gave his speech to a partially empty hall in Manchester.
www.bbc.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:33 AM
A lesser political leader would try to find a line that it's only natural, especially at a time like this, or arguing that it's a distraction from the real issues. Not Our Kemi. Deny, deny, deny the thing that there were many cameras pointed directly at.
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
I just have no idea who the Tories think the audience is for full bore authoritarianism plus austerity. Very few who want the former want the latter.
October 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I just have no idea who the Tories think the audience is for full bore authoritarianism plus austerity. Very few who want the former want the latter.
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
“We were VERY naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and are not interested in survival of our democracies”
French President Emmanuel Macron
Check minute 19
lnkd.in/eXkJHnPN #EUCO #euro
French President Emmanuel Macron
Check minute 19
lnkd.in/eXkJHnPN #EUCO #euro
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
October 4, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“We were VERY naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and are not interested in survival of our democracies”
French President Emmanuel Macron
Check minute 19
lnkd.in/eXkJHnPN #EUCO #euro
French President Emmanuel Macron
Check minute 19
lnkd.in/eXkJHnPN #EUCO #euro
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Damn. Maybe Ukraine should gift Trump a fancy plane.
October 1, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Damn. Maybe Ukraine should gift Trump a fancy plane.
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Right-wing media fluffs Farage for years, to the point where he now leads the polls, and then start whining about Starmer being 'obsessed' when he starts telling some long overdue home truths. It's actually hilarious.
October 1, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Right-wing media fluffs Farage for years, to the point where he now leads the polls, and then start whining about Starmer being 'obsessed' when he starts telling some long overdue home truths. It's actually hilarious.
Reposted by MarkEMcDonald
Republicans would rather shut down the government than help millions of Americans afford health care. This article tells some of their stories, and is a good reminder of what’s at stake.
These people have found their health care at the center of a shutdown showdown
Small business owners, self-employed people and early retirees are among the 24 million Americans who could lose the tax credit
www.usatoday.com
September 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Republicans would rather shut down the government than help millions of Americans afford health care. This article tells some of their stories, and is a good reminder of what’s at stake.