Clare O'Brien

Quietly, calmly and forensically, BBC just dismantled the Trump communications shitshow on Iran.

No hyperbole, just laying out an unprecedented military, diplomatic and reputational shambles.

Worth a watch.

(🎥 BBC News/BBC Verify)

'Breathing Out Becomes White And Snowfall' by Clare O'Brien (Intergraphia Books) https://intergraphia.cargo.site/Clare-O-Brien

'Airloc' by Clare O'Brien (ELJ Editions) https://www.amazon.co.uk/AIRLOC-Clare-OBrien/dp/1941617670/

'Who Am I Supposed To Be Driving?' by Clare O'Brien (Hedgehog Poetry Press) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-supposed-driving-Clare-OBrien/dp/191349912X/

On #WorldBookDay, I'm shamelessly self-publicising my own wee chapbooks! Might sell one or two more, who knows.!
Breathing Out Becomes White And Snowfall
intergraphia.cargo.site/Clare-O-Brien
Airloc
www.amazon.co.uk/AIRLOC-Clare...
Who Am I Supposed To Be Driving? www.amazon.co.uk/Who-supposed...

Is there any difference between Hitler and Hegseth in terms of content? The only difference I see is stylistic, in that Hitler sounds like a gothic villain and Hegseth sounds like a 12 year old gamer blitzed on energy drinks.

Call me a luddite but I kind of prefer the old version of the Devil who used to put a murrain on crops and command his demon dogs to terrorise church congregations to the new one who insists on having an app for everything and gets rich by designing clever ways of capitalising on people's fatigue.

Iranian warship sank by US sub in Indian Ocean, Hegseth says Sri Lanka's navy says around 140 people are feared missing after a military vessel went down off its southern coast.

Um, the Americans didn't like it much when Japan sank their ships without actually declaring war, did they?

Everyone in my house said the same thing.

How stupid are these people? Mythology is wonderful, but it is composed of metaphors, not literal truth.

Good, get these racist fascists out of Scotland.

US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war

I'm not in the habit of rubbishing people's religious beliefs, but telling troops that Trump is anointed by God to launch Armageddon is either cynical exploitation of the credulous or plain old barking batshit. Either way the military commanders responsible should be removed forthwith.

Also can one perhaps mention how long it took the almighty US of A to notice that WW2 was happening and give Churchill a hand?

Trump slams Starmer - 'this is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with' After singling out Spain, he turned his attention to the UK, telling the media he is "not happy" with the country.

Nope, and we're not dealing with Roosevelt, you brainless orange shit balloon.

Froggy went a courtin' ... 😊

It's actually romantic, to steal a line from Taylor Swift.

Hmm, I think it's the USA that's become unrecognisable of late, thanks to Trump & co.

At least we now know the one issue on which Keir Starmer will never u-turn: Scottish independence. He’ll twist and turn on any other matter - even war - but he’s an implacable mountain of certainty when it comes to democracy, or the denial of it, in Scotland
www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

UK ‘took far too long’ to let US use its airbases to attack Iran, Trump says US president also ‘very disappointed’ in Keir Starmer over UK government’s deal to hand Chagos Islands to Mauritius

I'd stay the fuck out of it. Joining in with American aggression only puts UK citizens in more danger. Also, if the move was intended to curry favour with arch-bully Trump, it didn't work, because apparently Starmer didn't join in fast enough.

If he's allowing US planes to use our bases, I doubt he can control what they do after they take off.

UK will allow US to use bases to strike Iranian missile sites, says Starmer The prime minister says it remains the case that the UK will

Keir Starmer is an unprincipled coward who changes his mind more often than most people change their socks. I assume he's once again caved in to pressure from the orange twat in the hat. About time he realised that the US of A is no longer our ally. Let it stew in the juice it's squeezed.

Anyone else on #booksky have trouble reading ebooks? I find it uncomfortable - my eye skips down the screen & I lose mental focus in a way I don't with print. Even the benefits of backlighting don't help. Maybe it's one of the ill-effects of digesting tiny snippets of info on news and social sites.

'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox' by Maggie O'Farrell 'The Hills Is Lonely' by Lillian Beckwith 'The Need' by Helen Phillips 'Caledonian Road' by Andrew O'Hagan 'Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer' by Louise Pearson

Books I read in February... two very different looks at the past in two very different parts of Scotland, a psychological thriller about the pressures of motherhood, an exposé of corruption in London's high and low places, and a look at some wonderfully creative aerial photography.
#booksky 📚💙

Life is an act of narrative will.

So presumably this Daily Mail campaign against "foreign-born" voters will quickly be applied to their foreign-born star columnist, Boris Johnson, and their own France-based for tax purposes non-dom owner?

Brit Awards 2026: Jack Whitehall's Political Joke Was Censored By ITV Brits producers pulled the sound when the comedian made a joke about Peter Mandelson.

Not one of these moments should have been bleeped.

This is an illegal, unprovoked and brutal attack that shows once again that the USA and Israel are rogue states.

The UK must end our cosy relationship with the USA and our ongoing support for Israel.

Is Starmer on drugs? When he said "indiscriminate attacks" I thought he was talking about the US or Israel but no... He was talking about Iran retaliating!?

Quite.

Iran latest: US and Israel target leadership sites as Tehran retaliates with strikes across region US President Donald Trump says

I agree that it's not a good idea for nutters in Iran to have nuclear weapons. But then I remembered the nutters in the USA and the nutters in Israel have already got them. And perhaps I'm missing something, but I'm not sure how sending the whole of the middle east up in smoke really helps anyone.

It's more than merely an embarassment. It makes me wonder whether Starmer is not merely tone-deaf. Does he actually believe in this Reform-lite, pro-Israeli, pro-AI shit he espouses?

Well he can fuck off if he expects any help from Europe.

Song Of Sixpence What swims in gravy under puff pastry layers? The black birds are silenced. The proof’s in the eating. - Clare O’Brien

I've been busy with family stuff and away from my #poetry for a while, but here's something domestically ekphrastic for #fragmentsfriday - thanks to @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social
and @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social
PS The pie was tasty.