John McLaren

I keep on saying:

 Do not go to LLMs like ChatGPT for information.

DO NOT GO TO LLMs LIKE ChatGPT FOR INFORMATION.

Do not go to LLMs like ChatGPT for information.

I think one gets a lot of insight into contemporary Iranian society from the excellent films of Jafar Panahi as well.

www.imdb.com/title/tt3649...

The cover of The Complete Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi.

Now would be a good time for anyone who wants to learn about recent Iranian history to read this. It is well worth your time and money (I am sure your local library has it if you don’t want to purchase it).

This war is dumb and illegal

“Children.”

TOWN HALL MID-SESSION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE with Senator Deeds, Delegate Laufer & Delegate Callsen Sunday, March 1, 2026 2 - 3:30 pm 2 Virtual RSVP: bit.ly/2026-Midsession- Legislative-Update

TODAY, Sunday, March 1.

I was born in an Iranian prison. My parents were held in their jails. My uncles lie in their mass graves. Nothing you can tell me about the crimes of the Iranian regime that I haven't lived in blood and bone. That doesn't mean I want my people bombed, maimed, killed, their homes in ruins. If your vision of liberation comes only through the destruction of innocent lives, then it's not freedom you're after. Sahar Delijani, Iranian author

I am pro Iranian people. I stand with them against their own government’s repression AND against the imperial violence in the form of bombs dropped from the sky from Israel & the US who have already killed hundreds.

I support neither imperialism or dictatorship.

Sahar Delijani said it best:

You know what DID age well?

“Law of unintended consequences might actually be a thing.”

🥵

Amazing. This will not be popular even in the reddist parts of the district.

“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective.”

"Trump...launched a war that is illegal, ideological, and likely to cost American lives...he said less than a year ago that he had obliterated the very threat he now says justifies the war. He was either lying then, now, or both times." - @tomperriello.bsky.social bluevirginia.us/2026/02/sen-...

Tulsi literally sold shirts

TODAY, 2/28/26!

I have seen no indication there was any immediate threat to Americans. So why did we put troops in harms way and potentially ignite another forever war?

Read it again. We killed 85 schoolgirls this morning.

Crowd of people, backs turned, looking towards the Mall & the Free Speech Wall in Charlottesville.

Crowd of people, backs turned, looking towards Ting & the Free Speech Wall in Charlottesville.

Big crowd, lots of voices at yesterday's Sing Out! on the DTM.

STATEMENT: BETH MACY ON IRAN STRIKES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 28, 2026 ROANOKE, VA — Beth Macy for Congress released the following statement on President Trump's strikes on Iran: "President Trump's attack on Iran is a colossal, dangerous blunder that threatens global security, underscores his own ineptitude as a self-proclaimed dealmaker and intends to distract us from his incompetence and corruption. Not coincidentally, this attack comes at the end of a week that saw more bad inflation numbers, more fallout from the Epstein scandal and an incoherent State of the Union speech that flopped before America's eyes. Congress must restrain the president, who is just trying to distract us from the terrible economy and Epstein files by endangering our troops and launching the United States into another forever war in the Middle East. Once again, an unpopular Republican president has led us into a forever war which will only result in devastating consequences for the United States and the world. And Republicans in Congress appear set to fail once again to stand up for the Constitution and rein in this reckless presidency."

"President Trump's attack on Iran is a colossal, dangerous blunder that threatens global security, underscores his own ineptitude as a self-proclaimed dealmaker and intends to distract us from his incompetence and corruption." - @papergirlmacy bluevirginia.us/2026/02/sen-...

👇🏽

Become a monthly supporter! Help build the Democratic Party in 7 battleground states at once!

🚨 Since helping Dems keep & flip seats blue is the only skill I have which is remotely relevant to this Iran invasion madness:

Become a *RECURRING* supporter of all 7 battleground state parties at once today: #Blue26

secure.actblue.com/donate/battl...

Kaine vows to block potential U.S. war with Iran WASHINGTON (CBS19 NEWS) -- U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said he will do everything he can to prevent Donald Trump from taking the United States to war with Iran, calling such

Kaine vows to block potential U.S. war with Iran

Screenshot via @ceej.online of a Department of War tweet saying, in all caps, "OPERATION EPIC FURY" and a flag emoji. sent 12:27am, 2/28/26.

Screenshot of a report from france24.com of a report that 85 girls were killed at a school by a US/Israeli airstrike. Daniel sieradski @self.agency sarcastically comments "the threat has been neutralized, god bless our troops"

This was a hell of a thing to look at first thing today.

Probably shouldn't be surprising that this administration is so mad at girls learning things.

"President Trump's decision to bomb Iran is indefensible. Vague objectives, inflated threat perceptions, and regime-change fantasies threaten to pull the US into a costly war that Americans don't want. The US is barreling toward another Middle East crisis of its own making." - JON HOFFMAN RESEARCH FELLOW iN DEFENSE AND FOREIGN POLICY CATO INSTITUTE

"President Trump's decision to bomb Iran is indefensible. This was not about preempting an imminent threa - it was a strategically misguided power play, with no discernible endgame."

Jon Hoffman
Research Fellow in Defense and Foreign Policy
Cato Institute

"Cancel ChatGPT" movement goes big after OpenAI's latest move After Anthropic refused flat out to agree to apply Claude AI to autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of American citizens, OpenAI jumps right into bed with the United States Department of War.

https://www.windowscentral.com/artificial-intelligence/cancel-chatgpt-movement-goes-mainstream-after-openai-closes-deal-with-u-s-department-of-war-as-anthropic-refuses-to-surveil-american-citizens “There are no moral leaders in this space” #CancelChatGPT #AIBubble #ethics

‘Visions of Progress’ photographs 1920’s Black Charlottesville residents The “Visions of Progress: Portraits of Dignity, Style and Racial Uplift” exhibit is on display at the local Trinity Episcopal Church until Mar. 11.

Would enjoy seeing this.

www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026...

Am
Still
Hiring
Get
Your
Apps
In

I read it a couple of years ago on my Kindle. Loved it. But at one point I clicked on the lower-left corner of the page to see how much was left in the chapter, and I got:

"5 minutes left in chapter
"55 hours left in book"

That took me aback a bit.

The Handbasket 100% independent journalism by Marisa Kabas

Now that CNN and WBD are set to become state media in a sale to Paramount/Oracle/TikTok, it is especially important to support independent media.

Off the top of my head:

www.thehandbasket.co
404media.co
www.garbageday.email

Add your favorites in the replies. Fuck state-backed media monopolies.

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