Alasdair MacDonald

Alasdair MacDonald

@macdonwald.bsky.social

Former university administrator; happily married step-dad to three, and cat-servant to two. Also a “middle-class leftie remoaner lunatic" (wtt Dan Wootton). There are places to visit, books to read, guitars to play, and songs to sing.

1.9K followers2.3K following5.4K posts

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Left: President Trump insults Norway calling it a sh*thouse country Right: Visit Norway, the tourism board, trolls President Trump, displaying some of their best toilets on their Instagram 😅

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

This has all become so normalised and yet... this is not normal.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

Norway: "I didn't get the Nobel Prize so I don't want anybody from Norway. I don't want anything to do with Norway…Frankly, Norway sucks. Norway has become a shithouse country, actually."

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

When you've been sold the same crock of shit for as long as you can remember, why would you even consider buying it one more time, especially when it's being resold by the biggest bullshit artist of all time.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

The humanitarian Putin bombed more civilians today. Maybe Witkoff should spend a couple weeks in Kyiv to see first hand how much of a humanitarian his friend in Moscow is.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

“When I look round the boardroom at the other board members Palantir has recently also recruited from the House of Lords – notably Lord Vader and Lord Voldemort – I don’t have any sense that these people are evil,” said Watson. From the new Private Eye, out now.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Public ownership of water is way better than privatisation. Here's why. Andy Burnham MUST block the Thames Water bailout and bring it into public ownership. Sign the petition NOW: vist.ly/5pavf

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

California’s billionaires have a combined net worth of $2.4 trillion. Under Prop 40, their net worth would fall to…just under $2.3 trillion. What amounts to a rounding error for them would allow millions of their fellow Californians to afford healthcare. Vote yes on Prop 40.

theguardian.comThe ultra-rich are spending one million dollars a day fighting California’s proposed billionaire taxTech billionaires have raised more than $340m to defeat Prop 40, a one-time 5% wealth tax that will fund healthcare and

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Target pensions or welfare, don't tax banks, neoliberal IMF tells UK Chancellor. Silence on corporate welfare, bank subsidies and profiteering; poverty, equitable distribution of income and wealth. Sacrificing the old, poor, sick to the gods of fiscal rules, so that banks are not inconvenienced.

theguardian.comTarget pensions or welfare, not banks, IMF tells John HealeySupporters of planned tax, however, say banks were bailed out by taxpayers during the financial crisis and can afford to pay more now

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Trump has no right to call anyone a disgrace, let alone Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy is the courageous President of a country that is fighting for its freedom and democracy. Trump is a corrupt abomination who prefers the company of autocrats and oligarchs. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

theguardian.comTrump calls Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian oil refineries a ‘disgrace’US president describes Zelenskyy as ‘more difficult ​to deal with ​than Putin’ after so-called energy ceasefire collapses

Anything in this thread to make one think that the senator owns a vineyard, by any chance?

Sen. Adam Schiff@schiff.senate.gov

I just returned from my first CODEL to Canada, where I advocated for my California constituents suffering from the president’s tariff wars with our Northern neighbor. Canadians have been among our closest allies, fighting side-by-side in both world wars and innumerable other conflicts.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Zelensky is welcomed by EU leaders at the Brussels summit. On this side of the Atlantic, no other leader commands this level of love and respect.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

I want to believe in “a better America” and to agree with those who say “this is not who we are as a country.” But, hope is not a strategy. It’s not enough to say it, it has to BE it, and until then, the world must treat with 🇺🇸 as it currently IS - depraved, disloyal, disruptive and dangerous.

Alex Hall Hall@alexhh.bsky.social

“Look in the mirror, 🇺🇸”. No matter how many times you say “this is not who we are as a country”; right now it IS. 🇺🇸 has twice elected a corrupt, selfish bully who abandons allies, deals with enemies, rejects science and medicine, attacks other countries, harms the vulnerable and pardons criminals.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Reform is a racist party, its leader is a racist, its MPs are racists and its policies are racist. Anybody who supports Reform is supporting racism, either because they themselves are racist or because they are too stupid to realise they are supporting racism, but they can't say we didn't tell them.

“Reform UK has been rocked by a fresh crisis after councillors and election candidates for the party were caught on film making graphic threats of extreme violence and expressing racist and misogynistic views.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...?

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

If this country was truly “pro-life,” we would have Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, gun reform, universal child care, and a living wage. And we certainly wouldn't have public executions. The right-wing agenda isn’t about “life.” It's about cruelty.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

So, she never actually took the American bar exam. She’s an attorney in the same way that I’m a talking fucking unicorn. I can tell you I’m a unicorn all day long, but it still won’t make me a fucking unicorn. jojofromjerz.substack.com/p/trumps-new...

jojofromjerz.substack.comTrump’s New Press Secretary Needed a Cheat Sheet to Kiss His AssHe wanted someone to swallow his bullshit. He got someone who chokes on conjunctions.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Pretty clear that Trump/Hegseth are doing everything they can to force Ukraine to surrender to Putin by withholding all US assistance while actively helping fund the Russian war machine to kill as many civilians as possible including kids. What a dark, evil chapter in US history.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Everyone still on X. Everyone Elon Musk has turned off his Starlink satellite in favour of Russia. He’s working against Ukraine and working against us. It’s terrifying and YOU ARE ALL working against the safety and security of all of us, including your own families.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Reminder that the EU had no compunction about banning Russia Today. If anything, Musk’s behaviour is more egregious - directly assisting a foreign enemy's military attack. And this is on top of his support for race riots, Nazis and CSAM! By any measure, a threat to national security.

Steve Peers@stevepeers.bsky.social

It's legitimate for the EU, the UK, Canada and others to support their Ukrainian ally. If Musk is going to (in effect) assist Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine's allies should sanction Starlink, X and Tesla. At the very least, governments (and people) should stop using his fucking site already.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

I was on the telly.

GylesNaMopaleen@gylesnamopaleen.bsky.social

This is quite extraordinary. I don't think I have heard a more coherent, articulate and accurate deconstruction & demolition of Nigel Farage's ReformUK, Tory & Restore policy than this. In under 85 seconds! @rafaelbehr.bsky.social is on here folks and worth a follow.

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Jenrick’s been on quite the journey from a one nation, Remain-voting Tory, through to frothing Brexiter and on to demanding that Royal Marines murder people at sea for daring to seek refuge here. All to impress the country’s racist losers and maybe get a few more votes. Christ he’s repulsive.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social

Robert Jenrick for Reform says that Royal Marines using "lethal force" on small boats could end it in days. "Deploy the Royal Marines into the Channel. If they need to use lethal force then they'll be able to do so. I think the problem would come to an end within a matter of days."

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Russian propagandists are just phoning it in now

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia nods along on Fox & Friends as Rachel Campos-Duffy blasts that "ingrate Zelenskyy who keeps blowing up refineries and making things more complicated for the president ahead of the midterms"

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Replying to @womaninhavana.bsky.social

Worth reading the whole statement - esp if you don’t know about Navi Pillay’s lifelong efforts to promote peace and international law, from her early days fighting apartheid & beyond. A striking reminder of the need for international law in our fraying world. www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace...

nobelprize.orgNobel Peace Prize 2026The Nobel Peace Prize 2026 was awarded to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay "for her efforts to promote peace and international law."

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

I'm old enough to remember the 'free trade with Trump will save us' phase of Brexity derangement (enjoy your coffee, tea and bananas while you can, US friends 😀)

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump suggests he wants to cut off almost all trade: "We're gonna very very self-sufficient very soon"

Alasdair MacDonald reposted

A Prime Day reminder that Amazon... -Helps fuel ICE's deportations -Gave $1M to Trump's inauguration -Scrapped plans to display tariff costs after pressure from Trump -Shelled out $75M for the Melania doc -Donated to Trump's ballroom -Wants to reboot The Apprentice w/ Don Jr