Quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, who, prior to his presidency, had been the U.S. Supreme Commander during WWII. So he probably knew what he was talking about more than most (he also coined the term 'military industrial complex' and warned against what has - seemingly inevitably - happened since).

This feels as relevant now as it did 20-odd years ago...

The 'Board of Peace' looks more like Spectre every day.

I genuinely believe most people are inherently decent, and can see Farage for what he really is (even if they can't see the shadowy funders behind him). There's a very small group of people who love the dog-whistle rasicm, but their loudness masks just how much of a minority they really are.

Crickey it's not even that close.

If Reform win today's #Byelection - Lab will pivot even further right. Lab win - they feel justified in having moved rightwards. Greens win - Labour blame it on losing a share of their vote TO Reform & continue moving right. Either way, they'll miss the truth... They need to return to the left.

Kate Nash in the current Amnesty Magazine. 🔥

Last batch from #London (until next time). Vibe, people & food all brilliant. Weather was... mixed, to say the least, but what do you expect from an English winter? Further proof that those claiming London 'has fallen' are lying (or haven't been & were lied to). #photography #musician #travel

In case it wasn't clear, I've been in #London (meeting friends and having two work-related meetings about exciting future projects). And yes, I am bloody well going to post about it because I don't get down here as often as I'd like nowadays.

I'm a big fan of the painted red brick station buildings in central London. They seem to hark back to their Victorian origins... #LondonUnderground #tube #London #photogrphy

More random London shots... #London #February #art #architecture #travel

Wouldn't this be a lovely thing to happen here in the UK?

Been Londoning. Here's some generic tourist shots of St Paul's Cathedral.

BBC #r4today currently repeating & amplifying Jim Radcliffe's xenophobic remarks and Nick Robinson is using it as an excuse to interview Nigel Farage. Cue the dog-whistles & half-truths...

Got my green rocker back after what feels like ages away with my guitar repair guy (for reasons which, to be fair, were beyond his control). But it's not green anymore. It has new pickups (under the gold foil covers) and has had the Bigsby removed. It's also teal now. #guitar #guitarist #repairs

The 'current vibe' sounds like neo-feudalism, which is exactly what the tech bros and 1% have been working towards for years.

Now, more than ever, it's important to remember what can happen if we allow our humanity to be diluted by indifference. This sentiment applies everywhere & to all the peoples of our shared Earth. #HolocaustMemorialDay

Today's coping mechanism #coffee

The most basic advice for humanity is to live in such a way that, after you're gone, people celebrate your life, rather than your death.

If a government truly believed it was in the right, surely they wouldn't need to lie about the actions of their armed forces?

If you're living somewhere outside the USA, one thing you can do is pressure your leaders to boycott World Cup and Olympic events here.

If the media had any sort of backbone (or the regulators any teeth) they would refuse to repeat the announcements & PR of any politician / influential individual unless they submit their arguments to thorough examination (instead of endless airtime unhindered by fact-checking).

I think it would be quite nice for me to be able to wake up in the morning and think about my plans for the day, and more broadly about my own little life, instead of immediately having to ponder the overnight actions of The Guy Over There

As promised... Get some brand new psychedelic swamp funk in your ears. The rest of the 4-track EP will come out around Easter. #NewMusic #jazz #funk #soul #psychedelia #Spotify #YouTube #Deezer #AppleMusic #MusicSky

I've got new music original coming out this Friday. (something I've written, rather than someone else's record that I played on) Pretty excited. #NewMusic #Funk #jazz #Guitar

No new pictures where are you mentally?

Following a seemingly successful trial, the Irish Government are making their Basic Income for musicians permanent. How refreshing it is to see a country that understands the impact of culture and places a high value on the arts.

America in 2026...

[The horse he rode in on]: Hey what the hell did *I* do?

What I mean by this is adopt a less slick approach to film & music production. Deliberate graininess in art. Basically, bring back the original punk attitude (in part a reaction to over-produced, commercially driven music) not what seems to have become the 'establishment' position. #NoAI #AIslop

Is the best way to kill off AI art is to start making things (deliberately) a bit... Shit?

Anyone still using Twitter / X at this point is part of the problem.

Back to work admin done. Now it's time to chill out for an hour or so... #coffee #booksky

The snow has reached us at last...

The Wikipedia entry on the US operation in Venezuela isn't messing about. The first item under the 'background' section is a simple graph showing Venezuela's proven oil reserves (300 billion barrels, making it the highest in the world).

It still makes me sad to see J. G. Windows standing empty and unused, after closing down just over a year ago. #Newcastle #Music #Christmas

"He [Trump] sums it up with two words: America First, but his enemies say that should read Trump first, America second"

A gentle reminder if you've received an invoice from a Freelancer/Self employed person which is due before Christmas. Be a love, and pay it today.

I have two gigs in 24 hours this weekend. The first one had a Santa/sleigh scene onstage. There were several moments during the performance where I almost knocked over those illuminated reindeer... #GiggingLife #Christmas #guitarist #LiveMusic #gig #Santa #reindeer

Played the new Tele for two gigs at the weekend and it sounded great. It's up there with my 335. Originally bought to be a spare at gigs (until one of my others comes back from repairs), but deserves higher billing than mere 'backup' status... #guitar #guitarist #Telecaster #LiveMusic #musician

R.I.P., Steven Lee Cropper (1941-2025). Veteran guitarist, songwriter & producer, notably with Stax Records, Brooker T & the MGs, and of course, The Blues Brothers, Steve was one of my foundational guitar influences. I'm very sad to learn of his passing. #SteveCropper #guitar #RIP

Everything I hear about the rise & proliferation of AI music (such as Sunk et al), the more I feel like we're being robbed of our souls. The joy of learning, writing & performing music is essentially being gamified for someone else's financial gain. #AI #AImusic #MusicIndustry

Update: Tele incoming #guitar #guitarist #telecaster

I keep hearing the media describe the government as "unpopular". I can't help feeling that's because they seem to be governing by opinion poll, instead of the anti-tory vote which got them elected. Just imagine if they stopped pandering to Reform. An unpopular gov has nothing to lose... #budget

I was just about to highlight this lecture and encourage more people to listen to it. Deeply worrying... #ReithLecture #Morals #Facism

R.I.P. James Chambers, AKA Jimmy Cliff (1944-2025).

Finally getting some much-needed coffee on this very cold day ☕❄️

"The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated" - Justice Robert Jackson, at the opening of the Nuremberg Trials, 20th November 1945.

Bloody hell! What a game! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #SCOvDEN