Donald Trump’s new security strategy is an astonishing document with a vital lesson for the UK www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Dear all, The Scotsman has a really good Black Friday ('Blue Thursday?') offer of online access for a mere £1 a month. Something to consider if you like Scotland and want to read views from outside your social media 'bubble'. Offer lasts a few days www.scotsman.com/subscriptions

Many previous Nobel Prizes have been given for reasons that are entirely at odds with Trump’s ‘values’, statements and actions www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Good Day! The Cornfield with Stooks by John Nash c. 1918 Oil on Canvas (Private Collection)

I do worry about what increased wildfires are doing to carbon sinks

Why Jeremy Clarkson's discovery of 'genuinely alarming' effects of climate change is so important www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Demise of hybrid cars in Norway shows how UK is falling behind in technological race www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Why a bland BBC report about migrants should make us fear for our future www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

A message from Scotland to Donald Trump: It's time to call Benjamin Netanyahu and end Gaza's nightmare www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

I found this very moving. Please share: Why Palestinians in Gaza are protesting with photos of Israeli children killed by Hamas www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

In its stances on climate change, vaccines and immigration, Reform UK demonstrates it should be taken about as seriously as the modern-day druids chanting prayers of protection against Covid www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

The Scotsman's fascinating editorial comment published on VE Day 1945 www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Israeli Haaretz newspaper's editorial is a must-read: "For seven weeks now, the government has employed a policy of starvation by banning the entry into the Strip of all food or other humanitarian aid." www.haaretz.com/opinion/edit...

Special offer: subscribe to The Scotsman for just £1 a month for three months www.scotsman.com/subscription...

I'm imposing my own tariffs on Tesco, M&S and all the rest, taking inspiration from my new-found economic guru Donald Trump www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

This is brilliant by Telegraph's Matt (riffing on story about George Washington's famous honesty) www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/matt-...

UK should heed Danish PM's words about the need to rearm as Russia threat grows. She has told her defence minister to “buy, buy, buy!", adding: “If we can't get the best equipment, buy the next best. There's only one thing that counts now, and that's speed.” www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Democratic government needs to be as efficient as possible, so it can deliver good frontline services and stave off Trumpish populism www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

One of the comments on this article is: "'liberal fightback', (oxymoron) not gonna happen, you lost, we won, you are done." She might be right... www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Last year, Liz Truss said: "We can’t be truly free without free speech.” Now her lawyers claim it's illegal to say she "crashed the economy". Lol. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

President-elect Trump refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal and Greenland, said he was willing to use “economic force” to acquire Canada and refused to say whether he would pardon Jan. 6 rioters, criticizing the FBI instead during his news conference on Tuesday.

Explaining part of the reason why I set up a Bluesky account (and may close my X/Twitter one) www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

A Conservative makes the case for the SNP's baby box -- and abolishing the two-child benefit cap www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Why Scotland as a whole needs to be a bit more like the Tartan Army (plus a highly controversial suggestion about Rangers and Celtic) www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

"Syrian refugees who fled Assad’s forces or the fighting in general and successfully claimed asylum in the UK have very good reasons not to rush back to their home country, however much they may wish to do so. Indeed, I find myself hoping that they will stay..." www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Devolving control of immigration to Scotland could create a real-world experiment about the costs and benefits, if rest of UK adopts stricter controls or even 'net zero' www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Scotland was covered by a 1km-thick ice sheet during the last Ice Age. Humanity is rapidly changing Earth's climate towards whatever the fiery opposite of that turns out to be www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

UN talks continue this week on the global scourge of plastic pollution One thing is clear: for the health of people and our planet, this plastic juggernaut has got to stop Plastic production is sky rocketing We can't just recycle our way out of this www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Milky Way over Quiver Tree Forest, Namibia (Credit: Florian Breuer)

🔴 The number of homeless people in Scotland's biggest cities has rocketed by almost 10% since pre-pandemic. @thescotsmanpaper.bsky.social has joined forces with Cyrenians to help raise essential funds for people experiencing homelessness this winter & beyond. www.scotsman.com/news/scottis...

Think bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly? They are actually amazing!! www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Controversial! "Ask a visitor to think of a seabird here in Scotland, and they’ll probably turn straight to puffins... But gannets are edgier. They’re the Marlene Dietrich to the puffins’ Doris Day. Gannets, when all is said and done, are cooler by far than puffins." www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

@curlewaction.bsky.social A lovely piece about Scotland's curlews, their starring role in mythology and the modern-day threats to their existence www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

I'm thrilled to join a collective of nature writers for a new series Scotland's Wonderful Wildlife at @thescotsmanpaper.bsky.social I wrote about Shetland's orcas and finding a new balance of hopes and fears for the ocean 🦑 📷 Billy Arthur www.scotsman.com/news/opinion... @atlanticbooks.bsky.social

Part of Scotsman's #WonderfulWildlife series: Sara Lodge: "I turned to the path in front of me and there, not three feet away, was an otter. A large, dog otter. His face expressed curiosity, even amusement. I was a galumphing weirdo in a red kagool." www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Monday morning perspective

Good morning. Here is the front page from The Scotsman for Monday

Mr Blue Sky by ELO www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQUl...

Good morning. Word of the Day is as beautiful as it is underused. ‘Confelicity’ is finding joy in the happiness and success of others.

The Sun. Taken at night. Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of the Earth. Not with light but neutrinos

Word of the Day, should you need it, is ‘latibulate’, a 17th-century verb meaning to find a corner somewhere and hide in it.