Tom Collins
@tcollins.bsky.social
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Scribbler, Irish News columnist, dad. Emeritus journalism prof at Stirling University.
pinned post!
Bye bye Bluesky. Closing down for Christmas. Have a good one.
2 months ago
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www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
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Police and MI5 waged campaign of illegal interference against ex-BBC journalist, tribunal told
Former Northern Ireland correspondent Vincent Kearney subjected to ‘unprecedented’ surveillance, says lawyer
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/25/police-mi5-interference-ex-bbc-journalist-vincent-kearney-tribunal?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2 days ago
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www.theguardian.com/money/2026/f...
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Wickes kitchen fitting was a recipe for disaster
I’ve been without a hob in my new kitchen for three months after an emergency engineer was forced to disconnect it
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/feb/22/wickes-kitchen-fitting-complaint?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2 days ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
There’s something off about the display of holy relics, but perhaps the display of St Francis’s mortal remains is the exception that proves the rule. My column in today’s
@irishnews.com
online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: If ever we needed inspiration from St Francis, it is now
The Italian saint’s bones have been put on public display for the first time in 800 years in Assisi
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-if-ever-we-needed-inspiration-from-st-francis-it-is-now-JMFVSBIG25HYVCFI7BY7YJ7LDQ/
3 days ago
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Neil Mackay
3 days ago
A note to folk who care about journalism: stories are behind paywalls for a reason. It’s how people like me - whose work some of you seem to appreciate - get paid. If I’m not paid, I don’t write. If you like a story I’ve written post a link. If you post screenshots you’re literally picking my pocket
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
My column in today’s
@irishnews.com
online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: If ever we needed inspiration from St Francis, it is now
The Italian saint’s bones have been put on public display for the first time in 800 years in Assisi
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-if-ever-we-needed-inspiration-from-st-francis-it-is-now-JMFVSBIG25HYVCFI7BY7YJ7LDQ/
3 days ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
Today’s column in
@irishnews.com
Enjoy your pancakes.
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Tom Collins: This ‘Fat Tuesday’, it’s time to start the fightback
Global crisis summed up in simple recipe for pancakes
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-this-fat-tuesday-its-time-to-start-the-fightback-T6COEPQACBFSBI5VXCPZ3S7GKI/
10 days ago
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John Swinney
20 days ago
I am heart sore this morning at the death of Jeane Freeman, a wonderful Cabinet colleague. Jeane gave selfless service to Scotland especially as Health Secretary during Covid. In designing Scotland’s social security system, she put dignity and respect at its heart. (1/2)
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Neil Mackay
22 days ago
Anas Sarwar says today of Peter Mandelson: “I'm utterly disgusted and furious about the entire situation … He never should have been the ambassador to the US.” For context, here’s Sarwar in April 2025 love-bombing his ‘old friend’. They think we are stupid. He is an amoral opportunistic chancer.
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Cormac Moore
22 days ago
www.irishnews.com/news/norther...
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Cardinal Conway Attends Funeral of Anthony Reavey and Praises Family’s Forgiveness - On This Day in 1976
Funeral of third Reavey brother - February 5 1976
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/cardinal-conway-attends-funeral-of-anthony-reavey-and-praises-familys-forgiveness-on-this-day-in-1976-3WUQSURBJRBWXOQVRRUBG5LHQA/
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
My column in today’s @irishnews.com online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: All hail Ireland’s patron saint of female power
Alongside Patrick and Columba, Brigid is one of the most important Irish saints. Yet you would be hard-pressed to know it
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-all-hail-irelands-patron-saint-of-female-power-B4SFZ6WPOFCHPMXCUCDVZPU2LQ/
24 days ago
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Ron Filipkowski
about 1 month ago
Another performer withdraws from the Kennedy Center.
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
From today’s
@irishnews.com
online and in the shops
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Tom Collins: Time for us all to stand up to Trump and his ‘American Carnage’
When Trump spoke of “American carnage” in his first inauguration address, who knew he was exercising his gift of prophesy, for that is what we are seeing now
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-time-for-us-all-to-stand-up-to-trump-and-his-american-carnage-V34RZCT4LVDK3LQNTBJWLL6IF4/
about 1 month ago
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www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
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Deacon Blue ‘appalled’ by Reform UK’s Scottish leader quoting their song lyrics
Exclusive: Band hit out at party’s ‘poisonous rhetoric’ after Malcolm Offord makes reference to Dignity during speech
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/27/deacon-blue-reform-scottish-leader-malcolm-offord-dignity-song-lyrics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
about 1 month ago
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open.substack.com/pub/26writer...
Honoured to be part of this great project.
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Tom Collins, 2015
Tom chose an event in 2015 when we asked which moment in the last 26 years shaped the person you are today. He had just 46 words, 20:26. Here's how he responded...
https://open.substack.com/pub/26writersgroup/p/tom-collins-2015?r=8o8e1&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
about 1 month ago
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The Tennessee Holler
about 1 month ago
Wow— “Cardinal Tobin told hundreds of faithful gathered online that now is the time to say no — no to violence, no to indifference, and no to funding the U.S. government’s own “machinery of death.”
www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/pope-leos-...
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Tom Collins: Time for us all to stand up to Trump and his ‘American Carnage’
When Trump spoke of “American carnage” in his first inauguration address, who knew he was exercising his gift of prophesy, for that is what we are seeing now
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-time-for-us-all-to-stand-up-to-trump-and-his-american-carnage-V34RZCT4LVDK3LQNTBJWLL6IF4/
about 1 month ago
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www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Here’s the lesson of the Andy Burnham saga: Labour needs a new leader – fast | Polly Toynbee
Keir Starmer’s dismal decision to block the Greater Manchester mayor has bought him time, but it won’t change his fate, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/26/andy-burnham-labour-new-leader?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
about 1 month ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
My column in today’s
@irishnews.com
online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: Nothing Jon Burrows says or does will matter unless unionism is ready to change
The UUP is little more than a social club for dinosaurs who still believe they will inherit the earth while everyone else can see they are destined for extinction
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-nothing-jon-burrows-says-or-does-will-matter-unless-unionism-is-ready-to-change-DQZDMP4AIRGH3GNJAXFWE4Q5SQ/
about 1 month ago
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Tom Collins
JoelTaylorhack
about 1 month ago
Like so many MPs, Jenrick 'thinks he’s Francis Urquhart, when in fact he’s Baldrick'. Marvellous from
@roberthutton.co.uk
thecritic.co.uk/francis-urqu...
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Francis Urquhart or Baldrick? | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
I should begin with an apology. Last month, I described Robert Jenrick as “the most shameless man in parliament”. His office complained at the time, but I was stubborn and refused to back down. Well…
https://thecritic.co.uk/francis-urquhart-or-baldrick/
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
My column today.
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Tom Collins: Palestine Action hunger strikers expose sham of British justice
What we are seeing is the demonisation of people involved in legitimate protest, the undermining of basic freedoms under the law, and a steady slide into authoritarianism
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-palestine-action-hunger-strikers-expose-sham-of-british-justice-O3OULNN6CJGHLPZVJMXBI4R75Y/
about 2 months ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
my column in today’s
@irishnews.com
online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: Palestine Action hunger strikers expose sham of British justice
What we are seeing is the demonisation of people involved in legitimate protest, the undermining of basic freedoms under the law, and a steady slide into authoritarianism
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-palestine-action-hunger-strikers-expose-sham-of-british-justice-O3OULNN6CJGHLPZVJMXBI4R75Y/
about 2 months ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
My take on the beginning of the new year in
@irishnews.com
- check it out online
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Tom Collins: Is that Three Wise Men, or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
We think we are making free choices; in reality, we are in chains
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-is-that-three-wise-men-or-the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse-Z7ZFORLQT5AGNBYYDUSZMIAFSQ/
about 2 months ago
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Bye bye Bluesky. Closing down for Christmas. Have a good one.
2 months ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
from today’s
@irishnews.com
online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: What kind of world would Jesus be born into today?
What if Jesus were born now?
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-what-kind-of-world-would-jesus-be-born-into-today-IEIFTZWD2FGNNC3UH5VO3VI5HI/
2 months ago
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www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
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Michael Mansfield criticises ministers’ refusal to meet Palestine Action hunger strikers
Leading human rights lawyer accuses government of ‘dismissive approach’ based on ‘ludicrous’ reasoning
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/23/michael-mansfield-criticises-ministers-refusal-meet-palestine-action-hunger-strikers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2 months ago
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Tom Collins
Robert Reich
2 months ago
Trump’s problem is that so many Americans — including his MAGA base — believed that he’d expose a powerful global elite. But every day it's becoming more and more clear that Trump is part of that global elite. Expect him to lash out as the walls close in.
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youtu.be/Rld3BzMYj5Y
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Christmas Special 2025 - Step with Annette
YouTube video by Annette Collins
https://youtu.be/Rld3BzMYj5Y
2 months ago
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www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-...
when will Christian Right recognise that Jesus is for life not just for Christmas. My column in today’s Irish News online and in the shops.
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Tom Collins: What kind of world would Jesus be born into today?
What if Jesus were born now?
https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/tom-collins-what-kind-of-world-would-jesus-be-born-into-today-IEIFTZWD2FGNNC3UH5VO3VI5HI/
2 months ago
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Tom Collins
Henry Mance
2 months ago
"She's been on remand for over a year, her trial's not until April next year and bail keeps getting denied."
news.sky.com/story/fears-...
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Fears Palestine Action hunger striker will die in prison after 43 days without food
Teuta Hoxha's body is the "only form of resistance she has and that's what she is using against the state", her sister says.
https://news.sky.com/story/fears-palestine-action-hunger-striker-will-die-in-prison-after-43-days-without-food-13486489?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb
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George Monbiot
2 months ago
Their demands are reasonable, their treatment is disgraceful. The government's intransigence is killing the
#PalestineAction
hunger strikers. Just as its complicity has assisted the genocide in Gaza. It needs to wake up right now to the moral consequences.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
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Two Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers taken to hospital
MPs and next of kin of prisoners Amu Gib, 30, and Kamran Ahmed, 28, call for immediate government intervention
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/21/two-palestine-action-linked-hunger-strikers-taken-to-hospital-amu-gib-kamran-ahmed
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Josiah Mortimer
2 months ago
The Telegraph is the last place I'd trust to tackle misinformation. Via Private Eye
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Cormac Moore
2 months ago
www.irishnews.com/news/norther...
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Warning Issued That Violence Can Never Bring Peace or Political Solutions - On This Day in 1975
Drawing on the ideas of Edmund Burke and Pope Paul VI, violence is condemned as a cause of repeated oppression and suffering in Ireland and elsewhere
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/warning-issued-that-violence-can-never-bring-peace-or-political-solutions-on-this-day-in-1975-F5ZIMB5ZBFHW3MVKKG22ETIJM4/
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www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The British government must act and act now.
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The Guardian view on the Palestine Action hunger strikers: the government is trying to ignore this protest | Editorial
Editorial: Doctors have warned that the lives of these prisoners are now in danger. Pretending this is not happening is not good enough
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/19/the-guardian-view-on-the-palestine-action-hunger-strikers-the-government-is-trying-to-ignore-this-protest?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2 months ago
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Tom Collins
Carl Quintanilla
2 months ago
JFK’s niece: h/t
@jamiegangel.bsky.social
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Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret)
2 months ago
Pretty much sums up America today.
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Michael Quinn
2 months ago
Delighted with this early response to Baby, It's Cold Outside at The Sanctuary Theatre, Belfast until January 4 from
@simonfallaha.bsky.social
. Looking forward to his full review. Tickets:
ticketsource.co.uk/brightumbrella
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Cormac Moore
2 months ago
On this week's episode of The Irish History Boys, Tim McGarry and I discuss the disbandment of the "A" and "C" Specials but the retention of the "B" Specials 100 years ago this month and the overall legacy of the Specials.
youtu.be/qxao4Q-maZw?...
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The Specials' Legacy: The 1925 Disbandment and the Survival of the B Specials
YouTube video by The Irish History Boys
https://youtu.be/qxao4Q-maZw?si=oMo3Zmhb2MatoNww
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Kevin Cooper
2 months ago
NUJ and BEAU statement on BBC Charter Review launch
www.nuj.org.uk/resource/bea...
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BEAU statement on BBC Charter Review launch
The NUJ has joined sister unions in writing to UK culture minister Lisa Nandy to reiterate the key principles that must underpin the BBC Charter Review process following the publication of the governm...
https://www.nuj.org.uk/resource/beau-statement-on-bbc-charter-review-launch.html
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Tom Collins
The Onion
2 months ago
Trump Announces 5,000% Increase In All Numbers
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Trump Announces 5,000% Increase In All Numbers
WASHINGTON—Touting his latest executive order as a historic win for the U.S. economy, President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was mandating a 5,000% increase in all numbers nationwide. “Effect...
https://theonion.com/trump-announces-5000-increase-in-all-numbers/
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Peter Walker
2 months ago
Downing Street have unilaterally announced they are cancelling one of the two daily No 10 "lobby" media briefings and will at times replace the other with a ministerial press conference. The lobby system has its drawbacks but it very much holds No 10 to account, so this will reduce scrutiny a lot.
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Jeremy Corbyn
2 months ago
The Ministry of Justice is still refusing to meet with the lawyers or families of hunger strikers being held on remand. This is a shambolic dereliction of duty. I have written to David Lammy, again, imploring him to do the right thing before it is too late.
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Zarah Sultana MP
2 months ago
Just got back from HMP Bronzefield. Most importantly: Qesser Zuhrah was transferred to hospital via the ambulance she’d been demanding since 5pm yesterday. David Lammy, Keir Starmer — you are on the brink of causing the deaths of multiple young Palestine hunger strikers.
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Severin Carrell
2 months ago
Big shout out to Reach and the Daily Record for illustrating a story about Scottish postal delays over Christmas with a photograph of Portman Square in London
@dailyrecord.co.uk
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Amra Watson
2 months ago
MPs laughed when Jake Richards dismissed Jeremy Corbyn’s request for a meeting on the Palestine Action hunger strikers. Laughed. This is who we’re governed by, people entrusted to represent a nation, yet so insulated by power they respond to human suffering with indifference and mockery.
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www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
This is shocking… a dereliction of duty by Labour.
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Palestine Action-linked hunger striker Qesser Zuhrah taken to hospital
Protesters had gathered outside prison to demand 20-year-old, who is on day 46, receive urgent medical attention
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/17/palestine-action-linked-hunger-striker-qesser-zuhrah-taken-to-hospital?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2 months ago
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Aaron Rupar
2 months ago
Marjorie Taylor Greene: "Even if you don't agree with Rob Reiner politically, there was no reason for his statement ... it was absolutely completely below the office of the president. Classless and it was just wrong."
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www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
This concert is nothing less than brilliant. Well worth a listen.
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Radio 3 in Concert - Royal Scottish National Orchestra - BBC Sounds
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra with music by Antheil, Gershwin and Rachmaninov.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002nb73?partner=uk.co.bbc
2 months ago
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The National
2 months ago
NEW: An MP has joined a prison-gate protest, declaring she will not leave until a hunger striker alleged to be near death receives an ambulance 🚨
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MP vows not to leave prison protest as pro-Palestine hunger striker 'may die'
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25704433.mp-joins-prison-protest-palestine-action-hunger-striker-may-die/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Bluesky#Echobox=1765971156
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Peter Walker
2 months ago
A mini-story to cheer you up this morning. The other day my teenage son returned to his locked bike to find the back wheel nicked. We went back yesterday to rescue it - and found this note taped to the frame. We have the wheel again. A very happy Xmas to Ollie and his note-writing other half.
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