Currently on £14,847... So close to £15K. Please do help us out and chip in, if you value citizen journalism as a replacement for/ complement for top-down MSM. Our roots run deep in communities and we bring you authentic news and commentary from diverse citizens themselves. Much more wholesome! 👇

It is time that the media fulfills its role to critically examine politician’s statements and call them out when they stray from the truth | Lord Foulkes

(The Atlantic: free) Excellent article comparing Trump's current anxiety and push to break laws, hassle, lie, etc on an aggressive schedule versus the economy and other parameters getting worse, and his odds of popular support getting worse by the day/week. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

"Researchers have developed a comprehensive tracking project documenting the systematic dismantling of democratic institutions in the United States under Trump’s emerging regime. On 9 September, Christina Pagel and Sandy Laping presented their Trump Action Tracker project..."

Jason Crow, on how Trump and his family are "cashing in at our expense" youtu.be/d1qXWxsBNB4?...

KREMLIN PROVOCATIONS EXPOSED: CHAOS STRATEGY youtu.be/M_hGugGTs94

Helsinki-based Scots filmmaker Gavin Hanigan & myself have spent a week filming to tell Finland’s incredible story. Despite famines, wars, a meter of sea ice half the year & the perennial threat of Russia, these modest people are quietly top performing. A great model for Scotland

Starmer’s Trump gamble risks national shame Starmer’s flattery of Trump is a high-risk gamble – weakening Britain’s credibility while leaving him vulnerable to ruthless betrayal By Andy Brown @yorkshirebylines.co.uk

Yes groups across Scotland call for action to lower energy bills @yesforeu.bsky.social will join the action on Saturday 11am-1pm on the Meadows, in collaboration with Yes Marchmont & Morningside. Launch of i-Switch project by @believeinscotland.bsky.social tackling exorbitant energy prices.

With the Holyrood election approaching fast, Scotland’s political presence and future is examined at the Kirkcudbright Festival | Alec Ross

chadbourn.substack.com/p/fire-in-th... "One thing the racists and the xenophobes don’t get is that people are the same all over. When you travel a lot, you realise everyone wants the same things from life — fairness, security, hope."

✍️ The government is still clinging to old world order perspectives Brits see no ‘special relationship’ left with the US – so why is the UK still fawning over Trump while global chaos demands real leadership? By Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social

In the light of The Guardian’s last report on sewage in English and Welsh rivers. “The Commission has also learnt from Scotland’s ethical based regulation model the benefit of close supervisory engagement with the company to understand more deeply its challenges and capabilities and build trust.”

A growing number of Labour voices now demanding Keir Starmer start taking on Elon Musk and the far-right. Here Labour MP Noah Law writes for Byline Times on why it's time for the Government to quit Twitter and start treating Musk as the 'foreign extremist' he now is bylinetimes.com/2025/09/15/m...

Russian drones violate Polish airspace. Europe scrambles; but Trump only berates NATO. If you read the headlines, you may think decisive action is coming, it’s being planned, it’s almost here. But it’s clear nothing is happening. Trump will not defend you. youtu.be/XHU68mqRaY4

Sure, Conservatives are right to ask why Starmer tolerated a paedophile’s friend as US ambassador but why are they not concerned about the PM hosting another pal of Epstein, one who has repeatedly lied about their relationship? And why are BBC interviewers not asking them about this?

The new earnings-related pension system will evolve as a hybrid; after 40 years all workers will have been automatically enrolled  | Jim Osborne

The Labour leadership is tacitly accepting, and reflecting, Farage’s perverted notion of patriotism | Richard Haviland

Hi All, With my article just appearing in Foreign Affairs about how democratic states need a strategy to survive and possibly fight back now that Trump is moving the USA closer to Russia and China, I put together this piece. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is back from 22 Oct to 1 Nov! We'll be joining the wonderful Allison Galbraith on Saturday 1 November to explore some Scottish legends as well as announce the winners of our #WordsOfTheWild nature writing competition.🌊 Book now at sisf.org.uk

Love and poets — an inseparable relationship | Susana W. Dawn

Europe has to face reality - & we have to get ready to defend ourselves, fast. Old production & procurement quantities & timescales are not fit for the fight we face - or to deter it from happening. We must embrace & leverage our tech strength to move to affordable mass.

🌴 Our iconic Palm Houses are entering a new chapter. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look now the huge project is nearing competition. Our Garden teams will soon start landscaping and replanting more than 600 botanical specimens before we re-open the doors in 2026 🥳

EU Commission stops payments to Israel - breaking the newswires in Germany (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

Government Ministers are set to decide on whether a new golf course should be built at Coul Links, which would cause irreversible damage to its incredible wildlife. Sign our e-action and help save this precious habitat 👇 buff.ly/zQO8qu2 #UKWildlife #BirdingScotland

First Norway and now Denmark awarding Scotland with more shipbuilding orders - small successful independent countries with the same population as Scotland. Norway and Denmark are trying to tell you something, Scotland.

How England’s ill-informed media often annoy Scots | Martin Roche

On one hand, reducing car use reduces urban pollution. But on the other, everyone likes it and cities become more livable

As Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo put it: "A city where you can get let go of your child's hand"

westenglandbylines.co.uk/politics/ali... "As the alluring curse of Reform demonstrates, socio-economic deprivation increases the attractiveness of populist authoritarianism." - in a nutshell.

Having lived many years in the UK I got used to British standards in life; when back in Europe I realised that you can expect so much more | Tomasz Oryński @orynski.eu

Scotland needs you! Come and join us at Bylines Scotland! We're looking for writers, editors, fact-checkers, proofreaders and researchers. The Scottish Parliamentary Elections are just around the corner so we want to reflect the real issues for Scotland! Email: [email protected]

The SNP keeps pointing this out. And now the Lib Dems. But silence from Labour...

Recently back in Scotland after 40 years away, the author looks at his hometown of Glasgow | Martin Roche @cluthaman.bsky.social

My Scotland❤️

Flamingo Land update:

The former foreign-minister of Lithuania spells it out. @glandsbergis.bsky.social tells Canadian TV "Would we fight alongside Ukrainians against Russians if needed? If we can't answer yes to that fundamental question, then Putin knows any talk of security guarantees is still just talk.

The fact that Monday’s White House meeting wasn’t a total disaster doesn’t make it a success. No solid commitments came out of it. And just yesterday, Trump once again blamed Ukraine for the war. Until Trump actually *does* something, anything he *says* is completely unreliable.

The last thing Scotland needs is more London-based policy makers. www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politic...

The best form of defence is understanding our own weaknesses; complacency leads to negligence leaving our societies open to attack | Joanna Krahe

Combatting the economic statistics marshalled by opponents of Scottish independence is a trap to disable the independence movement | Jim Osborne

Freedom of art and expression in Edinburgh – A discussion, a play and a street performer | Amanda Wheatley @awheatley24.bsky.social

Ronnie Barbour talks with Anna Groundwater @agroundwater.bsky.social about her book "Connecting Scotland's History: A Scottish History Timeline Linked into 2,000 Years of World History | Bylines Scotland Radio #EdinburghBookFestival

Trump has made Chamberlain look positively Churchillian.

Ronnie Barbour talks to the Scottish Greens MSP for West Scotland, Ross Greer, about the current news on the Flamingo Land plans on the banks of Loch Lomond. #FlamingoLand #LochLomond

A brand new My Scotland connection! #MyScotland

Is it too early for Nicola Sturgeon to write her memoirs and is it too soon to judge her legacy? | Alec Ross

A new Scotland, based on collective endeavour and guaranteed living standards, will return outcomes greater than the sum of its parts | David Murray