For those of a certain age the success of the latest episode in the Star Wars series seems strangely important. Reflections on the abiding popularity of a cultural icon.
Archives for December 2015
Home thoughts by homeless young people
We think of the poor and vulnerable, especially those on the streets or in refugee camps, at this season. The Rock Trust does this all year round for the young homeless in Scotland’s capital city. Here a couple of young people say in poetry what home and, maybe, hope mean for them.
Our five Most Reads in 2015
Sceptical Scot celebrates its first birthday in March 2016. Here we look back on the five most read articles/blogs of 2015 and wish you all a happy new year.
Sunset song for winter solstice
Even in the turbulent days of global warming the Winter Solstice is a turning point towards the light. Poets, as here George Mackay Brown, celebrate “the pale sun” and fire and ice as “we push the old year back against the wall” (Johnny Cunningham) and look to the Spring.
Fiscal federalism UK: total mess
The model of fiscal federalism on offer for the UK is incoherent and, without a genuine federal constitutional settlement, the rationale for Scottish independence is strengthened.
The Sceptical Scot Christmas Quiz, 2015
Test your knowledge of this year’s Scottish news and public affairs with the 2015 Sceptical Scot Christmas quiz.
Urban regeneration: art’s new avant-garde
Is urban regeneration a new art form now that Assemble have won the Turner Prize? How far can art housed in ‘white cube-style’ galleries a la Whistler change people’s lives? We examine these and related issues in the run-up to the new V&A in Dundee.
Tartan Teflon no more?
The SNP looks set to be swept back to government in May with another absolute majority. But its performance at Holyrood is coming under growing critical examination. Even so, nothing dents its supremacy among voters. Why? And is the tide likely to turn?
Scottish Budget: end of the age of innocence
John Swinney’s Budget has set the SRIT for the first time but the real fiscal dilemmas and decisions for him – or his successor – lie ahead. And so do the political consequences.
Scotland, Brexit and Indyref2
Will England or Scotland determine the outcome of the UK referendum on our European Union membership? Scotland, together with Northern Ireland and Wales, might keep a reluctant England in. Equally, a strong ‘leave’ vote in England could drag the other nations out of the EU.