This post, inspired by the Stolpersteins ('stumbling stones') of Amsterdam, attracted some surprising (to me) comments when it was first published in April 2019. I am reposting now for two reasons. Fear of 'the other' has grown – in Scotland as elsewhere. But, more hopefully, '"Scotland’s first Stolperstein was unveiled in Edinburgh on the pavement outside the former St … [Read more...] about What are we stumbling into? Reasons for hope and fear again.
Europe
Well tempered steel beneath David Gow’s jovial irreverence
It was typical of David's open-mindedness and intelligence that he was himself somewhat conflicted about which way to vote. 'No', he told me, though he confessed to spending some time agonising in the polling boothJustin Reynolds, a writer now living in Norwich worked with David Gow and Fay Young to set up the Sceptical Scot website in 2015 … [Read more...] about Well tempered steel beneath David Gow’s jovial irreverence
David Gow’s legacy of friendship
Demarco’s gauntlet of truth to authoritarianism
In early August, Chris Hermann of the European Council on Foreign Relations wrote about how the Trump administration aims to remodel Europe. He wrote: “In April, Marco Rubio’s state department launched a blog on Substack. In a post called “The Need for Civilizational Allies in Europe” the article saw the Trump administration draw the battle lines of a civilisational conflict … [Read more...] about Demarco’s gauntlet of truth to authoritarianism
Make Europe Great Again
Donald Trump's decision to quit the G7 summit in Canada a day early sent a clear message to his mainly European colleagues: you pygmies don't matter, I as the embodiment of untrammelled United States power, call the shots. Coupled with an open invitation to Russia to rejoin the G8 fold and a put-down of "publicity-seeking" (sic) Emmanuel Macron, it reinforced the Trump2.0 … [Read more...] about Make Europe Great Again