Denmark, one a paragon of liberal tolerance, is pilloried for its parliamentary vote to seize refugees’ assets to pay for their welfare and upkeep. But the vote is very unpopular at home. And accusations it is destroying the European project are wide of the mark: the EU itself is at fault for failure of solidarity.
Archives for January 2016
TTIP could damage Scotland’s food industry
The negotiations over TTIP come with generalised criticisms of secrecy and corporate skullduggery. Here, in the fourth of our Napier student pieces, the author soberly examines its potentially damaging impact on Scotland’s food and drinks sector.
Sober thoughts on sectarianism
The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 is under the microscope; the anti-sectarian charity nilbymouth.org has launched a new #KissBigotryGoodbye campaign aimed at soccer clubs and fans. Here Loki takes a self-eviscerating look at a perennial Scottish issue – and not just on the terraces of Ibrox.
EU referendum: the emotional case for In
Scotland’s First Minister wants to run her own campaign to persuade voters to remain in the EU, warning against a Project Fear 2. Here a pro-EU Scot sets out five lessons learned from the Indyref campaign of (and before) 2014.
Welsh Labour outperforms its Scottish comrades
Labour in Wales may be facing a tough election in May 2016 but unlike its Scottish counterpart it is likely to benefit from a divided opposition – and may hold on to power in Cardiff Bay.
Window for a Scottish natural resource fund closing
Time is running out for Scotland to create a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund based on oil revenues. But what if the Scottish Government decided instead to establish a renewables-based fund? A Dane looks at the options and pitfalls in the third of our Napier student blogs.
Wrong approach to language and integration
David Cameron’s ham-fisted plans to help mainly Muslim women learn English have rightly been condemned for stigmatising people – not least as government funding for teaching English as a second language has been cut. Here the United States rather than Europe may have a better, more liberal process of integration.
Onwards and upwards: the hubris of hope
What is hope? What would it mean to wish that 2016 will be any better than 2015? As we enter the New Year the latest book by the prolific Terry Eagleton, Hope Without Optimism, offers a brief but wide-ranging meditation on the meaning of a seemingly simple concept that escapes easy definition.
I could murder a bit of good news
The Violence Reduction Unit’s Rapper in Residence celebrates recent headlines claiming Glasgow is no longer Britain’s most violent city. He urges communities to reject the myth that violence is something to be proud of and embrace the city’s new image.
Poetry helps us face facts of life … and death
David Bowie always accepted that life was finite but called death “a drag”. By the time he released his last album and accompanying video he knew death was imminent. Poetry helps us live with that truth we all face.