Culture
Statistics in an age of deference: Covid19 strategy fails true grit test
“The Brotherston Principle demands that Government fully respects its expert advisors, it also demands of those advisers that they draw on the best expertise, work together to achieve a best consensus, and speak out strongly…
Address to a coronavirus
“…the hale podium of panjandrums/ wha think they ken hoo tae run things…” including from their beds of isolation…with nods to Burns and the English Bard
For want of a ventilator: Covid-19 crisis management
Our best hopes in dealing effectively with this – and the next – global crisis rest in our collective ability to see the bigger picture. And to put shared values above self-interest.
Love in the time of COVID19
‘We will need to be the Phoenix that rises from the flames – may our plumage be kindness, astuteness, carefulness and long-sightedness. These would be golden feathers indeed.’
A gleam of starlight from the window: poetry for a pandemic
Poems and songs for Earth Hour on Friday March 27 (ICYMI)…”In our time of isolation, whether enforced or voluntary, there’s something comforting in that notion of stars clustering together for so very much longer than…
Get real, get virtual – keep music live in a world of crisis
Because music doesn’t just make the world a better place during the good times, it can make the world a place worth living in during times of crisis.
An insecure Germany
‘Since the referendum and the subsequent Brexit takeover of the party, they (Conservatives) have moved further into the shadows. What are their values? Where are they headed? What are the implications for all of our…
Floating on airbeds
‘It wasn’t only the US investment houses which were scenting opportunity. Indeed, it was a subsidiary of veteran (1908) Edinburgh-based asset management specialist Baillie Gifford, which became really excited.’ Pt 2 of David Black’s examination…
Your country needs EU – a journey led by poets
Morning. Mourning? Brexit done? ‘It’s more like getting breakfast done, it starts again the very next day.’ We take a Sceptical journey led by poets.
Rejoin the Sea League and save the seabed
‘The Our Seas coalition is, once again, a renewed opportunity to protect a precious and fragile environment. But campaigners will need the energy, vision and determination of John Campbell. And that means never letting go.’
In search of hope for 2020
What message do extravagant fireworks displays send in an age of climate emergency and conflict? Fay Young chooses a poem for peace at New Year instead
Sex, gender identity and academic freedom
‘For those they employ and teach, universities should have policies which seek to redress inequalities arising from both biological sex and self-declared identity, and ensure that the interests of both women and those with transgender…