Culture
Middle East transformed in two years of war
“All the while, Palestinians continue to die on a daily basis and there are still Israeli hostages (and in some cases bodies) waiting to be brought home. Gaza is devastated and rebuilding the enclave will take…
Demarco’s gauntlet of truth to authoritarianism
“Trump, Rubio, Putin and their fellow travellers in the UK, Europe and across the globe are not the friends of European civilisation. They are the destroyers of freedom. One way to see them defeated is…
Make it happen: Fred the Shred goes head to head with Adam Smith
Two Scottish financial journalists go to the Festival Theatre to review James Graham’s Make it happen and emerge three hours later deeply unimpressed…
Reclaim the Enlightenment
“History is never a sure guide to the future but one thing that we can be certain of is that empires rise and fall. That has been true of the British, French and Russian empires,…
Making sense of politics in “these islands”
When it comes to the Union: “Big things are happening but, in the midst of change, their shape and significance has yet to become clear. To paraphrase Gramsci, the old order is dying but the…
Yesterday’s robber barons can teach today’s oligarchs about responsibilities of wealth
Mark Zuckerberg’s recent display of wealth, exemplified by a lavish wristwatch, prompts parallels between today’s tech billionaires and the “robber barons” of America’s Gilded Age, as warned by Joe Biden. Critics argue that unlike Carnegie,…
Lives of the massacred MacDonalds of Glen Coe
“Just as stories in the past offered lessons to those who would listen, there is a place for stories today to help us adjust to life in a changing world, inspiring resilience in the present through…
A failure of leadership over Glasgow’s “Mack”
“A full restoration of the Mack can and must be done – and within years not decades. It will take political will. If leadership is there, the money can be found. Restoring the Mack is…
Being a woman writer/leader in Scotland – the imposter syndrome
“No matter the topic, in Scotland all roads lead back to the constitution and Scotland’s relationship with England. Of course, politics matters but not to the exclusion of seeing other important things that are also…
‘Give them hope’ – four (or more) poems for the budget
Democracy shudders and trembles in the ‘red dawn’ but we can defy despair. Here’s four poems (and one more) offering a way to connect rather than divide winners and losers in the human race…’a funny…
Seven steps to save Scotland’s creative economy
How to stop Scotland lagging behind? Dougal Perman proposes a carefully targeted plan to invest that long-promised £100m for the creative industries. But the money must be spent now.
