Category Archives: Community

The Other Sceptr’d Isle II

Posted on July 28, 2021 by davidsberry

The History (Part 2 of 5) Post-1066, the Normans, who had made short work of England, tried their hand in Ireland, with less success. Elizabeth made a fair fist of expanding their East coast settlements in the 16th ©. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | 4 Comments

The Other Sceptr’d Isle I

Posted on July 26, 2021 by davidsberry

The Problem (Part 1 of 5) With all the fuss over the Euro Final and the discussion of racism that ensued, nobody much noticed an item of non-news, a dog that did not bark in the night-time: celebrations of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | 4 Comments

There’s Nothing Surer…

Posted on July 14, 2021 by davidsberry

…the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer” runs the old song. Here are some stats to back up that equally old assertion. This blog is a lift of the series of a half-dozen tweets by Tosten Bell (@TostenBell) … Continue reading →

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Qui Docet Magistros? *

Posted on April 14, 2021 by davidsberry

(* Who Teaches the Teachers?) The AS Report Despite the cacophony of political hounds baying for Nicola Sturgeon’s blood for “misleading parliament” over Alec Salmond, they did squeeze in a debate about education in Scotland on the last day before … Continue reading →

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All Men Are Created Equal?

Posted on March 29, 2021 by davidsberry

Because of a need to forge millions of disparate peoples into a coherent country, history was simplified: the North won that war and subsequently freed and emancipated former slaves, before readmitting states of the conquered Confederacy back into the Union. … Continue reading →

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No Life on Mars

Posted on March 14, 2021 by davidsberry

On Tuesday, BBC4 broadcast two excellent Horizon documentaries from a few years back. An hour of “Mars: A Traveller’s Guide” from 2017 at 9pm followed by an hour of “Mission to Mars” from 2012/13at 10pm. Given that, fifty years ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Environment | 3 Comments

Fire-arm-ageddon?

Posted on March 10, 2021 by davidsberry

A huge swathe of Americans have a love affair with guns. Despite having spent two decades enjoying their wonderful country, I met few such people, nor Republicans, KKK, Proud Boys or anyone with NRA membership. They exist in some number. … Continue reading →

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Closing the Augean Stable Door

Posted on January 30, 2021 by davidsberry

It is hard to evade media wall-to-wall coverage of the Covid pandemic. To the casual observer, every niance of statistics are reported daily in meticulous detail. Who could want more coverage or more data? A conspiracy theorist might think the … Continue reading →

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Letter to American Friends

Posted on January 6, 2021 by davidsberry

After more than a couple of decades of knowing each other, I hope you all appreciate the deep respect and affection I hold for your great country. As with any other country, there are times when it has not acted … Continue reading →

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Deck the Malls

Posted on December 19, 2020 by davidsberry

(Published in East Lothian Courier, Dec. 17th 2020) For most of us, this year was pants. Few have escaped disruption to work, family and social life. National media loves reprting in simplified sound-bites, repeated ad nauseam. Such ‘big picture’ views … Continue reading →

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