Category Archives: Community

Can You Canute?

Posted on August 21, 2021 by davidsberry

(Note: this is the column I would like to have written for my local paper, The East Lothian Courier, but was constrained to half the words and neither of the maps) The new agreement between the SNP and Greens to … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Environment | 1 Comment

The Two Trillion Dollar Tragedy III

Posted on August 11, 2021 by davidsberry

On the Laws of Engineering A mere four days after the first part of this article was published, the tally of Afghan provincial capitals taken by the Taliban has tripled to nine—a full quarter of the total—and some 65% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Military, Politics | Leave a comment

The Two Trillion Dollar Tragedy II

Posted on August 9, 2021 by davidsberry

On The Conquest of Quagmires Two days on, and three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan have fallen to the Taliban. None of these is from  the strategic trio of Herat, Khandahar or Jalalabad in the news over the weekend, Instead, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Military, Politics | Leave a comment

The Two Trillion Dollar Tragedy I

Posted on August 7, 2021 by davidsberry

On Lessons from Afvietmaliastan Readers un search of an upbeat and inspirational read are advised not to read on. These few hundred words are an attempt to place the slow car crash that is Afghanistan in context. If you are … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Military, Politics | 1 Comment

The Other Sceptr’d Isle IV

Posted on August 1, 2021 by davidsberry

The Crunch (Part 4 of 5) It takes a brass neck and a boatload of optimism to predict what might occur in Ulster over the next decade. But one thing is clear: to continue the peace process and a prosperous … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | 3 Comments

The Other Sceptr’d Isle III

Posted on July 30, 2021 by davidsberry

The Hiatus (Part 3 of 5) The North established their own parliament at Stormont in June 1921 and any sense of this arrangement being temporary quickly faded. Over a million Protestants ruled over 400,000 Catholics, as they had intended. Thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | 4 Comments

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 →

Posted in Community, Education, Politics | Leave a comment