Category Archives: Politics

Trump des Willens?

Posted on July 22, 2023 by davidsberry

German director Leni Reifenstahl’s seminal Triumph des Willens propaganda film from 1933, charting the rise of Hitler may need to be dusted off, if reports seeping out from the Trump-loyalist MAGA wing of the Republican party prove to be true. It seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, USA | 1 Comment

Russia Got It Wrong Before

Posted on July 18, 2023 by davidsberry

As usual, the fickle herd that is UK news has drifted from Ukraine and focussed on more popular po-faced coverage of scandals and record-breaking heat waves. It has been left up to more obscure channels, such as BBC Alba, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Military, Politics | Leave a comment

A Dearth O’ Bield*

Posted on July 14, 2023 by davidsberry

The Scottish media latched on to another “bad news” story this week when they discovered that there were over a quarter million people on housing waiting lists, with barely a tenth of them being allocated affordable houses each year. Though … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community, Politics | Leave a comment

Can Water Stay Liquid?

Posted on July 9, 2023 by davidsberry

“Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song,  Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long.  But at my back in a cold blast, I hear the rattle of the bones.” —T.S.Eliot, “The Fire Sermon,” Part III … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Environment, Politics | 1 Comment

Twelve Score and Seven Years Ago

Posted on July 4, 2023 by davidsberry

After the best part of a century dominating world events and its economy and on top of its victory over “The Evil Empire” that ended the Cold War, America is having what can only be described as an “existential crisis”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, USA | 1 Comment

Away with the Ferries

Posted on June 28, 2023 by davidsberry

Of all the various alligators snapping at Humza Yousaf’s bum, the most persistent and damaging has been one with a long, sad history, inherited from his predecessor and showing no sign of going away. Although the contract for two ships … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics, Transport | Leave a comment

Wanted: Unconventional Convention

Posted on June 25, 2023 by davidsberry

This weekend saw the SNP faithful gather in Dundee’s Caird Hall for an “Independence Convention”. Humza Yousaf’s idea was to agree among themselves in private on a road map to independence that would break the logjam imposed by the Tory … Continue reading →

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Hoist by Their Own Canard—Boris Johnson

Posted on June 15, 2023 by davidsberry

“My policy on cake is pro- having it and pro- eating it.” —Boris Johnson “By the time he graduated from Oxford at the age of 23, Johnson’s three key personality traits had been formed. After that age, he did not … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments

A Long Way to Tipperary

Posted on June 10, 2023 by davidsberry

Don’t tell the jingoists, but the “great” in Great Britain is not some accolade of national superiority but a geographic term. As the island stretches over 80,000 square miles and the French peninsula of Britany only covers a bare 13,000, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

High Street Robbery

Posted on May 12, 2023 by davidsberry

In the past, this scribe has criticised East Lothian Council (ELC) for its economic innumeracy. As examples, it couldn’t make its pie-beans-and-chips staff canteen wash its face, so they leased it to two ladies who turned it into the money-spinner … Continue reading →

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