Category Archives: Politics

But Don’t Mention the War

Posted on June 7, 2012 by davidsberry

It seems that last weekend’s jubilee was a big hit across Germany. Several channels carried coverage and there appears to be a certain fascination with things ‘Englische’. Some touchy Scots find the endemic continental verbal sloppiness between ‘British’ and ‘English’ … Continue reading →

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Do You Know Who I Used to Be?

Posted on June 5, 2012 by davidsberry

Zero Mostel’s classic line from The Producers had special resonance this weekend. Despite the weather and Philip’s hospitalisation, the jubilee seems to have gone off well and those many enthusiasts well pleased with events. I tried to watch the concert … Continue reading →

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Bams Oot the Windae

Posted on May 24, 2012 by davidsberry

They say there’s a first time for everything. In today’s Torygraph, Alan Cochrane found common cause with SNP Defence spokesperson Angus Robertson MSP and—for the first time to my recollection—I find myself agreeing with both of them. Arch-unionist Alan is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 5 Comments

Taking the temperature: what the Eurobarometer tells us about attitudes to the economic crisis

Posted on May 23, 2012 by davidsberry

Taking the temperature: what the Eurobarometer tells us about attitudes to the economic crisis.

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment

Drachmatis Personae: Angela vs Bob

Posted on May 21, 2012 by davidsberry

In my second Silicon Valley job 30 years ago, I launched the engineering department of a start-up PC company years before IBM rolled out the PC or Apple the Macintosh. ACS was run by the most plausible Southern good-ole-boy salesman … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Politics | 1 Comment

The Early Days of a Better Council?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by davidsberry

Yesterday was the first day of term—the first meeting of the new East Lothian Council after the election of May 3rd. It would have been easy for me and my eight SNP colleagues to have grumped about the place but … Continue reading →

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An Army Fit for a Better Nation

Posted on May 14, 2012 by davidsberry

Twitterati with political agendas (especially Jim Murphy and staff of sundry opposition politicians) have been deprecating military careers in any Scottish Defence Force. Their argument is twofold: 1) more grievous losses to units and their identities would happen under independence … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | 3 Comments

Local & Party Politics: Symbiotic or Strangers?

Posted on May 7, 2012 by davidsberry

Three days after the first standalone local elections for over a decade and while most of Scotland still does not know who is going to be running their schools and libraries, the two biggest parties in Scotland are lobbing claim … Continue reading →

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The Other Auld Alliance

Posted on May 1, 2012 by davidsberry

Down our way, Labour candidates for Thursday are banging on about jobs and buses, as if their political lives dependent on it. Which they do. That is unfortunate for them; the SNP has already sorted the local problem with buses, … Continue reading →

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Target Practice

Posted on April 30, 2012 by davidsberry

In cutting my teeth on active politics twenty years ago, my unwitting mentor was John Macnair, a crusty, iconic businessman-cum-farmer, whom I had known for a long time because I had gone to school with his two sons. John stepped down … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | 3 Comments