Scotland is Not Northern Ireland

Scotland needs a different constitutional path out of the Union than that laid out for Northern Ireland, and a different one from that proposed by Stephen Noon and Kezia Dugdale with the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow argues Gordon Guthrie. John Taylor checked himself out of the hospital where he was […] Source

Truth, Progress, Humanity and Genocide

“People ask how I’m doing. I laugh at the chasm of the question. How is anyone doing? Climate catastrophes, genocide, the election from hell” so answers Sarah Kendzior, one of the most astute writers on the American crisis. While it’s mesmerising to lean-in to the US elections with a wry and smug complacent European superiority, […] Source

Praying for Persecution: How Anti-Abortion Activists are Waging a Disinformation Campaign in Scotland

After a long campaign spearheaded by Back Off Scotland, Scotland has this year passed landmark legislation making it illegal for anti-abortion activists to intimidate and harass patients and staff outside healthcare settings. The bill enjoyed tremendous popularity, sailing through Parliament with a landslide of cross-party support. However, some religious organisations and right-leaning news outlets are […] Source

Is Labour Dead?

From the endless stream of u-turns (both before and after election), to the appalling foreign policy on Gaza, to the failure to scrap the two-child benefit cap, to the GB Energy confusion, to the language used about P&O ferries, to the Council of Nations and Regions fiasco, to the meetings with Giorgia Meloni, to the […] Source

Family visit

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am not going to be about this week as we have family visiting from the USA. Normal blogging service will be resumed next week. While we are doing our best tour guide impression with our American guests – “Look, there’s a…

Celebrating the Joy of Scottish Women’s Football: Self-Belief, Sexism and Overcoming the ‘Old Boy’s Networks’

A Most Unsuitable Game: Celebrating Scottish Women’s Football Fifty Years After the Ban Edited by Karen Fraser, Julie McNeill, Fiona Skillen Published by Tippermuir Books. £9.99. Reviewed by John McIntosh This book is ambitious – aiming to reflect the stories of the women who have played and play football in Scotland – from internationalists to […] Source

Terrence McNally talks to Greg Palast about US Voter Repression

Greg Palast’s VIGILANTES INC: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen, reveals that in 43 states individual citizens are able to challenge and remove fellow citizens from voter rolls. Watch the film here. Source