OPINION

Parliament could burn down any day? Sell it. Turn it into a museum or a posh hotel.

— Our political system is packed with unimaginative, cowardly morons, trapped in aspic.

OPINION

Democracy is threatened in many ways.

— As the headlines keep bouncing us from right to left and upside down, maybe confusing us in so many ways, there are some things we need to remain focused on – our Constitutional rights.

OPINION

The English dreaming of Peter Hitchens.

— For decades opponents of independence have insisted that Scotland is financially dependent upon England, people in England have absorbed this message too, and naturally wonder if they would not be better off if they ditched an ungrateful Scotland.

OPINION

Anglo-British nationalism: Greater projection than an iMax screen.

— It is fair to say that over the past 20 years Scotland has forged a more inclusive notion of nationalism, while Anglo-British nationalism is characterised by British exceptionalism.

OPINION

The State pantomime of Parliament.

— A ritual introduced in Victorian times in order to distract and deflect from the popular demand for a government which was democratic, representative, and accountable. One hundred and seventy years later it is still performing the same role.

OPINION

True diamonds that we refuse to properly acknowledge.

— Currently, there are 567,000 fewer educators in public schools in America than there were before the pandemic.

OPINION

Johnson’s removal will not alter the British democratic deficit.

— Anyone chosen by the Tories to replace the PM will have been a party to, and complicit in, the lies, corruption, authoritarianism, and deceit which has characterised the Tory party under Boris Johnson.

OPINION

The power in front, beside, and behind.

— Without Coretta Scott King there would be no revolutionary Martin Luther King Jr.

OPINION

Suffocating democracy in a Tupperware tub.

— How Parliamentary democracy in the UK could die, suffocated in the Tupperware box containing the cake that Boris Johnson was allegedly ambushed by.

OPINION

Putin’s retaliatory list is a badge of honour.

— Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been included on a list of politicians from the UK who have been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin’s regime and banned from ever visiting Russia again. Wee Ginger Dug explains what it means for Scotland.

Brexit

Peek-a-boo Brexit.

— Professor Chris Grey on how the current travel chaos and the impending decision on import controls show how Brexit impacts fragile complex systems and how the Brexiter denial of complex reality doesn’t make it disappear.

OPINION

A democratic fix for an increasingly autocratic Supreme Court.

— The U.S. Supreme Court operates with little to no regulatory check on its authority. Time for the Congress to restore democracy to the highest court in the land.

OPINION

Prejudice and discrimination masquerading as spiritual support.

— Ignorant prejudice and discrimination masquerading as spiritual support for Ukraine.

OPINION

Reason Johnson is unfit for office number 9,999.

— Boris Johnson comparing the agonies of Ukraine with Brexit, claiming that both are examples of standing up for freedom, is a crass insult to crassness.

War in Ukraine

The Ukraine War shouldn’t make Americans more appreciative or grateful.

— Why be grateful and appreciative for the undemocratic obstacles that prevent some American citizens from voting and lower the bar for what true democracy is?

OPINION

Bear faced hypocrisy.

— As they lament the terrible spectacle of Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine, the UK Government’s hand-wringing has more than a touch of hypocrisy.