Opinion
Erikka Askeland: Disturbing masses of men with little to do
IT’S raining men – but is this cause to sing “hallelujah”, as the irrepressible pop ditty might have it? Probably not, because it can get dangerous when there are lots of men together and not much for them to do.
Stephen McGinty: Sunshine supermen strike back
THE awful sight of topless men on the nation’s streets is just another facet of our usually brief and unhealthy relationship with the sun, writes Stephen McGinty
Alf Young: Wha’s like us… a lesson in privileged status
SCOTLAND prides itself on enjoying a more egalitarian society than our neighbours, but inequality is entrenched, writes Alf Young
3 commentsStephen Jardine: Can’t control your child? Don’t eat out
AS ANYONE with a toddler will know, they choose their moments. Tantrums are reserved for the most embarrassing occasions and locations.
Gerry Hassan: Subverting the free market is a laughing matter
THE revolution begins by mocking the sacred cows paraded before us by the rich who judge society by their own mean standards
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John Drummond: Transparency on issue of tobacco cuts both ways
SHEILA Duffy of anti-smoking campaign Ash Scotland was right when she argued in this column earlier this week that there should be full transparency about the interests, especially financial, of any organisation involved in debates on issues as important as public health.
From the archives: General Assemblies: Memorial in Jerusalem, 26 May, 1919
JEWISH mission work at home and abroad occupied the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on its resumption on Saturday. The hope was expressed that whatever the ultimate fate of Asia Minor, now that the war is over, missionary work among the Jews in that part of the world would be allowed to go on unhampered.
George Kerevan: Salmond brand may be better seller
The referendum will be won and lost by people balancing gain and risk, optimism and negativity, writes George Kerevan
10 commentsLeader: Minimum prices only the first measure to take
Scotland has become the first country in Europe to legislate for the introduction of a minimum price for a unit of alcohol, in this case 50p.
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Juliet Dunlop: Why I live in hope of great adaptations
I love Sunset Song. I still have the dog-eared copy I read at school and, from time to time, I like to take it down from the shelf, dust it off and thumb through its pages.
1 commentScott Macnab: Our town halls may provide checks and balances as independence battle looms large
The SNP can justly feel aggrieved after the power-sharing deals on Scotland’s councils left it out in the cold in many parts.
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Tiffany Jenkins: Bringing readers to book
A top ten list of Scotland’s favourite tomes reveals most of us haven’t picked up a decent one since school, while current thinking in education is failing to produce new readers, argues Tiffany Jenkins
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Katie Grant: Struggling to carry this burden of obesity
Fat is no longer a personal issue, it is a personal choice that impacts on our neighbours and our family writes Katie Grant
5 commentsIan Swanson: Battle-lines are drawn as independence campaign begins
The starting gun is about to be fired in the independence referendum drive, political editor Ian Swanson reports
14 commentsMichael Kelly: Info-ethics is just a matter of consumer choice
The Church must accept the remit of the Leveson Inquiry does not include delivering a formula aimed at promoting Christian values, writes Michael Kelly
3 commentsShabnum Mustapha: UN not helping the people who want change
LAST year there were extraordinary events around the world, but nowhere more so than in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tavish Scott: The big why question Salmond must answer
Dial M for Murdoch is a powerful read. It’s written by the journalist Martin Hickman and labour MP Tom Watson. The latter came to my political attention when he was linked to the then chancellor Gordon Brown in the last days of the Blair premiership.
13 commentsRob Brown: Why independence is no passport to success
The possibility of waving a fond farewell to the traditional travel visa conjures up a new set of dilemmas, writes Rob Brown
9 commentsLeaders: Tipping point reached in eurozone crisis
A TIPPING point has now been reached in the crisis that has engulfed Greece and put her continued membership of the European single currency in peril. Yesterday, markets round the world fell sharply on reports that contingency preparations are now being made for a Greek exit from the euro.
Fiona McCade: Less screen-gazing, more living, please
Last Sunday, a man stood in front of hundreds of students at Boston University and said: “You are emblems of the sense of possibility that will define this age. If you’re awake, you’re online, you’re connected. Some of you are probably tweeting this speech right now.”
Gregor Gall: Tories beware the police
Unpopularity is one thing, but Cameron’s government must face the prospect that as public servants revolt it is losing credibility too, writes Gregor Gall
2 commentsMargo MacDonald: More than one way to face EU uncertainty
Readers who watch really scary programmes on TV, like First Minister’s Questions, and news bulletins on who else ate all the pies, may have heard the Presiding Officer gently nudging me into line after I’d asked my question at FMQs last week. Fair do. I deployed the parliamentary custom of chancing my arm.
1 commentAnalysis: A ‘bonkers’ policy that damages the party’s credibility
NEWS that Nato has dropped off the agenda for the SNP’s meeting on 16 June raises a few eyebrows. The party’s long-standing policy to quit the most successful military alliance in history has damaged its electoral credibility, internationally if not domestically.
7 commentsComment: Jury still out on many vexing questions over military stance
ONE thing that’s very clear is that an independent Scotland that wasn’t in Nato would find it very difficult to sell arms to countries that were in the alliance.
3 commentsBrian Wilson: Due process outweighs ‘innocence’ claims
THE legal system deserves respect as much as the right to challenge it should be enshrined in law, writes Brian Wilson.
11 commentsLeader: IMF sugars the pill – but it must be swallowed
THE verdict delivered by the International Monetary Fund yesterday on the state of the British economy under the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition allows beleaguered Chancellor George Osborne to breathe a sigh of relief.
Eddie Barnes: If business leaders stay coy, how central is the constitutional debate?
A PROMINENT pro-Union commentator has been heard complaining this week about what he sees as the timid failure of Scotland’s business leaders to make their views clear on independence, the majority of whom, said commentator declared, were most likely against the whole idea.
5 commentsEmma Cowing: You say potatos; I say learn how to spell...
I WONDER where he is sometimes, the man I left because he couldn’t spell the word “potatoes”. Does he still rely on auto-correct to get him through the day, or has he met a lovely woman who offers up “tomatos” for his “potatos”?
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Alan Massie: Social mobility leaves the ‘excluded’ further behind
There are parts of the country where the only economic activity is criminal and educational level is so low only a few can escape, writes Allan Massie
7 commentsDina Iordanova: Think of the bigger picture for film festivals
CINEMA events are spreading all over Scotland, but we should consider their potential global influence, writes Dina Iordanova
Martin Hannan: No end in sight for Lockerbie
The death of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was always going to produce mixed reactions. The only man yet to be convicted of the Lockerbie bombing endured a long and painful death and if you believe in divine retribution, he got some of his share here on Earth.
4 commentsAnalysis: Unfit for the workplace? Yes
SCOTLAND is the highest-qualified part of the UK outside London, but businesses still find too many vacancies hard to fill. Official figures show nearly half of the employers struggling to fill jobs cite insufficient quality of applicants as the sole reason.
1 commentAnalysis: Unfit for the workplace: No
THIS week is Scottish Modern Apprenticeship Week and I’ll be attending a series of events promoting the benefits modern apprenticeships can bring.
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Ben Thomson: Greater local devolution of services a priority
A reduced council base should be given responsibility for health and policing, writes Ben Thomson
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David Maddox: Francois Hollande’s line of defence strands David Cameron
IT WAS Marquis of Ximenez, a sometime poet and French nobleman, who coined the phrase perfidious Albion in 1793 which has summed up a large proportion of the relations between France and Britain ever since – even when they were supposedly entente cordial.
3 commentsHugh Reilly: Tablets no cure for education headache
ANNOYINGLY, my family and imaginary friend continue to regard me as a something of a technophobe. To be fair, my mobile phone is a somewhat retro item. Put it this way: when I take a picture using the camera function, I have to place a dark cloth over my head and hold a flash bulb aloft.
Pete Martin: Dumb and glummer
FOR a people who have long fought for education and raised their country up as an example to others, we Scots are often world-beaters when it comes to wilful ignorance, writes Pete Martin
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Ewan Crawford: Independence is an issue above party politics
SCOTTISH Labour may find that scoring cheap political points is not the way to garner support with a more mature and informed electorate, writes Ewan Crawford
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Andrew Dixon: Creative review has nothing to do with cuts
Tim Cornwell’s column yesterday missed some of the good news about our changing investment portfolio.
Peter Jones: EU fuelled Irish folly to kill the tiger
IRELANDshows that a small independent nation in the EU may have to play the tune its master gives it, writes Peter Jones
15 commentsMark Greenaway: Let’s show world that all Scottish food isn’t deep fried
As ambassador of our nation’s cooking, Mark Greenaway says we need to promote our quality produce and excellent culinary skills
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Analysis: Committee plays it safe and backs railway stability
WHEN the current ScotRail franchise runs out in 2014, it will be 20 years since the last Conservative government began the break-up and sell-off of British Rail.
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Analysis: Relief among the people at end of link with old regime
RELIEF was how most ordinary Libyans greeted the news of the death of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.
Angela Macleod: Deaths from the silent killer can be prevented
IT IS a worrying fact that about 40 per cent of strokes could be prevented if high blood pressure was identified. Even more worrying is that more than half of adults in Scotland do not know that high blood pressure is the single biggest risk factor for having a stroke.
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Brian Monteith: Phoney war is over, now the real battle begins
SNP forces look likely to roll up unionist opponents unless a Churchill can be found, writes Brian Monteith
33 commentsMichael Turnbull: Future of Scottish Catholic Archives up in the air
SOON a convoy of trucks will leave the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh bound for the new University Library at Aberdeen.
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Tim Cornwell: Poor strategy a blot on creative landscape
THE honeymoon, if it had one, is over for Creative Scotland.
The new arts agency was ensnared in a funding row this week that looked and sounded remarkably similar to the good old Scottish Arts Council days. In fact, it’s worse.
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Lesley Riddoch: Unacceptable face of gallery choices
THE National Portrait Gallery lacks images of Scots the general public would recognise or could name, writes Lesley Riddoch
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Analysis: How have letter and spirit of the law become so divorced?
AROUND the room the glasses chinked and the chatter rose in volume. Those expert in the art of networking were using this skill to speak to people while simultaneously on the lookout for someone of greater importance while the dull and the boring were washed aside like some jetsam on a beach.
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Analysis: Simplest explanation often correct – Syria and Iran were in cahoots
INITIALLY, we were told the investigation was fingering Iran and Syria over the Lockerbie bombing. By time the trial started this had switched to Libya.
- Rangers takeover: Duff & Phelps threaten legal action against BBC
- Family mourn death of Glasgow ‘fight’ schoolboy
- Today’s youth not fit to be employed, says car firm Arnold Clark
- Rangers administration: Fans fear Duff & Phelps claims could scare off Green
- Rangers takeover: triple penalty punishment enough, says Johnston
- Alistair Darling leads ‘No to independence’ fight over tea and biscuits
- Scottish independence: SNP flip-flops over Nato
- Scottish Independence: SNP ‘won’t be Yes campaign’s only voice’
- Today’s youth not fit to be employed, says car firm Arnold Clark
- Scottish independence: ‘People here are best qualified to run Scotland’
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Weather for Edinburgh
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
