A few weeks ago I posted the Scottish news that 16 and 17-year-olds will be voting next May for the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary elections. As noted, next year will be a big year in Scottish politics, potentially including an up or down vote on whether Scotia should schedule a second independence referendum. Over 100,000 16 […]
It just came to my attention that last night Earth experienced an earthquake just down the road from my home in Colorado. This quake measured 4.2 on the Richter scale and the likely cause of the shake is the practice of hydraulically (using water) fracturing the rock deep in the earth to facilitate collection and […]
What a wonderfully robust response to the first official Not Your Father’s Gaelic blog post. Thanks to everyone and it is great to see some real interest in the topic. One very important comment thread in particular has emerged and I thought I might address it here in a new post. I am certain this […]
This is the first in a series of Bletherskite blog posts that we like to call “Not Your Father’s Gaelic”. We briefly introduced the series a few weeks back. The broad goal of the NYFG project is to provide needed support and energy for a growing Gaelic cultural and language revitalization movement within the Scottish […]
Next May, Scotland’s 16 and 17-year-olds will be voting in the weighty Scottish parliamentary elections. It will be their first time back in the voting booth after posting an uplifting 85% turnout last September for the Indy referendum. While the idea of a teenage voting franchise has been on political screens for some time in […]
Here we are at the middle of the week! A good time to peek at what’s been going on in Scotland over the last few days: Scottish Environment: Scots Government Taking Heat For Banning GMOs August 11: Expert who advised SNP slams move to ban GMO crops (Herald Scotland) August 9: Scottish government under fire […]
“In the Highlands we have an opportunity to reverse environmental degradation and create a world-class wilderness region offering a lifeline to wildlife including beavers, capercaillie, wood ants and pine martens, and restoring natural forests and wild spaces for our children and grandchildren.” — Alan Watson Featherstone, Founder and CEO of Scottish charity Trees For Life, […]
“There is only so much negativity a person can take and, now I’ve moved out of Scotland I feel as if a huge weight has lifted off my shoulders.” So lamented Michelle Mone, a Glasgow born business woman who last year spoke out against the Scottish independence question and received some pretty harsh online backlash […]
The last Watching Scotland Weekday Update explored whether, in the real world, Scotland could see a second independence referendum put to a vote in the next few years. Conclusion: the possibility of a second referendum is currently on the table and SNP politicians do not mince words when they say that the will of the […]
A Second Independence Referendum: Whose Call Is It? Less than a year after voting down the “once in a generation” Scottish Independence Referendum Scottish voters may be asked to do it all again as early as 2016 following the next Scottish parliamentary election. Last September 18th Scottish voters chose “No” to independence from the UK. […]
