Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s running again for US president and the visit, if that’s what it can be called, of former President Trump prelude the start of the race for the White House. My old friend Harry Benson has the distinction of having photographed every president since Eisenhower and along the way he’s gathered some tales and insights. His favourite… Read more »
The latest iteration of the Scottish Government’s criminal justice legislation is a mixture of what should have been done a while back, what maybe doesn’t need done, and something that just shouldn’t be done at all. Scrapping the not proven verdict, I agree with. The debate has always been what should replace it and I prefer the question juries are asked: is… Read more »
There’s a cost of energy crisis that’s not gone away and that’s now compounded by a cost of food crisis. A Parliamentary debate on the cost-of-living crisis allowed me to detail the shocking extent of food poverty in East Lothian. The information provided by the stalwarts at the foodbank is both shocking and shameful. They’ve been experiencing their highest ever… Read more »
For many unionists, Scotland’s a political and economic basket case. Why then, they should ask themselves, does the British Establishment want to keep hold of Scotland? After all, many senior Tories eagerly await a border poll in Ireland, so they can get shot of the six counties. Of course, there’s the geopolitical implications with the threat to status, never mind… Read more »
“We didn’t know at all, We didn’t see a thing, You can’t hold us to blame, What could we do? It was a terrible shame, But we can’t share the blame, On no, not us, we didn’t know” The chorus of Tom Paxton’s wonderful song ”We Didn’t Know” that condemns silence in the face of wrong doing and injustice came… Read more »
The weather’s improving and lengthening days mean lights and heating can be turned down. But for many they’ve hardly been on and for some not at all. The energy crisis remains and challenges abound. The Energy Bills Support Scheme that saw vouchers issued to those on Alternative Fuels has seen a disproportionate failure in the take up rate here in… Read more »
AS UK GOVERNMENT ADMITS 124 BILLION KILLOWATT HOURS OF ENERGY WORTH OVER £2 TRILLION BY 2030 TO BE SENT SOUTH ALBA Depute Leader Kenny MacAskill MP has called for a Scottish public energy company to be established as he publishes a new paper – 124 Billion Reasons for Independence, which shows that by 2030 Scotland will be sending south 124 billion kilowatt hours of… Read more »
The first hundred days sets the tone as to how you’ll be viewed. But for Humza Yousaf it’s not even been that, just a fortnight or so. To be fair it’s been baptism of fire with his predecessor having placed land mines whichever way he stepped. But this is how he’s going to be seen and judged. It’s continuity despite… Read more »
Another classic Harry Benson photograph is the Beatles with Muhammad Ali. Early in 1964 Harry was on location in Miami with the band and it coincided with the heavyweight championship bout between Sonny Liston and Ali then in his original incarnation Cassius Clay. Wanting a picture of the band with the world champion he phoned Liston who was disparaging. Whether… Read more »
Scotland is energy rich but many of our folk are fuel poor I’ve written on many an occasion. But it’s so huge and so vital that it’s necessary to keep saying so. Also some people are making money though from our renewable resource and it’s not just the big energy companies where there are dividends and bonuses aplenty. Most of… Read more »