Harry's Place

Facing serious blowback for a report questioning the “widespread assumption” that the Bible supports a Jewish state, the Church of Scotland has agreed to reword the document to make clear that it does not challenge Israel’s right to exist.

The Jewish Chronicle reports:
One of Scotland’s smallest councils has implemented a boycott of Israel after comparing the country to apartheid South Africa.
Clackmannanshire Council said it would resist all economic and political support for Israel in order to “end suffering in Palestine”.
The boycott was implemented by 11 councillors after lobbying by anti-Israel activists from the Scottish [...]

Kevin Meagher at Left Foot Forward cogitates on the successes – or not, as the case may be – of the Regional Growth Fund. Launched in 2010 with £1.4 billions of funding, it was intended to kick-start economic development in down-at-heel regions of England and Wales.
Margaret Hodge, chairing the Westminster public accounts committee points [...]

It always was a hostage to fortune with the SNP courting support from community gatekeepers presuming to speak for Scotland’s established Christian Churches when it came gay marriage.
When the Scottish Government announced last year that it would move to introduce gay marriage, there seemed little stopping it from doing so.  The power to remove the [...]

“Bringing power to the people” and effecting transparency is much more that simply moving the geographical focus of a legislatures, such as from Westminster to Holyrood.
In contrast to pursuing attempts to impeach Tony Blair – on expenses, of course – Alex Salmond and the Scottish Government have been remarkably coy about revealing whether or not [...]

A man not adverse to bloviation, last year the Pater familias of Scotland, Fish-heid McMoonface stopped at having a “friendly word” with Beijing over her human rights record so not to damage trade deals worth a roughly estimated £250 millions each year.
This might not or might very well be why a stramash now is developing [...]

I admit I am having difficulty seeing the objection to not permitting unmoderated taking of photographs in schools, but a synthetic outrage Twitter storm has started in response to nine year old Martha Payne doing so.
In May, Payne – or, more accurately, her father – launched a blog Never Seconds which carried a photo-diary of [...]

Scotland’s first minister, Alex Salmond, has said the Economist magazine will “rue the day” it published a front-cover image calling Scotland impoverished.
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Salmond wants to hold a referendum on independence in autumn 2014. The Scottish National party leader said the front cover displays a sort of “Bullingdon Club humour” of “sneering condescensions”.
“It just insults every single [...]

Although renewal of nuclear power generation in the rest of the UK looks likely, the Scottish Government remains wedded to non-nuclear power generation. One such site is to be an offshore windfarm in Aberdeen Bay.
Having previously courted Donald Trump for his plans to open a luxury golf estate at Menie – to the extent [...]

As the Luciferian Fall of Rupert Murdoch seemed unstoppable, Operation Rubicon was initiated by Strathclyde Police following a complaint from Tommy Sheridan’s solicitor Aamer Anwar with the stated purpose of investigating unethical and illegal press practice within Scotland in addition to potential perjury by named individuals… okay, Andy Coulson… at Sheridan’s own perjury trial.
Lallands Peat [...]