Edward Harkins

What. Utter. Sh*te. Look out England. You're in for the same extreme negative reporting by the establishment and their media pals that we've had in Scotland for decades. No straw is too low for them to grasp, nor barrel so deep to scrape.

For CNN, a Change in Ownership Means a Suddenly Uncertain Future

There's nothing "uncertain" about it. Larry Ellison is building an autocrat-friendly propaganda machine and whatever shaky journalism originated from this place will soon be dead.

'It's not right that a small group of unelected politicians can block the #AssistedDyingBill by proposing over 1,200 amendments... In a democratic society in 2026, it's unbelievable that peers are going to cause this bill to fail.' Our Assisted Dying Campaigner @nathan-stilwell.bsky.social ⬇️

Lord Harper, in his ✨80th✨ speech on the assisted dying debate, having spoken for two and a half HOURS during Committee Stage, claims there's no filibustering [to which the House of Lords groans].

Baroness Murphy quips: "Lord Harper is just beginning his first filibuster now!"

It's been remarkable to observe the rigorous, evidence-based debate led by Jersey’s policymakers, particularly having contributed to earlier evidence sessions. A landmark moment for compassion and personal autonomy at the end of life.

High Court upholds acquittal for Quran burning Hamit Coskun, who burned a Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in London, has had his acquittal for religiously motivated harassment, alarm or distress upheld by the High Court. Humanists UK welcomes th...

In a free society, the right to protest religious ideas, however provocatively, should not be a matter for the criminal courts. This case was a divisive distraction that the CPS should not have pursued. This ruling provides the legal finality we need to move forward.

We must agree to disagree 🙂. Next test of Starmer's decision (his?) to block Burnham will be the fallout if Burnham wins big in coming Mayoral elections. If Burnham does so win: a) Starmer will claim I was right, we won the bigger election; b) Burnham will claim I would've won G&D. A mess, ongoing.

Not to be too much a pedant but I do think there's much to extrapolate from G&D. It's all part of a (now decades long?) process of people's alienation from & now detestation of Westminster & all that goes with it. As the man nearly said, 'It's the system stupid'?

Aye, right enough the noo...

But will people of Scotland be up for the 'honesty' bit from politicians? Every data piece & indicator on the 'fiscal change' facing any Scottish Govt is truly, really, dire. Will the electorate want to engage with & accept the (ahem) 'difficult choices'; ie some lose out, others demanded more of?

Steady people, you'll get ensnared in that AI stuff next....

IMO, Gorton & Denton was not a rejection of only Starmer, Labour or their candidate (I doubt Burnham would've won it). Electorate is rejecting the entire Westminster system as archaic, unrepresentative of them & much corrupted; Labour or Tory alike. So now even loathsome Ref*rm gets a hearing

TikTok, YouTube and Facebook are full of rubbish tax influencers, spinning any kind of old codswallop, whether it's for clicks or fees

I'm trying to create a "Greatest Hits" list. The worst of the worst

I'd love it if people could post examples. I'll start - Samuel Leeds:

Left figure: Year-on-year change (in %) of monthly Chinese exports to the EU and the US (in USD). Right figure: Average year-on-year growth rate (in %) of monthly Chinese export values/quantities/unit values to the EU (in USD) of all HS6 product groups; pre-tariff period is January 2024 to March 2025; post-tariff period is April 2025 to December 2025. High US tariffs on imports from China in the first half of 2025 led to concerns about a large-scale redirection of Chinese exports to the EU. This column argues that these tariffs have so far caused only limited trade diversion towards the EU. Effects appear confined to a small group of highly exposed products, for which export quantities to the EU have risen and prices appear to have edged down. Thus, the macroeconomic impact likely has been very limited so far. The recent increase in Chinese exports to the EU seems primarily driven by structural factors like China’s growing competitiveness.

Patrick Schulte, Almira Enders, Andreas Esser, and Felix Strobel (@bundesbank.de) show that US tariffs on China did not cause large-scale redirection of Chinese exports to the EU despite concerns. Effects appear confined to a small group of highly exposed products.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
#EconSky

Panel A shows support for US-China collaborations vs. US-Germany collaborations in the US Policy Community. Panel B shows support for US-China collaborations vs. US-Germany collaborations among US-based scientists. Error bars indicate 95% CIs. International collaboration is one of modern science’s quiet superpowers. Increasingly, it is also a geopolitical flashpoint. This column presents new experimental evidence that shows both US policymakers and US-based scientists are systematically less likely to support otherwise identical research proposals when a key collaborator is based in China rather than in Germany. Support shifts away from unconditional approval and toward stricter, conditional backing. These penalties are strikingly consistent across scientific fields and respondent characteristics (including Asian scientists), highlighting a tension between science’s universalist ideals and today’s geopolitical realities.

Alexander Furnas, Ruixue Jia, Margaret Roberts & Dashun Wang present evidence that US policymakers & US-based scientists are systematically less likely to support otherwise identical research proposals when a key collaborator is based in China rather than Germany.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
#EconSky

Seems to be The Big Question on AI & productivity... will it... won't it...?

It's the Right's fault that facts about them are 'unkind'.

This highlights how stupid it is to weight based on recalled 2014 vote, when nearly half of 18 to 24 year olds think that they voted (or misunderstood the question!).
(This poll doesn’t weight in this way luckily).

Sanctioned charity founder has removal appeal rejected

'Russia connections' UK Charity founder loses appeal against removal by the charity regulator.
www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/sanctio... #charities #trustees

Yes, respects to Andrew et al. Recent Saturday talk at Alexander ‘Greek’ Society was on the impressive Victorian era Grand Hotel, a casualty of the area-wide destruction for the M8. The magnificent Charing Cross junction & the once walkable city-centre-to-West-end way all ruined. A new future now?

The night the Glasgow contingent of the International Brigade arrived back, following its disbandment, was an unforgettable night at the City Halls. There on the platform, were these almost mythical heroes with their Sam Brown belts and berets (a then unknown military style headgear and they were received with deservedly reverberating applause. It was announced that each local contingent would march to their respective districts and an appeal was made for locals of these districts to march behind them. Need they have asked! The Springburn contingent headed north led by a flute band. I never noticed a step of the way. As we neared Northcroft Road, the dispersal point, the band struck up the "International" as we swept into the street. It was a night to remember! A short while afterwards I joined the Young Communist League. Spain was a turning point in my life.

@spaincivilwartours.bsky.social great wee anecdote on the return of the International Brigades volunteers to Glasgow (from One Great Vision: Memoirs of a Glasgow Worker by Kenny McLachlan)

Earth's heat to produce electricity for homes in UK clean energy first Water super-heated by rocks will also provide the UK's first domestic supply of the critical mineral lithium.

UK's first geothermal power plant is set to go live, providing new type of renewable electricity using hot water from underground to generate electricity for 10,000 homes.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Mag-7 used to trade at a 100% premium over the rest of the S&P. It's now collapsed to a 10-year low.

Do you realize what's happening?

A Scottish play with food for thought…

Major update of my Substack archive of my @ScotNational column over last few months—free to access. Freud, AI, cinema (via Oscars), Trumpism/Farageism, all with an Indy-mindedness about them… Enjoy, share! patkane.substack.com/s/pk-in-the-...

This is massive, and disgraceful. No organisation called “Tactical Choice” appears to exist.

Interested in tax justice or want to know more?

If you work in social enterprise, charity or similar book a place at the free webinar, all welcome:

socialenterprise.scot/event/tax-ju... (please share)

Legal rammies on Mandelson, Andrew, Lord Advocate & Alba.
Does the dual role of Lord Advocate do Scotland any favours?
Transforming Scotland: what community wealth building means.
Can SNP sustain its big poll lead- can Labour win Thurs by-election?
Listen lesleyriddoch.com/podcast