August 31, 2004
Waverley Railway Project
A new study by consultants Tribal HCH backs the restoration of the historic Waverley rail link between Edinburgh and the Borders, a 29-mile line between Edinburgh and Galashiels.
news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1020732004
No doubt this will be strongly supported by the SNP.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:59 PM
Russell manifesto
Design: The Salmond/Sturgeon document is well set out, the Cunningham tract is easy to scan in straightforward unjustified type, but Mike Russell's manifesto is a pain to read. It is set in narrow justified columns (vertical 'rivers' of space flowing between the words) in Times New Roman (an ugly, spiky typeface only suited to rough newsprint) on a heavily tinted blue-purple background. Was the designer a Liberal Democrat or something?
Content: If Salmond/Sturgeon are pragmatists, and Cunningham a fundamentalist, Russell is an evangelist. His good news is that Scotland has a lot of unnecessary problems which can be solved relatively easily, and in the short term. (He is probably half right here.) He writes about 'systematic changes to culture, structures and processes of public agencies and political parties.' This is a major project!
The manifesto is entitled 'A Fresh Start on the Road to Independence', subtitled 'new hope, new ideas, new teamwork, new inclusiveness, new strategies'. There are appropriately five key points: I. 'Renewing the party': he will quadruple SNP membership by the time of the 2005 Westminster election, II. 'Taking new directions': he will re-examine key elements of SNP policy such as NATO (possibly joining instead of leaving) and the EU (a referendum on continued membership?), III. 'Encouraging participation': he will liberate, deliberate with, and empower the SNP while introducing radical measures including (happily) 'electronic participation', IV. 'Stressing enterprise and opportunity': he will initiate fresh approaches to business, infrastructure, taxation, health, education etc. (This is the most substantial section, where a lot of interesting ideas are floated.) Lastly V. 'Winning elections and winning independence'.
Overall there is something rather American about the grand aspirations, and the appeal to inspirational leadership. Implicitly the Russell plan requires persuasive, charismatic leadership to kick start the enthusiasm required to energize Scotland. Does Mike Russell have that charisma?
The manifesto is at:
www.mikerussellsnp.net/index.php?page=manifesto
Voting is now closed. Results on Friday, 3 September.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 06:24 PM
Microsoft and the SNP 2
I'm delighted to report that the SNP site now works with Safari on the Mac.
Russell Horn, the SNP ICT Executive, writes: "The SNP website was developed prior to Safari being launched by Apple. . . I have, however, now added some code that should now redirect any safari browser to the high resolution site."
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:10 AM
August 30, 2004
Jack McConnell's strategy
According to the BBC news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3610212.stm Jack McConnell is going to announce that the Tories, and not the SNP, are now Labour's main opponents in Scotland.
This is in line with London Labour's strategy of claiming electoral successes on the basis of Tory failures, while shrugging off the victories of other parties. This probably makes some sense for Labour, but it also shows how desperate they are to maintain the British two party system.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:22 PM
August 29, 2004
RSS feed for The Skakagrall
It's possible to keep up with The Skakagrall via an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed using a news reader. Setting this up is explained on: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3223484.stm?rss
The address for subscribing to The Skakagrall is: www.skakagrall.com/index.rdf. You can also subscribe to the BBC, newspaper sites and other blogs.
Incidentally, there is now an SNP news feed from The Scotsman on this page.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 04:36 PM
Microsoft and the SNP
The Skakagrall is Microsoft-free: made on a Mac, hosted on Linux, powered by Movable Type, so it's disappointing to have to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to see the official SNP website www.snp.org. It's not possible to view it (except in a text only version) on the much faster Apple Safari 1.2.3, and possibly other browsers as well.
I am all for the SNP favouring Microsoft if there something to be gained from it. The SNP is a poor party and Microsoft is a very rich company. Bill Gates could give every child in Scotland a computer without blinking. Has anyone asked him?
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:36 PM
August 28, 2004
Cunningham manifesto
Roseanna Cunningham is not an enthusiastic blogger (she has only contributed seven times to her 'campaign blog' roseanna2004.blogspot.com/ since 2 July), so the only online guide to her thinking is the manifesto itself. This is an interesting and well-written, if rather inward-looking, document. It has less concrete detail on most issues than Salmond/Sturgeon, except possibly the environment, which she links with transport and land reform.
Entitled 'A Vision and Strategy for Independence', it actually gives us neither. The word independence occurs 28 times, but crucially there is no explanation by Cunningham about how she conceptualizes it in an increasingly interdependent world, influenced by global economic interests, that is moving away from a system of autonomous nation states. She also gives us no information about the processes of achieving independence, though these surely involve a lot more than just winning a Scottish parliamentary election.
She is notably sceptical on Europe:
"The European Union has changed substantially from the organisation joined by the UK in 1975. Our consideration of the potential future for Scotland as an independent member of that Union must be kept under constant scrutiny. The real test must always be: is it in the interests of Scotland or is it not? The key questions may lie in whether Britain enters into deals with Europe grossly harmful to Scotland prior to independence. In that case, I am certain a future free Scotland could not avoid revisiting the issues."
This would be fine if it were balanced by a paragraph explaining the opportunities that Scotland would enjoy in Europe - bit it isn't!
The manifesto is at:
www.roseannacunningham.net/
Posted by Simon Holledge at 04:06 PM
Impeachment or censure?
Impeachment hasn't been used in Britain since 1848. (Bill Clinton was of course threatened with it in the States in 1999.) Nonetheless the procedure may be more appropriate to Blair and the misuse of intelligence about Iraq than a less formal, simple vote of censure.
There is a good article on the subject in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:12 AM
August 27, 2004
Impeach Blair website / now up again
Richard Fellows of rafsolutions.com writes that the website www.ImpeachBlair.org is now up and working again.
"As I'm sure you can understand the website came under an intense load upon launch and unfortuately the database driving the site crashed. This has been rectified by the transfer of the site to a new host. This work was carried out during the early hours of Friday morning and, as far as I'm aware, the site is back to full functionality. An email will be going out shortly with in response to the confirmation of the mailinglist. I'd appreciate any further feedback you could provide as to what is currently at fault on the website and I assure you that it shall be resolved immediately."
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:05 PM
Impeach Blair website / technical problems
At last we have a campaign to impeach Blair over the Iraq War, led by the Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties, but unfortunately the website www.ImpeachBlair.org is apparently out of order. I was unable to access most of the pages or confirm my subscription to their mailing list. (It's not under SNP control.)
It is designed and hosted by rafsolutions.com, a company that doesn't seem to have its own website. An email address is given: richard@rafsolutions.com. I have written to 'Richard'.
I wonder if anyone thought of checking the website before it went online? If we are going to get rid of a Prime Minister as tenacious as Blair, we need to be professional about it!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 05:56 PM
Salmond/Sturgeon Manifesto
"This manifesto is a clear indication of the kind of Party we wish to lead and the Scotland we seek to build".
Fair enough. This is an impressive document which covers many important aspects of policy. On the positive side, there is an unambiguous emphasis on a social democratic ethos ('the common weal'), and some recognition that Scottish institutions like a Scottish Broadcasting Corporation will have to be created to sustain a confident, focused Scottish identity that is no longer bedazzled by London.
Some criticisms:
1. The internet is not mentioned once in the manifesto, not even in relation to infrastructure development. Of all possible major infrastructure projects, making broadband available throughout the whole of Scotland would be the cheapest and have the most impact. Fast trains may improve productivity, discourage car use etc. but they won't change the way people think. The internet will do that.
2. Item 24: "Offer more support for Scottish artists, writer, and musicians to ensure that our identity thrives in the modern world." This hardly amounts to a policy. Of all the political parties in Scotland, the SNP has the most to gain from a flourishing arts scene, and the most to lose by imitating the philistinism of the Labour Party. The party should be considering what kind of political support is necessary to create advantageous conditions for the arts.
3. The environment is mentioned a few times, e.g. "high environmental standards are both necessary and easier to facilitate in a prosperous economy" etc., but there is no clearly-stated overall environmental policy embracing the land, transport, energy, tourism etc. Is the SNP going to leave the environment to the Greens? If so why?
The manifesto is at:
www.salmond-sturgeon.com/
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:52 AM
August 26, 2004
More on renewable energy
This time from the waves rather than the wind. Stephan Leahy writes in Wired News:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64695,00.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2
www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64695,00.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2
This highlights the work of Tom Denniss's Energetech www.energetech.com.au/ in Australia and Rhode Island. Scotland is also mentioned in passing.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 04:45 PM
August 25, 2004
Salmond/Sturgeon on renewable energy
Interesting press release, dated 20 August, on renewable energy entitled, "Salmond and Sturgeon announce renewable energy plan":
www.salmond-sturgeon.com/template.php?id=30
According to Nicola Sturgeon, "Scotland has 25% of Europe’s wind and tidal resources". An impressive statistic, although I do wonder where it comes from.
Perhaps in the future we will be able to buy electricity that is 100 percent from renewable energy without paying a steep premium for it? As far as I know, Good Energy is currently the only green electricity company (at least in Edinburgh) but their charges are about 20 percent higher than other companies.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 09:36 PM
August 24, 2004
Launch
The blog is now open and public.
As expected it has taken about a week to put together. The French ISP, where the Skakagrall is hosted, did the PERL script for me. I am using Movable Type, the de facto standard, which is 'powerful' but tricky to set up. The design is developed from one by Movable Style movablestyle.com/.
COMMENTS are welcome. The blog is written and tested on Mac/Safari 1.2.3. We have checked on Windows/Internet Explorer and it seems to look right, nevertheless reports of anything malfunctioning would be much appreciated.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:52 AM
August 23, 2004
One vote for Alex Salmond and one vote for Nicola Sturgeon
I have voted for Alex Salmond. I never seriously considered voting for anyone else, but it was interesting to read the candidates' leaflets enclosed with the voting forms.
Take opening sentences for example:
"I am not just campaigning to be SNP Leader. I am launching my candidacy to be First Minister of Scotland." Alex Salmond
Admirably direct and focused.
"Like every one of you, I am not prepared to accept second best for Scotland. Equally, I am not prepared to accept it for our party." Mike Russell
I don't 'get' Mike Russell. He writes about change, determination, opportunity, fresh starts, enthusiasm, re-energizing, courage, passion, and many other positive things, but I still don't understand what the message is. (I promise to read his manifesto later!)
"Independence is about more than choreographing the Independence Day ceremony." Roseanna Cunningham.
Cunningham evidently believes that independence is a pre-condition for any significant social or economic progress. This is not my opinion, and I don't think it is an opinion that people in Scotland want to hear.
The leader and the deputy should work in harmony and so I am also voting for Nicola Sturgeon. No doubt she will be very effective. I would also be perfectly happy with Fergus Ewing based on what I have read in his leaflet and website. His views on inclusion, balance and breadth are exemplary.
Christine Grahame's leaflet is better designed and printed than those of her colleagues, and she has found a photographer than makes her look both chic and gritty at the same time. (Thatcher with better hair?) Of her ten bulleted points, seven relate to internal party organization. This is not inspiring, for me anyway, and I wonder whether her idea of abolishing the shadow cabinet would work. (No doubt one day she will make a great minister of health.)
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:40 AM
August 22, 2004
From Ben Ledi to carbon sequestration
Last weekend we climbed Ben Ledi, a hill with great views, in the Trossachs. The slopes belong to the Forestry Commission Scotland's Queen Elizabeth Park and are forested to a height of about 300 to 400 metres (above sea level) largely with conifers, presumably Sitka Spruce. They are apparently still planting blocks of single species and 'clear cutting' large swathes across the hillsides when the trees mature.
According to Reforesting Scotland reforestingscotland.gn.apc.org/ 98 percent of Scotland's native woodland has been lost. Plans to restore it seem to be limited, the largest project that I know of is the Woodland Trust's Glen Finglas www.glen-finglas.info/ involving about 4,000 hectares.
Emphasis elsewhere seems to be on protecting the native species forests that still exist, including remnants of the ancient Caledonian forest in places like Glen Affric and Rothiemurchus www.rothiemurchus.net/ . These areas are extraordinary - the most beautiful woodlands I have seen outside the tropics - but they are limited in extent. In May we were in Glen Affric and adjacent Glen Cannich, and found the latter almost entirely bare of trees.
Curiously, the pro-native woodland groups like Reforesting Scotland and the Woodland Trust, while stressing ecology, bio-diversity and (quite properly) tourism, do not mention carbon sequestration.
Climate change is probably our greatest (political and any other) challenge. We may still have an imperfect knowledge of the processes involved, but global warming is accelerating alarmingly and we have to act. Reducing emissions is important, but so is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, either by sinking it in the oceans, or by pumping it underground, or by absorbing it into the terrestrial biosphere, the land.
The denuded hills (not to mention the disused coal mines and emptying oil fields) of Scotland are of international significance. Are there any other places in Europe with such large areas of non-urban, non-agricultural, reforestable land?
Does the SNP have a policy on reforestation? I searched the SNP website and could not find one mention of carbon sequestration.
Disclaimer: All this is well outside my areas of expertise and I welcome corrections and comments!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:00 AM
August 21, 2004
Westminster: Debate on Iraq, 20 July
One of the best political websites in Britain is TheyWorkForYou at:
www.theyworkforyou.com
This site has detailed information about MPs, their speeches and past votes, as well as complete texts of Westminster debates. What is impressive is the ability to add your own comments right next to speeches made by MPs.
A debate on Iraq was on held on 20 July 2004. My own comments, juxtaposed with the words of the Prime Minister, are at:
www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2004-07-20.195.0
Alex Salmond gave a fine, impassioned speech at that debate. I would quote it here, except for the question of copyright. (The speech is about three-quarters of the way down the page. He spoke at 5.37pm after Helen Liddell.)
It is worth noting Alex Salmond's record at Westminster, details at:
www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?pid=10525
Salmond spoke in parliament 249 times in the last year: 29th out of 658 MPs. No mean achievement by a member of a minor party. He replied to 87% of messages sent via FaxYourMP.com within 14 days: 88th out of 585 MPs.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 09:22 PM
August 20, 2004
Holyrood: no natural acoustic?
This afternoon, we visited the new parliament: the public areas, the debating chamber (where we sat in the second SNP row) and some committee rooms.
I am still not sure whether I like the building. It is, of course, unfinished and it isn't easy to imagine the final effect in many places (apparently a fair amount of the concrete inside will be covered up).
Outside the Debating Chamber. Photo © S Holledge
Much of the light comes from above, so the weather really influences the mood inside the building. It's better when the sun is shining, otherwise it is a bit dark, and in some places claustrophobic, because of the heavy, low, almost medieval, ceilings, especially at ground level, but also in some committee rooms.
It's a building of extraordinary complexity and must have been a builder's nightmare. Every room is an irregular shape. It's noticeable how many of the sharply-angled corners of the floors are still unfinished.
My impression - based on hearing a talk in the debating chamber and attending a mock committee meeting - is that almost all speakers will be using microphones.
The debating chamber appears to lack a natural acoustic. This may be because of the way the high roof is constructed. The carpeting may also be a factor. However it's extraordinary that Westminster, with over 600 MPs, doesn't need microphones (except obviously for broadcasting), but Holyrood with 129 MSPs does!
In the committee rooms members apparently have to press a button to activate their microphone if they wish to speak (a light comes on) - rather like a TV quiz show!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:47 PM
August 19, 2004
Inverness airport: need for cheap flights
According to a Salmond/Sturgeon press release from Inverness about the need for low cost flights to Scotland, 10 August 2004:
"Mr McConnell owns Inverness airport. He has been warned repeatedly that the charges are putting off low cost airlines. Ryanair wanted to fly to and from Inverness but Highlands and Islands Airport Ltd could not or would not come to an agreement. Now, Ryanair and other low cost airlines are flying to and from the European accession states like Latvia. People who should be coming to the Highlands are instead visiting Riga and other European cities. The drop in tourist numbers is a devastating blow. The Labour/ Liberal Executive has been in power since 1999. They have had the power to act but have done nothing to secure the tourist industry in the Highlands and Islands.
We should be an all the year tourist destination but it is expensive and becoming more inaccessible than anywhere else in Europe. In our joint manifesto we made it clear that we are committed to a New Age of Improvement for Scotland's infrastructure and will through the Scottish Trust for Public Investment buy out the PFI and make Inverness airport work in the interests of the people of the Highlands and Islands." Alex Salmond
"Tourism is the largest industry in the Highlands. The drop in visitor numbers will impact on the whole economy. We know that the Highlands and Islands are unique, with scenery unsurpassed anywhere in the world. It should not be marketed just to those who are rich enough to fly in their own jets. We need to attract the low cost carriers because that in turn will mean more money for the guest houses, bed and breakfast houses, the shops and tourist attractions. And of course, having low costs routes gives greater opportunities for the people who live in the Highlands and islands who will find their own travel horizons opened up. If action is not taken now tourism in the Highlands and Islands will wither on the vine and our fragile tourist industry and economy will go with it." Nicola Sturgeon
Statistics:
Visits to Scotland fell in the first quarter of this year to 191,000 from 195,000 in the same period last year. The biggest drop was in visitors from EU countries who fell from 82,000 to 68, 000. US visitors (biggest overseas market for Scotland) fell from 58,000 to 55,000. Everywhere else in Britain had an increase from the first quarter of 2004 compared to first quarter of 2003. Wales increased from 86,000 to 110,000. England increased from 708,000 to 796,000.
Source: www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=1905&More=N
My comment:
There is nothing much for me to add to that. Mr McConnell and the tourism people have some explaining to do. The figures are pretty damning. And it's not just Inverness Airport that needs to be opened up to the budget airlines. It's not possible to buy reasonably priced tickets from most places in Europe to Edinburgh either.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 07:01 PM
August 18, 2004
Why blog?
On the internet, SNP stands for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism - something apparently in genetics! That's what you get if you search on Google. There is little Scottish SNP presence on the web.
However the net offers exciting opportunities. Unlike traditional media, there is no institutional bias against new ideas. The rapid transmission of new thinking is what it is all about. Costs are low (in the case of The Skakagrall about 30 pounds). No trees are cut down. Distribution is free. A particular blog may be popular or it may not, but either way it beats writing protest letters to apathetic local Labour MPs.
One isolated blog may make a contribution to the spread of information, but several or more blogs interlinked in a group, and combined with news feeds and press releases offer greater possibilities. Having set up this kind of 'smart' network, people are no longer dependent on newspaper and TV presentations.
This year, in the face of Republican-controlled television and newspapers, the grassroots organization of the US Democrats has been to a great extent internet-based: 35 bloggers were accredited to the Democratic Party convention in Boston.
Like the Democrats, the SNP has everything to gain from international media that owe nothing to London, its trashy, old-fashioned newspapers and its broadcasting!
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:05 PM | Comments (2)
August 17, 2004
Salmond/Sturgeon on the school curriculum
According to a press release dated 16 August 2004: "Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have today proposed changes to the school curriculum to include citizenship classes and the teaching of enterprise skills and Scottish economic history. They have pledged that if elected to be leader and deputy leader of the SNP, they will enter into discussions with teaching unions and parent groups, with a view to establishing a broad-based campaign for these reforms."
My comments:
Rather than citizenship classes (which sound exactly like the Blunkett/Crick flag-waving, anthem-singing classes for immigrants) a basic course on political institutions would help young people understand how to deal with local and national government and take part in democratic processes - not least by voting!
Rather than emphasize Scottish economic history, Scottish Studies as a whole should be taught in schools, including Scottish history (which is surely where economic, social and political history should be taught) also geology and prehistory, geography, and environmental studies. The broader the better, and whenever possible the studies should be linked to fieldwork.
Teaching 'enterprise skills' does sound like a good idea, but I am not sure how this would be accomplished in practice.
The major educational challenge that Scotland faces (as in all other countries) is to adapt education to the post-Information Revolution world - a world in in which paper and ink, books, passive, class-based studying and a lot of writing by hand are replaced by keyboards, online resources, individual interactive learning and multimedia output.
The SNP should be looking at educational projects in the States and other countries where children have been given their own laptop and handheld computers to develop creative projects.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 02:01 PM
August 16, 2004
Leader/deputy: teams/unteams
I wonder whether the posts of leader and deputy leader should both be electable. The present situation seems confused. . . . If I have got it right, Salmond and Sturgeon are officially a team, Cunningham and Grahame are unofficially a team, and Russell and Ewing are unattached. Salmond and Ewing (and perhaps Sturgeon) are happy to work with anybody, but Grahame (standing for deputy) is only willing to offer limited cooperation (conferring but not deferring) to either Salmond or Russell.
Surely a united leadership is necessary for the SNP to inspire confidence? (Despite which Alex Neil is backing Salmond/Grahame! news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3553636.stm )
Perhaps the deputy leader should be appointed by the leader (as in most other political parties), or at least be elected after the leader and not at the same time?
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:58 PM
Thinking the unthinkable
Roseanna Cunningham: "It is unthinkable that Scotland's party . . . could choose our leader from outwith the Scottish Parliament, a move that would reinforce the argument that our parliament is not important."
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3565546.stm
Two of the three candidates for leader of the SNP are not members of the Scottish Parliament, so clearly the unthinkable has already been thought. Party rules obviously do not bar non-Holyrooders from standing for the job. Alex Salmond is a member of the Westminster Parliament. Mike Russell is a member of neither.
I believe it is acceptable/workable to have the leader in Westminster, with the deputy at Holyrood. Both parliaments still have jurisdiction over Scotland and both have SNP representation. It would be different if Holyrood were fully empowered, but it isn't - and the next election to be fought is Westminster, not Holyrood.
The main job of the party leader is to inspire the general public rather than his or her colleagues, or to put it more simply - to get the vote! Isn't that what matters?
Posted by Simon Holledge at 01:48 PM
August 15, 2004
Political flowcharts
The diagram below represents the 20th century (or the 19th without the (blue box) TV/radio). News flows left to right, from the political party to the public via newspapers and broadcasting. There are Scottish (below) and British (above) dimensions, but no significant international influence.
[Click to enlarge]
The flowchart at the bottom represents the 21st century, with interaction between news originators, news services and blogs, and the public. News is now international, unconstrained by national borders. Perhaps only limited in practice by the English language.
[Click to enlarge]
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:45 PM
August 14, 2004
Mission
The Skakagrall supports:
The SNP
Scottish independence
Scotland in Europe
The euro
Impeachment of PM Blair for misleading Britain over Iraq
Elimination of nuclear weapons from Scotland
Closer links with other northern European countries
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of clean energy sources
Renewable energy from the wind and the waves, with zoning to ensure appropriate locations
Reforestation with indigenous species, funded where possible by selling environmental credits to international companies
Extension of national parks with government taking ultimate responsibility for the protection of areas of special natural beauty and significance
Landowner responsibility for environmentally-beneficial land use
Improvement of Scotland’s infrastructure
Universal access to broadband internet, funded where necessary by local government
The right to own your own connection (i.e. the last stretch of wire, cable, fibre or satellite) to the internet
Marking and reconstruction of Scotland’s most dangerous roads
High speed train lines linking Glasgow, Edinburgh and their airports
The Waverley line linking Edinburgh with the Borders
Encouragement for European airlines to fly to Scotland by giving control of airports to local governments
Reorganization of the NHS to bring specialist access, skills and equipment up to European standards
Smoking ban in all public places
Modernization of the Police to ensure that all senior officers are computer litearate and able to use relational and spatial databases
Oil revenues under Scottish control
Incentives for new businesses, encouraging ‘software-oriented’ (rather than ‘hardware-oriented’) economic development
A new national theatre building for Scotland, with three halls, located on the Leith waterfront
Reorganization of the Edinburgh International Festival to ensure quality as well as quantity
Adequate funding for Scottish Opera
Secular schools
New universities for Inverness and Perth
Programme to ensure that every student over the age of 16 owns a computer by 2008
Blogging
Scottish-based broadcasting
Transformation of traditional newspapers into news agencies
Posted by Simon Holledge at 11:00 PM
About the weblog
The Skakagrall is the first regular, daily blog devoted to the Scottish National Party, Scottish affairs and Europe. While it is hoped that readers will follow and comment on this blog, the real objective is to lead the way to a network of personal sites, linked to newsfeeds, that are capable of selecting, editing and contributing to the news, independent of British broadcasting and newspapers.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 10:02 PM
About the author
A freelance writer and editor with wide interests in politics, the environment, travel and tourism, and the arts, especially opera. Arriving in 2001, Simon was the first member of his family to live in Scotland for four generations. His wife,an orthopaedic surgeon, obtained a doctorate from Edinburgh University. During their time in Scotland they lived in Edinburgh, Callander near Stirling, and Haddington, in East Lothian. They left Scotland in August 2006 to travel to Africa and then France.
Publishing and information technology
Simon has been involved in one or other aspect of publishing all his life. After a technical training in book production and editing in London in his twenties, he later became a writer and photographer, returning to the publisher’s office in the 1990s as the graphics editor for the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, a major project in Tokyo.
A self-taught computer user, he bought his first Mac in London in 1989. In Japan, he started using email in 1993, and the web in 1994. Assigned an office in Beijing’s Forbidden City by the National Museum of Chinese History, he made the first internet connection from the old imperial palace in 1994.
This is his first weblog.
Archaeology
Trained at the Institute of Archaeology (University College London), Simon was the first British field archaeologist to work in China since the 1930s. Seconded to the National Museum of Chinese History in Beijing, he took part in an excavation at the Neolithic site of Ban Cun (near the Yellow River in Henan Province) in 1993-4, working with Chinese colleagues on the creation of a site database, the first one done in China. He also worked on a series of salvage excavations for the Tokyo Municipal Government during 1990-1995, and wrote a short ‘Guide to Archaelogy on the Net’ in 1995.
In 1996 he was commissioned to write a heritage protection and tourism development plan for central Vietnam. This overseas development aid project involved a comprehensive archaeological sites and monuments record, including the site of Mi Son Hindu temple complex (now a world heritage site). The plan was adopted by the Vietnamese Government.
Since 1999, he has edited and published Ancient East Asia (formerly the website of the Society for East Asian Archaeology) www.ancienteastasia.org.
Travel and tourism
From 1978 to 1988, Simon worked for the pioneering Swedish-American company Lindlad Travel which was responsible for opening China, Tibet, Vietnam (and Antarctica) to tourism. He travelled extensively in China and other countries in east and southeast Asia, lecturing, writing and taking photographs. He wrote monographs on the ancient Chinese cities of Xi’an and Hangzhou, and edited guidebooks to China and Japan.
He remains fascinated with travel and the wilder places on our planet: Tibet, Chinese central Asia (a series of visits), Burma, Indonesia (trekking through the Lore Lindu rainforest on Sulawesi). He was an enthusiastic hill walker in Japan and now in Scotland, and hopes to climb Kilimanjaro in 2005-6.
Opera
Simon was involved with the tours of the world’s main opera companies to Japan during 1988-2001, first as the organizer of a group of a local group of walk-on actors, then as a writer and critic. He has published Opera japonica www.operajaponica.org the leading international online opera magazine since 2000. He has also appeared (as an actor not a singer!) on stage, notably in the comic role of Ambrogio in the Barber of Seville for the Bologna Opera in 2002.
Politics
Simon has been a pro-European social democrat all his life. He joined the Labour Party in London in the early 1970s. He was a founder member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981 and stayed with the party until 1987 when the SDP joined with the Liberals. He did not support the merger and rejoined Labour as an overseas member in 1992, remaining in the party until 1997.
Returning to Britain at the end of 2001, he soon became disenchanted with New Labour, and considered joining the Liberal Democrats. However in the course of the 2003 Scottish Elections, and against the background of the Iraq war, he realized that the party that best represented his politics was the Scottish National Party (SNP). He Joined the SNP in April 2003.
Political Compass Test
Economic left/right = left -5.62
Social libertarian/authoritarian = libertarian -5.74
Nearest political neighbours: Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.
www.politicalcompass.org
Academic Background
Leeds University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Institute of Archaeology (University College London), affiliations with National Museum of Chinese History and Durham University.
Languages
Chinese (Beijing) and Japanese
Memberships
Scottish National Party, Liberty, John Muir Trust, Cockburn Association (Edinburgh), National Secular Society, National Trust for Scotland, Pipe Down
Posted by Simon Holledge at 08:06 PM
About the name
The Skakagrall isn't the name of the northern section of The Little Minch. It isn't the whirlpool in the channel between Coll and Tiree (there isn't one), and it isn't the original Norse name of the Orkney mainland. It has nothing to do with the Skaggerak.
Sometime ago I needed a new username for an online service. Looking in the Penguin Book of Nonsense Verse, I found a poem by Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) entitled 'The Worst':
When singing songs of scariness,
Of bloodiness and hairyness,
I feel obligated at this moment to remind you
Of the most ferocious beast of all:
Three thousand pounds and nine feet tall -
The Glurpy Slurpy Skakagrall -
Who's standing right behind you.
Posted by Simon Holledge at 12:49 PM