Politics

By Stephen Angus Peter Junor The independence referendum takes place on the 18th of September and as the debate has evolved and engaged the population, it is becoming clear that politics in Scotland and perhaps even the UK has fundamentally changed. It has politically awakened the entire nation. UK election turnout in 2010 was around 65 per cent while the turnout for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2011 was only 50 per cent, but there is reason to believe that...

 By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor As Pressure grows on South Yorkshire's police commissioner Shaun Wright to resign in the wake of a damning report into child abuse in Rotherham, a leading academic claims denial too easily became part of the culture. Many of the figures - including Wright , who was the Labour councillor in charge of children's services at Rotherham Council from 2005 to 2010 - during the 16 years of abuse (involving at least 1,400 victims) ignored the warning...

By Bismah Ali James Foley and the need for consistent international approaches to hostage situations. Before his brutal murder, James Foley’s masked executioner explained that his death was in direct response to recent United States airstrikes in Iraq against ISIS. However, after his kidnap from Syria in 2012 and until recently, ISIS had different criteria for the release of Foley, as well as other kidnapped American and British citizens, including Steven Sotloff, a Time magazine journalist and the second hostage...

By Vladimir Remmer The world financial equilibrium was devastated in 2006 when the US housing market bubble finally burst. Real Estate prices plummeted, wiping out securities tied to housing and striking financial institutions globally. The human toll was staggering and manifested in mass evictions, bankruptcies and foreclosures, combined with catastrophic job market contraction and prolonged unemployment. The consumer wealth adjustment, estimated to be trillions of US dollars, inhibited economic activity throughout most of the world and led to the 2008...

By Guy Dorrell, Defence Correspondent @GuyDorrellEsq Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s conflict and subsequent incursion into Palestine, has brought out many distressing images; destruction of buildings, infrastructure, hospital patients, the elderly and in particular, images of injured or killed children have featured heavily. Sharing of these images may have been the definitive use of social media within a conflict so far. Some of the images have become iconic – the harrowing picture of Ismail Mahmoud Bakir, Ahed Atef Bakir, Zakariya Ahed Bakir...

By J T Coombes www.globalmagnacarta.com @GMagnaCarta I have just arranged a holiday abroad. To help with my decision making I went on a virtual trip to look around the place, courtesy of Google, investigating the towns, restaurants (plus their menus!) and places of interest that are 1,700 miles and four hours flying time away. I also had a video call to the owner of the place where we are staying to fine tune transfers and other ‘hygiene’ details. The internet...

By Richard C Roberts I vividly recall the 2001 last night of the Proms. I remember the tears rolling down my 12-year-old cheeks as Leonard Slatkin conducted a devotional rendition of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings in memory of all those who had died a few days earlier in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 – it was almost certainly the first time I cried at a piece of music (though by no means the last). When set alongside the manifold...

By Lock Bailey Anti-Semitism is rising in the world. One reason for the hate is the inability for many to separate the policies of Israel with the people of Israel. Few seem to see the distinction. Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times quoted Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman last week: “The first victim of war is nuance. The idea of having a nuanced opinion that recognises the suffering on both sides and the complications is almost impossible to maintain.” This past...

By Peter Shand @peter_shand89 Labour’s attack plan for the summer recess has been to complete a volte-face on last year’s holiday season, when leader Ed Miliband’s Shadow Cabinet up and left to go on their holidays and Ed saw the Tories take momentum in to the autumn. This year Shadow Cabinet Ministers are each being required to give a series of speeches on ‘The Choice’ between Labour and the Conservatives, which are beginning to amount to run of the mill...