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Electric Scotland News
Here we are now in a New Year, the end of the first quarter of this century. What a year it has been on the world stage.
I confess I am looking forward to this year with the prospect of Donald Trump doing great things in the world and the prospect of a Conservative government coming for Canada and also Nigel Farage's Reform party in the UK which by all recent polling is showing how it can be a game changer for the UK political establishment.
Tackling the sheer waste in the Governments administration across the USA and the Commonwealth is marvelous. Tackling the main stream media and its bias and lies is also wonderful. The challenge is to find trust worthy sources in social media and X is now one such source.
The real prospects of a Middle East settlement based on the Abrahamic accords with Israel in the lead position is also a great prospect and also the ending of the Russia, Ukraine war.
So much to look forward to this year and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
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Election 2024 - Why Trump Won.
You can view this video at: https://youtu.be/AheBb-MOxy0?si=FJkbBC29wsar8dkS
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A Highland Communion
The following was written by a Bishop of Sodor and Man in the later part of last century, and gives an account of his impressions when present at an open-air communion in the Parish of Kenmore, Perthshire. It was copied many years ago from an old magazine, and may prove interesting to the readers of the Scottish Antiquary'.—
‘The Communion in Scotland has often been celebrated out of doors. Doubtless the Sacrament of the Supper, when solemnly administered, is an imposing ordinance, even in a crowded church; but, in summer, during fine weather, when all nature blooms around, the ceremony, to my mind, acquires additional excitement. On the edge of a venerable wood, in the midst of a flower-studded lawn, how delectable to receive the Bread of Life. But when river, wood, and lawn combine—above all, if a lovely lake sweep among the mountains, and the church and churchyard are on the banks of the lake, can fancy devise a scene mure fitted for the blessed purpose?
'In the summer of------- an English bishop and some travellers happened to attend a communion in Breadalbane. The travellers wished to view the scenery round the lake; the prelate, along with the excitement of a tourist, wanted to witness a Caledonian communion. Although the Church at Kenmore is capacious, they can sometimes celebrate the sacrament thus, and in dry weather the option is agreeable.
‘The tables and forms were placed in the field, and, after an excellent action-sermon, the services began. The rows of communicants rose and retired, and still they were succeeded by another band. Ever and anon the breathing anthem was answered by the echoes of the lake. The hanging woods waved verdant around, and the infant Tay seemed to murmur a solemn melody. Many an aged Celt took the Cup of Salvation. Many a tartaned maid ate the Bread of the Saviour. Health, harmony, and solemnity pervaded the meeting. The birds carolled above their heads, the waves of the lake died softly at their feet, the blue sky on Ben Lawers shed a richer hue, and superior spirits seemed to look down pleased on the hallowed scene.
'When the more solemn service was ended, “Let us,” said the bishop to his friend,—“Let us take a walk by the lake, I want to relieve the swelling of my soul.”
‘They crossed the beautiful bridge, they moved a little up the wood-skirted road to Killin; “And what think you of this scene,” said the bishop: “I mean this Scottish sacramental scene?”
‘“I have been,’ said the stranger, “in the fine churches of Italy. I have seen all the solemnities of the Popish worship; but never, never did I witness a scene like this.”
‘“What with this lake and mountain scenery around, what with the simple seriousness of those poor highlanders, and what with the simplicity, the power, and eloquence of this plain Presbytery,” said the bishop, “I never witnessed a more solemn scene. We have, to be sure, our instrumental music; but here the birds of heaven sing chorus to communicants. A hundred times during the service did I look up that sweet lake and fancy to myself that I was on the Lake of Genesareth! I shall never again despise the simplicity of Presbyterian worship.”
‘“And I,” said his friend, “never witnessed a more cordial communion, all here is from the heart and soul. The solemnity of the sacred scene and the sublimity of the natural scene shall never be effaced from my mind.”
‘They returned to witness the close of the solemnity. The benediction was pronounced, the assembly began to separate, and long did the English tourists stand at the foot of Loch Tay, viewing the lake, the wood, and the mountain; but most of all they delighted to mark the happy highlanders swarming up each side of the lake to finish the Sabbath in their respective habitations?
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Here is what caught my eye this week...
The New Middle East, Trumpian Lingo, and Manhood Redefined
Join Victor Davis Hanson and cohost Jack Fowler as they discuss discrimination against Jews, Netanyahu changing the Middle East, should masking be banded, redefining manhood, engineer degrees, DJTrump's beautiful use of English, Benito Mussolini and German's invasion of Russia (1941).
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/qy42zAXRBe0?si=APDavxJDVGr00rpo
Reform UK SURGE!
Say good bye to the UK Conservative and Unionist party - because Reform UK has just surged past them in membership numbers to become the de facto opposition.
Read more at:
https://youtu.be/ABKxha7whiE?si=_N9xsqA8gGuuuvgb
The big changes coming to UK and European travel in 2025
Many international travellers will soon need to register for an online authorisation before touching down in the UK or many EU nations.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/2...travel-in-2025
The gift nobody wants to open
The investigation into the SNP's finances is making incredibly slow progress.
Read more at:
https://sceptical.scot/2024/12/the-g...wants-to-open/
The spectacular failure of self-checkout technology
Self-checkout was supposed to provide convenience and speed - so why has it not lived up to expectations?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article...out-technology
Far from easy reading
The heart of his argument is solid and his insight is inspired. For better or worse, the story is the thing, states Jordan Peterson in his new book We Who Wrestle With God.
Read more at:
https://thecritic.co.uk/far-from-easy-reading/
The Three Historians: Niall Ferguson, Victor Davis Hanson, and Andrew Roberts | Uncommon Knowledge
Niall Ferguson, Victor Davis Hanson, and Andrew Roberts are senior fellows at the Hoover Institution and among the most prestigious and popular historians in the world. This is the first time they have appeared together in a public forum.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/9PrzDICJ4Kk?si=PPBsvZFlf8K6m0OX
Happy New Year 2025 as Scotland celebrates Hogmanay
Despite a weather warning issued for most of Scotland, the nation are still celebrating the turn of the year.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...tland-34400102
A disruptive force: Musk, Farage and the future of UK politics
IN A political landscape that can often feel stagnant and uninspired, the possibility of disruption can send ripples of enthusiasm through the electorate. The recent discussions surrounding Elon Musk’s potential involvement with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party represent such a moment.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2024/12/a-...e-uk-politics/
2024 in politics: Two Prime Ministers, two First Ministers and return of Trump
Colin Mackay looks back on what was a rollercoaster ride in politics over the last year - and 2025 looks no different.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/politics/colin-m...rime-ministers
Donald Trump isn't even in office yet and he's already taught sclerotic UK a lesson
By LEO MCKINSTRY
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...rump-uk-lesson
Electric Canadian
Pioneering with Pioneers
An Autobiography by Oliver Darwin (1949) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...thpioneers.pdf
My Canadian Experience
Report for October to December 2024
An expensive quarter which tells me I have to do better at looking after my finances. You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/canada_add17.htm
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 29th of December 2024 Alpha & Omega
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...24-alpha-omega
The Beaver Magazine
Added Volume 3 No. 10 (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...erJuly1923.pdf
Electric Scotland
Pioneering Days
In the Labour movement By Thomas Bell (1941)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...eeringdays.htm
Sir Niall Ferguson
Born in Glasgow, Professor Sir Niall Ferguson is a renowned Scottish historian, author, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center of Science and International Affairs at Harvard.
Added a page with information on this person and some of his videos for you to watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...l-Ferguson.htm
The Scottish Highlander Carmichaels of the Carolinas
By Major-General Roderick L. Carmichael, United States Army, Retired (1935) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/webclan...land00carm.pdf
Remember Me to All the Members of the Whin Bush Club
Dr. Alexander Hamilton and the Scottish Tavern Club in America by Vaughn Scribner (2024) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...avern-club.pdf
The Pilgrim's Progress
From this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan with Notes and Memoir, by the Rev. James Inglis, Johnstone (pdf). Found 468 pages on the site with reference to this book so thought I'd provide a copy for you to read.
You can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/P...s-Progress.pdf
The Pilgrimes Farewell, To his Natiue Countrey of Scotland
Wherein is contained, in way of Dialogue, The Joyes and Miseries Of Peregrination. With his Lamentado in his second Travels, his Passionado on the Rhyne, Farewels to Noble Personages, And, The Heremites Welcome to his third Pilgrimage By William Lithgow, Imprinted at Edinburgh, by Andro Hart (1618) (pdf)
Another old text with the letter f replacing the letter s but well worth a read. You can get to this at: https://electricscotland.com/books/p...ewel00lith.pdf
The Pastoral or Lyric Muse of Scotland
In Three Cantos by Hector MacNeill, Esq. (1808)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/pastoral.htm
The Parables of Jesus
By the Right Reverend Cosmo Gordon Lang, D.D., D.C.L., Archbishop of York (new American Edition) (1918) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/p...esus00lang.pdf
Pioneering in the Southwest
By A. J. Holt (1923) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ut0000unse.pdf
The Journal of Thomas Cuningham of Campvere 1640-1654
With his Thrissels-Banner and explication thereof Edited by Elinore Joan Courthope, M.A.(Edin.) (1928) (pdf)
You can read this journal at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...scot11scot.pdf
Black Loch of Myrton
An exceptionally well-preserved Iron Age wetland settlement, the first of its type to be identified in Scotland. Added two videos about this site, one of the actual dig and the other a lecture about it which you can watch towards the foot of the page.
You can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...cal-Review.htm
The Carpenter
A poem by George MacDonald
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/thecarpenter.htm
A Brief History of a Little Industrial Town: Bo'ness
Added this video to our Bo'ness page.
You can watch this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/boness/index.htm
Scots, Indians and Empire
The Scottish Politics of Civilization 1519-1609 by Arthur H. Williamson (2018) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...COTTISH_PO.pdf
Story
Two stores for you this week the first is....
WOMEN AND POLITICS
BY J. KEIR HARDIE, M.P.
THE only really remarkable thing about recent developments in the Women's Suffrage agitation is that they should have been so long in coming. For fifty years there has been a Women's Suffrage Party to which John Stuart Mill in his day lent his powerful and whole-hearted support. Whilst the franchise agitation which culminated in the Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884 was being waged, the Women's Suffrage Movement was fairly vigorous, and for a time there seemed good prospects of its being successful; but with the enfranchisement of the agricultural labourers and the miners in 1884 the whole agitation connected with the franchise subsided, as did also the Women's Movement, which ceased to be a force in politics. The satisfying of the men's demands in 1884 left the women's claims unrecognised, and many of them foolishly deserted their own movement and became mere party politicians. The Primrose League on the one other, absorbed many of the active women politicians and, as a consequence, their claim for enfranchisement disappeared almost entirely from the political arena. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies struggled as best it could against the prevailing inertia, but its methods were of the sedate and non-exciting order. A circular to candidates at election times, a formal meeting of a dispiriting kind once a year with a few Members of Parliament, a very occasional public meeting, were the beginning and ending of its efforts. Recently, however, a number of women who had received their political training in the Independent Labour Party adopted the militant tactics of that body and applied them to their own particular object. The times were ripe for such a move, and almost immediate success attended their efforts. As a consequence, Woman's Suffrage is again a leading question in practical politics. On this occasion it is not complicated by any demand for an extension of the franchise to men, but is raised as a clear and distinct issue which will have to be dealt with on its own merits. As I have frequently pointed out, the women's movement may eventuate in a demand for Adult Suffrage which would be the logical settlement of the question, but for the moment almost every woman who is active in the sphere of politics limits wisely her demand to the one question of the enfranchisement of her sex on the same terms as men.
In politics it is the strong who receive attention. To be out of sight, is to be out of mind. There are always a few politicians who are moved by a sense of justice or a feeling of pity, and with these the claims of the weak are not overlooked. As a rule, however, such men are practically helpless in the terrific struggle which continually goes on in Parliament to obtain priority for this, that, or the other reform, or to prevent reforms being made.
Hitherto, measures affecting industrial women which have passed Parliament have classed them with children as being too helpless to look after their own interests and therefore requiring special legislation. The Factory Acts are a case in point. No one, in any way, disputes the advantage which these Acts have been to the women workers of the great textile industries, but women have all along resented the idea of being classed with children for this purpose. Recently the Trade Union movement has spread amongst the women workers with a rapidity for which I know of no recent parallel amongst men, and with the growth of trade unionism there is bound to be a growing demand for fresh protective legislation. So far as the industrial woman is concerned it is a fact that in those spheres of women's industry where legislation has had the most influence the wages and conditions generally are the best, and trade unionism the strongest. This goes to show that legislation which limits the working hours, fixes a standard of sanitation, &c, increases the selfreliance of the women affected and does not, as some affirm, sap their independence. This apart, my general contention is that since legislation or the want of it plays such an important part in the lives of the industrial women, those affected are entitled to have a voice in determining what legislation is wise and necessary The increasing number of women who are entering the industrial as distinguished from the domestic spheres of employment, and the disabilities under which they labour, make it certain that legislation affecting women's employment will become more general. There are at present about 5½ millions of women engaged in outside employment, only about one-third of whom are engaged in domestic service, where the number of these is practically stationary. It is in the other spheres, those spheres where woman enters into competition with man, and where she has need of more self-reliance and self-protection, where the number of women engaged is increasing. It is obvious that if legislation affecting women workers is to be decided by men voters only that there is grave danger of the law being loaded against the non-voter.
Since, then, women are more and more taking part in the world's work, it surely follows that they ought also to enjoy the chief right of citizenship. Otherwise they will suffer from sex legislation quite as much as men have hitherto suffered from class legislation. And if the industrial woman should have this chief right conferred upon her, so also should the wife and mother. The single woman engaged in outside employment for wages has a measure of economic freedom —she is as economically free as man under the present system—but when she gets married and becomes a housewife she is equally industrious in the work of the country and gets no wages, the result being that she loses what little independence she formerly possessed. If the single woman engaged in outside employment needs the protection of the vote, then for equally cogent reasons her married sister needs the vote. By conferring the vote upon married women their condition would be materially improved although still economically dependent upon their husbands.
It is undeniable that women need the protection given by the vote, but in how many branches of legislation is their advice not only the best to be had but absolutely essential in drafting beneficent measures? Education and all that pertains to child life is one of these. Who can say better than a mother what age a child should have attained before it is compelled to attend school? Who can read the child mind like a mother? And who can say better at what age a child is fit to enter a factory, and when a factory is fit to receive a child? I mention this merely as illustrating one particular sphere in which the woman has a special claim to be heard.
But the woman's claim to enfranchisement rests on no one particular qualification. She is a human being, subject to the laws of the State, and as such has a claim upon the State to be put upon terms of political equality with the male. In those countries where rights of citizenship have been conferred on women, there has been no great and sweeping change either in policy or legislation. Women, like men, only feel responsibility when it comes home to them, and hitherto that of citizenship has not done so. The first effect of the Reform Act of 1832 was the defeat of those Members of Parliament who were working for the rescue of children from the terrible conditions of employment which then obtained in mills and factories. The working classes for a quarter of a century after their enfranchisement used their new-found power to return their masters to Parliament. In like manner it is probable that women would, for a time at least, vote pretty much after the fashion of their men folk. But in the end their influence would begin to assert itself in an everincreasing degree, and that influence would be, I believe, wholly on the side of good. We witness on every hand the effect of unchallenged male dominance, arrogant armaments, harsh and unfeeling administration of law, industrial conditions which are proving fatal to the race. With the incoming of the mother element into politics this would be gradually changed. Those who confuse women's character with effeminacy are strangely blind to facts. Strength and courage are by no means synonymous terms, and no one who knows anything of woman's qualities will dispute her possession of the very highest powers of courage and endurance. Whilst her influence in politics will be humanising it will also be strengthening, and much of the chicanery and knavery of political life will go down before her direct march upon the actual.
END
And the second story is about...
The influential and highly respected Wall Street Journal recently posted an exposé of the exaggerated, false, and/or unverified assertions made about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. The “Grave Error” about the schools has wrongly defamed generations of Canadians, indigenous and nonindigenous alike.
The entire opinion piece can be found here or by clicking on the following link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/othe...al/ar-AA1scdVc
Here are a few edited excerpts from the piece by opinion columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady on October 14, 2024.
In September 2024, Leah Gazan, a New Democratic Party member of Parliament, introduced a bill to criminalize “wilfully promoting hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian residential school system in Canada through statements communicated other than in private conversation.”
If the bill becomes law, Canadians who disagree with the prevailing narrative could be prosecuted in a court of law.
Canadians once considered residential schools a noble effort to educate Indian children whose families lived in remote areas where their traditional modes of livelihood were disappearing.
In a 2010 speech to the United Nations, Murray Sinclair, former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, declared that “for roughly seven generations, nearly every Indigenous child in Canada was sent to a residential school. They were taken from their families, tribes, and communities, and forced to live in those institutions of assimilation.”
That is untrue. During the time of the residential schools, only Status Indian children were required to go to school if no nearby day school was available for them to attend.
Overall, 30-35 percent or fewer Indian children with status attended these boarding schools. This was partly because demand often
outstripped supply.
Most children attended residential schools with signed parental consent.
Sinclair tied residential schools to “unacceptably poor education results” and “runaway rates of suicide, family violence, substance abuse, high rates of incarceration, street gang influence, child welfare apprehensions, homelessness, poverty, and family breakdowns.”
Since so few Indian children went to residential schools for an average of 4.5 years, the system can’t explain this broad social breakdown.
In May 2021, a researcher, using “ground penetrating radar,” claimed she discovered the probable remains of 215 children at the site of a Kamloops, British Columbia, residential school that closed in 1969. Only excavation could prove these allegations. Yet only a few excavations on lands alleged to contain unmarked graves have been performed. No remains have been found.
Separating fact from fiction on this issue requires open and honest debate. Legislation to prohibit free speech by labelling contrary points of view “denialism” won’t lead to reconciliation and won’t restore the wellbeing of Canada’s indigenous communities.
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you. And wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2025.
Alastair
Here we are now in a New Year, the end of the first quarter of this century. What a year it has been on the world stage.
I confess I am looking forward to this year with the prospect of Donald Trump doing great things in the world and the prospect of a Conservative government coming for Canada and also Nigel Farage's Reform party in the UK which by all recent polling is showing how it can be a game changer for the UK political establishment.
Tackling the sheer waste in the Governments administration across the USA and the Commonwealth is marvelous. Tackling the main stream media and its bias and lies is also wonderful. The challenge is to find trust worthy sources in social media and X is now one such source.
The real prospects of a Middle East settlement based on the Abrahamic accords with Israel in the lead position is also a great prospect and also the ending of the Russia, Ukraine war.
So much to look forward to this year and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
-------
Election 2024 - Why Trump Won.
You can view this video at: https://youtu.be/AheBb-MOxy0?si=FJkbBC29wsar8dkS
-------
A Highland Communion
The following was written by a Bishop of Sodor and Man in the later part of last century, and gives an account of his impressions when present at an open-air communion in the Parish of Kenmore, Perthshire. It was copied many years ago from an old magazine, and may prove interesting to the readers of the Scottish Antiquary'.—
‘The Communion in Scotland has often been celebrated out of doors. Doubtless the Sacrament of the Supper, when solemnly administered, is an imposing ordinance, even in a crowded church; but, in summer, during fine weather, when all nature blooms around, the ceremony, to my mind, acquires additional excitement. On the edge of a venerable wood, in the midst of a flower-studded lawn, how delectable to receive the Bread of Life. But when river, wood, and lawn combine—above all, if a lovely lake sweep among the mountains, and the church and churchyard are on the banks of the lake, can fancy devise a scene mure fitted for the blessed purpose?
'In the summer of------- an English bishop and some travellers happened to attend a communion in Breadalbane. The travellers wished to view the scenery round the lake; the prelate, along with the excitement of a tourist, wanted to witness a Caledonian communion. Although the Church at Kenmore is capacious, they can sometimes celebrate the sacrament thus, and in dry weather the option is agreeable.
‘The tables and forms were placed in the field, and, after an excellent action-sermon, the services began. The rows of communicants rose and retired, and still they were succeeded by another band. Ever and anon the breathing anthem was answered by the echoes of the lake. The hanging woods waved verdant around, and the infant Tay seemed to murmur a solemn melody. Many an aged Celt took the Cup of Salvation. Many a tartaned maid ate the Bread of the Saviour. Health, harmony, and solemnity pervaded the meeting. The birds carolled above their heads, the waves of the lake died softly at their feet, the blue sky on Ben Lawers shed a richer hue, and superior spirits seemed to look down pleased on the hallowed scene.
'When the more solemn service was ended, “Let us,” said the bishop to his friend,—“Let us take a walk by the lake, I want to relieve the swelling of my soul.”
‘They crossed the beautiful bridge, they moved a little up the wood-skirted road to Killin; “And what think you of this scene,” said the bishop: “I mean this Scottish sacramental scene?”
‘“I have been,’ said the stranger, “in the fine churches of Italy. I have seen all the solemnities of the Popish worship; but never, never did I witness a scene like this.”
‘“What with this lake and mountain scenery around, what with the simple seriousness of those poor highlanders, and what with the simplicity, the power, and eloquence of this plain Presbytery,” said the bishop, “I never witnessed a more solemn scene. We have, to be sure, our instrumental music; but here the birds of heaven sing chorus to communicants. A hundred times during the service did I look up that sweet lake and fancy to myself that I was on the Lake of Genesareth! I shall never again despise the simplicity of Presbyterian worship.”
‘“And I,” said his friend, “never witnessed a more cordial communion, all here is from the heart and soul. The solemnity of the sacred scene and the sublimity of the natural scene shall never be effaced from my mind.”
‘They returned to witness the close of the solemnity. The benediction was pronounced, the assembly began to separate, and long did the English tourists stand at the foot of Loch Tay, viewing the lake, the wood, and the mountain; but most of all they delighted to mark the happy highlanders swarming up each side of the lake to finish the Sabbath in their respective habitations?
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time.
Here is what caught my eye this week...
The New Middle East, Trumpian Lingo, and Manhood Redefined
Join Victor Davis Hanson and cohost Jack Fowler as they discuss discrimination against Jews, Netanyahu changing the Middle East, should masking be banded, redefining manhood, engineer degrees, DJTrump's beautiful use of English, Benito Mussolini and German's invasion of Russia (1941).
You can watch this at:
https://youtu.be/qy42zAXRBe0?si=APDavxJDVGr00rpo
Reform UK SURGE!
Say good bye to the UK Conservative and Unionist party - because Reform UK has just surged past them in membership numbers to become the de facto opposition.
Read more at:
https://youtu.be/ABKxha7whiE?si=_N9xsqA8gGuuuvgb
The big changes coming to UK and European travel in 2025
Many international travellers will soon need to register for an online authorisation before touching down in the UK or many EU nations.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/2...travel-in-2025
The gift nobody wants to open
The investigation into the SNP's finances is making incredibly slow progress.
Read more at:
https://sceptical.scot/2024/12/the-g...wants-to-open/
The spectacular failure of self-checkout technology
Self-checkout was supposed to provide convenience and speed - so why has it not lived up to expectations?
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article...out-technology
Far from easy reading
The heart of his argument is solid and his insight is inspired. For better or worse, the story is the thing, states Jordan Peterson in his new book We Who Wrestle With God.
Read more at:
https://thecritic.co.uk/far-from-easy-reading/
The Three Historians: Niall Ferguson, Victor Davis Hanson, and Andrew Roberts | Uncommon Knowledge
Niall Ferguson, Victor Davis Hanson, and Andrew Roberts are senior fellows at the Hoover Institution and among the most prestigious and popular historians in the world. This is the first time they have appeared together in a public forum.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/9PrzDICJ4Kk?si=PPBsvZFlf8K6m0OX
Happy New Year 2025 as Scotland celebrates Hogmanay
Despite a weather warning issued for most of Scotland, the nation are still celebrating the turn of the year.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...tland-34400102
A disruptive force: Musk, Farage and the future of UK politics
IN A political landscape that can often feel stagnant and uninspired, the possibility of disruption can send ripples of enthusiasm through the electorate. The recent discussions surrounding Elon Musk’s potential involvement with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party represent such a moment.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2024/12/a-...e-uk-politics/
2024 in politics: Two Prime Ministers, two First Ministers and return of Trump
Colin Mackay looks back on what was a rollercoaster ride in politics over the last year - and 2025 looks no different.
Read more at:
https://news.stv.tv/politics/colin-m...rime-ministers
Donald Trump isn't even in office yet and he's already taught sclerotic UK a lesson
By LEO MCKINSTRY
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...rump-uk-lesson
Electric Canadian
Pioneering with Pioneers
An Autobiography by Oliver Darwin (1949) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/pion...thpioneers.pdf
My Canadian Experience
Report for October to December 2024
An expensive quarter which tells me I have to do better at looking after my finances. You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/canada_add17.htm
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 29th of December 2024 Alpha & Omega
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...24-alpha-omega
The Beaver Magazine
Added Volume 3 No. 10 (pdf)
You can read this issue at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...erJuly1923.pdf
Electric Scotland
Pioneering Days
In the Labour movement By Thomas Bell (1941)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifesty...eeringdays.htm
Sir Niall Ferguson
Born in Glasgow, Professor Sir Niall Ferguson is a renowned Scottish historian, author, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center of Science and International Affairs at Harvard.
Added a page with information on this person and some of his videos for you to watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...l-Ferguson.htm
The Scottish Highlander Carmichaels of the Carolinas
By Major-General Roderick L. Carmichael, United States Army, Retired (1935) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/webclan...land00carm.pdf
Remember Me to All the Members of the Whin Bush Club
Dr. Alexander Hamilton and the Scottish Tavern Club in America by Vaughn Scribner (2024) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...avern-club.pdf
The Pilgrim's Progress
From this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan with Notes and Memoir, by the Rev. James Inglis, Johnstone (pdf). Found 468 pages on the site with reference to this book so thought I'd provide a copy for you to read.
You can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/P...s-Progress.pdf
The Pilgrimes Farewell, To his Natiue Countrey of Scotland
Wherein is contained, in way of Dialogue, The Joyes and Miseries Of Peregrination. With his Lamentado in his second Travels, his Passionado on the Rhyne, Farewels to Noble Personages, And, The Heremites Welcome to his third Pilgrimage By William Lithgow, Imprinted at Edinburgh, by Andro Hart (1618) (pdf)
Another old text with the letter f replacing the letter s but well worth a read. You can get to this at: https://electricscotland.com/books/p...ewel00lith.pdf
The Pastoral or Lyric Muse of Scotland
In Three Cantos by Hector MacNeill, Esq. (1808)
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/pastoral.htm
The Parables of Jesus
By the Right Reverend Cosmo Gordon Lang, D.D., D.C.L., Archbishop of York (new American Edition) (1918) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/bible/p...esus00lang.pdf
Pioneering in the Southwest
By A. J. Holt (1923) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ut0000unse.pdf
The Journal of Thomas Cuningham of Campvere 1640-1654
With his Thrissels-Banner and explication thereof Edited by Elinore Joan Courthope, M.A.(Edin.) (1928) (pdf)
You can read this journal at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...scot11scot.pdf
Black Loch of Myrton
An exceptionally well-preserved Iron Age wetland settlement, the first of its type to be identified in Scotland. Added two videos about this site, one of the actual dig and the other a lecture about it which you can watch towards the foot of the page.
You can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...cal-Review.htm
The Carpenter
A poem by George MacDonald
You can read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/thecarpenter.htm
A Brief History of a Little Industrial Town: Bo'ness
Added this video to our Bo'ness page.
You can watch this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/boness/index.htm
Scots, Indians and Empire
The Scottish Politics of Civilization 1519-1609 by Arthur H. Williamson (2018) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...COTTISH_PO.pdf
Story
Two stores for you this week the first is....
WOMEN AND POLITICS
BY J. KEIR HARDIE, M.P.
THE only really remarkable thing about recent developments in the Women's Suffrage agitation is that they should have been so long in coming. For fifty years there has been a Women's Suffrage Party to which John Stuart Mill in his day lent his powerful and whole-hearted support. Whilst the franchise agitation which culminated in the Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884 was being waged, the Women's Suffrage Movement was fairly vigorous, and for a time there seemed good prospects of its being successful; but with the enfranchisement of the agricultural labourers and the miners in 1884 the whole agitation connected with the franchise subsided, as did also the Women's Movement, which ceased to be a force in politics. The satisfying of the men's demands in 1884 left the women's claims unrecognised, and many of them foolishly deserted their own movement and became mere party politicians. The Primrose League on the one other, absorbed many of the active women politicians and, as a consequence, their claim for enfranchisement disappeared almost entirely from the political arena. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies struggled as best it could against the prevailing inertia, but its methods were of the sedate and non-exciting order. A circular to candidates at election times, a formal meeting of a dispiriting kind once a year with a few Members of Parliament, a very occasional public meeting, were the beginning and ending of its efforts. Recently, however, a number of women who had received their political training in the Independent Labour Party adopted the militant tactics of that body and applied them to their own particular object. The times were ripe for such a move, and almost immediate success attended their efforts. As a consequence, Woman's Suffrage is again a leading question in practical politics. On this occasion it is not complicated by any demand for an extension of the franchise to men, but is raised as a clear and distinct issue which will have to be dealt with on its own merits. As I have frequently pointed out, the women's movement may eventuate in a demand for Adult Suffrage which would be the logical settlement of the question, but for the moment almost every woman who is active in the sphere of politics limits wisely her demand to the one question of the enfranchisement of her sex on the same terms as men.
In politics it is the strong who receive attention. To be out of sight, is to be out of mind. There are always a few politicians who are moved by a sense of justice or a feeling of pity, and with these the claims of the weak are not overlooked. As a rule, however, such men are practically helpless in the terrific struggle which continually goes on in Parliament to obtain priority for this, that, or the other reform, or to prevent reforms being made.
Hitherto, measures affecting industrial women which have passed Parliament have classed them with children as being too helpless to look after their own interests and therefore requiring special legislation. The Factory Acts are a case in point. No one, in any way, disputes the advantage which these Acts have been to the women workers of the great textile industries, but women have all along resented the idea of being classed with children for this purpose. Recently the Trade Union movement has spread amongst the women workers with a rapidity for which I know of no recent parallel amongst men, and with the growth of trade unionism there is bound to be a growing demand for fresh protective legislation. So far as the industrial woman is concerned it is a fact that in those spheres of women's industry where legislation has had the most influence the wages and conditions generally are the best, and trade unionism the strongest. This goes to show that legislation which limits the working hours, fixes a standard of sanitation, &c, increases the selfreliance of the women affected and does not, as some affirm, sap their independence. This apart, my general contention is that since legislation or the want of it plays such an important part in the lives of the industrial women, those affected are entitled to have a voice in determining what legislation is wise and necessary The increasing number of women who are entering the industrial as distinguished from the domestic spheres of employment, and the disabilities under which they labour, make it certain that legislation affecting women's employment will become more general. There are at present about 5½ millions of women engaged in outside employment, only about one-third of whom are engaged in domestic service, where the number of these is practically stationary. It is in the other spheres, those spheres where woman enters into competition with man, and where she has need of more self-reliance and self-protection, where the number of women engaged is increasing. It is obvious that if legislation affecting women workers is to be decided by men voters only that there is grave danger of the law being loaded against the non-voter.
Since, then, women are more and more taking part in the world's work, it surely follows that they ought also to enjoy the chief right of citizenship. Otherwise they will suffer from sex legislation quite as much as men have hitherto suffered from class legislation. And if the industrial woman should have this chief right conferred upon her, so also should the wife and mother. The single woman engaged in outside employment for wages has a measure of economic freedom —she is as economically free as man under the present system—but when she gets married and becomes a housewife she is equally industrious in the work of the country and gets no wages, the result being that she loses what little independence she formerly possessed. If the single woman engaged in outside employment needs the protection of the vote, then for equally cogent reasons her married sister needs the vote. By conferring the vote upon married women their condition would be materially improved although still economically dependent upon their husbands.
It is undeniable that women need the protection given by the vote, but in how many branches of legislation is their advice not only the best to be had but absolutely essential in drafting beneficent measures? Education and all that pertains to child life is one of these. Who can say better than a mother what age a child should have attained before it is compelled to attend school? Who can read the child mind like a mother? And who can say better at what age a child is fit to enter a factory, and when a factory is fit to receive a child? I mention this merely as illustrating one particular sphere in which the woman has a special claim to be heard.
But the woman's claim to enfranchisement rests on no one particular qualification. She is a human being, subject to the laws of the State, and as such has a claim upon the State to be put upon terms of political equality with the male. In those countries where rights of citizenship have been conferred on women, there has been no great and sweeping change either in policy or legislation. Women, like men, only feel responsibility when it comes home to them, and hitherto that of citizenship has not done so. The first effect of the Reform Act of 1832 was the defeat of those Members of Parliament who were working for the rescue of children from the terrible conditions of employment which then obtained in mills and factories. The working classes for a quarter of a century after their enfranchisement used their new-found power to return their masters to Parliament. In like manner it is probable that women would, for a time at least, vote pretty much after the fashion of their men folk. But in the end their influence would begin to assert itself in an everincreasing degree, and that influence would be, I believe, wholly on the side of good. We witness on every hand the effect of unchallenged male dominance, arrogant armaments, harsh and unfeeling administration of law, industrial conditions which are proving fatal to the race. With the incoming of the mother element into politics this would be gradually changed. Those who confuse women's character with effeminacy are strangely blind to facts. Strength and courage are by no means synonymous terms, and no one who knows anything of woman's qualities will dispute her possession of the very highest powers of courage and endurance. Whilst her influence in politics will be humanising it will also be strengthening, and much of the chicanery and knavery of political life will go down before her direct march upon the actual.
END
And the second story is about...
The influential and highly respected Wall Street Journal recently posted an exposé of the exaggerated, false, and/or unverified assertions made about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. The “Grave Error” about the schools has wrongly defamed generations of Canadians, indigenous and nonindigenous alike.
The entire opinion piece can be found here or by clicking on the following link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/othe...al/ar-AA1scdVc
Here are a few edited excerpts from the piece by opinion columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady on October 14, 2024.
In September 2024, Leah Gazan, a New Democratic Party member of Parliament, introduced a bill to criminalize “wilfully promoting hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian residential school system in Canada through statements communicated other than in private conversation.”
If the bill becomes law, Canadians who disagree with the prevailing narrative could be prosecuted in a court of law.
Canadians once considered residential schools a noble effort to educate Indian children whose families lived in remote areas where their traditional modes of livelihood were disappearing.
In a 2010 speech to the United Nations, Murray Sinclair, former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, declared that “for roughly seven generations, nearly every Indigenous child in Canada was sent to a residential school. They were taken from their families, tribes, and communities, and forced to live in those institutions of assimilation.”
That is untrue. During the time of the residential schools, only Status Indian children were required to go to school if no nearby day school was available for them to attend.
Overall, 30-35 percent or fewer Indian children with status attended these boarding schools. This was partly because demand often
outstripped supply.
Most children attended residential schools with signed parental consent.
Sinclair tied residential schools to “unacceptably poor education results” and “runaway rates of suicide, family violence, substance abuse, high rates of incarceration, street gang influence, child welfare apprehensions, homelessness, poverty, and family breakdowns.”
Since so few Indian children went to residential schools for an average of 4.5 years, the system can’t explain this broad social breakdown.
In May 2021, a researcher, using “ground penetrating radar,” claimed she discovered the probable remains of 215 children at the site of a Kamloops, British Columbia, residential school that closed in 1969. Only excavation could prove these allegations. Yet only a few excavations on lands alleged to contain unmarked graves have been performed. No remains have been found.
Separating fact from fiction on this issue requires open and honest debate. Legislation to prohibit free speech by labelling contrary points of view “denialism” won’t lead to reconciliation and won’t restore the wellbeing of Canada’s indigenous communities.
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you. And wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2025.
Alastair