Scottish parliamentary elections will be held this week and, as usual, independence is the central issue although the pandemic and the economy will also influence the outcome. Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party [SNP] hopes to win a majority on Thursday and force another referendum to end the 314-year union with the United Kingdom. SNP needs just four more seats to capture control of 65 in the 129-seat parliament and force Boris Johnson to allow another

Donald Trump cannot be presidential even when representing our nation abroad. He is our not terribly precocious 12 year old, our wealthy bumpkin, swatting at every perceived slight, providing his uninformed opinions on matters far beyond his understanding. His recent trip to Japan was excruciating to watch, but like a high school field trip for the President. Nothing of substance was accomplished, but the Japanese stroked his ego and he was treated to a Sumo Tournament. Trump

Among progressive activists here in the UK, the Brexit mess has taken a back seat to Donald Trump's upcoming visit. London is buzzing with plans to protest Trump's state visit on June 3-5. Over one million Londoners could take to the streets to protest the President's visit to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. During his last trip to the UK in 2018 more than 250,000 protesters joined to oppose his policies. Trump's climate change and immigration policies, among others, are

Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was defeated again in the House of Commons, this time by 149 votes. Tomorrow Commons will likely kill a proposal to leave the European Union without an agreement. And then on Thursday they would vote on a Brexit delay. If the Members of Parliament [MPs] back a delay, Theresa May would request an extension to Article 50 from the EU. However, an extension isn't a sure thing. The Guardian: "Moments after the crushing defeat, Donald Tusk,

A new poll shows the British are cooling on the idea of leaving the European Union. Business Insider: "Voters would back remaining in the EU by an 8-point margin in a new Brexit referendum, according to new polling." "The study, led by polling guru Professor John Curtice, found that 54% of voters would back remaining in a fresh vote, compared to 46% who would vote to leave." Much of the renewed support for remaining in the EU came from young voters. Business Insider: "It also

For those attempting to find some overarching strategy to Trump's wacko visit with PM Theresa May over the last two days, please stop. In planning for his meetings with the Prime Minister, our President did not sit down with advisers to discuss America's long term interests and formulate a strategy for the visit. His plan for the trip was to check off a few of the usual boxes to keep his base happy, be seen with the Queen and then fly off to Scotland for an infomercial at his