The I word

All of us have been shocked by the stories and images emerging from Afghanistan as the Taliban take over.
 Beyond the growing sense of horror what do they say about the future of that country,the competence of the UK government,the UK's relationship with the broader international community,and the injustice of Priti Patel's proposed refugee legislation?
Indyref2 seems to have undergone a rebranding exercise and emerged from it as the Recovery Referendum. Is this a smart move to build on the undoubted boost to Nicola Sturgeon's personal popularity by contrasting her Covid performance with that of Boris Johnson's. Or an aspirational  sounding exercise with little or no appeal to the foot soldiers of the Yes movement?
Mike Russell appeared on the latest National online Roadshow last night and we try and pick our way through what he said to get some sense of where the SNP stands on that referendum,Mike's role in the process, and get some answers to the big questions the next campaign will have to address.
There has been much made of a "just transition" to a green Scottish future but the treatment of  folk of Torry in Aberdeen,yet again, brings into question the rhetoric when it comes to the reality of what this working class community is facing in the creation of an Energy Transition Zone.
This stands in stark contrast to what's been achieved by the islanders of Eigg where community ownership and empowerment has created a model of genuine just transition away from fossil fuels.