(click on heading to leave at bottom of page) Like the rest of the world I have been following the US Presidential election with a combination of fascination and concern as the current President of the United States, supported by his offspring and a subservient, compliant Republican Party, has been calling his defeat a fraud, without […]
The post Autocratic breakthrough? first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave at bottom of page) As I watch the political landscape evolve in the USA I am reminded of a saying that has stuck with me for many, many years: First-rate people hire first-rate people. Second-rate people hire third-rate people. Great teams are built by pulling together people who have complementary […]
The post The Curse of Mediocrity first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave at bottom of page) I am watching with dismay the unashamed ditching of integrity, honour and principal and the steamroller application of power playing out in the Senate over the appointment of a judge to the US Supreme Court. During the 20th century, the Court became both more powerful and […]
The post Supreme Madness first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) I was taught by my parents that it was good sense and good manners to avoid talking about religion and politics if you wanted to maintain harmony. But the revelations in Rage, Bob Woodward’s recent book, confirming from Donald Trump’s own mouth that he knew […]
The post The Ultimate Leadership Sin first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) I am currently working on a historic detective novel, part of which takes place in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh. As I always do, I’m spending a lot of my time in research. Edinburgh is familiar territory for me – and it’s one of the […]
The post Echoes: Burke & Hare first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) I was looking at the soaring gold price today – a sign that inflation is on the horizon as a result of the massive money-printing that is going on across the globe to stave off or mitigate the evils of a recession. Following catastrophic bush […]
The post Recession & Depression first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) With an eye to the theme of this blog, “Pay attention to history or suffer the consequences”, it would be difficult not to look back at the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 to see if there are any lessons to be learned. Particularly so given […]
The post Spanish Flu vs COVID-19 A re-run? first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) Over the years, I have collected a library of about 500 books – maybe more. There are some very interesting volumes amongst them including one printed 202 years ago about the life and death of Mary, Queen of Scots. It is a wonderful book; the […]
The post Truth & Time first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) I was writing about Mary Ann’s character in a recent blog. Most of the revealing information comes from the reports made about her while she was serving her sentence in Van Diemen’s Land after she had been sentenced to 7 years’ transportation in 1834. The […]
The post The Human Spirit first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.
(click on heading to leave comments at bottom of page) The horrible images of unjust killings and brutal policing that have come out of the USA in recent weeks reflects a culture of haves and have-nots. Having lived in both South Africa during the era of apartheid and the USA – in both the north […]
The post Emancipation first appeared on David Cairns of Finavon.