Salon.com > Scotland

Thin-skinned Donald Trump calls for boycott of whiskey producer

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Scottish farmer and unlikely Trump rival Michael Forbes has opened a can of worms: Forbes recently won the "Top Scot" award for standing up to the metaphor-come-to-life, chronicled in documentary "You've Been Trumped," and now the real estate tycoon is taking it out on award co-sponsor Glenfiddich.

Forbes beat the likes of tennis star Andy Murray for the honor. Now, Trump is calling Forbes' win "an insult to both Andy Murray and Scotland itself" and is attempting to boycott Glenfiddich, a brand of whiskey from the world's largest whiskey supplier, William Grant & Sons. "Glenfiddich should be ashamed of themselves for granting this award to Forbes, just for the sake of publicity," said Trump.

In typical Trump fashion, he also claimed that William Grant & Sons was jealous of Trump properties' own in-house brand of whiskey, calling his "far greater products."

Scottish farmer trumps Trump

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Perennial loser Donald Trump is still a loser. This time, though, it's not a media company or a non-announcement announcement that makes him look bad. Instead, it is a small-town, 60-year-old Scottish farmer, Michael Forbes, who has quietly shown up the Donald.

Forbes gained fame after appearing in “You’ve Been Trumped,” a documentary that chronicled Trump's attempt to steamroll a Scottish community in order to build a golf course. Forbes emerged as one of the movie's unlikely heroes when he refused to sell his farm or succumb to Trump's bullying. Of course, this incited the always-incited Trump, who resorted to calling Forbes' farm "disgusting."

Weird news: Snake on a plane in Glasgow

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:17:00 +0000

LONDON — Scottish airport staff got a slithery surprise when they stumbled on a Mexican serpent stowaway under a seat.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says quick-thinking workers at Glasgow Airport remained "remarkably calm" when they discovered the 18-inch (45-centimeter) snake Tuesday under seats in the passenger cabin of a flight from Cancun, Mexico.

It says the young snake was taken to its Glasgow animal center, and has been named Furtivo, Spanish for "sneak."

It said Friday that Furtivo, a member of the Dryadophis family of snakes, was non-venomous but "feisty." The snake may have snuck onto the plane before take-off, or hitched a ride in a passenger's hand luggage.

The society says Furtivo will remain in its care until an expert home can be found.

Today’s news in pictures

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:23:00 +0000

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Picasso scandalizes Scotland

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 23:30:00 +0000

A Scottish airport has backtracked on its decision to cover up a poster promoting an exhibition at the Scottish Museum of Modern Art that featured Picasso’s “Nude Woman In a Red Armchair” (1932).

Apparently, the abstracted nude’s bare breasts and vagina were too much for some passengers, and the airport made the temporary decision to place a white vinyl cover over the offending parts before it permanently removed the advertisement.

In an interview with AFP, director-general of the National Galleries of Scotland, John Leighton, highlighted the lunacy of contemporary decency standards:

All kinds of images of women in various states of dress and undress can be used in contemporary advertising without comment … But somehow a painted nude by one of the world’s most famous artists is found to be disturbing and has to be removed.