Wings Over Scotland

Chick,

Sssh,I’ll let you into a secret. Capella looks a tad older than her avatar photie but it doesn’t worry her.

I see the trolls on the M/T are now talking to each other. Either that or it’s the one wee guy in his Winceyette dressing gown with a multiple-personality disorder.

It’s a funny old game, Saint.

*Attains Zen-like state by staring at a silver birch*

@Smallaxe

Thought that might be the case. Give Nana my best if you’re in touch.

As for MT? Yes there is a fair amount these days and in a twisted way it’s quite a good thing. It lets people know two things.

1. Just what a threat the opposition consider the site to be
2. That they’re just as aware of what’s likely to happen in the very near future as we are and need this site either spoiled or taken out altogether

The latter is unlikely and the former would take a great deal more than a handful spoilers. Best advice to follow is the REVs. Don’t react to them directly. Don’t even refer to them via a secondary post. Send him an email if you’re at all concerned and I’d personally add walk on by.

Spoilers thrive on contact and notice. They don’t care about debate. Refutation of their thread busters won’t phase them in the slightest. They are kept current throughout a thread by constant reference to their posting. You can’t get rid of them easily either, but you can limit their visibility by no giving them any. Readers choose the kind of experience they can have. Probably the most pissed off person at this point will be the Rev himself.

Anyroads, have a good one Smallaxe. 🙂

Internet Trolls: The Musical;
link to youtube.com

Handsome bastards, int they!
🙂

Liz g,

Will do, Liz, I hope you and yours are well my friend.
🙂

Excellent, shaping up good for Glenrothes.

Cheers for the model song TC.

Be visible this weekend.

On the roads.

Yes.

😉

Oh! In that case, can I do this again?

link to youtube.com

Hi CameronB.

My Dad left in 2001. I know what you’re going through.

Onnyhoo, your “anti-Semitic vibes” mention.

I always thought it somewhat ironic that the “anti-Semitic vibes” crowd embraced this song, which was put together by a couple of Jewish guys.

“Kander’s and Ebb’s greatest acclaim came from the musical Cabaret (1966) and the 1972 film version. The musical, directed by frequent collaborator Harold Prince, was a major success, with a Broadway run of over 1,100 performances. It won a Tony Award as the season’s best musical, and its original cast recording won a Grammy Award. The film, directed by Bob Fosse, won eight Academy Awards.”

link to youtube.com

Brian Doonthetoon
Cheers mate.

British nationalism and Zionism have many similarities, so it will come as no great surprise that British Christian Zionists who conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, really twist my bits.

@ BLiS____d
You support an Israeli state so why not a Scottish state? That not a bit prejudiced of you against Scots?

Zionism: A Critical Account 1897-1948. The Development of Israel and the Exodus of Palestine from A “New Historian” Perspective.

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyse the traditional Israel viewpoint of its establishment against that expressed by “new historians.” Since the declassification of Israeli and British military documents new evidence has brought to light an alternative Israeli history. Told by new historians, this history offers a compelling alternative to that told by Zionists showing Israel as an aggressive colonial movement intent on establishing a Jewish national home in Palestine whilst transferring its Arab inhabitants across the borders. This paper will aim to show the development of Zionism as an ideology to its establishment in the State of Israel whilst assessing new historian claims.

link to polis.leeds.ac.uk

ABSTRACTS

From Post-Zionism to the Renewal of Zionism

The discussion regarding post-Zionism has turned into one of the major focal points within Israeli society. The debate involves claims which can be defined as negative post-Zionism and positive post-Zionism. This paper deals with the positive post-Zionism which is not anti-Zionist. It raises important issues concerning the existence of the State of Israel, the collective existence of the Jewish nation and the relevance or irrelevance of a contemporary Zionist ideology. Responding to these issues the author starts by presenting three angles for examining the Zionist movement as a historical phenomenon: 1) Comparison with other national movements; 2) Reviewing internal developments and crises in the history of the Zionist movement; 3) Surveying the relations between the State of Israel and the Diaspora.

link to in.bgu.ac.il

Unamendability in Israel – A Critical Perspective

Abstract

This chapter explores unamendability in Israel. Even though Israel has no full or formal constitution, and no specific amendment rules, two forms of unamdenability could be identified. The first form is concealed unamendability, which prevents certain kinds of amendments through controlling the composition of the Knesset (the legislature which also has the power enact and amend constitutional Basic Laws). The second is judicially-introduced unwritten unamendability. Unamendability in both cases aims to protect Israel’s definition as a Jewish and democratic state. The chapter will examine both forms of unamendability and the functions they serve, highlighting the expressive and the preservative functions. It will also examine the implications of unamendability for constitutionalism in Israel emphasizing the impact of entrenching particular values such as the Jewish definition and its contribution to creating a hierarchy among the citizenry and the entrenchment of favourable status for certain groups.

link to papers.ssrn.com

What Pat Robertson Teaches Us

From the late seventies to the mid-eighties, the Christian Broadcasting Network grew increasingly political. But what it offered wasn’t ordinary political discourse: Robertson intentionally crossed the line separating legitimate and illegitimate political opinions, at least as they were understood by mainstream influencers and authorities. Importantly, he did so in ways that were strategic and appealing to his target audience, even when his opinions appalled the gatekeepers of mainstream culture. Heaton recounts this anecdote from the early eighties, emblematic of The 700 Club’s risky political commentary:

Pat told Ben Kinchlow and Danuta Soderman during one off-the-cuff, unscripted conversation on the air live that only Christians and Jews were qualified to hold public office in the United States. Many people — including NBC News — pointed to this moment as evidence that Pat was far outside what journalist Daniel C. Hallin calls the “sphere of legitimate debate,” but Pat was speaking directly to his constituency and didn’t care how his critics would interpret it. To those who believe the US was built on Judeo-Christian principles, it’s easy to accept a statement that only Jews and Christians would be qualified to run it, but this concept is foreign to those who believe the Founding Fathers were more open and tolerant. More often than not, this was the case with statements that might seem outrageous to others, especially liberals.

link to jacobinmag.com

Eugene Chadbourne & Camper Van Beethoven – Evil Filthy Preacher
link to youtube.com

Re. Eugene Chadbourne. Once referred to as a direct threat to the American way of life, by Whitehouse spokesman for President Ronald Reagan. 🙂

In an age of fake news and media bias (see the new Lourdes of Salisbury, for example), it’s important to remember that making political decisions based on lazy thinking, generally leads to right-wing authoritarian governments. I’d wager the Tories depend on this ‘feature’ of human psychology, for a healthy proportion of their votes. Also, ‘common sense’, right-wing populism (i.e. reactionary conservatism), can appear attractive even to the moderate individual, if they are primed correctly.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Political Behavior
Routes to Persuasion, Central and Peripheral

Two Routes to Persuasion
An overarching theme in psychology over the past few decades has been that people do not always operate at their full processing capacity. That is, people sometimes think carefully about things, but they can’t possibly think carefully about every piece of information or message that they encounter. Instead, people often rely on heuristics, or decision-making shortcuts. These varying levels of thought, or elaboration, have consequences for how information is received and its persuasive impact.

The ELM is an early example of what became an explosion of dual-process and dual-system theories of decision making and judgment. However, rather than proposing that people think either in one way or the other, it proposes a continuum of thinking (elaboration) with a different persuasion process (or “route”) occurring at each end of the continuum and a combination of the respective processes under each route at moderate levels of thinking. In the ELM, persuasion based on relatively high degrees of thinking is called the central route to persuasion, whereas persuasion that occurs with relatively little thinking is called the peripheral route to persuasion. These different routes mean that different people can respond to the same information quite differently or the same people can respond differently to the same information under different circumstances. Importantly, whether persuasion results from relatively high or low amounts of thinking will result in very different consequences….

link to psy.ohio-state.edu

Ms. Daines,

I think so. I don’t seem to have Paula’s phone no. on my new phone. Perhaps you could text it to me.

Hmm, very quiet in here this morning. Plumps cushions, exits stage left (no bears).

An “organic social structure” sounds like a good thing, right?

Social System: Elements, Classification and Pre-requisites and Mechanism

The concept of social system is closely related to the concept of social structure. We have already defined the meaning of social system and distinguished it from social structure. As remarked therein social system refers to the functional aspect of social structure. Social structure is the means through which social system functions.

link to sociologydiscussion.com

Social Structure in the Global Perspective

Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

In a society exhibiting mechanical solidarity, its cohesion and integration comes from the homogeneity of individuals. People feel connected through similar work, educational and religious training, and lifestyle. Mechanical solidarity normally operates in “traditional” and small-scale societies, and it is usually based on kinship ties of familial networks.

Organic solidarity is social cohesion based upon the dependence individuals have on each other in more advanced societies. It comes from the interdependence that arises from specialization of work and the complementarities between people—a development that occurs in “modern” and “industrial” societies. Although individuals perform different tasks and often have different values and interest, the order and very solidarity of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specified tasks. “Organic” refers to the interdependence of the component parts. Thus, social solidarity is maintained in more complex societies through the interdependence of its component parts (e.g., farmers produce the food to feed the factory workers who produce the tractors that allow the farmer to produce the food). As a simple example, farmers produce food to feed factory workers who produce tractors that, in the end, allow the farmer to produce more food.

The two types of solidarity can be distinguished by formal and demographic features, type of norms in existence, and the intensity and content of the conscience collective.

link to courses.lumenlearning.com

ORGANIC SOCIETY
Social Classes

The Natural Candidate to Exercise Power

Power or command is metaphysically a good. Normally it results from a great service rendered to the community. In the past, three or four families in a country represented the glory of that country, giving it great saints, generals, artists and men of good taste who helped the country acquire a civilized tonus. Should such a country become independent, the future king would normally be chosen from one of those families. It is service rendered that gives birth to leadership, and leadership normally merges with royalty.

In these conditions, leadership or royalty is considered a good per se and not a fruit of a certain economic situation. A norm like this would be wrong and undignified: “Whoever has the most money in a country, so long as he is the wealthiest, is the king.” Human nature would be insulted by this norm, because human society is not a commercial enterprise.

link to traditioninaction.org

Hi Wingers, is anyone driving up from Glasgow to Glenrothes leaving at about 5.45/6pm?

@Sick of socialism
“Because tories are smarter than communists”

Erm, do you really equate socialists with communists and do believe Tories actually value reason? Are you a bit of a snob, perhaps? I take it you are aware that the British identity and British nationalism, are expressions of Tory tradition and ethos?

@BBC in Scotland
Take note!

Anti-intellectualism at the Heart of British National Identity

‘I think people in this country have had enough of experts’, proclaimed prominent Leave campaigner Michael Gove in a live Q&A session during the recent Brexit debate in the UK. This statement became the most notorious example of what Dominic Shellard, Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University, criticized as the ‘pernicious anti-intellectualism’ that characterized—and impoverished—much of the debate. Shellard also expressed the concern, shared by a number of academics, that the Leave campaign’s victory was at least partly due to its use of such anti-‘expert’ rhetoric….

link to historytothepublic.org

THE ETHICAL IMPERATIVE OF REASON: HOW
ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM, DENIALISM, AND APATHY THREATEN
NATIONAL SECURITY

ABSTRACT

This thesis explores the roots and manifestations of anti-intellectualism, denialism and apathy. Philosophical in its design, this research explores the following question: What are the potential effects of cultural anti-intellectualism on the construction and execution of national security and homeland security policy? Specifically, it focuses on how anti-intellectualism can affect how a course of action is created, presented, messaged, supported, and executed. The thesis amasses a review of previous research on the nature and manifestations of this issue and offers an account of the prospective
implications for the securities field.

Utilizing a case study model, this research explores three examples to highlight the manifestation of this current problem. The findings indicate that anti-intellectualism impacts the highest levels of the political, media, and security processes and, as such, requires practitioners to acknowledge and address its influence. This thesis concludes by arguing that widespread ignorance of objective reality poses a threat to the democratic process. It provides three overarching strategies designed to limit the impact of anti-intellectualism in the policy process and demonstrates that, in the intricate and dynamic matters of our nation’s security, there is an ethical imperative for “reason” and factual discussion to rule the policy process.

link to hsdl.org

Fighting Back Against Anti-intellectualism
We shouldn’t rely on intellectuals to eradicate anti-intellectualism

….First, let’s rebut a common misperception about anti-intellectualism: that the only real opponents to anti-intellectualism are intellectuals. In fact, contrary to this elitist view, ordinary working men and working women are quite capable of recognizing the political idiocy, fear-based messaging, emotional manipulation, religious pandering, and other irrational tactics and actions that are commonplace in our anti-intellectual culture. In fact, especially in a democracy, the fight against anti-reason can ultimately be won only at the grassroots, via a general population that recognizes it, rejects it, and demands more rational public policy that reflects real human interests.

With this in mind, the primary role for intellectuals and activists in the fight against anti-intellectualism is simply to raise awareness among ordinary people of the existence of the problem and its cultural and political consequences. If it seems to average citizens that the system is rigged, serving large institutional interests rather than real humans, they need to realize that anti-intellectualism is a major reason why.

link to psychologytoday.com

This old favourite is for Boris and Strong ‘n’ Stable:

link to youtube.com

Thanks again, Cameron B, who posted it originally.

@Tinto Chiel

I’m smiling because I’m sitting outdoors on a balcony of an apartment at 12:30 in Italy and playing this LOL wonder what the neighbours think 🙂

The referendum lead up itself ‘fits’ with that ‘organic social change’ model imv. We in Scotland are disadvantaged and oppressed politically, have been for centuries, by the simple fact of our neighbours dominating our educational and cultural institutions and imposing ‘their’ belief system upon us. We cannot ever get the government we vote for under any circumstances because of the population difference between our two countries, and that has defined our sense of powerlessness…as a nation/polity.

We wish to harness our own potential and make Scotland the place that reflects the outlook of those living and working here, we cannot continue to be dominated and denigrated by another country’s ‘cultural supremacy’ because of ‘numbers’.

We did drive our own process of transformation in the lead up to the vote and the subsequent dismissal of a level of governance in 2015 that we hitherto had ‘automatically’ previously voted in. That nvolved a mass cooperative effort for us to achieve that phenomenal result in one fell swoop.

Yeah, sure they fought back in 2017…but what did that accomplish really? Nothing…as we see by the teaming up of the old guard in all structures of our governance from council through MSP to MP to thwart our continuing transformation from ‘put upon’ to ‘not putting up with’. We’re still in the middle of our ‘organic social change’ and there is nothing that is going to stop this momentum.

They should be studying Scotland’s recent political landscape as a first class example of that very concept.

TC,

Oi, you weren’t in Glenrothes last night, no velvet loon pants to be seen!

Fts, Fred: *wipes away a silent tear*, eh?

I wanted to reply on Scot Goes Pop (but technical issues won’t allow) re the latest comment about Pete Wishart. I am deeply concerned about Pete’s current stance.

I know many people here read his blog…. so

Pete Wishywashy. If the purpose of his current view, is ‘party before country, business as usual, a gradualists approach and keep his job down in London’. He’s on a very sticky wicket. I live in his constituency, I’ve always voted SNP, I will NOT vote for him again if he continues in this vein.

And here’s why I think he’s wrong, Indyref1 was a ‘no change or a big change’ choice. Brexit changes everything. The UK is truly ”cked with Brexit, and if we remain with it, we’ll be ”ucked x 2 as they screw us over even more to keep afloat.

If the SNP want to move position from full EU membership to EEA/EFTA I’m OK with that, remaining in the single market is the biggie for the economy, at least in the first instance. But what they have not done, what they continue to fail to do, is keep educating their constituents. We don’t have the BBC, so we have to be educating every day, at local level.

There is no point at all in producing SNP Car Bumper Stickers saying ‘stronger for Scotland’ – this tells no-one anything.

What they should be producing is posters like the ones IndyPosterBoy does and making them car window size (billboards cost too much and take too long).

They should have a theme, for several months at a time. By the end of the year, no-one in Scotland should be in ignorance of the facts of Scotland’s natural wealth and how it is stolen. The next theme is the sell off of our NHS, the next the devastation in jobs e Brexit, etc, etc.

And Brexit is project fear (real and big time) we need to make people aware of this, in the private sector, in education, in our emergency services (shift workers will get royally screwed re removal of working time directive), for our NHS, and farms and fishing industry.

In this way, what was previously Brexit/Immigration argument – becomes much, much more.

Indy for Scotland is now the life raft.

Our backs are to the wall now, its not about could we/should we, its about NOW WE MUST. Heaven help us if we don’t start to fight for it.

And that’s no up tae Pete or Nicla or Alex…. that’s on us. YES WE CAN – NOW WE MUST.

Morning, kemosabe.

One just for you.

link to youtube.com

@ Prof. Tom Gallagher
Are you aware that three quarters of Scots born Scottish residents, identify as Scottish only. Can you suggest how the full English Brexit might respect this demographic, along with Scotland’s vote to remain in the EU? Do you support the principle of universal human rights, or are you a Tory?

Political Process Theory and Collective Action for Social Change by John Burdick
link to youtube.com

Daisy, I totally agree about Pete Wishart, it seems many of us see it as a slap in the face.
Regarding Scot goes pop, I’ve attempted to post comments on his site for years unsuccessfully and I’ve no idea what I’m doing wrong.

@ Daisy, Westminster changes some people, it’s an exclusive & well-paid gentleman’s club with leather seating, cheap grub & booze on tap. From heraldic beasts to durty beasts it’s ambience has sucked in & changed greater men than Wishart.

@ Tinto, are U no confusing Brock with Buggs Bunny?

Tinto,

I went to see Soldier Blue one afternoon at the Odeon in Glasgow and nearly got PTSD.
“SOLDIER BLUE” BUFFY SAINTE MARIE TO ALL TRIBES LOST
link to youtube.com
🙁

Hey chasanderson200, cheers for organising last night, good to be with you all and good times all round. I think an open mic in the top level of the Yes bar in Glasgow (if they don’t already do) would be a really good thing, btw ah was only finger-picking me guitar on me finger-pads, apols to the sleepy guests, also gotta high five from one of the maids in the morning, ah’ll be back hehe 🙂

Passion X.

Cactus,

“Rockout Whatever You Feel Like”
link to youtube.com
🙂

@Daisy Walker

I agree. I feel guilty about criticising Pete Wishart because I like what he says at Westminster. I watch English Parliament TV! However his attitude is stressing me out.

A politician makes a statement on Twitter about the timing of a new IndyRef. Said politician then receives a lot of feed back mostly folk not agreeing. Politician gets annoyed and blocks other Yessers and creates a stuchie. Why did he do it? He is either naive or out of the loop of Scottish Politics.

I thought that maybe he wanted people to start talking about it but obviously not. You don’t block people if you want them to discuss.

I’m really annoyed. It’s got Yessers arguing amongst themselves. What kind of Politician does that?
Some SNP folk have said what a great guy Pete is. So what!

This whole thing stinks! I’ve always got behind every decision of SNP politicians but this! Argh!

K1
I’m glad to see someone picking up what I’m laying down. Thanks for your interpretation. 😉

@ Flower of Scotland. (sorry for not replying sooner, I’ve been out).

I’m very loyal to the SNP believe it or not, in spite of my last post. I even have a lot of time for Pete (although maybe’s no just at the minute).

But it is deeply, deeply, concerning that anyone within the SNP does not realise the danger we are in from Brexit.

I say again, last time was a simple choice – change or no change. This time the economic destruction (long term according to forecasts) will devastate the UK as a whole and Scotland twice over as they double down on the asset stripping and destroy devolution / Holyrood.

There will be no majority SNP Party after Brexit, (anyone in the SNP who thinks that, is deluded – they will have even less credibility than Scottish Labour) and no new mandate for a new ref either.

The ‘Can we / should we? attitude is a luxury position we’ve gone beyond. Now we must.

Once this is realised, the concept of losing is simply not an option.

Once this is understood by the public, they will be onside, provided there is a clear and consistent path ahead – which is where the SNP and all within it have got to start providing the clear message.

It is not enough now to simply say ‘when the time is right or when we can win it’ (Shades of Brexit means Brexit). That is a missed open goal to bang home the consequences of Brexit if we do not.

I completely understand there will be posters here that think the above constructive criticism should be only for the meetings, not on a public forum. You have a point, but clear voices and clear criticism can clear the path and right just now Pete Wishart is the one doing the muddying.

Peace and love… and a wee bit chocolate if yir good.

I’m really sorry for being a space-hog.

Inclusive Growth, Development and Welfare Policy: A Critical Assessment

The recent global financial crisis has increased the scope of poverty and inequality. The gap between the richest and poorest nations has become wider. National income inequality has also been on the rise. The prospect of a shift in designing and implementing development and welfare policies is strong in this new environment. The neoliberal policies of the Washington Consensus are giving way to development models which look to a more active government role in both economic and social policies. Meanwhile, in the parallel universe of welfare policy a fundamental realignment is already taking place. Faced with the current economic and social challenges, policy communities have turned to a variety of instruments to ensure that growth and social inclusion go together.

This book offers a systematic analysis of the growing convergence on these matters in the development and welfare state literatures, utilizing the experiences of a myriad of jurisdictions around the world. Drawing upon the expertise of leading international policymakers, practitioners, and academics in the field, this book critiques the theoretical underpinning of growth and development, examine welfare state perspectives on inclusive growth and social/economic development, and presents lessons learned and best/worst practices from the experiences of developing and developed nations.

link to routledge.com

UNDP’S STRATEGY FOR INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

2. WHY IS INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH CRITICAL TO AGENDA 2030 AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)?

“Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” is Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice and tackle climate change. In so doing, the world committed itself to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social, and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner.

Creating the conditions for inclusive and sustainable growth then is precisely an attempt to bridge these three dimensions of sustainable development. As noted by the SDG Outcome Document, “sustained, inclusive, and sustainable growth is essential for prosperity. This will only be possible if wealth is shared and income inequality is addressed. We will work to build dynamic, sustainable, people-centred economies, promoting youth employment and women’s economic empowerment, in particular, and decent work for all. […] We will strengthen the productive capacities of least-developed countries in all sectors, including through structural transformation. We will adopt policies that increase productive capacities, productivity, and productive employment, financial inclusion, sustainable agriculture, pastoralist and fisheries development, sustainable industrial development, and universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services.”

link to undp.org

The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017

Policy Framework and Metrics

The ultimate objective of national economic performance is broad-based and sustained progress in living standards, a concept that encompasses wage and non-wage income (e.g., pension benefits) as well as economic opportunity, security and quality of life. This is the bottom-line basis on which a society evaluates the economic dimension of its country’s leadership. Many countries have had difficulty in satisfying social expectations in this regard. For example, in the last five years, annual median incomes declined by 2.4% in advanced economies, while GDP per capita growth averaged less than 1%. To borrow from a business concept, growth can be thought of as the top-line measure of national economic performance, with broad-based or median progress in living standards representing the bottom-line.

Inclusive growth can be thought of as a strategy to increase the extent to which the economy’s top-line performance is translated into the bottom-line result society is seeking, i.e., broad-based expansion of economic opportunity and prosperity. However, inclusive growth is more than that. An economy is not a business, and history and scholarship have shown that there is a feedback loop between the bottom- and top-lines (growth and equity) in a national economy. This feedback loop can run in either a positive or a negative direction. The extent to which it is a virtuous circle is influenced by a diverse mix of structural and institutional aspects of economic policy, going well beyond the two areas most commonly featured in discussions about inequality: education and redistribution.

link to www3.weforum.org

@ Prof. Tom Gallagher
Seriously, do you honestly support the principle of universal human rights?

Defending Democracy Through Social Movements
link to youtube.com

@ Daisy, keep on keepin on hen!

@ Tinto, Aberdeen on a flag day? 🙂

Sorry, I don’t won’t folk to think me an antisemitism, as well as a vile sep.

It should come as no great surprise that British nationalism and political Zionism exhibit many of the same hegemonic traits and a similar pathology of outlook, as both are ideological belief-systems that are of the same ‘bloodline’.

“@ Tinto, Aberdeen on a flag day? ?”

Ahead of a certain Glasgow cultural event on Saturday involving my wee diddy team, Fred, I couldn’t possibly comment: not too keen on the Rev’s hammers.

CameronB: one of the most offensive ideas peddled by the MSM und so weiter is that criticism of Israel’s actions is automatically anti-Semitic. I usually counter remarks by Zionist Exceptionalists by saying that my views merely coincide with those of many left-wing members of the Knesset, so how can they be anti-Semitic?

Your contributions are always interesting but I struggle to understand them, I’m afraid.

“Is there anything is particular that has you stumped?”

Nothing but my level of intellect, I’m afraid. I sometimes think some sociological/psychological/political terms obscure rather than clarify an idea/argument.

Hat off to you, or chapeau bas, as we say in the steppe country of Upper Darkest Lanarkshire.

🙄

@ Tinto, as a former Diddy I take your point! Anent “Cloacal” pearls before swine kid!

Anyone take any photos in Glenrothes on Saturday?

Not at all, Cameron.

Mair pooer tae yir elbuck (and your dentist).

Dormez bien, j’espere.

You have (1) new e-mail Ruglonian ~

Some suggested reading for those with the time.

Ideology and the History of Science
link to philosophy.uchicago.edu

Ideologies and Political Theory: A Conceptual Approach
link to oxfordscholarship.com

Ideological Quietism? Ideology and Party Politics in Britain
link to journals.sagepub.com

@BLiS____d
Do you support the principle of universal human rights or do you give preference to modern day colonialism and apartheid? Want to bomb the shit out of Syria? Comfortable in your nationalism?

Israel: Trauma, Oppression, and the Politics of a Fascist State
link to stopimperialism.org

The Heathery Bar, noo how gauche is that?

I have not entered its precincts, Fred. I’m a clean-living kinda guy *Tony Blair rictus*

A charming rural establishment, if you’re ever droit of Glesca, is The Wee Thackit in Carluke, famous for its thatched roof and introspection. It is owned by a cup-winning former player from MFC.

Ian B and Lenny Hartley have got me worried about nuclear annihilation so I’m having a vino tinto to get some perspective.

@ Tinto, I was once in a wee Carnwath pub which was thackit?

Someone should perhaps let Dunc know that three quarters of Scots born Scottish residents identify as Scots only. He might reflect on that when considering Scotland’s future, particularly in relation to Brexit. He probably won’t though.

Narcissism and identity-determinism

Narcissism is now – according to the New York Times – ‘the go-to diagnosis’ for commentators. Why has cultural narcissism become so deeply woven into the fabric of contemporary society? Why has individualistic self-preoccupation with identity become dominant at the very time when individual autonomy and agency are so weak? Are there any positive aspects in constructing Brand Me and a ‘Narrative of Self’ in terms of reclaiming subjective selfhood? Is narcissism too clichéd a concept to help us understand today’s crisis of identity?

link to academyofideas.org.uk

Organizational Narcissism and Virtuous Behavior

Abstract

Extreme narcissistic organizations are unable to behave ethically because they lack a moral identity. While such organizations are not necessarily unethical intentionally, they become self-obsessed and use a sense of entitlement, self-aggrandizement, denial, and rationalizations to justify anything they do. Extreme narcissistic organizations might develop formal ethics programs, but such programs will have little effect on behavior.

link to digitalcommons.unl.edu

Critical Study of the Concept of Public Identity as Manifested in Postmodernist Versions of Critical Pedagogy

On the Political Foundation of the Concept of Identity

The unique view of the public identity inherent to the critical paradigm can be identified in the basic train of thought that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels lay out in the initial pages of The Communist Manifesto (1848). As is well known, Marx argued that history should be viewed from the standpoint of the exploited public rather than that of the powerful, since only in the hands of the oppressed masses, whose voices were silenced throughout history, lies the key to the establishment of a true perception of reality. The positioning of the epistemological standpoint of the oppressed as a basis for the act of liberation has been critical for two main reasons: firstly, because it stresses the formative status of identity in the process of liberation; and secondly, because it exposes its political, formational and dialectical nature.

Thus, in contrast to the tendency of liberal and progressive pedagogies to overlook the issue of public identity, critical theory focuses on the political and existential complexity of the collective identity. According to this logic, the concrete identity of the public is embodied in the complex dialectical tension between personal and group identity.2 Unlike the positive concept of identity held by liberal theory, which views identity as a given, independent, and harmonious entity, radical critical theory emphasizes that the public identity must be understood as complex, political and dialectical in relation to other identities, which limit it, on the one hand, and constitute it, on the other hand.3 Accordingly, identity is shaped as a border concept, which vacillates dynamically and dialectically between its internal, positive limit (what it is, namely, its identity or similarity) and its external, negative limit (what it is not, namely, its difference, or otherness).4

link to cedar.wwu.edu

Fred,

Could this be your Motherwell Rive Gauche?
link to phillipscollection.org
🙂

Most things were, Fred but not sure about the tombs themselves: they looked pretty whole. The carving on Lady Lucy’s alabaster tomb is mighty fine. I think the crypt is still used to inter members of the Douglas-Home family via the steel doors on the floor.

I think at the time the key-holder was in Clyde Road but you can phone to arrange. Info on HS website.

Mofftaepitlochry to hug a Pictish stone.

Guilty as charged, Smallaxe.

Big Brends, eh? Wottawummin.

The BBC is a culturally endorsed information provider, so its not unreasonable for the public to accept it as truthful and honest. This places a huge onus on the BBC to ensure its business practice is ethical. Unfortunately, given the BBC is Charter bound to promote the cohesion of Britain, the probability of the BBC adopting such an approach is vanishingly small. About the same as for Israeli Defense Force finding a moral identity, IMHO.

De-Phazz – Saw it on the radio
link to youtube.com

Tinto Chiel
Trick? Next to impenetrable the way I’ve been going at it at times. This is (post-modern) critical social theory though, so I have absolutely no illusions that folk will be grasping all, or any, of it. I’ll feel I’ve achieved something positive though, even if folk only manage to get essence of meaning, or appreciate that there is a bigger picture than the BBC suggests. A better one, as well.

Of course, just as with second arousal, a second reading brings a deeper fulfillment to completion. 😉

Critical Theory of Communication: New Readings of Lukács,
Adorno, Marcuse, Honneth and Habermas in the Age of the Internet
link to uwestminsterpress.co.uk

The Impressions – “People Get Ready”
link to youtube.com

@Bevrijdingsdag

Welcome, cracking handle 🙂

I hate politics, or rather, politics as it has been transformed by the unholy congress between mass media conglomerates and our political elites, the banks and the military-industrial complex. Indeed, it is now difficult to separate politician from media, bank and the necessity to arms, in the war machine that represents contemporary western civilisation.

My reading of the crises in Syria is that forces outside of Syria, hijacked popular opposition to Syria’s secular and democratically elected government.

ISRAEL’S VIEW OF THE SYRIAN CRISIS

Executive Summary

For decades, Israel viewed Syria as its most bitter Arab enemy. Syria’s Arab nationalist ideology was fiercely anti-Israel, and border disputes left the two nations perpetually on the brink of conflict. After the June 1967 war, Israel’s occupation of the Golan heights became the most important issue separating the two countries, and when Syria joined the peace process launched in Madrid in October 1991, the future of the Golan heights became the main bone of contention between the adversaries. The Israeli-Syrian negotiations came close to fruition but ultimately failed. During the early years of Bashar al-Assad’s reign, relations with the United States became tense and Israeli-Syrian contacts were severed. The Ehud Olmert years in Israel saw renewed peace talks with Syria via the Turkish channel, again raising hopes of an end to hostilities but again ending in failure.

In early 2011, the outbreak of the Syrian crisis that has since descended into civil war sparked a rethink of Israel’s policy toward its neighbor. While Israel may have once preferred the Assad regime to remain in power rather than take its chances with an unknown successor, this “the devil we know” approach is no longer valid. After Israel had found itself frustrated by developments beneficial to Iran and its “resistance axis” throughout the Arab spring—most notably the fall of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak—the increasing pressure on the Syrian regime has represented a blow to Iran and its allies. Thus, while recognizing that Israel has little to no influence on the course of events in Syria, Israel’s leaders have largely reached a consensus that Assad’s departure from power is preferable.

As it rages on, Syria’s civil war complicates a variety of Israel’s foreign policy priorities. Clearly, the uncertainty in Syria has put the question of the Golan heights on hold indefinitely. It may be a long time until Israel can readdress the prospect of giving the Golan back to Damascus, as many hawkish (and in fact some dovish) Israelis have seen Bashar al-Assad’s actions in his domestic crisis as proof that past efforts at a Golan-for-peace deal were misguided. Israel’s efforts to challenge Iran over its nuclear program are also affected by the instability facing Tehran’s ally in Damascus. If Israel or the U.S. were to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, a desperate and beleaguered Assad could conceivably seek to transform his domestic war into
another Arab-Israeli war by taking the opportunity to attack Israel on Iran’s behalf. However, the Syrian conflict has the potential to bring the damaged Israeli-Turkish relationship closer to normalcy; if the two nations can resolve their dispute over the Mavi Marmara incident, they can find common ground in seeking to foster a stable post-Assad government in Syria.

Overall, Israel would prefer regime change in Syria, but has concerns about what type of government would succeed Bashar al-assad. It hopes for a secular regime to emerge, but due to limited influence —and the likelihood that support for any faction would backfire due to Israel’s toxic reputation in the Arab world—it is maintaining a passive stance. Without changing this greatly, however, Israel should build discreet channels to the emerging actors in Syria to prepare for future outcomes. And with several neighbors—such as
turkey, Jordan, and the Gulf states—sharing some common goals for the outcome of the Syrian crisis, Israel must seek to cooperate with them to advance its interests, which requires building trust with those actors. Thus, to avoid being a bystander in the Syrian crisis, it would serve Israel well to re-engage with Turkey and earn good will in the Arab world by seriously restarting the Palestinian peace process.

link to brookings.edu

Ian,

No problem, brother, you know what I think about our ‘situation’.

I agree with you that it’s a shameful pittance of effort just to support a political party, some situations need more than a vote to change them, a vote that will be ignored or outvoted by the rUK.

Peaceful protest will eventually be resisted by force if the ‘powers that be’ think it necessary, I have often found this to be the case personally, as you know. However, I don’t think that this should be a deterrent to any person who would want to see our Nation regaining Her independence. I am sure that it is more than obvious that W/Minster will do everything in its power, up to and including violence to subdue any peaceful direct action if that action is seen to be getting results.

You know what they say about making omelettes.

Nothing would please me more than Scotland taking back control of Her own affairs peacefully and I still hope that this will be the case but sadly I fear that this may be wishful thinking on my part.

Ian,

There has been a multitude of things that the UK government have perpetrated on people that shame all right-thinking human beings.

Try listening to this man, I think you’ll like him;
link to youtube.com

If folk are serious about wanting world peace, I think the first step is some serious self-reflection. The second is to recognise Westminster for the carbuncle that it is. Third, press for change, don’t simply bump your gums.

What is the relationship between critical thinking, creative thinking, and reflective thinking?
link to researchgate.net

Creative thinking and critical thinking
link to dcu.ie

Critical Reflection and Reflective Practice
link to drjodietaylor.com

Smallaxe & Iain Brotherhood
There are those who will indeed offer more,please don’t doubt that!
But only at the end of this road.
We are on it and we must in all honour travel it till we can go no farther.. Now hopefully that’s because we are finally out of this accursed Union,but even if we are not,I don’t know anyone who will ever accept Westminster rule anymore.
By hook or by crook the Union is over..

They’ve, nae choice really anyway, we have Nana….They don’t want to get Her dander up…

I think the contextual setting presented by the broadcast will determine its impact and may shed light on the motivation for broadcasting it, if unstated.

Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ Speech: A Rhetorical Political Analysis

Abstract

This article exploits the developing political science literature on rhetorical political analysis (RPA) and applies it to one of the most controversial speeches of the post-war era in British politics. Alongside an analysis of the roots and impact of Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech the article deconstructs Powell’s rhetoric and oratory. In doing so the article moves beyond the traditional modes of analysing the speech, which focus on the reproduction of ‘new racisms’ and which are prevalent within the sociological and social psychology academic literature. By using RPA the paper considers the speech through the use of the rhetorical techniques of persuasion i. appeals to ethos – i.e., the persona of the speaker; ii. pathos – i.e. the range of emotions evoked; iii. or logos – i.e. the evidence that supports the arguments underpinning the speech. This type of analysis showcases how and why Powell’s speech made such an impact when just as inflammatory comments had been uttered by other Conservatives prior to 1968.

link to eprints.whiterose.ac.uk

I’m well Liz, thanks for asking. I’ll certainly do my best to make it along on May 5th.

IDEOLOGY, RACISM, AND CRITICAL SOCIAL THEORY

As the above epigraph from Du Bois suggests, it is critically important to recognize that forms of social consciousness (or at least some elements of them) may be held without full conscious awareness.

link to sfu.ca

More than Prejudice: Restatement, Reflections, and New Directions in Critical Race Theory
link to citeseerx.ist.psu.edu

Racism as Abjection: A Psychoanalytic Conceptualisation for a Post-Apartheid South Africa
link to journals.sagepub.com

Fred: the M/T is really getting on my nazzums big-style, so this is just to let you know the Dunfallandy Stone is worth a visit if you’re in the Pitlochry area.

The carving on the stone is still pretty good, and its profile is slender: about 4″ at the base, tapering to about 2″ at the top, really elegant. You can’t hug it to experience the focused Earth-energy (I had half a Snickers and a swig of Tizer instead) because it is now behind glass/Perspex like Sueno’s Stone in Forres, making good photos almost impossible.

1200 years old and still here, though Orange Man-Child and The Preying Mayntis might change all that, and not a cheep of the truth from our compliant, mendacious MSM.

Haven’t been as uneasy and queasy as this since I watched “Threads”.

On the racist British nationalist cultural content of Brexit.

English Nationalism and Brexit

English Nationalism

Examining Brexit in light of contemporary English nationalism requires an understanding of English nationalism itself. Since devolution in the late 1990s politicians, commentators and academics questioned the very existence of ‘English nationalism’. Englishness was perceived as an ‘absence’.[1] But this was an a-historical understanding of English nationalism that rested on a narrow understanding of nationalism as principally a secessionist phenomenon. In this conceptualisation, England was expected to look and behave like Scotland. But English nationalism was never historically about secessionism or even unification. In its formative years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, ‘English nationalists’ concerned themselves with legitimising the operation of British sovereignty, within the United Kingdom and throughout the Empire. This contributed to its blurred boundaries, making Englishness and Britishness harder to distinguish than for other nationalities in the UK and throughout the Empire.[2]

This outward focus is important. Trying to understand English nationalism by looking only at the UK will provide only a partial picture of English nationhood. Like Krishan Kumar we must look at English nationalism ‘from the outside in’ to gain a full understanding of the dynamics that animate dominant expressions of English identity and inform the world-view of those that explicitly or implicitly adhere to such identities.[3] Far from being ‘parochial’, English nationalism has long been one of the most ‘global’ nationalisms on the planet.

Politicised English Identity

There are, of course, many different English identities that have been articulated over time: Thomas Paine’s England was quite different to that of Enoch Powell’s.[4] But nationalism is a homogenising ideology and if homogeneity is unobtainable then there are certainly dominant versions of any given national identity that emerge in the contestation of ideas and symbols that constitute both ‘hot’, ‘banal’ and ‘everyday’ nationalisms.[5] The dominant version of English nationalism is what Andrew Gamble has called ‘Anglo-British’; one that fosters the integration of the United Kingdom using the language of Britishness but which is delivered in a very English register.[6] In this way Britishness does not subsume Englishness, but is instead merged with it….

link to networks.h-net.org

English Nationalism and Brexit: Past, Present, and Future
link to pdfs.semanticscholar.org

The Social Consequences of Brexit for the UK and Europe

Abstract

This article examines the 2016 Referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union and draws on initial research into the reasons that the UK voted to leave and demographics of the leave vote. This initial analysis suggests that the Brexit (British Exit) vote reveals wider and deeper societal tensions along the lines of age, class, income, and education (Goodwin and Heath 2016). By providing an account of the background and events of the referendum, this article asserts that the vote was a case study in populist right-wing Eurosceptic discourse (Leconte 2010; Taggart 2004), but it also reveals strong elements of English nationalism (including British exceptionalism and social conservatism) in parts of British society (Henderson et al. 2016; Wellings 2010). Given this, the article begins to make sense of Brexit from a social quality perspective and outlines a possible social quality approach to the UK and Europe post-Brexit.
link to hira.hope.ac.uk

Scotland is about to have it’s world turned upside down, as a consequence of the British state’s failure to ensure a mechanism for a pluralist sharing of power between the nations. Subsequently, we’re all English now, in a British sort of way. And measures are being taken to make this arrangement permanent.

Hora for Powellism, your time looks to have finally arrived.

Perspectives on Brexit – strategic considerations and planning

Since the result of the EU referendum on 23 June, organisations have been buffeted by market forces and other factors beyond their control. With some commentators predicting a continuing “decade of uncertainty” what do organisational and people leaders see as the key areas of priority? How can they remain resilient and prepare for immediate and longer term change?

CIPD hosted a webinar, Perspectives on Brexit, Strategic Considerations and Planning, which brought together a panel of industry experts to discuss medium-term strategic and planning considerations following the EU referendum. Our panel shared their experience and insight on:

– the issues and challenges that businesses and organisations are expected to face following the referendum result

– strategies for responding to immediate and medium-term uncertainty

– leading an organisation through a period of fluctuating demand and unpredictable economic and trading circumstances.

Our guest speakers included:

Danny Mortimer – Chief Executive, NHS Employers
Alan Price – Chief Executive Officer, Croner Group Ltd
Steven Toft – Director, Crucible
Ian Brinkley – Labour Market Economist
Ben Willmott – Head of Policy and Public Affairs, CIPD

link to cipd.co.uk

PERSPECTIVES ON BREXIT
The impact on business, law and everything in between
link to annualreview2017.allenovery.com

UK Youth Perspectives and Priorities for Brexit Negotiations
link to lse.ac.uk

@ Cam

CameronB Brodie says:
14 April, 2018 at 3:47 am
Scotland is about to have it’s world turned upside down, as a consequence of the British state’s failure to ensure a mechanism for a pluralist sharing of power between the nations. Subsequently, we’re all English now, in a British sort of way. And measures are being taken to make this arrangement permanent.

PISH 😉

I don’t mind being English William, so long as I can be a English woman. How they getting on with prosthetic wombs, btw?

Bags being the queen. 😉

Good morning, Shirley.

link to youtube.com
😉

Liz g
Thrifty. 😉

Ah but the BBC have been telling Scotland how great Elizabeth the II is since the 50s
How strong and stable will ah be…

Cameron,

Finally,
link to youtube.com

I’m on a Horse!
link to youtube.com
😉

@ruglonian

There’s a couple of photies in this dropbox:

link to dropbox.com

I’ll leave them there for a week or two then delete the link contents.

#302 – the heidmaister working on the exam results
#303 – the heidy wi’ the exam champs
#304 – the faimly
#305 – some bloke in blue misbehavin’ (we know who ye are!)
#306 – closer proof of the miscreant’s behaviour

’nuff said.

Awfy guid night. (nearly went the wrong way round a glenrothes roundabout but stopped when the screams of “we’re all going to die!” got too loud.)

Re. Bashar al-Assad’s methods. The first duty of any leader is to defend the nation’s sovereignty, at all costs.

Political Realism in International Relations

….The keystone of Morgenthau’s realist theory is the concept of power or “of interest defined in terms of power,” which informs his second principle: the assumption that political leaders “think and act in terms of interest defined as power” (5). This concept defines the autonomy of politics, and allows for the analysis of foreign policy regardless of the different motives, preferences, and intellectual and moral qualities of individual politicians. Furthermore, it is the foundation of a rational picture of politics….

link to plato.stanford.edu

I’m no al-Assad fanboy btw.

William. 😉

Charles Bradley – The World (Is Going Up In Flames)
link to youtube.com

Looking for Freedom?

Here it is;
link to youtube.com

Bagpipe Blues?
link to youtube.com

On the morality of ideologies. This is also why some of my intros fail. I’m wary of allowing my own prejudices to bias reader’s interpretations, while also looking to provide a snappy, informative frame at the same time.

Rusty and biased, Edinburgh

Morals and Moralities: A Critical Perspective from the Social Sciences

Philosophers have always been interested in moral questions, but social scientists have generally been more reluctant to discuss morals and moralities. This is indeed a paradox since the questioning of the moral dimension of human life and social action was consubstantial to the founding of their disciplines.

A clue to this paradox resides in the tension between the descriptive and prescriptive vocations of social sciences: is the expected result of a study of moralities a better understanding of social life, or is the ultimate goal of a science of morals the betterment of society? At the be­ginning of the twentieth century, the German sociologist Max Weber, following the first line, pleaded for a value-free study of value-judgment, examining, for instance, the role played by the Protestant ethic in the emerging spirit of capitalism. His French contemporary Emile Durkheim, more sensitive to the second option, strongly believed that research on morality would not be worth the labor it necessitates were scientists to remain resigned spectators of moral reality, a position that did not prevent him from proposing a rigorous explanation of why we obey collective rules. This dialectic between exploring norms and promoting them, between analyzing what is considered to be good and asserting what is good, has thus been at the heart of the social sciences ever since their birth….

link to ias.edu

How Ideology Colors Morality
link to psychologytoday.com

Ideology, the state and welfare in Britain
link to catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk