On Newt and Saul
A couple of things have struck me about Newt Gingrich’s string of recent speeches. One is that he speaks in reasonably consistent iambic tetrameter. The other is stranger. Why does he keep talking about Saul Alinsky? I spotted it in his post South Carolina speech and asked about it on twitter. Someone pointed out that [...]
The Scottish Independence Debate and England
I’ve just finished listening to a particularly unenlightening discussion of the UK’s constitutional future on BBC Radio 4 and, once again, I’m left despairing at the shallowness of the analysis. For a start, this is not just a debate about Scotland and England. There are two other nations in the United Kingdom which the BBC [...]
Why I am taking my university to court.
First year biological science student Sam Weaver is taking the university of Birmingham to court over its widely publicised “ban” on protests, he explains here in his own words what has lead him to take this extraordinary step. Since starting university last Autumn one thing has really shocked me and that is the draconian measures [...]
Ministerial Optimism sees Fracking Stumble Ahead onto Uncharted Paths
In a letter regarding the controversial drilling process Sarah Boyack MSP says regarding the Scottish Government’s position “I am sure that you share my hope that the Minister’s optimism is well-placed” [1]. I do share Sarah’s hope, but optimism is a frivolous commodity when dealing with the regulation of heavy industry. Gas extraction by hydraulic [...]
Internet yet again highlights depressing state of humanity
I’m sure that many of you will have read recently about the Official Gary Glitter twitter account. For those of you who haven’t a “social experiment” was conducted by a private individual who was unwilling to divulge his/her identity. The experiment consisted of this person opening a Twitter account in the name of Gary Glitter [...]
Sometimes We Win
After the heartbreaking defeats of several popular anti-cuts campaigns in the last few months, we can sometimes forget that campaigning isn’t always a futile activity. But yesterday, after a six-month-long campaign by local residents, the City of Edinburgh Council voted to reject proposals to privatise two major service areas. The proposals were part of an [...]
Internet censorship is about more than SOPA/PIPA
By Carl van Tonder Dear everyone, Thank you for your concern over SOPA/PIPA. I find your attitude towards online censorship puzzling, however. Friends in the UK, your internet is almost certainly *already being filtered*, thanks to the Internet Watch Foundation (mission statement: THINK OF THE CHILDREN). We have not passed anything like SOPA/PIPA (forgetting the [...]
The Idea of Communism
“From Plato onwards, Communism is the only political idea worthy of a philosopher” – Alain Badiou “Do not be afraid, join us, come back! You’ve had your anti-communist fun, and you are pardoned for it – time to get serious again!” – Slavoj Žižek In the aftermath of the financial crisis, in the public exposure [...]
Why I’m scared of the supermarket: reflections on bigotry, disappointment and acceptance
by Aurora Adams, first published at Be Young and Shut Up I’ve returned to the town where I grew up for the first time since leaving for university and a strange thing has happened: I’m scared to visit the supermarket. This should, perhaps, not be entirely surprising. After I finished high school in 2009 I [...]
The end of opposition
Yesterday the official opposition gave up. In a packed room at The Insititute for Education Ed Balls finally confirmed what many of us have been thinking for a while: The Labour Party aren’t the alternative. As the cuts continue to bite, the wages of workers remain stagnant and the economic outlook for the UK remains [...]
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