Who benefits from more death and destruction in the Middle East? It’s easy to jump on bandwagons in righteous indignation against the latest demons guilty of unspeakable crimes against humanity. Alas recent history has taught us over and over again that we cannot trust the objectivity and impartiality of the mainstream media to verify the
⋯Filtered by human rights
Getting a taste of your own medicine
How hate speech laws have come back to bite their proponents This week Corbynites, who often call for the no-platforming of social conservatives, were on the receiving end of antisemitism allegations. Yet the same BBC stands accused of suppressing the scale of rape gangs to appease the Muslim community. It seems we must now think
⋯All in the mind, hegemony, human rights
Race, ethnicity and religion
Few subjects trigger stronger feelings than race, ethnicity and religion. While related, these three anthropological concepts have distinct meanings and are not as readily interchangeable as many ideologues may prefer. Broadly speaking race refers to our genetic inheritance, ethnicity to our cultural background and religion to our belief system. While we cannot change our genetic
⋯human rights
Extinguishing Open Debate and Personal Freedom
In the age of narcissism, mass-consumerism and hyper-dependence All of a sudden, the streets of major European cities are full of impressionable virtue-signallers demanding immediate action against our modern way of life to save the planet from the spectre of man-made climate change. I instinctively sympathise with rebels, even if I don’t always share either
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, limits to growth, migration
Language is more about Meaning than Words
I recently dived into an almighty row with a bunch of EU flag wavers replying to a message celebrating International Native Language Day. You see I’d like to celebrate it too, but the subtext implied EU citizens in the UK promote linguistic diversity. So let’s think this through. Once abroad mingling with the locals and
⋯All in the mind, human rights, Linguistics, migration
On Social Competitiveness and Human Nature
As a species we combine social solidarity and shared culture with a strong competitive spirit. In a way these variant behaviours represent the true yin and yang of the human psyche, collectivism versus individualism or social cohesion versus self-betterment. One could argue that our social and technological reality would never have progressed without these instincts.
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, Computing, human rights
Another Day, Another Attack
How the British Foreign Policy Elite favoured its short-term commercial interests over the long-term security and wellbeing of its citizens. Just in case you haven’t read the news. Seven people were killed and 48 others injured in a van and knife attack on London Bridge and Borough Market, in which three suspects were shot dead
⋯corporatism, human rights, immigration, migration
What Kind of Freedom Do You Want ?
We all yearn for freedom. Instinctively nobody wants to submit to the will of others whom we cannot trust to act in our best interests. However, in today’s complex high-tech society we’ve become so interdependent that we relinquish our personal freedoms and submit to higher authorities in all our daily interactions with the rest of
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, limits to growth
Madonna vs Alex Jones
How the Virtue-Signalling Left Cares More About Affluent Jet-Setters Than Defenceless Goat Herders The faux outrage about Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban on citizens of 7 mainly Muslim countries reveals more about the priorities of the affluent infantile left than it does about any shift in US foreign policy. Most people in the world outside
⋯capitalism, communism, Computing, human rights, immigration, migration
Is Oceania still at war with Eastasia?
How President Trump could signal the demise of the USA as a superpower and how the globalist elite may switch allegiance to other centres of power. In George Orwell’s 1984 Oceania appeared to be in a never-ending war against Eastasia. Airstrip One, the new name for Great Britain, belonged to Oceania with North America and
⋯capitalism, communism, Computing, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, immigration, migration
Universal Welfare vs Individual Freedom
Would global corporations bankroll a universal welfare system without seeking to control our lives? Imagine a society that not only provided all your existential needs, but also gave you wide-ranging lifestyle freedoms and did not compel you to hold down a mundane job just to afford the necessities of life. This usually means clean water,
⋯All in the mind, Computing, human rights
Infantile Leftwing Globalism
You might naively imagine the main focus of the Green Party is to promote environmental sustainability, while the Labour Party seeks to defend the rights of ordinary working people in their country. Yet increasingly both serve the interests of global corporations, just as much as their nominally centre-right counterparts in misnamed conservative, liberal or separatist
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, limits to growth
Meet the new Universalist Establishment
Trendy leftwingers are the new ultra-conformists Many observers still tend to simplify political analysis on a one-dimensional left / right spectrum. We might use many other scales such as state ownership vs private enterprise, libertarian vs authoritarian, individualism vs collectivism, local vs national, national vs international or environmental friendliness vs economic growth, equality vs meritocracy
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, immigration, migration
Left vs Right: The Yin and Yang of political analysis
As an idealist teenager I always wanted to side with the notional left on everything. The left represented progress towards a better tomorrow freed of human suffering, prejudice, inequality and exploitation, a panacea in which all human beings could enjoy life to the full in a giant communal garden of Eden. The right, on the
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights
Confusing arguments about Refugees
Some of us are fully aware of the semantic differences between refugees and migrants. A migrant is anyone who moves from one region to another. All people classed as refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, emigrants, settlers, travellers or nomads are migrants. Migration is a wholly neutral term that implies nothing about our motivations or plans or
⋯capitalism, human rights, immigration
Imagine there's no countries...
Reflections on Global Convergence As an idealist teenager John Lennon’s Imagine became my anthem. I yearned for a future devoid of the seemingly pointless nationalist rivalry and imperialism that had fuelled two world wars and enslaved millions in the colonial era. I dreamed innocently of a world where different peoples would learn from each other,
⋯capitalism, corporatism, human rights, immigration, limits to growth
Managing the Opposition
Jeremy Corbyn looks set to become Labour Leader and may soon trigger a realignment of the variety show called British parliamentary politics. Don’t get me wrong, Jeremy Corbyn was one of the few Labour MPs to take a consistent stand against recent military interventions and oppose the government’s love affair with global corporations. I’d certainly
⋯capitalism, corporatism, hegemony, human rights, immigration
Surprise: The Big Business Party won
I predicted a hung parliament that would ditch any manifesto promises at the behest of corporate lobbyists. A weak government is arguably more malleable than a strong one, unless the strong government does exactly what its true masters want. I suspect the new Conservative administration will disappoint many traditional small-c conservatives as it pursues a
⋯capitalism, Computing, corporatism, human rights, immigration, migration
Why do people get depressed?
With so much media attention, you’d seriously think depression awareness raising charities would want to answer this very simple question. As the purported biological disease model of depression has now become almost an act of faith, debate now seems to revolve mainly around the relative merits of different forms of treatment. Whether it’s medication or
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, hegemony, human rights
Extreme Labour Mobility
Rethinking the Migration Debate Were we to debate the ethics of racial prejudice, the relative merits of other societies or the wonders of humanity’s rich cultural diversity, I would not hesitate for a moment both to stand against all forms of xenophobia and to celebrate true cultural diversity. However, as soon as someone suggests the
⋯capitalism, human rights, immigration, limits to growth, migration
Ten Trendy Actions which are very bad for the Environment
Economic growth: Once people have clean water, a healthy diet, adequate housing with plumbing and electricity, meaningful employment, access to modern healthcare and a few other essential personal possessions, all additional consumption does very little to improve life expectancy or happiness. Yet our GDP growth drains many finite resources that could be better used by
⋯All in the mind, corporatism, human rights, immigration
Does Scottish Independence really matter?
As a half-Scot and half-Englishman, I never really identified as either. I grew up to believe in Britain as my father owed his career in the army and later British Aerospace to the archipelago’s imperial legacy. Whenever my English mother would inadvertently confuse England with Britain, my brother would correct her. I’d support Scotland in
⋯capitalism, hegemony, human rights
Twitter Mob: Don't Blame the Users
How lobbies have turned consumer groups into victims Twitter does not exactly lend itself to critical analysis. I doubt many people have changed their minds on anything after reading a mere 140 character tweet. Such short messages tend to reinforce existing prejudices and opinions and often build on concerted advertising and awareness-raising campaigns. You can
⋯All in the mind, Computing, human rights
The Sheer Arrogance of Tony Blair's Clone
“But let me be clear – Britain may be a small island, but I would challenge anyone to find a country with a prouder history, a bigger heart or greater resilience.” David Cameron So presumably thousands of years of Chinese, Indian or Middle Eastem history, literature, innovations count for little, and Britain’s neighbours have little
⋯hegemony, human rights
The Bankers are bankrupt and so are we
Today over a hundred thousand demonstrators will descend on Central London to protest against cuts in public spending. I can sympathise for I’ve joined many similar protests‚ defending the rights of ordinary working people and against wanton waste and wars. Why should ordinary people suffer because politicians and bankers have wasted billions on wars and
⋯capitalism, Computing, human rights, limits to growth
Blaming the Messenger
Spiked Online are at it again, jumping at the chance to blame common atrocities on the spectre of green fascists. To the likes of Frank Füredi and Brendan O’Neill a green fascist is anyone who doesn’t believe in their technocratic vision of unlimited human and material growth, if indeed they believe their own propaganda. More
⋯environment, human rights
Multiculturalism would be a good idea
To paraphrase Gandhi “Multiculturalism would be a good idea“. Cultural diversity is a wonderful idea and as a speaker of 5 languages with bilingual kids, as someone who’s been the sole white guy in a provincial Zambian town, the sole non-Indian in a suburban Delhi apartment block, steered clear of gringos during a trek across
⋯human rights
The Arbitrary Extension of the Autistic Spectrum
Over the last twenty years we have witnessed a semantic shift in the concepts of autism and the wider autistic spectrum. The former may assume three broad definitions: A mental condition devoid of a theory of mind with which to relate to other human beings. In this sense we all start life in an autistic
⋯All in the mind, human rights
Free Speech and Hate Speech
False and ridiculous charges are no real problem. It is the unconscionable critics who reveal unwanted truths from whom society must be protected” Noam Chomsky in Deterring Democracy A False Sense of Self-Righteousness Intellectuals in the public eye remind us how we should thank our lucky stars for our democratic system with freedom of speech
⋯human rights