Tag: politics

The role of expert and intellectual in the politics of social change and trust in the concept of a leadership that achieves the sense of stability conducive to effective change.

October 9, 2025

The role of expert and intellectual in the politics of social change and trust in the concept of a leadership that achieves the sense of stability conducive to effective change. As I opined about Elon Musk yesterday, I  wondered whether I was oversimplifying the phenomenon he represented  – a man keen to assert his origins … More The role of expert and intellectual in the politics of social change and trust in the concept of a leadership that achieves the sense of stability conducive to effective change.

Violence: How should we respond, and how do we respond? The tragedies about to be born out of inappropriate and thoughtless response.

October 3, 2025

Violence: How should we respond, and how do we respond? The tragedy born out of inappropriate response Above are the bare facts of the violence that occurred at Heaton Park Synagogue m Manchester. People died as a result not only of the violence of one man (and others if others backed him up) but also … More Violence: How should we respond, and how do we respond? The tragedies about to be born out of inappropriate and thoughtless response.

The future sounds a neutral enough subject but in truth it is a concept owned and shaped by the powerful few. This blog reflects on the republished ‘Young Palestinians Speak’ (2017, 2023) by Anthony Robinson & Annemarie Young.

June 28, 2025

One librarian at the Tamer Library, Haneen, interviewed by Robinson and Young devises activities for 8 – 13 year-olds in the area of Gaza where the Institutuon stands. When asked about their future lives, Haneen considers that the older children think mainly of emigration from Gaza, whilst ‘younger ones, without older siblings, do not think … More The future sounds a neutral enough subject but in truth it is a concept owned and shaped by the powerful few. This blog reflects on the republished ‘Young Palestinians Speak’ (2017, 2023) by Anthony Robinson & Annemarie Young.

Communication between the diverse: the benefits of modelling conflictual consensus.

May 7, 2025

What do you do to be involved in the community? In an article by the American Public Power  Association [APPA], called ‘Dissecting the True Meaning of Community’, some things are said about unpacking the meaning of the word  ‘community’ from its origins as a word. I have no knowledge of the real politics of APPA, though … More Communication between the diverse: the benefits of modelling conflictual consensus.

Voting may not often change anything, but we have to hope it might.

April 25, 2025

The answer is YES. but neither person nor party can give any guarantee of fulfilling any intentions you had in voting for them, even if you had any intentions. Indirect democratic politics is a blunt tool that is barely even a record of popular opinion and few ruling parties receive a majority of votes in … More Voting may not often change anything, but we have to hope it might.

Putting my head above the parapet again, if only for a gesture: ‘a GREEN thought in a GREEN shade’.

April 15, 2025

Describe one positive change you have made in your life I suppose a large part of my life previously has been committed to politics, having joined the Labour Party for the first time in my teens but I suppose that my politics may have faded in my life after I left the Party. I did … More Putting my head above the parapet again, if only for a gesture: ‘a GREEN thought in a GREEN shade’.

‘Education, Education, Education’ seemed good rhetoric to Tony Blair, whatever he meant by it. So let’s stay with its advantages as three sustainable objects.

February 22, 2025

Fighting for a historic third term in government, Tony Blair drove to his constituency in Sedgefield and said that his three-pronged object of political desire remained ‘Education, Education, Education’, without using the by then much mocked word. Here is what he said: Education has been, is and will be the driving mission of a New … More ‘Education, Education, Education’ seemed good rhetoric to Tony Blair, whatever he meant by it. So let’s stay with its advantages as three sustainable objects.

Making a man of yourself for yourself – the strain of the 1950s

February 19, 2025

Making a man of yourself – the strain of the 1950s Image from The Science Museum archive: https://coimages.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/58/936/large_2000_0549.jpg (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) We all assume we know what DIY means (without troubling to extend the acronym to the term DO IT YOURSELF). However, it was not always thus as the ‘Brief History of DIY’ page from … More Making a man of yourself for yourself – the strain of the 1950s

Handling the Trump syndrome: Never allow anyone the power to make or change law on their own

February 4, 2025

The Executive Order in the US Constitution allows one man (there’d never yet been a woman) to make Executive Orders with the force of law. Donald Trump signed 36 during his first week in Office. The possession in one person to make or change law is not thought of as possible in the idea of … More Handling the Trump syndrome: Never allow anyone the power to make or change law on their own