Profile for Alanbrooke
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Alanbrooke has commented 159 times (4 in the last month).
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Books
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The Creative Class and Northern Ireland
Tweet As part of NICVA’s series of masterclasses from its Centre for Economic Empowerment project, there was a morning seminar on the topic of the “creative class” (as popularised by Richard Florida) and its applicability to Northern Ireland. The agenda was to: Explain Richard Florida’s idea of the “creative class” and the link between economic [...] read our review »
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Turas, by Colin Neill – a story of strangers in a strange land
Tweet Colin Neill’s first novel Turas peeks into a world in which many Ulster Protestants feel uncomfortable. It’s 2020 and the Irish unification that unionists and loyalists confidently predicted would never happen has become a reality. President Adams is ensconced in Phoenix Park. The newsreader reported that … a short ceremony at Stormont had confirmed [...] read our review »
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Debating the Churches’ Role in the Peace in Northern Ireland
Tweet This morning’s Sunday Sequence featured a substantial debate (about 35 minutes into the recorded programme) on a new book,Religion, Civil Society and Peace in Northern Ireland (Oxford University Press 2011), written by sociologists John Brewer, Gareth Higgins and Francis Teeney. The debate was framed in an opening vignette by presenter William Crawley in uncompromising [...] read our review »
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Comment on And the most racially intolerant country is…
on 16 May 2013 at 9:08 pm
Scotland ?
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Comment on 2013 elections: the alienation of Freelander man
on 4 May 2013 at 6:58 pm
Turgon
I would agree with you reference political positioning but what I think we have in mainland UK atm is a summary seen on another blog ( Political betting ).
Labour = public sector + dependent industries + immigrants
Conservatives = international capitalism, big business, globalisation winners
UKIP = national capitalism, SMEs, WWC, globalisation losers
LDs = spread a bit all over the place.
The problem for the UK at present is with the exception of the regional parties and UKIP most of the politcal leaders come from the same background. They have more in common with each other than with their electorate. Whether the current peasants’ revolt can sustain its force remains to be seen, but if it does then there will need to be a substantial rethink as to how to engage with a big chunk of society, particularly those who have come off worse in the new global economic order. And this will be made all the harder when there is no money left and the usual panacea of throwing cash at a problem is no longer available. Interesting times.
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Comment on 2013 elections: the alienation of Freelander man
on 4 May 2013 at 6:15 pm
Turgon
your point appears to be based on mindless tribal voting patterns which is what they have in most of South Wales – so maybe my point on NI and Wales being twinned is more accurate than I realised. But equally there is already mindless tribal voting in England. Try Rotherham where the MP can embezzle cash, the bigwigs will let your daughters get gang-raped and they’ll still vote the same way.
I just think you’re ujsing the wrong parameter of what electoral success is. success is when you persuade someone to vote differently. There hasn’t really been any electoral change in places like Merthyr or Blaenau for as long as I can remember.
As for Blue Labour – well not with Miliband running the show.
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Comment on 2013 elections: the alienation of Freelander man
on 4 May 2013 at 5:27 pm
“If one wants to see a successful political application of the sorts of policies closer to that of the median English shire voter oddly one could do worse than look at the Labour Party of South Wales.”
“Oddly” certainly. How a failing education system, a health service with major problems, teenage pregnancy, benefit dependency and public sector porkbarrelling is meant to appeal to mister average englander leaves me scratching my head. Are Wales and NI twinned ?
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Comment on Margaret Thatcher: A deeply qualified encomium…
on 19 April 2013 at 11:30 am
“But a strong union, which put the interests of its members first would have done everything to ensure that its members were protected as best it could.”
I’ve yet to come across such a beast; most UK unions protect their hierarchy and don’t worry too much about their members.
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Comment on Margaret Thatcher: A deeply qualified encomium…
on 17 April 2013 at 7:25 pm
Rurai
I’ll happily buy you a replacement.
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Comment on Margaret Thatcher: A deeply qualified encomium…
on 17 April 2013 at 7:20 pm
Rurai,
well who’s demonising ? You have a nationalist viewpoint, so what ? I have simply pointed out that much of what you criticise is mirrored in a competing nationalism, and the problem with most forms of nationalism is they will justify just about anything to suit themselves.
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Comment on Margaret Thatcher: A deeply qualified encomium…
on 17 April 2013 at 5:50 pm
Rurai
I’d say there’s a London mindset, but that’s no different than say Paris or closer to home Dublin – capital cities always think they’re superior. However to still say that the brits are planning to go conquering the world is like those people who claim the Germans are out to make the Fourth Reich. Yes you can find all sorts of nutters, you probably spat your coffee on one in DC, but the history of the UK since 1947 has been to ditch as much as possible. And so we find ourselves in the fun position that they’s just like NI to go away but the RoI don’t want it either, we’re the Millwall State.
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Comment on Margaret Thatcher: A deeply qualified encomium…
on 17 April 2013 at 5:29 pm
Rurai
really ? Who are these Whitehall technocrats ? Everybody seems to see loads of them but we never have any names. If you’re saying the UK has become overcentralised I agree with you, but then the locals in NI now have their own Parliament and have done precisely nothing with it. I hate to say it but in all the times I’ve been to London I’ve never seen anyone in a big chair stroking a white cat while planning the destruction of Ireland.
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Comment on Margaret Thatcher: A deeply qualified encomium…
on 17 April 2013 at 5:23 pm
Greenflag,
fair point Preparation H Block didn’t work !
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