Culture
Is there for honest poverty? – happy Burns’ night
Posted on January 25, 2012 by Adam Ramsay | No Comments
- Sheena Wellington sings at the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. “The Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on March 25, 1707, is hereby reconvened” Is there for honest Poverty That hings his head, an’ a’ that; The coward slave-we pass him by, We dare be poor for a’ that! For a’ that, an’ a’ [...]
Internet yet again highlights depressing state of humanity
Posted on January 21, 2012 by Mairi Campbell Jack | No Comments
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 [...]
The Idea of Communism
Posted on January 16, 2012 by Alasdair Thompson | 5 Comments
“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
Posted on January 15, 2012 by Guest | 8 Comments
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 [...]
What makes Britain a Christian Country? A Response to David Cameron
Posted on January 7, 2012 by James Golden | 2 Comments
David Cameron’s recent speech celebrating the anniversary of the King James Bible in Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral is extraordinary—politically, historically, and even theologically. Cameron feels Christian values will combat the social disorder manifest in the August riots, and justifies this claim on the idea that Britain is a Christian country (albeit Christian in a way [...]
Why I love Samba
Posted on October 29, 2011 by Admin | 19 Comments
This is a response by guest writer Nadia Idle to Adam Ramsay’s article Why I hate Samba, published in the first edition of the Occupied Times. Adam Ramsay, you are wrong about samba and this is why: Actually first, before we inspect your analysis, lets clear up one thing. If, when you hear the bass [...]
Why I hate samba
Posted on October 27, 2011 by Adam Ramsay | 24 Comments
A shorter version of this piece first appeared in the Occupied Times of London I have a confession. I don’t like samba. OK, that’s not quite true. I often enjoy it. It’s cheering. But I have a political objection. But that’s probably not where I should start. Perhaps more to the point, I don’t like [...]
Why the Persecution at Dale Farm is all about the Economy
Posted on September 14, 2011 by Peter McColl | 13 Comments
When I was a postgraduate student I tutored on a course about the politics of inequality. We dealt thematically with gender, sexuality, race, class and ethnicity. By the end students were fully convinced of the value of non-discriminatory politics. Until that was we got onto the subject of travelling people. The mention of travellers unleashed [...]
Russell Kane is a sexist bully
Posted on August 29, 2011 by Kate Harris | 17 Comments
Russell Kane, on Thursday night, was featured in a BBC Comedy Festival special from Edinburgh. In his short set, he said that women ‘moan’ about getting unwanted male attention but then ‘put a short skirt and makeup on’, implied that he has considered sleeping with vulnerable women with low self-esteem to make himself feel better, [...]
Finding a sense of place: community, art and the UK riots.
Posted on August 24, 2011 by Alasdair Thompson | 3 Comments
What is it that makes a community? We talk a lot about communities in political discourse but to what do we actually refer when we use the term? After the riots across England recently we heard a lot of commentators from the left and the right talk about how the rioters had turned on their [...]
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