mardi 22 septembre 2015

dimanche 20 septembre 2015

Ailig Salmond: Mairidh an Dòchas - 100 Latha a dh’atharraich Alba gu Bràth

Mairidh an Dòchas
100 Latha a dh’atharraich Alba gu Bràth
le Ailig Salmond
(Collins Paperback £12.99)

Bhon chòmhdach: 
Tha Ailig Salmond air a bhith gu mòr airson neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba fad a bheatha. San t-Sultain 2014 thàinig e glè fhaisg air sin a thoirt gu buil.

Ann an leabhar-latha inntinneach, air a sgrìobhadh na dhòigh eirmseach fhèin, tha Salmond gar toirt a-steach gu cridhe na h-iomairt BU CHÒIR, a' sealltainn dè chaidh a ràdh agus a chaidh a dhèanamh air cùlaibh gnothaich fhad 's a bha an iomairt a' ruighinn àird na teasaich.

Tha e a' sealltainn mar a thug iomairt BU CHÒIR ath-bheothachadh do dh'Alba air fad agus mar a rinn e ath-sgrìobhadh air na riaghailtean airson iomairt phoilitigeach am measg an t-sluaigh, chan ann a-mhàin san RA ach air feadh an t-saoghail.

Tha e cuideachd a' coimhead air adhart ris "a' cheist nàiseanta" chudromaich ann am poileataigs ann am Breatann, a' dèanamh gu math soilleir nach b' e deireadh na cùis a bha san reifreann ach am fìor thoiseach. Tha an dòchas airson neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba cho fallainn 's a bha e a-riamh.
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samedi 12 septembre 2015

LONDON CALLING: How the BBC stole the Referendum (Youtube)


Note from G.A. Ponsonby: 
I am currently discussing the possibility of turning my book ‘London Calling: How the BBC stole the Referendum’ into an hour-long documentary. The project is at an early stage and outlines are currently sketchy, but if and when it turns into reality then the filmmaker will launch a crowd-funding appeal. If the editor allows, I’ll announce it on Newsnet.scot. In the meantime, please watch the short video above for a flavour of how the introduction to such a documentary might look.
Purchase Book 
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vendredi 11 septembre 2015

The Fall and Rise of Tory England and the Crisis of Labour

The Fall and Rise of Tory England 
and the Crisis of Labour
by Donald Adamson (11 Sept 2015)
As Ralph Miliband wrote: “There is a Tory way of carrying out Tory policies, and there is a Labour way of carrying out Tory policies.” Today we explore the scale and roots of the Labour crisis ahead of examining the new leaders victory over the weekend. 
“The Conservative Party has dominated British politics to such an extent during the twentieth century that it is likely to become known as the ‘Conservative century’. Either standing alone or as the most powerful element in a coalition, the party will have held power for seventy of the hundred years since 1895.”– Anthony Seldon and Stuart Ball, 1994 (1)
The main story of the 2015 UK general election was, undoubtedly, the remarkable victory of the SNP ending, as it did, Labour’s near 60-year dominance of UK general elections in Scotland. As significant as these developments in Scotland are, there is another (related) story to tell about the 2015 general election: the re-emergence of the Tories to electoral dominance in England in the twenty-first century after a brief period of being out of power. The other side of this story is the structural weakness of Labour in England, as this suggests, Labour’s weakness pre-dates 2015. But it is these two issues, together with the sea-change that has occurred in Scotland, which will shape the landscape of British politics for some time. More importantly, as the consequences of these developments are played out they will, in all likelihood, determine both the timing and the outcome of a second independence referendum. To make sense of these developments in England, though, it is helpful to start in the 1990s. There are two related issues here: first, the crisis of the Conservative Party after its victory in the 1992 general election, and second, the exceptionalism, in electoral terms, of New Labour.
Read full article
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samedi 5 septembre 2015

Jonathan Chaplin: What Makes a Nation Christian? (YouTube)


Wheaton College (March 21 2011)
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Herman Dooyeweerd:
Christian Philosopher of State and Civil Society
Jonathan Chaplin (2011)

"The twentieth-century Dutch philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd (1894–1977) left behind an impressive canon of philosophical works and has continued to influence a scholarly community in Europe and North America, which has extended, critiqued, and applied his thought in many academic fields. Jonathan Chaplin introduces Dooyeweerd for the first time to many English readers by critically expounding Dooyeweerd’s social and political thought and by exhibiting its pertinence to contemporary civil society debates.

Chaplin begins by contextualizing Dooyeweerd’s thought, first in relation to present-day debates and then in relation to the work of the Dutch philosopher Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920). Chaplin outlines the distinctive theory of historical and cultural development that serves as an essential backdrop to Dooyeweerd’s substantive social philosophy; examines Dooyeweerd’s notion of societal structural principles; and sets forth his complex classification of particular types of social structure and their various interrelationships. Chaplin provides a detailed examination of Dooyeweerd’s theory of the state, its definitive nature, and its proper role vis-à-vis other elements of society. Dooyeweerd’s contributions, Chaplin concludes, assist us in mapping the ways in which state and civil society should be related to achieve justice and the public good."
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SPIKED!: 'The First Amendment is not enough'


In the run up to our First Amendment conference in Washington, DC, attorney and author David French talks to Tom Slater about how Americans’ freedom of faith is under attack.
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vendredi 4 septembre 2015

Bella Interview with Paul Mason (Post Capitalism)


Mike Small (Bella Caledonia) interviewed Paul Mason the day he came to the Edinburgh Book Festival about his book Post Capitalism: a Guide to Your Future and his observations about European politics, Greggs, technology, the indyref and meltdown and opportunities…
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Douglas Henshall on Media, Film, TV and Independence


Douglas Henshall discusses his early career, key Scottish film influences, and reflects on the challenges facing film and television production in Scotland as well as personal views on independence. (Bella Caledonia)
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jeudi 3 septembre 2015

Prof John Robertson: Scots Independence Podcast


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Download pdf (full 170 pages) of 
Prof John Robertson's book:
Scotland’s Propaganda War: 
The Media and the 2014 
Independence Referendum
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ALSO
A pdf (30 pages) of Prof Robertson's report:
Propaganda or Professionalism on Pacific Quay?
How political issues were covered by 
BBC Reporting Scotland and STV News 
in the four months before the UK General Election 2015
HERE
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Michael Greenwell's 
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mardi 1 septembre 2015

Thomas Muir Event: Lecture by Professor Sir Tom Devine (video)


Lecture by Professor Sir Tom Devine at the Thomas Muir Anniversary Event. Recorded on 25 August 2015 in the First Division courtroom, Parliament House, Edinburgh.
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