-
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
-
Meta
Dumfries and Galloway
Links relevant to this site.
Author Archives: Stephen Shellard
Freedom Ride
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cstzb3 This is a beautiful little half hour programme I listened to this morning on the BBC World Service. Of course I knew about Rosa Park, but the story told in this programme is a timely reminder of what the … Continue reading
Posted in Podcasts etc.
Leave a comment
I Hate the Whiteman
The exploitation of the British Working classes went hand in hand with the exploitation of the colonies. Unregulated capitalism and the development of the British Empire were a joint enterprise and, in the view expressed in the song, the destroyers of traditional culture and values across the globe. Continue reading
Brexit and the Need for A Multiple Choice Referendum
Let us consider two views of the referendum outcome on 23rd June ; the people have decided to leave the European Union regardless of the terms agreed the people have decided only that they wish to leave, but have … Continue reading
Posted in Brexit
3 Comments
What really happened in Sweden last night…
More or Less, [ Radio 4 and the BBC World Service] routinely challenges the interpretation and conclusions drawn from the data circulating in the news. It is a programme which succeeds in making statistics interesting, even amusing. This week’s edition … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Leave a comment
Hare Crosses the Border
Start the Week [27Feb2017] was a discussion linked by the theme of borders. In particular I was drawn to the contribution of map-maker Garrett Carr who has travelled “Ireland’s border to explore the smugglers, kings, peacemakers and terrorists who’ve criss-crossed … Continue reading
Alan Winfield on robot ethics
Alan Winfield, who glories in the title of “Professor of Robot Ethics,” at the University of the West of England was a recent subject of Jim Al-Khalili’s Radio 4 series “The Life Scientific.” , [21Feb17], At one point in … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Leave a comment
Yanis Varoufakis comments on Ireland, the UK and Brexit.
Yanis Varoufakis has a knack, rare in economists, for saying things clearly, simply and persuasively: “Take a look at the map of Ireland. You have a small island that has to develop an economic policy for development that is common … Continue reading
Play and Creativity…
Listen to this glorious discussion which manages to combine stories about the production techniques of Brian Eno, the importance of play in learning, a goal for Arsenal by Giroud, the importance of untidiness in creativity, the screw up behind one … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Leave a comment
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A…
“It’s coming from the silence /on the dock of the bay, from the brave, the bold, the battered/heart of Chevrolet: Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.” A few lines from Leonard Cohen’s song “Democracy” as a kind of answer to … Continue reading
Posted in Comment
Leave a comment
Carruchan 
Donald Trump First, Donald Trump First, Donald Trump First
Recent events in Charlottesville have shone a light on the attitude to race of President Trump and his now departed political strategist, Steven Bannon. For a moment Trump seemed to be making his position clear: “When we open our … Continue reading →