Wednesday, June 29, 2016

#SafetyPin: The simple way you can show solidarity with the UK's foreign-born population

#SafetyPin: The simple way you can show solidarity with the UK's foreign-born population: Vote Leave's campaign was tainted by accusations of racist dog-whistling: a poster unveiled by Ukip featuring an edited photograph of refugees came under particularly heavy criticism for its likeness to Nazi propaganda.

And sadly, as Tory MP Simon Hoare put it in the Commons yesterday, a "racism genie" appears to have been let out of the bottle as a consequence.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said on Monday there had been a 57 per cent rise in reports to an online hate crime reporting site between Thursday and Sunday compared to a month ago.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Don't blame Brexit on working-class anger - it's more worrying than that

Don't blame Brexit on working-class anger - it's more worrying than that: Brexit was a rejection of British multiculturalism. That is the real take-home message of the Ashcroft polls. Of those who see themselves as "English not British", 80 per cent voted to Leave, irrespective of social class. Those who see themselves as "British not English" voted 60 per cent for Remain.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Mbeki's chilling warning in 2007: A virus is eating up the ANC from the inside | Politics | RDM

Mbeki's chilling warning in 2007: A virus is eating up the ANC from the inside | Politics | RDM: I would like to cite a vitally important observation our Secretary General made in his Organisational Report to our 51st National Conference, five years ago.

He said: "We have also reported to the NGC (held in 2000), on the challenges being in power has on the structures of the movement. We found that the issues dividing the leadership of some of our provinces are not of a political nature, but have mainly revolved around access to resources, positioning themselves or others to access resources, dispensing patronage and in the process using organisational structures to further these goals.

"This often lies at the heart of conflicts between (ANC) constitutional and governance structures, especially at local level and is reflected in contestations around lists, deployment and the internal elections process of the movement. These practices tarnish the image and effectiveness of the movement.

"The limited political consciousness (among some of our members) has impacted negatively on our capacity to root out corrupt and divisive elements among ourselves. For the movement to renew itself as a revolutionary movement, we have to develop specific political, organisational and administrative measures to deal with such destructive elements."

Nelson Mandela also drew our attention to this challenge when he opened our 50th National Conference in 1997. Among other things he said: "One of these negative features is the emergence of careerism within our ranks. Many among our members see their membership of the ANC as a means to advance their personal ambitions to attain positions of power and access to resources for their own individual gratification.

"Accordingly, they work to manipulate the movement to create the conditions for their success.

Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Google is Recording Everything You Say — Here’s How to Hear It, Delete It, and Stop It | The Daily Liberator

Google is Recording Everything You Say — Here’s How to Hear It, Delete It, and Stop It | The Daily Liberator: Thanks to a function of their search software, Google could have years worth of your conversations recorded, and you can hear it for yourself. Your cringe-worthy history can be heard and viewed along with a list of all your searches, at your personal Google history page.

Monday, June 06, 2016

Notable.ca | Big Surprise: Harvard Study Shows that Sarcasm is Actually Good for You

Notable.ca | Big Surprise: Harvard Study Shows that Sarcasm is Actually Good for You: Data from a recent study entitled, The Highest Form of Intelligence: Sarcasm Increases Creativity for Both Expressers and Recipients, suggests that the delivery and deciphering of sarcasm offers psychological benefits that have been largely underappreciated and long overlooked.

Thursday, June 02, 2016

When Being Pro-Life Did Not Mean Being Conservative | Religion & Politics

When Being Pro-Life Did Not Mean Being Conservative | Religion & Politics: Most of the pre-Roe pro-life activists were Catholics with liberal political sympathies shaped by their Church’s social justice teachings and the New Deal. They viewed their campaign to save the lives of the unborn as a human rights cause, which is why much of their rhetoric closely paralleled the language of the civil rights and anti-war movements.