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Text of the page (random words):
thinking about things thoughts on a small island skip to content search search for thinking about things thoughts on a small island menu why media matters we are all individuals napoleon he s not in the movie why the nolan story is important coronation street the identity crisis the power of money we are all thatcher s children a tale of two taytos partition a reality check about me the big lie freedom liberty beware of the libertarians politics is upside down why a vote for the dup tuv will move us towards a united ireland how nolan and the bbc have distorted our democracy home blog a speculation on our history capitalism it is not all the same system where the hell is the radical middle of the road identity it s a stitch up belfast thoughts on a movie the digital disappointment 5 simple ways the protocol could strengthen the union we don t have a clue about ourselves history post partition part two the unionists what s going on why are we so angry the beatles in my life ooooh yoko history post partition needs honesty nationalists need to think hard about what a united ireland might mean the solution that no one will like at first how come nationalists love nationalism wake up our world is a better place for woke partition follow the money the british love the class system the solution that no one will like at first is it time to move on why does the bbc need changed two tribes one country my fault no siree identity politics respect yourself the education debate another look the value of airtime and you think advertising doesn t work there is no future in green and orange time to change the conversation unionism is bad for unionists why a vote for the dup tuv will move us towards a united ireland about me napoleon he s not in the movie open search why the nolan story is important the furore around stephen nolan continues the irish news has published a story following a long investigation and legal appraisal which has a number of elements that put the man and the bbc under a microscope briefly the story involves the sending of pornographic photographs staff needing counselling the promotion of divisive stories called ra continue reading featured post featured 0 where did it all go wrong there was a time no seriously there was when the future looked bright the economy seemed to be more settled interest rates would remain low more people getting better jobs would fund the nhs and public services through acceptable tax rates the world was calm with a few hot spots but the cold war was continue reading featured post featured 0 are people who work in banks bankers p the current prime minister is an ex banker he worked for richard sharp the current chairman of the bbc in a bank now these are not banks of the kind that you and i may know either as users of personal banking services or small business owners i pitched for and was successful in winning continue reading featured post featured 0 maybe we are not that bad advertising doesn t work i ve been told that by hundreds of people over the years when i told them what i did except that they would be wearing branded clothes driving a branded car having branded groceries in cupboards and the fridge travelling on branded airlines using branded phones and making all sorts of choices based continue reading featured post featured 2 the power of money money what is it why is it so powerful does it change us our character and our personality strange stuff this money until 1931 sterling was valued on the gold standard you could bring a pound note to the bank of england and it would have to give you actual gold now your pound is continue reading featured post featured 1 the banshees of inisherin some thoughts a film that leaves you better informed and thinking i am lucky enough to have spent some time in the west of ireland connemara westport achill and places in between margaret my wife introduced me to a beach that i couldn t show you as it is hidden from the tourism tracks i ask her to continue reading featured post featured 0 we are all thatcher s children i think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand i have a problem it is the government s job to cope with it or i have a problem i will go and get a grant to cope with it i am homeless the government must house continue reading featured post featured 0 partition a reality check partition the word itself is enough to create an argument in ireland both north and south in northern ireland or the north or the 6 counties depending on your acceptance of partition recently celebrating 100 years of existence the division is still at the root of all troubles in ireland the civil war that resulted from continue reading featured post featured 5 where is the power wealth power there you go history in two words from the earliest stages of human civilisation the driving force for the creation of a society has been power and wealth power exercised in the form of control of the tribe and wealth originally in food and lodgings then with precious metals and jewels these attractions continue reading featured post featured 1 liberty beware of the libertarians libertarian you may have heard the term or not but it is impacting on your life every day the koch brothers the word liberty has been central to political thinking since the philosophers began considering the rights of man liberty equality and fraternity was the mantra of the french revolution liberty was the clarion call continue reading featured post featured 0 a speculation on our history history is a bunch of events that lead to interpretation before landing on propaganda i read a lot about napoleon and recently came across another tome this author was intent on dismissing napoleon s attributes decrying his military and political success was it that the author had been in the british army and started with the continue reading featured post featured 0 belfast thoughts on a movie jamie doran in belfast my first memories of the troubles comes from 1968 the local news that come on after children s tv still in black and white reported on events from londonderry it was the bbc what i later learned was the conclusion of a civil rights march had ended with the now famous scenes continue reading featured post featured 1 we don t have a clue about ourselves here we are in northern ireland or the six counties or the north depending on your political upbringing a small place one hundred miles up and down and across with a population of less than two million so you might think we would know ourselves but to take a lead from fintan o toole s excellent book continue reading featured post featured 0 neither ireland was a good place post partition 100 years since partition since ireland was separated from the united kingdom or northern ireland was separated from the rest of the island since one protestant state was created and another catholic one came into being looking at my two previous posts about needing to look at the reality of history not the mythology has continue reading featured post featured 0 history post partition needs honesty we are a land of storytelling myths and legends across the geography of the island giants and warriors queens and princesses all told from age to age and with each telling the magic grows but in 2021if we are going to move forward we need to move past myths and legends we need to work continue reading featured post featured 1 how come nationalists love nationalism nationalism the love of a country the love of your country above all others because you were born there or your antecedents originated in that geography more than that a belief that your country is better than others exceptionalism you are special because your country is special yet that can t be right because around the continue reading featured post featured 0 wake up our world is a better place for woke there you go that s what woke means yep the same word that is now bandied about as an insult by people like piers morgan and andrew neil men who have platforms to promote their disdain for people who are aware of racism and social injustice here s what has happened in my lifetime because of political continue reading featured post featured 0 partition follow the money there is a driving force behind all of history wealth as far back in recorded history to ancient egypt greece and rome wealth has been the core engine that drives us forward the tombs of the pharaohs are adorned with wealth that they did think they could take with them democracy in greece was accessible continue reading featured post featured 0 two tribes one country northern ireland a troublesome little spot tricky two tribes one island one border 6 counties 2 3 of a province and a whole load of issues issues like a person has issues personality issues resulting from the upbringing of the people infusing us with personality disorders all of us we have views and opinions that to continue reading featured post featured 0 my fault no siree photo by dan burton on unsplash it starts early a broken plate the last biscuit from the tin a homework not done it wasn t my fault it was my sister my brother the dog blame and so it goes for the rest of our lives learning to blame becomes a central part of our lives late for continue reading featured post featured 0 identity politics respect yourself i came across the song respect yourself by the staple singers in a documentary about 1971 and the impact of music that year and it sparked some thinking the song become an anthem for the black population of the us along with sly and the family stone marvin gaye isaac hayes and many more black continue reading featured post featured 0 why does the bbc need changed let s start with the good stuff i think the bbc has played a hugely positive part in my education and entertainment life from a small child watching children s hour listening to the beatles on the radio in 1963 and onwards through to the great dramas sports coverage radio 4 and more there is so much continue reading featured post featured the farce of supply side trickledown economics economists the financial world s very own illusionists they stride around in suits waving graphs like magic wands solemnly declaring what will happen to your mortgage rate because a butterfly sneezed in beijing except they can t actually predict anything economists don t forecast they improvise they stare at numbers until the numbers stare back then announce continue reading sep 26 2024 0 why media matters communication differentiates us from all the other species on the planet yes others can exchange information and chat but the development of our ability to use language was central to our development from the early beginnings of civilisation humans began working together in teams to go from making stone tools to the present day when continue reading mar 25 2024 0 we are all individuals i am an individual so are you we are all individuals or so we think so i will take a moment to challenge myself on my individuality my creativity my freedom to make my own choices the reason i make my own decisions and very quickly i realise that the concept of being an individual continue reading feb 7 2024 0 napoleon he s not in the movie i got interested in napoleon when i was around 28 which is now 37 years ago i was intrigued by looking at what i had achieved by that age not much and how a man who wasn t even french had managed to be on the road to ruling europe it was the start of an continue reading nov 23 2023 0 why the nolan story is important the furore around stephen nolan continues the irish news has published a story following a long investigation and legal appraisal which has a number of elements that put the man and the bbc under a microscope briefly the story involves the sending of pornographic photographs staff needing counselling the promotion of divisive stories called ra continue reading sep 4 2023 0 the constitution i don t care in 1922 following partition there were real differences in the two parts of ireland ireland had a huge majority that were roman catholic northern ireland was predominantly protestant each jurisdiction followed the paths set by their denomination the north was a protestant state for protestant people the south was a catholic state for catholic people continue reading jun 9 2023 1 a new northern ireland why almost every element of politics in northern ireland is infected with a historical virus partition unionism and nationalism remain the driving forces in the decision making of the majority of the people when elections are being decided it is the accepted status quo that people will have an opinion be on a side take a position continue reading may 29 2023 1 social change delivers for everyone the publication of the sunday times rich list is always a prompt to think about the inequality of life in the 21st century the top ten families have over 200 billion to spend fight about dramatise in the battles of inheritance the dreadful stress that managing the avoidance of tax creates and the determination to continue reading may 23 2023 0 posts navigation older posts blog at wordpress com up thinking about things blog at wordpress com subscribe subscribed thinking about things join 25 other subscribers sign me up already have a wordpress com account log in now privacy thinking about things subscribe subscribed sign up log in report this content view site in reader manage subscriptions collapse this bar loading comments write a comment email required name required website