‘Googly Gaeilge’ agus ‘Bí uisce cliste’

‘Googly Gaeilge’ agus ‘Bí uisce cliste’

FRIOTAL – Is é an donas ar fad mar atá Google Translate i ndiaidh greim gnáis a fháil ar eagraíochtaí na hearnála poiblí. Dar leo gur Dia a chuir chucu an bréagán seo le go mbeidh siad ábalta tic a chur i mbosca an dátheangachais

Antain Mac Lochlainn (Deireadh Fómhair 30 2014)

Is é mo laoch Ivan Connaughton, iarrthóir Fhianna Fáil san fhothoghchán i Ros Comáin/Liatroim Theas. Chuir fuarchúis agus faillí an Rialtais a oiread sin feirge air gur chuir sé peann le pár, nó méar le méarchlár, agus chuir a racht de go fileata:

Tá an teanga neamhaird a léiríonn an easpa measa críochnaithe tá sé ar siúl i ag an rialtas. Mar shampla, a cheapadh mar Aire Gaeltachta Joe McHugh, TD, nach bhfuil líofa sa Ghaeilge, bhí nach bhfacthas riamh roimhe.

Gearán faoi lagchumas Gaeilge a scríobhadh i mBéarla (is cosúil) is a cuireadh trí inneall aistriúcháin Google – is i ré na hiar-íoróine a mhairimid gan amhras.

Leigh an chuid eile den alt seo

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Dooyeweerd: Historical Development

"Falkirk Wheel" (Photo: F. MacFhionnlaigh)

Dooyeweerd: Historical Development

     In order to perceive God's ordinances for historical development, it is necessary that we search for them in the historical aspect and in its unbreakable coherence with the structures of the other aspects. If this search is not to go astray, then the scriptural ground-motive of creation, fall, and redemption through Jesus Christ must be our only point of departure and our only religious motivation.

     Some may object by posing the following questions: Is such an intricate investigation really necessary to gain insight into God's ordinances for historical development? Is it not true that God revealed his whole law in the ten commandments? Is this revelation not enough for the simple Christian? I answer with counter questions: Is it not true that God placed all the spheres of temporal life under his laws and ordinances — the laws that govern numerical and spatial relationships, physical and chemical phenomena, organic life, emotional feeling, logical thinking, language, economic life, and beauty? Are not all these laws, without exception, grounded in God's creation order? Can we find explicit Scriptural texts for all of them? If not, should we not acknowledge that God put the painstaking task to humankind to discover them? And admitting this, can we still hold that it makes no difference whether in this search we start from the ground-motive of the Word of God or are guided by unscriptural ground motives?

     Those who think they can derive truly Scriptural principles for political policy formation solely from explicit Bible texts have a very mistaken notion of the nature of Scripture. They see only the letter, forgetting that the Word of God is spirit and power which must penetrate our whole attitude of life and thought. God's Word-revelation puts people to work. It claims the whole of our being; where death and spiritual complacency once held sway in us, it wants to conceive new life. Spiritually lethargic people would rather have the ripe fruits of God's revelation fall into their laps, but Jesus Christ tells us that wherever the seed of God's Word falls on good soil, we ourselves must bear fruit.

     Today Christians face a fundamental question, namely, what historical yardstick do we possess in this new age for distinguishing between the reactionary and the substantially progressive directions in history? We cannot derive this criterion from the ten commandments, for they were not meant to save us from investigating God's creational ordinances. To answer this basic question, one needs insight into the specific ordinances that God established for historical development. It requires in-depth investigation. Our search will be protected against derailment if the creation motive of God's Word obtains complete control in our thinking. 

(Herman Dooyeweerd [1894-1977], "Roots of Western Culture: Pagan, Secular, and Christian Options", Paideia Press 2012, pp 59-60)

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Video Interviews: Keith Brown MSP, Stewart Hosie MP, Angela Constance MSP

Kevin Robertson welcomes Keith Brown MSP, Minister for Transport and Veterans, to discuss transport policy, the growth in SNP membership and the deputy leadership election.

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Kevin Robertson discusses the SNP deputy leadership election and post Referendum Scottish politics with SNP deputy leadership candidate, Stewart Hosie MP.

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Kevin Robertson welcomes Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment to the show for a chat about the SNP, the outlook for Scotland post the Referendum and on being a candidate to be Deputy Leader of the SNP.

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Ionsaí Ottawa: ‘Athraíonn seo beagnach achan rud’

Ionsaí Ottawa: ‘Athraíonn seo beagnach achan rud’

I ndiaidh eachtraí an lae inniu i gCeanada tá an phríomhchathair ina cíor thuathail go fóill. 

Tuairisc ó Ottawa.

Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh 

(Dé Céadaoin, Deireadh Fómhair 22 2014)

Tá tuairisceoirí de chuid Bhardas Chraolachán Cheanada (CBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) ag maíomh anocht go “n-athraíonn sé seo beagnach achan rud”.

Ag 9:52 r.n. inniu léim fear óg amach as gluaisteán i lár na cathrach, agus scaoil sé urchar trí bhrollach garda ag séadchomhartha cogaidh i gceantar Chnoc na Parlaiminte.

Fuair an garda bás san ospidéal go luath ina dhiaidh.  Rith an fear gunna ansin go gluaisteán eile, agus thiomáin sé leathchiliméadar siar go Tithe na Parlaiminte.  Bhrúigh sé a bhealach isteach trí dhoras iontrála  a bhí faoi dhianslándáil, agus lámhaigh garda agus duine eile sular mharaigh an Sáirsint Eagair...

Leigh an chuid eile den alt seo

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The forgotten coup - how America and Britain crushed the government of their 'ally', Australia

Wiki

The forgotten coup - 
how America and Britain crushed the government of their 'ally', Australia

by John Pilger (23 October 2014)

Across the political and media elite in Australia, a silence has descended on the memory of the great, reforming prime minister Gough Whitlam, who has died. His achievements are recognised, if grudgingly, his mistakes noted in false sorrow. But a critical reason for his extraordinary political demise will, they hope, be buried with him.

Australia briefly became an independent state during the Whitlam years, 1972-75 [...] Although not regarded as on the left of the Labor Party, Whitlam was a maverick social democrat of principle, pride and propriety. He believed that a foreign power should not control his country's resources and dictate its economic and foreign policies

Read full article

HERE

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See also:

‘It’s Time’: The Independence of Gough Whitlam

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Beart de réir briathair is gá a dhéanamh

Beart de réir briathair is gá a dhéanamh

Ní fiú tada ‘ fearg’ na nGael má chaitear ar na meáin shóisialta nó ar stól an bheáir í. Stopaimis ag gearán nach n-aithníonn an Stát muid nuair nach n-aithníonn muidne muid féin – agus fágaimis Ballydavid, Spiddle agus Gortahurk san áit chéanna ar fhág muid Kingstown, Philipstown agus Maryborough.

Maitiú Ó COIMÍN (Deireadh Fómhair 22 2014)

Tharraing an dá alt a d’fhoilsigh Tuairisc.ie ar thorthaí phobalbhreith Millward Brown inné go leor cainte ar na meáin shóisialta agus, go deimhin, ar na meáin thraidisiúnta. An t-alt a léirigh go raibh sé i gceist ag an Aire Iompair, Paschal Donohoe, ‘athbhreithniú’ a dhéanamh ar chinneadh a réamhtheachtaí go gcuirfí an Ghaeilge ar comhchéim leis an mBéarla ba mhó a tharraing aird na ndaoine – agus bhíodar ar buile faoi.

Lasadh Twitter agus Facebook le fearg na nGael faoin gcinneadh seo agus caitheadh go leor ama ag cáineadh an Rialtais agus ag tabhairt amach.

Ach i ndeireadh na dála, ní fiú tada an fhearg seo má chaitear ar na meáin shóisialta nó ar stól an bheáir í. Ach sin an cur chuige atá ag formhór na nGael: ag gearán go glórach agus ansin ag suí ar a dtóin gan mórán eile a dhéanamh. Mar a dúirt an fear fadó, beart de réir briathair is gá a dhéanamh.

Leigh an chuid eile den alt seo

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Guthán cliste Anne Frank

Guthán cliste Anne Frank

Ní comhtharlúint é go bhfuil an focal ‘líon’ san fhocal ‘idirlíon’.

Alex HIJMANS (Deireadh Fómhair 22 2014)

Cuimhním go rialta ar thaispeántas idirghníomhach ar fhreastail mé air ag ionad Anne Frank in Amsterdam i samhradh na bliana 2008. Ní faoin Uileloscadh a bhí an taispeántas sealadach seo, ach faoi shaoirse phearsanta an duine.

Mar chuid den taispeántas, bhí ar an lucht féachana vótáil i bhfábhar nó i gcoinne ráiteas áirithe a teilgeadh ar scáileán mór. Bhí an vótáil discréideach go maith, le cnaipí nach bhfeicfeadh do chomharsana. Cúpla soicind i ndiaidh na vótála, teilgeadh an toradh ar an scáileán.

Seans nach bhfuil áit níos fearr ar chlár na cruinne ná ionad Anne Frank chun teacht ar thuairim choitianta dhomhanda faoi cheisteanna conspóideacha an tsaoil.

...Seo ceann de na ráitis a cuireadh os comhair an lucht féachana randamach, idirnáisiúnta seo an lá ar thug mé féin cuairt ar an taispeántas:

‘Ba cheart geataí fíorúla (virtual gates) a chur i bhfeidhm ag imeall na gcathracha móra a choinneodh súil ar gach duine a théann isteach agus amach.’

Vótáil mé féin i gcoinne an ráitis, ach vótáil seasca faoin gcéad den slua – tuairim is leathchéad duine a bhí i láthair – ina fhábhar. Arís is arís eile, bhí céatadán ard den slua sásta sciar suntasach dá saoirse phearsanta a ghéilleadh ar mhaithe lena sábháilteacht.

Leigh an chuid eile den alt seo

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Gaeilge+Gàidhlig = Eadar-Ghaeilg?

Pléann Ciarán Dunbar na féidearthachtaí maidir le droichead tuisceana a thógáil thar Shruth na Maoile, agus fiafraíonn sé an féidir canúint, lena mbeadh aon duine in ann gach Gael eile a thuiscint, a thógáil?

“Gaedhilg Cho-Choitcheann? An urrainn/féidir dóigh scríobhaidh/scríobhtha Gaedhilge bh(e)ith ann a thuig(f)eas Éireannaich agus Albannaich? Tha barail/baramhail agam mun/fán chúis, ach chan eil me deiseil/réidh fhasast/go fóill airson am foillseachadh/lena bhfoillsiughadh.”

Tá an friotal cainte thuas tógtha ó shuíomh idirlín an Dr. Ciarán Ó Duibhín atá ina shaineolaí ar Ghaeilge Uladh agus ar Ghaeilge na hAlban araon. Ó léigh mé an ráiteas sin den chéaduair, is iomaí uair a rinne mé mo mhachnamh ar an cheist chéanna.

...Mar sin de, arbh fhéidir ‘Eadar-Ghaeilg’ a chruthú idir an Ghaeilge agus an Ghàidhlig?Go dtí seo níl an oiread daoine ar an eolas faoin choincheap, agus roinnt daoine ar luaigh mé leo é measartha diúltach faoi, ach cha raibh sé i gceist agam caitheamh anuas ar chanúint ar bith – bhí mé ag smaoineamh ar dhroichead tuisceana a thógáil.

Léigh an tAlt iomlán

ANSEO

NÓS
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An tAontas Eorpach ag lorg aistritheoirí Gaeilge

Wiki

An tAontas Eorpach ag lorg aistritheoirí Gaeilge

Tá dea-scéala ann d’aistritheoirí Gaeilge. Tá Ard-Stiúrthóireacht Aistriúcháin an Choimisiúin Eorpaigh ag iarraidh aistritheoirí a earcú ar chonarthaí sealadacha a mhairfidh trí bliana ar a mhéad. Sa Bhruiséil a bheidh na haistritheoirí ag obair. Foilsíodh an Glao ar Iarratais Dé Luain an 6 Deireadh Fómhair 2014 agus tá go dtí an Aoine an 14 Samhain 2014 ag daoine chun iarratas a chur isteach.

Tá dálaí maithe oibre agus tuarastal an-mhaith (breis agus €4000 sa mhí) ag gabháil le post mar aistritheoir sa Choimisiún Eorpach.

Is í an Bhruiséil ardchathair na hEorpa. Tá sí faoi fhad uaire go leith den Fhrainc agus den Ísiltír. Ní fada uaithi Lucsamburg ná an Ghearmáin ach a oiread, agus an té ar maith leis an traein mhear ní fada uaidh Londain. Tá seirbhís laethúil eitiltí díreacha idir Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath agus an Bhruiséil.

Cathair ilteangach, ilchultúrtha is ea an Bhruiséil. Thar aon ardstiúrthóireacht eile sa Choimisiún is é a dhála céanna sin ag Ard-Stiúrthóireacht an Aistriúcháin é, tharla go bhfuil lucht labhartha 24 theanga oifigiúla an Aontais Eorpaigh, agus tuilleadh, cruinn in aon ardstiúrthóireacht amháin. Parthas is ea é ag an té ar suim leis teangacha.

Luaitear sa Ghlao ar Iarratais na cáilíochtaí a chaithfidh bheith ag iarrthóirí. Bheadh taithí ar an aistriúchán (taithí a bhfuil fianaise uirthi), cáilíochtaí i dteangacha nó cáilíochtaí san aistriúchán, ina mbuntáiste; ach ní gá d’iarrthóirí cáilíochtaí acadúla san aistriúchán a bheith acu.

Iad siúd a bhfuil mianach aistritheora iontu, moltar dóibh an Glao ar Iarratais thíos a léamh.

Ní foláir na hiarratais bheith istigh faoin Aoine an 14 Samhain 2014.

An glao ar iarratais:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/workwithus/staff/temporary/documents/call_temporary_translator_irish_ga.pdf

Tuilleadh eolais:

Físeán – spléachadh ar shaol an aistritheora sa Choimisiún Eorpach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkEJza_pd0o

Facebook: https://ga-ie.facebook.com/aistritheoir

Twitter: @translatores https://twitter.com/translatores (#aistritheoir)

bunleagan

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McEwan ar a sheanléim arís

McEwan ar a sheanléim arís

Tá úrscéal nua Ian McEwan tarraingteach agus tá an t-uafás ábhar machnaimh ann

The Children Act

Ian McEwan

(Jonathon Cape €17.99)

LÉIRMHEAS: BREANDÁN DELAP 

(Deireadh Fómhair 18, 2014)

Seo é an triú húrscéal déag atá scríofa ag Ian McEwan agus níl dabht ar bith ann gurb é an ceann is fearr a tháinig óna pheann bisiúil le tamall de bhlianta anuas.

Léigh an léirmheas iomlán

ANSEO

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Why did nobody question Brown when he made his worthless pledge?

Why did nobody question Brown when he made his worthless pledge?

Commentary by G.A.Ponsonby (15 Oct 2014)

Reblogged from Newsnet Scotland

Who would have thought it eh?  The promises made by Gordon Brown in the final days of the referendum campaign were not worth the airtime they were given.

It's almost hard to believe given the final result, but the Yes campaign had just taken the lead in the opinion polls – two surveys, one by Yougov and a private poll carried out by the No campaign pointed to a Yes victory on the 18th.

Alistair Darling's Better Together campaign was heading for the rocks until Brown gave a surprise speech to party activists pledging Home Rule.  The backbench MP also laid out a timetable within which these significant extra powers would be granted if Scots voted No.

Brown's address to the nation was broadcast live by the BBC as the corporation set about flooding its news platforms with the former Labour leader's two key pledges.



For days we were bombarded by bulletins and sound-bites from the broadcaster and others.  What authority Brown had to speak on behalf of the three Westminster party leaders was never fully explored nor was any attempt made at defining what powers Brown was promising.

It was the last days of the campaign and the Scottish media, Unionist to its core, and fearing a Yes win simply abandoned all pretence of proper journalistic scrutiny and parroted anything leading Unionist figures said.  Alistair Darling appeared on BBC Scotland and Jackie Bird fed him her now infamous 'Devo Max' line.



What this media failing led to of course was not just a No vote, but a constitutional mess evidenced by yesterday's House of Commons debate.  The debate was supposed to be a platform to discuss the extra powers pledged by Cameron, Clegg and Miliband in their famous Vow, hawked by the Daily Record, but that proved impossible when all three failed to turn up yesterday.

Brown's own contribution turned out to be a plea not for more power for Scotland, but for less.  In his speech the Kirkaldy MP actually argued for the Conservatives to offer less income tax powers than they had proposed during the referendum campaign.  To break their vow no less.  Has any Scottish outlet picked this up?

Brown seemed more worried that Scottish Unionist MPs might lose influence at Westminster.  SNP MPs already refuse to vote on English only issues.

His speech, which you can watch below, makes it clear his referendum pledge, and the so-called vow, were panic measures that had not been agreed or worked out.  Indeed in the video below a desperate sounding Brown is clearly only now trying to come up with a workable plan.


Note in the interview above [5 mins 40 secs] it is revealed that the Conservatives did indeed warn that English Votes for English Laws [EVEL] would be tied into the Scottish Devolution issue if Scots voted No.  John Redwood's revelation calls into question Labour claims that David Cameron's announcement outside Downing Street the day after the referendum, came as a complete surprise.

Indeed three years earlier the leader of the Better Together campaign, Alistair Darling had himself pointed out that any further devolution of power to Scotland would have consequences and that difficult questions had to be answered before people went to the polls.


But it's too late for questions now because we have already gone to the polls.

So where do we go from here?  MPs in England, mostly Tory, have now hijacked the Scottish debate and are pressing for equality in Westminster voting.  If they are to be denied voting on Scottish only matters then it is only fair Scottish MPs should be denied votes on English only matters they say.

The situation has arisen precisely because the Scottish media allowed eleventh hour pledges and promises to corrupt the independence referendum.  The three Unionist parties had not prepared for the late Yes surge and had cobbled something in a last desperate attempt to prevent No losing.

Of course the people charged with asking the difficult questions had no interest in asking them.  They're sole goal was to prevent Yes winning the referendum.

The British Labour party and its referendum allies the Tories have now little interest in Scotland as evidenced by the absence of their leaders from the debate yesterday.  The Scottish media, in particular BBC Scotland, were partly responsible for ensuring the current situation arose.  They have betrayed a nation.

The final insult is that these three leaders will appear on our televisions next year as part of the UK general election campaign.  Missing will be the party of government in Scotland, but Farage is scheduled to appear in one of the three debates.  Somehow I don't think Scottish Devolution will be high on the agenda in these debates.

BBC Scotland presenter Gary Robertson doesn't seem to believe the SNP deserve to be included in the UK wide televised debates because they don't field candidates in England.

(SNP MP Angus Robertson interviewed by BBC's Gary Robertson)

Isn't it weird that regional presenters like Robertson have ammunition ready to deploy when faced with calls for Scotland's voice to be heard, but who were struck dumb when Brown and others were making vacuous pledges and vows.

[I am currently writing a book which chronicles the BBC's handling of the independence referendum and its conduct in covering Scottish politics from 2007 up until the day of the referendum.  The book will aim to expose the corruption at the heart BBC Scotland News and Current Affairs and the influence the corporation had in the final days of the referendum campaign. The provisional title for the book is - 'How the BBC Stole the Referendum'.  I hope to have the book finished for the early part of 2015, well before the UK General Election.]

by G.A.Ponsonby

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Cad a tharla dom? - Michael Ignatieff agus an Fortuna Fuarchúiseach

Cad a tharla dom? - Michael Ignatieff agus an Fortuna Fuarchúiseach

John Paul McCarthy

‘Thig an fhírinne amach ar deireadh’ a bhí mar sheanfhocal sa teanga seo chomh maith le teangacha eile. Bhí John-Paul Mc Carthy ag léamh cuntas amháin den chineál sin ó láimh an Cheanadaigh, Michael Ignatieff.

Ní minic a fhoilsítear leabhar a bhaineann le botúin agus le teipeanna an údair féin. Sa rannóg liteartha chúng sin, rannóg na mbotún, d’fhéadfaí Henry Adams a lua. (Agus é ag cuimhneamh ar na laethanta a chaith sé mar iriseoir óg, scríobh “the chances of ending in the gutter were, at best, even”). Rinne an scríbhneoir Astrálach Don Watson iarracht speisialta teip a fhostóra Paul Keating san ollthoghachán i 1996 a mhíniú freisin ina Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of Paul Keating PM. Chuir Watson an milleán ar lagar spride Keating fé 1996 mar aon lena mhórtas pearsanta agus a easpa smachta. (“Paul Keating is a kind, charming and very intelligent man who would risk his own life to save yours or to get an unwanted crease out of his trousers”). Agus fuarthas mea culpa eile ó Robert Mc Namara, iar-rúnaí cosanta le linn ré Kennedy agus Johnson, ina leabhar, In Retrospect, ach go háirithe ó thaobh Vítneam de. (“We were wrong, terribly wrong…”).

Anois, is féidir linn iarracht eile a chur isteach sa rannóg liteartha seo, ’sé sin Fire and Ashes: Success and Failure in Politics (Harvard U.P.) ó Michael Ignatieff. Scoláire, iriseoir agus pearsa teilefíse sa Bhreatain sna hochtóidí is ea Ignatieff, ach ball d’uaisleacht pholaitiúil Cheanada is ea é freisin.

Leugh an t-aiste slàn

AN SEO

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The Establishment - Andrew Marr And Owen Jones

Picture the scene: No.10 Downing Street, September 16: 'a gentlemen's-club-style reception room, given factitious poshness by two marble pillars'. The event: a book launch party hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron himself to 'mark the publication' of a political novel, 'Head of State', by the BBC's senior interviewer and former political editor, Andrew Marr.

Reporting for the Independent, eyewitness John Walsh saw the significance:

'To see how the establishment operates, you really needed to be at this week's launch party for Andrew Marr's new book.'

Walsh noted that the room was packed with political and media bigwigs:

'Jeremy Hunt, George Osborne, Yvette Cooper. Journalists talked to each other, eyes busily flickering, desperate not to miss anything. Beside the bar stood Jason Cowley, editor of the New Statesman.'

The BBC's creative director, Alan Yentob, was there. So, too, was Lord Chadlington, or Peter Gummer - brother of John Selwyn Gummer, or Lord Deben, former chairman of the Conservative Party - who 'has long-standing links' to David Cameron, is President of the Prime Minister's Witney Conservative constituency association and 'lives in a manor house that neighbours Mr Cameron's Oxfordshire home'...

Read full article 

HERE

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The World Today - Scotland: Victory Next Time!

Publiée le 2014-10-07

Alternative direct link to this video on YouTube

HERE

A weekly review of world politics by one of the world’s sharpest and most outspoken political analysts. Tariq Ali is the author of numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as a filmmaker. In today's program, Scotland: Victory Next Time!, Ali analyzes the recently held Scottish independence referendum. He explains the historical background to the vote, what independence sentiment will mean for the future of the United Kingdom and indeed, for Europe, the role of the mainstream press and the fear campaigns around the referendum, and what lies ahead.

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Bu chòir fós!

Bu chòir fós!

Arna chéadfhoilsiú ar An tUltach

Labhair Anton Mac Cába le beirt Ghael in Albain faoin reifreann.

Agus Reifreann an Neamhspleáchais in Albain thart, labhair mé le Gaeil i nGlaschú agus in Inse Ghall. Chaith Gaeil na hÉireann vóta ar son an neamhspleáchais: thug an tromlach i nGlaschú agus Dùn Dè, an dá chathair is mó mar a bhfuil Caitlicigh de bhunadh na hÉireann, vóta ar son ‘bu chòir’. Pobal seo a bhí nasctha le Páirtí an Lucht Oibre – ach nach bhfuil níos mó.

Is scannánóir, oibrí tógála agus Gaeilgeoir as Árainn Mhór é Tony Early, a bhfuil cónaí air i nGlaschú le tamall de bhlianta. Ón aithne atá aige ar phobal Dhún na nGall i nGlaschú, dar leis gur thug a dtromlach vóta dearfach sa reifreann.

Tá dóchas acu go bhfuil ola ag an tír, a d’fhágfadh go mbeadh Albain ábalta seasamh ar a bonnaibh.

“Tá siad tuirseach faoin dóigh a bhfuil an rialtas…

Bunleagan (1,081 focal eile)

Le taing don Tuairisceoir

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Writing Off Scotland: Press Bias in the Referendum

Alternative direct link to this video on YouTube

HERE

WRITING OFF SCOTLAND explores the research of Dr David Patrick into press bias during the independence campaign. Carried out over Scotland's most politically important year in centuries, the study's findings are a shocking indictment of the role of the UK press in the independence debate. We all know newspapers take political positions but, uniquely for a western democracy, the entire press industry united against independence in an intense systematic propaganda campaign to save the union. In the film, Dr Patrick discusses the framing of the referendum and how front pages, editorial and commentary are used to get key messages across, the lack of media coverage for the research, strange BBC experience and how the Independence debate has damaged public trust in our press.

Twitter Contact: @DrDavidPatrick

Filmed on 02/10/14 HD1920x1080p Running Time 22.35

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Can Nations be "Christian"? An English Debate

Can Nations be "Christian"? 

An English Debate

by Jonathan Chaplin (2009)

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Nations today do not possess religious agency. 

This is the sense in which nations cannot be "Christian." 

In the age of the Gospel, there are no "faithful" or "covenanted" nations.

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Is England a Christian nation? Was it ever one? Should it remain so? Plenty of influential Christian leaders in the UK seem to think so. Here’s one pithy statement from an orthodox Catholic:

“The emergence [of England] as a nation coincides with its conversion…A Judaeo-Christian society is by definition not a multicultural one…” (Aidan Nichols, OP)

The Christian nation stance is often, but erroneously, thought to imply many other positions. It does not imply that the church or Christian organizations cannot oppose the government; or that the civil or political rights of non-Christians should be restricted; or that other religions or worldviews should be marginalized in public debate or public institutions; or that we must adopt an authoritarian or “theocratic” view of the state. Almost all Christian nation advocates are committed to democracy. They are people who seek to advance their core objective through persuasion and mobilization.

[...]But what many Christian nation advocates seem to overlook is that this specific, covenantal character was only ever explicitly ordained by God for one people: biblical Israel. There is no biblical or other evidence that, upon the inauguration of the New Covenant, God mediates his redemptive activity in the world via any special relationship with a particular nation or political order any longer. 

Read full article HERE and HERE

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RefTV - In Conversation with Professor John Robertson

Alternative link to this video on YouTube 

HERE

Wednesday 1st October @ 8:00 PM.

Kevin Robertson discusses media bias and philosophy 

with Professor John Robertson 

from the University of the West of Scotland. 

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RefTV – In Conversation with Blair Jenkins

Alternative link to this video on YouTube
HERE

Tuesday 30 September @ 8:00 PM.

Blair Jenkins, Chief Executive of Yes Scotland joins Kevin Robertson 

to reflect on the Referendum and the YES campaign. 

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What Gordon Brown promised in order to dupe the Scots and save the Union

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Derek Bateman: There's a host of post-indyref questions needing answered

My Head Hurts

by Derek Bateman (October 1, 2014)

I’m a ferment of conflicting emotions…part of me wants to switch off altogether and stop thinking about the bloody mess that we could have left behind…I’m sick of the manipulation that the Unionist machine regards as politics as normal…I’m determined to be optimistic that from a triumphant democratic process we can rescue something viable and even positive…and angry at the numbskulls who told themselves a spatchcock last-minute fix would work and voted No.

It’s ironic really that I don’t particularly want what the three parties offered – essentially more tax raising powers with minimal (welfare and so-called job creation) anything else – which is a recipe for taxing more to make up for lost grant and without any meaningful powers to grow our economy and confront poverty.

On the other hand the vainglorious strutting of the delusional Gordon Brown promised, if I remember, stronger powers called modern home rule which were as close to federalism as you can get and which were immediately christened Devo Max in the London-based media. That looks on paper like a recipe for a properly powerful devolved settlement which puts Scotland in control of pretty much everything except macro economics, defence and foreign affairs (and should include a share of oil revenues while some technical functions make sense remaining shared…the oil revenues can be partly traded in a swap that allows the Unionists to fulfil their promise on retaining Barnett). I do recall it was all backed up by Brown’s Iron Timetable! The man is a joke, a dangerous one, but a joke....I never forget what I was told about him – that Brown never says or does anything that isn’t political and he’s incapable of acting through normal human instinct without some background stratagem.

Read full article 

HERE

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See also:

Let's turn Brown's petition 
back on him
  By G.A.Ponsonby (Tues 30 Sept 2014)

So the cat is out of the bag.  The 'Clunking Fist' had no authority to make any promises on more powers to the Scottish people.

So powerless is Brown to implement any of his promises that he has asked us, the Scottish people, to help him by signing a petition.

Gordon Brown's much vaunted pledge of Home Rule was always a con-trick perpetrated on the Scottish electorate.

When Yes looked as though it was going to edge in front as the referendum finish line loomed, Brown charged into the debate making promises he had no authority to deliver.  His words were worthless but were given currency when the corrupt BBC beamed his speech live into the living rooms of Scotland.

Read full article 

HERE

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