Comments on The Pensive Quill: No Faggot Baggott

uilodomhnaill, thank for your comment. SF have v...

2009-08-26T22:42:31.750+01:00

uilodomhnaill, thank for your comment.

SF have virtually nothing ideological in common with Trots. What they do share is (ironically for Trots) a Stalinist urge to control and dominate.

As you suggest I firmly believe in individual thinking. I think collective thinking produces a bedrock of assumptions that easily lends itself to racism. Think collectively and you end up seeing others as a collective. So one black guy or an Asian guy does something and the collective mindset kicks in and collectivises the action. The group is then blamed
Feel free to post here and worry not about who might be annoyed.

Mick, I will try to find Trotsky's book. In t...

2009-08-26T20:17:00.095+01:00

Mick,

I will try to find Trotsky's book. In the meanwhile, I think I continue with Figes for now. At least he is readable and he is unlikely to influence me ideologically.

urban underclass That makes two of us who are not...

2009-08-26T18:52:39.194+01:00

urban underclass

That makes two of us who are not highly [or formally] educated, but we try and must not forget that is how some in society want it to be. Figes book is fine, it is a good read and he writes well. But Uilodomhnaill is correct, Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution is a superb book as it is written by a man who is not only a very fine writer, but he was a participant in the events he writes about and unlike Orlando Figes, he makes no secret where his loyalties lay.

all the best

To UUC: My genuine congratulations! In my view it ...

2009-08-26T17:41:08.480+01:00

To UUC: My genuine congratulations! In my view it is trivial and anti-intellectual to level silly insults as to who is a right prick,especially when that is obvious. The Northern Marxists constantly prate that "You(whomever you may be) have no analysis." This they learned either as red diaper babies or as the converts of red diaper babies. What angers many people the most is that they indeed have no analysis! The first cogent philosopher to make a modern break with the old school was Marcuse,so he is the bridge to a modern analysis. When I ran across The Pensive Quill,I read a man who let his experience and his anger feed his intellect,so I simply was so happy at this rarity,that I wrote to encourage him. Sorry to have taken up so much space,AM. Time to work and learn-to build a new analysis. No time for trivial invective. Best to all who have allowed me to speak. Slan

Uilodomhnaill, Mick, I have no intention of learn...

2009-08-26T16:15:53.620+01:00

Uilodomhnaill, Mick,

I have no intention of learning Russian, I did take the comment on board and went to the library and got A People Tradgey, The Russian Revolution 1891-1924 by Orlando Figes. It's a big book and highly regarded, so I think that will do for a start.

While I am not highly educated I am certainly not anti-intellectual.

PS young and serious leftists-PLEASE READ HERBERT ...

2009-08-26T15:35:21.001+01:00

PS young and serious leftists-PLEASE READ HERBERT MARCUSE'S "One Dimensional Man",for a new/old (1964) look at the problem of social revolution. Not to become the old man's sycophants, but as a point of departure more useful and up to date than the long dead rhetoric of the truly old left,which I reiterate, is so pervasive in the Adams Crew.

Thank you Mick. I only rant at those who have beco...

2009-08-26T15:27:47.076+01:00

Thank you Mick. I only rant at those who have become so anti-intellectual that they boggle my old mind-LOL. My sons and daughters have suffered under it,and your incisive wit cut through my rant!

Core blimey mate, you set a high bar for Urban Und...

2009-08-26T14:10:59.300+01:00

Core blimey mate, you set a high bar for Urban Underclass, perhaps the poor fellow should read the History first; and leave learning the Russian Language until he has a little more time, as at your age I fear you may be long gone before he completes his language studies.

Or maybe he should simply count the broken egg shells and ponder on what happened to the omelet. Sometimes you have no need of piles of history books to understand why something went pear shaped, as the evidence is before your eyes.

Anthony, had a granda at Dunkirk and D Day, h...

2009-08-26T04:02:21.451+01:00

Anthony,
had a granda at Dunkirk and D Day, he just seemed to enjoy the craic. Survived it all but died defending a taig [ our ] housin estate agin huns in lurgan in '73. Don't think im being harsh on the Yanks and Brits..rekon there's no1 like em for cynicism..locherby bomber etc..10 downing street unaware? Not again.
Healthy cynicism pretty close to the truth/sanity.
Far as the frogs are concearned recon they were just hedgin ther bets..at least there wasn't a window broken or a house wrecked in France until the Allied invasion then there was bugger all left..[carpet bombing]was like after the S Armagh lads had been back for a second visit..find two bricks atop another lol. [ not Conor +co.]Didn't cost em 30 million dead either! Maybe that's why oul uncle Joe was miffed?
Wasn't around then thank God/tinabeans...but seems to me and care workers [wife]here in Ireland, the further East 'European' the accent the harsher the attitude. Glad to be Western..but I do notice the 20 stone tractor drivers seem to be YANKS???

Larry, think that is a bit unfair on the US and Br...

2009-08-25T20:30:22.386+01:00

Larry, think that is a bit unfair on the US and Brits. Stalin certainly felt they owed the Russian people a huge debt but he despised the French for having folded in 1940 freeing up the Germans to invade the USSR. But the Brits and USSR were simply not militarily ready to launch the type of operation that would collapse the German's Western front. Even when they were it still took a year from it happened until the war could be brought to a halt.

Don't know much about Russian history except t...

2009-08-25T19:28:36.658+01:00

Don't know much about Russian history except that the Red Army survived ALL comers after 1917 and the Nazi onslaught alone in WW2 until they were ready to push them back all the way to Gibraltar. Only then did the yanks and Brits call a halt to the party in London and get involved. But Hollywood depicts a version of UK tommy's+Yankie GI Joes storming across the channel to teach the Gerries a jolly good lesson! [30 million Russians later]Oh aye and the Russians dont seem to have only 20 stone women sitting on tracters as we were led to believe lol We were'nt spared the ordeal of all talking German in WW2-we'd all be talking Russian and have very cold unpersonable dispositions from what I can gage after meeting Russians in Ireland/Spain and Thailand. Whatever their internal politics it's not conducive to good personal dispositions. [ from my experience-I may just be unlucky.]
Hope I don't get a 'toothpick' stuck in me for my ignorance of Russian affairs co'z I stuck one in myself last thursday and had two teeth pulled today after a pretty sore weekend. I'll cancel any Mexican ventures!
As for a police chief with a bible in one hand and a gun in the other wasn't that the Presbiterian strategy whilst in transit on the plantations of Ulster and then during the elimination of the native Americans upon arrival at their final destination?
Lets hope the Faggot aint the Presbiterians reincarnated!

uilodomhnaill , Well before anyone sticks an ice-...

2009-08-25T10:51:16.342+01:00

uilodomhnaill ,

Well before anyone sticks an ice-pick in my head, let me declare, 'I am not a trotskite'.

Don't even know what it is except a term of derision bandied about by the fragmented left.

Another great post Anthony. I had the same though...

2009-08-25T05:41:37.153+01:00

Another great post Anthony.

I had the same thoughts about the new head of the PSNI as you. Their choice could not have been worse.

Personally, I think the best person to run the PSNI would be an atheist. (Interested? :) )

This man is going to be so ganged up on by the Unionists, he's not going to be able to take a crap by himself. And you know what Sinn Fein is going to do. Jack all.

Northern Ireland's problems are different from many countries. SinnFein and Paisley started the religious wars in the 70's. They completely overwhelmed the human rights movement and turned it to this ugly mess you have today.

A law should be passed that no Protestant or Catholic can head this department. As it is now the PSNI has been set up to fail as an equal policing unit. Unless something drastic happens..the Nationalists won't be getting much help from them. Not now and not ever.

A normal believing in God person might be able to make changes for the good of the Northern Irish. But not one with the credentials that Baggot has.

Thanks again Anthony

Lucy..

Brethren, the word today comes from Revelation 21:...

2009-08-25T03:19:13.296+01:00

Brethren, the word today comes from Revelation 21:1-5, which depicts a future christian society, the new jerusalem, in which evil and tyranny are overthrown.

Today Britain is a totalatarian state, which is resisting the Iraq inquiry, as it knows that an independent inquiry would remove its power to force its views on other countries as imperialism. An inperialism which has killed 13 million people and wounded 8 million since world war 2, and 1.5 million in iraq, with nearly 4 million displaced people. This is terrorism.

By and with a 32 county republic of ireland, this tyranny wil end at least in that area of ireland, which and if you view the good friday agreement as a 32 county agreement, its obvious the majority would see it as a vote for a 32 county united ireland, regardless of what was put into small print.

William Blake sang of the new jerusalem and it was not a common"wealth" of all nations (as fianna fail might like) but a castiagtion of the corrupt and evil governemnt of the "crown", yet christians still sing this as a hymn unaware of blakes true meaning.

Any new christian police chief would fight for a 32 county ireland with the bible in one hand and a gun in the other, and jesus christ would also support that crusade against the war on terror eminating from the crown.

let us pray.

This a good debate... uilodomhnaill That was a ...

2009-08-25T03:15:18.426+01:00

This a good debate...

uilodomhnaill

That was a good point have not heard the Kulaks mentioned in a long time.

Unsure if anyone qualifies as Stalinist or Trotski-ites?
Blurred lines of time and outdated ideals.

To Urban Underclass: No, it means that I am a stud...

2009-08-25T01:32:38.216+01:00

To Urban Underclass:
No, it means that I am a student of Russian History and you are a person who has a thin or popular understanding of the "Old Left". I suggest you apply yourself to learning the Russian Language and the history of the Revolution (you might begin with Trotsky's "History of the Russian Revolution"). Then read Marcuse,and Perls ---as was my original comment---then you may have a more sophisticated understanding of what is history and what is simply popular misunderstanding. I never was history bound in my political understanding, which is why I was a leader of SDS and a dedicated individualist in the New Left, and why I remain an original interpreter of the present world situation,rather than a repeater of platitudes,and a sycophant of old left ideology. Effort equals results,so the application of a person to education is the only cure for confusion.
It might also be useful for you to know that before his murder by Stalinist agents in Mexico, Trotsky denounced Trotskyites by declaring,"I am not a Trotskyite".

Uilodomhnaill I am still confused. Does that make ...

2009-08-25T00:48:47.703+01:00

Uilodomhnaill
I am still confused. Does that make you Stalinist and me a Trotskite?

To Urban Underclass; Indeed you sound confused,a...

2009-08-25T00:30:41.017+01:00

To Urban Underclass;
Indeed you sound confused,and even though I greatly revere the memory of Lev Davidovich,one must remember it was he who prosecuted the Civil War in Russia and slaughtered the Kulaki--even though his family were Jewish Kulaki! See Isaac Deutscher (sp?) Prophet Trilogy on the life of Trotsky.

Oh dear...that new head of the PSNI sounds like a ...

2009-08-24T23:49:46.087+01:00

Oh dear...that new head of the PSNI sounds like a right prick...not sure what Jim was on about, but I suspect I would not not like to be a Muslim...as for Uilodomhnaill, I always thought that I might be trotskiite since I thought the Russian revolution went a bit astray when they started to butcher the Kulaks, but I never was sure. But then I don't feel much affinity for Gerry & Co...what is anyone supposed to think?

A Chara,AM. I'm Irish only by distant ancest...

2009-08-24T22:33:52.213+01:00

A Chara,AM.
I'm Irish only by distant ancestry,so I find myself struggling not only to grasp the history of Eire, but also to understand the current mindset of the living social revolutionaries,or would be SRs. I was deeply involved in the New Left movement of the mid 60s in the US,and take as my points of departure Herbert Marcuse and Fritz Perls. Until reading your blog, I haven't yet run into an individualist on the web from Eire-all collectivists who seem horrified at the thought of individualism. Are you actually in such a great minority? From my point of view I made the Adams Crew for Trotskyites,which is not to say Trotsky would have approved of them at all (LOL), just that they spout the same rhetoric and use the same tactics as "our Trots" who were the most vocal opponents of the individualists of the New Left. They habitually muddied the water so as to seize the "leadership" regardless of who they wound up in bed with. The new PSNI head sounds very like a George Bush style fellow-the type that we still struggle with here. Very popular these fanatics! Best to you,and thank you for your "Pensive Quill". Slan

Larry, I suppose blessing yourself at 30000 feet w...

2009-08-24T20:43:59.882+01:00

Larry, I suppose blessing yourself at 30000 feet when the engine stalls is like an anti-drugs crusader taking a shot to ease excrutiating pain - whatever gets you through the night I suppose. In my case it simply would not work, so profound is the non-belief in dieties. It would be like hoping the tin of beans in the cupboard would suddenly pop to life and save me.

Ninews, I think they tried to downplay the tension...

2009-08-24T20:16:16.546+01:00

Ninews, I think they tried to downplay the tension for public consumption.

Marty, as always, a humorous take

Jim, I don't hold any religious views! That you disagree on my views on religion is neither here nor there. It is your right to disagree if you hold a different opinion. Same holds for me. I have a take on religion which am I inclined to vent. Things that don't measure up always prompt my curiosity. In that sense my views on the peace process and religion share a similar bed. Neither live up to their promises.
That does not mean I think those with religious beliefs are all cranks. I just believe religion should never be allowed to interfere with the lives of others and clerics should have no power whatsoever as a result of their religious position.

It would be great if we could sit back now and wat...

2009-08-24T20:06:53.271+01:00

It would be great if we could sit back now and watch the DUP/Taliban and this guy wade into each other. Wishful thinking. Maybe we'll be told that he's the final and parting 'gift' to layalism before the British departure. Just to sweeten the pill as it were. Who cares any more?
I don't know about religion but I've certainly blessed myself when the engines of a plane cut out for a minute or so at 30,000ft lol. I don't think my wee face was very angelic looking either..more like 'the screem!' Swearing that if I survived this I'd never fly again only to be already thinking of my next holiday before exiting the terminal building..may 'God' forgive me-human nature is it? To be honest I'm less worried about being lied to about the almighty than I am about the insurance policy not paying out to my family when I pop my cloggs.
I hope this new PSNI fella is a religious zealot to put all of ours to shame..he may bring us to our senses just watching him. Maybe the manderins at Whitehall are giving the wee North some long overdue 'payback.'
The Free State Guinness tastes great and frankly them wee nordy's could do with a bit of religion!! PROPER religion..

Anthony, first of let me begin by saying I agree w...

2009-08-24T15:38:17.242+01:00

Anthony, first of let me begin by saying I agree with you on most things you write and I look forward to your articles on this site. That's why I bought your book, "Good Friday, The death of Irish Republicanism."
Your opinion on Britain's Modi operandi, ( I use the plural here, because the Brits are devious enough to have more than one method. ) is very insightful and very true.
However where I disagree with you are on the religious views, you hold. I respect you for your stance on religion and I admire your courage to stand by your views.
I guess I am what might be called a recovering Catholic. I rediscovered my Catholicism when I was diagnosed with colon cancer seven years ago. Some may say I 'chickened out' and turned to what I believed would help me through this life crises.
I have to admit I have fallen off the religious wagon a bit, because to this point the cancer is nonexistent. therefore I have become a little 'cocky' and think I can go it alone.
But like all religious maniacs ( Sorry Anthony, I just had to get that term in here somewhere. ) I keep trying, and I am not too old to feel remorse for my failures. ( Some call them sins. )
Anthony I think you are wrong about religion, though I have to admit there are many hypocrites out there, myself included, at times. Some of the things I detest in others I find myself doing.
Better men than I have had difficulty with religion, St. Paul put it best when he said; "I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."
The full quote is much longer, but you get the idea.
Here's another quote I like, Voltaire is credited with this one; " I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it. "
I am no proselytizer as I would never try to change your views and I am sure you would never try to change mine. So please keep up the good work and let us see a different perspective of the things I know we all are interested in.

Pax et Bonum,
Jim Lynch,
Ontario, Canada.

yeah even though I walk through the valley of the ...

2009-08-24T14:13:28.227+01:00

yeah even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil,WHY!,because I,m the biggest bastard in the valley .Marty F