The Pryer - Latest Comments

Re: 2012, a new dawn

Fadi Elhusseini — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:23:05 -0000

The article is a good piece although it reflects sad realities...good job

Re: Elections in Catalonia – the probability of a referendum and the undesirability of independence

David Alonso Vargas — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:43:29 -0000

An independent Cataluña will be a 100% GDP of debt.

Re: Elections in Catalonia – the probability of a referendum and the undesirability of independence

antonae — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:04:04 -0000

Man, with all due respect, you should check the economics of the situation. You're missing the most important (and serious) studies about the economical relations between spain and catalonia.

Too many economical facts to summarise in this comment. I'd suggest you and all the readers to check at them.

Best,

ant

Re: India’s Corruption Contest

Shikha — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:19:19 -0000

reading just lines.

Re: London-based Sri Lankan monk faces sex abuse allegations

Priyanthajayasuriya-arachchi — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:07:39 -0000

shit buddist monk desparate, sex addict, shit sinhala woman despsrete sex addict feed shit mink and tell them to fuck them. shit sinhala woman covers their self act like little rat so when you look at them they do not look like that

Re: Prying Eye: Different takes on the anti-Islam film riots

Kat — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:37:01 -0000

first off---"liberal notion of freedom of expression" is a myth---the west and the U.S. in particular, does not respect its own tradition of freedom of expression----During the time of the "cold war" the U.S. opposed communism and wanted to "contain its spread"---the excuse for the vietnam war, during the time of Hoover, the FBI rounded up citizens whom it felt had "subversive views"---during the Iraq war the U.S. wanted to force "western democracy" at gunpoint.....even today those whose views the U.S. dislikes are censored, banned from entering the country or arrested. A glaring example is how Professor Tariq Ramadan a respected Muslim scholar was banned from the U.S. because of his views on American foreign policy ---yet, the likes of Geert Wilders and Ayan Hrisi Ali ---known Islamophobes---are welcomed!!!

---and the fact that Muslim-minority countries allowed the protests tells you this is not an "Islam vs West" narrative---Brazil, India, Thailand...etc allowed protests.....whereas a "Liberal democracy" like France banned them!!!.....this is about a wider and growing anti-americanism.....particularly in Asia where American military is flexing its muscles......

Re: Romney shambles on

Chris McCourt — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:45:52 -0000

Good point about the Latino vote. I would also say the 47% episode raises questions about Romney's judgement, aside from just being a political gaffe.

If he were more astute he would have realized that many of the 47% are retirees, but even of those who aren't, a lot of the working poor were lifted out of tax by his own party, namely by Reagan's tax reforms and later by measures signed by GWB.

Re: Prying Eye: Different takes on the anti-Islam film riots

Sarah Miller — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:58:44 -0000

Hi Kat,
thanks for your comment. In that paragraph I meant to outline the implications of one view on the causes of the riots - that at their core, they are fundamentally about religious/cultural differences between Western and Islamic society, rather than primarily about US foreign policy. In reality, of course, there is a complex mixture of factors that came together to spawn these riots. Like you said, many countries have a problem with US foreign policy. Yet I think that in order to explain the riots that exploded over the Innocence of Muslims video, one needs to look not only at US policy but also at deep cultural incompatibilities between Western and Islamic society, especially since anti-American sentiment in the Middle East today is not particularly high when compared to historical levels - for example, Libyans seem to have a more positive view of the US than ever before (see http://www.gallup.com/poll/.... I don't mean to deny that US foreign policy is extremely important, but I do mean to suggest that the causes of the riots go beyond politics.

Re: The ethics of Scottish secession: tales from an imagined community

Nicholas Hughes — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:37:28 -0000

Massive apologies for the terrible formatting of this; I'm obviously an idiot

Re: The ethics of Scottish secession: tales from an imagined community

Nicholas Hughes — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:31:11 -0000

Mr
Gallagher: thanks very much for your feedback. Although I’m afraid that I
disagree strongly with the theme of your arguments – and rather suspect that
you missed the point of mine – I’m nonetheless happy to use them to expand upon
the key elements of my article.

Firstly,
I’ll apologise if you thought that my discussion of Scottish nationalism’s
origins were a little summary (in fact, practically non-existent). In the main,
this grew from the thought that there is often something very similar in the
narratives of in-state nationalisms, especially in developed states, but also
to an extent regardless of their origins. And so whilst I’m not unaware of nuances
in the stories of “oppression” and unequal distribution offered by such would-be
liberators, I supposed that it would be far more interesting to focus on the
often quite arbitrary composition of these ‘national’ movements.

Secondly,
in case you thought that I was an ironic British nationalist, I did try to make
plain – albeit in passing – that I didn’t
consider the U.K.’s constitutional or structural arrangement to be an
especially preferable one (if you want to complain about First Past the Post –
which, in fact, a majority of the Scottish population that turned out voted to
retain during the recent referendum – then you’re pushing at an open door with
me). Rather, I wanted to point out that if parties like the SNP wished to
campaign on a platform of civic nationalism, then their arguments are somewhat
diluted by a failure to hypothesise a polity which is radically different from
the present arrangement. Merely relegating discussion of what the Scottish
state should look like post-independence until after the event seems to me to either be a time-wasting gesture –
since you can have a discussion of what the British state should look like right now – or a smokescreen for a
nationalism that takes as its first premise something far more exclusionary.

The
last sentence of your second paragraph lost me; but if you’re trying to match
your criticism of the British Parliament with a suggestion that the SNP shouldn’t
have a seat majority with less than 50% of the vote, then fine by me.

Finally,
I think that your constant use of group pronouns when referring to the
population of the Scottish territories provides rather a good example from
which to develop my most important point. You’ll notice, of course, that you
speak of the region’s myriad social problems as if they were your own. Well,
all to the good. But then the question arises as to why local problems in the
north of the country (beyond our invisible border) should be viewed as
fundamentally different to those elsewhere. Because I would assume that you don’t
wish to claim that all Scottish residents share the same viewpoint and
lifestyle (contrast Edinburgh or Aberdeen’s GDP per capita output with areas of
East Glasgow)? That they suffer equally under the policies of the ‘centre’? Or
that disdain for the actions of (let’s just say it) the Thatcher government are
a matter for non-English residents alone? If there is some British regional
redress to be made, then it is of a patchwork kind, rather than one dependent
on some mass power and wealth transfer from one contiguous arrangement of
settlements to another.

(I
should like to point out, though – in case the collective misery of Caledonia
becomes too much of a weight to bear – that the Scottish regions had already
begun to benefit from high levels of investment and job-growth long before the
SNP came to power; to the extent that Edinburgh and Glasgow had become two of
the most prosperous cities in the country before the financial crisis, with per
capita output far beyond that of Northern English cities like Liverpool,
Newcastle and Manchester).

Though
nationalists do not wish to say it – and may not even realise it – it is only
through participation in their myopically-imagined community that they feel
able to leave their social concerns at the border. The view that separation
will produce some social panacea only works (and then tenuously) if you suppose
that there is some strong cultural-ideological distinction between different
regional populations, and that a central government could never address the
interests of them all, even in such a small country as the U.K.. Of course, since
your claim seems to be that Scotland’s main problem is its social disorders,
then so long as you are not disputing the fact that all regions of the country tend
to adhere to the same meta-culture of individual diversity, I cannot support
the point that a Scottish separatist government alone (with all the limitation on resources which that entails) is
more likely to cure the disease than a British, European, or global one that
devolves power to authorities even more regional than the Scottish government.
You condescend to my talking of ‘human solidarity’, but then solidarity is
precisely what you seem to demand of Scots.

If,
as I supposed in the article, the SNP’s claim to civic nationalism depends upon
a view of the type of policies that a
society should be governed by, then I don’t see why it can’t take its somewhat
popular suggestions (we need to give Salmond that much) and run for the central
government of the U.K..

As
long as it doesn’t change its name to the British
National Party.

Re: The ethics of Scottish secession: tales from an imagined community

Craig Gallagher — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 22:42:54 -0000

The disingenuous premise of this article beggars belief. You would think
the preceding thirty years of British history had not happened, and
that Scottish nationalism sprang fully formed from a parochial well
somewhere in Buchan in 2007.

Mr Hughes would do well to recognise that the "cosmopolitan, wealthy, democratic state" he himself fetishizes as an agglomerated answer to all moral ills is one of the
most unrepresentative, unequal and centralised states in the so-called Western democratic tradition. Britain may have bequeathed the world the liberal parliament, but it didn't follow the world's lead as that system was brought up to date. In making an argument for the democratic legitimacy of any government elected, Mr Hughes seems unaware that no British government since 1951 has secured over 50% of the popular vote, surely the only standard by which legitimacy should be counted, yet have almost all returned crushing and unassailable majorities. In contrast, the current Scottish Government was returned with 45% of the popular
vote but only gained a majority of four, far more tenuous, if not quite
perfectly representative, an advantage.

As for the pursuit of solidarity, that is a nice argument, one that in a perfect world would be something to truly aspire to. But as with all long summers, the cold breath of winter must always intrude, and in this case it does by merely noticing the accelerating gap between mega-wealthy and barely managing that characterises modern Britain. It is a fact that Scotland has more poverty, more benefits claimants, more disease, more health problems generally, more derelict housing and more social violence than all other regions of the United Kingdom. Shouldn't we have expected some solidarity from the state so desperate to keep us attached the last forty years when these problems all intensified, not lessened? Shouldn't we now then question the brazen, outrageous assertion that it is the Scots that are letting down the team? When policies adopted to suit regional electoral centers in the 1980s prove to be so ruinous to everyone - and us disproportionately - that we see our supposed brothers in arms proclaiming that we must therefore bear the harshet burden, are we not entitled to think that something better must be out there?

Re: Prying Eye: Different takes on the anti-Islam film riots

kat — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:34:10 -0000

"'f this position is correct – the recent riots are more about this cultural gulf between Western liberal tradition and Islamic tradition, and less about pervasive and general anti-American sentiment, then they should not necessarily be seen as extinguishing the hopes for better US-Middle Eastern relations".----that's a cop-out for not dealing with the problematic U.S. foreign policy---which, if you followed global events---such as the recent NAM summit---you would realize, is not confined to the Middle East only---NOBODY likes America!

Re: When enough is enough: the resignation of Kofi Annan

Gaurav — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 16:17:58 -0000

its equally about the processes opted by intergovernmental organisation of the stature of UN than just their existence. the distance covered in such matters doesn't only speaks volumes about the relevance of the idea but also the intentions behind it. Realism seems to have upper hand here which is deniable in the silhouette of last century utilization of such bodies.

Re: Provoking the Balkan neighbors: Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia

Francis — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:09:35 -0000

Modern Slavs, both Bulgarians and Macedonians, cannot establish a
link with antiquity, as the Slavs entered the Balkans centuries after
the demise of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Only the most radical
Slavic factions—mostly émigrés in the United States, Canada, and
Australia—even attempt to establish a connection to antiquity [...] The
twentieth-century development of a Macedonian ethnicity, and its recent
evolution into independent statehood following the collapse of the
Yugoslav state in 1991, has followed a rocky road. In order to survive
the vicissitudes of Balkan history and politics, the Macedonians, who
have had no history, need one. They reside in a territory once part of a
famous ancient kingdom, which has borne the Macedonian name as a region
ever since and was called ”Macedonia” for nearly half a century as part
of Yugoslavia. And they speak a language now recognized by most
linguists outside Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece as a south Slavic
language separate from Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian. Their
own so-called Macedonian ethnicity had evolved for more than a century,
and thus it seemed natural and appropriate for them to call the new
nation “Macedonia” and to attempt to provide some cultural references to
bolster ethnic survival.

(Eugene Borza,"Macedonia Redux", in "The Eye Expanded:
life and the arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity", ed. Frances B Tichener
& Richard F. Moorton, University of California Press, 1999)

Re: Provoking the Balkan neighbors: Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia

Paul — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:06:58 -0000

FYROM was also an attempt at a multicultural society.
Here the fragments are just about holding together, although the cement
that binds them is an unreliable mixture of propaganda and myth. The
'Macedonian' language has been created, some rather misty history
involving Tsar Samuel, probably a Bulgarian, and Alexander the Great,
almost certainly a Greek, has been invented, and the name Macedonia has
been adopted. Do we destroy these myths or live with them? Apparently
these 'radical Slavic factions' decided to live with their myths and
lies for the constant amusement of the rest of the world!"
(T.J. Winnifrith,
"Shattered Eagles, Balkan Fragments", Duckworth, 1995)

Re: (I). Race and labour in South Africa: post-apartheid or post-colonial?

Kieran Fitzpatrick — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:04:42 -0000

Thank you for your congratulations. Socioeconomic context contributes a large part to understanding South African politics and history; the interplay between economics and society (whether that be black, white, capitalist or labour society) has been and, on the basis of recent weeks, still is rife with significance for the people of South Africa and commentators who are interested in events there. I enjoyed the article you linked below. See the subsequent two pieces in this serialization for a relatively thorough examination of the past relationship between economics and social policy.

Re: (I). Race and labour in South Africa: post-apartheid or post-colonial?

Koldo Casla — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:13:48 -0000

Congrats for this piece.
Let me share my thoughts here:
"Do not obviate the socioeconomic context of the platinum mine killings in South Africa"
http://rightsincontext.eu/2...

Re: Provoking the Balkan neighbors: Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia

Giorgos Dimitriadis — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:13:07 -0000

Dear Dr. Sonhof.
First of all, I would like to reject your statement "We in Western Europe have a completely different opinion". By which right do you represent the majority of the academics, the politicians and the people of the Western Europe? Just your historian status does not give your opinion an absolution of rightness. As an example only, without filling a lot of lines, I can easily think of at least one historian to oppose your opinion, Dr. Robin Lane Fox, a Western European famous academic who would totally disagree with you.Second, I do not have any reason to panic. Facts and actions of FYROM talk themselves, showing the offensive policy towards the cultural and historic background of the Balkans. No mood for true conversation with any of the neighbors.Third, are you still talking about secession? It is 2012 and all the rest of the Balkan States make efforts to preserve peace and stability, even Kosovo. Only Skopje does such destabilizing statements.Last but not least, you called me a liar twice in your commend. I was expecting a more diplomatic and polite way in expressing views, especially from an academic. What i do here is to quote my opinion followed by clear and proven clues. Respect does not know nationalities Mr. Sonhof. "Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong" Jean Jacques Rousseau.Have a good afternoon.

Re: Provoking the Balkan neighbors: Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia

Dr. Peter Sonhof — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:54:16 -0000

We in Western Europe have a completely different opinion.
I am a historian, and I know your position. You want to Macedonia not fit?????
You're lying to you will need to return at the end of Macedonian territory back.
For several months, said, "Bucharest Treaty" perhaps because your panic?
Read well what it says: the right of Macedonians to cherish their culture, language,
culture, even the right to secession, if they request it.
You are humbled and 1948, and when you throw in a live fire?
I think your lies are at the end. Therefore, make friends with the Bulgarians?sorry Mr.Giorgios , sorry

Re: Unwanted in their homeland: Christians of Pakistan

Giorgos Dimitriadis — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:32:12 -0000

That's right, Zaeem, and as I mentioned, it is not possible to include all the incidents, even just the recent ones, in just one article. I hope UN has a plan for this situation. Be well!
Gio Dimitriadis.

Re: Unwanted in their homeland: Christians of Pakistan

Zaeem Raza — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 07:53:34 -0000

Absolutely
true... there is no doubt about the persecution of Pakistani minorities
especially Christians. Adding to your article, before this Rimsha’s incident in
Islamabad and Christian boy Faisal's murder in Karachi, 8 non-Muslims were poisoned
in there tea, in Ramadan. In last 7 weeks these are one of the major recorded mishaps.

Re: Ecuador kicks up a British storm

Satish Pande — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 14:19:23 -0000

In todays diplomacy all boils down to money matters!

Re: Ecuador kicks up a British storm

Neel — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 13:54:13 -0000

the writer has a visible influence of Marx on her.

Re: London-based Sri Lankan monk faces sex abuse allegations

Murugannnth56 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:06:20 -0000

child porn is the sinhala monks wetdream

Re: The Power of Persuasion: Soft Power in China and India

Nitish Bhardwaj — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:54:39 -0000

Soft power has proved to be the most effective tool in the arena of international relations especially in this post modern world where different communities of the world at large are understanding the importance and benefits of mutual cooperation and alliance between the countries of the world.

Moreover, any alternative which rejects the use of military or violence of any form is always the most viable option. US to Japan, they all realise the need to engage with each other through means of Soft Power.

In the context of India, hostile or challenging relations with the neighbours has been a sharp reality which makes it further more essential to practice diplomacy through healthy and constructive means. Soft Power as a concept in diplomacy has a long road ahead.

A true and a well written piece.
Thanks.