The Bastard Academic

I've not written about this disaster here before, mostly because trying to make sense of it has been ludicrously difficult. But here it goes, my tuppence worth: What a fucking calamity. I don't care what side of this debate you fall on, unless you are deliberately ignorant of reality, or stand to make an absolute fortune, there's no way you can be happy with the way things have gone. No deal will please anyone, not entirely. The current, and only deal on offer, pleases people less than no deal at all, which has also been rejected. This leaves extension or not leaving. Now, leaving aside my preference (remaining) for now, I think we can all agree that this whole project has been a complete catastrophe from the beginning. A move made solely to sort internal Tory party issues, the referendum (which was a non-binding advisory vote, essentially and opinion poll) ended up with that failing miserably, and "Call Me Dave" Cameron doing a runner (despite promising oth...

“I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member” Groucho Marx Much of the past 17 years has been dedicated to fighting fundamentalist extremism, largely of the religious persuasion. This is understandable, as the religious mindset, certainly in those areas of the globe where faith is a majority holding, affects and informs the cultural values of society, and certainly in the West we have found ourselves at odds with extremist Islamic groups. Fundies of the Muslim persuasion have been at the forefront f these combative efforts, although we have also seen the dangers of the looming Christian theocratic state. It is fair to say while this will be an ongoing struggle, it is one we are coming to understand very well and are able to combat. But what of other types of fundamentalist creeds? What of political fundamentalism? This is, I fear, something we are neglecting to talk about, instead preferring to remain steadfastly tribalised to the point where discuss...

As a Welshman, I have always been cautious of independence: I have always wanted it for my nation, but years of political mistrust and abuse by England have not left us in a good enough state economically to do much of anything to change this state of affairs. Which brings us to the trigger event for this post, and why I'm particularly miffed. The Swansea Tidal Lagoon project had all the hallmarks of Something Good: a renewable energy technology that would create not just jobs at the site, but create employment opportunities and new businesses along the supply chain, as well as regenerate a coastal area. It would also serve as a template business and regeneration project that could be replicated around the UK, and possibly exported abroad. And all for a little more than the cost of a DUP bribe  £1.3 billion. My opening paragraph has probably given away that not all is well with this. Instead of investing in not just a one-off project, but the full rejuvenation of industry and c...