Social Cohesion

Every society contains stress between unifying forces and divisive forces, stress that increases with social complexity. Social cohesion is constantly threatened by the competing interests of different groups, some in direct conflict. Primitive, societies suffer the least stress because they are held together by strong, normative rules that are ancient, internalised, unwritten and unquestioned.

As a society becomes open to change the need arises for explicit rules from a priest or other acknowledged authority. In post Norman-Conquest England cohesion was achieved through feudalism, in which everyone knew their place. As England opened further through trade in the fifteenth and sixteenth century feudalism gave way to rising individualism, leading to confrontation between King and Parliament.

The rise of individualism began to challenge the concept of any central authority and society was in danger of fragmenting. Continue reading “Social Cohesion”

Third Photography Competition

Contrasts:
textures, subject matter, shadows, colours, make of it what you will!

Anything suitable from your archive would be acceptable, if you don’t have time to dash out and compose a new one!

Please add them to this thread. If you don’t know how to do this, instructions are available here

Please remember to reduce the size of your images before you upload them to the Media Library; I can probably correct any HTML errors but I can’t reduce the size of your images!

Entries to be posted before 8pm GMT on Ist of February 2011.

PS:

Just a reminder, which I must admit I forgot to include, only one entry per person.
You are more than welcome to post more here; it’s great to see all your photographs, but would you just let me know which one you would like to include in the competition.

Thanks.

Continue reading “Third Photography Competition”

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I was up on the top tier of the Duckpond Pavillion today, a corporate suite withe a magnificent view, it’s high, very high but once seated and acclimatised to the perspective a fantastic place to watch the action.

Free food and drink all day served in our seats by waitresses 🙂

So what’s it all about?

Australia Day is fun.

Yes, it’s a day when we celebrate being Australians, living in the best country in the world, but it’s not a day for being aggressively nationalistic or bombastic; no weapons parades like the Chinese, no marches or saluting the flag; it’s a day for being laid-back, inclusive and having a country-wide party.

Our local council, like others all across Australia, will be laying on sausage sizzle breakfasts, and lunchtime and evening barbies – free, naturally – musical events, competitions for kids, face painting, sport and so on, culminating in fireworks.   One display early, for the littlies, and another later in the evening for the grown-ups.

Everyone will have a great time, and if some have a bit too much to drink, the blue heelers will do their best to be tolerant and try to get them home in one piece; you’ll only get booked if you’re behaving like a cast-iron drongo.

We’re a young country, so at times like this we’re inclined to act like kids; pollies, big end of town, Defence Force and all – we see no harm in that.

Even the most militant of the ‘original owners’ (‘aboriginals’ to you) have in the main given up holding protests about Captain Cook and the invasion; they join in and enjoy themselves with everyone else, then go back to being militant after Australia Day’s finished.

Everybody smiles, the sun shines, the surf’s up – who would live anywhere else?

One seriously wonders what is going on?

Reading the papers this morning the presages of doom seem to be in overdrive!

It strikes me that the global warming supplicants have moved on from their current busted flush to the munificent bottomless coffers of Monsanto.  Now we are assured that the burgeoning  world population will not be fed unless we accept cloning and GM. Otherwise they are all heading for our patch in ravening hordes. (I thought they were already here?)

Then we are ‘terrified’ by the threat of petrol rationing at £8.00 per gallon.  World shortages, global warming, yeti size carbon footprints, dedadedadeda! Ahem, we currently pay 56 pence per litre here, yes, you read it right, 56p/l. tax included!  That is how much of a shortage there is.

To top it off we are solemnly assured that Yellowstone is about to go off causing world decimation (which it will).  Well, OK that’s true, give or take an odd few million years, but, like now, right now, before lunch??

I suppose we could have a public whip round and buy them a decent book of chilling Fairy tales, a new copy of Grimms would do with which to terrorise the children; other than that-

THE SOONER THE BETTER!  About time the world had a serious clear out and culling.  Better to go with a bang than a whimper, but not before coffee please.

Meanwhile I’m off to count angels dancing on pinheads and study my Mayan calendar.  (Surely Nostrodamus didn’t have THAT MANY descendants that all took the title of journalist?)

Dewani extradition, Max claims torture

While reading my Sunday Times and searching for additional material yesterday I found this:-
The UK’s extradition agreement with South Africa does not require authorities from that country to provide “prima facie” evidence – that is, a summary of the prosecution case.

They only need to state that there is initial suspicion of an offence for there to be sufficient grounds for extradition – unless Mr Dewani’s lawyers can find reasons why he should not be sent back.

It is likely that they will argue that Mr Dewani’s human rights would be seriously compromised if he were to be extradited to South Africa for trial, and if extradition were granted his lawyers are likely to lodge a series of appeals that could end up in the European Court of Human Rights. Recent statements from figures of authority in South Africa have fuelled fears among Mr Dewani’s family that he has already been condemned by many in the country, and that a fair trial would be impossible.

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That would perhaps explain why Mr Clifford is quoted in the Sunday Times (here and here) as;