Category Archives: Politics
The great divisions in modern Britain
This week I have been reading the extracts (published in the Guardian) from Polly Toynbee & David Walker’s new book, Unjust Rewards. The book is a contemporary look at class divisions in British society. The first extract “Meet the Rich” … Continue reading
Filed under Politics, United Kingdom
Psychologists involved in torture: Martin Seligman’s unwitting contribution?
A while ago I wrote about the disturbing allegations by Jane Mayer of the role of US psychologists in developing interrogation methods that involved torture, apparently used at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. Jane Mayer has written … Continue reading
Filed under Clinical Psychology, Mental Health, Politics, Psychology
Even MPs struggle with the stigma of mental illness
Despite there being accurate information more available to the general public, it appears that stigma of mental illness continues to affect the lives of millions of Britains, including the powerful and influential. A recent survey has found that 1 in … Continue reading
Filed under Mental Health, Politics, United Kingdom
The release of David Hicks, a test of Australian values
Another moment to test the compassion of the Australian public, as the news has broken that David Hicks is to be released from prison, albeit under a control order. Although the Federal Police regard Mr Hicks as an ongoing danger … Continue reading
Filed under Australia, Mental Health, Politics
The enduring legacy of cluster bombs
The April 16 2007 edition of ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live had a disturbing interview with John Rodsted, an Australian campaigner against landmines and cluster bombs (it is the back third of the podcast). The interview was quite instructive … Continue reading
Filed under Politics
The US on the slippery slope to fascism?
An alarming piece in the Guardian last week by Naomi Wolf, regarding the actions of the Bush administration who appear to be “using time-tested tactics to close down an open society”. Worth a read, here. I recently asked a senior colleague (who … Continue reading
Anthropology and Counterinsurgency
Recently I read an article in the December 18 ’06 issue of the New Yorker by George Packer called “Knowing the Enemy“, about the involvement of anthropologists and other social scientists in developing strategic alternatives to counterinsurgency. The article profiles the … Continue reading
The gentle art of Australian political invective: Paul Keating
One of the things that I miss about not living in Australia is the refreshing directness of language in parliamentary politics. A number of Australian politicians have exercised the extreme limits of parliamentary privilege when attacking the opposition, but the … Continue reading
Psychological torture on trial
Following on from my earlier post about the involvement of psychologists in torture at the Guantanamo detention facility, it has been interesting to read several recent commentaries in the Guardian about this issue: 1] Naomi Klein writes about a current … Continue reading
Filed under Clinical Psychology, Mental Health, Politics, Psychology
Psychologists involved in torture: The Guantanamo Experiment
In July 2005 the New Yorker published this article by Jane Mayer, describing the involvement of psychologists in the process of interrogations at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. It is an alarming read, especially considering the apparent complicity of professional … Continue reading
Filed under Clinical Psychology, Mental Health, Politics, Psychology
