Category: First Thursday Archive

In his book 1984 George Orwell described the “Ministry of Truth”, in fact a “ministry” of pure propaganda.  It is a truism that the truth is the first casualty of any war.  The question is “Whose propaganda?” The story of the Donbass region of Ukraine has been badly told- or at least important elements missed…

Events in Downing Street and the Police etc raise questions about today’s standards in public life.   Institutional racism and sexism in the Metropolitan Police may be “hang-overs” from a time before society’s attitudes changed, or a reaction again a so-called “woke” agenda.  But either way have not been dealt with or even recognised.   The old…

Summary We discussed the way many societies, when they feel under threat by something they do not fully understand, make a political shift to a more authoritarian, “right-wing” style of government, choosing leaders who claim to be able to simplify and solve problems for them, so avoiding the hard work of analysis which is needed…

The UK at the moment seems to be treating Asylum seekers as if they are pirates raiding us- perhaps it would be more realistic if we recognised the great compliment being paid to us that people want to come here, for whatever reason.  We should stop treating them like dirt, and recognise what it is…

We met on Armistice Day, November 11th.  In the news was the continuing situation of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran, her husband’s hunger strike outside the Foreign Office, and the possibility of meetings between UK and Iranian diplomats.  Since then, however, there has been little or no progress about her release or that of others detained…

October 7th 2021 Summary Rising world gas prices were the first subject for our discussion.  A good deal of blame has been placed on Russia, but that is probably unwarranted.  The USA (and some others) are questioning Europe’s dependence on Russia for gas (through the NordStream pipelines), but Europe seems to be wanting to resist…

First Thursday September 2nd summary The history of Afghanistan explains a good deal of what has recently happened there:  for example John Pilger’s article: https://newcoldwar.org/john-pilger-afghanistan-the-great-game-of-smashing-countries/  However his view received a rebuff in another article: https://medium.com/@pitt_bob/john-pilgers-fantasy-history-of-afghanistan-7a53d3c776d3   There is a need to understand histories, but which of us can give the time to the necessary research, especially…

Summary May 6th 2021 The rapid spread of Covid in India provokes a question whether our promised Autumn 3rd booster should not rather be for the “3rd” World.  Some charities (such as Tearfund) are promoting vaccines for India and Nepal but more needs to be done, and can probably only be done by governments.  “Until…

Summary of discussion Astra Zeneca in India had been granted a license to manufacture Covid vaccines at cost price [this was pre-the current surge in India’s own Covid cases], though there are questions about how available these will be to those who cannot afford to pay.  The UK has ordered 400 million doses of vaccine,…

Summary of the discussion: We reflected on the way many transactions today have shifted from being person-to-person (eg negotiating with an individual) to dealing with a computer.  Is this only unwelcome to older people who were once accustomed to personal relationships, and now have difficulty in adjusting to dealing with machines- do others welcome it…