Tag Archives: conflict

Balance and scale

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Robert Basil
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Leaving Substack …

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Robert Basil

One of my favourite authors, Talia Lavin, has moved her blog, “The Sword and the Sandwich,” from Substack to the Buttondown platform. That’s because [Substack] founders stated, in no uncertain terms, that they’re not just OK with, but in principle supportive … Continue reading →

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Twitter alternatives

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Robert Basil

This is a clear picture from The Evening Standard. I think that, looking back, Twitter will be regarded as an unnecessary calamity rather than as a necessary community.

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Yelling at your editor

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Robert Basil

In earlier writing here on mentorship, I noted that you do not have to actually like your mentors to have a fruitful relationship with them. In one post, “Mentorship without Friendship,” I wrote: “A mentor sees in her or his … Continue reading →

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If you hadn’t noticed …

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Robert Basil

Here we go again. — Liberals loathe the political Right’s hypocrisy and unfairness. Conservatives loathe the Left’s immorality and delicacy. The groups’ estimations of their own qualities, though, are less precise. The question of “hypocrisy” is particularly interesting. La Rochefoucauld … Continue reading →

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Communicators identifying threats

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Robert Basil

These are the “ideal changes” we should be looking for in American political journalism going forward, according to No Contest favourite Jay Rosen: * Defense of democracy seen as basic to the job * Symmetrical accounts of asymmetrical realities seen … Continue reading →

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Scholar Strike Canada

Posted on September 9, 2020 by Robert Basil

Here’s the schedule of events to be broadcast live and then video-archived. And here are some very illuminating resources. My university’s president and my dean both support the scholar strike, as do my teaching colleagues, of course. Scholar Strike originated … Continue reading →

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Enders

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Robert Basil

There are two claims your antagonist will typically corroborate right away: “You’re being defensive!” “You always need to have the last word!” A friend in network news told me that the proper response to the first claim is “You’re changing … Continue reading →

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“We Agree …”

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Robert Basil

“We agree much more than you think.” This was Niels Bohr‘s kind way of indicating profound disagreement with a colleague’s point of view.  The genial physicist knew that the literal truth of that statement – after all, all scientists would … Continue reading →

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Saudi Students and “Veblen Goods”

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Robert Basil

I’ve had a number of superb students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University from that country. This is awful news. From Inside Higher Ed this morning: Saudi Arabian students in Canada are caught in diplomatic crossfire. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education is … Continue reading →

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