Sad and troubled to see buildings near Glasgow Central in flames. Already huge losses, but I hope the statiom survives. So many paths of my life have passed through that junction.

At times like this, I watch Aljazeera, which is currently doing an exclusive interview with Iran’s foreign minister.

“I know the idea that the next UK General Election will be primarily a battle between the Greens and Reform seems far-fetched, but I think it would be wise to act now as if that could be the case.”

open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

Populism is Not a Four Letter Word. What does the Green Party's success and momentum mean?

“The populist parties can also be seen as post-technocratic parties with vision, whether or not you like the visions on offer.”

I wrote about populism in the context of the Greens winning last night.

open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

More than a year old now but if you want an overview or what’s happening in the world there are worse places to start.

🙏

A Nation is a Soul On feeling surprisingly inspired by St. Andrew's Day.

“St Andrew’s Day is a construction, but not an illusion, because Scotland is a nation, and nations are real. More to the point, nations have a certain kind of reality that is worth attending to today, and every day.”

open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

"The message that jumps out above all others is that previous IPCC reports, going back to 1990, have not been heeded. Where is the report on that? Because that’s the one we really need."

Dancing with a Permanent Emergency Why a proper understanding of climate change leads to metaphysics.*

With COP 30 👮‍♂️ underway in Brazil, I thought I’d better write something about climate change.

open.substack.com/pub/perspect...

Too much metatheory will kill you, just as sure as none at all. On the danger of buying a pet shop shop shop

Interesting development & substack post by @jonathanrowson.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

Flirting with Modernity(3) The juggernaut that separates time and space

“Perhaps I should set aside all this heady stuff, ever yielding to the mind’s compulsions? I am told I should BREATHE, and get back into the body. It’s not clear what happens next, and I’m not supposed to ask…”

open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

Yes, good chance at some point. Though nothing is currently planned.

Grandmaster Chess Therapy How to get beyond winning and losing while still winning more than losing 🙃

“In a world that can seem shallow, chess meets a longing for depth. In a world that can feel lonely and confusing, chess offers the experience of shared meaning and mattering. In a world of shrill whataboutery, chess offers rule-bound intellectual clarity.”

open.substack.com/pub/grandmas...

If someone invites you to dinner and says “no gifts”, “please don’t bring anything apart from yourself” do you take them literally, or bring something anyway?

A Happy Birthday Turning 48 at Easter. French Zebras. The Back Room. KT Tunstall. Sushi and Sake. Minimal Viable Parenting. Midlife Mellows.

“I turned 48 yesterday. Forty-eight. When put that way, it sounds Biblical. I am not quite feeding the five thousand, nor am I one of the twelve disciples, but I am now implicated in the declaration that forty people shared a meal.”

open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

I know I’m a bit late to this, but I’ve started watching The Sopranos…

Annie Lennox - Here Comes The Rain Again ( Live In Central Park ) YouTube video by Themagicplayer

If you’re struggling in any way, and the rain just came on, this Annie Lennox rendition of her Eurythmics classic: *Here Comes the Rain Again*, live from New York, always “falls on my head like a new emotion..”

And might be timely for someone…
🌧️🥲😔🙂🥹🙂🤪🙃🌧️🌈

music.youtube.com/watch?v=TB0E...

Since the USA now faces a full blown “constitutional crisis” and we’ll all be hearing this term a lot, I thought it might help to reflect on what crisis means.

(From *Prefixing the World*: open.substack.com/pub/perspect... )

What's Happening in Serbia? Democratic Inspiration, and the Social Contract of The Upside Down

Important & widely relevant on the mass demonstrations in Serbia from @jonathanrowson.bsky.social: "What do all these people want? The real demand is terrifying for those in power: "Can you please ensure that our institutions work as they are supposed to?"
jonathanrowson.substack.com/p/whats-happ...

Trump is not a Russian asset in the same way that Trump is not a fascist.

He is authoritarian and he is working for Russia.

But he is a unique case, sui generis, so these conventional terms don’t ring true.

The key is not to label, but to disclose as precisely as possible what is happening.

I’ve discovered a hitherto unsuspected connection between the stag and the potato.

Perhaps the issue is not so much that Trump is a Russian asset (though he might be) or is on Russia’s side as such(though he seems to be). It seems as likely that if your perception is plutocratic, amoral and transactional, Russia’s way of thinking and acting is relatively syntonic to work with.

NATO is a zombie alliance.

If the point of NATO is for Europe to have back up from the US if Russia attacks, but the US is no more on Europe’s side than Russia’s, then NATO makes no sense.

Ukraine is Europe and Europe will have to protect itself.

I’m not a huge fan of Keir Starmer in general, but I felt proud of the way he appears to have handled his meeting with Donald Trump today. I felt he played a difficult hand very well.

Enjoyed a couple of days off in Cambridge - “the other place”.

My Kind of Country (Ep. 7: Jonathan Rowson) YouTube video by The Integral Stage

What does it mean to me to be British, while also being a “Scottish Londoner” ?

I enjoyed this chat with Layman Pascal of The Integral Stage, which includes reflections on the 2014 Scottish referendum and broader geopolitical issues.

youtu.be/2Q2dMzVe5WE?...

The talk of security guarantees for Ukraine seems, sadly, bogus.

In light of the failure of the Budapest memorandum I don’t understand how America could ever trust Russia.

In light of Trump/Vance Europe can’t now trust America.

And in light of fickle electorates, Ukraine can’t trust anyone…

🇺🇦

My Kind of Country (Ep. 7: Jonathan Rowson) YouTube video by The Integral Stage

What does it mean to me to be British, while also being a “Scottish Londoner” ?

I enjoyed this chat with Layman Pascal of The Integral Stage, which includes reflections on the 2014 Scottish referendum and broader geopolitical issues.

youtu.be/2Q2dMzVe5WE?...

Amusing.
The glitch is that while Greenland is part of Denmark and Denmark is part of the EU, Greenland is not part of the EU, but merely has an “overseas countries and territories” associative relationship with the EU. Moreover, Canada’s CETA with the EU is already a very close trading relationship

Yes, nice idea indeed. Unfortunately the small print is a bit awkward. Greenland is part of the kingdom of Denmark but it has enough autonomy to choose not to be in the EU and it does. And Canada already has CETA which is already a pretty tight trade deal with the EU.