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Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

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Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Sun Aug 10, 2025 00:01 | Will Jones
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Starmer?s ?Deterrent? Fails as 400 Cross Channel in First Two Days of Migrant Returns Deal with Fran... Sat Aug 09, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones
More than 400 small boat migrants have arrived in the first two days of Labour's returns deal with France, making a mockery of claims it would be a "new deterrent".
The post Starmer’s “Deterrent” Fails as 400 Cross Channel in First Two Days of Migrant Returns Deal with France appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Reclaiming the Beauty of the Spheres Sat Aug 09, 2025 13:00 | Dr David Bell
AI is a distraction from what it means to be truly human, says Dr David Bell. We should aim for far greater things, find again the vastness of the jewelled sky and the light that only shines in another's eye.
The post Reclaiming the Beauty of the Spheres appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Three Top Hotels Yards From Bournemouth Beach Being Used as Migrant Accommodation Sparking Fury From... Sat Aug 09, 2025 11:00 | Will Jones
Three top hotels yards from one of Britain's favourite beaches are being used as accommodation for asylum seekers during the peak ?summer season, sparking fury from tourists and locals.
The post Three Top Hotels Yards From Bournemouth Beach Being Used as Migrant Accommodation Sparking Fury From Tourists and Locals appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why Are the Irish Media Ignoring an Apparent Islamist Knife Attack? Sat Aug 09, 2025 09:00 | Andrew Devine
When a man in Dublin stabs a police officer while shouting "Allahu Akbar" you can be pretty sure it's not the work of an indigenous Irishman. So why are the media at pains to pretend it is, asks Andrew Devine.
The post Why Are the Irish Media Ignoring an Apparent Islamist Knife Attack? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

The Danish Girl

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis author Tuesday January 05, 2016 14:20author by Sean Crudden - impero Report this post to the editors

γνῶθι σεαυτόν

There is no doubt that the images in the film The Danish Girl are lovely and a joy to watch as are the leading actors Eddie Redmayne as Einar Wegener and Alicia Vikander as Gerda Gottlieb. Screenplay is by Lucinda Coxon an excellent minimalist job as regards dialogue but eloquent as regards narrative. The director is Tom Hooper. This is a classy really well shot and well worked out film. I am not going into the plot. The best way to get that is to attend the film. One thing that struck me apart from the drama is that the film presents a marvellous portrait of what marriage should really mean. But despite the beauty of the images this is an unsettling film. Please excuse me if I share below some of the thoughts the film provoked for me.

“Be Yourself!” Don’t put on airs and graces. Don’t develop a false accent. That was the general idea in our house when I was young.

As a teacher the objective was not to change the pupil into a different person but to draw out the native talents of that person, provide support, develop self-confidence, integrity, a general realisation of self-worth.

That, to me, is the weakness in the film, “The Danish Girl.” The idea is that it is possible to rebuild a human being into something different from what they are; to go from an unsatisfactory state to a satisfactory state.

That, too, is the basis of the psychiatry’s paradigm. To change someone who is disordered into a different “ordered” person. And not worrying about the price that person has to pay.

There is definitely an air of futility about Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener’s attempt to transform himself into Lili Elbe. And increasingly there is an air of futility about psychiatry.

I pointed out at an empowerment seminar in Brussels recently organised by Mental Health Europe that mental patients require change. However we are not in a position to author that change. Really I think the system we have is the creature of psychiatry and for change to come psychiatry must pull its weight.

It is difficult to understand the operation of psychiatry even if one is a mental patient. It is organised along lines like the guilds and trades of old. There is secrecy surrounding it, no real sharing of knowledge or methodology, no dialogue.

My own opinion is that more reflection, more introspection on its part, is required before psychiatry can extricate itself from the mess it is in.

Even then there is a long way to go before the emancipation of mental patients can begin.

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