From Slaves to Oil to Sunlight

Africa has supplied the wants and desires of the global north with many many things over the years through the process known as colonialism. People talk about our times as being “post-Colonial”, as if somehow the process of Colonial resource extraction has ended and the people of Africa can once more live at peace without Europe sucking them dry of anything of any value. But then, if solar-energy is the solution to Climate Change, and Africa has lots of sunlight, why not just exploit Africa for that too?

Building National Pride in Palestine?

I’m often aware of the tension that exists between my passion for justice for the Palestinians, as such, a national grouping, and my disgust at anything to do with National Pride. I find the copious numbers of England flags that appear during major football competitions mildly disturbing, an affront to my Internationalist, anti-statist leanings, and so news that Israel is blocking construction of Palestine’s national football stadium leaves me a bit stuck.

LCpl Joe Glenton: The War is Local

On Saturday I took part in a stall and vigil protesting at the incarceration of York Soldier Lance Corporal Joe Glenton. It was an intense affair, with media interest normally not shown to a mere anti-war stall, hundreds signing petitions and some very heated exchanges. The struggle to end the Afghanistan War is no longer just about a place several thousand miles away, it has come home.

The News: Is Vanity Fair?

Curious to discover why such a thing might happen, I read an article on the censorship of Enid Blyton by the BBC. It was rather amusing to note the short sightedness of the controllers of the airwaves and their own personal opinions on the author. I did wonder why this was news. Its hardly current celebrity gossip either. No, despite the disguise as a news article, it was an advert for a program. I was pretty pissed off to be honest.

David Cameron and the Prodigal Son’s Brother

I was visiting my Sister’s church in Durham today, St Nicks, also know as the church on the market place, and had a really great time. The sermon looked at the part of the Prodigal Son story after the bit everyone knows, the part where the eldest son refuses to join the party. The preacher referenced a writer* who said that Jesus sought to appeal to the unreligious, not to the generally conservative types that the UK church most often appeals to.

Ubuntu and the Freedom Society

I had an unfortunate encounter with a member of the Freedom Society very recently, and was genuinely shocked by some of the arguments being made. Despite the noblest of intentions in the title, I find everything about them absolutely infuriating, and here are just some of the reasons…

Transsexual Jesus Sparks Glasgow Church Protests

I saw the headline for this article on my RSS feeder and knew I’d be writing about it as soon as I had the chance. The entire subject, from Christian pressure groups, to a personal engagement with Jesus by a trans author, was bound to turn my head. So here goes…

Does anyone want to solve abortion?

Of all the most personal issues that get kicked around as a political football, abortion is probably the most distasteful and most distressing. Any and every debate seems a million miles divorced of the realities that often underlie the decision to seek an abortion, which in our divided world can make one case almost entirely different to another.

The Poppy Appeal: Politicising Memories

I thought maybe I’d try writing this despite how taboo criticism of wearing poppies has become in recent years. That our way of remembering the tragedy of death in war should be so totally controlled by one organisation is something we should be concerned about; memories are personal, but also disputable, and the singular, and highly selective branding is hugely problematic to myself and many others.

What if Nick Griffin really changed his mind?

Remember that bit on Question Time (which apparently is on tonight, but there’s no protests, so I can’t be bothered to watch it) where Nick Griffin claimed he had changed his mind on the holocaust but couldn’t explain why for fear of being locked up for discussing it? What if he actually has changed his mind?