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?

Look away and Blair’s back

Some of you will have managed to notice that I haven’t written a post in over a week. Life got a lot too hectic. This means I’ve had to play catch up with the news, and to be honest, most of its been a bit depressing, but then I found myself living a nightmare a few days ago: Brown to back Blair for EU President. “Oh crap!”, I groaned, “make it all go away!”.

Murdoch decides it all (again!)

Once again, the kingmaker of Britain (an Aussie) has decided who shall be leading the country after the next election, and unlike the last 12 years, he’s going for the Tories. Corporate Britain has few more capable subverting democracy than Rupert Murdoch, but today his friends must be pretty happy with him.

Berlusconi: Slime Appeal

Yesterday I gave a rally speech completely off the cuff to a crowd of several hundred. It happens alarmingly often these days, but what was completely new was a reporter chasing me back through the crowd afterwards for an interview. Was it my desire to open a cultural battle front with the BNP? No, it was my linking of the BNP to Europe’s most extreme ruler, Media Mogul and Mussolini fanboy Silvio Berlusconi.

UK establishment unashamed to admit brutality?

I’ve been having a slow realisation over a period of some months that the UK government seems to be quite happy to receive small amounts of condemnation for policing tactics, if it makes the risk of injury and inconvenience in taking part more widely known about. It seems the police in particular are hoping that events like the G20 will just serve as a lesson, as people who feel outraged also consider their own interests in getting involved.

Corby: Protecting the Majority from the Minority?

Its a while since I last saw a news story unfold that clearly highlighted the difference between a majoritarian and minoritarian view point and their affects on two groups of people who are clearly equal in their claim to citizenship. But today saw the Chief Executive of Corby Council telling the media that they are acting to protect the majority from a council tax rise by not simply settling with the small number of people who’s lives they are claimed to have ruined.

Words without actions mean nothing

The last 48 hours have seen some huge statements, from Cairo to Westminster and far beyond. We’ve had Hilary Clinton’s demand for a full disclosure on deaths in Tiananmen Square, Obama’s words of peace and his hope for a 2 state resolution in Israel/Palestine, and of course, we’ve had the war of words at Westminster enhanced by the James Purnell has sent round, calling on Brown to resign as Prime Minister, and the subsequent responses.

What have 15 years taught us?

Last night, I gave a talk at the University of York on historical events and movements of the last 15 years that have focused on actions of individuals. It was over 8 pages of writing, so I’ll spare you the boredom, but here’s something of the conclusion I gave, focusing on the timing of the emergence of this flood of movements, and on what they might have taught us.

Some mathematical Euro-elections thoughts

For those who haven’t realised, the Euro-elections don’t work by ordinary “highest vote wins” methods. Instead, a group of seats are divided up between the parties, who must declare an ordered list of candidates in advance, there lead-candidate being the first to get a seat if they have enough votes. This means that in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, where 6 seats are contested together, 3-5 parties will most likely share out the seats.

The European Union: Empire by Consent

The European Elections are upon us, so I suspect I’ll be writing a bit about the EU over the coming weeks (and it won’t all be transport policy, so worry not). But I wanted to start out with a video I found recently of Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. describing how he sees the EU post-Lisbon Treaty: an empire by consent.