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?

Cynicism is the death of humanity

I used to have this slogan on my wall as a fresher, displayed as if it were some kind of ward against a disease. I’m not convinced it did me any good, but I can certainly see the value in making the statement right now, as I seem to have been overcome with an immense amount of this destructive emotion. Almost everything my mind turns to becomes framed with accusations of shallowness, of being out of touch, of being motivated in selfishness; myself, those around me, initiatives that I’m variously involved with, and several that I’m not. It sucks!

Could power black outs ever be helpful?

I’ve seen more than one article or comment recently stating loudly and clearly that the problem isn’t solving Climate Change, its solving the power black outs that will become a reality if we continue to use electricity at our current rate. The mind set is one of utter presumption: I must be able to get electricity when I want it! But this cannot continue to be the mind set for much longer…

A Jungle No More

I’ll never learn. Ask people if you should blog about something, and like all my great friends, those that answer will mostly pour out the encouragement. Thanks guys! I’m sure you all know about the dire situation going on down in Calais, where  hundreds of asylum seekers are being made homeless, despite having only tarp shelters to call home in the first place.

Freedom of Expression

Some of you know this, but I lost my laptop charger at Greenbelt 2 weeks ago. Its been winding me up ever since, and its partly why a few days got missed in the usual blogging cycle. And its driving me potty. Its also reminding me just how important the gift of expression is, and how thankful I should be for it. From the political right to expression, to having the wherewithal to do it, its becoming rather obvious just how much I take it for granted.

The Rise and Sprawl of the Security Industry

I recently saw a presentation that contained a list of the five most common jobs people are being recruited to in York at the moment. Admin and Hospitality & Catering were no surprise, Retail seems to have picked up and I think IT support was on the list, all of which are pretty morally neutral. Half way through the list was “Security”, a worrying if not totally surprising revelation.

Alcohol and Anti-Capitalism

Apologies for the whinge that is approaching. Its been Climate Camp, and I wasn’t there, due to the clash with GreenBelt, and now I’m back, I’ve been trying to catch up on some of the happenings. Sadly, one of the easiest to learn about, given my preferred news sources, is a confrontation between Whitechapel Anarchist Group and many other climate campers.

The French try to rewrite Islam, again

One wouldn’t expect the mayor of a small town in France to be the best at telling people what the Quran has to say on any issue, but apparently that’s exactly what happened in a bizarre twist to yet another tale of French religious interference. We’ve had the headscarf in schools row, its now time for the Islamic swimming costume row.

Good and bad Church action to help Migrants

In the last 24hours a news story has broken concerning a vicar in East Sussex alleged to have carried out “sham marriages” to save asylum seekers from being returned. Last week I was in Copenhagen, where a church is giving sanctuary to about 80 asylum seekers. The two actions might have similar intentions, but I can’t help thinking the former is more damaging than anything else.

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.