Olympic Weapons of Mass Distraction

There’s been a lot of general anger on twitter and facebook over the last 48hours concerning the positioning of missiles on residential buildings for use during the Olympics. Its a terrifying thought in some ways, but its also kind of irrelevant to civil liberties, and a very big distraction from the more worrying, and lasting, changes brought on by the games.

Global Justice in a time of Austerity

in just 6 weeks time, I’m running an event of a fairly unprecedented scale at York Friend’s Meeting House, drawing together over a dozen local campaign groups for an afternoon of talks and discussions spanning the length and width of “Global Justice”. All this seemed so much more urgent before the cuts became the defining issue of the moment, and now its hard to even feel excited about the range of issues beyond our doorstep.

Child-like Politics

Passing by the York Against the War stall yesterday, I happened to witness something that really reminded me of the extent to which adults go so far in over-complicating politics. A child (probably about 10-12 I guess) approached, asking to sign a petition, did he have to pay to sign and did we know… (I forget the name).

Draft Statement on Millbank Occupation

I’ve been asked to write something for a Christian website with a radical edge on how we as radical Christians see the Millbank Occupation and the ensuing media furore. This is not a perfect finished draft, and its written in plural where currently it only has my endorsement. If you’re interested in signing (which would obviously imply you have affinity with the Christian faith) please get in touch. Several parts are based on comments from the ad-hoc group in question.

Tazers: In the public interest?

We were told yesterday that it would not be in the public interest for an inquiry to be held into how police came to be using an un-licensed weapon during the Raoul Moat episode. In fact, it appears there is acknowledgement that a fire-arms offence took place, but that nothing should be done about it.

Cults of Infamy, or “Forgiving Blair”

This last week I, like everyone in the UK, have been forced to encounter once more the face of Tony Blair beaming from shops, newspapers, TV sets, and even from my own computer. I’m no less convinced that the man is a murderer and a war criminal than I was, say, 5 years ago. But I’m becoming aware of the need to let go of some of my loathing for him as an individual, before it gets the better of me.

What the Israeli soldier facebook photos tell us

I’m in a huge hurry to get a train, but couldn’t not use these few minutes to address this one news story from the last few days: an Israeli soldier’s photos of herself posing with blindfolded Palestinian men that have been posted to facebook. Whilst the IDF seems determined to make this “an isolated incident”, I think it shows us far too much to simply pass it by.

The Return of The Nuclear Distractor

Its a long while since I’ve dealt with the dichotomy between Nuclear and so-called “Conventional” weapons, those where society has little or no trouble condoning usage, as long as some conditions are assured. In fact, I first raised it in my second ever post. But in the last week its come to the fore-ground, with both Obama’s media-stunt conference and the Lib Dems promising reductions on Labour’s commitments.

Police twisting facts over EDL & BNP in Bolton?

I’m guessing mostly people reading this will have heard about the English Defence League/Unite Against Fascism confrontation that broke out in Bolton on Saturday. Above and beyond what happened on the street, a curious war of stories seems to be raging about the way the demonstration occurred, with very different tales being told by all 3 sides.

Stopping the War, Seven Years On

I’ve just been reminded that yesterday was the 7th Anniversary of the Iraq War’s beginning. As a political issue, it is now understood that the war was a bad thing, but the movement that sought to prevent, and then curtail it, are now almost silent, and its perpetrators still at large. What happened? (Yes, this is the 2nd post of the day, I didn’t feel like scheduling this one for tomorrow).