In reply to:‚ We were wrong on peak oil. There’s enough to fry us all Dear George, Once again I feel constrained to write to you in defence of cool-headed rationalism rather than vapid emotionalism. I refer of course to your recent piece in the Guardian on peak oil. I would really welcome any hard‚
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Italians and Greeks don't pay taxes
The title is ironic and may be partly true of course as many oft-repeated statements are. The most obvious riposte in defence of small-time Italian and Greek entrepreneurs is neither do large multinationals and awareness-raising charities, pay very much tax, more on that later. The accusation serves a simple purpose, to justify the huge cutbacks in public
⋯capitalism, corporatism
All true conservatives are green
I sometimes enjoy Peter Hitchens‚ antidote to mainstream trendy Neo-Liberal thinking, but fear he is on some subjects in bad company and a tad ill-informed. No rational person could deny volumes of hard evidence showing the exponential rise in humanity’s collective impact on our planet’s delicate ecosystem, both in terms of our numbers (rising from
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, Computing, corporatism, limits to growth
Two billion quid Stasi
We seem to have only superficial cuts in the huge state and corporate bureaucracy monitoring every aspect of our lives. If we needed any proof the current ConDem alliance is mere continuation of the same big business party previously marketed as New Labour, we now have it. No sooner were plans for a hi-tech identity
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Demagogue sweeps to victory
Many on the left in the UK and elsewhere are celebrating George Galloway’s resounding victory in the last Thursday’s Bradford West by-election. With a turnout of just over 50%, the former labour stronghold saw a massive swing away from New Labour and the other mainstream parties to the left-leaning Respect coalition. Just ten years ago I would have been
⋯corporatism, immigration
Branding Cuba
If you want to get away from the adverse effects of mass consumerism, extreme concentration of wealth, social unease and poverty, Cuba is an intriguing destination. Like in many countries your experiences can be filtered both by your cultural prejudices and expectations and by your tour operator. Many tourists just head for the beach resorts
⋯capitalism, communism, corporatism
How to argue with awkward purveyors of home truths
Here are just a few strategies you can adopt when confronted with troublesome individuals who insist on expressing politically incorrect opinions that cannot be refuted by facts alone.
⋯All in the mind
Hedonism Ablaze
What a coincidence! Just days after the US administration agreed to raise their country’s debt ceiling and let the global consumption party go on for a few more months or maybe years, In London marauding mobs run riot, loot retail outlets and set commercial and residential buildings on fire. Reportedly it all started in Tottenham
⋯All in the mind, capitalism, communism, corporatism
Why Procreate?
While some of us may seem very self-absorbed thanks to generations of social atomisation and disconnection from our palaeolithic roots, most of us are wired to adore new life. All but the most callous of us have a soft spot for babies or at least are wise and socially responsible enough to give them special
⋯All in the mind, corporatism, limits to growth
On The Laws of Probability
Every day we experience hundreds of near misses, accidents waiting to happen unless we take the right precautions and pay constant attention to all potential dangers. Yet the human brain can only actively focus on one event at a time, switching our attention to monitor the progress of other concomitant events. Some of us can
⋯All in the mind
Let's Disown Tony
Has anyone actually read Tony Blair’s much publicised memoirs. Well within 3 months of the book’s release and despite all the media, half-price copies were on display on Waterstones. Don’t get too angry with this guy, for he has only ever been a politician in the sense of a polite public relations guy. He liberated
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The Bankers are bankrupt and so are we
Today over a hundred thousand demonstrators will descend on Central London to protest against cuts in public spending. I can sympathise for I’ve joined many similar protests‚ defending the rights of ordinary working people and against wanton waste and wars. Why should ordinary people suffer because politicians and bankers have wasted billions on wars and
⋯capitalism, Computing, human rights, limits to growth
Forerunners of Modern Globalisation
Homo sapiens sapiens first evolved as a distinct species at least 120,000 years ago with some recent finds in the Middle East dated as long ago as 200,000 years ago. On that time scale, the Neolithic agrarian revolution, which took place in most parts of world between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago and only reaching
⋯capitalism, immigration, limits to growth, migration
New Labour's 1997 Manifesto
This is the honest manifesto the Labour Party did not publish in 1997 before its historic landslide win, well it did gain 43% of the popular vote with a 75% turnout. Education: We will introduce tuition fees, initially at £1000 per annum, then rising to £3000 per annum, and allow students to repay their loans
⋯capitalism, corporatism, hegemony
Ubiquitous Assault on the Senses
How will future generations view early 21st century Britain? An age of enlightenment that allowed more women than ever to work, redefined loud arguments as domestic violence, exposed childhood sexual abuse and extended the benefits of prosperity to more people than ever. This is the spin of the neo-liberal media, i.e. you’ve never had it
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Corporate Mercenaries
The LM Gang are back, this time advocating, in a new C4 documentary Britain’s Trillion pound Horror Story, the privatisation of healthcare and education and downsizing of the rest of the public sector to reduce taxes, the national debt and stimulate economic growth. Back in 1998 a post-modern intellectual associated with the former Revolutionary Communist
⋯capitalism, corporatism, immigration, limits to growth, migration
Old Browsers
If the main body of this page has rounded corners and subtle drop-shadow effects with a stylish Diavlo font face instead of Arial / Helvetica / sans-serif, chances are you are already using a modern browser. If you see square borders and a default sans-serif font, then you should be aware your browser doesn’t support
⋯Computing, migration
Migration Myth Busting
It looks like the globalist growth lobby has been busy copying and pasting its Migration Myths all over government-sponsored Websites and many run by spurious NGOs. Hint if someone is providing information free of charge in a glossy format, it’s probably not very reliable. As always first-hand fact finding goes a long way. I live
⋯capitalism, corporatism, limits to growth
You're just a customer!!
Many of us have been so beguiled by corporate speak encroaching on everyday conversations that we have failed to notice how previous categories of people such as travellers, passengers, users, taxpayers, citizens or just plain people have morphed into customers, worthy only because of our purchasing power. Yet just 10 or 15 years ago, the
⋯corporatism
The Keynsian Dream is Over
None of the major parties in the UK have had the courage to tell the electorate the unpalatable truth. They act as mere middle managers or public relations officers, somewhere between their masters in global banking, energy cartels and military-industrial establishment and the hundreds of thousands of minion bureaucrats in the UK`s non-productive public and
⋯capitalism, corporatism, hegemony
Metamorphosis of the Labour Party
How the Party of workers came to represent a bunch of non-productive consumers Little divided the main political parties in the run-up to the 2010 UK General Election. They all support the supremacy of transnational corporations, the banking cartel and the Euro-American military-industrial complex. The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives may voice their theoretical opposition to
⋯immigration
Oil Discovered Off the Falkland Islands?
Are all wars ultimately motivated by Greed? How very convenient, by mere coincidence around 60 billion barrels of oil has been discovered within 150 miles of the Falkland Islands. Before you conclude this will save our economy from the effects of peak oil, that’s approximately 2.75 years of global consumption and as in the North
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The Daily Motorist Mindset
The recent cold snap over much Western Europe with temperature lows not seen since infamous winter of 1963 has prompted Daily Mail columnists and their avid readers to deny any human effects on our eco-system. Yep, just because we are gripped by Arctic weather, does not mean 800 million motor vehicles and 6800 human beings
⋯environment
BBC Drama Promotes Schizophrenia Myths
TV programmes promote agendas behind of smokescreen of wishful thinking. Waterloo Road is no exception. Over the last three years Waterloo Road has sought to raise awareness about certain social issues with varying degrees of success and misinterpretation. Considering the programme’s main appeal is to teenagers, it comes as a shock, but sadly not a
⋯All in the mind
Reality Denial
When do we let our political judgements be swayed not by a rational analysis of the facts, but by self-interest, wishful thinking, superstition or just plain irrational prejudices? Whether rapid climate change is taking place and is caused by human activity is surely a matter of scientific analysis, on which I suppose you may hold
⋯environment
Breeding Hatred
One of the biggest dilemmas for environmental realists is striking the right balance between the potential infringement of human rights required to power down to a more sustainable society on one hand, and the inevitable threat to human rights if we don’t take action now. Let’s call this the human rights dilemma. One solution is
⋯Rethinking Autism ⸺ Assorted notes
What is Asperger`s Anyway ? Were this personality type promoted as schizophrenia without psychosis, few parents or affected individuals would ever seek diagnosis, yet the history of the emergence of this social construct clearly demonstrates its origins in psychiatry. In little more than a decade, Asperger`s has become so instilled in the public mind in
⋯All in the mind, aspergers, mental health
Peddling Misery ⸺ Letter to the Independent on Sunday
I refer to your piece (IoS 20/04/08) about Depression Awareness Week. We all know Alastair Campbell sold his soul to the military-industrial complex by playing a key role in preparing public opinion for the Iraqi oil grab and acting as spin-doctor-in-chief for one of this country’s most mendacious administrations, now apparently he has sold out
⋯depression, mental health
Dental Health Scandal: Playing Politics with Genes
Few empiricists would deny that both environmental and genetic factors determine subtle variations in the physical health, performance and behaviour of human beings. After repeatedly telling us that diet and lifestyle are largely to blame for the obesity epidemic, the popular media now inform that genetics plays a crucial role in our susceptibility to gaining
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Knee Jerk Hysteria
Most Sudanese citizens of all religious affiliations are desperately poor. As in most other African countries early deaths through malnutrition and disease are so rife that many just count themselves lucky to be alive, let alone benefit from the wonders of Western consumerism, fun culture and post-modern enlightenment (the kind of fuzzy thinking that endows
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Blaming the Messenger
Spiked Online are at it again, jumping at the chance to blame common atrocities on the spectre of green fascists. To the likes of Frank Füredi and Brendan O’Neill a green fascist is anyone who doesn’t believe in their technocratic vision of unlimited human and material growth, if indeed they believe their own propaganda. More
⋯environment, human rights
The Persuasion Industry
In one way or another a growing percentage of workers in the UK are engaged in various sectors of the persuasion industry. Call it new media, education, publishing, marketing, sales, customer relations, call centres, advertising, entertainment, legal services, lobbying, consulting, advice bureaux, research institutes, awareness raising charities, they are all in the multi-billion pound business
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