Author Archive

Break For The Future

Written By: Bill - Date published: 9:18 am, November 14th, 2012 - 102 comments

When Margaret Thatcher was asked about her greatest achievement, she promptly answered: “New Labour.” And she was right: her triumph was that even her political enemies adopted her basic economic policies. True victory over your enemy occurs when they start to use your language, so that your ideas form the foundation of the entire field. Today, when neoliberal hegemony is clearly falling apart, the only solution is to repeat Thatcher’s gesture in the opposite direction.

A Good Idea?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 8:41 am, September 1st, 2012 - 156 comments

Planning permission has been sought to construct the world’s largest windfarm off the Scottish coast. Estimated to cost around 4.5 billion pounds and cover some 300 square km of ocean, if the project receives the green light, it will produce up to 40% of Scotland household power use. When compared to other forms of energy […]

Curing Tobacco

Written By: Bill - Date published: 11:10 am, May 28th, 2012 - 125 comments

So tobacco is a ridiculously addictive drug that offers no accompanying high for the user. It has pretty dire health consequences and was promoted for years as harmless, chic and sophisticated and the government even gave it away to combatants during WWII by the carton load.

But now the government wants it gone.

Intro for International Organisation for a Participatory Society

Written By: Bill - Date published: 8:51 am, April 10th, 2012 - 98 comments

Revolution in Springfield 😉

The Only Vision….Left.

Written By: Bill - Date published: 7:09 pm, March 24th, 2012 - 53 comments

Is it not strange and a bit disquieting that the parliamentary left, or more precisely, the Labour Party, is all at sea with regards vision? The vision of the left…the only vision there is for the left… is the same now as it always was. So why is the Labour Party struggling to articulate a vision? We know that the labour Party has lost touch. And we know that people are more or less disengaged from parliamentary politics. Why this should be isn’t very difficult to figure out. How to rectify the situation isn’t very difficult either.

Trading Futures

Written By: Bill - Date published: 3:46 pm, December 2nd, 2011 - 74 comments

This post is intended to do more than merely generate discussion. It’s a serious proposition seeking action. Its intent is to lay out or sign post (at least some of) the basic or necessary legal and social structures of a Community Collective comprised of both workers and housing collectives that would enable people to assume meaningful control over aspects of their futures.

Over or Into The Wall?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 1:11 pm, October 15th, 2011 - 39 comments

Will the protests around the world hit the brick wall of ingrained habits? Or will we manage to get over, around or beneath that particular barrier to progress?

Education Standards and National Standards

Written By: Bill - Date published: 6:01 pm, September 14th, 2011 - 50 comments

The guys at RSA Animate provide their illustative talents to a quite brilliant and wide ranging lecture by Sir Ken Robinson on the topic of education. In the space of just over 10 minutes, he ranges from it’s industrial beginnings to its doped out, standardised present and argues finally, that educationally we’re  heading in exactly the wrong direction and suggests alternatives.

Crisis? What Crisis?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 4:26 pm, August 6th, 2011 - 31 comments

Cuts are good for you.

Killer Cars?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 12:21 pm, March 17th, 2011 - 39 comments

While media speculates on how many deaths in Japan will eventually be attributable to the earthquake, the tsunami and radiation exposure, I’ll warrant that one major contributory factor to the total death toll will escape any mention or comment.

Why Revolutions Stumble and Fall

Written By: Bill - Date published: 12:28 pm, February 15th, 2011 - 28 comments

Democracy doesn’t suddenly magically appear as though from a conjurers hat. We know that, right?  So why are revolutions seeking democracy  D.O.A?

Private Bradley Manning

Written By: Bill - Date published: 10:21 am, December 25th, 2010 - 22 comments

So, it’s Christmas; the season of good will and all. But for some of our institutions,  juggernauts of bad will that they are, they just roll on regardless . For what it’s worth there is an on line letter you can sign calling on the US to end it’s inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning. Maybe signing it constitutes a Christmas message of sorts.

Human Nature and Propaganda

Written By: Bill - Date published: 12:30 pm, December 17th, 2010 - 63 comments

We don’t have to care so much about beneficiaries any more. Or those single parents. Or the trials and tribulations of anyone else at all really. We have to be grown up. And we are more mean and lean than we used to be. Hell, even those pesky parliamentary lefties have abandoned the beneficiaries and the single parents. Yup. Nothing to see there. Life is good. We’re getting ahead. And we sure know what’s what. Don’t we?

Unconscionable

Written By: Bill - Date published: 3:00 pm, November 29th, 2010 - 24 comments

It seems I’m not alone in feeling outrage at attempts to bury any sensible debate on the shape and extent of New Zealand’s coal operations

So Sport and Politics Should be Kept Separate?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 2:56 pm, November 22nd, 2010 - 3 comments

Seems Eric Cantona wasn’t listening.

I particularly liked the response given by Valérie Ohannesian of the French Banking Federation who, seemingly devoid of any sense of irony stated that,  “One of the main roles of a bank is to keep money safe. This appeal will give great pleasure to thieves, I would have thought.”