On Tuesday the OECD will be meeting. It's the rich countries' club, a useful talking shop for elite decision makers. On the agenda is what to do about the awkward fact that while we SAY we want to stop the world getting more than two degrees warmer, at the same time we are allowing public... Continue Reading →
Scared now, because only John Major can save the UK.
Only John Major stands between us and a Pinochet-style coup. What have I been smoking? BBC Radio 4 news, is what(1). The slide towards living in a totalitarian state is a long, slippery and mostly 'gentle' one. The always-slender civil liberties we have (and fwiw, imma rejoin Liberty), are under attack. I won't bore you... Continue Reading →
Citizens, arrests and seven metre dinosaurs: A history of the UNFCCC #climate protests
My latest piece, for the Conversation, is out. Here’s a scene that will be familiar to anyone who has watched media coverage of a major geopolitical summit: By mid-morning the main entrance to the UN’s Palais de Congres, and its side entrances, were ringed by Swiss and German citizens, chained together. The blockade was total,... Continue Reading →
Reflections on feminism and women’s liberation
Sue Crockford is a London-based feminist. Here's a brief interview with her in which she reflects on how she got involved in the Women's Liberation movement (via involvement in anti-Vietnam War activity), what her memories of that time she cherishes, and what feminism means to her. Below, another feminist, Sarah Irving, writes about her reactions... Continue Reading →
The spectre of Tom Cruise hangs over the latest Bond film
A taped message. An agent forced to go rogue in his battle against a secretive globe-spanning violent criminal gang. His boss initially pursuing him, but by the end getting out from behind the desk and getting his hands dirty. Confused talk about democracy. An extremely beautiful and much younger European woman at his side, potentially... Continue Reading →
Oh, btw, Shell, we have that ‘hybrid world’ – thanks in part to you…
Yesterday I posted a piece on Shell's beautiful (in a Leni Riefenstahl kind of way) new advert in which two vegan, pierced women act as spokespeople for the exploration, extraction and burning of natural gas. I should have pointed out that this advert is also an appropriation of the whole "we need more women in... Continue Reading →
Simians Cyborgs and Shell: on corporate propaganda and fallback positions
The oil major Shell has a blisteringly slick and seductive new advert that extols the virtues of gas as a ‘transition fuel’ (which it isn't). As a piece of propaganda, it would make Donna Haraway guffaw with delight. It’s 80 seconds of ‘Jenna and Cory’ who live together extolling the virtues of hybridity. They are 'alternative'... Continue Reading →
Of Monbiot, Manchester and miserable ‘feral’ futures.
Nature as redeemer, nature as escape, nature as the solace for our "gridded, controlled, mannered urban lives." So far so romantic. Well, nature is on the road, and she’s gunning for the lot of us. We’ve poked the beast, and now it really is waking up. On a quiet day, you could hear it snoring.... Continue Reading →
#Carmichael – Of subsidies, coal mines and nation-building #auspol #climate
Who’d try to build a new coal mine? The divestment campaigns are slowly convincing banks to steer clear (), the coal price is in the floor. The Indians seem to be (finally) increasing domestic production and their solar price is tumbling. The environmentalists and their pesky skinks are slowing things down, the social licence to operate... Continue Reading →
Terrible meetings? Here’s a nesta reasonable ideas…
According to the American humourist Dave Barry “Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other large organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot masturbate.” (As in, meetings aren't just ego-potlaches, they're also for the recycling of anxiety and responsibility). While meetings might be full of wankers, they’re surprisingly joyless experiences. “Nesta”,... Continue Reading →
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