Thanks to Twitter, I saw two videos yesterday - one which is very recent, about the so-called "activist industrial complex" and the other from three years ago by the Financial Times, presented by the actress Nicola Walker. Both, in their ways, are good to think with, but perhaps not for the reasons their creators think.... Continue Reading →
So, there was a trend in the late 1990s and early 2000s for activists to do spoof newspapers - Metro, Evening Standard, Manchester Evening News, Financial Times. These varied in wit and skill, and usually met with, well, injunctions and so forth. But they were entertaining for a moment or two. In the aftermath of... Continue Reading →
I have a template now, and a rhythm that works for me. Here's the latest. Tell me what you think, how they could be improved (highlighting words in the quotes when I am reading aloud would be one thing. Leaving out some of the 'comic' asides would be another. What else? https://twitter.com/marcsrhudson/status/1626294996511997952
So, Manchester City Council has 96 Councillors. 91 belong to Labour, and a more craven bunch of neoliberal stooges you are unlikely to find this side of the Conservative party. The City Council has an executive system, meaning 10 of the (Labour) councillors run the show, with a "cabinet" and a "leader." There are six... Continue Reading →
There's another new report out, this time based on a survey of 2000 adults (1) that tacitly pins the blame for climate inertia on various forms of 'denial' and delayism. You can read about it on the excellent edie.net website here. I could be wrong, but these sorts surveys and reports seem to get done... Continue Reading →
In April the next (and final?) XR event will take place, in London. In January the organisation click-baited a "We Quit" statement (see here for more.) They are claiming they will get 100 thousand people to turn up and... (mill around? sell newspapers to each other? something else?) So, two things. First the numbers. There's... Continue Reading →
So the old puzzle goes - of Theseus's ship - if you replace the mast twice, the sails thrice and every plank of the hull over time, is it STILL, after all that the "original" Theseus' ship? (and, if it isn't anymore, when did it stop being so?) Then there's Lev Vygotsky, the Russian educational... Continue Reading →
Well, back in mid-2019 I wrote this Here's an excerpt January 4th 2023 is a Wednesday. There’s probably going to be a scrutiny committee meeting or two of Manchester City Council on that day. Back-bench councillors will gather to hear presentations from officers and Executive Members, and pick over reports. (In a perfect world Manchester City... Continue Reading →
Hello, this post, inspired by this one on Friday covers some reasons why skills-sharing is so hard to do, especially in allegedly "non-hierarchical" social movement groups.. It covers why it matters, why it doesn’t happen easily, and, of course, ‘what we could do.’ I’ve tried to park my unhelpful (to other people if not myself)... Continue Reading →
Today the Conversation posted another article of mine about Extinction Rebellion - you can read it here. I got a high profile follower out of it, and a lovely email from someone, and a media request. Anyway, if you've come here, you're probably interested in social movements, and so you're in the right place (or... Continue Reading →
marchudson.net 