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 →
Using juggling as a metaphor for dealing not only with the energy "trilemma" - of security of supply, price and climate change, but the energy quadrilemma - all the other environmental problems too... Rough as a badger's... bottom, but you get the idea. You're allowed to a) laugh (at/with/whatever - we all need a laugh)... Continue Reading →
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 →
I made another "Looting the Ivory Tower" video. I intend to make a bunch more. Suggestions welcome. https://twitter.com/marcsrhudson/status/1624331409799237632
We think in metaphors (or I do and people around me seem to), but those metaphors can take us to bad places and (therefore) need to be interrogated, and challenged. So, as the old study showed, if you frame crime as evilness you get one lot of policy proposals being popular, if you frame it... 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 →
So, have been thinking (for once) about failure, the meaning of it all etc There's that great essay by Samuel Johnson "What Have Ye Done?" which ends (spoilers, obvs) From this mistaken notion of human greatness it proceeds, that many who pretend to have made great advances in wisdom so loudly declare that they despise... Continue Reading →
A page on this site, about "complementary assets" has had a lot of hits in the last 24 hours. Don't know why, but it's enough of a pretext to write something. I'll say what CA are, what a social movement organisation "is", why we should care about it, what the CAs of one would be... Continue Reading →
tl;dr The 'Bottom-Up' Grift (BUG) is the spinning of a line - for profit and/attention - that the true path to utopia is via 'bottom up' activity. This post defines the BUG, explains how to spot it, where it comes from, what to do about it. The Grift Making a career out of saying "we... Continue Reading →
Just tweeted the following microrant - It is extraordinary. Unlike ppl who organised in far harder conditions, where dissent (or just BEING) could easily get you killed, #climate activists in the "West", with freedom of speech, assembly, information, "the science" etc etc have been not just outspent, but outplayed 1/2outthought, outfought, outACTED. Emissions keep climbing.... Continue Reading →
