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Crap politics – from the rivers to the sea
The headlines about illegal sewage disposals have been stark enough. They make the nation’s map look like a bad case of chicken pox. Now the owners of Thames Water have defaulted on the debts they owe. The situation spirals from bad to worse. Water companies have dumped 4 million hours worth of sewage into Britain’s…
Read MoreSay it with flour – could Gaza be the turning point?
The human slaughter in Gaza is an abomination. The only silver-lining is that this may be the global wake-up call we have needed for decades; challenging dishonesties we’ve turned a blind eye to and forcing a complete re-think of international peace-building priorities. Israel’s saturation bombing of Gaza, and their casual use of Palestinians for target…
Read MoreFrom farce to (corporate) feudalism
The dangers of Parliament’s retreat from reality Let me be absolutely clear. I do not support violence against the person under any circumstances. This doesn’t just apply to MPs, but to all public service workers operating in stressful situations. But the interweaving of arbitrary violence and the right to public protest raises bigger issues about…
Read MoreFood crises and the spectre of collapse
“Tractors to the left of us, Tractors to the right. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.” This isn’t how Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ poem opens up, but residents of across Europe’s capital cities could be forgiven for thinking it should have done. In Brussels, people had to run the gauntlet…
Read MoreImplosion – can politics be rescued from the Alt-Right?
It is easy to become disillusioned. Wherever you look, identity politics is pushing equality politics to the sidelines. The individual has become more important than the collective. And even the collective is eroded by factionalism. Religious extremism then pulls apart the remaining weave of integration, inclusion and social solidarity. In India, you can see it…
Read More‘Get Back’ – alternatives to a better yesterday
It will be 55 years this month since the Beatles’ iconic, rooftop performance on Saville Row. This was the end of an era, end of a dream. With any luck, this year will see the end of a nightmare. The Conservatives have taken British politics to an all time low. The public are losing faith,…
Read MoreIn the Land of the Bland …
COP28 has been a retreat from nativity into pantomime. For the real world, it drifted closer to tragedy. As the deadline approached, climate activists held their breath but fossil lobbyists held the pursestrings. A host of good people worked their socks off in Dubai, all urging world leaders to grasp the existential emergency we face.…
Read MoreWho will save Israel from itself?
The world breathed a sigh of relief at the ‘pause’ in the Gaza bombings. Most shared something of the relief expressed by families of the released hostages and of the aid getting into Gaza. Many connected with the anxiety of those still waiting for more. And many more just wonder what will follow. Inside Gaza,…
Read MoreFrom the river to the sea – how global politics has abandoned the Middle East
I can barely decide whether to write or weep. The relentless bombing of Gaza is a tragedy of epic proportions. Nothing excuses the atrocities committed by Hamas. But as things stand, a Palestinian child is being killed every 10 minutes from the bombings in Gaza. Some 3,500 children in Gaza have died already; more in…
Read MoreThe Sound of Silence
A politics beyond breakdown It’s hard to focus on anything other than Gaza at the moment. Its incessant bombing won’t have had anyone celebrating Paul Simon’s 82nd birthday by singing “Hello darkness, my old friend…”. By margins that are difficult to comprehend, we are well beyond Israel’s credible limits of ‘legitimate self defence’. The collective…
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