Back to Uni
I’m back in Manchester now, getting settled back in to the university routine. With only a little difficulty, I’ve managed to get my timetable sorted, and everything should be in place for the start of lectures next week. I say ‘with only a little difficulty’, because for some totally pointless reason, the university has abolished departmental offices. So now, if I need to find out something about my course, I have to wait in a very long line to speak to one of the two very harassed, and totally clueless admin people at the ‘Student Information Point’. It’s gone from a system where each department in the faculty had an office of its own, with a couple of full time staff, who knew what they were doing, and knew who the academic staff were, to a system where the whole faculty shares two people who don’t seem to know who half the academic staff are, even the well known and respected ones! Anyway, rant over. The professors are revolting, and trying to put pressure on the university administration, so maybe it won’t stay like it is for long.
Finally Some Blogging Success
My new politics blog seems to be doing well so far. Iain Dale linked to it in one of his lists of new blogs, and I seem to be developing a small audience. This is possibly the first time in about three years of blogging, that I have a successful site. I thought “Code is Simple” would be the site that’d work out, but that clearly didn’t happen.
Anyway, I have the luxury of time just now, so I can easily post updates and keep relatively up to date with political goings on. I don’t know whether that’ll be the same when I get back to university later this month. Hopefully the Thursday Briefing will still keep going.
I’m quite looking forward to getting back to Manchester. Edinburgh is a nice place to be, and the thing I’m working on in Parliament is particularly interesting just now, but there will be so much more to occupy me when I get back to uni, which should be fun.
Read More...More Politics Over There
At Journey's End
My trip to Greece was like most long trips: there was a lot to enjoy, but most of it was sitting on trains (or rather, lying, as I used sleepers and couchettes for large parts of it), feeling bored. The trip was a little unusual, in that I was travelling with a friend from Brussel for the first few days, then I set off on my own for the remainder. It was interesting to see the different characters of all the cities I passed through. Praha felt like a faded jewel; Ljubljana had the same vibe that Edinburgh has, clearly something to do with being the capital of a small country; Zagreb was the first really 'different' city that I reached. It took a little while to get used to it, but once I had, it grew on me. Sofia was one of the best cities which I visited. I didn't actually spend a lot of time exploring Sofia, instead I settled into the brilliant Hostel Mostel for a break from my holiday. There is only so much walking around cities looking at tourist sights that I can manage. After Sofia, I had one last comfortable sleeper train, before becoming acquainted with ΟΣΕ, the Greek state train operator. I say acquainted, really though, that didn't happen until my return journey. From Thessaloniki to Athens, I had to use a coach thanks to a railway strike. I did get to use rail-based public transport in Athens though, with the Metro to Pireus. A quick overnight ship down to Crete brought me to that little corner of England in Crete that is my grandparent's house. I'm not ashamed to say that the first thing I did when I arrived was to make a proper British cup of tea, and watch BBC World News.
Read More...
Rolling On...
I was in Dublin for the
first Inter-Isles Young Greens get-together, which
was great fun. We managed to achieve the perfect
balance between socialising and serious stuff.
Highlights included going on my first Pride march,
and developing a taste for Guinness. The next event
is in Edinburgh, later in the year, so I'm looking
forward to that.
While I was in Ireland, I
managed to squeeze in a trip over to Co. Galway to
visit family. Rural west of Ireland is quite a
contrast to Dublin, shown most clearly in the
difference between a pub in Cong with DJ Eamo (bored
looking man in the corner with a laptop plugged into
the speakers), and pretty much any pub we went to in
the capital.
Anyway, 'twas all fun, as, hopefully, the rest of
Europe will be.
Too Many Trains!
Anyway, I'm partly writing this to try out a new version of the software that runs my blog, and partly to fill in the gap before I put up my next post, which I'm thinking will be a "political" thing. Read More...
A Word Of Explanation On The Herald
Back in 2004, I was in high school and the Scottish Executive wanted to make young people more politically engaged. The result was a glossy magazine with a lot of anti-globalisation text, a picture of a bomb on the cover, and a paragraph urging young people to march in the streets. Looking back, I'm starting to wonder who in the Executive actually approved such a thing! Read More...
Summer is Here!
I spent the weekend in Berlin, at the Federation of Young European Greens General Assembly. It was very interesting. At quite a few points, I was totally lost in the European variant of English that seems to have developed (manifestation is used to mean demo, odd), and a couple of times, I'm shamed to admit, I wasn't completely sure what I was voting for. I didn't get much chance to do touristy things, but I did see the Tiergarten and travel around Berlin on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn a little bit. I've also managed to become the subject of gossip among the DWARS delegation and one of the new executive committee members. Maybe I'll go into that in another post though.
Revision, exams, &c.
Extra-curricularly I've had a bit of success, though its down to lots of other hard-working people too. Unfortunately, though I would love to break the news on this blog, I can't say what exactly it is, though it's in the area of international social justice.
If a thunderbolt of inspiration for a political post comes, I may find some time to write it, but until then, I'll leave you with this personal post. Read More...
Lets Talk
on a blog written by a friend of mine. Read More...
A Busy Time
However, week two was slightly less successful. I stood in the Union Executive elections, so instead of being able to supervise the Fairtrade Fortnight events, I had to wear a fluorescent yellow and pink T-shirt and hand out flyers for my campaign. It paid off, I'm Officer Without Portfolio-Elect, and the rest of the people on my slate all got elected as well. What didn't happen were the Fairtrade stalls that were due to take place. I'm a bit miffed that people didn't take the initiative and run the stalls themselves. Anyway, what's done is done.
The only slight problem with spending so much time on elections and the Fortnight was that I, sort of, forgot about my academic work. Hence, week three has been spent hurriedly writing and submitting course-work. I'm not sure its my best work, but it is in, and hopefully will get a decent mark.
So now I get to rest for a week or so, before exam revision takes over. Read More...
How to do a Hustings
- Be calm, relaxed and confident.
- Know what you're going to say.
- Enjoy it.
Don't:
- Forget manifesto points.
- Tell the returning officer that you've lost it.
- Flee.
Guess which of the two lists I followed.
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Busy Fortnight
The biggest problem that I think I’m going to face is just being able to put in enough time for campaigning. Next week is week two of Fairtrade Fortnight, so I have stalls and a film night to co-ordinate for that. I have classes all week that I can’t miss, and some assessed work to hand in the week after.
I tried making a rosette for the campaign, but it just ended up looking like a Lib. Dem. rosette. I don’t quite know why the slate picked yellow, but I suppose I can probably manage to find a wooly jumper and a cup of tea and just go with the liberal flow.
Throw Down The Blinkers!
Take the interchangeability of the terms 'climate change' and 'global warming' in common conversation. When such a bond between the two terms exists in people's minds, how are you to discuss the possibility of localised cooling as a result of climate change? The link between warming and climate change is so strong that any suggestion that some areas may experience different forms of climatic change just leads to accusations of weak science. Read More...
Why? Just Why?
Lets Not Get Side-tracked
So it was very encouraging to go along to a FYEG seminar on migrant youth in Helsinki last week. Hearing from the speakers who were invited, and meeting other young greens from around Europe was inspiring. Us British can often be too inward looking. I think it is important that we face outwards and participate with our neighbours, learning from them along the way. Anyway, enough of the epic speech style of writing. Its time to be green!
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Come And Be A New Hedonist!
"It's Not That I Don't Like Scottish People..."
"It's not that I don't like Scottish people, I just find their accents very irritating on the radio."
There's more which you can hear on the listen again section of the R4 web-site for the next seven days.
I'm used to the fact that Radio 4 listeners spend most of their day with a notepad and pen, ready to write in to the BBC at the slightest hint of something different or, heaven forbid, a grammatical error, but when they start writing in about anyone other than a middle-class English person from the home counties presenting programmes, I'm always a little surprised.
A couple of years ago, a very experienced continuity announcer from the World Service transferred to Radio 4. He lasted for about two months. His crime: being Ghanaian on Radio 4! There were the same letters in to Feedback from people in Surrey calling for his immediate dismissal. The fact that he spoke very clear English just didn't seem to register to the traditional Radio 4 listeners. In fact, had this continuity announcer spoken without clarity, he would have never lasted at the World Service, a station which at that time had the majority of its audience listening on short wave.
The resistance to change on Radio 4 even extends to the stations branding. Recently, all BBC stations were given updated branding. If you visit the Radio 1, 2, 3, 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra, 6 Music, BBC 7, Asian Network and 1xtra sites, you'll find this new unified brand. If you visit the Radio 4 site, you'll find the old brand. The new R4 brand is relegated to the new media output of the station, which is unlikely to be accessed by the core 'Surrey' audience.
Being 20 Means Work, Work and More Work!
Aside from preparing for and clearing up after a dinner party, I have pretty much spent the rest of the week revising for an Italian assessment that I had today. I'm not sure that I did all that well, but I really don't know what standard was expected of me, so I'll have to wait until next week to see if I passed.
Pass the Spanner
It seems fairly obvious that there are two reasons that we are having these questions. Firstly, we have no single written document stating how we shall be ruled, and secondly, as humans, we have a desire for the new and the modern. I have to say that I quite like the idea of the UK being one of only two states in the world to have an unwritten constitution. It is reflective of the fairly unique status of Britain as being a country that has tried on most forms of government at one time or another: absolute monarchy, republic, colony, imperial power and so on, but has finally settled on one without the need for a major modern revolution. But by slowly adopting and adapting, we have caused some little problems here and there in the make up of the state. Read More...
I am a Thief!
I really don't understand why one incorrect entry caused by a slightly jammed keypad should be cause for a block to be put on my account, but that is what seems to happen.
It would of course have to happen on the same day that my bike got a flat tyre just as I was leaving for uni, that I was late for my first lecture, and that I had forgotten to do the reading for my modern politics class, but I suppose that it is good to get all the bad things concentrated into one day so that they are over and done with!
Settling In
When I first moved to Manchester for the first year of my course at Uni, I spent the first few weeks just settling in and trying to get used to the whole idea of living away from home and being in a city and country with a quite different culture from that which I grew up with. This past week, I have been sort of doing that again. I just started back at Uni for the second year of my course, and its quite strange how all the totally new experiences are mixing with lots of familiar stuff.
I have to find a launderette and work out how to
use storage heaters and an Economy 7 water heater,
but I know my way around campus and can find most of
my lecture theaters without getting lost. It helps
that I have a decent place to live this year. Last
year, I was in a really bad hall of residence in
Hulme, sharing a flat with people who I didn't really
get along with. This year, I have a comfortable flat
in Didsbury which, thanks to their cheap furniture,
almost resembles a page out of an Ikea catalogue. I'm
still getting the hang of things, but I feel a lot
more settled than I did last year.
The Greens are Gathering!
Every year, 20,000 or so hippies congregate on top of the Mendip Hills in Somerset. It is called the Big Green Gathering. I just got back from this year's Gathering, so I thought I would do a joint blog and photo posting.
The idea of the festival is to let people learn about green lifestyles, and swap ideas or bring important things to peoples attention. There's also a lot of great music. One of the best experiences the festival offers is just to be able to know that you are not alone in caring about the environment. And with twenty thousand people in just a few fields, you pretty quickly get to see the full green spectrum! Among stall-holders this year were "Hunt Saboteurs", the Simultaneous Policy people, and the Squatters Rights group who, rather amusingly, put up posters for a forum titled "Beyond Squatting" on the doors to every portaloo on site!
I have to mention the Simultaneous Policy people because their idea is just so unusual that I was surprised to see them back at this years festival. The gist of the idea is that nation-states can make decisions that could affect matters such as trade and investment more easily if they all make the decision at the same time. It removes the disadvantage in being an early adopter and possibly losing the trade or investment to another state which has not implemented the idea. To be perfectly honest, while it may sound like a good idea, I think that it is just really incredibly idealistic and naive to think that this could ever work in the current international community. Anyway, they seem like nice people with good intentions.
One of the musical highlights of the festival was
Martha Tilston's performance. I don't think that she
is particularly well known outside the realm of folk
music, but she is an absolutely amazing artist.
Because most of the audience got to the venue before
she probably even left her tent, she had to tune
instruments and warm up in front of everyone, but I
think that just added to the experience. At the end,
she managed to sneak off stage and out of the tent,
leaving everyone in the audience still singing her
last song!
I Have Entered Politics, I Can Say Untruths With A Straight Face!
It is official. I have entered politics! With my first letter to the Edinburgh Evening News, I have sparked two people on the EEN web forum to strongly disagree with me and call me a "career-driven supporter" of the SGP, speaking "no more than blatant propaganda"! Here are the posts in full:
#12(#10 Climate Truth) - Wow! It is good to hear from someone who can speak knowledgeably about these issues that have been reduced to no more than blatant propaganda by the Greens and too many career-driven supporters. Climate Truth's comment refers to the latest IPCC report allegedly supported by "2,500 scientists" and to the "Summary for Policy Makers" which has been released in advance of the report proper. If I understand correctly, this Summary was issued before the report proper was finalised. However, it was announced that the report would not be changed except to bring it into line with the Summary - completely the wrong way round! The summary should be of the findings of the Report! It is not only Tom Redford who says such untruths with a straight face - Greens as a group are lying their way through the Press. A couple of days ago we had another who stated as fact something that was just not true, not misinterpreted, not misunderstood but just not true. And these people have the gall to suggest we vote for them!
#14Yes (12), I too dislike this propaganda that the Greens are using to present their argument. It implies that they have a very weak case so have to use the "big lie" to make their argument. Tom Redford says that Helen Martin "writes that the scientific community is divided on the matter of whether climate change is caused by human activities. This is simply not true." That statement is simply not true, as Climate Truth says with significant references to dissenting scientists. At least Steuart Campbell, whilst supporting TOm [sic] Redford's view, is honest enough to admit the reality - that pursuing the Greens' policy would wreck the economy, a significant factor in my view. I had the privilege to attend the lecture given some months ago by Bjorn Lomborg, who left Greenpeace at the same time as one of the co-founders. They took the view that the argument had been won, that people were correctly concerned about ecology and it was no longer necessary to pursue confrontation to make their case. Too many Greenpeace activists enjoyed confrontation to follow their lead, leading to that schism. Lomborg argues that whilst everyone should be concerned about the planet, Kyoto required far more investment than the improvements that it could create. It couldn't produce a realistic return on the investment, both in activity and financial cost. He even wrote a book about all the other steps that could be taken instead with far greater benefit to the planet and its inhabitants. He has been described as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He also disagrees with the IPCC "findings".
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