Velvet unrevolution

Just scanning the news and noticed that the incumbents in Romania are claiming an election win which is being contested by the opposition. Could be bandwagon? Could be true? Just finding it an interesting sign- we're what nearly fifteen years into freedom in some of these places. Is this a pattern we shoud expect? Not sure I have any profound thoughts, just think it could be an interesting winter.

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Living in a post democracy

How to live in a post democracy So- the last post was pretty gloomy, but all is not lost. Here are five things we can do. 1 Register to vote and tell everyone you know to do the same. Our best hope is to vote and make our voices heard in the time honoured fashion. Vote in everything, even if you spoil your paper. We have to show that this is still the way. 2 Subscribe. If we want a diverse media we have to pay for it. Become a member of the Guardian or pay for the Independent online. Or buy the Mirror. And for goodness sake BUY A TV LICENCE! You may also want to consider joining a Union. 3 Support the positive. For those of us who can afford local, organic produce then lets be intentional about it. Lets be intentional about using local energy supply and seeking companies who already have a commitment to things like good food labelling and non GM (which also includes Aldi and Iceland as far as I am aware). There is a list of companies who are anti TTIP. They are primarily...

Poppies, jingoism and the word absurd!

Morning one and all. Well I am back from holiday and in a particularly shoot from the hip place! So today's topic of tirade is poppy fascism! Its a strong comment but I think its where we have gotten to as a nation. As I tap away many folks are getting in a little tizzy about the fact that England can't wear poppies on their shirts on Saturday. FIFA is being pilloried as if they had run over the Queen Mother's cat in a hummer whilst playing gangster rap! What FIFA is actually doing is holding to the line that stops Israel celebrating the 1967 land grab, or Iran commemorating its losses in the last thirty years. Or actually more comparatively, it stops there being a Comic Relief shirt, or a Children In Need one.. or some other charity. Because in our latter day tyranny where one gets stared down if one doesn't wear a poppy, we have forgotten that the Poppy campaign is just that. It is a charity fundraiser. I am not saying that the British Legion is not worthy of ra...

Halloween Madness (but not as you might think)

I went shopping today with my family (dad, mum and niece). As is traditional in the family Smith, first stop was for a quick coffee before hitting the stores. Was just about to wander to a comfy seat with my latte when a suitably rotund witch acosted me and my niece to ask if we wanted to do the Halloween Ghost hunt. Now as you can imagine I don't really go for halloween, and was slightly offended that John Lewis (surely a bastion of demure Englishness) had bought into the loveless Americafest of Halloween. However my niece was intrigued by the lure of the lucky dip if she were to find the twelve ghosts hidden in twelve 'never knowingly undersold' departments. So after coffee the quest began.. the first one in childrenswear was easily found, but thats where the error was. We should have just stopped at that point. But no! It got into our little heads (well me mum and dad's) that we should now get all twelve. How hard could it be? So, we split up (tactics fol...

Jude Smith

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