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How TTIP fits perfectly with the Deregulation Act, which can overrule all other laws if they affect growth or corporate interests
The Deregulation Bill, proposed by Tory privatiser Oliver Letwin, slipped into law at the end of the last Parliament. It can change all other law, according to criteria of ‘growth’ i.e. business interests. It fits perfectly with the EU’s deregulatory agenda, and that of TTIP and the other new ‘trade’ agreements, which have largely come …
What do you think about about this video by Rob Newman, and what does that say about you?
This is ‘the History of Oil’ by comedian Rob Newman. You might have seen it already, but if not, have a look – it’s very funny, as well as spot-on. He mentions the Radio 4 news item – that there was ‘an American plan to bring democracy to the Middle East’, and marvels at the …
Well done for fighting food waste, Hugh; but let’s take it a step further
Have you seen any of the TV programmes about food waste, hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall? He’s trying to highlight the amount of food that gets wasted in the UK – which is truly phenomenal, and a ridiculous waste of land, money, energy and time.
Join the people who are fighting back against corporate control of global food production
There’s something seriously wrong with the way most of our food is produced and sold. The corporate sector is gaining control of more and more of global food production, shifting the focus from nutrition, flavour and nature towards profit and profit only.
Beware the ‘sharing’ economy – back door for a more rapacious form of capitalism
Something that’s been troubling me for a while. The ‘sharing’ economy must be a good thing, right? I’ve been trying to see the good in it for a while. Sharing anything must mean that fewer resources are used, less waste produced, people get to know each other in their communities. All sounds great, doesn’t it?
Free event in Oxfordshire this Sunday using game theory to explore Trident and the potential for nuclear conflict
An experimental day looking at aspects of game theory in parallel with discussions around the replacement of the Trident nuclear deterrent.
TPP is not secret any more; we can now see the text of the deal, and it’s worse than we thought
The text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (deal similar to TTIP, but for Pacific Rim countries) has been agreed. However, there are some US politicians who are already calling for it to be re-negotiated, because big pharmaceutical corporations don’t think they get enough.
The Yamagishi Association: successful, moneyless, leaderless network of communes in Japan and elsewhere
In the 1990s I visited the headquarters of the Yamagishi Association in Mie-ken in Japan. It’s a federation of intentional communities that is still going strong – but even then it comprised 3000 people in 30 villages all over Japan
How much do you know about TTIP? Take the quiz
Here is a quiz developed by the wonderful Transnational Institute to test your knowledge of TTIP.
Should the international response to mass killings be the same, regardless of where they take place?
I’m guessing that most people’s answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’. There are no countries, surely, whose citizens are more important than the citizens of any other country?
There are plans to water down the Freedom of Information Act; here’s what you can do
In the great state/corporate battle against you, the latest round is an attempt to water down the Freedom of Information Act (other major assaults are TTIP and the Global Redesign Initiative). This is the act that brought you the MPs’ expenses scandal, and the fact that the UK government worked with chemical corporations to block …
Condensed: Paul Mason’s ‘Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future’
Paul Mason has a book out called Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future, and below is a video of a recent public debate at St. Paul’s Cathedral, featuring Mason talking about his book with Ann Pettifor and Phillip Blond.
How Charlie and Meg’s self-built, natural home finally received planning permission with the help of the One Planet Council
You may remember a previous article about Charlie and Meg’s natural home in Pembrokeshire, that the planners decided needed to be bulldozed because it was ‘harmful to the rural character of the locality’. See here.
The number of people with allergies is rising rapidly; but 10 times as many people believe that they have allergies, when in fact they don’t
Just heard a Radio 4 programme about allergies, which dovetailed with a lot of our beliefs. Here are the highlights.
Why do giant corporations pretend to be small, local, craft businesses?
Jack Daniel’s is a classic example of this. You must have seen their ads – on posters, in magazines, on TV? The ones where they try to disguise a massive corporate behemoth as a folksy, friendly, small, local business? Old men in dungarees play cards on upturned barrels
‘Why?’ does consumer organisation ‘Which?’ support TTIP? (and what you can do about it)
Although the UK consumer organisation ‘Which?’ expresses some concerns about TTIP (the US/EU free trade agreement) the organisation’s main message is that TTIP is likely to be good for consumers as it may possibly mean some lower prices.
What are we supposed to teach children about nature nowadays, without frightening them?
My little boy Alfred, just turned 6, pays close attention to what he hears. Sometimes this means that we need to be very careful in case he remembers something and then blurts it out in front of just the wrong person. It’s already clear that he’d make an awful spy.
Global Redesign Initiative: how banks and corporations are planning to become global governors
This report is really something that everyone in the world should understand, because it spells out precisely what the corporate sector intends to do.
‘The Tyranny of Structurelessness’: some thoughts
The Tyranny of Structurelessness is a seminal essay by Joreen Freeman (above), written in 1970. I read it for the first time recently, but I’ve known about it for many years, and in fact, I lived in an intentional community where it was regularly mentioned, and at least some of us lived by its main …
Why international investors (i.e. ‘the 1%’) couldn’t care less about politics
Bloomberg recently covered a Credit Suisse report on the concerns of international investors in the US, in Europe and in Asia. What they found was very interesting – that their concerns were entirely economic. They just couldn’t care less about politics – and especially who gets elected in which country.