Links tagged with “politics”
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A New Theory of Justice by Samuel Freeman | The New York Review of Books
Starts with a good summary of John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Justice’, then Amartya Sen’s critique of that, then the article’s author, Samuel Freeman’s, critique of that. But subscribers only, booo.
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GOODIES AND BADDIES
Adam Curtis tells a good story, and he usually ends up making me think differently about things. This one’s about armed humanitarian intervention.
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Why “#StartUpBritain” is nothing more than a government backed link farm
Good stuff about the embarrassing content-free coupon-fest that is Start Up Britain. (via @cityofsound)
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Potlatch: An open letter to the hipster
Will Davies calling on hipsters to be more politically aware (to very crudely summarise). Reminds me a bit of Adam Curtis at The Story talking about how the stories we tell online ignore the political structure of the net. (via Tom Taylor)
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Albert Einstein Institution - Publications - 005 From Dictatorship to Democracy
Full PDF text of this 1993 book by Gene Sharp, who was interviewed on ‘Today’ this morning. It’s apparently been cited by some of those in the current revolutions.
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LRB · Vol. 33 No. 1 · 6 January 2011 · letters
I must have missed the government’s embarrassment and apologies over its peaceful citizens being treated like this by the police in the student protests.
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LRB · David Runciman · Look…
For this: “a new divide in British public life: between the people who say ‘Look…’ and the people who say ‘So…’”
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A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain (VersoBooks.com)
Oh, that looks good doesn’t it. Fills a gap that I now realise was aching to be filled.
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LRB · Ross McKibbin · Nothing to do with the economy
On the cuts. The bigger the cuts, the more it makes the economy seem in more trouble than it is, and this in turn makes the previous Labour government look more incompetent. Also, the Liberals as a friendly fig leaf hiding the Tories’ extreme ideas. Fuckers.
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LRB · Stefan Collini · Browne’s Gamble
A good account of the inconsistencies of the Browne Report into the future of funding Britain’s higher education. Sounds like it’s written by people for whom education is simply a way of earning MOAR MONEY.
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Americans Are Horribly Misinformed About Who Has Money - Politics - GOOD
It’s staggering, as ever, to see how financially unequal the country is, but also fascinating to see how people don’t realise it. I’m not sure I’d have responded much more accurately, and it’s also probably similar in the UK. (via @ianbetteridge)
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The inhumane detention conditions of Bradley Manning - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
I increasingly find myself thinking that if the USA were a country that was mainly, say, Muslim, or full of dark-skinned, non-English-speaking people, the “West” would be deploring its behaviour, talking about sanctions, etc.
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Wikileaks and the Long Haul
Yes. I’m unsure about the Wikileaks thing too, but the US’s government’s reaction to it is the thing that scares me.
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Julian Assange and the Computer Conspiracy; “To destroy this invisible government” « zunguzungu
Interesting post on Assange’s ideas behind the leaks and, whether you agree with him or not, there’s more to it than simply publicising specific secret acts.
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Julian Assange and the Computer Conspiracy; “To destroy this invisible government” « zunguzungu
Interesting post on Assange’s ideas behind the leaks and, whether you agree with him or not, there’s more to it than simply publicising specific secret acts.
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Designswarm thoughts » Blog Archive » The politician’s handbook to East London
Alex in very, very good form on the East London Tech City initiative. I have the same unease about equating small start-ups with providing good space and conditions for huge tech companies. Related, but different things and requirements. (via Blech)
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The government shouldn’t hang on Google’s every word | Charles Arthur | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
Yes, it’s good the government is making positive noises about technology, start-ups etc, but also, this. (Although, are you really surprised a government, especially Conservative, is taking policy advice from large companies?)
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Our Banana Republic - NYTimes.com
“From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent.” And yet still many average people vote for the Republicans. (via Daring Fireball)
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Modern Two-Party System in the Senate Timeline
Fascinating and detailed graph of shifts in Republican/Democrat senators from 1857-2006. I’d love to see something similar for the UK.
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Monbiot.com » Toxic Brew
[Slight ‘Rubicon’ spoiler ahead.] Interesting, scary stuff about Koch Industries, the Tea Party, and astro-turfing. But, pessimistically, I can’t help thinking of ‘Rubicon’s Spengler saying: “Make your report Will. Knock ‘em dead … Do you really think anyone is going to give a shit?” (via @edmittance)
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Mac Bundy Said He Was ‘All Wrong’ by William Pfaff | The New York Review of Books
About the Vietnam War, but also good on parallels with Iraq/Afghanistan, and how only one or two ideas can shape events that affect continents, very similar to that Adam Curtis article about a “global terror network”.
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K-punk: The Great Bullingdon Club Swindle
Trying to find some optimism for the left from this almighty mess. (via @moleitau)
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Rejectamentalist manifesto
China Mieville with questions addressed to a hypothetical Liberal Democrat voter who still believes in a progressive agenda. “So it has to be asked of you: WTF?”
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The Pope and the Axis of Terror
Adam Curtis on the manufacturing of the idea of a “global terror network” from the 1970s to today. Fascinating story, worth the time to read. Shame the BBC’s video clips are only in Flash though.
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Put up or shut up - Roger Ebert’s Journal
24 per cent of Republicans believe Obama is the Antichrist. The Antichrist. Hard to know where to start, but I guess Ebert’s thoughts are a first step. Today, I am liking Britain.
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Confessions of a Tea Party Casualty | Mother Jones
Fascinating to read about the “tea party-isation” of the Republican party, with more reasonable office-holders running scared. Scary, but fascinating. (via Daring Fireball)
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Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered « OOO
Fascinating look at a group of conservative Digg members who vote down Digg stories they disagree with. A few years ago this would be science fiction. (via Waxy)
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If Britain decides to ban the burqa I might just start wearing one | David Mitchell | Comment is free | The Observer
All wonderfully, beautifully sensible. “It’s not bigoted to disagree vociferously with people’s choices, as long as you’re even more vociferous in defending their right to make them.”
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LRB · Alex de Waal · Dollarised
Interesting article about the place of patronage, bribery, etc in non-“Western” countries and why simply trying to circumvent it, or stamp it out, isn’t a good route to reform.
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The voices of liberty have triumphed and Britain is better for it | Henry Porter | Comment is free | The Observer
I feel pleasantly confused about being relieved at the death of a Labour government and the repeal of some of their laws. (via Chrisdodo)
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Vote for Policies - Vote for policies, not personalities!
I should be mostly voting Green apparently, which doesn’t hugely surprise me.
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LRB · John Lanchester · The Great British Economy Disaster
Another must-read. “This is a direct transfer of wealth from the taxpayer to the banks, and the only difference between it and an actual, physical licence to print money is that the banks don’t have a piece of paper with the words ‘Official Licence to Print Money’ written across the top.”
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Tea Party Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right - NYTimes.com
interesting article on the “Tea Party” Right in America. Also scary. Hadn’t realised how much they had in common with crazy paranoid Patriots.
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That’s quite good. Off of 4chan.
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Open Rights Group | The Digital Economy Bill - a first critical look
Good, and alarming, summary of that bloody bill.
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LRB · Roy Mayall: Diary
A good day to finally read this report from a pseudonymous postman. “Figures are down” but volumes are up; companies are important, ordinary people aren’t.
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Government Beyond Obama? - The New York Review of Books
A review of ‘The Case for Big Government’ from March 2009, good at putting levels of US federal government spending in a historical perspective.
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Senator Charles Grassley on the costs of health care (C-SPAN video)
In case you missed the clips on The Daily Show, here’s the full video of Grassley’s bizarre cartoon-powered Arthurian mixed metaphors. It’s stunning that this nonsense happens in government.
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Welcome To The North » A whole lot of nothing
A transcript of an interview with Doncaster’s new mayor, whose election manifesto might as well have been written by people who post the BBC’s Have Your Say comments. (via Haddock)
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LRB · John Lanchester: It’s Finished
Very long but very worth reading, on the collapse of the banks. One day I hope there’s a book called “John Lanchester Explains Everything”.
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BBC News | Programmes | Newsnight | Stephen Fry dismisses MPs’ expenses row
Exactly what I needed. Stephen Fry putting the infuriating and angry-making MPs’ expenses stuff into perspective. It’s a very bad thing but there are more important things to get angry about. (via Tom Taylor)
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The Straight Choice | The election leaflet project
I’m slightly unsure about the “why” of this project but it has a great pedigree so I’m sure it will be a Good Thing.
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Monbiot.com » You Stand for Nothing But Election
Using TheyWorkForYou data to demonstrate Hazel Blears’ spineless voting record. “You create an impenetrable political monoculture, then moan that people don’t engage in politics.” (via Stef on Twitter)
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Simon Jenkins: Here’s proof. The innocent do have something to fear | Comment is free | The Guardian
“One of the few home secretaries who dominated his department rather than be cowed by it was Lord Whitelaw in the 1980s. He boasted how after any security lapse, the police would come to beg for new and draconian powers. He laughed and sent them packing…” (via Preoccupations)
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Charlie Brooker: To politicians, we’re little more than meaningless blobs on a monitor | Comment is free | The Guardian
I’m going through that periodic “who can I bring myself to vote for?” dilemma and this just makes it worse. Just one good party would be enough. (via Lee)
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Write to Reply
Aims to provide a way to comment on individual paragraphs of public reports (starting with ‘Digital Britain’). Great stuff (not sure about the way comments are integrated (or not) though).
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Schneier on Security: The Future of Ephemeral Conversation
“The younger generation chats digitally, and the older generation treats those chats as written correspondence. … until we have a Presidential election where both candidates have a complete history on social networking sites from before they were teenagers — we aren’t fully an information age society.” (via Oblinks)
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Barack Obama: How He Did It | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008 | Newsweek.com
A series of seven articles about the campaigns. Worth a long read. (via Kottke)
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YouTube - Daily Show - Federal Bail Out
I could link to the Daily Show every day but here Jon Stewart *really* gets going on Congress. If you only have two minutes to spare, skip to 2:30 for a very fine, and justified, rant. Can we clone him for the UK?
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David Cameron: More people engaged in local life means local politics revitalised
Cameron wants more local government data published online in open formats for people to do stuff with. Cites TheyWorkForYou.com. (via Alan Connor)
