Monthly Archives: April 2010

The class war within the class war

Posted on April 30, 2010 by dwighttowers

Plus ca bloody change, eh? “at the 2008 Earth First! Gathering there was a long debate about the CCA. Out of this it emerged that the division of labour within the camp was falling along class and political lines. That … Continue reading →

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“Oh bee-hive!” or “We ain’t never gonna survive…”

Posted on April 30, 2010 by dwighttowers

unless we get a little crazy. I don’t like being got along to events on false pretenses. They should do what they say on the bally tin. And the “Hive Minds Symposium” on “Future-proofing Manchester” most definitely did NOT. It … Continue reading →

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Song of the (French or any other nationality) partisan

Posted on April 30, 2010 by dwighttowers

So I read this journal article- Party Over Policy: The Dominating Impact of Group Influence on Political Beliefs by Geoffrey Cohen It’s pretty dense- not easy bed-time reading (trust me, I tried). Perhaps the best use of your time is … Continue reading →

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Democracy is Coming

Posted on April 28, 2010 by dwighttowers

The title is, I assure you, ironic. Two long quotes, two images (one from my mate Marc Roberts) and one zinger. Every four years the state forces some of their managerial staff – MPs – to re-apply for their jobs, … Continue reading →

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Dilemmas of Democracy

Posted on April 27, 2010 by dwighttowers

Last week I was at an seminar called “Mobilizing Democracy to Tackle Climate Change.” It was, as all these things are, a curate’s egg. One of the best bits was the introductory talk (and well-handled Q and A) by Ian … Continue reading →

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Peachy Keen

Posted on April 27, 2010 by dwighttowers

So, the BBC announces that a Scotland Yard report says “A police officer is likely to have “struck the fatal blow” which killed [Blair Peach] in west London 31 years ago.” Well, you could blow me down with a feather. … Continue reading →

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Are Academics Irrelevant? The Sequel

Posted on April 26, 2010 by dwighttowers

Blogged recently on the question above, (after an earlier snipe) and have stumbled, via an Aussie called James Whelan, on an American called Randy Stoecker. His 1999 piece for “American Behavioural Scientist” (yeah, I know, who knew?) is quite useful … Continue reading →

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Chimp #11

Posted on April 25, 2010 by dwighttowers

Hmm. Flicked through a couple of issues of this at the newsagent, but finally decided to gamble £1.80 for no particular reason on issue 11. I am not its target demographic, it seems (too old to be clubbing, not enough … Continue reading →

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Are academics irrelevant?

Posted on April 25, 2010 by dwighttowers

And here was me thinking the question was a purely rhetorical one! But have just read Dr James “the change agency” Whelan’s 2002 paper, which gives “case studies of university collaboration with community-based environmental advocates”, and find the answer has … Continue reading →

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Shi(f)t magazine reviewed

Posted on April 24, 2010 by dwighttowers

Shift magazine has been going since late 2007. I think its editors think it presents thought-provoking and useful-to-the-movement reflections. If that’s right, they’re wrong. As per the critique of their “Climate Camp Reader,” they seem to select articles they agree … Continue reading →

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