Friday 6 September 2013
Friday 5 April 2013
Slactivism of the day: Save the Bees with @wwwfoecouk and @38_degrees
Woke up today to an inbox dominated by breaking news on bees!
From Friends of the Earth:
"In the last few hours the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has told the Government they got it wrong when they chose not to support a ban of the worst bee-harming pesticides.
Please sign our Director's letter if you think the Government should support the ban.
From Friends of the Earth:
"In the last few hours the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has told the Government they got it wrong when they chose not to support a ban of the worst bee-harming pesticides.
Please sign our Director's letter if you think the Government should support the ban.
The EAC has spent months hearing evidence on both sides of the argument. And they've concluded that 3 neonicotinoid pesticides should be banned and that Government policy on pesticides should be overhauled.
If enough of us add our names we can persuade the Government to accept the EAC's recommendations - and follow the lead of the DIY stores and garden centres that have already taken some of the most dangerous pesticides off their shelves."
I don't think it is possible to underestimate the importance of bees and the damage already done to them. Now we can start to make it better, but only if we get the Government to act.
Friday 22 March 2013
Slactivism of the day - stop the Dangerous Blogs Bill from @OpenRightsGroup
Most of you will have noticed various petitions springing up about the well-intentioned but badly rushed plans to implement the Leveson report recommendations. Obviously anything decided and written at 2am is going to have flaws, as anyone who has worked that late knows, and the major flaw is that it does not exclude most of the Internet from this.
Questions immediately asked included very sensible ones about who would be responsible for the comments in a blog if covered by the new laws since, as everyone knows, the bottom half of the Internet can be a very dangerous place.
Although I broadly welcome what has been proposed with respect to the print media, I acknowledge there is much room for improvement.
Open Rights Group emailed me today asking people to email Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Harriet Harman, with your own MP copied in, to make sure your voice is heard on their debate. Specifically, to ask for the Internet to be left out of the Leveson plans, or add to New Schedule 5 of the Crime and Courts Bill to exclude: “A publisher who does not exceed the definition of a small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Section 382 and 465 Companies Act 2006.”"
You can join their campaign here. You can also sign up to receive regular email updates from Open Rights Group, who campaign for our rights in an increasingly digital world.
Their strapline for this is: "Don't clobber bloggers with Leveson.". I completely agree.
Slactivism of the Day is a new feature in which I will pick out whichever I think is the most important plea for campaign help in my inbox each day. If for any reason I don't get any, I will subject you to my choice of LibDemmery.
Questions immediately asked included very sensible ones about who would be responsible for the comments in a blog if covered by the new laws since, as everyone knows, the bottom half of the Internet can be a very dangerous place.
Although I broadly welcome what has been proposed with respect to the print media, I acknowledge there is much room for improvement.
Open Rights Group emailed me today asking people to email Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Harriet Harman, with your own MP copied in, to make sure your voice is heard on their debate. Specifically, to ask for the Internet to be left out of the Leveson plans, or add to New Schedule 5 of the Crime and Courts Bill to exclude: “A publisher who does not exceed the definition of a small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Section 382 and 465 Companies Act 2006.”"
You can join their campaign here. You can also sign up to receive regular email updates from Open Rights Group, who campaign for our rights in an increasingly digital world.
Their strapline for this is: "Don't clobber bloggers with Leveson.". I completely agree.
Slactivism of the Day is a new feature in which I will pick out whichever I think is the most important plea for campaign help in my inbox each day. If for any reason I don't get any, I will subject you to my choice of LibDemmery.
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Dropping out changed my life (and it was good)
I dropped out of uni. It was the right thing to do but I've never really found the words to say why. I've mumbled various excuses about family problems and depression and stuff, but I was never really happy with the academic side, and all my time at York did was ignite my passion for political activism.
This video from my friend Hannah says it so much better than I ever could:
I've ended up working in something I'm truly passionate about, and I met the love of my life because of my passion. Not because of putting myself through something I didn't want to to get a piece of paper.
Maybe one day I will go back and get that piece of paper to prove to myself I can. But only on my terms. Because I want to.
Until then, I have elections to win.
This video from my friend Hannah says it so much better than I ever could:
I've ended up working in something I'm truly passionate about, and I met the love of my life because of my passion. Not because of putting myself through something I didn't want to to get a piece of paper.
Maybe one day I will go back and get that piece of paper to prove to myself I can. But only on my terms. Because I want to.
Until then, I have elections to win.
Wednesday 13 February 2013
Slactivism
I think everyone knows what I mean by the phrase slactivism. It divides opinion. For some it is a way of engaging people in politics who wouldn't otherwise do so. For others, it is an annoyance, especially if they are on the receiving end of hundreds of identical emails all demanding a reply.
Personally I think it is a useful development in politics. Transcending party politics in an era where politicians are suffering a massive decline in trust across the board combined with the greatest technological advance of recent times, the Internet, is enabling people to directly influence decisions in a way they never have before. You can show your support for a cause by the simple act of writing an email or signing a petition, knowing you are not alone and that there are people working tirelessly to coordinate campaigns for that cause.
Take the example of Hugh's Fish Fight. With the support of over 800,000 petition signatories, one man has led a successful campaign to change EU policy. It shows the potential this method has.
Now this doesn't sound too far away from the traditional methods of community politics, finding an issue, campaigning tirelessly and gathering petition signatures, just on a much bigger scale. The Internet has brought the world a lot closer together, and the people a lot closer to those with power.
I have supported campaigns on many issues through this method. I am a "member" of 38 Degrees and Avaaz, although I don't agree with everything they do. Other campaigning organisations I support including CAMRA and Friends of the Earth are increasingly using these methods to add impetus to campaigns they run.
As my blog develops, I intend to write regularly about campaigns I support and those I don't, and in some cases writing down the arguments for or against may help me decide. What the topics are depends entirely on what arrives in my inbox!
Personally I think it is a useful development in politics. Transcending party politics in an era where politicians are suffering a massive decline in trust across the board combined with the greatest technological advance of recent times, the Internet, is enabling people to directly influence decisions in a way they never have before. You can show your support for a cause by the simple act of writing an email or signing a petition, knowing you are not alone and that there are people working tirelessly to coordinate campaigns for that cause.
Take the example of Hugh's Fish Fight. With the support of over 800,000 petition signatories, one man has led a successful campaign to change EU policy. It shows the potential this method has.
Now this doesn't sound too far away from the traditional methods of community politics, finding an issue, campaigning tirelessly and gathering petition signatures, just on a much bigger scale. The Internet has brought the world a lot closer together, and the people a lot closer to those with power.
I have supported campaigns on many issues through this method. I am a "member" of 38 Degrees and Avaaz, although I don't agree with everything they do. Other campaigning organisations I support including CAMRA and Friends of the Earth are increasingly using these methods to add impetus to campaigns they run.
As my blog develops, I intend to write regularly about campaigns I support and those I don't, and in some cases writing down the arguments for or against may help me decide. What the topics are depends entirely on what arrives in my inbox!
Welcome to #blogsfromwiggin
I've been on about starting a proper blog for ages, so it's about time I actually did it. I had even got as far as setting this page up, but never posted, so finally getting round to writing something is an achievement in itself!
Expect a lot of politics, particularly of a Liberal Democrat persuasion, local campaigning in Peterborough, and bits and pieces of my other interests, including but not limited to sport especially football, music, technology and the Internet, and dogs.
I hope this can be the start of something big, if not in the grand scheme of things then for me personally, and I hope you enjoy my offerings to the world.
Best wishes (and lots of hugs),
Chris
Expect a lot of politics, particularly of a Liberal Democrat persuasion, local campaigning in Peterborough, and bits and pieces of my other interests, including but not limited to sport especially football, music, technology and the Internet, and dogs.
I hope this can be the start of something big, if not in the grand scheme of things then for me personally, and I hope you enjoy my offerings to the world.
Best wishes (and lots of hugs),
Chris
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