A horrible day of news

Today was one of those days when the news will just damage that little bit of faith left you had in society. Perhaps it was simply that I was in a bad mood, or perhaps it was because the parents that kept their child near-starving in a coal cellar with a pot of his own urine received just two years in jail, or maybe it was because more have been confirmed dead in a mass slaughter in Syria, to which the UN have so far responded with absolutely nothing, or perhaps it was because 5 people have now drowned as a result of this lovely weather we have been having, whichever reason it was, it only served to darken my mood.

As a strict determinist (a position I avidly defended against a Satre fan today!) punishment is a tricky issue for me, but really, society needs the reassurance that people that neglect and starve their own children will be subject to a damn sight more than 2 years, if only to make damn sure they're too old to procreate again when they're let out.

This has been a darker, much less eloquent blog than normal, but serves as an accurate reflection of Goethe news made me feel today.

The Nature of Activism

The prevalence of social media in today's society has done charity work, social causes and even full scale revolutions a world of good; it has trumpeted issues to the top of political agendas and helped bring down dictatorships. However, there are two sides to every story, and there is a degree to which the sensationalism caused by activism through social media can undermine genuine causes.

The case in point right now is clearly Joseph Kony and the KONY2012 campaign (for those that aren't aware of this, links will be posted at the end of this blog, but really...get with the times people!). I am not ashamed to admit that upon seeing the video, I immediately re-tweeted and facebooked the link-caught up in a swell of activism. However, it took only a few moments before I began to think about what I had just done-promoted a cause that I had known very little about, based on a 27 minute video. Unsurprisingly, I soon found counter-posts on tumblr, disputing many claims the original video made and it got me thinking...what activism is good activism? With so many causes in the world, how do we decide? Is it a good thing that a well made video and Twitter campaign can put the plight of some above the plight of others? Because, in reality, focus on one problem in Uganda takes away the focus of 12 problems somewhere else.

Obviously, voicing such questions draws accusations of callousness and given the popularity of the KONY2012 campaign, I am well aware that I am on the "wrong" side of this issue. Regardless, I feel compelled to ask these questions. The nature of activism in the 21st century is that the accessibility of "a voice" which would have in the past need to have been a huge, organised group of the well funded, can now be found free on a public library computer. This creates an air of obligation-a duty to conform to latest trend of issues, obviously this can be positive, but it can equally damage genuine causes, I do not have enough information to back the KONY2012 campaign fully, nor do I have enough to be against it and I can only reach one conclusion-stick to organisations I trust. Amnesty International, Liberty and many more provide accurate, relatively balanced information and maybe more effort should be put into these organisations that have existed long before social media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

The Healthcare Scare for Cameron

So, for the first time in far too long Labour have overtaken the Conservatives in opinion polls-http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/feb/20/conservative-support-shrinks-voters-nhs - Obviously this is good news, although labour have a long way to go still, but the real victory here is the huge shoutout to Cameron that the healthcare system will simply not accept these new proposals.

Cameron has so far ducked and weaved his way out of accusations of Thatcherist style, ideological policy making but it seems as though the mask is slipping. He cannot avoid the perception that these proposals are simply the Tories doing what Tories do: lining up a big fat swing at the NHS and this throws other proposals into the spotlight; what about those welfare reforms a while back?? School reforms?? Privatisation abound under Cameron and his merry men???

Well, Tories will be Tories.

EMILY's List: GOP Presidential Score Card

EMILY's List: GOP Presidential Score Card

This is some seriously worrying stuff. Mitt Romney appears as a moderate in comparison to the rest of the field, making it difficult in the long term for Obama to paint him as the right wing nut job that he is. In the recent New Hampshire debate, Obama got called a socialist.....if only! If Obama is as left wing as America can get, no wonder the republicans must choose the lesser of six evils.

As far as Women's issues go, Romney is horrendous, flip flopping on Roe is unforgivable, ending funding to planned parenthood is a ridiculous idea and the seemingly standard but nonetheless hypocritical repealing of Obama's healthcare reform is typical republican ignorance.

Rant over.

New Beginnings

Reading through the very few blogs I posted last year, I have decided to delete them all. They were not what I had hoped this blog to become and therefore this will be the first of a new blog; although I am not cheesy enough to start it after new years as some new years resolution!