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May 17

nigel farage

Nigel Farage at the European Parliament

In the last 10 years geographers have drawn on the work of political philosophers to help explain the urban politics. One of the most notable concepts that has been incorporated into the literature is that of post-politics. The term is used to highlight that fundamental debate has evaporated from political discussion. Politics that was once founded upon a difference between left and right has seen a move toward the centre where the policies of the different political groups mirror each other.

Jacque Rancière uses the term politics proper to highlight that good politics involves antagonism. Disagreement produces more inclusive politics as the civil rights and suffrage movements demonstrate. Both of these struggles were based on resistance to established patterns of order and both relied on relied on disruption rather than concurrence. Politics proper is said to occur when the given order of things is questioned and disrupted and hence the democratic voice is the voice of those who reject the prevailing social distribution of roles and power.

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May 15

mexican slums
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Comparing Wealth

A few statistical ‘facts’ pulled out of the geopolitics reader that add scale to the “we are the 99 per cent campaign”. I put the word facts in scare quotes because I have not reviewed the methods used to calculate these ‘facts’ and hence do not know how accurate such claims to the truth are. I also believe that all methods used to provide a statistical representation of the world are limited and should be treated with scepticism. Nevertheless I would not be surprised if such statistical ‘facts’ presented below are far off the mark. Bear in mind the book was published in 1998 using data that predated it.

Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations. Mitsubishi has sales greater than the gross domestic product of Indonesia, Denmark and Thailand. Walmart is larger than Poland, the Ukraine and Portugal. The combined sales of the top 200 corporations accounted for 28 per cent of the world’s GDP. The combined value of 358 billionaires exceeds the combined annual income of countries with 45 per cent of the world’s peoples.

May 11

Reinfeldt Cabinet

Everyday Democracy

Ever since the Thatcher years there has been an engrained scepticism about the willingness of large sections of the electorate to engage in politics. Some argue that this is because of the propagation of a transactional mindset that has demolished the possibilities of democratic politics. People are all too concerned with what is in it for them. Local political parties often complain that people are not interested in politics unless it concerns their own income. In more recent times, students will come together to campaign against increased tuition fees but about anything else. For me, Fritz Pappenheim captures this self-centred disposition in a young photographer:

“He read about a picture contest sponsored by a popular magazine; always eager to earn some extra money and to see his name in print, he decided to try for the prize. He got it for a photograph of a traffic accident which showed the anguished expression of one of the victims in the throes of death. This action of the photographer symbolized for me the attitude of the alienated man who, possessed by a need to turn every experience into an object, a tool for attaining his ends, can ask only one question when he comes face to face with an event or a human being: “What’s in it for me?”

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May 11

Guantanamo

Guantanamo

Guantanamo

Placard on the Fence of Camp V

For me, this is one of the most ironic images of all time. There is no honour in what happens behind the serrated fence that rings Guantanamo. It is a space in which human beings are at their worst.

May 6

Newborn Monument
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Naming Politics

There is a naming politics behind the new independence monument erected in Kosovo. At the heart of the capital Pristina seven giant letters were unveiled when it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The monument is surprising for two reasons. First it uses English rather than native Albanian to declare that Kosovo is turning over a new leaf. Second, the monument looks to the future rather than the past. Rather than preserving the historical struggle for independence in the architecture of the structure, this monument focuses on what is to come.

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May 6

Credit: Jerm IX

Street Art

An interesting collection of street art can be found at unurth. The Bansky section has some humorous snipes on consumer culture.

Jerm IX Racism

Credit: Jerm IX

Feb 29

A destitute asylum seeker sleeping in toilet

Destitute Asylum Seekers

Around 80% of those who seek asylum in the UK are rejected. Once this decision has been reached, the failed applicant is expected to leave within three weeks. Financial support and accommodation are cut off when this period ends for single adults and childless couples. Families with children continue to receive financial support and accommodation. All are prohibited from working. However a large proportion of failed asylum seekers remain in the UK and at this point become destitute. Read more

Feb 21

Troops in Iraq
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Moved Hosts

Blog shall be reappearing within the next 24 hours.

Steve

Feb 8

CCTV Orwell

CCTV Britian

In his book 1984, George Orwell provides a chilling depiction of how the power of the state could come to dominate the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning. The novel follows the life of Winston Smith and his despair of the dictatorial super state in which he lives. The government oversees all of its citizens. Hidden microphones are used to monitor even the most private of conversations and the thought police are said to have informants working for them. Public telescreens are used to observe passing citizens and track their movements. Orwell concludes, “there was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment”. Read more

Feb 6

starbucks

Skinny Latte?

Coffee, c’est la mode. Or at least that’s what it seems to be at the moment. While I was waiting in a queue at a café on campus today, I browsed what alternatives I could purchase to the bottle of water in hand. Americanos, cappuccinos, mochas and lattes were all there. You could even ask for a macchiato instead of an espresso. But what struck me was that you could order a skinny version of each of these drinks. When I inquired as to what the skinny part of the product was meant to denote, I was told that it indicated that red top milk (0.3% fat) was used instead of the usual green top (1.7% fat) milk. Now what interests me is why this product was named skinny instead of low fat or even “lite”. Read more

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