Sunday, 31 July 2011
Saturday 30 July 2011
Today I went to Foss park with my mum and sister. When we got there the first thing we did was go to Foss food where I had a KFC, Hannah had a McDonald and my mum had a coffee and muffin. After this I went to WHsmiths where I looked at the Warhammer books and stuff. After this we went to PC world to get a game nut they did not have it :(
Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 July 2011
Monday
Today I did very little except watch Jeremy Kyle and go on the PC but that was about all I did. After that I did some more nothing and later more nothing and when mum got home I did nothing in fact I did so much nothing that by the end of it I was worn out so much I did nothing.
Tuesday
Today I did what I did yesterday which was the watch Jeza and then over the course of the day go on the Xbox and PC as well as doing nothing which I did very successfully I wouldn't have got a medal except going and getting a medal is not nothing. Then later on after doing lots of nothing I did nothing.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Friday 29 July 2011
Today I went to my friend from Warhammer Hayden's house. My mum drooped us off on a nearby road and as we where early Brandon, Zak and I went to the big slides for 10-20 minutes. When we went to his house we started making dungeons and dragons characters well Zak and Brandon did as the dungeon master (DM) I just played team fortress 2 on the PC. Then we played Dungeons and dragons which is awesome and I won by killing of all the character that attacked my dungeon. Later on after more time on the PC we went and got a subway the floor was so sticky in subway you heard a sound like Velcro when you lifted your feet.
It’s been weeks since last I posted anything on this poor forgotten blog. I’ve been writing but all of it has been tweets and poor old bloggy has been forgotten. Oh well there’ll be a missing mystery period that’ll confuse my descendants if they ever read this but it’s time to get back in harness. Got a shitty stick handed to me last night by Hasmukh. Dawn is facing a stage four attendance/sickness/absence hearing this coming Friday and H tells me that because she’s not in the union, he’s union rep, and because he’s acted as her manager, in absence of JDM, he can’t represent her. So muggins here got asked if he would stand in. Spoke with dawn and got all her paper work (dating back to 2003) and to tell the truth it’s not good. She’s had a hell of a lot of absence and reading the notes from her manager who’s instigated this process it sounds as if he’s got it in for her. There are ways of writing these things and his report couldn’t be more negative. I used to like Barry (her manager) but more and more he’s turning into a total arsehole. I managed to get JKDM off the hook last Xmas when he was suspended accused of threatening another member of staff (total bollocks the accuser been demoted since) and this seems to make people think I can work miracles. Cheesus I ain’t and this is gonna be a shitter. I’ve got until Friday evening to come up with plausible reasons as to why her employment shouldn’t be terminated. With the added problem of Barry obviously having the knives out this isn’t going to be the cake walk JDM’s problem turned out to be! I hate it when people rely on me if I wanted responsibility I go for promotion.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Saturday, 23 July 2011
It’s been weeks since last I posted anything on this poor forgotten blog. I’ve been writing but all of it has been tweets and poor old bloggy has been forgotten. Oh well there’ll be a missing mystery period that’ll confuse my descendants if they ever read this but it’s time to get back in harness. Got a shitty stick handed to me last night by Hasmukh. Dawn is facing a stage four attendance/sickness/absence hearing this coming Friday and H tells me that because she’s not in the union, he’s union rep, and because he’s acted as her manager, in absence of JDM, he can’t represent her. So muggins here got asked if he would stand in. Spoke with dawn and got all her paper work (dating back to 2003) and to tell the truth it’s not good. She’s had a hell of a lot of absence and reading the notes from her manager who’s instigated this process it sounds as if he’s got it in for her. There are ways of writing these things and his report couldn’t be more negative. I used to like Barry (her manager) but more and more he’s turning into a total arsehole. I managed to get JKDM off the hook last Xmas when he was suspended accused of threatening another member of staff (total bollocks the accuser been demoted since) and this seems to make people think I can work miracles. Cheesus I ain’t and this is gonna be a shitter. I’ve got until Friday evening to come up with plausible reasons as to why her employment shouldn’t be terminated. With the added problem of Barry obviously having the knives out this isn’t going to be the cake walk JDM’s problem turned out to be! I hate it when people rely on me if I wanted responsibility I go for promotion.
Dawn 1
It’s been weeks since last I posted anything on this poor forgotten blog. I’ve been writing but all of it has been tweets and poor old bloggy has been forgotten. Oh well there’ll be a missing mystery period that’ll confuse my descendants if they ever read this but it’s time to get back in harness. Got a shitty stick handed to me last night by Hasmukh. Dawn is facing a stage four attendance/sickness/absence hearing this coming Friday and H tells me that because she’s not in the union, he’s union rep, and because he’s acted as her manager, in absence of JDM, he can’t represent her. So muggins here got asked if he would stand in. Spoke with dawn and got all her paper work (dating back to 2003) and to tell the truth it’s not good. She’s had a hell of a lot of absence and reading the notes from her manager who’s instigated this process it sounds as if he’s got it in for her. There are ways of writing these things and his report couldn’t be more negative. I used to like Barry (her manager) but more and more he’s turning into a total arsehole. I managed to get JKDM off the hook last Xmas when he was suspended accused of threatening another member of staff (total bollocks the accuser been demoted since) and this seems to make people think I can work miracles. Cheesus I ain’t and this is gonna be a shitter. I’ve got until Friday evening to come up with plausible reasons as to why her employment shouldn’t be terminated. With the added problem of Barry obviously having the knives out this isn’t going to be the cake walk JDM’s problem turned out to be! I hate it when people rely on me if I wanted responsibility I go for promotion.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Sickness Review For Dawn
It’s been weeks since last I posted anything on this poor forgotten blog. I’ve been writing but all of it has been tweets and poor old bloggy has been forgotten. Oh well there’ll be a missing mystery period that’ll confuse my descendants if they ever read this but it’s time to get back in harness.
Got a shitty stick handed to me last night by Hasmukh. Dawn is facing a stage four attendance/sickness/absence hearing this coming Friday and H tells me that because she’s not in the union, he’s union rep, and because he’s acted as her manager, in absence of JDM, he can’t represent her. So muggins here got asked if he would stand in. Spoke with dawn and got all her paper work (dating back to 2003) and to tell the truth it’s not good. She’s had a hell of a lot of absence and reading the notes from her manager who’s instigated this process it sounds as if he’s got it in for her. There are ways of writing these things and his report couldn’t be more negative. I used to like Barry (her manager) but more and more he’s turning into a total arsehole.
I managed to get JKDM off the hook last Xmas when he was suspended accused of threatening another member of staff (total bollocks the accuser been demoted since) and this seems to make people think I can work miracles. Cheesus I ain’t and this is gonna be a shitter. I’ve got until Friday evening to come up with plausible reasons as to why her employment shouldn’t be terminated. With the added problem of Barry obviously having the knives out this isn’t going to be the cake walk JDM’s problem turned out to be! I hate it when people rely on me if I wanted responsibility I go for promotion.
Got a shitty stick handed to me last night by Hasmukh. Dawn is facing a stage four attendance/sickness/absence hearing this coming Friday and H tells me that because she’s not in the union, he’s union rep, and because he’s acted as her manager, in absence of JDM, he can’t represent her. So muggins here got asked if he would stand in. Spoke with dawn and got all her paper work (dating back to 2003) and to tell the truth it’s not good. She’s had a hell of a lot of absence and reading the notes from her manager who’s instigated this process it sounds as if he’s got it in for her. There are ways of writing these things and his report couldn’t be more negative. I used to like Barry (her manager) but more and more he’s turning into a total arsehole.
I managed to get JKDM off the hook last Xmas when he was suspended accused of threatening another member of staff (total bollocks the accuser been demoted since) and this seems to make people think I can work miracles. Cheesus I ain’t and this is gonna be a shitter. I’ve got until Friday evening to come up with plausible reasons as to why her employment shouldn’t be terminated. With the added problem of Barry obviously having the knives out this isn’t going to be the cake walk JDM’s problem turned out to be! I hate it when people rely on me if I wanted responsibility I go for promotion.
Monday, 18 July 2011
Getting Back In Harness
It’s been weeks since last I posted anything on this poor forgotten blog. I’ve been writing but all of it has been tweets and poor old bloggy has been forgotten. Oh well there’ll be a missing mystery period that’ll confuse my descendants if they ever read this but it’s time to get back in harness. Got a shitty stick handed to me last night by Hasmukh. Dawn is facing a stage four attendance/sickness/absence hearing this coming Friday and H tells me that because she’s not in the union, he’s union rep, and because he’s acted as her manager, in absence of JDM, he can’t represent her. So muggins here got asked if he would stand in. Spoke with dawn and got all her paper work (dating back to 2003) and to tell the truth it’s not good. She’s had a hell of a lot of absence and reading the notes from her manager who’s instigated this process it sounds as if he’s got it in for her. There are ways of writing these things and his report couldn’t be more negative. I used to like Barry (her manager) but more and more he’s turning into a total arsehole. I managed to get JKDM off the hook last Xmas when he was suspended accused of threatening another member of staff (total bollocks the accuser been demoted since) and this seems to make people think I can work miracles. Cheesus I ain’t and this is gonna be a shitter. I’ve got until Friday evening to come up with plausible reasons as to why her employment shouldn’t be terminated. With the added problem of Barry obviously having the knives out this isn’t going to be the cake walk JDM’s problem turned out to be! I hate it when people rely on me if I wanted responsibility I go for promotion.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Wednesday 20 July 2011
Today I went and bought Cinema tickets for Hannah and Mum at the cinema so they could see the film when my mum got home from work. When I got home I read and watched TV for most of the day until at 10 to 7 I went to scouts with Zak where we played games outside like Manhunt. Then the people going to Charnwood went inside4 and we played Football and stuff (wow that was so Descriptive that last bit I bet you are all impressed)
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Thursday 14 July 2011 part 2
After that we had an assemble which consisted of a funny sketch by some year nines and other stuff like awards. then we went home at 12:40
Thursday 14 July 2011 Part 1
Today Was the last day of term and year 8. In bgreakfast club one oof the teachers that runs it is leaving Brockington to go to the netherlands to live there (her name is Miss Mills). During the first to periods we had a rounders torniment bettwen the classes where my leg gave up on me :( Then after breack wwe had a partty in my for with food which cost Miss Lewis £18 and we had brownies and cocke and crisps and lemonade and sweets and other stuff. Tghen we dajnced to songs and everyone danced to that's right can you believe it!!!!
Monday, 11 July 2011
Sunday10 July 2011
Today I had to help out at the allotment as we had to check on the toilet which basicly involved filling it with sawdust. this took 5 minuets then we had to work on the allotment and Hannah cried because I used the ho and she did not. Later I fixed the netting over the crops and Hannah hoed. After that Hannah got a cut on her toe from something penetrating her shoe and we went home. When we got home nothing much happened at all.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Saturday 9 July 2011
Today I went into town with Jacob,Zak and Josh.First we got lunch/breakfast at Maryland chicken then we went back to the shop and played a game which ended as a draw. Then we went to Americandy where I bought mountain dew voltage which is nicer then normal mountain dew and a Hershey bar. Then we went around the shops and I bought more mountain dew this time mountain dew energy. Then we looked around a few more shops and came home. When we got back everyone came round and we played yogio which Jacob and I won. Then I installed about 15 mods on Minecraft which is supper awesome.
Friday, 8 July 2011
Friday 8 July 2011
Today I went to Lutterworth with my school to do a special tech day. When we got to lutterworth we went to a room just off of the sports hall and started using the MagLev systems which use magnets to levitate stuff. After that we ran tests on the laptop with a simulator seeing what combination's of power and weight where the most leathel in a crash test. After that we had break where I got a sausage baguet. Then we went back to testing and designed a buffer from the real life but table size MagLev system we had. Our system consisted of 2 piston made of straws in play doh and multiple layers of card, play doh, stars and foam as the main bumper, then we installed a piece of woo to stop derailment. After lunch which consisted of chips,Chicken nuggets and coke we tested the designs and our group came second but this was because it was riged I know this because a group that just put play doh on the track got 7 marks for ingenuity and we only got 8. But all in all it was a good day.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Today it was Sports day. But it was foreskin to rain this afternoon so instead we had it in the morning. First we went outside and found areas to sit then slowly but shorely games started to happen. I only took part in the tug of war and all the other teams cheated pulling before the whistle the slimy little bastards. Then I just sat and watched with Rumit eating Callipos yum yum! The reason I had Callipos instead of chocolate like last year is that everything was healthy :( Sadly Stuart won over all. Then we had Lunch and after that for some reason periods 2 and 3. After school Rumit came round and we played Halo and COD.
The Debate
From the Mailbox – Hard Not to Be Pessimistic
July 2nd, 2011 § 1 comment
Recently I recceived this correspondence in my mailbox from my Twitter friend @mysickbones. It was in relation to my post “I WON A TICKET!” where I asked people if they had any questions for the speakers at Think Inc, but I thought I’d try and tackle this one myself, since it’s a topic I often find myself faced with:
I’d be fascinated to know if (all / some / none of) the contributors at Think Inc believe that their repeated calls for change (to stave off the numerous looming disasters facing the Human Race in the coming Century), will actually bring about change or will Humanity procrastinate and continue to deny these realities until such time as they begin to have catastrophic and undeniable effects?
I’m especially interested in how they think the developed Western, and rapidly emerging, BRIC economies, will react. The poor after all have little choice; for them it’s a brutal case of adapt or die and they have a far smaller stake in maintaining the status quo anyway. What will the rich countries do? How will they be persuaded of the impossibility of perpetual economic growth and the dire need for them to rain in their increasingly unsustainable lifestyles?
I’m pessimistic, I’m afraid, and becoming more and more convinced, by the day, that it’s going to take mega deaths before the reality of resource scarcity sinks into the collective consciousness.
Firstly @mysickbones, thanks for your question. Your question is a difficult one, and possibly the most difficult question of our times. The threats of overpopulation, climate change and access to food an water really are the challenge of the century and things we must either prevent from getting much worse, or face the very real consequences. But at the same time, we are in an age, even the only age, where we actually do have the power to do something about these problems.One example of how change can be affected reasonably quickly is by the pressure that can be asserted by social media. Social media has no boundaries, except access to a computer, and given its popularity, it is a very powerful tool for gathering people and putting pressures on companies and governments. I recently attended a talk at the Australian Skeptics where Jason Brown outlined, very briefly, how social media can affect changes in the real world by sheer numbers and its ability to connect like-minded people. Jason used the numerous examples of ways that a combination of Twitter and FaceBook have made governments stop what they’re doing and listen to the people, even in some cases changing policies and actions.
A great example of this was the backlash at the Australian government over the ABC’s Four Corners story on Monday 23 May about live cattle exports to Indonesia from Australian soil. In the story the cattle were being ritually brutalised in the name of Islam, for the sake of halal slaughter. Most people did not know this was how cattle were slaughtered in the name of Islam, and most who saw it would agree it was a very disturbing thing indeed. This had never been aired before, but on the Monday night it was shown, waves of disgust and horror shot through the Twittersphere and FaceBook alike. The reaction was so strong that the website Ban Live Exports was knocked off the Internet for several hours. Within 24 hours the government had received over 60,000 names on an Internet based petition, demanding that the Australian government take action, and cease this live export. 6 weeks later and the ban on live cattle exports seems likely to spread to a ban on live export of sheep to the Middle-East.
I only use this as an example of where we are in history, and what our options are. Talks like Think Inc are great for those who are already thinking of solutions for the problems of the world, and also a great way to spread ideas to those who may be living in apathy of the situation. But the connectedness of the Internet is the real tool of the people, one that CAN bring single and small voices together to become on large voice. This gives me some hope that we can make some changes in the future.I wrote earlier that “Social media has no boundaries, except access to a computer,” and this is true, however I do realise that not everyone has access to computers or the Internet. This is not really a problem, because the changes in third world countries are more difficult to fix from within than they are from without. Many of the problems we see in third world countries can are either inadvertently being cause by the first world, or can be pressured into change from the first world. Overpopulation is not caused by the first world, but it is encouraged by the Catholic church by means of discouraging the use of contraception. Studies have shown that education, especially education of girls and women, causes communities to not only stop breeding incessantly, but to educate themselves with better farming practices, better literacy and numeracy, better hygiene and better social practices.
So rather than yelling into the void, when organised, the Internet is a tool to affect these kinds of changes in the world.
Food, water and overpopulation in third world countries is something that will affect the people living there more than it will those in the first world. I do agree there will be a lot of people dying over the coming century or so, and there will also be a lot of political unrest as people struggle to strike a balance between what they want and what they need. It’s not going to be an easy road, but it’s one we must travel.
Mahtma Gandhi once said “Be the change you want to see in the world.” While this may be a quote bandied about like a bad teeshirt, it still stands as wise words. I try to live this every day, and until the advent of Twitter I really felt that I was alone in this sentiment. We, in the first world are the only ones who can affect change in the world’s situation, but we are not the ones to really gain from these changes in the short term. In the long term however we will all benefit.
Added to this, the rise of the atheist’s voice, a voice unfettered by the ties of religion and dogma, is being heard by all. The top-note atheists such as The 4 Horsemen have now entered into popular culture, and are being seen as voices of the changes we need to see in the world. So we mustn’t stop, because the voice is getting stronger. This has the religious up in arms because they see in front of them their weakening powers at the hands of reason and rationality. It’s not atheism alone that is the cause of this rising voice either, rather it’s the voice of a world that is asking the hard quesions, and rather than throwing up our hands in defeat, this voice is coming up with some solutions, or ideas that could lead to solutions.
This may seem to be an overly optimistic view of humanty’s future, but it can be achieved. The more we speak with reason and rationality about the future, without the blinkers of religious dogma and cultural fear, the more likelihood we have to move forward, to exist, co-exist, and survive.
I hope this sufficiently answers the question. I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Don’t forget that you can ask me anything, give me feedback or suggest blog topics for me to pursue by going to this page.
§ One Response to From the Mailbox – Hard Not to Be Pessimistic
Monday, 4 July 2011
Hannah's Concert at Millfield - The Hunt for Lucy's Diamonds
Tonight, after day up waiting for the Android phones and chatting on the twitter, is Hannah’s classes end of year concert. A littyle production written by the form and based on the Beatles Yellow submarine entitkled the search for lucy’s Diamonds. There are pictures below but I’m not hapy with them. We arrived 40 minutes early and had our poick of the seats. Hannah told Deb where to sit but somehow there was a mix up and we wended up sitting at the end of the row of seats on the other side of the isle. The result was that when the kids came on all we saw was their backs as they faced the seats HANNAH HAD WANTED US TO SIT IN. I have taken some of Donna’s photos, she was in the right place, but they are terribly blurred, something supposedly impossible for an EDOF camera but they are nonetheless. I suspect she sends photos by MMS and has camera set to take photos small enough to do this. Result 8megapixel camera takking passport size photos which don’t blow up well. In addition I forgot 1. to charge batteries in new camera and 2. that flash has to be engaged manually. Therefor new camera photos pretty shitty as well.
As for the performance itself it was great fun and Hannah made a pretty good octopus. I’m surprised she didn’t have a bigger part as she’s a good actor and loves performing. Obviously didn’t push herself forward which I think has something to do with the girls who wrote the play. She not the best of mates with the two of them!.
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Draft
Sunday 3
I’m gonna try to work backward and see if that helps me recall what’s happened over the past four days, apart from not speaking to Nat for the first two of them. I, as always, woke on the sofa (it’s most comfortable place to sleep since I had my hips done) to discover that Deb was already downstairs and on the PC and that the Andrew Marr Show was already halfway through; can’t recall last time I actually got to watch all of it! He was interviewing Chris Pattern (former and last Governor of Hong Kong before the Chinese took it back) who is now some big cheese on the Board that oversees the operation of the BBC. Why is it that there are so many out for a quick buck cunts around who are willing to destroy the single best public broadcasting service in the World in order to open it up to competition from the likes of BSkyB. Not saying Pattern’s one of them but he’s certainly been close with many who are. After all wasn’t it always, until the last Labour Government, the Conservatives who were accusing the BBC of an institutionalised left-wing bias? If that is true it’s rather ironic considering the percentage of high ups at the BBC who are there as a result of privileged public school educations and an Oxbridge education.
Hooray; Nat needs a new phone, The N95 is an absolute sod to try and charge, and Deb has quite unintentionally come across the phone I tried to persuade her to buy from the t-Mobile shop in Gloucester
A 2.1 Android resistive touch screened phone with WiFi and GPS … WTF for £30 including £10 top-up credit less £5 off via Quidco and net cost £15 for what is to all intents and purposes a Smart Phone plus 6 months free Internet. We bought two, one for Nat and one for me to play with. I can do most things, semi pro anyway, on Symbian and iPhone too easy anyway once you get your head around iTunes and/or over the air downloading. Apart from setting up Josh’s phone, Expedia Mini, on his birthday I’m very much an Android virgin and look forward to learning to flash the ROM and installed outside developer’s ROM’s (like Darkie, yes that’s his name, in Switzerland).
After this was done we told the kids that we, they’re elderly parents, were off to tend to the allotment (the allotment designed to save us money we’d otherwise spend on food in order to spend it instead on them) and that they were to make sure they didn’t get up and do anything while we were out as we can’t imagine what it would be like to come home to find the vacuuming or dusting or ironing done. That’s the sort of thing we live to do and for the kids to do them would leave us with all this useless free time that we no longer recall how to fill.
We got to the allotment about 10:30 and while Deb did some planting and weedding I did some hoeing and watered everything. Things are coming along well be look rather pathetic compared to the adjoining plots. This is because we deliberately did not plant early becase we were going away for a week and if we’d planted before we went everything would have died of thirst before we returned. So our allotment looks like everyone else’s did a month ago. No mind it’s not a competition after all. Must Win Must Win!!!
After we’d done and I’d taken some photos with the new camera and my Nokia N8 (for comparison purposes plus the Nokia has better panoramic photo software). Leaving the site, after saying hello to a few people, Sunday morning is when the site shop’s open so it’s the busiest day of the week, we drove to ASDA for a quick shop for essentials, beer and beer in my case, and while on our way Deb dropped the bombshell that due to yet another unplanned financial outlay this month I wouldn’t be going out for the planed meal with my workmates on Thursday. Great News…Not!
Bought 2 phones
Allotment
Asda
Judo Mum
Nat photo
Tweet
Work
Sandt Twiiter a/c
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Friday 1 July 2011
Today I went back to school after a day off. But when I got home from school Brandon came round and we went on the Xbox with Jacob and Josh or Zak and we played on the new zombie map Shangri La. I also got my report which as always was exemplary and I also found a postcard from my ICT teacher Miss lewis that stated that I had been a pleaser to teach and had produced brilliant ICT work.
Saturday 2 July 2011
Today I did nothing at all except play some Shangri La on the Xbox with Jacob Zak and some random people on line. We had a great time. Then I did nothing except load the car with branches of my fire escape bush. Then I did nothing except drink mountain dew that Hannah got for me. Then I did nothing else
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Thanks. I hereby declare this post retweetable.
1. “Change can be affected reasonably quickly is by the pressure that can be asserted by social media”. I’m afraid me thinks you maybe being a trifle over optimistic here. Certainly there are particular issues one can point too to demonstrate how effective social media can be in certain situations. But there are two problems here. First, it is equally easy to point to unresolved issues where the effectiveness of social media is as close to zero as to be indistinguishable from it. Human Rights reform in China, Iran and Saudi Arabia are examples that immediately spring to mind. I may be forced, at some indeterminable point in the future, to eat these words if change does erupt and this change can trace its origins back to social media. But for the present the signs aren’t encouraging. The Great Firewall means that effectively China is able to choose who it lets play in it’s digital garden and as the rewards of playing there are so enormous the players tend to be very well behaved and obey the owners rules. Should one refuse, as Google did, the effects of this refusal are hardly earth shattering. Secondly and closely linked to the first point is that the power to effect change is inversely proportional to the importance the Government places in the area in which such change is sort. What does this mean? Well, let’s take the Halal Slaughter Issue you cited. Why did social pressure that was excreted through social media bring about rapid change? Quick answer – the Government didn’t give a shit one way or another and so were quick to bend in the direction of perceived prevailing wind of public feeling. It was a cheap win for the power of Democracy because those in power held no strong views about the issue and saw benefits accruing to them if they played along. If the supply of cattle to the Halal market had constituted a significant proportion of Australian agricultural exports you can be sure there’d have been no change. The cost off alienating the effected community would vastly outweigh the benefits gained by acquiescing to the lobbing community. Most politicians, on this particular issue, were, probably, also personally sympathetic toward the issue given modern “Western” attitudes toward animal cruelty. Have you, as yet, observed any truly significant changes to climate change policy that have been brought about primarily by the use of social media?
2. “Social media has no boundaries” I’d again reference the three examples cited above but in addition to this call your attention to the increased calls, even ion the West, to place limits on peoples use of and access to the Net. There are proposals currently being debated within the European Union to put in place restrictions, the reasons given being protection of copyright and controlling hardcore porn especially kiddie porn. In Australia there has been a similar debate which I believe continues as I write. So, far from having “no boundaries” social media, for the very reason of its potential to threaten established power relationships, may find itself being rained in by those self same relationships. That’s a badly phrased sentence but hopefully you see my point.
3. One area where I do share your optimism is the increasing access to the web that the mobile revolution has brought about. The ability of more and more people to access the WWW from a device that they can carry in their pockets is indeed, as our American cousins might say, awesome.
4. Tied to this mobile revolution is the ability of social media to get the message out to a wider audience. In the case of Halal slaughter I’m sure many people who signed the petition did not in fact see the program but rather heard about through FaceBook and Twitter and other social media outlets (are there any others left?).
“But the connectedness of the Internet is the real tool of the people, one that CAN bring single and small voices together to become on large voice. This gives me some hope that we can make some changes in the future”.
5. In addition to the possibility/probability of increased state control two other factors mitigate against the somewhat optimistic position outlined above. These are:
6. First, the increasing ethnocentrism of the net. Soon we’ll speak not of the Net but of the English web the Chinese web the Spanish web and so on. Connected by a single technology but separated by a babble of different languages As such nets develop they are almost certain to divert further and further from one another as the social forces underlying them exert greater and greater influence. One could envisage two USA weds. One English One Spanish overlapping a little but not much
7. Second, the commercial pressure to develop the two tier web where the pipes can charge different prices for different levels of access to the end user. The Net Neutrality Debate. The repercussions of changes in this area on social media could be immense. Farmville Any One? Political Activism No One?
8. The comments you make about the first World certainly have merit but I’m afraid I think you over estimate it’s ability to bring about change. No degree of lobbying is going to change the Catholic Churches’ position on contraception until after the devastating effects of massive over population possible sweep from the pages of history well something pretty big would have to happen I’m sure you see my point. I mentioned in my original question the effects and consequences of the rapidly industrialising BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China, India) economies and it’s from these that the greatest pressure will come to continue with business as usual. These are the people, who still want that first car, aren’t going to listen to FaceBook telling them they can’t have it.
9. Female education has correctly been identified as the single biggest break on over population you can have. Girls with prospects won’t accept a life of endless pregnancy. However it’s here you run into the chicken and egg conundrum. How do you educate women in societies where the dominant male population wishes to prevent this very thing? Saudi Arabia doesn’t even let women drive and in Afghanistan men kill people who try to school little girls.
10. Regarding the effects of overpopulation etc I won’t repeat the points I made in the original question as we appear to be in agreement that lots of people are going to die its how many that separates us. I hope you’re nearer the mark than me but time will tell and of course the whole basis of this conversation is a discussion of how much or how little social media will affect this outcome.
11. The affect of the Atheist revolution? Is there or will there be an Atheist revolution this century. Will the 21st century finally be the one where we cast off superstition and embrace science? NO, is the short answer. Far from reducing its influence religion seems to be extending it. From the virtual take over of the USA Republican Party by the Creationist Anti-science Christian right to the resurgence of militant Islam and Hinduism men and women continue to joyful embrace unreasoning belief. We Social Media atheist may turn out to be a small mutual admiration society and the Four Horsemen May Only Be Preaching to No One But The Choir.
Well perhaps that’s a good point at which to end, after all I am supposed to be at work plus tweets won’t write themselves. I have a duty to all the ladies out there you know. Anyway let me know what you think.
Cheers
Myrik
At this point I’d like to acknowledge the help of no one in particular in preparing this document but freely accept that any errors contained there in are all their fault.