Day to Day Life

The politics of Cranks: a follow-up

As I said in my last blog post, after I sent an email to the Cranks mailing list we discussed the politics of Cranks in one of our bi-weekly meetings. I haven't been able to post these thoughts up sooner because I have been offline for a month building a roundhouse with Tony Wrench in South West Wales. More on that later, but for now..

The politics of Cranks

(Source)

I have been helping out in Cranks, a community bike workshop in Brighton, since last September. A few days ago I sent the email below to our mailing list about the politics of Cranks. I thought I'd put it online because it reflects some of my current thinking as well as giving an insiders view of Cranks. Yesterday we discussed some of the points in the email in a group meeting. I'll be posting in a few days some of the outcomes from the meeting and my thoughts on them.

Editing Wikipedia page on workers' cooperatives

Have been editing the wikipedia page on workers' co-operatives. Over the next few years, I will try help make it into a great source of information on workers' co-ops. I've already made some very substantial changes, which will hopefully stay - and be improved upon - over time.

When you search for workers' co-operatives in Google it is the first thing that comes up.

Getting tested for STDs in Brighton

I recently went to the Wilde Clinic for gay and bisexual men to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). If you didn't know it already, I have slept with both men and women, but mostly women. I'd had no symptoms of disease but thought it was about time to get tested (it had been around 5 years) as well as my last ex-girlfriend insisting that she wouldn't give me a blowjob unless she was sure I didn't have anything infectious. Unfortunately the relationship ended, but my desire to know didn't.

I rang up on a Monday and was able to get an appointment that Wednesday for a "Sexual health MOT." I was going to get the works. After cycling to the clinic, I filled in a form at reception, which amongst other things let me decide whether my GP could access the results of the test. I ticked the 'No' box because of potential insurance, mortagage and privacy reasons.

Co-operatives UK Congress 2007

Anyone who reads this blog will know about my obsession with co-operatives (especially workers' co-ops). Therefore, it was amazing to attend the national co-operative congress over the last 3 days. I emailed the organisers a few weeks ago telling them that I definitely could not afford the £500 they were asking for attendance by non-member delegates and pleaded with them to let me come for a reduced rate or for nothing (see my email to them at the bottom of this blog). After a multitude of phone calls, the event organiser told me the day before the congress started that it was fine for me to come for free.

Real alternatives to capitalism? A talk by Derek Wall

Below are my notes from a talk I recently went to at Sussex University by Derek Wall, Principal Speaker of the Green Party, on 'Real Alternatives to Capitalism'. The talk was very thought provoking although I do wish he had expanded on the politics and power of introducing some of the alternatives he suggested (for example, how the hell do you get from an 'exchange value' system to a 'use value' system?)

Before you read it, please note that Derek expands on the points he made in the talk in his blog post on Real Alternatives to Capitalism as well as in his book BABYLON AND BEYOND: The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements

Change your Mind Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions for Authentic Happiness

(you can watch it on a bigger screen at google video)

I just finished watching this video with Matthieu Ricard on happiness, depression and meditation. It's difficult to explain how potentially life changing it is. Everybody who is interested in their own happiness and well-being should watch it and think deeply about what he is saying.

Posted in Day to Day Life ed's blog | read more | 516 reads
Submitted by ed on Fri, 2007-05-11 15:25.

Power illustrated

(see full size diagram here)

Above is a diagram from page 13 of Making Change happen: POWER - Concepts for Revisioning Power for Justice, Equality and Peace that I mentioned in my last blog entry.

It clearly shows how the academic theory of Stephen Lukes' three dimensions of power (the book is not an easy read) can be taken and used to explain power to everyone. Many will already be aware of the ideas presented above, but most will not have articulated or discussed them clearly with each other. The trick is to talk to people about these different dimensions of power so as to, as Haugaard puts it, convert "practical consciousness into discursive consciousness." (p.101)

Posted in Day to Day Life | Politics ed's blog | read more | 252 reads
Submitted by ed on Sun, 2007-05-06 14:45.

What do I want to do with my life? 4 potential directions

"Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." - Henry David Thoreau

"We think of self-control as something that limits freedom, but in fact it’s just the opposite: the true freedom of the sailor is taking the helm of his boat and sailing in the direction he wants to go, thus being the master of his destiny." - Matthieu Ricard

I have been unsure for quite a while about what I should do with my life when my course finishes in September. I am especially worried about where I will work and live. To try and bring clarity to my mind, I have written down four potential directions that my life could take and the reasons for each one. Some of the options are not mutually exclusive, and hopefully I will be able to find some form of synergy between them, for example by working part-time within an agricultural workers' co-operative. As always, suggestions, criticisms and life lessons are welcome from anyone who comes across this:

Things which I – as well as other people – dislike about my self

I recently wrote a list of things which I, as well as other people, dislike about my self. It mixes together what I dislike about myself with what various other people have said to me in the past. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to put it online. However, many Netizens only show their best sides on their personal websites and I feel that it is both honest and healthy to openly admit and discuss what you feel insecure about.

Obviously, I dislike the following points to varying degrees, and my feelings about each individual point have changed, and will continue to change, over time. Writing them down helped me to think through, and become more conscious, about how I feel about myself. Having them written down also means that I can re-read them, think about them, discuss them and then work on them. This, for me, is much better than just living in a state of denial about my self which inevitably leads to falling into the same old mistakes or life-pattern loops over and over again.

Posted in Day to Day Life | Politics | Stories ed's blog | read more | 477 reads
Submitted by ed on Sun, 2007-04-22 17:42.