ArticlesForumDownload AboutContact

boakes.org » Politics

Some words on politics.

Subscribe to this category. RSS, Atom.

One million road petitioners can’t be wrong, can they?

February 11th, 2007, by Rich, in Ecology, Politics, Society, Travel.

One million road petitioners can't be wrong, can they?

The experimental petition system that Downing Street is running has generated it’s first 1,000,000 signature petition: it asks the PM to “scrap the planned vehicle tracking and road pricing policy” and it’s a great example of how public opinion is not necessarily good for the public. More…

The Gift of Reason?

January 26th, 2007, by Rich, in Politics, Religion, Society.

The Gift of Reason?

There’s an interesting pledge underway at pledgebank which aims to find 646 people (one for every UK constituency) who are willing to purchase and send their local Member of Parliament a copy of The God Delusion, the latest book by Oxford University Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Richard Dawkins. More…

Jedi/Sith unite over adoption row

January 24th, 2007, by Rich, in Politics, Religion, Silly.

Jedi/Sith unite over adoption row

The Empire has backed the Jedi Council in its bid to be exempt from laws on adoption by families of fewer than three genders.

Jedi leaders from Coruscant to Endor say its teachings prevent its masters placing children with lifeform collectives that only comprise one or two genders and have threatened to close their adoption centres if bound by the Imperial Senate’s rules. More…

British President / Retire the Monarchy

November 15th, 2006, by Rich, in Politics, Society.

British President / Retire the Monarchy

When re-reading the International Declaration of Human Rights the other day, I found myself mulling Article 1 repeatedly: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Shortly after, I found myself thinking the unthinkable. I found myself thinking Republican thoughts. More…

Petiton the PM

November 15th, 2006, by Rich, in Politics, Society.

Petiton the PM

The British Government has never been more accessible and the DirectGov website now boasts over three million unique visitors per month, a figure that’s rising by 10% each month.

Those users are primarily discovering public service information and not having an active say in government, but something is changing in a small but significant way: you can now petition the UK Prime Minister online. The dawn of digital democracy is upon us. More…

Sentencing Saddam Hussein to Death Seems Misguided

November 5th, 2006, by Rich, in Politics, Society.

Sentencing Saddam Hussein to Death Seems Misguided

BBC news have been extensively reporting that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death, following his conviction for crimes against humanity. This sentence shows that a respect for human rights is not a part of the freedom that has been offered to the Iraq people by “the coalition of the willing”. More…

Essex council turns off the lights

July 14th, 2006, by Rich, in Ecology, Politics, Society.

Essex council turns off the lights

Q: How many Essex girls does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: The same number as before, but the lightbulb lasts longer because its used less. More…

Two Nuclear Fallacies

January 23rd, 2006, by Rich, in Politics, Science.

Two Nuclear Fallacies

Nuclear Energy is neither carbon-free, nor is it a secure energy, yet our government representatives appear to be drinking in everthing the Nuclear Industry offers them.

This morning on the BBC’s Breakfast Television programme we were treated to an interview with Alan Johnson MP, the Trade and Industry Secretary. The interview follows coverage of the the announcement that the government has ordered the Health and Safety Executive to assess all UK nuclear reactors. More…

Nuclear Power: ‘No Thanks’ or ‘Yes Please’?

December 1st, 2005, by Rich, in Politics, Science, Society.

Nuclear Power: 'No Thanks' or 'Yes Please'?

For me, the arguments against nuclear power-plants in their current form are overwhelming; the most significant of these being the collapse of the “nuclear is clean” argument (because of the apparent hidden CO2 costs of preparing the enriched uranium). More…

This isn’t Kansas anymore Toto

November 9th, 2005, by Rich, in Politics, Religion, Silly.

This isn't Kansas anymore Toto

I cannot let the landmark events in Kansas go by without a mention. The Kansas Board of Education have introduced Intelligent Design into the curriculum. More…