The State of the World

It seems that there needs to be some sort of fundamental shift in the global geopolitical picture in order to get me to write a blogpost nowadays; and the last one, on the collapse of Afghanistan, I didn’t even get around to publishing. The time for that seems long passed, now. We’re in yet another future—one where not only is Britain not in the EU; not only did our lives get upended by a global pandemic; not only did the previous insane US president incite a mob to attack his own capital; not only did the republican government of Afghanistan collapse like a cold soufflé; BUT the Russians have just gone and invaded Ukraine for basically no reason, and turned pretty much the entire world against them.

I must not be alone in feeling this sensation: viewing the world with the kind of uncomfortable ache of watching everything being undermined and going to shit. Kind of like I were George Lucas, having just sold Star Wars to Disney—only unlike Lucas, I have to keep going to the cinema to watch them butcher everything I thought I knew.

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“… and THAT’S why I left Greenpeace 9 years ago”

If it were possible to make something required viewing for the world, it would be this:

Kurzgesagt : “Do we Need Nuclear Energy to Stop Climate Change?”

Why, you ask?

Climate change won’t be stopped without lowered emissions. Lowered emissions aren’t possible without Nuclear taking a large amount of the burden off fossil fuels*. That in turn isn’t possible with all the reactors being taken offline instead of making new ones.

Yeah, I know… yadda yadda climate, but this is probably the single biggest component of the single greatest challenge to the current human way of life.

Probably important, then.

(*) - The video diplomatically puts the chances of renewables meeting this demand alone as "very unlikely", but that's a huge understatement. As it does point out, it's not just replacing fossil fuel electricity generation, which it has failed to even catch up on, but all the sectors that aren't even electrical yet.

A Year Spent Frozen in Time

It’s like time is paused, that’s how it feels. As we head into another lockdown, I found myself absently sifting through my games library on Steam. It has the ability to sort by date last played, which is a harrowing experience that makes you realise actually how little time you have for games in your life these days. Some of my favourites have gone unplayed for literally years. There are games I have been big into lately and feel I played “the other day” that I haven’t touched since this time last year.

But it isn’t just that, of course. The rhythm of the day has settled into a kind of mantra: keep working, stay home, don’t socialise because it’s not worth the hassle. The patterns are starting to etch permanence onto how I think. I forgot there was a time when children could stay with other people if they actually wanted them there. I forgot that normally, I don’t need to sidestep back a meter if my dad wants to pass me in the hall.

In any case, the sensation is like time isn’t moving. Or–it is, alarmingly so, but nothing is changing; as the months fly off the calendar. I feel like the stress has aged me ten years. We’re all holding out for a return to normality, I know, but it helps to remind oneself that there is such a thing.

Speaking of returning to normality, it’s the US election. I wonder if there’ll be a return to sane & actually respectable statesmanship too? I’m not holding out much hope on that one.

Over A Fifth Of Our Atmosphere Is Now Toxic Gas!

Isn’t it outrageous when headlines grab people’s attention with a bunch of downright lies? The only trouble is… sometimes, as in the case of this one, they are true.

Technically.

‘Technically’ is one of those sort of words that hides a whole underworld of meaning under a modest, unassuming exterior. Sometimes, the technicalities make all the difference. So, read on for the *gasp* shocking truth about the atmosphere your doctor doesn’t want you to know! Number eight will enrage you.

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If in doubt, Politic Rationaly

So I have about half a dozen posts pending publication (and the rest) which are fairly in-depth and thus need to be tightened up a whole lot more. With the UK “Surprise” Election coming up this week (and last year’s ranting on the referendum being my last post of substance), it seemed that now was as good a time as any to talk about politics. You know; when you’re pretty much sick to death of hearing about it.

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What’s with all this indecision?

Yes, another article about the EU referendum. No, I’m not going to try and convince you, with my numbers and slides, what I think you should vote for. I would have hoped it’d be clear by this point, incidentally- but I’ll get to that.

People are saying there are lies on both sides. It’s being framed as a colossal struggle against vast amounts of hyperbole and spin. Fair enough. Both camps are making stuff up to back their point; as is constantly being pointed out. But here’s a newsflash: both sides in a political battle always do this. There are people for Leave and Remain that are both in the wrong in claims they’re making and the numbers they cite. But that really isn’t the point. Just because some people make a flawed or erroneous argument, doesn’t mean the point they’re defending is itself wrong. There is actually a staggeringly comprehensive amount of good data on the subject, readily available. We’re really more informed than we’ve perhaps ever been. Continue reading

The Third Age Unation

Article 1 of the Charter for the Founding of the Third Age Unation states its aim to :

“Form a Union for all Mankind to ensure Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Action and Freedom from Labour, wherein the Safety and Protection of Sentient Life is our Greatest Responsibility.”

The T.A.U is not so much a country as a pan-global organisation of semi-independent states and regions. These include the North American Zone, the European Confederacy, the Asian Union, United Oceania and several smaller groupings. All of these are effectively under the jurisdiction and management of the Third Age Unation by mid 3.2.C.

It wasn’t always this way. The forerunner to the TAU was the Second Age Unation, itself only a short-lived bridge from the ancient Grand Unation. Over the past eleven centuries, with the ever-shifting powers and fluctuating populations, a strong world leadership took time to break free of the chronic corruption that was the undoing of so many, such as the ill-fated SAU.

The Third Age Unation consists of around 98% of humanity’s total population, with a jurisdiction that covers all five of the inhabited worlds of the Sol system, as well as the Gliese Marine Research Station.

Rally to Restore Sanity

The Rally to Restore Sanity took place in Washington D.C, a week ago last saturday, and was basically a rally to poke fun at rallies; or more specifically the kneejerk, ill-informed, hypochondriac Tea Party type of rally that America seems to be plagued by in recent years.

Follow the link for a full gallery with some more great examples:

Rally to Restore Sanity

Please note: I don't own these images, they are reproduced here for the purpose of exposure and I highly recommend checking out the rest on Flickr. Thank you!

The Abortion Debate

Not content with the controversy of claiming relgion to be a transient social tool, I return once more to that tricky subject of Abortion. These are both very interesting subjects, and not entirely unrelated either: both are deeply intertwined with some of life’s most fundamental philosophical questions.

The ‘camps’ in the abortion debate are generally defined by when. That is, when is it acceptable to terminate a pregnancy: never, before X number of weeks, or at any point of pregnancy. Most people fall somewhere in the middle ground, with liberals / students / scientists leaning toward later and religious / conservative headcases favouring earlier. Roughly segregated, these are termed Pro-Choice and Pro-Life respectively. Continue reading