Rogers Randomness

Corporatising the Poly

Details: Category: Rants

On Thursday a small ceremony symbolically marked the latest phase in the creation of the corporate-educational complex that calls itself Plymouth University.

The Vice Chancellor (Wendy 'I-love-shopping' P) finally got around to visiting our building. Not to meet the staff (heaven forfend, she avoids staff like we've got leprosy) but to 'open' the branch of Santander bank which is squatting in the corner between Link and Smeaton buildings.

Of course the branch has in fact been open for some weeks - but it takes the VC a while to catch up with things - possibly her chauffeur had time off and she couldn't leave her fortress in Portland Villas (yes, she is known to demand her chauffeur driven car to get from her suite to the Roland Levinsky building - a distance of all of 300 yards, which is obviously too far to waddle and carries too much risk of running into real people or staff)

Can the Green Party ever be effective?

Details: Category: Rants

One of the main problems with Greens, meaning members of the Green Party (at least in England and Wales) is that they are either too nice (ie people very like me) or they are entryist refugees from the 'hard-left' who take a thoroughly anthropocentric view of society and its place on the planet which sits extremely ill with the eco-centric view of the natural greens...

Of course there is much in common in analysis of our current ills - yes social injustice, inequality, authoritarianism and so on are real problems.

Anti-Cuts - part of the problem

Details: Category: Rants

protest

Whilst I see Howard's point [in an email urging people to go to a CACA march rather than a previously arranged Green meet at the same time], I personally am pretty dubious about the point of "anti-cuts" campaigning. The basic thrust of the campaign is to try and preserve something that is frankly part of the problem and not part of the solution - by which I mean that the problem is late capitalist industrial civilisation and spending time arguing about tinkering with the balance between different parts of it is rather like discussing which tree to chop down for firewood when a hurricane is heading your way and will flatten the forest anyway.

Against cuts but for what?

Details: Category: Rants

protest

This was in response to Chris challenging me about my slight involvement in Cornwall Against the Cuts Alliance (CACA). Worth starting with Chris's original in full as he makes some good points:

Hi Roger,

This is an oxymoronic missive but bear with me. I see that you are involved a little with the ant-cuts campaign. It is utterly none of my business, BUT, is energy expended on cuts not better spent on building resilience?