Author Archive for halfiranian

#occupywallstreet vs Avaaz

October 9, 2011 in Act, Boffinry and digitalaction. 10 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Avaaz vs #occupywallstreet
I wonder how many people at Avaaz saw the irony of their email calling on people to sign a petition in solidarity with protesters on Wall Street.

Adbusters, who put out the original call for #occupywallstreet back in July, are vocal critics of ‘clicktivism‘, the derogatory term for the growing industry of organisations (like Avaaz and 38 degrees) who try to mobilise people around clicking petition links. Don’t get me wrong, I sign many of Avaaz’s emails, but there are significant issues with their model. Continue reading ‘#occupywallstreet vs Avaaz’

Hell yeah!

September 21, 2011 in Iran. 0 Comments

Shane and Sarah are free!
Shane and Josh are free!

Hands Off My Tips!

August 25, 2011 in digitalaction and Rule Britannia. 4 Comments

UK restaurant owners are stealing tips - legally

UK restaurant owners can legally steal tips – and they do.

Besides all the other things that regularly wind me up (planetary injustice, border controls etc) there is a more local issue that is seriously beginning to piss me off: tips. Or rather, stolen tips.

Yep, that’s right. My tips in restaurants are being stolen. Yours are too. And it’s all happening fully within the bounds of the law.
Continue reading ‘Hands Off My Tips!’

Happy birthday Shane

July 13, 2011 in Iran, Iraq and Unholy Land. 1 Comment

Shane Bauer
Today I’m fasting for my mate Shane, who is 29 today.

Together with friends across the world, I’m protesting Shane and Josh’s detention in Iran’s notorious jail for political prisoners, Evin.

Shane was captured in a cross-border raid by Iranian forces while in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq in 2009, along with another of my friends Sarah Shourd (since released) and their mate Josh Fattal. Continue reading ‘Happy birthday Shane’

Robert Fisk: Why on earth is Iran holding Shane Bauer?

May 7, 2011 in Iran. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .


The fact that Shane Bauer is still in an Iranian prison, nearly two years after being snatched by Iranian forces while in Iraq, is an outrage. It’s also a heavy blow to all of us who think – perhaps naively – that working for justice provides its own support and protection. But most of all, it’s deeply sad for the Middle East itself.

Shane has done more for the people of the region than almost any Arab or Iranian I know.

He’s also a great guy.

Continue reading ‘Robert Fisk: Why on earth is Iran holding Shane Bauer?’

The undemocratic invasion of Libya

March 22, 2011 in One World. 11 Comments Tags: , , , .

Undemocratic invasion of Libya

Oh the bloody irony. While the fighter jets of the US, UK and France drop bombs on Libya in the name of freedom and democracy, few are bothering to point out the undemocratic process that sent them there.
Continue reading ‘The undemocratic invasion of Libya’

Twitter does not a revolution make

January 16, 2011 in Act, Boffinry and One World. 4 Comments

Solidari.tv
Just finished an updated version of solidari.tv. Check it out, use it to share media, organise and act.

Because that’s what media is good for, informing us and arming us. But it means nothing unless we turn that into action.

That’s the hard bit.
Continue reading ‘Twitter does not a revolution make’

Borders divide us but frontiers unite

January 13, 2011 in One World and Planet. 1 Comment

Get over the cheesy voiceover and suppress your cynicism for 3 minutes.

This is what it’s all about.

Solidari.tv and mashing up protest

December 12, 2010 in Boffinry. 0 Comments

solidari_tv

Whatever your political perspective, few can dispute that there are interesting happenings on the streets at the moment. Lots are talking about the role that social media (particularly Twitter) is having to play in mobilising people in ways that weren’t possible before.

While I agree with that main argument, I think social media could be going further.
Continue reading ‘Solidari.tv and mashing up protest’

Chevron gives us the middle finger

December 12, 2010 in One World and Rule Britannia. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Chevron's own projection of possible oil spill in UK watersSource: Greenpeace UK

Last week, hidden under piles of news about wikileaks and student uprisings was a pretty shocking story about Chevron’s oil spill response plan for its drilling in the North Sea. It’s a worrying read, with lots about their repeated computer crashes when trying to model spill scenarios. Perhaps we shouldn’t expect anything else from a company who said that dolphins and wales would likely be unaffected by a spill “given their good swimming abilities, relative intelligence and nomadic behaviour”.

The government doesn’t appear worried though and seems happy to let them continue boring holes in the sea bed. Not reassuring.

Does anyone else think the spill picture looks like they’re giving us the finger?

Have a read of the confidential correspondence between the government and Chevron. Here’s their oil spill response plan.

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