tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23243458565534901532024-03-13T04:08:02.845+00:00Jamie PotterJamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-72874572386105403572010-06-15T22:04:00.000+01:002010-06-15T22:05:23.016+01:00I've MovedAs of today, I will now be blogging at www.jamiepotter.wordpress.comJamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-73727928005397237682010-06-15T11:56:00.003+01:002010-06-15T12:10:39.187+01:00After BP, new attitudes will be tested by Chevron rulingPhoto by 350.org'Poor' BP is getting it in the neck right now with the US Senate announcing its intention to fine the oil company way more than first estimated for the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.Leaving aside questions over whether the US is trying to squeeze BP until the pips squeak or if the bill simply represents real costs, it certainly seems that American politicians have woken up to the Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-7086061995714131122010-05-20T10:44:00.000+01:002010-05-20T10:45:32.597+01:00Clegg's Constitutional ChangesSo Clegg has declared his intention to "shake-up" our democracy with reforms he equates to a "big bang". Not only do the plans fail to match 'recent' obvious reform such as giving women the vote, I struggle to see how they come close to any kind of deep reform worthy of such rhetoric.Overturning intrusions on our civil liberties such as ID cards and the DNA and Contact Point databases are Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-65791914713146233862010-05-18T15:19:00.002+01:002010-05-18T15:25:07.203+01:00Why I Joined the Labour PartyAt the weekend I joined the Labour party. For many of you this may come as a shock. I've lost track of the number of times I've spat venom about Labour-this and Labour-that as the last government trod all over our civil liberties and disappeared up its own arse on countless other policy occasions. I still have a folder of unpublished blog posts written in exasperation at Labour's efforts to Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-62289399445085148842010-05-12T14:49:00.004+01:002010-05-12T14:58:20.451+01:00Representation in the CabinetOne of the key talking points of the new coalition government is the lack of women or ethnic minorities in the new cabinet. While it really is a disgrace, I think ire is perhaps being directed at the wrong target. The thing is, both the Lib Dems and Conservative parliamentary parties are lacking in female and ethnic minority MPs, which is undoubtedly going to have an effect on the composition of Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-6183942615915057472010-05-12T14:44:00.002+01:002010-05-12T14:58:57.179+01:00Twitter and the electionTwitter has been bothering me the past few days. I can't quite put my finger on it, so excuse me if the following sounds a bit jumbled, but my feelings go a little something like this...A few days ago, I tweeted that "If anything, this #ge2010 I've learned that twitter is worse than rolling news. Moves too quickly for actual events, can't sustain itself."I saw somebody, I forget who, tweet that Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-17525785774258066942010-05-05T20:37:00.003+01:002010-05-05T20:40:57.001+01:00My AbsenceSeems I've not been blogging much of late. It's not that I've lost the passion, I still have it and there sits on my hard drive a fair few unfinished and unpublished posts. However, right now I'm somewhat snowed under with uni work and after spending all day with my head buried in books the last thing I want to do when I get home is spend another two or three hours getting my head around a blog Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-4424597268498339012010-05-05T20:35:00.000+01:002010-05-05T20:36:44.289+01:00Voting YellowI thought I best write something about the election, so here's a quicky. I would go into more detail but the entire build-up is wearing me out to be honest.I'm most probably going to vote Lib Dem. I say most probably because every time I think about tomorrow, my stomach lurches between hope for a Lib-Lab coalition and fear of a Tory victory. I shan't say anymore about the latter possibility, but Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-89326686519432243182010-04-19T22:54:00.007+01:002010-04-20T00:26:25.800+01:00What's Going on in Cancún?Image by Tbass EffendiClimate change conferences didn't end in Copenhagen, oh no! The filibustering roadshow continues in November in Cancún for the CoP16 conference and already the battle lines are being drawn between activists and organisers.Klimaforum, the alternative forum on combating climate change, just released an email condemning the decision to host the summit in Cancún, warning that Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-56382041047120610612010-04-12T15:03:00.000+01:002010-04-12T15:04:51.832+01:00Biofuels and womenMuch of the discussion surrounding biofuels understandably focuses on their impact on food production. It's a simple, emotive viewpoint - in order to continue driving our cars as we please somebody on a different continent must starve as we turn their crops into 'environmentally friendly' fuel. But nothing is ever that simple. In the case of biofuels, there's not just the impact on food prices, Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-3575576506938142612010-04-02T16:42:00.003+01:002010-04-02T17:00:57.030+01:00Confidence and the PolicePhoto by Iain WinfieldA year on from the G20 protests in London and still the police have yet to be held responsible for their appalling handling of the demonstrations in the City. Earlier this week, Delroy Smellie walked free from court despite video evidence clearly showing he assaulted Nicola Fisher close to the Bank of England. And, lest we forget, justice is still outstanding for the family Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-79047333771618939722010-04-02T12:26:00.004+01:002010-04-02T12:39:47.081+01:00Digital Economy Bill: Letter to my MPAnybody who follows me on twitter is probably aware of the utter ballache I've experienced trying to correspond with my MP, Patricia Hewitt. Seems her preferred manner of dealing with letters and emails that are, shall we say, not quite in line with her own principles, is to ignore them.Nearly a month ago I wrote to her regarding the Digital Economy Bill. I never received a response and after Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-53488506075377748742010-04-01T14:58:00.004+01:002010-04-01T15:04:16.395+01:00Chevron win $700m damagesThe Ecuadorian government will fight an arbitration ruling forcing them to pay Chevron $700 million in damages over trade disputes surrounding the company's past operations in the country. The claim regards delays by Ecuador to settle contract disputes with Texaco in the '90s and is not to be confused with an ongoing arbitration case seeking to scupper a $27 billion lawsuit brought by the people Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-62128074493808826092010-03-29T13:55:00.002+01:002010-03-29T14:04:31.113+01:00Is Earth past the tipping point?A new video from the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment asks the question: Is Earth past the tipping point? This follows a report published in Nature last year by 28 scientists who pointed out that Earth has ten separate biophysical systems that can define a "safe planetary operating space". Three of these biosphere systems have already suffered lasting, irreversible damage byJamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-42092907307450321892010-03-19T16:22:00.004+00:002010-04-01T15:03:51.149+01:00Lawyers appeal Chevron's arbitration moveChevron latest: More wriggling. Quelle surprise! Lawyers representing thousands of indigenous people from the Ecuadorian Amazon who are suing Chevron for the dumping of toxic waste are to appeal a recent decision by a New York court to grant Chevron permission to international arbitration.The American oil giant hope to prove they have been denied due process by the Ecuadorian judiciary which is Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-91415383283892945252010-03-18T11:36:00.002+00:002010-03-18T11:45:59.749+00:00Children of GazaA guest post from Shahinaz Nabeeh on the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, "Children of Gaza"The eyes of the orphaned Mohammed said it all. For an hour in Dispatches: Children of Gaza (Channel 4) they were defiant and angry, older than his 12 years. But at last the tears welled up, though he manfully fought them back. “I am not a terrorist, I am a Palestinian,” he declared. “Would they accept Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-65104991198275905852010-02-28T13:43:00.004+00:002010-02-28T14:16:43.820+00:00The Art of ProtestThanks to @WarrenPearce for sending this my way, a mini-documentary about how protest and demonstration has been brought under the auspices of the state, to amount to little more than sanctioned and manipulated cathartic spectacles. That protesters in the UK must give seven days notice of any intended demonstration or risk imprisonment for failing to do so is entirely bizarre.This disillusion is Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-29311559072309037612010-02-23T20:10:00.002+00:002010-02-23T20:13:01.153+00:00The Crisis of Credit (Visualised)Here's a great video which puts into layman's terms the causes of the financial crisis. If you were stumped before, hopefully this will clear a few things up. Thanks to @hackofalltrades for the link.Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-33540905708096763042010-02-14T16:48:00.009+00:002010-02-15T10:22:37.310+00:00Chevron: Attacking free speech and discrediting the judiciaryOne of the toxic waste pits in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Photo by Rainforest Action NetworkIt's been a while since I wrote about the $27.3bn lawsuit being brought against Chevron by thousands of indigenous peoples in Ecuador whose lives have been ruined by the dumping of waste in the Amazon, but you won't be surprised to hear their record is still stuck.The tenacious little scrotes at the Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-51407141776038264952010-02-10T21:39:00.005+00:002010-02-10T21:50:48.165+00:00David Miliband's Short Term MemoryDavid Miliband appeared on Channel 4 News tonight to set the record straight about a government lawyer writing to the presiding judges of the Binyam Mohamed case asking them to adjust their draft judgement.Miliband claimed that all legal propriety was adhered to and preached the independence of the nation's judiciary, saying: "There's something to defend about our political system, and one of theJamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-67467625534492510752010-02-10T21:01:00.006+00:002010-02-10T21:29:08.378+00:00Reading LinksSome more of what I've been reading the past week.China's farms pollute as much as its factoriesOver use of fertilizers to increase production on Chinese farms means they cause just as much pollution (of waterways) as other sources, such as power stations, according to a study released by the Chinese government. Skeptical Science iPhone AppOften get into arguments with climate change skeptics? Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-23655059077273583872010-01-26T23:00:00.001+00:002010-01-26T23:01:43.501+00:00Why I'm Flying to AmericaI suppose I better explain myself. I'm going to the USA tomorrow, which means I'm going to be flying. Yes, an environmental activist is going to be flying. Why? To visit my girlfriend in Boston and tie in a trip to New York, a city I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. See, I'm a music fan - a big music fan - much of the music I listen to originates or has its roots in the USA. For Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-54391388606208252292010-01-18T01:23:00.002+00:002010-01-18T01:25:41.150+00:00Reading w/e 17th JanuaryWhy we need a cultural revolution in consumption.Hits the nail on the head. It's our rampant consumerism, the everlasting quest for further growth that is driving climate change. The inconvenient truth is we're all responsible but likewise we all have the power to stop it getting worse if we stop consuming as we do. Environmental activists killed by mining companies in Latin AmericaIndymedia Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-19376305192500468132010-01-16T14:18:00.003+00:002010-01-16T14:55:30.188+00:00Move Your MoneyAs yet another raft of bankers' bonuses are due to be announced safe in the knowledge a doddering Chancellor will likely turn a blind eye it's time we the people had our way for a change.Billy Bragg announced on twitter this morning his intention not to pay any tax until the disgrace is sorted by the government. On a facebook group called NoBonus4RBS, he writes:"The estimated £1.5bn that RBS willJamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2324345856553490153.post-61225411583216967022010-01-15T12:14:00.005+00:002010-01-15T12:29:08.947+00:00Riot police used on Spanish tourists at GatwickPhoto by DunechaserHere's a story that hasn't got much attention in the UK press this week. Over one hundred Spanish tourists were forcibly evicted from Gatwick Airport by riot police after protesting about a last minute flight cancellation. Police were called to move the tourists when they refused to leave the building without the guarantee of being put on a new flight. (Their airline was Jamie Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094643234423126934noreply@blogger.com0