Government of the people, by the people, for the people – seems like a good basic principle for “democracy”. Yet many groups of citizens, in different representative democracies around the world, don’t seem too happy with their current versions of “kratos” in the hands of the “demos“. Be they UK “Brexit” or Remain supporters, or […]
Katja from the French association Playing for Change Occitanie (PFCO) explains what her organisation is trying to do to help Syrian refugees in a rural corner of Southwest France. PFCO has helped two new arrivals from Syria, recently arrived in France, to make the most of their talent for pottery. They hooked them up with […]
Paul Mason is one of the few regular journalists I make a point of watching out for. He does a neat summary of the state of alternative politics in Greece and elsewhere in a comment piece featured in today’s Guardian edition. It’s certainly worth a read, and a comment if you’re so inclined. This was […]
Below is my answer Jon Danzig’s challenge to respond to his post suggesting Russell Brand’s electoral advice to not bother voting was dumb and disrespectful to those who fought for our right to the ballot. I’d have posted it in the comments thread of his piece but got chucked off for reasons I couldn’t fathom. […]
Fraudcast News has been out and about for three years now, making its way into the world without the benefits of a conventional publishing push behind. Without me exactly knowing how – the free PDF has been downloaded more than 10,000 times now and I’ve managed to sell a few hundred paperback copies both online […]
22 January at 19:30–21:00 Shakespeare and Co, Sterngasse 2, 1010, Vienna Find all the details here
Yet another example of why Twitter is a hugely useful source of information. @DrDavidPatrick turns up as a follower of my @PatrickChalmers account – so I take a look at his profile. Up pops his excellent short film cataloguing and analysing the media coverage – sorry bias – of a year’s worth of newspaper coverage […]
Friday August 1, 2014 St Mary’s Community Centre, Upper Street, Islington N1 2TX. 6.30pm to 9.00pm When Patrick Chalmers hit on becoming a foreign news correspondent, he dreamed of somehow helping advance the cause of social justice around the world. When he eventually landed that dream job, he soon realised it had little to do […]
Compare and contrast US diplomacy on people protesting in the streets in the face of violent assaults by the authorities. Democracy Now! reports on 15th August 2013 after at least 525 people were killed and more than 3,500 people wounded in government raids on protest encampments filled with supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi […]
I wrote this brief review of my chosen book for Green Left Weekly’s annual recommended books of 2013 I went for “Blossom : What Scotland Needs To Flourish” by Lesley Riddoch, a gem of a book that had me both laughing and despairing as I raced through its insightful pages about my native land. This […]
