According to the Guardian, a recent poll suggests that ‘Almost four out of 10 voters think Boris Johnson and the Conservative party are corrupt.’ I find it amazing that the figure is so low. Day after day, new revelations of corrupt practices appear in the media yet so far they don’t seem to have stuck. … Continue reading Complain or condone
Working for free
Image from the Guardian article Nobody should work for free. Oh but wait on, I do, at times. The whole issue of remuneration has come to light again during the COVID crisis with the enormous rise in distribution jobs. Nearly all businesses moved their trade online, at least in some format almost overnight and this … Continue reading Working for free
No Windows
Image thanks to Persephone Books One of the great pleasures of being a member of the Lit and Phil in Newcastle is that I have been able to choose books that I wouldn’t normally have picked. It has been a kind of strategy. So far I have hit a very rich vein of reading material … Continue reading No Windows
Free market football
Image thanks to StraitsTimes If there ever was a spectacular own goal it has to be the proposed set up of the European Super League. It’s flame shone mightily bright for 48 hours before a revolt by fans, the media and politicians snuffed it out. It must have been the fastest ever football competition. What … Continue reading Free market football
Cyber Friends
One of the most interesting things that I have found working on CyberNorth is the people that I meet. When I first started trying to develop a cyber security cluster for the region, it was at the request of Accenture, through Dynamo North East and, though I had had a long career in IT, cyber … Continue reading Cyber Friends
You still want vaccine passports?
Image thanks to UNNews La Soufrière, a stratovolcano on the Island of Saint Vincent has erupted. This explosive event, the first time the volcano has erupted since 1979, has left the island in a humanitarian crisis that, according to the United Nations, could last for months. Twenty thousand people have been evacuated from their homes … Continue reading You still want vaccine passports?
An independent review
Image thanks to ThisIsMoney(UK) There has been much fuss about an independent review of former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s lobbying on behalf of Greensill. What will come out of the review is anybody’s guess but I am not holding my breath. I’m left wondering why now? Why this (potential) scandal when there have been … Continue reading An independent review
Global alliances
Image thanks to Science News for Students Conflict comes from imbalance. Nobody likes injustice, when it affects them, yet the world is filled with injustice. The world’s resources are shared unfairly across its people in whichever way you look and the current political makeup of nation states, each able to set its own internal laws … Continue reading Global alliances
Boring lives
Daughter number two has sent me a link to the BBC’s podcast series ‘The Boring Talks’, presented by James Ward, who promises that ‘Behind every boring subject is another layer of boringness you could have never imagined.’ I have started listening to them and am a few in. I hope this doesn't spoil it for … Continue reading Boring lives
You have one job
I have never been one but I can imagine that being an MP is a hard job. You will be bombarded on a daily basis by people who want you to pick up their pet cause or want to tell you what a rubbish job you are doing and that their grandmother could do better. … Continue reading You have one job
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 