Re:Schedule
My blogging schedule for the last couple of weeks has been a bit haphazard, to say the least. I've been spending a lot of time in quiet contemplation of life in general, and haven't had a great deal to say about anything specific as a consequence. I've been trying to find a little equilibrium between work, personal, social and 'other' parts of my life, and I don't feel I'm anywhere near finding it yet.
I've been following the news though, and while I'm sure everyone has been following developments in Moscow, the storms over the UK (last night was completely wild here), the arrest of the Washington sniper(s) and the latest suicide bombing in Israel, I'd like to make sure people have a chance to pause and mourn the death of US Senator Paul Wellstone, his family and their associates. Senator Wellstone was, according to both news coverage and comments from his constituents in Minnesota, a one-of-a-kind politician; proudly liberal in a country where that label can be a political death-knell, a conviction politician who was respected by political allies and opponents alike. He was the only Democrat Senator of those facing re-election next month to vote against authorising GW Bush to use force against Iraq. I saw a comment in the Metafilter thread on the subject: "i won't miss wellstone. he's part of the obstructionist block in the senate that held up passage of the homeland security bill" which, even allowing that it's a flaming troll, indicates the impact he had far outside the state he represented. The Independent's Obituary.
Richard Harris
Richard Harris died yesterday, following his battle with Hodgkin's Diesease. One of those actors who is often better remembered for his off-screen activities than those on, it would be a pity if that was all that was remarked upon. He turned in many outstanding performances during his career. The better-known ones are those in Camelot, A Man Called Horse, The Heroes of Telemark, and of course the Harry Potter films, but I think I'll hang on to the fond memory of The Field. IMDB Filmography.
More An Ethical Way Of Life….4
Fair Trade is one of the organisations which are active in the area of promoting fair deals for producers of goods in developing countries. Far too often, when major buyers such as multinational food-processing companies are sourcing goods, they use their size and buying power to force growers to sell at drastically reduced rates. Frequently these rates are below the subsistance levels required to keep either crops or communities viable. Fair Trade, as the name suggests, is about getting a fair deal for them.
You can buy a range of products that carry the Fair Trade mark at most supermarkets these days, and more and more surveys are showing that consumers want to choose Fair Trade goods where possible, so hopefully, there will be more choice and availability in the future. Tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas, fruit juices, honey and sugar are the primary product groups available at present.
Tomorrow (Saturday), by the way, is Banana Bonanza Day, during which a number of Fair Trade banana promotional events will be held around the UK.
More An Ethical Way Of Life….3
Just a couple of quick links tonight:
Rainforest Concern are working to try and preserve some of the most important remaining rainforest, securing its biodiversity and the well-being of its indigenous peoples. Their most significant project to date is the Choco-Andean Rainforest Corridor Project in north west Ecuador, which is creating a protected corrior of land between two of the region's forests which allows safe transit for flora and fauna between the two. They need support on many levels, and are well worth checking out.
Save Or Delete is Greenpeace's site focusing on their campaign to have the import of illegally logged and non-sustainable timber banned.
Too Subtle For My Mean Intelligence
I can't be the only one, surely?
I've seen that ad for the Orange Mobile Decide-What-You-Want-type thing with the Scottish woman's voice dubbed onto the scenes clearly filmed in America, at least a dozen times, and every single time, I've read that last scene as carrying at least a hint of "I don't want Asian men sitting next to me on the park bench, please come and take him away, officers." I thought it was at least unfortunate and at most extremely offensive.
Then suddenly last night, I realised that (I think) it's because he's got a beard, and earlier on she'd had the "I want beards to be illegal" scene, and it's just a staggeringly ill-chosen bit of casting that made it look the way I'd read it the first twelve times.
Is it just me?
When Is A Police Box….
....not the Police's box?
When it belongs to the BBC, who are happy to make money out of it through licencing without actually investing in a decent revamp of the series that endabled them to do so.
More An Ethical Way Of Life…. 2
Ethical banking - not so very long ago, those two words would have seemed, if not by definition contradictory, then certainly strange bedfellows. Capitalism, which banking is certainly on closer terms with, would require that decisions be made based purely on maximising profit, and not on any external notions of acceptability or appropriateness.
Various organisations have sought to reconcile the two, but the one in the UK which has had the biggest impact is The Co-Operative Bank. The introduction of its ethical banking policy was followed by a heartening increase in the number of its account holders, and their research has shown that the ethical policy continues to be a significant factor in customers' choice to open an account. More heartening still is that the ethical policy is one which grows and changes over time, and that the customers are invited to be a part of its evolution. Other banks and financial institutions have created ethical accounts, or funds on the meantime, but for me, they always seem rather cynical attemps to jump on a bandwagon. The Co-Op Bank at least has the credibility of coming out of the Co-Op movement, which has always attempted to link social goals with business ones.
The bank also had extensive online banking facilities ahead of many more mainstream competitors, and launched its own (also ethical) internet bank, smile.co.uk in the late 90s. The two together seem to demonstrate that banking with a conscience can work, and that everyone can benefit.
Wild West, Great Western
Caught Dawn French's new thing on the BBC this evening. Wild West is set in a fishing village in Cornwall, and despite what could charitably be called 'mixed reviews' (mixed between bad and awful, that is), I found it mildly diverting, and capable of being a bit of a grower.
Afterwards, watched the second half of the Great Britons programme on Isambard Kingdom Brunel, presented in full-on Jeremy Clarkson mode by, well, by Jeremy Clarkson, actually. The man, (Brunel, not Clarkson) was without doubt a genius, an iconoclast, and a builder of astonishing vision. If I was of a mind to cast a vote, which I'm not, he'd get mine.
Families – Can’t Live With ‘Em….
Gert quite rightly points out that Iain Duncan Smith doesn't really seem to know the difference between 'marriage', 'family' and 'children' if his various reported comments are accurate. Likewise, her opinion that tax breaks for lifestyle choices should not be supported seems to me to be eminently reasonable (though it would be more remarkable if I didn't find one of her opinions so).
I would hardly be the first person to point out that becoming married is not in any way an automatic entry to the 'good parents' club, any more than single parents are automatically bad ones. All of this stuff, as regular readers will not be surprised to read, about the importance of families, really pisses me off, because 'family' is always defined so narrowly in such cases. IDS's reported comment: "The most fundamental institution of any free and sustainable society was the family", for instance, could on some level be supportable if he wasn't elsewhere using the term synonymously with 'marriage'.
I know who my 'family' are, and it's neither blood nor marriage that makes them part of it.
More An Ethical Way Of Life…. 1
I've decided to do some themed linking this week, in a sort-of 'MAWOL Week of the Ethical Blog' with a view to highlighting a few worthwhile subjects and sites that I think are worth people who give a damn about more than their own personal satisfaction checking out - and I know that's all of you 
Get Ethical is a resource for the finding and purchasing of ethical products. It's run in conjunction with The Big Issue. They're currently in the process of revamping somewhat, but the range of products they've identified is still available. I'm very much of the belief that if you need a product, and you can source an ethical version, then that's the option you should take.