Buy Nothing Day - November 24 or 25 2006

Fed up with consumer madness? Feel like someone is trying to sell you stuff 24/7? Well this weekend (Friday in North America and Saturday everywhere else) you can get your revenge by doing absolutely nothing.

Yes, it's Buy Nothing Day 2006: A chance to reflect on the ridiculous amounts we consume. A chance to realise how much damage we do to both the environment and people's lives through our collective greed. A chance to participate by not participating.

If you fancy being more direct then their are plenty of suggestions on active things to do from my post for last year here. There's lots to download here too. The dedicated UK site is here. And have fun - without spending a penny!

Blame Canada (and España)

Right now, the United Nations is considering a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling. While the White House is supporting deep-sea protection, Spain and Canada are trying to block the deal.

According to the World Conservation Union, Spain is responsible for 40 percent of the high seas bottom trawl catch. Meanwhile, Canada has no high seas bottom trawl fleet and their Minister has admitted bottom trawling is destructive - but is opposing a moratorium anyway.

On the Ocean Defenders side is the USA, Australia, Germany, Brazil, India, South Africa, Palau and a host of other countries. The UN will make a final decision by November 23rd.

Amusing accompanying animated linkage: Oh my God, they killed Squiddy!

Or just go here and send e-mails and stuff.

Good Morning America

The US mid-term elections have been held and... it's official: Finally George Bush and his war-mongering administration have been given a taste of defeat by the US public. The worsening war in Iraq seems to have been the main thing to swing a lot of places towards the Democrats.

In what was obviously a calculated move the first big thing Bush has done is to 'accept the resignation' of Donald Rumsfeld, the war-mongering US Secretary of Defense, who helped arm Iraq in the 1980s and then got all excited about bombing the crap out of it instead - and having played an instrumental part in waging an illegal war, still prefers to kill holocaust-like numbers of innocent civilians rather than put enough troops on the ground to do the job properly.

It all changed after September 11th didn't it? Such an utterly devastating event, but it's such a shame that was the catalyst for the evil in this administration to get its way. I am not a religious man, however one of the things I have always found odd about the US (and the UK to a lesser extent in modern times) is that, for a vociferously Christian country, that faith's ideology goes out the window the moment it's perceived someone needs showing who's boss. It's also shameful that US foreign policy is either so outright blatant or thinly veiled about profiting from such destruction.

Let's just sincerely hope the Democrats can effect some positive change to the shambles Bush and the neo-conservative hawks have wrought. We need a US behaving as a truly democratic nation setting an example on the world stage rather than the playground bully conveniently throwing the rules out the window whenever it wants. The sooner that happens, the sooner there will be a better concensus for peace and for dealing with the world's issues.

Anyway, today, Bush said that before accepting Rumsfeld's resignation, they both "had a series of thoughtful conversations." Let's just imagine for a moment how one of those might have gone...


Donald Rumsfeld: I'm fucked aren't I? It's time for me to resign and go play with my money.

George Bush: Do you want fries with that?