I, TERF: Why I Will Not Bow To The Transactivist Agenda

The word "woman" is officially a swearword; using it is considered transphobic and uninclusive when discussing aspects of healthcare that only apply to women. Why don't they do this to men?

2021 - The Way Back To Normal?

It's nearly the end of January in a new year and I've not done any blogging for months. The truth is, I've been too heartsick to do it. The news was going round and round in circles and there's only so many times I can talk about how Trump is a chump, Brexit is bad, laissez-faire neoliberalism kills people, wokeness is bunk, and no, trans women are male, not actual women. Now the Americans have a new president. Will 2021 be an improvement on last year?

US-UK Trade Agreement: Public Interest Groups Fear Corporate Influence Over Negotiations

Lest we forget, the US-UK Free Trade Agreement continues to simmer away in the background, as I was reminded today by the Citizens Trade Campaign. A range of public interest groups are concerned that the negotiators will allow industry lobbyists to have undue interest in the negotiations. Are they right to worry?

You Can Make A Difference: MEPs Will Debate Copyright Law on 10/10/17. Write To Them.

On 10th October 2017, the JURI (Legal Affairs) committee in the European Parliament will vote on future copyright law. You have the ability to influence their vote on the five issues they will be debating this Tuesday.

How Mass Surveillance Trickles Down

Mass surveillance is no longer the talk of the tinfoil hat brigade. It is all-encompassing and all-pervasive. Laws enacted in the wake of the 9/11 atrocity that were intended to prevent terrorism are now being used for a plethora of purposes. Let's take a closer look at the main ones.

Happy New Year 2016: Lessons To Learn, Battles To Fight

Happy new year, everyone. I'm writing this post with a mix of hope and fear: hope that we will finally turn the corner and avert the threat of sinking deeper into a police state poisoned by fracking and suffering from economic and environmental woes and fear that apathy will keep us on our current course. Here's a round-up of 2015 as I experienced it along with some projections of what this year will bring.

Anti-TTIP Day of Action: Where Were You?

On Saturday 22nd August, Pirate George Walkden kindly took my place at the anti-TTIP day of action at Eccles Cross because I couldn't make it myself. This is what happened.

How Authoritarians Use Emotion To Manipulate Us

I get fed up with being told what to do, what to think, and what to say by self-appointed experts who think that they have a monopoly on morality. No, they don't. I've been consistently pushing back and today I'm going to explain their nasty little tricks.

The Newspeak Agenda: How To Push Back

The Charleston shooting is being co-opted by a range of special interest groups, each of which is out to score political points. What annoys me is that people I know are being sucked into the game. The only reason I know better is that I'm aware of the tricks they use to balkanise their audience and play them off each other in a bid to increase their influence. This is what they're up to.

Reda Report Adopted By EU Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee. What That Means For Us

Personally, I'm addicted to the high-octane buzz of political activism. Each victory my team wins makes me feel like Imperator Furiosa, but on a really good day. As a Pirate, one of my soapbox subjects is copyright reform, and I'm advocating for the adoption of the Reda Report by the EU Parliament. This is the state of play.

The Power Of Propaganda: How Not To Fall For The Lies

As a woman who prides herself in thinking for herself I am constantly amazed to see people just blindly accepting what they're told, and even getting emotionally involved with their "opinions," which have been provided to them by the media. We need to talk about propaganda and to work out strategies for countering it.

NOW Can We Get Off The Left/Right See-Saw?

I've been mulling over the results of the recent general election here in the UK and have come to the conclusion that I was right all along; we really do need a new kind of political thinking.

The question is, how am I going to persuade ANYONE to get off the left/right see-saw when they're unwilling to consider other options?