politics
Politics does not dictate our collective cultural mindset as much as it simply reflects it; We've got to look in the mirror sometimes, and we've got one.
How Can We Look up to MPs Now?
And breathe... Westminster has prorogued and has been suspended from sitting for five weeks. Or can we relax? Parliament, deeply divided on everything Brexit and beyond, are still swinging handbags on the radio, the TV, the media and in and out of court rooms this last week.
By Ian Peter Loftus6 years ago in The Swamp
Liberal Democracy
There is a slogan of the American Civil Liberties Union: "Dissent is Democratic." I find myself in awe of this quote. In the United States, dissent is supposed to mean something; it is important. Americans think that they have a voice that acts in their interest. Of course they do. We live in a liberal democracy. Of course, nobody thinks about what exactly that means. What is a liberal democracy?
By Ellen Howell7 years ago in The Swamp
War On Drugs: Why We Need a Better Solution
When you think of someone who takes drugs—a drug addict—what springs to mind? From my experience, people will offer a variety of replies. Usually, they describe how they perceive how people look, often saying things like dirty, homeless, rude, violent, problems. Then the description will move on to the crime and violence associated with drugs. The effects of the drug world impact all the communities we live in, but what most people don't realise is that it doesn't have to be this way.
By Nic Castle7 years ago in The Swamp
How I Want to Serve My City Hall
I’ve been a Parliamentarian before in student government. I’d love to be one again if I do De Anza student government. At any rate, I’m stuck in San Jose for a while longer until I can cope with crowds by myself, and I’m getting my A.A. in film and television in the process, because what I really want is to move to Los Angeles to work as a producer or something with the film industry while getting my MFA in creative writing. City Hall may have plenty of public service opportunities if we take a look at the website. I’m looking at the website just to see what’s happening.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in The Swamp
Aussie and Kiwi Rivalry
Australians tell jokes about New Zealanders and vice versa. Our countries are close geographically and in many other respects. We have fought together, everyone has heard of the ANZAC’s, Australian and New Zealand Army Corp, and there is even a popular biscuit named in the honour of these soldiers.
By Ian McKenzie7 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'The Loudest Voice' Finale
The Loudest Voice concluded tonight with John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth," played under postscripts that tell us what happened to major characters after the story portrayed in the series ends. In many ways, that combo—Lennon's song and the postscripts—were the most compelling part of the series, which was plenty compelling, already.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
Georgia’s Case with Russia Proves That Words Can Cut Deep in International Relations
The Republic of Georgia and Russia’s relationships have been tense ever since the 90s after the two countries fought a quick war in Abkhazia and then another one in 2008 in South Ossetia.
By Giorgi Mikhelidze7 years ago in The Swamp
Marching with Ghosts
This year marks the bicentennial of the Peterloo Massacre. On Monday August 16th, 1819, a crowd of over 60,000 people gathered peacefully at St. Peters Field in Manchester to hear speeches in favour of parliamentary reform. They gathered to demand fairer representation in parliament for the industrial North and the extension of the vote to more working-class men. The peaceful protest turned to horror when the 15th Hussars Cavalry were ordered to disperse the crowd. What followed was a barbaric cavalry charge on unarmed civilians, resulting in 18 deaths and over 400 injuries, amongst the dead was two-year-old William Fildes, who was knocked from his mother's arms and trampled by oncoming horses. The tragic day was dubbed ‘Peterloo’ in mock reference to the Battle of Waterloo, which was fought five years earlier. Peterloo was to become the catalyst for political reform in the early 19th century. It paved the way for the Great Reform Act of 1832, which heralded the partial extension of the vote, the creation of new MPs to represent the booming—yet neglected—industrial Northern towns and cities and laid the foundations upon which a century of struggle for democracy, fair votes and universal suffrage could be fought.
By Shaun Ennis7 years ago in The Swamp
