We won't see his like again

Politics: For most young people, the name Tony Benn doesn't mean a lot, but he was a great statesman.

One of the most amazing things is that he had a seat in the House of Lords that he gave up so that he could continue to be a Labour MP.

RIP Tony Benn

World News:
There's been outrage recently as girls at an American school have been ranked based on appearance.
It's apparently just a prank, but seriously...

On a more serious note, the Crimean region of the Ukraine has declared independence, which in one sense sounds great as the Crimean people throw off the shackles of their oppressors.  But actually, do you think everyone in the Crimea wanted independence?  What about the one's who wanted to stay Ukranian?

Well, they're either in the minority, or at least have the minority of guns, and that means they go independent or they leave their homes.  That's the reality of democracy: there's always someone who loses.

The US have announced that when the economy grows (as we move out of recession), the long-term unemployed are likely to get left behind








This is largely because employers, when they start hiring again, aren't going to go with the long term unemployed because they look like a bad bet.

The lesson here is, even when things get better, they don't get better for everyone. So if you want to stay ahead of the game, you've got to work hard no matter what, and you've got to take advantage of every opportunity.


Seeing things differently:

With gas and electricity bills going up all the time, some very smart people are looking to other methods of heating their homes (I say they're smart because I've been doing this for a while).

But the problem is, if someone is finding it hard to find the money to pay their bills, can they really afford to buy a wood burning stove (ours cost hundreds)?

That's the problem: when someone's in debt, it's hard to get out, 'cos it costs money. Really unfair if you ask me...

Anyway, what about collecting water?

It's good for the garden, and if you don't mind a cold shower it's great. Maybe wouldn't use it to make a cuppa though eh?


And, while were on the subject of living the eco warrior life, what do you do when a loved one has a birthday coming up and you don't have any money...?  Simples

But, a word of warning: It's okay to be an eco-warrior, and to do things that benefit the environment and yourselves, but it is worth remembering that there are rules and regulations out there, before you do anything it's a good idea to make sure that you're within the law.  It's also worth remembering that some things that you see on the internet are fake.

Local News:
Last week's meeting went well.  I do love the people of Parton: they've got real stamina.  And they need it to get up the hill to the main road!

And finally:

Just to end on a high, here a few autocorrect fails to put a smile on your face (and also a warning: you guys type WAY too fast. Why not try and pause for a moment and check what you've typed: just a thought)

Democracy Workshop Session 2

So session 2 of the Zombie Apocalypse aftermath started with: who's gonna do what? Obviously there were jobs that needed doing: finding food, finding fuel, disposing of zombies bits.

The first part of this sessions was allocating jobs to people, and some jobs were obviously going to be more unpleasant than others.  In a direct democracy everyone gets a vote, so the unpopular guys in class could get lumbered with the nasty jobs. Of course this is the 21st century and persecution is a much more sophisticated business.  I'd had really expected that there would be one or two in the class who everyone else considered weirdoes, who'd get the zombie duty jobs, but no: Everyone realised that a weirdo would probably like the zombie stuff, so they victimised them by putting them in charge of gardening... Anyway, there was always going to be someone who didn't want to do the job they were given, and led us neatly on to the next part of the session:  What if someone doesn’t do?

The group needs to work together to survive, but not everyone is good at working in a team.

If someone doesn’t do their job, the whole group will suffer. In the same way if someone takes more than their fair share – of food, blankets, or tin openers – the whole group could suffer.  So how does a group make sure that people do what is best for the group?

There are two common methods: carrot & stick.

The stick method is usually some form of punishment: either physical punishment (once called corporal punishment), that might include being hit with a stick, or a removing of privileges like food or freedom (like in prison).

The carrot method is usually about rewards, giving people treats for good behaviour (it works on people just as well as on dogs).

Which of these methods would work best in this brave new world?

When you've got a community of twenty or so people, locking one up means everyone else has to work that bit harder, and unless you turn into a monster you have to feed the one locked up.  So they get fed for sitting on their bottom while everyone else has to graft. Encouraging laziness much?

 

The flip side is to reward (bribe) someone to do their job.  That backfires spectacularly when everyone else decides that they deserve a reward (bribe) too.  Besides which what do you use as a reward in a world where all the food and drink's free and none of the games stations or phones work? Shiny pebbles?

Well, someone sure loves shiny pebbles...

 

The general feeling was that if someone didn't do what they were supposed to for the group, then the group wouldn't support them.  Half rations was a good example of how to get a person to play fair.
 

What about the other group though.  The anarchy group. How were they getting on by this point. I think they were hoping anarchy would be a bit "punk vs. metal" instead it was more like an untidy bedroom that no-one wanted to clean.