This is my first post on current affairs. I was going to post in under ‘Film & TV’ but I decided that probably undermined the importance of the message of this piece by Robert Newman who, according to Wikipedia, is a comedian and writer with a social conscience.

I’d never heard of him before I stumbled across this Google video of his entitled ‘Robert Newman’s History of Oil’. It’s well worth a watch, puts a lot of current world affairs in perspective in a humourous and entertaining fashion.

I have to admit, I sometimes wished it was a bit slicker, sometimes wished that he didn’t milk the gags, sometimes wished that the gags took me by surprise more often - but I watched it right to the end all the same.

When I did some searching for his stuff I found that he has done quite a bit of stuff on the BBC and wrote this article for the Guardian on Climate Change which had some lovely quotes:

Capitalism is not sustainable by its very nature. It is predicated on infinitely expanding markets, faster consumption and bigger production in a finite planet. [...] The corporation will outflank every puny law and regulation that seeks to constrain its profitability. It therefore stands in the way of the functioning democracy needed to tackle climate change. Only by breaking up corporate power and bringing it under social control will we be able to overcome the global environmental crisis.

I like him already.

Presenting serious issues in a humourous fashion is a great way to get a message out. I have to admit that I don’t know a huge amount about peak oil issues, or climate change, but it sure seems like the tide is turning and the public are starting to get worried about such little items… but what are we actually doing about any of it?

It’s fashionable among a lot of us now to discuss odd weather patterns as the result of global warming, it’s now even fashionable for many to admit that the US invaded Iraq for Oil, but what are we doing?

I know I’m not doing anything. Except maybe not driving, which doesn’t count because I get taxis everywhere anyway.

Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the c*nts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up. To get himself a cheese sandwich before the food runs out.

At least I watched the video…

Allen posted a link to this in the comments of the Frank Zappa post. I’m always a little skeptical of these sort of one-sided documentaries but I think Bush delightedly talking about some woman having three jobs as uniquely american speaks volumes.

I was half tempted to write a long post about the nature of the media and how we all react to tragic events such as the recent five murders in Ipswich, Suffolk. But it seems a bit trite at this stage. However there is still something really off about the palpable sense of excitement in the voices of the Sky News reporters when they talk about their murder scene maps and the like. I, by and large, like 24 hour news and I can usually stand the scrolling text, breaking news music and dumb hyperbole but somethings demand a more sombre tone.