Rupert's Read

So, my ‘guardians for future generations’ event alongside Polly Higgins last night went very interestingly. The super-jury decided, on balance, that fracking would be against the basic interests / needs of future people…   Those of you who came last night will be aware that very unfortunately we could not make workable-Skype-contact with Sandor Fulop, the Hungarian Ombudsman for future generations. This morning, he emailed me this wonderful msg: "I would have been eager to share and discuss with you some ideas about the two intriguing and high professional quality suggestions of the yesterday evening program.   As concerns your ideas, Rupert, I wanted to strongly second the idea of the group solution rather than nominating an individual as responsible for the protection of future generations. As concerns the veto right I would call it a last resort solution, while I would put the stress in the operation of the new organisation to deliberation, system...

Discussing the Financial Crisis in Europe Tuesday 1 st May The Curve (The Forum) 5.15-7.30 (Free to attend, open to all)   www.uea.ac.uk/psi/eventsnews/events/financialcrisis   This event, organized by the School of Political, Social and International Studies , is an opportunity for the general public to discuss with experts from the University of East Anglia  the economic, social and political reality of the European Financial Crisis. How did the crisis start? What are the effects in different countries? How are we going to get out of it?   Panellists include: Dr. Marina Prentoulis (PSI-Chair) Prof. Shaun Hargreaves-Heap (ECO) Dr. Rupert Read (PHI) Dr. Chris Hanretty (PSI)  

Here's our press release about the elections:   The Eastern Region of the Green Party has announced its candidate list for the local elections to be held in May. This year 148 candidates will be campaigning to increase the already strong group of councillors who make the region the strongest for the Party nationally.     With rural councils in Norfolk and Suffolk not holding elections this year, it is only Norwich , Great Yarmouth and Ipswich where seats will be contested, in those counties. Norwich will be aiming to consolidate and hoping to gain on their current tally of 15 councillors and possibly take over leadership of the City Council, while Ipswich is fielding a record ten candidates, offering more people than ever the opportunity of voting Green.   There is a strong showing in Hertfordshire where three local green parties field full slates of candidates, North Hertfordshire and Watford being joined for the first time by the Welwyn...

I have just been reading this extremely powerful piece: http://www.opendemocracy.net/mohammad-al-attar/images-of-our-syrian-revolution-leaked-in-losing-gamble  . I agree with it. And yet, especially after talking with my friend the Syian democracy protester Odai Al-Zoubi, I am more optimistic for a positive outcome than is this piece. Why? 'The image' makes one important difference from 1982; it has contributed for example to the Arab League mission, which (though ultimately a failure) pressurised the regime for a while, and it has contributed now to the UN mission, which (though under severe threat:  http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/2012416182434265775.html  ) promises to have a stronger effect still. Clearly, one cannot believe a word that Assad says; they are shelling Homs even now. One cannot in any meaningful sense negotiate with such people, any more than one could with Gaddafi; and yet, the power of the image plus the power of the nationw...

My debate-series with Mike Hulme is hitting the road... Goto https://www.hayfestival.com/p-4593-mike-hulme-and-rupert-read.aspx for details of my appearance debating 'the environment' with him at the Hay Literary Festival, this June...

I am delighted to introduce my new book, Wittgenstein among the Sciences. "Engaging with the question of the extent to which the so-called human, economic or social sciences are actually sciences, this book moves away from the search for a criterion or definition that will allow us to sharply distinguish the scientific from the non-scientific. Instead, the book favours the pursuit of clarity with regard to the various enterprises undertaken by human beings, with a view to dissolving the felt need for such a demarcation. In other words, Read pursues a 'therapeutic' approach to the issue of the status and nature of these subjects."

  Radical 'super jury' proposal to be piloted     A radical new idea to charge a 'super jury' of ordinary people with powers greater than the House of Lords will be trialled in London on 25 th April 2012 .   Green House think tank Chair Dr. Rupert Read will demonstrate how his idea for 'Guardians for future generations' would work at a public meeting at King's Place, London: Twelve of those attending the meeting will be picked at random to form a mock-jury to 'decide' on an issue of vital importance to future people…   The event follows Dr Read's successful launch of the original 'Guardians for Future Generations' report at the House of Commons in January. The report proposes that a council of randomly-picked members of the public, like a jury, should be placed above the House of Lords to oversee all government decisions. The Guardians' central powers would be a veto over new legislation that threatens t...

The  following is a guest post by Meika Jensen of mastersdegree.net . It is worth reading among other things in relation to http://www.uea.ac.uk/phi/courses/MA+MSc+ENV+HUM+Leaflet  / http://rupertsread.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=masters  , the brand new interdisciplinary Masters course (that was originally my brainchild) now starting at UEA: Where Sustainability, Public Policy, and Higher Ed meet - a guest post by Meika Jensen Schools Should Not be Political Battlegrounds Students in higher education tend to worry mostly about getting papers turned in on time, finding that last necessary reference, or simple waking up. Professors, in turn, typically worry about grading said papers, finding effective methods to reach students, and simply waking up. Outside of university walls, however, politics play a major role in nearly every higher education decision, from how many students can be accepted to how much online masters degree programs can charge. Amidst the ...

For starters, goto http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/environmental-change/2011/03/08/the-conference-in-audio-2/ and scroll down to 'Plenary Session' - the Q & A is well worth listening to too. http://rupertsread.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/podcast-of-my-parliament-talk-yesterday.html http://www.allvoices.com/people/Rupert_Read/video/44620169-rupert-read-debates-car-garages-on-bbc-radio-2-www-rupertread-net http://rupertsread.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/alternatives-to-economic-growth.html http://rupertsread.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/gm-debate-ukip-vs-green-me-on-bbc-radio.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb6_gnpVk84 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fUXOu9AGtk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzrpT0QvFIc Enjoy!