November 2016

How are you feeling? Excited? Hopeful? Like we’re about to enter the bestest ever chapter in the history of human beings? Yeah me either. It’s been a shitty bloody year all up. John Oliver’s video Fuck You 2016 certainly resonated. You can watch it here if you haven’t. But I recommend you play until the end. However, it’s important to find the silver lining no – post Trump, post Brexit, and post whatever other shit is coming next?? I mean we’re all in this together, no matter how currently divided the world seems to be, so there must be some good to come of it? Found it yet? No? Well for me it’s simple. We’ve had a BIG wakeup call and a BIG kick in the arse! And yes, I know many believe this is how the world works – it goes in cycles and we’ve just got to endure it again, go to war, make peace, and continue as before. But you know what, screw that, because we don’t have time. Please check this out – The 13 impossible crises that humanity now faces. Many won’t appreciate this article, many will disagree, but Trump is only one part of lots and lots of big problems we need to deal with. The environment being the very BIG one. The rapid escalation of extinctions another BIG one. Missed that story? Here it is – World on track to lose two-thirds of wild animals by 2020, major report warns. Future mass migration is coming. Let’s prepare for it. Top soil is disappearing and we’ve only got 60 harvests left, which could mean mass starvation in the not too distant future. That’s a bloody BIG one. Water wars are predicted. In fact, according to this article, almost half of humanity will face water scarcity by 2030. Heck, if India and Pakistan go nuclear – which will ultimately be over water – we’re all fucked anyway, because that’s always been seen as a when not an if. On top of this, we’re facing more far right politicians probably getting elected – awesome. White supremacists are on the rise. And as a white person, what the fuck is wrong with those people? My word! Supreme to who? Just fucking moronic that thinking. I could go on. But we’ve got to find that silver lining and it is simple. You, me, and anyone who cares about this world needs to get off our arses and we need to do our bit. We need to fight. We need to protest. We need to speak. We need to get involved wherever it makes sense for us to get involved. And we need to be part of the change we want. You don’t like what that big company is doing? You go online to the public stock exchange, download their annual report, find out every senior executive in this company (including all contact info), as well as who is investing in the project you’re protesting, and you tell the world who they are. Then you write to the CEOs contributing to the destruction of our planet or society, and all of the other senior executives who are listed on these very publicly available documents. You don’t get a response? You keep going and tell everyone who’s willing to listen to do it too. You do it privately and publicly, but you do it. Social media is here for this. Not the other bullshit we’re enduring right now. Which brings me onto the next point. We fight the fake news phenomenon This is big, really big. Please read this article How fake news online skewed the US election (thanks Simon). I almost can’t believe people did this for profit, but of course they did – fuckers! But we’ve got to stop this and it starts with the platforms sharing this shit (and profiting from it) like Google and Facebook, but it also comes back to us. We’ve got to commit to fact checking before sharing. If it feels a little too sensationalist, it’s probably worth an extra step and checking. Here’s a link to Snopes where you can find out if something is true. There are many other sites like this. It’s time to get the world back to appreciating fact, because if belief and faith in the conviction of global leaders is all we have…. well….   Another step you can take is to subscribe to the media you support and believe in. The one’s who still hold the ethics of journalism to heart. They are struggling to survive in this digital world and we need them more now than ever. Subscribe to the one you value. And yes, I know the media are part of the cycle of bollocks we’ve endured this year, but if we lose access to the truth – to true investigative journalism – well, then the time really will be dark. Media freedom is essential to our world and we’re losing it on our watch. Support the causes you believe in Individually you can do amazing stuff, but there are great organizations out there already doing big stuff. I like Avaaz, and organizations like Blue Dragon saving people who are being trafficked. There are many like this. Also make sure you’re not buying from companies who support slavery,  and don’t buy from companies who don’t have control of their complete supply chain – and I mean right down to that collapsing factory in Bangladesh. They are responsible. Make sure they know it. We vote with our feet and we have power. I donate to Kiva to help women succeed. Proof is an amazing organization fighting for human rights. Support them. And most importantly, I share information on the issues and causes I care about. I have a diverse, global, network. We don’t all agree with each other and that’s fine. But I share my views and maybe, just maybe, I can touch hearts and change minds. The more of us who believe we

Like most people I know, I couldn’t see any silver lining in the US election results, and was dropping f-bombs with the best of them. WTF indeed!!! I was shocked, deeply disappointed, pissed off, but mostly, scared for the future of our world. I’ve been vocally anti-Trump from the beginning, not only because his character offends me, but because whoever leads America, leads us all – one way or another. However, personally, to see the worst type of person elected as leader of the free world was so shocking – as a woman, as a human – I could hardly speak on election day. Just horrendous.   I definitely wanted to see Hillary win. Not because she is a woman, but because I believe she has the experience and insight to make the significant changes the American people are screaming for, which meant the country wouldn’t blow up in complete division. She’s smart that one. She knew what was necessary. Unfortunately, the electorate decided on blowing up first, and sorting it out later by voting in Trump. Alas we’ll never have the chance to see if she could achieve what I, and many others, truly believed she was capable of. Instead, the vote for change, which resulted is President-Elect Trump, will be so dramatic, it’s effects will ricochet around the world for years to come, and that is what I believe horrifies so many. Let me be very clear. I know the majority of Trump voters are not stupid or racists, misogynists or war-mongers. But a percentage are and that’s what scares me. Unleashing the worst of us and giving them a platform to spew their hatred and fear, can only go one way – down. But those of us being called liberals are fearful, and we’re fearful of the inevitable direction this world is now headed in, because we can’t escape what happens next. We’re all in this together. History playing out So can I ask everyone to please read and share this article – please? Whoever you support, just read it – History Tells Us What Will Happen Next With Brexit And Trump. I’ve been an historian all my life, and this is what I’ve been fearful of for nearly two years. The signs are all pointing in this direction, and they were long before Trump put his hat in the ring. This election just felt like the tipping point. I obviously can’t speak for my fellow liberals. That would be arrogant. But I do believe this is the undercurrent we are all feeling. This is not about Trump. It’s a global movement towards the inevitability of World War Three, and if you read the article, it seems there is no escaping it. When the world hits this point historically, this is the only direction we go. Millions dead. Nations turned upside down. War, hunger, destruction…. And in the end, we’ll draw up peace treaties, still be living next door to the people we hate today, but we’ll move on and be better off as a species. But I don’t buy the inevitability argument. We’re smarter and more connected than we have ever been, so perhaps we can change the tide of history? At least we can try or be called nutters for giving it a go. I certainly want to try for my little guys. You? So what we gunna do? I’m an optimist. I love life. I love people. I expect the best of everyone I meet. I have a deep faith in our ability to rise up as a global community to tackle the real challenges that lay ahead of us. I don’t buy into hate. I don’t buy into fear. I don’t buy into the inevitability of the human cycle that we always have to end up in war and despair before we can move forward. Fuck it. I really believe we can evolve. And then I remembered this video, which I watched before the election…      Did you watch it? Oh please do. It’s awesome, regardless of your political leanings. I know I’d adore that woman. I love people like that. They make the world a better place and energize the world around them just by being in the room. And so I’ve decided I want to be that person, because I am that person. I want to walk into a physical or digital room and say: Are you fired up? Ready to go? Fired up? Ready to go? And when I see womenobjectified, looked past, marginalised, controlled, put down, ignored, told what she can do with her body, raped, abused,  etc, etc, etc… I’m going to get fired up and take whatever action I can take to make a difference. And when I see environmental destruction and disasters that impact all of us and the future of our world (no matter where it happens), I’m going to get fired up and speak to the governments, the corporations, the people, and anyone else who will listen to ensure we change. Because we don’t have time for this shit. If nothing changes we’re all fucked. Every one of us. And when I see the refugees, the abandoned children, the poor and the destitute left to freeze in European winters because we’re too scared (or politically immobilized) to do our duty and take care of our fellow man, I’m going to get fired up and do what I can to change it. Because refugees are going to increase (please believe this), not just with war, but as a side effect of environmental catastrophes too. This is not going to be a thing of the past! Refugees will become more numerous and the obligation to do more will increase. We’ve got to get ready, get prepared, get human and we’ve got to start solving this challenge. It’s not going away. And when the war mongersstart screaming and rattling their drums, I’m going to scream back – NO!! We can be diplomatic. We can talk.