The local fish’n’chip shop is closing down, due to the cost of rent, energy bills, and general inflation of cost of products. TIL: 75 per cent of the world’s sunflower oil used to come from Russia and Ukraine, and 50% of white fish came from Russia.

#BritainIsGoingGreat

We out-of-the-blue saw a little treecreeper today, very cutely shimmying up a trunk.

And a little family of bullfinches.

#birds

Emailed my MP (via Foxglove) asking where they stand on #Palantir getting the contract to run the [[NHS Federated Data Platform]]. It is absolutely abhorrent that Palantir might profit from the administration of #NHS patient data. https://www.foxglove.org.uk/2022/11/16/nhs-patient-data-palantir-email-your-mp/

Enjoying the ramping up of #governance discussion that’s been happening in #socialcoop lately.

Reminded of some ideas I really liked from Alison Powell’s book [[Undoing Optimization: Civic Action in Smart Cities]]:

"In contrast to the smooth optimization that constrains citizenship, friction slows down the process and requires negotiation, balance, and acceptance of similarity within difference."

#Friction is not always bad. #Optimization is not always good.

Uploading the repair data from our local groups’ most recent repair cafe, it’s pleasing to see that we helped stop about 25 kg of things entering the waste stream, and perhaps ~200 kg of emissions of CO2e in the manufacture of new things.

But even more pleasing is that ~10 people shared their time and knowledge to help fix things. ~20 people cared enough to bring something along to make it last longer. Conversations were had, skills were shared, the community centre was buzzing. #BuenVivir.

Amazon workers on strike today, asking for:

– fair wages
– Amazon to pay its taxes
– Amazon to not destroy the planet

Solidarity to those workers. Next step: dissolution of Amazon altogether…

#MakeAmazonPay

https://makeamazonpay.com/

I’ve been reading this article: [[Digital Ecosocialism: Breaking the power of Big Tech]]

Presents ‘#DigitalTechDeal’ with values of anti-imperialism, sustainability, social justice, worker empowerment, democratic control, class abolition. 10 principles: ditch IP, socialise and decentralise all the things (infrastructure, platforms, data), etc

Stronger on the socialist than the eco? More depth on the nod to staying within planetary boundaries would be nice.

Thoughts?

https://longreads.tni.org/digital-ecosocialism

Two adjacent notes to self in my notebook:

– IMF control of Argentina via debt and structural adjustment
– Scooby do mystery incorporated

Neither makes sense.

We went to the bird reserve today, and I learned about ‘dabbling’ #ducks. Dabblers feed only at the surface – they don’t dive deeper. Makes sense!

My favourite dabblers so far are the Shovellers. Because:

a) they have comically large bills
b) they sound like a 17th century politcal movement

Some interesting stuff about the conflicts over the [[Mammoth Solar]] #SolarFarm in rural Indiana. How even with national support from the Inflaction Reduction Act and whatnot, local resistance can still stymy big renewable projects.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2022/nov/11/cop27-the-future-is-solar-but-it-wont-be-simple-podcast