Facebook blackout day

Recently Facebook started enforcing its real names policy, in a particularly cack handed fashion. Facebook has for an awfully long time had an “authenticate name policy. It’s a slightly confused policy as it states: “The name you use should be your authentic identity; as your friends call you in real life and as our acceptable identification forms would show.” But the types of ID they accept are basically state ID of your current legal name which often is the name “your friends call you in real life”. Add to this a very healthy dose of American cultural assumptions to what … Continue reading

Selective memory at bexley council

This is slightly old news but I just found out about it from Bexley Councils shiny propaganda sheet. Some of you may recall that Olly Cromwell got into trouble for trying to film the council so much so that they called the police on him. Back in June of 2013 filming the council was banned in August Eric Pickles told them off over the matter. So as late as August 2013 filming was banned, and the likes of Olly Cromwell were being banned and chucked out of attending public meetings, yet by November of the very same year all that … Continue reading

Unspeakable – Laurie Penny

This isn’t about Ms.Penny’s latest tome, nor am I going to comment about someone who has protested Amazon having legal tax set ups selling their wares via the same company *. Rather I’ve found the whole Amazon review situation and the responses to it rather illuminating on some world views. It all started when Old Holborn tweeted ‘Let the trolling commence’ with a link to the Amazon review for “Unspeakable things”. This was interpreted in some quarters as Old Holborn instructing his followers to go and troll the reviews, and who knows maybe some people do do what OH tells … Continue reading