HAVE YOU READ?

Unlock Democracy is a useful resource.   Have a look at their website http://www.unlockdemocracy.org
Unlock Democracy is a grassroots campaign for democratic reform and participation. We campaign for voting reform, transparent and accountable government, and …

Curious about what other people are thinking about approaches to local government: this is worth a look

=======================================================================

unspeak

How words are used:
Unspeak: Words Are Weapons Paperback – 1 Feb 2007  by Steven Poole
Publisher: Abacus; New Ed edition (1 Feb. 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0349119244
ISBN-13: 978-0349119243
Paperback: 304 pages

“Unspeak is language as a weapon. Every day, we are bombarded with those apparently simple words or phrases that actually conceal darker meanings. ‘Climate change’ is less threatening than ‘global warming’; we say ‘ethnic cleansing’ when we mean mass murder. As we absorb and repeat Unspeak we are accepting the messages that politicians, businessmen and military agencies wish us to believe. Operation Iraqi Freedom did more than put a positive spin on the American war with Iraq; it gave the invasion such a likeable name that the American news networks quickly adopted it as their tagline for reporting on the war. By repackaging the language we use to describe international affairs or domestic politics, Unspeak tries to make controversial issues unspeakable and, therefore, unquestionable.

In this thought-provoking and important book, Steven Poole traces the globalizing wave of modern Unspeak from culture wars to the culture of war and reveals how everyday words are changing the way we think.”

=============================================================================

The following are worth a visit to see how some the issues that we face are being addressed elsewhere:

Independents for Frome, Somerset, home of ‘Flatpack Democracy’

and

Frome Town Council

On a larger scale: How 100 Cities in the world are addressing issues of sustainability as part of a Rockefeller Foundation project.