Kat
Katherine Short | age: 25 years old | city: London (GBR) | activity: Civil Servant.
My webpage: http://london.cafebabel.com
I speak: eng and also ger
Who am I?
living_places Dorset (UK), London (UK), Vienna (Austria), Saarbruecken (Germany) /
preferred_website http://london.cafebabel.com of course! /
My contributions and my activities
BLOG / london
2009-05-25 09:47:24
Hypocrisy in our time - MP expenses scandal
by Chris Dalby The MP expenses scandal has succeeded in doing what years of policy announcements, Commons debates and campaign events utterly failed to: re-galvanise the British public’s interest in the political system. To hear the ways in which MPs that have been using tax money as their own piggy bank are being held to account would make the architects of democracy weep for joy. It is all the more shameful then that this outrage rests upon a foundation of utter hypocrisy. On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-05-20 20:33:15
'Over There' Review: Whither the European Union?
Over There' in London: timely commentary on EU’s current political troubles ''Harry Treadaway (left) and Luke Treadaway (right) | (Image: ©Simon Annand/ Royal Court Theatre) '' Mark Ravenhill’s unconventional play about identical twins who are reunited after growing up in east and west Germany travelled from London to Berlin this spring. Our London reviewer calls it a timely commentary on the EU’s current political troubles. Our Berlin reviewer wonders if the British director reproaches the Germans with the repression of history. Cross-reviews from the Royal Court and Schaubühne theatre London review by Sara Mojtehedzadeh On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-05-18 19:57:22
Pro-tamil protests grow in Westminster, London
For the past 6 weeks pro-Tamil protesters have held a continuous presence outside the Houses of Parliament, demonstrating for the UK government to do more to to help the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy of flickr user Travis_Pictures, taken on 11th May in Westminster In the last 24 hours the protests have grown to around 2000 people with Westminster Bridge jammed with traffic, buses unable to move and Parliament square blocked off to all cars. The sit down protest start growing early afternoon and by 7pm, the police had built up a heavy presence and ambulances were on stand by on the bridge. However, the protest was remaining peaceful with many demonstrators sat on the ground chanting. On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-04-10 07:50:06
The Unquiet American
Article and photos by Alexandra Cacciatore 2nd April 2009 It’s time for me to come clean in two ways. First, I have never been to a protest. For the past week and half, the media in London has been rabidly spinning the G20 summit. The casual observer might have noticed that the local press seemed to be giving more coverage to the protests and supposed violence surrounding the summit than to the actual events and issues. It’s only the leaders of the top twenty economies getting together to talk about why the world is falling to pieces, yet the media swirled itself around a few sound bites about “bankers being strung up”. Pssst, I think it was meant metaphorically. Second confession: I am an American and as such, am used to a slightly fear mongering media. Fox News, anyone? Perhaps, my second confession also explains the first. In his documentary that looks at the American healthcare system/ fiasco, Michael Moore suggests that the reason Americans are less inclined to protest or strike has to do with the fact that we have fewer social safety nets to fall back upon. If an American’s participation in public demonstration were to result in no longer having a job, that individual would suffer heavy financial consequences such as the loss of their job-sponsored healthcare. In case you Euros didn’t know, nearly half of all bankruptcies in the US are the direct or indirect result of medical costs. Compound that with the fact the average household has $12,000 of credit card debt (not mortgage or education related, just credit cards) and you can why Joe American might be stars and stripes terrified of protesting their own government, let alone capitalism. On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-04-04 19:48:17
Protests against the G20 Summit in London
by Naomi Christie London, 2nd April 2009 G20 Protesters on the fringes of the exclusion zone of the ExCeL building in London were out-numbered by press and police on Thursday. Many potential protesters were walked away from the site of the protest early, where peaceful protests the came from a wide range of groups showing little cohesion with one another. People campaigning against the attendance of the chair of the New Partnership for Africa Development, Meles Zanawi, were the strongest voice. Protesters accused Zanawi, who is Ethiopia's prime minister, of brutality against the people of the Ogaden region. Placards for groups as disparate as the Socialists Workers Party, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament were to be seen alongside individuals who attended in their own right. On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-03-30 18:47:27
Thousands attend London 'Put People First' protest
Colourful banners, interesting costumes and musical instruments were present along the Thames last Saturday as thousands gathered in London as part of the first protests related to the G20 summit on the financial crisis in East London this Thursday. On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-03-23 22:12:06
The London teams first event
The new Cafe Babel London team recently held their first event, held jointly with the Grimshaw society. Entitled European Defence Policy: Where next? Josh Arnold-Forster, former special adviser to John Reid at the Ministry of Defence, spoke to a packed room on his view of the European Defence Policy. The talk led to a lively discussion between all attending and was followed by a drinks reception at the LSE. On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-03-08 22:20:29
European Defence Policy: What next?
On the blog london.
BLOG / london
2009-03-07 11:15:45
What do the European Elections mean for London?
On the blog london.
Comment
2009-03-26 21:12:21
Kat Has left a comment on the entry:
The London teams first event, by Kat. On the blog london