New Poll: Vow of Science

We all agree that we want a more sustainable society and that we all have a part to play in making that come about. Well, most of us do anyway.

Do scientists and technologists have a special responsibility to the planet? After all it's their work that has enabled the creation of some of the most environmentally damaging practices in human history.

What would you think of an attempt to campaign for scientists to vow not to do ecological harm by pushing for, specifically, a "pledge to be introduced by which all scientists and technologists will promise to respect the Earth and life upon it."?

I'd like to find out your views so I'm launching a poll (which you can find in this post and in the right hand column) and I'd consider it a favour if you'd take a couple of seconds to let me know what you think.

I'm going to stay out of this conversation because I'd like to know your views without skewing them, but feel free to discuss the idea in the comments as well as voting. Thank you.

Should a pledge be introduced for scientists and technologists to promise to respect the Earth and life upon it.?

Yes - absolutely!Yes - could be a good ideaNo - although I'm sympathicNo - I hate the ideaNot sure

Free polls from Pollhost.com

Daily (Maybe) poll closing

A couple of weeks ago I asked where are all the Labour activists? I've actually seen two since then but not noticed a massive resurgence in their campaigning as yet. Seen quite a few Lib Dems and was assaulted by a drunk SLP zealot whilst I was giving out leaflets but that's it so far.

Anyway, I asked you why Labour were staying at home.

2% of you thought they were saving their money for the general.

6% thought activists were hoping for a Labour loss (to prompt a change in leadership)

27% thought they were scared of angry voters.

However the runaway winner of the poll was that they were ashamed of their party at 63%

Thanks for everyone who took part!

Who's the biggest New Labour arse?

I spent a large part of yesterday staring at a picture of James Purnell. Like catching a glimpse of the Medusa he'd turned me to stone with rage.

The proposal to cut the benefits of unemployed alcoholics... words just fail me.

What a fucknut.

Any opportunity to propose greater human misery in the world and he'll take it. However, he is not alone. There are other Labour figures that are vying for the position of "Largest Labour arse".

Here is my shortlist;

• James Purnell - for service against the poor.
  
• Phil Woolas - for service against migrants.
  
• Derek Draper - for service against bloggers.
  
• Hazel Blears - just for being her.
  

I do try not to personalise politics - but sometimes, well, it's difficult to avoid.

Vote in my poll (right hand column) now. It's essential this question is settled once and for all.

New Poll: Prostitution and the law

With proposals on prostitution in the pipeline I thought it was a good moment for a new poll. But first the results of our last one on the Remembrance Day poppy.

Red Poppy	24%
White Poppy	21%
Both	10%
Neither	43%

This certainly bears out something I've been seeing - in that our poll says that almost half the respondents don't wear a poppy at all (like me), and in fact I'd say in society at large the proportion is higher still. A quarter of readers wear the red poppy and 30% will wear a white poppy either on its own or with a red one.

I suspect that if the white poppy was more available more people would wear it - but then perhaps that's true of the red one too. Anyway, thanks for taking part in that and on to the next issue.

Prostitution and the law

Even top Tory blogger Iain Dale calls for the legalisation of prostitution. Meanwhile the government's new proposals call for men who have sex with trafficked women to be guilty of rape whilst others completely oppose these moves from the stand point of the rights of prostitutes themselves. It clear that some sex workers see these moves, that are sold as about protecting women, as in fact a further attack on them.

It's clear there are a number of competing different approaches to prostitution, and that includes within progressive circles, so I thought now would be a good time to test the water and see where the land lies. I'm giving you six options;

• Complete legalisation
• Focus on pimps and clients
• Create tolerance zones
• Get tougher on everyone involved
• Crack down on the prostitutes
• Keep things as they are now

I think that's a fair summary of the main positions - although obviously this is quite a broad brush. I'll post on it with a bit more meat once the poll results are in.

New Poll: Sex with pupils - good idea / bad idea?

Thanks to everyone who voted in the What do you think of the US bailout plan? poll. Here are the results.

Good idea - it's a necessary measure	25%
Only if funded by a tax on the very rich - otherwise no dice	39%
There's no need for it - things aren't that bad	2%
Absolutely not - it will make things worse	18%
Don't know, could be the right thing	4%
Don't know, but it feels wrong	10%

Initially no one was voting for either of the don't know options - which I thought was odd for such a tricky subject, but we had a few people wade in at the last minute which I think helps balance the whole thing out a little.

We have a new poll as of now which is;

If a teacher has sexual contact with a sixth form pupil it is a sexual offense.

This time I'm giving you just two options, yes or no.

For those of you watching the news you'll know this is because the NASUWT general secretary, Chris Keates, has told her union conference that teachers who have affairs with their charges who are over the age of consent should only be subject to professional sanctions rather than, as it presently stands, be prosecuted and placed on the sex offenders register. Controversial stuff perhaps.

Personally I'm ambivalent and would appreciate any guidance on this. It seems to me that the sex offenders register is a sledgehammer to crack a nut sometimes. When you have a teacher who kissed a 17 year old placed on the same register as Gary Glitter it does make you wonder how useful the list is, no matter how creepy that teacher might be.

Keates told the conference;

"Clearly there have to be appropriate disciplinary sanctions in the school where a teacher works to make sure that inappropriate relationships don't develop.

"But it does seem a step too far, when there has been a consensual relationship, to put that person on the sex offenders register when, in fact, they could have a perfectly legitimate relationship with an 18-year-old at another school."

To be clear then we're not talking about non-consensual acts, or with kids under sixteen, but specifically about sexual relations between teachers and charges over the age of consent. Clearly they have a duty of trust and responsibility over young adults, but does the law as it stands create a double standard for teachers, as Keane claims.

Poll: bailing out the capitalists

It looks like I might be in a minority here in thinking that a massive bailout to prop up the banking and financial industries is far better than the alternative. In the interests of science or possibly, more accurately, because I'm curious, I thought I'd launch a poll to see what people really thought.

You'll find it over on the right hand side;

What do you think of the US bailout plan?

• Good idea - it's a necessary measure
  
• Only if funded by a tax on the very rich - otherwise no dice
• There's no need for it - things aren't that bad
• Absolutely not - it will make things worse
• Don't know, could be the right thing
  
• Don't know, but it feels wrong
  

If you can't find the answer you're looking for - leave a comment.

What orbit are you in?

Look, I'm sick of this - men have been to the Moon and come back to tell the tale. No - it does not make you radical to deny this.

I know I have no personal evidence that this is the case - but it is. Accept it! This is conspiracy theories gone mad for Goodness Sake. You don't have to question everything that's ever happened you know, you really don't.

I'm posting up a poll (see right hand column), to close the last day of the month, asking readers "Have men walked on the Moon"? Do not disappoint me readers.

I'm not putting a don't know option either because you blooming well do!

Top Twenty Green Blogs

Iain Dale has recently published a Guide to Political Blogging and, in keeping with the blog ethic of many voices from many places, he invited a number of bloggers to write a chapter each on their field of interest. I wrote the chapter on "The State of Green blogging" and compiled the top twenty Green Blogs using a vigorous scientific method based on that used to compile last year's Top 100.

Personally, I'm more of a fan of the chapter than a numerically stacked list simply because it allows you to talk about the good things people do and discuss the pluralism of the green blogosphere in a meaningful way rather than simply assign numbers and award medals. This top twenty certainly does not reflect my personal list of the first twenty blogs I go to on a day - although I think these are all good blogs who deserve their place in the list.

One of the interesting things about "Green Blogs" is that the range from left to right, from respectable to disgraceful to personal is absolutely phenomenal. And what is a political blog anyway? These questions make compiling the list an interesting thing to do, but also impossible to come to any satisfactory conclusion. Thank God for the scientific method.

How can you really compare the blog of an environmental campaign with the personal thoughts of a green leaning academic? How do you compare the blog of a local councillor who uses it to keep their constituents informed to that of a witty green field anarchist who makes no play for respectability? It would be like trying to compare George W. Bush with a donkey. Oh. Actually. That's a bad example.

For good or ill here is the "official" 2007 top twenty as they were submitted to Iain Dale's Guide to Political Blogging.

1. Alice in blogland
2. Sian Berry
3. Tom Chance
   (at the acrewoods hosting collective)
4. Transition culture
5. Derek Wall
6. Jenny Jones
7. Gaian Economics
8. Know your place
9. Peter Tatchell
10. The Ecologist
11. Green Girls Global
12. Earthquake Cove
13. Philobiblon
14. The Void
15. Green Ladywell
16. Barkingside 21
17. Green Jelly Bean
18. Coventry Green Party
19. Conserve England
20. Greenman's Occasional Organ

But wait! There's more!

As tradition dictates (well, I did this last year anyway) we need a people's choice winner too. That means it's time to get voting in The Daily (Maybe) poll (right hand sidebar). May the best blog win. The winner will be announced on 25th November.

New Poll: who's in?

The results of my previous poll are in and it seems my readers are essentially divided on what job our departing PM will be taking on next.

We seem to think that he'd either apply for an internship in Tory HQ or would hope to fill the boots of the departing World Bank head honcho, on 26% and 23% respectively. George W. Bush, seeing the results of the blog poll was quick to squash the suggestion, saying it would be "nice" if the job went to "an American"... but we all thought he was!

Whilst one person did think Mr Brown may give Blair the Chancellor role most felt that this was, on balance, unlikely. But it does beg the question who *will* be given the top cabinet jobs once Brown takes up the PM-ship?

I'm taking the top jobs to mean Chancellor, Foreign Secretary, and Home Secretary although I understand we could widen it if we wanted to - and I'm deliberately staying out of the Deputy Leadership for the moment, although I've included all the candidates on the poll. You have as many votes as you like and I've included an "at least one person not on this list" if you think someone else might sneak in (Blunkett anyone?). If you do vote for that I'd be interested in seeing who you think that might be and for what post.

As one of the more important features of the transition from Blair to Brown I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it - but there you go - get voting!