Donald Jenkins

Non-human animal rights: the categorical imperative of our time

donaldjenkins — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 22:53:40 +0000

There are two parts to this rather long article. in the first part, after describing the modern factory farm and presenting selected evidence of the gross cruelty meted out to billions of farm animals in order to provide us with ever-cheaper meat, I will describe the philosophical and legal framework, which legitimises dominion and ownership by man over non-humans, with the assertion that they feel little or no pain. In the second part, will turn to the evidence — equally incontrovertible — that the farm animals we abuse share with us the ability to feel pain and pleasure and, more generally, to desire a better life. I will then suggest a philosophical framework, based on giving animals rights similar to those enjoyed by humans in Kant’s categorical imperative. Animals enjoy legal standing and a form of citizenship in the public policy system derived from the philosophical discussion. I will conclude with some practical steps we can take to actually improve animals’ lives.

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Brexit: time to move on

donaldjenkins — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

While I have not changed my view that leaving is a mistake, I accept that the time has come for us as a country to move on and plan our future in the new trading and political context for which the Government has received an unambiguous mandate, after four years of relentless, and all too often hysterical, debate over the merits and demerits of Brexit. And I am confident we will not turn our backs on that tradition. Britain will remain a force for good, for peace and for prosperity in a world.

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Connecting WordPress, Lightroom and Apple Photos

donaldjenkins — Mon, 27 May 2019 20:28:52 +0000

When most of your photos are taken using an iPhone, an effective image workflow tightly integrating Apple Photos, the Lightroom ecosystem and WordPress's Media Library requires careful planning. It can be done, building on Lightroom's limited connection to iOS photos, the synchronization between the cloud-based Lightroom CC and the desktop-oriented Lightroom Classic CC, and finally Meow Apps's WP/LR Sync plugin for WordPress.

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Introducing Policymakr

donaldjenkins — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 10:53:38 +0000

A quick introduction to Policymakr, the new start-up I've been planning since the dramatic events of 2016, and which I've finally decided to launch. And a little question-and-answer session, as an added bonus.

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Preparing this site for the 2020s

donaldjenkins — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:21:00 +0000

The new design for this website, the successor to the Belgravia theme I had been using since 2012, which I’m calling Gramercy, and which I hope you will like, goes live this week. But behind the hood quite a lot has changed beyond the design. Instead of writing all the code from scratch, this time, I have used a framework for the design and simplified the content, with the biggest change being the merging of the Home page and the About page.

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Google’s Google Fi revolution

donaldjenkins — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 23:45:20 +0000

Google's Project Fi is an economical and powerful mobile phone plan for anyone who travels internationally. Its main drawback at present are that it's in principle tied to a tiny range of rather lackluster phone models, and that it requires a Gmail account.

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Brexit would be constitutional and economic suicide

donaldjenkins — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:09:50 +0000

There is a way out of the unprecedented crisis in which the UK has been plunged by the Brexit referendum. Constitutionally, the result does not bind the Government or Parliament, which alone holds the power to initiate the withdrawal procedure enshrined in article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. In the calamitous situation unleashed on the country by the referendum result, and especially given the inadequacy of the mandate that the Leavers purport to hold in consequence of the referendum, the Government would unquestionably be acting, not only constitutionally, but in the national interest, by seeking a fresh political mandate to keep the United Kingdom in the European Union through an early general election.

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The absurdity of Brexit

donaldjenkins — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 11:50:32 +0000

The Conservative case for Remain: from a British perspective, the case for continued membership of the European Union, with the numerous opt-outs secured by the UK, is overwhelming.

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How I effortlessly draft and maintain squeaky-clean CSS with SASS and Compass.app

donaldjenkins — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:14:00 +0000

Using SASS involves making my CSS leaner and more future proof. Essentially this means making the static content in my stylesheets dynamic, so that the process of drafting, storing and updating them could be made automatic and consistent.

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Sixty years a Queen, with unflinching grace and steadfast devotion to duty

donaldjenkins — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:35:24 +0000

HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee offers us an opportunity to reflect on a life devoted entirely to the service of her peoples both in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth.

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