Welcome to the personal website of writer Skylar Baker-Jordan

Welcome to the personal website of writer

Skylar Baker-Jordan

Why James Arthur’s apology is bullshit

I can’t believe I have to tell straight people not to say “fag” and “queer.” Seriously y’all? The words themselves send shivers down my spine, taking me back to my years spent in southeastern Kentucky, where they were regularly spewed in my direction, dripping with the vitriol of threats and intimidation. For three years I […]

November 18, 2013
Gareth Williams, GCHQ, and the crisis of confidence

So Gareth Williams killed himself in some unexplainable sex game gone wrong. He slipped into a bag, padlocked himself inside from the outside (huh?), and within three minutes suffocated. There was no DNA left on the locks, or in the bath in which he was found. In a Security Services safe house. Well that’s that. […]

November 13, 2013
Has America forgotten to remember Remembrance Day?

Saturday night I had my friend Melinda over, along with her friend Jenny, in town from Sydney. Jenny noticed the portrait of Her Majesty, a commemorative token of the Diamond Jubilee, hanging in my apartment, complete with the flags of the Commonwealth countries. We got to talking about the ties that bind not just the […]

November 11, 2013
What if Britain had a First Amendment?

There’s been so much talk about the importance of a free press and free speech lately that I feel as though I’m at a salon with Milton and Locke. In light of the Royal Charter regulating the press and furor around the Guardian’s reporting on and release of classified GCHQ intelligence documents , there’s been […]

November 7, 2013
Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November!

Did you know that, in 1775, George Washington banned the practice of celebrating “Pope Day” in 1775, out of fears the anti-Catholic tradition would insult the Quebecois, whom he was hoping to court as allies in the insurrection? Since then, Bonfire Night hasn’t really been celebrated in the United States. I have to confess, I […]

November 5, 2013
Ofqual overhauls GCSEs, but to what effect?

Ofqual has overhauled the GCSEs with a new scoring system. I am obviously not a product of the British educational system, so I don’t have any anecdotes as to its effectiveness. And while I think it’s important to occasionally revisit curriculum and testing, I think that we in the West often gloss over-or ignore entirely-the […]

November 4, 2013
The UK has a st…

The UK has a strong history of democracy, and while targeted surveillance may play an important role in protecting national security, in doing so it should not erode the very values it seeks to protect. An excerpt from a letter, signed by 70 leading human rights organisations, to David Cameron over what they perceive as eroding press […]

November 4, 2013
While the NSA a…

While the NSA and GCHQ appear to be the worst offenders — at least according to the documents that are currently public — we cannot forget that mass surveillance is a global problem and needs a global solution. Edward Snowden, from his “Manifesto For the Truth,” published in Der Spiegel. Just me, or is he […]

November 4, 2013
Tamera Foster sings “Wishing On A Star”

Obviously I don’t get to watch X Factor live like y’all, so I have to wait for the performances to be uploaded to YouTube. (That also means I don’t hear the judges’ comments, which gives me, at least I think, a unique perspective.) I don’t really have a favourite this year. I like hearing Abi […]

November 3, 2013
“It Could Be You” – a short video gives voice to those on benefits

Regardless of your stance on the issue of benefits reforms and reductions, the people this directly effects-those living on the dole-are so often overlooked. The Child Poverty Action Group, in conjunction with politics.co.uk, does an excellent job in this short clip of giving voice to the nameless and faceless masses who depend on benefits for […]

November 3, 2013