Lunacy

Thanks to Throbgoblins for their excellent cartoon on the bizarre contradiction between Richard Branson's quest to become a spaceman and the starving people in Haiti who have to eat mud as food prices soar. It looks like China are working on manned mission to the moon, perhaps they will be the first country to land there??? Meanwhile Monbiot could have the real reason that there is renewed interest in space and the moon in particular.

The selfish nature of capitalism has to be best demonstrated by this blind ambition to break through barriers at the expense of sorting out real and present problems on the ground. How can any country justify the vast expense of the space race when millions, if not billions are at risk of starvation. But then we have the allure of being the best, of winning, of glory in the face of adversity. We have the chance to become great, to be proud of our nation, to uphold peace, justice and the American way. Well there is something inately childish and selfish in this approach that says I want to be best and stuff the rest of you.

Monbiot's letter to Channel 4 is the best thing I have read for sometime. His row with the C4 over their broadcasting of the lie filled documentary on climate change is continuing. Again this is another example of childish, self serving behaviour. It seems that they would rather go for ratings than truth. This is especially damaging when the programme is put out as an alledgely factual documentary.

Sainsbury's Basics - Vodka

I probably have led a sheltered life, but at what point did Vodka become a basic good?

Alcohol abuse is an ever growing danger to individual and societal health. Alcohol related hospital admissions have doubled over the since 1995. Alcoholic liver disease is soaring, especially in men. Societal problems are obvious...

So what does Sainsbury's do, it produces a cheap bottle of Vodka and labels it as a basic. Vodka is not a basic commodity. Potatoes, baked beans, milk, cheese, meat, onions, saucepans, are basic goods.

At 94p per 100mls (the same as Asda's version I think), this is clearly targeting people who want to just get drunk. Screw any moral responsibility, lets just make a profit.

How I loathe selfish capitalism.

Kingsnorth march

Date: Sun 3rd August
Assemble: Rochester Station Car Park 12pm,
Rally starts at 12.30pm,
Set off at 1pm

Listen to speakers from local groups, as well as national NGOs that are working on the issue of coal, talk about why a new coal fired power station at kingsnorth should never happen....

Join the local anti-coal group: Kingsnorth Climate Action Medway (KCAM) in destroying a model power station!

Dress as a dinosaur, a power station chimney or anything you can think of to draw attention to the growing movement that is forming against a new wave of coal fired power stations

Link up with Climate Camp Caravans from London and Brighton on their last day, and cyclists from London and around the country who will join us en route, and once we get to Kingsnorth, walk together with us to the climate camp.

Logistics:
Trains to Rochester take 40-70 minutes from Victoria / London Bridge stations. The bus between the two biggest urban areas in Kent that are only 6 miles apart (Maidstone and Medway) runs once an hour on Sundays.

More info
www.campaigncc.org/kingsnorth.shtml

The Paradox of Our Age

Having spent a hour or so talking with my wife about how, 10 years ago we were talking about how television dulls the mind and now we are talking about the internet in the same way and how the next big mechanical soma will turn out to be MP3 players, I picked up my current bed-time reading Satish Kumar's Spiritual Compass, and the next page was a piece by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I dislike the Dalai Lama's stance on LGBT issues, but otherwise he is usually spot on. I thought I'd share it with you as it is quite profound for the mess that the world is in:

The Paradox of Our Age

We have bigger houses but smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgement;
more medicines, but less healthiness.
We've been all the way to the Moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet new neighbours.
We've built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever,
but have less communication.
We have become long on quantity,
but short on quality.
These times are times of fast foods but slow digestion;
tall man but short character;
steep profits but shallow relationships.
It is time when there is much in the window,
but nothing in the room.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Adrian Ramsay for Deputy Leader

The leadership nominations are open and two candidates have declared themselves so far. Caroline Lucas will make an excellent leader and should cruise to victory.

Adrian Ramsay, leader of Norwich Greens, has announced his nomination for deputy leader. Adrian is coordinator for the Green Group on Norwich City Council and Leader of the Opposition on the Council. The Greens are the second biggest party in Norwich and are only two seats behind Labour. This is phenomenal and inspirational. Across the Norwich South constituency (currently held by Charles Clarke), the Greens now have the biggest vote with 33% and are placed to unseat Labour at the next General Election.

With the coalescence of the grey parties in a right wing mush and with the awakening of people to the realities of climate change, peak oil, consumerism and animal welfare, time is ripe for the Green Party to break through as the most exciting and significant political force in this country. Adrian has demonstrated time and time again that he knows what it takes to win elections and he has shown what it means to be passionate about Green politics. I wish him every success.

Allington incinerator zero emissions report

It's always good to keep an eye on the Allington Incinerator and I spotted that they had published an emissions report...

The report dated October 2007 shows that the plant is the cleanest in the world with zero emissions. This is very welcome indeed and I completely support incinerators with this level of emissions. Of course this was helped by the plant being out of action from July 07 to April 08...

Interestingly this pointless report is the only one on their website.

Meanwhile , I'm encouraged by the UK Without Incineration Network - do take a look.

Capitalist approach to the environment

This is a great example of why the capitalist approach to climate change will fail - they see it as a way to get rich...


Meanwhile take a look at this excellent video from the Friends of the Earth:

Widdy and public sectors workers

Ann Widdecombe voted to give MPs (and of course herself) a 4.6% pay rise. This week local government workers are on strike over being offered 2.45% Ann Widdecombe's income is reported to be around £400,000 (£60k for being an MP and the rest from other work).

This is a real slap in the face for hard working council employees and I completely support the industrial action this week. There is a real need to send a clear message to government that the real workers need to be valued.

With inflation at 3.8% even by the government's own favoured method of measuring (CPI), 2.45% is a hefty pay cut. Of course we all know that inflation is much higher. The RPI is at 4.6% and fuel at the pump has risen by 20-30% this year; bread is up 9% - as so on, you hardly need me to spell it out.

We need need to close the poverty gap in our society, not increase it. Fat cats earning £400k cannot have any insight into what it feels like to be broke.

MASH

What a great acronym for a health care campaigning group. If your are under 40 then M*A*S*H may not mean much so try here for more details of one of the best programmes ever.

On the other hand, MASH also stands for Maidstone Action for Services in Hospital. The campaign launches on 21st July 7.30pm at the Town Hall and it seems to be backed by the Kent Messenger.

I can't make it as it is my daughter's birthday. Hopefully some of my Green colleagues will be there.

David Davis: Bounder and Braggart

Polls will have opened in Haltemprice and Howden about 15 minutes ago - it should be an interesting day.

The interweb thinggummy is buzzing with stories, best of which is the dissent in the LibDem camp. The LibDems clearly backed the Tories by agreeing not to stand, a bizarre position given that Davis is far from being liberal. Some reports suggest that it was due to 'local political fortunes', whatever that might mean - anyway they were clearly not prepared to challenge him.

Yesterday he made a slight criticism of the Lib Dems: " I’m sorry that Labour and the Liberal Democrats funked it, but we’re still having a good argument and getting the issue raised." and now the LibDems are furious calling him a "bounder and a braggart".

Probably the most ironic thing about this bounder statement is the language. Lib Dems often claim to be progressive, down to earth, intouch with real people, yet they use language that alienates them from the working classes. I didn't even know what what a braggart was until I googled it, I must remember never to use the word again!

While the media have focused on the big three parties as usual (especially frustrating when LD and Lab aren't bothering to stand), the Greens have managed to a good media presence and look set to do exceptionally well today. Good luck Shan!

MI5, Widdecome and Shan Oakes

Yesterday, the former head of MI5 spoke out against 42 days - could there be a more damning indictment of the recent vote in the Commons?

"I don't see on a practical basis, as well as a principled one, that these proposals are in any way workable," said Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller.

Our Maidstone MP, Ann Widdecombe disagrees and voted to back the 42 day detention without charge on the 11 June 2008

David Davis allegedly resigned because he was soooo upset at the way the vote went, forcing a by election in Haltemprice and Howden. Davis thinks it is wrong to hold people for 6 weeks without charge, so wrong that he just had to resign, but 4 weeks without charge is just fine and gets his backing.

4 weeks / 6 weeks - was his resignation really about this???

Fortunately the Greens are standing an excellent candidate on a real civil liberties platform. More on Shan Oakes here.

From the Indy:
Plans to hold terror suspects for up to 42 days are neither practical or principled, the former head of MI5 warned yesterday.

Gandhi and the Seven Blunders

Gandhi suggested that current world problems are due to seven blunders:

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principles

Cuban banking

I've been getting into the whole Cuban thing of late (probably 25 years too late really). I picked this up from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign reporting on a piece in the Sunday Herald: "IT SEEMS that our banks are doing the United States's dirty work these days. Lloyds TSB and Barclays have been telling British customers who have financial dealings with Cuba to take their business elsewhere."

Of course Barclays are very happy to support Mugabe: "BARCLAYS is bankrolling President Robert Mugabe’s corrupt regime in Zimbabwe by providing substantial loans to cronies given land seized from white farmers." (from The Times).

The CSC report that HSBC and the RBS are following Barclays lead. I say boycott them all and switch to the Coop as they are the best of the bunch.

Shan speaks out

This is a superb post from our Haltenprice and Howden candidate, Shan Oakes:

Everyone has heard a lot about the various candidates in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election. You might like some feedback about how people in the area are feeling. The Green Party has been doing a lot of listening on the campaign trail. We’ve met very many people on their doorsteps, in bus shelters, in the markets, in shops, on buses and trains, in car parks, in pubs, in dramatic thunderstorms, and in blazing sun. It’s a privilege to be able to discuss the big issues with voters – so that’s one advantage of the election – and most people seem happy to take a few minutes to have their say, and listen to some Green Party views too.
But, the striking message from voters is that they are fed up - not only with this by-election (which many feel has been an unnecessary waste of public money) but also with politics and politicians in general. They say there is no difference between the old parties who do not listen to the people themselves. They express feelings of anxiety and deep disappointment about the state of Britain. Several people have spoken about wanting to move abroad just to get away from this country. There is a general feeling of real anger and despair.

Almost everyone with whom we have spoken has agreed that our government has taken us wrongly into wars (for oil), that ‘defence’ spending is out of control, that our governments have encouraged the domination of giant corporations, and that the social and natural environment is being decimated as a result. People agree that profit is driving what goes on in Britain (and increasingly across the world) rather than values we can be proud of. Nearly everyone agrees that things will only get worse if we continue to be taken down the same path.

So is there any hope? Yes there is. Green Party policies boil down to real local democracy so that we can PLAN our way into an oil-free world by discussion at LOCAL level. When people have the chance to hear this idea, they are highly enthusiastic about it. They can see it is a real way forward – the only way forward - because nobody wants the alternative - a totalitarian state which controls us all from Westminster or elsewhere. It is possible to regain our freedom only if we stand up for freedom.

Maidstone Goes Green

Letter in the Kent Messenger (4th July 2008)

Dear Editor,

It was great to see the coverage of Maidstone Goes Green in last week's KM, especially along side the figures for car journeys in and out of the town.

With climate change meaning that this year ships will be able to sail to the north pole for the first time, and with fuel and food prices hitting all time highs, going green is essential. As the credit crunch and oil prices bite pushing the economy into recession, going green will help us cope with the increasing demands on our cash by reducing our consumption, however, what is essential is radical action by government to help us make these changes.

The phenomenal amount of journeys noted in the KM demonstrate this clearly. Over half a million car journeys in and out of Maidstone each week plus hundreds of thousands more around Maidstone suggests that we have a very long way to go before we become green.

Sadly in this country, society has been built around the car making it essential for everyday life. Until we begin to make services, jobs and entertainment closer to where we live and begin to provide cheap, reliable and convenient public transport, no amount of recycling and carrier bag avoidance will make an impact.

It is time for the ruling politicians to make it easy to go green. This will not only reduce our impact on the planet but will help us avoid the worst of the credit crunch and the rising cost of energy.

Stuart Jeffery
Green Party parliamentary candidate for Maidstone

Stuff the people and planet but gimme the cash

More disgraceful behaviour from our MP. On Thursday she voted against modest expenses reforms to improve transparency.

This is from politics.co.uk:

"Last night, in their most shameful vote since 42-days, Westminster MPs voted against reforms to their expenses system.

"The recommendations were not radical. MPs would lose the John Lewis list, whereby they buy furniture and improvements to their second home with public money. They would have to provide receipts for purchases charged on expenses. External auditors would check their behaviour out every four years or so. "

So the message from your Tory MP this summer is: screw the planet, lock up people without charge and let MPs continue to rake it in on expenses.

Hmmm... I wonder why people feel disillusioned with politics?

42 days for me?

On Monday I met with one of my heroes, Mayer Hillman. It was at a work conference and I knew he was speaking but he was at the conference for the whole day and I had a chance to meet and talk with him at length. An absolute privilege!

During the week I have started getting emails from Fidel Castro. Having published a paper on Cuban healthcare a few weeks back the Cubans have taken an interest in me an I'm now on his email list.

Today I have been in London again being part of a demonstration to stop privatisation of the NHS organised by the Keep Our NHS Public campaign (I'm a member of the steering group). Plenty of Greens there, lots of press and a few police.

The protest was outside Richmond House in the 'no protest' 1km zone around Parliament and therefore if you don't have prior permission from the police you are in breach of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (2005). Some one forgot to get permission.

I was looking forward to my 42 days detention, as voted for by Ann Widdecombe in her bid to get rid of as many civil liberties as possible before she retires, but the police were happy to let us carry on for nearly an hour. Clearly they didn't know about my Cuban connection.

FARC HOSTAGE BETANCOURT FREED

Great news:

Colombian Green presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has been rescued by security forces after more than six years' captivity as a hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas MEP has expressed the party's joy at the liberation of our colleague.

Dr Lucas said:

"We are all relieved and delighted at the news that Ingrid Betancourt, and the 14 other hostages, are safe at last and on their way home.

"Ingrid has endured an unimaginable six-year ordeal in FARC captivity, and years of death threats before that. A French national, she could have chosen an easy life in Europe or elsewhere but put herself in the line of fire to fight for democracy and peace in Colombia.

"Her personal bravery, moral courage and total commitment to the people of her country set her amongst the most inspirational women of our generation. Her safe return is a cause for celebration not just for Greens, but for all democrats."

Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped on February 23rd 2002, while campaigning in the Colombian presidential election. The founder of the Oxygen Green Party, she served as a member of the country's Chamber of Representatives and as a Senator before launching her presidential bid.

Throbgoblins

Just stumbled across this great site by Marc Roberts: Throbgoblins

Jeremy Clarkson & the North Pole

Clarkson has been condemned by the BBC for his actions during last year's episode where he drove a 4x4 to the North Pole. This was not for the sheer stupidity of the stunt or because of climate crimes, but he was shown drinking alcohol while driving. Better to get him on something rather than nothing...

Contrary to popular green opinion I think that Clarkson should repeat the stunt, perhaps to prove that his snow driving abilities were not a fluke last year. I think we should lobby the BBC and Top Gear to get him to race 4x4s to the North Pole again this summer, perhaps against Bush, Brown, Blair and Mugabe this time.

It ought to be done in the summer, I wouldn't want them getting too cold:

Exclusive: Scientists warn that there may be no ice at North Pole this summer