My Nomination For Dick of the year: Silvio Berlusconi

Bright Green Scotland is having a Dick of the year; lots of people are putting in their nominations. I doubt it will win but my choice was Silvio Berlusconi; Media Mogul, sleaze (and Italian President).

He controls most of Italys media, and he abuses his power. His behavior has reminded people of Roman emperors.

Berlusconi’s wife divorced him after his relationship with a teenager was uncovered in the media saying, “That’s enough, I cannot remain with a man who consorts with minors”

This picture is of Silvios new penis. This may be his old one.


Also, he’s the only nominee for this award who has bought a new penis. Berlusconi’s new penis cost Italian taxpayers 70,000 euros and is magnetic to enable quick removal if it needs changing again.

The penis has been fitted to marble Roman statue in Mr Berlusconi’s office. The statue is of the god Mars and Mr Berlusconi did not like the look of the statue’s original penis so he ordered it to be snapped off and replaced.

The Murdoch media menace

Avaaz is campaigning against Murdoch.

How we act now will help determine the future of our democracy. In new years to come will our media be dominated by a few corporate bullies or sustained by diverse independent voices?

The prime minister has stripped Vince Cable of responsibility for judging the BSkyB media takeover because Cable stated strong views on Rupert Murdoch. But David Cameron has given the task to another minister who’s clearly biased. Jeremy Hunt says he is a massive Murdoch fan and we can’t trust him to stop Murdoch dragging our public debate into the gutter, as he has already done in the US.

Let’s show Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron how we feel. If we make a big fuss the government won’t be able to wave through the Murdoch deal, and will be forced to order a full and fair review by the Competition Commission. Let's urgently sign the petition and forward it as widely as possible -- it will be delivered on New Year's Eve.

N I Water 'a major health emergency'

Northern Ireland's escalating drinking water crisis is in danger of developing into a major health emergency, according to doctors. The media is reporting it but has not questioned the privatisation of water companies that makes it worse.

Picture from Schnews

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses are still without supplies as engineers struggle to fix burst pipes. Some families have not had fresh running water for eight days!

Northern Ireland Water (NIW), the company at the centre of the crisis, said it was unable to say when supplies would be fully restored. They are blaming leaks causef during the thaw. Empty offices closed during xmas may not even know they are leaking.

Before privatisaton the priority was collecting and distributing water. Now nothing can come in the way of making a profit. Before other regions would have been quick to help. Now they are separate companies they are thinking of profits.

Northern Ireland Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy will have talks with officials to consider ongoing operations and the sort of swift action needed to deal with the situation.

More bottled water was due to be distributed in various parts of Belfast, one of the areas hardest hit. Arrangements were also being made to have tankers strategically placed across the province to help families, many of whom have been unable to use toilet facilities since before Christmas.

NIW faced more widespread public anger over the company's lack of contingency plans and its abysmal failure to provide adequate and up-to-date information.

Ed Miliband; Why Young People Don't Vote For Labour

New Reading Labour Blogger Duncan Bruce reports on a question he asked of Ed Miliband. I was quite impressed with the answer so repeat it here.

Q: Young people don't vote for Labour, why is that and how can we regain their trust?

A: Young people don't vote for us because they have no reason too. When it comes to issues that young people care about we let them down, we didn't have a good record when you look at things like Iraq, Stop and Search, Tuition Fees, ID Cards, we forgot we were supposed to be the party of civil liberties. The question of how we go about regaining their trust is a far more difficult one, firstly we need to be honest with them and admit we were wrong, we need to draw a line and attempt to rebuild trust through interacting with them, listening to their ideas and making sure they feel that Labour is a party they can contribute too.

Of course there are a few things he missed out, Labours poor record on; the environment, the economy, nuclear weapons, MPs expenses and much more.

I don't have much confidence in Ed, he hasn't done much yet but lets see how he goes.

The Greens by contrast offer a positive choice.

For a short time we are offering free membership to young people. Until the revised closing date of January 8th 2011, students of any age can join the Green Party for free (and you are eligible for this offer if you are under 30 too). The offer is one year's free membership.

Join us today and play your part now towards building a better world - by fighting for education and jobs, helping to tackle climate change, protecting civil liberties and human rights

Julian Assange in Beccles, Norfolk

I have not yet blogged about wikileaks yet, hearing about the world press camping out in the sleepy town in Suffolk has make me start.

The third estate writer Salman Shaheen reports on the situation.

The sleepy little market town of Beccles rarely makes it into the news. ...
Parking my car down an old stone track and turning the corner, I was surprised to see a dozen paparazzi camped outside Beccles police station waiting to get a shot of Julian Assange. Chatting to them, I learned that as part of his bail conditions while he is staying with Vaughan Smith at the rather plush Ellingham Hall, Assange must register at the local station every day between 2pm and 5pm.

The paps, sent from civilisation to stand on a frozen empty street in the dark of this provincial little settlement, seemed rather confused by the whole experience. I suspect the locals, who it appears refer to Assange as “that Wikipedia bloke” have also been somewhat confused by the attention the world has been paying to Beccles.

Independant, Biggest thing Beccles has seen since 'that bloke from The Bill'.

The wikileaks website is down, but their message is spread ever wider.
UPDATE, THIS SITE IS WORKING, WIKILEAKS.CH

Meanwhile Bradley Manning is still in prison.

WoodWatch Campaign Tp Protect Woods And Trees

This year the Woodland Trust have started WoodWatch.

WoodWatch is a campaign that enables communities to fight unnecessary loss of woods and trees, and to prevent highly cherished local woods and greatly needed wildlife habitats being destroyed through the planning system.

These trees were cut down by Tesco at their Oxford Road site, West Reading.


The Woodland Trust have recruited and trained 45 Volunteer Threat Detectors across the UK who identify, research and object to plans that will destroy ancient or native woodland or valuable ancient trees.

The timing couldn't have been better. Government has just announced that from 2011, planning decisions will become more localised and communities will have greater responsibility for deciding what woodland in their neighbourhood is, or is not, secured for the future.

The Woodland Trust are planning to launch an online Advice Centre that will equip
people with all the tools they need to strengthen their voice, and enable communities to go even further to keep our native woodlands and ancient trees safe.

This new resource needs to be as useful as possible! Would you help shape how it works by taking our new survey over the Christmas period?

woodwatch survey



Merry Christmas to all readers.

Finally Auditors Brought To Account

Until this week auditors had largely side-stepped blame for the financial crisis. This week civil-fraud charges were brought against Ernst & Young for its role in the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Auditors passed judgment on some of the practices that caused the big losses that led to government bailouts. The case against Ernst highlights the roles accounting firms played and raises questions about whether reforms enacted after the last financial crisis have gone far enough.

Auditing isn't meant to stop companies from making dumb business moves' just to make sure those moves are properly disclosed.

Accounting firms were at the center of the last financial crisis, when companies such as Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. collapsed amid scandals in 2001. New accounting rules focused on the abuses of the time, but touched on some of the issues in the Ernst case.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is the auditor for American International Group and Goldman Sachs Group. KPMG LLP audits Citigroup. Deloitte & Touche LLP was the auditor for Bear Stearns and audits Fannie Mae.

Several investigations are currently underway into some of these companies and their auditors, though none are expected to yield charges in the immediate future.

"We have to take this as a very serious red flag that there really may be something that has changed in the audit industry," said Lynn Stout, a professor of corporate and securities law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

That's particularly the case with the valuation methods for companies' assets, she said. "Companies rely on auditors to bless their valuation methods and there's so much subjectivity," Ms. Stout said. "There's a real problem if we can't rely on the valuations."

Michael J. Gallagher, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S.A. national office, said, "This was fundamentally an economic crisis, but all parties in the financial reporting chain should use the lessons learned to continue improving financial reporting going forward to better serve investors and the capital markets."

A spokesman for KPMG declined to comment. A spokesman for Deloitte couldn't be reached for comment.

The Wall Street Journal sees parallels in the role played by the credit-ratings firms in the current crisis and the one played by the auditors. 'In both cases, the firms are paid by the companies they are supposed to evaluate independently. "When the people being watched get to choose their watchdog, they're not going to choose the toughest animal around". Lehman paid Ernst $185 million in fees in the decade before the investment bank collapsed.

Heathrow Lessons On Capitalism

What a model of failure, its enough to make you question capitalism. Fair enough we did have one very cold night, but in the week since its not been so bad. Can we think of a motive for keeping the airport closed?

Firstly its cheaper than spending money on new equipment.

Secondly there are thousands of people squeezed in the airport with nothing to do but shop. I expext profits are up.

So if capitalism means keeping transport links in poor condition who wants that form of capitalism. The boss of Heathrow said he would not take a bonus, in another buisness he would have been sacked. He was offered help to clear the snow and declined! They might have sold a bit less after all.

BAA has for too long been a monopoly, at least they have had to sell Gatwick and Stanstead.

Other forms of transport were not so badly hit, when the snow came it was dealt with.

Planes are not a sustainable form of transport. Its becomming clear that they also put profit far ahead of passengers.

Cable Pulls Strings

The man no one can any longer call 'saint' Vince has not yet resigned. After he claimed that he "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch's media empire he is more fool than saint.

I have blocked it, using the powers that I have got. And they are legal powers that I have got. I can’t politicise it, but for the people who know what is happening, this is a big thing. His whole empire is now under attack.

Cable pointed to the scrapping of child benefit for higher earners which he said had been done in a "rather cack-handed way", creating "a certain amount of injustice", for which he blamed the Conservatives.

It is his suggestion that the winter fuel allowance could also be under threat which may cause greatest consternation in No 10. "They haven't yet done the winter fuel payments, but that's coming, I think," he said

In one respect he may be correct, if he went he would bring the coalition down with him.

The gaffe came three weeks after Cable caused a furore by threatening to abstain in the vote on tuition fees, despite being the minister responsible for universities.

Meanwhile his colleagues have also been similarly indiscreet:
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said cutting child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers was not "a fair thing to do".

Business Minister Ed Davey said he was "gobsmacked" by the child benefit decision, while Pensions Minister Steve Webb said he had complained about the policy.

And Transport minister Norman Baker said: "We've stopped Murdoch taking over BSkyB, or referred it to the competition authorities. "That would have never happened under the Tories. They would have just said, 'Here you are Mr Murdoch, how much do you want?'"

If only they actually acted so decisively, not just empty boasts showing off to journalists.

Seven Months Into Coalition; Wheres The Greenest Government Ever?

It’s time for a look back at some of the triumphs of the "Greenest Government Ever".

The "greenest government ever" a summary: Forests for sale, a slashed green-tech budget, no green bank, flood defence budget hammered, no independent sustainability watchdog. But, looking on the bright side, developers will be allowed to build energy-inefficient houses for a few more years at least, and you can still import illegally logged timber.

Timeline from Ed Ballard in the New Statesman:
14 May: "This will be the greenest government ever", pledges David Cameron, three days after the formation of the coalition government. He announces his commitment to the 10:10 campaign, saying that all government departments will cut their greenhouse-gas emissions by 10 per cent before the end of 2010.

29 June: The government's Green Investment Bank Commission predicts that £550bn of investment will be needed to meet Britain's renewable energy targets under the Climate Change Act, and recommends the establishment of a Green Investment Bank to meet the challenge by providing finance for clean-power stations, windfarms and smart grids. Experts agree on a fundamental principle: to be capable of kick-starting private-sector investment in potentially risky renewable projects, the GIB must have the ability to issue government-backed "green bonds" to raise money. This kicks off a feud between the bank's backers – led by Chris Huhne – and the Treasury, in which there could only ever be one winner.

16 July: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announces a £34m cut to its low-carbon technology programme, including a £12m cut to the Carbon Trust, which provides funding to sustainable technology and businesses.

22 July: The Sustainable Development Commission is axed on the day of the first great quango cull. Environmentalists question the value of the move: the £3m per year it cost to run the SDC was a negligible saving, far outweighed bythe estimated £70m the SDC saved the taxpayer annually by recommending green efficiency savings. Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), says the decision was an easy one: because she is "personally dedicated to driving the sustainability agenda across government", there is no longer any need for external agencies.

8 August: More good news! All new homes will run on green power by 2016. That, at least, is the improbable but cheery-sounding claim of the housing minister Grant Shapps. Developers that fail to meet the target must pay a levy to fund local renewable energy projects. As Shapps pointed out, being so very green, the coalition government hardly had a choice in the matter. "We are committed to being the greenest government ever," said Shapps, "and an essential part of that is to ensure that all homes in the future will be built without emitting any carbon."

20 September: Two election pledges are struck from the list of things that the coalition might bring itself to do something about. The government will not carry out its proposal to make it an offence to possess illegally felled timber or to bring it into the country; nor will it extend the subsidy for small-scale solar production under the Feed-In Tariff.

20 October (the Spending Review): This is the point where it really starts to look bad for the greenest government ever, as George Osborne's axe falls hard on environmental spending.
The review includes proposals to sell off national nature reserves, privatise parts of the Forestry Commission and sell off the Met Office (which has contributed as much as any organisation to the public understanding of climate change).
The review cuts Defra's budget by 30 per cent, compared to a government average of 19 per cent, equating to efficiency savings of £700m by end of the four-year review period. Chris Huhne's tiny DECC gets away with an 18 per cent cut.
The Environment Agency will shed 5,000-8,000 out of 30,000 jobs, while Natural England's budget is cut by 30 per cent – about 800 full-time jobs. Flood defence spending will be cut by 27 per cent (though citizens of the "big society" are pleased to learn that they will be allowed to pitch in themselves).
Confusion about the GIB: Clegg writes to his party members telling them that £2bn has been set aside, but Osborne says £1bn.

21 October: Huhne tells the Guardian that the government may sell off one-third of Urenco, a company that makes enriched uranium for nuclear power – and that the money raised may fund the GIB. £1bn probably isn't enough for a proper bank, but still – better than nothing.

25 October: Caroline Spelman announces that 150,000 hectares of forest may be sold off by the government.

18 November: Chris Huhne signals his frustration with the Treasury, which iscontinuing to oppose the Green Investment Bank, preferring to repackage some existing green pledges in a sparkly new fund. An anonymous member of the GIB commission says: "Frankly, if it doesn't [have the ability to raise money by issuing government-backed bonds] there's no point in it existing. If we were only ever going to do one thing, the green bond is the thing we need to do . . ."

18 November (continued): Later that day, Cameron puts these fears to rest in a rare speech on the environment. The GIB will be a proper bank, he promises. The Labour MP Joan Walley asks whether it would really be a bank with the ability to issue money, whether a dispute was likely between the Department for Business and the Treasury, and whether he would take a personal interest. Cameron replies: "Yes, yes and yes, to all of those questions."

25 November: Oops! Grant Shapps messed up back in August when he said that all homes must be zero-carbon by 2016. What he meant to say was, "Some homes, but not all, will probably be zero-carbon by 2016."

19 November: Chris Huhne's frustrations in pursuit of his bank spill over into an open attack on the Treasury. He compares its obdurate opposition to the bank with the mistakes that led to the Great Depression.

15 December: The Treasury gets its wish: there will be no GIB. Huhne acknowledges that the "bank" will in fact be merely a green fund, and is also forced humiliatingly into repudiating his principles, saying that sustainability must not take precedence over cutting the deficit. The £550bn Britain needs to meet its emissions targets will have to come from somewhere else.

The “forgotten man” Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. While headlines around the world are full of Wikileaks, Bradley Manning has been in prison for over 200 days.

Exposing war crimes is not a crime.

The authorities have imprisoned a suspected whistle blower, and left those who committed war crimes go free.

See:
Website here
facebook here

Berkshire Blogs November

Check out the risers and the fallers with Green Reading exclusive monthly chart of the top blogs in the area (compiled using Wikio.co.uk).

This used to be done by bythemuddybanksofthethames.

Of course no ranking system will ever be definitive so if you want to get listed don't forget to tell us about your blog in the comments section - the more the merrier.

Here are the Berkshire Blog rankings for November 2010. October is here.

1 (=) 97 Cons John Redwood MP
2 (=) 212 Boulton and co
3 (=) 220 Liberal Burblings
4 (=) 253 another green world Derek Wall
5 (+2) 302 babyrambles
6 (-1) 357 cartoon church
7 (-1) 458 left outside
8 (=) 472 bracknell blog
9 (=) 525 Cons Cllr Richard Willis
10 (+1) 586 green reading
11 (-1) 621 Jane Griffiths
12 (=) 898 oy va goy
13 (=) 986 Neville Hobson
14 (+2) 1156 Lab Jones
15 (-1) 1200 Lab Richard Mckenzie
16 (+4) 1214 Lab Cllr John Ennis
17 (-2) 1288 the salted slug
18 (+5) 1396 LD Cllr Daisys campaign diary
19 (-1) 1371 Mr london street
20 (-3) 1427 LD Cllr Swaine waswasere
21 (-2) 1769 greengabbles
22 (=) 1833 LD Cllr Glenn Goodall
23 (+25) 1855 LD Cllr Gareth Epps
24 (+11) 1891 Lab Cllr Rachel Eden
25 (-1) 1898 church times
26 (-5) 2037 BBC Peter Henley
27 (+15) 2501 the open bracket
28 (-2) 2662 Alvin Finch
29 (+7) 2688 The Virtual Victorian
30 (-5) 2696 gco2e
31 (-3) 2698 green construction uk
32 (+12) 2741 Morgan PR
33 (-3) 2757 Rob Fisher
34 (-5) 2801 sean greens blog
35 (-4) 2805 Green Cllr Rob White bloggyblanc
36 (+1) 2936 scary duck
37 (return) 2996 the red rocket
38 (-6) 3004 adrian hollister
39 (-1) 3183 Green Matt Blackall
40 (-1) 3165 http://sheepdrove.wordpress.com/
41 (-7) 3215 the armchair sports fan
42 (-13) 3405 Marketing By Permission
43 (-3) 3453 Bucolic Frolics
44 (-17) 3514 internet psychologist
45 (-2) 3542 eco search global
46 (-1) 3567 LD Cllr Ricky Duveen
47 (=) 3652 http://carocat.co.uk/
48 (-2) 3669 Gideon Mack
49 (-5) 3811 Reading Geek Night
50 (-1) 3863 wendyhome
51 (-6) 4213 slouching towards thatcham
52 (-11) 4126 Wessex Equality Trust
53 (-1) 4151 the flashing blade
54 (return) 4191 Want to be a free...
55 (-5) 4222 Sourceress
56 (-5) 4324 naws
57 (-4) 4487 Greening St Johns
58 (=) 5020 Thoughts of chairman bill
59 (-3) 5031 berkeley pr
60 (-1) 5209 Katesgrove Libdems
61 (-1) 5217 lastdjango
62 (-1) 5251 Sheabutter Cottage
63 (-1) 5300 James' Two Cents
64 (=) 5455 jszuryn
65 (-2) 5615 puglia2010
66 (-1) 5798 LD Cllr Prue Bray
67 (-1) 6367 http://www.britishroyalwedding.com/
68 (-1) 6423 http://windsorfirestation.co.uk/blog/
69 (return) 6562 DTTs Memoirs
70 (-2) 6607 through-a-peep-hole
72 (-2) 6663 David Burbage
73 (-2) 6679 thames valley mums
73 (=) 7202 diggestive
74 (+1) 7424 Berkshire Websites
75 (+1) 7425 Escort Sophie
76 (+1) 7426 the age of stupidity
77 (+1) 7427 the timber yard
78 (+1) 7428 Will Hughes
79 (+1) 7429 Treetops Newbury
80 (+1) 7430 hang on artists
81 (+1) 7431 woz writes
82 (+1) 7433 Andy Peacock
83 (+1) 7434 Magic Photography Reading
84 (+1) 7435 jazz from geoff
85 (+2) 7437 Marlow bottom acoustic club
86 (+2) 7480 berkshire born
87 (+2) 7637 beasleys place
88 (+2) 7482 phil spray
89 (-16) 7607 http://pheasant-plucker.blogspot.com/

Inactive for over a month
grasp the mettle
106 points
NYOOTW
Reading toy run
rg9

Oxfam Campaign On Pregnancy And Childbirth

A few months ago, to highlight the 1,000 women who die everyday in pregnancy and childbirth in poor countries, Oxfam organised the reconstruction of this iconic image to coincide with the Millennium Development Goals summit which took place in New York last month. Pregnant women from London took part in the reconstruction of the Charles Clyde Ebbets ‘New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam’ image in support of an Oxfam campaign.

Well done ladies!

See also lego version here.

Video of how it was done here.

Oxfam pregnant women recreate classic new york photo from Hayley Baker on Vimeo.

Snow Joke

According to Reading Labour Cllr, last year (under Labour control) the Council failed to advise people on clearing snow from paths. Cllr Maskell has yet to call for any action as a result of this failure.

He says:

Last year many people, including councillors’ asked Reading Borough Council for advice about clearing snow. Unfortunately they were not in a position to give advice.

Marvelous. Interesting he says 'they', as though it was nothing to do with him!

This year, we are advised to read the 'snow code'.

If you clear snow and ice yourself, be careful - don’t make the pathways more dangerous by causing them to refreeze. But don’t be put off clearing paths because you’re afraid someone will get injured.

If your neighbour will have difficulty getting in and out of their home, offer to clear snow and ice around their property as well. Check that any elderly or disabled neighbours are alright in the cold weather. If you’re worried about them, contact your local council.

I've got home tonight after a six hour journey that should have taken two. So I would advise people to bring with them food, water, warm clothes. Keep a shovel in the car also.

AWE No Strike But Pay Rise

While the rest of us are facing cuts and job losses, the government has awarded an above average pay rise for AWE staff.

Scientists and mathematicians in a pay dispute at the atomic bomb factories have voted overwhelmingly to accept a 2.5 per cent pay officer.

Members of the union Prospect at AWE in Aldermaston and Burghfield took protest action last month after being offered a pay rise of less than two per cent.

The 'boffins' were planning a one-day strike but it was called off when an improved offer was made by the bomb factory bosses.

Its not as if the workers contributed anything useful to society, they make it far more dangerous for the rest of us. I call on these workers to do something more useful with their training and experience.

National parks and forests sell-off

According to a report by Dr Thompson of Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy national park authorities face cuts of up to 30% as a result of the spending review and more could follow. She said national parks have had ‘a low policy profile in central Government and as a result have been poorly integrated into wider agendas on reform of rural land use and development policy’.

Conservatives have presented a National Park Authorities Bill which would empower the Secretary of State to abolish National Park Authorities. It has its second reading debate on 1st April. (Fools day)

Green Party Policy
The countryside shouldn’t be split into “honeypots” for nature and tourists, and areas that are allowed to become an industrial wasteland. The conservation and protection seen in national parks should be applied to the whole countryside.

National parks have failed to give adequate ecological protection due to a lack of power, gross under-funding and confused and divided authorities.

In the short term we would want to widen the role of National Parks and the Park Authorities and support the extension of existing National parks and the designation of National Parks in other areas.

We will give local authorities the power to make Countryside Conservation Orders

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty will receive comparable status to National Parks.

We will keep the designation of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), National Nature Reserves (NNRs) and Scheduled Ancient Monuments.

Cuts in Berkshire Councils

As expected the cuts are coming fast now. Pickles has announced cuts to councils across the country. Some people care saying Tory councils have been hit less hard than the others. See for yourself.

Council. Cut 2011/2 2012/3
Bracknell Forest 2.54% 2.52%
Reading 4.26% 3.63%
Slough 4.86% 3.62%
West Berkshire 2.04% 2.35%
Windsor and Maidenhead 1.06% 1.81%
Wokingham 0.63% 1.47%

Join the coalition of resistance. Cuts are not enevitable but are a political agenda. Cut things we don't want like trident, fossil fuel subsidy, tax avoidance from the wealthiest. Instead its the poorest that will be paying for the mistakes of bankers and lab/con economic policies.

Lib Dem Members Have More In Common With Labour And Greens Than Their Leaders says LibDem

LibDem former director of policy Richard Grayson said "most Lib Dem members have more in common with their counterparts in the Labour party and the Greens than with their own leadership."

Grayson, who was director of policy between 1999 and 2004, and until October a vice-chairman on the party's federal policy committee, says the divisive issue of tuition fees should make ordinary Lib Dems "sit up and think".

Grayson, a history professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, adds: "Most of the party defines itself as being 'centre-left', so how did the party end up so badly split on an issue which has previously united it? This split stems not just from a different approach to fees, but from a wider division between centre-left and centre-right liberals. Those on the right generally favour privatised and marketised policies. On the left, we really do take the view that 'we are all in it together'."

A poll in the Sunday Telegraph suggested that just 54% of those who voted Lib Dem in May planned to back the party at the next general election!

Richard Grayson is professor of 20th-century history at Goldsmiths, University of London and a former director of policy for the Liberal Democrats

Student protests - A police riot?

Guest post by Peter Tatchell


Many police behaved admirably. Others were out of control. Most students were peaceful. A minority were violent. Violence by a relatively small number of protesters does not justify the often indiscriminate, bully-boy methods of some officers.

TV news film showed police baton attacks on peaceful students. Some were battered while they were held on the ground, where they posed no threat. This brutality inflamed other students to violent retaliation. The over-the-top police tactics were often needlessly provocative and incendiary. They contributed to the riotous atmosphere.

The violent demonstrators were ethically wrong and counter-productive – and so too were the violent police who lashed out indiscriminately. Officers faced aggressive provocation by some demonstrators. They had a difficult, sometimes violent, protest to contain. I sympathise. There were protesters who were out for trouble and who committed violent acts. But this does not justify or exonerate police violence. See this apparent example of police brutality against a peaceful protester who was trying to leave the demo. The Independent.

Violence by some students to indiscriminate police attacks was a wrong response, but not a surprising one.

If you were a peaceful, lawful protester and got held in a police cordon for 6+ hours with no food, water or toilets, you’d be angry too. The police tactic of kettling was illegal detention and amounted to the collective punishment of many innocent, peaceful protesters. It made a bad situation worse. This heavy-handed, indiscriminate repression is not how the police should behave in a democracy.

I wonder if the harsh police tactics were designed to intimidate and discourage future protests by making people fearful of injury and arrest? Whatever the truth, police brutality will have the opposite effect. Many protesters now hate the police because of how they were abused. This is a recipe for more violence at future demos.

The Met Police Commissioner’s tactics were flawed. He erred and misjudged. Should he resign?

The student’s cause is a just cause that I support. Education is not a commodity. It should not be for sale. The fee hike and cut to education maintenance grants will discourage young people from poorer backgrounds. Meanwhile the bankers are getting their bonuses again and the government looks set to squander £76 billion on a new generation of Trident missiles. Shame on Cameron and Clegg.

See Also Jane, Cabbages And Kings Green Room and Carolines Speech to students.

Stand against racism

Your car is Japanese. Your pizza is Italian. Your wine is Chilean, Australian, South African. Your democracy is Greek. Your coffee is Brazilian. Your tea is Tamil. Your fashion is French. Your shirt is Indian. Your shoes are Thai. Your electronics are ...Chinese. Your vodka... is Russian. And you complain that your neighbor is an immigrant? Pull yourself together! Copy if u stand against racism.

Recycling Rates Berkshire

Recently published recycling rates show Reading close to the bottom in Berkshire.
West Berkshire – 40.2% (08/09-33.69%)
Wokingham – 38.36% (08/09-36.57%)
Bracknell Forest – 37.83% (08/09-40.3%)
Windsor & Maid – 34.37% (08/09-35.98%)
Reading – 33.4% (08/09-34.44%)
Slough – 30.91% (08/09-25.41%)

Our neighbours to the North;
South Oxfordshire – 61.41% (08/09-42.44%)

Figures from here

As a country the UK is estimated to recycle about 17.7%, and Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Luxembourg being not too far behind. The United States recycles just about 28% of its waste today, which is doubled from what it was a decade ago.
Greece falls short with only 10% of its waste being recycled and the remaining 90% going to the landfills.

Ekaterina Zatuliveter

Ekaterina is in the news for being a possible spy for Russia while working in Parliament.

Below is a guest post from a friend who knows her.

EKATERINA ZATULIVETER is a lovely, generous, kind, helpful, competent, very bright young woman and completely unlikely to be a spy. She has been putting PQ's for NIS through Mike Hancock MP for several years on nuclear submarine safety issues and she organised my retirement do at the House of Commons where some of you will have met her. Katia has been in detention on suspicion of being a Russian spy since Thursday. Now at last, lawyers are on the case.

If you would like to write to the Home Office, MPs, the press etc etc please do. We are asking for:
immediate release
no deportation
due legal process
evidence

Letters of support for Katia can be sent via me as she does not want her whereabouts known as it might alert the media frenzie to her location.
Many thanks
Di

Di McDonald
30 WESTWOOD ROAD
SOUTHAMPTON
SO17 1DN
Tel: +44 (0)23 8055 4434
Mobile: 07880 557035

Much Stronger Action Or Temp Will Rise 3.5°C Says IEA

Much stronger action, including the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, is needed to transform the global energy system, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Launching its annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) report, the IEA warns that the Copenhagen Accord and policies adopted by governments around the globe are not enough to limit temperature increases through climate change by 2°C.

According to the IEA's analysis, primary energy demand will increase by 36% between 2008 and 2035 at a rate of 1.2% a year. That figure is down on the 2% average for the previous 27 years, but is only likely to stabilise greenhouse gas concentration at over 650 parts per million - resulting in a temperature rise of 3.5°C. The report indicates that non-OECD countries will account for 93% of the projected increase in primary energy demand, with fossil fuels remaining dominant.

Support for renewables is projected to increase from $57 billion in 2009 to $205 billion in 2035, but renewables will still only account for around 14% of total primary energy demand.

For further information go to www.worldenergyoutlook.org/

SOS Reading - Take Action Against Tax Dodgers!

At the same time as making massive cuts to public services, this government is letting rich individuals and corporations avoid billions of pounds of tax. UK Uncut’s Big Society Revenue & Customs (BSRC) is determined to make wealthy tax avoiders pay.

This Saturday December 4th thousands of people will be hitting high streets across the country to continue the fight to make corporate tax avoiders pay up.

In Reading, SOS will target super-rich tax-dodgers.

In the last month over 30 Vodafone stores have been shut down from Glasgow to Plymouth in protest at their £6bn tax dodge. This weekend Vodafone stores will be targeted again.

But UK Uncut will also now target shops owned by billionaire tax cheat - and government advisor - Phillip Green! Thats Topshop, BHS, Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and more.

Meeting @ 11am by the escalators in Broad St Mall, Reading.
See www.ukuncut.org.uk.

LD In A Pickle

How did they manage to get in such a mess?

Last night Danny Alexander failed to explain his position during Question Time last night. It was quite embarrassing to watch.

Today LD Cllr Gareth Epps calls his fellow party members fools!

Gareth was proud to be one of the 104 candidates against student fees, shame about the remaining 553. Thats a mere 19% of LD candidates who want to stick to their pledge.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Norwich South, Simon Wright, has said he will vote against the coalition government's plans to raise university tuition fees. What will the rest of the 57 LD MPs do?

There has been speculation that Vince Cable will vote against the policy he has written. He said "Obviously I have a duty as a minister to vote for my own policy – and that is what will happen,"

Gareth Thomas, the shadow higher education minister, said: "John Cleese could not have scripted this farce better than Vince Cable. The truth is these proposals weren't necessary, they're unfair and they don't offer a long-term sustainable system of support for students or for universities". Forgetting that the top up fees were Labour idea!

Flick Rea, a Lib Dem councillor in Camden, said: "I suppose it is part of the problem of being in government. We have to accept that nobody loves us any more." And there he may be correct, the LD are low in the polls.

Caroline Lucas, Britain's first Green MP, sponsored an amendment to an opposition motion on tuition fees in an effort to toughen-up Labour's critique and call to account Liberal Democrat MPs who have failed to honour their pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees.

Its exciting to see people who were bored or indifferent to politics till recently turn into activists.

There is speculation the LD offices will be targeted by student protesters. I am all for protest, but against violence. Its too easy for the media to focus on the violence and ignore the message.

Keith Taylor MEP on student fees

Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for the South East, has spoken out about student fees.

I fully support the students and young people who are taking a stand against education cuts and increased fees. As a Green, I believe that non-violent direct action is a valid response to unpopular, unfair decisions such as these.

These cuts are not inevitable, they are simply the wrong ideological choice and the three main parties all need to be challenged at the ballot box as well as on the streets about their punitive actions; life-changing actions that will deny some young people access to higher education and leave others is severe debt.

That wrong ideological choice is also leading us down a path of job losses, public service cuts and privatisation, paid for by those who are least responsible for the deficit. But if tax avoidance and unpaid taxes are targeted, and we invest in the public sector and green jobs, it will bring in over £100 billion whilst creating new jobs, including 1 million new climate jobs.

We must continue to raise our voices and say that we don’t want these cuts, and to demand a better, more sustainable choice to bring an end to this financial crisis.