Violent Thugs

Home secretary theresa May said that those arrested in the protesr March were "mindless thugs". Her words were matched by the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper who criticised the "few hundred mindless idiots and thugs"

Most of those arrested had peacefully occupied a grocer. Where is the thuggish behavior? TV crews and captured many examples of violence, mostly masked people throwing paint. Only 11 of those people were arresred oddly.

The Green MP Caroline Lucas said "That the majority of those arrested and charged on Saturday were not violent thugs posing a risk to others but participants in a peaceful sit-down protest betrays a serious failure of judgement."

I question the judgement of May and Cooper for describing peaceful protesters as thugs. Especially as they both represent parties that gave bombed large numbers of civilians in the last few years.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/why-did-police-charge-only-11-rioters-over-the-anticuts-protests-2256729.html

Gandhi said "an unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so."

Green Waste Charge, better a carrot and stick

Reading Council have a strange new policy, charging residents more for being Green, even though they were saving the council money.

Those who want to dispose of garden waste but who have more than they can compost paid to have a green bin. While other residents who didn't bother simply threw it into the normal bin to be sent to landfill, which costs the council.

Now those Green minded residents will be charged £22.50 for the first green bin, plus £12.50 for each additional bin. Or £7.50 for the first green bag, plus £5.00 for each additional bag.

Those people being green and saving the council money should be rewarded not penalised. I would suggest they give the green bins away for free, and pick them up for free. Residents who throw away too much can be charged a small amount to pay for this.

I prefer a carrot and stick approach, reward good behavior and penalise the bad. I imagine this sort of approach will get some to call me authoritarian, hey ho. It will encourage people to do the right thing.

This odd policy has done one good thing so far, a Labour Cllr has started composting.

What happens to the green waste is another storey. Some residents would assume it goes to alotments, but when I helped run thre Oxford Road community garden I was told we couldn't have any.

Protest March Coverage

A Global Warming denier is calling for the murder of protesters, while the media is focusing on a few instances of violence.

Many thousands of people march peacefully, that is largely ignored. A right wing journalist calls for bombing the marchers, that is ignored. A small number of people throw some paint at a shop, that gets the medias attention.

There has only been one arrest by 3pm. The media report a carnival atmosphere.

Indymedia say "March 26 looks set to be the biggest street mobilisation in Britain since the anti-war march of 2003."

The Trades Union Congress says more than 500,000 to 250,000 people have joined the march, more than it had expected, but police are not estimating numbers.

BBC say the atmosphere is largely "good natured and friendly", with isolated scuffles in the West End.

Sky report the Met Police said there had been "two significant incidents of violence towards property and police away from the march". Light bulbs filled with ammonia and paint bombs were thrown in Oxford Street, police said.

Independent say representatives from Liberty will monitor policing both on the ground and from Metropolitan Police headquarters. The group UK Uncut is targeting banks and shops in Oxford Street and plans a "mass occupation of a top-secret target". Other activists are said to be planning to stop traffic with "flash mobs".

The Conservative MP Greg Hands said: "Mr Miliband and Mr Barber have a duty to ensure their march does not become a focus for disorder and law-breaking." While the bombs fall on innocents in Lybia.

The Telegraph talks about 'black bloc' anarchists.

Around 50 Gurkhas have joined the demonstration in support of legal aid.
Ragprasad Purja, 44, a Gurkha from Nepal who now lives in Morden, south London, said: "The Gurkhas have fought for this country for 200 years. The cuts to legal aid and benefits will affect many of us. We want to stop them."

Guardian says Hundreds of anti cuts and tax avoidance protesters closed down more than 13 shops on Oxford Street - with many more shutting their doors. Less than 0.25 percent of today's anti-cuts march is involved in the violence, which dominates the coverage.

They say every time the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, stepped out of doors it cost police £2m to protect him. He said:
"We cannot afford that any more - if you were to go on a national tour we'd be bankrupt."

Sounds Familiar

Hmm, where did I hear that before. Ah yes, the mantra of Thatcher, Blair, Brown and now Cameron. The rich get richer while the rest of us pay for it.

March today against cuts

Many friends today are marching in London against the Thatcheite cutting agenda. Unfortunately I cant join them, I became a dad yesterday and am in hospital with my family.

As you can see the hospital is also against the cuts.

Protest the cuts for a better big society


Others feel the same way.
Nora Pearce, midwife,

I'm going to be there to defend the NHS. I'll be with a very large group from Kingston hospital, where I work, and a couple of my grandchildren, and we'll all be carrying two flipping heavy banners.

We feel the NHS is under attack. Before the last election, Nick Clegg and David Cameron used Kingston hospital as a backdrop to say that the NHS would be safe in their hands. But now the government has said the NHS must have £20bn worth of efficiency savings, despite maintaining that no frontline staff will be cut. And at Kingston we have been told that over the next four years we will be losing nearly 500 staff - 20% of whom are nurses and doctors. Now, if that ain't frontline staff, then what is?

The hospital is saying that no services will be affected. Yeah, right. It is also saying there will be no redundancies. I half-believe that, because it could achieve staff reductions through people retiring. But it ain't about redundancies: it's about the service. You can't run a hospital without the staff. At Kingston, we have 22 consultants, and 214 nurses and midwives. They're not exactly sitting in the cupboard twiddling their thumbs.

So I hope the march will make the government seriously rethink these reforms. They just don't get the ethos of the health service. I don't know how to say this without sounding pious, but I've worked for the NHS for 30 years, and I don't work there for the pay. I work there out of public duty. People in the health service work much more than their hours. I couldn't tell you how many times I've gone without a break – how many times I've worked past the end of my shift when the people I was looking after needed me to stay.

The plan to sell off the blood transfusion service, which will be run by private companies for profit, is a perfect example of how the government doesn't get what the NHS is about: people don't give their blood for profit. If they bring in all these private companies, pity the poor sod who has got multiple health problems – the private sector won't want you. They won't want to do your hip operation if you're diabetic, epileptic and elderly, because it'll cost too much money.

The other thing that's upsetting us is our pensions. When they talk about the "gold-plated" NHS pension, I don't know what Mickey-Mouse world they're living in. I don't think a £5,000 pension is particularly gold-plated. A few people in the public sector get very good pensions, but the vast majority of us don't.

Meanwhile an idiot calls for bombing of protestors here

Surely the RAF could afford to divert one Typhoon from Libya for a humanitarian strike on Hyde Park?

They must be scared of us.

Big Society March Sat 26th

Some are calling it a TUC march on Saturday, orhers an anti cuts protest. Of course its both, but we are missing a trick here.

Its a Big Society March. The Big Society is what Cameron wants; all those volunteers whose good works do things that otherwise the Government would have to pay for.

These are the people that will be marching, those who believe in society. Unlike Thatcher who said it didnt exist. All come together to unite against Cameron.

Cameron may like the big society but we dont like his agenda, where the poor are paying for tax breaks for the wealthy.

So come along all you volunteers, you civil servants; teachers, fire fighters even the police. Together we are strong, unite against the cuts.

Vigil Against The Bombing Of Libya

Reading Peace Group and Reading Peaceworks are organising a protest vigil against the current bombing and military attacks on Libya.

Meet up between 1 - 2 pm on Sunday 27 March at the Queen Victoria
Statue in Friar Street.

Here are just a few reasons pacifists say no to military intervention in Libya:
* It's nothing to do with human rights - the UN Security Council is not interested in the brutal repression of democracy protesters in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Yemen.
* There are non-violent ways of supporting the Libyan democracy protesters which would be more effective than military force.
* Only one in three Britons supports military action in Libya
* The West cannot be an honest broker in Libya given its disastrous track record on Iraq
* The war is expected to cost at least $1 billion at a time when the global economy is in deep depression and public services are being cut here in the UK.

Cameron Arms Sales To Libya says "I give way to the leader of the Green party"

David Cameron (Prime Minister) said "I give way to the leader of the Green party."
In a House Of Commons Debate, 21 March 2011, c707)

Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion, Green)

I am grateful to the Prime Minister. I am sure he would agree that any military action needs to be principled and consistent, but last year, the UK issued £231 million-worth of arms exports licences to Libya and £55 million of licences to Saudi Arabia, including the very personnel carriers that were rolling into Bahrain just last week. Does he not agree that our position would be a lot more consistent and a lot more principled if we stopped selling arms to repressive regimes anywhere in that region?

David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative)

The hon. Lady makes an important point, which we have discussed several times during statements and questions. We are having a proper review of not just arms exports, but training licences and other relations. Of the 118 single and open licences for Libya, we have revoked all licences that cover equipment of concern. However, I agree with the hon. Lady that there will be lessons to learn from the conflict for the future.

Didn't answer the question did you David. Guilty

Small Space Sustenance: 5 Foods for Your Apartment Garden

This guest post was written by Shawn Jenson who is also a staff writer for radiologytechnician.com and is an advocate of taking free online courses

Ah, to have a garden. A space all your own to use your green thumb to its full advantage, providing fresh, organic sustenance right from your own backyard. Well, for many urbanites, a backyard is nonexistent as more and more city dwellers become accustomed to compartmentalized living. Apartments are great: You can live smack dab in a thriving metropolis with a great view and only the space you need for yourself, but that doesn't leave very much room for growing your own food.

Thankfully, you don't need very much room to start an apartment garden. Don't expect to be able to live off the land (or in your case, soil in pots), but do expect to see some great accoutrements for main dishes sprouting on your balcony. Here are five great foods you can and should grow for your apartment garden.

1. Tomatoes: Every apartment garden should grow tomatoes when the weather turns just a bit warmer. Tomatoes really don't need a whole lot of space or soil to grow. A standard terra cotta pot will do, or if you want to be creative, an old boot or similar-shaped vessel will work great and look funky. Tomato plants are pretty hardy and don't need a ton of sunlight, just make sure they're well watered. Save yourself some trouble and buy a starter plant from a nursery, plant it in some good soil, and give it a trellis cage to grow up. You'll be enjoying juicy tomatoes in your sandwiches, salads, or pastas in no time.
2. Herbs: For the gardening enthusiast with no space to spare, herbs should absolutely be grown. Enjoy fresh parsley, oregano, rosemary, or other herbs for all your cooking needs. For a makeshift greenhouse, use half-gallon plastic bottles of milk and punch wholes in the bottom for drainage. Keep the caps on to create a nice mini-greenhouse for sprouts, then cut it off as they mature. They won't need much more sunlight than a kitchen window sill can afford either, so these herbs can be grown in the most minimal spaces available.
3. Strawberries: There's nothing like a fresh, sweet strawberry in the summertime -- on its own, served with ice cream, or as part of a delicious smoothie. Strawberries need very little space to grow and are pretty low-maintenance plants; especially for a fruit. Strawberries are not invasive either, so you won't have to worry about it trying to take over your deck (which why I wouldn't recommend most other berries). Get a specific strawberry pot at most gardening stores with little balcony openings going up the sides to maximize your strawberry-growing potential.
4. Lettuce: Buy or make yourself a small garden box, and grow lettuce. The plant doesn't root much further than the surface, so the box doesn't have to be deep at all. Sunlight and decent weather are important though, so if your deck doesn't receive direct sun, lettuce may not work. Otherwise, with a little bit of fertilizer and some water it'll take off. This is one of my favorite plants to grow, because there is seriously nothing like crisp, crunchy, fresh lettuce straight out of the ground for the perfect salad or sandwich.
5. Beans: As a vine plant, beans are great for when you don't have a whole lot of square footage but do have some vertical space available. Get a standard-size pot, some good soil and fertilizer, and firmly plant a long stake or bean pole toward one of the edges. Plant seeds directly in front of the pole, toward the middle of the pot. The plant will quickly grow up the vine and give your great picking for the months to come. Beans are one of the most adaptable and hardy plants around and can survive most conditions -- even a balcony garden.

Alexandra Road Community Day Nursery is being forced to close

Alexander Road Community Day Nursery, is very likely to close at the end of March.

It has been serving the local community for over 30 years, and it will be a great loss to all if it closes.

A number of parents are trying to save the nursery and are having a meeting at the nursery 35 Alexander Road this evening Monday 21st March at 6 pm.

The Alexandra Road Community Day Nursery is being forced to close at short notice due to financial problems. The nursery, run as a charity by a volunteer committee, has operated from the same site for over 30 years, but has been hit by increased competition and regulation.

A spokesperson for the committee said, “The number of children at the nursery has steadily declined over the last couple of years whilst costs have risen with increased regulation. As a stand alone, independent nursery set within a Victorian building, it is very difficult to compete with larger commercial nursery chains or purpose built nurseries.”

“The committee has worked hard to try and find a way forward, but with the nursery losing money we have been forced to take the difficult decision to start winding up proceedings.”

The nursery will close at the end of the month and all ten staff will lose their jobs. Reading based Nortons Recovery have been instructed to place the company which ran the nursery into liquidation.


If you like more information please contact:
Carole Boudeau
carole.boudeau@hotmail.co.uk
Tel 01189327 6064

Human Power Station

Wow.

Wind Keeps Lights On In Japan

In Japan while nuclear has put lives at risk, Wind power has survived earthquake and tsunami.

Japanese wind officials have been discussing the stability of the electrical grid during the crisis. They reported that ALL the wind turbines survived the earthquake, even the offshore turbines in the nearest the earthquake epicenter. In some regions of Japan, this has saved the day, as power utilities have been struggling to meet basic energy demand in the wake of the Fukushima
nuclear reactor breakdown.

As the world collectively holds its breath to see how the Fukushima crisis plays out, there's a positive story that is not yet being reported.

Read more here www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/wind-power-helping-to-keep-the-lights-on-in-japan

Transition talk Henley And Reading 'Economic Crisis in the Era of Peak Oil' by Nicole Foss 21st March

Henley in Transition and Transition Reading
Present:
A Century of Challenges Economic Crisis in the Era of Peak Oil
A talk by Nicole Foss

Henley Town Hall: Monday 21st March 2011
7:00 for 7:30pm
Admission Free

The continuing economic crisis, escalating fuel costs and rising food prices are
symptoms of problems with the financial system, depleting world resources and
climate change. Nicole Foss presents a very accessible analysis of the predicament
that faces us all. No jargon. No esoteric technical terms. She predicts a challenging future - but also suggest actions we can all take to minimise its effects.

Nicole is an academic, with degrees in biology and law, a post-graduate diploma in air and water pollution control and a masters in international law in
development.

She was a Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, where she specialized in nuclear safety in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union,
and conducted research into electricity policy at the EU level. Nicole ran the Agri-Energy Producers' Association of Ontario, where she has focused on farm
based biogas projects and grid connections for renewable energy. Recognising the interrelationship between energy and economics she has studied the world financial system for two decades.

There will be a collection towards Nicole’s expenses -
Suggested donation £5 ( Nobody turned away )

6 Simple Ways to Live a Sustainable Lifestyle

Guest post
By: Joy Paley writes forchristiancounselingdegree.org and for onlineclasses.net" These days, everywhere you look someone is giving tips to live a “greener” lifestyle. While it makes sense to keep the earth in mind, a lot of these tips aren’t that easily implemented by people who are on a budget or lack certain skills. Sure, I’d love to install solar panels on my roof or a low-flow plumbing system, but right now what I really need are sustainable tips that help the earth and my pocketbook. So I did some research to bring you these six tips that you can put into practice at home—without expert skills or a lot of money.

Start a Home Compost

Home composts aren’t just for tree huggers and eccentrics anymore. They’re a simple way to considerably green up your home, by reducing the amount of waste you send to the landfill. Instead of putting those food scraps in the garbage, just throw them into a small outdoor bin. Composting takes little effort: Sprinkle some water on your bin of old food, stir it up, and nature will take its course, turning your waste into free yard fertilizer. And, you’ll be saving money by reducing your garbage bill. Here’s a quick guide to getting started.

Collect Rainwater

Why waste money paying for water when you can get it for free? Just set a barrel or old garbage bin under your gutters when you’re expecting a rain shower, and you’ll be doing mother nature a favor. Instead of leaving your sprinklers on all throughout the year, you’ll be able to water your yard with the barrels you collect. This water is a lot easier on the earth because unlike tap water, it’s not being diverted away from streams and natural reservoirs to get your house.

Join a CSA

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a type of organization that lets the local community support nearby growers who practice sustainable farming. When you join a CSA you’re essentially buying into a farmer’s harvest—helping fund the costs of getting the crop into the ground and tending it. In return, you get a share of their harvest in the form of a weekly produce delivery to your home or a distribution point near you. Use this page to find a list of CSAs in your region.

Use DIY Home Cleaners

Many home cleaners contain noxious chemicals that are harmful to manufacture and pollute our water supplies when they run down the drain. For most daily cleaning jobs you don’t even need those harsh chemicals; you can actually make cheap, nontoxic solutions from ingredients you already have at home. Vinegar, baking soda, and lemons are some examples. National Geographic has a roundup of the essential DIY household cleaners.

Eat Less Meat

Did you know that if you cut out one meal of chicken every week for a year and replaced it with vegetarian food, it would be equivalent to taking half a million cars off the road? Even if you can’t imagine yourself going vegetarian, removing just one meal of meat a week can drastically cut down the greenhouse gases that result from raising livestock. These simple veggie recipes can get you started.

Buy a Power Strip

Some electronics are real energy suckers—they keep drawing energy from the wall, even whey are turned completely off! Plugging all your electronics into a handy power strip is a simple way to ensure that they’re cut off from the power source and won’t be wasting energy when you’re not using them. It’s a handy way to be frugal and save energy.

William Hague Not Wise

William Hague, the foreign secretary, was praised by the Peter Tapsell MP. In return Hague described Tapsell as 'wise'. As you will see below, wise is not the word, confused would be a better description.

In May 2001, he made headlines during the UK general election campaign when comparing then German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's vision of Europe to Adolf Hitler's.

On 9 November 2005 he was the only Conservative MP to vote in favour of a proposal to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge.

theyworkforyou has a summary of his voting record, some highlights:
Voted moderately against a transparent Parliament.
Voted moderately against equal gay rights.
Voted moderately for the Iraq war.

Tapsell is 81 years old and has been an MP for 44 years. More than most MPs he is stuck in the Westminster bubble, he can barely remember life as an ordinary citizen. We really need MPs from a more diverse background to reflect how people are now, not how things were 40 years ago. Sweep out the old, bring in Greens for a change.

Redwood In Denial

Local Wokingham MP John Redwood has written a blog post against the governments carbon plan. Read it here.

I am against the carbon plan as it is not ambitious enough. Redwood seems to be in denial over climate change, he would rather it wasn't happening. His evidence is some recent cold weather in the UK, ignoring average global temperatures.

"Selling global warming antidotes is made more difficult by the succession of two cool wet summers and two cold snowy winters. I appreciate the theorists will write in and tell me this is just weather, but we have had a lot of weather recently."

To be fair he ends on a more positive note.

"I am all in favour of better deals to make it worthwhile for people to save energy. I am also strongly in favour of getting on with putting in the extra and replacement electricity capacity we need, and with making the Uk more energy self sufficient in a politically unstable world."

But isn't it time we had MPs who are not in denial over science.

Nuclear Meltdown

The Japanese government has tried to play down fears of a radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant. But there is now a 20 km exclusion zone, 170,000 people have already been evacuated from the area near the plant.

The plant's operators Tepco admitted that radiation levels around the plant had now risen above permissible limits.

CND see worrying similarities to chernobyl


What worries me is how easily this disaster was caused. Earthquakes of this magnitude are rare enough but anything can cause a power failure. And it seems to be the power failure that caused the problem. Plants around the world must now be looking at backup power. Governments must ensure that they do.

How many more disasters will it take to convince our government that this is not a safe green source of power. Invest in renewables instead, they are sustainable.

Update; links and vid added

'Greenest Government Ever' Produces A Carbon Plan

The Greenest Government Ever' has finally announced their attempt at a Green policy. About time too.

"This Carbon Plan sets out a vision of a changed Britain, powered by cleaner energy used more efficiently in our homes and businesses, with more secure energy supplies and more stable energy prices, and benefiting from the jobs and growth that a low carbon economy will bring."

Defining nuclear power as low carbon means what sounds good is actually not, nuclear isn't low emission, isn't sustainable; it simply is not green. Some are saying this Carbon Plan is fuelling a solar feed-in tariff "shambles".

"Becoming a low carbon economy will be one of the greatest changes our country has ever known. But it is a change for the better, for our economy, our society, and for the planet. This Carbon Plan shows how, together, we can make it happen."

We shall see.

"The Plan announced today includes a target to deliver zero carbon new homes from 2016 and zero carbon new non domestic buildings from 2019 and a much more flexible approach to reducing emissions - across housing tenure and type."

Unfortunately the government has a dodgy definition of a zero carbon home. You might think that a zero-carbon home is one that returns to the National Grid as much power as it uses over the course of a year. Unless you plan on living somewhere with no heating, electricity or water, that means a zero-carbon home will need to be kitted out with equipment for microgeneration – the production of energy on a small scale. But as that was seen as too ambitions, the government changed the definition of zero! To them a “zero-carbon home” is one that has cut its emissions by as little as 44% compared with the 2006 building regulations! Zero carbon house says a zero carbon home must produce zero net emissions of carbon-dioxide over its lifetime.

Caroline Lucas MP comments here "Carbon Plan" needs to be more than greenwash. “The move to elevate green priorities to the top of the Whitehall agenda may be encouraging, but I would like to have seen a stronger push, with more in the way of new and concrete proposals that are genuinely compatible with meeting the targets and facilitating the much-needed transition towards decarbonisation.”

“Rather than the flimsy ‘memorandum of understanding’ unveiled today, what we need is local carbon budgets, which would set out more clearly the targets that local councils would need to achieve to stay in line with national targets, while also providing them with the necessary support to do so.”

Guardian,
business green.

For the real deal; C.A.T. produced a carbon plan last year, one that cuts carbon emissions to zero. "We are saying 100 percent by 2030," Cat researcher Alex Randall said. "We can't keep burning fossil fuels."

Up In Arms

The UK has sold tear gas, crowd control ammunition and fire arms to Bahrain and Libya in the last year. Despite our government saying 'what we supply is not being used for internal repression'. UK weapons are being used against civilians in Libya, the Government was promoting more weapons sales in the Middle East. This is Not OK.

The UK government support for the arms trade includes providing subsidies to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds, which means that far from benefiting financially from the arms trade, the UK taxpayer is shelling out to finance it.

Meanwhile Cameron is turning our defense services into an international joke:
* Aircraft carriers with no aircraft.
* The reputation of the SAS ruined in a day
* We are at war in Afghanistan for no apparent reason
* And a Cold war weapons systems getting all the money, scrap Trident

Meanwhile the defence minister Gerald Howarth MP is a car crash of an MP. My prediction is he will be first to go.

Census Or Not

I got my census though the post today. Should I fill it in?

Its being run by the USA weapons company Lockheed Martin. They are involved in Trident nuclear missiles, cluster bombs and mines.

Some Protesters say they are willing to break the law and face a £1,000 fine and a criminal record by refusing to fill in the 32-page questionnaire. Resistance to the decennial census is growing as a coalition of anti-war groups, pacifists, religious organisations and digital activists begin raising public awareness about the role of Lockheed Martin, America's largest arms manufacturer.

Siân Berry, who led the Green party's 2008 campaign against Lockheed's bid for the contract, said:
"The really worrying thing is the fact that the information being collected in the next census – including new questions on sources of income and place of birth [to help monitor immigration] – would be ideal fodder for the kind of anti-terror analyses being carried out by Lockheed, and could lead to a faraway database identifying thousands of us as potential 'threats'."

Lockheed Martin is involved in surveillance and data processing for the CIA and FBI. It has controversially provided private contract interrogators to the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. All US-based companies are subject to the Patriot Act, which allows the US government to have access to any data in the company's possession. Campaigners have warned this could give the US government access to detailed and personal data on the UK's entire population.

Any boycott of the census could lead to further funding problems for local councils, who already fear they will miss out on hundreds of millions of pounds of funding from central government because hundreds of thousands of people will not be counted.

The last census in 2001 has been accused of failing to count a million people and this time a number of major councils have expressed fears that lessons have not been learnt, a claim denied by the Office for National Statistics.

Lockheed Martin ranks number one on the “contractor misconduct” database maintained by the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-DC-based watchdog group."

Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company was fined by the Department of Energy for violating nuclear safety regulations. “Workers removed a plastic cover that had become highly contaminated with the radioactive material. When the cover was moved for disposal, the radioactive europium powder spread and contaminated the entire facility.

Lockheed Martin Energy Systems was fined by the Department of Energy for multiple violations of nuclear safety requirements at its site in Oak Ridge, TN. These violations included: (1) The December 8, 1999, explosion of sodium potassium liquid metal in the Alpha 5 Facility that resulted in injury to 11 workers. The contractor failed to identify and mitigate the explosive hazards associated with this material, despite a number of opportunities to do so.; (2) Violations of criticality safety requirements and work process controls which resulted in a DOE-ordered operational stand down on November 5, 1999, and curtailment of fissile material movements in Building 9212 on December 14, 1999; (3) Significant deficiencies in the design, procurement and fabrication of the Hydrogen Fluoride Supply System, a critical system required for resumption of enriched uranium operations. The investigation identified failures with virtually every phase of the project...

There is a fine of up to £1,000 for failing to complete and return the form, but in 2001 only 38 people were prosecuted. 011 Census director Glen Watson said: "people could also fill in their details online. This will be quicker and it's better for us," he said, "because we won't need to scan the forms and decipher all that handwriting."

Instead of a boycott perhaps it should be filled out in the spirit of the 'Jedi Knight' religious question. in April 2006, Edward Leigh, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Gainsborough, asked whether he would be allowed to set up a Jedi knights faith school during a Committee debate on the Education and Inspections Bill.

Its all a bit 1984.

Local Green Speech at the House of Commons

Local Green party member Miriam Kennet gave a speech in the House of Commons this week on Re use, recycle, repair. It was to support small businesses in the region who are changing the model of economics and business so that goods are no longer built with built in obsolence; everyone is encouraged to reuse recycle and repair things that once they would have thrown away.

The speech was hosted by COMTEK which specialises in preventing E waste. The local company The Green Ecnonomics Institute, with 3 offices in Reading help Mobile phones to be recycled from the Thames Valley and given to people, to hospitals and schools in countries like Togo where people cant afford telephones. The evening also discussed how larger companies are lobbying against this initiative and how smaller companies can benefit and how open source is a very green idea.

Repairing computers is now becoming one of the fastest growing industries and the new ideas of recycling and reusing even computer applications were introduced. The evening held on the terrace at the House of Commons also featured the Carbon Trust, Computer Aid and many people from the telecoms, computer industry.

Guest post from Miriam.
For further information and for press enquiries please email local member Miriam Kennet greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com

Monopolies Commission

What happened to them. In theory they should be consulted when a company gets to great a market share. But under Labour, and now under the coalition, they are toothless.

Tesco can do what it likes, take over any town or region.

Murdoch controls four national newspapers and a satellite TV station. Thats too much for one man.

He did much to decide the last dew elections. Could Blair have won three elections by a mile without the support of Murdoch newspapers? And when Murdoch changed his mind, we get Cameron.

Talk about one man one vote.

George Goes Green

www.georgegoesgreen.org is a project aiming to make St George Church, at Wash Common Newbury, one of the first carbon neutral churches in Britain.

The Rev Paul Cowan (St George the Martyr), congregation member and former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, were present at the church to switch on the 129 photovoltaic (PV) panels, which were installed by Solaris Developments.

The panels will provide approximately 25 kilowatts of peak output, allowing the church to serve its own power needs and also generate income by selling the surplus to the national grid.

Reverend Cowan explained that the eco-project, the estimated £900,000 final cost of which will be funded by grants, donations and community fundraising projects.

Phase one of George Goes Green, which also includes reinforcing the building's roof structure and increasing insulation in ceilings, is expected to be completed by May this year.

Future stages of the project include the purchase of a ground source heat pump and creating a thermal lobby at the building's main entrance.

To make a donation or for details, visit

www.georgegoesgreen.org or search 'St George the Martyr' on www.thebiggive.org.uk

HS2

High Speed rail link the arguments are all against.

The distances involved, the economics, the damage to the landscape and the grief to residents mean that some other way of improving North South transport would be preferable to this. Such as improving the existing service and making it cheaper than flying.

Opponents of the line have already succeeded in having various alterations made to the proposed plan, including expensive tunnels in the Chilterns: but the Government seems not to want to entertain the idea of expanding and improving existing lines, which could be done at a small fraction of the cost and with far less disruption.

Despite the rhetoric, theres only saving of a few minutes saved on the journey.
Even if these lines are built, who is to say that their effect will not be to get people more from the North to London, rather than from London to the North? Won't they take a lot of highly paid workers out of jobs in Birmingham, and Manchester, while they whizz down their taxpayer-subsidised railway to work every day in London? Why is the Government so certain that this plan will boost the economies in those cities?

HS2 is based on very large forecast increase in the demand for travel by all modes of transport. This included a 44% increase in long distance car trips by 2033 and a 178% increase in domestic air travel. The impact of HSR on getting people out of cars and plans is minimal. The forecast is an 8% shift from air to HSR and an 8% shift from car to HSR.

Will the high speed line cut carbon emissions? No.

HS2 Ltd tells us it will be broadly carbon neutral (HS2’s Report paragraph 4.2.31)

HS2 trains are fuel-hungry – planned to travel at 225mph, subsequently rising to 250mph. Trains travelling at 225mph use 50% more energy than trains travelling at 186mph.

Source: Campaign for Protection of Rural England. See Getting Back on Track page 18.

An intercity electric train (not HSR) produces 29 grammes of CO2 per passenger km but the HSR train produces 65 grammes.

Source: “To shift or not to shift”, CE, Delft, the Netherlands

The Wildlife Trusts’ website states that between London and Birmingham HS2 will impact directly on two Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves, four sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), 10 ancient woodland sites and 53 Local Wildlife Sites or potential Local Wildlife Sites.

The construction and operating costs of phase 1 (London to Birmingham) total £25.5 billion but will only generate £15 billion of extra fares, requiring an £11.9 billion subsidy.

Hs2 is a “rich person’s railway”. The business case assumes that 30% of the passengers will earn more than £70,000 pa.

For an alleged cost of £32 billion over 21 years I want to see something that will help people, not make things worse.

www.hs2.org.uk/,
stophs2.org/,
the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) have labelled the consultation process for High Speed 2 as a complete train wreck.

yes to AV Reading launch party tonite

Tonight yes to AV are holding a launch party for our office in Reading.

The event will begin at 7:00pm at the the Rising Sun Arts Centre, 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST. There will be free pizza, drinks, games and speakers.

RSVP here:

http://www.yestofairervotes.org/page/event/detail/drinks/4jr77

Please let them know if you are planning to come:

http://www.yestofairervotes.org/page/event/detail/drinks/4jr77

Say YES to Fairer Votes

AWE Hydrus cancelled

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that 'Project Hydrus' at AWE Aldermaston, has been cancelled.

In response to a Parliamentary Question by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Peter Luff, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, stated that construction activities for the Hydrus project would not be undertaken (http://bit.ly/gJzMkg).

Instead, a joint Anglo-French hydrodynamics research facility will be built at Valduc in France as part of the 'Teutates' collaborative programme on warhead physics research announced during the Anglo-French summit in London on 2 November 2010.

In response to previous questions Ministers had stated that Project Hydrus would “not now proceed as originally envisaged”, but had stopped short of admitting that that the facility would not be built. The AWE Local Liaison Committee has since been told that a Technology Development Centre – the UK's construction contribution to the Teutates programme – will be built on the site allocated to the Hydrus facility.

Cancellation of construction of Project Hydrus will result in short-term savings in spending at AWE.

Congratulations to Caroline and all thise who objectes to Hydrus. Lets stop throwing our scarce resources at weapons feom the cold war. Cut trident not services.