Dr Who tackles climate change, corporate power and the world food crisis

The Green Death screened in 1973 was a slice of effective Green Party politics, very enjoyable (other than the dodgy hair cuts).

Evil corporation, illegal waste dumping, insane computer (who quotes Nietzsche and hums to Wagner), hippie heros and giant killer maggots.

In short perfect viewing.

The BFI notes:

Unusually, the hazard in The Green Death comes not from extraterrestrials, but from the greed and callousness of a large company, Global Chemicals. Its manager is unmoved by the deaths of miners caused by crude oil waste from his plant. He even obstructs an investigation, fearing the plant will be closed down. By ruthlessly pursuing profit at the expense of human lives and the local environment, he represents the audience's worst fears about scientific progress and 'big business'.
The early 1970s saw a gradual undermining of public faith in the industrial and technological programmes of the 1960s, alongside mounting social unrest. The protesting miners depicted in The Green Death foreshadow their real-life counterparts in the 1974 miners' strike. Most of the chemical plant staff, however, are brainwashed into obeying orders without question, and when one resists, he is forced by the plant computer to kill himself. These mindless, dehumanised workers refuse to take responsibility for the deaths and environmental damage their company is causing: they are simply 'obeying orders'.
By contrast, the free-thinking Nobel-prize winner Professor Clifford Jones (Stewart Bevan) is an advocate of moral and ecological responsibility in science, warning of the dangers of industrial waste and cultivating rare mushrooms in an attempt to solve the world's food shortage.

Increasingly confident Cameron's Christmas message celebrates Mrs Thatcher

Early Christmas present for students everywhere Lib Dem vote shredded to 45 votes

Westbourne ward by-election result in full from Brighton and Hove is worth a look, a Tory ward where little has changed but look at the Lib Dem wipe out, the European Citizens Party will soon be ahead of them.

Con 1027 39.2% +0.7%

Lab 826 31.5% +3.2%

Green 645 24.6% +0.6%

Lib-Dem 45 1.7% -5.5%

UKIP 36 1.4% +1.4%

TUSC 26 1% +1%

EC 13 0.5% -0.7%

Turnout 2618 35.1%

Swing 1.3% Con to Lab

Shame we didn't win but Lib Dems look unlikely to recover from the coalition.

Westbourne by-election result

Sorry that we didn't win but an encouraging result in a non target ward, Greens in Brighton and Hove continue to do well.

#westbourne by-election result Brighton and Hove #Conservative1,027, #labour 826, #greenparty 645 #greenparty

Occupy London tank on the streets of London!

Occupy London are preparing if necessary to ship out of St Paul's I am told and have occupied an old magistrates court.

Occupy inspire, it was great to get down a couple of times including giving an economics chat and I was also pleased to talk to Occupy Newcastle after an invite in October.

Great resource, great resistance.  The structures of a failed economy need transforming and these people have shown great leadership.

As Occupy London Stock Exchange occupation prepares to present its case at the High Court today, Occupy London supporters have liberated a disused court house – Old Street Magistrate’s Court – in London‘s East End alongside a group of military veterans, Occupy Veterans.
The opening of Occupy London’s fourth occupation, will see the movement conducting “trials of the one per cent” in the abandoned magistrate’s court building which has lain empty since 1996, despite its prime location and grade II listing.
More information about this abandoned magistrate’s court can be found at http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/2005/050224/10/.
To the one per cent – see you soon at Occupy Justice, formerly Old Street Magistrate’s Court, Old Street London EC1.

Ha ha nice video as well,

'Blood of the Amazon' must see film!

Indigenous defence of the world is so important!  Please spread the word about Nicola Peel's film Blood of the Amazon.

It charts the journey of a women from Pulborough, Sussex down the Amazon from Ecuador looking at the damage oil companies are doing.

The Amazon is us, indigenous people are in the frontline of action to challenge the destruction of the planet.

Must significantly they are winning victories, please support them and support the film. There is a showing on 29th December, 8pm - 10.30pm at the Fire Station Arts Centre in Windsor with a Q and A with Nicola.

If you want to arrange a film showing you can contact Nicola on nicolapeel@eyesofgaia.com  


Th

Keith Thomas trashes the Research Excellence Framework

University research in the UK is an increasingly absurd pursuit, all about government targets that discourage publishing substantial pieces of work according to Keith Thomas:

We must press for changes to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), formerly the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). In my experience, this operation, though initially a stimulus, has in the longer run had appalling effects. It has generated a vast amount of premature publication and an even larger amount of unnecessary publication by those who have nothing new to say at that particular moment, but are forced to lay eggs, however addled. In the social sciences, it has discouraged the writing of books, as opposed to specialist articles, and by making peer review the ultimate arbiter it has very probably enshrined orthodoxies and acted as a curb on intellectual risk-taking and innovation. Everywhere, it has led to an unwelcome shift in academic priorities, for younger faculty have been encouraged to do all they can to secure outside research grants which will allow them to escape from teaching, which they now regard as a vastly inferior activity; and it has induced vice-chancellors to emulate football clubs by buying in outside ‘stars’ on special terms and conditions.
The RAE has also been absurdly rigid in its requirements. A few years ago, a colleague in another university published a huge book, based on a vast amount of archival research, meticulously documented, beautifully written and offering a new and formidably argued reinterpretation of a major historical event. I remarked to a friend in that university that this great work would certainly help their prospects in the RAE. ‘Oh no,’ he said. ‘We can’t enter him. He needs four items and that book is all he’s got.’ At a recent meeting of the editorial board of a multi-volume historical project, the question arose of what should be done if some of the chapters submitted proved to be unsatisfactory. The obvious answer was to delay publication until they had been properly revised. But it was at once pointed out that this would be very hard on the other contributors, who were relying on their work appearing in time to be included in the REF. So if the worst happens, we shall face an intolerable choice: should we meet the REF deadline at all costs? Or is our primary obligation to ensure the quality of the completed work? There must be hundreds of scholars who are currently confronting the same dilemma

MORE HERE 

LOWKEY(ft. ADNAN AL-RADHI) - SOUNDTRACK TO THE STRUGGLE (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

Since this was your favourite track on the CD (apart from Cradle Of
Civilisation). It is only right that you are part of the video. You
are loved and missed by us all. Sleep well Adooni."

Buy HardCopy 'SOUNDTRACK TO THE STRUGGLE' Here:http://www.soundtracktothestruggle.com/
Produced by Beatnick & K Salaam
iTunes: http://bit.ly/r1x6um

Follow Lowkey on www.twitter.com/lowkeymusic1
To join Lowkey on Facebook click here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lowkey/14141524981
www.myspace.com/lowkeyuk

Tory Councillor attempts to have Hospital Campaigner arrested

Marc Green, an anti-cuts and Green Party activist from Windsor was threatened with arrest (Marc is holding the anti-Heatherwood closure banner on the left)

On Saturday 10 December the campaign to Save Heatherwood Hospital took a strange and sinister turn as Castle Without Councillor George Bathurst attempted to have Heatherwood Hospital Campaigner Marc Green arrested.

Windsor and Slough against the Cuts was holding its weekly stall collecting names on our petitions as we have been doing since June. The stall was in its usual location on Peascod Street close to the Post Office in an open pedestrian area. As ever the stall was proving a popular attraction to many local people with health workers, patients and other members of the community signing the petition.

Nearby local councillors from the Borough were holding a surgery in a large van.

Without any warning or provocation Conservative Councillor George Bathurst approached Marc Green and addressed him by his name. He asked Marc whether he had a license for the stall. Marc Green said he didn’t and responded that he didn’t need one. George Bathurst said that he did and told Marc to stop collecting signatures and close the stall. Marc Green refused and said he would carry on as he had for the past 5 months. George Bathurst then stated that he would “report” Marc to the Town Centre manager and have him “arrested”. All this took place in front of Marc’s 11 year old son.  Following this exchange George Bathurst made a phone call to Paul Roach the town centre manager. Fellow councillors Eileen Quick, Sue Evans, Colin Rayner and Malcolm Beer were present and appeared to do nothing to prevent this from happening.

At approximately 12.15pm after the Councillors had packed up and left a council official came by and asked if we had license. Marc Green repeated that we didn’t need one (see below). He felt we did. Marc gave him his name and address so they could send info.  It should be noted that there is nothing on the RBWM website to suggest a license is required.

At approx 1.05PM as we were finishing up a police sergeant came along. The Town centre manager Paul Roach had called the police to investigate what was happening. She demanded Marc’s name and address. Marc refused to provide it as there is no legal obligation to do so. The police officer repeatedly asked for the name and address despite Marc confirming the legal position to her. He asked for what purpose. She replied for “future reference to log on their system”

All of the events outlined were witnessed and can be verified. The threat to have Marc arrested and the interrogation by the Sergeant were targeted at Marc Green and were played out in front of his 11 year old son. No other participants on the stall were addressed by George Bathurst or the Police Sergeant. As such it should be seen as politically motivated.

Marc Green will be making a formal complaint against Councillor George Bathurst as a clear breach of the Councillors Code of Conduct (sections 3 and 5). This is a clear case of personal and political bullying, bringing the office into disrepute and an abuse of office. It is shocking he subjected a young boy to the threat of his father’s arrest whose only “crime” was to exercise his democratic rights. Furthermore we call on the Tory Group leader to suspend George Bathurst from the Conservative group pending an investigation in his conduct. We would also like to have a fuller explanation of the role fellow councillors played on the day in turning a blind eye or complicity in attempting to have Marc arrested.

Marc Green has also raised the issue with Dave Burbage the council leader and called for George Bathurst’s suspension from the Conservative Group pending an investigation.

Marc Green commented “This is a clear attempt to stifle free speech and democracy in Windsor. We have an absolute right to collect signatures on our petition to Save Heatherwood Hospital. We will continue to hold our weekly stall and will not be bullied, harassed or intimidated by a councillor whose ignorance of the law is truly disappointing”

The following issues should be noted:-

1.       There is nothing on the RBWM website which outlines any requirement to have a license for a campaigning stall

2.       It is a long standing tradition for political parties, campaigning groups to hold stalls in this area

3.       Councillors have seen us over the months and have never raised an issue. Indeed fellow Tory Councillor Bicknell had signed the petition on a similar occasion.

4.       It is our Right to have a stall or protest and this is enshrined under the Human Rights Act which supersedes any local bureaucratic regulations. Peascod Street is a public space.

For more information please contact Marc Green on 07720298117

Further background material

Marc Green is a leading member of the Green Party in Windsor and a founder member of the Save Heatherwood Hospital Campaign.

 

SEEKING VOLUNTEERS: ISLAMIC ECOLOGY: BECOME A WISDOM IN NATURE COMMUNITY ACTIVIST!

Great to have worked with WIN the past, a good network

 

Deadline: Monday 20th February 2012; 
Start date: Flexible/by early spring 2012.

Want to be part of an action network based on Islamic principles?

Wisdom In Nature (WIN) is a pioneer of local Islamic ecological activism in the UK, and is actively inviting applications from anyone in the London or Brighton region to volunteer within our team. Together, we will cultivate an ecological consciousness in our communities through captivating activities and events.

Specific  initiatives successful applicants will develop might include one or more of the following: Event organising; Workshop facilitation; Food growing/Land-based practicals; Social media & Blogging; and whatever else emerges from the experience, creativity and passion of the growing team.

To find out more, and/or to apply, click here>> http://www.wisdominnature.org.uk/Action/volunteer.htm

 

ABOUT WISDOM IN NATURE

Wisdom In Nature was established in 2004 and is a pioneer of local Islamic ecological activism in the UK . Our original name was the London Islamic Network for the Environment (LINE). We are committed to the transformation of society to live justly in harmony with the diverse natural world, of which we are a part, thus honouring the principle of Oneness (Tawhid). 

Our approach is both practical and contemplative. We use bottom-up processes and consensus-decision-making for much of our work, finding ways of equalising power and ensuring our processes and actions are owned by those directly involved. This deeper democratic approach reflects our commitment to mirroring the world we wish to live in, whilst being established in core Islamic principles. This is also supported by mindfulness of our sources of funding: our day-to-day work being financed by donations from individuals, helping us to be independent of corporate interest and government influence. WIN has a presence in both London & Brighton. 

Website: www.wisdominnature.org.ukTel. 0845 456 3960 (local rate)

Green Party condems Euro-Zone deal as car crash

Euro-zone Summit: Green Party calls for sustainable economics that puts society, democracy and jobs first.

09 December 2011

The Green Party has dismissed current solutions to the Euro-zone crisis as short-sighted, economically unsustainable and tantamount to an attack on European democracy.

Current solutions to the sovereign debt crisis all amount to the same thing: the poorest paying the bill.

Two solutions are currently being discussed; first, a €2trillion fund to bail out indebted countries so that they can pay their debts to banks; second, a multi billion euro project to recapitalise the banks so that indebted countries can be allowed to default without bankrupting banks.

The first solution asks European tax payers to underwrite a €2trillion fund. The second asks Europeans tax payers to underwrite banks. Essentially they are the same regressive solution, which hits the poorest hardest and does nothing to resolve a systemic crisis.

The current solution does nothing to prevent future unsustainable debt and subsequent future crisis. Instead, it undermines democracy by putting the survival of banks before the interests of society.

MORE HERE

That's what she lived for, and that's what she died for.

April Bright -

posted Jun 7, 2010 5:04 PM by Jabulani Son

"Traditional ownership to Country for my Mum was everything ~ everything. It was the songs, the ceremony, the land, themselves, their family ~ everything that life was all about. This place here was her heart. That's what she lived for, and that's what she died for." Transcript of Maranunga [Marranunggu] Proceedings, October 1993, Special Hearing before the Wagait Traditional Ownership Dispute Committee. http://www.aboriginalsonglines.com/quotations

Greens declare war on Osborne as he threatens to chop up wildlife

For 15 months, we have observed with growing concern this government's failure to live up to its promise to be the "greenest ever". Now, following the chancellor's autumn statement, we can say that the coalition is on a path to becoming the most environmentally destructive government to hold power in this country since the modern environmental movement was born.As George Osborne sat down, our political culture crossed a line and became a little more like that which dominates Washington DC. We know from experience – not least by observing events across the Atlantic - that when such a line is crossed it is extremely difficult to retrieve lost ground.

The chancellor has proposed:

• Tax breaks for the country's most polluting industries.

• A revision of the basic safeguards that protect our most precious wildlife sites from development.

• A major expansion of airport capacity in the south-east of England

• Support for a major expansion of the road network.

• Aggressive implementation of a new presumption in favour of development in the planning system.

Osborne has proclaimed that protecting the environment is against the public interest – something no senior politician in this country has done in recent history.

George Monbiot author; Jonathon Porritt, Tony Juniper former directors, Friends of the Earth; Joss Garman co-founder, Plane Stupid;Tamsin Omond co-ordinator, Save England's Forests campaign;Caroline Lucas MP Green party leader

From 

Broken Republic is poetic anger

Broken Republic by Arundhati Roy
Hamish Hamilton, 2011

Arundhati Roy's Broken Republic isn't just about India and it certainly isn't an apology for the Maoists, it's about the whole world.

Roy's poetic anger shines through. The Maoists are fighting a forgotten war on the side of the indigenous whose land is being stolen by mining corporations. Roy is often critical of the Maoists, but her account of meeting them is fascinating. She castigates India as a corrupt nation wrecking the environment and destroying lives, but praises the diversity and strength of the varied movements fighting back.

Her book shows how it is, globally. Governments work for the rich, assault the environment and crush their citizens. A society that respects nature and humanity is possible, but this will involve a huge fight. Roy's book is a powerful call for resistance. This is an astonishing and subversive title and it takes courage to tell it how it is. Roy has more courage than it is easy to imagine.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN GREEN LEFT WEEKLY

Caroline Lucas has had the biggest influence on political agenda

GREEN MP NAMED BIGGEST INFLUENCER IN UK POLITICS THIS YEAR

Green MP Caroline Lucas has been recognised by a prestigious political body as the MP who has most influenced the political agenda in 2011.

Since her election to the constituency of Brighton Pavilion in 2010, the UK's only Green MP has made a significant impact through her work on a range of issues - from putting pressure on the Government to tackle fuel poverty and drop Trident, to campaigning for Parliamentary reform and fairer rail fares.

Lucas received the Political Studies Association award for 'Influencing the Political Agenda 2011' from Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow at a packed ceremony in Westminster this week.

Caroline Lucas said:

"I am honoured and delighted to collect this award from the Political Studies Association - and appreciate the judges' recognition that having even one Green in Parliament can make a positive difference."

The panel of judges at the Political Studies Association said:

'Caroline Lucas has made unprecedented steps forward in raising the profile of the Green Party. The achievement of winning a seat in Parliament under the First-Past-The-Post electoral system should not be underestimated.

"When considering these factors alongside her role in influencing the AV debate, we felt she was a worthy winner of the 2011 award for Influencing the Political Agenda."

ENDS

The Political Studies Association is the leading organisation in the UK linking academics in political science and current affairs, theorists and practitioners, policy-makers, journalists, researchers and students in higher education.

For information about the 2011 award winners, visit: http://www.psa.ac.uk/PSAPubs/Awards2011.pdf