GNN - GREEN NEWS NETWORK - ISSUE 19: 11-March-2006

A free monthly newsletter that provides green news and views from the Gloucestershire Green party so that together we can create a better world.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH
1. BADGER AND SEAL CULLS
2. RIGHTS: 'FAIRFORD FIVE', 'ABOLITION OF PARLIAMENT BILL', DREWS ID CARD VOTE AND MORE
3. BETTER GM NEWS AND EU TOBACCO SUBSIDIES
4. MENZIES ENVIRONMENT CLAIM
5. CLIMATE CHANGE: TAXES, 4x4, STAVERTON, COUNTY TRANSPORT STRATEGY, A417 AND MORE
6. LAST CHANCE FOR ACTION RE WINGMOOR FARM WASTE SITE: 200 RESIDENTS PROTEST
7. HEALTH: CUTS, PRIVATISATION, UPHEAVAL AND HERCEPTIN
8. FAIR TRADE DEMONSTRATES HOW UNETHICAL THE REST OF THE PRODUCTS WE BUY ARE
9. TEWKESBURY COUNCIL CASINO DEVELOPMENT MAKES NO SENSE
10. TORIES WILL BUILD ON GREENBELT
11. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN ETHIOPIA: PLEASE SIGN PETITION
12. BEST CHANCE TO CURB SUPERMARKET POWERS: TAKE ACTION NOW
13. OTHER STROUD NEWS: EBLEY DISPUTE, TREES CUT AND PARKING
14. NEW ON 'BIG ISSUES'
15. WEBSITES THAT MIGHT INTEREST
16. UPCOMING KEY EVENTS: COFFEE HOUSE, IRAQ ANNIVERSARY

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QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"The Malaria epidemic is "like loading up seven Boeing 747 airliners each day, then deliberately crashing them into Mt Kilimanjaro".
Dr Wenceslaus Kilama, Chairman of the Malaria Foundation International.

"As human beings our greatness is not so much in remaking the world  as in remaking ourselves."
Mahatma Ghandi

"In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."
From the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives.... I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends ... and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
John Lennon

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1.  BADGER AND SEAL CULLS

On Saturday 4th March the Stroud District Green Party - accompanied by a person-sized badger - handed out nearly 500 leaflets in Stroud High Street urging people to let Defra and MPs know about government proposals for a badger cull. The Green party also released on the internet an online copy of their report into bovine tuberculosis. Read more and links to the report at:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1093&Itemid=2

Glos Greens have also called for an EU-wide ban of all seal products after it emerged that more than a million wild harp and hooded seals have been slaughtered in Canada in just the last three years - and over a hundred thousand seal pups have suffered a similar fate in Russia:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1090&Itemid=2

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2. RIGHTS: 'FAIRFORD FIVE', 'ABOLITION OF PARLIAMENT BILL', DREWS ID CARD VOTE AND MORE

Green Mayor Kevin Cranston hopes law lord ruling will lead to a fair trial for 'Fairford Five'. UK Law Lords have finished their hearing and are due to rule very soon on whether a British court can rule on the criminality of a war started by a UK government.
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1086&Itemid=2

Green horror at Labours' new 'abolition of Parliament' Bill:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1064&Itemid=2

David Drew votes for ID cards: MPs have now voted to proceed with a national identity card scheme, ignoring widespread opposition and concern about the costs and the supposed need for such a scheme:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1062&Itemid=2
Plus a letter from Ivi Szaboova-Baxendale challenging David Drew:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1097&Itemid=2
Plus Tony Blair was right 10 years ago on ID cards:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1079&Itemid=116

We must stop erosion of rights: examples like Haw, Belmarsh, Evans and Stroud's 11-year old Isabelle Cockcroft who also appeared on a Channel 4 documentary this month with 82-year old Walter Wolfgang talking about being stopped under the anti-terrorism laws:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1080&Itemid=116

Greens charge that Livingstone being suspended is undemocratic:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1076&Itemid=2

On the eve of ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ Greens call to end the opt-out and opt-in to a healthier workforce:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1071&Itemid=2

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3. BETTER GM NEWS AND EU TOBACCO SUBSIDIES

A Friends of the Earth report out today shows the recent WTO ruling does not prevent countries from restricting or banning GMOs. The Gloucestershire Green party welcomes FoE publishing online, a leaked confidential World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling on the trade dispute on genetically modified (GM) foods:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1084&Itemid=2

Greens call for end of tobacco subsidy on National No Smoking Day: "We have the absurd situation where £50m a year has been spent by the EU on pan-European anti-smoking campaigns, yet about £600m has been spent by the EU on subsidies for tobacco growers last year." Read more:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1096&Itemid=2

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4. MENZIES ENVIRONMENT CLAIM

If Menzies Campbell’s priorities really are the environment, the environment and the environment as Sir Menzies claimed in The Guardian, then he has, as Charles Kennedy’s deputy, been unable to influence the party that he has now been chosen to lead. His choice of car is a fine example of the rife insincerity in mainstream politics:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1095&Itemid=2

Responding to letter in SNJ re Lib Dem tax claims:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1100&Itemid=2

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5. CLIMATE CHANGE: TAXES, 4x4, STAVERTON, COUNTY TRANSPORT STRATEGY, A417 AND MORE

An enormous ‘KAPOW!’ was projected onto Oldbury nuclear site 16 miles from Stroud by Greenpeace volunteers - to highlight the risk of a terrorist attack on Britain’s nuclear power stations. The projection comes days before government advisors release a report rejecting nuclear power:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1098&Itemid=2

Martin Whiteside writes: "It is incomprehensible that the EU’s green paper on energy security, just out, doesn’t even acknowledge -  let alone address - the reality of dwindling global oil and gas supplies." Read more:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1101&Itemid=2

Poll reveals people are ready for Green taxes. Greens called on the government to introduce a series of green taxes to help fight climate change, saying the taxes would not be as unpopular as it fears:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1067&Itemid=2

Martin had a third of a page lenghty quote in the Citizen with this news release welcoming the governments move on 4x4s but saying it doesn't go far enough:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1078&Itemid=2

More on Staverton and a personal letter challenging the Citizen on their news reporting of climate change:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1088&Itemid=116

When will love affair with the car end? Gloucestershire County Council Transport policies:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1077&Itemid=116

Katey Nixon writes of the A417: "I for one am proud that I live in the only place between Scotland and Italy that has valued their countryside enough to abstain from building a dual carriageway that destroyed it."
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1069&Itemid=116

Greenland ice cap confirms government action is inadequate. Bold and visionary actions of braver governments, like Sweden's and Iceland's, are demonstrating there is a future free from reliance on oil. It is time we followed them:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1063&Itemid=116

Responses to a letter claiming Green party policies on climate change are simple-minded:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1048&Itemid=116

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6. LAST CHANCE FOR ACTION RE WINGMOOR FARM WASTE SITE: 200 RESIDENTS PROTEST

200 residents formed a human chain this week to protest at the planned expansion of the site. Greens are urging people to write to their Gloucestershire County councillor before 16th March:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1037&Itemid=72

Response to news that Gloucestershire County Council is facing a fine of £4 million in 2010 because it still sending too much waste to landfill:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1099&Itemid=2

Sussex councils have been given the go-ahead to adopt a long-term waste plan which includes proposals for an unpopular and hazardous waste incinerator in Newhaven. This means, when the incinerator, is built 183 tonnes of it's toxic ash will DAILY be bound for Wingmoor Farm, Bishops Cleeve:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1074&Itemid=2

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7. HEALTH: CUTS, PRIVATISATION, UPHEAVAL AND HERCEPTIN

County health cuts stem from market economy - plus organisational upheavals: the latest proposed is the 24th major restructuring of the NHS in the past 32 years:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1060&Itemid=116

Herceptin, the drug claimed by its manufacture to reduce the risk of early stage breast cancer returning, is hitting the headlines daily - but the Green Party have urged caution to ensure that the media interest and pressure from Roche do not influence its approval:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1066&Itemid=2
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8.  FAIR TRADE DEMONSTRATES HOW UNETHICAL THE REST OF THE PRODUCTS WE BUY ARE

News that retailers in Gloucestershire like M&S, Sainsburys, ASDA and Top Shop are increasing the number of fair trade products is very welcomed - though not surprising after the popularity of the Make Poverty History Campaign and rising interest in organic, fairly traded products:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1094&Itemid=116

Oil profits show we must restrict the destructive power of the multinationals:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1049&Itemid=116

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9.  TEWKESBURY COUNCIL CASINO DEVELOPMENT MAKES NO SENSE

We are already the biggest gamblers in Europe with a a vast increase in betting in recent years. Six out of ten adults now stake an average of more than £50 every month, while some 370,000 Britons are classified as 'problem gamblers'. See more at:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1073&Itemid=116

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10. TORIES WILL BUILD ON GREENBELT

Greens not happy with Tories plans for Greenbelt developments:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1047&Itemid=116

This letter led to a response from Tories and a counter response from Martin Whiteside:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1081&Itemid=116

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11. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN ETHIOPIA: PLEASE SIGN PETITION

Details and link here:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1061&Itemid=2

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12. BEST CHANCE TO CURB SUPERMARKET POWERS: TAKE ACTION NOW

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has proposed a new Competition Commission investigation into the big four supermarkets and has published its analysis for consultation. Greens welcome this proposal as it recognises problems with our planning system and that dominance by four supermarkets may not be good for consumers - in some areas Tesco controls 45% of the market! However there are grounds for concern: OFT has failed to include supermarket trading terms with farmers and failed to look at the supermarkets increasing share of non-food goods which is posing a new threat to our high streets. Write to OFT now:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1102&Itemid=2

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13. OTHER STROUD NEWS: EBLEY DISPUTE, TREES CUT AND PARKING

Greens call for an inquiry into the dispute over pay and conditions at Ebley Mill following concerns that recent strikes are affecting council services. Stroud District Council chiefs have demanded workers sign new contracts or lose their jobs as part of an efficiency drive. But members of public sector worker's union, UNISON - which represents almost half of the council's 615 staff - voted overwhelmingly in favour of a series of one-day strikes. Two Green councillors met and discussed with workers on the picket line at one of the strikes in an effort to get this issue resolved:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1070&Itemid=2

Greens are concerned by work being carried out at the overgrown allotments next to the former Cashes Green Hospital site:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=2

A county council highways team began removing trees and scrub from verges on Bisley Road between Stroud and Lypiatt. Greens and other parish councillors have expressed anger at not being informed of the plans which include the removal of trees in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1068&Itemid=2

Cheaper town centre parking is not needed for local shops survival: the real target should be the grossly unfair competition:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1059&Itemid=116

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14. NEW ON 'BIG ISSUES'

The 'Big Issues' section of the website continues to grow with more articles this month added:
- capitalism is destroying the planet and 'old economics' is dead
- how the corporate sector relies on state payments that dwarf their profits
- how councils are making little progress on climate change strategies
- the Palestinian elections
- Tories and Labour trying to out-do each other on road building
- US government's lead investigative agency adds crucial new weight to the case that Bush has no legitimate business being in the White House
- the dirty secrets of the poultry industry

And more - browse now at our website:
www.glosgreenparty.org.uk

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15. WEBSITES THAT MIGHT INTEREST

what violence is by Labi Siffre:
http://www.intothelight.info/ozz/2004/05/what_violence_i.html

Cape Farewell brings artists, scientists and educators together to collectively address and raise awareness about global warming.
http://www.capefarewell.com/

Peak oil, permaculture, sustainable communities and more - "An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent."
http://www.transitionculture.org/

The international renewable energy magazine:
http://www.re-focus.net/

Green and Away - Europe's only tented conference centre:
www.greenandaway.org

Liberty Central, a new virtual community has been established for people who feel strongly about civil liberties and constitutional reform issues:
http://www.libertycentral.org.uk/

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16. UPCOMING KEY EVENTS: COFFEE HOUSE, IRAQ ANNIVERSARY

COFFEE HOUSE GATHERING: SHOULD THERE BE LIMITS TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH?
Glorifying terrorism, sacrilegious cartoons, denying the holocaust, inciting hatred, political censorship and more. Friday 24th March between 7.30 and 9.30pm at Star Anise Arts Cafe at the Painswick Inn, Gloucester Street, Stroud. Click 'Read more' to find out more about this talk and previous talks. Read more about the previous coffee house discussions including a report on 'Does science have all the answers?' at:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=606&Itemid=96

THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE INVASION OF IRAQ
End the occupation - Don't attack Iran: 12pm - 1pm on Saturday 18th March in Stroud High Street (near Millets) to take a stand against the continued occupation of Iraq and threats of military intervention in Iran. We will be reading out the names of some of the 100,000 civilians killed so far in Iraq.  Please come and support this important ceremony.

Details of other Gloucestershire Green party meetings can be got from John Marjoram on 01453 751189

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GNN has grown out of a Green news service first established on 13th November 2001. To contribute to this news service (or to subscribe or unsubscribe) - contact the editor Philip Booth on  press@glosgreenparty.org.uk