FEATURE ITEM - VOTE GREEN
1. CLIMATE CHANGE - LABOUR FAILING US, BUT ANOTHER WAY IS POSSIBLE
2. NUCLEAR - 10,000 NEW PLANTS NEEDED
3. IRAQ - NEW CHARGE UNDERMINES BLAIR
4. WAR AND PEACE - THE COMING WAR AND THE ANTI-TERRORIST LEGISLATION
5. THE POPE - ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
6. HEALTH - FOOD SUPPLEMENT VICTORY
7. TRADE AND ECONOMICS - FUTURE IS LOCAL
8. BSE, CAP AND GM LATEST
9. COMMISSION FOR AFRICA AND MORE
10. EU - FRAUD AND FOILED COUP
11. ASYLUM SEEKERS - CALL FOR ATTACK ON 'PUSH FACTORS'
12. CHINA BEGINS TO RECOGNISE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT
13. KFC AND LIVE EXPORTS
14. GREEN NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
JOIN THE PHONE COOP
ACTION - NEW ACTION AGAINST TOTAL OIL
ACTION - HELP GREENS IN PERU
ACTION - LATVIAN GREENS CLIMATE CHANGE PETITION
AND FINALLY AN INSPIRING READ FOR NORWEGIAN COUNCIL
Life on Earth is under immense pressure. The environment around us is threatened with massive destruction. Conventional politics has failed us because its values are fundamentally flawed. The Earth's physical resources are finite. We threaten our future if we try to live beyond those means, so we must build a sustainable society that guarantees our long-term future.
The Green Party isn't just another political party. Green politics is a new and radical kind of politics, which sets out policies to build a sustainable society - one based on the principles of social, economic and environmental justice. Unashamedly, Greens place people and the planet's resources at the heart of our policies. The Westminster parties have created a system where a better quality of life for some comes at the expense of a widening gap between rich and poor, where public services are eroded and politicians bury their heads in the sand, ignoring the future of our environment.
Our vision for Britain is realistic, honest and compassionate: it's about putting trust back into politics and giving our children the best future we can. That means measuring the success of a society not by narrow economic indicators, but by taking account of factors affecting the quality of life for all people: personal freedom, social equity, health, happiness and human fulfillment.
The Green Party will deliver real improvements to our health, education, transport, and energy services by halting their sell-off through public-private 'partnerships' – privatisation by another name – and investing resources where they're needed most.
We will also look for non-violent solutions to conflict situations, which take into account the interests of minorities and future generations in order to achieve lasting settlements. Peace and security will be put at the heart of our foreign policy by building a fairer world and tackling the root causes of terrorism, war and asylum – not by launching draconian attacks on our civil liberties and human rights.
And we will introduce energy, construction and transport policies that will dramatically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions fuelling the runaway climate change which represents the greatest threat to life as we know it.
In short, the Greens promise a political programme for at least the next hundred years, not just the next hundred days. Green MPs will bring a strong Green voice to Westminster, changing the nature of politics for the better, forever.
Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, Cllr Keith Taylor - Green Party Principal Speakers
Good coverage of the manifesto launch plus two videos at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4434125.stm
Green party manifesto at: http://manifesto.greenparty.org.uk
The BBC policy grid now has the Greens on it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/issues/html/grid.stm?s1=CON_UK&s2=LAB_UK&s3=LD_UK&x=9&y=11
1. CLIMATE CHANGE - LABOUR FAILING US, BUT ANOTHER WAY IS POSSIBLE
"The ironies in the media this last month are inescapable: evidence of global warming in Africa, and tax breaks for climate change emissions in Britain. There are three ways of bringing about change in democratic societies: laws, example and persuasion. On the environment New Labour has ducked persuasion, given up on example and failed to use the law – freezing excise duty on petrol is just the latest example. Tony Blair has told us that climate change is a bigger threat than terrorism, so why doesn't he apply the same fervour to it?" Andrew Dobson Green party parliamentary candidate, Newcastle under Lyme
"The government's attempt to delay implementing the Large Combustion Plants Directive, fits into the pattern of a UK administration that has failed to assert its rhetorical claim to exercise international leadership on climate change by taking any meaningful action to prevent it. This comes hot on the heels of another decision to disregard a Brussels-based environmental regulation: the Wastes Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which would, in some circumstances, require manufacturers to take responsibility for the eventual recycling or disposal of their products' components at the end of their commercial life." Dr Caroline Lucas MEP
See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1436047,00.html
Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky proclamation of a doomsday cult, apocalypse bible prophecy sect, or conspiracy theory society. Rather, it is the scientific conclusion of the best paid, most widely-respected geologists, physicists, and investment bankers in the world. These are rational, professional, conservative individuals who are absolutely 'terrified' by a phenomenon known as global “Peak Oil.” The issue is not one of "running out" so much as it is not having enough to keep our economy running. What are the alternatives? This excellent article looks at all the issues:
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
Other info re peak oil at: http://www.warmwell.com/
Why Our Food is So Dependent on Oil
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/040605_world_stories.shtml
Britain's ozone levels near all-time low, scientists say Arctic's record cold winter helps deplete radiation shield.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1441293,00.html
The snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro has melted away to reveal the tip of the African peak for the first time in 11,000 years. Although scientists had predicted the melt would happen, it is 15 years sooner than they had predicted.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050314/140/fe84p.html
See very good photos: a 360-degree view of climate change:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,8542,1437360,00.html
A new aviation report from the Green Party shows that flight numbers and noise levels have soared since Labour came into power in 1997, despite the fact that Labour claim fewer people are affected by unacceptable noise levels. The Green Party would: ban night flights at Heathrow, stop any further expansion of the airport, introduce a Congestion Charge for Air Traffic, appoint an independent regulator to monitor noise and pollution levels. See www.greenparty.org.uk
Highways Agency confirm new road building won't work in the Growth Areas! Instead they propose "area-wide road user charging". Meanwhile a new report, ‘Road Pricing: The Next Steps’, from the House of Commons Transport Committee found that road pricing is the measure with the most potential to reduce road congestion.
See http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1550072,00.html
Another way is possible: See Green party manifesto at: http://manifesto.greenparty.org.uk
Nuclear energy requires uranium - of which the US has enough to power existing reactors for 25-40 years. As with oil, the extraction of uranium follows a bell-curve. If a large scale nuclear program was undertaken the supply of US domestically derived uranium would likely peak in under 15 years. Even if such a program is undertaken, there is no guarantee the energy generated from nuclear sources would be any cheaper than energy generated from fossil fuels. Attempts by China and India to scale up their use of nuclear energy, for instance, have already caused uranium prices to skyrocket.
Uranium supply issues aside, a large scale switch over to nuclear power is not really an option for an economy that requires as much energy as ours does. It would take 10,000 of the largest nuclear power plants to produce the energy we get from fossil fuels. At $3-5 billion per plant, it's not long before we're talking about "real money" - especially since the $3-5 billion doesn't even include the cost of decommissioning old reactors, converting the nuclear generated energy into a fuel source appropriate for cars, boats, trucks, airplanes, and the not-so-minor problem of handling nuclear waste.
Speaking of nuclear waste, it is a question nobody has quite answered yet. This is especially the case in countries such as China and Russia, where safety protocols are unlikely to be strictly adhered to if the surrounding economy is in the midst of a desperate energy shortage.
Assuming we find answers to all questions regarding the cost and safety of nuclear power, we are still left with the most vexing question: Where are we going to get the massive amounts of oil necessary to build all of these reactors, especially since they take 10 or so years to build and we won't get motivated to build them until after oil supplies have reached a point of permanent scarcity? Finally, there is the small problem of what to do if a tsunami (or other similarly destructive catastrophe) hits an area where these plants are located.
See: http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
Soviet navy 'left 20 nuclear warheads in Bay of Naples'
See: http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=621549
Nuclear analyst highlights risks of terror attack at nuclear installations
See: http://www.nuclearpolicy.info/Latest_News/Pr05/050307.htm
Government Nuclear Plan to be investigated by European Commission. Local authorities put new agency in the dock
See: http://www.nuclearpolicy.info/Latest_News/Pr05/050329.htm
In judging the truthfulness of the prime minister on Iraq, the central question remains: how he reconciles what he said in public with what he knew in private. Read John Ware, a BBC Panorama reporter whose programme, "Iraq: the Truth and Tony".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1445965,00.html#article_continue
Transcripts of the programme available at: www.bbc.co.uk/panorama
More on the role of the media and how Blair ignored MI6, Jack Straw and defence staff.
See: http://www.medialens.org/
WMD verdict: 'Dead wrong' - The damning verdict of America's official report into the reasons for going to war in Iraq. A bipartisan US commission has delivered a devastating critique of the intelligence assessment of Iraq's pre-war weapons of mass destruction. It also implied that the country's spy agencies know "disturbingly little" about Iran and North Korea. See The Guardian for reports.
New charge undermines Blair claims on Iraq war - The Guardian reported that fresh evidence has come to light suggesting that Tony Blair committed himself to war in Iraq nearly a year before the American and British assault in March 2003. This will be no surprise to many. Greg Palast reports that the Bush administration made plans for war and for Iraq's oil before the 9/11 attacks sparking a policy battle between neo-cons and Big Oil, BBC's Newsnight has revealed. Two years ago today - when President George Bush announced US, British and Allied forces would begin to bomb Baghdad - protestors claimed the US had a secret plan for Iraq's oil once Saddam had been conquered. In fact there were two conflicting plans, setting off a hidden policy war between neo-conservatives at the Pentagon, on one side, versus a combination of "Big Oil" executives and US State Department "pragmatists." "Big Oil" appears to have won.
To insist that the ends now justify the means is morally disgraceful.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1431009,00.html
The latest revelations about the attorney general's legal advice over Iraq are disturbing, not just to the many of us who opposed the war, but to all who value democracy. At first it appeared Lord Goldsmith had clarified the situation. Closer analysis shows otherwise. Indeed his statement directly contradicts his earlier statement to the Butler enquiry and goes no way to explaining how his view changed from initial ambivalence to alleged eventual certainty. Let us not forget the words of the Foreign Office's deputy legal adviser, Elizabeth Wilmshurst, who sought early retirement or resignation at the time. She said: "I regret that I cannot agree that it is lawful to use force without a second security council resolution." After noting the evolution of the legal views, she added: "I cannot in conscience go along with advice within the office or to the public or parliament - which asserts the legitimacy of military action without such a resolution, particularly since an unlawful use of force on such a scale amounts to the crime of aggression; nor can I agree with such action in circumstances which are so detrimental to the international order and the rule of law." Refusal to reveal Iraq advice to be investigated - The information commissioner, Richard Thomas, launched an investigation into the concealment from the public of the advice given by the attorney general on the legality of the invasion of Iraq. Results due after May 5th.
In Iraq in 2003 the Coalition Provisional Authority enacted Order 39 allowing foreigners to own up to 100% of all privatised industries. By the time elections were held, 200 state-owned enterprises had been privatised and unemployment had climbed to 70%. The oppression of Iraq is being embedded in a corporate-friendly restructuring of the economy.
See more at: www.schnews.org.uk/archive/news489.htm
Independent journalist Dahr Jamail:“Life in Falluja is a horror story” (April 2005) - http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
MEPs demand UN probe into civilian deaths in Iraq. Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has joined a number of Italian MEPs to demand UN inquiry into the US killing of civilians in Iraq after Italian official Nicola Calipari was killed in a bungled mission to free kidnapped journalist Giuliana Sgrena.
See: www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk
Iraq: Global public health experts say failure to count Iraqi casualties is irresponsible - statement (pdf):
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2005/mar/iraq-civilian-casualties.pdf
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7491/557?ehom
Brand USA is in trouble, so take a lesson from Big Mac. Instead of changing his foreign policy, President Bush is changing the story - Naomi Klein in The Guardian - "Last Tuesday, George Bush delivered a major address on his plan tofight terrorism with democracy in the Arab world. On the same day,McDonald's launched a massive advertising campaign urging Americans to fight obesity by eating healthily and exercising. Any similarities between McDonald's "Go Active! American Challenge" and Bush's "Go Democratic! Arabian Challenge" are purely coincidental.....But we shouldn't be surprised that the Bush administration, despite telling stories about its commitment to freedom, continues to actively sabotage democracy in the very countries it claims to have liberated."
See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianweekly/story/0,,1440204,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1436851,00.html
4. WAR AND PEACE - THE COMING WAR AND THE ANTI-TERRORIST LEGISLATION
The organisation "Our World our Say" had ads in the papers noting that Scott Ritter, the ex Iraq Weapons Inspector had received information that George W Bush has "signed off" plans to bomb Iran in June 2005. There has also been much talk of an attack on Syria. It would be inconceivable for Tony Blair not to know of such plans.
More info from www.ourworldoursay.org
Greens slam Washington's Middle East belligerency - Cllr Keith Taylor - widely tipped to become the Green's first ever MP - said: "Illegal US military aggression has already turned Iraq into a bloodbath and completely undermined diplomacy in the Middle East. That they seem willing to repeat these actions in Iran, Syria or any other country in the Middle East, is sheer lunacy.
Greens argue the US, UK and France are implicit in Iran’s bid to develop nuclear weapons. MEP Caroline Lucas
said: “The fact that two member states of the EU possess nuclear weapons arsenals undermines the moral authority of the whole of the EU when it comes to the debate about WMD. The overwhelming hypocrisy of the governments of the UK and the US in demanding the disarmament of others, while simultaneously upgrading their own nuclear capacity, is completely unacceptable.” Dr Lucas added: “The NPT Treaty is essentially a deal: non-nuclear states agree not to try to acquire nuclear weapons, and in return, existing nuclear states agree to begin a process of disarmament. Since we have failed to keep our part of the bargain - and in fact are refining our nuclear weapons, not abolishing them - we cannot be surprised if countries like Iran ignore our pleas for their disarmament. The World Court has ruled that nuclear weapons are illegal under international law. The UK’s commitment to retaining them – and developing new ones – is not only illegal, it is irresponsible. It directly threatens further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and East Asia.”
Greens called on the UK Government to:
- Withdraw UK forces from Iraq and facilitate an international force under the UN, if invited to do so by the new Iraqi parliament.
- Support the establishment of a comprehensive nuclear free zone in the Middle East
- Transfer renewable energy technology to Iran, to encourage them to abandon their development of nuclear technologies
- Take its own obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty seriously and announce the disarmament of its nuclear deterrent as a matter of urgency.
More at: www.greenparty.org.uk
United States policy towards nuclear weapons proliferation on the eve of the Non-Proliferation Treaty five-year review sends a warning signal to the world.
http://www.opendemocracy.org/themes/article-2-2396.jsp
Lawless World: America and the Making and Breaking of Global Rules - a book by Philippe Sands looks at international law. Sands shows how rules governing overseas investment began to take shape in the 1960s as a direct response to the emergence of the newly independent former colonies and a conscious attempt to shackle their political freedom. It is these laws - secretive, hidden from view and, above all, binding - that have underpinned the neoliberal globalisation project. The chapters on trade and investment reveal how biased these rules are in favour of the west, and how they are made and exercised in institutional recesses that are unaccountable, even to cabinets, let alone parliaments, and utterly invisible to the public eye. This is the nexus of corporate, bureaucratic and judicial power. The nub of the book, however, concerns the way in which the United States, since the Bush presidency, has decided to opt out of international treaties and its determination to remake the world in America's interests.
Before it offers "freedom and democracy" to the middle east, America should go back to school.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-46-2397.jsp
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005: After an epic parliamentary battle between the House of Commons and the House of Lords this became law. The opposition to the Bill had called for a "sunset clause". The government finally announced that a new Counter Terrorism Bill would be introduced in the autumn introducing "preparatory offences" for terrorist "suspects"and that this would allow the new PTA 2005 to be amended. The control orders brought in by the government allow detention without trial, without evidence being produced or due process of law. Several Muslims are already subject to these orders.
Blair has ripped up rights going back to Magna Carta and given his government the ultimate power of a totalitarian state - the moment of accusation is also the moment of punishment. In the wake of theMadrid bombings, a Spanish government minister said that Spain would not bring in similar laws because Spanish democracy would not go back down the dictatorial route of fascism.
See "A stampede against injustice", article by lawyer Gareth Peirce on control orders and their effect on liberties and
rights: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2005/mar/gareth-peirce-guardian.pdf
Statewatch special report: The exceptional and draconian become the norm - G8 and EU counter-terrorism plans:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2005/mar/exceptional-and-draconian.pdf
UK: Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 as enacted on 11 March -
Full text at: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2005/mar/uk-pta-2005.pdf
Government anti-terrorism figures do not add up (IRR, link):
http://www.irr.org.uk/2005/march/ha000012.html
Government to sacrifice ID card bill - Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/idcards/story/0,15642,1437991,00.html?gusrc=rss
“Maximum Pain is the Aim of New U.S. Weapon” - The US military is funding development of a weapon that delivers a bout of excruciating pain from up to 2 kilometres away. Intended for use against rioters, it is meant to leave victims unharmed. But pain researchers are furious that work aimed at controlling pain has been used to develop a weapon. And they fear that the technology will be used for torture. Amanda Williams, a clinical psychologist at University College London, fears that victims risk long-term harm. ’Persistent pain can result from a range of supposedly non-destructive stimuli which nevertheless change the functioning of the nervous system,’ she says. She is concerned that studies of cultured cells will fall short of demonstrating a safe level for a plasma burst. ‘They cannot tell us about the pain and psychological consequences of such a painful experience.’
See New Scientist article at: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18524894.500
What happened in Kyrgyzstan – riot, revolution, conspiracy, geopolitical game? The world’s press has been filled with news about a “tulip” or “daffodil” revolution in plucky little Kyrgyzstan and the universal – and inevitable – appeal of democracy. Only a few days since the events of 24 March in the central Asian country’s capital city, Bishkek, it all looks much more complicated. In fact, it was much more complicated all along.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-6-28-2394.jsp
The Pope Pleaded. We Didn't Listen. Pope John Paul II's critique of the Bush doctrine of unilateral pre-emptive war couldn't have been clearer, more heartfelt or more vigorously argued.
http://www.alternet.org/story/21734/
In his long life, the Polish pope, Karol Wojtyła, was at the forefront of the struggle for liberty. But in his twenty-six years at the Vatican, where did this towering figure stand on democracy? The distinguished writer Neal Ascherson dissects an ambiguous legacy.
http://www.opendemocracy.org/debates/article-5-127-2399.jsp
Child abuse protest at mass for Pope.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1457386,00.html
No praise for pope from AIDS campaigners
http://www.terradaily.com/2005/050404155456.wwrbq6kk.html
There was tremendous news today for the millions of people in Europe who choose to use food supplements. Following a landmark challenge in the European Courts of Justice to the contentious Food Supplements Directive, which effectively proposed to ban 75% of vitamin and mineral forms was thrown out.
www.alliance-natural-health.org
Green MEP Caroline Lucas has been working on the EU Environment Committee response to the Commission’s REACH proposals for chemicals legislation. Caroline is proposing a rigorous regulatory regime for synthetic chemicals based on a non-animal testing strategy. See: www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk
The Ugly Side of Pretty - a look at cosmetics - even Body Shop doesn't come out looking very good.
http://www.alternet.org/story/21686/
News that McDonald's carrot sticks are coated in hydrogen peroxide to keep them crunchy will not be welcomed by all. However in an effort to promote McDs food, rappers are being invited to drop the words "Big Mac" into songs, while some British TV looks set to follow cinema by allowing brands to feature in shows. McDonald's has offered to pay rappers up to £2.70 ($5) every time a song name-checking the Big Mac is played. The first known example, Gordon's gin in 1951's The African Queen. Coke paid $26m each to be featured in American Idol (US version of Pop Idol).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,,1448177,00.html
And healthy eating at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianweekly/story/0,,1449357,00.html
EU: Greens want FP7 funding for alternative medicine
http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=EN_RCN_ID:23666
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5983_1315812,00430005.htm
The future of public spending is local - Since the Gershon review of Whitehall and local government efficiency, managers have been under intense pressure to scale up, cut administration and buy big when it comes to procurement. But this may not be the way to achieve best value. Indeed, it makes sense economically, socially and environmentally to find local sources of expertise and goods wherever possible. The growing body of evidence to support local procurement is backed by the results of a year-long collaboration between the New Economics Foundation (Nef) and the regeneration division of Northumberland county council. The council's research, using Nef's analysis of the way money circulates in the local economy, made it clear that buying from local companies keeps money local for longer. In short, each £1 spent with a local supplier was worth £1.76 to the local economy, and only 36p where it was spent out of the area. On this basis, if councils across the UK made a 10% increase in the amount they spend locally, it could mean an additional £5.6bn re-circulating in local economies. This is a powerful tool for local authorities which need to target the benefits of spending on disadvantaged areas.
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1447416,00.html
EU pushes for water market liberalisation - Green MEP says: ‘Privatisation of water supplies in the developing world are pushing up prices and contributing to the deaths of 6,000 children every day from lack of access to clean drinking water. Locally controlled, publicly owned water supply schemes in Bangladesh, Brazil and Ghana have shown how community management can provide clean water at cheaper prices to more people than private firms.”
www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk
Study highlights global decline - Millennium Goals, such as the halving of world poverty by 2015, are off target. The most comprehensive survey ever into the state of the planet concludes that human activities threaten the Earth's ability to sustain future generations. The report says the way society obtains its resources has caused irreversible changes that are degrading the natural processes that support life on Earth. This will compromise efforts to address hunger, poverty and improve healthcare. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was drawn up by 1,300 researchers from 95 nations over a period of four years. This report is essentially an audit of nature's economy, and the audit shows we've driven most of the accounts into the red. If you drive the economy into the red, ultimately there are significant consequences for our capacity to achieve our dreams in terms of poverty reduction and prosperity.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4391835.stm
Why I won't be giving my mother Fairtrade flowers - With the launch of the Fairtrade rose at Tesco Felicity Lawrence argues ethical consumers shouldn't bear the cost of decent labour rights. She writes: "For the Fairtrade movement, the rose marks a turning point, a diversion down a road which, for the first time, I do not want to travel. Why should decent housing, reasonable hours and sufficient pay for workers to afford schooling not be agreed as part of the cost of production, and paid by companies that are doing so well out of the trade? If we arenot careful, we will find the burden of behaving decently has been thrown back to the shopper. We will be offered a choice of one shelf full of more expensive goods for those rich enough to take their morals shopping and a shelf next door of bargain goods produced without worker's rights for those who don't care or can't afford to care. Then the supermarkets will be able to say: "Ethics? we just do what our customers want." Full story at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1431006,00.html
Fairtrade Foundation answer:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1431800,00.html
Where's the fair trade in Tesco's £3 jeans?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1448686,00.html#article_continue
April 10-16th is the Global Week of Action on trade. Over 70 countries are participating with different events. Friends of the Earth is using the week to demand more “green” thinking on trade. Call on Peter Mandleson to ensure the trade system strives for sustainability and doesn’t just benefit big business.
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/global_trade/press_for_change/email_mandy/index.html
Call on Tony Blair calling for green trade justice. Your vote will be added to the 140 000 trade justice votes already cast by Trade Justice Movement’s member organisations, and used to lobby the UK Government to take action.
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/global_trade/press_for_change/trade_justice/index.html
The Economic Tsunami - It seems that there are a growing number of people who believe that the economic tsunami planned by the Bush administration is probably only months away. In just 5 short years the national debt has increased by nearly 3 trillion dollars while the dollar has continued its predictable decline. The dollar has fallen a whopping 38% since Bush took office, due largely to the massive $450 billion per year tax cuts. At the same time, numerous laws have been passed (Patriot Act, Intelligence Reform Bill, Homeland Security Bill, National ID, Passport requirements etc) anticipating the need for greater repression when the economy takes its inevitable nosedive. Regrettably, that nosedive looks to be coming sooner rather than later.
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney04082005.html
UK beef 'banned in 84 countries including India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, the United States and Switzerland - Britain is still rated as a "high risk" country for BSE transmission. Last month, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael told the Commons that BSE cases peaked at over 36,000 in 1992 and fell last year to 309. He was speaking after revelations a BSE infected carcass may have entered the British food chain in August 2004.
Common Agricultural Policy lines Royal pockets - New figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act by the Department for Rural Affairs, have revealed the extent to which rich farmers benefit from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. In the last two years alone, the Queen has received almost £750,000, while Prince Charles collected £168,000 for his farm in Gloucestershire and £138,000 for his farm in Cornwall. Even these figures underestimate the Royals’ level of payments from the EU, as they do not include money they receive for their farms in Scotland.
Well known corporations have also received huge payouts, with Nestlé UK claiming £41million over the last two years. Sugar manufacturers Tate & Lyle received almost £120million in the financial year 2003/04. A spokesman defended the company, arguing that the structures ofCAPmeant that, “[The company’s] only option is therefore to export sugar it is unable to sell in the European Union and these payments compensate the company for lower prices it can achieve in the world market” (Guardian, 23 March 2005). Phil Bloomer from Oxfam said, “Export subsidies, like those paid to Tate & Lyle, are the worst of all. They bridge the gap between the EU price and the world price and thereby enable Europe to dump its unwanted produce overseas, undercutting local farmers. In Mozambique, Malawi and Ethiopia, farmers and their families are struggling to survive because of a system that pays out £120million a year to Tate & Lyle”. A leader in the Times criticised CAP, saying, “In crude terms, this is a structure by which Europe’s poor transfer money to Europe’s rich at the expense of both themselves and Africa’s impoverished” (Times, 23 March 2005).
Europe’s politicians have been claiming it will be reformed for years, but nothing seems to change. Now the EU Constitution sets CAP in stone making it even harder to reform. UK Green MEPs want nothing of it.
www.social-europe.org.uk
Unapproved GM maize may have been illegally imported into the UK, after biotech giant Syngenta admitted it accidentally sold the seed to US farmers. Friends of the Earth has written to the Food Standards Agency to demand an urgent investigation. And the European Commission has revealed it will continue to force new GM food approvals through, despite overwhelming public opposition across Europe. Caroline Lucas MEP said: “Yet again the European Commission is playing fast and loose with farmers’and consumers’ health to protect the interests of the multi-national agribusiness giants.”
Yesterday the European Commission decided not to ban maize imports from the US despite bio-tech giant Syngenta admitting inadvertently ‘polluting’ maize bound for the EU with a banned GM variety. Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas condemned the decision: “This incident casts serious doubt on the EU’s ability to monitor GM ingredients in the food chain. The only way to ensure this unauthorised GM corn doesn’t enter the food chain is to halt all US corn imports until the contaminated corn has been identified, recalled and returned to the US."
www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk
However, the biotech industry has suffered its share of blows this month too. Firstly, the publication of a new report revealed that claims made following a four-year research project about lack of harm to wildlife by the growing of GM crops could not be justified. And secondly, the final results of the UK Government’s GM Farm Scale Evaluations showed that growing GM winter oilseed rape led to fewer important food plants for insects and birds, and an increase in grass weeds. Friends of the Earth has also discovered that biotech giant, Bayer, has told the EU that it wants to withdraw its application to grow this GM winter oilseed rape.
Greens have warned of the dangers of GM to the developing world, and renewed calls for greater international efforts to address poverty and malnutrition, following an announcement by bio-technology company Syngenta of its' development of Vitamin A enhanced "Golden Rice". Tim Turner, chair of the Green's Food and Farming Group, comments: "Golden Rice is a dangerous wolf in sheep's clothing for the developing world that, if introduced, will tighten the grip of giant agri-business over poor local farmers, whilst doing nothing to address underlying causes of poverty and malnutrition."
The Green Party are calling for:
= 0.7% of the UK's GDP to be put towards overseas aid.
= Support for sustainable, organic agriculture and local economies.
= An EU-wide moratorium on all GM crop planting, production and imports.
= For the precautionary principle to be applied to GM technologies at national, EU and international levels
EcoNexus report, see www.carolinelucasmep.org
GM study shows potential 'harm' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4368495.stm
.................................................
9. COMMISSION FOR AFRICA AND MORE
In Togo a military coup but the the tiny west African state is to hold democratic elections on April 24. Togo's 5 million people will finally have a chance to determine their future. In anarchic Somalia, 14 years into a civil war, the UN wants a bigger international effort to enforce an arms embargo. In Ethiopia up to7.2 million will need food aid this year. In Zimbabwe, unchecked misrule and another food emergency form the backdrop to elections this month that the ruling party looks poised to steal. In Kenya, the anti-corruption campaign has run into the sand.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1432548,00.html
Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa - On the tenth anniversary of the judicial murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa by the Nigerian military, Ken Wiwa pays tribute and says that the best memorial to his father is a campaign for “creative justice”.
http://www.opendemocracy.org/debates/article-6-91-2388.jsp
The Commission for Africa's report affirms many needs, but misses a chance to make bold new demands, because it is wedded to the aid donors' most important imposition on Africa - the supremacy of the market.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1436056,00.html
Commission for Africa available at: http://www.commissionforafrica.org/english/report/introduction.html
Greens slam Blair's Africa Commission - Some aspects welcomed like Blair's pledge to ratify UN anti-corruption convention to speed up the return of funds stolen from Africa by corrupt leaders. However Tom Lines Consultant in trade and development, and Green parliamentary candidate for Oxford West, said: "So corruption and war are the new alibis for world poverty. Yet again the world trading system is ignored. But several of the worst conflicts have been in countries which depend on mineral exports, such as the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. And in such countries the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day increased from 61% to 82% during the 1980s and 1990s - a faster rise than anywhere else. Or take Ivory Coast. That country exports coffee and cocoa. Between 1977 and 2001, those prices fell in real terms by 5.1% and 6.9% respectively a year. In 1980, world cocoa exports amounted to 1.1m tonnes and were worth $2.8bn. In 2000, they had increased to 2.5m tonnes - and their value fell to $2.5bn. Why? Because the open-market model, so beloved of the development department, insisted on every country exporting whatever could be found. Little surprise that this led to colossal surpluses on the markets: supplies of cocoa exceeded demand by 20% or more in three separate years in the 1990s. As long as governments like Britain's insist on this aid-led impoverishment, it will be hard to stop the decline."
Africa will be hit by climate change - Charlie Bolton, Parliamentary candidate for Bristol South Green Party said: " Not only do African nations get the worst of it now, but they face devastation if even some of the more moderate predictions of climate change are borne out. We already see drought and starvation on a massive scale. Climate change is predicted to lead to 150 million environmental refugees by the year 2050. Those who complain about refugees now - well, that is just a drop in the ocean of the scale of problem we are creating. And, of course, it is us in the West who are creating the problem. It is our pollution and greenhouse gas emissions which are causing climate change. Most of Africa is too poor to be able to do so. And it is the poverty they are in which prevents them from being able to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change. We hide behind our national borders in the UK - when it comes to issues to do with asylum seekers, refugees and climate change. We are not only an extremely wealthy nation, but also need to face up to our responsibilities on all of these issues. That means taking serious action to tackle climate change, providing proper levels of aid to third world countries and treating asylum seekers as victims and not criminals."
Tens of thousands of young girls and women have been raped or otherwise subjected to sexual violence during five years of conflict in theDemocratic Republic of Congo, according to an international investigation. Entrenched problems may be getting worse. The UN said last month it was still trying "to contain the situation in a very troublesome and unsettled area" after nine peacekeepers and about 50 militiamen were killed in fighting in Ituri district, disrupting the distribution of aid.
http://www.amnesty.org/
Botswana's government is pushing a bill through Parliament to scrap the key clause in the Constitution that protects Bushman rights. But in a major blow to them, claims that they evicted the Gana and Gwi Bushmen in order to 'develop' them, the US State Department has condemned the Bushman eviction sites as being 'threatened by the lack of employment opportunities and rampant alcohol abuse.'
To read the full text of the report's section on Botswana, visit http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41589.htm
Germany welcomes UN resolution on Darfur war crimes - The UN Security Council vote paved the way for the Hague-based court to prosecute those behind the murder, rape and pillaging in Darfur region, where an estimated 300,000 have died in two years of violence. Green German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in a statement that the decision was "not only an important step towards ending impunity in Darfur", it was also "a milestone in the development of this institution and human rights in general". The resolution was only passed after weeks of deadlock over US opposition to the tribunal.
http://www.sudantribune.com/article_impr.php3?id_article=8840
Caroline Lucas describes Wolfowitz nomination an insult to the poor - Bush's choice of Paul Wolfowitz to lead the World Bank has also been described by the World Development Movement as a 'truly terrifying appointment' for Africa. Wolfowitz's extreme form of free market economics, which was imposed by force on Iraq, is a major cause of the current instability there. Some have said the description 'hawk' does him no justice, A former colleague said "What about velociraptor?"
See: http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/news/Wolfowitz_170305.htm
http://greens-efa.org/en/press/detail.php?id=2394&lg=en
http://kerrynettle.org.au/600_media_sub.php?deptItemID=353
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,346951,00.html
Green Party Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has condemned fellow MEPs for rejecting a package of anti-fraud measures which would have prevented abuse of their expenses and pension schemes. The European Parliament in Strasbourg rejected a series of proposals that would have introduced stricter controls of their expenses claims and ended the monthly merry-go-round of alternating business between Brussels and Strasbourg. She said: “Their failure to subject themselves to the same rules as everyone else amounts to the adoption of a Cheats’ Charter.”
www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk
EU fraud still rampant say MPs - A new report from the all-party Public Accounts Committee in Parliament has said that the precise level of fraud and corruption in the EU budget is difficult to measure given the complexities of the accounts. In 2003, member states reported “irregularities, including alleged fraud” to the value of €922million to sleaze watchdog OLAF, a figure which is even higher than when it was first set up in 1999.
See: www.social-europe.org.uk/
A coup against social Europe has been foiled - for the time being - George Monbiot writes about an EU directive that claims to be harmonising the rules governing Europe's service industries. But it also appears to impose on member states a compulsory commercialisation of public services, while destroying their ability to defend us from corporate exploitation. What this means is that if a construction firm based in Lithuania is working in the UK, it need abide only by Lithuanian laws. Every enterprising corporation will want to relocate its HQ to the state with the weakest regulations.
Monbiot writes: "And then it gets really weird. The state responsible for enforcing the rules will be the one in which the company is based, not the one in which it is working. If, for example, the Lithuanian company forced workers in the UK to risk their lives on dodgy scaffolding, our Health and Safety Executive wouldn't be able to do a damn thing. Instead, the Lithuanian equivalent would have to send its inspectors over here, and,hampered by any number of translation problems, seek to defend the lives of British workers.....This is a formula, in other words, for a complete breakdown of the enforcement of the laws restraining corporations." The proposal will doubtless resurface, but for now a victory.
See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1432586,00.html
11. ASYLUM SEEKERS - CALL FOR ATTACK ON 'PUSH FACTORS'
Greens call for attack on asylum ‘push factors' - Green Party Parliamentary candidate Martin Whiteside condemned
Conservative party billboards and the ‘bidding war’ in which Labour and the Conservatives are ‘trying to outdo each other on who can boast the nastiest policies’. Martin Whiteside said: “These billboards play to people's fears that we are being swamped. Labour are just as bad; one of their 6 key pledges is about getting tough with immigration - yet they lack a pledge on climate change, the biggest threat to our economy, planet and even our existence. Greens believe in attacking the ‘push factors’ which drive refugees out of their homes – environmental degradation, conflict and human rights abuses – not the asylum seekers themselves.” See; www.glosgreenparty.org.uk
Allowing asylum-seekers to work would boost economy - The skills and experience of up to 5,000 foreign academics seeking refuge in this country could be worth more than £100m to the economy.Yet, despite being qualified for professions where there are desperate shortages, many are being forced to live on benefits or take low-paid manual jobs. The TUC and Cara offer a handbook to help refugee academics convert their skills after being granted leave to remain. It can be obtained by
e-mailing info@cara.lsbu.ac.uk
12. CHINA BEGINS TO RECOGNISE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT
‘The Chinese Miracle Will End Soon' or 'ecomonic miracle leading to environmental collapse leading to
economic collapse' - Interview with China's Deputy Minister of the Environment - Pan Yue of the ministry of the environment says these problems will soon overwhelm the country and will create millions of "environmental refugees."
See: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,345694,00.html
More at: http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-3-83-2407.jsp
New Zealand: Free Tibet before free-trade with China
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0503/S00191.htm
Germany: Fischer says China arms embargo should remain
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=18742
http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Politics/2005/04/07/1112837270.htm
Peta have announced that following secret meetings with KFC, KFC still aren’t planning to take the recommendations of their own advisors to eliminate the worst abuses of the chickens raised and killed for their restaurants. Outrageously, they refused to offer a firm commitment to do anything that would guarantee improved conditions for even a single chicken. 850 million birds are killed for their restaurants every year. A Month of Action against KFC has been declared. You can see details of the negotiations at http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/moratoriam.asp.
Euro-MPs in Strasbourg have called for an end to subsidies of more than £50 million a year to exporters of live cattle from the EU to Africa and the Middle East. More than 200,000 cattle are exported annually from the EU to Lebanon and Egypt, enduring journeys of up to ten days – and conditions already outlawed in the EU to prevent animal suffering. Green MEP Caroline Lucas and Vice-President of the RSPCA , who launched the bid today, said: “It is absolutely outrageous that taxpayers’ money is being used to fund a cruel long-distance trade in animals that causes such suffering. Farm animal welfare standards in the EU are far from perfect and this trade highlights how far we have still to go: Greens have demanded a complete end to all live animal exports, both within and beyond the EU.”
TV star and animal rights campaigner Joanna Lumley, who visited Brussels last week to raise awareness of the subsidised trans-continental cattle trade, said: “The EU has so much to be proud of but surely this is one trade that shames us all. I cannot bear to think that by paying my taxes I have unknowingly contributed to such suffering amongst the animals.”
See: www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk
EU: "Petrol wields profit, but it also kills" - an interview with Alain Lipietz MEP
http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=3362
EU: Green Rapporteur successful in lowering emission limits from shipping
http://greens-efa.org/en/press/detail.php?id=2381&lg=en
German Greens Worry About Google
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2005-03-23-n37.html
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/57751
Germany: Fischer: Keep Ukraine on Path to Europe
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1524930,00.html?maca=en-bulletin-433-html
France: French lowering of flag for Pope blasted; critics cite Muslim head scarf flap
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050404/CPW/47213025
Italy: results of regional elections for the Greens - The Centre Left coalition (which the Greens are part of) won 11 regions. The Greens Party has now 25 regional councillors nationally.
http://ecquologia.it/sito/imgs/cons_reg_verdiD05m.gif
Sweden: Green concessions to get budget passed
http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=1205&date=20050331
UK: MEP calls for an end to occupation in Papua
http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/framesets/latest_news.html
Canada: Implement testing for all cattle: Green Party
http://newsletter.greenparty.ca/Releases_Archives/20050310media_release.html
Australia: Greens protest Fijian anti-gay laws: call for release of men jailed for having sex
http://kerrynettle.org.au/600_media_sub.php?deptItemID=360
New Zealand: Govt should listen to OPEC, say Greens
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0503/S00543.htm
New Zealand: Greens say mining could lead to Maui's dolphin extinction
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3231632a11,00.html
JOIN THE PHONE COOP
A consumer co-operative, owned and controlled by its members. Providing telephone and internet services.
The Green Partys affinity code: AF0139
www.thephone.coop
Already almost 1,300 people have emailed TOTAL. Campaigners in Norway are having a lot of success. They have discovered that the biggest investment of the Norwegian Petroleum Fund is in TOTAL Oil, and that the fund is one of TOTAL's biggest shareholders. This is a big embarrassment for the government of Norway, which controls the fund. They have a policy of not investing in Burma.
Tell Norway's Minister of Finance that the fund's investment in Total is unacceptable and that Norway has a responsibility to influence the French oil giant to pull out of Burma. Norway should tell Total: Total out of Burma or the Petroleum fund out of Total! Send an email to the government of Norway.
Go to: http://www.burma.no/kampanje.php
For more information about how TOTAL oil fund the regime in Burma visit:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total_report.html#summary
STOP PRESS: In a historic settlement just finalized, Unocal has compensated victims of human rights abuses along the Yadana gas pipeline through Burma. After eight years of litigation, plaintiffs in the case have finally received a measure of justice for the suffering they endured at the hands of Unocal's business partner, the Burmese military.
See: http://www.earthrights.org/news/press_unocal_settle.shtml
The dangerous situation faced by Green politicians in South America was further revealed following the attempted assassination of Flor de Maria Hurtado Valdez - leader of the Peruvian Green Alternative Party.
The attempt on Ms. Hurtado's life was likely a result of her efforts to protect Peruvian Amazon forests and indigenous communities from illegal loggers whose reckless practices are proving detrimental to this critical region. The party is calling out to Green Parties throughout the Americas and around the world to support efforts to ensure the protection of activists, politicians and citizens opposed to illegal logging. The problem is compounded by the fact that the Peruvian government is turning a blind eye to this injustice.
The Green Party of Canada is extremely concerned about the threats. The Peruvian Green Alternative Party, as a representative of indigenous groups as well as global environmental health, should be able to play its key role in governance issues without being held a political target. The Green Party of Canada urges the Peruvian government to improve its function in maintaining the safety of its citizens and democratic processes. It is impossible to have legitimate laws and governing systems, when key political actors are threatened with violence and when essential conservation laws are constantly violated. The protection of natural habitats in a sustainable and socially just manner is a matter of global thinking, cooperation, and action. The state of the environment is a concern to citizens in every corner of the world - its health and fair treatment is everyone's responsibility as a global citizen and parent to future generations. The Green Party of Canada supports green movements around the world promoting the sustainable and just management of habitats and life sources.
Help Greens in Peru by writing to the following people: President of Peru, Alejandro Toledo, Interior Minister, Dr. Felix Murazzo, Radio and Television Executive President of Peru, Mr. Eduardo Bruce Montes Oca, Loreto's Regional President, Mr. Robinson Rivadeneyra Reategui and Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Alvaro Quijandria Salmon.
Write to all by sending email to: <atoledo@presidencia.gob.pe >, <fmurazzo@mininter.gob.pe>, <ebruce@irtp.com.pe>, <rrivadeneyra@gorel.gob.pe >, <aquijandria@minag.gob.pe>
The USA are still avoiding responsibility for climate change and do not ratify the Kyoto protocol. The Latvian Green Party during its Congress on February 12, 2005 accepted a resolution appealing the USA to join the protocol. They have collected many signatures and are now expanding their campaign with a website where you can sign up in english.
See: http://www.zp.lv/info.asp?en
"You are welcomed to forward this message to your friends and fellows, to greens all over the world. Let's try to limit the changes of the global climate! Thank you! Latvian Green Party"
AND FINALLY AN INSPIRING READ FOR NORWEGIAN COUNCIL
Arendal is the main town of Aust-Agder in county with a population of 40.000. Sørlandet, which in Norwegian means ”the land in the South” is the fondly used name of the part of Norway comprising the two most southern counties named Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. The municipality of Arendal has 3000 employees. The last four years with dwindling economy and strained efforts, their creativity and plans have had a positive turn.
3000 copies of ”The Alchemist” have been distributed to employees with the aim of re-kindling the reality of own potentiality and growth within the vision "if you wish something strong enough – the whole universe will work to fulfil your wish”. The book gift certainly generated a common public process with a lot of concerned participants – positively, because the focus was on public values rather than on public poverty, generating an important debate on values, visions and dreams.
In an interview with the local newspaper ‘Agderposten’, the City Council Chief Executive – Harald Danielsen – said ‘- It is about time that our actions are guided by our ideas about the future rather than on the past. Inspired by the book ‘The Alchemist’, we now appreciate how important our visions are, and we have started working consciously with our visions in matters large and small. This will in turn help us establish common goals, which will aid us in the process of change that we are currently undergoing.’
See: http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/engl/arendal.html
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GNN was compiled with help from: Philip Booth, Stroud, Gloucestershire and Carol Temple-Pediani, Gloucester, Gloucestershire To contribute to this news service (or to subscribe or unsubscribe) contact Philip Booth on 01453 755451. E-mail: philip.booth2@virgin.net.
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