Empowering women workshop

The Green Economics Insitute is running an Empowering women workshop and womens unequal pay and poverty on March 7th in Reading.
The line up includes several prominent green party women and also green Mps and Ministers and international women from countries such as india, pakistan and nigeria
as well as organic food and wine tasting and lady builder demonstrating building and oxfam and government statisticians, child poverty action group etc.
web link is www.greeneconomics.org.uk/papers/womensevent2009.doc.

Governors' Meeting

I attended the Staffing and Finance committee meeting at Lethbridge School this evening. Very interesting, I shall probably end up on this one!

We are currently looking for a community governor, if you are interested in learning more drop me an e-mail: jenni@swindongreens.org.uk

"not rearing pigs"

> Rt Hon David Miliband MP
> Secretary of State,
> Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),
> Nobel House
> 17 Smith Square
> London SW1P 3JR
>
> 16 May 2007
>
> Dear Secretary of State,
>
> My friend, who is in farming at the moment, recently received a
> cheque for £3,000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing
> pigs. I would now like to join the "not rearing pigs" business.
>
> In your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on,
> and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I
> approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies, as
> promoted by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy.
>
> I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type
> you want not rearing, I will just as gladly not rear porkers. Are
> there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as Saddlebacks
> or Gloucester Old Spots, or are there too many people already not
> rearing these?
>
> As I see it, the hardest part of this programme will be keeping an
> accurate record of how many pigs I haven't reared. Are there any
> Government or Local Authority courses on this?
>
> My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing
> pigs for forty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was
> £1,422 in 1968. That is - until this year, when he received a cheque
> for not rearing any.
>
> If I get £3,000 for not rearing 50 pigs, will I get £6,000 for not
> rearing 100?
>
> I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to
> about 4,000 pigs not raised, which will mean about £240,000 for the
> first year. As I become more expert in not rearing pigs, I plan to
> be more ambitious, perhaps increasing to, say, 40,000 pigs not
> reared in my second year, for which I should expect about £2.4
> million from your department. Incidentally, I wonder if I would be
> eligible to receive tradable carbon credits for all these pigs not
> producing harmful and polluting methane gases?
>
> Another point: These pigs that I plan not to rear will not eat 2,000
> tonnes of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not
> growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals
> to not feed the pigs I don't rear?
>
> I am also considering the "not milking cows" business, so please
> send any information you have on that too. Please could you also
> include the current Defra advice on set aside fields? Can this be
> done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to
> have several thousand hectares)?
>
> In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally
> unemployed, and will therefore qualify for unemployment benefits.
>
> I shall of course be voting for your party at the next general
> election.
>
> Yours faithfully,

My complaint to the BBC regarding DEC appeal.

My letter to the BBC
(copy if you wish, http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complaints_stage1.shtml)
I wish to complain about your continuing refusal to broadcast the DEC's emergency appeal for Gaza. The fact that other channels including Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5 are showing the appeal tonight shows how isolated and extreme the BBC is on this issue. As of yesterday I believe you had received over 11,000 complaints. That figure is bound to be far higher by now, given how there is now virtually unanimous agreement across the full spectrum of opinion in Britain that you must reverse this disgraceful decision. I urge you to show this non-political, humanitarian appeal.

BBC Gaza DEC appeal scandal

"The BBC says it cannot show the appeal [for the Palestinians] by the Disasters Emergency Committee because it does not want to compromise its commitment to impartiality" intones a BBC spin-droid.

But health minister Ben Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist, said it was 'an inexplicable decision' and that the reasons given were 'completely feeble'."
So even NuLabour can see that this decision was not good. Damn right. The reason given for exclusion was that it might show bias; but the exclusion itself is evidence of totally unacceptable bias.

You can act by making a complaint to the BBC,
phone: 03700 100 222
text: 03700 100 212
online http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complaints_stage1.shtml

PS do not forget to donate to the DEC.

Swindon Climate Action Network's main concerns for 2009

I attending a meeting yesterday about what SCAN's main concerns for 2009 should be. It was an interested meeting and made a nice change for me to chat with the already converted! I think sometimes the changes we want see can seem huge and scary, it's always good to meet with friends to remind ourselves just how possible these changes can be if we work together. Not to mention the freedom of the end results!

Tony Juniper

Having just heard the Tony Juniper has been selected as PPC for the Green Party in Cambridge, I can't help but be very excited about it! He's campaigned on green issues for more than 25 years and as Campaigns Director and later Director of Friends of the Earth he led many successful initiatives on a wide range of issues. He's just what the Green Party needs right now!

I also also read today that Mark Ereira-Guyer, long standing St Edmundsbury councillor and current leader of the Labour group there, has resigned from the Labour Party in dismay at the Government decision to give the go-ahead to another runway at Heathrow, and has applied to join the Green Party. I'll confirm if/when I get the news.

SBC sustainability team and other cuts

It would now appear that the scrapping of the SBC sustainability team has gone ahead, both employees have received their letters.To add to this blow I have heard that Thamesdown Transport is to cut routes and sack drivers, the Groundwell Park & Ride is to be 'mothballed' and that 2 or 3 Rangers and posts attached to Community Forest are gone some via non replacement. How on earth does our council plan to continue with the sweeping changes needed to make Swindon sustainable now?

Gaza

Even with a cease-fire this situation is still far from solved. Barack Obama will take office tomorrow and it is important to send out the message that Gaza, as with many other problems George W. Bush has left him with, is an urgent and literally deadly serious matter. This may soon disappear from our TV screens but it will continue scaring the children of this region until a full agreement is reached. Northern Ireland has shown us that achieving peace is possible. Even though there are still many problems they are truly on a part to peace. We must gain faith from this example and I for one will continue to campaign on this issue in the hope that my children do not have to.

> DEMONSTRATION 24 JANUARY
> ISRAEL OUT OF GAZA NOW: LIFT THE BLOCKADE
> ASSEMBLE BBC BROADCASTING HOUSE
> PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON, W1A 1AA
> (NEAREST TUBE OXFORD CIRCUS)
> MARCH TO TRAFALGAR SQUARE
> For updates, go to: www.stopwar.org.uk

Swindon Green Party's New Site

The new site is now online. Let me know what you think:
http://www.swindongreens.org.uk

Swindon Stop the War Protest about Gaza.

I gave a short address at this protest on behalf of Swindon Green Party today. Kindly Simon Bridwell of SSTW filmed the event and it can now be seen on You Tube;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wmyv8U5dD4A