Kagey

 

It was a moment to cheer the bringer of bad news, the consequences of Climate Change as judged by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was all over the news at the weekend. Any shred of dubious science for the sceptics to justify denial was blown away. From now on it’s a matter of ‘when not if’ and ‘actions not debate’ on climate change. Well sort of…
 
Just as the world’s scientists agree on the vital role the world’s remaining forest will have in moderating greenhouse gases the oil industry is bidding on the Amazon.

This weekend the BBC reported on the Peruvian government’s plans to grant oil exploration rights for an area the size of California.   (link)

The Peruvian economy has its problems and poverty has increased over recent years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has persuaded the Peruvian government that free market rules are the way to promote growth and address poverty. No doubt selling oil licenses gets brownie points with the IMF.

Despite what the IMF say’s growth doesn’t cure poverty (link), furthermore economic growth is linked to climate change through increased burning of fossil fuels. It’s time we rewarded developing countries like Peru for protecting their forests rather than grabbing their natural resources on the cheap.

A little over 60 years ago in Eastern Europe the Nazi’s were experimenting with ways to achieve ‘The Final Solution.’

Their early attempts though crude were effective. Before moving on to industrial scale gassing and incineration in purpose built crematoria the ‘Solution’ entailed loading people into box vans, attaching a pipe to the exhaust which vented into an airtight and locked cargo hold and taking a ride. It was a neat and convenient process; load up live Jews, Gypsies and homosexuals, make the short journey to the disposal site and unload the now deceased undesirables. Exhaust emissions in service of the Reich and the holocaust.

Today the developed nations of the earth hold the ignition keys to another genocide in the making. Climate change created by the economic activity of the wealthy nations is set to wreak havoc upon the poor.

The Stern Report, a government sponsored review of the likely economic impacts of climate change spells out in no uncertain terms the disaster that awaits us if we fail to act. It appears certain that large tracks of Africa will be uninhabitable scorched earth, low lying countries like Bangladesh will disappear as sea levels rise. Food scarcity will increase by up to 60% and millions and millions of people will die.

Gordon Brown gave Nicholas Stern the job of finding out the cost of combating climate change; according to Stern it’s 3% of global GDP. The alternative is perhaps the end of civilization. The job he say’s must start now; there is no time to loose. Yet we are bogged down in a war in Iraq that makes for as much distraction as the war on terror. All the time the earth warms and the options shrink.

Our leaders must act on the big projects but the keys are in our hands too. Our life styles are so connected to the causes of climate change that every time we drive to the supermarket we might just as well be driving a gas filled hearse to dump African babies in a convenient grave.

See the Stern Report
The Ecologist Review of the Stern Report

 

This week Mr. Bush got his way and signed the new charter for torture, The Military Commissions Act of 2006. It will allow the CIA to explore new interrogation techniques without the fear of its operatives becoming war criminals.

I wonder as corporate business becomes more and more involved in ‘anti-terror’ activity whether there is not a new opportunity for them here? Every day animals from cats to primates are subjected to painful experiment for cosmetic houses and drug companies. Presumably there’s good money in the unreliable results of testing products for humans on animals. But if you really want to know what happens when you squirt hairspray in the eye repeatedly what better than a dark almond shaped human one? Why waste years on animal drug testing when you can jump straight to human trials?

What’s frightening is that the idea is not new. It’s been tried and tested by despotic regimes over the years. Inflicting pain and misery on human or animal for the purpose of extracting untrustworthy information must be wrong but our governments now count both safe legally.

Though there have undoubtedly been dirty marks on our histories from abuse of military personnel to ethnic groups our legal systems have never sanctioned such activities. The safeguards fought for and defended over generations have eventually prevailed. The decision taken by the US government this week will surely come to bear on the policies and laws of it’s allies until conformity of government is uniform in it’s disregard for it’s subjects – until punishment before trial and conviction is acceptable – until spiteful malice is standard practice in generating unreliable evidence – until we all become ‘tested.’

Keep speech free with irrepressible.info

 

A spokesperson for the White House commented that “here we have a lunatic with a nuclear bomb.” He was of course refering to Kim Jong-il leader of North Korea, not to the man who helped him get one. See above.

President Bush say’s, “The North Korean regime remains one of the world’s leading proliferator of missile technology, including transfers to Iran and Syria. The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States, and we would hold North Korea fully accountable of the consequences of such action.”

I wonder if Mr Bush will be holding Mr Rumsfeld accountable for his proliferation of Nuclear Technology? In 2000 he was a director of ABB, a European engineering giant who supplied key components for nuclear reactors to the North Korean regime he now calls part of the Axis of Evil.

It is breathtaking that following Korea’s nuclear test Western governments are now calling for a ban on the sale of materials essential to Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Which does seem to imply that it’s been business as usual up until now. Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. What incredible ineptitude!

I’d like to remind you that these are the boys with their fingers on the buttons.

Newsweek Covers by Region

It’s seems Newsweek doesn’t believe that the US homemarket is ready for the cover story that it deems fit to put on it’s ‘International’ cover. Instead it features Annie Leibovitz talking about taking photos of celebs like Brad Pitt. So there you are hardhitting ‘news’ from Newsweek.

But. If you want a US magazine that is covering the issues then I recommend Mother Jones.

I recently visited Seattle and it was so brilliant to meet so many enlightened Americans who don’t buy the misinformation that is presented as news. Read the Mother Jones ‘Lie by Lie’ chronicle of the road to war. It puts the whole stream of lies into shocking perspective http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/ 

 

UPDATE – It’s just about a year ago now since we discovered Real Food Direct and they’re great people so if you live in the Brighton area get Real!

Original post Sept 15th ’05

Before you think I’ve lost my scruples, I’m referring to my local box scheme.

Perhaps I was hanging on to old vestiges of a consumer habit but I don’t know why it took so long to get around to sorting it. Anyway Ben from realfood-direct arrived with our first box today. Packed with local grown organic veg, Fairtrade fruit, local cheese, fresh baked organic bread and groceries. All stunning stuff. It was packed in a cardboard box with loose items in brown paper bags. There was one plastic bag, which Ben said he’d re-use, and the flat-pack box to be exchanged next week.
So total packaging 2 plastic pots, one for yogurt (recyclable) and a small plastic tub for houmous (probably not) and 4 small brown paper bags. The produce is top notch, organic, delivered and cost me £26 for enough groceries for the week.
What a result, I don’t need to go to the supermarket, the produce is real, possibly cheaper and my organic fruit and veg got to me in fine condition without the need to swathe it in plastic.

That’s one small piece of rubbish for landfill out of the whole weekly shop, the rest is just food and compost nothing more.

While I was away taking pictures of beautiful scenery and unspoilt places someone was taking photos of another world and I feel guilty.

While my plane carried me to Canada other planes were in transit carrying spiteful weapons to fall on innocent people, vicious bombs containing phosphorous that burned the flesh of babies in the name of peace. As I returned on Sept 11th Mr Bush was saying that “he would stay with the fight” and now he’s calling for more power to torture. Not in my name Mr Blair, not in my name Mr Bush

This is the reality of the war and comes from an independent Iraqi website, it shows the results of attacks on Lebanese civilians, women and children “ don’t go there without being prepared to see the horror. So this is a war on terror?

I appologise for the emotional response.

Confess your shopping sins and find salvation.

Listen to the gospel according to Reverend Billy and find the path to righteousness.

Visit the Church of Stop Shopping!

 

 

Some weeks ago I was invited to Westminster to be a ‘witness’ at The Conservative’s Globalisation and Global Poverty focus group. David Cameron has said he’s serious about dealing with poverty in the developing world and has invited some big names to help find solutions.
Offering their views on the day were Sir Geldoff, Duncan Green from Oxfam, Mike Moore ex Director General of the World Trade Organisation and Kurt Hoffman director of the Shell Foundation.

I have no reason to doubt David Cameron is sincere in his desire to eradicate poverty. Listening to the evidence though I couldn’t help but think that the assembled experts were bound to offer solutions shaped to fit the needs of the global corporate economy. In fact the process seems about finding new ways to make old and largely failed strategies work. Duncan Green from Oxfam in his opening statement said, “Bad rules are better than no rules,” referring to the flawed WTO regimes imposed on developing countries. The rules that have ensured that very little of the wealth generated in the last 20 years has found its way into the hands of the poor. It’s hard to imagine how much worse it could be without rules.

It seems to me that the experts are starting from the same old premise. The accepted mantra is increased trade generates development which creates wealth that alleviates poverty. All strategies that deviate from this formula are deemed unrealistic. Yet you don’t have to look far to see that there is no hard link between wealth creation and poverty reduction.

I saw a great poster the other day; it read, “If war is the answer, we’re asking the wrong question.”  It seems to me that Free Trade is the wrong response to poverty

What institutions like the IMF and the World Bank offer the developing world as a model is flawed. It’s unsustainable and inequitable; in truth it’s not much more than an extension of colonialism. Crumbs from the top table in return for hard labour and the resources of their lands on the cheap

Thriving communities have at their heart all kinds of exchanges, goods, services and knowledge and more.  Trading systems should help to distribute the resources that people need to live happy healthy lives, tools to achieve an equitable balance, that’s all. Trade isn’t community and when we make economic activity the barometer for a healthy lifestyle we are bound to overlook the fundamental elements of a happy life. Trade serves people best when people aren’t in servitude to trade.

The developed nations of the world are approaching a major change point. Rapid and continuous economic growth has been possible through cheap and abundant oil. Resources like minerals and timber have been there for the taking. The speed at which we’re using these commodities became unsustainable even before economies like China entered the game. Like it not the developed economies are in for a shock sometime soon. It will be hard enough for wealthy countries to adapt to the coming energy shock of rising oil prices and insecurities of supply but to encourage poor countries to adopt our energy intensive economic model will be a disaster. For instance what will happen to the farmers in Africa growing flowers for the European market when aviation fuel costs make it prohibitive to send their blooms to market?

It’s about time we realised that we don’t have all the answers. In fact it may be that developing nations will have a thing or two to tell us about adapting our economies to living within our means and creating local solutions and local markets as the energy crisis bites. If anything this could be a wonderful opportunity for a true exchange of ideas rather than the perpetuating the idea that the west knows best and that a free global economy is the answer to poverty.

Mr Brown has signalled the replacement of Trident and Mr Blair say’s Nuclear power is back on the agenda with a vengeance.

Although as they always say when they’ve made their minds up that no decision has been made.

Despite the fact that they will have no one in particular to point their new shiny nukes at they are ready to commit twenty five billion quid to it… just in case. As Mr Brown say’s, “in an uncertain world we need the certainty of a nuclear deterrent.” What F*$cking tosh! The only thing that is uncertain is who will be deterred by them. While millions starve they’ll be pissing your money down the drain on an immoral weapons system that no one could justify using.

As for nuclear power? It really doesn’t make sense in any shape or form.

Now if you’re looking for joined up thinking on the future energy crisis look no further than Woking, England… birth place of Mr Paul Weller and yours truly It’s the most promising story I’ve heard in ages.