Protest Photos!


Dr Rupert Read, Eastern Region Green Party Co-ordinator
25-02-09
Green Party leader Caroline Lucas says it will take "many years" to build new nuclear plants, during which time renewable energy and efficiency projects could be established |
On Tuesday I joined hundreds of postal workers at a rally in Westminster opposing any sell-off of this important British institution. They were especially angry about the fact that the Government is refusing to fund the pension fund deficit estimated to be around £9 billion – unless the privatisation goes ahead. This amounts to the blackmail of 450,000 workers by the Government.
The privatisation is strongly opposed by the Communication Workers' Union and more than 140 Labour MPs who have signed a motion opposing it, and for good reason. Putting essential public services in the hands of the private sector will lead to job cuts, cherry picking of parts of the service for profit, and potentially breaking up the service to be sold off. The postal service should not be exposed to the risks that private operators are more likely to take - surely we have learnt that much, at least, from the collapse of our nation's banks?
If it is commercial expertise that Royal Mail needs, then experts can be hired to ensure that such advice is available. The Royal Mail was brought under public ownership by Oliver Cromwell and even Margaret Thatcher thought it should remain publicly owned. Peter Mandelson thinks differently, which says much about how far New Labour has strayed from its roots.
Peter Mandelson asks us to trust him with the future of the Royal Mail. I would sooner trust a hungry lion, frankly...
If in June I am elected to the European Parliament I pledge to continue to fight hard to keep this vital British institution, the Royal Mail, public. The Green Party is now the only major political party opposed to privatisation.
Simon Blackburn remarks that some commentators on Wittgenstein's Tractatus 'have taken [its] framing remarks very seriously'. That sounds like a good thing. Isn't it wise to try to take seriously what an author says about the purpose and nature of their writings? Blackburn suggests that doing so amounts to treating 'the bulk of the Tractatus [as] some kind of Aunt Sally, written merely as something to be jeered at'. That is a grotesque distortion of the efforts of those of us who have been reading the Tractatus for years, frame, body, warts and all. When one takes the frame seriously, one can see the point in the progressive elucidations in the body of the work: namely, to inhabit the physiognomy of philosophical delusion, which inhabits us so deeply that it would be irresponsible to pretend that one can get outside it and jeer at it.
Rupert Read
University of East Anglia
My visit to Brightlingsea on Thursday 19th February.
I visited Brightlingsea on Thursday [yesterday] as part of my ongoing 'listening tour' of East Anglia. I spoke to a number of the shopkeepers and small businesses in the town asking about their experience of the economic downturn. The owner of Cornflower wholefood shop told me that while people were buying less processed meals and luxury foods they were buying more ingredients to cook their own meals at home. Small local businesses are exactly what is needed to weather the downturn and to build a sense of community and improve our quality of life. I was glad to hear from a number of Brightlingsea businesses that they are coping with the recession so far.
I also visited the offices of the contractors building the large offshore wind farm at Gunfleet Sands. The Green Party is committed to all kinds of renewable energy production and the Eastern Region has some of the best renewable resources in the country. Exploiting more of East Anglia's wind and wave power would create more jobs in the area and help us fight the threat of climate chaos by lowering our use of fossil fuels.
I went on from Brightlingsea to join the protest at Downing Street opposing the proposed third runway at Heathrow. The Green Party supports investment in public transport; the expansion of air travel is profoundly damaging to our shared environment, and would do nothing to benefit our economy here in Eastern Anglia...
On my way to London tomorrow (to attend the anti-Heathrow-expansion rally at Downing Street, and to speak at the 'Forum for European Philosophy' tomorrow evening, on Gramsci and Tolkien), I am heading to Brightlingsea for some hours as part of my ongoing 'listening tour' of
"I believe it is important that politicians listen to people, and so that is what I am doing. I found it very useful to hear the experiences of small farmers and smallholders who play a vital role in our local economy in the North and East Norfolk areas, and now it is important I follow this up in the south Norfolk area to show my solidarity with them too. And finding out their views and concerns will enable me to help them more effectively if I'm elected as their MEP in June this year."
Cllr. Read continued
"I passionately believe in supporting our local economy in Norfolk, and we in the Green Party will always champion local food producers who take pride in what they do and often work long hours to put the best local produce on our tables. This couldn't be more important than it is today, as the region faces up to a gathering economic crisis. Farmers' markets offer a fine example of a green way of living and of making a living."
"It might be a bit exhuasting to get around 5 farmers' markets on one day: but I bet that it will be worth it, in every sense of the word!"
ENDS.
Rupert Read will be available for interview live at these destinations. Approximate timings: Wymondham 9.30-10; Burston 10.45-11.30; Harleston 11.45-12.30.
To BBC Norfolk / BBC East;
We write to you as local politicians who are dismayed that the BBC nationally is refusing to transmit a charity appeal which is aimed at bringing much-needed humanitarian aid to thousands of ordinary people in
We should be doing everything humanly possible to provide the relief and aid the people of
The appeal, which was broadcast on other channels, raised £millions of donations. Support from the BBC could help raise £millions more and in doing so save lives.
The BBC's having previously aired in recent months and years similar appeals for Burma, Darfur, the Congo makes its decision over Gaza all the more difficult to understand. It opens the Corporation to accusations of pro-Israeli bias. We make the latter point with great regret, since we are strong advocates of public service broadcasting, and we believe that the BBC has a proud history, and hope it will have a strong future.
ITV and Channels 4 and 5 have agreed to broadcast the charity appeal, leaving the BBC isolated. We urge you to put pressure on your colleagues at the BBC nationally to change its position; and to ask the BBC nationally for permission to air these appeals on BBC East and BBC Radio Norfolk, in lieu for now of them being broadcast nationally.
Please help end this sad state of affairs, which with each passing day is costing innocent Palestinian lives.
We thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Yours Faithfully,
Councillors Rupert Read (Green), Alan Waters (Labour), on Norwich City Council.
In case you missed it: ...Politics Show today on ecotowns, inc. myself.
The piece starts at 39 minutes into the programme at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hlh7h/The_Politics_Show_East_15_02_2009/
The actual studio discussion runs from 52 minutes in to the end.
I will attending a European Elections hustings event being held by the Norfolk Federation of the Women's Institute on Friday 20 February.
This is clearly a fantastic opportunity for me to find out how the Women's Institute feels about European politics. The floor will be open to a question and answer session for part of this event, and this will help me discover what issues concern them the most.
It is exciting that the hustings for the Euro-elections are now getting under way. We in the Green Party are looking forward to these events hugely, because, when people hear our message, they start voting for us...
60 members of the Women's Institute are expected to attend the event scheduled to take place at the Methodist Church in Godfrey Road, Spixworth. Lunch will be held from 12.30 am to 1.15 pm, and the European event will then commence with a short overview of the European Parliament. The question and answer session will then follow, with proceedings expected to finish by 3.30 pm.
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To BBC Norfolk / BBC East;
I write to you today as a local politician who finds himself in shock and disbelief that the BBC nationally is still refusing to transmit a charity appeal which would have brought much-needed humanitarian aid to thousands of ordinary people in
We in the so-called "civilised" world should be doing everything humanly possible to provide the relief and aid the people of
To say it again: ITV and Channels 4 and 5 have agreed to broadcast the charity appeal (and have raised handsome sums to help Gazans, by doing so), leaving the BBC fairly isolated. We urge you to put pressure on your colleagues at the BBC nationally to change its position on this matter, and restore public faith in the BBC as public service broadcaster. We beseech you, also, to ask the BBC nationally for permission to air these appeals on BBC East and BBC Radio
I thank you for your consideration of this matter. If the BBC does not soon change its stance on this, then I will be urging Director-General Mark Thompson shortly to consider his position. I hope that you, who I know and trust from my contacts with you day-to-day in dealings over local and regional matters, can help the BBC nationally sort out its stance on this, and catch up with public opinion on this issue.
The BBC is worried that its airing of this appeal would compromise its reputation for impartiality. One the contrary: its reputation for impartiality is being seriously undermined, every day that it continues to hold out against broadcasting the appeal. Please help end this sad state of affairs, which with each passing day is costing innocent Palestinian lives.
Faithfully,
Cllr. Rupert Read (Green Party).
I.e. I will attend Stalham Farmers Market (along with other Greens) from 9.30 am this Saturday, followed by Aylsham Farmers Market from around 11 am.