Rupert's Read

Over the past 12 days, peaceful protests in Syria have been faced with violence. The blood of too many people was spilled and others were arrested and beaten by security forces. As long as this violence goes on, the Syrian government’s legitimacy will diminish by the day both in the eyes of the Syrian people as in the eyes of the international community. The commitments to reform made by the Syrian government are welcome and necessary. Until now, although some call for regime change, a majority of Syrians apparently wants to give president Bashar al-Assad a chance to reform. Hence it prefers a calm but meaningful transition from within over a sudden and radical revolution with the risk of violent escalation. However, the opportunity to reform will soon evaporate when the Syrian government continues to shed the blood of peaceful protesters. The president will lose his legitimacy and his chance to initiate reforms. Therefore it is essential, that the Syrian government stands by it’s comm...

[These are my answers to the official hustings questions that Green members have asked those of us applying for possible nomination to the Lords as Greens:]   Question 1: The purpose of the House of Lords is to scrutinise and amend legislation drafted by the House of Commons. This is highly technical work, as are the rules governing procedures and processes within the House.     Could you tell us how your background and work experience have given you the skills to work with draft legislation as a Green peer, and what those skills are? ·          I've served two terms as a Green Councillor (and am now stepping down). I've been involved repeatedly, often under great time-pressure, often at length, in drafting/amending motions for Council, policy, Committee recommendations, etc. . My experience as a politician working with draft local 'legislation' will greatly help in the Lords. ·     ...

See the link below: It's great that Compass decided to do this. Now at last there is a venue in which we can explore the great deal that we have in common, across Parties. I think that Labour people in Compass will be surprised, even shocked, by how pro-equality, etc., most of us in the Green Party are. As has been pointed out, all that you need to do to get an idea of this is to look at the Green Manifesto for the last election and compare it to Labour's. Virtually everyone in Compass would certainly prefer the former to the latter. So: Now we can start building a progressive alliance that can challenge Cameron and Clegg next time. http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=12404

Check out the front page of PR Week this week: http://www.prweek.com/news/1060326/Brown-Lloyd-James-targeted-protest-Gaddafi-promotion-links  

Here is a short list of some of the main developments to have taken place in the Green Party in this country in the last few years: 1) This is quite interesting: A couple of years ago, there would hardly have been a page like this on the 'Daily Telegraph' website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/green-party/ 2) My piece from OPEN DEMOCRACY responding to Caroline's election as MP last year: http://rupertsread.blogspot.com/2010/05/caroline-lucas-does-it-for-greens.html 3) Here is possibly the most important substantive thing that the British Green Party has done for the world in the last few years: the concept of the Green New Deal, originated by Caroline's intellectual soulmate and report-writer Colin Hines, in concert with a bunch of other luminaries including of course Caroline herself: http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news-archive/3493.html 4) My take on the issues facing the Green Party recently/currently organisationally etc.: http://rupertsrea...

Read my earlier piece on #Libya, #Hague, #AV etc: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/03/william-hague-libya-questions/ I am pleased to say that most of these questions have now been answered. Hague is showing some leadership today at the Qatar summit. Better late than never!

PLEASE GOTO http://www.pledgebank.com/FundGreenwins , and sign the pledge I've started. Pledge to help us in Norwich Green Party achieve success once more! Thanks; Rupert.

Important information for anyone potentially affected: The Low Level Radiation Campaign website carries basic advice for people living downwind of the releases of radioactivity. On BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend , 13 th March, Dr. Chris Busby spoke about the potential health effects of the Fukushima explosion. Listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zd8g4/The_World_This_Weekend_13_03_2011/ (the site may prompt you to download software to enable you to listen. Dr. Busby's interview is 9 minutes into the broadcast). Dr. Busby said the reassurances being issued now by official sources and by apologists for the nuclear industry are exactly the same as those issued 25 years ago, at the time of Chernobyl. Risks were understated, as show by subsequent epidemiological studies. Statements about allegedly low health risks are based on rates of gamma radiation measured at the site perimeter. These take no account of radiation from alpha-emitting rad...

a Public Meeting on #Yes2AV and beyond, with:   Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party Leader   Ian Gibson, former Norwich MP.   All welcome to discuss reform of the voting system, reform of Parliament and reform of politics in general.   Thursday 31st March, 5 for 5:30pm, Chantry Hall, Chantry Road (next to Assembly Rooms).   Refreshments served from 5pm.   ...Come and join me and fellow Greens there!

"Mr Cameron...wants to highlight the potential boost to minority parties such as the British National Party." Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1364373/Tory-crisis-talks-threat-AV-defeat-amid-warnings-apathy-gift-Yes-vote-victory.html#ixzz1GT9cpLUL   PM Cameron is apparently preparing to outright-lie in his increasing desperation over potential defeat in the May 5 referendum. For the truth is the very opposite of his big lie. As I've shown in detail (See http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/02/18/two-reasons-why-libdems-might-not-benefit-from-av/  & http://rupertsread.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-vote-no2av-to-spite-nick-clegg-meme.html  & http://rupertsread.blogspot.com/2011/02/correspondence-with-guidofawkes-on-av.html  & http://rupertsread.blogspot.com/2011/02/veres-latest-smear-ugly-no2av-rhetoric.html ), AV is the worst of all possible systems for the BNP. Which is presumably why the BNP are vigorously and paranoidly opposing it... ...

  _A Gaddafi victory would teach a terrible lesson_   You headline your front-page story "Why won't the world help us? – Libyan rebels plead for intervention" (10 March). I couldn't agree more.   Ben Ali and Mubarak went because they or their minions or their armies were not prepared to murder their own populations en masse. Gaddafi, however, is. If we now fail to act in ways that help the free Libyans to beat him, and he triumphs, with unimaginably terrible consequences for the Libyans who dared with desperate bravery to oppose him, every dictator in the world will learn the lesson.   Every dictator will ask themselves: "Am I being violent enough? Am I going as far as Gaddafi did? For, if not, then I'll probably lose; whereas, if yes, then I'll probably win."   Is that really the lesson we want the world to learn from the Arab Spring?     My letter [published as the lead letter in the print edition of yesterday's INDY] i...

I'm standing down from the Council. After 7 years, I have decided to spend more time on my work at UEA – I have two books to finish. I am also increasingly involved in politics across East Anglia (as Regional Party Co-ordinator) and nationally, and have sometimes felt over-stretched the last few years. I will very much miss working with Wensum residents on local issues...but I am very pleased to endorse Lucy Galvin to take my place. Lucy, our new candidate for Wensum ward, brings significant experience of working for the local councils. I know her and trust her, and I am proud to give her my strongest endorsement, in the upcoming elections. Here's the story in today's local paper: http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/greens_unveil_candidates_for_norwich_city_council_elections_adrian_ramsay_and_rupert_read_not_standing_1_827311 I am full of bitter-sweet feelings about this, today. The next Council meeting will be my last. Wow... I'm proud of what I have a...

See my new article on this at http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/03/10/if-libyan-rebels-want-it-why-arent-we-calling-for-a-no-fly-zone-too  

As the #GreenParty's democratic House of Lords candidate selection process moves into its final weeks (Don't forget to send in those ballot papers, fellow members!), I would just like to say Thanks to all those members who have contacted me to ask me questions, to wish me luck, to pledge their support, to discuss the process, to share their concerns, and so on. It has been an invigorating experience, and I'm grateful to you all. If you want to find out more about my candidacy, please go to http://rupertsread.blogspot.com/2011/02/green-party-house-of-lords-candidate.html  Cheers!, Rupert.