Green Party Trades Union Group Conference Next Week

GREEN PARTY TRADES UNION GROUP CONFERENCE
“Can Greens and Trades Unions work together?”

12 July 2008
(10am-6pm)

Venue
Friends' Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, Sussex BN1 1AF (10 minutes from Brighton BR)
TEL (01273) 770258 website http://www.brightonquakers.co.uk/

SPEAKERS
· Caroline Lucas MEP,
· Tony Kearns (CWU),
· Brighton Unison Speaker

Workshops

a. Migration/ Population policy and International relations (J.Healy)

b. Future strategies for links between Greens and TUs (P. MacCafferty)

c. Disability rights against workfare, (A.Wheatley)

Admission £8 / £4 concs
GPTU contact yrrumuk@yahoo.co.uk

NHS Protests This Friday And Saturday

KONP (Keep Our NHS Public) have arranged a protest outside the HQ of the Department of Health on Friday 4th July at 4pm to mark the 60 th birthday of the NHS:

http://greenhealthservice.blogspot.com/2008/06/nhs-protest.html

There is also a rally at 11am on Saturday at the Royal Liverpool Hospital on Merseyside.

In the East Midlands the rally is at the Clocktower in Leicester at 12 Noon on Saturday 5th July.

Republic Spokesperson Attacks Charles' Green Spin

Press release from Republic -

CHARLES' GREEN SPIN - AN ATTEMPT TO DODGE TAX QUESTIONS

Republic has called on the Duchy of Cornwall to pay full corporate
taxes as Prince Charles' personal income increases yet again to £16 million.

Spokesperson Graham Smith told reporters:

"The Clarence House PR team always attempts to divert attention from the Duchy's tax arrangements by pointing to the reduction in Charles' carbon footprint."

"This is 'greenwashing' at its worst. The truth is that the Prince's carbon footprint is still nearly 500 times the size of the average household."

"This is all an attempt to distract us from the real issue - that these year on year increases in Charles' income are greatly helped by the fact that the Duchy is not subject to the same tax rules as the rest of us."


NOTES

Prince Charles does not pay corporate or capital gains tax on the Duchy.

The Clarence House accounts refer to income generated by the Duchy, yet when asked about unpaid corporate taxes the Prince's press officers state that Charles is an individual.

Republic on Royal Travel Expenses

The following was a press release from the Republic campaign following more revelations about UK Royals' travel expenses.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - ROYAL GRAVY TRAIN MUST STOP


Republic has repeated its calls for reform of the Royal finances after it was revealed that Prince William's Chinook flights cost the taxpayer more than £50,000, including nearly £9,000 to attend his cousin's stag night.

The Freedom of Information disclosure came on the day that the Prince of Wales was due to publish his financial report, which was due to include details of his own excessive travel costs.


Spokesperson Graham Smith said today:

"This is a disgraceful waste of public money. In the last few days we have seen the extent to which the Windsors' exravagant lifestyles are funded by hard-working British taxpayers. £22,000 for a day at the races, £19,000 for a trip to the pub and now £9,000 to drop in at a stag night."

"These revelations demonstrate the need for urgent reform of the Royal finances. The Windsors simply spend what they like, charge it to the taxpayer and then tell us about it afterwards. There is no way for us to hold them accountable."

"We expect Charles will distract attention from his own extravagant travel costs by referring to his green credentials. But last year's report revealed the carbon footprint of his household to be 450 times that of the average home. He will have to have made some very drastic lifestyle changes to make a dent in that - changes he is clearly not willing to make."

NOTES

Republic's Royal Finances Reform Charter proposes some simple reforms to improve accountability, transparency and fairness in royal finances.

For full details of the Reform Charter and further information on the
Royal finances go to http://www.republic.org.uk/royalcosts/.




WHAT IS REPUBLIC?

Republic is a rapidly growing group of like-minded individuals
dedicated to working towards the democratic replacement of the
monarchy in Britain by an elected head of state. It is
non-party-political organisation with members and supporters from all
the main parliamentary parties.

Republic works to raise awareness of the need for these changes and to encourage informed debate. It keeps members and supporters informed by means of its website (www.republic.org.uk), a glossy magazine, e-newsletters, events organised by Republic and lively local groups which are springing up throughout the country.

Republic has recently seen encouraging signs of increased interest in
its case. Membership has more than doubled throughout 2005 and has
continuned to grow in 2006. Visits to the website rise dramatically at the time of royal stories.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION :


Visit our website : www.republic.org.uk

Weekly Links 30/06/2008

Green Politics

Following the Green success in the Henley By-election (beating the Labour Party and the BNP to come third) the Green campaign for Howden and Haltemprice is well under way. Support Shan Oakes campaign here.

Indymedia has some pictures from the 23rd Green Fair in Sheffield, which seems to have been a success and avoided the rain.


Industrial
The latest from the National Blood Service Campaign is a big rave fundraiser being organised in London. More details here.

Meanwhile preparations continue for the wave of public sector strikes planned for Britain on the 16th and 17th of July.

The transport union, the RMT, have spoken out in favour of high speed rail links as an alternative to airport expansion, such as that planned for Heathrow. Workers in the RMT are also involved in a dispute involving cleaners on the London Underground, supported by the Campaign Against Tube Privatisation, who have a blog here.

Finally, a delegation from the IWW International Solidarity Commission is in Japan at the moment and are blogging their visit at http://iwwinjapan.blogspot.com/

Blogs
Interesting pieces on blogs this week include Aled reporting that the Unions have severed all links with the New Tory Mayor of London's de-gutted "Rise" festival, Septic Isle of Obsolete commenting on one year of Gordon Brown as PM, Janine of Stroppyblog on the RMT AGM, and Jim of Daily (Maybe) reporting on the Liberal Conspiracy blogging caucus.

Henley By-election Result

Congratulations to Green Party Candidate, Mark Stevenson who has come third out of a field of twelve candidates in the Henley By-election, defeating the ruling Labour Party, the far-right BNP and the populist-right UKIP!

Result as reported by the BBC
* John Howell - Conservatives, 19,796 (56.95%, 3.46% increase on 2005 general election share of vote)
* Stephen Kearney - Liberal Democrats, 9,680 (27.85%, 1.84%)
* Mark Stevenson - Greens, 1,321 (3.80%, 0.54%)
* Timothy Rait - British National Party, 1,243 (3.58%)
* Richard McKenzie - Labour, 1,066 (3.07%, -11.68%)
* Chris Adams, UK Independence Party, 843 (2.43%, -0.07%)
* Bananaman Owen - Monster Raving Loony Party, 242 (0.70%)
* Derek Allpass - English Democrats, 157 (0.45%)
* Amanda Harrington - Independent (Miss Great Britain Party), 128 (0.37%)
* Dick Rodgers - The Common Good, 121 (0.35%)
* Louise Cole - Independent (Miss Great Britain Party), 91 (0.26%)
* Harry Bear - The Fur Play Party, 73 (0.21%)

This gives the Greens a very good start on the campaign for the Howden and Haltemprice By-election, where Shan Oakes is challenging David Davis.

Curiouser and Curiouser

Those who have been following the curious story of the alleged Police provocateur on the recent anti-Bush demo in London will be interested to know that the story has taken a new twist with the intervention of George Galloway and a letter to the Home Secretary naming the alleged perpetrator.
The story seems to have originally emerged on the website of the Daily Mail of all places!
More from Socialist Unity Blog here.

European Leaders' Contempt For Democracy

The following was included in the latest mailing from the I Want A Referendum campaign. The quotes from European leaders are very telling and similar in tone to the recent arrogance and bigotry displayed by the so-called "Green" Cohn Bendit.

EU leaders carry on with Lisbon Treaty regardless of Irish no vote
On 12 June, voters in Ireland rejected the EU Lisbon Treaty by 46.6% to 53.4% in a national referendum. Turnout was relatively high, at 53%.
However, despite the resounding no vote, EU leaders meeting in Brussels last week decided to press ahead regardless, agreeing that ratification of the Treaty should continue in other countries. They also agreed that Irish voters should eventually be asked to vote again, until they say 'yes'.
Despite claiming that they want to "respect" the Irish no vote, EU leaders across the whole of Europe have no intention of doing so. They are determined to press ahead with the Lisbon Treaty.
Here are just some of the extraordinary reactions to the Irish vote from Europe's leaders:

"They [the Irish] are bloody fools. They have been stuffing their faces at Europe's expense for years and now they dump us in the s***."
- Nicolas Sarkozy, French President (Times, 20 June)

"The Lisbon Treaty is not dead... It is imperative that they vote again."
- Valery Giscard d'Estaing, former French President and author of the EU Constitution (RTL, 19 June)

"I don't think you can say the treaty of Lisbon is dead even if the ratification process will be delayed."
- Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French Europe Minister (Reuters, 16 June)

"I am convinced that we need this Treaty. Therefore we are sticking with our goal for it to come into force. The ratification process must continue."
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister (Reuters, 14 June)

"Of course we have to take the Irish referendum seriously. But a few million Irish cannot decide on behalf of 495 million Europeans."
- Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Interior Minister (Deutsche Welle, 15 June)

"We think it is a real cheek that the country that has benefited most from the EU should do this. There is no other Europe than this treaty. With all respect for the Irish vote, we cannot allow the huge majority of Europe to be duped by a minority of a minority of a minority."
- Axel Schäfer, SPD leader in the German Bundestag (Irish Times, 14 June)

The Treaty "will be applied, albeit a few months late."
- Lopez Garrido, Spanish Europe Minister (Forbes, 15 June)

"The Treaty is not dead. The Treaty is alive, and we will try to work to find a solution."
- Jose Barroso, European Commission President (Press Conference, 14 June)

To see more, click here: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/irelandbriefing.pdf
This is an extraordinary refusal to accept the democratic will of the people. Ireland has been the only country allowed to have a referendum on the Treaty, and has said no. By the EU's own rules, the Treaty can only enter into force if all 27 member states have ratified it. Therefore, the Treaty should now be dead. It is completely unacceptable that other countries are continuing to ratify the Treaty in the hope of forcing Ireland to vote again, under pressure from the prospect of 26 other countries having ratified it. EU leaders are proving once again that they are simply unable to take 'no' for an answer.

Weekly Links - 22/06/2008

UK Politics News Stories
Lots of interesting, if sometimes a little depressing, stuff being reported this week. It seems all the millions spent by the climate change denial industry and the busy beaver efforts of their conspiracist right-wing errand boys on blogs and comments sections have not been in vain as a majority of Brits still "doubt the evidence" on climate change. Semi-reasonable comment (albeit from his establishment viewpoint) from Andrew Rawnsley here, but as usual the cynics, pessimists, liars and fascists are out in force on the comments section.

Meanwhile there is to be a much trumpeted "Green Energy Push" in Britain, but George Monbiot has picked out some of the flaws in the plan and its likely implementation. One thing I picked out was the lack of mention of the potential use of biogas from anaerobic digestion of food waste etc - let us hope that this is not a further signal of government "capture" by the big waste companies eager to incinerate 50% of Britain's waste and call this "sustainable" and "green" energy from waste. These firms have just managed to get the tame elements of the EU to pass legislation favourable to their plans in the face of Green opposition.

UK Royal financial reports are due out in the next few days, with the monarchist spin machine presenting it as "value for money" - the campaign group Republic is ready with the facts and arguments for an end to expensive and undemocratic hereditary offices of state. Republic are also running a campaign to challenge the oath of allegiance to the monarch.

Industrial
It is the British Isles Regional Organising Committee (BIROC) of the Industrial Workers Of the World (IWW) meeting this weekend, with preparations well under way for the international General Assembly of the IWW in London at the end of August. Before then, Wobblies internationally will be involved in a mobilisation to highlight the union-busting tactics of Starbucks. IWW members at Starbucks branches in the US have been under attack and now the IWW is linking up for action with the Spanish CNT union and the international organisation they are affiliated to the IWA/AIT (International Workers' Association) as a CNT member in Sevilla has been fired for union activity. The day of action is scheduled for July 5th.

It was the British public services union, Unison, conference this week and as well as warning the governing Labour Party over local government workers' pay they passed a motion on the situation in Palestine.

The RMT (transport) union has its' conference in Nottingham this week and there is a fringe meeting put together by the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group at 1.10pm at the Rope Walk Pub on Derby Road.

Green Issues


Despite all the campaigning by green groups over battery recycling the British authorities have failed to act and now face penalties under new EU legislation.

There is impressive mobilising and campaigning going on against incineration in various parts of the world, including the Basque country where 2000 demonstrated on the streets of San Sebastian last week. There was also a protest in Barcelona, Catalonia, where three weeks ago 1,000 people marched against a project from the Lafarge cement plant to burn different types of waste, including sewage sludge, tyres and solvents. The local "platform" against incineration also collected 6,200 signatures against this project.

Human Rights
The campaign for the freeing of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine continues, with a new petition. The speech given by actor Danny Glover at a vigil for the campaigner, and for freedom for Haiti is on You Tube here.

There is a demo supporting the long suffering opposition to the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe in London on Monday 23rd June. More from Action For Southern Africa here.

Blogs

Aled has a blog piece on Paul Mobbs' Energy Beyond Oil.

Derek reports that the Greens are likely to run a candidate in the Howden and Haltemprice by-election to give a voice to all those who support the former MP's stance on 42 days detention but vigourously oppose him on just about everything else and so could not bring themselves to vote for him. By voting Green people will be able to register opposition to the detention without trial moves without allowing a socially reactionary and economically neo-liberal Tory to present his party as the sole guardian of our rights and liberties. Elsewhere, Labour Left Dave Osler has taken Tony Benn to task for backing the Tory campaign.

Jack Ray is following the European football, Liam MacUaid and Dave Osler reflect on the anti-fascist event in London on Saturday, and the Socialist Unity blog reports on a call for the abolition of prescription charges.

New Labour's Dr Pangloss

It seems New Labour, in the electoral doldrums, with core voters deserting it and a whole host of economic and political problems to cope with, has its' very own Dr Pangloss who thinks we should all be happy smiley people grateful for our marvellous situation.

The Government Minister Tom Wood has opined on his blog that

'We live longer, eat healthier (if we choose), have better access to forms of entertainment never imagined a generation ago (satellite TV, DVD, computer games), the majority of us have fast access to the worldwide web, which we use to enable even more spending and for entertainment. Crime is down.'

He cannot understand why we are all so grumbly and "miserable".

Now some of this may well be true, for some people, particularly those who, a little research tells us "earn £92,100 as a junior minister and claimed £153,862 in expenses last year." Yes, life is good for such people. But does it not tell us a great deal about the mentality of New Labour that they are so out of touch with the struggling elements of the electorate in crime ridden estates, struggling to cope on benefits or two or three inadequately paid insecure jobs? More than this, even if Mr Wood is referring to the relatively prosperous elements of our society that the government has electorally pandered too, he surely must be aware, as many of these people are, that we are living on borrowed time in the face of looming economic, ecological and resource crises?

The Panglossian optimism and the failure to appreciate why so many are disgruntled reveals the vulgar materialism at the heart of New Labour - give the proles bread and circuses (or all day drinking and Big Brother on a big flat screen TV) and they should be happy! The likes of Wood seemingly cannot understand that humans cannot "live by bread alone" - there is a huge crisis of meaning, a huge deficit of purpose and a massive democratic deficit and disempowerment in Britain, and across much of the world now that neo-liberalism is being imposed or embraced by so many of the powers that be. Many of us cannot accept that the main purpose in life is to accumulate ever more gadgets, and to constantly remould our personal image to compete in some race that never ends and no-one wins. The destruction of much of the trade union tradition and the manufacturing base of the country have taken away the purpose of collective organisation and solidarity, the sense of belonging in many communities. There is a spiritual crisis, whereby the old religions have ceased to have authority and power (quite rightly, as they were more and more regarded as intellectually unsustainable and blatant servants of a particular section of the ruling class) but those communal, humanistic and democratic successors to religious communities and sentiments have not been allowed to flourish in the face of the imperatives of totalitarian and atomising capitalism.

More amazing still is that this enthusiastic former Blairite who voted for the Iraq war and sits in a government that has just started the process of introducing 42 days detention without charge cannot see that a climate of fear and hatred does not lead to smiley-happy-grateful citizens - either amongst the general populace or (particularly) amongst the target section of the community. His government wants us to live in fear and suspicion of our neighbours - and despite trumpeting about low crime feel they have to create ever more criminal offences (was it 3000 and rising?) and regularly announce (usually ineffective) headline grabbing "tough initiatives" and "clampdowns".

Despite all this, I think Mr Wood is wrong - most people are not miserable, those of us who can (and that is not all, even in this rich country) try to enjoy life and the benefits we have based on hard work and the hard work of our ancestors - no, what people are, is not miserable, but ANGRY. Angry that we have a bunch of incompetents at the helm in hock to the most right wing of US Presidents, state-building Eurocrats, nuclear energy companies, biotech firms and global media corporations - a government that worships the free market such that they know the price of everything and the value of nothing, a government that has mortgaged our children's future through expensive PFI and PPP schemes. Angry that every initiative, good or bad, is choked with bureucracy and red tape that confuses the public and demoralises the workers tasked with implementation. We are angry that we have a government that participated in launching an illegal war, sees fit to ignore and override public opinion in a patrician manner and runs shy of electoral contests that it knows it will lose. That 's how grateful we are!

Bloated Plutocrats Urge Restraint

Grim economic news in Britain today over soaring food and fuel prices and inflation. The refrain from the media commentators and the politicians is the same as ever - "restraint" in working people's pay claims and the monetarist obsession with controlling inflation by forcing working class people to pay for every market difficulty, failure, crisis and slump.

We shall now see whether Thatcherism and its' Blairite continuation have really achieved a permanent hold on the perception of economic interests amongst working people. It has long been encouraging that whilst the yellow media have a certain hold on perception of some political issues like immigration, they have long failed to hoodwink huge numbers over basic economic interests - witness the failure of the Poll Tax. Some of the media even joins in populist attacks on "fat cats" (particularly politicians) awarding themselves huge increases whilst expecting others to cope with rises that do not match inflation.

The attempt by New Labour to force public sector workers to accept pay deals below the real rate of inflation - in the face of massive increases in food and fuel costs - is an attempt to make workers pay for the crisis. It is imposing pay cuts on hundreds of thousands of low paid workers. The rising costs are also impacting heavily on pensioners and claimants, but the government can only continue wittering about welfare "reform". Anger is rising. The Government are widely despised over a whole range of unpopular policies.

All this is a curtain raiser for a longer term and deeper crisis brought on by climate change, resource scarcity and global conflict. The rich and the ruling class the world over will seek to make the poorest and most vulnerable bear the heaviest burdens in this new era. On our side we must begin to organise and fight back. The demand for a "JUST TRANSITION" (to a lower carbon, lower energy, more sustainable and more localised economy) is beginning to be heard more widely - though like "sustainability" the phrase means different things to different people, and we should not expect too much of the TUC, tied as they are to the same Government that is adamant (even at the beginning of the downturn and first ripples of the economic and social Tsunamis to come) that the TUC's members must pay a disproportionate price. Work can be done inside TUC unions, but the task is larger than getting union bureaucracies to voice some watered down demands.

As ever, working people and communities need also to organise independently of political and economic bureaucracies, use their own tactics and strategies and raise their own demands. The rich history of struggle represented by the likes of the IWW is there to be discovered by a new generation.

Three Cheers For The Irish "No" Voters!

A big thankyou - from all lovers of real democracy and opponents of the arrogant European elite - to the Irish voters who torpedoed the Lisbon Treaty today!

In the face of an almost united political establishment (only Sinn Fein, non-parliamentary elements of the Greens and tiny fringe parties associated themselves with the No Campaign, whilst the Yes Campaign had the support of both opposition and Government - including the increasingly treacherous parliamentary leadership of the Irish Greens) a majority of voters decided to vote in favour of Irish independence and neutrality and against the nefarious plans of the European Business elite, their paid political agents and the useful idiots dreaming of a continental "social democratic" utopia.

The immediate response of representatives of the European political elite in both EU structures and the supine governments that have refused to give their voters a say on the re-badged Constitution has been illustrative of the arrogance and contempt for democracy that is becoming ever more evident to ever wider swathes of the European population. If the elites try to soldier on with the treaty ratification process in national parliaments and upper houses they will hopefully face a rising tide of anger.

The duplicity of the framers and promoters of this Treaty and its' previous incarnation as a Constitution are now legendary. Within the Green movement we have recently witnessed the contempt of the bureaucrats and "celebrities" of the European Green Party for views that contradict their dangerous mix of opportunism, bureaucratic utopianism and barely concealed desire for a new "Euro imperialism" to rival that of other power blocs. The appalling self indulgent sell-out and ex-radical Cohn Bendit apparently called the Irish "No" side "losers". I could not think of a better description of that vain, ageing egotist, perhaps now better described as "Danny the Brown" rather than "Danny the Red" given his support for creeping authoritarianism and corporatism.

Fortunately the majority of the English and Welsh Greens are on the same side as the majority of people in both Britain and Ireland and are resolutely behind ex Green MEP McKenna and the Irish No campaign. Green Left will continue to support demands for abandonment of the Treaty, and will continue to link with those radical and left elements in European Green Parties that wish to depose the bureaucrats, warmongers, timeservers and sell-outs that have brought our movement into disrepute.

42 Days

Who, say 15 years ago, would have thought we would have a British Labour government, yes, a Labour government scuttling round begging for the votes of Ulster Loyalists, a Tory mouthpiece of Catholic reaction and a recent convert to the hard right populism of UKIP to get passed a bill to introduce in Britain the possibility of 42 (yes 42!) days detention without charge. Strange Days indeed. An appropriate moment, perhaps, for some of the last remaining principled and civil libertarian holders of Labour Party membership cards to tear them up and resign (as commentator Conor Foley announced in the Guardian yesterday that he was doing).
So the ratchet of reaction, corporatism and authoritarianism moves up another ratchet. (Although it could happen that the dogs breakfast of moves and concessions that this new detention legislation represents could get into all kinds of trouble once it moes out of the Commons into the Upper House and the Courts) We await the result of the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty to see whether any obstacles are going to be thrown in the way of this authoritarian corporatist process on a larger European scale.

New Ecosocialist Blog

A big welcome to the Ecosocialist blogosphere to James Caspell whose blog is entitled "La Lutte Continue!"

James' latest post covers the Labour Government yet again acting against the best interests of agency workers.

Weekly Links - 09/06/2008

Another quick few links this week :

Here is a short experimental film on the subject of wind turbines from Duncan Kenning, a fine art student at University College Falmouth in Cornwall. Yeah, yeah, we know they won't solve the energy crisis alone and will not give security of supply/baseload etc, but I'm getting a bit tired of the "they are a useless waste of money" brigade. Latest is Noel Edmonds (yes, that Noel Edmonds! The poor man's Jeremy Clarkson - or the rich(er) man's Jeremy Clarkson given his penchant for choppers and fat cheques from his TV employers?) who is mouthpiece for something called the Renewable Energy Foundation, and has a doom and gloom piece in the Daily Mirror. Now Noel makes some worthwhile points, but I am a little concerned about where he is coming from and where he is going! REF have form, uniting all the opponents of wind energy around a dubious negativist prospectus. I am no fan of the energy companies and corporate spin, but the agenda of many of the "private backers" of REF is all too transparnet and none too appealing either. Like the larger debate on climate change, the wind energy debate in the popular media is unfortunately now a minefield of competing corporate interests, reactionary agendas and conspiracism.

In the blogs this week, Jim reflected on the candidacy of Barack Obama, as does Septicisle at Obsolete whilst Derek saw his ascension in a more critical light.
SUB have a report on the Keep Our NHS Public AGM from Norma Turner, World By Storm started a debate on this week's Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. (I'm for a No, but at least this appears to be a civilized debate. We shall see what happens later this week!)

Nuclear Errors

The ill-advised rush towards a new generation of nuclear reactors in some parts of Europe (usually justified on grounds of emissions reduction or energy security, and conveniently ignoring reference to the unsustainable, hazardous nature of the energy source and its' uselessness in countering the decline of oil stocks/soaring oil prices) has hit further problems, as noted by Greenpeace:

French nuclear safety agency stops construction of 'flagship' nuclear reactor

The French nuclear safety agency, ASN, has ordered construction to be suspended on the new nuclear reactor being built in France – the same model that would most likely be built in the UK.

Flamanville's construction in northern France has run into the same kinds of problems plaguing the ongoing construction of the only other European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), Olkiluoto 3, in Finland.

The move by ASN follows the agency's discovery of chronic problems affecting the quality of construction work since building work commenced on Flamanville 3 in December 2007.

ASN's call to halt construction follows a series of letters from the agency to Flamanville's construction manager. In the letters, ASN inspectors highlighted a range of problems including non-conformities in the pinning of the steel framework of the concrete base slab, incorrectly positioned reinforcements, and inadequacy of technical inspections by both the construction companies and Electricité de France (EdF).

Inspectors also uncovered inconsistencies between the blueprint for reinforcement work and the plan for its practical implementation. The incorrect composition of concrete had been used, that may lead to cracks and rapid deterioration. Samples of concrete were also not collected properly, according to ASN.

Cracks have already been observed at part of the base slab beneath the reactor building. The supplier of the steel containment liner reportedly lacks the necessary qualifications. Fabrication of the liner was continuing despite quality failures demonstrating the lack of competence of the supplier. As a result, one-quarter of the welds of the steel liner of the reactor containment building were deficient.

Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace's nuclear campaign, said: "The only two EPRs being built today are construction fiascos. The one in Finland is years behind schedule and billions over budget and only six months into the project in France building work has come screeching to a halt.

"This reactor design is fast becoming a by-word for incompetence, massive delays, spiralling costs and dodgy engineering. We only have a limited time and budget to stave off the most catastrophic effects of climate change and we should stop pouring money down the nuclear black hole."

Olkiluoto has been under construction for three years but has been blighted ever since the concrete was poured. Poor quality concrete, bad welds on the containment liner and low-quality reactor components are among its problems. The schedule for completion has been put back by more than two years and costs have nearly doubled to over Euro 5 billion.

Meanwhile, events in Slovenia have shown up the problems with the current generation of reactors in Europe :

A leak of coolant prompted Slovenia to completely shut down the reactor at its only nuclear power plant.

The European Commission said parts were still cooling after the shutdown, but the situation was under control.

It said there appears to have been no discharge into the environment at the Krsko plant, which supplies energy to Slovenia and Croatia.

The Commission alerted all 27 EU member states under its Ecurie early warning system for nuclear emergencies.

Slovenia's nuclear safety chief Andrej Stritar said there was a water leak from the primary circuit inside the containment area.

He said operators had shut down the plant safely.

"Situation is under control," he said in a statement. "The plant is in stable condition. There is no off-site impact and there is no need for off-site protective measures. "

The Krsko plant has a US-made pressurised water reactor.
Source - BBC

This comes in the wake of power cuts in parts of Britain after various nuclear and coal fired plants here shut down due to problems and maintenance. Gordon Brown, the beleaguered British Prime Minister has been loudly trumpeting his intention to ride roughshod over any objections to his leading the country down the hyper-expensive route to new nuclear plants. Maybe he feels he has to match the rhetoric of the reactionary regime in Italy. The following was an article by Alessandro Barbera in La Stampa:

Rome - Ever since 2001 there has been a breach among the centre-left parties. At that time those who favoured nuclear power plants were in a minority and afraid to come out into the open. During the electoral campaign, the option got into the programme of the Party of Freedom [PDL], and Giulio Tremonti [current economy minister] envisioned the building of nuclear power plants on the coast of Balkan countries. Now, seven years after the formal motions and 21 years after a referendum in which the Italians said no to the nuclear option, the new development minister, Claudio Scajola, definitively breaks the taboo at a meeting with Italian industrialists: "Before the end of this legislature, the cornerstone of a series of new power plants will be laid. Italy needs a shift in the energy field. And the shift must be made with determination and a sense of responsibility. Only nuclear power plants make it possible to have large-scale and secure energy at a competitive cost and with respect for the environment."

It is too soon to talk about sites, or investments, but there are already plans. The third Berlusconi government relies on third-generation power plants . These are not yet "at zero risk," but according to specialists, they come very close to it. It is this type of power plant that, under an accord the Prodi Government signed in Nice last fall, ENEL [Italian Electricity Corporation] has started building on French soil along with the EDF [French Electricity Corporation]. It is called the Evolutionary Power Reactor, and the first one is being built at Flamanville, Normandy. The real model of what the Berlusconi government proposes lies further to the north: at Okiluoto, Finland, where the Green-backed conservative government has said yes to the construction of a power station financed by a consortium of electric enterprises which have acquired exploitation rights in advance.

As was to be expected, major companies like ENEL, ENI [Italian Oil Corporation], or Edison [second largest energy company in Italy in the field of electricity and natural gas] say they are ready right away. On the other hand, thanks to an amendment passed by the then Berlusconi Government, since 2004 only ENEL invests in nuclear power plants outside Italy. Now, following its takeover of Spain's ENDESA [National Electricity Enterprise], ENEL is among Europe's major builders of nuclear power plants: it owns nine working power plants and is building five more. ENEL Deputy Manager Fulvio Conti is sure that five years would be enough for one to be built in Italy. Deputy Minister for Productive Activities Adolfo Urso, who had favoured nuclear power plants all along, is more cautious: "Let us say that, what with projects and licenses, it will take up to seven years."

If the Union of Christian Democrats and Centrists [UDC], through its secretary, Lorenzo Cesa, says that it has "all along been for" a return to nuclear power, the centre-left says no to Scajola's statement. For the first time in a long time, opposition to nuclear power plants runs from the Democratic Party [PD] to the Communist Renewal, and comprises the Greens, the World Wildlife Fund, and all the environmentalists. "At last the government has said something that will make it lose votes," Veltroni's [PD chairman] right-hand man Ermete Realacci says. Roberto Seta, the PD's man in charge of the environment, is even more explicit: "It is an old, ideological, unrealistic, and unpopular proposition." In the PD, however, there are people who, like Pierluigi Bersani, speak in a different tone: "It is the Prodi Government that has taken the first steps towards third-generation nuclear power stations," people on the staff of the former prime minister say. Actually, in the PD's programme there is a yes to this type of technology which, however, will not be available according to specialists, for another 15 years. Theoretically speaking, though, science may shoot ahead: yesterday, for example, Il Sole 24 Ore on-line recounted a successful experiment of cold fusion at Osaka University: the dream of all environmentalists. However, a possible nuclear power plant is the one Scajola proposes. It remains to be seen whether the cornerstone of a nuclear station will really be laid in Italy. Urso safeguards himself: "Let us not forget that, two years ago Albania, was available for this project."

Source: La Stampa website, Turin, in Italian 23 May 08

It seems once again that the ruling class of Europe are reaching for an expensively marketed technical fix that will not only not solve the most pressing energy related problems, but will create and sustain a whole series of new and continuing problems like waste disposal, security of supply, runaway costs, lack of resilience and vulnerability to attack.

Fascist Attack in Huddersfield

An anti-fascist has been attacked by fascist thugs on her way to work in Huddersfield. Here is the statement from Kirklees Unity:

Kirklees Unity Statement:

On Friday morning a young female student was attacked on her way to work by three armed members of the far right. They pulled her to the ground, kicked her repeatedly in the ribs and slashed at her head with a knife. Whilst attacking her they called her “A Dirty red” and “Filthy lesbo”, the latter being a reference to the victims sexuality.

She suffered a fractured rib and severe bruising, but given the severity of the assault the injuries could have been far worse.

The attackers singled out this student because she campaigns on her campus to drive out the BNP. The victim is also a member of Unison and the NUS.

They knew her name and route to work, and deliberately targeted her to intimidate her and others campaigning against the far right.

The incident has been reported to West Yorkshire Police and they are currently investigating the attack.

More from Workers' Liberty here.

Weekly Links - 24/05/08

Another quick selection of links for you this week during a busy period.

Blogs
Lots of comment everywhere about Labour's Crewe and Nantwich by-election disaster. As ever, perceptive comment from Green blogger Jim at Daily (Maybe)

From Jim's piece -

Hidden beneath the anger that New Labour had departed from Old/real Labour policies has always been that layer of voters who thought that was a good thing. Who wanted them to be less socialist, less working class, less orientated on the trade unions. More than that, New Labour persuaded a whole layer of people that it was the right and proper thing to do to desert those Labour traditions. There has been a gradual shift to the right in society, one that is becoming more obvious as Brown's government slowly crumbles and dies.

That means all we're left with is whether Labour are a more efficient, in touch Conservative Party than the Tories. And for a few years they were. But no more. As Harriet Harman said that "people are feeling the pinch". That's right. You for one.

Socialist Unity Blog have the Labour soft left Compass response to their party's defeat and an analytical piece by SUB uber-blogger Andy Newman.

Protest
The big protest against the Third Runway at Heathrow is coming up on 31st May - more from the Campaign Against Climate Change here.

New Book On Climate Change Action

Friends Of The Earth have a new book out on acting on climate change -

How Can I Stop Climate Change?
By Helen Burley & Chris Haslam

£12.99 (RRP £14.99)

We can do almost anything we put our minds to. Just run towards it.

- Marcus Brigstocke, comic and presenter



How Can I Stop Climate Change? is a step-by-step handbook to today's hottest issue, providing a complete guide to improving the quality of your life and the planet's, both as an individual and by scaling up your impact through political action.

Written by the experts at Friends of the Earth, it clearly sets out climate science and solutions - how much carbon we can live with, how to change old habits, and how to reduce your carbon footprint at home, at school, at work and in your neighbourhood.

This indispensable guide is perfect for those keen to make a difference but unsure of where to start. The message is loud and clear - if you want to help save the planet, get in the know and think big.

Nothing's more delicious than the vegetable you've grown yourself, few things feel better than a cosy, well-insulated home, riding a bike is fun and it makes your bum smaller. Someone tell me, please, what's not to like?

- Marcus Brigstocke, comic and presenter

Weekly Links - 19/04/08

I am very busy at the moment and over the next couple of weeks - hence the more infrequent nature of posting. Just time this week, then, to post a few links of interest.

The main continuing stories in the news have been the terrible disasters in Burma/Myanmar and China. In Britain the Burma aid effort is being coordinated through DEC, the Disasters Emergency Committee that links together major charities and aid organisations. The British Red Cross is coordinating a China Earthquake appeal.

Green Politics
A hard hitting new report on Climate Change was published last week and drew comment from the South East England Green Party Euro MP Caroline Lucas. Jim at Daily (Maybe)last week posted his final analysis on the London election results.

Blogging
Tim at Green Left Infoasis posted links to a range of interesting stories on Friday, including this article about John Cusack's film War Inc.

Derek Wall commented on the trials (and trial!) of infamous right wing Anglo-Irish blogger "Guido Fawkes" on the Socialist Unity Blog.