I start the day with email To the Today programme (today@bbc.co.uk)
In the 7.00 - 7.30 am cycle, covering local election results, you were pleased to mention the BNP and have its leader on to speak, unchallenged, yet made no mention of the Green Party.
For your information:
The Green Party has so far added 18 more Pricipal Authority Councillors to its previous figure of 71, giving an overnight total of 89.
I would remind you that the politics of the BNP led to genocide and huge destruction of life and property in this country and throughout the world between the years of 1939 and 1945, while the Green Party offers the only political and economic programme designed for a sustainable future.
What conclusions am I to draw about the mindset of the Today programme planners and decision makers from this state of affairs?
Friday, May 05, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
H5N1: Let us learn from Vietnam's success
New Zealand's source for World News on Stuff.co.nz: Vietnam to unveil advanced plan to fight bird flu
Vietnam, the country hardest-hit by avian flu but free of the disease for six months, will present a model plan on containing the virus at an Asia-Pacific conference next week, international officials said.
The "Green Book" outlines medium- and long-term strategies for fighting the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus among people and animals to help prevent a global pandemic.
It includes poultry and livestock production reforms, public awareness campaigns and tighter border controls to prevent illegal poultry trade... The H5N1 virus struck poultry and people in the Southeast Asian country of 83 million in late 2003. Vietnam, with 42 deaths out of 93 human cases reported, has the highest casualty rate but it has not had a human case of H5N1 since November. In recent weeks, neighbours Cambodia and China have reported infections in people and poultry.
The draft five-year plan will be presented at the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) avian flu meeting of ministers of agriculture and health in the central Vietnam city of Danang from May 4-6.
...
After nearly two years of using mainly culling to control the virus, the Communist government last year adopted a combination of mass poultry vaccination, disinfecting, culling, information campaigns and bans on live poultry in cities.
Hans Troedsson, the UN's World Health Organisation representative in Vietnam, said the plan was "technically sound" but could not be copied or used as a blueprint by every country.
Maybe not copied and pasted, Hans, but the WHO should definitely be looking with all due humility oat the facts of the Vietnamese case. Note especially that they stopped culling and started vaccinating, and they cut down on the poultry trade, which is now thought to be more of a risk for spread than wild bird migration. As an island, therefore, the UK could keep H5N1 Avian out if we stop bird imports.
Byt DEFRA is in charge, and DEFRA is short for DEaF to Reasoned Argument.
Vietnam, the country hardest-hit by avian flu but free of the disease for six months, will present a model plan on containing the virus at an Asia-Pacific conference next week, international officials said.
The "Green Book" outlines medium- and long-term strategies for fighting the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus among people and animals to help prevent a global pandemic.
It includes poultry and livestock production reforms, public awareness campaigns and tighter border controls to prevent illegal poultry trade... The H5N1 virus struck poultry and people in the Southeast Asian country of 83 million in late 2003. Vietnam, with 42 deaths out of 93 human cases reported, has the highest casualty rate but it has not had a human case of H5N1 since November. In recent weeks, neighbours Cambodia and China have reported infections in people and poultry.
The draft five-year plan will be presented at the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) avian flu meeting of ministers of agriculture and health in the central Vietnam city of Danang from May 4-6.
...
After nearly two years of using mainly culling to control the virus, the Communist government last year adopted a combination of mass poultry vaccination, disinfecting, culling, information campaigns and bans on live poultry in cities.
Hans Troedsson, the UN's World Health Organisation representative in Vietnam, said the plan was "technically sound" but could not be copied or used as a blueprint by every country.
Maybe not copied and pasted, Hans, but the WHO should definitely be looking with all due humility oat the facts of the Vietnamese case. Note especially that they stopped culling and started vaccinating, and they cut down on the poultry trade, which is now thought to be more of a risk for spread than wild bird migration. As an island, therefore, the UK could keep H5N1 Avian out if we stop bird imports.
Byt DEFRA is in charge, and DEFRA is short for DEaF to Reasoned Argument.
UN and Human Rights
Thalif Deen writes: U.N. Talks But Won't Act on Genocide on the Inter Press Service News Agency.
One of the problems for the UN is that by the time genocide is happening, only military action is effective, and that takes enormous resources, and the necessary committment is unlikely to be found. The UN needs to start much earlier, bringing non-violent pressure onto states when they start the slide towards authoritarianism. This requires an Index of Human Rights to be set up in the UN which will objectively measure the human rights performance of all states year on year. This simple measure will open up an era of improving the humanitarian record of all governments.
One of the problems for the UN is that by the time genocide is happening, only military action is effective, and that takes enormous resources, and the necessary committment is unlikely to be found. The UN needs to start much earlier, bringing non-violent pressure onto states when they start the slide towards authoritarianism. This requires an Index of Human Rights to be set up in the UN which will objectively measure the human rights performance of all states year on year. This simple measure will open up an era of improving the humanitarian record of all governments.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Corporate rights and responsibilities
I have just googled corporate rights. 675 million.
Corporate Legal rights : 208 million.
Then corporate responsibilities. 56 million.
Corporate legal responsibilities 28.2 million.
Nuff said. Try this link.
Corporate Legal rights : 208 million.
Then corporate responsibilities. 56 million.
Corporate legal responsibilities 28.2 million.
Nuff said. Try this link.
Report from UNA UK Conference Durham 2006
The United Nations Associaton is an NGO that exists to support the work of the UN. Durham University hosted its annual Conference this year .The agenda contained a fair degree of formality because the UNA is an ageing institution, set up at the same time the UN was formed, just after the second world war. Many of the stalwarts are in their eighth decade, and most of the hair is grey, although, like the Young Greens, there was a youth wing, UNYSA, sharing the conference.
The incoming president is Lord David Hannay, who was the UK Permanent Representative at the UN 1990-95 and was a member of the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, commissioned by Kofi Annan, which prepared the way for the UN Summit last year. A big beast. He bears an amazing resemblance to Sir Humphrey. It is weird stuff for a Green to be mingling with Lords and ageing gentry, and humbling to discover that despite appearances, they share the same concerns about humanity as ourselves. There were three Green Party members present, one of whom, Paul Ingrams, was there as an invited expert to lead the workshop on Peace and Security.
The agenda was familiar to anyone who has been to Green Party emergency motion session: motions on human rights, Guantanamo Bay, street children, natural disasters and women, oil extraction from the Niger delta, peak oil, while some dealt with UN structure: security council reform, world Civil Society Union, Disaster Relief (calling for a fleet of UN helicopters on standby). There were peace and security topics: arms trade control, Darfur, Trident was opposed, must be debated in Parliament, the NPT, and a neat little motion to ban duty-free glass bottles on airliners on grounds of weight and weapons potential.
Development covered economic development in the Middle East, Clean Water for all, the Millennium Development Goals, and there were motions on climate change, and fish stocks.
UK foreign policy motions criticised the war in Iraq, rendition, the Middle East and proposed a UK Commissioner for Peace.
Most items were voted through without much dissention. There was a sharp division in which I took part when it was suggested that there should be compromise between the rights of indigenous peoples to their land and the right of the state to exploit resources on that land. The matter was referred back.
The Board has decided not to adopt this Index of Human Rights in the UN because there are too many indices floating around in the UN already. Of all the reasons not to adopt, this is one of the weakest I have heard so far. The pressure will continue.
At the end, as after any conference, you wonder what was achieved? Many worthy sentiments were expressed, which go up to the UNA Executive, who communicate them to Government (mainly the FCO) who - well, do with them what Government always does to suggestions coming from NGOs. Not a lot, but it is better that Government is aware of what the people are thinking, and the UNA’s opinion has a certain weight. I would encourage Greens to join their local UNA. We have much to teach, and much to learn from this respected organisation.
The incoming president is Lord David Hannay, who was the UK Permanent Representative at the UN 1990-95 and was a member of the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, commissioned by Kofi Annan, which prepared the way for the UN Summit last year. A big beast. He bears an amazing resemblance to Sir Humphrey. It is weird stuff for a Green to be mingling with Lords and ageing gentry, and humbling to discover that despite appearances, they share the same concerns about humanity as ourselves. There were three Green Party members present, one of whom, Paul Ingrams, was there as an invited expert to lead the workshop on Peace and Security.
The agenda was familiar to anyone who has been to Green Party emergency motion session: motions on human rights, Guantanamo Bay, street children, natural disasters and women, oil extraction from the Niger delta, peak oil, while some dealt with UN structure: security council reform, world Civil Society Union, Disaster Relief (calling for a fleet of UN helicopters on standby). There were peace and security topics: arms trade control, Darfur, Trident was opposed, must be debated in Parliament, the NPT, and a neat little motion to ban duty-free glass bottles on airliners on grounds of weight and weapons potential.
Development covered economic development in the Middle East, Clean Water for all, the Millennium Development Goals, and there were motions on climate change, and fish stocks.
UK foreign policy motions criticised the war in Iraq, rendition, the Middle East and proposed a UK Commissioner for Peace.
Most items were voted through without much dissention. There was a sharp division in which I took part when it was suggested that there should be compromise between the rights of indigenous peoples to their land and the right of the state to exploit resources on that land. The matter was referred back.
The Board has decided not to adopt this Index of Human Rights in the UN because there are too many indices floating around in the UN already. Of all the reasons not to adopt, this is one of the weakest I have heard so far. The pressure will continue.
At the end, as after any conference, you wonder what was achieved? Many worthy sentiments were expressed, which go up to the UNA Executive, who communicate them to Government (mainly the FCO) who - well, do with them what Government always does to suggestions coming from NGOs. Not a lot, but it is better that Government is aware of what the people are thinking, and the UNA’s opinion has a certain weight. I would encourage Greens to join their local UNA. We have much to teach, and much to learn from this respected organisation.
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