Two telling moments on the Radio 4 Toady programme this morning.
1 Roger Horrobin asked Dept of the Environment people to name ONE occasion when Bliar backed them against the Dept of transport, trade or treasury colleagues. There was an embarrassed silence.
2 The new Environment Minister, David Milliband (worth a thousand microbands, clearly) refers to nuclear power as zero carbon energy. Hah! Even the commentators have given that one up about 12 months ago, and refer to it as a low-carbon option. As any fule kno, nuclear energy requires huge inputs of energy to mine, enrich and dispose of the fues, let alone make the concrete and steel for the reactors. Using current high grade uranium ores, nuclear emits about 1/3 the amount of gas. Lower grade ores are just not worth the trouble in terms of carbon emmissions.
A message for David Microband can be reached at the Dept of the Environment 0845 9335 577 (9-5 M-F).
Friday, May 12, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
We are not for names...
"We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government,
nor are we for this party nor against the other but we are
for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom,
that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness,
righteousness, meekness, temperance, peace and unity with
God, and with one another, that these things may abound."
(Edward Burroughs, 1659 - from 'Quaker Faith and Practice')
Paul Mobbs always signs off with this; thought it worth passing on.
nor are we for this party nor against the other but we are
for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom,
that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness,
righteousness, meekness, temperance, peace and unity with
God, and with one another, that these things may abound."
(Edward Burroughs, 1659 - from 'Quaker Faith and Practice')
Paul Mobbs always signs off with this; thought it worth passing on.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
European Greens adopt Index of Human Rights
I am delighted to find today that the European Green Parties, meeting in Helsinki, 5-7th May 2006
have adopted a resolution on the Index of Human Rights in the UN. The text is below.
Synopsis
Regrettably, abuses of human rights takes place on a routine basis in many regimes around the world, including those that like to describe themselves as "democratic". The United Nations and some NGOs publish reports of these activities, but their details are available only to scholars and specialists. This enables abuses to continue, and allows political leaders to describe certain states as "evil", when there may be other states with whom they have good relations who have worse records. By ranking all states according to their performance, an Index of Human Rights published annually by the UN would exert a steady upward pressure on governments' human rights performance. The full background to this proposal can be found here: http://www.greenhealth.org.uk/Index%20of%20Governance.htm
Motion on Index of Human Rights in the UN
Whereas all governments currently have their human rights record (relating to use of torture, political imprisonment and other human rights matters) continuously assessed by the UN, we ask the European Green Party to press for these records to be published annually by the UN Human Rights Council, ranked and ordered in such a way that the spectrum of all governments' human rights performance, ranging from best to worst, will be easily apparent to any interested observer.
Any government concerned at its standing in this UN Index of Human Rights will be offered assistance in improving their performance by the UN Human Rights Council. A specified number of governments with the poorest record of human rights as measured on this Index will have their performance subject to legal investigation in a competent international court.
This initiative has arisen from within the Green Party in England and Wales, modelled on the Index of Human Rights which was published in the Observer newspaper in the mid 1990s. It has so far gained support from six small Human Rights NGOs.
We very much hope that it will in due course be adopted by the Global Greens.
It is a new concept, that is slowly spreading into consciousness, and it will take several years before it is actually adopted by the UN. It will have a modest effect in improving human rights practices worldwide.
For further information on the Campaign for a Human Rights Index in the UN (CHRIUN) , please take a look here : http://www.greenhealth.org.uk/Index%20of%20Governance.htm
have adopted a resolution on the Index of Human Rights in the UN. The text is below.
Synopsis
Regrettably, abuses of human rights takes place on a routine basis in many regimes around the world, including those that like to describe themselves as "democratic". The United Nations and some NGOs publish reports of these activities, but their details are available only to scholars and specialists. This enables abuses to continue, and allows political leaders to describe certain states as "evil", when there may be other states with whom they have good relations who have worse records. By ranking all states according to their performance, an Index of Human Rights published annually by the UN would exert a steady upward pressure on governments' human rights performance. The full background to this proposal can be found here: http://www.greenhealth.org.uk/Index%20of%20Governance.htm
Motion on Index of Human Rights in the UN
Whereas all governments currently have their human rights record (relating to use of torture, political imprisonment and other human rights matters) continuously assessed by the UN, we ask the European Green Party to press for these records to be published annually by the UN Human Rights Council, ranked and ordered in such a way that the spectrum of all governments' human rights performance, ranging from best to worst, will be easily apparent to any interested observer.
Any government concerned at its standing in this UN Index of Human Rights will be offered assistance in improving their performance by the UN Human Rights Council. A specified number of governments with the poorest record of human rights as measured on this Index will have their performance subject to legal investigation in a competent international court.
This initiative has arisen from within the Green Party in England and Wales, modelled on the Index of Human Rights which was published in the Observer newspaper in the mid 1990s. It has so far gained support from six small Human Rights NGOs.
We very much hope that it will in due course be adopted by the Global Greens.
It is a new concept, that is slowly spreading into consciousness, and it will take several years before it is actually adopted by the UN. It will have a modest effect in improving human rights practices worldwide.
For further information on the Campaign for a Human Rights Index in the UN (CHRIUN) , please take a look here : http://www.greenhealth.org.uk/Index%20of%20Governance.htm
Monday, May 08, 2006
Missed Appointments Not All The Fault Of Patients
The Green Party responded swiftly to research by Grant Shapps, a Conservative MP who has put forward figures showing failure to attend hospital outpatient appointments could cost the NHS up to £680 million a year. I have my own audit figures showing that although a quarter of patient offered outpatient appointments carelessly forgot to attend, 45% of my sample did take the trouble to cancel, and that the resulting waste of hospital resources was due to inadequate communications within the hospital. In two cases ( 3.6%) the invitation to the appointment arrived after the time of the appointment.
Most cancellations made by patients were by phone, but two patients even cancelled in writing.
The conclusion is that not all failed appointments episodes are due to the negligence of patients. A significant proportion is due to poor communication between hospital administration departments.
Dr Lawson commented “The ever increasing pressures on the NHS brought about by ill-thought through central Government “reforms” is probably causing the hospital clerks to lose the plot in a significant way, at least in the hospital that we studied.”
Full details of my audit of 115 events are posted here.
Most cancellations made by patients were by phone, but two patients even cancelled in writing.
The conclusion is that not all failed appointments episodes are due to the negligence of patients. A significant proportion is due to poor communication between hospital administration departments.
Dr Lawson commented “The ever increasing pressures on the NHS brought about by ill-thought through central Government “reforms” is probably causing the hospital clerks to lose the plot in a significant way, at least in the hospital that we studied.”
Full details of my audit of 115 events are posted here.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Jack Straw, ex-Foreign Secretary - What does it mean?
I have a bad feeling about Jack Straw's departure from the FCO. For all his deficiencies in the Iraq department, he has been saying consistently that no way is anyone in their right mind going to start bombing or invading Iran. Now that he has been replaced by Margaret Beckett, the Bliar is free to slake his lust both for glossary cleansing of the Presidential natal cleft, and also his pathological liking for violent "resolution" of conflict.
As for la Beckett, she is one tough cookie. There is a tradition (Gummer, Meacher) for Environment Secretaries to leave office with a sense of realisation that there is a major problem with the environment, but Margaret has not shown any symptoms of having the slightest glimmering of understanding of the severity of the problems that we face. Or if she did, she has not let her understanding affect her policy decisions.
Oh dear, Oh dear.
As for la Beckett, she is one tough cookie. There is a tradition (Gummer, Meacher) for Environment Secretaries to leave office with a sense of realisation that there is a major problem with the environment, but Margaret has not shown any symptoms of having the slightest glimmering of understanding of the severity of the problems that we face. Or if she did, she has not let her understanding affect her policy decisions.
Oh dear, Oh dear.
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