ETHICS ON TRIAL
20/4/05: Lancaster's Society of Friends, the Quakers, have written to the University's Vice Chanceller, Prof Paul Wellings, expressing concern at the University's decision to uphold a prosecution for Aggravated Trespass against a group of six students and local people who objected to a Corporate Venturing Conference held in the University's George Fox Building in September 2004.
The six were doing what we would, frankly, expect students to do, namely protesting against the University's lack of open consultation in forging links with several companies known for unethical corporate practices, such as global arms dealers BAE Systems, notorious for supplying weapons to Zimbabwe and numerous other regimes with appalling human rights records.
Lancaster's Green Party Councillors have also called on the University to drop the prosecution (read item) and the Students' Union has also passed a motion condemning the prosecution. The hearing will be in September.
A draft letter outlining concerns about the situation has been prepared to assist those who wish to petition the Vice Chancellor to exercise tolerance in this case and you can download it here (PDF format. Get acrobat).
Alternatively you can email the office of the Vice Chancellor with your views on the issue.
Read the background to this story
Email the Vice-Chancellor's office
Update 21/4/05: In an attempt at damage limitation the university has issued a press release announcing plans to develop a prototype scanner to detect hidden explosives in collaboration with "BAE SYSTEMS (sic), NIS Ltd, Manchester Airport, John Caunt Scientific and the Police Scientific Development Branch."
"The threat of global terrorism means there is a demand for increasingly fast and reliable methods of screening goods in transit for hidden explosives. "
Recent history teaches us that the best way of fostering global terrorism is to support and arm undemocratic regimes enabling them to become increasingly despotic and paranoid - until they 'fail' and become themselves sources of subversion. Arms companies such as BAE that profiteer from misery and oppression are complicit in this process.
Update 22/4/05: The six will be taking part in a 'gagged' protest at 12.30pm in Alexandra Square on campus on Monday 25 April highlighting their denial of freedom of speech by university authorities. One campaigner said, "The charges against us are a clear attempt at silencing
criticism of University involvement with arms dealers, genetic modification, animal testing and controversial multinational corporations who have variously been accused by Amnesty International, Greenpeace and other respected Human Rights and environmental organisations of extensive human rights abuses and environmental
destruction around the world.

DRAWING THE LINE: ARTIST NEEDED
19/04/05: Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe are appealling for an artist who can create a visual impression of the key features of the proposed Heysham M6 Link Road. Last September the Morecambe Visitor helpfully published an artist's impression (above) of how the road might look, and local amateur Jeff Woodman also helpfully filled in some of the bits they forgot (ie the traffic). However it now turns out that it will be a dual carriageway with several road bridges, a flyover 43' high and numerous steep embankments, and along one stretch there will be 8 lanes of traffic. So it's back to the drawing board.
"We approached Lancashire County Council with a request to see artist's impressions and other visual representations of the road', said David Gate, Chairman of the group.
"It was a request under the Freedom of Information Act, and they had 20 days to respond. "We were surprised when they told us that no artist's impressions exist, as the County Council is currently spending hundreds of thousands of pounds surveying the route.
"It is the major road project in Lancashire. It will cause great damage to the area. You would have thought that before they went ahead, they would have had an idea what it would look like, and be able to show the public.
"People are very keen to see the flyovers, bridges and embankments so close to their homes. They want to assess the impact of the massive road. The County Council has arranged public exhibitions of the proposed road, but how can the public imagine the road without pictures?
"We appeal to any artist who can represent the road to contact the group at www.heyshamm6link.info

ARMS AND THE MAN
18/04/05: Lancaster & Wyre's Conservative parliamentary candidate, former Member of the Scottish Parliament Ben Wallace might give the impression of being a down to earth sort of chap and comes across as some sort of country gentleman when seen canvassing in town.
In actual fact, as well as being a former Army captain he's worked in an advertising agency and as a ski instructor. More importantly, he is still EU & Overseas Director for QinetiQ (pronounced kinetic) - a defence company involved heavily in servicing the war in Iraq.
QinetiQ, Europe's largest research and technology organisation, was formed out of what has been described as the "rushed" part-privatisation of the Ministry of Defence's military research arm, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2002.
Private Eye (No. 1130, 15-28 April 2005) reports the sale left UK taxpayers with £100m in liabilities. Ben Wallace's fellow Tory, then shadow defence spokesman Gerald Howarth, described the sale as "a poor deal for taxpayers".
Read more...

SKERTON DAVIDS 1 : O2 GOLIATHS 0

The O2 phonemast (on building on right) just a few yards from children's bedrooms.

14/4/05: Skerton residents are celebrating victory over telecomms giants O2 who have emailed a much-delayed promise to remove their mast and aeriel from the rear of Kitchen Design on Slyne Road. The mast will be switched off on 18 April and the equipment removed by 'early May'.
Ever since the mast went up by stealth (with no prior consultation by O2 or planning permission), the local residents have been campaigning against all the odds to get it removed in a David versus Goliath struggle. Read more..
Stephen Bates, the Chair of the NO to O2 residents committee said "This battle has taken over our lives but it was now or never, do or die."
"O2 were fighting for 7 bars on people's phones instead of 2, the owner of the building was fighting for an extra 3 grand a year but we were fighting for our homes, our schools, our health and our children's health."
See www.notoo2.com.

WE FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES
13/4/05: Virtual-Lancaster has sent a list of 20 questions to all the parliamentary candidates in the Lancaster & Wyre and Morecambe & Lunesdale constituencies. All but 2 have answered now and you can read their responses here. We also have contact details and website links so you can put your own questions to them too.

ART LIVES IN LANCASTER - NEW MARKET SQUARE SCULPTURE DELIGHTS SHOPPERS 13/4/05: Shoppers in Lancaster's Market Square were delighted today by the subtle wit and grace of the latest installation, entitled 'Kr!ss Foster', which is on temporary loan to the city. Who knows, if it proves popular, the council might even buy it? Local schoolchildren enjoyed patting the installation and being photographed with it and 100% of passers-by that we surveyed said they would like to keep it. "I think it would be good to have a piece of art there all the time." (Kr!ss' next stage appearance will be at the Gregson, Lancaster on 30 April.)

HAVE YOU USED YOUR CARBON RATION UP TODAY? (AND IF NOT, CAN I HAVE IT?)
13/4/05: Carbon rationing will be the only way to prevent runaway climate collapse, according to Dr Mayer Hillman, Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Policy Studies Institute in London. Invited by Lancaster Green Party to speak at Lancaster Town Hall last night (Tuesday) he noted that there is no longer any debate among energy corporations and politicians that climate change is occuring and that technological advances alone will be unable to prevent deterioration. He believes that current government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions are inadequate (and unlikely to be met under present policies) - and without either greatly increased taxation or rationing the consequences to us may be disasterous.
At the start of the industrial revolution there were 250 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere. According to Dr Hillman the maximum before runaway climate change will be precipitated is 400 - and we are currently at a level of 380, rising at about 3 per year. Dr Hillman suggested that in the UK we should be looking at a 90% reduction in carbon use, a proposition which left most of the audience gulping.
He explained to the meeting that all the major political parties have discussed the situation and there is widespread agreement that increased taxation on fuel and energy bills would be unacceptable and unfair to those on low incomes, which left rationing the only option. The rationing option is known as 'Contraction and Convergance' which means contracting or reducing the amount of carbon emmissions, and converging (narrowing) the gap between profligate and thrifty. Labour MP Collin Challen has proposed Early Day Motion 961 calling upon the Government to seek, during its presidency of the G8, to advance the international effort to avert the dangers of climate change by promoting the constitutional framework of contraction and convergence, which embodies the principle of equal rights to the global commons. 168 MPs have signed this to date.
He pointed out that in many countries people used less than a fair rationing system might entitle them to and it might be possible for those profligate in energy use to buy unused rations from those who were more thrifty, thus resulting in economic benefits for those who were better adapted to carbon economy. It seemed unlikely that the general public would volunteer to accept changes in the lifestyles they had grown accustomed to. Rationing would probably end up have to be enforced, as in WW2.
Divided between the global population the acceptable level of carbon emmissions would work out at about 1 ton per person (In the UK the current level is aprroximately 10 tons per year.) By far the greatest amount of damage is done by aircraft flight, the round trip from London to New York, for example, resulting in 3 tons of carbon emmissions ber person. The greatest impact of carbon rationing would be in the area of travel, particularly long distance. Under these circumstances it made no sense at all to be proposing expansion to airport facilities or motorways. The problem was that the government is committed to economic expansion. Unfortunately economic expansion and Contraction & Covergence are not compatible.
At the end of the day, Dr Hillman said, future generations will judge us on how, being in full possession of the knowledge that our behaviour would result in climate catastrophe, we faced up to this situation.
Calculate your annual carbon footprint at http://www.safeclimate.net/calculator/.
Read a brief extract from Dr Hillman's book 'How Can We Save The Planet'.

LOKIS GET RADIO ONE PLAY
12/4/05: Lancaster rock band 'The Adventures of Loki' had their latest release 'Femine Side' played on Radio One's Zane Lowe show last night (Monday) as part of the 'fresh meat' section. "We were the only fresh meat that were unsigned and the listeners voted for us to win!" If you missed the show you can listen to it at www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/zanelowe/ and the Lokis would appreciate any emails of praise you could kindly shower on said Mr Lowe encouraging him to play them some more. You can buy the single, including 'Feminine Side' at Solarise Records.
See www.the-adventures-of-loki.org for more news and information about the band.

UNIVERSITY STIFLING ETHICAL DEBATE?
12/4/05: Green City Councillors have written to Lancaster University's Vice Chancellor urging him to drop prosecution proceedings against six people, including some current students, who protested peacefully at a 'Corporate Venturing Conference' at the University last September. Having the spotlight shone on the university's less attractive corporate connections has not gone down at all well in some quarters. Five months later the six were retrospectively prosecuted for aggravated trespass - drawing attention to the environmental and human rights records of some of the companies taking part in the conference, including arms manufacturer BAe Systems, and the petrochemical group Shell.
Green Group Leader Cllr Chris Coates said: "The protesters were exercising their right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. They were expressing their serious concerns, which we as Green Councillors share, about the unethical practices of, and ecological destruction by, some of the companies taking part in the University-hosted conference. It is particularly disturbing that the University is prosecuting some of its own graduates and current students for this - what is education for, if not to be able to express your views and try to make the world a better place?
Green Councillor Emily Heath, who teaches part-time at the University, said "I feel very uncomfortable about this attempt to stifle debate and intimidate people who are critical of activities at the University. The University risks damaging its excellent academic reputation by giving the impression that its commercial interests take precedence over ethical values, openness, student welfare and community relations. The University should withdraw the prosecutions and make a public commitment to freedom of expression."
The Vice Chancellor is currently unavailable to comment on the issue.
read prosecution report
Read original protest report

DIVERSITY RADIO: TIRED BUT HAPPY...
12/04/05: Diversity 107FM community radio will be coming to the end of its current month's licence this Friday 15 April. Pearl & Dean, who's excellent show (The Pearl & Dean Show, in case you were wondering) will be live on the air on Friday from 4-6pm tell me, "It’s the last day of broadcast til later this summer when we’re hoping to be granted a five year broadcast licence." See http://www.dfmradio.com for more news & information about this remarkable community project.
Listen online to Diversity 107 FM.

GREENS: RETAIL DEVELOPMENT JUST WHAT CANAL CORRIDOR DOESN'T NEED
11/4/05: The Council's announcement that it has gone for one preferred developer and already decided what type of development will take place on this site is bad news for the canal corridor and bad news for local people, says local Green Party councillor, John Whitelegg: "I am very disappointed indeed that the Council has deprived local people of a choice between developers and of a choice between different kinds of development. This area desperately needs affordable housing, community facilities and green space. It certainly needs to retain the very successful Musicians Co-op on Lodge Street.
Green cabinet members on the city council tried very hard to get the whole subject opened up to genuine consultation where members of the public can get involved in choosing the kind of developer and development that they like. This was opposed by all the other political parties."
Matt Wootton, Green Party candidate for Lancaster East in the County Council elections said: The canal corridor has very distinctive assets especially the Dukes, the Grand and the Musicians Co-op. I intend to work very hard to make cultural and community assets the focal point of any development on this site together with environmental improvements and facilities for young people"
See results of the Real Planning for Lancaster Consultation for this site in 2003.
Read letter from Council leader Ian Barker

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