David Davis And 42 Day By-Election

The short-term effect of David Davis running in a by-election, on the issue of 42-day detention, is a stunt. Labour only received 13% of the vote in his constituency in the last election, and the Lib Dems aren't running a candidate against him.

The long-term effect could be a solidification of Lib Dem-Tory relations. Nick Clegg was happy, in a constituency which was in the top 10 of Lib Dem targets, to stand aside nearly immediately.

Do we need a national re-examination of how we are sliding into a society with CCTV cameras, detention without trial, Belmarsh, and complicity in rendition? Do we need to look again at more than 2,000 Asbos being issued to children between 1999 and 2006, with some young children given Asbos lasting up to 10 years? Do we need to halt our expansion of prisons, and re-examine the per capita prison population that leads the industrialised world?

Sure.

But the Tories have been in favour of prison expansion and Asbos.

So, in terms of David Davis leading a debate on the direction of law and order/civil liberties policies in British society, he's not a perfect white knight.

The Nowhere Night Conference

It will happen on the 18th of June, from 430pm onwards, at War Memorial Park in Coventry.

It's organised by the Coventry Peace House, as part of Refugee Week.

If you can, let Penny Walker know that you will be attending: 02476 664616, info@covpeacehouse.org.uk

The focus is the idea of "statelessness" -- with a book launch, "Statelessness, the quiet torture of belonging nowhere," an Islamic Relief refugee camp, drama and workshops.

YouTube Roundup 3

- "Poverty's a trap. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't."

- A UK Youth Parliament video about issues that matter to young Muslims in Britain

- Queer Youth Network - with Gay Pride events later this month ...

- "They are pushed into communities, often undemocratically. Incineration is simply not sustainable, and there are better alternatives that are."

Newsnight Looks At 42-Day Detention

- Newsnight tonight (1030pm, BBC2) will be looking at the 42-day detention without charge debate. Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the EHRC may seek a judicial review, if the 42-days limit become law: "Human rights are essentially just that - you can't just get rid of them if you think they are inconvenient ... This measure would effectively suspend for the human rights and in particular they suspend them for one part of the community ... The application of these powers would be to Muslims in this country."

In other news:

- The EU is proposing to increase the amount of GM material included in imported foods, like maize, rice and soya

- Boffins at Leeds Uni have invented a nearly-waterless washing machine. A typical washing machine uses about 35kg of water for every kg of clothes that are washed - as well as large amounts of energy to heat the water and to dry the clothes afterwards. Their new model could be on the UK market by 2009.

- Amy Greenhouse: "Heathrow wants a 3rd runway, we say, no, no, NO"

- On Thursday, Coventry Friends of the Earth will meet at the council house, at 730pm. Their guest speaker will be Martin Yardley (Coventry City Council's planning department) on the proposed redevelopment of the precinct and retail quarter.

- Later in the month (25th and 26th June), at the Glasshouse (Earl Street, opposite the Council House and Brown's), students from Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School will be showing environmental art.

Plastic Recycling

One less argument against plastic recycling programmes here in Coventry:

Britain is poised to make a dramatic leap forward in its recycling efforts with the opening of the nation's first "closed loop" recycling plant.

The £13m facility in Dagenham, east London, will turn millions of used drinks bottles and sandwich wrappers made out of PET (polyethylene teraphthalate) back into "clean" wrapping.

Some 1.2 million tonnes of mixed plastics from the UK – everything from salad bags to yoghurt pots and drinks bottles – end up as landfill every year.

The processes used in the new plant have been employed in Switzerland and Germany for over a decade. The plant can also process HDPE (high-density polyethylene), the super-tough plastic that milk bottles are made out of, producing pellets that can be turned back into fresh milk cartons.

Currently much of the UK's waste PET is shipped to plants in the Far East and China, before the recycled material is shipped back – pumping out tons of carbon along the way. It is estimated that food packaging currently accounts for between 5 and 10 per cent of each person's carbon footprint.

"The Language Of The War On Terror"

Henry Porter, The Observer:

Reading Gordon Brown's article in the Times last week, I was struck by the disturbing echo of Blair's 2002 WMD dossier. He may be sincere, but his conjuring of nightmares, the many hypotheticals followed by solemn avowals of principle and statesmanship, was exactly the formula which took us into Iraq.

Brown is still talking in the language of the war on terror, a campaign that turned out to be as much against the rule of law as terrorism, and which has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, enabled torture in Guantanamo and, as the Guardian revealed last week, the unlawful detention of suspects in nightmarish prison ships.

The proposal to hold people for six weeks without charge, or even giving them a reason, is part of that desperate, panicky convulsion which has seen the end of so many liberties in Britain.

US Pressures Iraq Over Indefinite Occupation

- More information on what the US is planning as part of its permanent occupation of Iraq:

The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent.US negotiators are using the existence of $20bn in outstanding court judgments against Iraq in the US, to pressure their Iraqi counterparts into accepting the terms of the military deal ... Although it is in reality a treaty between Iraq and the US, Mr Bush is describing it as an alliance so he does not have to submit it for approval to the US Senate.

- It's rather phenomenal what Barack Obama is doing fundraising-wise. Not only has he had 1.5 million donors so far, but he's now imposing his own approach (no money from lobbyists, small donations) onto the entire Democratic party. The irony: John McCain was the co-sponsor of the fundraising reform law that Obama is now exploiting.

- Paul Patrick has passed away:

"I, too, have been a queen for 50 years," he wrote, "although under somewhat less privileged circumstances. As Britain's first openly gay teacher not to be fired or moved to a 'safe' position and as a campaigner for lesbian, gay and bisexual equality for more than 30 years, I feel I have contributed a lot more to Britain than that other Queen has. I am also," he concluded, "more attractive and a lot more fun!"

- It's time for Britain to become the Saudi Arabia of offshore wind ...

- Manchester is proceeding with peak-hours congestion charging ... and Cambridge and Bristol are considering it. Meanwhile, both the Tories and Labour in Coventry are opposed.

Finally, this report comes only a few days after Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, accused Gordon Brown of sacrificing liberty for misguided notions of equality. It was commissioned by Bishop Stephen Lowe for the consideration of the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England. Is there a shift happening away from church support for "centralised, mega-contracts in some government departments" in the charitable sector?

Radio/TV - 8th-10th June

- Sunday 8th June, 1230pm, Radio 4, The Food Programme -- local communities setting up community farms in the US and Britain, producing fresh fruit and veg in an eco-friendly way

- Monday 9th June, 8pm, Channel 4, Dispatches -- "Gordon Brown: Where Did It All Go Wrong?" ... title says it all really

- Tuesday 10th June, 8pm, Radio 4, File On 4 -- new coal-fired power stations which are causing "splits in Whithall, anguish among climate campaigners, and fury among families living in the shadow of new open-cast coal mines"

Climate Change And The Planning Bill

- Will Paul Ince be the first Black manager in the Premier League, sooner rather than later?

- Emily Benn could be the youngest MP ever ...

- Cavemen being arrested in Brussels?

Finally, an amendment to the Planning Bill on Monday was defeated by 15 votes (24 Labour MPs voted for it). It would have required climate change to be taken into account in planning decisions for major projects such as roads, airports and power stations.

Friends of the Earth's Planning Campaigner Hugh Ellis, said:

"With no reference to climate change in the Planning Bill, people have no guarantees that Ministers will take climate change into account when considering major projects such as roads, airports and power stations which will lock us into the path towards climate change and environmental destruction. Government has recently made some bold statements about taking action on climate change. But yet again it has missed a vital chance to make those words a reality and create a cleaner, greener future for us all."

US Plans Permanent Occupation Of Iraq

The Independent:

A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November. Iraqi officials fear that the accord will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.

Under the terms of the new treaty, the Americans would retain the long-term use of more than 50 bases in Iraq. American negotiators are also demanding immunity from Iraqi law for US troops and contractors, and a free hand to carry out arrests and conduct military activities in Iraq without consulting the Baghdad government. Washington also wants control of Iraqi airspace below 29,000ft and the right to pursue its "war on terror" in Iraq, giving it the authority to arrest anybody it wants and to launch military campaigns without consultation.

More Ethnic Minority Women Councillors

Maya de Souza, a Green Party councillor in London (Camden), has been appointed to a national cross-party taskforce which aims to increase the number of minority ethnic women local councillors across the country.

Women councillors currently make up just 29.3% of councillors, with ethnic minority women particularly under-represented (5.4% of the total population but only 0.9% of local councillors).

Cllr de Souza: "Local councils make many decisions that have a huge impact on all of us - from housing policy, the environment and education and also nurseries, after-school clubs and youth services. Women can't afford to leave all these decisions to men. It is vital to local, regional and national politics, if all interests are to be properly taken into account and good decisions made, that women play a full part."

Summer's Here - BBQ A-Go-Go

You can find veggie burger suggestions here.

For drinks, you could serve fair trade honey beer, or perhaps, a pitcher of English ginger beer and fair trade organic rum.

You could get the rum from Utkins, the Co-Op, Saino's, or there is an independent brand called Papagayo.

YouTube Roundup 2

- I'm a Muslim, Get Me Out of Here

- The world's first commercial tidal turbine, in Northern Ireland

- A profile of the Warwick Institue for Sustainable Energy and Resources, WISER

- Where does your cotton come from?

42 Day Detention - Council Of Europe

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will try to win hearts and minds on the issue of 42 day detention without trial at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party tonight.

One of the government's claims is that criminal suspects in Italy can be held for months without charge. This has now been dismissed by Italian parliamentary authorities. They have confirmed to Commons librarians that the maximum period of pre-charge detention under Italian law is four days.

There are a number of flaws with the government's "safeguard" that the Home Secretary must then take a decision to extend the 28 day limit (which used to be 14 days) to Parliament for approval.

What if Parliament is in recess? What level of detail is to be given to MPs to enable them to decide? If MPs are given that information, how can the accused have a fair trial afterwards? Will any vote in Parliament be whipped? As a general point, why turn Parliament into a case-by-case forum for judicial decisions?

Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, is writing to Gordon Brown this week to say: "I am concerned by the British government's suggestion to allow terrorism suspects to be detained for 42 days without charge ... This would be way out of line with equivalent detention limits elsewhere in Europe. We need to be more restrictive with such measures. Keeping people detained for such long periods before prosecution is excessive and will prove counter-productive."

Microgeneration And Feed-In Tariffs

- 100,000 British homes now have microgeneration, mainly solar thermal panels that heat water, and we have no feed-in tariff. In Germany, more than a million households have microgeneration, and they, and 14 other European countries have a feed-in tariff. It's pretty clear what we need to do, so why is Labour framing a feed-in tariff as a regulatory nightmare?

- Should we have edible urban landscapes?

- Jacqui Smith, first female Home Secretary, sidelined over 42-day detention compromise negotiations. Senior female correspondants sidelined by BBC on 10 O'Clock News bulletins.

- David Strahan, The Telegraph

All the signs are that we have reached the foothills of global oil peak – the moment production flattens and then goes into terminal decline. The facts are stark: the amount discovered has been falling for 40 years; for every barrel we find each year, we now guzzle three; output is already falling in over 60 of the world's 98 oil producing countries; and global production has been essentially flat, at just under 86 million barrels a day, since early 2005; serious analysts now forecast $200 per barrel. What is it that Gordon Brown doesn't get?