Over 5 million people have had their DNA stored on file by the state. The European court has already ruled that the database is illegal as it keeps details of those who have volunteered to have their DNA taken (despite the police saying that they would not keep it), and those who were not prosecuted or were found innocent. These people have no right of appeal to have their details removed and no right to even ask if their details are held at best you can write to your local police Chief Constable and hope they do something.
Adrian Hollister said, "The EU ruled last year on this issue and I have no idea why the UK Government is so slow acting upon their responsibilities. The Governments record on keeping information and data secure is terrible so to keep this information without adequate control, supervision and guidelines is open to significant abuse. This has clearly been demonstrated by the difference in policies between different police forces. This led to the development of 'keep everything' policies regardless of convictions or criminal status. The UK need to stop now and plan how this information is to be used, stored and monitored to ensure that there is an appropriate level of crime detection, privacy and human rights."
If you are affected by this issue you can write to your local MP or additional help can be gained from the GeneWatch group.
Sunday, March 29. 2009
Put People First March in London
Pam Cooper wrote, “Went up to London for today's march, there is a very wide range of organisations represented up there from Trade Unions to the Salvation Army, Save the Children and Greenpeace, bands, drummers and loads of individuals and small groups all with our messages, all very friendly and good natured.
“I joined group of Greens from London and Reading. it was good to see so many green flags and placard. When I got home I was surprised at great cover on the TV of a 'peaceful' march.
“The message of the day that, was people whet a green agenda a 'green new deal' we must get out there and campaign to get more Green s elected so they don't end up with just more green wash from the main parties. What we get from the G20 we just have to wait and see, but I hope it not more the same old policies that got us in this mess in the first place.”
The Reading Green party lot have a great article and pictures which can be found here.
“I joined group of Greens from London and Reading. it was good to see so many green flags and placard. When I got home I was surprised at great cover on the TV of a 'peaceful' march.
“The message of the day that, was people whet a green agenda a 'green new deal' we must get out there and campaign to get more Green s elected so they don't end up with just more green wash from the main parties. What we get from the G20 we just have to wait and see, but I hope it not more the same old policies that got us in this mess in the first place.”
The Reading Green party lot have a great article and pictures which can be found here.
Monday, March 23. 2009
Richard Benyon rejects animal welfare labeling
I finally had a reply from the Tory incumbent MP Richard Benyon - he seems to think that quality and welfare of the animals means nothing to the Tories, as they have a policy of stamping food made in Britain as 'British'. This is one of those comedy replies it must be. We are in such a large farming community he must understand the advantage our local farmers would get by forcing the supermarkets to label the type of production method used. Can you imagine a large supermarket admitting that they raise their meat products in such a poor way? I wouldn't mind betting they would invest very quickly in lower stock densities and higher welfare standards.
Anyway, here is my reply with his email on the bottom..
"Your bill I starts 'Amend the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 to provide for information about the country of origin of food to be made available to consumers; and for connected purposes.'
This I can only assume is just about point of origin and not the welfare or quality of husbandry. If this is the case does not even start to meet the description of EDM 581, and certainly does not help to promote the often higher standards of meat and meat products available in our region and the United Kingdom.
Please look again at the issue, it is one not currently covered by Conservative policy and EDM 581 has the potential to bring great benefits to the large farming sector in our area.
Many thanks,
Adrian Hollister
West Berks Green Party
p.s. slightly odd receiving an email with no signature, not great electronic etiquette
On 23 Mar 2009, at 12:09, BENYON, Richard wrote:
Dear Mr Hollister
Thank you for your recent correspondence about Early Day Motion 581,
food labelling and the welfare of chickens. I appreciate your concerns
and thank you for bringing them to my attention.
The Conservatives care greatly about animal welfare and have long been
calling for an overhaul in food labelling procedures. It is
unacceptable that meat can be imported from abroad, processed in Britain
and then labelled as British. This practice is clearly dishonest and
misleading to consumers. We therefore want to see compulsory country of
origin labelling for meat and meat products so that consumers can be
assured that products labelled British come from animals born and bred
in Britain to our high welfare standards.
You will be pleased to hear that Conservatives have recently launched an
'Honest Food' campaign calling for clearer food labelling. As part of
the campaign, Nick Herbert MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is tabling a Parliamentary Bill
which will make it mandatory for retailers to display the country of
origin of their meat and meat products, in line with countries such as
Australia and will also require meat and meat products labelled as
British or carrying the Union flag to be born and bred in Britain.
Conservatives will be urging the Government to support it.
The campaign has drawn support from a wide range of groups and
individuals including the NFU and RSPCA as well as chefs and food
campaigners including Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, Prue Leith, Anthony
Worrall Thomson and Clarissa Dickson Wright. I would urge you to visit
the campaign website at www.honestfoodcampaign.com to find out more,
read our policy in full, and also to sign our petition supporting the
honest labelling of food.
Given the progress Conservatives are making on this issue I will not be
signing EDM 581.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Yours sincerely"
Anyway, here is my reply with his email on the bottom..
"Your bill I starts 'Amend the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 to provide for information about the country of origin of food to be made available to consumers; and for connected purposes.'
This I can only assume is just about point of origin and not the welfare or quality of husbandry. If this is the case does not even start to meet the description of EDM 581, and certainly does not help to promote the often higher standards of meat and meat products available in our region and the United Kingdom.
Please look again at the issue, it is one not currently covered by Conservative policy and EDM 581 has the potential to bring great benefits to the large farming sector in our area.
Many thanks,
Adrian Hollister
West Berks Green Party
p.s. slightly odd receiving an email with no signature, not great electronic etiquette
On 23 Mar 2009, at 12:09, BENYON, Richard wrote:
Dear Mr Hollister
Thank you for your recent correspondence about Early Day Motion 581,
food labelling and the welfare of chickens. I appreciate your concerns
and thank you for bringing them to my attention.
The Conservatives care greatly about animal welfare and have long been
calling for an overhaul in food labelling procedures. It is
unacceptable that meat can be imported from abroad, processed in Britain
and then labelled as British. This practice is clearly dishonest and
misleading to consumers. We therefore want to see compulsory country of
origin labelling for meat and meat products so that consumers can be
assured that products labelled British come from animals born and bred
in Britain to our high welfare standards.
You will be pleased to hear that Conservatives have recently launched an
'Honest Food' campaign calling for clearer food labelling. As part of
the campaign, Nick Herbert MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is tabling a Parliamentary Bill
which will make it mandatory for retailers to display the country of
origin of their meat and meat products, in line with countries such as
Australia and will also require meat and meat products labelled as
British or carrying the Union flag to be born and bred in Britain.
Conservatives will be urging the Government to support it.
The campaign has drawn support from a wide range of groups and
individuals including the NFU and RSPCA as well as chefs and food
campaigners including Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, Prue Leith, Anthony
Worrall Thomson and Clarissa Dickson Wright. I would urge you to visit
the campaign website at www.honestfoodcampaign.com to find out more,
read our policy in full, and also to sign our petition supporting the
honest labelling of food.
Given the progress Conservatives are making on this issue I will not be
signing EDM 581.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Yours sincerely"
Friday, March 20. 2009
Caroline Lucas points out Labour Madness
It's about time that someone finally brought the Labour green fantasy back down to earth. Caroline Lucas is reported to be opening the Green Party summer conference with a New Labour reality check.. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7953641.stm
Adrian Hollister's thoughts:
"For me, the green summary of each of the main parties would be:
Conservative: They pretend to care about you and your families, but actually only support big business and the rich. Those who do not fit their 'big n rich' policies always find themselves loosing out - either school cuts, cuts to the fabric of our society or just general disregard for the welfare of us all. The green washing of the tories is the best out there - funded by huge donations from... you guessed it the big n rich. The Tory's best skill is in making you think that you could be part of their club, which of course would be impossible unless you went to Eton, owned huge estates or similar. To be clear I feel sorry for Cameron pretending to be something he is not - cycling to work (with car's in tow) is an example - he is of course yet another Tory toff reaching out to the middle classes for their support. To follow him would be to look back 25 years.
Lib Dems: Always jumping from band wagon to band wagon, the Lib Dems just always seem to make their jumps too late and always appear to be behind in policies and in practice. The Lib Dem's promise improvements in our social make up, but actually just want to look after Mr and Mrs Middle Class. Their green credentials could be good, but they spend most of their time bickering with the other parties and never actually doing anything. Could you entrust the Lib Dem's to make a better society, a more sustainable society, one that's better for our children and grandchildren? IMHO No - they are just too muddled and would never drive anything forward.
New Labour: Such potential for social reform, for greening of the economy and for using the current financial crisis as a method of removing the UK from a dependence on externally sourced energy supplies. Somehow though the time they have had just seems to have been squandered. Many of the New Labour MP's increasingly vote for greening issues, but they are beaten down by the opposition from the Tory's and the 'core' New Labour MP's (let alone their whip). The increase in desperation from the New Labour back bencher's and increase in signs of dissent especially on green issues shows the New Labour has run it's course and the green agenda of New Labour has come undone. New Labour are by a long way the greenest of the three main parties, but they are just such as long way away from reality and where we need to be it scares me. How could we let our country fall so far behind?"
Adrian Hollister's thoughts:
"For me, the green summary of each of the main parties would be:
Conservative: They pretend to care about you and your families, but actually only support big business and the rich. Those who do not fit their 'big n rich' policies always find themselves loosing out - either school cuts, cuts to the fabric of our society or just general disregard for the welfare of us all. The green washing of the tories is the best out there - funded by huge donations from... you guessed it the big n rich. The Tory's best skill is in making you think that you could be part of their club, which of course would be impossible unless you went to Eton, owned huge estates or similar. To be clear I feel sorry for Cameron pretending to be something he is not - cycling to work (with car's in tow) is an example - he is of course yet another Tory toff reaching out to the middle classes for their support. To follow him would be to look back 25 years.
Lib Dems: Always jumping from band wagon to band wagon, the Lib Dems just always seem to make their jumps too late and always appear to be behind in policies and in practice. The Lib Dem's promise improvements in our social make up, but actually just want to look after Mr and Mrs Middle Class. Their green credentials could be good, but they spend most of their time bickering with the other parties and never actually doing anything. Could you entrust the Lib Dem's to make a better society, a more sustainable society, one that's better for our children and grandchildren? IMHO No - they are just too muddled and would never drive anything forward.
New Labour: Such potential for social reform, for greening of the economy and for using the current financial crisis as a method of removing the UK from a dependence on externally sourced energy supplies. Somehow though the time they have had just seems to have been squandered. Many of the New Labour MP's increasingly vote for greening issues, but they are beaten down by the opposition from the Tory's and the 'core' New Labour MP's (let alone their whip). The increase in desperation from the New Labour back bencher's and increase in signs of dissent especially on green issues shows the New Labour has run it's course and the green agenda of New Labour has come undone. New Labour are by a long way the greenest of the three main parties, but they are just such as long way away from reality and where we need to be it scares me. How could we let our country fall so far behind?"
Thursday, March 19. 2009
Local Tory Toff MP Richard Benyon fails to support our farmers
Something I've just signed up for... The Chicken Out Campaign
Adrian Hollister said,
"We all want to be reassured that the what we are buying is what we get. The labelling on some foods cheats you into thinking you are buying something else. Supermarkets are often accused of using pictures of fields on meat products when in reality these animals have spend their life in cages or barns.
"I believe that all meat, including imported meat, should be labelled as to farming method and stock density. This should equally apply to meat and meat-derived products including milk and eggs.
"At the beginning of the year there was a Parliamentary early day motion (EDM581) to start to address this issue - good labelling would have been mandatory and it would have applied to UK and foreign products. We all know how difficult it is to compete with foreign meats especially as they generally have different (and often lower) standards of welfare and tracking. This parliamentary motion makes complete sense: we get to understand where our food comes from; it sets a level playing field with other countries; and confidence is gained by the public in what they are buying.
"So why did our local Tory MP Richard Benyon not bother to support this motion?
"His clear lack of concern for our local farmers and farming methods is shocking. In West Berkshire we have some of the best examples of farming - exemplars for the rest of the country - but he is happy to let our local farmers fight unfair battles with foreign competition. I'm willing to bet that if this labelling standard came into force the supermarkets would be inclined to pay more to our local farmers whose better animal welfare standards would appear on the label of their products.
"I call for Richard Benyon to whole heartedly back this motion it's aims and objectives and do his up most to extent the motion to all meat produce."
Adrian Hollister said,
"We all want to be reassured that the what we are buying is what we get. The labelling on some foods cheats you into thinking you are buying something else. Supermarkets are often accused of using pictures of fields on meat products when in reality these animals have spend their life in cages or barns.
"I believe that all meat, including imported meat, should be labelled as to farming method and stock density. This should equally apply to meat and meat-derived products including milk and eggs.
"At the beginning of the year there was a Parliamentary early day motion (EDM581) to start to address this issue - good labelling would have been mandatory and it would have applied to UK and foreign products. We all know how difficult it is to compete with foreign meats especially as they generally have different (and often lower) standards of welfare and tracking. This parliamentary motion makes complete sense: we get to understand where our food comes from; it sets a level playing field with other countries; and confidence is gained by the public in what they are buying.
"So why did our local Tory MP Richard Benyon not bother to support this motion?
"His clear lack of concern for our local farmers and farming methods is shocking. In West Berkshire we have some of the best examples of farming - exemplars for the rest of the country - but he is happy to let our local farmers fight unfair battles with foreign competition. I'm willing to bet that if this labelling standard came into force the supermarkets would be inclined to pay more to our local farmers whose better animal welfare standards would appear on the label of their products.
"I call for Richard Benyon to whole heartedly back this motion it's aims and objectives and do his up most to extent the motion to all meat produce."
Thursday, March 5. 2009
Tory's approve new nuclear weapons plant
Adrian Hollister wrote, "
Dear Sir,
Am I the only one who find's that the quick fire and ill thought out planning approval given by the Conservative West Berkshire Council to the creation of a new nuclear weapons plant in Aldermaston on a flood plane is a terrible decision? The Conservative's clearly think that you don't count - nearly 1000 of us wrote letters of objection and yet we were ignored; the Lib Dem's just seem resigned to the fact that the Tory's can have their way; and owner's of AWE seem to think that they have a right to do what they like. I really don't like the thought of my children and their children growing up with this legacy and I can't even imagine what would happen should the area flood (though I'm guessing anything downstream of Aldermaston would not be a great place to live if it did).
Adrian Hollister
West Berkshire Green Party
http://www.westberksgreens.org.uk"
Dear Sir,
Am I the only one who find's that the quick fire and ill thought out planning approval given by the Conservative West Berkshire Council to the creation of a new nuclear weapons plant in Aldermaston on a flood plane is a terrible decision? The Conservative's clearly think that you don't count - nearly 1000 of us wrote letters of objection and yet we were ignored; the Lib Dem's just seem resigned to the fact that the Tory's can have their way; and owner's of AWE seem to think that they have a right to do what they like. I really don't like the thought of my children and their children growing up with this legacy and I can't even imagine what would happen should the area flood (though I'm guessing anything downstream of Aldermaston would not be a great place to live if it did).
Adrian Hollister
West Berkshire Green Party
http://www.westberksgreens.org.uk"
