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Merry Christmas

Hi I just popped in to wish everybody a Merry Christmas. I hope you're having a relaxing time and you have a restful and peaceful Christmas.

By the way I forgot to say yesterday in our first year we had 11,664 visitors, which isn't bad at all!

Stay safe - Wildberry

Yes Wildberry's is one year old today. If you'd asked me a year ago I wasn't sure if I'd have got to this point. But it's been an enjoyable experience. I know it's almost impossible to reflect on the significance of an individual year when it's not yet over. But from this short a viewpoint we do seem to have had a disproportionately large number of terrible events that have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Wildberry's has developed over the past year but I suppose the original principle remains the same. I still want to emphasise the good in our world. I've concentrated on the negative a bit more than I intended but I suppose they're different sides of the same coin.

Probably the best thing that has come out of this project is the number of people who've got in touch for all sorts of reasons. Please keep your comments coming. I welcome all comments and suggestions with open arms, even more than this I'm disappointed when they don't come. So during 2006 if there's something you want to recommend or yes even something you want to criticise then please let me know.

Lets all hope that 2006 brings us a happier and more peaceful world than 2005.

Merry Christmas - Wildberry
 

If you fancy a break from Turkey this Christmas then this nut roast recipe is for you. I've made this many times over the last few years and it's always gone down well with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Christmas Nut Roast   (serves six)

Ingredients:

1 tbs. of oil
1 small onion finely chopped,
2 cloves garlic crushed,
8 oz cashew nuts,
4 oz breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes (gluten-free version),
1 free-range egg,
3 medium parsnips cooked and mashed with a little butter,
1 tspn rosemary,
1 tspn thyme,
1 tspn Marmite,
¼ pint stock,
salt and pepper,
1 oz butter
8 oz mushrooms chopped
butter for greasing the tin.

Method:

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. Heat the oil and sweat the onion and garlic until soft. Grind the cashews in a blender then mix with the breadcrumbs or cornflakes. Beat the egg, add to the dry ingredients and then mix in the mashed parsnips & herbs. Add the onion and any juices to the mixture. Dissolve the yeast extract in the hot water and add to the other ingredients. Season well.

Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the chopped mushrooms. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and press-in half the mixture. Cover the mushrooms and top off with the rest of the mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

When cooked allow to rest for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve hot with crispy roast potatoes and vegetables.
 

Go on save a turkey this Christmas - Wildberry

The good people at JumpStart Ford have been off to their local Ford dealerships  with their video cameras making short films about their experiences and the challenges of buying a Ford with low fuel consumption.

You can watch the videos on their website here.

Wildberry

 

I've thought for sometime it would be fantastic if there was a National Public Sculpture database and had considered trying to initiate the idea myself but I was slightly daunted by the monumental (no pun intended) amount of work it would involve. Then with all the coverage on the news about the theft of the Henry Moore sculpture it led me to searching in more detail and I find there's one already. The website is called the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association from there they have a link to the National Recording Project.

They say about the National Recording Project - 'The PMSA's National Recording Project (NRP) was established to catalogue every piece of public sculpture and every public monument in the British Isles and to maintain the resulting information in digital form for public access. In-depth research is also being undertaken to produce volumes in the acclaimed series Public Sculpture of Britain, published by Liverpool University Press. Much of England and all of Wales, plus Glasgow and Edinburgh, has been surveyed, amounting to 70% of Britain, so far.'

There are still big areas missing, most of South-East England where we are is not covered but I can appreciate it's a massive task.

You can see the Angel of the North website here.

Wildberry

I had a very interesting recommendation last week from Fresh, a listener to Whole Wheat Radio, who has taken some given by Walter Turner the President of the Board of Directors of Global Exchange.

Walter does a weekly radio programme on American Radio station KPFA, based in Berkeley California, but you can listen online from their website.

They say the programme is 'A weekly news program providing information and analysis about Africa and the African Diaspora. Africa Today seeks to update listeners on contemporary developments in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and the United States. The program utilizes an interview and discussion format to explore political, social, economic, and cultural themes relative to the African experience.'

Walter's profile on the Global Exchange website here.

From what I've read Walter seems a very interesting guy, thanks Fresh.

Gay Weddings

I'm pleased to see the first of the UK's Gay Weddings has gone ahead today in Belfast despite the wishes of the Christian naysayer's.

But from the BBC news story here, the Christian radicals have to try to rain on their parade just a little.

Oh just get over it!

I say good luck to all the gay couples getting married - Wildberry

Just a note in case you haven't seen the ads The Corporation, the anti-corporate film, will be shown on More4 in the UK on Monday 19 December at 9pm. The film is based in the USA, but so many of the corporations highlighted are multi-national it doesn't really matter where you live the tactics of these companies will affect you.

I saw the film at the cinema and it's a little long I was fidgeting towards the end having said that it's definitely worth a look.

Have a great weekend - Wildberry

Thursday 15 December 2005
Speed Camera Climb-down

In a very disappointing climb-down Alistair Darling is due to announce today a change in policy that will allow the money generated from speed cameras to be directed to other road safety issues. While there is actually nothing wrong with this in practice, it sends the signal to the Neanderthal anti-speed camera lobby that they have one the argument that it's acceptable to damage speed cameras and to speed. In my area of north Kent one of these Neanderthal's has been cutting down speed cameras in the dark of the night, rendering thousands of pounds of damage and what's more they've been painted as some sort of 'local hero'.

It's a very simple equation, but some drivers still don't seem to understand, the faster you drive the more likely you are to seriously injure or kill anyone you may hit. It is really worth the risk just to travel a few miles per hour faster. Remember if you don't speed it doesn't matter how many speed cameras there are.

It'll be interesting to see how Alistair Darling justifies this change in policy. BBC report here.
 

Erica Smith

I've been listening to the latest album by the excellent New York songwriter Erica Smith. This album 'Friend or Foe' is her second and actually came out nearly three years ago but I've only just got my hands on it. In fact Erica we should be due for the third anytime soon!

It's always a worry when you love the first album by an artist whether the second one will match up. But in this instance Erica has done herself proud her excellent lilting vocals will carry you away to a place you never thought existed! If you're interested you can listen to some of the tracks live on line at CD Baby. There are also some tracks available to download from Erica's website.

Keep safe out there - Wildberry
 

I've talked before about the What would Jesus Drive? campaign in the USA, which is designed to make potential SUV drivers to think before they buy. Well a similar Where Would Jesus Shop? campaign is being launched by the group behind Wakeup Walmart.com.

Some of the charges they hold against Walmart are:

A Substantial Number of Wal-Mart Associates earn far below the poverty line.

Wal-Mart Associates don't earn enough to support a family.

Wal-Mart can afford wage increases.

Wal-Mart forces employees to work off-the-clock.

Wal-Mart violates the Fair Labor Standards Act.

This is a very well put together site with a lot of supporting information. They have started to form local groups of supporters to highlight problems particular to their area.

Think before you shop - Wildberry.

An article in The Guardian today under the heading of Freedom Fighter highlights the good work of Liberty, the human rights campaigning organisation, and their Director Shami Chakrabarti. Please have a look it's an interesting article about Liberty an organisation well worth supporting.

You can download a song by The Dastards titled 'Shami Chakrabarti' in praise of the freedom fighter herself, from their website, here's a flavour of the lyrics.

Shami Chakrabarti, by The Dastards

I turn on my TV:
The only one I want to see
Is Shami Chakrabarti
Speaking with such bravery
No one else would dare to be
Shami Chakrabarti
She should be running the country
At the head of her party:
Shami Chakrabarti
She's a fighter for liberty,
for kindness and decency.
She champions dignity
Defending humanity
I'm not getting paranoid
But human rights have been destroyed.
It's government by tabloid
And justice by androids

and so say all of us - Wildberry

Now I feel even before I've started I'm treading very carefully here. To be honest I've been putting it off, but I'm feeling so offended by the attitude of members of  the organised religion in this country I have to speak out.

It occurs to me I've quoted this before - but from the Concise Oxford English Dictionary:

Christian
· adj.
1 of, relating to, or professing Christianity or its teachings.
2 informal having qualities associated with Christians, e.g. kindness or fairness.
· n. a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Christianity.

It's the part that says 'having qualities associated with Christians, e.g. kindness or fairness.' that I have a problem with. Now lets think of the way some Christians are behaving to their fellow citizens these days. We had a change in the law in the UK recently enabling gay couples to register the relationship in the eyes of the law.

Now this law doesn't say if you're not gay you can't get married in church, nor did it say if you're not gay you can't have a civil marriage. What it did say was if your not gay you can't register your relationship the way gay couples can, but this is not what our Christian friends got upset about - oh no. What upset them, was not anything that affected their rights, they were upset that someone was giving to gay couples something that they didn't want them to have. Pure petty mean-spirited spite.

You should have heard them filling the airways, on every television and radio show you could hear their pathetic bleating. Not protecting anyone's rights, not standing up for the downtrodden or the needy. No whining because this country has finally seen it fit to recognise the genuine, often long-lasting, loving relationships of gay couples. Well if they have nothing better to do I feel sorry for them.

Why the UK didn't just recognize gay relationships by allowing them to get married, should they want to, I don't know. Well, thinking about it I do because the Church is so influential in the establishment that the Government would be too scarred to stand up for what is right. How any organisation never mind a major religion, in the 21st century, can stand up and openly say that all people should not be treated equally and this be accepted is astonishing.

BBC News story on gay weddings

Here from that news story the learned words of one of the members of the Church of England. But the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff has warned that the new law will have negative consequences.

"To put beside marriage an alternative or what appears to be a perfectly approved legal alternative lifestyle I think does not help the institution of marriage at all."  Oh for God sake!

Maybe next week we'll talk about the way the Catholic Church is helping all those HIV positive parishioners in Africa with it's 'progressive' policy on contraception.
 

Just love your fellow man, whatever his colour, creed or sexual orientation! - Wildberry
 

I was astounded to read on the clothing company Howies website that 'the average cotton crop is sprayed 8-10 times a season. Indeed, it takes 17 teaspoons of chemical fertilizers to raise the 9 ounces of cotton needed to make a T-shirt.' Howies sell organic and non-organic clothing from their base in Cardigan Bay, Wales.

They say - 'We pledge to give 1% of our turnover or 10% of pre-tax profits (whichever is greater) to grass-root environmental and social projects.'

They go on to say that 25% of the worlds insecticide is used on the farming of cotton. There's no doubting that organic cotton is a lot more expensive than the non-organic alternative, but hopefully as with most things increase in demand should encourage more cotton farmers to go organic.

'The average 100% cotton T-shirt contains only 73% cotton. The rest is made up of chemicals and resins that were used to grow and make it. Yet, we all think cotton is one of the most natural things around. The truth is, it’s not as nice as we’d all like to think.'

The above poster is one of a series of wallpapers you can download here. You can't read it clearly here but it's a great mandate for locally owned small businesses and consumer power. Check them out.

Wildberry

 

December 10 will be the third and final International White Band Day. Falling on the eve of the crucial World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong, millions of people around the world will take action to remind world leaders to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY in 2005 by securing trade justice – not free trade.

If you haven't got your White Band get out there and do something - support White Band Day.

Wildberry

 

Nuclear Power - No Thanks

I fact if you want the obligatory window sticker for the back of your 2CV you can't get one that says it in English. You have to go for the original German ATOMKRAFT? NEIN DANKE and to be honest it sounds better. But the number of languages the regular stickers are available in is amazing - everything from Arabic to Welsh via Rhaeto-Romanic!

All available at WISE the World Information Service on Energy.

Keep uranium free - Wildberry

 

I need to buy a new car, well not a new new car, but new to me. My car has travelled about 117,000 miles and there's no way round it it's coming to the end of it's natural life. Now before you all get on to the email I do try to use alternative forms of transport wherever possible. But I'm afraid it's fact of life if you don't live in a city, which I don't, sometimes you need to use a car. 

I have to admit that I have almost zero interest in cars so the whole thing for me is a bit of chore. First you have to decide what to buy? Do I get Petrol or Diesel? I'd love one of those hybrids which I understand are currently only made by Toyota or Honda but I'm afraid they're a bit out of my price range. (and by the way the Honda website is rubbish I'm sure they spent a lot of money on it, it has a very fancy world clock, but someone ought to get it so it STOPS LOCKING UP!) I think the Honda is called a civic and according to the Green Consumer Guide it's Britain's greenest car, but to honest I spent so long trying to get sense out of their website I gave up!

If you look at the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), car fuel data website they give all the emissions and fuel consumption data for, I understand, every car for sale in the UK. The US equivalent is www.fueleconomy.gov. They give bucket loads of information but no actual advice. For example, a priority for me is the car will last a long time. Apparently a large percentage of the CO² a car will produce during it's lifetime will be used during the manufacture so it would seem like a good idea to keep it for a long time. So if I buy a diesel I understand the CO² emissions are less than a petrol car, but the other emissions (particulates) are greater so which is best? and don't diesel engines last longer? So is it better to have more particulates but the car lasts longer, so there's less CO²? You see with bikes it's so easy.

In answer to the question 'If I need to buy a new car, should I buy one that runs on petrol or diesel?' Friends of the Earth say 'if you spend a lot of time driving in cities - a petrol car combined with a catalytic converter, fuel efficient engine and reformulated fuel is the best option'. Well around town I tend to walk or use my bike so almost all my driving is for longer journeys where it's too far to cycle or I can't get the train. But it doesn't actually say what you should do if the majority of your driving is on the motorway. I assume by implication they're saying get a diesel, but it's not clear. FOE also have a PDF document you can download titled 'Cleaner Cars and Fuels', I have yet to plough through that one.

Now if you look at the Channel 4 - Guide to Green Motoring they say 'If you're not likely to spend much of your driving time in nose-to-tail traffic around town, then you could be better off with a diesel - especially if it's a relatively new diesel incorporating the latest technology.' OK well that seems to agree with FOE. I could be on to something here.

I think I'm going to be coming back to this one - Wildberry.

Fascinating results have come from the research being undertaken by the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). Having drilled over 3 Km in to the Antarctic ice, a project which took five years, they are now analyzing the results with amazing conclusions.

Their research has shown that current levels of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are higher now than at any time in the last 650,000 years. 

The evidence on atmospheric concentrations comes from an Antarctic region called Dome Concordia (Dome C). Where scientists have drilled 3,270m into the ice, which equates to drilling nearly 900,000 years back in time. Gas bubbles trapped as the ice formed yield important evidence of the mixture of gases present in the atmosphere at that time, and of temperature. 'One of the most important things is we can put current levels of carbon dioxide and methane into a long-term context,' said project leader Thomas Stocker from the University of Bern, Switzerland.