The last year has made us really value touch.

Years ago I wrote an article about the children in a Romanian orphanage (the shocking conditions made the news at the time); the children were left in their cots all day, left to cry, left unhugged.  We can only imagine the damage this will have done to them psychologically, but Lockdown has given us some idea.

The Power of Touch | Jane Anderson | TEDxUofM – YouTube – Jane Anderson, The Power of Touch Ted Talk looking at why touch is so vital for us.

BBC Radio 4 – Anatomy of Touch – Nine things we learned from the world’s largest study of touch – Radio 4’s Touch Test results and what was learned from the world’s largest study of touch.

What the bleep do we know – the movie – YouTube  – seeing the body and life in a very different way, looking at the power of self hate….. and self love

Yesterday we woke
To two perfect young thrushes
Lying together motionless

Outside our back door
Not even a year old
Pristine white breasts
Delicate spots not fully marked
Beaks never to feed again
Eyes never to see
Voices never to be heard

They are buried now by the old garden shed
Soft earth surrounds them
Leaves cushion them
A twigged cross
A sprig of rosemary in remembrance
A bunch of bright red berries
To mark their resting place

A Taisé song of Peace sung for them
In place of all the songs they will never sing to us…

Let us do all we can to protect our birds…
Food throught the year
Clean water
ice broken when frozen
In harsh cold weather
Places in the garden for shelter
Wormy lawns and bits of dead wood
Untidy corners for foraging
Bird-friendly grasses, flowers, plants, trees,
Seed heads left to over winter
All providing food and shelter.

No poisoned land which in turn poisons them

We wake to dawn choruses
We go to sleep with the curlews crying
Across the bay
We watch a myriad of birds throughout each day

Searching

Scratching
Serenading
Nesting
Nurturing
Gathering
Coming and going

Let us make sure this continues
May we always wake to the sounds of these amazing companions🙏

Two Organisations who inform on and protect birds in the UK and Ireland:

www.rspb.org.uk

www.birdwatchireland

• Wake Up … to a lot of work profiled over 4 years which shows people CAN do something.
• Wake Up is the essence of what the TIA website is about.
• Be one of the Wake – Up’ed.
• Wake Up to all that’s going on in the news.
• Wake Up to questioning what’s going on.
• Wake Up to your own judgement of the news / info being put on and sent out.
• Wake Up and Act with your Imagination.

What we focus on gets bigger – on the world stage it’s created by mass hypnosis!

Basic law of our Universe, ever loving and giving, simply gives us more of what we focus on. Doesn’t judge or condemn, it gently accumulates more and more of ‘stuff’ we’re putting attention on – wanted or unwanted!

Media People understand how the brain works. ‘News at Ten’ is a classic example:

1. Spinning discs, colour red, dramatic music draw us in, starts hypnosis process.
2. Headlines announce dramatic scene, followed by loud noise (anchors drama to brains).
3. Serious faced presenter tells us bad news (adrenaline – addictive – floods body).
4. We’re mesmerised by photos of other peoples’ suffering (relief it’s not us).
5. …ends on short story of something light hearted (body – endorphin hit – addictive cycle completes).
6. We crave more!
7. Our collective attention makes the whole situation worse.

Mosques and temples are helping to assist the elderly and the vulnerable in their towns and cities.

As the countrywide lockdown takes hold within the first week many religious and community organisations have been helping ALL members of their community. 

The army of volunteers have been collecting food and essentials to ensure those people that need the most help at this time of crisis are being cared for. 

At many times they are putting themselves in harm’s way.

The Bolton Hindu Forum said they are leading ‘a joint Coordinated Community Help Program to look after elders living alone and who have no immediate family and those who have family but they are out of town and not able to help as they would in normal circumstances’.

The Masjide Noorul Islam (Blackburn) have already recruited 250 people to help the elderly and vulnerable in isolation.

Kamal Hussein’s story is in Kutupalong, world’s largest refugee settlement –  late August 2017, thousands of refugees arriving daily. Many children were separated from parents and Hussein’s mission was to reunite families.

Hussein decided to act after a woman asked for help finding her child.

“I rented a microphone” relaying a description. His broadcasts worked – someone returned the child; his mission was born.

Charities gave audio equipment and a booth to broadcast the names of separated children and urge parents to collect them.

 “The new refugees don’t know the camp, they get lost here,”

Myanmar’s campaign of persecution and violence drove 740,000+ stateless Rohingya from their Rakhine homes. Now, 1,000,000+ Rohingya are in Bangladesh.

A refugee himself, he was separated from his parents when a boy.

“As a child, I had a lot of pain in my life but doing this work, I feel at peace with myself.”

www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/11/5dc3fd334/rohingya-mans-mission-reunite-parents-lost-children-new-film.html

• Forestry Commission Report 2018- 2019. Progress made towards target 11 million newly planted trees in England 2017- 22, including The Northern Forest.
• Government objective: increase area of woodland to 12% in England , by 2060
• Woodland Trust Young Peoples’ BIG CLIMATE FIGHTBACK, planted 10,000 trees in Derbyshire 2019
• Woodland Trust since founded 1972:- planted 13 million trees, 1089 mill trees saved, 3k rescued.
• READ HERE – www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/people-behind-our-work-cumbria/
• Multitude of small- scale planting projects by local groups eg Trees for Cities, Brighton  – bhgreenspaceforum.org.uk

Photo – A younger Manu Berardi demonstrating against local tree destruction by Developers

• first know thyself
• listen
• practice foregiveness
• laugh

• Two in five trans people (41 per cent) and three in ten non-binary people (31 per cent) have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months.
• More than a quarter of trans people (28 per cent) in a relationship in the last year have faced domestic abuse from a partner.
• One in four trans people (25 per cent) have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.
• One in eight trans employees (12 per cent) have been physically attacked by colleagues or customers in the last year.
• More than a third of trans university students (36 per cent) in higher education have experienced negative comments or behaviour from staff in the last year
• Two in five trans people (40 per cent) adjust the way they dress because they fear discrimination or harassment. This number increases significantly to half of non-binary people (52 per cent).
• Two in five trans people (41 per cent) said that healthcare staff lacked understanding of specific trans health needs when accessing general healthcare services in the last year.
• Three in five trans people (62 per cent) who have undergone, or are currently undergoing, medical intervention for their transition are unsatisfied with the time it took to get an appointment.
• More than one in ten trans people (11 per cent) have gone abroad for medical treatment to alter their physical appearance, including buying hormones over the internet from other countries, with many citing the barriers they currently face in accessing medical treatment in the UK.

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_in_britain_-_trans_report_final.pdf

In the Dalai Lama’s most recent writing, A Call For Revolution published in 2018, he says

“I am calling on you to bring on a cultural revolution of compassion!”

“When I call on you to bring on the Revolution of Compassion, I am calling for the mother of all uprisings to begin.”

Speaking to all humans as Citizens of the Earth, he says,

“The problems facing you, whether to do with climate change, violence in general and terrorism in particular, were not created by God, Buddha or extra-terrestrials. They did not fall from the sky, or rise up from the ground. Humanity is entirely responsible for being at the root of the problems that have caused these crises. Which is good news. Because if we have created these problems, it is logical to believe we have the means to resolve them.”

On March 15^th 2019, in 25 countries around the world, an uprising of people from all walks of life began taking non-violent direct action in a bid to save our planet from catastrophe. In London, Waterloo Bridge was turned into a garden, Marble Arch became a campsite and learning centre, Parliament Square an information centre, Oxford Circus a speaker’s platform, Piccadilly Circus a youth centre. Songs from the soul, rhymes of reason, music of love and hope, theatre of passionate pleas were played out through the streets of our capital city.

This rebellion was a culmination of many years of the peaceful work of many individuals and small groups of citizens of this earth, who wish to see her beauty and nature thrive for future generations.

We do not all wish to be rebels, activists or protesters. There are many ways to quietly join with those of like-mind and create change……..

https://britishpilgrimage.org

https://wisdomkeepers.earth

http://lawyersfornature.com

https://shaktisings.org

https://SOULand.org

www.earthlawcantre.org

www.glenniekindred.co.uk

June 2019

• Oil reserves in the world 2017 – Iran 4th largest 157.8 billion barrels; Iraq 5th largest 144.2 billion barrels.
• At the end of the war of invasion 2003 the US formerly ended the occupation of Iraq. Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell remain.
• Biwater Wood Hybrid scheme for Basra, Southern Iraq includes delivery of potable water for local population and the oil industry. Funded from U.K. by JP Morgan and U.K. Overseas Development investment Fund . §1.45 billion  – SEE HERE 
• Iranian economy shrunk by 1.5% 2019 …by 3% 2020. Before President Trump extended trade sanctions, IMF predicted 4%.current growth .
• Brain drain from Iran estimated by IMF to 91 developed & developing countries of educated individuals- 150,000 to 180,000,every year.
• Iraqi emigres to UK include: Jim Al-Khalili,Professor Theoretic Physics, Charles and Maurice Saatchi, Alan Yentob formerly BBC, architect Zaha Hamid.

May 2019

Being outdoors has huge benefits for children, both physically and mentally, and the growing network of Forest Schools aims to tap into those benefits by educating children in the fresh air.  Forest School and nature based learning has now become very established in the UK with more than 12,00 trained leaders.

Forest School offers children and young adults:

The inspiration to be curious, fascinated, interested and inventive.

The freedom to explore different ways of ‘being’, feeling, behaving and interacting.

The opportunity to:

Experience beauty and wonder in the woodland and become ‘lost in the experience’

Gain confidence through learning new skills

Develop imagination and creativity

Meet challenges and learn to handle risk in safety

Feel relief from stress and anxiety

Develop their spirituality through a sense of awe at the natural environment.

Increase their autonomy and independence

Take responsibility for own learning and building self confidence

Stroud Forest School

Wild Roots Forest School

Forest School: 9 ways children benefit from learning and playing outside

March 2019

• The forecast worldwide is that that owning a house is the prerequisite of the wealthy
• In London 1,137 people sleep rough on average, every night
• Sleeping rough shortens lives to average 47 as opposed to the national norm of 77 years.
• Every year, year on year, failure to tackle the supply system ratchets up the pressure on English housing. Many more families will suffer from over- crowding, more families will struggle with rising rents and larger mortgages, fewer young people under 30 will be able to leave the parental home. Shelter.
• Truth about property developers: how they are exploiting the planning process and ruining our cities –  HERE 
• ‘No (Mrs May) -the housing crisis will not be solved by building more houses.The Crisis is the result of banking failure’ –  HERE
•  Grenfell Tower – HERE
• Global figures: likely be 1.3 billion without Houses. UN Sustainable Development goals at best over- ambitious, at worst DELUSIONAL.
• Medellin, Colombia: remaking the world’s most dangerous city. The remarkable example of change happening because of radical leadership – HERE
• AND AT THE FRONT OF OUR MINDS..MIGRANT data – dead / missing crossing the Mediterranean 2016: 5,143. 2017: 3,139. 2018: 2,297.
• AND INSECT loss, internationally …up to 85% . Primarily because of destruction of their habitat by the human species

In the struggle to oppose hate, and to replace it with fierce love and compassion, it’s necessary ─ though often or usually stressful ─ to remain awake, watchful, hopeful.

One way to remain awake and hopeful is through the arts. Below there are links to six pieces of artistic creativity. All contain music, and all contain elements of drama and theatrical performance.

The countries of origin include France, Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom and United States.

Transformative power

An illustrated talk (about 20 minutes) about the power of music to transform lives, yours, mine, everyone’s – HERE 

Light in dark times

A sermon in December 2018 beginning and ending with affirmations of Bono’s song There is a Light, written after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 –  HERE

Happiness – and watch out !

Animated film (about four minutes) that takes a wry look at doomed searches for well-being, fulfilment and bliss somewhere apart from where we actually live – HERE 

Strictly inclusive

TV celebration of inclusive choreography, everyone but everyone special, November 2018 – HERE 

Joy in the public square

That famous dream of shared humanity and world community, adopted as the anthem of the European Union – HERE

I didn’t die, says he

‘What they forgot to kill went on to organise’, the unending a luta continua onwards and upwards to justice , and to positive peace – HERE 

Hold On

If there is a light
We can’t always see
If there is a world
We can’t always be
If there is a dark
Now we shouldn’t doubt
And there is a light
Don’t let it go out

Hold on, Hold on.

Bono 2017

The size of the THIRD SECTOR globally and its relationship with UK GOVERNMENT –

• Global Civil Society has mushroomed into global workforce of 350 million professionals and volunteers. If this workforce were a country, it would be the third most populous …. following China & India.
• World Economic Forum :- ”Closing space for civil society reduces the chances that these challenges will be effectively addressed’’ – HERE
• World Economic Forum – “5 challenges for Civil Society in the 4th Industrial Revolution “ –  HERE 
• UK HMG Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published first Civil Society Strategy for fifteen years. Proposes Third Sector be increasingly involved in design of public services: view NOT supported by general public –  HERE 
• Charities Aid Foundation notes the SPACE between Government and the charitable sector is being shrunk, with implications for the latter’s reduced critical and championing role. The Third Sector role is predominantly “speaking ON BEHALF of the disadvantaged’’ – HERE 
• UN special Rapporteur MAINA KIANI ( 2011- 2017), UN Human Rights Council visited UK 2013 and 2016. Noted that businesses received markedly more favourable responses from HMG than the Third Sector, particularly application procedures.

Wake up each day to the benefits of KINDNESS …which will empower you to offer random acts  of kindness to people unknown and known to yourself,  as you go about your daily life.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. We believe that kindness starts with one: One compliment, one smile, one kind act, one person.

https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-stories

Mac Macartney, international speaker, leader, and founder of the community at Embercombe. We were enormously privileged to have him speak at Festival of the Dark, and moved by how he – a secular speaker reflecting on Darkness – was welcomed in to St James Roman Catholic church by Father John. All Father John needed as reassurance was that it was a positive invocation to live mindfully, with care for our Earth. That then put it in line with Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment; the Pope had asked parish priests and parishes to spread the message of care, and so we were welcomed in. And thus Mac was able to weave his stories of love for the Earth, and our responsibility as spiritual beings to live with care for ourselves, within care for our community, within care for all of our connected environment.

Excerpt from Mac’s talk

Head of Compassion in World Farming, Philip Lymbery states :

“There is a desperate need for joined-up action on Industrial Farming if we are to avoid a catastrophic impact on Earth”  – READ HIS ARTICLE HERE

IN ORDER FOR HUMANS TO BE ABLE TO BUY LOW COST MEAT – Interrelated conditions exist :-

• In UK there are 1,674 intensive factory farms. Average space per. chicken 25cm x 25 cm. 94% chickens raised for meat in these conditions.
• About 1/2 European antibiotics are given to livestock to combat infection & to enhance rapid animal growth. Infection spreads rapidly in factory farms.
• Dutch scientists estimate 1/3 to 1/2 of antibiotic resistance in humans is due to infections originating in agriculture.
• Poor working conditions for Farm Workers in factory farms: bacterial infections, cross contamination, excessive lines’ speed, exploitation, low wages
• 5 privately owned firms control the new MEGA FARMS:- Faccenda, Moy Park, Cargill, 2 Sisters, Banham Poultry .They supply cheap meat to Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrison, Asda, Macdonalds, Nando,

Refs:-

• Tracey Worcester  – Farms not Factories. HERE
• Compassion in World Farming  – HERE
• The Bureau of Investigative Journalism – HERE
• Andrew Wasley Guardian -Sustainable Business 22.12.15  – READ ALL ANDREW’S ARTICLES HERE
• TED TALKS . San Antonio. Dr Karl Klose. Rise of the Super bug – SEE THE TED TALK HERE
• Dr Danielle van Daler – ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
• 10 Alarming facts about factory farms
• The Rise of the Mega Farm

( and loadsa other concerns !)

Organisations who hold power ARE responding to the pollution crisis :- e.g.

• Plastic indispensable part of daily life; not an environment problem..an opportunity to maintain the circular economy . UK Plastics Pact : Aim,together create a sustainable system for plastics at the forefront of the circular economy.
• “ EU declared war on plastic waste” Plan includes 350 mill. euros funding research to modernise plastic production and collection…..Each piece of packaging on the continent to be reusable /recyclable by 2030.
• EU “Priority to clamp down on single-use plastic: 5 seconds to produce,5 minutes to use, 50 year’s to break- down”.
• George Monbiot:” Oil companies will invest £130bn.globally in new plastic facilities in next 7 years…..UK Government’s praiseworthy “clean growth” policy, in practice entails more growth, more resources, more consumption.
• Encouraging : proliferation in mass- circulation newspapers of articles photographs & campaigns plus social media petitions calling for government, commerce & consumer action to control useage & wastage & pollution.

AND it all RASPS AGAINST FACTS… AND THE FACT that the present crisis has been known and “hidden”, for decades..MYOPIA : near- sightedness.

• 8 mill.tonnes of Plastic reach the sea every year.
• By 2050 there will be more Plastic in oceans than fish.
• 99% of seabirds will have eaten plastic.
• average sea-food eater will have ingested 11,000 pieces of micro plastic,yearly.
• Orb media reports billions of people in 12 countries drinking water contaminated by Plastic particles.
• Plastic debris in oceans a growing hazard as toxins climb the food chain.
• See list references at end of TALES SECTION of this website
• 
• I’m Mad As Hell Speech From Network (1976) 
• WATCH YOU TUBE

WAKE UP trumpets Self Employment whilst unearthing limitations within the sector requiring serious UK Government overhaul action.

Self employed 4.6 million, represent 15% UK workforce. Increase of 800,000 since 2008.

Self Employed at lower end of market – take home pay considerably less than Employed.

1/3 families have no savings: issue of nil pension provision

Government policy / practice intervention urgently required e.g. cut Red Tape, incentivise savings, taxation administration clarified/ simplified, flexible systems in general, legal definition of Self Employment.

Accessible ongoing support plus education for young people to better prepare them for Self Employment

LINKS:

Who are the Self Employed ? -New Policy Institute (npi)  SEE HERE

Who are the Self Employed ?  – CAB ( Citizens Advice Bureau)   SEE HERE and  SEE HERE

Self Employment Review – an independent report by Julie Deane OBE .

“The labour market has changed, and continues to change. The opportunities have never been greater”  SEE HERE

Enterprise for All – Review 2010-15 by Lord Young of Graffam   SEE HERE

Make it Work – Gingerbread   SEE HERE

Japanese Puffer fish –  to attract the best fish in the sea, male pufferfish, just twelve cm long when un-puffed, spend at least seven 24-hour days completing an intricate mating ritual that involves swimming their bodies into and through the seafloor to form ridges and trenches in the sand. If they pause too early, the entire ordeal gets washed away by currents. SEE HERE  

Banksy’s ‘Walled Off Hotel’ next to the Wall in Palestine  SEE HERE   AND HERE 

‘Opera !’ – a collaborative Art Project between Royal Opera House, Victoria and Albert Museum and Kings College, London  SEE HERE

DAVOS 2017 – LEADERSHIP REPORT –  Rising nationalism, international tensions, runaway climate change. It’s tempting to despair of humanity at the start of 2017.  Instead of giving up, though, people are working to improve the world around them, whether through entrepreneurship, art, innovation or acts of personal courage.

INSPIRING people’s stories are here and include Tom Szaky and Yusra Mardini – HERE

Tom Szaky (photo above) – This man wants you to recycle everything. I mean everything: cigarette butts, diapers, toothbrushes. He’s the founder and CEO of Terracycle, a social enterprise that uses new technology to “up-cycle” waste into products, turning foil drink pouches into slouch bags, among other feats. His work has galvanized nearly 64 million people around the world into recycling action and offers an alternative business model at a time when research suggests there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.

Yusra Mardini – “Yes, I’m the girl who swam for her life, then swam at the Olympics. Now I want to tell you another story. It’s about my other name, my other identity. You see, my name is refugee. At least, that’s what they call me. Me and those 21 million others forced to flee persecution, war and violence.” Now living in Berlin and speaking up for the world’s displaced, Yusra tells her story HERE.

Refugee Statistics from UNHCR (2016) HERE (United Nations High Commission for Refugees)

• We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.
• An unprecedented 6 million people around the world have been forced from home.
• Among them are nearly 5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. Of these – 17.2m UNHCR and 5.3m Palestinians UNRWA
• There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.
• Refugees resettled in 2016 – 189,300
• Where are the world’s displaced people being hosted – 30% Africa, 26% Middle East and North Africa, 17% Europe, 16% Americas, 11% Asia and Pacific
• 55% of refugees worldwide came from 3 countries – South Sudan 1.4m, Afghanistan 2.5m and Syria 5.5m
• Top Hosting countries – Turkey 2.9m, Pakistan 1.4m, Islamic Republic of Iran 979k, Uganda 941k, Ethiopia 792k

One of our inspiring Stories in 2017, was a young friend’s commitment to raise £1,000 for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

Now we read of the charity’s effective work to prevent suicide in the young-male population in the UK – READ MORE HERE

WATCH What happens when you put eight men in a room with The Duke of Cambridge – HERE

CALM’s new research shows:

• 84% of men in the UK say they bottle up their emotions
• Nearly half said they suppress their emotions often or at least once day
• Almost two in three (62%) 18-24 year olds saying they regularly hide their true feelings
• The most common reasons men cited for not opening up about their emotions were not wanting to worry anyone (43%) and preferring to sort it out themselves (49%)
• Men were also found to be much less likely than women to open up face-to-face (63% v. 72%), over the phone (16% v. 27%) or by text (17% v. 27%) about their feelings
• Many men are feeling the pressure to ‘man up’ and bottle up their emotions, despite the fact the majority of people (52%) feel comfortable when a man opens up and half of us say we’re glad that a man has opened up to us

(YouGov 2017)

WAKE UP to dire information from UN Agencies and practical interventions by NGO & Local community groups :-

UN World Water Reports  – HERE

*1000 Under 5’s die every day globally, from diarrhoeal diseases.

WASH : Managed Water, Sanitation, Hygiene is a dedicated UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-6). 2010 accepted as a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT.

2.1 billion people lack safely managed drinking water. 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.

 * WaterAid UK –  1981 founded by UK Water Industry. Works in partnership with local organisation in 37 countries helping poor communities bring water and sanitation close to home. It also works to influence government water policies. President Prince Charles –  HERE

* History of Rainwater Harvesting –  HERE

* Waterharvest Charity, formerly Wells for India  – HERE

*UN 2017 Report : Waste Water in water reports – HERE

*Agriculture & meat production – HERE

Last 50 years increased useage – population growth & rising expectations in Western world. Agriculture is one largest footprints of water use eg nearly 1,800 gallons water to produce one pound beef; 576 gallons for one pound pork; 108 gallons for one pound corn.

*IFAD : International Fund Agricultural Development

Recognition of Indigenous people’s resourcefulness, including adapting to climate change. 370 million people worldwide. Sensitive to the environment, adaptive capacity, resilience, able to modify their behaviour  –  HERE

*COBRA PROJECT: FACING UP TO CHALLENGES WITH LOCAL SOLUTIONS. 

Cobra uses information & communication technologies. (ICT) to to help local communities document& promote their own solutions to sustainability challenges & inspire others locally, nationally, internationally – HERE . Watch the inspirational video: self- reliance & sustainability

WAKE UP ……. To the exquisite beauty of Butterflies,

To the engineering of their Gestation,

To the journeys that many make to Procreate: Painted Ladies flight from North Africa – HERE

• plant Birch Trees – betula pendula, home for thousands of insects. Food for Siskins, Tits – HERE
• Protect Ivy in churchyards , derelict places & gardens. Their nectar laden flowers feed Red Admirals, still alive in November – HERE
• Sir David Attenborough , President, Butterfly Conservation says “spending time with Butterflies lifts the spirits & reinvigorates that sense of wonder in the Natural World” – HERE
• Michael Gove,  Environment Secretary  encouraged by research into the harm to insects of Nionicondricides – HERE    supports the EU ban ( outside greenhouses), thus reversing HMG’s previous rejection of the ban. This support makes it more likely that the ban will succeed –   HERE
• danger of Glysophate , in weedkiller : danger to insects and humans (yet to confirmed) –  HERE
• UK faces £ 228 million bill if this EU legislation is accepted – HERE

Other references:-

• Butterfly Conservation – HERE
• Buglife – HERE
• Butterfly photos – HERE

Balfour Declaration. Letter to Lord Rothschild  from Arthur Balfour, British Foreign Secretary  (2 November 1917)

“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national  home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and political rights of existing non- Jewish communities in Palestine & the rights and political status of Jews in other countries”.

The 1917 Balfour Declaration was a first step towards the creation of a sanctuary for a persecuted people, the Jews.

It was also the start of a process which has rendered Palestinians stateless, living under occupation in their own land, in refugee camps, or scattered throughout the world.

Two gatherings  in London mark the Centenary. They demonstrate conflicting responses to the historic event. 

 ‘Britain’s Broken Promise’  31 October – organised by the Balfour Project who state:-

”An evening acknowledging Britain’s broken promise made in the Balfour Declaration; acknowledging Britain’s responsibilities in  the Middle East. An opportunity to commit ourselves to support Palestine and Israel in building a peaceful future based on equal rights for all.”   (Westminster Central Hall)

‘Partners in the Great Enterprise’   7 November  – organised by Balfour 100, a Christian organisation celebrating the Centenary who state :-

”During the evening Christian  leaders will help us remember, reconnect, recognise & rededicate to show our love and support for Israel & the Jewish people.” (Royal Albert Hall)

The Story (above), Take Two play and The Just Walk to Jerusalem ( Tales in Archives) open our minds to injustice in present day Palestine. 

LATEST UPDATE FROM JUSTIN BUTCHER – ‘‘WE’RE HERE” !!    THEY’VE COMPLETED THEIR PILGRIMAGE AND ARRIVED IN PALESTINE – READ HERE

ALSO  – Video of their meeting at the Jordan border – HERE

India’s Government plans to invest $ 2.5 billion in solar & storage to get 300 million of its 11.3 billion people onto the grid by 2018. Meanwhile, plans are already in negotiation with Australian Government to import more coal, as the cheapest form of fuel for the poor. If Solar & Battery Storage technologies continue to advance on their current trajectory, they will undercut coal by end of the decade. Carbon dioxide emissions would then be reduced by 10%

In the U.K. the cost of Solar Power has reduced by 40% 2012 ( KPMG)  Energy experts argue that technological advances will soon make it as cheap as Fossil Fuel. There needs to be a transition away from centralised power generation, it is argued .

E.g. Nissan investment in Electric cars & Storage Battery technologies.

And note that the cost of the delayed Hinckley Point Nuclear Reactor may rise by  £3.bn.to £21 bn.

SOURCES : –

Unearthed – Greenpeace – HERE

Alan Tovey Daily Telegraph Business Editor 15 May 2016 – HERE

TERI : Energy & Resource Institute. New Delhi –  HERE

Guardian 4 May 2017 Nissan investments Home Batteries – HERE

Melanie Klein Labour Party Conference 2017 International speaker – HERE

Photo – India Energy Storage Alliance – HERE

For every £100 made in U.K, 70p goes to make the Foreign Aid budget.

2013 first time UK achieved UN target of 0.7% of GNP (Gross National Product)

2015 UN target as U.K. law.  Government can’t be taken to court but Minister must report to Parliament on any infringement. 

Debate on efficacy of Aid:

• £21.2 billion is 4 or 5 times shortfall costs of Care provision in U.K. in one estimate 
• £21.1 billion is a bit less per household of cost of food thrown away, in another estimate 

SOURCES :-

 *Info. From FULL FACTS : independent fact finding charity HERE

 * Informative read. “Aid on the Edge of Chaos” Ben Ramalingham  pub. 2013 

ALNAP :  Strengthening humanitarian action through evaluation & learning. Hosted by Overseas Development Institute.

Picture acknowledgement – The Guardian (15/4/16) A woman herds her animals past the carcasses of livestock that died due to the drought in Somaliland. Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters

New ‘wake up’ posts coming soon!