UK Newswire Archive
Palestine Today 12 30 2010
30-12-2010 16:52
Iran, a victim of state-sponsored terrorism
30-12-2010 15:50
The Nation joins the campaign against Julian Assange
30-12-2010 15:31
“Feminist opinion—as the Assange case and the Polanski affair before it have demonstrated—has become one of the means of legitimizing the suppression of nonconformists and political dissidents, and of changing the subject from the great social issues, above all, class oppression and social inequality, to stale and self-pitying concerns.Those supervising the attack against Assange are no doubt congratulating themselves on its clever design. Mounting it in the guise of a campaign against the sexual molestation of women… how else could such a filthy operation, with its threat of a sweeping assault on democratic rights, be mounted and even legitimized today?
The powers that be know the Pollitts of this world, and the Nation. The magazine’s editor, Katrina vanden Heuvel, is, after all, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a leading ruling class think tank whose membership has included numerous CIA directors, along with dozens of US generals and admirals.”
Strong Bomb today outside Athens Court
30-12-2010 14:39
Video & Fotos
http://garizo.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_489.html
Inquest into death of weapons inspector: David Kelly probe case 'unanswerable'
30-12-2010 12:38
A lawyer for the group of doctors behind the demand for an inquest said they "hope and expect" that Mr Grieve will make his decision on legal grounds only, and will resist any political pressure to reject their application.
Full article | 3 additions | 15 comments
Catholic Worker Anti-War Resistance at Northwood HQ on"Feast of Holy Innocents"
30-12-2010 11:30
NORTHWOOD PERMANENT JOINT HEADQUARTERS (British Military) http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo...s.htm 2005: How Quebec Students Forced the Govt to Back Down
29-12-2010 23:16
Canada: Students blockade the Port of Montréal, 2005 - Article about blockade by students in Canada striking against cuts in education.Lessons to be thought about and learned from for the 2011 student protests.
South Lanarkshire Council shuts Community out of its own liaison meeting with Scottish Coal
29-12-2010 19:22
In what is becoming an all too familiar story in the Douglas Valley, South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) made a determined effort to exclude community members from the Mainshill open cast coal mine liaison meeting earlier this month.
Anti Nuclear Campaigners In Court In Lowestoft
29-12-2010 19:18
4 January 2011, 10am (plus 5, 10, and 11 January)Two anti nuclear campaigners, Andreas Speck (46) from London and Ian Mills (45) from Chippenham, will be tried at Lowestoft Magistrates Court from 4 January on, for "failing to leave land" (S69(3)(a) CJPOA 1994) when they blockaded Sizewell nuclear power station in Suffolk on 22 February 2010 [1].
National Health Service "could collapse"
29-12-2010 18:46
Senior figures in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) have warned that the government proposals to reform health care, as laid out in the white paper, “Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS”, could lead it to “implode” or face a “train crash”.Cut Cameron Festival Posters & Info
29-12-2010 18:22
Benefit for Anarchists Against The Cuts and to defend the Millbank protesters.Free & tasty food provided by Taunton Vegans!
Anonymous Stage; Primeval Soup, Anarcho Folko, Spanner, Mediatrocity, Hated till Proven, Sickwax, Mad Apple Circus, Mega Games, Wormwood, Threat Manifesto, Po-lice, Rat Bandits and Noah Spits.
Old Hat Stage; 2 Poorly Primates, Dead Subverts, Virus, Donnie Brasco, Room 4 1 More, Ed Wood, Steve French & the Big Cats, Mouth, 51st State, Hacksaw, Some Sort of Threat, Dane Howells and Fatha of the Cods.
+ Punk & Dub DJ
22 bands, 2 acoustics and 2 poets. Not bad all for £5!
Also stalls so far confirmed from; Anarchists Against The Cuts, Taunton Vegans, Kebele Community Coop, Carrot Comics and Martian Records Taunton.
Tickets available from:
The Winchester Arms (Castle Green, Taunton)
Martian Records (Bridge Street, Taunton)
Black Cat Records (East Street, Taunton)
G C Music & Collectables (East Reach, Taunton)
Gillian Greig Music (Kingston Road, Taunton)
Bands; 51st State, Rat Bandits, Po-lice, Subgenerates, Steve French & the Big Cats and Spaner.
Also from more retailers soon...
See full details:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173117609386601
http://www.myspace.com/events/View/8288990/CUT-CAMERON-...unton
Wikileaks Rest in Peace
29-12-2010 17:36
The original merits of Wikileaks have been lost in its transformation into a publicity and fund-raising vehicle for Julian Assange as indicated in the redesign website which billboards him.
Smarter than the average bear?
29-12-2010 17:29
Audio from Anti-cuts action in Bradford
29-12-2010 17:23
Sound bites from Ant-cuts activists on Saturday 11th of December in Bradford.
UG#531 - Unite and Conquer 2 (One Global Family)
29-12-2010 16:51
Vigil to support the occupation of the Kent University Senate building!
29-12-2010 16:43
Information regarding a vigil in support of the occupation of the University of Kent Senate building.Stop NYE Deportation
29-12-2010 14:53
A man is being threatened with deportation from Brighton (his home of 13 years) to Algeria against his will on NYE. Details below...Preston Poverty: Figures
29-12-2010 14:32
New figures show the starkness of the growing inequality in Preston, Lancashire.MOPG's 6th Objection Published
29-12-2010 12:23
The Minorca Opencast Protest Group has just published its 6th set of objections to UK Coal's latest plans to opencast the Minorca site near Measham in Leicestershire. These objections centre on the risk that working the site will threaten the River Mease Special Area of Conservation
MOPG PR 87 30/12/10
THE WATER QUALITY OF THE RIVER MEASE SPECIAL AREA OF CONSERVATION IS THREATENED BY UK COAL’S MINORCA OPENCAST PROPOSAL SAY OBJECTORS.
As the New Year approaches, so does the date on which the future of the Minorca Opencast Mine Application will be determined. The Minorca Opencast Protest Group has begun to release its remaining set of objections to the Application to explain the remainder of it’s objections.
In the latest set of objections published by the Minorca Opencast Protest Group (MOPG), today, their sixth set of objections to be published so far, MOPG conclude that there is a grave risk that disturbing the water flow through the rock strata adjacent to the Giliwiskaw Brook, a tributary of the River Mease, will damage the River Mease Special Area of Conservation.
A report written for Swepstone with Newton Burgoland Parish Council, by a Chartered Geologist with over 20 years experience of being consulted on water management and mining issues has concluded that
“The new hydrogeology report is based on poor field data. This has led to the use of complex computer models to try and justify the UK Coal position. However, the lack of field data means that the models cannot be adequately calibrated and verified, resulting in my opinion, to a low confidence in the model output and conclusions drawn from them.
The UK Coal approach is to base a high degree of reliance in the output of the models. In my opinion this is ill considered.
It is not possible, on the information presented, to concur with the predictions that are being made and therefore the contingency plans as designed.
In my opinion, the numerical models should be reviewed in detail, by an independent (from the regulators and UK Coal) expert groundwater modeller to assess their veracity, given the level of protection afforded to the SAC status of the Giliwiskaw Brook.”
In a detailed four page submission the expert Geologist criticises aspects of the hydrogeological Report submitted by Wardle Armstrong on behalf of UK Coal. The UK Coal Water Management Plan is flawed given the special status of this site as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). In terms of the risk of damage being caused by working the open cast site the Geologist says
“It is therefore important that the probability of a problem occurring is as close to zero as could reasonably be expected. It is considered that based on the assessments carried on the impacts on the Giliwiskaw Brook, with respect to flow and quality, that this probability is ill defined. This is particularly the case where the conclusions are based on the numerical modeling that has been undertaken.
On Wardle Armstrong’s Supplementary Hydrology Report / Results of –Preliminary Groundwater Modeling the expert opinion offered is that
“It is considered that there are significant shortcomings in the baseline data and hydrogeological conceptualisation described in this report.”
On the new information that has been supplied since 2009 the expert passes this judgment:
“The test method and analysis technique is rudimentary and prone to error.”
On the section which contains other methodological criticisms this comment is made
“In themselves, these and other points within the report are relatively minor; but in combination they represent a very poor baseline data set and in some cases a poor or incorrect interpretation. These together must result in a low confidence in the conceptual model of the system.”
This approach is known in the trade as the ‘rubbish in rubbish out’ scenario since our critic goes on to state
“This becomes important when the conceptual model is then used as the basis of a complex numerical model. The lack of good quality field data and time series water level and river flow data, means that the computer model cannot be calibrated with any degree of certainty”.
and
“Due to the poor foundations of the computer models, the confidence in the outcomes and predictions can only be low. I am particular concerned with the predicted impact on the baseflow of the brook. The impact predictions are based on a poorly conceived and constrained model, and no real flow monitoring, other than one accretion survey. The only other data is generically modeled data.
The same comments are valid for the salinity model.
It is not possible to say whether the conclusions drawn from either model are correct; only that the basis on which the conclusions are drawn are, in my opinion seriously flawed, and therefore must be considered with a low level of confidence.”
The submission goes on to make similar comments on other aspects of Wardle Armstrong’s submission covering Assessment of Discharge Quality, Treated Water Discharge Procedure Guidelines, Water Monitoring Plan, and the Contingency Plan. Only the Floodplain Assessment just one out of 7 reports submitted on water quality is praised as being
“clear, concise and relevant”
even if the Swepstone with Newton Burgoland Parish Council expert judges it to be incomplete on the evidence provided.
Steve Leary for MOPG said,
“Again we have a set of objections to UK Coal’s plans which, we argue, prove how risky this application is, in particular to the continuing existence of the River Mease Catchment Area retaining its status as a Special Area of Conservation. This report wasn’t commissioned by or for MOPG, it was for a neighboring Parish Council. Still, in our view there is a real risk of damaging the River Mease SAC’s water quality. This judgment, on the poor quality of UK Coal’s second set of submission papers with regard to subterranean water flows clearly comes to the conclusion that if the base line data and the other information fed into a software program that models the expected outcome is poor that the conclusions drawn will be unreliable. The Swepstone expert argues that this is indeed the outcome here – the ‘rubbish in – rubbish out’ point already alluded to.
We are aware that this set of objections is probably one of the reasons why Natural England have asked UK Coal for further information on these Hydrological issues. But as we know, UK Coal in regard to this application failed to get it right first time and as a consequence over two years on from when this whole process started we are still left with national regulators requesting more information, even after a second submission and without a planning decision being made
Rather than trying to buy permission with their offer of such a large contribution to restore the Ashby Canal, a project which has nothing to do directly with this planning application, their money and effort would have been better spent on having improved this planning application in the first place rather than keep so many people waiting for a decision for such a long time.”
This date for determining this application has now been postponed and will take place in the New Year, but no date has yet been set.
END END END END END
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PRESS RELEASE CONTACT:
STEVE LEARY, SPOKESPERSON, MOPG
tel 05601 767981, email steve46leary@googlemail.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MOPG PLEASE GO TO:
http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/measham/minorca-protest.html
FOLLOW NEWS ABOUT MOPG and UK COAL on TWITTER by logging on to http://twitter.com/seftonchase
East End community defender Kay Jordan
29-12-2010 01:11
Long standing community campaigner, architect and friend to ordinary people in need of help Kay Jordan left us in the evening of Tuesday 28 December 2010
