Councils in the UK own million of acres of land. Led by Somerset County Council, many are now considering privatising their public land and forests in a move which could dwarf the Government's attempted sell-off of the forests earlier in 2011. Somerset County Council has begun consulting on the sale of 2,000 acres of land in the Quantock Hills (the UK's first AONB), much of it Sites of Special Scientific Interest and forest. If Somerset County Council (SCC) is successful, other Councils are sure to follow. Help defeat SCC's privatisation plan and make sure that the forests sell-off doesn't happen by default in a piecemeal fashion.

MS is a devastating set of symptoms that destroy the lives of sufferers and their family. The number of people affected by these symptoms is not known, there is an estimated figure of about 85,000 in the UK but early results of a survey undertaken under the freedom of information act suggest this might be half of the actual number. Problem is that as no one knows how many people suffer from MS, resources and services are not in place to help.
Another problem is that appeals for treatment and better service for people with MS fall on deaf ears as the problem is not seen as large enough to be politically significant. Take one possible cause of the syndrome for example: Chronic Cerebro-spinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) a venous condition affecting the head and upper torso. It is being diagnosed in between 75% and 90% of people with MS and is easily treated using a safe procedure currently performed in our NHS hospitals daily, yet because of their MS diagnosis people are refused this treatment on the NHS. People who have been treated abroad often recover from their symptoms.
Visit these facebook sites and websites for more information and don't forget to pass on the link to this site to your friends and family, we really need your help.
http://www.facebook.com/ms.ccsvi.uk?ref=ts
http://www.facebook.com/groups/vital.now/
And our websites:
http://www.vital-now.org/
http://www.ms-ccsvi-uk.org/

The sick and disabled are being hit hard by unjust welfare reforms. People are being pushed into situations which are distressing and humiliating. Flawed claim forms and health assessments are forcing people to fight for their right to benefits, when they are already struggling to live. The disabled and sick are being told they must work and their health conditions are being ignored. People are facing the stress of appeals against unfair decisions, by people who's remit is to get everyone off benefits. This is all about saving money not saving peoples lives. The sick and disabled are paying the price for other peoples financial wrong doing.

In terms of quality, humour and inventiveness, the British animation industry is second to none. Past success in this field has been such that characters like Aardman’s Wallace and Gromit have become part of our national heritage. They are also adored worldwide, acting as ambassadors that embody the spirit of our nation.

But many of our family favourites have moved abroad to be animated by foreign production companies.

Now nearly every nation in the world with an animation industry is offering government-backed incentives to attract animation work.

Put simply, there is no level playing field. Price and product have become secondary to cashflow. The corollary is that animators can waste years putting together funding packages in the UK before often having to resort to co-production with a business operating outside the country, losing a significant proportion of IP rights in the process.

Our animators have never wanted handouts. They are confident that they have the skill, flair and ideas to attract work. Nor do they argue against the free market. The problem lies in the fact that at the moment the market is far from free.

The government has been consistent in espousing its support for the creative industries. Here is an opportunity to turn a sympathetic ear into a lasting difference for British animators. Please write to Chancellor George Osborne and Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to ask them to introduce a targeted tax credit for animation as a palpable demonstration of the government’s support for the creative industries and commitment to economic growth.

Thought I would share this article from Simon Dale at: www.lammas.org.uk

He is being taken to court by the local council because his low impact home does not confirm to new building regulations (e.g. not having a toilet inside means their outside compost loo is illegal!). The upshot is that it's currently illegal in this country to build an off-grid low impact home of your own!

http://www.lammas.org.uk/ecovillage/documents/BuildingRegulationsandLIDpaperbySimonDaleandJasmineSaville.pdf

New building regs need to be produced that are aimed at self build low impact sustainable homes, rather than housing developers who should naturally be audited for their quality and sustainability.

If you know anyone that could help publicise this or you have networks that could help out, please forward it on.

An EU-based company importing electronic components from outside of the EU has to pay duty on those components (most are made in the Far East). If, however, a device is manufactured outside the EU from those same components, then imported into the EU, it does not attract import duty. A company manufacturing abroad, and depriving the EU economies of employment opportunities, effectively gets a tax break over those supporting the EU economies. This makes it very tax inefficient for any electronics company to manufacture in the EU, and is a contributing factor in the loss of so many manufacturing jobs to overseas economies. Campaign for the adjustment the EU import duty rules to remove this disparity and to encourage the return of electronics manufacture and assembly jobs to the EU and Britain.

Related e-petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/27158

More info on the Common Customs Tariff (CCF): http://www.sloanefox.freeserve.co.uk/taric.htm

It is currently legal in some European member states, including the United Kingdom, for private individuals to keep primates (monkeys, apes and prosimians such as lemurs and bush babies) as pets. There are an estimated 5000 privately kept primates in the UK alone today. This trade is associated with serious welfare problems for the individual primates, presents a danger to human health and safety, and is thought to have a negative impact on conservation efforts in primate habitat areas. Many "pet" primates are bred in captivity but this does not reduce their suffering or change that fact that they are wild, not domesticated, animals and simply cannot thrive in private homes. These individuals are usually pulled from their mothers well before natural weaning age causing acute distress and lasting psychological damage. Others are still wild-caught and imported either legally or illegally into the EU to be kept as pets (which often involves the killing of the mothers and of any other group members that try to protect the infant). Many countries worldwide have banned this trade and the EU needs to follow this precedent and stop allowing primates to suffer at the hands of well-intentioned but ignorant pet owners and unethical breeders, traders and dealers.

From 1st January 2012, it will be illegal to keep hens in battery cages anywhere in the European Union. However, despite having had 12 years to implement the regulations laid down by the Laying Hens Directive 1999, some EU member states will fail to reach the deadline and are seeking an extension for their farmers. This could result in millions of hens being kept in battery cages illegally, and millions of battery eggs entering the UK illegally, potentially hidden in processed foods such as ready meals, pasta, cakes etc.

British farmers have invested £400m to comply with this legislation. However, they now face unfair competition, not only from egg producers outside the EU who do not need to comply with EU legislation, but also from non-compliant EU farmers.

We are asking you to sign our petition to tell David Cameron and his Government that we want to food labelling which clearly states if egg-based ingredients are sourced from caged hens. Improved food labelling will allow consumers to make an informed choice to help protect higher welfare production and to support British egg producers – good for both the welfare of hens, and our British egg producers.

Trial by jury is "the lamp that shows that freedome lives". Every few years civil servants in the Home Office persuade politicians to have another go at it. Why? The stated reason is always cost, but it is never stated truly. The actual saving for removing the right to elect jury trial is insignificant. The real reason is that tyrants don't like juries. And civil servants and politicians always have an element of tyranny in their body corporate. The arguments for and against are as old as the hills. This quote from Lord Blackstone writing in the 1760s is as true now as it was then:

"the liberties of England cannot but subsist, so long as this palladium remains sacred and inviolate, not only from all open attacks, (which none will be so hardy as to make) but also from all secret machinations, which may sap and undermine it; by introducing new and arbitrary methods of trial, by justices of the peace, commissioners of the revenue, and courts of conscience. And however convenient these may appear at first, (as doubtless all arbitrary powers, well executed, are the most convenient) yet let it be again remembered, that delays, and little inconveniences in the forms of justice, are the price that all free nations must pay for their liberty in more substantial matters; that these inroads upon this sacred bulwark of the nation are fundamentally opposite to the spirit of our constitution; and that, though begun in trifles, the precedent may gradually increase and spread, to the utter disuse of juries in questions of the most momentous concern."