UC40 June-July 1980 by Christopher Squire

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Undercurrents 40 June-July 1980 ISSN 0306 2392

1 Eddies: News from everywhere 8 What’s What & What’s When 9 Nuclear Nasties - Tony Small: Fusion and the ultra-right in the US 12 On the Crest of a Wave - David Ross and Stewart Boyle: Wave power research is surging ahead 14 Too Longo! - Francis d’Eaubonne Why.the Longo Mai co-op has gone on too long 16 Public Knowledge - Roger Haines and John Garrett: Viewdata systems need liberating 20 Catch Them Young - Peter King: Pro-nuclear publicity in the schools 21 Cult and Counter-Cult - Elizabeth Bear: Bizarre goings-on on the religious fringes 23 ‘Not Quite Smiths’ - Minority Press Group: Why it’s-hard to buy Undercurrents in the High St 24 French Lesson - Philip Black: French union acts against nuclear power 26 Operation Veritas - Tam Dougan and Val Robinson: Another anti-nuclear campaign 29 Third World Rip-Off! - Dave Smith: Dumping dangerous goods in the developing countries 32 Union Barges - Chris Leah: Co-operating on the canals 34 Making a Good Job of it - Brian Martin: Jobs and strategies for social change 37 Letters: Views from everywhere 39 Reviews 46 Small Ads 47 Back Numbers ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Published every two months by Undercurrents Ltd, 27 Clerkenwell Close. London ECl ROAT. Full details of editorial meetings, distribution etc. are on page 48. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

BALHAM FOOD & BOOK CO-OP,

CuImore Cross, SW 12: Off Balham Station Rd; 01-6730946. A non-profit-making workers’ co-operative. Come and see our wide range of whole foods (at fair prices) and radical/alternative books. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

THE CHISHOLME INSTITUTE - Beshara School of Intensive Esoteric Education:

A series of residential seminars considering different aspects of mysticism and including an optional programme of meditation and other practices. 29 June-5 July “Muhyiddin Ibn’ Arabi and Meister Eckhardt” 6 July-12 July “Mystical Poetry” 13 July-19 July “The Mystical Tradition” 20 July-26 July “An Introduction to the Fusus al-Hikam” 27 July-2 Aug “The idea of the Perfection of Man” Cost £70 per person per week. For further information about the courses, or to arrange a visit to the school, which is open throughout the Summer, please write to: The Secretary, Chisholme House, Roberton, Hawick TD9 7PH, or telephone: Borthwickbrae (045 088) 215. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Undercurrents40

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Police Outnumber OVER THE May bank holiday weekend about 150 people gathered at Torness t o protest about the AGR reactor which is being built there. The action started on Friday evening when a few people cut through the fence at the back of the site t o facilitate the proposed occupation the next day. Unfortunately the breaks only existed for half an hour as there was a constant team of fence-repairers operating o n site.

rubber ball marked 'anarchist bomb' was thrown onto the site. The police immediately gave chase and arrested the 'bombthrower'along with 21 others. Meanwhile, at the back entrance t o the site another 5 people ware arrested after they had spontaneously rigged together a table, an old gas oven and a pebble labelled bangl Of the 27 people arrested on the Saturday, 25 were arrested for "breach of the peace' (an old

A arouo of anarchist bombers were taken for a weekend out in

dinb burgh. When they complained about the service they were

chauffeured back t o their campsite a day early. Saturday morning saw people leafletting the locals in Dunbar. This was then followed by a protest at the electricity showrooms which involved 20 demonstrators and 100 police. But the main action occurred back at the site later in the afternoon. Most people a s h b l e d at the main gates and then a black

favouritel, while two were charged with 'carrying an offensive weapon' (in reality, campknives). The demonstrators were held in Edinburgh, 8 people t o cells originally intended for 5. Basic necessitites such as blankets and food were given only after much hasslingfrom the protestors. They were all eventually released without bail on Monday morning.

Is this who 350 police equipped with a helicopter, numerous patrol cars, a range-rover with a powerful spotlight, infra-red equipment, and were all waitino for?

FURTHER DISTURBING details of April" accident at the Cap La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in France have emerged. When theelectricity failed at La Hague everything was put out of action, including the instruments checking the plutonium t o make sure that no critical mass wasformed; the central instrument board, and the intercom and loud speaker system which is needed t o warn workers of danger and announce evacuation of the plant. Only one thing continued t o function-the high tension fence around the site which protects it from irresponsible outsiders. This system, unlike the emergency power supplies t o the processing plant itself, has an independent electric circuit. It will take several months t o repair the electrical installations. The temporary ones now being used are described by La Hague sources as "tinkering". According to sources in the CFDT, the French socialist trade union which organises 75% of the workers at La Hague, almost all areas of the plant have been contaminated as a result of the accident and clean up will take a lot of work. It is true that the workers went back t o work a few days after the accident, but this does not mean that the plant is operating normally-it means tha the people are all involved in the clean up. The La Hague management wants to start the normal functions of the plant again, before all the repairs necessary have been carried out. By sheer chance, the plutonium extraction unit was not working at the time of the electricity failure. If the failure had occurred a few minutes later, there was 30 kilogrammes of plutonium being loaded and the critical mass is 6 kilos, so there was enough to have caused a nuclear explosion. Electricity was restored t o that part of the plant three to four hours later. According to CFDT the French authorities plan t o build not one new reprocessingplant at La Hague but three. One would be for French fuel. one for foreign contracts and one in

reserve. (The third one is not definitely planned at La Hague) They would have a capacity of 800 tonnes each and cost 8 to 10 billion Francs (Â£100 million).

A GROUP OF 70,000 villains have been made legitimate by a brief announcement in the Commons. Radio hooligans, who have saved lives and helped the police, were told that their Citizens Band radio would soon be legal. The news marked the success of a campaign t o legalise CB radio, as has happened on the continent. At present, radio hams are licensed only i f they can p a n a gruelling technical exam. and eve1 then they can only 'experiment' with it, not use it. One person who used CB t o help the police was recently prosecuted, fined Â£400and had his equipment seized by customs. The legalisation of CB will create an industry worth Â£45 million in licence fees.

A Pot of Gold JAMAICA is all set to become thi First country t o legalise the cultivation and use of marijuana. The desperate financial plight of Michael Manley's Social Democratic government is at last weariq down its resistance to the move. The existingillegal trade is worth about COOm a year, a sum equivalent t o the accumulated ne" deficit of Jamaica's foreign reserves; as a profitable cash crop i t is vital t o the livelihood of the peasants, but because the trade is illegal most of the profits escape the control of the Jamaican authorities.

The Results of the referendum on nuclear power in Sweden in March seem to have been interpreted by the media as an unequivocal yes to atomic energy. But the issue is much more complicated than thatand it is just as accurate to say that almost eighty percent of the Swedish electorate voted for a definite phase-out of nuclear power. George Wood explains. SWEDEN H A D its referendum because of the Three Mile Island accident last year. Until Three Mile Island, the country's largest political party, the Social Democrats, had supported an ambitious program that would have made Sweden the most nuclear country (per capital in the world. But. faced w i t h a growing revolution among party intellectuals and a disastrous showing i n public opinion polls because o f the nuclear issue, the Social Democrat leader, former Prime Minister Olaf Palme, used Three Mile Island as an excuse t o give in t o demands for areferendum made b y the Popular Campaign Against Nuclear Power. The Popular Campaign wanted a straight yes or no t o atomic energy. But the Social Democrats, mindful of the result o f a similar referendum in Austria, and reluctant t o take the same position as the Conservative Party, succeeded in muddying the waters b y coming u p with a third alternative. Thus, Swedish voters had a choice between three options: Line One, supported by the Conservative Party, called for maintaining the country's six current reactors, building six more, and leaving the door open t o possible expansion, including the mining of Sweden's large reserves of uranium; Line Two, supported b y the Social Democrats and Liberals, called for a 'phase-out' of nuclear power in twenty-five years, t o be accomplished b y building six more reactors; and Line Three, supported b y the Popular Campaign, the , Center Party and the parliamentary Communist Party, called for a halt t o further reactor construction, and a phase-out o f the existing reactors over the next ten years. The logic behind the Social Democrats' Line Two position was a little hard t o fo'low. One cartoonist tried t o explain i t b \ drawing a smoker explaining tc a friend, "I'm trying t o c u t dot o n smokiny, so I'm increasing from one pack a day t o two." As the referendum drew ne in mid-February, Palme and other

Party for working with the Communists on the nuclear issue. As party Secretary Sten Andersson canted: "Ever since the Communist Party was founded in 1921 it has tried t o build so-called 'Popular Fronts' with other parties. The goal has always been t o clear the way for Communism and weaken the democratic worker movement. The Swedish Social Democrats have therefore rejected all such invitations."

prominent Social Democrats began t o denounce the "RedGreen Front" supporting Line Three, and criticised the Center

Tidal '

0.1 0.9 0.2

thermal Wind Biomass sol-

0.1 0.2

wave

Gee-

Nuclear Enersy

Fossil Fuels'*

, Renewable Energy

Conservation

sources

Figure 1-United Kingdom Government Expenditure on Energy R , 0 & D 1977-8 (E(1977)million) **Major items o f fossil fuel R , D & D, especially coal, are the responsibility o f the nationalised industries, and therefore d o not appear in this table. I n Britain there is a massive disparity between R & D expenditure n nudear power and that o n renewable; (Fig 1). The official ~stificationis that renewable energy systems are at an early stage o f evelopment and therefore only warrant a t i n y fraction of the sums sent on nuclear research. B u t Sweden's energy R & D programme (Fig 21 shows that this rgument is nonsense, since it reverses the priority given t o nuclear and inewables i n this country. >*a$l,?*7al -. .*"dl, ',,a"< * '\, ;

What Andersson, Palme and others conveniently forgot was that f o r six years of Palme's Social Democratic government, he was kept i n power only through welcome support from this same Communist party. Leading u p t o the referendum, Swedes were treated t o a barrage of T V and radio programs, newspaper articles, lectures, and meetings about nuclear energy and alternative sources, making the Swedish public probably the most knowledgeable i n the world about the ins and out of energy. On election day, Line One picked u p around 17 percent of the vote. Line T w o 3 9 percent, and Line Three 3 8 per cent o f the vote. I t is certain that many o f the peopk voting for Line T w o did so because they considered it to be a phase-out of nuclear power, over a 25 year period. So the fact remains that 77 percent of those voting in the Swedish referendum voted for a phase-out 3f nuclear power in a maximum 3f twenty-five years. After the referendum, the Popular Campaign vowed t o continue t o fight against nuclear power. Furthermore, i n a letter published i n Dagens Nyheter three days after the referendum, six prominent Social Democrats called for the party t o work out a compromise between the supporters of Line T w o and Line Three. The Social Democratic Party's future would seem t o depend on their response t o the suggested cohpromise. A l l indications are that young Swedes are even more against nuclear power than their elders, and can be expected t o reject the Social Democrats completely if the party maintains its current line.

Figure 2-Swedish Government Expenditure on Energy R , D & D 1978-81 (â‚¬(1977)million +The Swedish Council for Building Research proposed t o the government in March 1979 that the programme o n solar heating be speeded up. This will raise the expenditure o n solar energy t o some â‚¬ l i o n over the three-year period. * T o be phased out i n 1979. [Source: Friends of the Earth)

A N O V E L FORM of energysaving transport is being used b y Devonport hospital i n Plymouth t o send urgent blood samples t o its laboratory t w o and a half mile away. They use racing pigeons. More than 1000 flights have been made during the last three years without a single specimen strayin! -and the pigeons are quieter and cheaper than taxis.

Undercurrents 40

---wmmm

Â£m puts Nukes on 1984 Agenda

Harrisburg Day at Trafalgar Square marked the start of a five-year, Â£ million campaign by Friends of the Earth aimed at'halting the introduction of pressurised water reactors in Britain and phasing out nuclear power in general. The main ooliticat goal in this syndications: solar and long-term str&egy.&~~E. is to conservation demonstration turn nuclear power into a major projects; and consumer education i m e in the 1984 General Election on conservation and how to cut -and, of course, t o get it rejected fuel bills. at that election. Each year I n 1982 ("Finance" year), between now and 1984 will have FOE have set themselves a taroet a dominant theme. In 1980 it's of raising Â£500,00 to finance "Arousal"; in 1981 it'll be the final "Mobilisation" and "Election" ~hasesof the strateav. "Education": in 1982. "Finance": in 1983, "~obilisati0"";and in This will bedone both by direct' 1984, "Election". appeals and by benefit concerts Throughout the five years, similar t o those staged by MUSE (Musicians United for Safe FOE will be giving priority t o a number of policy iatues-safety: Energy) in the States. the uncordOf the After 1982, FOE'Splans tor the cost of nuclear stations and 1933 ("Mobilisation" year) and the price of electricity. FOE will 1904 ( , , ~ l ~ ~ t i ~ ~become ** also focuson three p o l i t i ~issues: ~l consider&ly more vague. 1g84 is secrecy; fairness and morality. During the "Arousal" year, a large amount of popular material -stickers, badges, posters, etc.is being produced t o take the cambaign t o as wide an audience 6s possible. Countering nuclear industry orooaaanda is another key . . element in FOE'Sstrategy. A t the " national level, this will involve . parliamentary questions; checking the legal basis on which the CEGB -', :. ; !, and AEA spend public money on promoting nukes: and pressing for parity of resouces for pro and anti-nuclear groups. A t the beginning of May there will be local electio s in many 1 districts. FOE will use them as a trial run for election campaigning, particularly where there are nuclear sites described merely as "ElectionA series of summer schools for D-Day." activists will be organised in the vicinity of prospective sites. They FOE presumably believe that will be partly educational and the election in 1984 of a Government committed t o phase out partly action-oriented. The action will include giving campaign nuclear power would spell victory for theircampaign. But asthe advice t o local people, leafletting the areas, and putting up posters example of Sweden demonstrates, showing the area which might be Governments, once in power, affected by a nuclear accident. have a nasty habit of reneging on their election promises. Faced FOE will also campaign with the power of the Civil against the refusal of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and Service and of the multi-national other official bodies t o release interests which support nuclear PWR safety reports, and is seeking energy, even a determinedly anti-nuclear government could be Â£10-20,00funding for an independent study of PWR safety forced t o back down. And t o be carried out by MH8 tnvway, developments by 1984 in Consultants in the United States. in the nuclear weapons field may well make campaigning against Tactics in 1981 "Education" ear will include a large number nuclear power stations irrelevantf local debates with politicians; unless links between the two films; the setting up of regional issues can be made more energy newspapers with national effectively then hitherto-

S-nm from the Hawkburg Day anti-nuclear rally held o n March 29th in London's Trafalgar Square. The 15,000 turnout, though better than that for FOE'S last Trafalgar Square rally (the 1978 Windscale demo) a Was not quite w good as many had expected. u

..:+

Political The series of talks TOWARDS A NUCLEAR FUTURE at the ICA (The Mall, SW1, 7.30 Â£1.35 provides a chance t o hear ~ a l t Patterson (June41, the voice of calm reasoned argument, and Robert Jungk, protagonist of the paranoid end of the European anti-nuke campaign (June 9); the final session fields Nigel Forman MP for the state, Tam Dalyell MP for the Labour Party and the redoubtable Sir Kelvin Spencer for the softies, under the title Political Realities (June 18). On the same themetha ICA presented two plays lest month, as different as could be: Pip Simmons'

Towards a Nuclear Future, en incoherent avant gardo production that can safely be left t o the coterie that like their theatre obscure and the Cownt Garden Community Theatre's excellent Sir Roger And His Amazing Case, which shows that agitprop doesn't have t o be as heavy-handed and humourless as some of their better known and state subsidised rivals imagine. The show will be going round the festivals this summer, taking in the Albion Fair in East Andia and the Festival of Fools in the West Country. Well worth a considerabledetour. .

Abort ions? Not likely

Microfungus and chips NU-FOOD, the ersatz human food featured in the New Scientist's Grimbledon Down cartoon strip, it about-to become a reality, thanks t o the labours of the scientists of Rank-Hwis-McDougall, inventors of Mother's Pride and Â¥similadelights. It is a 'proteinrich micro-organism; that can be cultivated continuously by biotechnology, made from the starchy by+roducts of the food processing industry. Animal

JOH BJELKE-PETERSEN and rape or incest. Certificates from three specialists will be required n!s reactionary Government in Queensland, Australia, have just before an abortion can be pasted the first reading of a tough performed. The notorious Bjelke-Petersen new abortion law. Doctors who earlier this year also quashed a perform abortions will face 14 'year prison sentences with hard proposed inquiry into the labour (the same as for murder)! increased number of birth abnorThe only women who may be malities around Cairns, which allowed abotions will be those would have concentrated o n the whose life is at risk or who can herbicide 245-T, by saying that prove t o a policeman within seven the abnormalities were due t o days that they are the victims of venereal disease!

feeding trials have been successful and the company is now +king the green light from the Ministry of Agriculture t o test it o n humans (any volunteers?). The new food is a microfungus, a microscopic organism cultivated i n a bubbling broth of nutrients under computer control; when dried it is richer.in protein than the best steak and contains all thaamino-acids needed for human well-being.

ISATURDAY APRIL 26: 600 march from Hartlepooltown c-itn t o Britain's tint urban reactor, due t o (tart working n*xt yam I* Inn. expumiw and J hazardm ttr million p w p k living [within a 20 mile radius.

Sheffield's Anti-Nuclear. Campaign m i s o d a "dimn" on Aoril26 t o alert the public to thm d -. of nuclmr k w t r and th* dumping of atoms w f . A dozen proteston and a St. Bernard dog lay down in the city's pedwtrian showing precinct,covered b y radiation orotaction oarmmts o r makehift shrouds. Mnnwhib, other numban of the group coltactad aimaturnfor a petition naintt

YORK FRIENDS OF THE EARTH has encouraged the formation of a cycle co-operative which will provide both an alternative t o poor service at rip-off prices and, eventually, a cycle hire scheme. There are about half a dozen people directly involved in the coop itself, including two paid bike mechanics, but the weekly general meetings have had a minimum attendance of about fifteen supporters. None of those directly involved in, the co-op are putting u p large amounts of cash as it was felt that conflicts arising from the dreaded 'money barrier' might otherwise emerge at some point. Loans of Â£25-10 have been forthcoming from the supporters' group, but more money is needed. Since 37% of York's adults regularly travel by bite+ higher percentage than

anywhere in the country, except cambrirkip-the future of the co-op is fairly secure, provided it has sufficient funds t o expand fast enough t o satisfy its customers' demands. The co-op aims t o give practical expression t o a number of ideals:- t o provide a repair service of high quality at a fair price; t o lobby for the creation of better facilities for cyclists; t o be an open forum in York for cycling enthusiasts; and in general t o promote the bicycle as an efficient and enjoyable means of transport, The workshop's premises are at 16 Lawrence St., York ltd. York 260061, and are painted in a tasteful (and symbolic) combination of black and red. Anyone passing through York is welcome t o drop by to say hello and express their solidarity.

7" useful work 4l

The British Trust for Constwtion Volunteers' National Conservation Corp is inviting young people throughout Britaint o spend their summer in the countryside helping t o preserve wildlife and ancient landscape features. This summer the BTCV has organised a total of 150 tasks, many in away-fromit-all places. Just a few of these tasks are: 5-19 June, Orkney Islands, rebuilding an old sea dyke, repairing some coastal sea breache and possibly some work on Hov; 17-24 June, Charlacote Deer Park re-establishing 200 yards of unique cleft-oak fencing with instruction from the estate carpenter; 3-11 July, Smnehenge, fencing and restoring the profiles of some of the features: 18-25

MY, Introductio

to Conservation course, Tans Pits Farm, Lanes, an introduction t o the theoretical and practical aspects of conservation with particular reference t o the work of BTCV. The course content will include lectures, visits, discussions and practical work-a great opportunity to learn more about conservation in Britain. The tasks will run throughout the summer t o the end of September. Accommodation is provided and can range from camping t o a stately home. Further details, a copy of the summer programme and, A booking forms can be obtained from The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, 10-14 Duke Street, Reading, Barkshire. Please enclose anSAE.

Not Waving but Drowning Uranium ,

THE BBC'S programme, . 'The Risk Business", on wave energy on April 30, provided an excellent account of the way in which the nuclear lobby is trying to play down alternative technology. Ian Glendenningwas the CEGB expert who first recognised that 120 GW of power was available from the waves. Mr. Glendenning has since moved back t o hi$ first love, nuclear power, and throughout the programme he made plain his distrust of its rivals. He was supported by Professor Michael French of Lancaster University whose attitude has been similar. His own invention, the Airbag, is cheap. It commanded attention at the Heathrow Hotel conference on wavepower in November. 1978, because it had been rated as producing energy at 5p-lop a kilowatt/hour. But he presented it with reservations. According t o Professor French "Questions of bag design and durability constitute the most critical area of uncertainty with this device and may possibly make it impractical." I n the words of Dr. Freddie Clarke, Research Director at Harwell: 'Our knowledge of this device is at a relatively early stage." And Clive Grove-Plamer, head of the Wave Energy Steering Committee, put it like this: 'The feasibility has not yet been established. We shall be subjecting it t o tests." The overall impression was that it might produce cheap electriajty but it was too soon t o say. In June 1979, Propssor French told New Civil Engineer that w h e energy would not become competitive "unless the price of fossil fuels rises considerably or the development of nuclear power is restricted by public opinion." He was not amused when I wrote t o the magazine pointing out that both things were happening. One p e m n who came but of the programme impressively was Stephen riiter. The energy establishment loathes him. It cannot shoot him down. He i s a brilliant physicist, Reader in Mechanical Engineering at Edinburgh University, one of the few people in Britain able to take on the nuclear scientists and outargue them on their own technical ground. He put the future in a phrase: wave energy would come into its own "five years after the first bad nuclear accident." Shock, horror

all round. Such a thing was unthinkable-at least in the advanced societies. (It will happen, if at all, somewhere else.)

went on to say that power stations needed t o be "simple". Tell that t o the lads trying t o make Dungeness function.

IN IRELAND, opposition t o uranium prospecting is increasing rapidly. On the night following a local demonstration in Fintown, Donegal, the uranium mining companies offices were rnysteriously burnt. The fire engines arrived late to the scene of the fire and hence everything, including the soil samples for testing the presence of uranium, was completely destroyed. Tractors and other machinery were destroyed by fire on the same night. The local antiuranium committee of course condemned the dreadful sabotage, however the locals in the area are delighted and more action seems likely. Meanwhile. Atlantis is icing t o produce a booklet of :uttings and personal reports telling the story of the campaign since its inception last September.

FANP FEMINISTS AGAINST NUCLEAR POWER urge women h o are thinking about a nuclearTee future t o come t o an open meeting on June 3, at 7:30 p.m. wed by Communications International for rooftop applications Or rt A Woman's Place, 48 King mbassies'and similar locations whee an unobtrusive appearance i, William IV St., WC2. A chance t o lesirable. Users, they say, can thus maintain a "low profile that will no neet h m e n going to the Women mract attention from hostile political arwps or from environrnen against Nuclear Power conference alists." Just thought you'd like t o know an June 28 and 29 in Nottingham. For more information about the apen meeting, the conference, transport to No ingham, etc., flirite t o FANP,dto 24 Rancliffe qoad, E.6, or ring us on THE CANADIAN Atomic Energy long-winded reply which suggests 31-471 5711. that it i s not being distributed any Control Board's notorious "Inhaber Report", The Risksof more because it is out-of-date and Energy Production, which among requires revision, This retreat by the Board other things purported to follows a series of critiques of the demonstrate that windmills are report, alleging shortcomings in more dangerous than nuclear WHAT IS going on in North both methodology and data. reactors, is being quietly withKensington?Theold Ceres Bakery ~ h w e l lSomething . else for drawn by its sponsors. Request: by the Westway has been gutted, for copies of Dr Herbert Inhaber's them to put in the nuclear and rebuilt as the Notting Dale dustbin . . . . opus are now being met with a Technology Centre. Inside are various bits of electronics and small computers, and half a dozen people providing a training course NEXTTIME you want to Protest Surrey (Telephone 01-940 7221), for unemployed 16-19 year old while the Deputy Chairman, Dr about nuclear power, or register kids, and a consultancy service t o Walter Marshall, lives at,Bridleway local industry; and any comcomplaints about a proposed reactor, why not contact the House, Goring-on-Thames, Oxon. munity groups who think they (~elephoneGoring-on-Thames people directly involved? might want t o use a microThe chairman of the Uk 2890). processor but aren't sure what We're sure they would be Atomic Energy Authority, Sir it involves. Anyone interested John Hill, lives at Dominic House, pleased to hear your views. :ontact; 191 Freston Road (Ref Sudbrooke Lane, Richmond, 1C), Londo

.....

Inhabit ions

business

Undercurrents 40

Capital TWO IMPECCABLY RADICAL causes clashed on Capital Radio's "Headline Debate" for May 2. Scheduled question for discussion was "should the car be abolished?". An RAC hack, the Evening News Motoring correspondent, motor-racer James Hunt and the well-known Nick Lester of Transport 2000 hadtheir say, audience questions followedthen one "questioner" pointed out that 32 women were in Armagh jail, being starved, beaten, sexually assaulted and denied washing and toilet facilities. When "Headline" bresenter Gillian Reynolds, having allowed the questioner her say, tried to continue the programme, a group of women in the audience leapt up and continued t o demand that notice be taken of the Armagh women's plight. Quickly the programme was taken off the air and soothing music substituted. The demonstrators expanded on their case t o panel and audience, then left voluntarily (though Capital heavies manhandled some of them anyway), amid promises from "Headline's" presenter and producer t o try and get a future debate on the issue. The demonstrators distributed leaflets claiming that there was Government censorship of media about the Armagh women. This is of course completely untrue; it was no doubt only coincidence that minutes later two police vehicles appeared, lights a-flashing and containing several policemen, who disappeared again after a friendly chat with Capital's station manager. Many present at the debate suspected, no doubt completely wrongly, that the police behaviour if, say, the Flat Earth Society had interrupted the programme would have been marginally less urgent, and that the chances of a debate about the Armagh women (or indeed Northern Ireland as a whole) getting airtime were considerably less than those for the abolition of the car. "Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible" said Capital announcers during the 'break'; and perhaps that was what the demonstration was all about.

Atom splits Labour "The Labour Party believes that work should not begin on a major nuclear programme in the United Kingdom until the problems of permanent waste storage, anti-proliferation safeguards and adequate protection for nuclear workers have bean resolved." These quotes from the Statement by the Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) on "Nuclear Power and the Environment", published in February, seem to indicate a hardening of attitudes concerning nuclear power within the Party, or at least within the NEC. But there are rumblings of discontent -after all the Party as a whole is s t i l l supposed t o be in favour of nuclear power, as witness Motion 15, passed at the last annual conference which called for an "expanded nuclear programme" E m so the nuclear hawks face problems. For while there are obvious political attractions

in attacking the "hasty" Tory PWR programme, this could easily "de@enerate" into an uncompromisingly anti-nuclear Position. On the other hand, it is clear that there is considerable

support for an anti-nuclear position at the grass roots-and the prospect of picking up on the growing environmentalist vote, otherwise likely to be captured by Eco or the Liberals.

TESLA Another one Anyone who was intrigued by our Teda Technology revelations in Undercurrents38 but found that trying t o read them gave rise t o a strong headache need not despair. Zagreb Film of, well, Zagreb, in Yugoslavia finished filming The Secret of Nikola T d a late last year and the film is expected t o be teen in the USA, and perhaps the UK, some time soon. This Balkan extravaganza stars Strother Martin (as in Butch Cassidy) as Westinghouse, Dennis Patrick as Edison, Petar Bozovic as Tesla himself, and, would you believe, Orson Welles as his backer J P Morgan. Also getting on the Tesla bandwagon is Granada Publishing, which is reprinting John J

O'Neill's biography of the fellow, Prodigal Genius, some time this autumn. Meanwhile, Laffery, Harwood and Partners, the Montreal stockbrokers whose circular on Tesla technology was mentioned in UC 38, has since put out three follow-ups, to the bafflement and in some cases fury of its investment clients. And radio traffic in Norway has been so badly interfered with by Soviet radio tests at various frequencies that a diplomatic purtchup between the two countries has flared up, with Norway threatening to cut off communications links to Soviet shipping via Norway. Watch this space.

John LILLY, the man who hopes to have an interview with a dolphin by the end of the decade (inPLAYBOY?) and his wife Toni, were talking about Interspecies deprivation'. L I L L Y was the man who developed the v "V 'Isolation tank'. A miniature version is now on sale in Britain may be taking it over. I underWhat are the superstars -their brochure says that clients stand the Saudis, wishing to keep of the environmental oil in theground a bit longer, report 'mystical states of movement really up to? their consciousness, ecstasy and'bliss' are looking for ways t o invest in snip at Â£99 . . Our person-about-thethe conservationmovement . , . On the train back from country has been Perhaps Kit PEDLAR has a Dartington Peter ABBS, editor of hot-line t o the sheiks. The figure rubbing shoulders with TRACT, was holding forth about casually mentioned in connection the great ecologists of "paradigm shifts' whereupon Don his pet scheme 'EARTHour time. He now reveals with LIFE'complex in the redeveloped WILDE's Bio-Feedback machine fell on his head. ABBS wasunhurt all Surrey Docks was a modest but felt as if he had been given Â£18 million . WITH GEORGE HARRISON some obscure warning . . . giving money t o VOLE, rumours On the magazine front a new that the profitsfrom KenDODD'i Hmryk SKOLIMOWSKI is glossy called 'EXPLOITATION' is setting up an 'Eco-Philosophy' appearing in WH Smith's and else' world tour are going t o Undercurrents are unconfirmed. Any centre at Dartington-there's an where for 9%. The mag is edited other ageing rock stars wishing t o 'Eco-Philosophy' weekend there by Fred VERMOREL whose new on July 11th-13th with Maurice improve their credibility (or 'Sex, Crime and Philosophy' destroy it completely) contact ASH, John LANE and the 'Sane bookshop is causing a few raised UIC office . . Alternative' James ROBERTSON. eyebrows in the heart of Friends Of The Earth don't SKOLIMOWSKI has now finished Bloomsbury. But what do you seem to know about the Â£25,00 hisepic Twilight Of the Scientific expect from an old lackey of the they received for their antlWorldview' and is looking for a SEX PISTOL'S ex-manager nuclear fund from James publisher (aren't we all?) . . Malcolm MACLAREN? The ol GOLDSMITH. Rumour has it A t the Dartington Education editor i s the mvsterious Johnn that in return for the money they Conference, participants were STALIN, whose RITZ-backed haw agreedto recycle unsold taken on a guided imagery 'trip magazine FINAL DAYS is now copies of NOWtnagazim. through space' by Claude temporarily shelved. As our Meanwhile brother TEDDY CURLING, Richard BOSTON was military advisor tells us the army GOLDSMITH isgiving up running confused. "You don't have is on Amber Alert again, perhaps the 'ECOLOGIST'. A projected streams and meadows at the top he should have kept with it. ECOLOGIST/RESURGENCE of mountains' he was heard t o Aufwiedersehen , . . merger looks as though its now mutter. But it was supposed t o be LOONY DOOMSTER off, and an 'un-named company' on another planet, Richard.. .

.. . .

Undercurrents 40 The " F m Flow Stove" manufactured by the Mont Saint Hihire Stove Woria in Quebec is a remarkable device that unfortunately is not yet available here. A group of curved steel tubes are welded together t o form the main structure. Cool air enters at the bottom, expands and accelerates and leaves the tubes letting up powerful convection currents. The stove comes in four model sizes and can be either free standing or connected t o a dueling s y v ~

4 community energ/project based in the Newport and Nevern communities has through well attended public meetings established its aims end is interested in contact with similar groups t o discuss common problems. The aims of the group are t o find out in cash terms how much their community spends on heating and lighting, institute energy-seving schemes such as insulation, recycling of water and more sensible energy utilisation and finally t o investigate the ~rovisionof art of the community energy requirements ' by use of wind, water and solar energy. Interested persons should contact Or Brian John, Greencroft Books, Trefelin, Cilgwyn, Newport, Dyfed, Wales. RESURGENCE MAGA INE, with which E.F. SCHU ACHER was closely associated, has announced a new award for essays which develop themes related to Schumacher's thinking. The Closing date will be 1 September 1980 i d the first prize is Â£300 For further details contact Satish Kumar, Ford House, Hartland, Nr. Bideford, Devon. Telephone (023 74) 293. The O x f m 1980 Field Dlfctor's Handbook is now available, price Â£1 plus 15% postage. The major sections of the handbook are objectives and procedures, agriculture, health, social developmerit, humanitarian and disaster relief. Undercurrents will be reviewing it in detail in a future issue but copies or further information about the proposed faction booklets are available from the Publications Officer, Oxfam, 274 Banbuw Road, Oxford OX2 702.

The TaC Homing Coop is e proposed communal living and working collective based in Manchester, at present owning one house. They are looking for more members, particulariy women and children, and loans of money. The Group believe8 in coll&tiveriqfonsibility for both emotional andmaterial tupport and hope to attain a high level of sharing and a strong sense of belonging in the group. Their longer term plans include I , workers coop based on their present activities and a partial move into the country. If you think you have something to offer, contact Barry Johnson, 13 Maida Street, Manchester 12.

WORKER'S CO-OPERATIVES: A HANDBOOK is a new guide t o the how and why of ttarting and mnnirm aco-OD.p he authors are all old c o o p hands: Anna Wyatt of Suma, John Peam of the Scottish CO-ODDevfitoomant Committee, Peter cockerton (ex the Milton Keynes Coop Agency) and Tim Glimour-Whit* (who wrote the Scottish Handbook from which thh book is derived). Much of the work of writing it was done in the UC office, to we can testify t o the care with which it was put together. A full review will appear in UC 41. (Published by the Authors with Aberdeen People's Press; 128 pp. Â£2.25) SERA have produced e short pamphlet arguing the cue for community homing project* using waste h e x power stations. I t briefly describes the technology involved, the extent of its use overseas, the views of British corporations, and the employment opportunities in the depressed power engineering and construction industries.+or details contact: SERA 9 Poland St., London W1. FrÃ‘board a group of people aiming t o live on and work canal boats can provide free canel boat holidays t o anyone who wants t o work their passage along the Grand Union Canal. I f interested, contact Chris Leah or N.B. Lilith, c/o 15 Green Heys Road,

PAIGN. launched at a conference in Leeds in April, is t o be found c/o Sue Manning,6 Glebe St., Oxford; membership, which includes a quarterly newsletter, is Â£ p.a.

" W i n # pI~y9munds"devisad by .~ "Inth* Making" is alive end well. L l n Shnmon t o help schools . T h e group in Milton Keynes transform their playgrounds is a w h i c h has produced it for the last four years did not publish a pack aimed at teachers, community group8,parent-teacher . supplementto the 1979 Dinettwy ' :b u t they are bringing out a . a#sfJ@ations, plus projects and bumper issue for 1980. It win be anyone involved with young . .: readyii late May, price Â£1 children. The pack contains a great deal of information . Meanwhile, back numbers of the 1979 Directory are available including three books o n project at 50p (including p & PI. Orders ideas, resources and how-todo-it (with money please) contact ITM guiddinas, worksheets, a set of 84 Church Street, Wolverton, thrity colour slides showing playM i l t o n Keynes, Bucks. grounds from all over the world and a copy of 'Why lock up our Schools?". The pack c o t s Â£1 plus Â£ p & p and is available . from%CimmunityService , , ~ . c " S ~ Ã Radio ~lyer", the magazine Volunteers, 237 Pentonville full of news about free or pirate Road, London N1 9NJ. radio, has just brought out a .. Telephone 01-278 7007. - special issue t o celebrate their first year of publication. Copies 10p each plus SAE from PO Box 35, Wellington, Telford, Salop. '

&PUFFSO .,

LEEDS OTHER PAPER is an

the commercial press distorts. The LOP

Clarion" providing and events coverage of nglian ecology and THE SEED BANK EXCHANGE energy scene. For a year's is a national network of 50+ subscription 112 issues) writs to individuals and oroum. who Ruth Sparkman, 13 Beresford exchange the seeds of wild plants Road, Lowestoft, with a bribe of to promote their survival end use Â£ and she'll sell you a brand new i n a modern world. Seeds can be Clarion every month. sown in Spring or Autumn, and collected throughout the "Out and Out" is the provisional Summer. Membership is 50p a title for a new magazine for yew, and this covers a seed lesbians andflay men. It will i clasdfiiation and information itself as the mouthpiece of the book. The Wild Seed Grower's radical wing of the lesbian and Guide, and newsletters. THE gay communities and be run on SEED BANK.44 Albion R d , c~llectivelines. For further Sutton Surrey. information contact Sarah Boa, 34, Cowlev Road, Oxford, Or LESBIAN LINK COLLECTIVE Derek Cohen on 01-274 6777 havemoved to G~~ centre,6 1 From Oxfordshire comes Bloom Street, Manchester M l "Greenfly" a new regional 'SLY and their new telephone ecology newspaper. It is Oxford number is (061) 236 6205. They are remaining as a telephone service orientated at the moment but is for women run by women but looking for contacts end points of sale in the whole o f Oxforddue t o h lack of womanpower, ,they shall be running a five shire. Subscription is Â£ for the nightly Monday-Friday service next 12 issues from Greenfly, instead of the previous seven c/o EOA Books, 34 Cowley Road, nights a week. Oxford.

Undercurrents 41

The Parliamentary Liaison Group for alternative energy strategies will be playing host on 16 June to the Rt. Hon. David Howell. M.P. The subject for the evening will be "U.K. Energy Policy in the 1980's". A month later on 15 July, Professor M.W. Thring of Queen Mary College, London will lecture on "Mining solid coal without men going underground". Both lectures start at 7 p.m. Interested persons and moles should ascertain the precise venue from the duty officer at St. Stephen's Entrance, The House of Commons. Further information on the work of the group may be sought from Mrs A.L.K. Lawton, 29 Woodbery Avenue, Winchmore Hill, London N21 36E.

The Second Soft Energy Sunday is 22 June this year. This event, organised by Country College is t o provide the "men on the street" with a chance to visit soft energy installations, meet the owners and learn the snags and advantages firsthand. Visitors will be asked for a small contribution t o Friends of the Earth while owners will receive a certificate recording their contribution towards a safer energy future. Anyone who is prepared t o open their home on this day should write t o Country College, 11 Harmer Green Lane, Digswell, Welwyn, Harts AL6 OAY. I f you are interested in visiting any of the homes, send 25p plus an SAE earlv in June for a list. Do you fancy a long weekend in the country this summer? Well why not join Dr George Peterken on a study qf the "ecology o f the Wye Valley Woodlands". This botanically orientated study of some of the most interesting woodland in Britain runs from to 17 June. Further details and bookings are available from The Nurtons, Tintern, Nr. Chepstow, went NP6 7NX.

to Natural Energy Show, now in f o u r t h year, is being held on Iand 12 July at The Campus est Exhibition Centre, Welwyn arden City, Hertfordshire. It is [tended this year to include nail scale wind and water energy istallations, wood stoves, etc. dmission will be 50p for adults; iildren and OAPs half price and ider 12's free.

Why do people get involved in terrorism and what's ft like if you do? Tony Swash, imprisoned in the early 70's for petrol bombings and later involved in the defence of the "Angry Brigade" will introduce a'discussion on these and other issues raised by terrorism at the Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool on Sunday 22 June at 8.00 p.m. Members 25p. Non-Members 40p. Forthcoming events in June at' Lower Shaw Farm include a weekend of yoga, meditation and massage from 6-8 June. From 4-6 July they will be holding a cycling weekend. For further details send an SAE to Lower Shaw Farmhouse. Shaw Swindon. Wilts SN5 9PJ.

road), on July 19 and 20. It will serve as a trade fair, t o display the wide range of goods and services now being produced co-operatively, a shop window for democratic practice in all spheres of life, including housing co-ops, playgroups, medical centres, theatre companies and bands, a celebration of co-ooeration: music, magic, theatre, real ale and good food, a fair that's fun for kids as well as adults; and, not least, as a forum for debate about thefutureof the co-op movement. Admission will be Â£ per person per day or Â£1.5 for the weekend. Overnight accommodation in the house and camping in the grounds are available. For details phone the organisers on 0532 720205.

CO-OPERATION

The Liverpwl "NewAge Festival" will be held at the Bluecoat Chambers, School Lane, Liverpool 1, on Saturday 7 June. The Festival will be a means of focusing on all aspects of spiritual growth, health and community development in the new age. Groups participating in the all day wents will include those concerned with astrology, healing, yoga, ecology and alternative technology.

., :

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THE LA HAGUE ANTINUCLEAR DEMONSTRATION will be held on the week-end of 28-29 June. The message of this international non-violent festival will be "No extension of La Hague reprocessing plant" and "No (o ctvil end military plutonium". LIST OF FREE FESTIVALS AND EVENTS 1980. JUNE lit Smokey Bears Protest Barton-le-Clay. JUNE 7th Summer of 80 Gardei Party, Crystal Palace. JUNE 6-9th Ruthin, Horseshoe Pass. JUNE 7th New Age Festival, Liverpool. JUNE 9-12th Appleby Horse Fa Yorkshire. JUNE 14-28th Stonehenge then convoy to Priddypool. JUNE 21-22nd Cadders Hill Sun Fair, Ling, Norfolk. JUNE 21st Hood Fayre, Totnes. JUNE 21st Knebworth. JUNE 28-29th Colloquium of Self-Sufficienw and Communities, Malvern Wells, Worcs. JULY 4th Cantlin Stone Festival, Clun (map ref: 0~'137 884 224) JULY 18-20th Co-ops Fair, Beechwood, Elmete Lane, Leeds. JULY 2627th Smur Valley Moon Fair, East Bergholt, Colchester. AUGUST 1-3rd Cambridge Folk Festival. AUGUST 10-12th Davidstow, Nr Camelford, Cornwall. AUGUST 2325th Rougham Tree Fair, Bury St Edmunds. SEPTEMBER 6th Psilocybin Fayre, Pontrhydygroes, Nr Devils Bridge. SEPTEMBR 14th-22nd Week of Rock and Roll, Summerland, Isle of Man. Meigan. JUST RUMOURS Polgooth. Deeply Vale. Coventry. Ham Hill, Yeovil. Black Mountains, Hay-on-Wye. Mayfly, Oxford.

OTHER

CARTWHEEL now realizing itself as a co-ordinated group is intending to push the largest ever cartwheel 1000 miles around Britain this summer to gain publicity and funds. A wheel itinerary and sponsorship forms are available from 5, Fairlight Place, Brighton.

BIKES AGAINST NUKES; a new group "The H o t SO", is being formed "to pull non-violent direct action visual stunts."'The first outing of this new and very different cycling pressure group will be at Torness. For details of events this summer ring Robert Stredder on 1793-72111.

London during the week 21-29 June. For further details, wntac 150 George Street, London W l h 5LB or telephone 01-723 7256.

....

"Is the universe running up or down?" Why not find out at a theological, technological and political meandering at the Community of St. David, the Court House, St. Davids, Dyfed. For more details, contact Arthur Curtis, Baille Ard, Glengarriff, Co. Cork, Eire, about the event which runs from 26 June t o 2 August. This year sees the third annual Rowan Fair at Newmill in the northeast of Scotland and this year they are keen to add altemalive technology to the craft, music and theatre events that have been so successful in the past. The date is 26-27 July and there will be camping facilities and plenty of parking space. If anybody wants to set up a stall, the fee is Â£ per day or Â£ for the weekbnd (this includes camping for 4). If you want a stall or to do something creative or help, contact John, Huw or Janie at Rowanbank, Glen of ~ e w m i l l , Keith, Banffshire. Telephone (054 22) 2939.

FREE FESTIVAL INFORMATION CONTACT 01-459.0438 (not manned full-time). TAKEN FROM T H E ANARCHIST WEEKLY ADVERTISER AND JOBFINDER".

Undercurrents 40

Nuclear Nasties<:BEHIND the cover of what appears to be a fairly unexceptional Ameri can scientific journal lurks something nasty . as Tony Small explains.

. .

but more firmly anti-Soviet, party i n power in a country dangerously close t o Russia. The FEF's enemy, however, does , ' not seem to be Russia. Like the NCLC in its US guise, they forego the pleasure o f 'commie bashing'. Since this is a common pursuit of right wingers, the USLPIFEF must have problems with recruitment though. Take the ultra-conservative Meldrim Thomson for example - until recently he was the pro-nuclear Governor o f New Hampshire (he wanted t o arm the national guard with tactical nuclear weapons - presumably i n case the populace got unruly). He has been a staunch enemy o f the Clamshell Alliance and is a well known exponent o f the 'red baiting' tactic inherited from McCarthq . The USLP and FEF by comparison represent a new, more sophisticated (or paranoid)? breed o f right wingers, who focus much o f their attack on the IMF/World Bank/New York Financial elite - Rockefeller was the USLP/NCLSJs pet hate. Presumably they see t h i s as the same 'international Jewish banking clique' that Hitler alluded t o - along o f course with the 'international Jewish communist conspiracy' - i n order to win support for his National Socialist Party - but no doubt somewhat modified to take in Ted Kennedy and his Catholic liberals (the

WOULD YOU like t o tearn all about 'the connections between liberal Wall Street law firms and the terrorist-environmentalists'? Would y o u like some inside information on how the 'environmentalist movement was deliberately created t o carry o u t a pre-planned policy of zero growth, deindustrialization, and the destruction o f advanced science in the United States' by a 'carefully structured political machine whose hierarchy can be traced t o the patrician circles o f the New York Council on Foreign Relations'? Well, all this and more can be found i n the pages o f Fusion magazine -the public voice o f the ultra pro-nuclear US Fusion Energy Foundation (FEF). Why Fusion? Well, ostensibly Fusion magazine is a technical journal carrying more or less reasonable articles on nuclear fusion techniques and research programmes. But sandwiched i n amongst the tokomaks and lasers are bits o f right wing polemic that would do justice t o Spearhead - the (UK) National Front's bilious newspaper.

. .

Agent provacateurs

The FEF is i n fact a project masterminded by the ultra-right wing group, the National Caucus o f Labor Committees (NCLC), whose US front is the deviously titled United States Labor Party (USLP) - see The Right at Work in Undercurrents 23. Amongst other 3 *,c things this outfit specialisesin dogmatic, left-sounding rhetoric pre- iH.fo'Bj*f sumably with {he aim o f discrediting " he wanted to arm genuine socialists. the national guard with In the US it fields ultra-militant industrial activists who attack (often tactical nuclear weapphysically) real left wingers as FBI collaborator^'. More recently it has O ~ S". moved i n o n the US anti-nuclear movement - dispatching provacateurs t o t-EF's current pet hate - 'better": demonstrations toincite violence and dead than Ted* undernine the anti-nuclear cause. The USLPINCLC's line awhile The NCLC is also active outside back was that Rockafeller was tfie USA - notably via the so called involved i n a conspiracy, with the European Labor Party. But it tailors FBI, CIA and the ecology movement its approach t o the local situation. as agents, to bring about a 'world In Sweden, for example, it seems holocaust', genocide, depopulation (along with the CIA) t o have backed through war, famine, all coupled w i t h the anti-nuclear movement, in order zero growth and deindustrjalisation. t o break the 50 year old rule o f the Get the picture? No? Well, then try pro-nuclear social Democrats, thus this bit o f updated FEF analysis. putting a (temporarily) anti-nuclear

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^division between two policies,.On the one side is a reorqanisotion dt the world's monetary and iqvestment apparatus along the lines of the European Monetary System, to I " provide for high tqchnology gmw& in the advanced sector, and massive .< technology transfer and investment in development projects in the ' Third World On the other side are deindustrialisatlofi, depbpulfftlon, '.'' austerity and war - all to preserve ^r bankrupt and incompetent institutions like the International , , Monetary Fund'. Editoriat Fusion. Jan 1980.

;

Celebrate the American Traditio of Science and Progress with a contribution .'$-!,,; t o the fl<^fr-%/ a""; Fusion Energy -:&;+ Foundation Ă&#x201A;ÂĽvf 2" ,"<

So it's not the commies that are trying t o destroy the West - but the IMF But surely the IMF isn't aiming wreck the Western economy? Well groups like the FEF and the USLP are essentially representative o f 'radical capitalism'.

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Wrecking the .Western economy They argue (and not without cause) that the present rulingelite'and its monetary system is cocrupt and inefficient what they want is t o reform monopoly capital i n order t o save it. or rather t o take control themselves, as a new national 'scientific' elite. As the USLP have put it: 'we as qualified Marxist (sic) economists fully understand the most fundamental principles o f capitalist development. We are uniquely qualified t o advance an interim basis for capitalist sector industrial development'. Interestingly, the FEF share with the Trotskyite Fourth International (British wing - the bid Socialist Labour League, now the WoVh-s

Iercurrents 40 ,

evolutionary Party), a belief that

lead the FEF into m.akingsomestrange paranoia is boundless. s, allies.- after all the Soviets pre pushing, . we should return tp the 'gold Ted Kennedy i s itscurrent *ti? standardJ- to haltthe devious . nuclear viflain ('morepeoplehave died 'ahead rapidly with fusion, and they are., ,no friendsof the <MF(mindyou heither speculation with paper money .. . . i n Ted Kennedy's.~than in Nuclear B u t despitetheirradical rhetoric power pIantsl):Thft,@it~dy (sorry, dothey love the EECor the F W s and socialist pretentions, radical , Kemeny) reponl on Three Mile Island .- much cherished Europeanm~etary . . ,, . capitalist.groups like the. FEF and . was riggodby anti-nuclear NRC (Nuclear System). . . . USLP do not wantcommunism. . '_' Regulatory Commission) people- hence Now nuclear fusionmay or may not tx Although they trade on the problems the(*pmry) nuclear moratorium -., a k d thing', it will be many years Yet ,! . . (Fusion fan 1980:.Shutt/w Down t h e before aviable system i s available'- it ma US Nuclear Industry; the N R C i m p l e - even prove to be impossible and certainly 61 . it would be enormously expensive, . .. fielding a'gent mts rhk Kem , d, Repmtl, Ixp and capital intensive. The"? provocateurs to incite .::: s" for the FEF itp$a fight ,othe couMdso ,be Y3fiolIS environment4 . .. death against aU ,the forces of environ. Vidence at ' a n t. k. n ~ c k f+ntaliSIT),&~%untfrÂ¥culturethe ' p r o b l e m s - fusion reactionsinvolye.the ; , . liberals, radicals, tjltra-lef ists.Jane , productionof radioactive gases. (see '; \ Fusion, Undercurrents24). FoK(fa,Ted w & d y , bo b.throwers, ' , . . Eye.n,so, if you are into centralidtion; . . , $archists,tiippib arid all .'.,a generaof international m ~ n ~ p ~ ~ y ~ a p i t a l i(ion, s m ',bestialisd by drugs and rock' high .technology h d growth at all costs, and the visible exponents like Rockefusion founds attractiveasan energy ,usciy~usd i f,l J p1980). : ftiller, in order'to build support from source, sineits fuel (deuteriumfrom , The :,~.'ineyitabl~. sees the the anti-big business sentiment of sea-water) is virtilally unlimited. Fusion ofnuciear power as *a ful;exfim$ many ordinary Americans, what they ' by-productof taking back the country 'hascaptured the imagination of a . . really areafter is a return to good ,. for the, m r W S y s t e m u s / o n ~ d i v e r s erange of people- including . .' ( F, . . .~ old American private enterprise- . 1,979). . : ,,,. . . many traditionally minded Western under their guidance. As^he USLP . communists, who see it as thetriumph . has saidthey aim at 'rescuing.the . . . of the progressive forces o f science. . cap)alist [ndustrial potentialof the . ,Fusion: ultimate fix Suppdrt also comes from some environUS:seCtorftrom genual bankruptcy'. .At the heart of allthis isa boundless mentalists (the s o r t e h o u r e d of space Maybe ourvery own arch monetarist colonies and orbital solar satellites): enthusiasm not ohlv, for fissionbut . Keith.Josephought to sign up?. also for'fusion -the tilti@ate'technolq But someutopiananarkhistsalso..see The IMF, of c4urse;is wellknown : ical fix~focthbenergy crisis. That- arid its attractions, as a means(al0ng with. (at least to the FEF) forits support . 'their generaTstrategy .-. -,-canofcourse, .: automation) of liberating mankind . ., .-.. . ,. . , . for a third world development policy 'that means windmills, hand-ploughs, .* and handicrafts, insteadof nuclear. power, mechanised farming and . . industry for the ThirdJV Id'. (Fusion Np.1979) As nich it's %part of the . . anti-science movement and not far r q w e d presumab1y;from the '^ptiweapons to Kennedy's " . These arb nuclear terrorists' who massed at fie USSeabpok reactor recentfy , ., presidentfalaspiratihs. . . , , Undercurrents38).' . . ~. . ..

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'More nukes less kooks' Fusionand F'EF reserve muchof ~. their venom for these 'drug infested':' storm troopers, carrying detailed. . reporeof their terrorist plans and , adverts for car bumper stickers toting . messageslike: 'NuclearPlants Not Marijuana Plants'; 'Pot SmokersMake Lousy Lovers'; 'More Nukes Less Kooks'. Asalready mentioned; the'USLP, ^as been playingan undercover role .. n fhenuclear issue -fielding agept~ rwocateurs totinciteviolenceat ~. : ti nuclear demo's. Meanwhile the plays the s aight man role, ., ~~. upplying pro-n clear- propagandagnd ' i n g with the 'forces of law and ',in collaboration with right ~. ,. (ing agencies like the"E5ecutive . . ntelligence ~. Review (shades of our very Economic League), to reveal theonmentalists' links with sundry &opean Terrorist organisations. Its. ,

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The political connections Somehow though I don't think many of the latter groups will be subscribing to Fusion magazine, given its political affiliations. But despite or because of i t s fanaticism, it is worth taking the FEF seriously. The FEF is not short on paranoid idiocies; 'the situation in Iran . . was conceived and implemented by the international 'Dark Ages' faction, particularly the British Intelligence agencies'. (Fifsion Jan. 1980). Nevertheless it has powerful friends worldwide and is a major force in the US pro-nuclear movement, with strong links-with ultra-conservative politicians, like US Presidential Candidate Lyndon J. La Rouche Jr, who is currently campaigning for the construction of 500 nuclear reactors by 1990 and 1000 by 2000 AD La Rouche is a frequent contributor to Fusion a Interestingly, a gentleman by the same name i s or was the head of, guess what - the US Labor Party - where he was known as Lyn Marcus, notorious for his authoritarianism. As a sample of his style consider the following addressed to wayward USLP members: 'What I shall do is to exposeyou to the cruel fact of your sexual impotence, male and female. I will take away from you all hope that you can flee the terror of politics to the safety of 'personal life '. I shall do this by showing to you your, frightened personal and sexual life contains for you such terrors as the outside world could never offer you. 1 will thus destroy your rabbit holes, mental as well as physical'.

Even given the current panic about energy shortages in the US, it seems unlikely that pro-nuclear fanatics like this will get support. But the overall political situation in the US (and the world!) i s after all very fluid - with a wave of hysteria in the USA against Iran neatly diverting attention from the activities of the energy corporations, the CIA and all the other forces of democracy. The FEF are clearly trying to capitalise on the anxiety and confusion. However, as an arch free enterprise out'fit, the FEF i s ambiguous on oil politics: it i s hostile to.the oil companies' manipulative monopoly; but it does not want to be anti-business ('like the liberals'). It i s also aware that it can't openly counsel support for the Shah or attack Iran - without risking further reprisals from the Iranians - oreven war, (with the Russians?).

Militant anti-communists like (exMoreover, the FEF is clearly horrified by the Ayatollah's (admittedly obscure) communist) Frank Chappie of the anti-technology ideology, and despairs at Electricians Union, join in:the fdte o f the four now never-to-be'There are politically motivated completed nuclear plants in Iran - part groups d o believe that by underof the Shah's programme to build 22 mining the only feasible energy reactors by 1995. It seems, that some of policy (nuclear) they can create a the plant's cooling towers are likely to situation whereby an energy be converted into grain silo's. .. shortage can be used as a 'political At times like this it must be nearly weapon' as hard to be on the right as on the left, (EETPU statement to the National especially if you're pro-nuclear. Energy Conference June 1976).

Meanwhile, back in the UK ... In Britain, so far, the right has shown little sign o f developing along the lines describe4 above. True the National Front has come out heavily pro-nuclear calling for 'National Front Government and nuclear electrification' (shades of Stalin) and has rallied against environmentalists who 'we must view with the greatest suspicion'. And then there was briefly a right winganti-nuclear group, the Survival Party, evidently an offshoot of the Ecology Party, who dressed in green para-military uniforms, replete with armbands, webbing and nazi-style insignia. But in general, the right in Britain consists o f good old conventional anticommunjsts, fed on Telegraph editorials and articled about the links between the environmental movement and Moscow. Like the one titled 'Mushroom Umbretlqfor (he Left', which claimed that Russia was backing western antinuclear groups as part o f a 'long term stratem aimed at deorivintz the west of automatic access to its fuel'. (Daily Telegraph 25/9/78). ,

And of course there's Fred Hoyle, thundering on a b u t the way the Russians have instructed their friends i~ the west to fight against nuclear power operating 'through a mild, pleasant, 'save-the-whales' movement. And thi they do, right to the last letter of your Kremlin-inspired instructions'. (Energy or Extinction - Hoyle was forced to retract any suggestion that Friends of, the Earth were tools of Russia.) Actually, given the crippling cost of nuclear power, and the likelihood that a major accident in the future would lead to public ciamour for closing down nuclear plants, thus robbing us of a supposedly key energy source, it could just as well be argued that the Russians would be better off supporting the West's nuclear programme! Perhaps that's what the FEFIUSLP are really all about aft devious isn't it Paranoics of the world unite -you have nothing to lose but your enemies! Tony Small Fusion can be obtained $20 pal from FEF. Suite 2404,88 Seventh Avenue, New Y o * NY 10019 USA Hot good bedtime reading.

Undercurrents 40

THE FOLLOWING articles look at some of the reasons why the Government may soon have to take wave-power more seriously. First David Ross reports on plans to supply small island communities with wave energy; and then Stewart Boyle describes the rapid progress being made by wave-power researchers. One o f the main objections o f many environmentalists t o wave energy - that it has t o be big, and fed into a centralised national grid - is being rebutted by technical developments. I can disclose that st't'fles are in progress t o find means of supplying electricity from the waves t o small communities such as Fiji, Tonga and, nearer home, t o the Western Isles. Units ranging from 600JW mean output, up t o 25MW for a self-contained grid for the Scottish islands, are under

.,. .- * %--

These compare with the previouslyaccepted idea of gigantic wave energy power stations o f 2,00OMW, which could be brought on stream only as part o f the CEGB's system. The new development was touched on briefly at the Oceanology International conference in Brighton on March 7 by Mr. Clive Grove-Palmer, head o f the Wave Energy Steering Committee at Harwell. He said only: 'Maybe two megawatts could be o f interest t o small island communities. Some o f them are paying more for their electricity than our costs. They have to import diesel oil and run diesel motors'. Inquiries that I have since made show that the prospect has gone considerably further.

Wave-power and fish-farming too The Crown Agents are sending out their top experts t o the south Pacific. AN Walton Bott, a civil engineer who devised the first major scheme for wave energy while working in Mauritius, is returning there and going on t o Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Ted Lawrence, head o f development services, is going also t o the Seychelles. Their plan i s to devise methods o f trapping the waves in enclosed lagoons, pumping the water uphill where the geography is convenient (as in Mauritius and Fiii) t o provide a high-head for the turbine and thus more.power. The lagoons would be ideal for fish farming. Money has been offered by the Overseas Development Administration and other funds are available from the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. I n the Scottish islands, the need is urgent. There are a dozen islands with no source of electricity except diesel generators which produce electricity at nearly 20p a kwh, conpared with the notional CEGB cost o f fp. They are subsidised by the mainland consumers in Scotland who pay nearly 3p a unit, except on the island o f Colonsay whic ,as a generator owned by the communi

choice would be Scotland's own: the Salter Duck, born in Edinburgh University. The Duck is, perhaps1 the unwitting culprit for creating the belief that wave energy could function only when it was big. Each Duck weighs one ton and has a mean output of 600 kW. Until very recently, it could function only as one o f a string o f 60 Ducks, linked by a spine which was the 'frame o f reference' against which it reacted: that is, the spine stayed upright t o receive the pushing motion of the Duck and convert it into an electrical force. With the Duck as the leader i n the technological field, it became accepted that wave energy stations would be a series o f spines of Ducks, each spine producing 36MW mean . output with a peak output o f 120 MW.

One Duck on its own The way o f thinking was radically changed when Stephen Salter, inventor of the Duck, with help from Professor Eric Laithwaite of the Department of Heavy Electrical Engineeri7g at ial London, came across the idea o f the gyroscope as a single 'frame of references - that is, an upright back wall inside the Duck itself, It means that one Duck can function alone without need for a spine and 59 fellow membersof the fleet,

Crying need for i t in the islands<; The Association's~ecretaryis Colonsay's doctor, Andrew Hall-Gardner, who told me that they were charging the 120 islanders 18p a unit. 'We are using our capital t o make up the deficit', he said. 'We are going down the drain, unless we get some help. We have nine months before we pack i t in'. The Wave Energy Steering Committee has asked the Highlands and Islands Development Board t o study the possibility o f feeding such isolated communities from the waves. The suggestion i s for a local grid o f 20MW. There are a number o f wave energy devices that could be used. A popular

As to the cost, it is now down t o 4SP a unit - something that would seem magic to the islanders o f Colonsay. How well would i t work? The answer to this question, happily, exists. Tourists going to the Continent this summer, from Harwich and Dover, will be guided on their way by two navigation buoys which are powered entirely from the waves. Trinity House, which put them to sea, i s delighted with their performance.

fave-powed buoys need no srvicing Their spokesman told me: 'They cost mut Â£3,00 a buoy. They produce )mething like the light from a 40W ~ l and b also drive the flasher u n i t They r. verv ocpular with the operating sople. They need no servicing'. The buoys work on the basis o f a inciple invented by the Japanese inintor, Yoshio Masuda. A tube inside ie buoy is open t o the sea as the waves 5e and fall a bubble of air is pushed ~tand then sucked back in to fill the sultant vacuum. The motion of the r drives an air turbine and charges a ittery. Until no*, the usual method has een to feed the light from a gas canter, which has to be changed regular. It costs well over Â£20an hour to ind out a ship to change the canister. With wave energy buoys, there is o need to restock the, fife1 because, ;Salter put it, the gods pay for the laves. There will soon be many more found our coasts. 300 are functionmg I the Pacific. So now the range goes -om a 40W bulb to a 2,000MW power ation. Small and big can be beautiful.

Obviously if Clams were mounted indiviiually, the whole structure would move up and down with each wave producing little power. However mount ing a number of Clams on a common' spine provides a broad front to the Ducks out. Clams in approaching waves. Therefore as some By late 1978 the Lanchester team .dam flaps move forwards, others had managed to bring the estimated cost move backwards and the spine acts as of electricity generated from the Ducks a common reference point. So much down to around 20 times the then for the theory, but how much progress current price for electricity consumers. has been made so far? Further reductions in the cost could be Tank tests are already in progress envisaged, but the team decided to on a 1150th scale, and models of 10 abandon the Ducks for a new idea o f Cams are already being built (6 metres Norman Bellamy's. I h g , 0.3metres deep and 0.2metres wide) to test at Draycott water. Cornputer tests to see whether the system will sink indicate that the structure is in fact very stable. output in terms o f air pressure pumped to the shore and also recorded movements and pressures over the whole length of the spine.

"The technology tc build it is available now. j9

THE POTENTIAL of the seas around Britain as a source of energy is well known: 52-53kW of energy per metre per year waiting to be extracted, and a potential 6-8GW from the most suitable ' coastal sites (this would provide enough electricity for nearly 8 million people.) Furthermore, unlike solar power, maximum energy from the waves is available in winter when the demand for eiectricity is at its highest. Over the past five years a small research team at Lanchester Polytechnic have been making rapid progress with designs which may provide a way to extract these vast amounts of energy efficiently in a wide rangeeofsea conditions - in winds up to Force 10 gales. The group started in 1975 when 4 number of lecturers at the Polytechnic attempted to run a computer simulation of Salter Ducks. Simulation proved extremely difficult indeed and the decision was taken to build models of the Duck and conduct wave-tank experiments. By April 1976 wave-tank experiments had proceeded so well that the 1150th scale model was linked to a spine with 19 other Ducks and tested at nearby Draycott Water. These tests measured

There were numerous reasons Tor abandoning the Ducks. The huge bearings needed for full-scale Ducks would have to be inaccessible and capable of maintenance-free operation for years. No such bearing existed. Sealing between the Duck and the spine was proving extremely troublesome too, but the other main problem was the type of power and the manner in which it was produced. Salter Ducks tend to produce high torque but relatively low speeds in the turbine, which i s far from ideal for producing electricity. This i s one of the reasons why Salter i s incorporating large gyroscopes in the nose of the Ducks. Consequently the group started to. develop the Clam system The Clam system is a very simple concept, with few moving parts namely the hinge, the flexible bag and the air turbine. As the bag in each Clam i s compressed by incoming waves, the air inside is pushed rapidly through the air turbine, generating electricity directly. In the trough of the wave, the air pressure inside the spine forces air back out into the flexible bag turning the air turbine once again.

If the Draycott tests proceed satisfactorily the group will apply for a contract to test 1110th scale models at Loch Ness, with the design of these probably commencing around September this year. Although the finished design would be built mainly with concrete, the 1110th scale model will be made of steel. Ifresults are as promising as the wave-tank tests, the group should be supplying for cash to produce a full-scale prototype in two to three years time. Indeed, one of the attractions of the Clam is the fact that the tech nology to build it i s available now. This contrasts with some of the other design: where the necessary technology may be as much as a decade away.

Howmuch will the electricity cost? The publication of Energy Paper 42Wave Energy, by the Department of Energy was greeted *ith both dismay and disbelief by wave-power proponents By quoting costs of between 20-50p/ kW hour, the report was immediately seized on by the pro-nuclear lobby as showing how hopelessly expensive waveenergy was likely to be. A small footnote stating that 'this represents the situation at the end of 1978' gave the game away however, for five British projects now quote prices of less than 10pIkW hour. Electricity from the Lancaster Flexible Bag, which even in 1978 had been quoted at between 5-lOp/kW hour, is now priced at well below l o p / kW hour, and i s in the lead as the

Undercurrents 40

[Â¥HFOLLOWING article was aken from La Gueule Ouverte, a ^rench underground magazine. background information was upplied by Francoise d 'Eausonne, a freelance writer. La Sueule Ouverte was one of the irst magazines to give Longo klai good publicity in its early lays. I t was also mentioned in Jndercurrents. This article will lopefully serve as a reminder o the 'alternative press' to be nore aware as to the kind of alternative' schemes they bromote.

LANCASTER FLEXIBLE BAG 1979 CONFIGURATION

'erage price of 2p/unit currently paid 1 consumers is approached. Close ihind comes the Lanchester Clam, ith the Salter Ducks, Cockerell's a f t and the Bristol Cylinder not far :hind. The costings, incidentally, clude transrriissions of the electricity Perth which, if my geography serves e correctly, is on the east coast of :otland, the opposite side of the luntry from the best waves. No )ubt there is a perfectly logical planation! Other things considered when arrivg at the costings, which are carried it by the groups themselves and also I a group of Government consultants, clude material costs, tank and spine Ficiencies, and wavelength variations.

Compared to a proposed Â£2 billion expansion in nuclear power, the Â£ million spent on wave-power overall is almost derisory, bearing in mind that only about half of this actually reaches the research groups. Although funds are adequate for present research, the crunch will surely come in three to four years time when groups start asking for several million pounds to build full-scale prototypes. Uhless there is a radical change of heart by the Department of Energy, we could see the familiar story of a British innovation , capitalised on by others such as the Americans, re-enacted before our eyes.

The future of wave-power I

One can enthuse at length over wironmental drawbacks wave energy. The relentless energy Preliminary government studies, pounding our shores can be awesome consultation with such bodies as the on a stormy day. Transforming this ipartment of Agriculture and Fisheries energy within the confines of straightr Scotland and the Scottish Marine jacketed energy thinking has been ological Association, have revealed fraught with setbacks and misinforma1 likely deleterious effects on marine tion, yet the momentum of wave-power osystems from wave-power devices. continues stronger than ever. Indeed, least one major line of pylons i s I wouldn't bet against the Wave Energy ely to be needed, but shoreline Group at Lanchester succeeding itallations could be kept to a miniETSU, the nuclear lobby and all Jm, and sited in inaccessible areas. in producing electricity from the ie introduction of one major line of waves at the right price. Ions may be a small price to pay en one considers the likely effects Stewart Boyle Fast Breeders littering the Scottish untryside.

To people looking for alternatives rat race Longo Mai would seem :o offer a possible solution. Longo Mai s a community which began in 1972 it Limans Forcalquier in the Haute 'rovence Alps in Frame. The aim was :o bring life and work back t o the ilpine area.which was becoming more 'o the

'Longo M a i is a microsociety where his fantasies are law." and more derelict as people left the region and the land was abandoned. Within a communal setting people were to work the land. The community found favour and was soon amply funded by donations from Swiss Protestant church organisations. Many people were attracted to Longo Mai. Undercurrents' readers were told of Longo Mai's summer work camps. Roland Perrot (Remi) started Longo Mai. He i s the leader and Longo Mai is a micro-society where his fantasies are law. Francoise d'Eaubonne who knew Remi in the early 60s shows in this article what Roland Perrot has made of many people's dreams: ' I n the first years the pioneers at Longo Mai got up early in the morning, planted seeds and cleared the highway. But a steady flow of money from Switzerland allowed Remi to buy up small businesses haphazardly and farming was pushed into the background. Instead of being a co-operative Longo Mai became a capitalist enterprise.

References Energy paper 42

we Energy Group, faculty of Engineering, Lanchester Polytechnic, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB. wepower Limited, Carlton House, Ringwood Road, Woodlands, Southampton. (Lancaster Air Bag, Cockerell's Raft.)

- Wave Energy, HMSO, Â£5

Energy from the Waves, David Ross, Pergarnon, Â£2.75 Rethinking Electric, Papers from a Symposium at Edinburgh University, 1979. Wave energy researchers on a crest, New Scientist, p294, Dec 20127, 1979.

Â¥new breed of worker' The local peasants have now formed of Action and Research into Longo Mai and in a newspaper article (Rouge) Yann Plougastel has shown, ; that not only is LM not helping thfc ocal peasants but it i s actually taking 1 Group

Too Longo! money for itself which was meant to help local people. Remy has voiced opinions about 'developing a new breed of agricultural worker to replace the locals who have been weakened by inbreeding. Shades of Mein Kampf? Operation Straw was launched to help peasants affected by the drought but a pitifully small number of peasants received any money. Operation Melon involved buying up small businesses at knock-down prices when the owners were about to close. Longo Mai has failed as an agricultural community. Visitors speak of acres of sunflower seeds sown and then eaten by the birds and of a mill which was demolished without ever having been used. Only the sheep are left. They are shorn and the woollen articles of clothing are sold in Switzerland. All the other items sold in Switzerland with the Longo Mai label (honey, foam baths, lavender water) are bought from local peasants. Good publicity and the hard work of the people employed to get donations have enabled Longo Mai to continue for so long. Longo Mai has upset the local economy. Remi decides how Longo Mai money is spent; in a much more sinister way Remi decides how the community i s run. It is his magnetism and charisma which attract his followers. Newcomers to the community are subjected to a harrowing interrogation lasting several hours. If they persevere they are initiated to Remi's kind of society. Remi i s homosexual and has his own little group of favourites. Although he has his favourites, others

are not allowed to form lasting relationships. Women are treated as sexual objects and expected to sleep around the men, rather than the women, choose who they will sleep with. Remi decrees periods of chastity interspersed with joyous orgies. Remi does not allow the use of the pill. Consequently pregnancies are frequent, and often the mother does not know who i s the father i f the child. Remi justifies his philosophy and actions by quoting from Levi-Strauss, Malinowski and/or Mass Psychology of Fascism. Women are assigned the traditional household tasks and some of the hard manual labour. They are kept strictly subservient to men.

"Newcomers to the community are subjected to a harrowing inter

Declaration by former members As former members of Longo Mai who lived at Longo Mai many months or several years we want to expose how we were exploited so that others do not fall into the same trap. We consider that the sole aim of Longo Mai is to allow one person's fantasies to become reality - that person being R Penot known as Remi. An investigation into the use of colossal sums of money which were deveriy collected, has begun in Swikerland. This money, in our opinion, has been largely wasted or invested locally in the fashion of my capitalist speculator. But, what we consider most serious, and what must be publicly denounced is Remi's technique whereby he is surrounded by a group which is totally committed to his fantasies at the cost of the servitude of several, the aliienation of most, and the psychological tenor exerted on many. T isextremely subtle technique can be shown by referring to many events or anecdotes which are sometimes amusing but mostly tragic. The setting up of the group of young people for instance allowed for the conditioning of the youngest; the almost obligatory satisfaction of Remi's homosexual desires; the relegation of the older and thus more experienced people to the background; and the subjection of most women to a subservient and 'reproductive' role. Attacks on the community born outside, which were purely imaginary, regularly gave Remi the opportunity to select his faithful followers and

strengthen the cohesion of the group m a paranoic atmosphere of suspicion

This technique was then justified in a speech wMch.was extreme left wing, left wing, or simply humanitarian, defending on the audience. Most of us, sickened by the society we lived in, opted for the Longo Mai alternative. We learnt about the community from articles in (he press ranging from Le Monde to La Gueule Ouverte including Le Nouvel Observateur and ~iberationCongo Mai would never have reached its present size without free publicity and its ability to use the mass media to dupe journalists and readers alike. Journalists, be on y o u guard against a technique which took us several months,even several years to recognise, and which makes use of you in order to dupe others after us. those who are notrejected at the initial test enter completely into this alienating treadmill. We only had two options: either to completely deny our personality, or to escape. We left, not because we were undemanding as the Longo Mai publicity implies, but to continue looking for = ways of getting closer to the objective which first attracted us to Longo MaL Behind an apparent demand for truth, for a pure and healthy life, a total alternative to a rotten society, only the fantades of the brilliant and dangerous pathological liar Roland Perrot are achieved. Former members of Longo Mai; with the complete approval of the people who have associated and collaborated wf***' ingo In-:

Undercurrent* 40

Longo Mai is a closed community, isolated from the outside world. Dominique, a former member of Longo Mai says: 'When you leave Longo Mai you are completely destroyed. Your past life has been totally swept away'. People have been physical ly assaulted for trying to leave Longo Mai and outsiders have been beaten up 'for putting their nose irfother people's business'.

Three tragic deaths Tragically, it was when I heard of the death of three women that I started my campaign. Remi says Therese was probably raped and strangled; noone has been able to trace exactly what happened. Claudine Verneuil escaped from Longo Mai at dawn and was later found dead. She had committed suicide. Rael's death is directly attributable to Remi's refusal to allow a couple to live g e t h e r : her lover was Remi's too id she had the misfortune to be ilous. She committed suicide on after giving birth to a child. ie did not know who the father IS.

'Goodpublic relation! llowed Longo Mai tc ontinue s o long un 'etected."

Public IOGER HAINES

looks at the availability and cost of Prestel, and lohn Garrett examines some of the alternatives.

The significance o f 'viewdata' (the generic term for Prestel-type systems) IS perhaps best understood by thinking i f it as an electronic notice board. Pin up', or put on file, a revised timetable. a new address. or an amended ~ o l i &statement, and everyone looking it up thereafter will get the updated information. A notice board can be an invaluable form of information-sharing among the community that has access to it, and viewdata is potentially a notice board that the whole country can use. A t present. thoueh. it is more like a club notice-board, a rather exclusive club a t that. Will it ever become a new Wall o f Democracy? A t present prices it seems unlikely. 'One researcher estimated that in just one week's casual, ordinary use of Prestel he spent over Â£5' reported CIS1, who concluded that 'Prestel will reproduce the same stratified society as at present, with information going to those who can afford t o buy it'. It i s true that the extra price of the television set adapted to receive viewdata signals is expected to fall from an initial Â£50 (Pye Lahgear Viewdapta) to per- . haps Â£1002

Good public relations allowed )ngo Mai to continue so long idetected. Now newspapers are ginning to investigate Longo Mai. alled for an enquiry into Longo ai and am facing a libel case. Three her newspapers (La Gueule iverte, Rouge and Sud) which irted looking int irted looking into the running Longo Mai are also facing libel ses. For the last three months the {iss press has been denouncing Ingo Mai'.

ther opinions on Longo Mai -e varied, the stories here have , sen described as being hysterical misguided, we would welcome >memore information. Have 'ndercurrentsreaders any person; ~periei~ce of Longo Mai? ranslation by Lesley Grinstead

But even then viewdata ownership is likely to remain limited: for one thing, the information most often used the public at large will be available tia the much more limited system of

'teletext', which involves no extra cost once you have bought or rented the adapted TV. Then again there are many households in this country with no telephone by which to receive viewdata signals - and a few without TV.

Prestel in the Library? So for many people the value of the Prestel service will depend on the availability of the receivers in public places. Some libraries have been installing them as an experiment, and welcoming them for their publicity Value if nothing else;

"Should there be a right to information freeof charge?" but as they don't lead to financial savings as such there will be a strong temptation to withdraw them in Jhe face of the present public expenditure cuts. If we believe in the future potential of Prestel we must press to ensure that a more enlightened view prevails. After all, the cost is very small by institutional standards. (One university library found that providing a Prestel service added less than 0.1% to its budget, with usage-relatedcosts at less than Â£5 per month3 - which puts the CIS figure somewhat into perspective. What is 'ordinary, casual use'?) In fact if libraries do provide Prestel sets on a permanent basis, they may well either be reserved for staff use or be made available in the form of coinoperated machines - which are also beginning to appear in places like hotels and supermarkets.. . (and works canteens???)Which leads to the question, should there be a 'right to information' free-of-charge? Obviously not all information, unless we want to abolish the sale of all books and newspapers. But there i s at least a need to identify classes of information that ought t o be made available on Prestel as a public service - as some already are - that is, with zero page charges. Obvious examples include a constantly updated code of practice. regarding work hazards, details of current public inquiries for which evi< dence is being sought, and more kinds of consumer advice.

safety tests, what is t@? scientific status of i t s Added PQZ Factor? Not if Intqrnationd Brand X Products i s the Information Provider (IP) who set up the page structure, you don't. Fortunately you have to go through the Post Office's index pages before you hit one o f the IP's indexes, and as it happens the Post Office does choose t o lump consumer advice and sales pages together - making an ideological decision whether it likes it or not. But you have to make the choice between advice and sales before you have pinned down the commodity you are after to anything more detailed than 'a car' or 'a holiday', say. To find your way from the Brand X sales page to the various others that might provide relevant information is by all accounts likely to be a long, tedious and coin-hungry business. This is exacerbated by the increasing duplication o f information by different IP's.

Who indexes the indexers? The cost o f that telephone call, and conversely the usefulness of this kind of service, will depend crucially on the time it takes to locate the 'right page' in the system. Unfortunately there seems to be wide agreement among users that the present indexing system is very poor. This is partly because o f the , technical choices made in the attempt to create a system that a non-technical and inexperienced user has no difficulty in handling. The Electronic Directory that is built into the French Telehatique system - see John Garrett's article - seems to assume a much higher level o f keyboard sophisticatiort among telephone users. Who is right? But there is also a much more fundamental problem. In an information-intensive society, the question 'who indexes the Indexers?' is almost as crycial and tricky as 'who guards the Guardians?' Because the way that the

In a few

%. %-

years* time e v w home now eauiooed with a television mat

improvements are possible and the new media provide Wore technical scope than the old.

Under my umbrella? The main concern, however, must be with the limitations on access. To become a 'primary' information provider, you'have to pay an initial Â£400 p.a. and buy 'pages' in blocks of IOU at a further cost of Â£p.a./frame; and you have to indemnify the PO against any legal actions that might arise. Then, however, you can sublet your pages to 'secondary' IPSon any terms you wish. This is how it is that the 'umbrella' primary IPShave come to be cast in the role of censors. The 'dirty books' case provides an example. When Mrs Whitehouse and friends complained about the guide t o pornographic books, which was being provided under the umbrella o f Mills& Allen and not the Post Office who excluded the guide. Irrespective of the merits of this particular case. the lesson is that anybody wanting to buv less than Â£400worth of soace must depend on the approval Ã as well as the indexing structure - of an umbrella IP.

Fascism on file?

Returning to the notice board metaphor, Prestel b d a y is of the type with locked glass doors in front: No Un- . authorised Notices. Unauthorised by Thin equipment may all be interconnected via the DIDON-ANTIOPE terminal. the fee-paying IPS, that is to say. The Post Office itself has studiously avoided any responsibility for censorship. This has led some critics to gasp that, Good Heavens, this leaves the way open for the National Front to issue propaganda on Presto. It is hard to imagine a Fascist revolution being brought about by such an event. Viewdata as an advertising medium has the rare and admirable quality that you do:i't get to see an advert until you have asked for it. The Post Office's long-standingwillingness to deliver into our homes any propaganda that the NF choose to mail to us should seem (to those with the nanny mental' ity) a far greater threat. There i s one respect in which the freedom of IPScould be regarded as L I ~ ~pouibto S through thÃ use of an ANTIOPE o ~ ~ ^^owV^T d f excessive: the Advertising Standards Links ondependam from the ANTIOPE d& Authority has apparently thrown up i t s hands at the idea of effectively policing advertisements whose wording can It seems to be impossible t o avoid this be changed without trace at any time.' public information supply is structured inevitably embodies a lot of ideological altogether: the choice, on the one hand. Can they not provide a 'response page* of a centralised mono pol^ on the inassumptions -about what is more or with a well-advertised number so that less important to know and about what a complaint can be registered the dexing of vital information, with the i s closely related to what. If you want implication of a single built-in world- ' moment an offending ad is seen; and arrange for a hard copy to be taken to find out about some commodity you view; -Ã o r the other hand, of vital want t o buy, do you automatically get automatically when this occurs? information being buried in a mass tomplaints under the Race Relations offered, en route, information about of differentindexes each structured Act could of course be handled in the to serve the commercial interests of whether Brand X uses whale products, same way and passed on. ifit passes recommended electrical the respective IPS. But pragmatic

- a home computer - a teleprinter

IllÂ

Rownbenkian support? \

In the short term, the best way for voluntary groups to take advantage of Prestel would seem to be to twist the arm of somebody like the Rownbenkian Fund to hire a hundred pages or so and make them available for appropriate uses - together with an editing terminal and an editor's wages, of course! Which leads t o the question of what such appropriate uses might be. Not publishing a complete issue of Undercurrents,that's for sure; but

' I tseems to have every thing we want. " the sort of information in What's When might benefit by being recorded in an instantly updatable form. In fact any items of rapidly changing information and any'pilot' information which leads the user onto more would make obvious candidates. Factual questions to which the organisations concerned were seeking answers would be another thing worth recording - and deleting after a quick phone call reporting that an answer had been orovided.

The history of freedom has been the history o f public rights wrested from the economically powerful who had come to treat them as private commodities: justice, votes, the liberty of slaves have all been bought and sold without question in previous periods. Today, the right to public communication and advocacy - the right, not just to speak, but to be heard, on equal terms with one's fellow citizens i s to a great extent usurped by the power o f money. I suggest it is this usurpation, t h i s conversion of the ' ability to communicate into a cornmodify, that hasj n large measure led to the active-producer, passive-consumer economy.

And a right to hear The Annan Report on Broadcasting pooh-poohed the idea of a 'right to be heard' on the grounds that if everyone took up such a 'right' the result would be a meaningless Babel; but ComCom replied by asking what would happen if everybody took up the right to listen to parliament from the visitors' gallery6.

Beginners start here.

w right to communicate? The emphasis so far has been largeon marginal manoeuvring to make i most of the status quo. Before ncluding, l e t us stand back and :e a longer view. In the (economic) beginning, procers and consumers cbmmunicated over the anvil, or the orchard gate something like equal terms. Today i voice of the producer is amplified an overwhelming roar against which the consumer can barely whisper. The result i s that the producer has become almost invariably the active initiator, while the consumer passively takes, or leaves. This grotesquely unbalanced relationship i s fundamental t o modern society and, I believe, is closely related to the way that human relationships have become supplanted more and more in our culture by commodity nships. How has it cope about, - -nthe tables be turned?

Teletext and videotex (=viewdata) are both system for displaying p*gei of information that have been stored in a remote computer memory, on a TV Kieen. (Videotex is the name approved by an inkmationd body, while viewdata u the nome coined by the B r i t i i Post Office.) In both c a m you need a special keybold-controlled adaptor (or a TV with a built-in adaptor), and the b d pattern of the tcreen ((UK standud) M the same; 24 r o w with up to 40 charscten in each row, u s i q up to wven colour and an optional f l u h i i facility. Teletext pages are broadcast on spare space in the existing TV channels. 100 or so pages (for a given channel) are broadcast in rotation at four pages per second. The adaptor waits and 'grabs' the page that the viewer has requested by code number. Videotex information is transmitted down a telephone line to the viewer's adapted TV in response to instructions keyed-in by the viewer. Vastly more pages of information can be made available in this way, but there is the normal charge for the telephone call and usually an extra charge as well. Ceefax and Oracle are the nationally available teletext services broadcast respectively by the BBC and ITV, who decide what goes on the pages. The pages are organised into. 'magazines', updated daily on BBC1 and-ITV and weekly on BBC2. There is no charge for using these services.

To call something a right is to remove it from the commodity system. If its

supply i s limited then means o f albcation other than price must apply. Thus, one appropriate political demand might be that t h e Post Office should make a specified (and substantial) share of Prestel's storage space available on a non-commercial basis, e.g. a queuing basis or a polling basis. In conjunction with 'second opinion' pages this alone could put a very different complexion on the information supply! But if the ability to define product needs is ever to be restored to consumers, if the stranglehold o f the commodity system itself is ever to be broken, then the full powers of the new technologies must be harnessed to assist in the sharing and matching of information on unmet needs and unused resources, whether material.or human. Such a develoornent would reauire technical ' features'not yet available, not to mention a drastic change of political conyiousness; yet the advent of the former at least is not far distant, and the growth of Prestel could do much to pave the way for them.

, Prestel is the British Post Office's videotex/vicwdata service, available in many areas now and in most others soon. 150,000pages are available today, expand ing to 500,000later. The content of these pages (apart from the PO index and introductory pages) is decided by independent Information Providers (If's) who hire space from the PO,An lP can charge viewers for reading its pages: this charge is collected on their behalf by the Post Office, along with the phone bill. In addition, viewers have to pay the PO an extra 3p/minute of viewing time (3p/3 minute# after 6 o'clock). Prestel informationis arranged in pages, which each consist of one or more frames. (One frame occupies the whole screen). The index system can only take you to the first frame of a page, you can then 'wind on' any continuation frames in order. \

AXPrestel TV adaptors can receive Ceefax and Oracle services (given a suitable aerial) but not necessarily vice versa. Bandwidth is in effect the maximum rate of transmission of information possible. A TV channel has a very wide (large) bandwidth, but the part used for teletext is only narrow band, like a norma telephone line. In a few decades it is expected that telephone services will be carded by fibre optic cables, which have an enormous bandwidth, so that far more sophisticated videofax-type services could be provided.

tfrwyconsiderations suchas these-%*.* at led SERXt o inviteotherinterestIgroups and individuals to form , . formtio ti on 2000, originally as a re- , . search and contact network, but with . +k hope &at a political lobbywill neree whennositions have hardened id issues clarified. ,

Roger ~aines

r f m n c ~ ~. , . ~, . . . . The Nsw..?+ology, Counter Infff ms- ., . . , . . ,. tion Services. . . . ;. . '-. 2 R.S. sraudy, vlfwdstsfiricins and pndictim, Da,mrnation 26(51pW (79) 3. R;Cw in71VStlWmdita im in l i b m k Library Assn. U.C. & R. Motion, Northem Group. 4 HvtMactvsrtising tmdaqi8, Online Review 3(2)p141 ('791.' ; ;, 6. P.M. Lewis, Mlots'Msdia? Commers Auoctation. ~

another telewriter, 01 .-- -- .. -. C t .. . . .~puter.If this facility c'oi The three main alternative system* printer. If two telewriters are connectbe.extended to more than two, articles to Prestel, aside from 'the Source', ed, the same image i s displayed at : an<j drawings could be simultaneously are the Japanese Captain, the worked on in several different locations. both ends. Either or both the users Canadian Teledon and the French can write, erase or blank,at the s a m Tellidon also offers community services, Telete). They are i n varying stages of time. Used like this, the telewriter sue;has an automatic fire alarm sent develooment. but none has reached the -. . . local provides the-same facilities as the public yet. unfortunately, the by the set microprocessor to the Tetidon 'common video space' for new Viewdata industry has been fir<! brigade. . . cooperative writing and graphics, bui plaguedby the same nation-state rival- . . k i n g operated by a customary pen on,^ ries as afflicted both satellite comB ~ the ~ state ~ monopoly, ~ & a pad rattier than a remote joystick, municationsand colour TV, a nationThe French system, Teletel, is part . has distinct advantages for graphics. d i s t nonsense that will impede any . . of? much more ambitious natidnal plan, As the surrealistssiidabo&t poetry, progress to a 'global village' or : agreed in 1975 under the name Teleit should be made by all, and not b\ international viewdata and other one. Deviceslike the telewriter coula : computer'systems,by turning discus- . matique, to push France into the ,. . . . . make that come about. , , sions over software andcommunications , Information Society. I n terms of the . ., protocols into typical ~ ~ c - t y wrangles, pe Brlt~shdistinction between the broadlike over lamb or wine. cast Teletext and the interactive . . Viewdata, it i s a hybrid &ice involv, ~ eus t look at these three systems in^ both the companies and the .to see what interactive facilities they . . French PTT. can suggestfor import t o the Post Teletel is less centralisedfithanPrestel, dffice. Firstly, the Captain system. As can be seen in this brief review with the Computer Centres operated Like p ~ s a it , is basically electronic . . by the Inforfllation Providers rather of other Viewdata systems, there are with n o inter.Subscriber a number of other philosophies besides than the Tr.A decentralised network communication<. Its chief interest bes the Present Prestel one. There are also. of data bases is linked bythe packetin the 3,500 Chinese, Japaneseand a number of ideas and devices that are switched network, Trans~ac,with alphenumeric characters it can display. more than worthy of incorporation Unlike Western systems, whichemploy . telepHone connections to subscribers. into Prestel. Until now, there has been character decoders i n th&TV terminal . The Information 'Providers, or Service "0 public Pressure on the Post Office Providers as they,are called i n France, itself,. characters are transmitted . to make.the service democratic: ,will be able to set up their own directly from the computer. The pre. " ""re is Users organisation. There message centres, thus effectively cision it requires in producing thee 'is, however, an Association of View breaking the PTT monopoly over,:,. : - characters also.produces. excellent . data Information Providers Limited communications. graphics. . . , .. , (AVIP)as well as trade associations Another system good on graphics for Other goodies the set-makers, t h e m rental com. i s Telidon, generally distributed panics and the communications mer gmdies inthe ~~~~h Telethrough the cable TV network, which matique Programme a*. a cheap facsim- . vcntu!e,, suppliers. but Prestel so 'is acooperative reaches 80%of Canadian homes. it is a co-operative ile terminal, Massfax, which doubles as Furthermore, the Talidon system'has . . venture that has excluded both users ipginative interactive features, a p.hotowpier, and a telewriter. The and fie gemra, is time that .. 'notably a planned 'common video telewriter is a tablet on which a person chanced. space.' in which twosubscribers can can write or draw, and then transmit be linked together without using the the result through the network to . . , , ~

"Telidon also offers comcmunityservices." '

;

HOW MANY tonnes of coal ould you need to get the same Eat as from a pinhead of ranium? You don't know? Never ~ind,neither does the CEGB, as eter King reports FOR A couple of years now the kids t the school I work in have been given CEGB PR booklet, called Nuclear 'now-How (I), to explain how nukes lork. Colourful cartoons, which ~ u l have d been designed specifically > amuse inattentive second years, !ature Neutron the Whizz Kid. He takes i e reader through atomic structure, ssion, the chain reaction and then raphite moderated slow reactor Magnox) construction. So far, so good. Cartoon panel 12 shows a near iountain of coal being pushed around y a puny bulldozer - our hero, leutron, stands proudly on a knoll in

copies of the booklet to replace the old, ageing set. The only change in the '6ooklet i s in panel VI. The 5,000 tons of coal has been reduced to 'many tons of coal.' A reduction by three orders of magnitude aroused my curiosity and latent mistrust of P R confetti, especially that of the CEGB. So I went away and checked. The theoretical complete burn up of 1 kg of uranium yields heat equivalent to burning 3,000 tonnes of coal (2 & 3). Andthe initial burn up of uranium in a slow reactor (Magnox) should yield heat equivalen. to burning 10 tonnes of coal for each kilogram. (2). Checking further I cut the heads of some pins and weighed them, they were a generous 20 mg each, and allowing for the higher density of uranium, fissionable pinheads would be 50mg each or 20,000 per kilo of

"Many thousands of young, impressionable minds have been polluted with this PR piffle. '' produced i s either wasted or deliberately rejected in the electricity generation process. If other schools use the booklets in the same way, then many thousands of young, impressionable minds have been polluted with this P R piffle. The crux o f the proguclear argument seems to be that large quantities of energy can be won from relatively small ' reserves of uranium. Any change downwards in the conversion rate of such magnitude surely deserves an explanation from the CEGB, if not an apology, for readers of the old booklet.

A pinhead by any other name

-. foreground brandishing a giant pin. aption used to read '. heat the atoms in a pinhead o f urans equal to the heat produced by 5,000tons o f coal. ' That mindwing number has been copied into ndreds of exercise books over the rs, especially during staff absence en time consuming cover work had be found quickly. While being ptical ofsuch an energy conversion e never bothered to go out of my ay to'check it - until now, that is. year we acquired some more s

uranium. Now working backwards from my version of the heat equivalent I calculate that the pinhead of uranium is only equivalent to 150 kg of coal. (3,000 + 20,000 = 0.1 5 tonne or 150 kg). That ' i s nowhere near the 'many tons of coal' inthe new booklet and makes the 5,000 tons in the old booklet sheer fantasy. In common with the PR scriptwriter I am ignoring the fact that only 2% of the uranium is 'burnt up' during each trip through a slow reactor and that 70% of the heat

In theglossy CEGB brochure for the Bradwell nuke we read: 'So great is this energy potential that even within the limits o f existing technology, 1 l b o f uranium is equivalent in heat content to some 5 tonnes o f coal (about 10,000times its own weight). ' This gives 11 tonnes of coal equivalent per kg of uranium which is close enough to my figure of 10 tonnes for a slow reactor, like Bradwell, to be believable. And i s indeed about 10,000 times the weight of uranium. Therefore my pinhead of uranium, weighing 50 mg, should yield heat equivalent to 0.05g x 10,000 that i s 500g or 0.5 kg of coal. Going back to the cartoon - i n the real situation of Bradwell, Neutron's pinhead of uranium now gives only 0.5 kg of coal equivalent. Neutron's vanishing pinhead wilts even more From a mountain, to a sack full, to less than a handy sized lump. It's getting so you don't know whom to believe! Peter King 1 . Nuclear Know-How! Central Electricity Generating Board, South Eastern Region PR Dept, Bankside House, Sumner Street, London, SE1. 2. The Age of Power. J . H . Stephens. Published by Peter Davies Ltd. 3. The Story of the Atom. Jean-Claude Pasquiez. Published by Macdonald Education.

Undercurrents 40

Deprogramming RELIGIOUS cults have received particularly unfavourable publicity, especially since the Jonestown massacre. But the media seem to have got things out of proportion again, and deprogramming forcing cult members to give up their beliefs - is not a sane response, as Elizabeth Bear argues. MANY SECTORS o f the intellectual

that 'this is not a time to sacrifice our hard won religious liberties t o an illconceived stampede toward investigating religious groups some government official can be persuaded are dangerous'. In fact, the lightly disguised campaigns against the new religions serve only t o draw attention away from real problems. A second source o f reaction against these religions is groups who claim t o be sincerely concerned about informing and protecting citizens from the traps community predict that religion will or deceptions o f the cults, but i n reality continue t o grow i n importance i n are themselves furthering prejudice our daily lives. Many rational and and misinformation. This i s shown time sensitive people are realising that, i n and time again in their own covert these times o f increased mechanization activities and promotion. and bureaucracy, spiritual matters beIn the UK two main groups are involvcome more relevant. Not only the ed: Family, Action, Information and strength o f the historically established Rescue (FAIR), which has close links religions, but the growing variety and with the US deprogramming scene; emergent popularity o f the new and tho Deo Gloria Trust, an extremist religions ('cults') i s testimony t o this. Christian cult. I n May 1977, this group A lot has been written, much of it and the Evangelical Alliance held a critical, about these new religions, and closed conference in Leuven, Belgium, no doubt they have their problems. called The Challenge o f the Cults. In a They attract individuals of all ages, conspiratorial setting, suqh topics socio-economic backgrounds, and as 'The Menace o f the Cults', 'Brainreligious upbringings, and exist in nearwashing Techniques', and 'To Consider ly every country on the globe. The a Co-ordinated Strategy' were discussother side o f the controversy has not ed. been much examined. Namely, why The Evangelical Alliance i s quite a is the reaction against the new religions hypocritical group. They have stated, so extensive and ferocious, and from for example, that all people have the where is I t coming? right t o choose and practise their own Government harassment form o f religion, but Islam, Judaism and Hinduism - hardly 'new' religions The overwhelming majority o f re- do not qualify as true religions to action against these groups is coming them because they do not preach the from non-religious organisations. The use o f harassmentand black propaganda gospel o f Jesus Christ. by US government agencies, for example, In light of such an attitude, as Dr James Beckford o f the University seems out o f proportion t o the situao f Durham has pointed out, the question. If this sounds like inappropriate and unbecoming behaviour for a 'demo- tion of the actual purpose o f such groups arises: do they simply seek to cratic' government, it's because i t is. warn the public or do they aim t o Prosecution of dissidents i s common in eradicate the new religions? the Soviet Union, but there has been a long-standing policy o f separation between Church and State in this and other Western countries. Increasingly, however, this separation " i s being twisted and bent t o suit private purposes. The continued existence of But the most active of all the the ban against foreign Scientologists groups protesting and trying t o supentering the UK for example, is a case press an individual's right t o practise in point, particularly in light o f the fact the religion of his choice is institutionthat no sound evidence was ever proal psychiatry. There i s extensive documentation to show this. I t i s duced to support it. Attempts in the interesting to note that of all the US to create laws which limit the per'helping' professions, psychiatry is sonal liberty and inherent human rights o f members o f new religious groups are the most unscientific and groundless in direct violation of the Constitution. one. Considering that they have a Harvey Cox, one of the most renowned vested interest i n controlling an theologians alive today, recently stated individual's (or a society's) beliefs,

"Mental illness is a valuable product.

i t is n o t very surprising that psychiatrists are involved in condemning anything which 'might further a person's spiritual well-being.

. . some individual;

retain their beliefs wit1 a tenacity that defies the severest psycholo gical and physiologica shock treatments. " Psychiatric and psychological 'therapeutic methods', for the most part, are about as fashionable as dandruff. They do not cure and they do not aim to bring one to higher understanding or ability. Their goal is to convince the person that he must just learn to cope with his problems and adapt to his present environment. Even a cursory investigation shows that the population o f mental institutions i s not decreasing and that categories of 'mental illness' are being extended apparently at the whim of the psychiatric profession. There i s plenty of proof that those who would wean individuals away from the new religions actually have in mind for them t o join the fastestgrowing international cult: psychiatry. This cult has all the stereotyped paraphernalia o f a cult - high priests, secret writings, powerful drugs, a profound distaste for anything alien to its own dogma, and no provable beneficial results. One o f its spokesmen, Dr Brock Chisholm, the chief architect of theworld Federation for Mental Health, brazenly announced with true messianic fervour 35 years ago, that 'psychiatry must now decide what i s to be the immediate future of the human race; no one else can'. Disappointingly, their decision was towards curbing the individual's freedom and instead moulding him to their own concept o f normality'

The Spanish Inquisition Studies by sociologists and psychologists provide substantial parallels between the current anti-religion movement and historical examples o f religious persecution, such as the 15th 16th century European Inquisition and the 17th century witch hunts in America. A more recent example, however, i s Nazism. Psychiatrists, curiously enough, were the backseat drivers o f Nazism (as well as of Fascism and Stalinist Communism) -- not exactly respectable credentials. Even today. German psychiatry recognises as types of mental illness drug, alcohol and 'cult' addiction -

?islatter apparently not being a very asily identifiable malady, and occurrig in a country infamous for i t s :ligious persecution for at least the ist 500 years. One of the most horrifying reactions to the new religions i s the use of brainwashing, or 'deprogramming' in order to force their members to denounce their beliefs. This procedure requently employs methods which re blatantly illegal, such as kidnappng, rape, and physical and psychologcal torture, including starvation and ireventing sleep. Huge fees are charged o the parents of deprogramming 'ictims. In reality as one 'deprogramning technician.' (a freelance lorryIriver) has admitted, this i s nothing less han gross commercialism and opporunism, and ethical considerations lave no place in his business. Fortunately, deprogramming i s not ;ohmon in the UK at t h i s time. Howwer., FAIR of at least . - has~been ~ accused ~ >neattempted deprogramming, as has he Deo Gloria Trust. In May 1975, a

members of'new religions. When, in an address given in Hanover i n 1978, he stated that 'none of us i s consistently sane', perhaps he was trying to rationalise some o f the unethical activities of his own profession. Deprogrammers tend to use the methods of persuasion often condoned by physical psychiatrists. In fact, a highly biased and unscientific book by Dr William Sargant, a leading physical psychiatrist, i s the popular bible of deprogrammers. Sargant used the experiments of Pavlov to reach the conclusion that people are very similar to dogs, and therefore can'be treated as such. Although.Sargant denies that he worked for any government agency, it is relevant to note that his friend Dr Ewen Cameron was funded by the CIA for over ten years in order to do mind-control experiments at McGill University, Montreal. Cameron's methods were almost identical to those of Sargant: heavy drug usage, shock treatments, and narco-synthesis (keeping a person asleep for weeks or months at a time by

member of the Unification Churcfi was held against his will by two FAIRsponsored American deprogrammers. In November 1976, a woman in the Children of God sect reportedly received similar treatment from the Deo Gloria Trust people. She was able to escape, and obtainedpoliceassistance ' *,Ã ' ˆ<" ,'I.,to protect herself. ;?

means of drugs). Sargant, in fact, has stated that 'before being able to change behaviour patterns of thought and action in the human being with speed and efficiency, it is apparently in many cases necessary to induce some form of physiological bfain disturbance. . . (Some individuals) retain their beliefs with a tenacity that defies the, severest psychological and physiological shock treatments, and even brain operations especially designed to disrupt them'. This i s about a5 convincingly mad a

wÂ¥

$ifis

&..-.e .

None of us is consistently sane K

Gloria Trust, The leader of the ~ Frampton, ~ ~ has purportedly ~ *

boasted that FAIR sends him potential &programming cases; apparently, FAIR doesn't have the facilities to handle their own deprogrammingsi FAIR, however, has imported Dr John Clark, an American psychiatrist, to speak at its meetings. Perhaps coincidentally Dr Clark has been advising , the German Federal Ministry o f Family, Youth and Health on 'handling'

:eir:f EEI?

~ r ~ ~ , " ' ~ ' , " ~ Telegraph that Soviet psychiatrists now regard the belief in God as a symptom of mental illness.

so in the US AsThe in resemblance between the 'deprogramming' activities in the West and the Soviet suppression o f religion, in

fact, i s clearly seen. Both movements seek to define religious belief in terms of mental illness requiring 'expert' intervention; both support t h e use of involuntary physical and mental manipulation of the individual to dissuade him from his beliefs; both view various religious groups as enemies of the State and see legislation against them as a means t o handle the 'threat'. It may not be possible to document the origins of the anti-religion movement in the West, but such psychological organisations as the American Humani s t Association certainly derive their policies from classic Communist theory and practise. The dangers of critics making generalities about cults or other religious matters can be seen in the manipul tion of the shocking events at Jonestown i n November 1978. These events had very little to do with religion or a cult phenomenon, but much to do with violence, parUcularly group violence. This fact was overlooked by those in the anti-religion movement who wanted to link Jonestown to cultism, rather than see it for what it truly was: an example o f extreme group violence. In fact, in groups where the idea of personal salvation rests with the individual, such as Transcendental Meditation or Zen Buddhism, incidents of group violence are not found. This does not exclude the possibility of Individuals committing a violent act, but this would definitely not be condoned by the religious group to which they belonged. From the sociological and psycholoi ical viewpoint, anything new - be it a religion or a brand of jam - is going to have difficulties being accepted at first. I want to clarify that I am definitely not advocating a total acceptance of all the sects at face value, although there may be much to learn from some of them. What should not be accepted by any intelligent person are the gross generalities of reactive parties. Such selective presentation and distortion o f facts see to imply not an understanding or even a legitimate interest in the existence of the new religions, but rather a very uninformed and dogmatic prejudice again another group simply because it is not identical to one's own group. This i s dangerous, and i s to be avoided. In the UK the Society for Religious Peace exists to actively support dialogu and understanding in this area. Its members come from both traditional and new religions, and they are demonstrating that differences of belief can bi settled in a sane and adult manner. Lisabeth G. Be,

'Not Quite Smiths'

rep at the local branch, who can then turn them down. But in the first issue of Undercurrents which had been distributed to a number of local Surridge Dawson branches, an article on 'Growing Your Own Dope' appeared. The result of thi was directive from head office to all local branches not to accept any furthi material from the distributers of Undercurrents. This meant, in effect, that Surridge Dawson not only threw out the magazine containing the 'offending' article, but also rejected The Leveller and Camerawork which a) had nothing to do with the problem and 6 ) had been accepted by a number o f local branches and were selling very well.

VHY CAN'T YOU buy Underurrents, or for that matter, the .eveller or Searchlight, in W. H. bugs? Well, it isn't that me efuse to supply them with copies or ideological reasons, as becoms clear in this extract from Vhere is the 'other' news - The dewstrade and the Radical 'ress. FOUR YEARS azo the Publications )istribution CO-operative(PDC) was et up to distribute radical magazines. fhe organisation's intention was to ireak into the wholesale trade, at least with the more professionally producd magazines on i t s list. But it was a ~arassing,difficult and in the end unreductive experience.

During this period, PDC took The .eveller, Camerawork and Underurrents to the news manager at imiths.ie turned down Undercurrents ind Camwawork without any discussion ~ uwasprepared t to look at The .eveller. His tone, however, was very liscouraging, pointing out that 'this vasn't quite Smiths' and 'you can irobably do that better yourselves'. When pushed, he spoke of a 15,000 irculation as the minimum Smiths rould look for before being interested The Leveller print run at that time vas 6,000). He a160 referred to the trial if SocialistChallenge, commenting that

'New magazines are netted by someone who is in effect the 'political officer'. " the paper wasn't selling very well, and suggesting that they, Smiths, were therefore already covering the area of radical politics. But the news manager didn't say he would turn down The Leveller because of i t s political content. His concern, he said, was for the economic viability of the 'product', and because of the lack of advertising, i t s regularity, i t s overall appearance, he had doubts as to who would be the audience. He didn't think it would sell. He would, however, keep

'Totally irresponsible' PDC only found out about this directive when visiting one of the local branches. At no time was there any written communication from Surridge Dawson, although PDC wrote twice as1 ing for information. However, the 'poli tical officer' did decide to express himself on the telephone - stating that the PDC was a totally irresponsible organisation. Whatever the argument about the 'offending article'. throwing out other magazines from the same distributor is unheard of in trade practice. Large The Leveller for a few days and con- , : , wholesalers are constantly rejecting or g magazines from a distributor sider it. When PDC rang back the %Â¥$,.I:. <.*.,. .... p; horn they continue t o have answer was 'no'. trading relationships. lohh Menzies were also shown a '-,; did they all turn down The range of PDC titles but turned them ~eveller?It can't have been the circulaall down. They said they were looking for a more professional product, nation- tion figures - there are numerous Smiths rhagazines with circulation al advertising and considerable supporfigures of around 3,000 (Dental tive repning by the publisher. They Technician, Pig Farming, etc) - and at added that they were not politically that time The Leveller had 6,000. biased and were indeed very 'helpful'. .They suggested they could be contacted Could it be that The Leveller and other radical magazines carry only a small at any time for advice, and the way proportion of commercial advertising? forward for thepublisher/distributor But then doesn't The Spectator, and was to build up large circulation figures Smiths accepts it readily. Are they themselves - by working at subscripspecialist magazines? But then isn't Pig tion lists and concentrating on a few Farming? Are they hand printed? Does important outlets. the ink get into your hair? Are radical Menzies responded in a similar way magazines 'fly-by-nights'? But then to Smiths, the important difference hasn't Undercurrents been going for being that Menzies virtually controls all eight years? What are Smith's criteria newspaper and magazine distribution for turning down a magazine? in Scotland. As a Scottish newsagent told a member of the PDC: 'If John The full, and sometimes bloody story of Menzies won't handle it, there must be how the wholesale distribution system-for a reason'. magazines prevents the radical press from Surridge Dawson was shown the same being widely available, tooether with ideas about what can be done to change this, are three magazines as W H Smith and, by contrast, accepted them in principle. As given in the rest of When is the 'other'news~ - The Newstreds and Hie Radical Press. at Smiths and Menzies, new magazines Copies cost Â£1.2 plus 20p p+p from the ,. are vetted by someone who is in effect Minority Press Group, 9 Poland Street, the 'political officer' at head office, and, London W1V 30G. ifaccepted, it i s up to the publisher to

Undercurrents 40

The French Say Non T H E S E C O N D largest u n i o n in t h e country has c o m e out against nuclear p o w e r a n d has h e l p e d to raise a p e t i t i o n o f two m i l l i o n d e m a n d i n g a h a l t to i t s developm e n t . No, n o t Britain, but France. P h i l i p B l a c k reports.

"France is now producing nukes faster than anywhere else in the world. " nukes are merely necessary measures to insure these projected target dates. I t i s against this background that the CFDT's position must be viewed. With many o f i t s members working within the nuclear industry itself, the CFDT has had direct experience o f the dangers ?nd drawbacks. As a result, the union has been able t o build up a comprehensive and detailed documen of what they consider to be serio practical and technical difficultie jm inherent in the way the French nuclear industry is at present being!' developed.

THE CFDT (confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail), with over one million members, is the second largest trade union in France. It i s a radical socialist union, strongly committed t o a policy o f workers control. It is alsoan outspoken and active opponent o f the French Government's nuclear prt gramme. If this sounds different from British trade union attitudes which have only recently begun to show signs o f shifting

A clear political perspective In June of 1979, the CFDT, along with 21 other organisations, including Les Amis De La Terre (FOE) and the French Socialist Party. launched a national petition opposing the govern- An end t o secrecy. Full informament's energy policy. Designed to tion on the nuclear industry t o be attract the widest possible support, the made available t o the general public petition's demands are not strictly so that an informed democratic debaKg" ispossible. ~:G a ;,+5~i anti-nuclear; but are nevertheless highly &::::.: critical o f the government's plans and as such reflect almost exactly the - A substantial shift in emphasis to- ~>.J CFDT's own position. These demands wards energy conservation and the research and development of alterna- "--"., include: tive and renewable sources o f energy. - A suspension of the present By the end o f 1979, the petition had nuclear programme until a far reaching democratic debate of all the issues gathered over five hundred thousand signatures and the organisers were conhas ta' en place

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away from an uncritical pro-nuclea~ stance, it should be noted that the

CFDT is opposing a mammoth and monolithic governmental energy policy which makes the tories' plan appear almost anti-nucleac. by. corn. parison. .

Papering over the cracks I n 1974 the Messmer.government perceived theoil p'rice rises as a direct ,.. ' threat and turned t o nuclear power as a means of achieving energy self sufficiency; they proposed the building o f six 900 megawatt plants per year. As a result, France if now producing nukes faste'r than anywhere else i n t h e world; the aim is to'have 40 in operation by . . 1985 and almost 100 by the year 2000. The 'streamlining' o f public enquiries jke Undercurrents 39) and the 'papering over' o f the structural cracks that .have already appeared in a number o f .. .;., . .. .,, ,. . .- . ,

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Undercurrents

almost resulted in a cooling failure with ensuing radioactive release, was a clear example of why the French authorities should take the CFDTJs criticisms seriously. On page 275 of Le Dossier &lectronucleaire, it states: 'A particularly important point i s the possibility of a failure in the cooling system caused by a breakdown of the main and back-up electrical supplies'.

AUTOREDUCTION

Interview with a CFDT activist

fident that their renewed efforts during the first few months of 1980 would result in the hoped for two million. Earlier this year, a weighty five hundred page book entitled Le Dos^ici Electronucleaire (The Nuclear Energy File) was published by Les Editions du Seuil. Written and compiled by members of the atomic energy branch of the CFDT, i t is a revised and updated version of an earlierbook published in 1975 under the title of LJ&1ectronucleaire en France'. Over 28,000 copies of the earlier work have been sold to date, 5,000 of them directlytby the union within the nuclear industry itself. It has become widely accepted as an invaluable source for accurate technical information and can be seen on the bookshelves of many high ranking nuclear officials who regularly consulfits pages while emphasising strongly that they disagree with the opinions and/or conclusions expressed.

CFDT vindicated On the night of Tuesday April 15, an accident occurred at the nuclear waste treatment plant at La Hague, which i s situated within easy fallout range of the Channel Islands. The fire which put both the main and back-up electrical systems out ofaction and

At our last congress, which was held at Brest, in Brittany, a number of union branches from the Paris area put forwarc a motion on energy policy and nuclear energy in particular. This motion was adopted unanimously and was later to form the basis of the 'Petition Nationale. The CFDT has been working very hard on these issues for a number of years, bringing out discussion papers etc . Our main concerns are in the first instance those of a union. Concerns about working conditions and safety within the nuclear industry itself at the reprocessing centre of La Hague for example. These concerns have made us question the running of the industry and its future development and have led us to the conclusion that the whole thing is progressing much too fast, i s being rushed, and i s therefore not being done carefully or well enough. Our second main worrv i s concern- ' ed withdemocracy. In other words, how can the government embark on such a mammoth project without really consulting anybody? This can be summed up as the democratic accountability problem. The third area of concern i s connected with a questioning of the dominant ideologies of productivity and material wealth which form the foundations upon which the government's energy policies are built. This is an area in which the left, particularly the left in France, must make great efforts i f it i s to adopt an effective position against the establishment. For instance, we have to ask whether the sort of growth that i s generally accepted as desirable, i s in

I'energie

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fact a real response to societyJs

genuine needs. In the CFDT we have a policy of 'Autogestion' (Workers control) and this goes haxd in hand with our belief that society's needs must, be seen in terms of the consumer not the producer. These beliefs together with the environmental and safety factors have led us to the conclusion that nuclear energy i s rather incompatible with the sort of society that we are striving for. We have therefore adopted a position towards the government's nuclear programme which can be sumW . , y p like this: . . All planned nuclear power stations, not already in construction, must be cancelled.

- If i t i s really necessary t o continue with those already on line or in construction, then this should be done more slowly and more carefully, with safety a prime consideration. - The government must initiate and support a widespread, meaningful and open public debate on all aspects of the problem. - Those projects that are particularly dangerous and highly questionable in terms of their ultimate value should be stopped immediately. SuperPhenix being the most obvious and outstanding example. Moeh-of the source material for this article was translated by Lesley Grinstead. Copies of/. e Dossier Electronucleaire can be ordered (French edition only) at: Hachette, 4 Regent's Place, London W l . (Tel: 01-734 5259). The CFDT has also produced a film on the reprocessing centre of La Hague. An English version of the film entitled Sentenced to Success is available from: Concord Films, lpswich. (Tel: 0473 76012).

Operation Veritas

ECOROPA - part of the European green movement have just launched their own anti-nuclear campaign. Tam Dougan and Val Robinson interview Gerrard Morgan-Grenville, the UK representative to find out what it's all about.

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What is Ecroropa? When was it started? It was started two years ago. It is a group of like-minded people in Europe, who came together in order to try and achieve something in the field of ecological and environmental action with a series of practical projects. It came out with a manifesto - a green declaration - last autumn and campaigned for money in various European countries. This anti-nuclear campaign i s the first major campaign.

How does it differ from ANC, the anti-nucl2ar campaign in this country at the moment? The ANC in this country i s operating as an umbrella organisation. Most of the other anti-nuclear groups form part of ANC. The disadvantage of ANC, as I see it, is that it works through committee. The advantage of Ecoropa is that i t doesn't. This means that the organisers, who meet often, can immediately reach agreement on what action to take. Responsibility "ftplit between three of us. Personally I find it easier to work this way.

Do y o u see Ecoropa In any way supplanting the role; urn y o u an alternative; rather than a part o f A NC? No, absolutely not, Isee the various anti-nuke campaigns as being mutually supportive of each other. I'm working, Ihope fairly closely with Tony Webb; we have shared ideas, and looked at each other's drafts for the leaflet. There i s nothing competitive in the Ecoropa venture. One of the problems of the anti-nuke movement in Britain is that it i s fragmented. Ecoropa will strengthen the movement. Do y o u see yourself as leader o f this movement? De facto, I am the leader in that I am the representative for Britain, but I don't see myself as leader of the antinuke campaign in Britain, to me the campaign does not

"It is a loose association of individuals who share an interest in survival. " need a leader, it requires a diversity of organisations, some to collate factual info', some to lead demonstrations, attend inquiries etc. Idon't believe we need a managing director. However, I don't think that half our number are doing what they could be doing. The anti-nuke movement i s in danger of being swamped by the sheer weight of the Atomic Energy Authority public relations steam roller which i s

claiming a large number of victims. There is too much corn placency. * Your campaign seems to be definitely slanted to wards older,

well educated, well established figures, i.e. looking to those with most Influence for Its support. The slant of Ecoropa is definitely tilted towards the green ; movement, It seems to be a fact that the green movement consists of the middle classes, these are the people who read and hence form opinions. This i s a two-sided thing, these people are the target of the AEA and CEGB pro-nuclear

"I think it is possible to get pushed into a situation where non-violence is an impracticable solution. " publicity machine. It would appear that the collective opinion of the middle classes influences the civil service quite dramatically, also the media. For this reason we are concentrating our effort on the middle classes. What would y o u say your personal politics were? How do you see yourself in regard to the left-wing alternative movemerit? That's an interesting question, in that I don't think I agree with the assumption that's implicit in it. I don't subscribe to any part of the political spectrum as popularly represented in Britain, except on certain issues. I don't think that the green movement world-wide locates happily on the conventional left to right spectrum. By the green movement Irefer to the 6 million voters who voted for a green candidate in the European elections. The Ecology Party in Britain is the nearest thing to providing a manifesto with which I can agree, but as presently constituted 1 find its views somewhat hazy and not that well worked out. It's'refreshing to find that one i s moving into areas that are not threadbare in political terms, the alternative movement could be on the threshold of defining a political credo applicable to a very wide slice of our society. On a number of issues I find that my own views are extremely radical. I have much less sympathy foi establishment views than most people in the alternative movement \

/have a quote from y o u here which says: 'the people towards the top o f the pyramid are vastly more effective in terms o f what is done than those at the bottom o f the pyramid', what Iwould like to know Is whether y o u think that a hierarchical power structure should be demolished, or

whether you think that as it exists, we should keep the framework, and work within it? What I am saying is that the levers o f control are at the top and n o t the bottom. I am also saying that many o f the people i n control o f these levers are, i n my experience, not stupid at all. My experience at the Centre o f Alternative Technology was that we made absolutely no progress at all, until some sort o f hierarchy was established, but the hierarchy was o f a benign character. This exists there today, there is a director, he does have the power t o hire and fire, and does have the last word when decisions are made. Order does not come out o f chaos unaided by some system.

Anti-nuclear demonstrations of little merit What is the present structure o f Ecoropa? How are its members elected and under what system?

It is a loose association of individuals who share an interest in survival, most o f its members have been invited t o join, so

I suppose you could call it a self-electina club. The European initiative was m y contribution, and i s supported by every country with a nuclear programme and t o some extent by those without.

Yes, I think that any movement can use a martyr t o its advantage. You have t o try and fight by the best means a1 one's disposal. I don't believe that the anti-nuke campaigr in Britain is as well organised as it is on the continent, though

''My personal opinion of Fred Hoyle is that he is one of the king size fools in circulation. " in many respects it operates here i n a much easier environment. Prof Fred Hoyle has been quoted as saying that these environmentalists would cause a nuclear war'; would you comment on this?

King-size fools in circulation My personal opinion o f Fred Hoyle is that he is one o f the king-size fools i n circillation at this present time. He also said that environmentalists got their orders from Moscow. Do you think there has been a lot of falsification o f evidence about various accidents at nuclear enquiries? Yes I do, I think the extent t o which the AEA, the CEGB and the Electricity Council falsify information is quite staggering. It is an area that I think the alternative movement should be doing a great deal more t o expose. Are y ti campaigning for nuclear disarmament as well as against nuclear po wer? No, much as I would like t o be. I believe that t o attempt t o stop the civil nuclear programme and the military programme is totally unrealistic. T o an extent they depend on each other for their existence, so t o stop the civil nuclear programme would at least run down the other quite considerably. Do you have any personal fears o f there being,a third world war '7 Yes I think that within the lifetime of most o f us, it is virtually inevitable. O u f only chance t o avert this is as a nation t o stop being apathetic, t o realise the truth, and collectively influence our destiny.

Vhat form will your anti-nuclear demonstrations take? "he history o f the anti-nuke movement suggests to me that lemonstrations are a partial waste o f time. I am n o t suggesti e that the Harrisburg demo. into which a great deal o f f f o r t was put, was a waste of time. But I have attended lemos i n other parts o f the country, which have been ounter-productive. The establishment expects opposition t o ertain o f its policies, these small demonstrations are a fiasco, nd are covered by the media i n anything but complimentary erms. Vhat are your views on violence in these demonstrations, for xarnple, Seabrook in the States, a typical example of stablishment aggression towards peaceful voicing o f public pinion? 'm totally i n favour o f non-violent opposition, as a matter ~fprinciple, but I'm also equally i n favour o f not being yeak. I think it is possible t o get pushed into a situation vhere non-violence i s an impractical solution. 10 you think that when that violence results in death, it is vorthwhily in that i t helps the cause?

But surely that only applies when the truth is readily available? Yes, that i s right, however the alternative movement has managed t o amass a great deal o f truth, on certain issues and nuclear power is one o f them. It is our collective responsibility, having got this truth, t o do somethingabout it.

"Some of us are human!" I personally know quite a large number of people who are actively for campaigning against nuclear reactors, however what puts them off getting involved in local or national groups, is that they don't like the hierarchical structures in these groups, There have been accusations o f people using these groups for their own personal ego trips. Most o f us are human beings! and suffer from different problems including personality problems. There are people who need trips o f one kind or another, however, it seems t o me t o be a small matter compared with the major issue o f whether t o actually do something or not. The important thing

Undercurrents 40 t

is to support whatever movement you believe in. Do you have world-wide connections? Ecoropa is fundamentally European, however we do have connections with other countries such as Brazil. I recently went to America and interviewed people in the environmental movement. I am not a great believer in formal organisa- , tions, informal ones seem to work much better. What first ledyou into the antl-nuclew movemerit? One o f the major motivations behind starting the Centre of Alternative Technology was the need to find and make credible alternative sources of energy t o nuclear power. I see the pro-nuclear lobby as symbolisihg almost everything 1 dislike; that is, a state organisation which involvessecurity restrictions at all levels. I distrust an organisation which deals with both a civil and military programme, I'm opposed to wer-centralisation, technologies which cannot be understood. I'm opposed to highly capital intensive technologies and, in terms of my own personal survival, to technologies which are extremely hazardous.

Support from scientists How much support do you have from scientific bodies such as BSSRS (British Society for Social Responsibility in Science)? Idon't have any contact with BSSRS, although I know o f i t s existence, and have read its publications. Ihave a number of contacts with other scientific bodies. The relevance o f scientific bodies, if you aregoing to fight the scientific establishment, i s to find members of those bodies who are sympathetic to your views. Inconnection with the Ecoropa campaign, Ihave enlisted the support o f Sir Kelvin Spencer who is a former government chief scientist and Sir Martin Ryle who is the astronomer royal, two names which are instantly respected by the oppositiop. How do you propose getting this support when so many scientists are dependent on the establishment for their livelihood? This is a very major problem, and is o e of the areas of semiw r t blackmail which the governmenland its.agents.donlt , hesitate to apply t o leading scientists, and in this respect Britain is not dissimilar from the Soviet Union. The two

"Yes I believe this government is deliberately and wantonly encour aging people to use as much energy as possible. " people Ihave mentioned have decided that the truth is more important than their jobs, though one is o f course retired. We have found evidence that other leading scientists are willing to 'defect', but it's important to use the right peoplefat the right time. .

Do you see cuts In government spe ,ding - for example'the cutting back of housing insulation grants, and the resulting higher demand for energy - as an Important factor in your campaign? Yes Ibelieve this government is deliberately and wantonly encouraging people to use as much energy as possible to justify its nuclear programme. The costing o f nuclear power is done in a very strange and unorthodox way. Firstly, the major expense is the research and development of the

technology, and this has been borne comple$ely by the military budget. Secondly, the published costs of nuclear , power which show a slight advantage in the CEGB figures for last year are based on the Magnox reactors only, which have until recently been the best operating reactors in existence. Thirdly, the cost o f de-commissioning has been put i n as a notional figure, and the cost of disposing of nuclear waste haw not been brought in to the figures at all. As to the social cost of nuclear power. In a recent state ment by the Prime Minister, she asserted that no one has ever lost their lives as a result of a civil nuclear programme. This is completely untrue; last year there were several cases

"Any government which disregards the anti-nuclear element, is inviting retaliation on a level which could be exceedingly dangerous. " which were settled both in and out of court by British Nuclear Fuels in relation to people died as a result of the civil nuclear programme. Can you envisage a simiiar'situation here as the one in the States where Karen Silkwood was literally hounded to death for tryIny to expose fraudulent practises by a nuclear cornpaw? , I can certainly foreseee it. It i s an area where ,there is a great deal of speculation but those of us directly involved in the anti-nuclear campaign become aware that there are a lot of pressures to prevent one's actions. There are a number of thin going on in the context of my own activities which make me feel that a similar thing could happen in this country. Does that mean that you have in any way been threatened? No, not directly. It's very much more stubtle than that.

Can you give us an example? I can, but I won't. Getting back todernonstratlons, which you have said for the mostpart haw dubious value, what doyou think of the one that the Hackney Anti-Nuclear Group instituted on the North London line, where they took a mock-up of a bazooka, without being stopped, within two feet of a container of nuclear waste? The fact that it cobid so easily have been done by terrorists gave their campaign a lot of publicity. That wasn't apublic demonstration as I remember it. It was an extremely well organised, well thought through private, demonstration which resulted in a maximum of favourable publicity. The alternative movement has got a lot going for it in terms of a wealth o f ideas and imagination, with this ability we ought to be able to do a great deal more than we actually do. There must be a hundred places which are vulnerable to a demonstration similar conceptually to the bazooka demonstration. Do you think it is plausible that in the future we might have a small underground network of people who would carry out a cambaign of sabotage against nuclear reactors? I think that if the anti-nuclear movement is forced into a position of total frustration by a dictatorial government, and if it becomes manifestly obvious that the majority of the ' population is against nuclear power, whether or not we condone this sort of activity, it wiN happen. Any government which disregards the anti-nuclear element, to the extent that this government is attempting to, is inviting retaliation on a level which could be exceedingly dangerous.

THE CATALOGUE of corporate crimes against the developing countries continues to grow. Here Dave S m i t h describes some of the ways in which they are being ripped-off. claimed that "every pesticide banned or DUMPING - selling old, outdated, un; wanted, dangerous, banned or otherwise inferior products in the developing countries - is big business. Sales o f angerous goods are worth an estimated ^1,200 million t o united States companies alone; and British companies and their overseas subsidiaries, are doing their best to keep up. A t its most blatant,dumping involves the widespread marketing o f unsafe drugs and pesticides. For instance, Lomotil, and anti-diarrhoea medicine sold only by prescription in the US because even slight increases in the recommended dose can kill, has been sold over the counter in the Sudan in packages boasting that it was "used by astronauts during Gemini and Apollo space flights". Similarly, in the near and far East, subsidiaries o f Boots continue to make Aspirin, Phenacitin and Caffeine (APC) compound for sale over the counter. Over-the-counter sales o f drugs containing Phenacitin were banned in the U K in 1974 on safety trounds because of harmful side effects - these were not mentioned on the Boots package, nor o n the literature inside; One o f the dangerous pesticides dumped by US companies on a large scale is DDT, even though i t s sale and use in the US was outlawed in 1974. In many developing countries DDT is used indiscriminantly: rain, meat and milk in Guatemala for example) now contain dangerous concentrations of DOT.

Deaths from pesticides But sometimes the sales o f unsafe pesticides have far more disastrous consequences. For instance recently in Egypt an undisclosed number o f farmers and over a thousand water buffalo died after exposure to Leptophos, a chemical pesticide exported to 80 countries, but which has never been registered for use i n the US. Indeed, a recent article in Mother /ones magazine (published in the US) .

restricted by the (US) federal government has been exported", an easy procedure with practically no control over the worldwide distribution of dangerous pesticides. Yet the need for such control is evident: the World Health Organisation estimates that half a million people are poisoned by pesticides each year. But dumping isn't just confined to drugs and pesticieds. One "extremely well-known company in Europe, practically a household name everywhere, dumped a large quantity o f (dangerous electrical goods here (South East Asia . . ."A US company, manufacturers of children's pyjamas treated with Tris, an anti-fire chemical, decided to dump them on developing countries when the sale of the pyjamas was banned in the US itself because it was found that Tris could cause cancer.

med up by a diplomat from one of thi developing countries as follows: "The Government i s still in an earl! stage of development and i s devotini its energies and concern to more impor tant domestic problems. We do not havi the technical and administrative capabil ities to handle such a difficult, thougl important, task as consumer protec tion". .

Getting round the law

Even in those developing countrie that do have (heir own controls 01 dangerous products the multinational often' find ways round them. Brazil, f o example, has a law prohibiting thi import o f a drug not approved for use ii the untry or origin. However, to evadi this la , the company has only to shil its drug to a country like Guatemali which does have such legislation, an( then re-export it to Brazil; Once the drugs and pesticides react Dumping foxic wastes The Nedlog Technology Group of the developing countries it is eas) Colorado went a stage further than this enough to sell them. Information abou recently, offering Sierra Leone President dangerous goods only reaches thi Siaka Stevens an annual licence fee o f developing counties in a rather haphaz $25 million if he would allow toxic ard manner: whereas the pesticide an( waste from the US to be dumped in his drug manufacturers have armies of sales country. The scheme fell through, but men in the field. It is very difficult fo Nedlog still plan to ship one million tons Government agriculture ^officials b of toxic waste to the developing count- check the claims o f the pesticide sales men who bombard their-offices witt ries each year. Although t h i s sort o f behaviour by information about company products. The information on drugs that doe multi-national companies may be unethical and reprehensible, it i s not illegal. reach the developing countries is ofter There i s no formal regulation o f the very different from the advice given to quality or safety o f exports from Britain; doctors in the UK, for example. Two o no US law which stops a US company the commonest forms of distortion an from selling abroad a product which i s the omission o f information abou banned at home; nor for the most part possible side-effects, and increases in thi are there international controls. recommended doses. This makes it all too easy for multiFor instance, a comparison of drui national companies to take advantage information given in Africa and the Uh of their freedom in developing countries found that "Paediatric preparations o from many o f the controls they are tetracycline are marketed by Ledede expected to abide by in the West. The Squibb, Pfizer, Lepetit and Boots with reason for the absence o f anv specific out mention o f the possible risks or thi consumer protection laws in six out of recommendation made in Britain. tha ten developing contries have been sum-, , tetracycline should not be used i't . . . .?r?;..,

,... .

exported to the younger countries o Africa and AsiA and the Western Work has a responsibility to see that this i not done,". "We have, already produce millions of slaves to cigarettes in ou own land. To export this slavery to t h ~ developing . - countries would be ven wrong." However, ethics have not worried tht giant tobacco companies. The Britist owned British-American Tobacco corn pahy (BAT), the world's largest cigarett seller, has managed. to increase i t s sale dramatically, and much of the increasi has come from slaves to the developim countries. There, unlike in Europe ani North America sales efforts are no hampered by or restrictions-on advert ising health warnings. This may part11 explain why the countries*where con sumption is growing fastest are' thi world's poorest and hungriest, where i is easiest to spread the message tha cigarettes bring status and success.

Selling boi~$~s,status

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dlTH THANKS TO M A S 5 0

hildren up to 12 years of age." The prescribing, guides used in urope and other parts of the world ugely rely on information supplied 'by he drug companies themselves. There is 3me evidence to suggest that dosage svels are consistently higher in the rescribing guides supplied to the develping countries. The maximum weekly recommended me of Migril, for example, varies from Omg in the USA, and 12mg in the UK, o 24mg in Africa and Asia. Patients aking 24mg might be expected to uffer sometimes serious and unpleasant ide-effects, Ironically, one of the more ommon side-effects is a migraine-like eadache, which might be difficult to ecognise as drug-induced and might irompt some users to increase their losage still further.

an end as they come round to standardising information about their drugs world-wide. In the meantime dumping continues. Dumping dangerous drugs and pesticides on the developing world is bad enough. But it pales into insignificance besides the disastrous results of another Western export: cigarette smoking. Tobacco itself isn't new to the developing countries, it was-introduced to Europe by Portuguese and Spanish sailors who discovered the Indians using it. Nevertheless, tobacco smoking was relatively rare; the tobacco was generally stronger than the mild leaf used in todays cigarettes, so the smoke was not normally inhaled. The high nicotine levels meant that the drug was absorbed through the mouth.

indlesss distoration of information

However all that is being changed. Under the pressure of advertising by tobacco companies, smokers in the developing countries are switching to cigarettes and learning to inhale. As a result, the previously rather rare cancers of the mouth are beingreplaced by what promises to be a vast number of more serious lung cancers, 'Tomorrow's epidemic" as War on Want put it. Back in 1971 an editorial in -the British Medical journal a i d "There is a real danger of this deadly habit being

The prescribing guide for Africa AIMS Africa - from which the figures boye were taken, is "for many doctors he only source of up-to-date informtion on drugs, their indications and ide-effects." Endless distortion of inormation occurs because the drug ompanies compete for the attention nd favour of doctors - rather than trictly on the merit of their products. Drug companies have indicated that hese abuses may be about to come to

Tomorrow's epidemic

That "king-size cigarette oT inter national success" offers just what thi young man in the shanty towns an< slums of the cities is least likely t( achieve. But at least it i s available. Tin cigarette offers instant evidence o f thi nun who is doing a little better thai just getting by. Even in Kenya whm BAT is the only company sellin! cigarettes and therefore does not neei to advertise to compete with othe brands, cigarette advertising i s extensive BAT was the fourth largest advertise in Kenya in 1975. So the companies ar convinces that advertising persuade people to smoke. 'The advertisers job is made easie because most smokers in these countrie are unaware and badly informed about the risks of smoking. And very few o them realise that the cigarettes they ar being sold may contairralmost twice th tar content " o f the- same brands i i Western countries. Today it may be very difficult ti curb the spread of smoking in th developing countries. The government of these countries are becoming mor and more hooked on the tax revenue from smoking that the multi-nation; companies help to collect, and, lik some smokers, ignore or are hostile ti health warnings. Recently for instance World Health organisation warned tha smoking *as becoming a serious hazari in the Third World. Kenya's president Daniel Arap Me responded by banning the weed i public places, and so risked offendin BAT. However in Tanzania, econoftii constraints over-shadowed the Goverr ment's sense of social responsibility There state owned tobacco enterprig denounced the Moi plan and the WHi warning as ploys designed to sabotag

make it last. As a result infants Starve. And, as War on Want said, "a filthy Of course, tobacco is just one of medicine bottle with a teat on it, many profitable Western products for wrapped in a dirty cloth, with flies on which multi-national companies have the teat, is a common sign (in India) and created a demand, while basic needs obviously a source o f infection .. All the public criticism in 1974 only such as food, fresh water and health resulted in cosmetic changes; infants care go unsatisfied. formula i s still being marketed in a big 'Coca-~ilacolonialism' way to people in developing countries War on Want brought a disgusting whodo not need it, who cannot possibly example o f the effects of this "Coca- afford it, and who are in position to use Cola colonialism" to the attention of it safely. the Western public in 1974. They Multi-national companies thrive on revealed that bottle-feeding of dried, selling what's profitable, regardless of powdered milk or infant formula, was local needs. It may be useless vitamin being aggressively maketed to mothers pills for poor communities where clean in developing countries, particularly in piped water is what's needed, or it may West Africa, as a superior alternative to be Ovaltine or Bournvita hard sold with breast feeding, even though the reverse promises of nutrition or health, when local food would be cheaper and better. was known to be true. To encourage mothers to use infant The ability of the mulit-national formula, company nurses visited companies to influence consumer spendmothers during their confinements, or - ing in the developing countries should gave them free tins of infant formula not be underestimated: They have enorwhen they 'left the hospital or clinic. mous size and power: o f the hundred It still is not unknown for representa- largest economic units in the world,

the economies of nations dependent on tobacco.

Unit cot of different breakfut foods^ Raqa of cost for: . Staple* (Maize, flow, wheat flour, bread) IUgh income breikfa* foods (Port Toastien. Wmtabix, Weetaflakes, Special K, AU Bran, Puffed Wheat, Shredded Wheat,

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lives of bottle-milk companies to visit mothers of newiy-bron chil'aen at home to persuade them to stop breast-feeding,

Signing death certifiicates Yet it's now widely recognised that "for about two-thirds of the World's population bottle-feeding of infants is highly undesirable, and in many cases placing an infant on a bottle might be tantamount to signing the death certificafe o f the child". There are two main reasons for this: poverty and poor hygiene. Because babymilk is expensive, poor mothers - who' can't afford it but buy it because they have been persuaded that it is 'best for by' - overdilute the milk powder to

APPl^OAC* IN

THE

CURRENT AD.

professional blandishments of t'hhadvert. ising agencies." Tales like the ones reported b y doctors in Mexico, o f families selling the few eggs and chickens they raise to buy Coke for the father while thechildren waste away for lack o f . protein, are cbmmon throughout the poor parts of the world. Much of the advertising isaimed at the richer 'people in the developing countries in the knowledge that consumption patterns are passed down to the poor masses-asstandards worthy of emulation. %:me of the results of this !passing down,: can b e . disastrous (see iontract o f . Western breakfast. cereals and the traditionalalternativ.+in.Fig. 1); but i t s success isinidcated by a 1977 survey in Calcutta which found that there were more consumers o f Horlicks and, Bournvita (an expensive alternative to milk)* than there were . . adequately fed people.

Curbing'dumping

'NOTE Â¥W MORE ETttlCAL

46- 176 0.8 5 . 5 ~

*Most

ab&t,half are nation states, and half multi-national companies- 'Thus the sales of British Petroleum exceeds the gross national product o f Malaysia; Unilever is larger than Egypt; ICI larger than

The immorality of advertising' And these companies spend considerable sums on advertising. (Unilever's advertising budget in Kenya in 1975 was Â£350,000. It has been pointed out that "The immorality o f the advertising agencies lies not only in ,their subverhe copy and visual treatments but that they are here at all. The bulk of the population is quite unable to bring rational judgement to the skilled and

Despite the power of the . multinationals, . developing countries are doing their best to curb dumping. Members of A S E ~ N(Association of South-East Asian Nations) are reported t o beworking on apolicy to combat the dumping o f dangerous drugs. Such measures are urgently needed: the dumping problem is likely to increase as tighter environmental and health controls in the West tempt more and more companies to look to the develop ing countries as a disposal tip for thier sub-standard goods. References from Insult or Injury? An enquiry Into thÃ Mwketing and Adwrtiriw of British Food and Drug Products in the Third World by C i u r l ~ Medawrr, (published by Social Audit) n follows: 1 Correspondent quoted on p 77; 2 and 3 Gaedeke and Udo Aka (19741, p 63; 4 Yud In (1978), P 115; 5 P 117; 6 Yudkin (19781, p 115; 7 British Medical Journal: 9th October 1971 p 65, quoted in Tobacco and Un Thltd World: Tomorrow's epidemic by Mike Muller, War on Want. 8 P 116; 9 Latham in Grainer (19751, p 101; 10 Ghosh (19761, p 73; 11~60. k

THE DAYS of the canals as major freight carriers may not be over after all - if Co-operative Canal Carriers have their way. Chris Leah looks at the how, why, whereand when of the canal revival. ROADS HAVE become a part of the British way of life. Governments of all. varieties have starved the waterways of capital and given the railways the death of a thousand cuts while, at the same time, spending millions of pounds of our moneyrolling out a concrete carpet before the almighty motor vehicle. Before long, because of the well known liking that the Tories have for wonderful free enterprise road transport, there will probably be an increase in the maximum permitted gross vehicle weight to 40 tons. This will improve the economics of road haulage and more traffic will be taken from the railways and waterways. More lorries, more railway closures, more unemployed watermen, more noise, more roads, more crushed people, more profit, more power to the elbow of good competitive free enterprise road haulage. I t is obvious that this amount of reliance on the motor lorry for shifting goods around the country is not a good thing, there must be an alternative. The usual alternative put forward i s the railways. While a revival of rail freight would clearly be a gobd thing, especially it involves reopening Beechinged branch lines, trains only really operate efficiently on block trainload traffic. Single wagonload traffic requires an awful lot of shunting which takes up time, energy and land for marshalling yards. Trains . are also noisy and almost inevitably involve a large organisation in the form of a railway company. Rail freight needs encouraging but it is only one alternative.

for wealthy pleasure boaters. While it is a good thing for the canals to be available for people to enjoy themselves on, it i s a sad fact that freight carrying on the smaller waterways i s discouraged by the navigation authorities. The waterway$administered by the British Waterways Board were divided into three categories by the 1968 Transport Act; commercial waterways, cruiseways and remainder waterways. The commercial waterways are the larger scale (100-700 tonne capacity) routes which big business barge companies regard as being of a commercially viable size. According to the Act these have to be run as a profit-making transport system. The cruiseways are the small and beautiful canals and they have to be developed for 'leisure and amenity' use. It's a pity that those people with the most leisure time, the unemployed, are too poor to make full use of them. The cruiseways make up the bulk of Britain's canal system. Thz remainder waterways are the derelict canals and small scale canals in industrial areas that are regarded

In energy terms they come second only to pipelines for economy."

by our masters as having no potential for tourism or transport. These routes have to be dealt with in the most economical manner possible and consequently there i s always the danger, Roads vs. canals on these canals, of the authorities The other alternative is water transdeciding that i t would be cheaper to port. In energy terms this comes second put in a culvert rather than repairing only to pipelines for economy. It doesn't a bridge. Many remainder waterways shake the surrounding area and dependbring in a profit because of their role ing upon the power unit, can be virtually in distributing industrial cooling water. noiseless. Air pollution from boats i s Another effect of the 1968 Act insignificant and, although people occawas the ,removal of the public right of sionally drown in canals, they have a navigation, originally granted for rivers better safety record than the roads. One in the Magna Carta and extended to nice feature of water transport i s that the the canals as they were built. The actual water channel used for carrying removal of this right enables the waterthe goods supports life in the form of ways authorities to refuse a licence fishes, weeds, amphibians etc. You won't for a boat for any reason or no reason, find many live sticklebacks on the M I . and there's nothing you can do about At present the canal system i s being it. Wise boatpeople are consequently developed as a subsidised playground wary of being too outspoken in their

criticism of the British Waterways Trust. The 'cruiseways' are mostly of 2570 tonne capacity. They take goods a lorryload or two at a time rather than a trainload at a time and t h i s makes them an ideal alternative to t h e heavy lorry, especially on short haul work, where the lorry has little speed advantage. The boat has the advantages of low capital cost, low overheads, low maintenance costs and low energy input. Small scale water transport also brings increased employment of an enjoyable, open-air nature, though of course in our present economic system this is regarded as a disadvantage. There are various bodies looking after the interests (they think) of the waterways but unfortunately they have been steeped away from encouraging the transport aspect of waterways. The Inland Waterways Association is the main organisation. In the Fifties and Sixties they fought a very negative waterways management and stopped them from destroying the canal network. In those days they always stressed the benefits of waterborne trade. In the late Sixties the canals were discovered by the tourist industry and, feeling that they'd saved the network, the IWA took the view that carrying was only worth encouraging on t h e larger 'commercially viable' waterways. Many present day IWA members are opposed to carrying on the smaller canals as they are afraid that nasty dirty working boats will get in the way of their leisure activities. Presumably they own houses well away from the main roads. The cruiseways are mainly in a poor state of repair after decades of neglect. A recent survey showed a Â£60,000,00 backlog of maintenance on the 2,000 mile long system. The last government eventually decided to pay Â£5,000,00 per annum towards putting right this backlog but the Tories regard this as a waste of money and have cut the grant to Â£2,000,000

The sorry state of the canals The mainproblems in getting traffic back on to the waterways are the poor state of the system, reduced depth placing severe limitations on the amount a boat can carry, and winter stoppages. At one time maintenance work was carried out with the minimum disruption to traffic. Nowadays this work i s concentrated in the winter months so as not to inconvenience the pleasure boats. Consequently in the winter months most long distance routes are closed while the authorities take their time about doing jobs that were once

mpleted in a weekend or two. A pical example o f lack of concern o u t closing connecting routes is the ;k which links the Shropshire Union inal with the Manchester Ship Canal. ie lock gates were removed in :tober 1979 and are not going to be placed until May 1980. Meanwhile no boats can pass through. Because of such stoppages a reliable transport service can only be maintained all year round over short distances at present. Ironically, if the money t o put right the maintenance problem is ever made available the stoppage situation will get even worse while the work i s being done.

)-operative Canal Carriers That's the present situation. As an alternative transport technology the canals have a lot of potential. The initial problem i s to shift their accepted role away from that of a linear boating lake and back towards a useful transport function. This i s where Co-operative Canal Carriers comes in. The co-op has-two boats under repair and a third on loan at present. Boat number three would be carrying bricks into central London (as if there weren't enough there already) but unfortunately an embankment has collapsed on the Grand Union Canal, preventing the boat from going to London to start the work. A t present there are six people working on the project, trying to get boats together, loads to carry and-a boatyard to operate from. For the time being most of the jobs worked on are likely to be short distance runs but in time it may be possible to run nice long distance wholefood carrying boats, in between stoppages. Indeed, t h i s summer the co-op hope to have a boat running between London and Birmingham regularly,

with opportunities for people to work their passage. A new, steel, narrow boat hull of up to 30 tonnes capacity has been ordered for completion in October; and one o f the wooden boats should be in dock for repair later this summer. Freeboard, a housing co-op intended to provide shelter and a boatyard, amongst other things, for boat people, may soon be registered.

Potential technological develop ments Preknt day small scale waterway technology is definitely not high. Most boats are-powered by large, slow-revving low horsepower diesel engines, sometimes even hot bulb semi-diesel engines. Unfortunately such power units tend to be faMy inefficient compared with modern turbocharged~lorryengines. The inherent economy of canal transport is thus partly thrown away by the use of such archaic power units. Modern diesels would be an improvement, small van engines suitably modified can be very good and economical. The co-op4 first working motor boats will probably be fitted with such an engine but it would probably be worthwhile to research into highly efficient power units for canal craft. The Stirling engine could well be a possibility, as it's almost totally silent andextremely efficient so I'm told. Unfortunately the patent for the best design is owned by a large company which doesn't want anybody t o do anything with it. Bank haulage is probably the best way o f moving canal boats as you get the double advantage of carrying the load on the water and getting a direct pull on the ground, without having to bother with horrible inefficient propellers that waste energy and get

things wrapped round them at the most embarrassing times. The traditional form of bank haulage i s horses or mules. This would be still quite feasible, in fact one Black Country rubbish boat operator still uses a horse, but getting a licence for a new horseboat operation is almost impossible. According to the wise men of the British Waterways Board horses damage the towpath. In fact it's mainly the pleasure cruisers that damage the towpath with their wash, horses just shit on it and keep

"Present day small scale waterway technology is definitely not high. " the vegetation under control. In France some canals used to have towpath railways with small electric' locomotives to pull the boats. These railways unfortunately didn't go everywhere and the increasing use of motor barges fnade them redundant. Perhaps the small-scale canals of Albion will have little monorails on each bank to haul the boats. Just imagine, canalside windmills generating the electricity to haul the boats; collective boatyards building boats from timber grown on derelict motorway tracks.. .etc. etc.

It's no good just dreaming about it Unfortunately nothing will be achieved by dreaming about it. Building a human-scale transport system based on the waterways invoices a lot o f work - whether it's a case o f lying on your back in a damp dry dock caulking a boat's bottom, winching a boat through a rubbish filled bridgehole half an inch at a time, or being up to your shoulders in February cutwater trying to cut a spring mattress off the bladeworking canal boats i s certainly not all roses. There are nice bits though. Anyway, if you want to be a boat person or want to come on a WWOOIB (Workffig Weekend on Organic and Inorganic Boats), or want to build us a Stirlingfengine or buy us a fleet of boats or whatever, get in touch with us. To do that you write to Co-operative canal carriers/Freeboard, 15 Greenheys Road, Liverpool 8. Chris Leal

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,one of he actions and outputs, a reduction in skill issuesis jobs. Advocates of nuclear ~ o w e r requirements for many workers and adopt a perspective that i s useful it them: strict hierarchies in which information transfer and decision-making take place. they focus on the jobs created by invest-' Specialisation reduces the worker's ment in energy production and on the energy needed to support jobs i n industry. capacity to understand the entire Opponents of nuclear power, by adopting operation and reduces the workers' a wider perspective, can provide what i s in collective capacity to take over production. Prescribed actions reduce the principle a much stronger argument: that worker's freedom to innovate and ability investment in energy conservation to question the mode of operations. measures and renewable energy techDeskilling makes workers more internologies such as solar water and space changeable and hence more replaceable heating generates more jobs at less cost than equivalent investment in centralised and also reduces wage levels. Formal hierarchies reflect the asymmetries of energy supply technologies.(l ) control over production and also serve to Of course, the forces backing centralised energy supply have much the greater d'vide workers and provide means for i dividual rather than collective advancecontrol over actual investment decisions. ment. At the moment this more than makes up The assembly line i s the epitome of for the inadequacy of their argument. technology designed to control workers. However, it i s possible to take a wider perspective still and ask, do we really want However, the structuring of work for the purposes of control i s much more widemore jobs? Shouldn't it be a goal to spread than factory work. For example, eliminate unnecessary and undesired albour? Why shouldn't there be efficient- specialisation plays avital role in reducing use of energy and efficient use of labour? the potential for collective action by scientists and engineers. These issues are seldom raised by The work organisation associated with environmentalists(2) or others, perhaps nuclear power illustrates several of these because o f the danger of seeming to be opposed to the interests of workers. Jobs points. The tasks of the different workers are highly structured by the nature of and job security are so centrally. important . the technology itself: there are nuclear to many people that discussions treating engineers who design power plants, fundamental assumptions often meet trained operators, various maintenance resistance. workers and others such as security,guards In analysing strategies for moving towards a society based on the principles and part timers who work at routine tasks for a few days or hours until they absorb of equality, justice and local democracy the maximum allowable radiation count. and self-management, there are several fundamental issues: control by employers The great dangers to workers and the environment inherent in the nuclear power over workers on the job through work organisation and technology, wider social industry contribute to the difficulty in developing any sort of job rotation or control mechanisms serving to inhibit enrichment, and severely reduce the challenges to established structures of potential for workers' control. political and economic power, and the Nuclear technology in this respect may general orientation of the production be contrasted with community-vased system to bolster these structures at the small-scale renewabletnergy technologies expense of serving human needs. These issues have been raised many times before using sun, wind, water and organic fuels. Because these technologies can be made by various critics and social movements. relatively safe, low cost and small scale, My aim here is to summarise some of the there is at least theoretically a much great main "Hunts and then to fucus on their implications for various strategies and greater potential for worker control of demands centred around jobs and production systems. On the other hand, employment. -. solar technology i s also amenable to mass production techniques and centralised Work organisation and the worker. energy supply systems, and hence does not There is a considerable literature neckssarily lead to changes in the work concerning the way in which work organ- situation. So while solar technology lends isation and technology i s designed to itself more easily to self-management ensure firm control by employers or than nuclear technology, the actual relation managers over the worker.(3) Typically of technology and the organisation of this involves high specialisation and fragwork ilepenc political and economic men struggles. (4) n of work, prescribed sets of

Social control off the job There are a number o f social mechanii mechanisms by which the life situation of the worker (and the 'nonworker') i s structured so as to inhibit collective action for social change. (a) Consumerism. Acquisition of material goods as a fundamental goal of life is a widespread phenomenon in modern capitalist societies. It seem reasonable to argue that materialist attitudes and strivings serve to displace and substitute for fundamentally satisfying goals such as self-managemen~(5) (b) Escapes. The avenues for escape from the paramount reality of work and life are-becoming more and more available and acceptable. The most noteworthy escapes are TV(6), drugs, sex and gambling. Each of these has obvious ties with consunerism. (c) Infrastructure. The infrastructure of present reality ranges from transport systems to professional control over services. The infrastructure of physical facilities, established knowledge, skills and routines i s oppressive because it makes it much more difficult, operationally and conceptually, to move towards alternatives. Nuclear power i s again an example of a technology which lends itself to reduction in freedom o f f the job. Its product, electricity produced at a central source remote from the user, i s an ideal base for the promotion of plug-in appliances and hence for consumerism that perpetuates the separation of producer and consumer. And the infrastructure of the electricity grid, electricity based heating, transport and other vital services, and the enormous investment in the nuclear fuel cycle, represent an obstacle to moving towards alternatives. Small-scale energy technologies on the contrary =offer an alternative to consumerism by providing the potential for more widespread involvement in determining patterns of energy supply and use -although again the link between technology and social structure i s one o f tendency and potential = rather than cause and effect.

Orientation of the production system Much of the production system and the associated infrastructure is not geared to serve human needs, but instead serves the whims of elites, satisfies manufactured demand, fosters harmful addictions such as smoking and promotes inappropriate ethnologies such as Concorde. Translated nto the realm of employment, this means

1 Somqptydard goals of the labour movement and their strengths and limitations God

Primary fetorsJaudience , Centralised economic planning using Marxist parties; working class existing productionapparatus

Strengths Promises better all resources; exposes of present econom

larger fraction of the social

Promises reduced exploitation; highlights economic inequalities

ptofit to workers

ably depends on expert p h r s who sue open to cooption as partof a ruling bureaucracy; the experience , of communist economies No focus on the social control of production or on whatproducts an' produced; financial gains are susceptible to being rolled back by operations of wporations and governments Ignores the critique of professionalism(8) and ignores alternative solutions based on structural change to stop the socialproduction of ill , health, ignorance and other problems such as crime and mental illness.

National expenditure shifted

ucation

from c6rporations, military and

Highlights operation of economy to serve special interests and not human needs

wealthy to public sectors of

health, education and welfare

hat most present jobs are partly or iomp!etely useless or positively harmful rom the point of view of a rational, lawful, self-managed society. In such a & i t y the need for labour in the present would be greatly reduced. ' Less military production means (fejiwr military frosts. ,,-- l.ess planned obSolescence means p s production and less work.. - Transport organisd around bicycles, banned communities and public transport , M s a greatly reduced automotive, oil and construction industries. - Npn-hierarchical social relations mean $himation of many bureaucrac&s. An ecologically based social ethic fewer jobs in garbage collection and &tificial fertiliser production. :An end to consumerism as a way = of if$.means a drastic cut in advertising work. An end to chemicalisationof the mvjronment and bromotiono f a better and more exercise means a greatly educed need for doctor*and phanna:Ntical companies. Most of those who sympathise with this m c t i v e realise that to look a t these ssuek in terms of present style jobs is Tiisleading. There would certainly be ilentv1t&do in a radically reformed $$&, rangingfrom organic g dening to %@wring bicycles to 'being with people' b(tef01aq altered vision of what is now iducation, social work, etc). Indeed, &humasher has argued that it would be Setter to have to spendwore time providipg-many of the necessities of liâ‚¬e.(

This is all#ery well, but the present Mity i s that most people must work in a xfrrent style job, with limited freedom md flexibility. It air sounds pretty

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Limitation* Union and privileged worker opposition to lek pay for leu wor1 lack of benefits %lower paid workers Opposition by virtually all influential (ie. well paid) people; conflict 9 t h established value systems Ease with which the unemployed ale demoralised or coopted @.g. b: employment of leaders)

Strengthens dmovement*; builds experience in self h e , ; makes unemployment a threat to the establishment rather than to workers Dominance of the individual rewa Strengthens social movements in Those with jobs contributing part Unemployed and supporters system (few people would conude a permanent manner; challenges of their wages to support social ' aciificing p u t of their money) the dominance of the individual activist* (otherwjse unemployed) reward system Potential for the restriction of the Wide appealof opposition on Campaigns fdr/against technologies Workers, community environmental and other grounds, issue to mUdtoclassconcerns met which tend themselves to control as environmentalamenity(l1); heiohtened awareness of the by/over workers (e.g. nuclear cooption by establishment(4). political nature of technology; &er) challenge to the cult of expertise No built in concern for alternative Dcmystification of the content Comnrmity participation in workers andcommunity work dr production patterns , of jobs; basis for greater workerc.productiondecision-making (e.g ... community solidarity for future worker-community exchanges 01 worker and social ioue struggles information, ideas and skills) Attention not focussed on what Challenges fundamental basil of orken; control over Workers premnt production; demonstrates bproduced eduction the supcriluity ef management; builds worker s o l i t y , cooperation and abilities Attention not always focussed On auk orientation of present Point* Workers, community Socially useful moduction. endim preduction t o m special interests; who controls production planned obsokicenw, i.tc.(e.g. wide acceptability of demand; Lucu Aerotpace workers' challenge to the decision-making campaign) power of employers Community-based production. Community,~emoloved **z , Builds and strengthens people's Isolation from wider struggles; no direct tackling of existing V.'--cai w?y.^& capacity .c for self-management; building of alternative economic ' a fe*:^y-ff' demonstrates lack of a need for institutions inĂ&#x192;Â§titutions 12) centralised hierarchies

Organised action by the unemploy- Unemployed and supporters

cd in social nlovements (e.g.

Stiengfts Reduces stiona ties of worker to job; is the m G obvious dilution to unemployment that i< opposed by employers Fundamental questioning of the diitribution of the socialproduct

Workers (eipecully the well paid)

Shorter work week, job sharing; option to work less for less . pay*

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and culturally approved escapes, the overwhelming influence of infrastructure, and the job and life style = commitments to useless or harmful occupations. But of course these forces are far from being totally dominant. The challenge is to develop strategies and demands which link current realities to the alternative vision. Table 1 lists some of the standard goals of the labour movement, such as highehwages. It i s apparent that none of them fully face the issues of control over production, wider social control mechanisms, or the content of production. One interpretation is that the original radical goals of the labour movement were mostly diverted or coopted as the labour movement, capitalism and communism evolved in a dialectic with each other. Table 2 lists some strategies and demands that at least in part respond to these deeper problems-There arteast three constituencies for action: workers, . the officially unemployedand the mmuniQ" (people in their nOn-work lies). In the past most efforts have focussed On goals and strategieskentred around workers. The items listed in Table 2 suggest some of the ways that these worker strategies may usefully be

This link between jobs (at least as presently constituted) and social worth needs @be challenged. Those working toward self-managed socially useful Jobbery production need to propose alternative mechanisms for distributing the social The strategies and demands in Table 2 are certainly not mutually exclusive: all of productand developstrategies for transferring legitimacy to these mechanisms. them thought to be valuable should be Back in the jbbs and enem debate, the pursutd. Furthermore, the list is no doubt question to be,faced by environmentalists far from comprehensive; hopefully it suggests s q e directions for consideration. is the choice between issues. Which should be emphasised: the p b creating potential One thing missing from Table 2 is a strateev or demand which would nrovide of conservation and renewable energy technologies, or the link between nucleat challenging alternative to the means for allocating the ~ i aproduct l At power and centralised economic and present it is commonly believed that one is political power, or the increased potential only qualified to share fully in the products for community decision-making with decentralised local energy technolgies, of the economic system ifone has a job. -0,is view of course ignores the distinction or other ipues?The answer perhaps is mat between wealth and income and between all of these need to be emphasised; There *we who buy s& labour. also is a need to emphasis jobs because jobs usually assumes that incomes pretty much are an important reality. But t h a f c a l ~ a need to emphasise issues o f worker and reflect the social usefulness of different community control and of alternative jobs, thereby certifying the superiority of divorce lawyers and arms manufacturers means and content of production, because otherwise current job structures will be to dishwashers and fruit pickers. Finally, used to justify continuation of the the view does not question the means by current political and economic system. which jobs are created and structured by Brian Martin. employers and by the economic and political system. supplemented (not replaced) by campaigns involving the unemployed and the I general community.

Letters MEGAWHAT? I would like t o point out some typographical errors which crept into our article, it I think I probably cothored. Scandinavian Sunne, UC39. 1. Most Swedish houses n't have a heat loss of a arter of a megawatt, even at -20 C. Note t o people living in North Wales, a timber framed house might have a heat loss of 240 kw if you set fire t o it, but you would get less with stone houses. A typical older detached house in Sweden would lose about 20 kw at -20 C. 2. The overall efficiency of the marine diesel CHP plants at Skultuna is not 33% (with CHP efficiencies like this who needs nuclear power?). The figure should be 83%. 3. Who is Bill Lowe? Bob Lowe

WHO HAS GOT THE POWER? We are deeply dissatisfied with the basic ineptitude of the present political system in dealing effectively in the public interest, or mankinds interest for that matter. Nothing new. This feeling is however worsened by the fact that many people have no representation in this present system any way and thus are at a distinct disadvantage for trying to work within it. Basically the only representation (or non-representation) you have is your MP. But whose views does he proffer in the great walls of power and justice? Yours, hislhers or theirs? Having decided to exploit this avenue by determined lobbying of our MP (curious to see what happens) we came up against varying points of which we are unsure. Must your MP divulge how he vot'es on any given issue? Must they hold open

nuclear power station at Portskewett has been withdrawn. As an objector to the station proposal (I live within two miles of the site) I received a letter from the Welsh Office in January which stated the CEGB have formally asked no further action be taken on their planning application and related appeal while they consider whether or not to proceed with their proposal . . . In the circumstances the application and appeal are being held in abeyance until further notice. This does not constitute a withdrawal and the feeling in Portskewett is that even if the CEGB's promised statement in the spring does mean that the present application no longer stands; while the CEGB own the site, the issue is still very much alive. In my opinion the Welsh Office's letter made the situation quite clear but some local people did conclude the fight is over. We are at some pains to convince all interested people that relaxation over this issue is not yet in order. ALIVE AND KICKING J J Wood Portskewett Action Group I recall something in UC Seaview about the closure of CAITS, occasioned by cuts in expend- Caldicot Pill iture at the North East Caldicot, Newport Gwent London Polvtechnic. Whilst it's true that the Poly did intend t o cut CAITS, amongst other departments and courses,.no actual decisions have be,entaken yet and it's unclear when they11 be taken and what the final outcome will be. So CAITS is still very much alive and kickingwell let you know if we have to close at NELP. If that happens we'll transfer t o another Poly or elsewhere in London. Incidentally, if any UC readers come across something called Bradford CAITS please be aware that we're in dispute with them. They started 'their' CAITS without any of the safeguards about shop steward control over the unit-the main feature of CAITS is the,fact that shop stewards jointly control the ECOROPA Centre. Mike George, CAITS. I saw, on page 38 of UC39, an invitation to readers to PORTSKEWETT send in their views on ANC and Ecoropa. We have been at I wish t o draw your attention the receiving end of many to what I believe is a factual copies of the Ecoropa handerror in issue 39 on page 6 . out, each mailed separately, You state that the planning and I would like to make the application for an AGR following- -points. These are. I surgeries? Can you require them t o attend debates? What can you do if you are not satisfied? If anything! Irrespective of how disgusted and anew manv of us mav be withthe present ruling mentality the organized and determined lobbying of our MP's must serve some purpose even if to expose to us all the futility of such action. At least we've tried. The issues are many, some small and some of major importance. But one question affects them all. In whose hands does the power lie? We hope to draw up a clear and accurate description of this situation, from what we are presently doing, and shall write in conclusion. Communication from anyone will be welcomed. John Ferguson Barharrow Farm Cottage Castle Douglas Dumfries and Galloway Eds note: Beneath the City Streets b y Peter Laurie is published b y Housemans and is generally available.

must stress, my views alone, and are not necessarily sharec by any members of FSC. 1. Two national antinuclear movements are sufficient. We don't need three, it's splitting the opposition. 2. An international movement is an excellent idea but should be done via existing national movements by two or three full-time workers, one in London and two or more elsewhere in Europe. 3. Despite what Ecoropa claims, other anti-nuclear campaigns are based on fact as much as an emotion. Dr Mike Flood of FOE is one example of an informed member of an established group. 4. The Â£3.5request is going about things the wrong way. A group apparently conceived on the level of this one should surely be seeking sponsorship from business concerns. Their tone appears to be one seen as similar to the pro-nuclear business, which doesn't buy petty begging. 5. Anyhow, they overspend. They haven't coordinated mailing lists and hence we've received their handout many times when one would have been adequate. A group which begins by wasting so much money is scarcely one t o interest the individual (who sees his Â£3.5 vanish into stamps) or one which would prove a good investment for bigger backers, who would expect to see their money spent wisely. 6. Theanti-nuclear movement is, at the moment, local, down-to-earth, approachable and human. Ecoropa seemed to me. from theirhandout. to hope t o move away from t'his, yet it is one of the antinuclear movement's advantages that it is human and at grassroots level. 7. We fear (I art not alone in this) that an international group might topy business too much in one way, arid hold unnecessary meetings and conferences in big hotels in cities, when a phonecall could have sufficed. As you can tell, I doubt the value of Ecoropa, and advocate the co-ordination of present movements. Finally, may I reiterate that, except where I have stated to the contrary. the views here are mine and nobody else's. Helen Jones Future Studies Centre 15 Kelso Road Leeds LS2 9PR

HYDRO IS OK

paigning towards the goal of stopping the nuclear power I don't mind at all what DT programme and are not thinkof LH said about my article, ing of their own importance, AMA, see UC 38. However, I one thing seems essential to' take strong exception t o the reach those who been constatement printed next t o my vinced by pro-nuke propaarticle, on page 10 of UC37. . ganda or who are simply One appropriate technologist unaware of and uninterested who would not agree with . i n the whole issue. Mackillip. . . . If you care t o The pro-nuclear campaign read, or even better print, my is well organized and finan48 page article on the New cially backed and it will be Wisdoms you will note that in difficult t o counterit without many places I identify hydro some organization and finanpower as a major energy cia1 backing. A 30 second ' policy priority for LDCs. I . commercial on television make no comments, whatsowould probably reach and convince more people than ever, against hydro. It is an entirely proven economic, . 1000 articles in Undercurrents energy technology, in cornor the Guardian or the Ecoloplete contrast t o solar cells gist. If anyone is going t o andyomass gas for example,, write an anti-nuke letter, it is I look forward t o a retrac- 'probably better to send it to tion of that statement in one the popular press than t o an of your next issues, and an . esoteric publication. acknowledgement that . The voice of astar, whethfcr nowhere have Isaid that i t be Arthur Scargill or arock hydropower is unsuited to :. singer, will draw attention to LDCs., . .. . ... . t h e campaign and convince a . .~. lot of people who would Andrew-Mackillop otherwise ignore it. Surely a Dept. of Minerals and Energy central organization is needed PO Box 2352. . ., . ':: if only t o keep smaller . .. : groups informed of each Konedobu other's activities. OrganizaEds Note; Sorry, apologies , . tion doesn't have t o mean are offered. . ~. . repression and control, just coordination and communication. If anti-nuclear camSTAR WANTED. paigners are going to resent . . . all of this, they qight as well If the government can con-kive UD. tinually ignore public warnCandace Kelly ings of the dangers of nuclear Suffolk ANC Dower from eminent scientists .-... Alexandra Cottage including Sir Brian Flowers and others in the Royal Com- Wilney Green Fersfield, Diss mission on Environmental . . Norfolk Pollution. they certainly won't be swayed by any 1 amount of reasoned argument - TEACHERS or demonstrations from a , . . minority group. .. While we have no wish t o get The only possible ways of involved in the politicking changing government policy expressed in Linda Mallet's on nuclear power are by . leader t o the International economic influence (which Communes Netwrok printed may come by chance but cer- in your journal, or any wish tainly can't be applied by to denigratethe growing anti-nuclear campaigners) or usefulness of Network's by massive pressure of public. activity, 1 feel it only . ,~ common justice that you put opinionr. The trouble with cam. the record straight. paignssuch asthe anti-nuclear As Linda Mallet knows one is they tend to preach t o perfectly well, The Teachers the converted and this is have been preparing a World tendency which must be over- Commune Directory for the come if the campaign is t o past year or two. his succeed. One wonders Directory, together with the whether some campaigners 3rd edition of our very are more interested in showsuccessful British Communes Directory, is due for publiing themselves t o be in the right than in the success of cation in the next month or the campaign, whether they so. Linda Mallet is also prefer in fact t o remain a mis- further aware that the understood minority. But for Teachers Community also those who are actually camexpends approx. ,Â£7,50 per ,

~~~~

calling themselves a conaciou commune. Most but by no means all o f the communes/ communities we know and work with are living by choice with a.low level o f p s h flow. Many o f them, especially the rural ones, earn much o f tW income in terms o f produce rather than money. I cannot speak for associates o f the Teachersani the Alternative Communes Movement, as I personally know o f none at all. This leads me t o suspect the overtop between the Alternative Communes Movement and the loose network t o which 1 refer is minimal, or at any rate not very visible. I see n o problem-the work the The only record Kevin seems Teachers are doing does not seem t o be hindering or to be setting straight is to deny that the Teachers are a duplicating the work the low income commune and to Inteiqational Communes mention their directory Network is doing, and I would think the converse is (incidentally, I had put that also true. Iapplaud the wide) latter information for inclusion in the last UCchoice o f contacts and without any dent to the ideologies offered to potentia Teachers'Â£7,50 advertising seekers after information on budget-but it wasn't communal living. I have never visited the apparently printed). What Teachers, only read their may be confusing t o the literature and heard accounts general reader is the possibly from those who have had fln divergent pictures o f the hand experience. From this British commune scene, which record I would like t o - I have formed a personal opinion that n o way would I attempt to clarify as I see it. want to live and work the I hope not t o have given the impression to make way the Teachers do. From correspondence with claims for all the communes. Lourieston Hall going back in Great Britain. The seveml years, Kevin gives the communes land Laurieston strong impression he feels tht Hall "associate with "are an informal network o f at least same way about us. 'Again, I 40 l e a n immediately think see no problem. There would be less choice if we were all o f , plus a further peripheral number, all o f whom have a the same and I see no need tc greater or lesser degree o f centralise all information and contact and co-opemtion. communications about This ranges from occasional communes. Linda Malle exchange o f visits and Laurieston Hall information t o mutual help with buildinz and other b skilled workwhen necessaiy. There is no formal "joining" o f this network-it exists because the groups within it have life-styles and ideologies broadly based on similar principles, which I attempted t o cover in my introduction to the International Communes Network section o f UC 39. l a m well aware that there are hundreds o f other places which could be called communes and are ~uttk,D.I.Y. not visible in this networkWhole 1 o o d . H o l t we at Laurieston Hall have about 1,500 visitors a year (mostly stayingabout a week) and many o f these people live in some form o f collective household without ever

annum (and growing) and much energy on publicising the furtherance of the communal ideal both here and abroad. Linda's statement that most British communes are living on very low incomes and are struggling t o exist, is a distortion of the true facts. This may be so of the few communes with which Linda is associated, but is far from true of ourselves and many others, as a quick perusal of our Directory and the next edition would make clear t o any of your readers. ' Kevin of the Teachers 18 Garth Road, Bangor, N Wales

-1

The Leech report -

16-mm versions o f Marx Brothers' movies from his sick-bed. He lives t o tell the tale: Anatomy o f an Illness Doctors have a lot of power t o deter- i s an essay on the human body's innate The NHS: Your Money o r Your Life, mine how NHS money is spent: indivipowers o f regeneration and recovery, Lesley Garner. Penguin, Â£1.25 dually, through the prescription pad, and written i n a relaxed and literate style. The Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived collectively, through the professional b y the patient: Reflections o n ReaenerNorman Cousins was lucky t o have consensus which assigns respectability &on and Healing, Norman cousins. a doctor who was willing t o listen t o and kudos (and ultimately financial W.W. Norton, Â£5.75 him, and t o support him i n his chosen rewards). The snag is that medical Health Rights Handbook: A Guide t o course o f therapy; but then the doctor schools turn out doctors well-grounded Medical Care, Gerry & Carol Stimson. had been his close friend for more than i n elitism and a concept o f medicine Penguin, Â£1.25 twenty years. Those less well connected that makes little concession t o the real should get hold o f Health Rights HandThe National Health Service is world: in Nigeria, they need an easy meat for critics: it's preoccupied book, a user's guide t o the NHS ultrasonic scanner t o tell how advanced t o the point o f obsession with technowhich provides information on how a pregnancy is; in Neasden, they logical and curative medicine; there's you can get the most out o f the system complain if the patient turns to them a corresponding neglect o f unglamorous on your terms rather than theirs. Clearly for reassurance as well as scientific areas, notably care o f the old - known laid out, and easy t o understand, it's a expertise. They overvalue drugs and as 'crumblies' within the service - and must for anyone who contemplates mental patients; Dr Tudor Hart's 'inverse surgery, and undervalue prevention an+ putting themselves in the clutches also plain non-intervention. care law (those most i n need o f help o f the NHS; if your interest is more a With doctors like these, it's as well don't get it) means that poor working matter of healthy curiosity, then read t o take the responsibility for your health Lesley Garner. class areas get the worst service; the Alan Clarke firmly i n your own hands. Norman 'democratisation' o f the NHS bureaui n 1964, that Collins did just that: told, cracy has produced a system that is all he was suffering from a degenerative balance with n o movement; failure to condition with a chance of recovery confront the issue o f the best allocation no better than 1 i n 500, he had himse.. o f resources has led t o helplessness in removed from hospital t o a hotel room the face o f competing demands for The Manager and the Environment, J i ('I had a fast-growing conviction that limited money and, in practice, to Beale. Pergamon, Â£7.50 a hospital is no place for a person who covert rationing through queuing. Lesley i s seriously ill'). and there dosed himself Garner canters through these and other I t i s probably obvious to Undercurrents arguments with skill and pace, and points with vast quantities o f vitamin C, but readers that the best way o f managing out that there can be no radical improve- no pain-killers or other drugs, and the environment i s for people t o live encouraged his positive emotions ments without a change i n the present i n decentralised, self-sufficient small specifically, laughter - by watching system o f medical schools. villages with organic farming, methanf digesters and other forms o f A T for energy production, bicycles for transport and a form o f decision-making that includes everybody who lives i n the area. Capitalism, incompatible with ecological living because it i s solely concerned with profits, will no longer be in existence. However, Jack Beale sees things differently. For him, environmental management is something which introduces 'new dimensions into traditional socio-economic development.' The book i s aimed at planners and administrators who, Beale says, probably have little knowledge o f environmental matters. The underlying message o f the boo seems t o be that planners should pay lip service t o environmental matters, but without letting them interrupt the running o f industry and capitalist society. Lowana Vt

Undercurrents40

The Nuclear File. Friends of the Earth (Birmingham), 54-57 Allison St, Birmingham. Â£1.00 Nuclear Power: The Big Risk. FOE Ltd, Â£0.95 Commonsense in Nuclear Enerav. Fred Hoyle and Geoffrey Hoyle. Heinemann Educational. Â£1.95

There currently appears to be a glut of information about nuclear cower available,to the public. A year agothere were a large number of detailed books, on the subject but little information . in pamphlet or leaflet form. Now it seems that practically every antinuclear or Friends of the Earth group around the country has contributed , some form. of printed information to the nuclear power debate. The latest contributions are The Nuclear File and Nuclear Power: The Big Risk. Both of these were published a few days before the antinuclear demonstration on March 29. Of the two, 'The Nuclear File' is probably better value. It i s an information pack with very good factsheets on nuclear waste, Pressurised Water Reactors, alternative energy sources and energy efficiencylinefficiency, plus an account of the Three Mile Island accident and lots more. It's informative but written , in simple language, and would be very suitable for teachers and groups who give a lot of talks on nuclear power. On the other hand, Nuclear Power, The Big Risk is a well-produced, 36-

id Tomorrow's nuclear scientists

(oops! information) packs and books about nuclear power. Commonsense in Nuclear Energy is their latest book, published by Hdnemann Educational, Now, Heinemann Educational normally publish school/college textbooks, which are infordative and quote facts. It seems that the UKAEA hopes that the public will treat this book as a textbook giving true facts about nuclear power rather than the thinly disguised piece of propaganda that it is. Lowana Veal

consumption by people without any previous knowredge of nuclear power. The trouble is, although the content of the book is good (basic general information about the dangers of nuclear power), so much seems to have been spent on production that it has priced itself out o f the market. Why pay 95p foe 36 pages when you can get much more information for a mere 5p extra from Walt Paterson's excellent book Nuclear Power? The pro-nuclear lobby have also been busy producing propaganda ,

ing figure which eherges is the 10,000,000 buffalo killed in a mere . 13 years i n America between 1870 a n d 1883. The chapter on the buffalo also highlights other issues raised in the . book. There i s a very obvious contrast I between the morality of the American Of Man's Horn0 TYrannlcus: A lndiin and that of the white American: War against Animals'by Peter Verney. on the one hand the veneration and Mills and Boon, Â£6.95 awe with which the Indian regarded. the buffalo (on which he depended This well written and illustrated book for his survival) and, on the other, the gives a balanced factual background wanton slaughter indulged in when on how man has used and abused shooting buffaloes from trains became animals. a popular sport in the mid-nineteenth' Chapters on whales, fur-bearing ' century. Also implied i s the broader animals/buffalo, birds, elephants and big game show how with man's increas- -probl m of man's ecological competiing sophistication -often accompantion ith the buffalo and other species -and with his fellow men and ied by increasing greed - these species were threatened, and others extermina- women - and the moral question t h i s poses. ted. By contrast, primitive men 'lived, The impact of the text i s reinforcto hunt and hunted to live and they ' ed by the 120 prints and photographs, came to worship and respect the and the wealth of historical detail quarry which enabled them to live at all'. (the use of eround-up beaver teeth - . in soup as ,'excellent tonic', Sir The relationship between man and Samuel Baker shooting at a charging animals is seen as changing most buffalo with '3s worth of small dramatically with the invention of change') helps to make t h i s a very modern-firearms: it was then that readable and interesting book. rapid wholesale destruction of many Tessa Brown species really began. The most astound-

Animal

Opflning a 'rabbit'

9V----

thet r C i Vaflare in a Fmgi/&orld, SIPRI, Â£9 UK effect warfare has on them -and it ufdishers Taylor & Francis; in the USA, would be hard to claim that Westing's , book does this in the most economii-ane, RuSSak & -pan).' csd style possible. On the other hand, a much smaller book on the same 'you think'war is bad and protecting subject put out recently by the UN >eenvironment i s good, you agree, by Environment Programme is so concise id'farge, with Arthur ti Westing, that the Index more or less muscles ~ t h o or f this latest SIPRI workon out the contents page, going too far ar and the ecosphere, subtitled in the direction of brevity. Witary Impactw the Human EnvlronWesting's book is, however, a lent. One of Westfng's previous sound and thorough look at mqdern ooks, The EcologicalImpqct of the war and how it affects everything, scond fndocfltna War, was a long, apart from people, that it touches. It ose look at theshattering effects takes a long look at the environments f a modern war on one hard-hit where wars occur - temperate, tropical, Ieee o f the globe. Now Warfare in desert, arctic, islands and oceans - and Fragile World examines all the at global ecology, and uses both actual xidental and deliberate effects wars examples and the fearsome power o f in have on the world as a place where modern weapons to show how gigantic lants, animals and people live. By the problems are, especially in fragile oing so it reinforces the case for environments where rapid changes can linking that modern war simply i s only be repaired very slowly. Unless ot compatible with any sensible use F the Earth even if it were morally, smaller and weaker than you are yourolitically or personally defensible. self, it may tell you more about the You may think that youdon't need matter than you want to know, and it professor to write a book to tell you tat. And Westing's book does spread w ie goodies a bit thin among i t s 245 ages, with lengthy tables of matters ke 'the world's de fact0 nations (as F 1977).' The book's task is simple tough -to explain about the Earth's iffyrent habitats for life and the We, Yevgeny Zamyatin. Penguin, Â£1.00

Environme helieopt

certai in the know about war a there is no excuse fo

See-through f ~ t ~ r *

'Tomorrow is the day of the annual election of the Benefactor.. . Naturall~ It's always good for a laugh to see this bears no resemblance to the organhow the future looked,to people in ised elections of the ancients when- (it 1920 and We i s no exception. Gone are qounds funny to say it!) even the result of the elections was actually unknown the usual names (people have numbers), in advance. To build a state upon houses, privacy, relationships that we know;instead the inhabitants of this utterly uncalculated chance happenings particular phantasy live in glass bubbles blindly - what could be mofe sensefor all the world to see their every move less? . . .They say that the ancients well, not every move). On 'Sexual Days' conducted their elections i n some secrewhich have been worked out in advance manner, concealing themselves like for you) you can register for 'Right of thieves. . . But for us, we have nothing to conceal or be ashamed of, we celeBlinds'. This entitles you to draw your blinds for a quarter of an hour with the brate our elections openly .. . I can see how all give their votes for Benefactor person you have registered for (provided they bring their pink ticket,- you all can see how I give my vote for the then tear off the,stub and keep it). Benefactor.' . We. written in diary form, charts the 'Every number has the right of availability, as a sexual product, to any other meeting of the hero (D-503) with the number. For the rest of the-time beautiful revolutionary E-330, the Guardians monitor you through the struggle of love, individuality, spontantransparent walls to make sure you are eity, and creativity against the sterility not deviating in any strange way. of total state control. (Who wins? Well, We is interesting, not only because i f s not love.) This translation was first it inspired both Bmve New World and published by Penguin in 1970; this la& 1984, but because of the attitude of est reprmt i s as good as ever." the hero to the past, our present: , Vicky Hutchii

Sitters unite: nothing t o I sewingmachines 1

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vested interest i n the status quo, and aren't slow t o defend it. (In 1976, for example, the farmers' lobby opposed changes i n tied-cottage leeislation because rural councils couldn't be Green and Pleasant Land? Social Change ers are perenially underpaid and disrelied upon t o meet their housing responsibilities. What they didn't in Rural England, Howard Newby. hearteningly under-unionised. Farmers, Penguin, Â£2.50 mention is that the reason why councilby contrast, have two pressure groups house provision i n country areas is active on their behalf: the NFUb which appallingly low is that rural councils are 'The rural population . . . rely on each represents their interests as farmers, dominated by farmers themselves, who and the Country Landowners Associaother and help each other.. . Rural prefer t o have farm workers housed, t i o n a body which is publically much people are always on the look-out for manageably, i n tied cottages.) less well known, and likes t o keep it those less fortunate than themselves, The net result is that the services that way, the better t o defend farmers' from the gravedigger t o the squire they available t o the rural poor are steadily privileges as landowners. The CLA, see their occupation as a respectable deteriorating. This deterioration is no which boasts 'a close day-to-day workand worthy one contributing t o the ing relationship with Government depart- serious loss t o the newer rural populabetterment o f the community i n which tion o f commuters and second-home ments', scores regular successes i n easthey live'. Myths and stereotypes are 1 owners, because the family car allows ing the tax burdens on landowners. endlessly perpetrated about rural life, them t o make good any lack i n the The quality o f local rural life is whether unwittingly or, as here, i n an immediate locality. The poor, on the article pleading for tax cuts for farmers, determined largely by decisions made other hand, must rely on public elsewhere: opportunities for work, for polemical purposes. transport, and the vociferous comhousing, schooling, transport, medical What is the reality? The 'traditional plaints o f those same rate-paying care and recreation are shaped by English village' took the form that we middle-class car owners has meant that policies made at the national and recognise no earlier than the middle of public transport is grossly undersubregional level. It is here that the myths the last century, when most small sidised and unreliable. about our rural heritage are at their scale manufacturing had been transferGreen and Pleasant Land? is a most pernicious: the sentimental idea red t o the factory System i n towns, detailed account o f the factors shaping that 'the traditional way o f life' must leaving the countryside predominantly rural England, past and present, based be the best for everyone who lives in agricultural. The 'organic' community firmly on the political economy of the countryside has led t o an emphasis rooted i n those villages, a model sometimes held up t o anomie-stricken on preservation i n rural planning prac- . the countryside. If there are still any rural utopians who read -Undercurrents, t i c e t o the exclusion o f any consideraurbanites, proves on inspection t o prethis book will do them good; written sent two different faces: an occupation- tion o f the actual needs o f disadvantagwith rigour and economy, it's a bracing ed groups within the rural population. al community o f farm workers and draught for the rest o f us as well. This has played-into the hands o f the their kin, sharing values, interests and farmers and landowners, who have a Bernard Gilbert traditions, and commonly chronic poverty as well; and an 'official' ' village community, a rigid hierarchy o f employers and workers, celebrated in such public ceremonies as churchgomother is imperative, a cow giving six ing and the hunt. is the t o eight pounds milk a day This division continues. Farm workbest means o f rearing a calf well, both for the health and growth o f the calf and the economical use o f the milk. Nearly double the quantity is required The Backyard Cow, Ann Williams. Prism t o give similar results from bucket Â£2.95 feeding'. Juliette de Bairacli Levy The Backyard Cow bears no comparison believes that: 'Calves, when bucket with the earlier very lively and challeng- fed, develop weak jaws, inferior digesing Backyard Dairy Book; despite much tive tracts and weakly legs, as comparmore factual and detailed information ed t o those reared on their mother'. on cows, their health, housing, feeding Also on the same subject, no mention milk, beef and dairying procedures. it is made o f the 'Little Mother' type o f maintains throughout the tone o f an feeder, which allows the calf t o drink introductory manual more useful than milk at the correct angle. inspiring. Ann Williams writes that: 'Animals There is much more feeling for are, o f course, entitled t o as good a management, and the managerial view life as you can provide but to humanof farming, than any other philosophy. ize them i s a mistake, and those who For example, what might appear as a keep them i n their rightful place have definitive statement about artificial less difficulty when it comes t o calf-rearing, that it 'is really simpler, crunch'. Somehow this sentiment cheaper and more business-like', is very seems t o make little o f the ehtical relative t o holding managerial policies issues o f farming, and without a close t o heart. By way o f contrast, the measure o f compassion, conviviality, late Frank Newman Turner asserts: 'If humour, relationship, where is the the future health o f a cow is t o be satisfaction? assured, natural rearing on a foster Renchi

CLASS & grass

Tab moo!

. ..

Undercurrents40

^-;"iÂ¤yy -,..$ , & ,

Extraterrestrial Civilizations, Isaac Asi mov. Robson Books, Â£6.95 Are we alone? This is the question. There is a second question: Can we Scientists know, and I know that there Always. Even if it's only: Search me. Let us look back: I n 1686 the French writer Bernard Ie ivier de Fontenelle (1657-1757) wrote ~arminglyon the lifeexisting onfeach the then-known planets. In the 1860s, the Scottish mathematician James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) and the Austrian physicist Ludwig Edward Boltzmann (1844-1 879) advanced what is called the kinetic theory o f gases. Little did they know the importance o f their discovery. Are we alone? This is the question. has been on the lips o f hum rough long aeons of time.

,.an answer t o every question.

Isaac A What is the answer? I know the answer. Here it is: According t o the principle o f mediocrity, the number o f planets in our Galaxy on which a technological civilization has developed = 390,000,000 What is the principle o f mediocrity? This is another question. The principle of mediocrity is the principle according to which, if the Earth was roughly 40% through i t s total lifespan before civilisation appeared, then it follows

and quick, not cheap unless you build your own resistance meter (see UC 12) but stamped with the imprimatur o f normal science. The Awakened Mind describes eight years o f research and development into the use o f biofeedback, using simple skin he Awakened Mind, Maxwell Cade & resistance meters, electro encephalolona Coxhead. Wildwood House, Â£3.95 graphs and the Mind Mirror, a 'real time spectrum analyser' o f the brain'selectri'Man is asleep: compared to what we cal signals developed by Geoff Blundell .e capable of, our nohnal waking state ' o f Audio Ltd. I t is this device, which more like sleep-walking'. Max Cade ~ k e this s cryptic remark o f P.D. Ouspen- would, by the way, cost you a cool sky, the interpreter o f the great Gurdjieff, Â£1437.50 that has made it possible t o study the whole spectrum o f brain waves as his motif i n this account o f the appliassociated with a particular state o f concation o f biofeedback t o the study o f sciousness simultaneously; the output higher states o f consciousness. It is n o t from the analysis is displayed on two a metaphor: Gurdjieff considered that arrays of light bulbs, one for each side we live i n a twilight world peopled by o f the brain. T o each state there corressleepwalkers who believe themselves t o ponds a particular pattern, from deep be awake. Up to now, there have been sleep t o our normal 'waking sleep' t o two main ways o f waking up: dropping cosmic consciousness. acid, which is quick but risky, or any The meditation pattern is characterone o f a dozen spiritual paths, which are ised by a symmetrical peak i n the alpha slow but safe; the latterday fad for the range; left and right halves are integratmagic mushroom, much favoured in Undercurrents circles, comes somewhere ed across the corpus callosum, the pathin between: who can say what the rapid way between them, whereas i n 'normal' consciousness the two halves show spread o f this cheap and cheerful ethnic high with its revolutionary connotations quite different patterns. This integration is controlled by the reticular actiwill do t o the national psyche i n the long yawn o f the Great Eighties Depres- xating system (RAS), the rousing and damping system i n your brain. The on that lies i n front o f us? Max Cade object o f meditation is bring the RAS Ffers a fourth way, a technical fix, safe

fogi bared

that 40% o f the habitable planets in existence are not old enough t o have developed a civilization and 60% are old enough. Consider: We must distinguish carefully between science fiction and science fact. This is not t o denigrate scientific fiction. N o t at all. Writing fantasies like that is a noble calling, requiring great intelligence and guile, I know. I've made my living at it for years, and there's money i n it. There's also money i n writing science fact. Or so I'm told. ' One last word. Suppose there i s life out there. We could still say: Who cares? Fair enough. But think o f this: The cost o f searching the sky might be $100 billion. We spend four times this amount each year on armaments. The mere thought o f father civilisations out there can't help but shame us out o f our petty quarrels. Think o f the psychological significance o f that. So let's set aside our useless suicidal bickering and unite behind the real task that awaits us t o learn - t o expand - t o inherit the Universe. ; Ike Amsiov . '-"yg^i .-% 3 under conscious control; biofeedback makes i t possible t o learn t o do this ten times faster than by traditional methods, cutting many years o f f the arduous training hitherto needed t o become a yogi. Meditating is onlvthe start: beyond it lie states o f mind labelled 'lucid awareness' and 'creativity' by Cade, which can be related to distinct patterns on the Mind Mirror, and the ineffable higher states o f cosmic consciousness, which, so far, cannot. Both psychics and healers seem t o operate i n these higher states, so that the Mind Mirror opens up a new approach t o the empirical study o f these elusive phenomena.' All this and much more is described i n detail; the book includes a bibliography, technical and sanskrit glossaries, an appendix on types o f Mind Mirror pattern, and technical descriptions o f the machines. A t the end Cade speculates as t o the consequences of us all learning t o use our split brains i n a holistic synthesising way; is this the next step i n our evolution that the Sufis and others have been urging us t o take for hundreds o f years? This is very much an account o f work in progress: 'the proper study o f mankind is Man', so let's get on with it. Chris Hutton Soui~

Per ardua Adastra, Â£7.5 for 12 issues from 22 Offerton Road, London SW4, or on newsstands at 55p a shot. Britain has lately been caught up in the backwash of a science ~ublishinz boom originating in the USA. The most obvious manifestation i s the glossy science fiction and fact mag Omni. Set up with a massive budget by nudie-mag proprietor Bob Guccione, Omni has done some good things but not many. This science bonanza has not meant any new magazines in Britain yet, at least none with the kind of backing taken for granted by Omni and Science 80 (a bimonthly put out by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, with a staff of over a dozen). Being chronic diminutivists, it would be nice for Undercurrents to welcome Adastra, a low-budget all-British attempt to do the same thing. Sadly, art unqualified welcome isn't possible. Issue 8 of Adastra which I chose at random as the basis for this review, simply isn't up to it. There i s one piece by Robert Temple, whose putative Sirius Mystery was rubbished

I-

in these pages years ago; Temple still has not shown that there is a Sirius Mystery, much less any need to explain it. The contribution by Ian Ridpath, perhaps Britain%best astronomy writer (his judgement i s also superb - he was the first editor to publish anything I wrote) is simply a rehash of Fred, Hoyle and Chandra , Wickramsinghe's latest book, wh?ch i s bound to outsell Adastra by a very long chalk. And so on. Adastra 8 was worth reading for just one item ^- David Langford's marvellous half page of science fiction

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gossip. If I were the editor, I'd give Langford more space, make the whole thing a lot less pretentious, make better use of the knowledgeable astronomy consultant Martin Heath (possibly getting in other bodies to cover the rest of human knowledge) and think carefully about the fiction. I hope Adastra lives long enough to take this sound advice - t o judge by the frenzied appeal for subcriptions and casual sales people, it may not be long for this world, much less any others. - . Martin Ince "

*A*.

in kitchen utensils and how they may affect the body. These chapters are concise and very readable. The recipes which follow are unusual and numerous, many involving ingredients normally discarded in the Friends of the Earth, Cook Book, nutritionally necessary, but there i s also kitchen such as bean pods and cauliVeronica Sekules. Penguin, Â£1.95 an extreme waste of valuable land flower leaves. There are soups, salads, .incurred by livestock farming. and an impressive variety of vegetable / 'On the land required to feed a cow . dishes inc'udina once used but now Wild and Free: Cooking from Nature, forgotten veg such as Good King Henry, Cyril & Kit O'Ceirin. Skilton and Shaw, for a Year, enough food could be grown to provide a balanced diet for Hamburg Parslev. Nasturtiums, and Â£2.95 two human beings, whereas the cow ~ a m ~ i oThe i . kction on meat i s would provide the human beings with an, short, in keeping with the book's unbalanced diet for less than three philosophy, but nevertheless provides The purpose of the FOE Cook Book i s an interesting selection'of recipes, and not simply to supply yet another collec- months'. The introductory chapters are fascinat- the fish chapter gives a rundown,of tion of wholefood recipes. It goes beyond the question of a healthy body (without ing for the information they give concern- the fishing industry at present and ing all aspects of food production includ- only includes recipes for species which ignoring it) to the far greater question ing: the inhumanity o f factory farming; have not been overfished. of a healthy world. The imbalance in Breads, pulses, puddings, preserving, the distribution of food throughout the how to obtain free-range meat; the wasteful practices of the food processing brewing, and a final chapter on home world mpms that while overeating i s growing are all included in this useful increasingly becoming a cause for death industry, such as turning carrots on a lathe to produce perfect cylinders; the in industrial society, starvation reigns and enjoyable book. for hundreds of millions in the develop- chemical additives allowed in food (at Wild and Free i s a book for those ing world. Our reliance on meat i s cited present there are 230); and the overwho enjoy picking food in the wilds the major reason for this imbalance, packaging of food products. There i s and for those who would like to. It and much of the introductory section provides information on 22 of the also a chapter on energy saving in the * of the book i s devoted to showing that kitchen, discussing methods of cooking better known plants, where and when not only i s the amount of meat eaten from the viewpoint of their economy, to find them and how to recognise them. on average in Britain far more than is as well as a section on the metals found Leigh Hughes

Earthy

a positive appraisal of his arguments. This would be a mistake. .For Manis not an academic and makes no claims to be one. He is an ex advertisour Arguments,for the Elimination .,f TekvIsion, Jerry Mander. Harvester " ing executive, whose long experience Dress, Â£1,250 , o f working with TV eventually forced him to the conclusion that TV technology is inherently anti-democratic, 1 the foreword t o the pedal pusher's unhealthy, dangerous and above all ible, Richard's Bicycle Book, the non-reformable. irthor makes it quite clear to his Brith readers thatheis: 'an American, His conclusions are expressed with nd despite Scottish and English grand- , allthe conviction o f the new convert: arents and an English mother, some :!:'..~.~~elevision i s the most important f my notions differ from those of the single source of images in the world ritish, just as Italians can be d i s t i p ,,,.;,:- ... today... The images ... are sent by 1: :;, uished from Swedes.'. . : <?': people you don't know and have never A similar foreword to the British . met. Your mind i s the screen for their dition of Jerry Ma@er'sbook might microwave pictures. Once their images ave gone some wa@@ forestall criti-. are inside you, they imprint upon your srn from purists and academics, who memory. Thev become yours!' *e likely to getbogged down ir. 'War is better television than peace. lander'seasyand chatty style and the It is filled with highlighted moments, cmingly happy-go-lucky nature of his contains action and resolution, and Â¥searchrather than concentrating on delivers a powerful emotion: fear.

Peace is amorphous and broad. The emotions connected with itare subtle, personal and internal. These are far more difficult totelevise.' 'Hierarchy i s easier to report upon than democracy or collectivity ... Only the leaders need,t o beinterviewed TV reporters don't Save time to interview everyone.' 'Television's problems are. inherent in the technology itself to the same extent that violence is Liherent in guns.' The overall result i s a powerful indictment of television as a whole and a challenge to all those who believe that reforms can significantly improve the system. For all those potential anti-TV campaigners who consider Â£2.50 to be somewhat excessive: Harvester are thinking of bringing out a paperback edition. In the meantime, order it from your nearest library. .-. Philip Blacl

looks expensively produced, but the content i s worth the eyestrain. Interested parties should contact the London Agricapital Group, C/O BSSRS, 9 PolJohn Seymour spent the first six years and Street, London Wl. o f his working life bumming around the British ~ m p i r ein ~ f r i cworking i From food to chips:Automau'c , Unemployment by Colin Hines and as a stockman, fisherman, minerand Graham SearlefEarth Resources Resgame ranger, followed by six years earch, Â£1.75 is a useful, well-documfelling Mussolini's Roman Empire and . ented compilation o f facts, arguments seeing off the Japanese in Burma, and policies about microprocessor . Then he returned to Englandand setimplementation, with no real surprises. tied in Suffolk to practice th ficiency for which he i s now, wiily Compared to the microprocessor, the, technology for levitation is still in nilly, world famous. On My TemsfFaber & Faber, Â£7.95 a relatively primitive state,'but not for story o f his early life, first pu long if Robert Kin sley Morison has in 1963 and now revisedand anything t o do witk it. A n ExperiIt's a fine Boy's Own Paper b men?with Space(described by i t s book; a true adventure story, in. author, typesetter and publisher as. ict, but one that reveal John's char- , one small step in a new direction') :teristic decency and common sense. . . outlines,the vortex principle and i t s Staying in Seymour territory, more use in generating levitational forces, r less, the Centre for Alternative Tech- as well as summarising (some) arcuments against materialism, affirming ology have produced a Food Informtion Pack(availablefrom them at the existence of UFOs(Mr. Morison twyngwern Quarry, Machynlleth, prefers to call them ASVs: Alien owys, Wales for Â£6.5 post free). Space Vehicles), and taking a firm %ontainingbooklets on natural systems stand on intellectual freedom: all food production, health and diet, this and more in 64 small pages. -lant and animal husbandry, as well as Those who wish to help Mr. Morison set o f teacher's notes and various in his bid to 'lessen the chance of a rallcharts, it sets out the organic farnational monopoly on levitation' iing/wholefood orthodoxy in an accshould send Â£3( 25p postage) to ssible form ' Ascent Publications, 34 Elm Grove, The BSSRS Agricapital Group have London N8 9AH; all profits go to 1st put out the pilot issue of Food Amnesty International. i d Politics, aiming to discuss food proOn site-~orness.Torness Film Production and distribution from a socialject, isasuper-8 &lour film of the 197' i s t perspective. The style is conversaTorness occupation. It's a really useful tional rather than cademic, and tenta'agitation1 film covering all the events, tive rather than d ctrinaire. GlossY it's including the anarchist breakaway. The ot: by comparison with these imperoverall message is very positive; it shows ~ c t l yphotocopied pages, even Undies anti-nuclear activists trying to omanise

democratically to give real power to the people. Highly recommended as a stimi lus for discussion. For more details, cor tact SCRAM, 2a Ainslie Place, Edinburg (031-669 39241 or Torness Film Proiect 253 Leith Walk, Edinburgh 6. Finally, it's gobd t o see that Beyond the Fragments: Feminism and the Making ofSocialism by Sheila Rowbotham, Lynne Segal and Hilary Wainwright, reviewed in UC39, has been so successful in its first printing that Merlin Press have taken it up, and are issuing a revised and enlarged second edition at

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Undercurrents 4C

SMALL Sell your solar sauna here! Only 4p perword; B o x Nos Â£ UC 41 CopydateJune 25.

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NICE person with capital needed urgently to help save a house in ChesterJrom property developers. Possibility of commune sharing when house is secure. Box WS. COMMUNITY near Ipswich has vacancies for a few more members with at least Â£10-20,00 Capital. Large house, 56 acres. Telephone Colchester 298294. COMMUNElCo-operativeliving: Iwould like to get together with men and womenwho areinvolvedJi> (or wi* t o be) Personal growth worklco-counislingmaineesh, to see if we can set u p and share a communal living adventure in the Leicesterl Nottingham area: Bridaet. 17 Canonclose, Oadby, ,Lei&. DEVONSHIRE large house 3 adults 3 kids want oractical couple worksharid garden windmill house carpentry in 5 acres near sea. 0271 897 769. Williamson. COMMUNITY -8 adults, 3 kids. centred on self-sufficiency, fanning, crafts, building work, gardening, fishing, some group cMldcare, is open t o visitors interuled in community living . and possibly t o new members. Co-operat*' income sharing structure. Large old house and farm mar the Welsh coast. Please write first enclosing SAE for further details: Glaneirw House Community, Blaenporth, Cardigan. Dyfed, Wales. CARTWHEEL, a propowd cooperative village community; ' an alternative for the future. We start fund raising in June rolling a 9 feet cartwheel round Britain. Join us. Help us. Information:- ' 5, Ftirlight Place, Brighton. WANTED, men t o form Christian c h m u n i t y based on Liturgy, aiming at reasonable selfsufficiency. Advertiser's current bminenes (Metal, woodwork. textiles, books) can be used foundation. State your abilities Wd interests. "Zanzibarians", 45, Sandrinoham Rd. Norwich. CENTRAL Cambridge. People Wanted t o set u p co-yinership in ~WIowkedfriendly shared house and garden. Minimum sham Â£4,000 A h comer shop and Sorage space available. 15,000 year lease. u-*+i andAnn, 80 KhSSt0nSt., 67315.

UNDERCURRENTS. tie^ Ã‡r ' now available t o keep your c d s if). turnina them into a valuat>lBi. 1 referencework. Each file,whi& holds 3 years issues of Under- . currents. is stronnlv built Inan attractive dark brown colour; ' 'Undercurrents' is printed in gold lettering on the front. Individual , copies can be swiftly inserted and withdrawn-no rod&or dipt am needed. Â£2.9 each. To enable '2 you t o file your back issues'at a lower cost, we are offering the i following discounts-2 for Â£2.60 ' 3 and over Â£2.2 ea&! (pdces inc.p&p). Overseas postage 20% extra. Send order direct to: Falcon Books, (to whom cheque/ PO should be made payable^ Depf UC 13, Hillside Road, Marlow, Bucks. SL7 3JU. Allow 28 days for delivery.

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M O N E Y MATTERS: ". . Inonto- to make pmpaganaa affactha paper hat to b e successful. N o paper i s any ~ o a tda l l for pmpagande unless it has a thoroughly good financial position." (Lord ., Beaverbrook). 1979 was q difficultyear for U C money-wise: despite our higher c m r arid subscription prices, income was 15% down o n , 1978 and it'was o n l y our continued success in cutting o u r costs still further (5%down o n 1978) that kept our lossesdown t o a bearable.. Â£120, which was financed b y Radical Technology royalties (Â£2 the balance f m m t h e U C Monthly deposit account.(Â£435) and running d o w n our batik balance (Â£407) The breakd spent was: ,. . :. ', . >' . p I . . . . . . Printer : ~. ; ,. . .36% ' ' Post, packing & carriage 19 ; :

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whole net. 12 @35, f o r a , mere Â£6.Y- k ~ l i ~ ~ ; n ~ g problem.mlved! Siigb copiesare 40p.,Weregret hi o s : 1 to 7.9 a n d 11are c o n m l e f e l v o u t o h r i n t . This offer & l & ' o n t for AT; Organic gardenins Pin@ radio; Building rammed 8 Centre eanh: Wind theory; Hermetic- Comtek 74: SRAD; London's tunnel*. Issue: D j i i s Alternative Culture (1); So@ collector 10design: NewJoint villages: Sward eardenim Anarchist cities'-Systems. . Luca8 Aerospace: Crabapple;Wwfeedback; Community Technology; 1 2Comtek 7i>;Altemative Culture Altermtive HealthService. 13 AT EiWgy & Food production; & AT, Diggers & Levellers;Planning: B i w ; Alternative E n d a d & W h , Centra, Alternative Culture with

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AT 6 the Third World: lrrelevant technology, 2nd ciasscapitUi&, LW 8 . c h i n e w scien=ei Suuennaclrec Green h a 3-I~dmnonicx' . . I Health: Centre for AT, Findhow Alienutive history: Limits to 1 medicine;Self help. Community hmlth; Honie birth; Alternative medicine. 1 Fifth B i r t h d a y Laodj Â¥Ton Be=: F ~ r m i n US g Food co-ops; 1 Cambodia: Control of ttchBoloiiy. Sociallyusrful work; UKÃ§olÃ§rforem ! Good squat guide; ~ k g e r of s count6~$plture;liroadc&~~eich;~) Nuclear policy; I m n age farm, Laurie1 ,;:T;"~&ace con<&ion; ~ ~ ~ r i n t , ] A doctor writes; Ireland; Paranoia power (1): ~&nehen~e;..,~rmk therapy; revolutionism; Free radio. - , .~ Cod war; Fish fanning (1); Ripple Seabrook; Nukes & unions: Fish fa ' g'(2); ~aatesaveca -' stmi= ch*~o* ~ k d e c t . iC x Zp-ixpower~~. Chicken's lib; ~ a m i b i a nhealth. Wind* VHF tnnamitter (2); DuncanCampbellon the Eavesdroppers: Forestry; Cheew &cidermakin&

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LIBRARIES: we've had a r u n of academic researchen and &-like Witinn t o k n o w which librariu UC. This is n o t 8 a u u t i o n we ,. triee , ,"cÃˆn-& answer; it is In all Itl*.Wrinht l i b k r i e ~thei&collec.

26 7 98 .

A T & the Portuguese revolution: The Russians aren't comma; Boat repairs; New Age Access: Qrkney crofting: Growingdope;Pad-ELF. Soft energy: hard polihs: Fast breeders: Tools for amall farms; BrooldlouSeAmpernand~ 0 - 0Fi.shfadw ~. - The Shtlst'Bs D NWootfatovel Windscale; Tvind;Atltntis: Mondragon; A T & the Suite; ~ u a d i u ~ $ BehaviourMod: Bicycle planning; Urbanw u ~ h n dCanWaleimakeit? , W o m e n 6 Energy: WindÃ§caieNew CltarEnergy; FeminntÃˆaiÃ§in

29 nukWomen&Sricnct;WomiinthouÃ§ht;AlicÃ§&AToiÃSkilIÃ§lckaBBM Windscale: Emferninism; Solarcat; A T & di6 Britnh State, Aliw 30Muscle DoweredrevolutÃˆnarvs~imidhiGreeniiutÃˆodÃ§liÃ§m;PÃ§rithi>(i 1 Rood VditlCs: Factory fanning; Additive% Wholefood co-opt;Com31 modity. campaigns; Commonagriculturalp+ ~otatoecGmin d ~ l i n z . 32 Workers' E c o p ~ l l t l British ~ ~ : mad to.~c&pia; LtMC,Nuked & plans; UKAEA; DIY VHP tpysmitter;. Shotton; MicnM. thÃ§

Planning, Garden cities; Urban wasteland; National pario; Shetland; C ~ t r y l i i e ; W W O O l ? i*n T ~wrkbhw;En~ophs&ernp~ Co-op lessons; Crabapple; UNCSTO; Earthcare; Ciwller-Revotufrn Quarterly; Feminist anti-nukeism; Ian S y d ; EwbeerouE: Rural reality.~ C o m t e k 79: Wave power; Teamwork Training Tryst; Campabfor the North; DJY Woodstove design; Decentraliaing 'AT; Greeotown. Children& tha Environment: Future perfect; City jungle%Alice, Flysheet camps: Ma Gaia; Community schoois((.service; Free scfaoolfi. Third worid energy; FAO food conference; Street fightin' man; D N bioeas: comnost;Ecotooolv: . . . . . . Environmentaleducation:KarenSillnrood. Anti-nuclearCampaign: ~enmark;~Gabrook Guerilla tactics;The English Eanhquake;The Russians and NicolaTesk Animni8orEthich Communes: Co-operativework:Fairground;Christiania;Communes &anarchism: Pearce's polemic; US Windpower Inc.; ScandinavianAT.

33 se to taka it: it doesn't him, only.& a yet, you'll &rn t h e u n d y i n g t h a n k t o f ~ t Ã everyone here at UC. Re?+crh&ea,ftr a n d study our backnumbe'~.<;o)I+ t h e office by arrangement but be. ,

k@O-PHILOSOPHY Bitlinaton Wl. fiBM!&%?'*

SHORT introductory c o u ~ on n John Savmnur'a Pmnbrokfrtiiro

34, 35 36 37 38 39

STOP PRESS: We are happy to report that tradiiniin t h e fiist four months o f 1980has beengood: .income, at Â£5090was 40% u p &, t h e inmeperiod last year, while costs, pt Â£4770we* o n l y 6% up, leaving e surplus o f Â£32 in shiningcontrast to year's loss of

Ian

t o Mrs iAIHmlfc@rtington Hall Trust, T o t n e ~ , ~ ~May. l s t

Â£930A t t h e same time t h e London collective has snapped out of a period of damoralisation and self-doubt. We have &recopy ?o .<. p$ :rJ & t we @I h d k and.a 1-r and more e x w r k n c e d - d b d $ ~ f ~ r , a ~ w h i t e . : L i beains fe at 91 . r. .-,:, . . * . '

UNDERCURRENTS is the magazine of soft technology and hard politics, published every two months by Undercurrents Ltd-a company registeredunder the laws of England (No. 1 146 454) and limited by guarantee. Ninth year of issue. ISSN 0306 2392., ACCESS: UC is cobbled together on Wednesday evenings from 7 pm on; anyone is welcome to come along: the business meetings proper start at 8 and adjourn about 9:30 to the back bar of the Crown Tavern. The office is not staffed at other times b u t our new subscriptions co-ordinator, Simon Woodhead, will be working in the office on Mondays and Wednesdays and there is often a member o f thecollective in the office on the other days of the week around 2 o'clock opening themail. P , h note that, human naturebeing what it evidently is, a letter, particularly i f accompanied by an sae, is more likely t o be answered than a scribbled invitation t o phone back someone unknown. EDITORIAL OFFICE: 27 Clerkenwell Ciow, London EClR OAT. Tel: 01-253 7303. COPYRIGHT: The contents of Undercurrents is copyright: permissic to reprint is freely given to non-profits groups who apply i n writing, and told t o anyone else. DISTRIBUTION: within the British Isles by Fulltime Distribution,

27 Oerkenwell Close, London EC1, tal01-2514976. CREDITS: Undercurrents 40 was CONTRIBUTIONS: Undwcumnn put together by Dave Smith and isan open forum for radical Tam Dougan (Features), Lowana alternative ideas: we delight in Veal, Peter Culshaw and Godfrey unsolicited contributions, Boyle (News), Stephen Joseph particularly if they are: &put and Bernard Gilbert (Reviews), lomething real; written from Bill Flatman (Letters}, and Simon direct experience; typed, double Woodhead (What's On1 aided and w c e d on one side of the paper abetted by Bridget Hadderly, mlv; not more than 2600 word!; Chris Hution Squire, Chris Raff, accompafiied by acontact phone Dave Kanner, Dave ~ l l i o t t / ~ a v enumber; and written in plain Gerratt, Martin Ince, Nick Rosen, English Offeringswhich fร ยงion meral of thou points should be Pete Glass, Sue Lobbenberg, Vicky Hutchings, Val Robinson u n t t o our rivals (narnas and and some persons unknown. The addresses supplied on requntt. cover was designed by Tam Dwgan from photos by Mike Muller and Emille Wehnen of War on Want and F A 0 picture library. Our thanks, as always, go to the Collective A t Large for advice, encouragement, spontaneous contributions, etc. COPY DATE: Undercurrents 41 (AugustISeptember)will be on sale on Saturday July 26; closing date for last minute items is Wednesday June 25. SUB STORY (2): Margaret Reagen, whose appointment as subs coordinator we announced in UC 39, has mov@ on to pastures new; Simon Woodhead has taken over and is working overtime t o restore the system to a proper state of efficiency. Complaints will from now on rdceive our v r o m ~attention. t somethina which we admit thev havenot usually had this past Year, so, if you're not satisfied, don't hesitate t o let usknow about it.

NUCLEAR FAMILY

COMMUNAL LIVING,

YOU HAVE A CHOICE CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE send s.a.e. for further details to Alternative Communities Movement (nM) 18 Garth Road, Bangor, N. Wales.

m k s against s e x h /

BEECHWOOD CONFERENCE CENT-

3 miles from the centre of LEEDS

Ram von Praunheim Army of Lmwa

A~uM~~~u,s.~Y~--M~~ d l u i n g l t l e ~ o f h k ~ ~ ~ h .

Run co-operatively Creche available with staff or self-help Imaginative menus; vegetarian, meat, or selfcaterinfa*tailored to meed your needs. Attractive elub b a ~ 50 comfortable beds plusamplecampingspace; Large meeting and lecture r m s . Warm welcome, and central heating too. Make your Own co*e at any time. Make yourself at h m e &! low cost. F O iwthe; ~ dettiils: ~eechwoodcollege, Elmete Lane# Roundhay, L e d 8 LS8 2LQ TeE (6532) 720205