UC58 February 1983 by Christopher Squire

lost communes are NOT hippy dope scenes gurus exploiting innocent babies. That's just the media ing to sell papers to bored suburbia. There are a t least 1 L communities in in already - why don't you live in one?

Someday iriost people wil why are you waiti

n communes

Become part of the future join the culture of the future you don't have to live in a bedsit -. you don't have to get married 'cos there's noining else iu do get lots of friends and work for your own future leave the fossiled culture of the past All you have to lose are your chains s t o p worrying about your security learn to make friends instead So what, you make mistakes those who don't take r i d learn so what, you're shy - - -- so what, you're scared :-e-c-*.who's running youg o back to sleep if you wish to grow find o u t about community living hy lock yourself in a house with one person, wl n

mmt

a commune?

Why not join a commune and run your own school? Stop thinking about communes - join one sure the next one is better else you'll always be trapped by fear

.- :

. ... : "., , ". .i,?.,

Alternative Gmmunities &t:Â¥men

18 Garth Road, B a n e . N.WaItt,OwÃ

Undercurrents

Lightning on the Loose. .................. Letters. ............................... Eddies ................................ Sizewell News and other up t o the minute info

3 5

The Naked Lunch..

.....................

1Seefcake Andrew Tyler chews over IVie politics o f the dinnerplate

IBefore and after Science. ................. 28

IDavid Albury asks Progress? Whet Progress7

\Women For Life On Earth.

................. 31

'Stephanie LeianddiscussesEco-feminism, Greenham, tand starts the yin-yang revival

IHoly Smoke

...........................34

Strange goings o n i n a church i n darkest IPiccadilly probed b y Ian Grant

.....................35

IGetting it Together. 1Van2 o f B i f f Production's epic cartoon strip, the Buskers o f Experience

Briefing.. .............................36 What's Where and When .................. 36

Bahro: From Red to Green

............. 11

Peter Culshaw meets the new co-Chat.,-.-on Garman Green party o n a train

At The Foot Of The Mountain

o f the

.............

Laonia &ld&olt's award winning article o n the woman's pasea camp a t Mount F u l l

......................... 1, BEAST News.. .... .,. ................... 1 John May's animal lib column Whatever happened to Lucas?. ............. The Lucas Aerowace Plan revisited b y Dave Elliott WildTrouble ...........................22 Rebecca Waissner on the threat to the wilderness down under Europe's Green Parties ...................24 NATTA News.

GLC Technology andpopularplanninginitiativasb y D a w E l l o t t

Roland Clarke looksat the rise o f the EuroGreens

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Eastern Daily Press, Tuesday. June 29. 1982

Sir- For the benefit of your c ~ r r e s ~ o n d e n t ~ Moore ohn allow me to reiterate that during the Harrisburg incident (Three Mile Island) no member of the public received anything like a significant dose of radiation .. . The reason for this was that the safety design was greater than the errors and failures that occurred ... The nuclear industry does not claim absolute safety, instead it calculates the probability of accidents of varying severity. For example a one in a millioa is a pretty rare event, roughly equivalent to being struck by lightning . . . Yrs faithfully B.W.R. Skelcher P.W.R. Technical Offii r Sizewell B Site N r Leiston Eastern Daily Press, Tuesday, June 29, 1982

LIGHTNING Lightning blast wrecks house STRIKES BUNGALOW Eastern Daily Press, Tuesday, June 29, 1982

I intend to form an organisation dedicated to the design and installation of self-supporting energy systems and, as part of that process, the adaptation of a wide range of buildings for greater energy efficiency. This organisation, which will need to be financially selfsupporting, is likely to be based in South West England. It is also likely to be run on cooperative lines and in accordance with Aquarian principles. A highly professional and creative approach will be one of the keys to its success. If you are conversant with this subject, sympathetic to these intentions and can make an active contribution to this venture, please write to: Nigel Carter, ARICS, MRTPI, 37 Mountacre Close, Sydenham Hill. London SE26 6SX. 2

Eastern Evening News. Thursday, June 24, 1982

Lightning sets fire to little girls' toys There was heartbreak for two little girls living at Hedenham near Bungay when their house was struck by lightning, setting some of their toys on fire. Marianne Rivett, aged just two and a half, and her younger sister Danielle lost a large toy rabbit and other toys when the fire broke out during storms at the weekend and set light to the children's toy box. After getting the children out of the house Mrs Rivett returned to fight the fire and managed to put it out, but not before it had damaged furniture and clothes. When her husband John returned from wort he found the whole family sitting on the doorstep, waiting for the smoke to clear. Mrs Rivett said the children had been very upset, particulary at the loss of the toy rabbit Another house damaged by lightning in the weekend's storms belonged to South Norfolk District Council member Mrs Sophie Sununerfield and her husband.

LIGHTNING devastated a Norfolk family's home last night as thunders t o m brought chaos to many parts of the county. Mrs Anne Kemy and her 12-yearold daughter, KeUie, were taken to hospital suffering from shock after lightning struck the house at 10, Heatherwood Close, Thorpe End, caving in the roof and wrecking be&&. Eastein Evening News. Thursday, June 24,1982

STORM WRECKS CRUISER

Twoholidaymakerswere taken to Gorleston Hospital last night after lightning struck their Broads cruiser which caught fire and sank. Cuttings sent in by Trevor Phillips

UNDERCURRENTS 58

Congratulations to the conference organisers but next time, let's have our communication in circles and not in one-directional straight lines. Andy Porter Brighton ANC Ill, Albion Hi, Brighton, Sussex.

A 1 F EXTREMISTS

Letters wEsT~'NsTERRALLY The mostimmediate impression I have is of over 500 people spending a whole day notspeaking toeach other. We sat through a succeuion of speeches from politicians, trade unioniits, experts and local campaigner!. The structure allowed us t o queation the experts for a abort period and even to regiiter ourwlveÃa* ipeaken in the afternoon teuion (if we dared face the microphone and the 600 faces) but beyond that there was no place whatsoever for open discunion. A great pity because I don't think so many different secton of the anti-nuclear movement have ever been in one place before and because there were considerable differences in approach which were evident but somehow inaccessible as set speech followed set speech. ' I have to confess to an uncharitable nightmare of a famousvictory against the PWR, followed or perhaps accompanied by the election of a Labour government, and . . .another shady uranium deal, a new generation of AGRs and perhaps, t o quote the TUC Review of Energy Policy, 'the development of fast reactor technology'. We have to unite against the PWR, and I for one will be voting Labour at the next election and campaigning aaainst the PWR with whoever will join me. Let us beware, however, of the Anti-Nuke movement getting lost in an Anti-Tory jamboree. Let us make the space for face-to-face discussions, if only t o allay fears -mine for example are of 'socialist' nuclear energy - Arthur Scargill's are apparently of 'brown rice and open sandals'. ~

I was disturbed to read the article in Undercurrents no. 57 on Beast News describing the recent chain of terrorist activities of the Animal Liberation Front. Is this the sort of article 1 Undercurrents' readers want? As for the allegation that m o n as a tactic has now bee! abandoned by the ALF, it certainly hasn't in England where two laboratories a t my college were burnt down this term by Animal Liberatio supporten. Gundula seems to be recording with some pride the ALF activities in Berlin which t o me aeem horrific. Familiem of physiologlits are living in continual fear of this terroritt group where will they itrike next? Why this sudden bunt of violence over the liberation o our aoft furry friend*? I wonder if they have given a* much thought to our own people's problems in other parts of the world, who are as far from being liberated as those 40,000 battery hens. Clare Osboni *We were reporting on the Animal Libben tactics, rathe] than condoning violence.

passionate energy within us that is designed t o search out and learn the truths in life? The more clearly I see the tremendous ravages of malnutrition on people's bodieslbrains and feeling1 thinking abilities, the less something like this surprises me. If Soph a t Bread 'n Roses had any sense of how many human problems (and environmental problems) are BY-PRODUCTS of soil demineralisation/malnutrition, 1 think she would likely have simply typed the review, then ordered the hook for her own study, or at least asked the local library t o obtain a copy. I hope she has realised that it may have been inappropriate for her t o react t o your wordi without having studied the book for herself. In the meantime, whatever time we have remaining i i being steadily waited away. Thank* for your concern, Don Weave] ReviewÃ§r'Commont: I w u particularly annoyed by Soph'i pat and dogmatic comment, Let's wilt for the revolution and then we can wrt everything out. The Suruiwl of Civilisation explaini that action mint be taken immediately -there really is no time to low! I'm still sure that Hamaker and Weaver are right and that their book cannot be ignored. For your copy, send $8 t o HamakerIWeaver publishers, PO Box 1961,Burlingame, California 94010. '

Proportional Representation. In my view, however, the alternative, whilst perhaps more effective in the short term alienates large numbers of potential supporters. I was therefore disappointed t o hear David Taylor and Jonathan Porritt when interviewed on the radio after the Ecology Party's Bridlington conference virtually rejected support from the Labour, Liberal and SDP parties because they have not rejected the Industrial Society 'whose roots are corrupt'. No-one mentions the Tory party! Surely support for the green movement at least until the Ecology Party (or whoever eventually represents the green movemen~(alikely to b~ more rapid with the existence of substantial green lobbies within the major partien than without them Youn, Gordon Culihaw

SIZEWELL

Following on from Dave Eliot's article on Sizewell (Undereumnts September) readers may be intereited to know of the deciiion of the East Anglian Alliance Against Nuclear Power with regard t o the Public Inquiry. The Alliance, which is the coordinating body for Borne sixty organisations in the region opposed t o nuclear power in general and Siiewell B in particular, has decided GREEN TORIES? not to give evidence at the MEAGRE RESPONSE Inquiry. I am a middle-aged solicitor The Alliance has decided who has voted Tory most of Thought you would want to however to keep a full-time my life. Not I imagine a know that in spite of your presence at the Inquiry in very interesting and commen- typical reader of your order to publicise to full dably honest ('passionate') publication. effect any newsworthy I find myself a growing review, which I seriously information emanating from supporter of many of the anticipated would bring at it. Whiie this will be cheaper causes for which you camleast dozens of orders and paign and I believe that there than giving evidence, a fullother responses, there has in is a substantial sympathy for time presence plus printing] fact been a total of one postage requires a considerthe green cause right across response. This was from able amount of money. We the political spectrum. I am Harvey Wasserman who would therefore be grateful writes for New Age and other still, however, old fashioned enough t o believe that objectf for any donations, and for magazines, so perhaps it will those who feel the need to of the green movement lead to something very ease their consciences on a should be striven for demobeneficial. I'm trying to regular basis, we have a cratically and therefore understand why such a monthly pledge system! through the parliamentary meagre response could be Details of this and of subforthcoming. Could it be that system and not the methods scriptions to the newsletter advocated by some of your this most strange event of should be directed to our contributors. I can underyour typesetter deciding to office a t Centrepeace, 2 St. stand the impatience of the take the liberty of severely latter since the building u p of Helens St, Ipswich (tel misinterpreting the purpose Ipswich 214308). of the book for the reader's a parliamentary part t o Yours faithfully, 'enlightenment' has been the represent green ideals must Jennifer Armstrong influence that has shut down necessarily take a long time, for EAAANP the (apparently) nonespecially in the absence of

ments are made to these. The idea is to show that individuals do care enough about world poverty to make a personal commitment. In Finland, this appeal has enjoyed enormous success, and has served to widen understanding and discussion of world development k e s . Quite apart from thesheer financial contribution that a 1% group can make, therefore it 12 hoped they will also. prompt greater debate, and PETRA KELLY May I draw attention to many indeed influence MPs etc who decide the United Kingdom's similaritiesbetween Petra national attitude to developKelly's article 'Women and ment. the Future! in this SeptemFor further information, ber issue of Undercurrents 55/56t and Stephanie Leland1 please contact: Brie West, 161 Bibopegate Road, Luton article on the connections Bedfordehii, LU3 lPD, between ecology and feminism published by you a coupli enclosing sue. Yours tincerely, of years ago, in the women's Mark Valentine issue of Undercurrents. I feel it if a shame that Stephanie, though quoted nearly ECO HOUSING verbatim at least seven times I am currently enrolled in by Petra, was not acknowSociology at El Camino ledged. I am sure this was due to overwork and pressure College, California. Our current acignment in the of time (a phenomenon clan is to write about simple with which I am all too and economicaly~yato familiar!), but would like to build a home. I aminteresturge that we in the green movement be mom careful to ed in homes that 'are built underground and inside acknowledge each other's mountains etc. Any help efforts and contributionf, from your readers would since they often cost UJ so much. I mvgelf would like. or be greatly appreciated. Cindy Guytom thin occasion, to acknowledge 2836,181st. Torrance, Ca. both Petra Kelly's achieve90504, USA. ments in the exciting and inspiring movement we hare EXPENSIVE EST seen emerging in Germany, In UNDERCURRENTS 4 3 and Stephanie Leland's less there was an article by Jean well-publicked but equally Freer on "EST" or Erhard important work in starting Seminar Training. At a recent and building up Women For Cambridge meeting on Life on Earth in Britain. Ecology and Development, Stay with it, Stephanie, someone started talking you're an inspiration to us about how EST training all! enabled people to 'take With love, Leonie CaldecoM responsibility for their own lives. . .' etc. She offered a speaker from the ESTWAGES OF FINNS sponsored 'Hunger Campaign* Readers may recall a passing That sounds as likely as a reference in Undercurrents 54 Scientologists' campaign for to the Finnish Percentage human rights! This peigon Movement, a campaign which said that about 300 people calk upon people to donate attended a seminar and the 1% of their income to human- fee was 3260 (That cornea to itarian work abroad. They ma Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ75,00a time). There may be interested to hear that a be one fool born every similar group exists in the UK minute but this is ridiculous. The aim is to set up groups Terry Cannon throughout the country based School of Humanities, upon parliamentary constitDarwin College, Silver Street, uencies, whose members allpay 1%of their income into a Cambridge. Note! We have a few copies p u p account. Each member of U/C 43 a t 60s post paid, nominates the third world aid igencies or other humanitaria COMMUNITY RADIO groups they wish to support, and regular lump sum payI

profit community radio service but we hare noFM transmitter. Therefore we would be grateful for a technical description of a good working transmitter of about 3 watts or over, also for for contact with other community radio group* in the UK. S. Blixt Post Restante, 8-101 Stockholm, Sweden.

SIMPLICITY May we please receive free information on voluntary simplicity and self-reliance. Also,info. about your orfianisation. Millie BunneH 3721, W. 112th Street, Indewood. Ca. 90303. USA O& to oui simple, d f reliant readers -Ed.

GREENHAM COMMON I entirely agree with Ann Pettit that CND an we know it cannot take direct action at Greyham Common on board. The action has to come from committed people At the same time, however, if action in 1983 is to be on a scale that will actually stop the deployment of missiles (and not merely protest against them) we shall need a movement on a scale and of a character as does not yet exist. We have therefore first to conceive it -and then build it. What is a likely conception? In my mind's eye I see action at two levels. The first is the critical one of direct action at the base involving &me tens of thousands of people, and the second is one of simultaneous solidarity action in every town in Britain. The action at the base will involve civil disobedience;the mpporting actions everywhere will oresumably not. depending on local circu-a. To achieve thm object or somethii like it we need at least two new things. The

firs is an effectivedirect action network so that people with ideas and incentive throughout the cquntry can get in touch with'6ach other. And at the Green Gathering that Ann mentiom, twenty five of UJ met to set it up. It has since quadrupled in tize and is promising. But networks don't do things or if they do they cease to be networks. Groups do things and use networks to put their news about. In fact we are dragging our feet, in the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and elsewhere the development of base groups of 619 people is well advanced. In Hungary they are called 'base commun[ties' and are 30140 strong. So.. .what we need in the time of the Grebnham Common c o u n t d o h (which has'now b e a n \ is the multiplication o f &y thousands ~f base groups. They will, M I see it, be also affinity group* i.e. small groups of Friends who work together continually, but their special identity will be their orientation towards action a t Greenham and the endless things that can be dreamt up and done in the course of preparation for it. Some of us are mggesting a vast decentralised Festival of Life on Harnpstead Heath next summer after the end af exams with scores of platform, music, dancing, sports 'there is good swimming on the Heath!) with Iota of food and drink and a great day for ;he kids. But not just a social accasion; also as a practical sxperiment in doing somehing together on the vast icale but without any hierar; h i d character, and as a areparation for what we shall iare to do about Cruise towards the end of the year. Peter Cadogm \ Committee of 100 secretay between 1961 and 1968 Studio House. 1, ~ a m ~ s t e a d ~ d n s , London NW3

UNDERCURRENTS 58

EDDIES

e-n-c

.b- .-

-- - -

THE FORTY-FOUR women peace cunp*m mre8tad by the W W h i i police on New Year%day for breaking into Greenham Common air bam? have bad their caw adpumed for a monlh. But though the pace of the j u d i c i i may be meaamd, that of a jolted US ddence force ia not. In l e a than eight weeks from then, the cmise miwile trucke and launching system will be transported from the German manufacturers, MAN,to their shelters at the Newbury base to await the atrival of 96 nuclear mimiles. Problem with cruise guidance system m reported to be delaying p h to have $he base fully operational by December '83, but according to Paul Nitze, the chiif American official at th: , Geneva Negotiations, it s on the cards' that the supporkg

WALTER MARSHALL undentand~big basin= -or a t I d the d i n g bit. In Power News the CEGBb staff paper (Jan 10th)the ex UKAEA chairman s t a h boldly that "a mccedul oub come would open the way to greater competitiveness for our pmduct". He is confident that CEGB's case for building the PWR sizewell Reactor, will surface to respectabiiity and feasibility during the Inquiry at Snape, that that moat

창

N w Year's Day dance on a half h i l t Cruise silo for women at Greanhm

Early #

ng wbs ofprotst at RAF Upper Heyford on 31st Decamf~?~

-----A,

hardw- will be heze by April. Proteatem believe R e a g d s swift tackiig fiustly & intended to cement the inetakition before Britain's general election, and mondly, ,whether so planned or not, b hiihly provocative towards the Soviet Union, T h e dechion to preanpt diicweions by deploying cruise makes a mockery of the Negotiations', said a member of European Nuclear Diiarmament. 'We interpret this as propaganda, deaigned to continue the qnn race.' Upper Heyford peace camp waa joined by about 1,000 supportem on Slat December who formed a peace chain around the U W base (see right). Here confrontation waa solely with the police. The USAP avoided opposition by giving their base workem the day off. But in the liiht of Marshall's remark one should pahaps waste no time in rushing round to the Trade E n d c e . Business starb heze. And it qdhesive SEES of approval from the Nuclear Installatiom has. From the funds of Sl.200 million for Siiewell, Inspectorate will keep the the French nuclear fium power shop mnning profitFramatome has the E231,OOO ably. "The PWR would help de&n contract for the us to contain costa in the veael, and ia likely 1990s and beyond", he i3aY8, p-re to win a 89 million contract and so in a televised interview. "wouldn't that be for its construction: E200 good'?'' million is earmarked for overThus the CEGB shop win- seas f i i s to supply subdow haa wondrou displays oi components; the licence fee figurea -counters to the for the Westinghouse model d&bb many people hold has been negotiated; and about the econemiw, safety GEC, the UK contractor with and environmental comethe franchise to build the quencea of nuclear energy. PWR, is secure with its

backhg of all e1eMcity consumers whether they like it or not. The Monopolies Commission has already &ticked investment apprabaln for the Government's El6 billion nuclear programme, whiih includw the PWR, as "serioudy defective" (see UC 51). Perhaps now, with the E% million appeal launched on January 16th the opposition's cane - well-researcbed by TCPA, FOEand CPRE for instance -will find the safew 'cut out' button on CEGB's mad production line. Before the horrendou mistake appeam on the export order books..

FOR NINE MONrfi3S9the Government h~ been c h g h g t o ita standard policy of secrecy and to publ i d one of the few documents which mi&t give it m e credit. Now it hara, at long last, published the Strategic Review of the Renewable Energy Technologiko. If you can d it publiied. What emexged from Hamell, on Deeember 8th received no publicity. Indeed the Department of Energy at f i i t denied knowledge of the event. Wbat goes on exactly? In there something shameful about the document? Yes, there k. It givea an opportunity for the public to aee what criminal damage waa done to alternative energy when the Government shhed ita pro-' gramme last spring. On h e b& of thii document, the Advhry Council on Reaearch and Development recommended what the monetarist Energy Department wanted. a cutback.

l i i e d - but ~~~ftIy;.maftly. It io extensive a&l authoritative, but it invitm p r i t i c h as it fail8 to acknoWedge the blaring expedienw: we mu6t find substitutes for f w d fuels. hiad,6crin1phgls, it mggatd that knowledge gained on wave en# be u& for offsbore wind generatam, igwring shutdow~ here ~ h o , The North Sea ia tho+tunauib able for wave energy, but tidal ia better though&hem's no commitment to a k + e m B m . It promote^ hot dry geothermal scheme& although they cannot generate electricity until 2000, and need vast investment. David Ron8

co-pt of ~~~, ia &y d & n e d to pmtect Government and Civil $mice from informed criticism. Now, with an election bpproaching, the government REMEMBER that Gid Guide mema to beseeking to degourmet treat, ball8 of flour Cum any potential M p o i n t a &ck t o whittled hawthorn The Reviiw h~ been pubtwigs and cooked t o memble elderly putty? Well, it mi&t Sizewell 'B'type, could be be worth keeping the recipe. generated in such .sy&ma, F~llowhgU C *melatiom ~ without yet taking account 2 that AT will hlt the naaon, pont-apocdypm, deWa have the electricity saved by emerged of the Governowitching from electric to ment'# ciimat Hame Defence diatxist heating. IN AN EQUALLY leimdy way (mabove) the p b which m b n t e the More sanguine assumpGovernment haa been iuventigating the psibility of tions, baaed on current Pioneer and Survive uaiug the wmte heat from power stations to heat Continental experience, more a p p m a k Noudnhed by now, Y-t, and d w b w b toGn aud cith through 6iombhedheat and power9 than double the Atkins we will indeed regomrate the EHPl nchernes. Current thhkhw is that o m the nes estimate6 of the potential extent of CHP in Britain country. ten or fifteen yem mapr would operate in major inve8tment over the But other d e w are iud one or two cities. next thme dead- could foxing. Aa Brownie8 know, de&oliah the need for other dkipline during cri@eam could pmdde heat The Government's c o n d WOA power stations for a t leaat 40 always a major headache. So tank, A t b , have m b d t t e d c h a m atill. And ~d Y.it geta rightii~lattention candidate citiw have done a draft report contamiug Adrian ~ t k i n b r i But what are CS and CR further work to ahow that outline acheme deigns for gases doing popping up in them preliminary daigns the inner arean of nine peaceti=? could be hpmved upon to candidate citiea, and the Of coume the County show far better emnomica. remltd of various relatad Counciln which refwed Home Whereas earlier s t u d h hchnical and economic Defence under the Governconcluded that CI-P would be utudiw. ment's p r o p o d Hard b c k Economically, the studiee viable by the turn of the Exercue laat year know why: C a b ? %A t h MY8 that concluded that dl nme war p h a h meet 'Internal achemen would be viable if whemes coxwidered are TbreaW. Yet the immediate started now. Indeed they feaaible and have a pmapect threat ta force councib to of commercial viability. The should be started immediately provide war headquartam and schemes could provide haat at t o be in opemtion before CD volunteers - b now 10%below the cheapest North Sea g a and ~ oil remrves almost a reality. Diaaenting dtemative w h h t ahowing start to decline. council8 have until January m e report also look6 at rates of return about or abwe Slat to examine the Home the p k b l e t o t a l extent of 5% per year an required of Office draft re@lntiom on CHP for Britaii in the futum. mew inveatment by Civil Defence. But legislation n a t i o d i d indu&es1. Fairly paimiitically, it will undoubtedly lead ta In fact three of the conduded that electricity Government implementation equivalent to about six schemes ahowed rated of Any o ~ t i o non s Hard Rock return of over 10%- in other nuclear power 8tatiom of the

During a Pdgaesrndimg (see UC 66/56)-David , Mellor, then Energy Under Secretary, attempbd t o cover ACORD'a h c k a by dimnimim' the p d b i i i t y of Gbliiing thereview. Itwaaaanearaa m y Minister haa come to admitting that WhitehaU's

'. . .

SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL have b u d an urgent appeal t o stop what they call 'the final attack' on the Waimiri and A t r o d Indiana in northern Brad. The Waimiri and Atroari, persecuted by exploiters of their land for 300 years, are now under fresh attack from 'invaders'' bombs and machine guns. A new handbook from Amazonian milit@ command advises the army that "in the event of an approach by the Indiins, give a demonstration of force, to show them the effecta of a volley of machine gun f2e, or grenades and the destructive power of dynamite." In November 1981 the Brazilian government reduced the Indian land by 31% and lowered its atatus from reserved t o merely interdicted land. Thm will facilitate the development of tin mining, privata f d n g , and a hydroelectric project which will flood a comiderable part of Indian temtory, Suwiual International sees thii as part of the gover ment's "determination t o divest the native people, of their lands, their liveliioods, and, finally, their liven." They haven't far to go the Indians, 6000 strong iq 1905, now number about six hundred Edward Fenton

THE WmD STATES9recent elections appear to be the country's efforts to further nuclearise Europe. Despite Pentag~n'S'ticket' to w t 1984 S P ~ W the , new with a 14%i n c ~in~ ? @rips is asking for cub in the defence budget. Congress, though prenently sanctioning c u b everywhere but into main weapons system, is known to house 'diinters' keen to reasess high nuclear expenditure. The w i n h u e s in k t y e d s elections - for state governors and Senators, a weU as &ngre&repm-ntatives - were in fact concerned with the nudear debate, especially that surroun&g the b e f i c a n horn-bwd miaile. In the Senate e l e c t i o ~ the ~ p u b l i c remained a~ in contml and the anti-nudear m p *attempta ~ to unwat key pwnudear Ssnatom didnVtcome t o muck But in the H o w of Repreaentativw, 26 w a t ~ went to the Democrats and 81 new

representatives have just taken their seata. The Democrats won a majority there, and thus the MX dense pack was rejected by the House in December. One of the reasons why several of the new Representativw will be keen to oppose nuclear weapons is simple political debt. For the first time,the anti-nuclearforces, employed similar techniques, at the last electi~n,to those used by the Riiht t o promote pr+nuclear candidates. That money ought t o produce mme useful action against MX (and maybe even cruise in Europe?), and aid 'nuclear' naotiatiom The lobb*~ DOUP,the Council for a Livable World, d pent over $460,000 on

political

senate c-paik% ~

~ ~ ~ u over $500,000,thus helping five of the fifty six supported candidates to get elected. One clear win for freeze supportem was the Senate victory of Democrat and FreezeFrancier Jeff Bingman, over Republican bod-mane and former astronaut Harrison Schmitt. And optimists shouldn't forget that the House Armed Services Cbmmittee is now more dominated than ever by anti-nuclearites- and chaired by Jks &pin, the Pentagon's best informed critic in the legislature. The Reagan administration facw grave problem not just with MX,but now Cruise, and weborne nuclear forces. And there will be more pmeure for seriow negotiations with the Ruaiane. None of which hould allow British readem to relax. Martin Ince POUPS

"BIWCS ,. only

STARTLING a l l q s t i o ~ about fudher devdopmenb of chemical and biologicd weapona by the South M c m Dehnce Force have come to light. The SADF, according to a Defence Force officer, who related thii to Resister journal is researching a biological 'race weapon' to which blacks would be more sueaeptible - than whiten. The concept is not new. A for blacks is 20-59%, and for US Army manual pubhhed Fiiipinou it is even higher. in 1975 s t a h : '. . . it in The SADF is known to Q O ~ ~ Snouse? Or a favour biological warfare. In taliiman t o ward off anaemic theoretically possible to develop pcalled "ethnic 1978 it published a circular atomites who might leech chemical weapons" d e e d discwing the increasing radioactivity to fry their to exploit na&dy occumng 'advantaged of biological life juices to black pudding? differences in vulnerabilitv weapons. Traditional Neither. The m ' s among specific populatioi w e a m n r ~suddenly became Construction Division team WuP'. pro6ibitfve~yexpekve. at Barnwood keenly assures The US Department of If Resister's informant is Power News. . . Defence armed with research correct. the anartheid state is on Valley Fever could well do ,.~wly &ing-in dkect that desbing. The ~ ~ C Oviolation B Wof the international and pr0-W form of thm law which prohibits the disease can result in a developmentJproduction and mortality rate of 5040%. But stockpiling of biolo@cd only 1-11% of whites weapons. normally develop the fatal Resister suspecta that the forin while the m o M t y rate Defence Force may already

be tes ;hem weapons in deprived areas: . there have been recent epidemics of cholera, typhoid, polio and b u b o ~ plague. c The apartheid system is itself a biological weapon against the povertystricken majority and the widanread occurrence of fatal d i i k is to be expected . . the existence, however. - - .. .. . , of - an - ultrasecret -. -- .. biological research establishment in the w e region where two of these epidemics were prevalent raises the horrifying possibility that there is more at work than a i c k social fabric'. E d w d Fenton

'. .

- --

-, '

enforce the exktiig law which make#liming ill+, because they W i e the

"WHYNOT grow wild flower seed on the mu?luir, it fulsome migratory species. l" k% A The hiids are neither &cultural pe& nor emenlia to the rural economy, but simply c o d p b in thm But that idea of 'appro'traditional qmt' which for the Atlanpriate -' recently has extended ita 'open' -n into the spring, tic coastal plaim of the is likely S c o t t i i Wentem b l e ~ and attracted limem to o m remote are- of the counky. to be choked by the bureaucraw which is currently enm e impact of liming has the whole rwion. been greater recently becawe N o d and South Vd,nnd in addition many wildlife h&itab have k n de&oyed, b w b are under a 666 million and mom people now live in in-bd h w l o p m n t Prothe southerly regiom. Deapite mwhich aida l d this, plenty of visiting birds indWrie# but d o w a no support for environmental end up l i i the liier's Jwrneyk end for a Black mdsmrc pocket. A bag worth $2,000 pmtection. Although in a six week hunt ie not U N E E O recogaka of the idan& a8 Biosphere Reunusual. In 1981 Q p ~w se d the mn-8, the N a h ConmrvBeme Convention whiih bans the uae of lime (and nets) for 1

ancy Council hm only the provhiom of the Wildlife and lhunkyaide Act with which to safeguard habitats. It is hence at odd6 wit$ the Scottish Department of Ag& culture which MYS that the European Parli&entDsdecision that 10% of the EECI Gwernment moues should a0 towards conaaiation, is 'incompetent" (t.e. i t neb a 'had' orecedent). While the is relu~tantto releaee any of the fun*, the conflict is unlikely to he rewlved quickly . . Meanwhile the islanders have their own ideas about their futures.

Wore details from Habitat Xotl nd, Biavan Park, Portrw, Isle 09 swe.

In Cyprus

FOE (CYPRUS) fa camp^ ingtostopthepmctkeof bird liming on the W, whkh they my accounts for the d m h of =me 70 million mipatow birds each year. The b i d - mainly blackcaps, chiffchaâ‚¬fthmdtes, warblem, and whitethmats are trapped live on gluecovered sticks left in -, and eventually sold aa table delicacies called ambdopoullii. FOE ie urging the Cypriot guvernment.to

LEAKS FROM the Serpell Report into the future of the railways, due to be pubHd~ed in mid-Janamy, indicate a bleak future f athe Etitbh R d . Cuta of up to 10,000 d m in the network and mapr fareaincreams, of up to 40%in real term&may be in the offing. Sir David Serpell waa appohted to study the long term future of the railways and wm supported hy British Rail in the hope that he would agree with the Railways Board's view that a subtantial d and investment injection waa needed. h t e a d the &q& hw d-dd that mdu-g Gw-ment support for BR is the priority. A five-pmwd ap-h is suggested major fare8 inueaees, parti

cularly for commuten, cub in the railway network reducing it to y little M. 1,600 mile#, w* no trams beyond M i , Ghgow, Newcastle or Biinbm;an end to the 'buy Britii' policy; a reduction of safety s h d d 8 , and a t r a d e r of trafKicfrom rail to road. A d d i i timely insult t o i n h w a minoriW rep& by Afd co-ltine en&=, Gouskin, heam criticism on BR though it doea so whiie heavily touting for busi~~e~=. Perhaps, though, Tramport &-David I h ~ d wek consumer c~umel.He is w d awme that commuler dissatisfaction, with 6 e d C e S and f m , hel@ the p e n t Government to power. Nick Lester

The Cumdiu~FWmnnm'~~ Union, and the UK TlJC's suppart of the S d Rotedon Group paid off htmonthwithanEEC

negothtu with Norway and C h u b , it'll a h ban imporb

ofmdpupsklmhm~h lat. Thin ahould bolstar the Gambia's and UIUINW'S

UNDERCURRENTS 58

E ANTI NUCLEAR CAMPAIGN January 11th saw ANC's picket, with allied ambulance and service workem outside the Sizewell Inquiry. Later in the year the group launches Safety of the PWR, by Dr Don Amott, and a book elucidating the government's and the nuclear industry's justification for the Nuke Programme. In June and July ANC move with the Inquiry to London. Invitations to join in extend to all trade unions and local authorities. ANC, W Box 216, Sheffield S l ED. Telephone 0 7 4 2 754691.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST ARMS TRADE Action first against E x ~ o r t 8 3 , the ob&e but dkcreet Britiih Military Equipment show due to tour aboard a Townsend Thoreson ferry (sails January 23rd). Albion calling a t certain Arabic States. CAAT strikes next on May 10th and 11th. against the International Defence Componenki Exhibition a t Brighton In September the campaign focusses on Portsmouth's Royal Navy E a u i ~ m e nExhibition. t c ~ A ? 5, Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London W l 9DX. Telephone 0 1 2 7 8 1976.

EUROPEAN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT The organisation plans a number of Day Schools. On Febmary 4th, a Women's committee shows Dora Russell's film Peace Camvan to Soviet Union, followed the next day by a Day , School on Women in the USSR at Jackson's Lane UNITED STATES: Acidic as lemon juice, nitric and sulfuric concentrates are floating in the fogs of Southern California. According to a Caltech study, funded by the state agency, California Ai? Resources Board, the concentrates are 125 times greater than those normally found in acidic rain. The the High Sierra is especially vulnerable to the low pH precipitation. Its grmite-b-d lakes are not alkaline enough to withstand heavy loads of acid. San Diego union INDIA: Enriched uranium from Fmnce is now secured For the Bombay nuclear power plant. Meanwhile . . a windpump information' centre has been set up by the

!ommunity Centre, London )n Febmary l l t h , 12th and 3th, reps from the Euro eace movements gravitate o Bradford. Information on he German peace movement 'ebruary 20th a t BedFord !allege, London and an wight into the Turkish Peac Lssociationand East iermany's peace group from ;ND's pamphlet published a Looney Dwmster's cousin Keir Mode has been aniffine Campaign '83 is the result. Apologies to the notable absences, and to the r i d g r o u p who cham the alternative to three lumps of liquorice and a free Touch for Health. "These am worrying times," vaporised Mode yesterday, over Reuter's teleprinter on Sevemaya Island, ''I f e d solelv mist." tlqe end of the month. A dissection of the Berlin r, kssarmament Convention 0ccurs May 2nd, at the Biertrand Russell Peace F'oundation, Nottingham L,ate1 in the year, END lilunches Nuclear North A~tlantic,and NATO, In 0r Out? EN D , 2 2 7 seven Sisters Road, L ondon N4. Telephone 0 1 272 1236.

F'RIENDS OF THE EARTH

steve Biilcliffe tidmits that in hlew Year haze he bought

Slwen

Forward Wall Planners H[ence he has some unusual decor, and is committed unti tll e year 2000. Deployment 0f a bicycle pump as periSI?ope aligned t o his keyhole

revealed (conveniently) Year 1: $60,000 is the Top January Target - needed to commission research b n PWR safety for the Sizewell Inquiry. ($12,000 so far). The Countryside Campaign continues with Wildlife Watchdog's biting far worse then their barking. Febmary action is on the London Dumping Convention, with nuclear issues prompting ievents' on Hamsburg Day, March 26th. Tussels too with UK pesticide companies, and in May strategy - plans flow on Transport, Energy, and Third World. Confering on National Bike Ways happens hetween June 26th and July 2nd. FOE then teams u p with Manpower t o spike unemployment, and NACRO to recover urban wasteland. Waders on in September for Otmoor Fair. FOE, 377 Clty Road, London E C l V 1NA. Telephone 01-837 0731.

Lambeth and Vauxhdl bridges; the International Peace Building Centre starts to function this vear. MCANW, 23a Tenison Road Cambridge C B l 2DG. Telephone 0223 313828.

SCRAM Faces Torness with direct action, and a booklet called Folly to Fiasco, by Peter Roche who surveys the argu. men& in favour of Tomess. SCRAM also hits the road to Sizewell. SCRAM, 3 0 Frederick St, Edinburgh, Scotland E H 2 2JR. Telephone 0 3 1 225 7752.

GREENPEACE Unlike Melville's "impetuous ship", the Greenpeace flotilla will be "baffIement" float rather than go down. S o . to scupper Pro Sea Dump Saboteurs. no dates. Protests but, continue against imports of live dolphins, hunts for Hooded and Monk seals, and whaling Live demos in the North Sea on radioactive waste and titanium oxide dumping. And resistance to weapons testing in. Nevada, Leningrad, and Muromo, and Britain's acid rain

WAR ON WANT The London School of Economics salutes its past with a Rag in aid of WOW from Febmary 21st t o 25th. Membem of WOW, but no doubt others welcome too, to a strategy consultation on March 1 2 t h Women in Work Day School at the Archway Development Education Centre, on April 24th, and an updated publication of Women in Nicaragua The Health Campaign begun last autumn now has an information pack, Fighting for Health, which will be aimed a t all health pros.

Greenwace, 36 Graham St, London w l ELL. Telephone 01-251 3020.

WOW, 4 6 7 Caledonian Road, London N 7 BEE. Telephone 01-609 0211.

generated by sewerage based gas- and a number of fuel alcohol conversion ahflies using eucalyptus and seaweed. Suzuki Motor Co: has devised the best-ever energising litre of petrol. It's made from 11,000 squashed tangerines. Chikyu no Koe

Tata Energy Research Institute. Designed to disseminate facts to fanners and 'entrepreneurs', as well as researchers and planners, it will house literature on pumps, a global directory of wind energy organisations, and eventually information packs for anyone interested in building windpumps. .More details from the Documentation Centre, Tata Energy Research InStItUte, Bombay HOUW Bombay 4 0 0 023. India.

ITDG JAPAN: The nation's organic wastes capable of providing energy as biomass, amount to 1,475 million tons annually, reports the National Institute of Resources. A study estimates that converting just 102 million tons of this t o

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

L.-;

methane gas would 7.4% of Japan's energy demand. Several biomass projects are under way, including a thermal electric power station in Kitakyushu

BRITAIN: More than 92.000 people had contributed t& the global Hunger Project by the end of 1982. Established as a grassrmts commitment t o end world hunger by the year 2000, the project aims to educate rather than give direct relief. Thii year's programme includes public presentations of the Ending Hunger Briefing. More Information from The Hunger Project, 4 7 Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BW. Tel. 01-373 9003.

Peter Culshaw interviews Rudolf Bahro, now one of the three chairpersons of Die Grunen, Germany's Green party.

...

Bahro From Red to Green I

t's not every day that you get to interview a born flde ex-East German diuldent on a train (the train was going to BridUngton, perhapa Zagreb or somewhere would have been more romantic, but you can't have Terything) The diuldent in quation wa* Rudolf Bahio, who^ vUt to thitcountry generated a luge amount of publicity, so that many more people an awue that the 'green movement' b growing up C u t In Europe, and that, at least potentially, thb movement b entirely different from the old left/ right cornem*. Bahro became known In the West when his critique of thecommunbt bloc The Alternative In Eaitern Europe' was published In 1977. The authorities were not amused and danced him In jail for an eight year stretch for 'espionage'. (Bahro himself compares it to Luther's criticism of the Catholic Church.) After I an international campaign to get him freed, he was expelled from the GDR two years later &d is now living in Bremen in West Germany. Instead of joining some Marxist sect as many exoected Bahm caused some sumrise byimmediately throwing in his lot with the newly f o w d Green Party, Die Gmnen. 1 Bahro is now on the executive of Die Gmnen, taking the place of ktra Kelly wh& two yean h office came to an end in October. Bahro was in favour of extending the statutory two yeam for Kelly and the otheis so that they could urn their experience to see Die Gmnen through their general election on March 6th,but wam oubuled The German* an undoatandably touchy about the ~ u d o of n lwdm.but Bahro doun't object to 'pmonalitid. 'We need a network of like minded people all over the world, a ludenhip of Ideal, and even penonalitiu', Die Grunen an In 8 tanbllJing petition. If they can get over 6%, at the g e d election on March Bth, they will probably hold the balance of power between the social democrat SPD and the right-wing CDU. The Ubenli who had held the balance of power, Mem to have completely collapmd after the switch in alliance away from the SPD, which put Kohl and the CDU In power. The switch hasn't necesnrily helped Die Gmnen, as the SPD Inevitably look

II 1

I I1 mow attractive in opposition. (See Roland duke's article in this lmie.1 Them in t h o r InDte Gmnen who want to coin* Into a sDP alllinc*. but: the radical wing of Die G i n e n which include Bahro and Kelly an oppond to fbi* 'If they move one inch towards the SPD, On Omm are finished' uy8 Kelly. "The party b @it' admit* Bahro 'there is a lot of confitct'. Bahro would bo pwpmd to co-opante on m IMUM, but not to bo imOowed up%beÃ‡ov Die Oiunen an strongor in initlattvi, and would him 8 l a w ? impact than their Ukmty mull numbeu would wunnt. ThbwbhtobedlitancMlfromthe SPD b centnl to Bahro'i point of view. 'The old partla we rellci from the em of reconstruction -social democmdc history is finished. Traditional socialist thinking will alwayi come out in a reform capitalkt way. You can only be really and-capitalkt if you are a Green'.

I Bahro objects to in the old left 1 What parties b the traditional alliance with indurtrialtem. 'We will pun the

I iyitem' communication cord on the industrial u l d Bahro pointing above his Â¥eat

'Institutiom in Europe, including left wing ones are agent# for the accumulation of the lndustrialiyitem Any battle the left wim is jmt pushing the iyitem to the left, you're not cha@ng it it'1 juit an input for the next ipiml of the ume thine, if the indmtrtalhition of the world were completed life on Earth would be desiroyef Bahro stated, matter-offlctly. As far as the concept of clan goes, Bahro think* it b more uwhii to see It in terms of a North-South class divide. 'The entire population of the metropolitan countries is exterdnist in character.' I looked around, nervously. at the other paigengen In the corn-

whose total life is committed to the old structure and the old labour bureaucracy'. Not surprisiigly, he has little time for Hie SDP, 'an average between two failures'. o what has happened to Bahro, partment . In the future, if the Marxist? 'I like to think the proliferation of nuclear weapons Greens stand in relation to Marx as continues 'the threat will not come Einstein does to Newton'. He later from the East but the South'. told a City Limits journalist 'Dogmatic' A paper produced by the Greens in acceptance of Marx is diametrically Bremen points out that the convenopposed to Marx's own historical tional strategy of growth to solve materialism'. Fair enough; even Karl unemployment is now absurdly unrealistic. To solve German unemploy- himself used, in his later yeais, to tell anyone who would listen 'I am not a ment in this way would need a growth Marxist'. He is amazed at the strength rate of six per cent 'This means' the of the Trotskyist tradition in Britain, paper says 'that in ten years we shall 'it's totally anachronistic'. have to be making twice as much o f Bahm doesn't want to see the everything: cars, refrigerators, TVs, Greens stuck in some far left ghetto power stations, cheeseburgers and and, mentioned more than once he psychiatric clinics. It needs only a would like to see more ex-Conservatives modicum o f common sense to see joining the Greens, the old style conthat this is not on'. servativeswho object to more concrete, The Ghxn work strategy would be motorwayq,poUutfon and Hie destructio~ to remove subsidies from the arms of the Forest. The sort of Conservatives industry and nuclear industries, heavy who actually want t o conserve, and outmoded industries like cars and there are a few, and who dislike the steel ('the subsidies recently used to czass commercialism and 'punk prop up the German steel industry monetarism*(Dennis Healey's choice will simply cause more unemployment phrase) of the New Right. Bahm links in Denmark or Britain' states Bahro) the industrial machine with the aims and to direct them into small, 'ecorace 'Nuclear weapons have given us logically sound' and creative jobs, and 'advance warning o f the exterminist to 'associationso f smaller communities character o f the industrial system'. which satisfy basic needs'. Such a One of Bahro's catch-phrases is the call strategy would in the long term create for 'Unilateral industrial disarmament'. more jobs, but, Bahro believes: 'the Wouldn't there be a danger of Soviet abolition o f at least half the work now aggression if Germany disarmed cornperformed must take'unquestioned pletely and left NATO as the Die precedence over the demand for full Grunen wish? 'The best subversive act employment' - an uncompromising against the Eastern bloc would be the statement that will hardly warm the withdrawal o f all NATO troops. For heart of many German voters at then the Soviets would lose the present. So what does Bahro think of legitimacy for keeping their own troops the British Labour Party, won't they on foreign soil'. There is a risk in dii at least try to disarm? 'Socialist parties arming, of upsetting 'the balance of always say they will disarm in terror' - it's just that to continue the opposition'. And what about their aims race is much more of a risk. Why environmental policies? 'They might are you an optimistAudolf? 'Because I put a few filters in factory chimneys' do not think the worstpossible outhe comments, deadpan. What does he come is necessarily the most likely'. think about the Lucas plan? (see feature in this issue) 'The trouble with He lives in Bremen with his 20 year Mike Cooky is that he says workers and old son who came with him from the engineers should always remain workers East who works in a street theatre and engineers -just to label someone group, circles the A when he signs his 'engineer' all their life is to alienate name, Anarchist style, and often brings them'. round his punkoid friends. They Bahro met Tony Benn in Brussels last represent those with a healthy distrust of political parlies, up to now politically year and put these ideas to him. What dispossessed, but many of them now happened, did he fall off his chair? voting Green They could be seen as 'He was receptive, but he's too conservative in his thinking. He is a man part of the 'wild wing' of the Greens,

UNDERCURRENTS 58

sometimes not above some 'creative violence' within the compounds of a Nuclear Power station, for example. Although he disapproves of violence, ha does not believe this wing should be excommunicated. 'We should criticise their tactics, but we should continue to communicate with them.' He might not go out spray painting with his son but sympathizes to some extent 'Andrej tells me you can't change people's minds fast enough by speeches and 'writing'. Bahro himself is an intellectui 'more advanced in thinking than feeling as he somewhat Germanically puts it but recognises 'there is an emotional, and physical reaction takingplace -we are the first genuinely popular movementsince the war'. It is this emotional and utopian style and talk of 'a new era for Europe' and 'Ă&#x201A;ÂĽth people's will' that his led some observers to compare then with the Nazis. Calling people Nazis is a favourite political pastime in Germany, but the radicalism and feminism of Die Grunen are in fact diametrically opposite to fascism. Bahro has been criticised for not backing feminism more openly - although when asked he agrees the women's movement is a vital part of 'the ecological uprising*, in a tone implying it was an obvious fact, but it's not something he stresses in his speeches or books. Why is a similar green movement so slow in getting off the ground in the UK? My o n o f Britain is similar to the wa I remember East Germany. It is five years behind West Germany in some things, ten years in others, 15 years in still others. The mentality and politicalstructure is conservative. Every country has a different tempo.' Nwertheless, Bahro is convinced the future is Green, even in retrogressiveBritainand in his view we will see the Greens against the Conservatives as the main political rivals for power. By now we'd reached our destinatior - Bahro's visit to the UK being timed to give a speech to the Ecology Party in Bridlington and t o plug his new book 'Socialism and Survival' (Heretic books) We were met at.the station by an Eco representative, who asked me if I was Rudolf Bahro. Suppressing a momentary temptation to give a rather outrageous speech t o the assembled Eco volk in a heavy German accent, I introduced Bahro and we drove off to the Eco Conference. I couldn't help a smile when I noticed that 'Alice in Wonderland' had been the last attraction before the

Mr Bahro changes trains

Eco party conference at the theatre. Bahro encouraged the Ecos, but comments like 'If the Greens were to adapt the same ways as the old parties we would essentially be the same as them' and 'Don't forget the parties are the most conservative element o f the Green movement' did seem uncomfortably apt in the circumstances. Paradoxically, while the green movement is expanding in this country - there will be six or seven 'Green Gatherings' this year and the green profile is more prominent in organisations like CND, the Eco party membeiship is half what it was in 1979. Die Gmnen have the advantage of PR in Germany, whereas in this counm the green vote cuts across most parties and none. But it should be remembered and many Eco members r e a l i this, that Die Gninen gained credibility, popularity, and, crucially, publicity by organising citizens action groups and imaginative direct actions (prankster artist and Die Grunen benefactor Joseph Beuys being notorious in this ipspect). They also attracted younger

voters by supporting things like the sauatters' movement (there didn't &em to be anyone of ~ahro'sson's generation at Bridlington) as well as making vital connections with the women's movement, Third World

Dropping meat from your diet isn't only healthier, more economica1,and much kinder to animals - it can also open your eyes to a whole new way of eating. As interest in vegetarianism grows, more alternative foods are becoming available, plus plenty of recipe ideas for anything from the quick-and-easyto the gourmet banquet! Like to know more? Drop us a line and a first class stamp, and well give you some facts and some recipes to chew over. The b3 Marloes Road.

cost of saving shipyard may be 1.300 jobs Poison store blows

",,

activists, animal libbeis and Trade Unionists. Bahro feels that even the relative success of Die Grunen is precarious. 'Our success comes because o f a moment o f economic crisis. To achieve what is needed it must become larger a movement rather than aparty.' Bahro apologised for his bad English and having to simplify - certainly r n q of his statements were sweeping generalisations, and in cold print he perhaps comes over as something of a fanatic. In fact, he laughs a lot, and has that rare quality in a politician -an ability to be receptive t o other people's ideas. As we left, Rudolf 'the red-nosed green', as he immediately got nicknamed, looked serious for a moment. 'My hope is that, with Genfiany 's unhappy past. we will be able to make a positive contribution t o European history.' Certainly, and especially if Die Gmnen do well on March 6th, the green momentum will be difficult to stop.

Peter Culshawi

---

Labour feud

Your jzk world. Jenkins

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UNDERCURRENTS 58

The connection between the women's movement and the peace movement isn't confinedto Western Europe. Leonie Caldecort met the Shibokusa women who are camping at the foot of Mount Fuji. '

The wind blows low on the mountain: The image of decay. Thus the superior woman stirs up the people And strengthens their spirit. (from the I Ching with slight liberty of gender am one of those who have never known war. Nor have I tasted poverty, nor physical disability, nor grief beyond endurance. I grew up in the privileged Europe of the fifties, sixties and seventies. A Europe at peace And yet I have never known peace. Anaesthesia yes; peace no. Eco-feminists often speak of the violence which permeates the world, making connections between rape and militarism, pornography and pollution, competition and Cruise missiles. I see those connections, I follow the evil spark as it burns its way from one t o another, showing its face over and over, everywhere I look. But the face of violence with which I am most familial is a shadowy, elusive one, hard t o hold at arm's length and denounce, because il has made a home inside my life: it is the violence of despair, resignation, powerlessness. The violence of the lie you can never quite pin down. The knowledge that something is wrong, but so deeply wrong that others would rather call it right, or natural, or pal. All through my childhood and adolescence, I struggled t o adjust my set to that reality, to that invisible violence. I don't know where the interference came from, but it came, in longer and longer waves, hissing and crackling that all was not right even in this comfortable, well-fed world of mine. That even though no soldiers with machine guns knocked on my door at the dead of night, I was still under siege from the heavy paternal hand closing gently (how subtle are its ways!) and inexorably around my identity, my understanding, my actions. Even though I had freedom of speech, a voice kept trying to speak through me, justifying itself in a litany of inevitability and 'realism', proclaiminf that violence is the way of humanity, until kingdom come, and that everything hinges on this. Lcould either allow myself t o be crushed and moulded by this logic, or I could hold out against it. In order to do the former. I would have had to numb

FEBRUARYIMARCH

that part of myself which instinctively cried out under its weight. In order to do the latter, I needed t o create space it which t o let my true self breathe and develop. I did this first by becoming a writer, and then by involving myself in feminism and the peace movement, throwing my lot in with women who were learning to do without the anaesthetic security of the patriarchal mould. It is not an exaggeration t o say that being with and writing about these women has been the strongest factor in keeping me from subsiding back into passive despair. I feel now that my life is an act of defiance, a challenge t o come up with something surprising. I find myself in pursuit of the quality of life which constitutes peace in the fullest sense, not merely, as Martin Luther King put it, the absence of tension. This peace has everything t o do with tension, but nothing to do with deadlock. It is a peace which springs from human creativity, from people who think and act in their own name, and not in accordance with some other authority, w h o cooperate with each other because they understand the needs of others as well as their own. I have turned from regretting the impossible to stalking the possible. In many ways, my own story could not be more different from that of the Shibokusa women of Mount Fuji. They -. have lived all their lives in a rural Japanese community in which women were not so long ago (and perhaps still) treated little better than cattle, sitting on the ground while their menfolk occupied the Tatami mat, eating the leftovers after the men had been fed. They gave birth in the straw. I, on the other hand, have been brought up on the other side of the world, in a wealthy western city, in a culture where women have nominal equality and give birth, more often than not, hooked up t o a formidable array of sophisticated technology within the sanitised confines of hospitals. The women of Hta Fuji (North Fuji) have struggled for centuriei to eke a living from the land. My own closest contact with the land has consisted of a few hours' gardening in my 'spare' time and a heartfelt, if rather abstract, attachment t o whatever rural

landscape still remains outside my city environment. I can afford the luxury of romanticising the countryside, because my hands are not plunged into it. The hands of the Shibokusa women are worn and leathery from their labours. The only such mark on my owl hand is an occasional dryness which comes from contact with detergents, and a slight callous on the middle finger of the right hand, which comes from holding a pen. I sit indoors for much of the time in order to earn my living. I have had every educational advantage whereas, even now, many of the Shibokusa women cannot read or write. They live most of their lives out of doors, in winter the temperature drops up to twenty degrees below freezing. It was in winter -the sixth of December 1981-that I first met the Shibokusa women. It was also in an environment t o which neither of us belonged: the teeming megalopolis of Tokyo. I had come to Japan, for the first time in my life, t o address a Japanese women's peace rally about the European peace movement and women's initiatives within it. It also happened that this was the first major rally at which I had ever spoken. That it had been organised by women was very exciting to me. After the rally 2,500 of us marched through the towering, modern blocks of Tokyo's commercial district, behind a banner declaring: 'We will not allow the way towards war!' As I marched in their midst, I felt like Gulliver in Lilliput - the only European and at least a head taller than most of them. Yet these proud, jubilant women chanting 'No more Hiroshima! No more Nagasaki! No more Bikini!' and Onnunatadd Hdva! ('Women for Peace!) more than made up for their lack of physical stature with their infectious sense of determination. At that point the Japanese peace movement had not yet reached its new peak (which resulted in nearly half a million people demonstrating in Tokyo six months later). I got the distinct impression that women had played a large part in keeping the movement alive during its bleak period. This is hardly surprising when you look at the Shibokusa women. When they got up at the women's rally, dressed in traditional oeasant cotton

This article won the Catherine Pekenhem award for '83, end is published in the excellent 'Keeping the Peace'.

trousers and jacket and wide straw hat -four of them holding their banner and one of them delivering an impassioned, angry speech against the military - I almost jumped out of my seat. Next to their heart-felt and evident emotion, the rest of the speeches paled into insignificance. Excitedly, I asked Yumiko Jansson, who had translated my own speech into Japanese and was acting as my interpreter, who these women were. She explained that their land, which was at the north foot of Mount Fuji, was being used by the Japanese selfdefence force (Japan is no1 supposed to have an army as such) for military exercises, and that some of the women in the area had established a resistance movement to protest against this. My mind's eye leapt out of the city to the foot of the mountain. I had to get up there and talk to those women. Shumiko Shimizu, secretary general of the Japan Women's Council, who were arranging my programme in Japan, ~iaisedwith the Shibokum Hahano Kai (Shibokusa Mothers' Committee) t o which the women belonged. and made a date to visit them a week later, accompanying me herself and explainini a good deal of the background to their struggle during the two-hour bus journey between Tokyo and Mount Fuji. Yumiko Jansfon, who came along as interpreter, was as curious about the women as I was. We got off the bus in Fuji Yoshida City,the cold winter air sharp in our nostrib and the graceful snow-covered contours of Mount Fuji rising above us. The town looked well kept and prosperous. Mrs Shimizu explained that it used to be two small towns, but had been amalgamated into one and developed with the help of money that inevitably follows the presence of military in a civilian area. The irony of this pattern material prosperity blinding people to the growing dangers of authoritarian power over them -was a recurring motif during my Japanese trip. A taxi took us outside the town and down a dirt track through some woods, the mountain lying ahead of us. We soon came to the perimeter of the military base; right next to the gate leading into it, there was a cottage enclosed in a small compound. It is from here, said Mrs Shimizu, that the Shibokwa women coordinate their resistance activities. They take it in turn - in shifts of two -to maintain a presence in the cottage. That day I met

fodr Of them, two of whom had stayed on from the previous shift. One of them, Mie Amano, acted as spokeswoman, the other three, including their leader, K i i e Watanabe, occasionally adding a few words of their own. Many of thewomen I met in Japan still worked in this burly organised, hierarchical manner. They didn't necessarily fit into the patterns I was used to as a Western feminist. The noticeable thihg about Kimie Watanabe however was that although she was designated 'leader' during the bulk of our conversation she remained silent, sitting upright and attentive, occasionally nodding and smiling at what Mie Amano said. As we walked into the compound where the cottage stood, I saw that the thatch on the roof had been covered with shiny sheets of corrugated metal. We Amano, noticing our Inquiring glances, told us that right-winggroups had started harassing the women, gathering outside the cottage with taunts and cries of 'go home you old witches!', throwing stones and burning brands. The women, afraid that the thatch would catch fire, had been forced to cover it. Other precautions were in evidence as well - bits of barbed wire on the walls of the compound, and even two young lads from the village who had been brought in to protect the women should the need arise. Whatever the implications of all this for a believer in non-violent resistance, I thought as I stepped into the tiny cottage and removed my shoes. these women had obviously touched a raw nerve somewhere! They could hardly be dismissed as insignificant.

uring the conversation that followed, I began to piece togethi the story of the Shibokusa womei The land which lay between the cottage and the mountain had been us by the local people since the Edo perii -around the seventeenth century. Th] was called Iriaiken, the right of commi people to cultivate and earn a living from a certain place - in this case the Shibokusa area. It was in fact rather poor land, but years of work had enabled them to grow beans and radist there, and even create a silkwork industry. Then in 1936, themilitarisati< of Japan came to disrupt the fragile prosperity of the community: the arm: began to execute drills on the Shiboku land. After the war, the US army stationed troops on the site, which, s q the Shibokusa women, led to a startlin, increase in prostitution in the area. 'Wt women were treated like the dust on t f ground, ' says We Amano. Even after the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed between Japan and the US, the land was not released by the military. Finally on 20 June 1955, seventy fanners staged a protest on the Shibokusa land. 'We were arrested as rioters, ' says Mie Amano, 'but as they were taking us by jeep to Fuji Yoshida the jeep crashed and the chief o f policd was killed. . .'. It was an accident, but drew attention to what we had been doing. Officialsfrom Tokyo came and promised us another 50 hectares of &n in compensation for some people who had lost their livelihood, and these people planted pine trees on it. NOW that the trees am fully grown, the rovernment claims it as state land agair Really, we are treated little better than UNDERCURRENTS 58

slaves. ' Because of the poverty of the land, men in the area have tended to go away to find work, leaving the subsistencelevel cultivation to the women ail the more so since the loss of the Shlbokusa area to the military. And so the women took over the struggle, building a series of cottages on or around the military base and occupying them, small bastion of ordinary life amid the soldiers' incessant preparations for death. The cottage I wag sitting In, listening to theta story With the hens pecking the ground outside and the steaming pot of green tea on the table, was the fifteenth one they had built. In 1870.1000 riot police turned up to evict a &dlgroup of women from one of these cottages. 'We were determined to die rather than move,'recalls Mie Ammo. "We had dressed ourselves which they keep to t in the appropriate way to face death mlveÃ§) w w t h and crawling around the ail in white. Lots of people turned up, of the fixing. popping up In the m expecting to we blowished: we'd They plant scarecrows to decoy the threatened to blow ourselves and the troop. Sometimes they'll build a fire police up with some unexploded and sit round it singing and clapping grenades we found on the base. But at their hands, totally Ignoring officials the last minute Kimie Watanabe mid who try to move them on. They are that in fact our dying would serve no frequently arrested and taken to the purpose, and that if we remained alive police station. They are quite gentle, we could go on resisting, building new because they are afraid o f provoking us cottages, not lettinganyone forget - they hate it when we start screaming, about us. So we surrendered.' and the police have realised that though we are physically easier to arrest than his was a crucial turning point. men, we're more trouble afterwards! Once you have faced death and Men put up a fight, but once it's over accepted it, but decided to go on they justgive everythingaway. We never living, many f e w and anxieties lose give our name, age or any thing. We just their power over you. The Shibokusa say we're so old, we can't remember women have, in a sense, nothing to lose, when we were born or who we are . . .' lose, and this is what makes them Indeed most of them are in their late strong. 'Many people in the town have fifties and sixties, or older. They say been bought o f f by the authorities,'says that by taking on the struggle themMle Amano. "They are comfortable and selves, they bee younger women for can't see anything wrong with the way child-rearingor other work. 'If anything this land is being used. They despise us happens to us, it's not a disaster. The and treat us with contempt. So we are younger ones could soon take our not only'struggling against the govemplace.' ment and the military, but against I asked Mie Amano what they hoped attitudes which we have to confront to achieve In the long run. She answered every day. If there were notpeople in that It now went much deeper than the the outside world who supported us'desire to get their land back. 'As we and here she bowed to Mrs Shimlzu carried on with our campaign, we 'we should not beable to continue this realised that the whole phenomenon o f fight. We also try to combat local militarism is violence against the land, corruption - makingsure that people wherever it takes place. So we are really don't get bribed to vote a certain way in a part o f the wider anti-war movement. local elections, for instance. ' You see, Mount Fuji is the symbol o f The Shibokusa women make it their Japan. If they are preparing mar on her business to disrupt military exercises. In flanks, how can they say Japan desires groups of up to ten, they make their peace?' way into the exercise area (there are a Before leaving, I went outside the host, of routes, they say, the secret of compound to take photofraphf and t o

gaze through the fence a t the mountair I felt as though I could never have my fill of that sight, and understood at last why Japanese artists hare never tired o drawing it. One of the Shibokusa women tugged at my sleeve and pointel into the tall gram a little way from where we were standing. A Japanese soldier crouched there, taking photographs of us with a telescopic lens. I recalled the women in Tokyo pointing out two men taking photographs durin: the demonstration the week before, telling me they were not from the presi I had pointed my own camera at them, and the men had turned away, embarraised. Now it didn't seem t o matter. Let them know who we are, I thought, let us stand up and be counted. The women WÃ‡ laughing at the soldier. I noticed that MI6 Amano's plump, tanned face was criss-crossed with laughter lines. She had a distinctly mischievous look about her. 'Don't imagine our lives are miserable,' she said, nodding emphatically as Yumiko translated. 'It's fun to make a nuisance o f ourselves and embarrass those men. This work is our whole life -we enjoy every minute, bu we're not lazy about it. This kind o f long-term resistance is the first o f its kind in Japan. We will continue it to th end I have seen time and time again how Japanese men will not endure the worst: they have no patience, they give up or get violent, rather than sitting it out.' She folded her arms in her sleeves and faced the mountain. "This land usei to be green, but they have destroyed sc much vegetation with their explosions . .A lot ofgrass and bushes were also removed to prevent us having cover for our activities!' I asked her whether there were ever moments when they felt it was hopeles She thought for a minute and then replied. 'We are not clever, most o f us have hardly been educated at all. But we are strong because we are close to the earti and we know what matters. Our conviction that the military is wrong is unshakeable. 'She waved her arm at thc others, blinking their eyes in the wintel sun, and laughed. 'We are the strongest women in Japan! And we want other women to be like us. ' I too laughed, and we bowed to one another, Japanese style. It wag much more than a polite formality. I salute your spirit, sister, mother, warrior against war. Leonie Caldeco~

NATTA NEWS THE BANNER on top of County Hall displaying (to Parliament) the number of unemployed in London, symbolises the GLC's commitment to radically changing London's employment situation. Since the left took power, there has been a flurry of activity on just about every front, with the newly formed Economic Policy Group making much of the mnning - hardly surprising given the key role played by Mike Cooley from Lucas, now Technical Director of the Greater London Entepree Board (GLEB). Even before GLEB was established (in July 1982) the GLC had been able to help several groups of workers save their jobs. For example, 120 jobs (out of 400) were saved at Austin suite, a furniture manufacturer, in Waltham Forest. The GLC bought the factory for Â£1.4 and is leasing it to the new workers controlled firm - and providing a Â£20/job/wee loan. Textile workers at Lee Jeans in Romford threatened with plant closure, have been helped in setting up a small co-op (Poco) making children's clothes. But the GLC does not limit itself simply t o 'rescue' operations like this - GLEB aims to provide loans of technical advice to help workers develop new socially needed products so as to underpin the jobs saved. For example, workers at the GEC Associated Automation plant in Willesden, threatened with closure, have been aided in setting up a union-backed Co-op - Third Sector. Initially this will continue t o manufacture electromechanical telephone exchanges (for which there is still a big demand in the Third World) but they plan to develop new products -with help from the GIC. To provide this sort of technical aid GLEB is setting up five Technology Networks, based on Polytechnics. The idea is t o make their technical expertise and resources available to trade union and community groups. Two of the Networks are at an advanced stage of planning - there's the 'North and East Network' based on the Polytechnic of North London and linked t o CAITS (the Centre for Alternative Industrial and Technological Systems) which has now moved from NELP t o PNL. And there's the London Energy and Employment Network (LEEN) linked t o the Polytechnic of thi South Bank and the Polytechnic of Central London. This will focus on energy and will consist of three centres: 16

the London Energy Centre based a t Southwark, linked t o the existing Centre for Energy Studies there, with back up from London NATTA: ITDG's Schumacher Centre, also at South Bank; and the Energy Conservation Centre based on the PCL linked Solar Energy Centre, at a sitealongside St Pancras. SERA and Earth Resource Research are also members of LEEN and - along with other groups are developing plans for specific projects using the LEEN centres resources. The basic aim of all these Networks is to provide technical advice and support and t o develop product ideas - all with job creation in mind. They will work closely with local community action groups, tenants associations, trade unionists, trades councils and trade union resource centres. Hopefully they will also be able t o help such groups develop proposals for job creating projects to be funded by GLEB -whether they are for co-operatives, new products or local community initiative, such as installing insulation and improved heating systems. The idea is that the 'social' needs identified by local groups can be collated into plans for local production using otherwise wasted resources 'redundant' people and equipment. The GLC is well aware that "in many job creation schemes, there is a danger that every job created is also a job lost that a new scheme financed by a public authority will merely reduce the market (and the employment) of the competitors. Within the economy of unused resources there is no such danger. Each job created is a job gained". (GLC Minutes 1 2 October 1982) The point is that the GLC can only invest up to the fixed sum it has allocated to it from the rates - e.g. GLEB has Â£30 p.a. from the 2p rate. So it can't reflate the local economy overall -only choose amongst projects. Even so GLEE should be able t o use its spending power to good effect, and in some ways resolve some of the problems that faced the Lucas Aerospace workers. In their Plan, the Lucas workers identified many social needs and products that they could make to meet them - but there was a gap between needs and economic demands, i.e. actual orders. Local authorities however have considerable spending power - and create demand for equipment, based on their assessment of needs. For example, the GLC's various purchasing depart-

ments spend around Â£100 million each year. Although - in this way, some sort of link between 'production' and 'need' can be established, it is a pretty tenuous relationship. Local needs vary - and may not always be best met by 'new' products. For example in the energy field it may be that simple insulation measures are the most urgent need rather than new heating systems, heat pumps etc. That's where the GLC Popular Planning initiative comes in. Over the last year the GLC's Popular Planning Unit -set up by Hilary Wainwright as part of the Economic Policy Group has tried t o establish resources for helping local @ups to develop their own plans and initiatives. A Popular Planning Assembly has now been istablished. This will have an advisory role in developing the GLC's overall 'London Industrial Strategy'. And at the local level, a Jobs for a Change initiative has been launched - designed to help local organisations develop their own campaigns and projects. For example, a number of groups in Islington have come together toestiblish aLJobs from Warmth' campaign - based o n the idea of creating jobs from providing council tenants with insulation and improving the heating systems on local estates. They are working closely with CAITS and the embryo localTechnology Network a t PNL developing ideas for heatpumps and CHP. To provide the back-up support, the Popular Planning Unit has also set up a series of courses - via the WEA, trade union education departments and so on, and in producing a series of educational packs designed for local groups to use. The first of these is on energy -entitled Jobs from Warmth. Support is also being provided by local trade union and community resources centres and there are plans t o support up t o 50 local activists on a part-time basis. The aim of all these initiatives is to create an active network for popular planning. Obviously there will be many problems. Inevitably this Network will rely heavily on volunteers, albeit backed up by paid co-ordinators from the GLC's Popular Planning unit - and the associated Project Development Unit (who handle grantslbids) and Research Unit (who will be doing sector and area policy studies). UNDERCURRENTS 58

In addition to supporting CATTS, the GLC has provided funds for the Greenwich Employment Resource Unit, Brent Trades Council Research and Resource Unit, Tower Hamlets Alternative Strategy Group and is considering proposals from Hackney Trades Council Support Unit. These support activities are now being coordinated by the GLC's Project Development Unit - the part of the Economic Policy Group that deals with bidslproposalslgrante. The GLC has also provided funds totalling Â£233,00for 17 co-operatives involving 353 new jobs, plus over Â£76,00 for Co-op support agencies. Some of this money was on loan (e.g. Â£100,00 for City Limits), some as giants. There has also been some support for CDA's- totalling Â£120,000 In future GLEB (it was established formally in July 1982) will take over some of the Co-op support work - with support from ICOF (ICOM's funding agency). Finally, the Greater London Manpower Board, GLMB is responsible for supporting local job training schemes some of which, like the Charlton Skill CentiGliiGinGreen3ch,have Tieen threatened with closure. Hopefully all these 'structures' will actually stimulate support and enable local initiatives. But in the end, it will and must come down to local groups - popular planning is nothing if it is not based in grass roots organisations. Similariy, it's vital that the Technology Networks really do open up Polytechnic resources to community and trade union groups. To thb end MEN the energy network - b setting up an advisory committee with representatives from local heating action gwups, insulation campaigns and so on - and is liaising closely with NCVO's 'Neighbourhood Energy Action' unit. This will hopefully ensure that LEEN's resources are developed and used appropriately -and provide a forum for developing project and campaign proposals. In the end the success of the GLC initiatives must be measured in terms of their local impact with the creation of jobs the most urgent priority. And if it is successful then it will provide an example of how industrial policy and technological innovation can be brought under somewhat more direct social control. Dave Elliott

La*:

Similar initiatives are being attempted elsewhere. In February 1982 a West Midlands Enterprise Board was set up along lines similar to GLEB - with 33m at its disposal (from the 2p rate) for 1982183. It is also trying to obtain investment capital from Authority pension funds (as is the GLC). In Sheffield, an Employment Committee, similar to the GLC Industry and Employment Committee, has been established, with a budget of Â£2.5~A similar Local Authority employment initiative has also been proposed in Portsmouth. For more details see 'Local Economic Planning and the Unions' Basil Bye and Jeff Beattie (80p) from the WEA,9 Upper Berkley St. London Wl -it's Vol8 No. 3 of their 'Studies for Trade Unionists'

series (Oct. 1982). The key problem for the various Enterprise Boards is obviously access to investment capital. The Tories are toying to cut the 2p rate, and not everyone is happy with the idea of making available some money from Local Authority or other Pendon funds, although there have been moves by the trade unions, at Lucas for example, to increase union influence over how and what pension funds are invested. Nationally there is some Â£6 billion tied up in such funds. TUC and There hive been calls (by Labour Party) to set up a National Investment Bank to channel investment for this and other sources into employment creating enterprises. (See Take Over the City, Richard Minns - Pluto 1982). Finally, some unions are beginning to provide funds for local job creation projects albeit on a small scale. For example the TGWU has provided Â£25,00to help 52 textile workers in Taunton to establish a co-openlive Unicorn 1.

the

LONDON NATTA 27 Clerkendl d o , London. EC1 OAT. 01-283 7303. NATTA NETWORK ATG, Faculty of Technology, Open University. Wefton Hill, Milton Kpynei, Bucks.

BEAST NEWS left field - the firework at Number Ten For those who were in hibernation, a series of incendiary devices (five in all), packed in Jiffy bags, were sent t o the leaders of the major political partie; and to Home Office Minister Timothy Raison The first I heard of it was a phone call from Newsnight seeking information as to who might be responsible. As I pointed out at the t i e and since, there has never been any action of this kind within the animal movement before nor has there even been a suspicion that such tactics might be employed. After all, considering the amount of public support rolling in, such a move would be counterid between the last time n the. productive as well as being against all this magazine appeared on the the tenets that animal libbers hold mod newsstands and the first (altering dear. days of 1983when the& tentative Margaret Manzoni of the BUAV was concldons are being typed, the Animal put in the hotma$ this time for a media Liberation movement in Britain has grilling and shesucceeded admirably in come of age and looks set to become making these points. But the nationals even more popular in the year ahead. leaped on the event with relish. "Anima Primetime media attention and a rights bomb" became the watchword, clutch of significant developments have coincided and from now on it's a whole despite the fact that four terrorist groups - including the Angty Brigade new ball game. claimed responsibility. Leading the field has been The The Sun used the opportunity Animals Film which has been raising to editorialise In the same Argie-bashint consciousness and causing controversy fashion that has become their hallmark. wherever it goes. Under the heading 'The Thug! won't I was working on deep background win' they claimed that 'inside the bomb for the Sunday Times alongside an was a letter suggesting that the culprits Insight journalist on the story of the were an animal rights group'. The Daily political row inside Channel 4 over the screening of the film on November 4th. Mail reported that the letter called for the Government to end the use of The direct action sequences were animals in experiments and that it was making certain IBA executives signed 'Animal Rights Militia'. squeamish and there was a lot of inNeedless to say no-one knows of fighting before the issue was resolved by screening the film with minor cuts. Not such a group. Both the ALF and the for the first time in recent months was I NALL deny any involvement and the only possible speculationscan be that it to reflect on the quantum leap that is either a lone nut or the work of circumstances have taken since the early people anxious to discredit the days of The Beast, when all the issues movement. seemed so clearcut and the politics so Whatever the truth, the incident simple. quickly slipped off the front pages and Not that this was the only out of the public consciousness. Howdocumentary shown recently on the ever, it did have the effect of triggering subject. ITV's Credo came up with an off a whole series of articles about the excellent, biting and argumentative movement as a whole. programme on the issue which put Most significant of those I've seen Richard Course of the League Against were a four part series in The Times Cruel Sports on the spot - a trial he entitled T h e Politics of Animal survived with flying colouts. Mention Welfare', a mad rant in The Mail from should also be made of Rabbit's Don't Christopher Booker and a curious piece Cry, the BBC documentary which IIn the Observer under the categorisation contained footage of the Northern 'Animal Crackers' (sic) and the headline Animal Liberation Front in action 'The New Politics of Animal Fann'. There things might have rested The Times series was predictable and had not fate delivered a gooly from

covered well-trodden ground. The old cliches- 'the confusing and everchanging patchwork of groups that sometimes seem more effective at arguing with one another than campaigning for animals' - were trotted 01 to give a picture of the political map and the state of play in the controversi areas of vivisection, fanning and bloodsports. Christopher.Booker pulled out all ttl stops. Under the stem image of a gasmasked Porton Down protester he

wrote: 'When even animal lovers seem to think it necessary to send letter-bombs, to maim or kill their fellow human beings to make theirpoints, it makes one wonder just what is happening to the nature of 'protest'in oursociety.' He then went on to pose the $64,000 question: 'Have we reached the point where the fashionable cult of protest has gotso out of hand that, like some deadly drug or disease, it is quite literally drivingpeople mad.' The question I would like to pose in return is: 'Have we reached the point where Booker and his cohorts on the Mall, flushed by their success at routing the Moonies, should now be sedated an1 farmed out to some rest home in Sittingbourne where they cannot pollute the minds of their innocent readers. ' Booker, who claims to have taken part in the CND Aldennaston march in 1958 now seems to have developed ill the anti-religious fervour of a lapsed Catholic. Enough said. Laurence Marks' piece in the Observe was less obvious but more curious. The subhead provided a trenchant iununary: 'After the letter bomb a t Vumber 10, Laurence Marks surveys thi 'mtional forces at work in the strange world of animal politics and concludes there is a general danger of a descent nto 'hysteria and thuggery'. The first part was an attack against what he dubbed 'single-minded puritan 'ervour'. However the majority of the kce was an examination of the iemocratic moves t o advance the cause )f animal rights and an interesting listorical summary it was too. He cited two other events which

were to add colour to ongoing debate. lamely the BBC documentary on the RSPCA and the launch by Dick Course af The Animal Protection Alliance, a new umbrella outfit comprising the League, the BUAV and Compassion In World Farming aimed at the nine per cent of the electorate who say they are prepared to place animal pmtection above other issues in deciding how to rote. Marks writes that this might make the different to several marginal seats and that 'the implications for other well-directed single-issue c a m p a m will

spattered year, the centre of attraction this time being at the European Parliament where attempts were made to knock the bottom out of the business by banning seal products in the EEC. It may intnmst you to know that the campaign is led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) which employed a London advertising agency, B ~ O Philli~soIl. W to DreDaR? a Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ250,00 campaign of adverts booked into all leading UK, French, German and Danish newspapers. They claim it is the largest campaign ever launched by an animal welfare group. The crucial importance of the EEC vote was underlined by provincial fisheries minister Jim Morgan who, in a Nova ScoUa newspaper said: 'Because these (EEC member) countries comprise most the total market for our seal kins and sealproducts, the lost of this market win mew an end to our commercial seal fishery.' The mason that the Hunt has lasted so long despite such vociferous national and international opposition is because it holds the key to Canada's Internal political makeup. A recent IFAW report states: 'All three parties, federally and provincially, are acutely aware that their electoral successes in Atlantic Canada and in Newfoundland. in particular, can be adversely affected by their respective potitions on the seal hunt.' The European parliament has also become the focus for the struggle to improve laws covering medical expertmentation, A new convention was ahou to be signed by the 21 members of the Council of Europe but it was 'drwffcall: watered down' (New Scientist) a few days before the West Germans, who insisted that their constitution guaranteed them freedom of aclentific research. As a result. New Scienti8t reported: 'Experiments that have been outlawed in Britain since I876 because they c a w severe or enduringpain will continue to be allowed in West Germany and other European countries, such m Cyprus. Greece, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Turkey, which haw no laws to control experimentt on animate. Only tiny Lichtenstein has banned an experiments.' And who is responsible for the change In the convention: The changes in the draft represents a victory for lobbying by the major pharmaceutical companies of Europe.' Coincidentally, in the US a bUl that

s to why Animal Rights has become the Big Issue of the moment he cites Dr Richard Thomas' political scientist and author of forthcoming hook called T h e Politics of Hunting*who believes In the Theory of Ripe Time. Marks says: 'Ever since the 1960s, polls have been registeringpopular support for reform. I t was inevitable that, a t some point, all the conditioning factors would come together: the rile 01 ecological awareness, the incursion of the radicals into single-issuepolitics, the new respectability of direct action.' Whatever the truth of the theory all were agreed that the moment had arrived. After two and a half years of campaigning the Club Row animal market, In existence for a century, has now been served notice to quit on July 1st this year thanks to a ruling by Tower Hamlets council The fight t o stop the Newfoundland seal cull entered another blood-

alms to protect laboratory animals in a country where at present they have no legal protection, is currently going through its final leg in the House of Representatives. Enough news to fill an entire magazine you might think and there's more. In a new tactical development, an outfit called the Animal Liberation Group claimed responsibility for the poison turkey scare whkh had police, butchers and stole managers in London, Liverpool and Bristol on the run. The ALG claimed to have used paraquat hut as the medical cormpendent of The Times pointed out this morning, to do this they would have had to find some old stock. She writes: 'For the last year paraquat has contained a blight dye, a foukmelUng additive and an emetic, all of which, my poison experts, would make it difficult to hide the necessary large doses in a single bird.' The annual Boxing Day Hunt also took a new turn, at nearly 200 meets around the country, tens of thousands of leaflets were distributed (courtesy of the British Field Sports Society) urging hunt supporters to lobby trade unions and general election candidates to put across the 'true facts' about the sport. According to the Daily Telegiuph almost a quarter of the 53 county councils In England and Wales have fallen to the anti-hunting lobby. It seems the wind of change Is blowing hard down the hunt's neck. Beast culture as predicted Is aisc on the rise. Artists For Animals, an offshoot of the BUAV, has announced plans to form a record label and t o promote gles to raise funds for animal cause& Amongst the artbts who've already offered assistance am The Damned, AttUa the Stockbroker, Mark Perry and Kevin Coyne. The first gig is at kings to^ Polytechnic on February 5th with The Sound. Support it if you can. Finally many thanks for all the kind words over my small-scale protest for Guy the Gorilla. The event, whkh involved me and JC the AC/DC handing out leaflets telling the.true story of Guy's life and times outside the Natural History Musuem when Guy is now stuffed, generated a fair amount of media play including Radio One's Newsbeat Encouraged by this, further happenings planned. John Ma:

In 1976 the Lucas Aerospace Combine Shop Stewards Committee launched an ambitious 'Alternative Corporate Plan' aimed to divert some of Lucas' technological effort away from defence related production to more socially needed and useful products. The following six years have seen a bitter struggle to get it implemented - a struggle which is documented, in a new book 'The Lucas Plan: a New Trade Unionism in the Making' by Hilary Wainwright and Dave Elliott, published by Allison & Busby. Dave Elliott reviews the story and brings it up to date.

What I

n 1970, Lucas Aerospace, a diisior of Lucas Industries, employed 18,000 workers. By 1980 this had been ,cut to 12,000 despite all thi efforts of the Combine Committee to resist voluntary redundancies and outright sackings. More redundancies are 01 the way - with 1,200 promised at the Burnley Plant alone. Some of the leadm combine activists have been sacked or left Mike Cooley now works for the GLC after being dismissed for spending too much time on the Plan. Ernie Scarbrow, the Combine Secretary, retired after a bitter dispute with the company. Phil Asquith, a leading Burnley Steward, has moved to work fo Sheffield City Council; Brian Salisbury a leading steward from Birmingham, now also works for the local council. Meanwhile after a period of stagnation, Lucas Aerospace's profits have soared. Following the 197314 oil crisis and the then Labour Government's cutbacks in defence spending, pre-tax profits, as quoted by the Company, had fallen dramatically from Â£2.6 in 1972 to a small loss (Â£100,000in 1977. This was the Company's rationale for cutting back on its wage bill - by pruning the work force and rationale for cutting back on its wage bill - by pruning the work force and rationalising the firm. Whether the Divisions profits were really that low is debatable - given the potential for 'creative accounting'. During the 1976-78 period the Company as a whole was doing very well (Â£55.8 profit in 1976, Â£77.3 in 1977) and it was investing heavily in new equipment and plant - much of it abroad When the Tones took power and following the post detente armaments boom, the new 'slimmer/fitter' Lucas Aerospace was in good shape (from the shareholders' point of view) to reap rewards. Pre-tax profits in 1980 rose to Â£9.31 and then leaped to Â£21.2 in 1981 . . .a 127% increase, with, evidently, a significant contribution from the division's overseas subsidiaries. Where does all this leave the Alternative Corporate Plan, the

at I:"""

Combine Committee and the remaming Lucas Workforce? Well, the existence of the Plan certainly helped to stave off redundancies to some extent - wen if none of the new products were forced through. At one time the company, it was alleged, was thinking in terms of cutting the workforce down to 8,000 or so. The campaign for the Plan and the widespread support it received from the public may have made that particuls target difficult to achieve: the company presumably did not feel confident enough to take on a major political , battle while the combine was still strong and well organised. Five years later, following a chain of union defeats under Thatcher, the Combine, like many other trade union organisations, was in much worse shape. The company was able to pick off individual like Cooley and Scarbrow with relative ease - in particular with little concerted resistance from their union officials. Indeed there was more than a hint that some union bosses were glad to be rid of these shop floor irritants. The Combine Committee itself continues to function, nevertheless initiating new campaigns and recruiting new members. But the political initiative has in the main gone elsewhere, as we shall see. The main problem with the Lucas workers Plan was that it was quite clearly possible to identify new products that could be made by the workforce and which were socially needed, but difficult to create a specific economic demand for them. True, thousands of people need kidney machines and heat pumps, but these 'needs' do not automatically translate into orders. Who could change this situation? Well many of the products outlined in the Plan would be directly relevant to Local Authorities, Local Health Authorities, transport departments, ind so on. Many Local Councils in the past few years have been pushed to the left - as B result of the fightback against the Tory cuts. So perhaps it's not surprising

that Lucas activists like cool&, Asquith and Salisbury - and many others - hare found a useful role in trying to link the purchasing programmes of local authorities to socially useful products in plants like Lucas. What is emerging is the beginning of a Local planning system which supersedes the market by making links direct between producers and consumers of public services. And this is not being done in an elitist, authoritarian 'topdown' way - the emphasis in the GLC in particular is on 'popular planning' via the creation of local plans by users, community groups and local organisations. In many ways then, the ideas forged at Lucas are now taking on a new lease of life in the wider community - with the emphasis now both on supply (production) and demand (consumer needs) rather than just on 'new products'. But that is not to say that the 'technical' ideas in the corporate plan have been forgotten. The Lucas Campaign also spawned a number of Polytechnic based support and research organisations - like CAITS, the Centre for Alternative Industrial and Technological System, at North East London Polytechnic. This has continued to support the Lucas campaign and to assist other combines in developing their own Plans. A dozen or so now exist. And CAITS has developed some of the technologies outlined in the Plan - outside of Lucas. For example the well known Road-rail bus. More recently a new, now very successful, centre has opened up at Lanchester Poly in Coventry - UDAP the Unit for Development of Alternative Products, which is developing many nore of the technical ideas. The work of Centres like these, and similar ones now being set up in London by NATTA amongst others will, it is to be hoped, be linked directly to the needs of local communities md provide jobs for local workers. Obviously there's a long way to go before we will have anything like genuine 'popular planning for social need', much less 'production for need', UNDERCURRENTS 58

~ uat t least a start has been made. And n many ways, the Lucas workers can

laim to have led the way.

Dave Elliott

I F O ~more details of

the 'Popular Planning or Social Need' initiative, contact SERA, IPoland St, London W1. ICAITS has now moved from NELP (North East London Polytechnic), t o the Polytechnic >f North London, Hollowav Road, London N1. )For details of the various other London lased Technology Centres contact London UATTA, c/o 27 Clerkenwell Close, London. EC1. T h e book 'The Lucas Plan - a New Trade Jnionism in the Making' costs Â£2.9 and is lacked full of information on the Lucas Plan. t outlines how it was produced and what lappened t o it. Undercurrents gets a good >lug, as one of the few publications that from 1975 onwards "provided its readers with a blow-by-blow account of the progress i f the campaign" including one of the first jetailed accounts of the campaign published n November 1975. What happened t o the Alternative Products? rhe Lucas workers Plan outlined many echnical ideas in the alternative energy ranaport and medical fields as well as proosals for now forms of work organixation n d skill enhancing production systems. The Company refused t o discuss them vith the Combine which it no lonear acognised as representative although subequently some at least of the technologies were toyed with, usually i n other parts of :he company safe from the influence of he Aerospace Combine. For example on the energy side, Lucas whibited a modified generator for windmill application a t t t e 1977 Energy how and the Group Rnearch Centre in

Solihull was, until recently, working on absorption heat pumps. I n 1979 Lucas nt up a seperata LUCK Energy Systems division t o develop and market photoalectric solar-cell equipment using USproduced cells. I n 1980 it won a Â£12 order from Columbia, South America i n d a Â£800,00 contract with Algoria. I n February 1981 the company joined with British Petroleum i n a joint solar venture LUCK BP Solar Systems. One current project it a 80k electricity generating cell array for the CEGB, t o be located at Marchood, Southempton. L u c u has also been developing fluidized-bed coal combustion techn o l m it built a 10 MW unit for a Lucas tubxidiary i n Newcistle-under-Lyrne. But then attempts at diversification have only been fairly half-hearted -few mouices have bean allocated t o them. And now the locut is prewmebly back on defence equipment again. However, the development of tome of the ideas has been continued outside Lucas by other firms, for example the hybrid-flectric asgine which featured in the Corporate Plan: i n 1981 Dragonfly Research Ltd produced a petrol-electric bus for test by the Greater MmchÃ‘u Pe=nger Tramport Executive. The natural p - f i l l a d heat pump technology favoured by the Combine and developed i n prototype form by the Energy Research Group at the OU, only to be dropped subsequently by LUCK is currently being developad by cveral comnwcbl groups with strong i n t w s t coming from the Dept. of Energy. And of coum the whole windpower

field has opened up considerably - with British Aerospace, and GEC amongst others, becoming increasingly involved. Obviously it cannot be claimed that these ideas ere the invention of the Lucas workan, but the Lucas Plan did in many ways put many of them on the map. The tragedy ifthat in the main Lucas itself ignored them. As Phil Asquith, one of the leading stewards from Burnley put it in a recent radio interview: The evidenceis i n what's happened to the products themselves: the gas-powered heat pump which weadvocated, which we pressurised Lucas to build i n Burnley b y trade union action, is now being pursued b y Ford; you can buy them off the shelf of fifty different companies i n West Germany, and this was one of the romantic products which Lucas stated would never catch on. There's the concept of hybridised motor vehicle power plants: General Electric, Daihatsu, Tmota, Volkswagen, Fiat, all have their own hybridprogrammes. They all said that the roadhail bus would be romantic; the Mercedes Benz Company recently advertised i n the national German newspaper that they are experimenting with twenty-four road/rail type vehicles which are currently on trial i n Essen. So, Iwould say simply look at the products outlined in the Plan, look i n the product areas, you'll find Lucas have moved into those areas too late i n m y opinion, b u t everyone else sadly i n the world seems to time taken up those products, outside o f the UK and many o f them outside of Lucas.'

new found invertebrates are only found asmania is a tiny island, situated off in the proposed flood zone. the south-east coast of Australia The area also possesses the largest and rarely the focus of world area of cave bearing limestones in attention. Yet the outcome of an environmental struggle, which originated Australia which are also unexplored an< has a meteorite crater one of only two there over 15 years ago, will have conin Australia which contains pollen and sequences of world-wlde significance. algal fossils which provide valuable The threat to T y i a , if it cannot historical information. be averted, places in jeopardy sites of Yet even this is not the full extent 01 outstandinguniversci value throughout the wealth which will be lost if the the world from the Grand Canyon to project to dam the area is not halted. the Great Pyramids. Most important for many scientists are The significance of the Western the eleven archeological sites which haw Tasmania Wilderness national park has been discovered in the region and whict been acknowledged by the prestigious provide evidence of human occupation Swiss based International Union for the from 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. This Conservation of Nature and Natural represents the southernmost known Resources which said in 1979 that extent of humans in the last Ice Age. "the Wilderness resources of the The sites are older than anything know Lower Gordon and Franklin catchin the Americas and are thought to be a ments have unique ecological, cultural significant as the prehistoric caves of and recreational aspects which makesouthern Fiance. their conservation a matter of state. Incredibily, these riches may be national, and international concern." The south-west of Tasmania contains irretrievably lost if the Tasmanian Government cannot be persuaded to a wilderness area of 13,000 Km2 which withdraw support from a Hydro Electri, has never been settled because of its Commission (HEC) scheme to flood the harsh climate and landform. It is one of the last three large temporate rainforests area. The area outside the floodwne in the world and remains to this day, for will be threatened by increased fire frequency, the introduction of exotic the most part, unexplored. There are in plant and animal species, disease, this region no houses, farms, fences or pollution and increased salinity of the factories. There are no introduced water. However, the economic viability willows, rabbits, foxes or sparrows. It is of the dam is, to quote the Duke of not dammed or polluted in any way. Of Edinburgh "not frightfully convincing" the flora in the region, 26 spedes are Tasmania already has a power grid rare, 18 of these endangered and eight capable of producing one and a half. are threatened with extinction by the times the maximum electricity it will proposed scheme. The forests also harbour a third of the world distribution ever need and is building the dam "on speculation" in the hope that it can of Huon Pine, a tree found only in attract industry to the area. An allTasmania and which lives to be over party Australian senate select 2,000 years old. The trees rot so slowly committee has questioned these power that some have a complete record of demands in Tasmania and recommends growth rings, which are at least 10,000 years old and contain genetic infor- . in anycase that another scheme more mation concerning survival in the fact of flexible and less costly be adopted. The l'asmania government has rejected the massive climatic changes. mate select committee's findine and Much of the flora and fauna of the ias maintained its support for the dam. region is unique to Tasmania and is not However, in October 1981, the found even on mainland Australia. The Federal government of Australia area remains largely unstudied and of iominated the area for World Heritage 269 spedes of invertibrates that were Listing and In June 1982 the World found, one quarter were new to science. heritage Commission recommended Of the less well known orders 90% were ts inclusion on the World Heritage List. previously unrecorded. Of the fauna in In the 14th of December, it became the region three of the threatened mly the 30th site in the world to mammal spedes are already extinct on eceive UNESCO's World Heritage the mainland of Australia. Two bird 1 ,tatus and the IUCN and ICOMOS spedes are endangered and 12% erf the

stated on behalf of the World Heritage Council that "The committee is seriously concnered a t likely effect of dam consituction in the area on those natural and cultural characte+tics which make the property of ouistandin, universal value." It went further to recommend to the Australian authoritie that they "take every possible measure to protect the integrity of the property" However the Federal government despite nominating the area, refuses to protect it by passing an act of parliamen which would make the terms of the UNESCO convention for World Heritag Austrialian law. This is in fact what every member nation of the convention should do if an Intergovernmental bod; is to have any power. As it stands, the real threat of the present scheme goes beyond even the tragic loss of the site itself. It is quite clearly directed at the international mechanism to preserve natural and cultural heritage throughou the world. If the international community, headed by UNESCO cannot save this region, no World Heritage site anywhere in the world is safe from economic predators and the UNESCO Worid Heritage Convention could become meaningless. This would be no great disappointment to many Tasmanlans who's views are reflected in a statement made by a guest speaker at a Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce meeting. The speaker, Mr Brian Wilson, claimed that "the handing over of Tasmania's south-west and other nationalparks to the World Heritage Commission would be a crime against the State. Nobody in Tasmania knows who the people are on the commission. We would be told by a foreign body what we can do with our sovereign state. Wars have been fought over issues like this." The UNESCO World Heritage Commission see it as far from a local issue though for them "the disappearance of any item of cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful impoverishmentof the heritage of all nations of the world." They consider "cultural and natural heritage aspart of the world heritage of mankind as a whole," and see it as "incumbent on the international community as a whole to participate in the protection of heritage." Prince Charles highlighted the

The economic viability of the dam, is, to quote the Duk6 of Edinburgh'not frightfully convincing.'

significance of Tasmania as a test case when he commented at the World Conservation Strategy conference in Wales, appmpos of Tasmania, "The problem is how can we expect developing countries not to do as we have done?" If the UNESCO Convention cannot persuade an affluent developed nation such as Australia to forgo the economic benefits of a region for the sake of future generations thmughout the world, what chance of success does it have with developing countries whose need of immediate economic relief is far greater. he threat has already shown how feeble the protection of a National Park is in Australia. Since 1960 the size of the Southwest Wilderness has been halved by woodchipping and pulping of its forests, mineral exploration and another hydro electric scheme. Although the region has been protected by various National Parks, everytime economic interest has been expressed in an area, an act of parliament has been swiftly passed altering the boundaries. The threat to nature reserves is in fact imminent thmughout the world and this more than anything underlies the importance of strengthening international conservation bodies and defeating the challenge in Tasmania. The threat of governments in North and South America and in Britain to sell off National Parks could be greatly encouraged by the weakening of the UNESCO body. Yet despite they worldwide ramifications the Tasmanian Wilderness Society has had a long and arduous task in publicising their campaign. Although we live in an obviously international community with regard t o labour and resources and enjoy the diversity of consumer products that this supplies, still public political pmtest remains fairly rigidly parochial. Yet the distraction of wilderness in any part of the world is a patently international issue since many countries, particularly in Europe have access to wilderness on11 at an international level In a world where 60,000 quare mile! of tropical foiest are destroyed every year, wilderness is possibly our rarest commodity, and yet in spite of this or perhaps precisely because of it, conservationists must justify the need t< preserve any area at all. The argument that wilderness has a spiritual value that it is the cradle of our existence, regenerating those who have the 'privilege' to enjoy it has been dismissed

1 WILDERNESS

1 1

- .-. .. . .

measure the value of land only in terms of personal financial profit. The state premier, Mr Gray, in whose hands the power to save the region ultimately lies has never visited the National Park and described the area as a brown leechridden ditch. His attitude reflect the pioneer European mentality which still flourishes in Tasmania. The first settlers on this island either established or were imprisoned in its penal settlements. They saw its remoteness and the impregnability of its towering ravines, snow capped pinnacles, impassable forests and thundering rivers as the bars of their cells and the loss of their liberty. The statements of many Tasmanians today show the same sense of exile and impermanence their forebeam prospectors, hunters and timber cutters demonstrated in their short term exploitation of the land. Workers on the construction of the d m see conservationists as taking "their bread and butter" yet in 10 years time when the d a y is finished and the beauty of the legion is gone for ever, only 29 jobs will have been created and the construction workers will be unemployed again with not even exploitable resources left. As the storm of national and international protests grows the Tasmanian government has only becorn more adamant that the issue is purely local. Twenty of the world's leading archeologists, the heads of British conservation movements, the World National Parks Congress, the five largest environmental organisations in

the U.S. and countless celebrities and individuals have all lodged protests to no avail. The largest demonstrations in Australia have been held to condemn the project but the Tasmanian government attitude remains unchanged. As MHR Mr. Goodluck expressed it "The federal government should keep their noses out of it and so should the prince." The crowning hypocrisy of this attitude is that the State government does not even have the money t o construct the dam (estimated at AUS $1,360 million) and will have to borrow the money interstate or overseas. The state will never be able to repay the loan and so all Australians wil have to foot the bill. In fact though the Federal and State government both agree that the Tasmanian government can make the final decision, the Austrialian Attorney General's office has said that the Federal government has the power and moreover the obligation to intervene. The Federal government has already approved loans for the constructibn of the dam and has offered conunonwealtl police to maintain 'law and order' should a blockade of conservatio@sts preventing further work on the dam get 'out of control'. Yet it has chosen to make a mockery of the UNESCO convention by nominating an area which will be subsequently inundated. The battle for the area is far from over though conservationists intend to obstruct work by blockading bundozers and already 200 have been arrested. Conservationist, Professor David 'BotaniEi Man' Bellamy who is leading the British protest win join the blockade and is prepared to go to prison. The final test of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention will be whether its treaty is dpheld in a member nation and a question of sanctions by other member nations has been seriously raised. The final word perhaps, bulon@ to the first Tasmanians who managed to live from the resources of the island fox 20,000 years withqut ever exhausting them. Mr. Gray hak repeatedly claimed that land use in Tasmania must be decided by Tasmanians and that is a claim that ought tp be respected. However, the last full-blooded Tasmanian died in 1876and can never be consultec Unless the Tasmanian government's decision is reversed, the land of the Tasmanians like they themselves, will vanish forever.

COVER FEATURE

Both groups believe in the decentralisation of government and society, returning decision-making and responsibility to the people. But because of differences in fundamental ideologies, priorities and strategy, the two groups find it difficult to work together, and in the case of some parties to see their common cause. Although the younger group, the green parties are more numerous and have had regular contact with each othe since 1979 when four of them, Die

ce of

Ifrom a loom electorallift in& a

(Great (Belgium),and t& &ology Britain) had candidates in the European elections. In conjunction with the Politieke Party Radikalen (Hoiland). and

ation group was set up &&change information, develop a common Eurothe balance of power in the National pean manifesto and co-ordinate actions. Parliament of one of the most powerful The group was soon joined by Ecolo; countrte* in Europe. Since their first the Walloon counterparts of the Flemid appearance in the 1979 European greens, &&v. Since 1979, the Coordination group elections, IJje Gmnen have not only Increawd their pocentage of the vote has mad& possible for the member and built up conddeiable npmentadon parties to support each other's camin Wed German's local and itate parliapaigns, and exchange policy Ideas for national manifestos. The Belgians and ments, but they have also become Â¥ImostiiiMpmblefromaitronggnu Italian* have been involved in a campaign againat worid hunger, in which roots movement Involved in numerous they succeeded in getting both their extra-parliamenliry campaigns and national governments to Increase their initiating viable altoaatlve social and expenditure on Third World food aid. economic enterprise*. Partito Radicale Member of the E m Die Gnuen's succew highlights the pean Padiament, Mare0 Pannella's appearance of a political movement hunger strikes led to the EEC Increasingwith radical new perspectives on the future of society b d t h e planet. Already its food aid, but as their scheme was a i m d at well below the 6 m u b n lives eight countries In Europe have green parties, and In at least four others there Partito Radlcale wished to nave, the camare political parties w h w programmes paign has been escalated, and the other are becoming increasingly greener. By parties are likely to become more the end of 1984, after the next Involved. European elections, it l8 possible that In November, the Coordination group there will be greens (of some shade) in at ran a seminar on the industrial, @least eight national parliaments, and a cultural and constitutional crises facing large fraction within the European . This in developing parliament made up of Greens and ide@#on a mmm~ strategy 'allies', from at least six countries. was the beginning of a series seminars At the moment there are two distinct designed to involve more party members groups of parties in Europe who are in the Process and spread the dl~13IIfdon struggling against the mass exploitation t o all levels. Two newly formed parties and destruction of our industrialised also attended, w o ~ d e(Sweden) t and society. Both groups are against growth, the Ecology Party of Ireland. Earlier In bureaucracy, nuclear weapons, m f l h November, the Austrian green party, ism, nuclear eneigy and overa development Partly Alternative -9 consumption of resources. Both groups of various Citizens' Action Groups, had ' are campaigning for human rights, its official founding congrest. All three Third World development and selfhave now joined the Coordination. In e d y 1984, as P& of the Nn-uP reliance, socially-useful and satlifying work for all people, and for a halt to to the European elections, the Chxdhation Is planning a Congre@at which a the destruction of the environment.

1political party capable of holding

Although the Green party in Green parties in at least 8 cot radical and socialist parties ai an investigation by Roland Cl

since Sweden and Austria are outside the EEC, and Britain could possibly leave one day, the definition of 'Europe' iamuch broader, and in the well as West. Already there are signs of an ecological awareness in Eastern Europe. In Poland, there has been an Ecolow

UUD Ã £ Ã

^^1ounoea oy a porn, of

hopstewards, journalists, doctors and academics in Krakow, which tho,&, an environmental pressure group, recognise the political nature of the problems. It was, however, Solidarity which made the first serious attempt to tackle the ecological crisis, it was dedyso intrintlcally linked to the misguided political, economic and Industrial policies of post-war Poland. The growhi links between the Weat oman and East German peace movements are also l&ely to lead to ecological ideas spreading beyond the West. within broad green framework, the various parties' d m e of success, priorities and problems varies in some ways, and yet provides exchangeable ideas and experiences. Ole Grunen's success has forced them to tackle the queitloni surrounding taking power and working in coalition or cooperation with the Social Democrats. On top of UNDERCURRENTS 58

I Germany are the best known, there are untries in Europe, and many of the older ire becoming increasingly Greener. Part One of

this their critics accuse them of 'declaring war on parliamentary principles' and of threatening economic and political instability. At their recent congress in Hagen, a rift over strategy threatened to appear between the fundamentalists or purists and the more traditional 'political animals'.

he fundamentalists believe that the basis of any strategy must be a rapid change from a capitalist to an ecological system, and that Die Grunen must be unyielding in their demands for basic human rights and survival, especially in the face of a nuclear holocaust. In the other 'comer* are those who are concerned about West Germany's two million unemployed and the growing social problems in urban areas which could be escalated by too sudden a step towards an ecological society. Many of them are excommunists and social democrats who have accepted the ecological analysis but believe that some compromise, perhaps even a formal coalition with the Social Democrats, is vital to future * developments. However, Petra Kelly, co-chairperson of Die Grunen until Hagen, recently said that Die Grunen 'can only gain by refusing to compromise'. If the Greens do not stay on their own ground, but move towards the Social Democrats, 'all the SPD would have to do is a little cosmetic surgery, and they can take back the votes they have lost'. Like so many ohers Inside both Die Grunen and other green parties, she believes that they must make their own uncompromising demands refusing cooperation unless the new generation of nuclear weapons are cancelled and asking for assurances on radical policies towards the Third World. A similar uncompromising stance on coalition with the Social Democrats has been taken by the Green Alternative List in the Hamburg parliament. Their demands for cancelling nuclear weapons and power plants, halting the development of the

Port of Hamburg, and provisions for housing for squatters, and SPD refusals t o accept them, have led to new elections. In June GAL got 7.7% and 9 seats, and it is unlikely that their support will have diminished. The last West German elections, in Bayem, the most conservative state, gave Die Grunen 4.6%. which is the equivalent of 9.2% in Hamburg. If so, an uncompromising national strategy may be easier to attain, as long as the other criticisms can be answered. As yet Die Grunen and other green parties have found it difficult to put over their ideas on basic or grassroots democracy to the traditional voter who sees any extra-parliamentary approach as undemocratic. The greens point out that in most parliaments the real decisions are taken behind closed doors, that it is the largest lobbies or vested interests who decide policy, not the wishes of the people. Simply voting every so many years for an elected representative is passing on one's own responsibilities to someone else to respect or misuse. None of the parties totally reject representative democracy as such, but rather see it as something which should be receptive to direct representation or subservient to community decision-making processes which can involve anybody. The two Belgian green parties Agalev and Ecolo contested the local council elections on October loth, partly on democracy issues. They won 120 seats in 69 of the 162 councils they stood for. Their main demands included a popular referendum on fundamental issues; more power to parish and 'quartier' councils; council control of inter-community electricity, gas and water supply companies; and no political favouritism in local government employment. In three councils Greens now hold the balance of power and are discussing coalitions - but only if all their basic demands are met. In Liege, where J3colo won 6 seats, the first steps towards a coalition with the Socialists and Walloon nationalists have been made. Extensive 'promises' that go beyond just the basic demands and include environmental and social controls on further urbanisation of Liege, as well as improvements to the existing city, have been agreed. One key step is that the Socialists, who have governed since 1976, have indicated that they will postpone plans to 'buy' electricity generated by nuclear power until the next elections in 1988.

Ecolo is now demanding that the thick pile of documented 'promises' is translated into precise details and actions, before they finally agree on a coalition. However, the nuclear lobby is very powerful and could be used by the Socialists to break any political accord. If, however, cooperation in Liege works the example can be used to work for other agreements elsewhere in Belgium. At the national level, the situation is somewhat different. In November 1981 Agalev and Ecolo got five senators (1 & (1 and 4) and four representatives (2 and 2) elected to the Upper and Lower Chambers of the Belgian Parliament. In voicing grassroots protest and initative, and pointing out the consequences of traditional policies whether Left or Right, they have become the real opposition. While the main parties use the Flemish-Walloon problems to gain control without actually solving them, the two green parties try to work towards mutually beneficial solutions for Flemish and Walloon alike. Now that the Flemish have replaced the Walloons as the 'national masters', they are taking their revenge by running down the steel industry around Liege (French) and propping up the collapsing mining industry in Limburg (Flemish). Agalev and Ecolo point out that the Christian Democrats are wrong to withhold investments that provide employment, that the Socialists should recognise that steel and mining are dying industries and that selective investments should be made in smaller industries producing goods that meet basic needs, but do not necessarily ensure large financial profits. All the European greens are trying to develop economic strategies that can meet some of the short term needs of the unemployed without sowing the seeds of greater ecological problems in the future. The Dutch Radical Party (PPR) and the Ecology Party In Britain both have fairly well calculated economic programmes in relation to sustainable job creation, including proposals for basic income schemes. This would ensure that people who are

either unemployed or trying to adapt to new approaches to work which are mon social or service oriented -perhaps initially put time and directed towards an alternative economy - are not caught in the poverty trap. Not only does PPR's economic strategy go further than any traditional socialist parly's towards addressing social, economic, as well as ecological problems, but also Die Gmnen are already developing a similar strategy. At their Haeen conference. a consensus on

unemployment', it says, 'is not United to immediate economic (rendsbut to strueluml causes. Yesterday's inuestmentsproduced today's unemployment and today's investment* are preparing the unemployment of tommorrow by replacing men with machines.' In D i e Grunen's strategy debates, Rudolf Bahro has called for a 'mas exodus from the industrial society'in order to avoid a massive acceleration of the ecological crisis towards the destruction of humanity. Basic income schemes,though dependent initially on a large re-direction of state funds away from subsidising capital intensive industry. could be a vital protection fn'innocent people' during such an exodus. D i e Gmnen's papa; aims to save eight million marks (Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ1.billion) a year on anus spending, another eight billion on ending 'mammoth projects like the Frankfurt airport runway, the Rhine-Danube canal and the main nuclear projects. Ending subsidies for heavy industry such as cheap electricity would save another six billion marks, and a five per cent 'environment levy' would be charged on high salaries. The money could not only provide the protection against sudden change but also be selectively invested in 'postIndustrial', 'human-scale' enterprises. Both Die Gmnen and PPR's political rivals say either that such schemes are Utopian, or that they will destroy Western Europe's economy and thereFore its Yet it is the traditional short term and often cosmetic solutions of yesterday and today, that are the cause of the present economic crisis and they cannot solve it without destroying Ilarge part of the planet. The Greens ind other radical parties, however, are the political manifestation of a grassroots movement that is already sowing the seeds of the sustainable 'postndustrial society'. Roland Clarki

Political animal Andrew Tyler gets his teeth into the dialectics of the dinner plate.

n political terms a pig is probably a right-wing anarchist. It IMS a tine

idiosyncraticsenile of self but is something of a traditionalist. The avenge pig can cmdi dead the average bolder collie but doesn't because it knows it would itself be dxughteredby the collie's twdegged, lank friend which will happen anyway. That the pig is unaware of its inescapably grisly end is due not to a lack of intelligence but to a lack of the wider technochip picture. Knowledge is power and the pig is fed only the merest scraps. If the pig is a right-wing anarchist,

then what of the cow? Have you ever watched a field of them feeding at dusk? The way they all face in the same direction and though they switch regularly you will rarely see it happen. Perhaps this puts you in mind of the SDP: Bii Rogers at one end of the field pulling left of centre, Roy Jenkins at the other pulling right. The cow, like an SDP politician, deposits its worldly wisdom down pat. The cow chews and chews its cud but is no great revolutionary. It is not even a great thinker despite a tendency to plunge into deep, impressive silences. And a sheep? UNDERCURRENTS 58

These nervous, yet curious creatures A not too distant politically from cattle. In paliamentiy tenas they are junior Tory wÃ§trallying excitedly behind their leader as she chafes off the Argentine bully beef, then scampering under their backbenches when the first strong fusillade is fired in return. If all this anthmpomorphteing turns your stomach I nuke no apologies. You might, in fact, ask yourself what would be the constituent parti of your own technkolour puddle were you to throw up right now spare rib of right-wing . anarchist? SDP mot row. Greek style? Yes, we h&come tothis! In 1982 animal politics travelled from whales to seals to k-eied donkeys, from white mice tortured in research labs to shivering dogs and cats sold in pet markets all the way to that most overlooked yet conspicuousscene of animal peneattion the human stomach. EachyeartheaverageBtiton confumesmon than his/her own weight in meat. In a lifetime i/hedevouiseifht cattle, 36-, 36 &sand660 Doultiy.Thenational~kulOi450 million animalsissupplemented by a daily import of Â£million worth of foreign flesh. It it no wonder that the great fleshsuckingmajority are obliviousto the reality of their addiction in every respect barring price per pound and when to put in the rosemary. Meat is a needling habit. It leads, like other addictions, to moral amnesia. Meat is actually pmduced on the needle. Dinner plate animalspceive as many as five and six injections a day to make them more appealing on the hook: antibiotics, tranqulllisem, stemids and hormones. The moral amnesia of Western flesh eater's is a deformity equivalent to that which afflicted slave traders of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, or that experienced by A&lkaaners in modem times, or by the white supremacists of back street Britain; the upper castes of India, the beer-room boys of Barrow Creek, Australia a propoa the aborigine. Ineacheasethedarkcasteis wnddered lower on the evolutfonuy pyramid, down amon@ the pmkcets, baboon* and routing fowl, where life is 'cheap' and 'smelly' and a&om are boro not from Intelligence but Instinct and If you were to stick a hook through the gizzard of any darker carte the pain would be negligible compared to that coiutantiy differed by the white video cnzed Qbennenscfa perched as he is on

the pyramid's sharp end. And it's from here, the glazed, complacent took is

got anywhere without it. And if we don't US them, what do you do with derirod. them'them to die?' Vegetarians, wen &&-vegetarians Realising I wag in the presence of a (thowfffll eatingfidi) line constantly dangerous man I hurried away only to to deal with the smirking jibes of find myself accosted by a Dr. E. lmn*fledlml-m#qb Dransfieid of the Meat Research their gullt-riddeninteirogahni aimed Institute who called me over to hb stall at proving that the *con&' Is not showed me three rib section!of cows complete and therefore of no value. andasked which I liked beat On the one hmd thÃ§ jibes rep'None, 'I unmd h h . Â¥don't like resent the harixrism of the jackboot them like thatatall.' faiclst, on the other the oily backdidto Or. Dniufleld foqave me my fetish of educated cowards. and wont on to (ketch a picture of a We saw both at the recent Smithfieli troubled meat industry; one soaking up show, Olympia. TbiÃ is the numbs one encamom subddlesborn the EEC to event of the agiiculhuqlyear for which counter plummeting profit*. During the thevutibowhdlispickedwith lutten yeais, he mid, totel volume gate shampooedblow-ddcdUwtock~ had been steady but there had been a wdla8thehtectincomputeraldddnritch from to toen lucrative white agri-haiTMton. met,wldtlamb conamption falling ForwyearsthÃ through thftfloor. Sodety haimounted a small, w e OCthÃdemoiutratoa outride he said mannered ptotost outride its gate*, the*rity were Insincere hanfen-on presentingawreathinmenioly&Vw 'and,inanycase.youcouldgoround glcughtered millions to the Roy* thecomerandfindthelame number 01 Soithfleld Club president who'd pop p~opkhaufnguhambwasrto out at some convenient time, smile WacDoiwbU.' indulgently at the vegan lunaticsand From upstate came a couple of pop back inside. troubled warts and a bah; the sound of This year, however, there came 600 the pigs and sheep being graded in the or more chanting Uberationbtsof same manner 6s the cows only here the various tribes for whom the law finale was even mow gruesome. despatched 80 officers. Handbagi were Kept three to a pen in the early put searched (it w u shortly after the* of the show, one from each trio wai 'animal lib' jiffy bag bomb btew up In eventually wlected for daughter and the face of a Thatcher minion) and a@a retimed u a w p m . This time, more interesting yet the Smithfield thecucm w Ã dieplayed on a rack president wore an extremely queuy a b m its old pen so that its former shit-eatinggrin as the press gathered playmate* could par their own round to witness the wreath ceremony. Iudgement. Back inside the hall, y o u UC In the run-up to this warped went reporter caught iw with the club tht animals acted true to political form. president in the rtaJIs of the cattle rbÃ cowÃ tethered on yard long row judging pen. Bebw us, a Mr. Spurow -stand moroiely at the sawdust floor, was prodding the flanks of so- mbet itaudbuf to &hoverthe mians of cattle who, after their fudging, we to breakingtketngicmouldofdestiny. be taken off to be alautfitured, then Thesheepgaveoff guit*ofenergy and brought bad on a hook to be aaeaed excitement but when it came to it did once more a* arcus. maUy as their white-coded leaden A good judge, explained the MC,w i bade. one who could enthe most Only the pigs pwunted resistance nucculent corpe by exmining the live , the robust, anarchic pig. beast. Mr. S p i r o w whowoulfl They ran 1In the fudging Den, probably need a good deal of stewing 01 kicked their hoove*and snorted wildly. alowlight-waglaidtobemygooda They went nowhere unleu enticed by a thin sort of thing. bucket of feedand produced conrtant But what had Srnlthfield Club ncertalnty among officlali and some president, Mr. Junei Bi((Ã§ made of muMDMntamongonlooken. , pmtut themYet even thew anarchic right-wing Â¥believe.' he told us, thÃ§ysot orken ended upeaten-maybe by their prfcrlties a WM bit mix& up. ou or a friend. Ifso,you mu& uk Since the dawn of time man ha8 eaten ouadfUthitbethew&ytodteporof neat. Thwe it no. .cMUstton that hoi follow polltiecl utnul. Andrew Tyiw

&cU?

Science and technology are increasingly the subject of political debate. David Albuw, coauthor of Partial Prowess (Pluto Press) demolishes a few myths about'progressl. How did Or who afford the aidi is?

~ d ~ r c ~ i W tisI a t 6part of and represents a set of views within the Ă&#x201A;ÂĽradicascience movement'. Over the last twenty years many groups and organisations have been involved in issues implicitly or dkectly involving science and technology: CND has hiahlighted the destructive uses to which science has been put, the debate over nuclear power his demonstrated that ;experts' with differing interests produce different 'facts' trade unionists have fought theanemployment reailtimg from the w i d e p d application of microelectronics the women's movement his dullenged patriarchal medicine byvetting up selfhelp groups scientist* have become increasingly unionised, 'hazard groups' hire fought for improved health and safety at the workplace. The list of issues is endless, from factory taimi to riot control, from race and intelligence to nudear power. Yet despite this increasing centrality of science and technology on the political agenda, the 'radical science movement' has had no readable statement of an overall perspective and analysis which could be discussed by both the constituent parts of the 'move ment' and which would help all tho* in trade unions, women's groups, black organisations, consumer movements and others who come up against the ideas and practices of capitalist science and technology. This was Joe Schwartz' and my aim in writing Partial Progress* -to provide a new perspective on science and technology. The book is not intended to be the 'last word' on the subject but an analysis which people may find useful in understanding and challenging the impact of science and technology on their daily lives.

The myth of classless science and technology For too long science and technology have awed and mystified the general public. Surreal, close-up pictures of Saturn's rings; the bizarre terminology of particle physics - quarks and gluons, the basis of life -the coded triplets of double stranded helical DNA, plate techtonics and continental drift - India banging into

Tibet and causing the Himalaya mountains as a wrinkle in the Earth's crust, the seemingly endless number of new materials - nylon, orion, acrylics, iucite, styrofoam and PVC,new medical technologies X-ray body scanners, heart transplants and in utero foetal surgery; the amazing flow of new electronic devices transistors, pocket calculators, video recorders: them thingi dazzle us with their brilliance, leaving us awestruck, excited, somewhat uncomprehending and a little frightened The fear is appropriate. Science and technology also have the capacity to ruin our lives. Thalidomlde babies, chloracne from dioxin, microwave cataracts, oil (pills, nuclear reactor meltdowns, technological unemployment; these things leave us mole than a little frightened, angry and depreued. We can feel confined and helpless in the face of a seemingly impersonal force larger than we ate. Awe and fear go together. They are symptoms of a socially created Ignorance -in this case, a lack of understanding of how scientific and technical work gets done. Most of us have far less understanding of such work than we do of any other aspect of our society. We are discouraged from coming to grips with 'science and technology'. Instead, we are offered a myth that blurs the vision and pacifies the mind, the myth of a classless, unbiased, Inherently progressive science and technology. This view originated in the nineteenth century during the great ~tXi0dof the development of ind-ustrial capitalism. It holds that the products of research' and development, in spite of some negative side effects, are basically positive, standing above social conflict and social divisions, acting for humanity as a whole.

Bronowski leading us through a series ol ivory towers in which lived the geniuses who pushed back the frontiers of knowledge, or Call Sagan racing through the mysteries of the universe. There is Patrick Moore in his programme Sky at Night twitching his eyebrows at every astonishing astral phenomenon that comes into his view or h u c Asimov praising new scientific theories from between his bushy sideburns. And finally we have the team of Tomorrow's World whopnnounce the latest technological gadgets with breathless enthusiasm every week. What these add up to, whether it be Horizon, Nova or science fiction is that we are persuaded to see scientists as hard working, dedicated, eccentric (white) men with their source of f i a remaining almost as mysterious as the experiments that they are doing. Where does Patrick Moore get his money from to do astronomical researches? Where did the mad scientist accumulate the wealth to be able to equip his castle? How did Dr Who afford the Tardis? All these characters, fictional and factual, also appear to work alone or with a laboratory assistant who just serves to gape at the master's work. Their products, scientific theories, are paraded before us in the media as marvels to gaze upon. We wonder at, but never really understand, E- mc2, the set of symbols that helped Einstein Achieve worldwide fame and recognition. In school, we are taught the history of science as a series of great i t by men advancing our knowledge b bit towards the Truth. And conversely the Truth is that which is revealed by the men of science from the heights of their lofty laboratories. Now in this fairytale world of television, the press, the cinema and radio, the next scene reveals a new set of Sciintif ic Workers: The image people, the technologists, the engineers, h i for a moment of the character! the businessmen. Their activities are who represent scientific endeavour. presented to us in news items about the size of the latest oil rig, the potential of In honor film there is the mad a new drug to relieve stress or the scientist prowling around his castle development of a unique toxic waste tryiing to s y n t h e d life from dead tissue disposal system. The job of the practica and electricity. Dr JekyllIMr Hyde men of science and technology (and wrestle with a chemical which can now it becomes a job because the role liberate the biological aggression that of money is often clearer) is to pick out resides within us all. those bits of science which appear On television, there is Jacob useful and then to develop the products

UNDERCURRENTS 58

mchhery and processes which will solve human social problems. Reality Evenulateasthe l92Osand 19% science waaftill not completely

world war is that science has become a large-scale organised part of the indust. rial labour process. Marx writing in the last century predicted the modem trend: Invention then becomes a branch of business-and the application of 1cfence to immediateproductionaimsat determining the inventtonsat the mm

teamsconsist of scientific managers, technicians, laboratory

economic growth. When this percentage f& to per cent in France, 2.2 per cent in the US and 2.0 per cent in the UK in the 1970s alarm bells sounded and editorials started to appear about the problem in the technical and ricial press. In the US, Science magazine ran a lo story about how bad It was that & R hassuipasEed the US in terms of 'number of personnel and scope of research and development is an important index of economic health. With this kind of spending there is a much larger work-force tban thmq was 40 years ago. In Britain In the 1930s, scientist* &re p u t of a muall twothousand-dm& communlfv of mainly university timed reseuchers.Today there are about 350,000 people in research and development. Of these about 330,000 are in industry devoted to the development of new materials, new devices or new processes and

1.8

role nthe world's anti-communistpolk force, has been a steady p p n of the new microelectronic entrepreneurs.

Over 90 per cent of semiconductor

research and development money was provided by the US Department of

Defense.The subsequent development

in the R&D sector. Of the total R&D outlay, about one-third to one-half goes to military projects. Of the civilian R&E budget, about 1 toI6per 85 per cent cent is research

Of integrated circuits, when hundreds and later thousands of transistors were placed on a single piece of silicon, was funded entirely out of military budgets Between 1969and 1976,US sendconductor companiel received #360 hflllon.in direct aid from the mBitOy and mTd it another $350 millton worth of manufactured devices, m a w for U s in the Minuteman Missile system. As Douglas Warshauer of the US Naval Weapons Center recalls: I think all these ideas essentially had to be simpltfied for the pwpk who

were funding the things and it'squite possible -from my, own experience that the military didn't really understanc what the deteflf were. In fact, I'm quite sure they didn't-. All you had to do was to wave the Russian threat and you could get money. After the initial "push' from the military, industry and commerce looked

to mkkndectronics usthe technological fix to the deeoeninecrisisof the 1970s --

The widespread introduction of microelectronics in industrialised c o u l h h win hare the devastating effects on working people that the current economic crisis requires. High uiteinployment, deskilling, extension of

of capitalist society. Art, music, schooling, health cÃ‡r have all been criticised for their venality, their domination by powerful monetaxy interestsand for being laced with class, racial and sexual bias. The m e Is true for scienceand technology. But much work needs to be done to create an alternative perspective The elements of such a perspective include a recognitionthat science is a form of labour, that the research and development apparatus Is dominated by that scientific workers

note Uutthis a partial answer to the

Jnskad, let us just

pinera.~he Ã‡lÃˆltcÃ‡t of oitetopnx~~or-bMedBuchiimywffl-

onlyproductmoiwcwttdtai*not-

control of the popi1Ã§tlowftf tfie" ' IBM 87/50telephone tecurtty lystem

1;mo

Adviser for Runt Women's uctlonal .-

m~teilie capital accumulation and tee need to control A* workforce both at and~attacksonthetnde the workplace and in the nÃ§of their unlona, mtng the unorganised forced live*. For *ny particular function or labour of the third world as a threat. f&-there exists a (limited) ramie of Osee examined, media projections technologiesand the interests of capital of a capitalist nirvana are equally un*ppe*llng: Mqre buRd on computer- dictate which out of the range will be choien.Atocialifttyctomwith tied war games for unemployed youth, centrally controllededucational production (or need, organised by the producers themselves, presents a fund& curriculi for W - d M o c t a l l w d mentallydifferent wt of problems to be ieuning, microproce~or-buedhomesolved. A soctellst science would reflect making gadgets to expand the working the pmbtea* of t h ~ t o c U Ueconomy day of the woman who works In the and society jwft as capitaltet science his hour. reflected theproblemsof capitalism. The story of microprocewOn in @ The question of what thwe problems story of capitalist control of the develop ment of new machines. From start to win be, how the labour or nsearch work fhith,from radar and computers to will be organised, what Co?& the transistors and integrated circuits, these solutionswill We, or what Will be developments have been moni&md and found useftil from the science of directed to provide the maximum return 1st development are political questions to capital. In the present period, the that cannot be answered concretely by electronics industry has found a potent- a perspective. But a penpectlve that tal nnr market for its products In emphulsesthe centrality of human capital's need to restructure itself. To labour la the ictenttftc #Cut penuib pretend teat this development Is 'some- such questionsto be nteed mthet than how' all for the beat to to Ignore pment denying that the quctions& We lire Â¥octaend economic reality Infavour of with the illusion teat sciencemitechan anachronistic, destructive belief in nology happens by i t d . It Is not true. A mcialist science recofniMsthis bade technologid ~rogress. sodtlfact.Thorettiiuptoui. Outline of a new perspective David A l b w Themyth of a neutral science and tech- PwthI P q w n : me Pilitlas of SBftnc* a d Tsdinalw. Rum Pmn, 1982 (Â£4.9PIW nology carried out in pristine social Bop postage and ptcklna). settings by morally neutral, objective scientists Is one of the last sacred cows

B0Tw3NA

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UNDERCURRENTS 58

For Life cr. Earth

feminism and feminists. Much as I class, or species. dislike 'lans', steer clear of labels, I We live in a masculinist society. A isn'teuyilith~etinmofteirand fed totally committed to femlaian and society which favours those attributes diKontoutIMernconrtantlytQbe a sense of pride la the label. For me it belonging to the masculine, to the putInthepodUonofhiringt0 has become like adevotion, as cost and detriment of those of the explain, and in many tmtancesdefend, anttomeasmydevot&mtothe feminine. Onceagainlamusingwords what feoliilan ta for me. However, these two devotions of which new fail to stir up a reaction The reaction to feminism I come up mine are In no wĂ&#x192;Â§separate or masculine,feminine.I would tore to be against most often in otbeis is one of able to avoid using than, but 1 am unconnected. Rather they are totaDy feat; a reaction which &perpetuated enmeshed and bterdepeodent, t o u c h confined by the limits of our language. anextentthatIfeelthemtobeone ' Pertlapa I should choose the words and the same. yln/yang,which are not so easily The Barth and the fife-formsit confused and not taken to mean belongsupportsansufferingfromaglossmd ingto either that of woman or man. I distressing imbalance of his see each of us, reg@lesfof our light. This reaction of the media is also is manifestingiMlf 8s a biological sexual grouping,reflecting the createdby fear-tenbythosein materialism, waste, comivtton, and vital interplay between these two positions of power of the undermining oppression, the symptoms& which are eneifies. I have yet to meet anyone who and eroding of the structure which evident all around is eitheroff one or all the other. serves to keep Sum inpower. Hence, But the important point here is not sickeningpollu feminiate lie pteeented as man-haters, the definitions and the divisions, but inflicted on the Etth. home ckild-deawten, the interplay of eneigles. When these fascists, etc ek. energies are out of balance, when om It is unfortunate that as a result go dominxtastheother,~tehappening many women &frightened by and in now, we hare discord and diahaimoay. someinstancesantagonistictowards The essential impulie ofthe feminine

omingout about king a feminist

"K.

or yin principle is towards balance and interrelationship. The motivating force behind the feminist movement is the ' resurgence of the yin principle seeking balance with the yang. Therefore, as a feminist, and more precisely an ecofeminist, my concern, what it is that motivates me, is a desire to achieve this balance, both within myself as well as 01 this Earth. Intrinsic to this process is the awareness that though there are a multitude of viewpoints, and a multitude of differences between each and every one of us, as well as between all the lifeforms on this planet, these differences should not be used to separate us from each other, or to create hierarchical judgements - i.e. one race more superior to another, one species more superior, etc. It is precisely these differences, these prodigious variations, which in relationship to each other are responsible for generating energy and transformation. Yet even within the so-called alternative movement - the feminist, the peace movement, the various ecological movements - time and time again we see differences of viewpoints, life-styles, sexual choices etc, creating divisions and disharmony amongst ourselves and hence weakening our strength and solidarity. Within the feminist movement, for example, there exist divisions between heterosexual feminists and lesbian feminists, between feminist mothers and feminists who are not mothers, between politically orientated feminists

and spiritually orientated feminists. These divisions are created by misunderstanding and lack of communication, as well as a disturbing lack of compassion and tolerance, which emanates from the pervading dualistic attitudes perpetuated by the patriarchal consciousness. It was out of a desire to overcome these divisions that the eco-feminist network, Women for Life on Earth was created. We initially began as a small coup of w h e n meeting in each other's sitting rooms. We came from a variety bf backgrounds and a variety of perspectives, but we all shared a deep concern for the state of our planet. We discovered we were all especially concerned about the growing threat of annihilation created by the increase in the production of a p s and nuclear weapons and felt a need to do something positive and constructive towards stopping the arms race and creating a non-militaristic society. It was these feelings that motivated a group of women in Wales to march from Cardiff to Greenham Common US Air Base in the summer of '81 under the banner Women for Life on Earth, and resulted in the Women's Peace Camp at Greenham Common. The sense of determined optimism that permeated the women throughout the march to Greenham has continued to sustain the Women's Peace Camp wen now over a year later after being forced by the authorities to sleep out in the open, without shelter in the middle of winter.

It is this energy and determination that has inspired the setting up of many more peace camps in this country, Europe, and the US, and has attracted international publicity and support. It is this energy that is spreading like wild fire in the hearts of women everywhere as we become aware that we have the power to effect-change. The sense of fear and powerlessness generated by our militaristic society is its greatest weapon, and women have been amongst its worst victims. But our biologically and culturally enforced experience over hundreds of generations as caretakers and nurturers and our passionate concern for life has caused us to respond to the current threat posed by nuclear power, and we shall no longer be passive victims of fear. There is a tremendous untapped potential in women, which up until only very recently in our history was spent on continuous child-bearing. Now women have begun to direct their energy towards creating a new vision for society. As a feminist I have experienced the profound sense of power we have as women through the regeneration of our shared energy. I wish to see more and more women, more and more people, believing in our power to resist and create, and to act on our visions for life on Earth. Further information can be obtained from: WOMEN FOR LIFE ON EARTH, 2 St. Edmunds Cottages, Bove Town, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8JD. @Stephanie Leland

I UNDERCURRENTS 58

en Livingstone, Mother Theresa,

R.D.Laing, David Owen, Lord Carver,David Steel and Des WUion h u e all been to Church recently; the urine church. It I* an unusual church as it has very tew putehionem. It I* even mote unuaml as It his a computer and a PICK Otflcw. Furthermore, it conduct* a market on Its graveitones, h u a permanent art exhibition nen the altar. co-opmtoi with the comrnuiil*tÃIn Ur Third World, a n i l y health ~ by photognolhg the hand* and product 200 lbs of honey weh year on tt* roof. Two y e w ago St. Jinw*'~ Church, PiccadiUy,was a dying chuich. Its main ftiactton wm to conduct Church of England woddtafi and memorial MnteM. Although wt up In 1684with a rich tradition, according to PIMIOfficer Gordon Frow, 'It was a white elephant with no income,in debt and in nud of re-decoration. There wa8 talk of turning it into a concert halt.'The Bishop of London decided to fay an experiment and give it a new look and new life. He appointed the Rev. Donald Re- of St. Peter's, Morden, campaigner for women's ordination and the art* and affectionately known a8 the 'redvicar'. Mr. Reeves law the opportunity to urn the church in a radically different way and produced a Ten Year Plan letting out h b aims for St. James's. I interviewed Donald Reeve* In the new restaurant In the churchyard. He come* arrow M a brave, blunt but articulate man. He nid, 'the Church can either be

the servant of the state or its conscience. We stand for its conscience. We want to provide a voice today for thou who have no mice and need to be heard in the centre of London.' He laid. 'there is a refusalto see what 1$ happening here, heroin addiction, male prottition and a new form of middle clem vagrant who hat lMt hk marduga and hlt job '.

He stnued that St. James's Is not a 'mid work' church like St. Martin's. 'We work on another level, raiting people's lights, educating.'He n i d , 'campa&ning ha* a profound spititual boffa.The greatest heresy is the division betwoen pmyer and poUHct. It It our job toput the two together'. Onewch enterprim b Duaunb. The foundea of the project wantod 34

to brbq conibuctire dialogue back Into the defeda debate. 'It It distressing

to iwthe currentpolaTim(t0no f irreconcilable vkm with few omortunitim for &batus mid Nlgd who nun Duluaita. Ha added. 'Dunamis hm no dogmatic commitment to any particular sobib but wants to wcphn altanattoe approacha to international wwrity and examinepsychohUeat, m o dandipMtuvl Unto 6<twunpmonul ncurtty and the Mwrtty of netion&' Dummto group* u a being mt up ill o m the country. The group* an betwen two to eight peopb Involved In

fpwific projwts. One group in GlouoMtor rum a RuBlin frienibbb aontm, contacttog Rualan ciHz*n~, anotfca I* derrioping links with Thbd

W d d countariw. The public ride of Dunante is the MriÃof worUiopa and lectures. St. Junw's I* a public forum for dilcuidng intomatloiul Â¥ecuritand attract8 between 100-200people every week. AH dudM of political opinion are covered Â¥mipÃ‘ke raofe from Nora Beloff to the Btfhop of London. The Dunamit teim hive mt up Unkg with Zimbabwe co-operattvesand have sent two agionomist0 there. The project hm a lot to teach us on how to use a lot with a Uttk and haw to U M simple technology , ' d d Dondd Reeves.

Beverley Martin lead* agroup of people in St. JMBÃ‘' community who are working t o m i a healing centre. She run* a healing clinic once a month where 20 people attend. Then I* yoga and meditation once a week, a well being wolfcihop and rekltlon clam at lunchtfana and a mrtos of weekly Beminxrs. 'A lot ofpeople come to us with ttreuproblenu. Strm ft a bad word. They an going *ugh ipMtVttIand

emotiomlprobkm. Spiritual haling

can often hmla blockage quicker than

psychology orpsychoanaliiis', she said. The four heelers Invoked are members of the Nation*] Federation of Spiritual Healers. Beverly thinks the Church should come alive In terms of people and said,

"weshould stand up and be counted but our main function it to make a coins impact on the communffyaround us'.

d Reffia want*St. Jamdo

to become known for Its encoump meat of utitti,paticulaiiy itmzgling and unknown ow& William B l a h w u baptJwd a t St. James's and a

Blake Society I* being fomed which will act u an umbrella for the arb to develop. There Is an a n d scholanbip for a writer or artist to produce a work on or inspired by Blake. Last year there was a 24-hour marathon reading of Blake in the church. Once a week there is an event called Celebration,Involvingmusic, movement, dance, drama and poetry. Last week for example there were dances from the Buddhist, Jewish,Hindu and Christian traditions, with meditations on light and sound. A serin entitled 'A better future for Londoners' is runningduring lunchtimes. It explores what is happening to the everyday London and what sort of future there can be for the capital. Speakers hare included Ken Livingstone and Dee Wilson, who furiously condamned the government for squandering North Sea oil money. Donald Reeves admits that so far the turnout has been disappointing,with only 20 or so people. Another series called Turning Points got a much more positive response. Peopb axe invited who hare undergone some major turning point in their own lives. Speaker*Include R.D. Laing on the Christian Tradition, the Dean of Westmirntar on Htrodlima and Caitlin Matthewsonher conversion from paganism to Catholicism. Donald Reeves said, TurnIng Points is a very valuable sphere for people altering their perceptions and their lives. Sabme Kurjo who co-ordiistes the programme said, 'Man is at a

turningpoint, either a New Age or destruction. We have to makepeople ware o f this'.

UNDERCURRENTS 58

year thePertof theTranaflguntionwas on the same day a~ the Hiroahbna in ma& wavs

coffee bourn bave opened tbk ymr. DonMnUYtitarMJpmcllcdre~ f w w eto the Chwch'tienws minittry'. The m!&ouimk i8 d f adwe4 mostly tome made food. Another

human', accordingto

Press Officer

learns to,transcend nationalboundaries'. Other activities Donald runs theurban Ministry Project which is a W n igagency for ministers and lay people;ketting them see what a radical urban niinMry looks like. It involves films and talks on social pmblems such as aleohoh.

Gordon Prow,PINS Officer, add,'ft areradical,aeainstthestream,notwith the established Church. We reflecta new radicalism, a Using nuality, not a historical anomaly, We want to establish,@ dialogue with those on the edge o f faith con@rnedabyitthe spiritual dimension'. He aaid, 'We attend to a broader MOW of moral isam than .the established Church. It is impoaibIp to comment on m o d issues without behg

political'.

budget and have to exist on Trusts, Charities mid donations'.

Reactions The curate at neighbou&gSt. Martins said, they be done a remarks61 job in turning the place around. The place & a community of a dmrent sense'. Another a n t e slid "They're the intellectual Church. You wouldn't im&e them hosinga jumble sale'. He added that St. Martins was in a (Utferenttradition, 'apastoralcaring foi wffnring indiuidMb became of the abuses o f society. We don%want to use them to campaign ourselves, but we Heed both the canwaigningandpastoml the Church. The different are complementary'. Hadriy of the Churcho f EnglandNewmiper said, (they we not alone In doing odd things in the context o f the whole Church, but they we more b i l and radical than most'. The Church Timessaid, 'itattracts a certain type ofperson, but if you don't like it yob needn't go near it. That is a Churchof England budition'. Councillor Nicholas Thompson o f Westminiter Council said, 'We have no

Donald Reeres whether he donetoo much too

lu6m 't yet begun'.

lan Grant

ill,

motion and marketing of baby milk, pesticides and pharmaceuticals; poverty and the arms race; 0 There should be approxiand how 'aid' is distributed i n mately eight green gatherings the Third World. You can next year dotted around the 'subscribe t o Oxfam 2000 by country. These will be a mixture of workshops on peace, feminism, sending Â£6/y to Oxfam 2000, 274 Banbury Rd, Oxford, tel, animals, etc., and music, theatre 10865) 56777, for which you and general fun. Some people have suggested the idea of a Green will get regular news and information about the issues. Convoy, which will travel from gathering t o gathering but will also make surprise visits t o nuclear power plants, weapons factories, vivisection laboratories and the like. Those interested in being part of the convoy should contact David Taylor, 4 Bridge House, St Ives, Huntingdon, Cambs.

use the co-op t o insulate their loft, Â£ will be paid by the co-op to a needy voluntary organisation of the individual's choice. Besides saving energy, the loft insulation needn't cost you much as grants are available for 66% of the total cost (90% if you are a claimant 01 GAP). LINCOP are also launching a major scheme for collecting waste newspapers t o sell t o Diversified Insulation, a company near Edinburgh which manufactures loft insulation end which LINCOP will then buy and use. More information on the scheme is available by writing t o Roland Chaplain, 15 Kelso Rd, Leeds 2.

The first issue of Thread*, a newsletter basically about nuclear disarmament, has been produced. I n fact, it is the newsletter of the Despair Work movement, a fledgling movement which challenges people t o examine their personal relationships t o the nuclear culture. The first issue mainly explains whet despair work is and how the movement has arisen (worth reading) but future issues may well have a wider appeal. Subscriptions are available at Â£ for 3 issues (Â£ Europe) from Paul Fink, West Lynn, Dairy, Ayrshire, Scotland (cheques payable t o Despair Work).

CAMPAIGNS

A Street Newspaper is a good way of making people aware that something is going on. Make them tabloid-style t o appeal t o people' sense of the sensational and include items exposing general financial deals, plenty of cartoons and details of demonstrations, but no complex articles. The Cambridge-based Sizewell Observer is onesuch paper, but they suggest that people devise their own i n other towns or cities. The SO collective is willing t o sell the newspaers t o groups in East Anglia. If interested in the idea, or the paper, write t o Box 'Sizewell Observer', Grapevine Book-. ship, 186 East Rd, Cambridge. When someone joins the Peace Pledge Union, they have to sign a pledge saying 'I renounce war and Iwill never support or sanction another'. This makes the organisation inherently more radical than CND, who ere only pushingfor unilateral disarmament. The PPU have a campaign against militarism and military recruiting project; a peace education project; and campaigns against nuclear power, the arms trade, war toys and racism. They also work with reluctantservice people. Membership costs Â£B/v (Â£ unwaged). For further details write t o PPU, 6 Endsleigh St, London WC1.

GENERAL

Glosa is an international anguage which is rapidly spreading across the world. The vocabdary is based on the Latin and Brack roots that are already international, and there is no yammar. It is very easy t o learn, a n be adapted for computers and offers many educational advantages. The vital dictionary and further details of the language are available from Glosa, 29 Pandora Rd, London NW6. A comprehensive information service is now available t o tell you what training and education is available in organic agriculture and horticulture. COMET (Combined Organic Movement for Education and Training) and WWOOF (Working Weak. ends on Organic Farms) have now joined jorces t o the extent that COMET will produce a comprehensive information sheet, updated regularly, which will be sent out with alternative issues of WWOOF News. NonWWOOF members may receive a free copy of the COMET information sheet by sending an SAE t o WWOOF, 19 Bradford Rd, Lewes, Sussex (WWOOF membership itself costs Â£5/yr)

PUBLICATIONS

Concord Films now have the Animal Film for hire. The film copy i s the full uncut version and costs Â£4 t o hire, plus carriage and VAT. It is available from Concord Films at 201 Felixtowe Rd, Ipswich, Suffolk.

Leeds Insulation Coonerative (LINCOP) have devised a scheme whereby, when people

For people interested in learning more about the Green movement las distinct from the Ecology Party) a Green Pack is available for Â£1.20AThiincludes leaflets about groups such as Die Grunen and Women for Life on Earth; a sample copy of Green Line magazine, and assorted stickers. The pack is available from David Taylor, address as above. Sizawell Reactions is a new 6 anti-nuclear newsletter published for Sjzewell Co-ordination, the broad forum which unites groups working both within the Inquiry and outside it. The first 8-PW newsletter (December) includes an alternative enemy plan for East Anglia, written by NATTA people. The subscription rate is Â£5Â£3.6 unwaged (institutions Â£10)Send t o EAAANP, 2 St Helen's St, Ipswich, Suffolk. The latest BSSRS pamphlet, Science on Our Side, examines some trends in the growing 'science and society' debate. Topics include, amongst others, the relationships between science and daily life, the power of the state, education and production; the pamphlet clearly shows the need for a socialist policy for science and technology which will link it more closely t o needs and be more critical of its claimed benefits. It is available for Â£ from BSSRS, 9 Poland St, London W1.

WOMEN

0 Oxfam has recently launchec a new campaign called Oxfam 2000. Their aim is t o create a network of people who take an active interest in Third World countries, and who wish tochange some of the attitudes and practices in Britain which actually create problems for these people. The campaign will focus on the pro-

more recent compositions. If the tune is not well-known, music is given. The booklet costs 60p and is available from Peace News, 8 Elm Avenue, Nottingharn.

The third Peace News pamphlet, the Anti-Nuclear Songbook, is a collection of songs and 'alternative carols' on the nuclear powerlweapons theme. Some of the songs, such as 'Workers Bomb' are well-known and have been around for a number of years, while others are

Women's City will be a women-only centrelresource area which will open later i n the year in north London. A t the moment they are asking women what sort of services and cultural activities should be part of the centre. Some of the suggestions received so far include printing, library and tape recording facilities; a computer block, office space, business studies and translation facilities; a legall financial advice centre and a job centre: arts and crafts, theatre and cinema, studios, restaurant and a bar. They have a printed list of some of the suggestions so far, with boxes t o tick so they can gauge which ideas are most popular. If interested, write t o Women's City, 25 Homell Rd, London N5. UNDERCURRENTS 58

I E F I

a series of talks organised by the South Place Ethical Society. Paul ~ i n k f r o m ~ e s p a i r Work will be touring the country in February and March, leading workshops which will explore why people suppress their fears about nuclear war, pollution, etc. Dates and places so far include the followiing:-

tfp

The main discussion areas will be the public service sector; the industrial and market sector; loca authority employment promotior strategy, and action amongst the unemployed. Speakers include Peter Carter, Mike Cooley and Dave Harker. The conference starts at l l a m , at Buxton Hall, Ruskin College, Oxford. More details are available from SERA, 9 Poland St, London W1, tel. 01-439 3749.

825430. February 17 Lancaster. Contact COURSES !s!'~~~~enicourt On (0524) The Centre for Alternative LECTURES & MEETINGS 733413. rechnology is running twoquite 0 The Parligaes lectures and dis- February 26 Cheltenham. Contact iifferent courses in February and cussions are continuing this year nennis ~ ~ ~ on (0242) ~ h ~ l lMarch. Wholefood Vegetarian and include the following talks: 34456, Zookery is an introductory course The Impact Of New February 27 Birmingham. Contact ~ i t the h emphasis on cooking and Load Management Technology on Cathie Schwarcz on (021) 474 fating, and will run from Electricity Demand: An Altern5751, February 18-20. Self-build is for ative t o New Generating Capacity? march 12 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t l ~ - ~ p o :hose n - T who y n want e . t o build their ow! February 28 Employment implicontact B r i a n v e r n o n o n (0632 louse, and runs from March 18cations of Energy Policies. 815166. 20. The courses cost Â£5 and Â£6 March 14 The Fast Breeder There may also be workshops in .espectively, with a Â£1 reduction Reactor: The Future for Nuclear Edinburgh, Glasgow, SW Scotland o r unwaged people. More details Power? and Dyfed. Phone Paul on ire available from the Centre for The lectures start at 6.30 and take (06443) 2129 t o check. PreMternative Technology, place at the House of Lords, registration is essential for all Machynlleth, Powvs, tel (0654) London SW1 (precise venue t o be workshops. 2400. ascertained from the officer on duty at St Stephen's Entrance). The inaugural meeting Of the Socialist Countryside Group @ The church-based Dunamis will take place on March 26. The peace group have a series of meeting, which will be addressed lectures planned for the next few by ~ i ~,zoot(l) h ~and~chaired l months. Those coming up include: by ~~~kerody, Secretary of the February 9 Deterrence end Agricultural Trades section of the Reassurance. TGWU, will agree a constitution February 16 Consumer Testing of and ,Ã£acofficers and a Democracy. committee. The venue is Conway February 23 Better than Hall, Red Lion Square, London Disarmament. WC1, and the starting time i s 2pm March 2 War Mania: the Readiness pOr details write to the socialist t o Rush to War. Countryside Group, c/o SERA, The meetings start at 6.30 and are st, wl, or at St James, Piccadilly. An phone 01439 3749 (SERA), entrance fee of 5 0 is~ charged. 01.229 541 (Anne weigall) or More details are available by 01-669 5781 (Richard Mackie). telephoning 01-437 6851. CONFERENCES Dunamis are also organising a weekend on conflict and personal & SEMINARS security, which will take place Third World First are from February 25-27 at the organising two dayschools on Commonwork Centre in Kent, health and culture in the Third The cost is E28, Further World are affected by the sociofrom Jean Pwnton at Dunamis, economic context in which they 197 Piccadilly, London W1. are studied, and to make concrete 9 The Nurtons field centre has suggestions on how training and also planned some weekend London Regional European education might be improved. courses for Maich. The next ones Nuclear Disarmament are holding The dates and places are:are:a public meeting on February 9 February 5 Health. March 4-6 Practical Farm on The Suppression of the Peace March 5 Culture. Mechanics. Movement i n Southern Europe, The health dayschool will be at March 18-20 Healing. with particular reference t o Caxton House, St Johns Way, March 25-27 How t o Start and Turkey. It starts at 7pm, at the London N19, while the culture Run a Small Farm. upstairs meeting room of the one will be in the Students Union The latter course deals with the Roebuck pub, 108 Tottenham at Sheffield University. The cost financial, organisational and Court Rd, London W1. for each one is Â£ (Â£2.5 emotional considerations needed unwaged). For details write t o to run a smallholding - it is not On lo there will 3W1, 173 Archway Rd, London be a talk on Politics and Contml a practical course. The course or phone o1340 7723, fee is Â£30-3 in each case. of the Media in the library at New Thinking on Employ- Further details are available by Conwav Hall. Red Lion Sauare, ment is a conference for the lending an SAE t o The Nurtons, W C ~ The . speaker is labour movement which wilt take Tintern, nr Chepstow, Gwent, John Jennings, and the talk place on February 26 in Oxford. or by phoning (029181 253. starts at 6.30. This is one of

ond don

The Yarner Trust has some courses on how to run a smallholding coming up at i t s two centres in Devon. The courses are:February 11-13: Introduction t o Smallholding. March 4-6: Introduction t o Smallholding. March 11-13: Lambing. March 28-April 8: Introductory course. The first two weekends will be at Welcombe Barton, Welcombe, Bideford; the latter two at Beacon Farm, Dartington, Totnes. Fees are Â£3 for the weekend courses, Â£14 for the introductory course. Further details are available from Pam and Nick Rodway on (028883) 482 for Welcombe Barton courses, or from Eric Clarke on 10803) 863736 for those at Beacon Farm.

DEMONSTRATIONS Sizewell Non-violent Action Groupwill be organising a number of interesting actions for the duration of the Sizewell Inquiry. Some of their plans are only tentative at this stage -however, i f you are interested in doing nonviolent actions against Sizewell, they would welcome you at their meetings. T o find out more contact Ann on (044085) 440 or Dave on (04731 55692.

COMING SOON The GLC has declared 1983 Peace Year. As part of their contribution t o this, they are organising the following events during the year:- Until February 4: Exhibition of photomontages by Peter Kennard, in the main foyer of County Hall. Entitled 'Despatches from an Unofficial War Artist', the exhibition can be seen from 9-7, Monday-Friday. - International Peace Concerts with a peace music theme, on Sunday mornings inFebruary at Rangers House, Chesterfield Walk, London SE10. - A cabaret called the N u c l y r Bunker Party, on tour during the spring and autumn with 50 concerts across London. - A touring photo exhibition by Ed Barber on the growth of the peace camps in Britain. - The backing of Theatre Centre, a repertory group, for a programme tailored t o aspects of peace t o be presented at schools and events. - Peace films and videos t o be shown at youth and community centres, and a GLC film sponsored for the cinema. - Financial backing, up t o 25,000 in total, for peace and religious groups t o help pay for peace events.

REVIEWS Get it ~ogether

democratic and viable alternatives to private, nuclear family-oriented ownership of housing. June Statham

I ~ e p e n d e n c y by ~ e s i g n

The Collective Housing Handbook. be invaluable to anyone thinking of I living collectively, or anyone in the Sarah Eno and Dave Treanor. Laurieston Hall Publications.E3.50 position of advising working and housing

co-operatives. All you ever wanted 1) IF YOU had t o find a legal structure to know (and had no-one to ask) about raising capital, producing accounts, which allowed you and your friends t o choosing members, minimising t a x . live or work collectively with a minimum ofbureaucratic interference and a An equally practical aspect of living maximum of democracy, egalitarianism collectively is developing the frameand shared responsibility, would you works and techniques which enable, people to relate well to each other (the choose: perfect organisational structure is a) a partnership b) a trust pretty useless if the people within it c) a company can't get on together) and a substantial part of the book is devoted t o ways of d) a co-operative improving meetings and relationships: e) a friendly lawyer? trust games, allocating roles, consensus 2) Group Machine, Touch Blue, Lovely Laura and Wall Crash are all examples of: decision-making and conflict resolution. Eight case histories of British communa) new wave bands b) non-competitive games t o improve ities (and a cautionary tale of one which failed) provide some useful meetings insights into how some of the ideas in c) code names for secret police the book have been translated into operations practice, and the appendices give 3) If your meetings were particularly difficult and unproductive, would you: examples of model rules for setting up a housing co-op, typical occupancy and a) abolish meetings altogether b) look for ways of improving them loan stock agreements, application c) take it out on the cat forms for an option mortgage and lists d) opt for a nice clear autocratic of useful addresses, organisations and structure? further books t o read. Complicated legal frameworks If you were unsure of the answers to which can only be understood by lawany of the above questions, the chances yers or a minority of a group's member are that it would be best t o buy a negate many of the participatory ideals copy of The Collective Housing Handof housing collectives. This book shouli book by Sarah Eno and Dave Treanor. Both have lived and worked in communal go a long way both t o enabling individa d s t o gain that understanding and groups for over ten years, and they control over their living situation, and draw o n their own and others' to convincing Building Societies and experiences t o provide a readable and other authorities that there can be very practical manual which should

...

Bitter Pills Medicines and the Third World Poor Dianna Melrose. Oxfam Public Affairs Unit, Â£4.95 A Growing Problem Pesticides and the Third World Poor. David Bull. Oxfam, Â£4.95

One often wondeis why Oxfam continues t o give the impression of being a bunch of naive do-gooders when they publish such powerful stuff as these. Try asking in your local Oxfam shop for the reports of their Public Affairs Unit and I'd be surprised if the helpers had heard of them. But these reports show that at least some of the staff can see through the surface symptoms of poverty t o some of the root causes - in this case the sins of the drug and pesticide companies respectively. In BitterPilis, Dianna Melrose tells how drug dependence is encouraged by, for example, the ready availability of antibiotics sold loose from market stalls (thus increasing the risk of drugresistance bacteria evolving) and the promotion of anabolic steroids as appetite stimulants for children. When a poor widow's fifth child is ill from malnutrition, she sells first her cooking pots, then her tiny plot of land t o buy tonics and multivitamin syrups (she could have got the necessary vitamins from her own crops, of course, but you don't expect drug multinationals t o tell her that, d o you?). Yet the child gets worse. A home-made mixture of water, salt and sugar would have restored the chemical balance in the child's body. Meanwhile, in the agriculture department, the same companies ace encouraging dependence on often unnecessary, and sometimes dangerous, pesticides. A Growing Problem covers the pesticide treadmill, resistance, vector control, poisoning, residues in food, environmental problems, costs and benefits, advertising and promotion, UNDERCURRENTS 58

integrated pest management (IPM), controlsand future needs. David Bull deicribes how over-use of pesticides increues the resistance of the pestB-Mid, by killing their natural prB<iatoiÃˆthe number of pert (peclf also lncreues.

Susan George and N1 I Paige.

W r l u n ud

~fifn,'&.so.

"CERTAINLY diffenntandwinuito aMriousreÃ‡>oiue I*howOyiUSmith MPsumnrdupthisbook.HÃ§w obviously s u m by Its contents. But should w n o w Ã§xpÃ§ him to atee thefunduMntxlprobtoBBofworld hunger to the Hour of Conuww? And, mom to the point, doe* thto book con-

Of coum It's a huge topic and maybe It wan just too much for one book. Susan George describes the development of food production from pmhistoric.timeg, and doe* a rather tainanythingwhichanyundtrcwrenli better ob of aplÃ§inln feudalism and reuterdoÃ‘n'tknowtbudy?Th cap! than the author of aom~rtobothtbewquMtlon*multbe Capito&m'for.Bcglnners. But most of -, " ! . No. - -. k is devoted to an analysis of the I'm not fun wlMtÃ§Ã§Ã§ bftaiMr wxploitation of the third world, thiÃ‡bookhifaBMbt.bÃ‡tlMÃ‘~Ã‡te tote of statlstlca and sweeping y any actual and book which readable or Poww,Food doÃ‘n' hwe a lot of out of keeping l*iHlM,andIc8ntÃ§eett*pi>eÃ§HM withtheuriesasawboto. Ed FÃ§nto

ttllam

exploitation and 'numb-tongue testing'. Numb-tongue testing happens when a fanner dips his flnger Into tee pesttcide mix and tastes it by dabbing his finger on hte tongue. If it gets numb, it indicates the right concentration. Bull also illustrates the potential for IPM techniques. This involves eaieful ecological analysis, fntroduction of natural pert predaton and the use of n f e pwttCIdes which an wlectlw for certain lnwcte while still matntalnhg yields. Unfortunately, with aules drive which led to an In& In pÃ‘tld export* from Â£3million In 1972to 6820million In 1980, the political and coinmeMtal conitnine on IntroducingIPM an formidable. Both boob an ctou and compnhendve and will cqnvince the nadir of the need for urgent action Inthe Third World on Import control*, health car and *ultuni Mirlces, and Inthe UK off nc~ortcontrol*, mark&# pnctim and in ndtingpoopte'a conK i o u i about ~ ~ the lÃ‘u tevohed. Thew book* make a good (tart road them! Tony Winter and Edgar Locki

The Pdtlcida Action Network h a been formed. For Informetlon contact Dwld Bull, 274 Banbury Rd Oxford OX2 7DZ, mi: (0866) 66777.

Forests

product!.Caufield quotes a Roman Catholic bishop Ina letter to the piBrtdent of the Phllliptoes-. "The people em to hare a tar richer and more comprehydve notion of human latest of Earthscan's pret* briefing development than that espoused In documentetobe~buihedua practice by the government. bound report, and like ita pÃˆdÃˆoeÃ§ Today many group* here already it if crammed with fact* for die hidgone, and It to eÃ§tlmatothat some two working hack to n-uw to article* and million Amerlndlau h f dtoappeuwd fntaii. Ai an up-to-date nununary of born thÃ BnaUlan Amazon during the wlutI*bÃ§pfÃ§aln8ItwUl(uoyUM& lut ctntwy. Even whin not ddibentely to anyone wantt to get a (unof dÃ‘troyed the c u b (hockand the IIWM Invoh Â¥~~fptfbill to dttwr h i kNled Tho book emem deftiiftatlonand mua mow. Some f o n t dwellem an IbtffecteIntrophalmonwoniMiom, attempting to flghi back, by aimed with particular m@lia*!*on thÃ conflict or wwnthrough the w p i c a iuffeiiagoftrortedfoiMtMmteto of thÃ Intemitloul Ã§iqmCiM of the the fie* of ~ ~ i n A m lomnnrnta lit and multlnxtloadcoapuili. Forwt -oiathn*tonJKi,but h*n Utti* op* of real nice^. they dwItonhmbMnlhot,alillflwd.W Om $mabte--the an no dtoMM dellberÃ§tolIntroduotd md NftmeM In tee booklet I'd hire liked been hunted llkeuiimite to force them to follow up lotne of the lources, and it off their tradition*! l u d to make my certainlyhtipt hiteeapointlfyou torfowrtryotnutBlilni.YetItiithe can -to th* muma. weu t o w people vhelkdthe potential worth the money though try to read to helpusatmakftthe but useof the tt,the foifte need all the help they can forertt, with their-of ML food crops, Â¥ndfOit

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FICTION ROUND-UP Snap Judgement Lesley Denny. Robert Hale, Â£4.95 4 Taste of Treachery Lesley Oennv. Robert Hale. Â£5.95 -

TODAY good political fiction which expresses a left-winganalysis is hard to discover. The genie has, particularly where thrillers are concerned been controlled by the right as with Ian Fleming, Wilbur Smith or Frederick Foisyth. Lesley Delay's two novels are quite different in both their boldness of style and subject. The usual thriller format is kept of a main character (usually male), sleuthlike in manner, gradually uncovering an arena of intrigue. Yet here there are not pat solutions or brain teasers and the readel is left with the disquieting feeling of merely scratching the surface of something very real The first, Snap Judgement deals wit1 the planning of the Portuguese Revolution in 1974. Mike Bradshaw, a simple minded American journalist, decides to hunt out the killem of h h best friend and colleague, murdered on location in Africa (Angola). It is here that the roots of rebellion are being fostered by the low *king military of the Portuguese army. Later in Lisbon Bradshaw meek people, unbeknown to him of the Left, who assist him in his search As he realises more and more what is happening in the country hiis quest drags him deeper into the enigma of those planning the revolution. He begins to question his inner beliefs and realises exactly how the military govern ment operates. The secret police, the PIDE, infiltrate everywhere, buying people as spies to keep all in fear and submission; and linked to the power of the President. If there is an uprising, will they be overthrown? The pace is hot throughout with a feeling of tenseness and potential horror, unnerving in it's authenticity. Yet it is very unusual to adapt such political realities to thriller format in this way. A Taste of Treachery carries on this sense of unease and terror in i k theme of a CIA agent, full of American high ideals, who is called in to help handle their involvement in a small South American country. The similarity with El Salvador is striking, yet the book itself is based on transcripts of what happened in Chile. The capital

city of Rosario, Salvador, is the setting for the plot of a ruling elite where son turns against father (the President) and becomes an edwhile communist only to be mysteriously murdered. His widow and daughter-in-law of the President is involved in a love affair wit1 the head of the country's secret police. She xiaduallv trim to influence him in the direction of socteUsm while the CIA watch her and hare her villa bugged. This second novel portrays clearly the control of the oligarchy and its connections with American business and ideological interests. The passions of the two people and their different backgrounds and ideals are held out to the reader in the shape of hope and potential for change. Indeed a most important factor is the padual dawning of realisation in the consciousness of Hart, thÃyoung CIA recruit, of the kin< of organintion he is actually working for. Marlene Packwow

The Prisoner. Pat Arrowsmith. Journeyman Press. Â£2.95 PAT ARROWSMrrWs novella coves one day in the life of a bedridden, 71 year-old woman. It is excruciatingly slow to read, as her lifeseems to be a succession of trivial events, but i t definitely gets the point aerok.Ina way it resembles the type of film which depicts a woman peeling potatoes for 20 minutes because the director wants to show how boring life is for some people. We hear about her anxieties that one of her children might be @y (the thought seems abhorrent to her); that her elderly-yet-mobilehusband might be having an affair with her younger cousin who comes to stay; that she

might have inadvertently poiataed hundreds of children in Dr Bamardo homes; and that her husband constantly over- or under-pays the greengrocer. Amowsmith hemif has worked in a number of geriatric wards, and has also been to prison a number of times for pacifist 'crimes'. She links the frustration and dependence of bedridden/elderly people with the dependence, albeit in a different way, of the prisoner. Not a book for light reading, but worth borrowing from your local library. Lowana Veal

Happy as a bead Cat. Jill Miller. Womens Press. Â£2.50 Another lighthearted book is Happy

as a Dead Cat. This. Jlll Miller's first novel, vividly illustrates the o p p f d o n and drudgery that many women have tc bear every day. The heroine (who remains nameless) has fire children, two of than at the breast, a few animals, two in-laws and a husband to cope with single handed. And of course she get the blame for everything even when it's not her fault. Luckily a friend comes along and gently helps her realise that she needn't do everything for her husband, children, etc, that she is a person in her own right, with her own life to lead and that she can cope with being a mother as well as anyone can. It won't win any prizes for literature but for such a depressing topic it's an interesting read. The only problem is that it probably won't reach the people who need to read it most. Lowana Veal

The Plutonium Factor Michael Bagley. Allison and Busbv. Â£7.95 STANDARD cops and robbers stuff, t h b novel: gome ex-army types make off with a load of the old P-239to be pumued by our hero (male) who is brought out of his orange juice and muesli retirement in Mexico in time to save the world. Just add a few Smiley types, the CIA, UKAEA, a mad scientist and a lot of barging around in fast cars and helicopters and you end up with something as bland as the SDP. Simon Mays UNDERCURRENTS 58

-AI-

Attei s El'liott Shore, Patricia J. Case, and Latura Dalv (Eds). Temole ss, Ã Ufi i v e r ~ i t ~ ~ r e~hiladelphia.

hostages (the version which Time didn't print) but otherwise most of the issues are just as pertinent today as when they

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the book is divided into eleven Orwell, One Hundred Years o f Solitude,

A'TOTALLY wonderful book for your 'Ciunpaign coffee' tsbIe. 500 big,

densely-printed pages containing 200

refuge for 'crankscranks' of all descriptions feminists, vegetarians, homosexuals, anc pacifists. Alternative Papers lets the cranks prove not only that Orwell was a fool, but also that he couldn't write half as well as some of them. The book's illustrations are in sharp

stciries, events and issues that the mass DMxiia ignored, distorted, buried, or

missed altogether, selected from altemative magazines,newspapers, jot imals and 'spoiadicals'. There are half adlozen articles from Undercurrents,as we11ss some from Spore Rib and AntiAt inrtheid News: but the remainder of th<3 items were originally printed in Amnerican or Canadian journals such as th<i excellentAkwesosne Notes (journal of the Mohawk Nation), Big Manm Sag, CoEvolution Quarterly, Fifth Estate, No Nuikes News, Rain, and Sinister Wisdom (tbiere's a detailed index of over a hundmd papers at the back of the book).

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Authors Take Sides on the Falklands. Cecil and Jean Woolf (eds). Cecil Woolf Publishers. E4.95lE1.95. Om Man's Falklands. Tam Dalvell MP. Cecil Woolf

Â£4.951~1.95 Iron Britannia. Anthony Barnett. Allison and Busby, Â£2.95 THE FALKLANDS fiasco may be remembered as one of the most inexcusable of Britain's contributions to her decline. For most of us old enough to recollect the 1989-46 war, this bmW exercise in Thatcher-power was either a welcome refresher coum in mindlem jingokm or depiewing evidence of how little if at illnational character and priorities have matured

since 1946. But history's shabbiest periods produce the molt books. Among the flirt on the Falklands bandwagon wen publishers Cecil and Jean Wooif who canvaned the views of some 150 writes, putting together a book reminiscent of those produced for the Spanish and Vietnam ware. Although they could have consulted authors less addicted to the flippant cliche and soq box, some good comments come through. Joan Aiken, Brigid Brophy, Margaret Drabble, Stella Gibbons, Naomi Mitchison and Jan Morris retrieve something of what Thatcher hilost for her sex, and the men make some sane points too, most at mercifully less length than David Holbrook and John Papworth. For more factual reading we must turn to Tam Dalyell and Anthony Barnett who provide ample data and deduction to convince any open-minh reader of our government's motivation and methods for waging this most indefensible of wars.The issue hineve realty been whether Thatcher and her military-minded entourage wanted the Falklands incident to be 'settled' by aimed conflict, but whether that rapid choice of the military 'solution' was approved or not approved by the worked-wer electorate. Most of the

British public, it seems, were 'propagandlsed' successfully, and thoein lies the real cause for concern: the infinitely greater and more fundamental problem of our inherited, at best dormant, predilection for violent means in every sphere and at w r y social, environmental and political level To read these books ki to experience the soul-deadeningconviction that their authors are as much a willing part of the jungle life of the lobby, chamber and hustings as those they are criticising. Their criticism an sectional, partisan, motivated by resentment that the wrong people are in power. But they don't regret that it is the struggle for power that will itself, within the present system, inevitably produce conflict and corruption. Without rejection of the means they hope somehow to reform the ends. It doesn't happen that way. But even taking these books at their face value, it might have been better to postpone the canvassing until everything was over bar the negotiating that was inevitable anyway; until it was clear what glib lies had been told about 'liberation'; until no-one could pretend that Thatcher's minkwar was anything but a votecatching exeicbe to w if today's war-toy kill as efficiently as their saleonen claim and to prove that BrittehNi bnre notgone soft since the glorioux d a y when they thowed Hun and Jap that the ohJ Lion could kill and maim with *s much ~ t h l e w efficiency as anyone else,until we could all take calm note of the d t y a squalid, dUlludoned garrison bland whom citizen* will norer *turn to the life they knew and who cannot even wander aver the fluids littered with thousands of animate horribly mutilated by mini. rhe politicians' short-lived moment of glory has become the long-tenn shambles some of us predicted from the beginning. Plus p change Jon wynne-Tyson

. ..

Keeping the Peace. Lynne Jones (ed.1. Women's Press. Â£2.60 FHE WOMEN'S movement has, on the whole, been slow to take UD the nuclear .@an&ment/nuclear POW& issue. Until about three years ago. most feminists were more concerned about the personal politics which affected their everyday fife, such is abortion, rape, childcare, etc. -tames that men would not take

up man with the nuclear issue which was already being fought by mixed gr=q"'s. The drat specifically feminist group oppomd to the nuclear threat in Britain was probab FendnlBte Against Nuclea Power. Even ally this was replaced by Women Oppose the Nudear Threat, group* of which sprang up In cittÃ ill over the country. At (bout the i time the Womens Peace AUtmce was set up as an umbrella body covering women's peace group*, and Families Against the Boob, Babies Against the Bomb, Women for Life on Earth and other similar group* founed. Keeping the Peace describe* various women's peace actions wer the hut two years. It condsta of a serial of chapters written by women from mourn in Britain, the USA. Gennanv and Houand which largely d-ribe either the organisation of (pecific actions or internal group dynamics and rwpoDdbffltlea within a group. Some of the actions deKribed include the Greenham Common blockade in Much, the women's Pentagon actions, thetactics of the Shibakusa women in Japan, Parliamentary lobbies and street action Much of the writing is very personal (see,for example, the beginning of Leonie Caldecott's article on the Shibakusa women). This creates a sense of vitality and positiveness which is quite inspiring. Some of the infonnat ion is very practical too, with the women pointing out the problems and reality of organising actions as well as how to do it in theory. The book is the first in an occasional series of women's peace handbooks to be published by the Women's Press. But the book ahodd not be read just by women Everyone, especially those in lame mixed ETOUDSwhich mav still beessenttaOy- hiekchkal in nature, should benefit from leming about how campaigns and actions can be succesfully organised in a collective egalitarial

UNDERCURRENTS 58

334. Thomas Disch. Methuen, Â£1.5 pb.248 pps. Engine Summer. John Crowley. Methuen, Â£1.5 pb. 182pp. IT IS some twenty years into the twenty-first century. The population of America is five hundred million, 2% of whom are barred from increasing it by a test which measures IQ, creativity, genetic inheritance, and other relevant factors (such as the family record of unemployment). America is fighting a guerilla war in Burma. Progress in medical science enables men who need them psychologically to have babies, but also opens the way for systemic lupus erythematosis, an incurably complex disease which has outstripped cancer and is thought to be an 'auto-intoxication' stimulated by the proliferation of pharmacology. Nevertheless, it is possible to stay 'happy as an ad' by taking Morbehanine, a wonder drug first extracted from oysters mutated by pollution, and now synthesized because the oysters are extinct. 334 is the number of an apartment block in New York, on East 11th Street. Three thousand people live there in eight hundred and twelve apartments, not counting the temps staying on the landings: an acceptable 30% or so over the planned optimum. The lifts don't work. In and around 334 Thomas Disch hasset half adozen witty, frightening, sad, sombre stories of these terminal days of capitalism, the political schizophrenia of a totalitarian Welfare State, and the grotesque shapes and strategies adopted by human beings in their desperation to survive. The most effective stories are 'Angouleme', in which a gang of eleven-year-olds plans a gratuitous murder t o while away the boring summer holidays, and the title story, a striking collage of incidents, periods and charactersin the lives of the Hansons, a problem family. The graceful irony of Disch's manner does not take away any of the grim force of his warning. After the collapse, 'when everything goes off, perhaps the future will be something like John Crowley's vision

of it in Eng 'ummer: a landscape of green Poicaii, peaceful seasonal growth and decay, in which a small remnant of the human race farms and trades, slightly puzzled by the cracked grey ribbons called Road that cud among the hills and valleys. The members of the tribal community Little Belaire endlessly recite their legends of us, the 'angels', and our 'monstrous race between destruction and perfection': "They went fast, you see, faster than bats but not so carefully, and so they collided all the time. . .But in the ancient days, they didn't mind much; they weren't afraid; they were angels. And be&& there were milliois of them; they didn't mind a fewtho-& and killed" In oral, cyclic culture of traditional games and living rituals, history is a vital part of the present. and stow " is -

the key to history. For an individual like Rush that Speaks, the ultimate success in life is to become a Saint, and be passed down to posterity as an exemplary figure in a parable. Rush tha Speaks leaves the 'close warm insides' of little Belaire and travels among strangers, including a hermit, St Blink, and the mystic community called Dr Boots's List. He is looking for understanding but really pursuing Once A Day, a gill who left him for a quest of her own. His enigmatic journey brings him at last, in the most poignant mysten ending in all science fiction, to a sort 01 Sainthood and a story he could never have foreseen. There have been plenty of postdisaster novels featuring pastoral tribes, but few sothoroughly immersed in what it would feel like to live at such a time, by a social, symbolic knowledge that grows as the old divisive scientism fadesaway. Few too are the writers, in or out of sf, who share Crowley's eloquence or his subtle awareness of the unbiguous powem and offices of the story-teller. Colin Greenland

SCIENCE I WT-ION -

Partial Proaress. David ~ l b u and r ~ Joseph Schwa rtz. Pluto Press Â£4.95

WHILE examining "the role of science and technology in production as ideology and as a form of social control", Albury and Schwartz keep firmly in mind the view that until recently socialists hare seen science and technology as inherently progressive. Indeed they point out that both Marx and ~ngels"&brnced the idea of science as progressive compared to religion While many socialists refer back to the 1930's and beyond for writings on the role of science in society, it was as recently as the 1960's that the labour

movement began to question the role of science and technology as the issues of the Vietnam war, health and safety, nuclear power and (more recently) microelectronics came to the fore. Current public debate around the introduction of microelectronics and information technology illustrates clearly the class-bias of science: ". . . capital restructuring with microelectronics will create unemployment, while loss of competitiveness through failure to adopt microelectronits will also create unemployment.. . we must change our attitude to work. Work should not be seen as the only desirable social contribution; the work ethic should be abolished". Addressing itself to such a broad agenda, this book clearly hopes to read a wider audience than many comparabli books which phrase their arguments in such a way as to be in need of demystification themselves. This book also goes further than most by suggesting some rules by which the reader can start to demystify science and technology for themselves ". . . never trust a research report, never trust a scientist, don't get discouraged, get help. .."With the publication of this book one hopes that a little more progress has been made. Simon Mays

Atomic Cafe. THIS IS an excellent anti-bomb montage using solely US public information and news archive material from the late fortid and fifties, aimed at an eighties audience with a more sophisticated

Rosenbuig i b l f a poignant statement again& capital punishment; and Duck and C o w , possibly the most banal 'what to do when the bomb drops' public Info' film every made. Mixed with the uncontrollable laughbg pmoked by all this kitsch is the BURknowledge that nothing has changed: the same people have the same power, an headed in the same direction and saying much the same things. The fact that we're here to all to experience this film seems the most extraordinary event and I'm sure that it's not because of a policy of mutual deterranee but due to some

Upfront is a chronology of theyear followed by nine sections 6f short essays on topics and people thqk have figured strongly during F e , Months. The second half is a country by country breakdown complete with maps, vital statistics and summery of the political landnape. The fact-filled no-nonsense approach provides an ideal deep background material for &&one who wants to gah a greater understanding of the worid at l a m . ' >

john May There's an by on ' ~ a c i f iand i Nationalism*in Europe which makes

the peace movements have adboth a host of 'ecological' groups seeking a model of society more self sufficient and less wasteful of resources and aid groups striving to fight hunger in the third world. . All the conditions an therefore present for a genuine selfexamination on a mass scale in Europe. The peace movements are but one crucial aspect of this quest for teal values by much of European youth.' Stirring stuff. The essay on CB Radic seems to me wrong and totally misses the point whilst the pieces on robots and biotechnology are skimpy and out of date, balanced against that ate good pieces on Toxic Oil In Spain*the USSR-Argentine Alliance, 'The Media and Terrorism: "Live" Assassination Attempts' and an essay on Princess Di by Diana Simmonds which is actually funny a rare event in left-wing publishing. Let's hope the publishers sign her up for a whole book on the Royals which would be guaranteed to offend the nation and sell millions. World View is a brave and impressive publication which will expand your horizons, as it has mine.

Amid the wealth of excruciatingly funny and horrific footage is an unbelievable Kruschnev/Nixon comedy act; a mid-west preacher advbing on the dilemma of defending, with force, the family bomb-shelter from less fortunate neighbours; the undeniable visual beauty of the beast itself,mushrooming over Hiroshima and various test-sites; news coverage of the socalled 'Atom Spies' - Julius and Ethel

World View 1983 (Pluto Press Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ6.95 THE version of Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion map projection on the faon cover says it all. Following on from their excellent State of the World A tla. thi* is a new kind of economic and gee political yearbook aimed at stretching left-bailed mind# In a global direction.

bizarre, monumental and inexplicable piece of hick. HOWlong that luck will last is obviously something you can't bet on. but I'm sure the Martian equivalent of William Hills wouldn't lay odds against us leeching the end of the century, not without a visionary re-arranging of the world power structure and, of course, unilateral disumament. See you on the barricades. Tony Allen Credit where credit's due. The pro. ject was originated in France by Maspero and came out in Britain for the firt time last year. Originally all the editorial input was from France but, as the years roll by, an increasing amount of UK originated material is envisaged and the publishers on both aides have interesting development plans. The book divides into two halves.

The Survival Ootion by Ivan ~ v r r e l(Jonathan i Caw. Subtitled 'A Guide to Living Through Nuclear War*this is the most comprehensive statement to date on the state of civil defence preparations worldwide written by the information officer for UNDERCURRENTS 58

the Nuclear Protection Advisory Group (NuPAG) an independent body which providesexpert idonnation to individuals, companies or governments. NuPAG's chairman is David Widdicombe QC,who represented Friends of the Earth's case at the Windscale appeal and Richard Burton, a prominent architect. All four are members of the Institute of Cultural Research, a 'multidisciplinary educational organisation' where the idea of NuPAG formed- The ICR is, in turn' linked through its membeishi to the Club of Rome. Both Lessing and Tyrell are great admirers of the work of S a t Idris Shah. In The Survival Option Tyrell argues that the 'find duty of the State is to protect its citizens' but that its failing in this fundauwntal duty, a 'symptom of degenerate government'. I have met and interviewed the author on several occasions and he told me: 'the vision I have and that other people have is very powerful and hasn't been represented in the media at all. I can't see why people have a mental block about civil defence. Then? is a big difference between 15 or 30 million dead and 40 or 45 million dead and burning. It's doubly worse! He believes that phychologically we are sick and that nuclear war is inevitable -the two points at which I strongly disagree with his thinking. He said: 'As a general rule people don't know how to divorce socialising from politics and business. They muddle up effectivenesswith indignation and moral righteousness. They muddle up needing attention with politics and education! Ultimately Tyrrell Is asking us to change our way of WnMng about the holocaust. He writes: 'In your effort to survive, you will find yourself developing new standards. There will be a constant measuring of evils, and hard choices will have to be made as a result. Marginal advantages may decide crucial issues, and it may prove hard t o rediscover or hang on to what would once have seemed your essential humanity. Yet it must always be remembered that the decision to survive, and to help your dependants, neighbow, friends and fellow citizens survive, is itself an assertion of the most important human values! Whatever your feelings about his arguments love him or loathe him the book stands for pros and antis as the definitive text on civil defence to date.

John May

AIRWAVE

and profit. Though we never claim to h u e all the answers, we balance our criticisms of the society with tentative The Great Atlantic Radio proposals for a new society and thoughts on how fundamental change Conspiracy. The Monkey and the Dragon (UK might occur." The programmes are available here distributors). Cassettes Â£ for 2. on cassette, for Â£(inc postage) for Not the BBCIIBA: The case for two from The Monkey and the Dragon, community radio. Tweed Street, High Bentham, Lancaster, Simon Partridge. Comedial LA2 7HW. Why not buy a set of tapes Minority Press Group, Â£1.9 for your local pirate radio station? Much of the material broadcast by the RELAY magazine. pirates Is as dun as BBCIIBA fare: an Published bv RELAY collective. injection of Conspiracy cassettes could Quarterly Â£2 make their audiences (not to mention the Home Office) sit up in their seats YOU turn on the radio. restatedly for a change. expecting the usual mixtureof mindSimon Partridge's Not the BBC/IBA deadening inanity, patronising presenter*, elitist pundits, middle-of-the puts the case for community radio in the UK in lucid and persuasive terms. road politics, and news that's based on He traces the evolution of such the assumption that support for the proposals Prom David Gardiner's seminal status quo is equivalent to balanced article on community radio in the first neutrality. But you've accidentally knocked the issue of Undercurrents to the more dial off its usual spot.You've tuned inti recent valiant efforts of COMCOM, the a new station, right la the middle of an Community CommunicationsGroup, to persuade governments of various interview with Maqe Piercy. who's talking about some of the political issue colours to give community stations a raised in her books Vida and Woman on legitimate slot in the spectrum He also gives valuable information on what the Edge of Time. What's going on? needs to be done next to promote Marge Piercy is followed by a procommunity radio, and gives useful gramme in which the veteran anarchist technical specificationsfor community Murray Bookchin explains his belief broadcasting stations, together with a that modem technology now makes it possible to create a decentralised world possible democratic structure for runningthem that's based on London's of self-reliant, self-managingcornEast End News. munities, living in harmony with the planet. Then the station announcer =let's face it, the only way looks ahead at some of the material to community radio is ever going t o be abed later in the week. There's half happen (and Partridge acknowledges an hour of political satire, a session of this, though not expBe'~tly)is if Irish revolutionary music and a live hundreds of pirate stations spring up all show from the Bread and Roses Coffee over the country, gaining such wideHouse. Whatever all this is, it's certainly spread public sympathy that, as not the Ten O'clock News! happened with CB, theGovemment No, you can't yet tune In t o simply has to legitimise them programmes like that on British radio Parliamentary pressure is important, but -more's the pity. But you can in the not enough. Not that I'm actually States, if you're within range of WJBG advocating extra-parliamentary activity FM, a public radiostation that (heaven forbid) or suggesting that when regularly broadcasts the half-hour laws fall into disrepute people should programmes of the Great Atlantic break them, you understand. .. Radio Conspiracy, a Baltimore-based Meanwhile, ityou want t o know radio collective. The programmes are what's going on in the struggle to a blend of interviews, field recordings, develop now, more imaginative and script, music and special effects. "Each more democratic forms of radio, you programme", in the Conspiracy's word should read RELAY,"the other "analysis the problems of contemporar magazine about the airwaves." RELAY society Prom a broad left and feminist is published quarterly, costs Â£a year to perspective. All members of the individuals (Â£to institutions) and you collective as well as our contributors can get it from Box 12,2a St Paul's Rd, across the country are united in London N1. rejecting a society based on dominatiol Godfrey Boyle ~~-

The Wirld's Foremost Journal of Strange Phenomena.

Poltergeists Monsters Coincidences Miracles Fires Antiquities Deaths Falls Teleoortation Encounters Psi UFOs Science Mysteries & much more

S T U F F When lentil-sized stones started falling from the swollen left eye of Elmas Oxtunc, a 14-year-oldcarpet weaver in the village of Galayan, south-westem Anatolla, her family tried to keep it secret, fearing that It would harm her chances of marriage. But when the stones kept coming, her father Ramazan, worried that (he might go blind nuking her unable to weave, called in the local doctor. While Elmas was kept under observation, word of the ailment quickly spread throughout Turkey. A steady stream of doctors, officials and journalists began to descend on the village, and two other young girls them admitted 46

Ift~

having differed from the lame problem nearly five years ago. Fatma Er (17) and Ayhe Erduran (16), in also weaver. The work is extremely taxing on the eyes, and it is not unudial for glib who have spent their youth at the loom to go almost blind in adolescence. Miss Er said 35 stones had fallen from her eye in 18 days. 'Idecided not to say anything t o anyone because no one would have believed me,' she said. Misa Erduran said more than 50 stones had dropped from her eyes within a 25day period. Like the other two girls, Elmas' problem disappeared after a few weeks. Medical experts in Instanbul said the disease was rare but not unknown. There was no known treatment and they were not sure if weaving caused the trouble. 'Crystalline w i t structures exist in everyone's tear fluids, but in the vast majority of people thew crystals are microscopic,' explained Mr Meri Urgancioglu of the Capa Medical School's ophthalmology department at Instanbul University. 'In some rare cases, however, the (calcium) salt crystals become enlarged and form deposits which are excreted as stones' Besides natural though rare excretions, we have lots of reports

on file of foreign bodlei lodged ID humans. Two CUM come to hand: Eleven-year-oid Julie Ford of Hucknall in Notts wan hospitalised in 1978 to have a screw removed from her nostril. It had been lodged there since she was a year old, and was discovered from a dental X-ray. And Nja Swum, a 90-year-old Yugoslavian war veteran, coughed up a bullet that had been lodged inside him for over 50 years. The bullet had entered him during a battle near the Italian-Austrian border in 1916, and during an illness in 1981 he coughed for two hours and dislodged the bullet. Sesum said he felt just fine afterwards. Paul Sievekin Thanks to: Janet & Colin Bord, and Dwight Whalen.

UNDERCURRENTS 58

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our report onthe ecological ravishes of Namibia, Transforming a Wasted Land, containing details of SWAPO's plans for the future of agriculture in Namibia. Price Â£3.3 inc. postage. Send for our catalogue of books on Latin America end Southern Africa.

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ACCOMMODATION

PUBLICATIONS

THE &o&'is a small organic growi-d educational centre, delightfully situated in the wooded p y e Valley near Tintern Abbey and 6 miles from the Severn Bridge (M4). Our springtime courses include: The Many Ways &Healing, with Sarida Browni4ow t o start and run a small fatm, with Patrick Rivers, Yoga,with Elaine Pritchard; Vegetarian Cookery, with Elsa Wood; b o w i n g Food Organically, with ~ d r b Wood; as well as n relaxing weekends rambling and birdwatchlng. Als0.a Smallholdars'.Machinery Maintenance course,,(nd weekends entitled Planetary Intelligence and Humanity's Response'. We are also opeti for guest house holidays Marchact. The scenery is delightful in April and May. For full details of these and later courses. and our Guest House Brochure, a stamp is appreciated the Nurtons, Tintern, Gwant NPG 7NX, or tel. 029 18 253.

COMMUNAL house i n London N17 has space for one or two more members (at time of writing). Baby or young child welcome. Shared childcare. Genuine urban commune enthusiaits always sought. (Non-smoker6.I ~hd01-8089826.

GREENLEAF BOOKSHOP. A nev environmental bookshop in Bristol Material oh a wide range of enviroi mental issues as well ashaalth, the peace movement, cooperatives and urban issues. The shop is a cooperative and linked t o Bristol's FOR SALE Urban Centre of Appropriate HOUSEBUS - newly settled Technology. 82 Colston St, family must sell their beautiful Bristol 1.0272-21 1369. 19% A.E.C. Bus 30- Single THE Collective Housing Handdecker in ace mechanical order book. All the information - legal - recon. engine, new radiator, tax, finance, self-management, clutch etc. plus numerous spares, cooperative housing. Available workshop manual. Good aluminfrom bookshops Â£3.5 or ium body - recent tasteful paint Laurieston Hall Publications, job. Converted t o travelling family Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrighthome -sleeps 5 in 3 compartshire, Â£3.90 ments -fully equipped kitchenHAS your local Peace Group seen ette - seating, dining area - W.C. our Handbook for International - a very cosy home and great Justice and Peace? It's full of machine. Â£150 ready t o drive useful ideas for discussion and away. Will be in Bristol during education. Send Â£ t o CIIR February or drive t o serious Publications, 22 Colmen Fields, enquir ers. Send name, phone no. London N1. Also, just published to (Box No. 5813 1.

PROPERTY FAMILY units for sale in istablished community of 20 adults and children, in rural Herefordshire; self-contained, easehold, mortgageable. 50-acre ~rganicsmallholdingcooperatively wn. Enquiries: Windflower Housing Association, Canon Frome Court, Ledbury, Hereford;hire HR8 2TD. Phone Trumpet 534 or 574, evenings. , LARGE caravan and field, approx. 2% acres, fronting lane, Hakefordshirehamlet, 4 miles From oparket town. Â£8,0W/offers Box 58/2.

WORK THIRD worker wanted for :ooperative ecology bookshop. Enthusiasm essential as wages ow. Sunpower, 83 Blackstock W,London N4 2JW. Tel: 31-226 1097. 'R INTWORKER: For community irintshop (TU workers' co-op) in Work. Desirable skills: office/ idministration, offset printing, iarkroom and pane-up. Must be :ommined t o w u k i n in a mixed :ollective (at present 4 women, 1 nan). Wages low at present but l o t for long we hope. Write mmediately for further details, ~referablygiving soma indication i f your experience, t o Open Road 'rinting Co-op, 57 Micklegate, Work.

ANTI-SEXIST man (31) with community work skills -end two boys 3 and 5 years. Seek long term accommodation in Edinburgh area. Preferably income and childcare sharing. Tel. Redditch 43755 or write: Dennis Mills, 62 Mickleton Close, Oakenshaw, Redditch, Worcs. UNIQUE holiday on organic smallholding with 77 acres woodland nature reserve. Exmow National Park. Sea 4 miles. Eight camouflaged caravans. Modern toilets. Stamp please for brochure. Cowley Wood, Parracombe, N. Devon. Parracombe 200. SMALL communal household in small but lively Welsh Marches market town has two interconnecting rooms available now. Write: Lynda, Blue Frog House, 4 Church St, Kington, Herefordshire.

CONTACTS DORSET rural resettlement initiative in early stages of formation is looking for members. The intention is t o start small but work toward employment and housing for a village community, with common ownership of land and buildings. Employment must be both agricultural and smallscale industrylcrafts. The project needs people with discipline, skills and soma capital, who are prepared t o forego much. John Comben, 3 Grevilla Road, London NW6. PEOPLE wanted t o join wellestablished community 11 1+ ym) in Herefordshire. Rural, large house and nine acres (not selfsufficient). Existing group is 9 adults, 4 children <+one on the way). Committed t o radical politics, feminism, alternative lifestyles. Write for further details. Box 5811. EO couple, early 30s with two young children, seek child orientated community/village. Have skills, experience of cooperatives, capital. Please write t o Ken and Jill, 16 Salem Road, Winterbourne, Northavon.

IF BE ALL. BECAME BOLSHEVISTS.

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After a hard night's pasteup a t L,,....,-... collective, greener than ever (are they taking enough vitamins?) will no doubt be tuning into Breakfast TV at 6.30am. A Mr. Aubrey Singer of the BBC said "What we really need to get it off the ground is an Iranian Embassy type siege, or a couple of aircraft hijacks - a good running story through the night". No doubt for a small donation they could come to an arrangement with the IRA, or whoever. Or better still, for a suittase of used fivers, I'm prepared to lock presenter Frank Bough in the basement of UC towers - a t least until the BBC start producing some good programmes. A step in this direction was the excellent Horizon programme onthe criminal intention of our rulers to build a PWR at Sizewell. Colin 'he's a sweetie' Sweet was on particularly good form. Meanwhile Sir Walter Marshall, sounding suspiciously like an android, let out the real reason for the PWR inquiry: "If we are seen to have an inquiry, this will increase the chances of selling PWRs abroad", i.e. we may not have an empire, but we can still dump nukes on the darkies. My advice is: Stick to origami, Sir Walter. The anti-nukes may be missing the real threat to future generations. A report recently published by Swedish scientists suggests that wearing tight trousers leads to sterility. I have convened the Baggy Trouser Tendency (the BTT) to organise 24-hour protests a t jeans stores round the country. The BTT are already secretly infiltrating the Ecology Party and by the time Jonathon 'wholemeal' Porridge and his cohorts are in power, a dramatic internal coup will depose them and the Baggy Trouser Manifesto will be implemented in full. The GLC transport users group is desperately trying to I think I will instruct my get more ethnic minorities*. chauffeur to join - they really ought to do something about these annoying cyclists I keep running over Can this be true? An informant tells me that what with the insurance from the SCRAM fire and their appeal, the Scottish anti-nuclearextremists are doing rather well, and supremo David Somewell is pressing hard for the installation of Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ500 worth of central heating. My own application for a personal computer, jacuzzi and drinks cabinet was inexplicably turned down by the Undercurrents accountant.. Personally, I won't hear a word spoken against pushy, power-mad Steve Bilcliffe of Friends of the Earth. He certainly has a way with words. When it was suggested that closing nukes would cause unemployment, Bilcliffe drawled ' I imagine that when Auschwitz was closed down, there was an outcry from barbed wire manufacturers". The UC benefit season has come round again. A provisional date of Feb 18th has been booked at the Covent Garden Community Centre for an extravaganza in aid of the world's most ideologically sound magazine. Watch the papers for confirmation or contact UC HQ. 1 Loony Doomster

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UNDERCURRENTS 58

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Undercurrents 58 February 1983 2 Lightning on the Loose 3 Letters 5 Eddies - Sizewell news and other up to the minute info 10 Bahro: From Red to Green - Peter Culshaw meets the new co-chairperson of the German Green Party on a train 13 At The Foot Of The Mountain - Leonie Caldecott’s award winning article on the women’s peace camp at Mount Fuji 16 NATTA News - GLC Technology and popular planning initiatives by Dave Elliott 18 BEAST News - John May’s animal lib column 20 Whatever happened to Lucas? - The Lucas Aerospace Plan revisited by Dave Elliott 22 Wild Trouble - Rebecca Weissner on the threat to the wilderness down under 24 Europe’s Green Parties - Roland Clarke looks at the rise of the EuroGreens 26 The Naked Lunch - Beefcake Andrew Tyler chews over the politics of the dinner plate 28 Before and after Science - David Albury asks Progress? What Progress? 31 Women For Life On Earth - Stephanie Leland discusses Eco-feminism, Greenham, and starts the yin-yang revival . 34 Holy Smoke - Strange goings on in a church in darkest Piccadilly probed by lan Grant 35 Getting it Together - Part 2 of Biff Production’s epic cartoon strip, the Buskers of Experience Briefing - What’s Where and When 38 Reviews 47 Weird Stuff Bulletin Dr Paul Sieveking deals with your medical problems 48 Classified Ads & Froth - Loony Doomster gets into baggy trousers. ______________________________________________________________________________________