Why can't we all just get along?

Luton is set to be the scene of another EDL rally on May 5th, a counter rally has again been organised by the people of Luton who know that the EDL do not truly represent them or the town. Last year on February 5th, local police caused outrage at the 11th hour of negotiation when they refused access to the local people battling against the rise of fascism, the right to hold their rally in the centre of the town, instead pandering to the ego of the EDL and its self proclaimed leader Steven Lennon, handing the centre of Luton to them.

Luton's town centre was on lock down. The cost of the EDL's presence and marches through the town is measured by more than fiat currency.

Market Hill

The damage done by the babbling of Lennon and the misguided followers of the EDL are felt by all who live in the town, in particular the young. Children as young as 8 have been caught up in school yard scraps over whether Christians or Muslims are the stronger. It is terrifying to see children as young as this being mixed up in a storm being driven by the media, and the irresponsible adults around them, when the extent of their concerns should be who won the football at the weekend.

With this in mind we turn our attentions to the May 5th 2012, the date of the next instalment of Luton and the EDL saga.

Once again 'We are Luton', the new umbrella organisation promoting the counter demonstration, are in negotiation with the police as to where the planned march and rally will be held. As it currently stands both the EDL and We are Luton have been told that neither party will be allowed access to the town centre and in particular St George's square. Steven Lennon in the latest edition of the Luton on Sunday has said that their protest is against the council and that they (the EDL) will return "every six weeks" until they are allowed to do so.

Lennon did not go on to explain exactly why the protest was against the council but presumably it is a front to claim the square.

George Street

The police will probably succumb to Lennon's threats and allow the EDL to occupy St George's square, claiming that it is for the ease of policing them, thus in the process totally disregarding the wishes of actual residents from the town that would like to see the back of extremism in all its forms, both locally and nationally.

As a supporter of the right to freedom of expression and the freedom of assembly I would never support a position in banning the EDL from holding a march, or indeed a rally for whatever it is they feel they believe. As I have said before we are all products of our environment and only through positive experience, and critical education, will we ever undo the deep seated root cause of the mistrust and hatred between people that causes extremism.











Pictures by Christine McKeown EDL march in Luton on February 5th 2011

To RBE or Not to RBE

At the weekend the local newspaper reported a story on how Vauxhall had won the chance to venture into the future and design a state of the art electric police car. The piece was written by Sophie Scott of the Luton on Sunday. The car itself could be put into action by a police force in as little as 3 years it is claimed.

High tech policing of the future is described by Chief Inspector Mick Trosh of the Association of Police Officers Intelligent Transport Systems with the car able to access the Police National Database whilst mobile and potentially revolutionise policing. It all sounds a bit Knight Rider but without the looks of KITT, however I feel this is all the more reminiscent of the police state that is being ever increased and one for the documentary Suspect Nation by Henry Porter. Police are dealing with symptoms and not the root cause of criminality, the environment.

The main feature in all of this is the fact that the car is electric and the savings to made by police forces if this is rolled out as a concept. The bad news is that this car still relies on fossil fuels and, as the majority of us know, electricity is not a power source of its own accord; it is a by-product. Not only is it running on electricity but it is made from fossil fuel (namely oil) seven barrels of oil per tyre, not to mention the plastic dashboard, seats, steering wheel and Gucci gadgets. Everything in and of the car is made from oil.
In a world where our resources are finite it amazes me that we continue to build these machines with a limited shelf life using old technology whilst the corporations market it as a leap forward in innovation.

It is not and anyone with even a passing interest in history will know this is a deception. Electric cars have been around for over 100 years.

The appearance of the petrol powered automobile killed off the electric car (which held the land speed record at one time) as it was faster and cheaper to purchase. This has robbed us of over 100 years of innovation as the oil companies secured the market for automobiles and their construction. Where would we be today if the electric car had been allowed to be properly developed  for the benefit of humans? Who knows but to get a sense of perception consider the mobile phone.
In 25 short years we have gone from the car phone (because you needed a car to carry the weight of the battery) with a yuppie in a limousine or Porsche 911 and the top down listening to Duran Duran, to a youth in a tracksuit with his hood up listening JLS on his iPhone 4S. Well maybe not the JLS bit but you see the point.

This is why a Resource Based Economy (RBE) is becoming a necessity, it will enable us to make better use of our resources, ensuring that things are built to the best technical specs and with the greatest durability available to us at that time, thus reducing the waste that currently as a society we are drowning in. We must break out of this cyclical consumption cycle not for ourselves but for our future generations.

It is interesting to see the emergency services moving in this direction (the fire service I am sure will get it all wrong) but it is not enough, a total overhaul of our current system is required. If we keep just modifying it a bit here and there then it will continue to be wasteful and ineffective, just not quite as wasteful or ineffective. This slow process of tweaking things could take decades, something we do not have, and is unacceptable when we have the technology to make revolutionary change now.
People will, and do, say the RBE cannot work. The defeatist, 'can't do' attitude is one all who advocate an RBE I am sure have encountered, but do not be deterred or lose faith. To say it cannot be done because something like this has never been done before is the reason why it can and will work.

Remember that mans reach exceeds his grasp. Keep calm and RBE on