C is for Cameron

Most Importantly

2012 is apparently IYC, International Year of Co-Operatives.

So C is obviously for CO-OPERATIVE!

Intro

If ever a Prime Minister was controversially brought to power it was David Cameron.  Quite why the Lib Dems chose to partner with the Tories is beyond me - true they had to partner with SOMEONE, but the way they've been marginalised by Cameron's cabinet since winning the election is clear cut proof, to me, that they made a very bad judgement call.

And the last 3 days in UK politics alone is enough to convince me that Cameron is an idiot and a liar.

C is for Colonialism

If you follow this link you will find a story about the UK refusing to enter into negotiations with Argentina regarding sovereignty of the Falklands Islands.  The irony of this situation so close to the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War is not lost on anyone, I shouldn't think.

What amazes me, is that on the one hand Mr Cameron is accusing Argentina's motives of being colonial.  On the other hand he is so very obviously protecting his private investors (the notorious national public service tax cuts that always accompany Tory administration amount to this) - in this case the Wiltshire-based gas and oil exploration company Rockhopper who in the last few months have announced a commercially viable oil find of up to 60 billion barrels of oil in the waters surrounding the islands.

And again, the proximity of last years drop in offshore drilling by one-third (bring levels to their lowest since 2003), is of no small consequence.

I see Mr Cameron's surface point: the continuing or changing sovereignty of the Falklands is their business; but what I cannot stand is the obvious skullduggery of both nations - AND the United States who are also urging negotiations between the two countries, no doubt to protect their own oil interests via South America - in speaking of the issue as if it were to do with the political and economic rights of the islands, rather than their own interests in oil.

C is for Cuts

As if further proof were needed of the Tories ubiquitous tax reforms, two unions that represent the NHS, along with a multitude of 'independent' staff, are protesting at the government's proposed plans to make savings totalling GBP20 billion in the next three years.

And as if anyone needed reminding, that means unhappier staff, worse food, longer waiting times...

C is for Cycle

The cycle of Labour to Tory is absurd - even when the Tories are masquerading as Lib Dem.  Labour spend years building up public services to a reasonable standard by basically catering to the general public.

The Tories then spend years undoing all that work by cutting taxes to cater to the elite, rich minority.


C is for Collusion

The scarier side of our current administration is their action on secrecy versus human rights - specifically rendition, torture and legal due process.  As of 18th January 2012, the government is closing an enquiry into allegations that MI5 and MI6 were complicit in the rendition and torture of men in Libya.

At the same time, the justice and security green paper that I have previously written about is under review before going to the Commons.

Is anyone else seeing the only possible conclusion to this episode? 

I have no doubt that some how or other the bill resulting from the green paper will be pushed through, the current police investigations that are to be concluded before the inquiry is resurrected will become "a matter of national security", their results witheld from the public domain, the inquiry too and any action regarding the actions of our intelligence services in Libya will remain a state secret for at least 50 years.


C is for Conflict

Thanks to Blood Diamond and the general news media, most people are aware of the situation with conflict diamonds coming out of various African countries - I myself have already mentioned the situation between Russia and Zimbabwe.

Something I think is more important is the situation of "Conflict Minerals" because where as the average person in our society may not buy or have diamonds as personal posessions, the average person DOES have a mobile phone, a laptop and so on.

I may be wrong but I would consider the mobile phone the most important item to the average person as they have gradually replaced land line phones, MP3 players and now even computers to an ever extending degree.

Having done what little research is evident from my previous piece on the DRC, I discovered the widespread use of coltan in the form of tantalum in most modern electronic devices.  On the back of this, I contacted HP - the manufacturer of my current and previous computers - to ask about their policy on this.

I was relieved and delighted to find that HP is the industry leader in terms of ethics on conflict minerals as this link shows.  I do wonder where HP may be falling down, as they surely are somewhere; just as Intel and Motorola represent massive financial concerns for the nation of Israel, who are systematically displacing and killing what remains of the Palestinian minority - with Rick Santorum's help, it seems!

My HTC phone, interestingly enough, represents a massive financial concern for the unrecognised nation of Taiwan, which may explain why the company doesn't appear on the Enough Project's list.  At the time of writing I haven't got round to contacting HTC to ask about their policies on coltan and other conflict minerals, but it's on my to do list.  There's more on mobile phones here.

I'd be fascinated to hear what other people find out from their computer companies if they choose to contact them.

This link has a wealth of further information and recent news on the issue of conflict minerals, including Global Witness' recent withdrawal from the Kimberley Process (the process due to target the problem of dealing in conflict minerals globally).

C is for Congo

If C is for anything else, it must be Congo.  The suffering of the Congolese people while our lives are made simpler and simpler with materials that should be benefiting their country, is beyond belief.

Here's where you can do something about it.  Including emailing the 18 leading manufacturers of electronic devices asking them to act.