NO meat? LESS meat?

Public talk and Q&A with former Practical Action CEO Simon Trace

Rebooting Technology to Impact on Poverty and the Environment

Our society is more likely to direct research funding into a cure for male baldness than a malaria vaccine or into the extraction of shale gas than the storage of renewable energy…

Simon Trace argues for a change to technology justice…

United Reformed Church, Coleham Head, Shrewsbury, SY3 7BJ

7.30pm, Monday 13th March 2017

All welcome! Free entry. Refreshments available.

Contact shropshire@globaljustice.org.uk .

Join us for a talk on Brazil by Sue Branford, author of books including Brazil Under the Workers’ Party: From Euphoria to Despair.
Sue will speak at the United Reformed Church in Shrewsbury from 7.30pm on Wednesday 20 April.

Author and former BBC World Service Latin America correspondent Sue Branford will speak about Brazil’s current political turmoil ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in Rio.  Sue’s talk comes as Brazil’s President and Workers’ Party member Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment proceedings.

Executive Director of War on Want John Hilary sums up the wider relevance of Sue Branford’s latest book, ‘Brazil Under the Workers’ Party: From Euphoria to Despair’:

“Branford and Rocha’s thoughtful study of the rise and fall of the Workers’ Party in Brazil should be required reading for all those seeking to understand the crisis facing social democratic parties the world over.
“The party’s rejection of agrarian reform, tax justice or structural political change lost it the support of Brazil’s powerful social movements, while its recent adoption of classic austerity policies has forfeited its very legitimacy.
“The authors’ conclusion is a compelling one: for left parties, transformative social and political change is the only hope of success.”

Sue will also argue that Brazil’s political crisis has serious repercussions for the whole of Latin America, because if a right-wing president comes to power, he/she will immediately negotiate with Washington for resumption of talks on a Free Trade Area of the Americas, which is really Latin America’s TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership).

Sue has recently returned from a field trip to Brazil’s Amazon and has written blog articles on the social struggles in this environmentally significant area too.

 

Shropshire Council will debate a motion opposing TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, on 23rd July 2015.

Join us in lobbying our Shropshire councillors to back this motion and make Shropshire a TTIP-free zone!

TTIP is a trade deal being negotiated largely in secret between the European Union and USA. It aims to reduce the barriers to trade for big business – such as food safety laws, workers’ rights, safety regulations and environmental legislation. It would further enable corporations to sue national and local governments, if these corporations felt the governments’ actions might affect their profits.

How might TTIP affect us in Shropshire?

• Shropshire Council could be challenged by corporations for denying planning permission.
• Businesses with the financial clout to engage lawyers would be able to challenge decisions made by the local authority on the procurement of goods and services – for example if the Council decided to favour local businesses or ethical products.
• The local authority could be sued for bringing any part of the National Health Service (NHS) back under public control.
• We could expect further deregulation of development control and licensing.
• The City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, could see its powers reduced, leading to more banking deregulation.
• Even the threat of having to defend themselves against claims is likely to influence the decision-making of the town and county councils, encouraging them to lean towards the interests of big business.
• By reducing the Council’s ability to control local affairs, this trade deal would undermine our democratic system.

You can find out more about TTIP by following the links below:

What is TTIP? The Independent article.

TTIP: a threat to democracy, standards and jobs. Global Justice Now briefing.

The EU-US trade deal: how TTIP could cripple local government. Global Justice Now and Unison local government briefing.

If you are worried about the effect that TTIP would have on our services and democracy in Shropshire, please contact your local county councillor to tell them this and to urge them to support the motion opposing TTIP. An email or a letter would be great, but even better if you could meet your councillor in person!

Contact details for your Shropshire councillor can be found by clicking here.

If you have any questions about the motion against TTIP, or if you would like to find out more about Global Justice Now, please email: shropshire@globaljustice.org.uk.

Group meeting

The Shropshire group of Global Justice Now (formerly know as the World Development Movement) holds informal meetings once a month bar August. The meetings happen on the 2nd or 1st Thursday of the month, 7.30-9pm.

Venue: The Snug, The Alb, Shrewsbury – 200m from the train station on Smithfield Road.

The meetings are a chance to get together and plan our campaigning activities on economic justice. These include letter writing, lobbying and organising occasional events.

If you would like to find out more about our activities or drop into one of our meetings, please email us at shropshire@globaljustice.org.uk or call group coordinator Tony on 07590 507 522. All welcome!

Diary 2015

Thursday 8 January – review 2014 and plan 2015 – The Alb, Shrewsbury

Thursday 12 February – Think Global actions – The Alb

Sunday 15 February, 5.30pm – film outing, The Testament to Youth (booking necessary, places limited) – The Old Market Hall cinema, Shrewsbury

Saturday 21 February – Take back our world! conference and cultural event – Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA

Thursday 12 March –  campaign stall planning – The Alb

Saturday 21 March – campaign stall – outside Unitarian Church, High Street, Shrewsbury

Thursday 9 April – Think Global actions – The Alb

Thursday 14 May – Think Global actions – The Alb

Thursday 11 June – Think Global actions – The Alb

Saturday 13 June – Global Justice Now AGM and Groups’ & Activists’ Conference – Glasgow

Thursday 2 July – Green Fair/WildFEST campaign stall planning – The Alb

Saturday in July – campaign stall at Green Fair/WildFEST – Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Shrewsbury

Thursday 10 September – Think Global actions – The Alb

Thursday 1 October – campaign stall planning – The Alb

Saturday 17 October – campaign stall – outside Unitarian Church, High Street, Shrewsbury

Thursday 12 November – Think Global actions – The Alb

Thursday 3 December – social night out, probably a curry house!