Global Justice Now Reading

Sam Fowles gave us an excellent talk on Wednesday about ‘The Great Repeal Bill’ that has been in the news this week. He explained to us how this bill will make it possible for the government to use ‘Henry VIII’ powers to make or break laws without going through the House of Commons; it will give them broader powers, exercised with less accountability, than any peacetime administration within living memory. If you would like to write to your MP to express your concern, you can find their contact details at ‘Find my MP’ on your computer. Even if you send a short note it will get noticed if a number of us send something! Also, It is quite easy to get a letter published in the Reading Chronicle if you give it a local angle. If you are more ambitious, try the national press! We need to show journalists and politicians that people are concerned about this topic and that there is need to take it seriously.

For more information look at Sam Fowles’s articles in the Guardian or on the ‘Another Europe is Possible’ website.

 

7.30pm Wednesday 6^th September

RISC, 35 – 39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS

More info Jackie Oversby: 07745310794 / jackieoversby@gmail.com www.globaljustice.org.uk/reading

‘Corporates – Saints or Sinners’, our last meeting, provided a startling insight into why corporates behave the way they do. We started by playing an updated version of Corporate Monopoly. Then I gave a talk based on the book, ‘The Corporation. The Pathological pursuit of Profit and Power’ by Joel Bakan. I thoroughly recommend the book. It is a relatively easy read. You can also watch the film of it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOafbpaVw90

You can borrow the new Corporate Monopoly game from Jackie. Also, last year’s version of Corporate Monopoly is still available on the website at:  globaljustice.org.uk/infographics/corporatemonopoly .  It is well worth looking at if you haven’t seen it before.

Saturday 10^th June: Global Justice Now’s National Gathering and AGM in Bristol.

 

This featured external speakers from Attac and other groups and an opportunity was a first opportunity to come together and discuss. Jackie and John found the event liberating and very stimulating.

 

Today, 6.5.17, we joined the Global Divestment Mobilisation. We had a stall in Broad Street near Lloyds Bank and HSBC. Nearly 200 people have signed our petition asking the banks to go #FossilFree

BeanPole Day, at Caversham Court, Reading, is usually a successful occasion, swarming with fellow travellers committed to the environment and this year’s event was no different. Dressed as jesters, which attracted attention, Jackie and John plied visitors and stall holders with the Big Shift petition calling for the Big Banks to invest customers’ money in renewables, not fossil fuels. Many were more than willing to sign. The argument that fossil fuels were now stranded assets in the light of the Paris Agreement convinced waverers. We were pleasantly suprised by those who had heard that during the previous day, no UK electricity had been generated by coal. It may be rather slow but we are making valuable progress. Grateful thanks to our helpers for taking over the stall for a while.