Thursday 4 October 2007

Should we stop eating Kettle Crisps?

When Kettle Crisps launched a couple of years ago, it could be said that revolunisted the crisp market. Out went the standard flavours such as salt and vinegar, to be replaced with the far more fancy Sea Salt and Balsamic vinegar. They certainly cost more, but they just seemed to taste better. You knew how successful they had got when all the supermarkets started to produce their own upmarket crisps.

It appears that those of us who like to make an ethical choice about what we buy may now have to consider boycotting Kettle crisps. According to the Guardian, It appears that the private equity firm that owns Kettle crips has employed an American firm who specialise in union busting to dissaude their workers from joining a union.

Unions certainly are not perfect and often make bad mistakes such as the most recent tube strike. However, they do stand up for workers rights which is becoming increasing important in these days when firms are increasing relying more on temporary workers (Poor pay, no rights: UK's new workforce 24th Sept 2007)

Read the article Kettle Chips calls in US union-busters to stop recognition and make up your own mind

Tuesday 2 October 2007

How sea tubes could slow climate change

When scientists such as James Lovelock come up with new ideas about climate change, they are always worth listening.

His latest idea is to dot the worlds oceans with 200m tubes to bring alge rich water up to surface so that they can bloom and capture capture carbon dioxide.

Even if this doesn't work it might just spark someone else to come up with an even better idea.

Trying Something Different

For some unknown reason, my favourite paper the Guardian wasn't available the other day in Swansea, so I thought I'd try the Independent instead.

As a student I'd always read the Indy, but over the years I was lured away to the guardian by a better standard of writing and especially the breadth of columnists.

Have to say that it I was really impressed by that days Indy. Perhaps not enough to switch full time, but it kept me busy for my journey up to London.

Two particular items caught my eye.

Weapons left by us troops used as bait to kill Iraqis which details how us sniper teams have been deliberately leaving weapons out in the open and then shooting anyone who picks them up on the assumption they must be terrorists. Those shot can therefore be counted as enemy combatants and therefore used to justify the success of the surge.

The battle of Little Rocks is apart an interview that Louis Armstrong gave in 1957 about civil rights. Before this interview, Louis Armstrong had been regarded as an uncle tom character by many civil rights activists. The interview shocked America and his concerts were boycotted in the same way that the Dixie chicks were to be 40 years later when they criticised president bush.