Gothic Gasoline!

Top London and New York-based independent publishers Merrell -- well known for their art and graphic design books and more -- have announced the forthcoming release of Gasoline, an entrancing graphic novel by cult illustrator and musician Dame Darcy describes as a gothic story with a timely ecological message.

Gasoline is set in a post-apocalyptic world where petrol has become more precious than gold, survivors have had to adapt to life without technology. The Armbusters, a family of orphaned witches, are among the few survivors of a fiery apocalypse that struck at the height of society’s corporate greed and corruption. Recycling and inventiveness – which had been overlooked in times of relentless materialism – have become essential to survival.

The Armbusters have created a utopian commune where they grow their own food, make their own clothes and exchange goods and services rather than use money. They own the only remaining working car, and their search for precious fuel for it takes them from the safety of the Karoi Utopian Survivalist Compound and pits them against the sinister nihilists who lurk in the decaying urban sprawl below.

"Gasoline is a gothic fairy tale of danger and suspense, heartbreak and redemption, and, above all, the perseverance of magic and love," Merrell's publicist explains. "It’s also a thought-provoking story about society’s changing priorities and about man’s relationship with the earth and its limited natural resources.

"Although nature had been coaxed into flourishing in Karoi, there had been centuries of damage before the founding of the community, and everyone was suffering the repercussions. The erratic weather was incited by the nuclear disaster of long ago or by the depletion of the ozone layer; the cause didn’t make a difference now, only the effect: storms."

The magical characters are brought vividly to life by Dame Darcy’s detailed and intensely atmospheric illustrations, a graphic artist, cartoonist and musician based in Los Angeles and New York. Her comic book Meatcake has been published by Fantagraphics since 1993. Her other publications include Frightful Fairytales (2002), Dame Darcy's Meatcake Compilation (2003) and The Illustrated Jane Eyre (2006). Darcy also sings and plays bass in the group Death by Doll.

• Pre-order Gasoline from amazon.co.uk
• Pre-order Gasoline from amazon.com
• Visit Dame Darcy's official web site
• More from Merrell Publishers

Slaine Slayed?

Last year, we reported how anti road campaigners in Eire had borrowed Pat Mills 2000AD character Slaine to promote protest over the building of the M3, much to Pat's delight at the time.

Sadly, it seems not even barbarian warriors have been able to stop the road building, which will destroy an archaeological complex containing at least 160 sites covering a timespan from 3600BC through to bronze and medieval ages, even though the European Commission has effectively said the construction work is illegal.

The road has been described by archaeologists as the worst case of state-sponsored vandalism ever inflicted on Irish cultural heritage.

SchNews reports that last Wednesday at the Hill Of Tara. Ireland, the solidarity vigil camp was evicted by an assortment of goons led by the Office of Public Works. The camp - on public land - was mostly destroyed, including a (newly made) wooden temple structure shredded by chainsaws, but the protesters managed to save the sacred fire, lit two years ago, within a tipi.

At 9.30am the camp was descended upon by 20 OPW workers plus 15 private security and twenty Gardai (police) - and amongst the security was at least one known employee of Ferrovial, the Spanish construction company running the project which will put the M3 motorway through one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe.

This latest development comes after the Direct Action camp at Rath Lugh was evicted on 17th April.

Since last July, when the European Commission declared that construction of the M3 broke 37 EU laws, the road build has continued, illegally - in fact it has been rushed through because of this.

The head of the OPW archaeologists have agreed to leave the fire until a meeting on May 19th, as they could not quote a law to use to extinguish it - just as they couldn't offer a legal legitimation for the entire eviction. Protesters are arguing that the fire is part of their individual and collective religious belief, which apparently carries some weight in Ireland as 'rights to religious expression' is in the constitution.

It also looks like this whole road fiasco is being built on a financial sandcastle. Ferrovial haven't paid any of the contractors yet for their work, leading many Irish firms to the brink of bankruptcy, and recently Howley Construction of Cork were repossessed. Several quarries are now refusing to supply the roadworks with hardcore until they'vebeen paid, and landowners whose land was compulsory purchased have not seen the cash. Protesters say that Ferrovial - presumably (hopefully) suffering financially in the crunch - are forced to bring in their own employees as security because they have no doubt run up tabs with all the local security mobs and are running out of goons.

As always, more people are needed at the Hill of Tara to continue the fight against this illegal and destructive road project.

• See www.tarataratara.net for updates or Indymedia.ie, Savetara or HillOfTara Yahoo groups for the latest news

Slaine called in to prevent Cultural vandalism in Ireland...

Well, it's the only way I can describe it. I know that much Irish historical record has been wiped out in the past, and this road plan sounds to me like a continuation of such destruction, but this time, not by invading armies but Ireland's own government.

I'm sure the British government, already working on changing planning regulation, must be rubbing their hands with glee at the very thought of the power their Irish counterparts have voted themselves in their determination to see the M3 road built.

The total scheme length comprises some 60 km of new road build and the project will cover approximately 700 hectares of land comprising 60km of mainline and 50km of ancillary and access roads the main part of this.

In a determined effort to stop the monstrous road, activists have liberated Pat Mills' Slaine form rhe pages of 2000AD to promote their fight against the development. (Pat's delighted by this by the way -- "It's good to see Slaine being made practical use of!" he tells me. "I've just written the intro for the final volume of this Slaine saga where I mention British road warriors (the modern day druid King Arthur ). I shall amend it to include Irish road warriors!")

Here's a full report of the campaign against the M3, based on a report in the activist newsletter SchNews...

"The proposed M3 motorway has been described by archaeologists as the worst case of state-sponsored vandalism ever inflicted on Irish cultural heritage."
- Roadblock

The biggest anti-road direct action protest ever in Ireland may be about to happen at the Hill of Tara, north west of Dublin, if attempts to have the area protected on archaeological grounds, and other legal efforts fail.

The entire area is a large archaeological complex containing at least 160 sites covering a timespan from 3600BC through to bronze and medieval ages. It was once the seat of the High Kings of Ireland and the country's political and spiritual capital until the 12th century. Yet it is imminently threatened, after a nine year battle to stop the development, by a motorway which would pass within one kilometre of its centre, and through the Tara Skryne Valley, scattered with hundreds of monuments whose relationship with the central complex is only just
beginning to be understood.

Like Stonehenge, the main edifice is surrounded by a large acreage of associated mounds, burial chambers and ancient building works.

The Irish government have given the green light to the M3 motorway and are so determined to avoid the past problems of nuisance neolithic artefacts or human remains being dug up during earth works and threatening the developments, that new heritage laws have been enacted. Now under the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004, government ministers have sole discretion in deciding whether archaeological sites in Ireland are to be preserved or demolished - affecting Tara, and all future development sites.

Work started late last year, and since January a construction compound was set up and earth moving equipment brought in. On 4 January, protesters occupied digging equipment near Dunshaughlin to hold up work, as earth moving had begun - being passed off as 'excavations'.


Last month a 1,300 year old underground building near Roestown was destroyed, just one of the major archaeological sites on the proposed route, containing beads, carved bones and an ancient gaming board.

The destruction was rushed through by Ireland's National Roads Authority (NRA, link is to the department's dedicated M3 web site) to avoid an injunction being placed under the National Monuments Act which would have stopped work. The NRA claim that this sort of site was 'relatively common' in Ireland. Campaigners were refused permission to have an independent archaeologist inspect the site.

(The NRA claims it is working with archaeologists to actively seek out previously unknown archaeological sites so that ample time and resources can be allocated to their excavation and recording prior to the start of road construction - JF).



Mysteriously, a section of land at Lismullen (pictured above, photo courtesy the campaigners) is surrounded by fencing and 24 hour security - it is believed that something important may have been dug up which they don't want the public to find out about.

At the moment, with the affected land still largely intact, campaigners are trying to raise funds to pay for an independent archaeological team to go over the 38 known important sites along the route. Campaigners say that Irish archaeologists won't do it because they are all too deeply in the pockets of the NRA, and have an eye towards the future work they will get signing off other historic sites to oblivion. It is also claimed that government-lackey archaeologists are not digging at sufficient depth considering the layers of burial going back through the ages, and it is estimated that a proper excavation of the area concerned would take a decade.

In June this year World Monuments Watch, an international body with enough clout to save many of the threatened sites at which they have intervened, will give a decision about whether to put Tara in their top 100 'most endangered sites' list, which would put further weight behind efforts to protect it. Tara is also being made a big issue in the forthcoming Irish general election this year, but campaigners told SchNEWS that this is amounting to the main political parties trying to gain pre-election kudos by appearing to oppose it.

Whether any of them could be trusted once in power is another matter.

Since the Summer Solstice in 2006, there has been a permanent vigil, fire and camp at Tara, with regular events including the upcoming Beltane on 1 May, and a large gathering open to all celebrating the first anniversary on 21 June. The vigil is on the north side of the Hill of Tara, past Rath Grainne: just follow the ditch/road north from the parking area. Rope, tarpaulin and all usual camp tat is needed.

For more see www.savetara.com.

In late December large trees were felled and earth moved on the northern slope of Skryne at Rath Lugh, and what began as daily demos has turned into an ongoing protest site there. When the direct action campaign kicks off, Skryne Valley will be the frontline - an area not only of archaeological importance but also featuring ancient woodland between Rath Lugh and Blundelstown.

Mass destruction through the valley could be imminent...

Links

• For updates about the protest see tarawatch.org and www.savetara.com
• To donate to the appeal for funding archaeological work see tarawatch.org/?p=342
• To read about the history of the Hill of Tara see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Tara

Effluent Flows...

A comment on the sewage disaster in the Foray of Firth, reported nationally here. I found this report in The Scotsman, which suggests that there's quite a discharge of sewage into the Forth on a regular basis anyway, but no turds, as there were in the 1960s.

Well, that makes everything all right then.

Update 24/4/07: Cartoonist Nick Miller sent me this cartoon from his ongoing "Worry man" series in response to the above...



My friend Joe, who lives in Edinburgh, enjoyed the ROK cartoon, and wrote to say there has been a campaign by residents for years to have the plant that broke down upgraded to help reduce the smell.

Where he lives, the only smell he has to worry about from outside is the nearby Caledonian Brewery, the makers of some of the finest ale in the known universe, which doesn't sound like a great hardship to me!

Austen Baker Strikes Back

Oh dear, I seem to have upset Mr Austen Baker after I reported on his letter to Private Eye bemoaning public transport and bus lanes (he gets a right pasting in the current edition from other readers so it would appear I wasn't the only person he annoyed with his 'rich must come first' inferences of the published version of his correspondence to Brtiain's best-known satirical magazine.

Given that his Private Eye letter was of local interest I posted a story about it on Virtual-Lancaster too, provoking a quick response from the gentleman which I am only too happy to publish here for 'balance'

Dear Sir,

You have given prominence to a rant from someone who turns out to be one John Freeman, who appears to be a local public transport obsessive, relating to a letter from me published in the current issue of Private Eye. I'm afraid I would have to give him an F for English Comprehension, on the strength of this item, which also appears on his blog.

I did not say the rich should be given priority over the poor in transport matters, nor did I evince a belief that lower earners are second class citizens. I made two points - in rather direct manner, as befits Private Eye (this is not the Spectator or the Economist) - both of which have to be understood in the context of arguments over transport that have been going on for decades now.

One concern has always been that congestion, because it delays the arrival of goods and workers, carries with it an economic cost. My point was that bus lanes are not the solution to this. Bus users are likely to be on average lower earners than car users (subject to lots of qualifications and exceptions one cannot make in a short letter to the press). Economically (not morally) speaking, higher earners' time is more important - their greater earnings reflect a greater economic value placed on their time. A low earner delayed for 30 minutes represents a smaller loss to the economy as a whole than a higher earner delayed for the same time. This is obvious to anyone who thinks about it for a moment or two. And I did not even argue that higher paid car users should be given priority over buses; merely that buses, with their lower earning passengers should not be given priority over cars (which is a quite different argument). Bus lanes narrow the available space available to cars and goods vehicles, thus exacerbating the delays they suffer in order to minimize delays for bus users. There is a cost to the economy of such a policy, and it does not seem to me that it necessarily makes good economic sense. That is all.

The second argument, which represented the bulk of my letter, and which he does not actually refute, is that transport policy ought not to be made against the background of a public debate distorted by misrepresentations.

I pointed out that buses not only emit quite a bit of pollution themselves, but, by forcing queues of traffic behind them to slow down/stop and then accelerate away again each time the bus stops to pick up or set down passengers, create additional pollution not usually counted in calculating environmental impacts (just set your car's trip computer to display current fuel consumption, and compare consumption - which equals emissions - at a steady 30 with the consumption as you pull away and get up to speed: the latter is phenomenally higher).

I also offered a recent example from a recent BBC TV news broadcast. Viewers were told that a journey from London to Edinburgh by car put out 100kg of emissions per person, by plane 50kg and by train 25kg. What they were not told was that this assumes one person in the car but a full to capacity train. Outside peak hours, though, we all know perfectly well that trains are far from full. I have made literally hundreds of journeys on trains little more than a quarter full. In that case, the train works out at 100kg per person, and if two people are making the car trip, the car works out at 50kg per person. You will see how misleading some of the statistics used can be.

I also pointed out the logical fallacy of using such figures to justify a proposal to charge large sums per mile to use busy roads at peak times (as the BBC was doing): at peak times on popular routes the trains are full, so penalising drivers to induce them onto the trains at those times on those routes would have a devastating effect on the rail infrastructure (and I pointed out that the BBC regional news for the West Midlands immediately following the news programme in question, carried an item about how through rail routes were to be cut because New Street Station in Birmingham was already operating at double the capacity it was designed for - highlighting the illogicality of the Government/BBC argument).

Finally, Mr Freeman takes a swipe at the University. I wrote to Private Eye expressing my own views, not those of the University, and it is inappropriate for him to suggest that what I write reflects University transport policy. While I do not speak for the University, I would point out that it does in fact have a coherent transport plan, agreed with the local authority, and makes great efforts to promote cycling, bus use and car sharing amongst its staff (and, with certain exceptions in special circumstances, prohibits students from obtaining parking permits). The University is, however, one of the city's largest employers and a major contributor to the local economy, so it naturally attracts a lot of traffic carrying both staff and visitors - all the transport plans in the world won't change that.

I realise that this is a local community website, but it is Nonetheless important that people are not misrepresented in this cavalier fashion. I would ask that you give my rebuttal equal prominence with Mr Freeman's assertions.

Yours faithfully,
Dr Richard Austen-Baker
Lecturer in Law
Lancaster University Law School
LANCASTER
LA1 4YN

So there you have it - just for balance.

Rich People must come first on transport says lecturer

This got right up my nose this week: a Lancaster University lecturer has declared rich people should come first on matters of transport.

Law lecturer Richard Austen-Baker, who works at Lancaster University’s law school, took magazine Private Eye to task this week for “being taken in by the public transport lobby”, arguing in favour of abolishing bus lanes – a move Birmingham and Ealing councils are in the process of making.

In a letter to Private Eye Austen-Baker, perhaps reflecting the University’s continued lack of transport strategies, resulting in huge car use that helps to choke Lancaster’s one-way system in term time, argues that ”People… use public transport because they can’t afford private transport. On average, bus passengers who are employed at all (many are pensioners, students and schoolchildren or the unemployed) earn far less than car users.”

Clearly Austen-Baker thinks these people are second class citizens compared to car drivers, arguing “their time is less valuable to the economy.
“It therefore makes no sense whatever to give them priority over people in cars.”

Austen-Baker obviously has it in for public transport, claiming arguments for it are based on “misrepresentations”. Perhaps he's been stuck behind a bus pumping out “horrible emissions in large doses once too often” once too often on his way to work during term time, obviously unable to notice that most of the traffic causing jams in Lancaster are his fellow lecturers and students driving to the University, despite the huge number of buses laid on by various privatised bus companies.

There’s only one “horrible emission” I can definitely see here — and it isn’t a bus.

Scary nuclear stuff

Ooh, this is cheery: a dynamic map showing Chernobyl fallout applied to your choice of UK nuclear power stations (you can change the wind direction too).

I remember when Chernobyl went up and it raining buckets in Morecambe (as usual, really, back then), when I was working for Kall-Kwik as a designer, the whole week after.

That's why I have no hair. Honest.

Darfur is Dying Game

US MTV Networks' mtvU college TV network has launched Darfur is Dying, a Web-based game created by students at the University of Southern California. It rapidly brings home the hopelessness of Dargur's refugees without outside help, offering users real world ways to fight the genocide in Darfur. The second stage of the game doesn't seem to work on a Mac (perhaps that's the point). There are links to real world action you can take to help.

Update 12/6/07: mtvU has announced that Darfur is Dying (www.DarfurisDying.com) is being translated into Chinese, Arabic and Spanish and will soon re-launch globally. It is a student-developed online viral video game . The game has been played 2.5 million times by more than 1.2 million people since its launch and the website is an extension of mtvU's Sudan resource centre on mtvU.com, which offers news updates, facts, background info, student activist profiles, and more.

Are Jet Skis a menace?

Local bird lovers in Lancaster are up in arms over jet ski use on the River Lune, concerned for the safety of nesting birds. Several people have also complained to Virtual-Lancaster, the local web site I write for, about the noise the jet skis make and raised safety concerns.

Jet skiers now regularly tear up the Lune beyond Skerton Bridge -- despite a voluntary agreement made some years ago not to go further.

Some local bird watchers have called for a ban on the machines, saying that unchecked, the jet ski problem will only get worse. They are especially concerned by jet ski use further down the Lune, on the marsh channels where birds are nesting.
"One of the things I love about living in Marsh is the access to countryside, says local Ian McCulloch. "Five minutes walk down the footpath next to Coronation Field and you're surrounded by fields, another five and you're at Marsh Point. Which is great unless it's a sunny Sunday afternoon, and the river is full of screaming jet-skis from the Golden Ball on the opposite bank. In a spot which is gloriously quiet apart from them it seems a bit much."

"I've never seen so many nesting birds on the River Lune as I have this year," one Skerton resident told Virtual-Lancaster. "They're an absolute delight and a wonderful sight for both locals and visitors alike. "Sadly, it appears the increasing number of jet skiers on the Lune are determined to rob us of this wonderful natural attraction."

Local councillors are beginning to wake up to the issue, with promises of investigation and possible action. Lancaster councillor Ron Sands, cabinet member responsible for tourism, feels action must be taken, pointing out that new speed restrictions on Lake Windermere, due to come into force next year, will lead to what he calls "a search by the hundreds of displaced skiiers for alternative habitats to destroy."

Up until now however, although there has been some discussion among local organisations with environmental interests -- such as the Morecambe Bay Partnership -- no clear plan to address the problems jets skiers cause has been agreed. Nationally, government has yet to find time to address concerns raised by several local authorities about jet ski use, even though the machines have been in use for over five years in the UK.

Jet skis, which can reach speeds of more than 70mph and can be legally driven by children, remain unregulated.

One problem in addressing the issue, according to local bird watcher Jon Carter, is that there are no local jet ski clubs who could advise users on where to use their machines safely. Those using the Lune at present are all independent jet ski owners who may be ignorant of local concerns and complaints.

Locals point out there is likely to be more jet ski use on the Lune in future and the dangers they pose to personal safety. (Earlier this month, a 32-year-old man was seriously injured in a collision between two jet skis off Ardrossan beach in North Ayrshire. A man was killed on a North Yorkshire lake last year, after a collision between two jet skis).

In the US, where jet ski use is more prevalent, steps have been taken against them on both conservation and noise pollution grounds. Several national parks have banned jet ski use outright, after numerous studies revealed they can cause lasting damage to park resources and wildlife. Hawaii has classified jet skis as "thrillcraft" and banned them from some coastal waters during the whale calving season. In California, the Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary severely restricted personal watercraft because of the threat posed to sea otters and other users of the 4,000-square-mile sanctuary.

Campaigners against jet skis living in Cape Cod cited a catalogue of issues with the vehicles, arguing they pollute the air and water, create law enforcement problems, threaten public safety, endanger wildlife, destroy natural quiet and diminish visitor enjoyment.

It is now law to wear helmets and life jackets while riding a jet ski in some states and New York state now requires all skiers, regardless of their age, complete an 8-hour boating safety course before they can use a machine there, or face being fined -- see this report from Capital News.

Locally, Lancaster City Council already has byelaws in place to deal with motorcycle abuse and it is possible they could be applied to jet skiers. As well as Coun Ron Sands acknowledgement of the issue, local councillor Jon Barry told Virtual-Lancaster he was trying to find out if anything could be done about the problems caused on environmental grounds.

It remains to be seen whether any action will - or can be taken, especially given apparent government reticence to tackle the problem despite the dangers and destruction jet skis can pose if used improperly.

Links From Minnesota Public Radio:
• The dangers of unregulated Jet Ski Use to swimmers (Both side of the argument put)
• Environmental impact of Jet Skis