BAD NEWS THEN MORE BAD NEWS

Andy Burnham replaces Alan Johnson.



Now we have all vented our fury at the greed of our MPs we should be grateful that we have disposed of so many of them. A pity that some good Councillors have suffered for no good reason of course but i suppose being in any way related to this nasty allegedly Labour government is good enough reason for most. And lets not forget that this was all made possible by Thatcherism and Reagonomics. The Big Bang in the City of London and deregulation made the Credit Crunch not just possible but probably inevitable. And as Thatcher froze MPs salaries she also freed up the expenses system for MPs; ( a pay rise in disguise as many MPs clearly seemed to think)And as the end of the Thatcher and Major regimes, drew near, it was blindingly obvious that no one was going to re-elect the Tories for a very long time. So what did the Thatcherite Neocons do to get elected. I would suggest that they simply joined the Labour Party, gained the majority position, elected a new Thatcherite leader, Tony B Liar and the rest is history. Tony was not the Bambi they thought but rather Tonasaurus Rex whose gleaming teeth were soon sunk into the soft underbelly of the Welfare State. Single parents, the sick, the disabled, the elderly the unemployed and small brown people with oil were all sitting ducks.As the end of days for New Labour draws nearer, Brown in desperate straights has retrenched and brought together his most loyal (at least for now) henchmen. Chief Fluoridista and Health Minister Alan Johnson is now elevated to Home Secretary. No, please don't laugh, its not funny, its actually all rather tragic and dangerous. Now he can lock us up for opposing fluoridation if he wishes. He already has more than enough laws to use against democracy and New Labour are always ready to pass some more at a moments notice.But surely, Johnson, who appeared to believe that fluoride was actually safe or even helpful, has been replaced by a safe pair of hands in the Department of Health? Sadly no. Step forward Andy Burnham, Minister for Dirty Jobs and original Pusher of Fluoride for Blair in 2003 and since then, such popular and useless measures as ID Cards and DNA databases. Here I will pause till the sobbing dies down and sick bags have been handed out...... OK time's up!Johnson and Burnham are probably the Ant and Dec of the Labour government, a pair of buffoons for sure but not as funny or clever. Even more horrifying is the distinct possibility that Johnson could be the next Prime Minister if Brown finally agrees to go and this may be sooner than we think. Brown may desperately wish to stay in the Job he preyed for so long but Events may yet get the better of him.Labour is now the lowest in the polls that it has ever been and may yet fall lower. The Local Elections have just been disastrous for Brown with the Labour candidates being pushed into third and fourth place. And on this coming Sunday, the omens are not good for them as the results of the European elections are pretty sure to rubbish Labour yet again. Calls for Brown to go will probably increase and some more resignations and defections are probable.Which ever Government assumes power after the next election which could be as soon as this October and certainly no later than next year. They will not have any money to throw around. Rail spending has been cut and eduction and health will also soon come under pressure. Its possible that Fluoride will be dumped as an unnecessary and expensive waste of time. Unfortunately we cannot depend on this so the best thing we can do is step up the pressure. We have to kick the Government whilst it is down, after all this is what they always do to us. The Council Tax comes to mind but i digress.At the same time we have to renew the pressure on prospective candidates for the future Government of whatever party. If candidates do not categorically state they are opposed to fluoride and especially water fluoridation then tell them to their face that you will not vote for them and will recommend to your friends that they do the same. Friends of the Earth have always steered clear of Politics with a capital P and have never recommended that we should vote for anyone, not even the Greens who we are often associated with, but we have never hesitated to Not Recommend those who pollute or exploit the environment. It is bad enough that many of our MPs have been on the make but surely when they desire to pollute and poison us as well, its time for them to go. Say No To Fluoride and those who promote or push it.

ON THE WIRE-- 25th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Amazingly, in September this year, BBC Radio Lancashires specialist music program "On The Wire" will be 25 years old. Even before the start of this series, there was an embryonic program called Spin Off but when it became On the Wire and moved to Sunday afternoons, it really took of and became an institution.

To some it was no doubt just that weird program that made a racket on a quiet Sunday Afternoon, but to the programs many fans and officianados it was a way of life. Although not a powerful radio signal in the scheme of things. this did not stop people parking camper-vans on tops of mountains in Wales because this was the only way to get the show in those parts. Strange maybe but don't forget, there was and still is nothing quite like On the Wire. Tapes of classic shows eagerly changed hands and the late great John Peel regularly used to listen to tapes of Steve Barkers shows in his car travelling between his home in Norfolk and the BBC in London.

Although Steve Barkers shows and those of John Peel were different in many ways there were undoubtedly overlaps. Both shows explored the fringe and peered behind the facade of modern and classic music of practially all genres and the music, often challenging, was presented in an informal yet very informative way. In both cases, talking over the tunes was a Capital Crime and the music was always allowed the last word.

Sadly Uncle John is no longer with us, but Steve Barker and On the Wire still carry the torch for both new and experimental music. Blues, Jazz, Folk, Rock, Indie, Dub, Drum and Bass still find a safe refuge on Steves Saturday night shows and once a month Andy ‘Madhatter’ Holmes and Pete Haigh present their Funkology show. Over the years Studio guests have included people such as Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc, Jah Wobble, Natacha Atlas, And lets not forget Steve's Rock Steady Crew, featuring Michael "Fenny" Fenton spinning indie tunes and local bands and the ever vigilant Jim Ingham platting the wires and stirring the tech in the background.

Many local bands and musicians have graced the airwaves from Radio Lancashire on record, tape and even in the flesh but so have some remarkable stars of the alternative and the underground. I for one will never forget the spectacle of Lee Scratch Perry doing a three hour show with Steve whilst the Legendary DJ and promoter Roger Eagle pulled Scratch tunes out of his bottomless bag of vinyl, many, so rare that even Lee could not remember them. Happy Days indeed.

Not surprisingly, On The Wire could not let such an important milestone as this go by without some degree of celebration. Consequently, Steve Barker and the team will be hosting a special all live show, probably extended beyond the normal two hours (if a producer can stay up that late in these appalling Post Jonathan Ross times) featuring special guests and probably not so special guests such as moi.

Either side of this will probably be all blues or all dub specials just like Mama used to bake. I have also had a chat with Terry in Chicago and Michael Rose in Minneapolis about doing another "Tunes Across the Big Pond" event. This could involve them sending pre-recorded pieces over to us which we could paste into our shows and an edition of On the Wire sent over to them to be re-broadcast over there. Steve says he is hoping to secure a variety of DJ mixes to be played throughout the month. It worked fine last time so lets see what happens this time.

Thats the story so far but its early days yet and nothing is confirmed. So stay tuned for more info as things are finalised. Remember, The Revolution will not be Broadcast (but you might be able to download it)