Friday 9th November 2018

At six – discussing the big stories in Bristol, Britain and around the world
After seven – straight talking and investigative reports with Martin Summers

BCfm’s weekly Politics Show presented by Tony Gosling

Listen live http://www.bcfmradio.com/player or http://stream.bcfmradio.com:7017/live.mp3

BCfm audio files usually available 1hr, Radio4All 3-4hrs, after TX
Any probs mp3s should be on alternative links below by then

First hour: news review with LibDem leader and councillor for Cotham, Anthony Negus: Plans to make Bristol City Council ‘more business-like’. The authority is looking to become more “commercially minded” Council tzars are looking at ideas to make public services in Bristol function more like a business. Stripping back bureaucracy and finding new ways for Bristol City Council to make money are top of the agenda as the authority looks to become more “commercially minded”. It comes as the authority weathers its eighth year of central government cuts, which has seen councils across the country lose up to half their budgets. The squeeze has meant a big reduction in spending – and has put senior managers on the hunt for ways other than raising council tax to balance the books. Piecemeal ideas, such as putting advertising in Bristol parks , will be brought under one banner with the help of Penny Fell, who as of August is the council’s new director of commercialisation. The Severn Estuary in Britain has the second highest tidal range in the world and tidal power in the Severn could produce a total of about 7% of the country’s energy needs. The lecture will consider the viability of tidal stream and tidal range. The most successful tidal range scheme currently operating is the La Rance scheme in Brittany, France, which has operated for 50 years and now produces the cheapest electricity in Europe. Experience from that will be described. Tidal range schemes in the Severn Estuary can be either barrages or lagoons and the main schemes will be identified. These will include the pathfinder Swansea Bay lagoon and an updated Severn barrage. Each scheme would have different impacts on the environment and most would involve the Habitats and Birds Directives. In recent years, turbine development has meant there would be less change in basin water level and hence less impact on the environment. BBC World Service, The Compass, After the Crash 2/5: Austerity and Consequences, Did Governments’ handling of the 2008 financial crisis – when some chose to implement austerity and some didn’t – make things better or worse? Ian Goldin, professor of Globalisation and Development at Oxford University, visits Illinois in the US to find out how people were affected by the collapse in the housing market. He also talks to Christine Lagarde – the head of the International Monetary Fund – about how austerity measures were implemented in Europe. And Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Minister of Finance in Nigeria, talks about how the crisis was felt in Africa. Presenter: Ian Goldin. Producer: Ben Carter. MPs laugh at Theresa May’s claim that ‘austerity is ending’ during PMQs clash with Corbyn. Theresa May’s claim that “austerity is ending” was met with laughter by MPs as the prime minister clashed with Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Ministers Questions. Condemning what he called a “broken promise Budget”, the Labour leader demanded to know why the government had not pledged to end the benefit freeze. That prompted confusion over Labour’s own policy on the issue after a spokesman for Mr Corbyn said the party would not necessarily raise benefits in line with inflation, despite John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, having said it would. Support grows for girl, 9, who begged homeless charity for job. A homeless charity has raised over £22,000 after speaking out about a 9-year-old who begged them for work to buy Christmas presents to her siblings. Metro.co.uk reported yesterday about the little girl who told CEO of Humanity Torbay Ellie Waugh that she needed a job because her mother had died and her father had no money. The charity, which operates food bank and offers support for the vulnerable has managed to raise more than £22,800, after Ellie decided to hit out at Universal Credit and ‘tell the truth’ about how many people are being forced to sleep rough. Italy says budget will include basic income, lower retirement. ROME (Reuters) – Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Wednesday Italy’s 2019 budget would include a basic income for the poor and allow people to retire earlier, meeting demands from the ruling coalition parties. Tria told a retail association conference the so-called “citizens’ income” would help manage the social consequences of technological change, and said allowing people to retire earlier would give firms a younger, more skilled workforce. The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which governs with the right-wing League, threatened on Tuesday not to vote for the budget unless it included the citizens’ income and a lower retirement age, along with other policies. Why the £2 ‘flat fare’ on Bristol’s buses might cost you £2.07 A raft of changes to the bus fares across Bristol come into force on Sunday, with Monday the first day when commuters and school children experience the new fare set-up. The price of a single ticket is being unified to what First Bus and Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said was a ‘flat fare’ no matter how far you travel in Bristol on the bus. Before the change on Monday, people were paying £1.50 for every single journey under three miles on the First Bus phone app, or £2.50 for every single journey over three miles. ‘Labour’ Mayor Marvin Rees state of the city address 2018 on transport No administration for years, has taken transport seriously. There have been efforts to improve cycling and walking but it remains difficult to travel from A to B. Communities in areas such as Hartcliffe, Avonmouth and Hillfields remain disconnected. Congestion adversely impacts on the city‘s economy and air quality. We will not repeat the errors of recent years in pretending that cars will disappear if we make life difficult for car drivers, nor will we ignore the economic impact when we do transport planning. But we will have an impact on congestion and on people movement by presenting real choice. We must generate mass transit options that are better, cheaper and easier than car travel. Thanks to the efforts of my cabinet lead , Mhairi Threlfall, we have our Bristol Transport Strategy out to consultation, outlining our vision to 2036. We have seen the order of the biggest single biogas bus order in the UK, and we are leading the way on smart ticketing and contactless payments. 7 out of 10 passengers now board the bus using these payment methods. The key outcomes of the Congestion Task Group are being implemented, including the creation of a Transport Board that will bring together key city transport partners, to work more closely with the city council for future planning. But most importantly, we have a flightpath for a phased growth of public transport. The first strand of that growth will be looking at a new deal for bus use. I can announce tonight that we are in the process of working towards a Heads of an Agreement that sets out a joint relationship based on long term and sustained public and private investment in the bus system. Working with our partners in the West of England, the aim of the agreement will be to double bus usage to 20% of all journeys through: Bristol congestion charge will ‘hit the poorest the hardest’ The Conservative group say council claims about the benefits of the charge are ‘inaccurate and disingenuous’ Any potential congestion charge or parking levy will “hit the poorest people in Bristol the hardest”, the Conservatives claim. Leader of the Bristol Tory group, Mark Weston, says any move to charge drivers to enter the city would “unfairly tax” low income families and previously making driving a luxury of the well off. His comments come after Bristol City Council launched its transport strategy consultation on Monday (September 24). The document lays out the city’s transport aims over the next 20 years and looks at how it may fund new projects. High on the list is Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees’ ambitious hope of building an underground metro-rail network for the city.  Work-related stress jumps by a quarter to reach ‘epidemic’ levels Experts criticise ‘half-hearted’ attempts to tackle a crisis caused by workload and management style – Nearly 85 per cent of charity workers are looking for a new job – Survey: Majority Of Workers Comfortable Looking For New Job While Employed. Health Secretary orders probe into autistic youngsters locked in NHS ‘hell holes’ across the UK… as mother reveals her son is ‘so drugged he can hardly move’ in care unit. Matt Hancock has ordered an urgent investigation into children being locked up. Children as young as 13 are said to be being incarcerated for years in NHS units. Barbaric treatment includes patients being kept in isolation in padded cells. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has ordered an urgent investigation into why youngsters are being locked up like criminals because they have autism or learning difficulties, just days after The Mail on Sunday revealed their appalling plight. Mr Hancock was ‘deeply shocked’ by this newspaper’s account last week of children as young as 13 being incarcerated, sometimes for years, in NHS-funded assessment and treatment units, known as ATUs. Our exposé, based on numerous detailed interviews with distraught individuals and families, found evidence of routine abuse of children and young people kept in the secretive facilities. On Saturday 10 November Veterans For Peace (VFP) UK will host a public conference at Friends House, Euston. In the morning there will be a presentation from German veterans Florian Pfaff and Jurgen Rose. In the afternoon there will be a presentation from US veterans Barry Ladendorf and Dennis Stourt on their experiences during the Vietnam War. On Sunday 11 November VFP UK and veterans from around the world will walk to The Cenotaph in Whitehall under the banner Never Again to carry out a solemn ceremony of remembrance. Veterans For Peace UK is a politically independent ex-services organisation of men and women who have served in conflicts from WW2 through to Afghanistan. As a result of our collective experience we firmly believe that “War is not the solution to the problems we face in the 21st Century”. Our annual gathering attracts veterans from around the world who are committed to serving the cause of world peace.

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Second hour: Investigative reports: US War on Terror Kills Nearly 500,000 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan A study released Thursday says the U.S.-led war on terrorism has killed about 507,000 people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan during its 17 years and is showing a 22 percent increase in deaths in the past two years. The death toll includes U.S. and allied troops, civilians in the war zones, local military and police forces, as well as militants, who have died from war violence, according to the report by Brown University’s Costs of War Project. The report said the number of indirect deaths was several times larger than deaths caused by direct war violence, bringing the total death count to well over 1 million people. Fatalities in Afghanistan, as of October 2018, stood at about 147,000 people, including Afghan security forces, civilians and opposition fighters. The figure also included the deaths of 6,334 American soldiers and contractors, as well as more than 1,100 allied troops. Make GRU GRU again, Putin says as intelligence agency turns 100. The Russian president suggested returning the historic name to the military intelligence agency, which is accused in the West of staging coups, tilting US elections and using chemical weapons to get rid of double agents. On Friday, Russian military intelligence officers were celebrating their professional holiday. This year is a big date for the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The organization is best known by its Soviet-times name the GRU (Maine Intelligence Directorate), even though the agency has changed its name to simply GU years ago. Iran will break US sanctions: President Rouhani TEHRAN. – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran will break the sanctions imposed by the United States on Tehran as well as on countries that do business with it, shortly after a round of anti-Iran sanctions by America took effect. Speaking at a meeting with the directors and deputies of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance on Monday, President Rouhani said, “We should break the sanctions very well, and we will do that.” “With the help of the people, and the unity that exists in our society, we have to make the Americans understand that they must not use the language of force, pressure, and threats to speak to the great Iranian nation. They must be punished once and for all,” the Iranian president said. The meeting and remarks came shortly after a new round of US sanctions took effect. The new bans target, among other things, Iran’s oil sales and Central Bank. More Iranian individuals have also been targeted by the US Department of the Treasury. The US measures also include so-called secondary sanctions – punitive measures against third countries doing business with Iran. US President Donald Trump introduced a first round of “primary” and “secondary” sanctions against Iran and its trade partners in August. In May, he unilaterally pulled the US out of a multilateral deal with Iran. Two months later, footage reportedly came outin which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he had personally convinced Trump to withdraw from the Iran deal. Top Likud minister, back from Oman: Israel, Gulf must liaise on security, agriculture. Israel Katz says Jewish state ‘has a lot to offer’ its Arab neighbors in multiple fields. A top minister who visited Oman this week has called for increased cooperation between Israel and Gulf states on developmental issues, security, medicine and more. Intelligence and Transportation Minister Israel Katz told Reuters Thursday night following his visit: “In my view cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states can and should be expanded … Israel also has a lot to offer when it comes to water desalination and irrigation, agriculture and medicine.” He also said the nations should work together on aviation security. Russia, Turkey, France and Germany call for lasting ceasefire in Syria. World leaders issue joint statement from summit on war-torn country: The leaders of Russia, Turkey, France and Germany have called for a lasting ceasefire in Syria following violence in last remaining major rebel stronghold. A constitutional committee should meet by the end of the year, the leaders of the four countries, who gathered for a summit in Istanbul, said. Ankara, which supports the rebels seeking to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad, and Moscow, Assad’s key foreign ally, recently brokered a deal to create a demilitarised zone in Syria’s Idlib region. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that the international community would be watching to make sure that Russia and Turkey respect the agreement they have negotiated. Speaking after the four-way summit on Saturday, he said: “We will all be extremely vigilant to ensure that these commitments are met and that the ceasefire is stable and sustainable. “We are counting on Russia to exert a very clear pressure on the (Syrian) regime which very clearly owes it its survival.” ‘EU lied for 50 YEARS’ Farage attacks Macron’s plans to build a ‘TRUE European army’ NIGEL Farage accused the European Union of “lying to us for 50 years” after French President Emmanuel Macron called for a “real European army” to reduce Europe’s dependence on the United States for defence. Nigel Farage warned a European army would be “very dangerous” and “deeply insulting” to the United States. Speaking on his LBC radio show, Mr Farage blasted: “A true European army says Emmanuel Macron, backing up comments from Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said not too long ago, deference to NATO can no longer be used as a convenient alibi to argue against greater European efforts. “Folks, they’re building a European army, they’re not messing about. President Macron sparks outrage by calling infamous French Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain a ‘great soldier’ during WWI. Philippe Petain assissted in the Holocaust and deported thousands of Jews . Macron said that Marshal Petain made some bad choice in the Second World War. He said ‘I don’t hide any page of history’ as he praised Petain’s greatness in WWI. The Lion of Verdun began working with Nazis against Britain during WWII. Israeli Defense Company Wins Contract to Monitor Europe’s Coasts. The Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems Ltd has won a contract worth up to $68 million to monitor much of Europe’s coastline. Elbit Systems, an Israeli tech firm which specialises in defence, security and commercial systems, said today that the framework contract consists of the provision of maritime unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in order to help monitor extensive coastlines and vast areas of sea to identify any potential hazards and suspicious activities. The company will provide European Union countries with maritime unmanned aircraft system patrol services. Israeli Defense Contractor Elbit Announces Contract with EU Maritime Safety Agency. The company will provide European Union countries with maritime unmanned aircraft system patrol services. In recent months, numerous Israeli companies and contractors have been winning contracts in various industries worldwide, ranging from defense to surveillance and technological advancement. David Livingstone: Because the focus of much conspiracy research has been dirverted to the Federal Reserve, UFOs, “the Jews” and even the Jesuits, it has failed to apprehend the most important development of occultism in modern times and the source of transhumanism. Until recently, occultism was dominated by societies like the Golden Dawn, or Aleister Crowley’s OTO. While the influences of these societies are still central, they have proliferated in entirely new ways. While once associated with solemn candlelit rituals and dark incantations performed by robed mystics, occultism has a new face, and it’s the pranksterism of a bizarre parody religion called Discordianism, founded by a close friend of Lee Harvey Oswald, Kerry Thornley. The principles of Discordianism are mockery. But it’s jocularity hides a more sinister agenda, which is the prejudice that nothign is sacred, underlying their bigroty towards “traditional religions.”  William Stuart’s book The Invisible College, 9/11 To Armageddon. Fourteen years ago, author William Stuart began to explore the darkest regions of our planet and five years later he had enough data to support the claim that a strain of the Knights Templar had ensured that the American War of Independence, French Revolution, American Civil War, Russian Revolution, WW1 and WW2 took place. Five more years passed, and William discovered that when the Russian Revolution, heavy with Templar Masonry, began to fail because of the ‘peasant farmers’ loyalty to their Tsar, Rothschild, Khun Loeb, Warburg, J.P.Morgan, Rockefeller, Fabian Society Round Table and the American International Company applied direct funding to cover up the failure. The author knew that the Templars were controlled by American finance, who took orders from Geneva and that this organisation had designed seven strategic wars as a blueprint for financial gain and the growth of the New World Order as far back as 1710. They matched their seven wars to the “breaking of 7 seals” in the Book of Revelation, as all had been initiated into Red Masonry called Armageddon Masonry, using verses from that last book of the Bible. At this stage of his research William suspected that there was a potential seventh war, which could be seen as a mock up of Armageddon, so he set out to discover whether 9.11 and the chaos in the Middle East were connected, and if both events had originated from this satanic cabal. A compelling and exciting read, 9:11 to Armageddon is over 300 pages of brilliant research that is an absolute must for anyone interested in understanding the subversive organisations that run our world and how they have created every war since the American War of Independence.
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