Joe grew up in Norfolk and currently works as a news and documentary cameraman. He has worked on content for Channel 4, BBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and NTN24. He is also heavily involved with Norwich Green Party and is an active member of the independent arts scene in Norwich. He plays drums in a group called Guranfoe that regularly performs in the city and nationwide. He is also a fan of Norwich City Football Club, veganism, atheism, hiking, running and Chapo Trap House. Joe was a Community writer for the Norwich Radical April-September 2017.
Follow @jjbbuns on Twitter / Youtube/ Instagram / Facebook.
Articles:
(05.09.17) – Where to Hide Radioactive Waste?
Radioactive waste is the solid, liquid, or gaseous waste produced by nuclear power stations, fuel production, weapons manufacturing and nuclear plant decommissioning. Small volumes of radioactive waste products are also created by industrial, research and medical institutions.
This waste has been constantly produced in this country since the 1950s, and the debate about what to do with the radioactive waste products from military, civil, medical, and scientific uses has caused frustration and fear for an equally long time.
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(16.08.17) – Norfolk’s Bad Meat
Content warning: this article contains links to graphic videos and mentions animal cruelty
Over a billion farmed animals are killed in Britain every year. That includes over 10 million pigs, over 15 million sheep, 16 million turkeys, and over 2.6 million cows.
This business is a traditional part of Norfolk, and British, life. Farming of all kinds has been a part of life in Norfolk for hundreds of years. This rural county is most well-known for breeding turkeys, though it is also a moderate producer of other meats, especially from cows and pigs. Is the mass production of animals for consumption something to be proud of though?
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(06.08.17) – In Favour of a Cycling Future
This year, nearly £16m is beginning to be being spent on transport alterations across Norwich. This means new cycle lanes, junctions, and road crossings being built to improve road safety for cyclists. Part of that spending is funded by a £425,000 Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Grant to improve cycle lanes between the inner and outer ring roads. That upcoming cycle lane project is the latest of several efforts to improve road use for cyclists in Norwich, including £800,000 spent as part of the Transport for Norwich scheme to build a cycle lane on Newmarket Road.
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(19.07.17) – Food Cooperation in Diss and Beyond
Over the last three decades, the number of people that control the businesses that shape our lives has decreased dramatically. Distant stakeholders and unrelated shareholders seem to have a say in local housing projects, food supply, transport maintenance and many other necessary community projects. Big brands are becoming more successful at dictating markets and reaping the rewards.
In the recent past, Tesco executives were revealed to have been paid up to 900 times more than the average Tesco worker. Dave Lewis, CEO of Tesco, was paid £4,600,000 in 2016. When explaining the reason why he received almost five million pounds in one year, Deanna Oppenheimer – who is the leader of Tesco’s remuneration committee – said he had achieved increased volumes, reduced costs, increased cash flow, and completed significant disposals and business restructuring to strengthen the balance sheet. For some, more money is what makes good business.
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(05.07.17) – The Dirty Profits in Housing
The Grenfell Tower fire has painfully illustrated how destructive and negligent council spending can be. The predominant cause of the disaster was that money was spent in the wrong places.
Almost nine million pounds worth of refurbishment was completed on Grenfell Tower by Rydon and many other groups in May last year (though the “successful” refurbishment of Grenfell Tower has disappeared from Rydon’s website). The work included new exterior cladding, replacement windows and a communal heating system. The bottom four floors were also made into new communal spaces. However, nothing was done to satisfy residents, even after years of complaints by Grenfell Action Group, about the safety of the building. The local council even threatened the campaign group with legal action if they were to continue their pursuit
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(26.04.17) – Locally Speaking Politics: Debates Matter
Theresa May has announced a general election that is set to take place on June 8. Some might say this is a bold move, a drastic U-turn that goes against previous remarks, though I argue it is only a cheap and damaging attack on a struggling opposition that highlights her opportunistic immorality. Of course, she remembers her promise to not call an early general election, but she smells Labour blood and cannot resist.
In usual general elections, leaders of political parties are asked to take part in debates with each other and the general public on television, sometimes live. I believe that live televised debates should be a mandatory part of every major election, especially general elections and local council elections. Live debate with unrehearsed questioning is the best tactic for accessing a politician’s true beliefs, as those that truly believe in what they stand for have unguided, spontaneous responses that show they’re the right people to lead the county. Theresa May’s instant tantrum about the idea of televised debates displays her complete lack of interest in speaking to the people.
The Norwich Radical 