The Conservatives And Hypocrisy

The Independent On Sunday has a few interesting stories on the Tories today.

- The new Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, owns shares in Anglo American, Standard Chartered, Rio Tinto and Shell. All of these firms are trading in Zimbabwe. Each investment is worth more than £60 000, so Grieve's total shareholdings are more than £240 000. This is in contrast to David Cameron calling on all companies and individuals with "any dealings" in Zimbabwe to examine their consciences and ensure that they are not keeping Mr Mugabe in power.

- The fellow who set up the website for the "David Davis For Freedom" campaign is vice-president of Fleishman-Hillard, a global public relations firm representing security companies that have introduced ID cards in the United States and Spain.

Andre Gide said that: "The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity."

- Cameron needs to drop Grieve from the Shadow Cabinet for his policy on Zimbabwe to have any credibility.

- People need to ask some hard questions about David Davis. How can Davis be in favour of an expansion of the prison system, be in favour of capital punishment, and be an MP who voted in favour of 28 day detention, and also be a white knight for civil liberties?

Update: Guido Fawkes points out that the Independent's parent company - Independent News & Media PLC - operates in Zimbabwe. Baroness Jay and Ken Clarke are non-execs on the board of INM plc.

Coal And Aviation And Wind

Gordon Brown is bringing out this manifesto for wind energy in the same fortnight as he's urging Saudi Arabia to extract even more oil.

I don't want to be skeptical. I really don't.

But, the government has to start talking about using less oil as a country. We need less rhetoric from the DTI/Chris about "clean coal." Ruth Kelly needs to rein in aviation expansion.

Otherwise, all these emissions reductions in clean energy proposals announced today will be swamped.

Shan Oakes for Haltemprice and Howden

The Green Party's candidate in the David Davis "42 days" by-election is Shan Oakes.

Shan is one of the founders of "Voice International" and she's #2 on the European elections list for the Yorkshire and Humber Green Party for next year.

She's a Green Party town councillor in Beverley. She's an investor in Triodos, a member of Sustrans, a trustee of the Development Education Centre in Hull since 1990, and a trustee for Indigo Moon Theatre since 2006.

The best reason to run is that David Davis isn't very civil libertarian. He's pro-capital punishment and voted for 28 day detention.

Derek Wall, one of the Green Party's two principal speakers:

"This by-election was supposed to be about civil liberties. But it's been called by a man who thinks it's okay for the government to lock you up for four weeks without even telling you what you're supposed to have done. He also believes that you should have no right to criticise the government within a mile of parliament. So the Green Party had to stand. Someone had to stand up for civil liberties."

Check out ways to access Shan's campaign:

Read her blog: http://shanoakes.blogspot.com/

Her Facebook page

Her Myspace page

Schools Question Time - Emma Biermann

Emma Biermann, who ran for the Coventry Green Party in 2007 in Wainbody, has a chance to be on BBC's Question Time programme.

They've shortlisted 10 young people, and you can watch a short video that Emma made, and make a comment supporting her on their website.

The more comments she gets, the more we have a chance to have an environmental/social justice point of view on the panel.

Emma just got back from a voyage to the Arctic, with the WWF on climate change. You can read a blog about her trip here.

CRACIN - Anti-Incinerator Campaign

You can take a look at the new website for the campaign against the incinerator: http://www.cracin.co.uk/

There are 25 signatures already against it, and you can add yours to the online petition against the incinerator here:

http://www.gopetition.com/online/19906.html

vcashpoint

Electric Trial Cars In Coventry

Britain has secretly purchased thermobaric weapons for use in Afghanistan. In English, thermobaric means "cloud of burning aluminium powder -- then a vacuum blast of 430 lb per square inch that shreds civilian organs."

Stonewall will launch their "Homophobic Hate Crime: The Gay British Crime Survey 2008" on Thursday.

Caroline Lucas points out that the Tories have voted, in the European Parliament, against emissions performance standards for new power stations. They've also voted to support incineration, to abandon waste reduction targets, and opposed strengthening protection against hazardous chemicals in water.

The electric cars given to Coventry City Council in the autumn, for a 4-year road trial, get a mention in the Guardian.

The cars can be plugged into the mains and run for 70 miles at up to 60mph on a full charge. "The aim is to get the data from various trials then make a decision about a production version," said a spokesman for Mercedes. "We want to see how the battery performs in real-life situations and what sort of usage patterns these cars have."

Our Meeting Last Tuesday

Local News From The Telegraph

Two positive things: The Hillfields Gala Day festival is tomorrow, and Coventry will host National Holocaust Memorial Day next year.

But, unfortunately, Coventry lost out on "cycle town" funding that would have gone towards a "commuter and leisure route" through the Sowe Valley, linking 29 schools between the Jaguar site in Whitley, University Hospital in Walsgrave, and the Ricoh in Rowleys Green.

Incidentally, the Telegraph has a new reporter, specifically for the environment. Her name is Mary Griffin, and her email is Mary.Griffin@coventrytelegraph.net.

Letter To Editor - Military Spending

The Coventry Observer ran a letter last week by Allan Andrews (newly elected Tory councillor for Earlsdon) about how Labour is underfunding the military. The paper has published my letter in response:

More than a billion people in the developing world live on less than a dollar a day. But Allan Andrews wants more money spent on our military. The world grows enough food to feed everyone on Earth. But Andrews wants more money spent on our military. We know how tidal power, wind power, solar power and other renewable technologies could replace dirty energy sources, like nuclear, coal, oil and gas. But we need to spend more money on our military.

The world’s military spending reached £1.34 trillion in 2007. Imagine what a 10% cut in that figure could accomplish.

Allan Andrews’s letter illustrates that the Tories aren’t serious about addressing the real problems in our world. A vote for the Tories is a vote for more war.

Scott Redding
Coventry Green Party
Mayfield Road, Earlsdon

Coventry's Green Space Strategy

You have until the end of June to send feedback to the city council on its "Green Space Strategy."

You can see the full strategy here (4100 kb, PDF).

I'd advise you to skip straight to the end, and have a close look at pages 50, 51 and 52.

Specifically, take a look at which wards have next to no "parks and open space" and which wards have no allotments, or have very little allotment space. When you overlap the two factors, some wards jump out -- Radford (23% of recommended green space, 8% of recommended allotment space), Foleshill (27%, 23%), Lower Stoke (44.5% for green space, but only 8% for allotments), and Woodlands (38.1% and 21%).

There are MS Word and PPF response forms you can send back to the council (carole.littlewood@coventry.gov.uk), but beyond this, it would be encouraging if any push for more green space and allotments focused on these four wards, especially Radford.

A New Wonder Drug For Babies

Despite a cold winter, Arctic sea ice is melting even faster than last year.

Johann Hari in the Independent: "Science has discovered a drug that can save 13% of all babies who currently die. It will make your baby cleverer. It will dramatically slash their chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, leukaemia, asthma or obesity as an adult. It is free."

Ian Loader, professor of criminology at Oxford:

It may be no accident that crime came to dominate British politics around the time that governments lost faith in their capacity to deliver other forms of security: we may not be able to save your job or guarantee your pension, but we will protect you from criminals.

Climate Change And Refugees

Grunt grunt. Screw-tops bad, cork good.

The NHS is failing bisexual and lesbian women.

The one-millionth Freecycler!

Congratulations, Mark Lynas.

Finally, a word from Antonio Guterres, the UN high commissioner for refugees:

"Climate change is today one of the main drivers of forced displacement, both directly through impact on environment - not allowing people to live any more in the areas where they were traditionally living - and as a trigger of extreme poverty and conflict."

"What we are witnessing is a trend in the world where more and more people feel threatened by conflict, threatened by their own government, threatened by other political, religious ethnic or social groups, threatened by nature and nature's retaliation against human aggression - climate change is the example of that. And also threatened by ... a slowdown in global growth, plus structural change in energy and food markets."

Britain #1 In Arms Exports

Digby Jones is proud that British arms exporters added £9.7 billion in new business last year, giving them a larger share of global arms exports than the United States. Another New Labour accommplishment.

As Mark Steel notes:

"While getting food to the hungry seems impossible, there has been a 37 per cent increase in global arms spending in the past 10 years, which raised last year's tally to $1,204bn. Those of you who don't understand economics might wonder why there can't be an agreement to only spend $1,203bn instead, then wander round Sainsbury's buying a billion dollars' worth of food and take it to people who are starving, especially as Sainsbury's currently have a special offer of a free box of Shredded Wheat if you spend a billion dollars or more."

Obama And Community Organising

Barack Obama is bringing his background as a community organiser to the fore. His campaign has recruited 3600 activists who'll work for the next six weeks. Their emphasis will be community organising (voter registration; organising several thousand "Unite For Change" events). This simply hasn't been done before during a Presidential campaign in the US.

The buzzwords used by the Obama campaign for these events?

- "Welcome more people into this movement"
- "Share your excitement"
- "Turn the page ... with friends of all political persuasions"
- "This is not about Democrats and Republicans, this is about Americans coming together"
- "It is time for us to work together to achieve the American vision"
- "Together we Americans can do anything!"

Working together = Obama. Together we can do anything = Obama. Excitement = Obama. An American vision = Obama.

It's also interesting who they are deploying to key states. Buffy Wicks is a good example. Wicks is a 30 year old Texan. She was his regional director for California. She's an anti-war and an anti-Walmart activist, and was an organiser in the 2004 Dean campaign. She's been sent to Missouri, a swing state (a swing state with a female Senator, Claire McCaskill, who in her short time in Washington has set an anti-corruption tone).

What's the relevance of this to Coventry?

If we're going to have long-term success in Coventry, we have to go beyond an occasional stall, or even just quarterly newsletters. We need to take a specific area of the city and really engage with it, engage with it over a two-year period, and apply some "pavement politics" -- petitions, community organising, questionnaires, public meetings, open surgeries ... and stalls and quarterly newsletters. If we're going to have long-term success in Coventry, we're going to have to show people how Green policies and politics -- sustainability, cohesive communities, pro-active action, effort over a 15-25 year cycle, rather than worrying about next year's elections -- can make a difference for them.

Anti-Psychotic Drugs And Youth

Probably the most worrying story I've read this past week ...

Tranquillisers designed to treat serious conditions including schizophrenia in adults were prescribed to young people 57,000 times in 2003. But the total had risen to more than 90,000 by 2006 – a 59 per cent rise in three years.

Experts believe the increase is partly down to early detection and treatment of serious mental health problems in children, but there is also concern they are being used inappropriately to treat psychological and learning difficulties. Shortage of staff and resources are further factors. The safety and effectiveness of these drugs, which were designed for adults, have not been fully tested on children.

Paul Corry, director of public affairs for the mental health charity Rethink, said:

"It is worrying that these very powerful drugs designed for adults are being given in such high numbers to children before their brains are fully developed. If the increase is because previously undiagnosed teenagers are now getting treatment, then that is positive. But it is difficult to justify the widespread use of these drugs in younger children because it is actually unlikely they will have schizophrenia at such a young age."

Grid Parity For Solar Power

"Grid parity" will be when electricity from the sun can be produced as cheaply as it can be bought from the grid. The Guardian reports that experts, at a solar industry trade fair in Munich this past weekend, think that's only a few years away.

We need to focus on alternative, clean power generation and energy conservation schemes, not a continued reliance on dirty fuels, such as nuclear, coal, oil or gas.

Green Party News Around The Country

The Kent Green Party is opposing a new junction on the M20 (which would be 10a) saying it would lead to a massive expansion of Ashford and could lead to development on greenfield sites.

Jim Killock has an interesting debate going on about who could be the leader, deputy leader, two co-leaders, after the Green Party autumn conference.

Greens in Norwich support a new target of 40% affordable housing as part of any new development comprising more than 15 units. Adrian Ramsay, co-ordinator of the Green Party in Norwich, and running against Charles Clarke in the next general election, said:

"It's a great opportunity to require higher levels of affordable housing in a new development and that's something the city desperately needs. There are other cities that have much higher requirements for affordable housing than Norwich has had up to now and I think it's time to have a higher target because of the need and the housing waiting list."

Jason Kitkat, one of the Green councillors in Brighton, is tabling a motion against ID cards, saying that Brighton and Hove council should not take part in pilot schemes relating to ID cards, or make the card a requirement to access council services and benefits.

London Greens are proposing a cable-car alternative to a six-lane bridge across the Thames Gateway.

The Greens approached a commercial company and one of the world leaders in cable car planning and production which looked at the requirements of crossing the Thames and it has said the idea is technically feasible. With existing navigation and aviation restraints from London City Airport taken into consideration, the company, Doppermayr, says a cable car system could carry a maximum of 4,000 people an hour in each direction. The average speed would be around 15 mph and crossing time would be around two minutes. With cable cars arriving every 22 seconds, there would be hardly any waiting time, and they are as close to zero emissions as any powered method of transport can be.

Protesters Halt Coal Train For Drax

Protesters have halted a coal train bound for the Drax power station.

The Drax plant is the largest single greenhouse gas polluter in the country.

20 protesters began shovelling coal out of the trucks after ambushing the train on a bridge over the River Aire. Other members of the group attached lines to the wheels and were hanging off them over the river to prevent the train moving.

Activist Ben Tennyson said: "We've stopped this train to prevent it delivering a thousand tonnes of coal to be burned at Drax and then released into the atmosphere. If we're serious about fighting climate change, we have to leave this dirty fuel in the ground and invest in clean, renewable energy sources instead."

David Davis And 42 Day By-Election

The short-term effect of David Davis running in a by-election, on the issue of 42-day detention, is a stunt. Labour only received 13% of the vote in his constituency in the last election, and the Lib Dems aren't running a candidate against him.

The long-term effect could be a solidification of Lib Dem-Tory relations. Nick Clegg was happy, in a constituency which was in the top 10 of Lib Dem targets, to stand aside nearly immediately.

Do we need a national re-examination of how we are sliding into a society with CCTV cameras, detention without trial, Belmarsh, and complicity in rendition? Do we need to look again at more than 2,000 Asbos being issued to children between 1999 and 2006, with some young children given Asbos lasting up to 10 years? Do we need to halt our expansion of prisons, and re-examine the per capita prison population that leads the industrialised world?

Sure.

But the Tories have been in favour of prison expansion and Asbos.

So, in terms of David Davis leading a debate on the direction of law and order/civil liberties policies in British society, he's not a perfect white knight.

The Nowhere Night Conference

It will happen on the 18th of June, from 430pm onwards, at War Memorial Park in Coventry.

It's organised by the Coventry Peace House, as part of Refugee Week.

If you can, let Penny Walker know that you will be attending: 02476 664616, info@covpeacehouse.org.uk

The focus is the idea of "statelessness" -- with a book launch, "Statelessness, the quiet torture of belonging nowhere," an Islamic Relief refugee camp, drama and workshops.

YouTube Roundup 3

- "Poverty's a trap. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't."

- A UK Youth Parliament video about issues that matter to young Muslims in Britain

- Queer Youth Network - with Gay Pride events later this month ...

- "They are pushed into communities, often undemocratically. Incineration is simply not sustainable, and there are better alternatives that are."

Newsnight Looks At 42-Day Detention

- Newsnight tonight (1030pm, BBC2) will be looking at the 42-day detention without charge debate. Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the EHRC may seek a judicial review, if the 42-days limit become law: "Human rights are essentially just that - you can't just get rid of them if you think they are inconvenient ... This measure would effectively suspend for the human rights and in particular they suspend them for one part of the community ... The application of these powers would be to Muslims in this country."

In other news:

- The EU is proposing to increase the amount of GM material included in imported foods, like maize, rice and soya

- Boffins at Leeds Uni have invented a nearly-waterless washing machine. A typical washing machine uses about 35kg of water for every kg of clothes that are washed - as well as large amounts of energy to heat the water and to dry the clothes afterwards. Their new model could be on the UK market by 2009.

- Amy Greenhouse: "Heathrow wants a 3rd runway, we say, no, no, NO"

- On Thursday, Coventry Friends of the Earth will meet at the council house, at 730pm. Their guest speaker will be Martin Yardley (Coventry City Council's planning department) on the proposed redevelopment of the precinct and retail quarter.

- Later in the month (25th and 26th June), at the Glasshouse (Earl Street, opposite the Council House and Brown's), students from Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School will be showing environmental art.

Plastic Recycling

One less argument against plastic recycling programmes here in Coventry:

Britain is poised to make a dramatic leap forward in its recycling efforts with the opening of the nation's first "closed loop" recycling plant.

The £13m facility in Dagenham, east London, will turn millions of used drinks bottles and sandwich wrappers made out of PET (polyethylene teraphthalate) back into "clean" wrapping.

Some 1.2 million tonnes of mixed plastics from the UK – everything from salad bags to yoghurt pots and drinks bottles – end up as landfill every year.

The processes used in the new plant have been employed in Switzerland and Germany for over a decade. The plant can also process HDPE (high-density polyethylene), the super-tough plastic that milk bottles are made out of, producing pellets that can be turned back into fresh milk cartons.

Currently much of the UK's waste PET is shipped to plants in the Far East and China, before the recycled material is shipped back – pumping out tons of carbon along the way. It is estimated that food packaging currently accounts for between 5 and 10 per cent of each person's carbon footprint.

"The Language Of The War On Terror"

Henry Porter, The Observer:

Reading Gordon Brown's article in the Times last week, I was struck by the disturbing echo of Blair's 2002 WMD dossier. He may be sincere, but his conjuring of nightmares, the many hypotheticals followed by solemn avowals of principle and statesmanship, was exactly the formula which took us into Iraq.

Brown is still talking in the language of the war on terror, a campaign that turned out to be as much against the rule of law as terrorism, and which has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, enabled torture in Guantanamo and, as the Guardian revealed last week, the unlawful detention of suspects in nightmarish prison ships.

The proposal to hold people for six weeks without charge, or even giving them a reason, is part of that desperate, panicky convulsion which has seen the end of so many liberties in Britain.

US Pressures Iraq Over Indefinite Occupation

- More information on what the US is planning as part of its permanent occupation of Iraq:

The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent.US negotiators are using the existence of $20bn in outstanding court judgments against Iraq in the US, to pressure their Iraqi counterparts into accepting the terms of the military deal ... Although it is in reality a treaty between Iraq and the US, Mr Bush is describing it as an alliance so he does not have to submit it for approval to the US Senate.

- It's rather phenomenal what Barack Obama is doing fundraising-wise. Not only has he had 1.5 million donors so far, but he's now imposing his own approach (no money from lobbyists, small donations) onto the entire Democratic party. The irony: John McCain was the co-sponsor of the fundraising reform law that Obama is now exploiting.

- Paul Patrick has passed away:

"I, too, have been a queen for 50 years," he wrote, "although under somewhat less privileged circumstances. As Britain's first openly gay teacher not to be fired or moved to a 'safe' position and as a campaigner for lesbian, gay and bisexual equality for more than 30 years, I feel I have contributed a lot more to Britain than that other Queen has. I am also," he concluded, "more attractive and a lot more fun!"

- It's time for Britain to become the Saudi Arabia of offshore wind ...

- Manchester is proceeding with peak-hours congestion charging ... and Cambridge and Bristol are considering it. Meanwhile, both the Tories and Labour in Coventry are opposed.

Finally, this report comes only a few days after Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, accused Gordon Brown of sacrificing liberty for misguided notions of equality. It was commissioned by Bishop Stephen Lowe for the consideration of the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England. Is there a shift happening away from church support for "centralised, mega-contracts in some government departments" in the charitable sector?

Radio/TV - 8th-10th June

- Sunday 8th June, 1230pm, Radio 4, The Food Programme -- local communities setting up community farms in the US and Britain, producing fresh fruit and veg in an eco-friendly way

- Monday 9th June, 8pm, Channel 4, Dispatches -- "Gordon Brown: Where Did It All Go Wrong?" ... title says it all really

- Tuesday 10th June, 8pm, Radio 4, File On 4 -- new coal-fired power stations which are causing "splits in Whithall, anguish among climate campaigners, and fury among families living in the shadow of new open-cast coal mines"

Climate Change And The Planning Bill

- Will Paul Ince be the first Black manager in the Premier League, sooner rather than later?

- Emily Benn could be the youngest MP ever ...

- Cavemen being arrested in Brussels?

Finally, an amendment to the Planning Bill on Monday was defeated by 15 votes (24 Labour MPs voted for it). It would have required climate change to be taken into account in planning decisions for major projects such as roads, airports and power stations.

Friends of the Earth's Planning Campaigner Hugh Ellis, said:

"With no reference to climate change in the Planning Bill, people have no guarantees that Ministers will take climate change into account when considering major projects such as roads, airports and power stations which will lock us into the path towards climate change and environmental destruction. Government has recently made some bold statements about taking action on climate change. But yet again it has missed a vital chance to make those words a reality and create a cleaner, greener future for us all."

US Plans Permanent Occupation Of Iraq

The Independent:

A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November. Iraqi officials fear that the accord will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.

Under the terms of the new treaty, the Americans would retain the long-term use of more than 50 bases in Iraq. American negotiators are also demanding immunity from Iraqi law for US troops and contractors, and a free hand to carry out arrests and conduct military activities in Iraq without consulting the Baghdad government. Washington also wants control of Iraqi airspace below 29,000ft and the right to pursue its "war on terror" in Iraq, giving it the authority to arrest anybody it wants and to launch military campaigns without consultation.

More Ethnic Minority Women Councillors

Maya de Souza, a Green Party councillor in London (Camden), has been appointed to a national cross-party taskforce which aims to increase the number of minority ethnic women local councillors across the country.

Women councillors currently make up just 29.3% of councillors, with ethnic minority women particularly under-represented (5.4% of the total population but only 0.9% of local councillors).

Cllr de Souza: "Local councils make many decisions that have a huge impact on all of us - from housing policy, the environment and education and also nurseries, after-school clubs and youth services. Women can't afford to leave all these decisions to men. It is vital to local, regional and national politics, if all interests are to be properly taken into account and good decisions made, that women play a full part."

Summer's Here - BBQ A-Go-Go

You can find veggie burger suggestions here.

For drinks, you could serve fair trade honey beer, or perhaps, a pitcher of English ginger beer and fair trade organic rum.

You could get the rum from Utkins, the Co-Op, Saino's, or there is an independent brand called Papagayo.

YouTube Roundup 2

- I'm a Muslim, Get Me Out of Here

- The world's first commercial tidal turbine, in Northern Ireland

- A profile of the Warwick Institue for Sustainable Energy and Resources, WISER

- Where does your cotton come from?

42 Day Detention - Council Of Europe

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will try to win hearts and minds on the issue of 42 day detention without trial at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party tonight.

One of the government's claims is that criminal suspects in Italy can be held for months without charge. This has now been dismissed by Italian parliamentary authorities. They have confirmed to Commons librarians that the maximum period of pre-charge detention under Italian law is four days.

There are a number of flaws with the government's "safeguard" that the Home Secretary must then take a decision to extend the 28 day limit (which used to be 14 days) to Parliament for approval.

What if Parliament is in recess? What level of detail is to be given to MPs to enable them to decide? If MPs are given that information, how can the accused have a fair trial afterwards? Will any vote in Parliament be whipped? As a general point, why turn Parliament into a case-by-case forum for judicial decisions?

Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, is writing to Gordon Brown this week to say: "I am concerned by the British government's suggestion to allow terrorism suspects to be detained for 42 days without charge ... This would be way out of line with equivalent detention limits elsewhere in Europe. We need to be more restrictive with such measures. Keeping people detained for such long periods before prosecution is excessive and will prove counter-productive."

Microgeneration And Feed-In Tariffs

- 100,000 British homes now have microgeneration, mainly solar thermal panels that heat water, and we have no feed-in tariff. In Germany, more than a million households have microgeneration, and they, and 14 other European countries have a feed-in tariff. It's pretty clear what we need to do, so why is Labour framing a feed-in tariff as a regulatory nightmare?

- Should we have edible urban landscapes?

- Jacqui Smith, first female Home Secretary, sidelined over 42-day detention compromise negotiations. Senior female correspondants sidelined by BBC on 10 O'Clock News bulletins.

- David Strahan, The Telegraph

All the signs are that we have reached the foothills of global oil peak – the moment production flattens and then goes into terminal decline. The facts are stark: the amount discovered has been falling for 40 years; for every barrel we find each year, we now guzzle three; output is already falling in over 60 of the world's 98 oil producing countries; and global production has been essentially flat, at just under 86 million barrels a day, since early 2005; serious analysts now forecast $200 per barrel. What is it that Gordon Brown doesn't get?