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Pete Smith @ May 3, 2008 # 3 Comments
“Crikey! When they offered me the candidacy, nobody said I might actually win!”
I went to bed last night not knowing who London’s next Mayor would be, but still nursing a faint hope that all those transferable second votes would come galloping over the hill like the 7th Cavalry to save the day. I woke up [...]
Pete Smith @ April 15, 2008 # No Comment Yet
We came home from our Easter break to find that the offspring had taken delivery of a sturdy parcel from the Mayor of London, addressed to me personally. “DIY Planet Repairs” it says on the box, “Will you help with the repairs?”. Inside, there’s a collection of prezzies from Mayor Ken himself:
A china mug with [...]
Pete Smith @ March 31, 2008 # No Comment Yet
We can only hope and pray that the situation in Zimbabwe gets the right result, not only in terms of votes but what happens afterwards. The post-election unrest in Kenya could look like a vicarage tea party in comparison.
Grudgingly, I have to admit to a sneaking admiration for Mugabe. He’s a very bright bloke, with [...]
Pete Smith @ March 13, 2008 # One Comment
Is it time for Alistair Darling to be put out with the trash? Criticism of his performance as Chancellor of the Exchequer began as soon as he accepted the poisoned chalice of succeeding Gordon Brown last year. Yesterday’s budget, Darling’s first, has been widely condemned for not living up to its advance billing as a [...]
Pete Smith @ February 14, 2008 # One Comment
Momentum is building to put pressure on China over its ‘involvement’ in Sudan. Stephen Spielberg has resigned as artistic director for the Beijing Olympic Games in protest at China’s support for the Sudan government. Now, an open letter, signed by Nobel Peace Prize winners, politicians, Olympic medalists and entertainers, criticises China’s President Hu Jintao for [...]
Pete Smith @ February 5, 2008 # No Comment Yet
It’s funny how words’ meanings can change over time. I was browsing idly through our bookshelves the other day, when I came across an interesting little volume called ‘The Survivalists’. Nothing to do with Jerry Ahern’s interminable macho saga, Patrick Rivers’ 1975 book is a serious review of the ‘alternative’ environmental movement in [...]
Pete Smith @ January 3, 2008 # 3 Comments
The second series of Jericho is scheduled to premiere on CBS on February 12th. The post-apocalyptic drama follows the progress of a small Kansas town as it struggles to come to terms with the destruction of 22 major US cities. Series 1 ended on a cliff-hanger with the people of Jericho defending themselves against an [...]
Pete Smith @ December 16, 2007 # 2 Comments
Question 1
In 2003 the United States used the United Nations to legitimise its invasion of Iraq on the grounds of Iraq’s threat to global security.
(a) Discuss the proposition that the United States’ response to climate change poses as significant a threat to global security as Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction”.
(b) Assess the practicality and effectiveness [...]
Pete Smith @ December 12, 2007 # 7 Comments
From the Avaaz website:
Climate negotiations in Bali are in crisis. Things were looking good till now: near-consensus on a delicate deal, including 2020 targets for rich countries, in return for which China and the developing world would do their part over time. IPCC scientists have said such targets are needed to prevent catastrophe. But Japan, [...]
Pete Smith @ December 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Washington has reported a fall in greenhouse gas emissions for 2006, the first year-on-year drop since 2001. The 1.5% reduction still leaves US emissions 15.1% above the key 1990 baseline. The Energy Information Administration attributed the fall to favourable weather conditions, higher energy prices and a greater use of non-fossil fuels and natural gas in [...]