Rising food prices and restrictions on power and water use are likely to result from a lack of rain in the south and east of the country, experts believe Ministers, farmers, supermarkets and utility companies will meet this week to assess a worsening dry spell in much of southern and eastern England that is threatening to become an agricultural and environmental disaster. Britain’s second-driest spring in 100 years and the warmest since 1659 has left soil in parts of East Anglia and south-east England concrete-hard, with many rivers shrunk to trickles and crops withering at critical times in their growth. Some eastern counties have had only 5mm of rain since the end of February, with most regions seeing no more than 60% of average rainfall in the past four months, usually one of the wettest times of the year. “The next few weeks are critical,” said National Farmers Union water adviser Jenny Bashford. “We had some rain last week but all it did was stop the situation worsening in some places. If we get a heatwave now, and the forecast is for above average temperatures and only sporadic showers in June, we are in a different situation. The north and north-west is largely OK but there are already significant problems in the south and east.” The meeting is at the request of the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, who asked the Environment Agency two weeks ago to report on how a drought might affect food production and prices, water and power supplies. Water companies, which have been upbeat so far about supplies, are likely to warn that some reservoirs in the south and east are beginning to empty but that no hosepipe bans will be needed for several months. Food prices will rise. Farming leaders warned Spelman last week that production across much of southern Britain was likely to be down by 15% if normal rains resumed immediately and by much more if prolonged rains did not come soon. An increasing number of farmers predict that yields will be be reduced by 50% or more, warning that the impact of a continuing dry summer could last well beyond the harvest into next year. The government’s Centre for Hydrology and Ecology reported soils in many areas were at their driest for 50 years. “The exceptional aridity of the early spring, following a relatively dry 2010, has resulted in agricultural and hydrological drought conditions affecting large parts of southern Britain,” it said. George Dunn, a farmer near Winchester, Hampshire, said: “It’s too late now for many crops. Some farmers have destroyed their spring barley crop and replanted. We can expect the wheat harvest to be 10%-20% down and the barley to be 30% down. It will get very serious soon for livestock farmers. We’re starting to see farmers sell their cattle because they don’t have grass to feed them. The number of animals going to abattoirs is increasing. Wheat is going up but most farmers have already sold a lot of their harvest in advance for a low price.” Fruit growers and farmers who have invested in their own reservoirs are benefiting from high prices and an early harvest, but many vegetable growers have resorted to measures usually seen only in midsummer droughts. In Cambridgeshire, farmers have started to spray crops only at night and not in windy weather. Food prices are expected to rise and a further prolonged spell of dry weather or a heatwave could result in restrictions on water use by the public, including hosepipe and sprinkler bans. The government could declare a drought within weeks. “At this point a whole range of powers could be invoked, from allowing farmers to take more water from rivers, to water restrictions on consumers,” said Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency. He admitted ecological damage had already been done. “We are seeing a significant impact on rivers like the Tone in Somerset and Frome in Dorset which are at their lowest levels in 50 years. We are having to rescue fish and have started pumping [underground] water into rivers to increase the flows,” he said. Concern is growing across Europe that the drought will be disastrous for economies, affecting tourism, electricity supplies and food prices. And last week brought more bad news for the agricultuaral sectors of countries such as Spain and Holland as the E.coli outbreak saw shipments of fruit and vegetables hit hard. The Dutch industry association Productschap Tuinbouw said it estimated the cost of the infection scare to farmers at 50m euros per week. Meanwhile, with the promise of loans for French farmers, European wheat stocks are expected to hit a 30-year high, after prices rose 36% in the past two months. The spike – caused by pressure on supplies after three consecutive years of low wheat yields – will raise fears that Europe will have to lift import restrictions on GM foods. Last year, a massive drought ruined a third of Russia’s crops. Drought Farming Food Caroline Spelman John Vidal guardian.co.uk
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New College of the Humanities promises more direct teaching by likes of AC Grayling and Richard Dawkins A new private university in London staffed by some of the world’s most famous academics is to offer degrees in the humanities, economics and law from 2012 at a cost of £18,000 a year, double the normal rate. The Oxbridge-style university college aims to educate a new British elite with compulsory teaching in science literacy, critical thinking, ethics and professional skills on top of degree subjects taught in one-to-one tutorials. Its first master will be the philosopher AC Grayling, and top teachers from Harvard, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge will include Richard Dawkins teaching evolutionary biology and science literacy, Niall Ferguson teaching economics and economic history and Steven Pinker teaching philosophy and psychology. New College of the Humanities, based in Bloomsbury, is being backed by private funding and will aim to make a profit. It will offer some scholarships, with assisted places being granted to one in five of the first 200 students. Grayling said he was motivated in part by fears that government cuts to university humanities and arts courses could leave “the fabric of society poorer as a result”. “Society needs us to be thoughtful voters, good neighbours, loving parents and responsible citizens,” he said. “If we are to discover and inspire the next generation of lawyers, journalists, financiers, politicians, civil servants, writers, artists and teachers, we need to educate to the highest standards and with imagination, breadth and depth.” The college aims to attract candidates with at least three A grades at A-level with the promise of more direct teaching than at traditional universities. The student-teacher ratio will be better than 10 to one and there will be 12 to 13 hours’ contact with teachers each week. Graduates will come away with a degree from the University of London and a separate diploma from the college to reflect the additional course that includes practical professional skills such as financial literacy, teamwork, presentation and strategy. Other teachers signed up include Sir David Cannadine, a history lecturer at Princeton; Ronald Dworkin QC, a leading constitutional lawyer teaching at University College London and New York University; and Steve Jones, a leading geneticist. Lawrence Krauss, professor of Earth and space exploration and physics at Arizona state university, who has advised Barack Obama on science policy, will teach cosmology and science literacy. One of the backers is Charles Watson, chairman of the City PR firm Financial Dynamics. He said: “Higher education in the UK must evolve if it is to offer the best quality experience for students and safeguard our future economic and intellectual wealth. New College offers a different model – one that brings additional, private sector funding into higher education in the humanities when it is most needed, and combines scholarships and tuition fees.” Higher education Humanities Tuition fees Richard Dawkins Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
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Ed Balls urges rebel Tory and Lib Dem MPs to back plan to fund back-to-work and house-building schemes Labour will attempt to lead a cross-party rebellion to enforce a new £2bn tax on bankers to fund a back-to-work scheme for jobless young people, the shadow chancellor Ed Balls said on Sunday. Balls is calling on rebel Tory and Lib Dem MPs to back the plan – an extension of a Labour tax on bankers’ bonuses – in a vote in the Commons later this month. It would provide £1.2bn for a house building scheme to provide low-cost homes and create 20,000 new jobs, £600m in payments to employers to take 90,000 more under-25s and £200m for unemployment “blackspots” around the country. It comes as a group of leading economists makes a major intervention, warning that Britain needs a plan B as an alternative to the coalition’s spending cuts , in case the economy becomes too fragile to withstand the shock of the deficit reduction programme. Those voicing concerns include two ex-senior government economists and two more who previously signed a high-profile letter last year supporting the Tory-led plans. Labour has made youth unemployment a priority in opposition. Balls, writing in the News of the World, said: “Putting young people on the dole is not just a waste of talent but a waste of money too. And failing to get Britain back to work fast enough is helping to push up the benefits bill by over £12bn – that’s £500 per household. “That’s why this week the shadow work secretary Liam Byrne and I will launch a new campaign for a £2bn tax on bankers’ bonuses which should be used to create 100,000 more jobs for young people, build more affordable homes and support small businesses. “Our plan will be put to a vote in Parliament – and we’re asking MPs from other parties to back it.” He also told Sky News: “We were told in the autumn by the chancellor and David Cameron that it would work and we are out of the danger zone and by cutting this fast … the private sector would be spending and investing more, confidence would rise, the economy would do well. I’m afraid the opposite is happening. Confidence is down and we’re now seeing week by week more evidence that the economy is stalling.” However, the foreign secretary William Hague said that the government was right to stick its course. “The government strategy is endorsed by the IMF, it is endorsed by the OECD, the G20, by all the major business organisations in this country and the harsh truth is that Gordon Brown did not leave this country with the luxury of a plan B or a different economic strategy,” he said. “We have to get down the debts that he left, control the deficits that he left and if we wavered from that for a moment then economic confidence would be reduced, the confidence of the financial markets would be very severely affected, so it is vital to continue on the course that we’ve cut.” “We’ve seen what is happening in Greece and Portugal and the last government left us with the same level of deficit as Greece and Portugal,” he added. Labour Ed Balls Unemployment Young people Executive pay and bonuses Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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Reporters offered two stunning takes on the Saran Palin bus tour. The surprising one came from CNN producer Peter Hamby. He noted that despite her hide-and-seek with the media, “once reporters tracked her down, Palin was eager to engage. At stop after stop after stop, she answered questions on everything from energy subsidies to the debt ceiling to her favorite brand of designer jeans.” The strongly negative one was this sneering piece from Politico: “Sarah Palin’s tour a rolling menace.” (This was nasty enough to be spotlighted on MSNBC’s Last Word on Friday night.) Reporter Kasie Hunt breathlessly painted a picture of “harrowing” danger in traffic: SEABROOK, N.H. — Sarah Palin’s
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Reports of gunfire and explosions in Sana’a a day after Saudi-brokered ceasefire between Saleh’s forces and Hashid tribe President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s authoritarian grip on Yemen appeared to be slipping as he arrived in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment for wounds suffered in a rocket attack on his compound. Saleh, whose Saudi medical evacuation plane was met by a senior Saudi official, walked off the aircraft but had visible injuries on his neck, head and face, a source told Reuters. His journey to Saudi Arabia came amid speculation from Yemeni and western analysts that it was unlikely that he would be able to return to Yemen if he was forced to seek medical assistance abroad. Saleh delivered an audio address on television to reassure supporters, but his voice sounded laboured and the address was made accompanied by an old photograph of him on the screen. A Saudi official, who asked not to be named, said: “He’s here for medical treatment. We are the closest country and we have the capabilities.” Asked whether Saleh was stepping down, the official said only: “He’s coming for medical treatment.” There were celebrations in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, following Saleh’s departure, with thousands of people on the streets chanting and waving flags and banners. Analysts fear that a sudden departure by Saleh, after 33 years in power, would leave a political vacuum and create even deeper chaos in Yemen, where the government has already lost control of some outlying provinces and al-Qaida and other jihadists have appeared to exploit the political turmoil to move more freely. There were reports on Sunday morning of heavy gunfire and explosions in Sana’a, just a day after a truce brokered by King Abdullah, who intervened in the conflict after almost four months of largely peaceful protests against Saleh spun out of control into an increasingly bloody civil conflict. The gunfire was centred on the Hasaba district, a focal point of fighting in recent weeks between Saleh’s forces and members of the powerful Hashid tribe led by Sadeq al-Ahmar. Al-Ahmar announced the Hashid’s support for the protest movement in March, and his fighters adhered to the movement’s non-violence policy. But last week, Saleh’s forces moved against al-Ahmar’s fortress-like residence in Sana’a, and the tribe’s fighters rose up in fury. Acting president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was due to meet members of the military and Saleh’s sons, al-Arabiya television said on Sunday. It was the first indication that Saleh’s powerful sons had not also left the country. A leaderless Yemen would place enormous pressure on Saudi Arabia, which has long played the role of kingmaker for its much smaller, and infinitely poorer, neighbour. The violence in the country grew out of pro-democracy protests that has turned into a power struggle between Saleh’s ruling clique and his former allies in the Ahmar clan. Sadeq al-Ahmar, the eldest of the Ahmar brothers, whose fighters have been battling Saleh’s forces in the capital, confirmed that the Saudis had arranged a ceasefire, which he said he would respect. However, late on Saturday night, al-Ahmar accused Saleh’s troops of not observing the ceasefire. He said that the president’s forces had not withdrawn from their positions in the city but were instead reinforcing those positions. “We are respecting what we agreed upon under the guidance of the Saudi monarch to stop the bloodshed of innocents and bring safety for citizens based on our desire to bring security and quiet back to the capital, which is living through a terrible nightmare that Saleh’s regime has brought upon it,” al-Ahmar said. The extent of the president’s injuries has been a matter of intense speculation: when the rocket struck the mosque in his presidential compound, he was surrounded by senior officials and his bodyguards. Eleven guards died and five officials standing near the president were seriously wounded. They have already gone to Saudi Arabia for treatment. Yemen Saudi Arabia Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk
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An old reliable libertarian maxim was “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch,” which stood in stark contrast to socialists always boasting of “free” health care or day care or other public benefits. On the PBS NewsHour Friday night, that maxim was turned upside down. Liberals now campaign against every budget cut by saying it will cost jobs and depress the economy – even though they wouldn’t try to argue that taxing people for a “stimulus” might be seen as the same process in reverse. Economist Joel Naroff may or may not be a liberal, but he coined a goofy new maxim. “There’s no such thing as a free budget cut.” Here’s how it unfolded: JUDY WOODRUFF: Joel Naroff, I want to ask you about a lot of talk that we're hearing in Washington right now, and that is in the direction of the need to cut government spending.There's no agreement yet. But if there were to be a deal reached to cut government spending by hundreds of billions of dollars, which is, I guess, the goal that some have, would that have an effect on jobs? JOEL NAROFF: Well, I think the short-term effect on jobs is likely to be somewhat negative. I think we're seeing that already in the local government numbers and the education numbers, where cutbacks in funding is leading to job reductions. In the long term, it may help, but clearly, you reduce the amount of spending on the part of government, whether it's people not getting as much money to spend or businesses not having contracts, all of these things lead to lower levels of demand. And, in the short run, that's going to lead to, indeed, possibly slower job growth than we would have had. There's no such thing as a free budget cut. There is a cost that will get paid, and that payment comes in the short term in terms of somewhat slower job growth. Woodruff asked earlier why American companies aren't using their cash reserves to create new jobs: JUDY WOODRUFF: But we keep hearing that companies have a lot of cash on hand. So, how do you square that with the decision not to put more people on the payroll? JOEL NAROFF: Well, there's really a disconnect between companies earning money and the companies' stock prices and how they spend it and where they spend it. We're in a globalized economy right now. A lot of the especially large companies that have a lot of business overseas are looking towards their overseas markets, rather than the domestic U.S. markets to expand. As a result of that, they may be making a lot of money, but they may be putting that money to use somewhere else outside the United States. So, we used to say, if the stock market goes up or if companies are earning lots of money, that's going to be a sign that the U.S. economy is strong and more jobs are coming. That's not necessarily the case anymore.
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• Hit F5 or the auto-refresh button for the latest news • Email your bits and bobs to rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk • Follow the match on the sly with our desktop scoreboard • Subscribe to our weekly email, The Spin 66th over: Sri Lanka 237-1 (Dilshan 128, Sangakkara 17) Sangakkara gloves a short ball from Broad just wide of Prior, diving down the leg side, and away for four. That was very close. “Why is no one talking about the pitch?” says Richard O’Hagan. “This isn’t a Test match standard surface, in my view. A good pitch is an even contest between bat and ball. This offers so little for the bowlers it might as well be astroturf. On that basis, it might be the worst one I’ve seen at the Home of Cricket in a long time.” Indeed, although 2006 and 2008 were pretty flat too. 65th over: Sri Lanka 232-1 (Dilshan 127, Sangakkara 13) Chris Tremlett’s first ball of the day is a beast, a lifting leg-cutter that growls past Dilshan’s outside edge. Dilshan’s thumb is still sore after that blow from Tremlett yesterday; he will have an X-ray when his innings ends. And what an innings it has been. He played exceptionally well yesterday. A good over from Tremlett, just a leg bye from it. The last ball lifted very sharply outside Sangakkara’s off stump. “Interesting debate on Test Match Special,” says Daniel Clayton. “Alec Stewart is saying that a swing bowler should have been picked as the three tall bowlers are too alike. Nice bit of hindsight there but he has a point. If my eyes are in and I’m seeing it so well then I’d love to see three identical bowlers coming in all day.” Generally I think the point stands – variety, despite what ‘Juice’ Terry Lawson might tell you, is the spice of life – but I don’t think it was that big an issue yesterday. England just didn’t bowl very well. And don’t forget that this lot do swing it, particularly Broad and Tremlett. That said, I would have picked Dernbach, yes. 64th over: Sri Lanka 231-1 (Dilshan 127, Sangakkara 13) Stuart Broad will bowl the first over of the day. Sky have just shown a replay of England warming up this morning, with a ball from Steven Finn deflecting onto the bonce of Jonathan Trott, who went down like a footballer. In fairness, he had good reason. It drew a bit of blood, but he’s fine. There’s a hint of swing for Broad in that over, which will encourage England. Sangakkara defends comfortably, and it’s a maiden. “Sitting in the pavilion in Lord’s getting frowned at by people older than God,” says Alex Robertson. “I believe they see the iPad as the tool of the devil, and they might be right. It’s freezing cold and cloudy that should help us take wickets and I just saw Broad walk past with a can of the mighty energy drink Relentless, so that should help….” The iPad is the tool of the devil; nonetheless, you should devote your day to winding people up. Return after lunch with a retro boombox on your shoulder, playing Andrex-soft jazz, and start demonstratively reading a copy of the Sunday Sport. An email, from Chris Wright “Much as I’d like to see England do well, the fact is that Dilshan, Sangakarra and Jayawardene are three of the best batsmen to watch in all of cricket. I don’t know if they’ve got their names on the Lord’s honours board before now (well obviously Dilshan now will have) but I’d like to see them up there.” Jayawardene’s record at Lord’s isn’t bad , although Sangakkara isn’t on the board yet. Yet . It is the sort of pitch on which those two could bat forever. Preamble Let’s try that one again. England had a chastening afternoon in the field yesterday, but this is a new day, with different overhead conditions. It’s much cooler in north London, a little overcast, and it should be a much better day for bowling. Should . England will hope it is, because if Sri Lanka bat all day today – which they are well capable of doing – England might have a few uncomfortable flashbacks to 1998 , and to Adelaide . Those victories were scripted by Murali and Warne, of course, but if Sri Lanka get a lead of 150 by mid-afternoon tomorrow they will be able to call on one of the most formidable bowling weapons of all: scoreboard pressure. Equally, if England can steal a first-innings lead of around 100 at some stage today, they will fancy their chances of forcing victory on the final day. All of which is a long-winded way of saying what William Goldman said . Sri Lanka in England 2011 Cricket Over by over reports England cricket team Sri Lanka cricket team Simon Burnton Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Open Thread with The Professional Left Weekly Podcast: Weinergate? Palin’s Bus? What about Healthcare?
June 4, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Credit: The Professional Left Time for your weekly podcast with The Professional Left, a.k.a. our own Driftglass and Blue Gal here at C&L. Links for this podcast include: As Physicians’ Jobs Change, So Do Their Politics. Administration Opposes Challenges to Medicaid Cuts “Why Medical School Should Be Free” You can listen to the archives at http://professionalleft.blogspot.com/ and you can also make a donation there if you’d like to help keep these going or help with their fuel expenses so they can make it up to Netroots Nation this year. Have a great weekend and enjoy the podcast everyone.
Continue reading …Open Thread with The Professional Left Weekly Podcast: Weinergate? Palin’s Bus? What about Healthcare?
June 4, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Credit: The Professional Left Time for your weekly podcast with The Professional Left, a.k.a. our own Driftglass and Blue Gal here at C&L. Links for this podcast include: As Physicians’ Jobs Change, So Do Their Politics. Administration Opposes Challenges to Medicaid Cuts “Why Medical School Should Be Free” You can listen to the archives at http://professionalleft.blogspot.com/ and you can also make a donation there if you’d like to help keep these going or help with their fuel expenses so they can make it up to Netroots Nation this year. Have a great weekend and enjoy the podcast everyone.
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enlarge Credit: Boston Globe Roxbury. A love-ely Day in the neighborhood . . . Click here to view this media Looking for that June 3rd where things weren’t busting out all over, we came up woefully short with this one from 1967. Starting off with Soviet protests lodged against the U.S. for the bombing of a Russian Navel vessel where two seamen were killed. This hot on the tail of allegations the U.S. has been killing Russians like crazy in North Vietnam. And speaking of Vietnam – Operation Union 2 on the outskirts of Da Nang continued with reports of massive North Vietnamese casualties (we would hear about those lopsided casualty lists many years later). President Johnson and Prime Minster Harold Wilson meeting in Washington over the brewing crisis in the Middle East, centered around the Gulf of Aqaba and the relentless pounding of War drums in that region. The hand-wringing would do very little good because shortly after the famous Six Day War would break out. Reports of the Sixth Fleet playing hide-and-seek in the Mediterranean with two Soviet Spy Ships closely tailing. Red China calls for an immediate overthrow of the Hong Kong government. And why was that day any different than all the other days they called for an overthrow of the colonial Hong Kong government? Who knows. And only Mao did for sure. On the domestic front – A proposed merger between AT&T and ABC got a jaundiced eyeful from the FCC, an attempted land-grab in New Mexico (some 600,000 acres worth) didn’t come off according to plan and Mothers on Welfare ripped it up a bit in the Boston suburb of Roxbury over rumored cuts in Welfare funds. And an inch and a half of rain fell in less than 24 hours in San Francisco. Contrary to optimistic re-writes, the Summer of Love was rather soggy. All this and so much more via ABC Radio’s News Around The World for June 3, 1967. The perfect day for slathering on Patchouli Oil and forgetting about it.
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