As we reported last week, the leaders of the G20 nations (plus a few others) are on a jaunt to the Mediterranean seaside in Cannes this week. Amongst other things they are scheduled to discuss the global financial crisis. As luck would have it another item will have added itself to their agenda this morning. According to Yahoo!

More on G20 Meet as Obama's Favourite Corzine Flushes a Few More Billion Down the Pan

In an interview on CNBC this morning Texas oil billionaire and wind energy advocate T. Boone Pickens blamed "lack of leadership" from George W. Bush and "that speech" from Nancy Pelosi for the vote against the Bail-Out plan in the House yesterday:

More on T. Boone Pickens on Lack of Leadership and Oil Prices

Another day dawns, and the list of failed banks grows ever longer.  Congress has renamed the Bail-Out as The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.  The House has just rejected the latest draft by 228 votes to 205. George W. Bush said he was "very disappointed". Whilst Congress were extending the new act to a total of 109 pages over the weekend, banks around the world were dropping like flies as the virus spread.

More on The Financial Crisis Goes Global – European Banks Need a Bail-Out Too

Just over a week ago I found myself once again on EasyJet flight EZY6167 heading from Bristol to Amsterdam.  I asked the head of the cabin crew if he knew Dawn, who operated the camera on one of our previous internet videos.  He said he did.  I showed him one of our "Water Connects Us" leaflets, and I asked him if it would be OK if I handed some out to his passengers.  He said that would be fine as long as I didn't get in the way of the cabin crew as they went about their duties.

More on An Irony of the Financial Crisis – Action on Poverty Looks Utterly Achievable

Yesterday afternoon United States President George W. Bush lifted the executive ban on drilling for oil on the Outer Continental Shelf, which was signed by the first President Bush in 1990. Here's the video:

More on Bush Pushes Oil Rigs off California – Arnie Disagrees.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a quick trip to Saudi Arabia over the weekend. He was the only western leader to make the trip. According to The Times Mr. Brown:

More on Gordon Brown Asks OPEC to Increase Oil Production