True supporters

While Blair, Brown and the rest make their pitch for debt relief, African aid and action on climate change at the G8, there's a countersummit involving many people who've been pushing the same ideas for years:

As the leaders of the world's richest countries prepare for this week's meeting at Gleneagles, delegates gathered in Edinburgh for the G8 Alternatives summit...

Speakers include Nigerian activist Ken Wiwa, Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan who was recalled after complaining of human rights abuses, and ex-UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter...

There were cheers from the audience at Edinburgh's Usher Hall when Respect MP George Galloway called on African countries to tear up their debts and declare "we have already paid".

Some of the rhetoric goes beyond what I'd agree with (in particular the WTO is probably easier to reform to accomplish positive ends than it is to abolish entirely), but we shouldn't forget those who have been trying to push in our current positive direction long before it was the consensus view - particularly when they still have important messages to send.