From Mr Uwe Bott.

Sir, As a frequent critic of outgoing US president George W. Bush, I find it alarming that there are elected leaders elsewhere who seem to share his uniquely ideological, short-sighted and self-centred views, whether they relate to international security, the economy or the environment. This is all the more shocking as the disastrous effects of President Bush’s policies have converged to create a scenario of unprecedented historical proportions, which is threatening global peace, economic prosperity and ecological survival, all at the same time. Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, must be living in a parallel universe, when he declares: “The global climate is basically not changing.” He might just as well insist that the world is flat.