that open and free trade?' There is no such animal as free trade, all markets are regulated. I dont have a problem with anybody providing a service. The issue is regulation of the market and consumers not buying damaging goods and services. The principle problem is the detatchement of the modern consumer as an individual from the supplier as an individual. Since the 60s the emphasis has been to dehumanise or de-person the product by producers and retailers. The internet provides the opportunity to deal direct with a human. The de-humanised interface aids the abuse of workers and the environment. Few consumers want to abuse. In order to reinstate the human you need to work and interface in a differnt way. (That is what we do as an activity). There are implications - there is a higher cost on the interface, communication costs. It therefore suits some products and services more than others and in order to balance the cost the distribution system / supply chain has to be more efficient. Somebody got upset becasue I commented that the credit crunch is small beer. As far as I am concerned it is if the environment continues to degrade. A recent report on this site advised that wetland birds were becoming homosexual due to routine mercury contamination of wetlands, one source of mercury being bruning fossil fuels. We are all part of this biosphere. The political system has failed in part. Central to that is the fact that government(s) has become