The crack pipe of peace

Learning by number Dear Auntie _ At one of the Gaza protests in London, Stop the War put the number of protesters at around 100,000 but the police insisted it was only 20,000. Can Auntie reassure me that the Met has a scientific methodology for estimating crowd numbers? _ Numberless in London

No hope Dear Auntie, All my left-wing friends seem to be overjoyed about Obama winning the US election, holding real hope that he will bring change, that he'll stop the wars, and that he'll somehow make America all cuddly and nice. But haven't we been here before? I'm getting flashbacks to the expectations people had of politicians like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, and how quickly they betrayed us. Is it terrible that I think Obama will be just more of the same? Hopeless, London

Both feet not in the grave Dear Auntie, Having reached 50, I've become invisible. It's the only explanation of why people look right through me. I'm ignored in shops and at bus stops; and getting served at the bar is an endurance test, as men and younger women always take priority. I have a lifetime of experience as an activist, but these days there's always a 'Darren' or 'Ryan' whose opinion matters more. I'd go as far as saying they don't even hear me speak! It seems white hair and wrinkles are taken as an early indication of Alzheimer's. But I'm not ready to go gently into the night and as Auntie looks of a similar age, does she have any advice? The invisible woman, London

Jordan Valley: To exist is to resist Lorna Stephenson reports on a grass-roots campaign group challenging the Israeli occupation in the Jordan Valley

A different way of doing things Robin Murray explores the potential of co-ops to form the basis of an alternative economy

A bank worth backing Christopher Hird looks at how the Co-op Bank has fared in the financial crisis

One Million Climate Jobs: An interview with John Stewart Tom Robinson talks to the Chair of the Campaign Against Climate Change on how the creation of one million climate jobs could help save the economy and the environment

Co-operatise the state? Can the co-op movement be one source of alternatives to marketisation? Hilary Wainwright explores