G-8 Summit-Scotland

Tell him to take a gas mask, a motorcyle helmet, and plenty of smokes.

It's the cameras they fear most, Ocean Breeze. That makes the most important thing your friend can take to be his digi-cam.

The boys in black uniforms will give him and his camera a beating if he gets caught I hope he can run fast Ocean

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protestors heading for G-8 convention site.

In this day and age of communication technology, one has to wonder why these reps have to meet in person and be faced with such expense, massive security problems, protests etc. Can't they all set up video conferencing or some kind of system that would make it so much simpler and more efficient??

think of the bucks it would save. (as well as the stress in the hosting area )

Quote: Originally Posted by Ocean Breeze

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protestors heading for G-8 convention site.

In this day and age of communication technology, one has to wonder why these reps have to meet in person and be faced with such expense, massive security problems, protests etc. Can't they all set up video conferencing or some kind of system that would make it so much simpler and more efficient??

think of the bucks it would save. (as well as the stress in the hosting area )

And spoil their good time? How dare you!

'Open your eyes' about Africa, cardinal tells U.S.
Tue Jul 5, 2005 09:49 AM ET
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By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's top adviser on justice and peace said on Tuesday he hoped the Group of Eight (G rich nations summit will nudge the United States to open its eyes to the problems of Africa.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, Cardinal Renato Martino called for more debt relief and said rich nations should see that subsidies for their farmers meant poor states could not compete on the market.

Martino, head of the Council for Justice and Peace, praised British Prime Minister Tony Blair, calling him "the machine, the motor" for making debt relief and aid for Africa a personal crusade and for putting both issues in the world spotlight.

But, in response to a question, the 72-year-old cardinal said the United States had to do much more for Africa, because of its wealth and because of "its sad history of slavery."

"I firmly hope that American people and the government, the administration, will open their eyes about Africa because it is a need," Martino said, speaking in English.

"We cannot be content with our money when we see children die of curable diseases ... or because they drink dirty water. We cannot sleep peacefully when we see that innocent children suffer like that," he said.

Anti-poverty campaigners say the G8 leaders have a unique chance to stop 30,000 children dying every day due to extreme poverty by doubling aid to poor countries, especially in Africa.

Martino, who served for 16 years as the Vatican's ambassador to the United Nations, called Americans "the most generous people" in the world and questioned whether the American media was doing enough to get the Africa story across.

A MEDIA PROBLEM?

"I ask the American media to be sensitive, to be open, to invest in Africa's problems," he said.

U.S. President Bush has been under pressure to increase aid for Africa after he turned down a proposal by Blair for the industrialized world to give the continent as much as $50 billion a year by making long-term aid commitments.

If there was no G8 summit, there would have been no reason for Live8 on the weekend.

So there you go. Many of the people who go to protest the G8 summit are the same ones who just went to the concerts. Go figure.

I'm not sure how the rest of you feel however...over the years the wealthier nations have pumped money into the poor countries and to date, nothing has changed. This money never seems to make it to the proper people and is always stuck in government hands or red tape. If our governments are so willing to commit some money money to the poor nations, why is it so hard to get funds out of them when similar problems exists in our own country. Homeless, health, children starving, jobs, etc....we don't have to look to Africa to find this, its in our own back yard. Should we not look after our own first????

Bush Advises Blair Not to Expect Special Treatment at G-8 Summit
Officials Cite Progress Toward Accord on Climate Change

Reuters
Tuesday, July 5, 2005; Page A10

LONDON, July 4 -- President Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair to expect no favors at this week's Group of Eight summit of major industrialized countries in return for backing the war in Iraq. Blair, who has made tackling global warming and relieving African poverty the goals of his year-long presidency of the G-8, will host fellow leaders at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland from Wednesday to Friday.

"I really don't view our relationship as one of quid pro quo," Bush told Britain's ITV1 television in an interview. "Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did."



Police and protesters clash in Edinburgh, Scotland. Police said there had been 30 arrests related to protests of the G-8 summit, which opens Wednesday in Gleneagles. At least two police officers were injured, and several people fainted. (By Jeff Mitchell -- Reuters)

Reports that a last-ditch round of negotiations by G-8 officials over the weekend would result in an accord in some way recognizing the science behind global warming were bolstered by French President Jacques Chirac, who said on Sunday that the G-8 leaders were "heading toward an agreement."

A Canadian official said late Monday that there had been "significant progress" on a climate change text, while Britain's top G-8 negotiator, Michael Jay, said he sensed a desire to reach an agreement.

But Bush was cautious. Environmental experts said that, rather than risk an open rift, the eight nations had decided on an accord offering the barest minimum on global warming.

"If this looks like Kyoto, the answer is no. The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy," Bush said in the interview, recorded last Wednesday and broadcast on Monday.

The other G-8 members are Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

Meanwhile, during a protest Monday in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, a small group of anarchists sparked scuffles between riot police and demonstrators.

At least two police officers were injured in clashes, and several people fainted in the crush. Police said there had been 30 arrests related to the protests.

The demonstrations began peacefully as protesters, banging drums and shaking bells, marched and danced into waiting police containment cordons.

The demonstrations were part of a variety of protests that began Saturday with a 200,000-strong march through the city calling for an end to poverty in the developing world, especially Africa.

On Monday, black-clad and masked members of the Black Bloc, an anarchist group based in Germany and Scandinavia that has been prominent in protests at past G-8 summits, mingled with other demonstrators dressed as fairies and clowns.

It runs through most of what we do...phamaceutical prices, arms sales, computers, automobiles. The policies that are hurting people in the developing world are also causing poverty here at home.

Wow, do you write those poems yourself, James, or do the mind-control people send them to you in your dreams?

You might want to spend at least a little time learning facts. It's kind of fun and might inspire a varying meter or rhyme pattern. It might also cause you to tell the truth. That's what poetry is supposed to be about, after all...truth.

Not to the questions asked.