The Sunday Papers "dark side of the moon" edition

international | summit mobilisations | opinion/analysis Sunday July 03, 2005 15:32 by iosaf .:. the ipisphi ·.·

"& if the band you're in starts playing different tunes" "you got to keep the loonies on the path"

We are the mass.
We make our regimes.

the G8 do not lead the world.
Yet their collective malpractise and tolerance to injustice compounds the poverty which their historical exploitation began.

"Thank you Pop stars and Pop Prime Minister, you have recruited for us. We will guide these kids to political awareness"

"maybe war will become history, I'l take a break from amputation, and sewing up whipped backs, and turn my attention to naming new types of reptile"

What do you have to do to get into the G8?
Indeed why do we have a G8?
Who are they?

Lets clear up some points.

The G8 are not the richest states on earth.

They are a club of leaders, half of whom are permenant members of the UN security council, (USA, UK, France, Russia) one which has just joined the security council for two years - Japan.

4 are members of the EU, ( UK, France, Germany, Italy) 2 are members of NAFTA - (USA and Canada).

All with the exception of Canada received post WW2 reconstruction assistance from the USA.

the USA played a pivotal role in the writing of the constitutions of Germany, Italy and Japan (former enemies).

2 (France and UK) have had former empires which were responsible for the creation of what little infrastructure Africa has, and the cultural ties which Africans enjoy today with Europe.

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Q. So what do you have to do to get into the G8?

A. Simply put, "fight a war with the USA" either "for" or "against" it, and at the end of attrition, if you have had enough aircraft carriers, you get into the club.

Q. Don't you have to give a lot of Aid to get into the G8?

A. No, aid is not required, Sweden and Norway and Switzerland are found in the top 5 donor states and they are not members of the G8. As an example, Norway gave 290mil$ to vaccines this year and the UK matched the Bill Gates (a private citizen) donation of 750million$, leaving a shortfall of 2.8billion$.

Q. Do you have to sell arms and weapons and fuel war in the third world to get into the G8?

A. No, Sweden and Norway are found in the top 5 of nations which export weapons and arms.

Q. Do you have to be very innovative and invent things like cars?

A. It helps, though the US are 15% more innovative than the Japanese in the creation of new products the Japanese have 3.5 times more patents and top the world in car production.

Q. Do you have to be religious?

A. Of course. they are 8 god fearing men. And tolerant with it, Mr Blair left London yesterday to fly to Saudi Arabia, to talk to the royal family there about the rising cost of religion, the Saud family have custody of the holy oil sites since getting them from the British (&french) with US approval last century (back in the G3 days).

Q. Do you have to be very good at education and sorting out poverty at home?

A. No not really, first world poverty is calculated on a different series of indices, and mostly first world kids get vaccines, clean-ish water, the chance of literacy education and enjoy equal citizen rights. Notwithstanding Both the USA and UK are in the top ten of child poverty indicators for the developed world.

Q. do you have to eat healthy food?

A. Not a bit of it, the G8 nations with the exception of Russia lead the world in obesity and malnutrition.

Q. do you have to have gay marriage?

A. No the UK, USA, Japan do not recognise single sex matrimonial unions.

Q. Do you have to speak english?

A. yes that helps, all leaders of the G8 speak english of a sorts and boast a minimum vocabulary of 1000 key words and expressions.

Q. Do you have to speak Spanish?

A. No, of the top five languages on the planet, only english is needed to discuss poverty, wealth, trade, climate change and so on.

Q. Is that why Africa is on the agenda now and not South America or Asia?

A. No, that's way too cynical, Africa compounds all the worst poverty indicators. Africa "defines poverty".

For their part the British through Gordon Brown reject the idea of them being imperialist as he remarked on a visit to Tanzania in january "the days of Britain apologising for its colonial past are over" and that its time for Africans to see- "the enduring British traditions of liberty and tolerance".

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Africa "needs" 25 billion $ a year minimum "absolute minimum".
$8-$12 billion is needed from both donor and developing country governments from 2005-15 to immunize children in the poorest countries with vaccines available today.
put that in perspective-

the Tsunami states needed 30billion$ this year,for vaccines and medicine, logistics, food, water, housing.

the G8 ahead of their meeting, have cobbled together suggestions which sum-

Japan, France and Germany would come up with a joint proposal for reducing debt totalling some $70 billion provided to heavily indebted poor countries via multilateral development institutions.

France & Germany backing "the Airline tax" have guaranteed 2billion$ so far with their european allies , and believe if accepted by all states will guarantee 20billion$ to pay for vaccines in the third world over the next twenty years.

Unlike 100 percent debt reduction -- proposed by Britain and the United States -- Japan, Germany and France plan to approach this issue on a case-by-case basis by helping those with good administrative capacities and stable political conditions first.

The Brown & Blair plan is for the creation of an International Finance Fund which would raise an extra $50 billion a year by issuing bonds using a donor's long-term funding commitments as collateral. effectively securitising national aid budgets.

The full scope of the idea was rejected early this year, because it puts pressure on Greenspan's US budget.

The USA has accordingly promised aid would rise from $4.3bn (£2.4bn) in 2004 to $8.6bn by 2010.

Japan proposes an end to illegal logging, 50% of illegal timber comes from the south pacific (including indonesia malaysia and philippines) 20% comes from Russia.

Russia backs the UK and wants a seat on the WTO.

Canada has guaranteed 560million $ for bilateral development.

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Brown's first suggestions to cancel world debt were made in the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami. You may find details here and the reaction of Greenspan the American money man.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=68133

France and her involvement in Africa see here-
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70578

Canada has her own "G8" website-
http://www.g8.gc.ca/

as does the UK (they even have a junior website)
http://www.j8changetheworld.com/

WORLD HEALTH ISSUES-

Vaccines. this is the start. The highets birth rates are also the poorest states, children are born into "infant mortality", young deaths cuased by lack of clean water, food and vaccines.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=68369

Aids the drugs are there but the poor have not the money to make them this effects Africa and South America more than Asia for now-
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=68118

Flu the drugs are there but the poor are not able to make them, this effects Asia more than Africa.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=68157
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What the G8 need to do, is to accept and bravely use the mass media to inform their citizens that they are an integral part of the problem rather than the solution.

the G8 exist as a result of the "rules" which allowed the liberal capitalist system to win the second World War and dominate the planet leading to the collapse of centralised state socialism in the Soviet Union.

They have given the poor of the world a system ostensibly based on "free-ing trade" but which relies on corruption, poor and dishonest corporate practise, the supply of arms and military assistance which exacerbate the tribal differences on a continent where "nation-states" have not developed as in with South America or Asia.

The G8 represent before the aspirations and hopes of concert goers, who as representatives of the "mass" are of little true political significance, the policies and leadership of the business, commercial and trade entities in thier countries.
Economic entities which so far have not admitted their culpability and responsibility for poverty and passed that onus on to their share-holders.

There will be updates. As every year, Neither I nor my contemporaries globally (look at the list at the bottom of the page) owe any allegiance to either Bono or Geldof. Last year Ahern attended the fortress G8 gig at Sea Island, almost got talked up to being the EU commission man, remember? in his silly mismatching white suit. No injuries. The year before one of the best direct action protester teams were cut off a bridge during Evian G8 where they hung and left to drop 60 foot, which they did (thanks to gravity) and perhaps because "they knew how to fall" or maybe "because they were carried by angels" He survived and wasnursed back to health in Barcelona. The year before Canada saw riot riot riot, the year before saw Genoa.
Been there done that. To read this week, that somehow rich and famous Irishmen working so cIosely with the Blair government had "made the disreputable reputable" almost made me spit fury, but back behind it all, that is politics and the politics of the mass. the Mass, reclaiming media, streets and issues played its part in bringing the new labour regime to power, if at end this G8 justifies their social global policy and differs from the toryism of before, then a tiny step has been taken.
This week's illustration is a still from the movie "master and commander" written by an irishman, and set during the napoleonic war the movie tellingly scripts the ship's doctor (a naturalist) and irishman, who is rebuked by the ship's captain for challenging a disciplinary action "I will have no anarchy on board". "you are speaking like an irishman", to which the doctor replies " I am an irishman". It is a little clue of where Ireland, and the Irish are to be found on the global stage.

I now wait for the G8 in St Petersburg Russia, I know and have known (some on a personal basis) the players of "the New Labour alliance" of this year, and at end, cynicism must now be left aside.
Of the G8 nations, the UK was going to be the "most friendly" yet "most infuriating" to publicise our campaign. Thanks to all those who took part. Thanks to Mr Blair & Brown & Geldof & Bono for if 2% of the kids grow up and get political, they'll get political. But in the meantime, you people, Blair, Brown, Geldof, Bono etc "are the problem". Do us justice and "admit it".

BASTA = DINERO GRATIS

After all the song and dance, Africa still needs billions or it will end 2005 as poor as it began.