Monday, July 04, 2005

Protesters, Police Scuffle Ahead of G-8 Summit

This is from the Associated Press:

EDINBURGH, Scotland (July 4) - Hundreds of black-clad anarchists and anti-G-8 protesters clashed violently with police in Scotland's capital Monday, as demonstrators sought to keep up pressure on world leaders ahead of a summit of wealthy nations.

Shield-carrying police locked down entire streets, penning in protesters with the help of officers on horseback. Authorities advised businesses to close, describing the protesters' behavior as threatening.

Groups of up to 200 demonstrators, some dressed as clowns, roamed Edinburgh, banging drums, blowing whistles and taunting officers. Police said they had arrested nearly 30 protesters.

The protests were aimed at Wednesday's meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations at the nearby Gleneagles Hotel, where world leaders will discuss African poverty and ways to deals with global warming.

Some demonstrators are demanding that leaders take urgent action on world poverty and the environment, while anarchists don't want the summit itself to go ahead.

The protests followed the Live 8 series of concerts around the world, in which rock stars and celebrities urged the G-8 leaders to take decisive steps to end African poverty.


This is interesting. When the Live8 concert took place over this weekend, I didn't take much consideration for its social or political effects in the world. And even now as the concert has ended, I still don't think it is going to do much for ending the African poverty and debt relief. President Bush is certainly going to ignore the concert and the G-8 protesters opinions. And while the rest of the G-8 world leaders may make some references that the protesters are raising concerns over long-term issues, nothing will be done at this G-8 summit. The American public will continue to remain ignorant of this issue--they'll listen to the music of their favorite rock stars as the concerts are televised, but then the corporate media will cut to commercials as the stars will give their speeches on the issues (hey, got to pad the bottom-lined profits for the shareholders).

But now on the heels of the Live8 concerts, we've got the protesters starting up their demonstrations at the G-8 summit in Scotland. The concerts have certainly galvanized the civil activists. And we'll see more demonstrations over the next couple of days. Europe has a far more open and freer press, allowing for the greater exchange of alternative ideas and opinions, rather than the corporate-controlled press that we have here in the U.S. This exchange of ideas can bring a greater demonstration and disapproval among Europeans towards the Bush administrations policies. The question is, will these demonstrations help break the political lethargy that paralyzes the American public? Will it galvanize the American public to take greater actions in the political arena?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How come it's always AMERICANS that have to bail everyone else out...or if we don't...be the root cause of all the world's problems? I thought it was the G-8, not the G-1, summit! How 'bout those other seven countries: they must be good for something, uh? Something other than "weanying out" on the U.S. at the U.N. But let's face it -- in the natural order of things, and I DO mean "natural" -- Africa is the world's "dieback": always has been, always will be! And no amount of money from Americans, Bono or even St. Paul McCartney himself will ever change the fact that starvation, pestilence and war have always been and will always be with us. And its principle proving ground starts at the very head of the alphabet -- "A" for Africa!!

Eric A Hopp said...

Anonymous: Like it or not, we are the world's sole superpower. We have the most powerful military force in the world (although that military force is now bogged down in Iraq). We have one of the greatest economic markets in the world, with the American consumer as the biggest spender of goods and services. We have been one of the greatest superpowers since the end of the Second World War. Europe is still too fractured, where the individual nations will not completely give up their sovereignty for a "United States of Europe." Russia could have challenged us with their military during the Cold War days, however that challenge came at the expense of their own inefficient, backwater economy. China is certainly a growing power--both military and economically--which may provide a challenge in the next 20 years or so. Like it or not, right now we are it.

The problem with the United States as having to bail everyone else out or becoming the root of all problems, is that we have got to walk a fine line when using our power. We can not appear to push other countries around to do our bidding or serve our interests. Doing so, causes other countries to resent us, and blame us for all the world's problems. We certainly haven't learned that lesson now.

We have to learn that leadership does not mean telling others what to do, but rather to lead by example. It does not mean American imperialism, but rather to allow other countries the freedom to do as they please within their boarders. And if there are problems to solve within a country, we have got to use our power and influence to generate a coalition of nations committed to solving these problems--allowing an equal partnership with these nations and accepting their ideas for solving these problems, rather than saying that we know what's best. We certainly have not learned that lesson.

I would like to see the G-8 find innovative solutions for solving the problems of Africa. I doubt that will ever happen--short of abolishing the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, forgiving all Third World debt, and telling the nations, "Okay, you've got a clean slate! Do as your please, we are not going to provide you with any more aid or bail you out. You have to stand on your own two feet, and we'll give you the freedom to do it, if you can." Maybe that is what we need to do to solve Africa's problems.

Of course there is no way the big First World banks and financial institutions--such as Chase, or Citibank--are going to write off all these bad Third World loans. This write-off would cause a major hit on their balance sheets and stock prices. So the American taxpayer will pick up the tag in bailing out Africa with new loans to cover the old loans. Guess what? We're back to square one where Bono and St. Paul McCartney will promote more of these glitzy multi-nation Live8 concerts which won't do a thing for Africa's starvation or debt problems.