| 2 matches for "G20 Summit" in the Tag Cloud | | Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:57:55 +0000 |
| Is the G20 doomed before it starts?.. |
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I've subscribed to Google Alerts for the upcoming G20 summit and a couple of entries received this morning make me wonder if it'll get off the ground, let alone fly. The first headline, from a Chinese newsfeed is "EU, US at odds ahead of London G20 summit", the second from the Guardian, "Will US-China relations sink or swim?". Apparently relations between the two countries have been lets say, cool, but on Sunday there was a minor maritime incident in which China accused the US of obstructing an unarmed naval surveillance ship. Not a big deal in theory, but these little incidents have a habit of growing into something much larger and nastier. "China's foreign ministry angrily accused the Pentagon today of breaking maritime law, distorting the truth, and engaging in 'totally unacceptable' behaviour" puts it nicely into perspective.
Then there's the growing rift between Europe (UK is part of Europe, remember) and the US: apparently there's increasing disagreement between the two allies on how to actually address the recession which isn't too surprising considering there's not been a comparable previous one to base a solution on. The situation has been made worse by Obama's Government being newly formed and roles not fully established: this has meant that the lines of communication between the two countries are not clear. If they can't have a strong and reliable dialogue with the US Treasury now, what hope will they have when the actual G20 takes place? Couple that to Gordon Brown's apparent policy of "just keep borrowing" and it looks like a recipe for disaster.
And while the "professionals" are busy squabbling and infighting, lets not forget the G20 protestors who are going to make sure that all the parties involved don't forget who is affected by this whole farce. Should be an interesting meeting!
Link: "Europe has done enough, says Jean-Claude Juncker". |
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| Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:35:04 +0000 |
| A busy G20 April coming up.. |
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As part of the Summer of Rage (gawd, who makes this stuff up, really?), I've decided to go along to what's been called the Financial Fools Day and take pictures. According to Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London, "London welcomes protestors who have an inalienable right to demonstrate peacefully on the streets of our capital". He also states that "the Met are experienced in this sort of peaceful and non-peaceful process, and we're set up to deal with this sort of thing". Right, so it's widely acknowledged that this same Met have previously used peaceful protestors as a buffer between them and the allegedly violent agitators that will also be present, and to me that's not a comforting thought. There's talk of all leave cancelled and 11,000 coppers attending. Still, I'll go along and take in the gig, maybe even make my voice heard along with the thousands of others that will inevitably turn up.
If you want to read some more from the protestors, there's a link here, and listen to a supremely optimistic Kit Malthouse here, courtesy of the BBC. |
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More! Entry #3062 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under G20 Summit
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