Bicnod's going to the G8 for you lot - come and post your thoughts, questions, ideas

Off the top of my head, The U.S have invaded Haiti 4 or 5 times. The last time they invaded the U.N security forces introduced cholera. It killed thousands of people. They didn't die because they don't have good hygiene! They slaughtered all the livestock belonging to small farmers and confiscated their land. Imposed free market reforms and gave aid money that was channelled into the coffers of "American" multinationals.

Most U.S aid commits the recipient nation to buy U.S goods at U.S market prices, incl military spending.........In keeping with its commitment to capitalism the U.S government does not grant assistance to state-owned enterprises in third world nations, only to the private sector.....Most foreign aid never reaches the needy segments. A lot of it is used to subsidize cash crops exports (keep food cheap for us) at the expense of small farmers who can not compete or forced off the land. This has two effects, unemployed workers compete for work cutting wages, hungry previously self sufficient people must now buy food.

Aid is a powerful political tool because it is withheld when poorer nations dare to make social democratic changes that disrupt the flow of money to corporations and wealthy individuals. Any country that pursues reforms that benefit the poor are cut off from aid. Chile is a perfect example of this.

The world bank is a big problem too.

I kind of feel uncomfortable with the idea that for over 200 years we have exploited the third world but now we are invited to see ourselves as saviours.

Hey Bicnod (I know yer real name, ner ner ner ner ner...)

What I'd like to know is why countries like the UK are not self-sufficient in the food department. We have tons of unproductive farmland laid to fallow. Don't we need to start ditching the idea of global trade in food?? Why are our green beans grown in Kenya? Why shouldn't they grow and keep their own, rather than air-freighting it to Waitrose (much as I like it), which also contributes to climate change (which affects less developed countries more than western countries)? Food miles and self-sufficiency is where it's at...

Good luck at the G8, you'll be great, looking 4wd to hearing all about it over a builder's next week xx

Are you suggesting that people in developing countries all need to be told to wash their hands? It really is buying into the idea that the west is the civilised saviour of these people rather than the truth. That encourages the idea that people in developing countries are all backwards and inferior. The same discriminatory ideas that have been used for hundreds of years to justify their exploitation. Racism isn't an idea, it's a justification that serves to make their "underdeveloped economies" look natural rather than created by us. IMO

Hi Bicnod, you will be great, will be thinking of you. I'm off to find out more about the IF project and will read all the interesting posts on the thread later. (trying to play catch up with work)

I think the problem with aid given directly to governments is that all to often the aid is offered on the basis that those governments allow the multinationals in. The money comes with strings attached and is basically a bribe to force neo-liberal reforms through in developing countries. Aid is not given to countries that refuse neo-liberal reform and privatisation, who will not use the money to make the countries tax situation and infrastructure, employment laws and trade agreements hospitable to corporations.

Countries that insist of following a course that benefits the people offering free education, free health care, a greater share of the national wealth to the working people, refusing to privatise oil or other natural resources are not generally offered aid.

Developing countries are rich in resources and multinationals seek cheap labour, lack of environmental protections and easy tax avoidance. These countries are not under developed but over exploited. This isn't new. I think we like to think that Africa and the middle east is backward but this hasn't always been the case. We have appropriated their resources to enrich us.

The land grabs are ensuring that displaced people can not feed themselves, becoming economic migrants in search of diminishing jobs, only to find that capitalist expansion and need for investment opportunities displaces them again. The slums are cleared at almost the same rate that the agricultural land is appropriated to private profit seeking agri-businesses. The profits from this exploitation of the land, made greater by tax avoidance must be reinvested into?????? well building flats and gentrifying the city. Again not something that benefits ordinary poor working people.

So my question would be, Mr Cameron can we stop using aid as a bribe to corrupt puppet dictators, can we stop using aid as a bribe to advance corporate interests and why is it that struggling countries that prefer to follow a more socially just democratic path are denied help and usually subject to trade embargoes (at the very least !)

I don't believe that our governments are totally transparent and I feel very strongly that my tax money is being used in such a way that it exploits the poor in developing nations and funnels my money into the pockets of wealthy share holders.

Government aid is not an act of good will but politically motivated to advance capitalist hegemony and greed.

You've had far more informed and eloquent posts than any I could contribute. I can help with the trivial . Enniskillen is where I grew up (I'm currently just up the road outside Belfast) Fermanagh is a truly beautiful place and the Lough Erne resort is amazing. It is currently chucking it down outside (there is a reason Ireland is lush and green) Julian Fowler the BBC correspondent in the west says you need 3 things for the G8 - sunscreen, insect repellant and an umbrella. If you get a chance, have a drink in Blakes of the Hollow.

Ooh Bicnod, you're doing such a good job.
My only (meagre) knowledge in this area is from DH's family who live in Zimbabwe. Their main beefs (as lower middle class white Zimbabweans so appreciate not quite the hungry) are that 1. Aid money does not often filter down to those that need it (mostly due to corruption) and the local church organisations end up bearing the brunt and doing what they can, 2. As always, not enough education about contraception, sanitation, nutrition.
And my own tiny experience as a just about to graduate doctor in Kenya a looooong time ago: seemed to me that it was the lack of simple things that cause most of the morbidity/mortality. Nutrition. Mosquito nets. Clean water. Basic education.

So, anyway. What are you going to wear?

indeed the streaming was disjointed and I hadn't factored in time to watch it all - or I would have just went to the actual thing - including the wine reception right about now ;)

I'll see if the on demand viewing is any better.

My main thoughts are on transparency, tax avoidance and land grab - and how the current banking crisis demonstrated a lack of transparency, governmental inability to reign in and regulate large financial insitutions and a general (first) world reluctance to address how our need/greed adversely affects the poorest members of every society.

How do the G8 leaders plan to learn from and implement actions they were reluctant or unable to do so during the banking crisis - e.g. International corporations avoiding tax - the same arguements of loss of revenue (should they pull out of a country) applies should one country insist on transparency and corporate tax regulation as was mooted for the banking industry - what measures or controls will be put in place to ensure talk becomes action in these cases?

What time scale is in place for the members of the G8 who do not currently meet the expected standards of transparency agreed at previous summits? How will multinationals in private hands be encouraged to participate in transparency? And how, since some G8 members themselves are not acting transparently according to their own agreements, do they expect to bring on board non G8 members and private multinationals to be transparent?

In the issue of land grabs - who will be responsible for the large scale buying (or trading) of land or natural resources and thus responsible for ensuring the inclusion of those living on the land or otherwise affected by it's development (the country of the land, the registered country of the corporation buying/vying for the land, a.n. other international body) how will the voice of the people's living on or otherwise affected by the land grab have an equitable voice and power of action when dealing with multinational corporations and an entire government (or 2govts)

Am sure there will be loads of x posts as I have just written, deleted, re written and deleted another three paragraphs have them saved in notes just in case

Agree with AF's point- in many
areas women-led households are the norm with fathers away working in mines, for example, or completely absent.

Also, increase in child-led households esp where HIV/Aids also taken hold.

Rural rape v widespread and brings shame upon the victim and family hence massive under-reporting.