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GLOBAL BUSINESS ISSUE

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Group of eightFormerly G7 and has taken place since 1975 thoughit has only become a high profile event in recent

years.

G8 consists of leaders from the 7 wealthiest,countries in the world which is (Canada, France,

Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and United

States) plus Russia

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CANADA ITALY

JAPAN RUSSIA

FRANCE UNITED KINGDOM

GERMANY UNITEDSTATES

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Pov rt is fi s conomic conditionof l c ing ot money nd sic necessities,needed to s ccessf lly live, s c s f ood,

ter, educ tion, ealt careand s elter.

In s ort, overtymay edefinedas t eeconomic conditionof lac ing redictableand stablemeans ofmeetingbasic life

needs.

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Eac countrymeasures overtyaccording to its level ofdevelopment, societal norms and values. ecauseof t esedifferences, t epoverty level may c ange from country tocountry; t us, t ere is nouniformity in t epoverty line. T epoverty line is ameasureof t eamount ofmoneyagovernmentor a societybelieves is necessary for aperson to liveat a

minimum level of subsistenceor standardof living.( ar er, 1 7)

Population living under 2 and 1 dollar (PPP) a day (%)

Population living below national poverty line (%)

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WeAGREE t at despite t eirealt , t eG8does not give t eir

full commitment to tac leglobalpoverty.

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T eir direct and indirect influence is great and far-reac ing

Able topus policies andagendas in formal orld institutions.

G8 avenearly 50% of t e votes in t eWorld ankand International

MonetaryFund (IMF)

Enormous influence in t eWorld TradeOrganisation (WTO) and t e

SecurityCouncil of T eUnitedNation (UN)

T ese combinedeconomic, militaryanddiplomatic power andinfluence formpowerful alliances toexert influence inworldpolitics.

Plus, G8givegreat influenceon t epolicies, programmes and

decisions of t eUN,WTO, IMFand soon.

In s ort, G8are THECENTRALPLAYER INGLOBALGOVERNANCE.

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Live8was a stringofbenefit concerts t at tookplaceon 2 July 2005, in t e

G8 states and inSout Africa. T eywere timed toprecede t eG8

ConferenceandSummit eldat t eGleneagles Hotel inAuc terarder,

Scotland from 6-8 July 2008; t eyalso coincidedwit t e 20t anniversary

ofLiveAid. Run in support of t eaims of t eUK's MakePoverty History

campaignand t eGlobal Call for ActionAgainst Poverty, t e s ows

planned topressureworld leaders todrop t edebt of t eworld's poorest

nations, increaseand improveaid, andnegotiate fair trade rules in t e

interest ofpoorer countries. Ten simultaneous concerts were eldon 2 July

andoneon 6 July. On 7 July t eG8 leaders pledged todouble 2008 levels of

aid topoor nations fromUS$25 toUS$50 pounds by t eyear 2010. Halfof

t emoneywas togo toAfrica.

(Wikipedia)

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MAKEPOVERTY HISTORY or so t ey say.HighlypublicisedAttendedbyaroundamillionofpeople intotal

Hundreds ofmillions werewatchingontelevision

G8 leaders are the real stars

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Makepovertyhistory is soexaggerated.Short-termachievements that might bepossibleat theG8MUST NOTMEAN that deeper issues be forgottenor missed.

For instance, debt cancellation, fairer tradeand thedeliveryofpledged

aidwoulddomuch toalleviatepovertyBUT it is onlya first steponmuch

longer journey.

Organisations and celebrities backing the campaigndonot succumb tothe temptation to claim victoryandexaggerate the likelybenefits.

Wrongly convincing thewider public through theuseofmedia.

The Telegrapgh reported, Geldof toldartists not to criticise Bushor Blair

about Iraq. (He seemed tobe courting theG8 leaders)

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G7 (Minus Russia) offeredadeal of$40billion cancellationof thirdworlddebt.

While this is veryencouraging, therearesome concerns because in thepast,

announcements ofdebt reliefhavenot reallybeen followedup.

Themediaarepraising this. But, delving into

thedetails reveals a less rosypicture.

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Past promises havehardlybeenkept.

For example:

a) thedebt cancellationdoesnt ACTUALLYhappen

b) thedebt cancellation is VERYSLOW tohappen

c) theamount ofmoneyor cancellationpromised is

actually far less due to fancy spinandadding inmoney that has alreadybeenearmarked for

this purpose.

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For poor countries, thirdworlddebt is aCRUCIAL issue.Crippling thirdworlddebt kills:-Rich countries havepressured thesepoor countries tosacrificehealthandeducation spending, prioritise ondebtpayment.Rich countries haveprotected their agricultural market

while forcingpoor countries toopen theirs,l eading todumpingand floodingofproducts driving local peopleoutofbusinesses and livelihoods.For rich countries, thedebt figures area tinybut for poorcountries, the same figures areamatter of lifeanddeath

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WHY?Aid is often tied tounfair conditions

a) trade liberalisationb) privatisationc) loweringbarriers to trade throughpursuit ofneoliberal

ideologyMoremoney is transferred frompoor countries to rich countries

Aidamounts aredwarfedby theeffects of first world subsidies, thirdworlddebt andunequal trade.Theexistenceofunsustainabledebt burdens, trade injusticeandaiddependencyare the result ofglobal economic systemand it favour thewealthy, and toensure the survival of theexisting structureof the richcountrydominance.

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G8power and influence

The real problemwith theG8 conditionalities, theydonot

stoppretending toprevent corruption, but INTRUDE into

everyaspect of sovereigngovernment. When the finance

ministers saygoodgovernanceandeliminating

impediments toprivate investmentwhat theymean iscommercialisation, privatisation and the liberalisation of

tradeand capital flows. Andwhat this means is NEW

OPPORTUNITYFORWESTERNMONEY.

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Hardlyever heard is that poor countries reduce their MILITARY

SPENDINGandSTOPPURCHASINGWEAPONS, especiallyarms. Onepossible reason is theG8are theworlds leading suppliers ofarms andthearms trade is theworlds biggest businessHardlyheardabout corruption from theG8.British companies areamong theworst (bribery) offenders. Some 37 ofthe 55 companies which theWorldBankpubliclyblacklist andhas

disbarred fromparticipating in its contract becauseofevidenceofcorruptionaredomiciled inBritain. Bribes are common in thearmtrade, public works andbig infrastructureproject.

( The Guardian, December 13 2oo0)

Theabovearticle is nodoubt abit oldbut theproblems still continueuntil present.

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PortrayingG8 leaders as saviors - G8arehardlyever been

criticised by themainstreammedia themselves in terms of:

a) Rich countries created thedebt trap for the thirdworld

b) Rich countries impoverished the thirdworldevenbefore

thedebt trap

c) Rich countries have then forceddisastrous reformonpoor countries for debt relief inaway that it actually

kills, and reduces chances for development (AS THEAIM

OFREFORMSARE TOREPAYLOANS)

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Never is it mentionedwhypoorcountries are in severedebt.The typeofaid is hardlydiscussed,

which is historicallyusedby thedonorsto further their own foreignpolicies,rather thanbenefit the recipients.

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Because so many headlines are about whatdifferent G8 leaders say, it seems as thoughthe agenda and media reporting are DRIVENby G8 leaders. In other words, giving the G8leaders a cleaner image than they otherwisedeserve. he media COULD serve the publicbetter by deeply scrutinising claims and

reporting more on deeper causes up front.

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Africanations reallyneed tobeallowed to standon their

own feet andbeallowed to solve their ownproblems, and

whereneeded, as anequal tooutsiders providingmuch-

welcomedassistance.

Aid is not amatter of charity: it is JUSTICE

An interesting suggestion toAfrican leaders. Todefault onthedebt. Declarebankruptcyand start all over again. Of

course, it is likely tohappenas rich countries will ensure

debt repayments continue. Just to showhowUNJUST debt

couldbedealt with.

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1. The subtlemanipulation2. Thehiddenagenda

3. Theunfair conditions4. Thepolitical

propaganda/spin

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IN TACKLINGGLOBALPOVERTY