De Roy Kwesi Andrew on Western Luddism

“The denunciation of material comfort is so widespread in the West that even schoolchildren seem to think affluence is an evil. (…) If Westerners are not happy with such great things, perhaps they should swap with us Africans. We would love to have what these people seem to hate. You see, we believe in the material progress of mankind; the vast majority of Ghanaians I spoke to while making Damned by Debt Relief said they want more from life: more goods, more products, more choice. We hate being constantly subdued by nature; we are tired of dying early; we are tired of sleeping in mud huts; we are tired of walking long distances for water, food and fuel; we are tired of doing our washing by hand; we are tired of farming with hoes and cutlasses and waiting for nature to be merciful unto us. You think this way of life is ‘natural’ and happiness-inducing? Then you should try it out.” (source)

Islands for Tyrants

With the G8 summit in Heiligendamm over, the negotiations, the protests and the riots have been extensively covered in the MSM. One aspect that has received little attention is what the event did to the locals and those living in the surrounding villages.

The inhabitants of Heiligendamm had their village fenced off and had to pass airport stile security checks every time they wanted to enter or leave. Nearby farmers and others living in the vicinity had local roads blocked by protesters and often had their property vandalised. On previous occasions when Bush visited Germany, the affected areas had curfews imposed.

We can all understand, of course, that heads of government are concerned about security, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could spare the locals all the trouble? Isn’t it odd if a supposedly liberal democracy turns villages into prison camps? I am not the first to suggest that a remote, ideally uninhabited, island would be the best option. Helmut Schmidt, one of Ms Merkel’s predecessors, has already suggested a more remote location. Ms Merkel argues that this would isolate the summit from the people, which is kind of odd, if you consider the amount of effort and fence building that has been undertaken to ensure precisely that kind of isolation.

So let’s be concrete: why not designate some desert island as a permanent place for international gatherings. I like Gough Island, which is far away from anything useful or any population that might be bothered. Down under, those who want to govern could then amuse themselves with the few Greenpeace protesters that make the journey.

There is one more possible benefit: Once they are there, heads of government in attendance could be required to pass a vote of confidence in a referendum in their home country before they are allowed back. That should deter them from agreeing on anything that isn’t truly popular at home.

You too Bono!

The Irish band U2 has moved part of its assets out of Ireland after a cap for artists’ tax exempt income was introduced. An interesting move, given that the band’s singer Bono has quite recently been campaigning for an increase in development aid:

Joan Burton, Irish Labour’s finance spokesman, said: “Having listened to Bono on the necessity for the Irish Government to give more money to Ireland Aid, of which I approve, I am surprised that U2 are not prepared to contribute to the Exchequer on a fair basis along with the bulk of Irish taxpayers.
(Source)

How did Peter Bauer define development aid again? “… a process by which the poor in rich countries subsidise the rich in poor countries“!

Michael Meacher on Globalization

Back in June, Michael Meacher launched an all round attack against globalization in a Times commentary. His comment covers a wide variety of problems –real and imagined- and regurgitates some of the anti-globalization movement’s more common fallacies.