londonsummit2009

We have just had another G8 Summit. As other blogs here have discussed, there are clearly problems with the G8. Campaigners, lobbyists and developing country governments put huge amounts of time and attention into deceasing returns.

During the last eight weeks, while I’ve been in Niger, I’ve often been overwhelmed by the scale of the problems people face here. It’s not just the current food crisis and the number of people who are going hungry now but also the future and what this has in store.

The G8 summit has now drawn to a close and the Deerhurst resort in Muskoka will be getting back to normal. The world leaders flew back to Toronto by helicopter with Obama and Cameron flying together to start their bilateral meeting. Apparently Cameron and Merkel will be watching the England v Germany World Cup match together tomorrow and the press are invited can't imagine he'll look anything other than awkward!

The WHA is seen by some as an ineffective UN meeting but it has much greater legitimacy than the G8/G20 on account of its democracy. Unlike the rich countries' clubs of the G8 and G20, all countries, however poor, have the right to speak out and to vote.

In a world in piracy crisis in Somalia is being a profitable business, the only operating in a country destroyed by war: 75 million euro profit in 2008 with 40 ships hijacked. This year, with a fleet of destroyers, frigates and patrol of United States, Russia, India and the EU, Spain has assumed command of the European aircraft-deployed in the waters of the Indian Ocean under a Security Council mandate, the number incidents has increased in three and a half months there have been 60 attacks. (...)

The letters sent by Gordon Brown to the leaders of the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories are of such significance that they appear to need a name of their own. Given the day on which they were sent the title ‘The Maunday Thursday letters’ seems appropriate.

That to Jersey, of which identical copies were sent to Guernsey and the Isle of Man is here.

In 7th grade, I made a solar oven for a science project. I remember leaving it until the last minute, then quickly scavenged the cardboard necessary to create a solar oven. I didn’t really test it out, but the guy in this story did. Not only that. He’s mass producing the $5 oven to help stem the tide of global climate change.

Story Highlights:

Many of you are following news reports of a hijacking that recently occurred aboard the Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia. Today comes word that some of the cargo aboard the ship is life-saving food aid en route to Catholic Relief Services programs in Rwanda. According to CRS, this consists of 49 containers holding “860 metric tons of bulgur wheat that are to be used by CRS relief workers for some of the poorest populations in Rwanda.”

As I land home groggy and jetlagged, I learn of India’s new ‘shoegate’ status. A Sikh journalist expresses his anger over a recent political move by throwing his shoe at the Home Minister.