new poverty grants Cong. C.McKinney official G-8 summit economic statement international poverty facts Okinawa 7.23.00 A12 Quebec FTAA I20 D.C. D2K L.A. & Biodud Seatle '99 HRts refs   § 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

J21 Genoa

Police scour G8 city for arms as protests begin
7.17.01   Reuters

More security taken for G-8 summit
7.17.01   AP

The Federation did, however, express its concern over charges that security forces wore media credentials during the G8 to masquerade as journalists. It has called for an inquiry. In New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists said it supported a full investigation into violence against journalists during the G8 demonstrations. "Whether these were police officers or demonstrators, those who attacked journalists must be held accountable," said Alex Lupis, the Europe Program Coordinator for the CPJ.

G8 Ministers to Review Arms Control, World Crises
7.17.01   Reuters

U.S. criticism Of Israel
In the Middle East, the United States criticized Israel Tuesday for demolishing homes in Palestinian-controlled areas in the previous two days, which sparked a fierce gun battle with Palestinians. France has also criticized a call by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to expand Jewish settlements on the Golan Heights. On the Balkans, U.S. officials said ministers from Contact Group nations -- the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Britain and Italy -- may meet before the G8 summit to discuss how they can best support the peace process in Macedonia. European Union and U.S. envoys are trying to persuade Macedonia's majority Slav and minority Albanian communities to agree on reforms to halt five months of guerrilla warfare. EU foreign policy chiefs will attend the Rome meeting.
In Genoa, police were due to largely seal off downtown Wednesday morning ahead of the summit, imposing a "red zone" where demonstrations will be banned. Italian authorities hope they can avoid the violent clashes that accompanied last month's EU summit in Sweden, but a bomb explosion that injured a Genoa policeman on Monday has further jangled nerves in the run-up to the summit.

Bush starts Europ. trip with many thorny issues 7.18.01   Reuters WASHINGTON   President Bush sets off on his second European trip on Wednesday with a host of thorny issues awaiting him, from missile defense and climate change to slow global growth and stem-cell research. Bush flies to Britain to begin a six-day journey that was built around the weekend Group of Eight summit in Genoa, Italy and will include talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an audience with Pope John Paul in Rome and a visit to Kosovo. Before leaving Washington, Bush made clear that he had no intention of backing down on two issues that have roiled U.S. allies, his plans for a missile defense system and his opposition to the Kyoto agreement to combat global warming. Russia opposes Bush's plan for a defense system to thwart potential missile attacks from nations like Iran, Iraq and Libya, arguing that it would violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM), which prohibits such a defensive shield. "We should not adhere to a treaty that prevents the United States and other freedom-loving people from developing defenses, not offensive weapons but defenses," Bush told BBC television in an interview broadcast on Tuesday. Bush laid out an equally tough stance on his decision to withdraw from the 1997 Kyoto agreement that aims to combat global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. "We believe that we ought to all work together to reduce greenhouse gases," he told the BBC. "However the (Kyoto) protocol that I inherited is not the proper way to proceed. We share the goals but the methodology needs to be assessed." Bush begins his trip on Wednesday in Britain, where he will hold talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Chequers, his official country residence, and have lunch with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. The trip's heavy lifting comes in Genoa, where Bush joins the other leaders of the Group of Seven industrial nations Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, along with Russia for their annual summit, which starts on Friday. push for trade, growth With all of the major industrialized countries suffering from slow growth, analysts expect there to be some talk but little action on how to revive the world economy, particularly given disagreements between Europe and the United States over who should be the "locomotive" for global expansion. Bush also hopes to use the summit to nudge along efforts to launch a new round of global trade talks, which he sees as vital to promote growth. In one sign of progress, the top U.S. and European Union trade negotiators on Tuesday said they had made progress toward a common agenda for a new trade round. "Global prosperity also depends on the world's economic powers keeping our economic houses in order," Bush said on Tuesday. "We all must pursue pro-growth policies that encourage greater productivity, reduce tax burdens, while maintaining fiscal responsibility and stable prices." Bush took a swipe at the anti-globalization protesters converging on Genoa, arguing that "those who protest free trade are no friends of the poor. Those who protest free trade seek to deny them their best hope for escaping poverty." After Genoa, Bush will travel to Rome, where he will meet Pope John Paul for talks expected to touch on the controversial issue of whether the United States should permit the use of federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research. Advocates believe research with embryonic stem cells, the early master cells formed soon after a human egg is fertilized, could lead to medical advances. Opponents, including the Catholic Church, condemn research that destroys human embryos. Bush ends his trip with a fleeting visit with U.S. troops in Kosovo, the formerly Serb-ruled province that triggered an 11-week NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia to stop repression of its ethnic Albanian majority by Serb forces. He is scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday. Bush heads to G8 with free trade & poor on mind 7.19.01   Reuters LONDON   … says he is ready to make his case against isolationism and for free trade to help the world's poorest nations. … But Bush hopes to focus on the theme of the summit, poverty alleviation, and his views on how to accomplish it. "I can't wait to make the case, along with Tony Blair, about the need for the world to trade in freedom," Bush said at a joint news conference with the British prime minister near London on the eve of his departure for Genoa."We value the fact that we are responsible nations and we realize there are some less fortunate," said Bush, who will be making his case to many nations, including his own, who are fighting economic slowdowns. White House officials said the top priority at Friday's meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, which takes place before Russia joins them for the G8 meeting, would be to push for freer trade, including a new round of global trade talks. "It's our belief that poverty alleviation begins, first and foremost, with dynamic, sustained economic growth," a senior U.S. administration official said. "In effect, economic growth, global economic growth is the ultimate poverty alleviation strategy. So the summit will begin tomorrow at a lunch with the G7 leaders at which we'll be discussing what...each of the G7 countries can do individually and what we can do collectively to ensure sustained global economic growth," he said.   [ Profligate consumption necessitating resource wars to fuel speculative global economy diagnosed by gambler's tout as needing more of the same. Not a word re conservation ] grants Bush, who says debt relief is a short-term fix, also favors increasing grants over loans to the world's poorest nations. The administration official said industrialized nations must first have their own economies in order. Bush said on Thursday there was continued concern over the state of the U.S. economy, particularly as signaled by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He said at the news conference that he would cite U.S. steps to revive the economy, such as passage of his $1.35 trillion tax cut, during the G7 summit. "We're doing everything we can within our own borders to deal with an economic slowdown," he said. "One of the things I'll do is to share with my colleagues the successes we've had at cutting taxes as well as holding the line on spending." …   [ Except spending on NMD, California electricity, etc. & et al, ad infinitum ] Bush says trade protesters 'dead wrong' 7.22.01   Reuters GENOA President Bush said on Sunday that anti-trade protesters such as those who disrupted a big-power summit with riots that killed one demonstrator were "dead wrong." "People are allowed to protest, but for those who claim they're speaking on behalf of the poor, for those who claim that shutting down trade will benefit the poor, they're dead wrong," Bush told a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders had met following the conclusion of G8 at which leaders agreed to support the launch of a new round of global trade negotiations. Tens of thousands of anti-globalization protesters, kept away from the city center by barricades, engaged in violent demonstrations over the three days of meetings. One demonstrator was shot dead by police while storming a police jeep with a crowd of fellow protesters. Bush on Saturday called the death tragic, and said he also regretted injuries to police. Asked on Sunday about the prospects for future G8 summits, in the light of the violence in Genoa, Bush said: "I look forward to future G8 summits." Putin told the news conference that the leaders and the protesters on the streets shared the same goals of helping the poor. "In this sense, we can say that we're all of the same mind. But unlike those who choose these extremist ways of expressing their minds, those who worked here tried to find solutions," he said. "I highly praise the results, the level and the nature and the character of these discussions. I think we need these kinds of meetings and I think they will … continue," he said.

Bombs heighten tension as G8 city is sealed 7.18.01   Reuters GENOA   2 letter bombs exploded in northern Italy on Wednesday, heightening tension in the barricaded city of Genoa ahead of this weekend's Group of Eight (G8) summit. Anti-globalization demonstrators, many threatening to break through police security cordons, began pouring into the city to protest against what they see as capitalism's excesses. President Bush, target of protesters' scorn, flew to Europe and the summit after making clear he would not back down on two issues at which he is at odds with his allies -- a missile defense system and the Kyoto global warming pact. A new U.S.-Europe clash appeared possible after Bush called for changes in the way the World Bank distributes cash to poorer nations. The first bomb exploded at a Milan television station controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who will host the three-day gathering of the world's most powerful men that begins on Friday. It slightly injured a woman employee and sent jitters through Genoa -- a virtual ghost town following a massive security operation to seal it off from an expected onslaught by anti- globalization demonstrators. cordon of steel A second letter burst into flames when it was opened in the headquarters of the Benetton clothing firm in the northeastern city of Treviso. No one was hurt. No direct link was immediately established between the blasts and the summit, but they heightened tension not only in Genoa but in Rome, where G8 foreign ministers met. They expressed deepening worry about escalating violence in the Middle East and appealed to Israelis and Palestinians to have the courage to take effective steps toward peace. The ministers, who were also due to meet on Thursday, aim to draw up part of the G8 summit's final declaration before heading north to Genoa. Police in the summit city threw a cordon of steel and concrete around the heart of the Genoa, sealing off a "red zone" that will surround the G8 venue. The long planned measure turned Genoa into a silent city of boarded-up shops and car-free streets. More than 100,000 demonstrators protesting at the power of rich countries over the world have vowed to besiege the annual summit of leaders from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia. "red zone invaders" Streams of demonstrators began pouring into the city on Wednesday. A train pulling into the central station held hundreds of young activists chanting "Genoa, Genoa" and waving clenched fists. One group of about 25 wore T- shirts proclaiming themselves "Red Zone Invaders," a reference to their plans to break into the security zone. Another group, comprising Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants from Rome, arrived to join in an immigrants' demonstration on Thursday. "We are here against the program of the G8," said Bachcu, a spokesman for the group. "These eight countries are responsible for our economic position. Luca Casarini, leader of the hard- line Italian protest group "Tute Bianche" (White Overalls), said in an interview with Reuters that thousands of demonstrators would attempt to storm the summit venue on Friday. Celebrated anti-globalization activist French farmer Jose Bove was also in Genoa. "(Bush) says that the anti-G8 demonstrators are against the poor people of the world," Bove told a news conference. "Clearly Bush is lying, just as the other G8 leaders meeting here in Genoa lie." Genoese police seized knives, swords, fake pistols and equipment which could have used to make a bomb from a house just 500 meters (yards) from the summit venue, a graceful Renaissance palace wedged in among the narrow alleys of this ancient port. Police said the arsenal included a pump device, steel balls and a box of fireworks. However, they said the man who owned the items was a known petty criminal and ruled out any connection with the G8. Demonstrators Warm Up for Summit 7.19.01   AP GENOA   … The leaders planned to unveil only hours after the summit begins Friday one of the big achievements expected out of Genoa, a new global health fund to combat AIDS with an initial contribution of $1 billion from wealthy nations. The AIDS fund will be announced after an opening lunch and early afternoon session dedicated to assessing vulnerable spots in the current global economy - … "A strong world economy requires growth from the three largest economies in the world - the United States, Europe and Japan,'' Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said in a Thursday night speech in New York. "I remain optimistic that we are going to see higher growth next year, and that, as we did in 1998, the U.S. economy will lead the world back to the path of prosperity.'' Several of the leaders began to express impatience with the tactics of demonstrators who have pitched battles with police at every major economic gathering since Seattle's 1999 World Trade Organization conference. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to an aide, complained about "the anarchists' traveling circus, who are there solely to cause trouble and disruption.'' President Bush, who earlier this week said that people are "just kind of sick'' of all the protesters, said Thursday at a joint news conference with Blair that demonstrators attacking trade liberalization are "hurting poor countries.'' The demonstrations began peacefully Thursday morning with a crowd of about 1,000 mostly Iranian exiles who staged mock stoniness and hangings to protest the government of Iran. An afternoon march followed, with 25,000 participants demonstrating support for immigrants. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, this year's host, was the first on the scene, stopping for a tour of the European Vision, the luxury liner serving as a floating hotel for all the leaders except Bush. Anxious for the summit to reflect well on Italy, Berlusconi was deeply involved in summit preparations, even ordering a decorative screen to cover an office building that he deemed too ugly to be seen by his fellow leaders as they arrived and departed from the more attractive and historic Palazzo Ducale, the main site for the talks. Thousands of police and military personnel from around Italy were brought in to guard a six-mile-long chain-link security fence. The area around the harbor looked like a ghost town with empty shops and nearly deserted streets. The more militant protesters, led by Italy's Tute Bianche, or the White Overalls, have vowed to breach the security perimeter and get into the secure Red Zone. They said they would make their first attempt during Friday's opening ceremonies. G8 pledges decisive action for world's poor 7.22.01   Reuters GENOA   Group of Eight leaders, shaken by the ferocity of anti-capitalist violence at their annual summit, pledged on Sunday to draw poor nations into the world economy and make globalization work. After three days of vicious street clashes between demonstrators and police in which one activist was shot dead, the G8 promised "free and open debate" with their citizens and decisive action to combat poverty, especially in Africa. "We are determined to make globalization work for all our citizens and especially the world's poor," said a final statement from their summit in the Italian port of Genoa. "Drawing the poorest countries into the global economy is the surest way to address their fundamental aspirations," the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States said. While agreeing that the world economy looked well placed to recover from a sharp slowdown, they failed to secure an accord over one key issue, the environment, that could have helped to secure a landmark intl deal on global warming. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said he did not expect a deal to emerge from separate marathon negotiations in Bonn, Germany, where more than 180 countries were haggling over ways to implement the 1997 Kyoto pact on curbing greenhouse gases. The three-day summit left the ancient port of Genoa littered with burned-out cars, smashed windows and vandalized property. Meeting in a Renaissance palace, the leaders were sealed off from the activists in a top-security "Red Zone," protected by

20-foot barricades and defended by 20,000 riot police and troops. At least 300 people were injured and more than 100 arrested in the violence, condemned by Pope John Paul as the wrong path to justice. Clearly reacting to the mayhem, Canada said it would hold a much smaller summit next year at a remote mountain site. In their communique, the G8 leaders thanked the citizens of Genoa but said they deplored "the violence, loss of life and mindless vandalism that they had to endure."
The Italian government set aside an initial package of $4.5-$6.8 million to help pay for the damage. Last groups of protesters piled on to trains and buses to leave the Mediterranean port on Sunday afternoon as Genoese families began venturing out to survey the damage to the city. In some streets just outside the Red Zone, nearly every window was smashed and every wall covered in graffiti inciting the end of the G8 and the destruction of the state.

fatal shooting ¹
But it was the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Italian protester Carlo Giuliani on Friday, believed to be the first victim in two years of anti-globalization riots at various summits, that cast grief and gloom over the gathering. Italian prosecutors opened an investigation into the 21-year-old paramilitary policeman involved in the shooting of Giuliani, one of dozens of protesters who stormed a Carabinieri jeep at the height of the unrest. President Bush said hardcore troublemakers would not stop intl leaders having legitimate talks.
"People are allowed to protest, but for those who claim they're speaking on behalf of the poor, for those who claim that shutting down trade will benefit the poor, they're dead wrong," he told a news conference. Police swooped on the headquarters of an umbrella protest organization early on Sunday and detained 92 activists including 40 Germans, 15 Italians and six Britons. At least 66 protesters were injured in the raid, in which officers seized computer discs and found knives, pitchforks, axes and sledgehammers.

"They beat up dozens and dozens of people with the intention of breaking arms and legs, and told a string of lies that the injuries had come from previous clashes," said Vittorio Agnoletto, an activist leader. While the violence put the very concept of G8 meetings under the microscope, British Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected the idea summits should be scrapped because of the rioting. "That is to stand the whole principle of democracy on its head," he said. Canada's Chretien, due to host next year's summit, announced it would be held in a Rocky Mountains resort at Kananaskis, Alberta, that would be easier to police. The number of delegates would be slashed by about 80%, he said.

strategic arms
While other leaders left Genoa, Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met and agreed on a broad format for talks on a new strategic arms relationship which Washington hopes will accommodate its plans to build a missile defense shield. The G8 acknowledged its divisions over the 1997 Kyoto accord on reducing greenhouse gases but welcomed a Russian proposal to stage an intl climate conference in 2003. "While there is currently disagreement on the Kyoto Protocol and its ratification, we are committed to working together intensively to meet our common objective," the statement said.
The protocol was thrown into jeopardy when Bush rejected it in March, describing it as a threat to the U.S. economy. After economic talks on Friday, leaders said the global economy was slowing more than expected and expressed concern over high, volatile oil prices but maintained there was a good basis for strong recovery. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Sunday the G8 saw the world economy growing three to four percent in 2001 and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said there was no reason for serious pessimism, even though the global economy was "not exactly rosy."

Focusing on Africa, the G8 approved a detailed development plan for Africa and aimed to create a joint forum with leaders from the world's poorest continent. They launched a global fund to fight AIDS, but campaigners fighting the fatal disease said the $1.3 billion so far pledged by rich countries was "outrageously low." Charity Oxfam said the G8 "did nothing meaningful on debt relief" and the AIDS fund would not alter the high cost of drugs in poor countries.

Cong. C.McKinney

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