The Dominion - UK

A G8 Facelift and the War on Error

Moira Peters — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:30:55 +0000

Briefly, the G8 summit in Gleneagles, 2005

Large summits are nothing new. The 36th G8 summit will set up shop in Huntsville June 25-26. Toronto, a past host, will this time welcome the 4th G20 summit June 26-27. The following is the fifth in a six-part series of briefs looking back on past G7/G8 summits and protest. Check back each Sunday for a blast from the past when we recap a different summit's official agenda and civilian and activist responses.

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In the words of Waldo Bello, Senior Analyst with Focus on the Global South, the Gleneagles summit was British Prime Minister Tony Blair's attempt to give the G8 a “facelift” in a battle for the “souls of global society.” Dubbed the "Year for Africa,” the 2005 Summit's focus was aid for Africa and achieving the Millenium Development Goals.

Some progress was made: G8 leaders established the “Commission for Africa” and addressed issues of corruption, HIV/AIDS, improved aid provision, education, trade justice, debt cancellation and security.

“Though the G8 has made substantial progress in debt cancellation," wrote Saran Yun of the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto, "its contributions to effective aid, education, anti-corruption measures, and the fight against infectious diseases have been minimal. In terms of trade reform, the G8’s performance has been dismal at best.” Despite the emphasis on developing countries at Gleneagles, at the following G8 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, African development had all but disappeared from the G8 agenda.

A report by watchdog NGO CorpWatch highlights the strong presence of corporations at the Glengeagles summit. “Blair, [Gordon] Brown and Bono say they want to use the Gleneagles summit to tackle the issues of climate change and poverty in Africa. We argue in this report that the corporate agenda advanced by the G8 ultimately contradicts the achievement of any genuine and lasting ecological and social justice. Precisely because of the corporate agenda, any pronouncements from the G8 are likely to be nothing but ‘greenwash,’” states the report.

The "7/7" London bombings occurred during this summit, not believed to be a coincidence.

Thousands converged on Gleneagles to protest the summit. Security forces attempted to create a “sterile zone” free of protests: high metal fencing and concrete blast barriers were erected around the town and an “air exclusion zone” was imposed. ID “access passes” were distributed to residents to easily identify outside protesters at roadblocks and checkpoints.

The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA), a network of clown affinity groups, attended the Gleneagles protests. According to CIRCA member General Unrest, CIRCA uses a combination of street theatre and play-tactics to “undermine and ridicule the intimidation and provocation of security forces at demonstrations.” By blowing kisses at police officers, or encircling a group of police who had cornered Black Bloc protesters, CIRCA helped diffuse tense situations and expose the ridiculous security measures at the summit.

CIRCA’s goals were “to wage a War on Error, since we believe that our laughter, our freedom, and our love of life is confronted by fundamentalists who preach the gospel of Error," said General Unrest in an interview. "From July 6-8, 2005, the most dangerous Errorists of the world’s eight richest countries (G8) were meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, to plan further Errorism on a global scale.”

Amanda Wilson is a researcher and writer based in Ottawa.

This story was published in The Dominion's special issue on the G8 and G20 summits in Ontario. We will continue to publish independent, investigative news about the G8 and G20 throughout the month of June.

For up-to-the-minute G8/G20 news from the streets of Toronto, visit the Toronto Media Co-op.

Briefly, the G7 summit in Toronto, 1988

Briefly, the G7 summit in Halifax, 1995

Briefly, the G8 summit in Genoa, 2001

Briefly, the G8 summit in Kananaskis, 2002

CIRCA

The Tar Sands Oilympics

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:10:57 +0000

The London Tar Sands Network and London Rising Tide hold the inaugural Tar Sands Oilympics in Trafalgar Square, London.
Corporate contenders RBS, Shell and newcomer BP compete for the chance to wreak environmental havoc in their scramble for Canada's tar sands.
In the process they will lay waste to vast areas of boreal forest, poison First Nations communities and push the planet towards catastrophic climate change. The race for the most polluting fossil fuel resource on the planet is on. Forget the Winter Olympics in Canada, the real competition for the future of the planet is here.

McDonald's changes focus in UK schools

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 22:32:46 +0000

Children in the UK may now grow up not knowing how to spell 'McNugget.' The fast-food chain has provided lesson plans and teaching materials to elementary schools in the past, but these programs are being phased out. McDonald's is now focusing its attention on children over the age of 13, providing curriculum in areas of 'expertise' within the multinational, such as food technology and business management. McDonald's has denied speculation that the shift has been prompted by widespread criticism regarding the company's rationale for its involvement with primary school children.

Critics and educators have long been voicing concern over the encroachment of corporations in the classroom. Initially, it was advertising and the sale of junk food that was at issue, today there are more and more examples of companies providing course content and influencing the curriculum itself.

During a seven week class in a Florida school, students learn "how to design a McDonald's restaurant, how a McDonald's works, and how to apply and interview for a job at McDonald's," according to Business Week.

Other companies engaged in what has been called "strategic philanthropy" in schools include Nike, AT&T and Campbell's Soup.

Despite criticism that the quality of public education is being seriously undermined, school administrators in both the U.S. and the UK claim they can't afford to refuse free materials and curriculum, given their current budgetary constraints.

Canadian schools have tended to lag behind their U.S. and British counterparts in adopting such corporate classroom content, but last year, as part of its "Balanced Lifestyles Initiative," McDonald's teamed up with the Canadian Olympic Committee to launch the Go Active! Olympic Fitness Challenge in elementary schools across Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. Schools were paid $1,000 each to participate.

McSpotlight

Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Assoication

L'Oreal makes $1.14 billion deal with The Body Shop

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 22:11:31 +0000

French cosmetic giant L'Oreal is set to takeover "profit with principles" beauty care merchants, The Body Shop. The 652-million-pound ($US 1.14 billion) deal has been approved by 43 per cent of The Body Shop's shareholders, and stands to net its founders, Anita and Gordon Roddick, 118 million pounds. The couple still have an 18 per cent stake in the company, but are no longer involved in the day-to-day operations.

Anita Roddick famously campaigned against animal testing for cosmetic research, a stand that is at odds with the history of L'Oreal. Officially the company states that they have not tested on animals since 1989, but numerous animal rights groups, including NatureWatch, insist the company has continued these tests unabated, and is hiding behind loopholes in EU legislation.

The Body Shop, which was founded 30 years ago in Brighton England, now has 2085 stores in 53 different countries. Its success is based partly on its image as a company dedicated to the use of ethical and fair trade products.

L'Oreal chief executive Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones explains the reasons behind the deal, "A partnership between our companies makes perfect sense. Combining L'Oreal's expertise and knowledge of international markets with the Body Shop's distinct culture and values will benefit both companies."

News of the takeover has already produced financial benefits for shareholders in both companies: The Body Shop's stock price jumped close to 10 per cent in the last week, despite the fact that their sales last year were weaker than expected.

Currently, L'Oreal has no plans to interfere with the company, and has stated that they plan on allowing it to run independently from the UK.

Salvatore Ciolfi

FBI and UK Home Office Deny Seizing Indymedia Hard Drives

Sat, 23 Oct 2004 08:24:24 +0000

On October 7th, London-based computer equipment belonging to the independent news organization Indymedia was impounded by court order and returned less than one week later. The seizure is believed to have been prompted by a news item that included photographs of Swiss police officers at a G8 summit.

Three weeks after the seizure the situation has only gotten murkier. The FBI, Swiss officials, and the British Home Office have all denied playing a role in the seizure of hard drives, even though Rackspace - the company hosting the equipment - was told that the sealed court order was issued pursuant to the US-Italy Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty by a judge in Texas. Earlier press reports indicated that Swiss officials had contacted US counterparts, expressing concern about photographs of Swiss undercover police posted to an Indymedia site hosted in London.

A US agency then issued a supoena under agreements with the United Kingdom authorizing the seizure of the servers. When over 20 Indymedia web sites went offline, Rackspace issued a statement saying that it was "cooperating with international law enforcement authorities" and that it was prohibited from commenting further by court order.

The British Information Technology magazine The Register summarized the situation with these words: "Nobody seized Indymedia's servers, apparently." The FBI attributed previous reports of its involvement to a comment made by an FBI spokesperson, misinterpreted by journalists.

The events surrounding the seizure are now the subject of rampant speculation. Meanwhile, the 20-plus Indymedia web sites remain offline as volunteers attempt to determine whether any hard drive content was changed. Some servers contained correspondence with lawyers acting in connection with a suit against Italian police regarding their actions at the Genoa G8 summit. Meanwhile, thousands have signed a statement of solidarity condemning the seizure as an internationally coordinated attack on free speech.

Indymedia is a global network of autonomous news organizations. Indymedia outlets subscribe to the principle of open publishing, which means that anyone is allowed to post photos, text, video or audio to their servers.

One Indymedia volunteer likened the seizure to shutting down 20 printing presses. "I'm glad it's happening to us, in that we are prepared to fight it, and we have access to the resources to fight this and make it public," he added.

Some indymedia activists have staged public interventions involving handing over large numbers of hard drives and other computer components to law enforcement officials and embassies.

Dru Oja Jay

» The Register: Indymedia: the tale of the servers 'nobody' seized

» Journalism.co.uk: Indymedia petition grows

» FAIR: FBI Shutdown of Indymedia Threatens Free Speech

» WSWS: FBI shuts down 20 antiwar web sites: an unprecedented act of Internet censorship

» Wired News: IndyMedia Gets Its Servers Back

» Indymedia: Operation Hard Drive-by

Prozac in UK Drinking Water

Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:23:30 +0000

Traces of the anti-depressant drug fluoxitine (known commercially as Prozac) have been found in Britain's drinking water, the UK's Environment Agency reports. The drug is believed to have entered the environment through the urine of people taking the medication, for which 24 million prescriptions are written annually in the country of 60 million.

Britain's Drinking Water Inspectorate has stated that the level of concentration of the drug is too low to have any effect on the public. Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac have recently been implicated in increased suicide rates in teenagers. The Inspectorate says that systems used to remove pesticides in rural areas are being installed nationally to cleanse trace amounts of prescription drugs from the public drinking water.