Demonstrators take part in the "Put People First" march through central London.
This week President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle are on their first trip to Europe to meet with other heads of state at three summit meetings. The first is the G-20 Summit being held in London this week.
Just in case anyone isn't sure, below I've included a description/definition of just what the G-20 is all about. This is taken from the online source, Wikipedia.
"The G-20 (more formally, the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) is a group of finance ministers and central back governors from 20 economies: 19 of the world's largest national economies, plus the European Union (EU). It also met once at heads-of-government level, in November 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of the world population.
The G-20 is a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system. It studies, reviews, and promotes discussion among key industrial and emerging market countries of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability, and seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization."
I never use Voice of America as a source, but in this case it should be reliable. Voice of America's article about the purpose of Pres. Obama's presence at the meeting states,
"The so-called G20 leaders agree that something must be done about the global economic crisis, but they differ on the amount of government stimulus needed. Mr. Obama has campaigned, without much success, to get other G20 countries to spend as aggressively as he has.
"[that] the stimulus efforts of all countries are sufficiently robust to deal with the decline in demand," Mr. Obama said. "We think that is important. Countries like China, for example, are doing that."
The president said recently he will also try to persuade his fellow G-20 leaders to work together to regulate the financial markets."We think that it is very important that there is coordination and effort, so that if we are doing some things that are increasing transparency, openness and trust on Wall Street, that London is doing the same thing," Mr. Obama said."
A source I do check and appreciate a bit more is the BBC news organization. Just a bit, mind you...but I want to share this another side to the story that I think is really important. As we gather the information we need to understand the current world crisis which capitalism, greed, lack of integrity and Western style banking, stock markets and finance matrices have created, we're going to have to hear from beyond these shores.
Although America claims freedom of the press, as we saw with the Bush administration, the press today, is so tied in with the corporations that own them and the phenomen of the U.S. government, that they will print, air and promote whatever the Board Room or Oval Office dictates. The traditional and major news sources are laced hand in glove to the imperialism, multinational appropriation of Earth's resources, indigenious displacement, and worst of all, the military-industrial complex, that prospers by wars and conflict.
Now everybody, myself included doesn't agree with Obama's assessment of the financial meltdown, nor with the some of the suggestions and methods that have been implemented to 'fix' the situation. I mean after all.....why would I give my tax dollar to a banker, so he can loan my own money back to me, and allow him to profit off my money by charging me interest ....on my own money!?!?!?
I mean if I'm misunderstanding what happened ...somebody, please write and heal me of my ignorance. But in my mind, you folks went for that....you allowed that insane measure to go down, under Bush, and be continued with the release of more of your hard earned money, to go to BANKERS?!?!? under Obama. Okay..... I'll stop.....
Obviously, this type of madness incenses me....So let's get back to the latest Knewz from those on the ground in London, that feel like I do~
In a message for the G-20 summit in London, protesters call for sustainable development, help for the poor and punishment for those responsible for the economic crisis. More protests are planned.
By Henry Chu and Janet Stobart
March 29, 2009
Reporting from London -- Thousands of people marched through London on Saturday to demand punishment for bankers, power to the poor and protection of the environment at a protest meant as a wake-up call to world leaders gathering here this week for an economic summit.
It was one of the largest demonstrations this city has seen since massive rallies six years ago against the invasion of Iraq. The turnout, estimated at 35,000, reflected the depth of popular anger over Britain's economic crash and the perceived greed of bankers and other high-fliers whom many people blame for it.
Beneath a sea of banners, marchers representing trade unions, charities, environmental groups and churches snaked through the streets to converge on Hyde Park. Placards called for "People Before Profits" and "Jobs, Not Bombs," in a nation suffering its worst unemployment in more than a decade."It's people that make changes, not governments," said Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary of Unite, one of Britain's largest unions. "There should be more investment in public services and housing, not less, [and] greater help to get people back into work."
The leaders of the Group of 20 nations, representing the world's largest developed and emerging economies, will meet here Thursday to discuss ways to pull the global economy out of its hole. The G-20 meeting will be the first major summit for President Obama, who is hugely popular in Europe but is having trouble reaching an agreement with European leaders on how best to combat the global recession.
In Berlin, raucous protests drew thousands of demonstrators Saturday, and hundreds congregated in Paris. About 6,000 students, union members and others marched in Rome to protest a meeting of the Group of 8 industrial nations' labor ministers there.
The London demonstration attracted participants from across Europe, such as 11.11.11, an umbrella organization of Belgian volunteer groups." We want governments to give a voice to poorer countries," said Benedikt Raets, who runs the organization's website. "The poorest countries are paying the highest price."
Saturday's protest here offered a foretaste of demonstrations planned for this week -- and of the security nightmare they present for London police. Several activist organizations have scheduled events Wednesday, when many of the G-20 leaders are set to arrive, and some underground anarchist groups have threatened to storm buildings in the financial district.
All leave has been canceled for police officers in order to mount a full-scale security operation that could cost more than $10 million. Anti-terrorist and intelligence agencies are also on high alert.But critics accuse the police of overstating the threat of violence to justify heavy-handed tactics. 
Last week, influential members of Parliament expressed concern that the police have bullied and harassed peaceful demonstrators, including filming them and invoking anti-terrorism laws against them."I'm worried about the spectacular smear stories that the police are putting out in advance of the day," said Peter McDonald, an activist with the environmental organization Climate Camp. Previously, "there have been similar tactics used to get everyone a little hysterical in the run-up, and they've never come true in practice," he said.
McDonald agreed that both the global economy and the global climate are in urgent need of attention, but he said that the recovery of one should not worsen the other."Telling people to consume more to get the economy back on track, in an age of climate change, is frankly obscene," he said. "There's a very widespread sense that things can't go on the way they were before. There's an opportunity for something new to emerge from this."
The group is planning to hold its annual camp Wednesday in the city center, with the slogan "Nature doesn't do bailouts!"Many activists agree that the crisis offers perhaps the best chance in years to get across their pleas for greater social justice and environmental vigilance, brushed aside in the rush to buy stocks and SUVs during the boom times."
All the cards are in our favor now. The true nature of the economic system is revealed; the true quality of political leadership is revealed," said Mark Barrett of
G-20 Meltdown, a left-wing group that embraces noisy street theater to spread its gospel of decentralization and anti-capitalism. It is organizing a "Financial Fools' Day" protest Wednesday outside the Bank of England, and has called on members to descend on the summit venue and knock on visiting leaders' and officials' hotel-room doors in the middle of the night to disrupt their sleep."
We have a chance to get some really great ideas into the public realm," Barrett said. "And it's mainly, completely, because of the financial crisis."
That openness was sorely tested last week, however, when one G-20 Meltdown leader, Chris Knight, an anthropology professor at the University of East London, told a radio show that bankers could wind up "hanging from lampposts" and "things could get nasty" if change did not come to Britain. The university has suspended him pending an investigation.
On a more positive note~
Before the Summit, the President has already had some success with his initial meetings with Russia's new President Dmitry Medvedev. The Los Angeles Times reported, that the two announced their intention to "move beyond Cold War mentalities" and reopen arms talks at a meeting today (held) on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in London. Their hope is to reduce the number of nuclear warheads that each nation controls.
The two struck a quick chemistry in their talks, part of the bilateral discussions that the new American president is holding with other world leaders during his time in London for a summit of the leaders of G-20 nations focused on addressing the global economic problem."
They did have a good rapport," said one U.S. official, describing the private meeting on condition of anonymity. "They were able to address a wide range of issues in a relative short period of time. . . . It's fair to say that rapport was also matched by candor and frankness on areas of disagreement."
The leaders plan to discuss a possible replacement for an expiring 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which limited the world's two largest nuclear arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 nuclear warheads. That agreement, known as START, expires on Dec. 5.
In a joint statement, the two reaffirmed "that the era when our countries viewed each other as enemies is long over."
It just came to me that these are truly exciting times. For the first time in a long time, the world, and in particular, those that call themselves leaders are going to have the opportunity to interact with a Black man of intelligence, integrity and power. It's a different day than when Colin Powell travelled the world and lent his stature and credibility to Bush's lies and deadly plans, demeaning himself in the process.
This time, the world meets a Black man empowered to operate from his own Highest Self. I do not know how free Obama is from the mental programming of society, institutions and religions that boils down to maintaining a status quo of White supremacy in this world.
I do know that he is balanced, and that he is contemplative. He listens deeply, and takes the time to reflect (and probably pray) over what he's presented with, before he speaks to offer his thoughts and decisions.
That alone, is a good enough start for me~
Kentke
Pres. Obama listens to questions at London press conference before G-20 Summit.
