There is much excitement about two events that are going on tandem, the first being an extremely important one in world history and would be watched with bated breath by pundits and lay people alike (that is laypeople who are interested), and the second would be joined by those with or without much clue as to its aim. Even on the twenty-first century, we still find that the most powerful people in the world tend to be men. Many feminists argued that it has to do with the political and social structure, and the socialisation of the two different sexes. But I think it has to do with the fact that through history, there are very few women who could provide the sort of role models in the way that men have, and many an ambitious woman find it difficult to emulate the existing examples available to them without sacrificing too much of themselves. Perhaps the men who do are actually sacrificing that which the women are afraid to do?
Anyway, back to the L8 concert, which you can read all about in the major newspapers, most probably in the newspapers of the G8 countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US. Perhaps a few decades later, we will have more Asian countries (like China and India, but they have to revamp their infrastructural and social weaknessses) who will expand this to G(n) where n = positive integers. Some would argue that it is a a great way of enlisting popular culture to tap into the psyche of the people, hyping it up and making them excited enough to want to travel just to be part of it. Some felt that its glittering affair is a far cry from the abject lives of the Africans they are trying to portray (with the exception of African bandits who amassed their riches through plaguing their people). I hope that the G8 leaders,as many other critics have said, would address the political weakness of many of these African countries. Parts of Africa used to be part of some glorious civilization in the past, but that seems to have disappeared into history. They have the best people whom they can work with to look for better solutions.
And the problem of climate change and environment, I fervently hope that something can be done about it. But just looking to the leaders to act tough on it, while we complacently add to the climate problems is like the cliche pot calling the kettle black. There are many countries in Asia whose citizens are living abject lives, but perhaps no longer to the starvation extent of still so many Africans. I think it is important for the media, and for any public education propagandist, to actually show the REAL reason why African nations are left so far behind. Yet within their nations have produced world-class and world-famous artists, musicians, writers and even scientists, something which many South East Asian countries have yet to achieve.
Perhaps the best way to assess the current way the world works is to look at who are the powerful people who inhabit it. Are they paragon of our values?
I end this post by attaching this leader from Guardian which spells out much of these two events
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,6903,1520122,00.html. And whatever the G8 meet and L8 tries to do will be rendered pyrrhic if this continues without accountability
