Editorial from the Asahi Shimbun: re G8

[tsuki]

EDITORIAL The G-8 summit:We detect a troubling sense of `fading relevance.'
07/12/2005



Each year, leaders of the world's major industrialized nations gather for their annual summit. The sense we gleaned from this year's Group of Eight session, convened last week in Gleneagles, Scotland, was one of "fading relevance."

Take the participants, for example. Of the eight nations represented, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was certainly not the only head of an administration on shaky ground. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who acted as host of the Gleneagles gathering, lost a large share of his ruling party's seats in the recent general election. In late May, French President Jacques Chirac had to accept a resounding no to proposed ratification of the European Union Constitution in a national referendum.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hasn't fared much better. His government party has suffered a steady stream of defeats in regional elections. For his part as well, U.S. President George W. Bush has seen his approval rating sink to the lowest depths of his presidency.

<snip>

On global warming, appeals were made to the United States, the only G-8 member that has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to agree to targets for reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. But Bush refused to budge on his long-standing rebuff of the treaty. While Washington is naturally entitled to its opinions, the impression in the eyes of the world regarding the Kyoto Protocol is largely that of utter selfishness on the part of the world's most extravagant oil-consuming nation.

More at

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200507120246.html

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Same

all round news like this all over. Guess the Global Warming part make them all looks like fools.
:spank: