Analysis from IMC Portland
As leaders from the major industrialized countries meet for the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Genoa, Italy, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction with the status quo.
The G8 is made up of the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada, and Russia. These countries consume the majority of the world’s natural resources and use their strong militaries to keep the rest of the world under their control, in what is essentially a colonial arrangement. Corporations, in turn, control the G8 governments, and represent a tiny (less than 1%), but very wealthy segment of the world’s population.
Understandably, this lopsided state of affairs has awakened the anger of millions of people worldwide, and thousands descended on Genoa last week to demand justice.
Italian authorities had prepared for the summit by emptying all nearby hospitals, jails and mortuaries, and ordering 300 body bags. They also closed down the airport and railway station, and suspended most civil rights, including freedom of movement. So much for “democracy” while the “leaders of the Free World” are meeting.