Intellpuke: The following commentary by Professor George
Monbiot appears in the Guardian edition for Tuesday, June 5, 2007. In
it, Prof. Monbiot urges people to pay less attention to what the
world's rich leaders say and pay much more attention to what they
actually do. As an example, he writes that thousands of Filipino
children who die every year courtesy of the formula milk corporations,
backed by U.S. lobbying. Prof. Monbiot's column follows:
It is time once again for that touching annual ritual, in which the
world's most powerful people move themselves to tears. At Heiligendamm
they will emote with the wretched of the earth. They will beat their
breasts and say many worthy and necessary things - about climate
change, Africa, poverty, trade - but one word will not leave their
lips. Power. Amid the patrician goodwill, there will be no
acknowledgement that the power they wield over other nations destroys
everything they claim to stand for.
The leaders of the G8 nations
present themselves as a force for unmitigated good. Sometimes they
fail, but they seek only to make the world a kinder place. Bob Geldof
and Bono give oxygen to this deception, speaking of the good works the
leaders might perform, or of the good works they have failed to perform
- but not mentioning the active harm. They refuse to acknowledge that
what the rich nations give with one finger they take with both hands.
Look
at what is happening, right now, in the Philippines. This country has
many problems, but one stands out: just 16% of children between four
and five months old are exclusively breastfed. This is one of the
lowest documented rates on earth, and it has fallen by a third since
1998. As 70% of Filipinos have inadequate access to clean water, the
result is a public health disaster. Every year, according to the World
Health Organization, some 16,000 Filipino children die as a result of
"inappropriate feeding practices".
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