July 2001:               suggested link The G8 Genoa summit— time for a New Deal on Debt Information on the upcoming summit in Italy "Welcome to the Drop the Debt in Genoa webpage! ...check this page for the latest news, stories, pictures and analysis from Genoa and around the world."

From a World Watch Newsletter:

"The global debate over the third world debt crisis will crescendo on July 20-22
as the heads of the world's eight leading industrial nations (G-8) gather in Genoa,
Italy. The host of the summit, the government of Italy, has vowed to put the debt
crisis at the top of the agenda. And Drop the Debt, a London-based successor to
Jubilee 2000 (the campaign that forced rich-country politicians to respond to the
debt crisis in the late 1990s), has set its sites on a "New Deal on Debt" from the
Genoa summit."

"Since World War II, the richest countries have lent the poorest ones hundreds
of billions of dollars, much of it in the name of democracy, freedom, and develop-
ment. Yet scores of the borrowing countries are now mired in debt and poverty--
some 47, according to World Bank benchmarks, all but 10 of them African.
Together, they owe $422 billion, or $380 per person, a substantial sum for them,
but just 11 months of military spending for western governments. Responding
to pressure from nongovernmental organizations, creditor governments have
recently offered to cancel up to 55 percent of the debt they are owed by 41 poor
debtors. In return, they are demanding that debtors implement market-
oriented "structural adjustment" economic policies and design poverty-
fighting plans in consultation with civil society groups."

The G8 Genoa summit—time for a New Deal
on Debt (www.dropthedebt.org/)

"Welcome to the Drop the Debt in Genoa webpage! In the countdown to the
Genoa G8 Summit, this page will bring you all the information you need to take
part in the international week of action on debt which culminates in Genoa on
Saturday 21 July. Over the Summit itself, check this page for the latest news,
stories, pictures and analysis from Genoa and around the world."


Other related links...

Forum on Third World Debt
with David Roodman, author of Still Waiting for the Jubilee

"As leaders of the world's most powerful nations gather in Genoa, Italy -- and as
thousands of protestors throng the streets -- join us (using the subscribe command
below) for a worldwide, moderated, online discussion on one of the most troubling
issues within the great debate over globalization: the third world debt crisis."

("The excellent April 2001 Worldwatch report on third world debt has been chosen
as the central reading to facilitate focused discussion.") [see below]

The Third World Debt Crisis: Facts and Myths

Taken from Worldwatch Paper 155, 
Still Waiting for the Jubilee: Pragmatic Solutions for the
Third World Debt Crisis
by David Malin Roodman

The Worldwatch 47

* Forty-seven countries meet World Bank statistical criteria for being very
poor and very indebted. Only forty-one are currently eligible for the World
Bank's recent debt cancellation initiatives. Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan,
the largest debtors in the 47 are excluded. (p. 58)

* At the end of 1999, these 47 countries—home to 1.1 billion people—owed
$422 billion to foreigners. (p. 22)

* Average debt per capita in the 47 is $380—exactly equal to their average
gross national product (GNP). (p. 22)

* Thirty-seven of the Worldwatch 47 rank in or just above the U.N.'s lowest
category of human development. Thirty-five are in Africa. (pp. 22–23)

* Average GNP in rich countries* is $24,100. These countries spend $422
billion in agriculture subsidies every 16 months. They spend that much on
weapons and soldiers every 12 months. The U.S. government spends that
much in interest on the national debt every 24 months. (pp. 22, 62, 66)

Other links, related and topical...

Star Wars is Back
Win one for the Gipper - and Lockheed-Martin
by Gar Smith
Earth Island Journal [earthisland.org]

"The Bush-Cheney team has made it clear that they consider the National Missile
Defense (NMD) "an essential part of our strategic system.

The NMD, a failure-plagued leftover from the Reagan Era that has outraged our
allies and enemies alike, would violate international treaties and promises to ignite
a new arms race. So who stands to gain? The answer: Lockheed-Martin, Boeing,
Raytheon and TRW.

These "Big Four" weapons makers routinely win 60 percent of all US defense
contracts, worth as much as $4 billion each year." [...]

"One of Lockheed's proudest moments was the successful test of the Star Wars
intercept system in 1984 - a critical factor in validating the much-criticized "missile
shield" concept. In 1993, The New York Times revealed that the test was a fraud.

"We rigged the test," a Lockheed scientist told Times reporter Tim Weiner. "We
put a beacon with a certain frequency on the target vehicle. The hit looked beautiful,
so Congress didn't ask questions." In effect, Weiner concluded, Lockheed rigged
the target to tell the incoming missile, "Here I am, come get me."

There was one simple reason Lockheed conspired to defraud the government, the
scientist said. "We would lose hundreds of millions of dollars if we didn't perform
it successfully."

Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), John Conyers (D-MI) and 51 other House members
have demanded an FBI investigation of fraud in the NMD program. Meanwhile, the
Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) that would have required
that all future NMD tests be conducted under "realistic conditions." [...]