Eat the Rich

i don't normally cut and paste other people's writing here, but Patricks Wintour and Barkham, writing for the Guardian, have captured the gross hypocrisy of G8 elites' excessive gorging at their Pacific island party with just the perfect amount of sarcastic disdain... Are you not also disgusted that individuals like W Bush and Silvio Berlusconi are treated to this kind of publicly-funded splendor, when they do absolutely nothing to help the world's poor and subpoor? (Silvio should be thankful the Japanese don't force him to take the trash this "meeting" is surely generating back to Italy for disposal; where would he dump it, Naples?) Expanding on the point i tried to make yesterday morning, if these people were really serious about implementing solutions to the growing list of really, really serious problems plaguing our planet and societies, i might not be so outraged by their opulence. However, these meetings do not produce results - other than an agreement by the elite to continue stuffing their own faces and bank accounts - so we are wasting a huge amount of resources on a bunch of people who deserve less than a McDonald's happy meal to keep their stomachs from growling.

As Vandana Shiva said, "Food rights of people have to be protected; the rights of the poor have to be protected. That is the only obligation governments have. Any democratic government that fails in that duty will only be part of the problem of creating food wars and food riots." Indeed. At this point, if any group of starving people opted to break into a presidential palace and stick their forks into one of these folks, i say let them have at it.

Here's part of the Guardian piece linked to above:

As the food crisis began to bite, the rumblings of discontent grew louder. Finally, after a day of discussing food shortages and soaring prices, the famished stomachs of the G8 leaders could bear it no longer.

The most powerful bellies in the world were last night compelled to stave off the great Hokkaido Hunger by fortifying themselves with an eight-course, 19-dish dinner prepared by 25 chefs. This multi-pronged attack was launched after earlier emergency lunch measures - four courses washed down with Château-Grillet 2005 - had failed to quell appetites enlarged by agonising over feeding the world's poor.....

After discussing famine in Africa, the peckish politicians and five spouses took on four bite-sized amuse-bouche to tickle their palates. The price of staple foods may be soaring, but thankfully caviar and sea urchin are within the purchasing power of leaders and their taxpayers - the amuse-bouche featured corn stuffed with caviar, smoked salmon and sea urchin, hot onion tart and winter lily bulb.

Guests at the summit, which is costing £238m, were then able to pick items from a tray modelled on a fan and decorated with bamboo grasses, including diced fatty tuna fish, avocado and jellied soy sauce, and pickled conger eel with soy sauce.

Hairy crab Kegani bisque-style soup was another treat in a meal prepared by the Michelin-starred chef Katsuhiro Nakamura, the grand chef at Hotel Metropolitan Edmont in Tokyo, alongside salt-grilled bighand thornyhead (a small, red Pacific fish) with a vinegary water pepper sauce.

They have told their people to tighten their belts for lean times ahead, but you feared for presidential and prime ministerial girdles after the chance to tuck into further dishes including milk-fed lamb, roasted lamb with cepes, and black truffle with emulsion sauce. Finally there was a "fantasy" dessert, a special cheese selection accompanied by lavender honey and caramelised nuts, while coffee came with candied fruits and vegetables.

Leaders cleverly skated around global water shortages by choosing from five different wines and liqueurs.

Earlier, the heads of state had restricted themselves to a light lunch of asparagus and truffle soup, crab and supreme of chicken served with nuts and beetroot foam, followed by a cheese selection, peach compote, milk ice-cream and coffee with petits fours.

Fresh from instructing his population to waste less food, it can only be hoped that Gordon Brown polished off every single morsel on his plate.