Hey Saz what are you doing next week ????

JJ : hey Saz what are you doing next week hunny??

Sarah : Not much spunk whys that?

JJ: Well just thought you might want to join us on the APEC protest

Sarah: dont know .... There is going to be enough peeps there aready right

JJ: well yea .. but not the same without you ...

Sarah: without me ... as if! I am getting to old for that shit!

JJ: come on babes it will be fun ... nothing major just makeing a stand. and GW is there I know you love the guy

Sarah : Narr I think I will give it a miss I mean ... Im more passive now ... ( sarah thinks back many years to getting billy clubed by the victoran police at a G12 protest)

JJ: well up to you missy .. anyway we should catch up sometime I hear your little funky tea shop is taking off these days ...

Sarah: for sure J I miss you baby ... your always welcome come for the weekend or something we will catch cocktail night at the local ...

JJ: (laughing histericaly) I still rember the last cocktail night we went to ...

Sarah (blushing) : ,,,, mmmmmm yep giggles ... nar not like that well perhaps something more civil then ...

JJ: perhaps anyway gotta run chat soon monkey

Sarah: sure sure be safe and call me soon ok

JJ: ok .. bye babe mwa mwa ..

So APEC have decided to bring there shit to Sydney why so ... because Sydney is a peaceful and happy place so the war mongers decide to come and camp in my back yard for a week at a cost of millions of dollars I might add.... the bastards !!!!

So what is APEC ???

The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Group is an international body made up of 21 member countries including most nations with a border to the Pacific Ocean. The current members are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, USA, Vietnam.

How important is it?

On the world stage, it is of limited importance. The G8 summit and the World Economic Forum attract some serious firepower, not just from among heads of government of the richest nations on Earth but also from the bankers and business barons who pull the purse strings.

However, it is fairly rare for so many world leaders to be in the same place at the same time – so when they are, what they talk about and what they sign up to can be very important. It is even more rare for Australia to be a part of this type of summit, arguably making it more important for us than for others involved (George W. Bush is leaving early, for instance).

What will they be talking about?

Since the 2001 summit in Shanghai, which took place in the summit of the September 11 attacks in the US, international security and the fight against terrorism has had an increasingly prominent place at the talks. While the summit is technically supposed to be focused on economic issues, it is argued that terrorism has such an impact on a country’s economy that it should be discussed at APEC.

Trade issues such as free trade and/or lowering tariffs between APEC members will also be on the agenda. The Prime Minister also wants the 21 world leaders to discuss setting up a regional carbon trading scheme as part of the fight against global warming.

Why are people so angry about it?

The original driving force behind the opposition to APEC was the anti-globalisation movement, which believes that groups such as APEC and the trade deals they promote merely make rich countries richer and poor countries poorer.

But since it is fairly rare for so many world leaders to be together at once, it provides a platform for protest groups of all types to target the meeting as their chance to get their message across while the spotlight is on.

So what do the protesters want?

It varies. The anti-APEC protests are anti-globalisation, anti-war, anti-WorkChoices, anti-global warming and anti-poverty, to name just a few rallying points. The wide range of leaders coming to town also means there could be single-issue protesters – for instance someone opposed to China’s human rights record or Russia’s war in Chechnya.

So the protesters are united in their opposition to the high profile names attending, but what they actually want instead can differ.

What a boring little post this one is ... oh well I have to stand on my soap box sometimes ...

Take care people
love and light
Sarah ...