Make the G8 History Blog

Rivers of oil, oceans of hunger: Nnimmo Bassey Interview

Oscar Reyes. Nnimmo Bassey is Secretary-Director of Environmental Rights Action (Friends of the Earth, Nigeria) and a poet. In this interview at the Global Dreams, Corporate Nightmares conference he discusses the environmental and economic impact of the oil industry in Nigeria and reads from his poem 'Mountains of Food, Oceans of Hunger'. You can hear a recording of the full interview here or continue reading for an edited transcript.

Alternative Africa Commission launched in Edinburgh

Stuart Hodkinson. Tuesday, 11am. On the eve of discussions on Africa at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, a range of leading campaigners and activists from across Africa today gathered together in Edinburgh to launch their own highly critical response to Tony Blair's Commission for Africa (CfA). 'The Alternatives Commission on Africa' contains statements, analyses and perspectives from African civil society voices previously silenced by the Geldof-Government-Oxfam coalition that is running the Live8/Make Poverty History axis.

Two, three, many counter-summits

Natasha Grzincic and Alex Nunns. Today was the day of counter-summits, a bewildering array of speakers, workshops, seminars... After much debate (but not really) the two of us decided on the free summit, as opposed to the G8 Alternatives summit that cost a tenner with the same speakers, or the Dissent! one that was also free but had Red Pepper's own Stuart H plugging his Make Poverty History expose yet again.

Andrew Gilligan evicted from protest planning meeting

Anti-G8 protesters today threw out infamous journalist Andrew Gilligan from a meeting discussing tactics around the counter-G8 actions at the Dissent! convergence space at the Teviot student union. The former BBC Radio 4 Today correspondent now working for the London Evening Standard, who was at the centre of the war of words over the so called Iraq 'dodgy dossier' between the BBC and the UK government that led to the death of the scientist Dr David Kelly, failed to depart the packed 'Anti-Authoritarian Assembly' when journalists were asked to leave.

Monbiot to march against Live 8 and MPH

Stuart Hodkinson. Last night's 'Make the G8 History' rally in London sponsored by War on Want and Red Pepper certainly had its moments. Journalist Victoria Brittain reminded over 300 people in the packed LSE venue "how many times we've been here before" and that the G8 plans for Africa were just the same old "colonialism". Author and '68 veteran, Tariq Ali, said we should all be worried by a recent picture in the Financial Times showing a smiling Gordon Brown and Bob Geldof with "love in their eyes". But it was journalist George Monbiot who took the plaudits when he declared:

I will be going up to Edinburgh not to march in favour of the G8, but to protest against it. And to protest against Geldof and Bono as well.