wie du mir, so ich dir

The G7 Finance Ministers are meeting today and tomorrow in Potsdam - all but the US Finance Ministers. I wonder whether this is pay back time as his German fellow missed out on the last G7 meeting that took place in Washington in April. Mr. Steinbrueck had a jolly good time in Namibia where he has been on holiday at the time of the meeting. I have been to Namibia myself, working and living there for almost a year, so do have a passion for the country myself...but hey as the current chair I would have reconsidered my priorities. But then, they are talking hedge fonds yet again instead of a funding plan to HIV/AIDS. Glad there is ActionAid who is doing the math and calculating that annual spending on HIV and Aids to the developing world needs to triple, if G8 countries are to meet the historic Gleneagles commitment of prevention, treatment and care for all who need it by 2010. The funding plan tells you all the details http://www.actionaid.org.uk/doc_lib/g8_funding_plan.pdf

It is getting tough

German Police Conduct Raids on Militant Anti-G8 Protestors
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evv4psIfo9lg6I0
German police launched raids in six northern states Wednesday
amid fears that left-wing radical groups were plotting attacks
to disrupt a G8 summit in June on the country's Baltic coast.

Groups from attac to members of the Green Party put out press releases condemning the police raids emphasising the right for civil but anti G8 protest.

The air is getting thinner less than four weeks before the summit...