Cannes Hu’s Renmin Be Nice @ G20

Cannes is in France, pronounced “Kan.” Hu Jintao is the Prime Minister of the People’s (Renmin) Republic of Zhongguo at the G20 conference in France, trying to be nice as, ironically, the capitalist economies expect socialist China’s renminbi to bail out the debt crisis affecting many governments of the so-called free market economies. The collapse of the economy of Greece threatens the downfall of the euro currency, an eventuality that would ripple in tsunami force across global financial structures!

We would be nice, too, but we were not in Nice, pronounced Nis, 30 km northeast of Cannes in Provence south of France (our familiarity with the region is only through our eldest daughter, who spent a year in Avignon to polish her French, and our limited taste of its famous wines from its viticulture) this week, two days prior to the G20 meeting. But the voices of Occupy Wall Street movement were echoed on the streets of Nice as thousand demonstrators aired their concerns prior to the gathering of the G20 financial ministers and heads of central banks joined by some head of states.

Security forces turned Cannes into a Spartan fortress, shorn of any tolerance for any face-painted clown, tree hugging eco-loco, flower-behind-your-ear love child, or placard-carrying protester of any nationality. The inspirational birthplace of Cirque du Soleil has lost its sense of humor, and the wellsprings of egalite, equalite, fraternite joined a terror-stricken world of fear-laden governments who are now afraid of the shadows of their own middle and lower economic classes from Main Street.

Skull-fractured Iraq Marine veteran Scott Olsen, hit by a tear gas canister in the Occupy Oakland police raid, has suddenly emerged as a battle cry in many “Occupy” locations across the country and has angered a few Corps “brothers” over what is perceived as unnecessary police brutality against peaceful demonstrators. Suddenly, the sentiment is showing up in diverse locations from Texas to Georgia, California to Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the G20 is touting itself as the possible model of global governance, guided by the financial architecture developed in its 1999 formation. Libya decided not to go along with this model and refused to establish a central bank, to the chagrin of EU and the US of A, a detail that might have contributed to NATO and the US’ earnest support of the eventual disposal of Moammar Gadhafi.

Members of G20 are the euro-centric EU, protective NAFTA, the newly organized BRICS, combining 90 percent of the world’s GNP, and 80 percent of the world’s trade. I have the feeling the corporate boardrooms around the world are not too unhappy with this possibility. Nor do I think the Occupy Wall Street folks will take it sitting down!

Already, Permaculture with its graywater systems, seed ball and other technologies are being demonstrated and used in the NYC Occupy site. Two years ago, we attempted to turn a Saipan 10-acre spread into a demo for sustainable earth technologies connected to a science experiment at SVES. Our enthusiasm faded with the discovery that our local partner stuck 20 stalks of MJ in his farm to support a hospital service for which he did not have sufficient medical coverage. I decided that being on the wrong side of the law on Saipan, without the guardian connection, is no homeland security!

One of my Oral English students heading for flying lessons in Florida next year, in introducing himself as part of the class exercise, declared that his life’s stance is always using what he has, and not be stuck in hoping for what he does not have.

I thought of all the heat spilled in verbiage and ink against those we consider responsible for failing to govern well, or the legal maneuvers we’ve tried to rid the islands of the “foreigners” who once did our bidding but are now expendable, and wonder what we could do with all that energy.

Tony Pellegrino is adamant in the commercial viability of food production on island and we certainly have all resources available (HR, sun, soil and water), but this will not be if we think that somehow, energetic and amiable Kilili and Uncle Sam, or a casino bill, or a change in government personnel is going to deliver the CNMI from the dire straits it is in. So why not focus in getting everyone currently residing in the CNMI to really occupy it, and decide to create a new life with what we’ve got, now?

Hu Jintao and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and S. Africa) decided to focus on their own backyards and let EU deal with Greece and itself, forgoing any messianic complex to intervene, though we do not think it really could do much even if it wanted to.

For the ledgers are cooked. The financial system that has spawned an illusory house of phantom wealth, evident in the 64 million unoccupied real estate units in China, plus the paper inequality in the U.S. of the 1 percent rich lording it over the 99 percent who are deep in debt and up in arms, enflames all kinds of grassroots movements, uprisings, revolts, and even prayer vigils.

We can all decide to occupy the planet sans illusions of wealth, now; then, fructify the earth, and live! Pass the spade and the hoe, please!

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[I] Vergara is a regular contributor to the [/I]Saipan Tribune’[I]s Opinion Section[/I]