The APEC Summit has returned to its birthplace, Australia, where a small number of people, mostly youths in their school uniforms, peacefully demonstrated the presence of President Bush today in Sydney. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the authorities from insisting that Saturday’s protest, which they believe will attract tens of thousands, will result in a ‘full scale riot’…

“Chief superintendent Steven Cullen, head of the state Public Order and Riot Squad, said he had never been so worried about a demonstration in his career, predicting “horrendous” implications for public safety.

“Police lines will come under attack and a full-scale riot is probable,” Cullen told the Supreme Court.

The Stop Bush Coalition protest group agreed to change the route of the march so it did not pass the US consulate in the centre of the city’s financial district.

The court also ordered the protesters to stay away from a 2.8 metre (nine foot) high steel and concrete fence that snakes five kilometres (three miles) around the city centre, creating an exclusion zone for the visiting dignitaries.

Cullen told the court he had “absolutely no doubt” minority protest groups would attempt to violently disrupt the march and people would be hurt if there was a crush near the fence or they were pushed into glass-fronted buildings.

While police fear a repeat of the violence at last year’s G20 meeting in Melbourne, activists have labelled the unpredented security lockdown over much of Sydney as an attack on their right to peaceful protest.

“Protest is not violent, war is violent,” student Rainee Lyleson told Wednesday’s rally. “We will not be intimidated.”

Students dodged truancy officers and ignored police warnings to stay in their classrooms to attend the rally, organised by the left-wing group Resistance.

There was no sign of protest earlier when Bush held a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard at a hotel in the centre of the exclusion zone.

Police searched the bags of pedestrians passing the venue, as helicopters buzzed overhead and officers with binoculars scanned the streets from rooftops.

Many of the city’s usually bustling streets were almost deserted amid the security operation involving 5,000 police and troops, with just a few onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of the US leader through the security fence.

Some retailers, particularly high-end fashion and jewellery stores, were closed — with signs in their windows saying they would reopen after APEC.

Pavement garbage bins were sealed off with plastic covers while private security guards stood on duty outside office towers.”

So now we wait for Saturday to arrive to see what happens. Will there be those who will act like idiots? Probably. As they say, shit attracts flies.

The Australian government recently released a YouTube video in which Prime Minister Howard said…

“There will be some individuals who want to protest against Apec. I simply ask them to stop for a moment and consider that if they really are worried about issues such as poverty, security and climate change, then they should support Apec, not attack it.”

Interestingly, how many of the nations attending the summit are economically exploited by the world’s foremost powers? The Philippines? Indonesia? Malaysia? Thailand? Vietnam? Papua New Guinea? In fact, many of those in attendance, such as South Korea, Japan, and others, also have arms agreements with the United States, which would fall under the ‘security’ umbrella of Mr. Howard’s preamble.

Some of you might remember a time when the United States was an economic global powerhouse. And while the US economy still significantly influences the markets, the fact of the matter is that their economy is, in truth, primarily based on consumption, not production - which would be why they owe the Chinese in excess of 1 trillion dollars. In fact, they’re actually a debtor nation to Mexico.

Were the foreign debt of the United States to be called tomorrow, the country would be devastated on an unprecedented level. Ironically, it would also result in a global panic that would cause a global recession of immense proportions. That’s rather interesting, isn’t it. But that’s what happens when the world primarily trades in your dollar.

Will this APEC summit result in any real change? Will Indonesian factory workers end up making more because of foreign investment? Or will they make the same, or less, because the demand for work is considerable and those paying them are all too aware of it? The reality is that foreign investment makes those holding the cards wealthier, and that that wealth doesn’t really impact society in general in such places. That’s why most of the clothes worn in North America are made in such places and not by North American workers. Because North American workers have this terrible habit of getting up to no good, such as forming Unions, demanding decent pay and medical coverage.

Now why on earth would anyone want that when the exact same product can be made overseas for next to nothing without all the hassles, driving the purchasing price down and thus allowing US retailers to maximize profits by massively over inflating prices?

Of course, such an application is entirely unsustainable. One simply cannot consume more than they produce without eventually succumbing, which is why the miraculous wonders of globalization were thrust upon us as if a summer blockbuster were being launched to justify the exploitation of cheaper markets. Unfortunately, one day, people are going to start waking up in those regions that are being exploited and realize that the distribution of wealth isn’t at all equitable, and they’re going to go about making changes – primarily in government. That, of course, is when we’ll step in and paint such movements as dangerous to our national interests and work to ensure that they fail.

It’s as old as the crucifixion. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, but no one wants to bake it.