CORPORATIONS TO WED THE UNITED NATIONS AT WESTMINSTER
ABBEY

In the run up to the Rio+10 'Earth Summit' in
Johannesburg in August: At midday today, 15 July,
there will be a special service of union between
corporate big business and the United Nations. Dubbed
an unholy alliance by many, the ceremony may well be
disturbed.

Their blossoming romance began at the Rio earth summit
10 years ago. That conference saw delegates from all
over the world gather to discuss environmental and
social issues, such as poverty, polution and loss of
biodiversity. Although high hopes were held for the
conference, it is widely accepted to have been a
failure, primarily due to the lobbying efforts of the
business council for sustainible development (now the
world business council for sustainible development).

Since Rio, environmental degridation, biodiversity
erosion and habitat destruction have continued apace,
poverty and inequity have increased and climate change
remains untackled. In other words, it has been pretty
much "Business as usual" for the multinationals. This
year big business intends to see to it that it stays
that way.

The key aims of big business in Johanesburg are to
avoid international regulation of corporations and to
increase trade liberalisation.

It seems however, that big business has managed to
convince the UN that it has fundamentally changed in
recent years. Armed with some heart warming examples
of volentary initiatives undertaken by big business,
presented in sponsored sections of major international
newspapers, adverts in glossy magazines, on corporate
websites and also in a virtual exhibition
(www.virtualexhibition.net) on TV screens all over
johanesburg, business intends to show that it is "part
of the solution".

This wedding will be the first of several events
culminating in a global day of action against a
corporate UN on 31st Aug. 2002.

For more info see: www.aseed.net
or email:  earthsummit02@yahoo.co.uk
phone:

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Celtic Safari Biketour a.k.a Ecotopia biketour2002 a.k.a Biketopia
Website: www.thebiketour.net
Email:  btour2002@yahoo.com
Mobile Phone in UK: +44 (0)7870 467 231
Mobile Phone in Ireland(not valid unitl August 1st,2002):
+353 (0)876 713 151
Eeeh man, ahm gannin te the yellhoose.