World set back 10 years by Bush's new world order, says Blair aide

The Guardian ^ | 4/14/04 | Paul Brown

[LibWhacker]

George Bush has had a "devastating impact" on global sustainable development and set the world back more than ten years, says Jonathon Porritt, the prime minister's senior adviser on the subject, today. Writing in Guardian Society Mr Porritt, who is the chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission, says it is hard to exaggerate the damage done to the planet by Mr Bush's drive for a "new world order".

On a whole series of issues including climate change, international aid, family planning, nuclear proliferation, trade and corporate responsibility, "staying true to a discredited model of extreme economic liberalism has set the world back a decade or more", says Mr Porritt.

He says it is not surprising that the rest of the world has done so badly because Mr Bush has given them the perfect "out" from their responsibilities.

"Developing countries are increasingly disenchanted with what they see as a narrow, unfair and protectionist agenda," he says, "Japan is mired in its own economic and political failure, Russia plays the field for whatever it can get out of it, and even the EU has started to lose the plot, with a least five countries seeking to renege on their climate commitments. ..."

Against this backdrop the British government looks like a world leader but even here the title of his report on progress is Shows Promise: But Must Try Harder.

The five-year review says that a lack of political will and a failure to understand that quality of life is not just about economic growth has led to slow progress towards the government's sustainable development goals. But Mr Porritt singles out Tony Blair's leadership on climate change and Gordon Brown's efforts on global debt as bright spots.

He says that in some of the 15 areas he judges the government on, for example waste management and traffic, the performance has been "dreadful". Four areas "show promise" and two - air quality and river water - manage a "good". He accepts that the government intends to do more but it is not a brilliant picture.

"Far more effort needs to be made to differentiate between smart growth (that generates wealth and social benefits without damaging the environment) and today's wholly unsustainable growth that inevitably ends up damaging people's real quality of life."

On this criterion he gives Britain's economic growth a "poor" rating and says eco-taxation policy has become bogged down.

The government gets a "disappointing" rating in four areas: employment, because of longer working hours and gender wage gaps; health, because life expectancy in poor communities is not rising; housing, because energy efficiency is low; and greenhouse gas emissions because of increased traffic and air travel. The four areas "showing promise" are poverty reduction, education, wildlife and land use.

[LibWhacker]

What a pipsqueak.

[Peach]

But raping women and children, throwing acid at them, murdering citizens by the hundreds of thousands - that's okay with this pukehead?

[linear]

This is hilarious!!

Who knew one man could wield such power. I'm sure Saddam and the Taliban were doing wonders for global sustainability too.

[Getsmart64]

I don't understand these people that constantly harp on the economy, environment, etc....if we don't stop Jihadism...none of those things are gonna matter...

[TomGuy]

Wanna bet Jonathon Porritt, the prime minister's senior adviser on the subject, get to retire VERY soon?

[marty60]

No, sometimes you just have to clean house to get the nesting place for cockroaches cleaned out. Bush is cleaning house. (and I don't have cockroaches in my house either) Neither should the world.

[Tallguy]

A bomb just killed a couple of hundred people next door in Spain, and this guy is worried about "Sustainable Development?" Is he for real?

[TheBigB]

Darnit, I was hoping we'd set these twerps back by at least 20 or 30 years. Bush is just gonna hafta get cracking!

[Steven W.]

What's funny is the reference to the "New World Order" as something they don't like - because it's not the "Old New World Order" which was Euro-3rd World Centric vs. the Bush Doctrine where liberal psychophants & babblers + terrorists are on the run and those who aren't with us are against us.

[telebob]

"...global sustainable development...

That's the lefty code for EVERYONE is poor and living in sh*t, right?

Then hooray for Bush.

[LibWhacker]

Boy, I hope so! I was gonna ask if Blair can unilaterally fire him, since he's just an aide. But Blair seems to be a big lib on all things not related to terrorism, God bless the man.

[PhiKapMom]

Bill Clinton must have been on the phone! I would bet that the Clintons are behind all this crap going on overseas right now and probably 90% of the negative stories about Pres Bush.

[TomGuy]

I don't understand these people that constantly harp on the economy, environment, etc....if we don't stop Jihadism...none of those things are gonna matter...

I completely agree. That is what I can't understand about the libDems. Don't they see that the WoT is against them as much as everyone else? Same with the media/journalists. If the enemy isn't stopped, the enemy is coming to subjegate and kill. Look at the WTC 2--those homicidal terrorists who piloted the planes didn't care who was in the WTC -- some 60 nations lost people in that atrocity; and some of them were muslims and even Islamic muslims, liberals, Democrats, etc.

[LibWhacker]

Exactly. Civilization has a herd of elephants stampeding toward it and this little pipsqueak doesn't notice, lol!

[Natural Law]

Since we were 20 years down the wrong path a 2nd Bush term will only get us back to even.

[plain talk]

World could be set back decades to hundreds of years by these appeasers if we allow these terrorists to organize further and build WMD stockpiles.

[Sam Cree]

I think what this guy is trying to say is that world socialism has been sett back 10 years by Bush. That's probably a little optomistic, but it's pretty cool.

[PISANO]

But raping women and children, throwing acid at them, murdering citizens by the hundreds of thousands - that's okay with this pukehead?

SO.....ridding the world of madmen that perpetrate these horrors on their fellow man and getting rid of ISLAMISTS bent on the destruction of WESTERN CIVILISATION is setting back the WORLDS development???

This has got to be the dumbest person alive.

[LibWhacker]

I don't think we're going to have to wait that long, but I hope at least one Freeper who is alive today lives to see the death of socialism. What a farce.

[isom35]

"new world order" ? doesnt that merit a tinfoil hat alert?
besides, I thought that phrase wasnt allowed here ;)