G8 via Skype

Given the amount of resources expended on the G8 - think of the jet fuel, huge dinners, and 20,000 police officers mobilized for security - many bloggers have happily pointed to the irony of world leaders discussing the food crisis and global warming. But one blogger in Japan going by the name of fookpaktsuen offered a novel proposal: run the G8 meetings via Skype (Hat tip: Global Voices Online). Here's what he had to say (translation courtesy of Global Voices Online):

Over 20,000 police officers were mobilized from Shikoku and Kyushu…and global warming is the main agenda, while the fact is that holding this summit is itself “earth-unfriendly”...If terrorist attacks are considered a threat, then instead of all state leaders getting together, it's better to have the meeting over Skype. The number of police on defense was larger than that of the 120 protesters in the anti-Summit demonstration, [which took place] in a rural area far away from the summit. It's absurd.

Indeed, Skype does have a conference call tool, and I have to say that I love the image of Bush, Brown, Sarkozy, and all the rest discussing global warming with headsets on like the ones pictured here. Then again, perhaps with the money they save on fuel and security they could afford to shell out a few more bucks for something a little more sophisticated.