The G8 in Japan

I have just discoverd the Catholic Fire blog. Yesterday, C.F. quoted Dorothy Day who, in her book The Long Loneliness said,

“I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions.”

This morning, as I watched Andrew Marr's politics programme, I got to see an example of Dorothy Day's words. One of the guests being interviewed was the actor Bill Nighy (well known for his roles as the washed up rock star in Love, Actually and cynical Government minister in The Constant Gardener) who is in Japan to raise awareness of the commitments made by the G8 to increase aid to Africa at their 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

You may have thought that there would be no need for Nighy or anyone else to be harping on about those promises, after all, surely a country that makes a promise to do something would actually do it. Welllll, no. Not quite. Or, as in this case, not at all. Hence, Nighy's Japanese excursion. He has a tough time ahead of him though for it appears that the G8 - the eight richest countries in the world - will cite the current economic downturn as their excuse not to see their promise through. All rather sad and pathetic.