On June 6, leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States will gather for the 33rd annual G-8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, in an attempt to find solutions to Africa’s mounting troubles, the war in Iraq, the rise in HIV/AIDS, poverty, the energy crisis, global climate change and other world crises.

The three-day summit comes at a time when relations between Russia and the West have dramatically cooled. If any progress is to be made, these world leaders must, at least temporarily, put aside hostilities.

Last Saturday, nearly 30,000 demonstrators gathered in the seaport town of Rostock, Germany, to protest against the upcoming summit. But what began as a peaceful protest quickly turned violent. Riot police attempted to break up the crowd, but were met with volleys of rocks, sticks and pieces of stone chipped from city streets. Cars were torched. At least 150 arrests were made. German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that when the riots finally ended, nearly 1,000 people were injured, including more than 400 policemen.

The demonstrations were organized by a number of anti-G-8 groups under the motto “Another world is possible,” and participants blame the major, industrialized G-8 nations for current world conditions. According to the International Herald Tribune, marchers handed out leaflets that read, “The world shaped by the dominance of the G-8 is a world of war, hunger, social divisions, environmental destruction and barriers against migrants and refugees…We want to protest against this and show the alternatives.”

Protester dissatisfaction over the inability of world leaders to overcome global problems is understandable. On this trouble-filled planet, people want change, and many are realizing that leaders in government, science, industry and other areas cannot provide a better existence.

Will steps be taken during the G-8 Summit to provide lasting peace and prosperity? Will the G-8 leaders make any progress toward solving some of the world’s greatest problems? Can they?

The following quote, describing how man inherently desires lasting peace, prosperity and happiness, is taken from David C. Pack’s book Tomorrow’s Wonderful World – An Inside View!:

“While newspapers know that bad news sells, all long for good news in their own lives—and hope the world improves. Most people assume that, somehow, problems will eventually ‘work out alright,’ merely because they want them to. People want to enjoy peace, happiness, abundance, well-being, good health and general prosperity.

“Could these things happen for everyone? Could they become universal? Could all the peoples of the world come to enjoy all these conditions? Is it possible that the problems now plaguing civilization on such a grand scale could abate—and eventually disappear? Could newspapers one day find themselves only able to report good news—everywhere?

“Instead of the above headlines, could these replace them?:

• “‘Food Production Sufficient to Feed Entire World—With Plenty to Spare!’

• “‘All Deadly Viruses Eradicated—Including HIV, Ebola, West Nile, Polio and Smallpox!’

• “‘All Blind, Deaf and Crippled Made Whole in Mass Worldwide Healing!’

• “‘Divorce Disappears—No More Broken Families!’

• “‘War Outlawed Around the World—All Nations Disarmed!’, ‘Destructive Weapons Destroyed and Recycled!’

• “‘No More Crime—All Rates Plunge to Zero!’

• “‘Law of ‘Cause and Effect’ Revealed—Explains Why Past Disease, War, Famine, Poverty, Ignorance and Misery!’

• “‘Weather Revolution Brings Stability to World!’

“Do these headlines sound impossible? They are not. They are real—actually, they are certain. A wonderful, prophesied utopian world is coming to planet earth. It will happen soon—in your lifetime!”