Yes, in my country there is an epidemic of violence that parallels no other industrialized nation.
We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish.
Rudd's action left the United States the only major industrialized nation that has refused to ratify Kyoto, and thus accept binding greenhouse-gas reduction targets.
The reverse was often the case in rich industrialized nations.
But many other industrialized nations also have large debt burdens.
But it did not appeal to the industrialized nations of the West.
And, since industrialized nations were the greatest polluters for years, they, more than others, are under pressure to cut emissions.
The summit will include the leading industrialized nations, plus emerging economies such as Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Japan is telling the world's most industrialized nations that urgent action is needed on global climate change and development assistance for impoverished nations.
The secretary-general said he hopes leaders of industrialized nations will be able to contain the crisis and find medium and long term measures to resolve it.
In many ways, China is cultivating the image of a great power, investing heavily in reputation-building projects that have so far been the province only of wealthier, industrialized nations.
