[quote=Dervish]
I still don't know why they host G20 summits, because I seriously wonder what they accomplish other than the host city getting trashed, dozens if not hundreds of people arrested and detained (often illegitimately), and sometimes people get killed. Couldn't they all, I don't know, have a Skype call and save the tax payers a boatload of money, and if they did have to meet up, not spend millions on making things like fake lakes and other giant money sinks? The G8 summit in Huntsville had barely any protestors because nobody wants to drive that far up North, and the police can block off the highways leading it it. Why not hold the G20 there, or at one of the several military bases where you can easily prevent civilian access?
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I'm gonna take a devil's advocate type switch here and say because that would get tons of public backlash. Also I'm betting it's just not as comfortable for the delegates, and probably provides a little bit of a boost to the host city (not counting all the damage). It would look really bad to have it on a military base when people are already unhappy with the parties involved.