Premier Ralph Klein was blunt in his rebuke that the "punks, hooligans and thugs" planning to crash next year's G8 summit at Alberta's Kananaskis resort can take a hike. But it wasn't clear whom Klein was referring to, the protestors or the politicians. Neither are welcome and Klein and Prime Minister Chretien should have the nerve to tell them all to buzz off.

Let some other country play doormat to the violent clashes, lavish spending and the half-baked resolutions that surface from these meetings. Besides, it's not as if there was a wide range of ideas even to digest.

Both politicians and protestors seem to be steering the planet in the same misguided direction of a one-size fits all, bureaucratically regulated, super-governmental global structure. The protestors and G8 leaders have a shared enthusiasm for International courts, harmonized tax policies, Global cops, and the Kyoto environmental accord, save for the US and some fringe protest groups.

If the travelling band of protestors and politicians do come across some irreconcilable differences, they're happy to leech off each other's outrageous antics to make the evening news.

Caught in the crossfire are the taxpayers saddled with the bill for extravagant summit costs and the private property owners in the host cities who get to wake up the next morning to torched cars, smashed windows and burning buildings.

The whole sordid affair begs the question: why bother? Here's where the Prime Minister can really shine.

Chretien's approval ratings soared when he throttled the protestor that got in his face on Parliament Hill. Tough guy Chretien is far more entertaining than lightweight Chretien currying favour with the leaders of the world's most powerful countries.

Howls of approval would go up if Chretien rose to the challange and said, "sorry folks, the party's over. I'm calling off the Kananaskis work holiday. No more pricey and pretentious summits. No more violent clashes between rioters and riot police. No more shots from the pistol or the camera."

But that shouldn't stop the PM from taking-in the majesty of the Rockies. Chretien should still go to Kananaskis and host the G8 summit over a conference call.

President George Bush can dial up from his ranch in Texas. The other G8 leaders can head to the Alps or a seaside resort and still patch in to the conference call but on their own dime.

It's called e-diplomacy, one of the trumpeted wonders of the Internet that has yet to replace the costly face-to-face meetings of dignitaries. Virtual on-line summits could be routinely held for all international forums at bargain basement prices too.

But no showdown between protestors and riot cops likely means no paparazzi to illustrate to the world how important are these political leaders and their shielded meetings.

Virtual summit meetings would also leave the anti-globalisation protestors in the lurch. If they can't rage against the machine, they'll have to protest against themselves for the sake of protest.

The willingness to conduct world affairs through virtual summits and conference calls is a fair test to measure each side's commitment to peace and democracy. Their reaction to the proposal is a clear indicator of where they stand.