Brazilian foreign minister's Nazi reference rocks WTO talks

[CHIMO]

Source: Associated Press

GENEVA — Some pre-negotiation jabbing turned into a potentially damaging diplomatic incident Saturday when Brazil's foreign minister said rich countries' deception in trade talks reminded him of tactics used by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

His comments drew a sharp rebuke from the United States, whose chief trade negotiator, Susan Schwab, is the daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors. Her spokesman described the reference to Goebbels as “incredibly wrong.”

The controversy threatens to overshadow next week's last-ditch effort to save seven years of frustrating talks on a new global trade pact toward alleviating poverty around the world.

The so-called Doha trade round is already teetering on the brink of collapse. U.S. President George Bush has made a Doha deal a key part of his trade agenda.



Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080719.wwto0719/BNStory/International/home

[Arctic Dave]

1. If this trade agreement is *s idea then

the foriegn minister is most likely on target. It' not like * has ever misrepresented any of his policies.

[bahrbearian]

2. Susan Schwab

Scratch a Preacher , find a sinnner.

[Judi Lynn]

3. They're trying to derail the accuracy of his point by getting hysterical

about Nazis, rather than dealing honorably with the point he made. Unbelievable.

By screeching that they've been compared to Nazis, they are deflecting the appropriateness of his remark:

“Goebbels used to say if you repeat a lie several times it becomes a truth,” Mr. Amorim told reporters at the World Trade Organization, where top negotiators from over two dozen countries are expected Monday for the official start of the talks.

He did NOT say, "I am reminded of Goebbels," then go one to indicate that they, like Nazis had murdered millions of people in a fiendish holocaust. They are reacting as if he did, sidestepping the impact of his comment altogether.

Any trick in the world will do for these deviants.

[CHIMO]

4. Could Be Dead Right

Is this the last stand for globalisation?

Yet with economic uncertainty at fever pitch in the US, Europe and across a swath of developing countries, more trade liberalisation could be a hard sell. When hundreds of thousands of protesters rioted against the WTO's secretive pursuit of trade liberalisation in Seattle in 1999, most were angry about the impact of gung-ho globalisation on the world's poorest countries. But today, many in rich countries, too, are deeply anxious about the consequences of unfettered trade. Even before the credit crunch hit last summer, US politicians were pointing the finger at China for job losses in the American rust-belt, and disquiet was growing about the impact of globalisation on the lowest-paid workers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/20/globaleconomy.wto1

[Hulk]

9. Aren't we getting tired of the twisting of personal statements to fit someone else's anger?

This reminds me so much of what was done when Gen. Wesley Clark made his comment about "I don't think being shot down in a jet plane is a prerequisite for president of the United States".

They made it into anything BUT what he said and got totally away from the point he was making. I don't want to go back into that hysteria again.

Same shit, different day. Get over it Jewish decendants and others. Damn, "what a bunch of whiners...." to quote the once renowned and respected jesse helms....

[Dover]

5. The lady doth protest too much, methinks...n/t

[bemildred]

6. "Incredibly right" is more like it. nt

[bhikkhu]

7. Goebbels/Rove? I think everyone, including Rove, sees that.

[gratuitous]

8. Oh, Rove wants you to see it

He'd be insulted if you didn't. Doesn't mean he's not going to slip on the old fake outrage, but he has so carefully cultivated the image and the comparison, it would be a shame not to acknowledge his efforts.

[bhikkhu]

10. In the end, Goebbels was a pathetic little man

I expect no better from his little wannabe.

[Cobalt-60]

11. He's correct

The republicans have been running the Nazi playbook since 2000.

[Alexander]

12. 2000?

I'd say 1933.

[redqueen]

15. 1933, yes... with Prescott Bush. (nt)

[SpiralHawk]

13. Here's the real Nazi propaganda in the AP story:

Read this sentence:

"The controversy threatens to overshadow next week's last-ditch effort to save seven years of frustrating talks on a new global trade pact toward alleviating poverty around the world."

So this global trade pact is all about "helping the poor."

Umm hmmm.

AP has jumped the shark completely.

What bullshit republicon propaganda.

[lib2DaBone]

17. Right on K&R....

You said it Spiral.. you know they are up to no good. There was nothing patriotic about the Patriot Act, Cable TV subscribers got screwed in the "Cable TV Enhancement Act", and you can bet your last dollar that no hunger or poverty will be eliminated by "Helping the poor" trade talks. This is all a smoke screen so they can stuff their pockets with cash.

[fascisthunter]

19. "Helping the Poor"....lololo... sure, whatever they say

Goebbels indeed.

[Canuckistanian]

21. The trade talks are "helping the poor"?

Well, I guess there's a first time for everything.

[redqueen]

14. "a new global trade pact toward alleviating poverty"

Really?

Are that many people still so gullible that they can read that sentence and just take it in as if it's not marketing / catapulting propaganda? It's glaringly obvious... I guess they're really not worried about appearing neutral.

Also, does that sentence even make sense? A "pact toward"?

[SpiralHawk]

18. AP has Jumped the Shark into the republicon corporate media propaganda cesspool

How sad for the citizens of the United States of America.

[mmonk]

16. It's all about the war on the third world.

This trade implementation is just a part.

[Joanne98]

20. Sounds pretty much on the mark to me....

They protest to much!

[1monster]

22. Why is it that any reference to any similarity to the Nazi's draws criticism

from people who were not alive when the Nazi's were beginning their power trip or at the height of their power?

The time to stop Nazi-like behavior is BEFORE it gains power, to point out the wrongness of it. To nip it in the bud befor it flowers into real power.

By denigrating the person(s) who shine a spotlight on the tactics, the criticism is often neutered; the focus debate is changed from the problem to the people who spotlighting the problem.

[natrat]

23. must be frustrating for dear leader and the junta that they cant just push people around

like they do pelosi ried hoyer obama clinton etc etc and the rest of our esteemed democrats

[Judi Lynn]

24. Almost triggers a gag reflex seeing true villains chewing the scenery, shrieking that they are being

attacked, abused, victimized.

Mind-boggling, but predictable behavior for these dregs from the bowels of hell.

[ForrestGump]

25. Brazilians, Nazis, WTO...

This news item was made for DU.

I agree with his simple statement of fact, too.

[CHIMO]

26. Some Background

WTO Negotiations Face Significant Challenges: CEPR Analysis

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in Geneva next week face significant hurdles due to the recent spike in food prices, and the limited gains projected for developing countries, the Center for Economic and Policy Research noted today. Most developing countries are net food importers, and the recent increase in food prices has led some developing country governments to reconsider food security mechanisms such as tariffs, quotas, and domestic subsidies, which the WTO seeks to reduce. A number of countries have also imposed restrictions on exports, in response to the food crisis.

“In its first thirteen years in existence, the WTO has failed to deliver development results for the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries,” said CEPR Co-Director and economist, Mark Weisbrot. “New factors such as rising food prices and the international financial crisis – which originated in the U.S. housing market – have made governments even more skeptical of international commercial agreements designed by the rich countries.”

CEPR outlined five key factors that it sees as likely to cause problems for the Doha Round’s completion next week, anticipating that developing countries may be even more reluctant to accede to developed nations’ demands:


http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/wto-negotiations-face-significant-challenges:-cepr-analysis/

http://www.cepr.net/

Picked the site up from today's Media Matters

Michael Perelman, economist at California State University

http://will.illinois.edu/mediamatters/

[MrSlayer]

27. Do NOT tell the truth about anything ever.

We all have to pretend that none of this is actually happening.