G8 summit winds down, clouded by trans-Atlantic acrimony

[liveoaktx]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/g8_summit

Group of Eight leaders wound up a summit that adopted a raft of anti-terror, trade and development measures but saw a hoped-for display of unity punctured by new trans-Atlantic squabbles.
Before leaving their exclusive retreat, leaders issued a day pass to their rich nations club to counterparts from Africa, and found time to request a new bid by the diplomatic quartet on the Middle East to kick start peace talks
....
But the Africans -- the presidents of Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda -- want to dispel suggestions they have arrived at this millionaires' private island retreat as beggars.


South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki lamented in an editorial in his country's ThisDay newspaper : "we will still be poor relations crashing the party."

[Malva Zebrina]

1. this whole thing was a staged show for Bush to get headlines

that would tell us all how wonderful he is as a leader and how his "policies" in the ME need to be implimented by everybody, or else.

The women attended. Please tell me what they contibuted other than to make it look like a great big party instead of a serious discussion of serious world issues and considerations.

Here they are, the Stepfords, on Sea Island having a wonderful time at the G8 summit. May we never be insulted like this again. May we see real strong women sitting at the table rather than puffed up men trying to show off their strength and resolve. Here they are--and they may even have a pajama party after this foray into the garden




After this little tiptoe through the tulips photo op, where really really serious worldwide issues were discussed, the ladies went inside for several rounds of margaritas.

[Dover]

2. Oh......I thought that photo was a promo for The Stepford Wives.

And I understand that George TRIED to create his own "Stepford Presidents" club, but couldn't find any willing members...
Cheney convinced him that he must be very special indeed...one of a kind.

[Dover]

3. We are ALL "counterparts" without a "day pass".

Better known as "consumers" or "the ignorant masses".

[Tellurian]

4. Bush tried to slip in an expanded role in the occupancy of Iraq...and was

promptly shut down by Chirac!

and Chirac also shot down Bush's idea of NATO's involvement. Why? Because the request should come from the new Iraqi government. (if in fact they are a sovereign nation) Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin supported Chirac's statement that NATO should not be involved in Iraq without the Iraqi government's approval.

from the link:

"But new diplomatic brushfires broke out almost immediately among the plush cottages of the top-scale Sea Island resort, even as Bush led Iraq's new interim ruler Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar onto the world stage.

Bush and French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday failed to patch up their row over NATO in Iraq, after the US leader had suggested an expanded role in the occupation, a notion immediately shot down by the French."

Bush also failed to sell his plan of Iraqi debt forgiveness to the tune of 90% from the Euro countries. Gee, what a pal, Bush loves spending other peoples money!

[Tellurian]

5. The protest factor totally negated!

The headlines buried deep within the yahoo links.

Instead of the usual input from human rights organizations, the G-8 Summit became a convention of corporateteers hawking their deals.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/summit_feast_and_famine


There was also an unmistakable corporate flavor here.

In return for renting mobile phones, Cingular Wireless was permitted to hawk its hardware from a sprawling booth with a giant inflatable model of its X-shaped symbol.

But the human rights and other groups that usually circulate at G-8 summits were absent.

One group that has been a fixture at previous summits, the international aid group Oxfam, said it was told not to come.

At the G-8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, two years ago, organizers officially allowed such outside groups to have a presence at the media headquarters like the convention center in Savannah. The group was on hand to praise or pan developments, said Lindsey Cruz, a group spokeswoman.

Last year, organizers allowed Cruz to attend the G-8 in Evian, France as a journalist for Oxfam's magazine, Exchange. The organizers knew Cruz was also handing out press releases, too, but looked the other way, she said.

But the American organizers turned her group down, Cruz said. First, they told Oxfam the G-8 would not admit freelance journalists. When she protested, they told her they would bar publications owned by non-governmental groups like Oxfam.


Bennett said the summit planning committee decided to exclude non-governmental groups because of space limitations and because the summit was designated a "national security special event." That put the Secret Service in charge of admission, and meant access was "based on need," he said.

[NMDemDist2]

6. AAR reported that the main dish at the Luncheon for the African leaders

Included shrimp and crabcakes, in spite of shellfish being prohibited for Muslims. What do you want to bet the most (if not all) the leaders of the countries listed below are Muslims?

I don't know who is the Major Domo of W's household, but she/he sure doesn't know much about protocol.


But the Africans -- the presidents of Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda -- want to dispel suggestions they have arrived at this millionaires' private island retreat as beggars.