Was there ever a clearer manifestation of the greed controlling this planet, than the so-called “World Trade Talks” bi-annually argued out to no conclusion in Doha*.
Every two years, well paid representatives from the major trading nations meet to discuss, and hopefully reach agreement, on fair and balanced trade relationships, supposedly with emphasis on assisting third world countries to compete in the world marketplace.
They may stuff themselves silly on exotic food and fine wines, no doubt in plentiful supply from their stinking rich Saudi Arabian hosts; they may enjoy the exotic (and, no doubt, erotic) pleasures of the East in their hotel rooms each night, but they are bloody useless at their job and deserve to be stripped of all entitlements, abandoned in a paddy field somewhere very remote, and told to get on with it. Perhaps, after two or three years of a more basic lifestyle, they’d be a little more willing to reach agreement, having sampled the true delights of agricultural life in a third world nation.
Yet again these talks have broken up without any agreement. [1] Each country is blaming the other, though as usual the United States heads the list of nations with the most, willing to give the least.
It’s a fact of life. The more you have, the less you’re prepared to give away.
*NOTE: The latest round of trade talks was, in fact, held in Geneva, not Doha. The Swiss aren’t quite as rich as the Saudis, but undoubtedly managed to lay on a sumptuous spread and suitable ‘evening entertainment’.
[1] “World trade talks end in collapse” BBC, July 29th 2008
Filed under: Politics of Greed
This was interesting as it celebrates the breakdown of talks.
Flimsy – “….the best way to understand what’s going on is that the rich country governments are driving the agenda to advance corporate interests, not those of their populations…..elected officials and those on the campaign trail in nations around the world — including U.S. presidential candidates — will be asked what they intend to do to replace the failed WTO model and its version of corporate globalization with something that benefits the majority of people worldwide.†– and they’ll fail to come up with any viable answer because they’re supporting corporate interests, not those of the people.