Chris Burford wrote:
--snip
The meeting of the World Bank in Jakarta this week, will be the perfect
opportunity for caring capitalism to move forward in its global
coordination,
with the Germans singing from the same hymn sheet as the US administration.
---snip
comment:
same hymn sheet, possibly but not the same tune. Chirac and Schroeder
speeches re tsunami are different from US pronouncements. For example,
Chirac called for an institutionalization of help for poor countries,
building something similar to the UNs Blue Helmets. Schroeder - similarly
for institutionalization of help for poor countries. All in the framework of
the UN.
I believe that there is an ideological difference between those two and
Bush. The difference exists also regarding terrorism. The American approach
resembles that of the Czar (brute force), the European approach resembles
that of Bismarck insofar as they recognize that there is a socio-economic
problem of gargantuan global proportions that needs to be addressed with
more than police state and military methods. Note that Chirac is a
conservative in French terms, but supports Lulas anti-hunger policy, makes
calls for international solidarity, etc. In short, French fries are still
better than Freedom fries.
GK
