>From: "Posegate, Dave" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: RE: [awpd] AN ACTIVIST AMONGST THE ROBBER BARONS >Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 11:17:50 -0700 > >Did you ever stop to wonder why, with what 75%? of Internet connections, >domains, users, in the US, ICANN holds its meetings in Chile, Germany, etc. >I expect that Antarctica is coming up on the calendar soon. > >Dave > >-----Original Message----- >From: Jay Fenello [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] >Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2000 4:22 PM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [awpd] AN ACTIVIST AMONGST THE ROBBER BARONS > > > > >This is a report on a WTO strategy session on how to >undermine NGO's and prevent future protests by holding >them in locations with less freedom to protest. > >AN ACTIVIST AMONGST THE ROBBER BARONS > >[Bruce Silverglade of the Center for Science in the Public Interest managed >to get himself invited to a day-long high-level seminar on "After Seattle: >Restoring Momentum to the WTO." Speakers included Clayton Yeutter (former >Secretary of Agriculture), Robert Litan (former Associate Director of the >White House Office of Management and Budget), Lawrence Eagleburger (former >Secretary of State), and Luiz Felipe Lamreia, the foreign Minster of >Brazil. His fly-on-the-wall report is worth quoting at some length]: > >I was disappointed that only one representative like myself from a >non-profit organization concerned about the impact of the WTO on food >safety regulation was invited. But I was pleased that the door had been >opened and I looked forward to [it]. > >. . As it turned out, I got a lot more than I bargained for. The seminar >turned out to be a strategy session on how to defeat those opposed to the >current WTO system. Apparently, no one knew who I was (perhaps my graying >temples and dark suit helped me blend in with the overwhelming older male >group of attendees) and I did not speak up until the end of the meeting. > >The meeting was kicked off by a gentleman named Lord Patterson who was >Margaret Thatcher's Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. He began by >stating that our number one job is to restore confidence in the WTO before >embarking on any new rounds of trade negotiations. So far, so good, I >thought. > >But he then proclaimed that non-profit groups have no right to criticize >the WTO as undemocratic because the groups themselves do not represent the >general public. (I wondered which groups he was talking about because >organizations that are gravely concerned about the impact of the WTO on >environmental and consumer protection, like the Sierra Club and Public >Citizen, have hundreds of thousands of members). He then stated that we >must never have another WTO meeting on US soil because it was too easy for >advocacy groups to organize here and security could not be assured. > >. . He added that President Clinton's speech during the WTO meeting in >Seattle, in which the president acknowledged the protesters' concerns, was >"disgraceful" and stated that it was also disgraceful that delegates to the >WTO meeting in Seattle had to survive on sandwiches and couldn't get a >decent meal during three days of social protest. The Lord finished his >speech by recalling better times having tea with Maggie, and stating that >the staff of the WTO Secretariat should not be balanced with people from >developing countries just because of the color of their skin. After a few >words with the chairman of the meeting, Lord Patterson added "Oh, I hope I >have not offended anyone." > >. . The largely American audience of trade officials and policy wonks took >the Lord's pronouncements seriously. The first comment by an American, >picked up on the criticisms and asked 'How can we de-legitimize the NGOs?' >The questioner claimed that these groups are usually supported by just a >few charitable foundations and if the foundations could be convinced to cut >off funding, the groups would be forced to cease operations. > >Mr. Litan, the former White House budget official, had another approach. He >[asked] can't we give the NGOs other sandboxes to play in and have them >take their concerns to groups like the International Labor Organization (a >toothless United Nations sponsored-group). The representative from the US >Trade Representative's office said nothing. > >. . Under the banner of rebuilding public confidence in the WTO, [former >Agriculture Secretary] Yeutter concurred with his British colleague's >suggestion that the next WTO meeting be held in some place other than the >US where security can be assured. He further suggested that the WTO give >the public little advance notice of where the meeting would be held to keep >the protesters off balance. He said that the protesters' demands for >greater transparency in WTO proceedings was a misnomer because the >protesters didn't really want to participate in WTO proceedings -- all they >wanted was to get TV coverage and raise money for their organizations. > >. . The day ended with the usual Washington reception . . . During desert, >the foreign minister of Brazil lamented that if the next WTO meeting had to >be held in an out of the way place, he preferred that it be held on a >cruise ship instead of in the middle of the desert. He then gave an >impassioned speech in which he opposed writing core labor standards into >the WTO agreement and defended child labor by describing how in one region >of Brazil, more than 5,000 children "help their families earn a little >extra money" by hauling bags of coal from a dump yard to a steel mill. He >stressed, however, that the children do not work directly in the steel >mill. He was greeted by a hearty round of applause. > >INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY >http://www.iatp.org > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >(Paul Neufeld Weaver, Worthington MN) > >### > >Respectfully, > >Jay Fenello, >New Media Strategies >------------------------------------ >http://www.fenello.com 770-392-9480 >Aligning with Purpose(sm) ... for a Better World >------------------------------------------------ >"If we want to change the world, we have to >begin by changing ourselves" -- Deepak Chopra > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Remember four years of good friends, bad clothes, explosive chemistry >experiments. >http://click.egroups.com/1/4051/0/_/370021/_/957914647/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > >To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >------_=_NextPart_001_01BFBAAC.01C14D90 >Content-Type: text/html; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > ><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> ><HTML> ><HEAD> ><META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; = >charset=3Diso-8859-1"> ><META NAME=3D"Generator" CONTENT=3D"MS Exchange Server version = >5.5.2650.12"> ><TITLE>RE: [awpd] AN ACTIVIST AMONGST THE ROBBER BARONS</TITLE> ></HEAD> ><BODY> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Did you ever stop to wonder why, with what 75%? of = >Internet connections, domains, users, in the US, ICANN holds its = >meetings in Chile, Germany, etc. I expect that Antarctica is = >coming up on the calendar soon.</FONT></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Dave </FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>-----Original Message-----</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>From: Jay Fenello [<A = >HREF=3D"mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>]</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2000 4:22 PM</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Subject: [awpd] AN ACTIVIST AMONGST THE ROBBER = >BARONS</FONT> ></P> ><BR> ><BR> ><BR> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>This is a report on a WTO strategy session on how = >to</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>undermine NGO's and prevent future protests by = >holding</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>them in locations with less freedom to = >protest.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>AN ACTIVIST AMONGST THE ROBBER BARONS</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>[Bruce Silverglade of the Center for Science in the = >Public Interest managed </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>to get himself invited to a day-long high-level = >seminar on "After Seattle: </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Restoring Momentum to the WTO." Speakers = >included Clayton Yeutter (former </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Secretary of Agriculture), Robert Litan (former = >Associate Director of the </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>White House Office of Management and Budget), = >Lawrence Eagleburger (former </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Secretary of State), and Luiz Felipe Lamreia, the = >foreign Minster of </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Brazil. His fly-on-the-wall report is worth quoting = >at some length]:</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>I was disappointed that only one representative like = >myself from a </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>non-profit organization concerned about the impact = >of the WTO on food </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>safety regulation was invited. But I was pleased = >that the door had been </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>opened and I looked forward to [it].</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>. . As it turned out, I got a lot more than I = >bargained for. The seminar </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>turned out to be a strategy session on how to defeat = >those opposed to the </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>current WTO system. Apparently, no one knew who I = >was (perhaps my graying </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>temples and dark suit helped me blend in with the = >overwhelming older male </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>group of attendees) and I did not speak up until the = >end of the meeting.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>The meeting was kicked off by a gentleman named Lord = >Patterson who was </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Margaret Thatcher's Secretary of State for Trade and = >Industry. He began by </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>stating that our number one job is to restore = >confidence in the WTO before </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>embarking on any new rounds of trade negotiations. = >So far, so good, I thought.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>But he then proclaimed that non-profit groups have no = >right to criticize </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the WTO as undemocratic because the groups = >themselves do not represent the </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>general public. (I wondered which groups he was = >talking about because </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>organizations that are gravely concerned about the = >impact of the WTO on </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>environmental and consumer protection, like the = >Sierra Club and Public </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Citizen, have hundreds of thousands of members). He = >then stated that we </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>must never have another WTO meeting on US soil = >because it was too easy for </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>advocacy groups to organize here and security could = >not be assured.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>. . He added that President Clinton's speech during = >the WTO meeting in </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Seattle, in which the president acknowledged the = >protesters' concerns, was </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>"disgraceful" and stated that it was also = >disgraceful that delegates to the </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>WTO meeting in Seattle had to survive on sandwiches = >and couldn't get a </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>decent meal during three days of social protest. The = >Lord finished his </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>speech by recalling better times having tea with = >Maggie, and stating that </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the staff of the WTO Secretariat should not be = >balanced with people from </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>developing countries just because of the color of = >their skin. After a few </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>words with the chairman of the meeting, Lord = >Patterson added "Oh, I hope I </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>have not offended anyone."</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>. . The largely American audience of trade officials = >and policy wonks took </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the Lord's pronouncements seriously. The first = >comment by an American, </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>picked up on the criticisms and asked 'How can we = >de-legitimize the NGOs?' </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>The questioner claimed that these groups are usually = >supported by just a </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>few charitable foundations and if the foundations = >could be convinced to cut </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>off funding, the groups would be forced to cease = >operations.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Mr. Litan, the former White House budget official, = >had another approach. He </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>[asked] can't we give the NGOs other sandboxes to = >play in and have them </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>take their concerns to groups like the International = >Labor Organization (a </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>toothless United Nations sponsored-group). The = >representative from the US </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Trade Representative's office said nothing.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>. . Under the banner of rebuilding public confidence = >in the WTO, [former </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Agriculture Secretary] Yeutter concurred with his = >British colleague's </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>suggestion that the next WTO meeting be held in some = >place other than the </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>US where security can be assured. He further = >suggested that the WTO give </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the public little advance notice of where the = >meeting would be held to keep </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the protesters off balance. He said that the = >protesters' demands for </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>greater transparency in WTO proceedings was a = >misnomer because the </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>protesters didn't really want to participate in WTO = >proceedings -- all they </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>wanted was to get TV coverage and raise money for = >their organizations.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>. . The day ended with the usual Washington reception = >. . . During desert, </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the foreign minister of Brazil lamented that if the = >next WTO meeting had to </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>be held in an out of the way place, he preferred = >that it be held on a </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>cruise ship instead of in the middle of the desert. = >He then gave an </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>impassioned speech in which he opposed writing core = >labor standards into </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the WTO agreement and defended child labor by = >describing how in one region </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>of Brazil, more than 5,000 children "help their = >families earn a little </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>extra money" by hauling bags of coal from a = >dump yard to a steel mill. He </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>stressed, however, that the children do not work = >directly in the steel </FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>mill. He was greeted by a hearty round of = >applause.</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><A HREF=3D"http://www.iatp.org" = >TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.iatp.org</A></FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>From: = >[EMAIL PROTECTED]</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>(Paul Neufeld Weaver, Worthington MN)</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>###</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Respectfully,</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Jay Fenello,</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>New Media Strategies</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>------------------------------------</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><A HREF=3D"http://www.fenello.com" = >TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.fenello.com</A> 770-392-9480</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Aligning with Purpose(sm) ... for a Better = >World</FONT> ><BR><FONT = >SIZE=3D2>------------------------------------------------</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>"If we want to change the world, we have = >to</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>begin by changing ourselves" -- Deepak = >Chopra</FONT> ></P> ><BR> > ><P><FONT = >SIZE=3D2>---------------------------------------------------------------= >---------</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Remember four years of good friends, bad clothes, = >explosive chemistry</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>experiments.</FONT> ><BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><A = >HREF=3D"http://click.egroups.com/1/4051/0/_/370021/_/957914647/" = >TARGET=3D"_blank">http://click.egroups.com/1/4051/0/_/370021/_/957914647= >/</A></FONT> ><BR><FONT = >SIZE=3D2>---------------------------------------------------------------= >---------</FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2> </FONT> ></P> > ><P><FONT SIZE=3D2>To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: = >[EMAIL PROTECTED]</FONT> ></P> > ></BODY> ></HTML> >------_=_NextPart_001_01BFBAAC.01C14D90-- > > -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://ph-1.613.473.1719 It's about travel on expense accounts to places with good beer. - BKR
