Early this morning Bush had a short press conference with the G7 finance ministers. The reports of this conference were very misrepresenting.
CNN and others said - "the G7 were showing unity and that they stand together." Bush said - "this is no time for any country to try and diminish the fortunes of another."
What doesn't the media understand from this? Europe is the most important trading partner with the US, and much of this financial crisis is tied in with representations going both ways over the Atlantic. Within the EU, there is some tension - with some countries wanting a EU-wide bailout and collectivism, while others want to fix problems as they pertain to their nations.
What it all comes down to is TRUST. Many/most of the leading European economies have had property values run up sharply and leveraged, just like in the US - but not to the extremes as in the US and the whole credit castle-in-the-sky built up there. However, Germany has had a net decline in property values, and do not share the same complete misery as many of the other countries. Sure, growth is taking a nosedive from all of this - and according to the OECD - it is more so in Germany, naturally when regarding it is the largest EU economy - around 40% - and they export a lot of manufactured goods.
Now, what is happening at the G7 meeting is that Germany - at least - is presenting the same approach to bailing out the US from the mess... And to be truthful, is it fair to lay the burden on European taxpayers for the credit run-up in the US, or for German taxpayers to bail out other EU members? No, it is NOT - and trying to do so is totalitarian socialism.
With his statement Bush was putting public pressure on the G7 representatives, and there is surely some strong-arming going on there. This will have a lot to say for future cross-Atlantic relations, and the increasing structuring of a proper European defence alliance and defence pact has been a thorn in the eye for the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Defence_Agency
Also, the new "persona" of Russia after the Cold War when it was in disarray, but is now becoming a "player" again - where they are seeking much stronger co-operation and trade with Europe, this is offsetting the US influence on the region. This has long been reflected in NATO, but it is not just the "political leadership" of Europe doing this - it is the entire population of Europe who reflect this sentiment. The reason for all of this is mainly the Bush presidency - where the neo-conservatives managed to polarize so strongly the world by their aggressive policies and ideology - thinking they could marginalize the rest of the world, and "take the lead" into shaping economy, resource control and defence into a purely beneficial model as the world was changing and developing.
Now, the G7 is just a further reflection on this opposition, while everyone understands the turmoil - just as when the Cold War ended and the Soviet collapsed - now is a fundamentally challenging period for the now lone hyper-power of the world - becoming the former(!) hyper-power. The aggressive ideologies polarizing the world, strongly reverberating the ideologies and Israeli concerns as well as the "old-money" concerns for the quickly changing world economy and shift in balance of power -- these ideologies given the opportunity over the last US presidency, have now utterly backfired. There should be no surprise that the backlash is somewhat exacerbated by those who have been suppressed during the surge of those aggressive policies.
The game is huge - immense - and the plays are about who is going to pick up the tab. My guess from the G7 talks is that the US will have to face up to its debts, and accept the brunt of the blame - fessing up to their mistakes.
The media, Bush and every Xanax-popper out there are using polarized tainted "goggles" to "understand" (read: ignore, skew) what is going on. To some extent, I also have bias, but at least I am describing a much wider picture than the one being selectively presented in the US mass media; and my main concern is how the failing trust and ultimate corruption is being applied to this whole "shock treatment." It is frankly mind-boggling how much is being censored and seems almost taboo in the US media; especially now.
The world economy and how the US will interact with trading partners in the future is fundamental to how the US will be able to handle its debt. From the looks of things - it will not be easy to get taxpayers elsewhere to pay up for the US mistakes in handling their own spending. The US president say they have a special responsibility to lead --- read that as they have a special interest in moulding the rescue to their benefit --- that is what it is ultimately about, not about being altruistic. This is biting, pulling hair, eye poking and all you can get in there... all the dirty tricks with all the scheming and threatening as well. Will it do the trick? Hardly, I think - because we are all seeing the bigger picture here.
CNN and others said - "the G7 were showing unity and that they stand together." Bush said - "this is no time for any country to try and diminish the fortunes of another."
What doesn't the media understand from this? Europe is the most important trading partner with the US, and much of this financial crisis is tied in with representations going both ways over the Atlantic. Within the EU, there is some tension - with some countries wanting a EU-wide bailout and collectivism, while others want to fix problems as they pertain to their nations.
What it all comes down to is TRUST. Many/most of the leading European economies have had property values run up sharply and leveraged, just like in the US - but not to the extremes as in the US and the whole credit castle-in-the-sky built up there. However, Germany has had a net decline in property values, and do not share the same complete misery as many of the other countries. Sure, growth is taking a nosedive from all of this - and according to the OECD - it is more so in Germany, naturally when regarding it is the largest EU economy - around 40% - and they export a lot of manufactured goods.
Now, what is happening at the G7 meeting is that Germany - at least - is presenting the same approach to bailing out the US from the mess... And to be truthful, is it fair to lay the burden on European taxpayers for the credit run-up in the US, or for German taxpayers to bail out other EU members? No, it is NOT - and trying to do so is totalitarian socialism.
With his statement Bush was putting public pressure on the G7 representatives, and there is surely some strong-arming going on there. This will have a lot to say for future cross-Atlantic relations, and the increasing structuring of a proper European defence alliance and defence pact has been a thorn in the eye for the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Defence_Agency
Also, the new "persona" of Russia after the Cold War when it was in disarray, but is now becoming a "player" again - where they are seeking much stronger co-operation and trade with Europe, this is offsetting the US influence on the region. This has long been reflected in NATO, but it is not just the "political leadership" of Europe doing this - it is the entire population of Europe who reflect this sentiment. The reason for all of this is mainly the Bush presidency - where the neo-conservatives managed to polarize so strongly the world by their aggressive policies and ideology - thinking they could marginalize the rest of the world, and "take the lead" into shaping economy, resource control and defence into a purely beneficial model as the world was changing and developing.
Now, the G7 is just a further reflection on this opposition, while everyone understands the turmoil - just as when the Cold War ended and the Soviet collapsed - now is a fundamentally challenging period for the now lone hyper-power of the world - becoming the former(!) hyper-power. The aggressive ideologies polarizing the world, strongly reverberating the ideologies and Israeli concerns as well as the "old-money" concerns for the quickly changing world economy and shift in balance of power -- these ideologies given the opportunity over the last US presidency, have now utterly backfired. There should be no surprise that the backlash is somewhat exacerbated by those who have been suppressed during the surge of those aggressive policies.
The game is huge - immense - and the plays are about who is going to pick up the tab. My guess from the G7 talks is that the US will have to face up to its debts, and accept the brunt of the blame - fessing up to their mistakes.
The media, Bush and every Xanax-popper out there are using polarized tainted "goggles" to "understand" (read: ignore, skew) what is going on. To some extent, I also have bias, but at least I am describing a much wider picture than the one being selectively presented in the US mass media; and my main concern is how the failing trust and ultimate corruption is being applied to this whole "shock treatment." It is frankly mind-boggling how much is being censored and seems almost taboo in the US media; especially now.
The world economy and how the US will interact with trading partners in the future is fundamental to how the US will be able to handle its debt. From the looks of things - it will not be easy to get taxpayers elsewhere to pay up for the US mistakes in handling their own spending. The US president say they have a special responsibility to lead --- read that as they have a special interest in moulding the rescue to their benefit --- that is what it is ultimately about, not about being altruistic. This is biting, pulling hair, eye poking and all you can get in there... all the dirty tricks with all the scheming and threatening as well. Will it do the trick? Hardly, I think - because we are all seeing the bigger picture here.
