Bush blocks WTO entry for Russia (AP)

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060715/ap_on_re_eu/bush_putin;_ylt=AmJKq6Zn7XAimNDV3hJEvCms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OTB1amhuBHNlYwNtdHM-



Bush blocks WTO entry for Russia

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent 8 minutes ago

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - In a chilly summit prelude,
President Bush blocked Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization on Saturday and President Vladimir Putin mockingly said Moscow doesn't want the kind of violence-plagued democracy the United States has fostered in Iraq.


Alternately joking and poking at each other, the two also showed differences at a news conference on the explosion of violence in the Mideast.

Bush held Israel blameless for its punishing attacks in Lebanon and said it was up to the militant group Hezbollah to lay down its arms. Putin was critical of Israel's use of force and said the violence "should stop as soon as possible."

The two leaders met for two hours before the opening of the annual summit of eight major world powers, which was expected to focus on nuclear problems with Iran and North Korea and the escalating fighting between Israel and the Islamic guerrilla group Hezbollah.

[rodeodance]

1. 'Bush held Israel blameless for its punishing attacks in Lebanon'

[Freedom_from_Chains]

2. Well you had to see that one coming. n/t

[European Socialist]

3. I'd take Putin for a leader in a heartbeat over Chimp.

[grytpype]

4. Ugh, I'm glad we don't have to make that choice.

Putin is the quasi-dictator Bush wishes he was.

[European Socialist]

6. I think the reason Putin is back sliding is the horrendous government...

that we have in the USA. He has to be strong until we come back to our senses.

[wickerwoman]

40. I'm a bit less optimistic.

Putin is ex-KGB and came to prominence for his hard-line approach to the Chechnyian conflict. Since he's been in power he's been systematically using his power to limit the freedom of the independant media and to attack his political opponents. And he's undermining democratically elected governments in neighboring countries that were former Soviet states.

I think he's taking advantage of the U.S.'s loss of the moral high ground to get away with a lot more than he would otherwise be able to, but I don't think he's taking a hard line and rolling back democratic reforms out of any great sense of global responsibility.

Given a choice between Bush and Putin, I'd choose the one with a triple-digit IQ if for no other reason than at least he has the intelligence to work in his own self-interest (and by extension, mostly, mine). But a snake is a snake no matter who you compare him to.

[wickerwoman]

41. Double post. Sorry!

[ixion]

5. Bush is a war criminal, so it's no suprise he supports

war crimes. :grr:

[TroubleMan]

7. The neocons miss the cold war so much.

You thought that they would be happy with the new "War On Terror" bullshit they have now, and the even worse "War on Drugs" they've had going for a long time. Nope...gotta have another war on something. Cheney would cream his pants if he could have the cold war back (sorry about the gross image).

[C_U_L8R]

8. Bush Baby

Poor Junior can't take the criticism.

[0007]

10. junior's never wrong

[Joanne98]

9. This must be what the "just wait" comment meant.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Bush makes Putin look like a sympathetic character

Bush's faith-based foreign policy belongs in an insane asylum!

[wellst0nev0ter]

12. Bush blocks WTO entry for Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - In a chilly summit prelude, President Bush blocked Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization on Saturday and President Vladimir Putin mockingly said Moscow doesn't want the kind of violence-plagued democracy the United States has fostered in Iraq.

Alternately joking and poking at each other, the two also showed differences at a news conference on the explosion of violence in the Mideast.

MORE. . .

stoopid monkey.

[nolabels]

13. Spoiled child isn't getting what he wants so decides he will.......

make life rough on all he can :shrug:

Monkey don't need gumit to look after him, he just needs a stinkin nanny :cry:

[opihimoimoi]

14. Who Stole Bushies Brain? SOMEONE Stole the Presidents Brain

Oh My, for the Lack of a Brain....the Deal was LOST....

For the lack of a Deal, PEACE was Lost....

[nolabels]

15. Really trying to tune out how infantile the whole world situation is now..

it really just does seem like that to me. The failed world of the power hungry.

On the bright side is maybe after chimpy gets the US isolated enough from the rest of the world many will be finally able to stand up and see we are going the WRONG WAY

[opihimoimoi]

19. BUSH HAS A funny WAY OF PROMOTING PEACE....ZERO RESULTS AFTER 5 YRS

OOPS...sorry for shouting

[DesEtoiles]

17. good thing the Decider is making decisions on a rational basis

:eyes:

[HuffleClaw]

16. IF putin had gone along with bush's new war...

the news would be different. during their joint press conference, putin put a major slapdown to the chimp repeatedly, in real subtle diplomatic language of course. bush's reactions were hilarious. a pity cnn kept cutting away from his reactions to putin's statements. the crack about iraq had the press gallery laughing out loud. bush looked peeeeeved.

[DesEtoiles]

18. sounds like a lovers' quarrel

[rodeodance]

20. NYT: As Tensions Rise, U.S. and Moscow Falter on Trade

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/world/europe/16summit.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print


July 16, 2006
As Tensions Rise, U.S. and Moscow Falter on Trade
By JIM RUTENBERG and ANDREW E. KRAMER

STRELNA, Russia, Sunday, July 16 — President Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin announced that they had failed to come to an agreement on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, and aides said the deal, which had been expected as early as this weekend, was not likely for months.

At a news conference that offered a somewhat rocky prelude to the annual summit meeting of the Group of 8 economic powers, Mr. Putin and Mr. Bush also differed over Iraq, the state of Russia’s democracy and Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.

Though they had a few positive announcements as well — agreeing on initiatives to combat nuclear terrorism and share civilian nuclear material and technology — overall the appearance highlighted growing tensions between former cold war rivals now jockeying for global position.

In the sharpest exchange, Mr. Bush said he had told Mr. Putin during a private dinner here Friday night about “my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world like Iraq — where there is a free press and free religion — and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope Russia would do the same thing.”......

[ProgressiveEconomist]

37. Kick

[truthisfreedom]

21. NO, PEOPLE, here's what's really happening. here's bush and putin on the

fourteenth.



and there's a whole bunch more of those beers chilling in an ice bucket behind bush.

[Omaha Steve]

22. Russian "nyet" to US beef, pork meant no WTO deal

Full story: http://money.excite.com/ht/nw/bus/20060715/hle_bus-n15207370.html



Russian "nyet" to US beef, pork meant no WTO deal

Saturday July 15, 1:55 PM EDT

By Tom Doggett

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A dispute over access for U.S. meat to the Russian market helped frustrate U.S.-Russian talks on a deal for Russia to join the World Trade Organization, America's top trade negotiator said on Saturday.

After intense, late-night negotiations this week, U.S. and Russian officials failed to reach a trade deal in time for the Group of Eight summit this weekend in St. Petersburg, where Russia had hoped to sign a trade accord with the United States.

But officials on both sides said they hoped a deal could be struck in the next few months.

While progress was made on several problems like industrial tariffs and intellectual property rights, a major dispute centered on getting certain U.S. meat exports to Russia, Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.

"It is access provided by the Russians to imports -- their imports of beef and pork" that was a major holdup to a deal, Schwab told reporters at the G8 summit. She said Russia has problems with U.S. regulations on food safety and the health of America's beef and pork.

Other broader market access issues involving poultry and a couple of other agricultural products also had to be resolved, Schwab said.

[pfitz59]

23. No one wants our meat.

Loaded with hormones and possibly mad cow disease! Gosh, what could the Russians be thinking? Isn't the Chimperator over there, looking deep into Pootie Poots's eyes. "Pootie Poot, eat my meat! Puhleez!"

[sueragingroz]

25. Blame Canada!

lalalalala

We all know the refrain...

http://www.healthcentral.com/newsdetail/408/1508612.html

BTW: Mad cow is everywhere... and we will start seeing it everywhere...


"Shoot, shovel and shut up" apparently isn't working anymore.... <--- tongue firmly planted in cheek

[CoffeeCat]

24. The US is having problems...

with foreign governments and getting along with world leaders because Junior has no diplomatic skills or tact.

Look for our standing in the world and international negotiations to continue crumbling.

Junior rules with his petulant ego. That's fine, if you're a Alpha Beta fraternity snob--running for Greek Council at Adams College---not if you're the leader of the free world.

Someone..anyone...rescue us from these assclowns.

[pinto]

26. Don't know if this is part of the picture, but there's some

resistance among US beef producers with implementing a new digital brand to track beef from field to market. Gripes about the added cost. Last I heard it was being discussed, and resisted, as a federal standard. The world markets (importers) feel this would facilitate our exports, since it provides some reassurance about the history of the beef prior to marketing. I live in historically ranching country, mainly small operations. While there's some grumbling, it seems that most local ranchers realize this is what it takes to stay viable in the world market.

Methinks Bushco may very well have drawn another pointless "line in the sand" in this negotiation...

[George1984]

27. The new Canadian system

Has the tracking for beef from cradle to grave. The numbers are tracked even through auctions and sales. This was imposed after we were put into the penalty box.

The only thing is that BSE is a disease, like cancer, it naturally happens. It is not only transmitted through contaminated feed. The number for natural occurences is 1 in just under one million. If you think about how many cows there are in North America it is amazing only a dozen or so cases have been spotted in the past few years.

[CHIMO]

28. Interesting

I hadn't heard about it being a natural occurrence. Could you post the reference as I would be quite interested in learning more about this aspect.

[George1984]

30. I believe this is a little info

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/vcjd/epidemiology.htm

Indiginous is the same as naturally occuring I think. I apologise if I am wrong.

[CHIMO]

32. Thanks

For the link but I couldn't find that word in the document. Even after copying it to word and searching for it.

Must be age and my eyes getting the better of me.
Thanks anyways for the effort.

[George1984]

33. Second sentence, near the end, and first line second paragraph

From 1986 through 2001, more than 98% of BSE cases worldwide were reported from the UK, where the disease was first described. During this same period, the number of European countries reporting at least one indigenous BSE case increased from 4 through 1993 to 8 through 1998 to18 through 2001. During 2001-2003, three countries outside Europe (Canada, Japan, and Israel) reported their first indigenous BSE cases. The proportion of the annual total number of BSE cases worldwide reported outside the UK increased to more than 25% in 2000 and more than 55% in 2003. This increase reflected the declining large (more than 183,000 total cases) epidemic of BSE in the UK and the increasing number of other countries with improved surveillance and higher rates of BSE.

In 2003, only two countries, the UK and Portugal, reported a BSE incidence rate of more than 100 indigenous cases per million cattle more than 24 months of age. In 2003, the reported BSE rates per million cattle more than 24 months of age were 58 for the Republic of Ireland, 46 for Spain, 25 for Switzerland, 12 for France, 11 for Belgium and the Netherlands, 10 for Italy, 9 for Germany, and 7 for Slovakia. The reported rates for Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Poland, and Slovenia were between 0.3 and 6 cases per million. The reported BSE incidence rates, by country and year, are available on the Internet website of the Office International des Epizooties at http://www.oie.int/eng/info/en_esbincidence.htm. New information is being generated on a regular basis, and updated sources should be consulted.

[CHIMO]

35. Thanks

Guess that is sort of like dementia. Occurs naturally in people of old age.

I wouldn't call a statement proof without backup. However, the same type of affliction is reported to occur in deer. So it may occur naturally. Sort of like the chicken and the egg.

I would not subscribe to a statement of being proof that the statement is true.

But thanks anyways for your information.

[YankmeCrankme]

36. Not naturally occurring...

Indigenous just means native or originating in that country. Nothing to do with what caused the disease. The incident of the BSE was not brought into the country by imported beef. IIRC, the disease is believed to be caused by cows being feed cattle parts, including cow brain, as supplimentary feed.

[PinkUnicorn]

38. Yes and no

The BSE prion is a natural protein, just one that has a severe effect on the 'normal' proteins which make up brain tissue causing 'Mad Cow'. Prions are everywhere - plants, fungus, animals, just about anywhere you find protien.

These proteins pop up randomly and could be due to age, disease, or just bad luck (recessivel allels) but even then are fairly rare. The prior replicates by turning the proteins of the brain into more prions and fairly quickly the animal dies. When the animal is dead the prions don't magically disappear, but remain in the brain tissue.

What exacerbates it is when the infected animal is ground up for animal feed and fed to more cattle. By selling a downer animal, (which by the end state is pretty much to sick and useless for anything but animal feed) to make a few bucks - the infections agent is introduced into a much wider range of animals spread over a much geographical larger area than the original source. Instead of a rare problem in one animal, it becomes a serious problem in many animals. And then these animals can be fed in turn to more...and the cycle accelerates. Consider it similiar to someone which chicken pox wearing clothes and then tosing them in a charity bin - the clothes could be infected and the various articles (shirt, pants, underwear, etc) can go on to infect far more people than just one.

And then of course you have the point where contaminated neural tissue could get into a human...

[thecrow]

29. Welcome to DU George1984 !!!

[Sgent]

34. The problem isn't so much the tagging

as it is the fact that large farms get off so much cheaper (per head) than small ones. In fact, industrial farmers only have to tag each herd (same age, etc).

In addition, the chicken tagging is resisted by those who don't have industrial chicken farms since it will become a felony to not report a lost chicken (or new one) within 24 hours.

[Submariner]

31. Anyone know about Russian meat?

In a few weeks I'm going in to Russia on a work project for 3 months. I have been wondering WTF are they going to have for food, and will I die from diarrhea? I will be above the Arctic Circle so I assume Reindeer meat? Anyone know about Russian meat quality standards, or their food in general?

[MarkR1717]

39. Putin is a KGB man..

...if that's what you prefer.