Monday, May 09, 2005

José Bové and Pascal Lamy: Same Ends, Different Means

Although the EU is for trade-purposes every bit as much a single unit as say the 50 United States, it enjoys the singular good fortune of having 25 votes in the WTO
writes John Rosenthal in his piece on Pascal Lamy, the frontrunner to head the World Trade Organization, and on his and José Bové's "common commitment to subordinating trade to environmental policy objectives: or, in other words, permitting discriminatory trade practices in the name of the latter."
…in short, the difference between Pascal Lamy and José Bové is one of style, not substance: one of means, not of ends. And indeed, as Lamy’s remarks suggest – “José is a critical trade-unionist. It’s very different.” – these different means and styles are merely different, not incompatible. José Bové rejects the WTO. Pascal Lamy is committed to undermining it from within. If he becomes the next Director General of the organization, he will have ample opportunity to do so.
Earth Wars — A New Hope: Against the evil empire of money, Earth's only hope is a band of rebels led by one man — José. Don't miss out on the excitement of the challenging José Bové game in which you must do things like: destroy GM food and mad cows (armed with a scythe like the grim reaper); tear down a McDonald's restaurant (although I failed to see how pulverizing the outlet's trees was supposed to mesh in with the movement's claims to be environment-friendly); and resist police oppression with the help of camembert cheeses (weapons of mass destruction?).

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