Obama breaks up sarkozy, Jintao fight

[Universal_Soldier]

According to sources inside the room, President Obama just played peacemaker in a spat between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China.

In the finaly plenary session among the G-20 leaders, Sarkozy and Hu were having a heated disagreement about tax havens.

France and other European nations have been pushing for rules and regulations to apply to various tax havens; Germany's Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has said "these tax havens are also places where unregulated financial market deals are made."

But Chinese leaders fear a crackdown would hurt banking centers in Macao, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Other countries agree, though they are less outspoken publicly.

The exchange between Sarkozy and Hu got so heated, said a source -- who is not a member of the Obama administration -- it was threatening the unity of the G-20 leaders' meeting.

"They were going through the revised draft," a senior Obama administration official said.

The issue: Sarko wanted "a list of non-compliant jurisdictions," tones that allow tax havens, he senior official said. "Other countries wanted it too, but (Sarkozy) was the most outspoken."

Sarkozy specifically was pushing for a list from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be included in the G-20 Leaders' Statement.

Headquartered in Paris, the OECD has 30 member countries -- all capitalist democracies.

China opposed any such list being included in the final Leaders' Statement.

"China tends to have a problem endorsing the documents of organizations like the OECD that they're not a party to," the senior administration official said.

But Mr. Obama, according to this account, stepped between the two men, urging them to try to find consensus, and giving them a "pep talk" about the importance of working together.

The senior adminstration official said that Mr. Obama pulled Mr. Sarkozy aside, took him to a corner, "and discussed possible alternatives," the senior official said.

Once they arrived at one, President Obama "sent a message to the Chinese" that a counter-offer was on the table. The Chinese spent some time considering the offer. But they took a few minutes.

So Mr. Obama, with the assistance of translators, suggested that he and Mr. Hu have a conversation as well. They, too went to the corner to talk. After a few minutes, Mr. Obama called upon Mr. Sarkozy to join them.

"Translators and sherpas in tow, they reached an agreement," the official said. "There was a multiple shaking of hands."

The agreement: the final G-20 document would state that the G-20 nations "stand ready to deploy sanctions to protect our public finances and financial systems. The era of banking secrecy is over. We note that the OECD has today published a list of countries assessed by the Global Forum against the international standard for exchange of tax information."

The Obama administration official described this compromise as a "meeting in the middle." The word "note" -- as in "we note the OECD has today published a list" -- doesn't necessarily carry any weight.

Moreover, any sanctions are "future-oriented," the senior official said, meaning there are as of now no actual sanctions.

The OECD also has yet to publish any such list, though Obama adminstration officials said the organization would do so today.

Soon after Mr. Obama helped to resolve the problem, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that "we have agreed to tough standards for those (tax shelters) who don't come into line in the future," which seems to overstate the case.

"I'd suggest we'd still be in there had he not done this," the senior Obama administration official said.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/source-obama-pl.html#comments

Not bad for a first time attendee!

Update:

Sarkozy confirms



"President Obama really found the consensus," Sarkozy told reporters after the meeting. "He didn't focus exclusively on stimulus ... In fact it was he who managed to help me persuade [Chinese] President Hu Jintao to agree to the reference to the ... publication of a list of tax havens, and I wish to thank him for that."
In her news conference, Merkel noted that "the American president also put his hand into this."
The warm words followed weeks of sharp divisions between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, on one side, and France and Germany on the other, over whether to increase government spending to help kick start the global economy.


http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Sarkozy-Merkel-praise-Obamas-G20/story.aspx?guid={F16448A6-C6EC-473E-B94E-35574FFE18C0}

[Eknytz]

The shaking of hands doesn't mean squat.
They do that for PR.

[Zoomie]

ROFL. . .if that's a fight, I'd hate to ask what's a brawl.

[2Sheds_Jackson]

After these things Obama went over the sea of Atlantic, which is the sea of sharks, and whales, and cod, and flounder, and partially exposed seamonsters drawn in such a way as to represent that portions of their bodies lie obscured below the waves. And a great multitude followed him, nearly 600 if the press is to be believed, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were without hope. And Obama went up into a hotel, and there he sat with his entourage. And the G20 Conference was nigh. When Obama then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Sarkozy, whence shall we buy Evian water, that these may drink around the conference table? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Sarkozy answered him, I have only 2 Euro in my pocket, for my hot wife hath taken the rest to go on a shopping spree while I am away, and that will not even buy enough that every one of them may take a little, for they are the G20, and not the G6 your magnificence. One of his disciples in the media, a photographer with CNN, saith unto him, there is a lad here, which hath only 5 bottles of Evian, but what are they among so many? And Obama said, turning down the brightness of his halo so that the photographer might look upon him without burning his eyes, said, Make them sit the F down, bitch. Now there were many high-end leather office chairs around the table, so the people sat down, in number about 22. And Obama took the bottles; and when he had given thanks to himself for his awesomeness, he distributed to the attendees, and the attendees to them that were set down. When they were filled, he said unto the attendees, Gather up the bottles that remain, that nothing be lost, for yeah, Al Gore wouldst be mightily displeased. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve recycling containers with the empties, but don't worry they were the kind of polycarbonate bottles that don't have Bisphenol-A which a lot of us worry about, and there were in that place 10 unopened bottles of water which remained over and above unto them that had drank. Then those men and women, when they had seen the miracle that Obama did, said, This is of a truth that the One should come into Europe and bestow upon us his unimaginable grandeur.

So sayeth the media.

[PALADIN]

After these things Obama went over the sea of Atlantic, which is the sea of sharks, and whales, and cod, and flounder, and partially exposed seamonsters drawn in such a way as to represent that portions of their bodies lie obscured below the waves. And a great multitude followed him, nearly 600 if the press is to be believed, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were without hope. And Obama went up into a hotel, and there he sat with his entourage. And the G20 Conference was nigh. When Obama then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Sarkozy, whence shall we buy Evian water, that these may drink around the conference table? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Sarkozy answered him, I have only 2 Euro in my pocket, for my hot wife hath taken the rest to go on a shopping spree while I am away, and that will not even buy enough that every one of them may take a little, for they are the G20, and not the G6 your magnificence. One of his disciples in the media, a photographer with CNN, saith unto him, there is a lad here, which hath only 5 bottles of Evian, but what are they among so many? And Obama said, turning down the brightness of his halo so that the photographer might look upon him without burning his eyes, said, Make them sit the F down, bitch. Now there were many high-end leather office chairs around the table, so the people sat down, in number about 22. And Obama took the bottles; and when he had given thanks to himself for his awesomeness, he distributed to the attendees, and the attendees to them that were set down. When they were filled, he said unto the attendees, Gather up the bottles that remain, that nothing be lost, for yeah, Al Gore wouldst be mightily displeased. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve recycling containers with the empties, but don't worry they were the kind of polycarbonate bottles that don't have Bisphenol-A which a lot of us worry about, and there were in that place 10 unopened bottles of water which remained over and above unto them that had drank. Then those men and women, when they had seen the miracle that Obama did, said, This is of a truth that the One should come into Europe and bestow upon us his unimaginable grandeur.

So sayeth the media.

There's just no turning off your genius, is there?

[2Sheds_Jackson]

There's just no turning off your genius, is there?

It's a burden, really. But nothing compared to what Obama must feel.

[Hispeed1]

Pres. Obama saves teh day-again.

[I can't think of a name]

This is what Obama is known for. Making everyone think he agrees with them.

But most people understand that is impossible. Hu and Sarkozy will realize that neither got what they wanted and the deal will end.

[California Joe]

The Gospel of 2Sheds. Lord hear our prayer.

[Flagg]

The Gospel of 2Sheds. Lord hear our prayer.

Is it just me, or does everyone else hear some Gregorian Monks singing?

[cmill]

Is it just me, or does everyone else hear some Gregorian Monks singing?

I'm hoping it'll stop when the Zyprexa kicks in.

[2Sheds_Jackson]

What now? You mean you guys don't hear that all the time? Maybe I need a vacation or something.

[cmill]

What now? You mean you guys don't hear that all the time? Maybe I need a vacation or something.

Not anymore, I'm feeling much better now.

[chauncy republicans]

It's a burden, really. But nothing compared to what Obama must feel.
I cry myself to sleep every night, because I know deep down inside that I'm worshiping the wrong god.

[Lusitania]

After these things Obama went over the sea of Atlantic, which is the sea of sharks, and whales, and cod, and flounder, and partially exposed seamonsters drawn in such a way as to represent that portions of their bodies lie obscured below the waves. And a great multitude followed him, nearly 600 if the press is to be believed, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were without hope. And Obama went up into a hotel, and there he sat with his entourage. And the G20 Conference was nigh. When Obama then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Sarkozy, whence shall we buy Evian water, that these may drink around the conference table? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Sarkozy answered him, I have only 2 Euro in my pocket, for my hot wife hath taken the rest to go on a shopping spree while I am away, and that will not even buy enough that every one of them may take a little, for they are the G20, and not the G6 your magnificence. One of his disciples in the media, a photographer with CNN, saith unto him, there is a lad here, which hath only 5 bottles of Evian, but what are they among so many? And Obama said, turning down the brightness of his halo so that the photographer might look upon him without burning his eyes, said, Make them sit the F down, bitch. Now there were many high-end leather office chairs around the table, so the people sat down, in number about 22. And Obama took the bottles; and when he had given thanks to himself for his awesomeness, he distributed to the attendees, and the attendees to them that were set down. When they were filled, he said unto the attendees, Gather up the bottles that remain, that nothing be lost, for yeah, Al Gore wouldst be mightily displeased. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve recycling containers with the empties, but don't worry they were the kind of polycarbonate bottles that don't have Bisphenol-A which a lot of us worry about, and there were in that place 10 unopened bottles of water which remained over and above unto them that had drank. Then those men and women, when they had seen the miracle that Obama did, said, This is of a truth that the One should come into Europe and bestow upon us his unimaginable grandeur.

So sayeth the media.

My goodness, it's, it's amazing, no, a miracle. Thanks be to Obama that he hath saved the day once again.

[Universal_Soldier]

Sarkozy confirms



"President Obama really found the consensus," Sarkozy told reporters after the meeting. "He didn't focus exclusively on stimulus ... In fact it was he who managed to help me persuade [Chinese] President Hu Jintao to agree to the reference to the ... publication of a list of tax havens, and I wish to thank him for that."
In her news conference, Merkel noted that "the American president also put his hand into this."
The warm words followed weeks of sharp divisions between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, on one side, and France and Germany on the other, over whether to increase government spending to help kick start the global economy.


http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Sarkozy-Merkel-praise-Obamas-G20/story.aspx?guid={F16448A6-C6EC-473E-B94E-35574FFE18C0}

[Givati575]

I would love to see a scrap between sarkozy and jintao. I think it would be pretty fair too. They are around the same height.

[budgie]

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=802&pictureid=9956

[2Sheds_Jackson]

In the US media, I don't see a whole lot being written about Obama's failure to accomplish what he set out to do at the G20. All I see is fluff like this story, and video of Michelle talking to groups of minority children in London, telling them how awesome she is because she's the first whatever to be a whatever. Our media has been playing up the fact that Obama was a key player in forging an agreement - and they mostly leave out the part where that agreement was supposed to include a big pile of new stimulus spending. But he was greeted as a rock star - so as long as people like him personally, well who cares about anything else, right?

The BBC on the other hand, has been a bit more forthcoming about the realities of Obama's failure - yesterday I heard one of their reporters saying that he came across as an inexperienced statesman when compared to the others, a bit stiff, - and more amusingly as "probably the only man who could make Gordon Brown look exciting" IIRC. :)

[xav]

^ LOL

And in the French media there is no word about this so called incident either. Quite the contrary... they all say it is now peace between France and China after Sarkozy and Jintao meeting and that Sarkozy agreed not to talk about Tibet independence anymore...

So what's the truth in all that BS???

[Itachi]

^ LOL

And in the French media there is no word about this so called incident either. Quite the contrary... they all say it is now peace between France and China after Sarkozy and Jintao meeting and that Sarkozy agreed not to talk about Tibet independence anymore...

So what's the truth in all that BS???

sarkozy pawnched jintaos face and obama said:
"face punch, yes we can"

[LazerLordz]

All glory to the O'Bama. :)

I kid, I kid. Well, it's a good first entry to the international stage.

[[ KOOSHAB ]]

sarkozy pawnched jintaos face and obama said:
"face punch, yes we can"

Ha Ha, oh wow.

Personally the media plays up everything to suit the public,
and seeing as the majority of the United States want to perceive Obama as a representative of "change"
they'll flood the headlines with stories promoting such.

Anyways, good to see he made a reasonable first impression.
Though I honestly think Sarkozy thinks Obama is a dink.

[xav]

Though I honestly think Sarkozy thinks Obama is a dink.

Why is that?

[[ KOOSHAB ]]

Why is that?

He views a certain amount of his views as immature and unstable

[Netzach]

Apparently the exchange of views was over the regulation of offshore banking/tax havens (Merkel and Sarkozy have been grinding that
particular axe for some time now) which raises the question, how much money do China have invested in offshore bank accounts p-)

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/source-obama-pl.html

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=154612

[xav]

I see... and this is how countries like Monaco, Swiss and BELGIUM (!!! WTF !!!) ended up on the "black list" but Honk Kong and Macau did not.

[BearInBunnySuit]

Mind you, it's a commentary so not exactly objective but I thot it was fun.



The G20 summit's winners and losers
Commentary: The heck with the communiqué, where are the cameras
By Tom Bemis (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/mailto.asp?x=116+98+101+109+105+115&y=Tom+Bemis&z=marketwatch.com&guid=%7B3fe31708-42a4-4a4b-9821-d6cc6ebebb9e%7D&siteid=mktw), MarketWatch


LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Now that they've saved the world, it's time to figure out who really won and lost at the G20 summit.


Hu Jintao
The president of China easily was the biggest winner of the summit, chiefly because of his side meeting with Obama. China and the U.S. have acquired the catchy moniker of "The G2." Obama is also planning a state visit to Beijing. And the London agreements will give China a lot more leverage at the IMF and World Bank in exchange for a relatively paltry $40 billion "investment."

Barack Obama
The U.S. President lost the content wars before he even arrived, as Germany and France killed stimulus increases. But Obama gamely declared victory anyway, and talked the press into believing it with a technically superb post-game news conference that included a well-crafted initial statement and thoughtful, spontaneous answers. Plus, he didn't make any jokes about handicapped people! Showing that the press abroad is just as fawning as back home, the president walked off the stage at the end of the 50 minute news conference to a round of applause.

Gordon Brown
The UK's prime minister had high hopes for the summit, tied to plans to increase stimulus spending. Hobbled by Germany and France abroad, and by Bank of England governor Mervyn King at home, however, Brown's plans to spend his way out of the recession were dead on arrival. With no economic recovery likely in the U.K. before Brown has to call elections, his political future is dim. However, the summit did serve as a pretty good round of job interviews for his likely new career in the global regulatory industry.

Nicolas Sarkozy
Ever the diplomat, trash-talking Sarko joined with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to kill increased stimulus spending before the summit even began. He then arrived threatening to walk out if he didn't get what he wanted on financial regulation, signed on to the watered-down agreements and took credit for everything afterwards. Perhaps more than any other European leader, Sarkozy has an entertaining enough personality to make an impression against the Obama media hurricane. He is helped in this by his wife, Carla Bruni, the only serious competitor with Michelle Obama in the glamour wars.

Angela Merkel
The German chancellor won the pre-game maneuvering by enlisting French support to block more stimulus spending. But her post-game appearance was unimpressive. Merkel chose the technocrat approach, appearing with Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück at her side. Steinbrück, who can come off as both bombastic and patronizing, was more than happy to take up valuable airtime. Serious? Ja! Ready for global media primetime? Nein!

Dominique Strauss-Kahn
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund gets billions and billions and billions more to save the world's fringe economies. Sure, special drawing rights aren't like REAL money. But they're good almost anywhere east of Berlin.

Taro Aso
The Japanese prime minister emerges as the biggest loser at the summit. For all his support of increased stimulus spending, he walks away with . . . nothing. And he's stuck with the world's strongest currency, making Japan's export-driven economy vulnerable to a really prolonged slump.

Loneliest-leader award
Mirek Topolanek, the president of the EU, and lame-duck prime minister of the Czech Republic. He drew perhaps a couple dozen reporters out of the thousand or so covering the conference. On the plus side, the Obamas are coming to visit. Prague won't have seen anything like it since 1968. But it will be a brief occupation.

London Police
Seven million pounds of overtime pay for a couple of days work is not bad. It's probably enough to count as its own mini-stimulus plan. Bring on the Olympics! http://i.mktw.net/mw3/News/greendot.gif



http://tinyurl.com/dkqoeg

[timetraveller]

End of the day the failure of the Monetary collapse lies soley with the Those that were in charge of the banks .. Not the Goverments by any means !!


Greed was there Downfall , And if Banks weren't allowed on the Stock Market maybe this crap wouldn't need have happend , yet still there dodgy schemes were allowed to be sold put on offer and sold , their neglect to realise the impact of such offers wasn't fully researched ...

And if the those Leaders want public Confidence , they should at least make it known to Companies to at least sell thier products Cheaper , Especially on the High st .. Because i haven't seen any drastic reductions ...

[budgie]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]In the US media, I don't see a whole lot being written about Obama's failure to accomplish what he set out to do at the G20.


Maybe just because that's your spin. What exactly did he fail to accomplish?

[Flagg]

End of the day the failure of the Monetary collapse lies soley with the Those that were in charge of the banks .. Not the Goverments by any means !!


Greed was there Downfall , And if Banks weren't allowed on the Stock Market maybe this crap wouldn't need have happend , yet still there dodgy schemes were allowed to be sold put on offer and sold , their neglect to realise the impact of such offers wasn't fully researched ...

And if the those Leaders want public Confidence , they should at least make it known to Companies to at least sell thier products Cheaper , Especially on the High st .. Because i haven't seen any drastic reductions ...

There's plenty of blame to go around......no need to have the Banks hog it ALL.

Plenty of others with lots of blood under the fingernails too

[Sinaloense]

After these things Obama went over the sea of Atlantic, which is the sea of sharks, and whales, and cod, and flounder, and partially exposed seamonsters drawn in such a way as to represent that portions of their bodies lie obscured below the waves. And a great multitude followed him, nearly 600 if the press is to be believed, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were without hope. And Obama went up into a hotel, and there he sat with his entourage. And the G20 Conference was nigh. When Obama then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Sarkozy, whence shall we buy Evian water, that these may drink around the conference table? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Sarkozy answered him, I have only 2 Euro in my pocket, for my hot wife hath taken the rest to go on a shopping spree while I am away, and that will not even buy enough that every one of them may take a little, for they are the G20, and not the G6 your magnificence. One of his disciples in the media, a photographer with CNN, saith unto him, there is a lad here, which hath only 5 bottles of Evian, but what are they among so many? And Obama said, turning down the brightness of his halo so that the photographer might look upon him without burning his eyes, said, Make them sit the F down, bitch. Now there were many high-end leather office chairs around the table, so the people sat down, in number about 22. And Obama took the bottles; and when he had given thanks to himself for his awesomeness, he distributed to the attendees, and the attendees to them that were set down. When they were filled, he said unto the attendees, Gather up the bottles that remain, that nothing be lost, for yeah, Al Gore wouldst be mightily displeased. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve recycling containers with the empties, but don't worry they were the kind of polycarbonate bottles that don't have Bisphenol-A which a lot of us worry about, and there were in that place 10 unopened bottles of water which remained over and above unto them that had drank. Then those men and women, when they had seen the miracle that Obama did, said, This is of a truth that the One should come into Europe and bestow upon us his unimaginable grandeur.

So sayeth the media.

Bush would have given both of them a back rub.