We'd Blame Jet Lag, But ...

Bush makes gaffes at APEC gathering, forum may set weak voluntary targets

Posted at 5:01 PM on 07 Sep 2007

In Sydney, Australia, today at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, U.S. President George Bush referred to APEC as OPEC, then tried to cover up his gaffe by explaining that Australia's prime minister had invited him to a summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next year. Unfortunately, Australia has never been part of OPEC. Bush also called Australians "Austrians," mispronounced leaders' names, walked the wrong way off the stage, and, when asked whether there had been any new message in his speech, bristled, "Haven't you been listening to my past speeches?" Which is all far more interesting than the climate-change statement the 21-country forum's leaders are expected to sign this weekend, which may tout non-binding "aspirational targets" to reduce "energy intensity" 25 percent by 2030. And that's a best-case scenario; leaders still have the opportunity to make edits.

sources: Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Reuters

ADVERTISING POLICY

Comments: (1 comment)

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Where are some leaders leading us?

Are some of the leaders in my generation mortgaging and threatening the future of coming generations by remaining religiously focused upon the endless accumulation of material wealth, the unrestrained increase in consumption of limited resources, and the continuous consolidation of political power? Despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, we need not look far to see that money, power and privilege for ourselves, for our bought-and-paid-for politicians, and for our newly-made rich minions are the primary object of life. Regardless of the human-driven calamities--derived from per human over-consumption, unbridled economic globalization and skyrocketing global human numbers--that might befall coming generations, we live on in a patently unsustainable fantasy world (we call it reality) of comforts, effortless ease, conspicuous consumption, exotic hideaways and thousands of private jets, having abandoned our regard for the less fortunate among us, for the maintenance of life as we know it, and for the preservation of the integrity of Earth. Think of the single-minded pursuit of dollars, political power and privileges to consume and ignore the requirements of practical reality as our raison d'etre.

When my not-so-great generation of elders has completed its mission on Earth, I fear young people will look back in anger and utter disbelief at the things we have done and failed to do...... all the while proclaiming ourselves "masters of the universe" in the performance of uniform exercises of virtue.

by stevenearlsalmony at 12:59 PM on 08 Sep 2007

The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?