27 August 1999

Economists' Comments On APEC Supported By Greens

Comments by eminent International Trade Economist Dr Paul Krugman (on Morning Report this morning) that APEC is "an empty shell" and represents "meaningless generalities" has been supported by the Green Party.

Dr Krugman is a world renowned economist based at the MIT and was credited with predicting the Asian Crisis.

"Dr Krugman has confirmed what we have known all along," said Rod Donald.

"APEC is an expensive talk fest for greedy capitalists and bewildered politicians."

Mr Donald said Dr Krugman has in the past described the tiny size of theoretical free trade gains as economics' "dirty little secret",

"But perhaps it has been no secret to generations of GATT negotiators, who have trusted their mercantilist instincts," Rod Donald said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>