Panama: Angry Banana Growers Await Bush

Prensa Latina (Cuba) ^ | Nov. 1, 2005 | Staff

[Kitten Festival]

Panama, Nov 1 (Prensa Latina) A US presidential visit to Panama may be received by angry banana growers in front of that country´s embassy here.

George W. Bush will arrive in this capital next Sunday for a less-than-24-hour visit, and although the government has worked hard to present the US statesman´s stopover as a step forward in bilateral relations, rejection prevails.

The Cooperative of Multiple Services of Puertos Armuelles (COOSEMUPAR), in the province of Chiriqu¡, has some issues with the US transnational banana company Chiquita Brands International, and has asked the Panamanian government to get back four million dollars worth of agricultural, technical and accounting consultancy it rendered for two years.

If not, they may have to lay off 2,000 workers, which would benefit the US firm, according to Panamanian trade union leaders.

"The company is bankrupt, banana workers are hungry and there is danger of an outburst," trade union leader Salustiano de Gracia told Prensa Latina.

[Kitten Festival]

Bush better watch out for those banana growers when they get angry. They might have one of their 'outbursts.' Of course, Chimpybushitler might have other ways of standing up to them. He eats bananas in quantity, after all.

[Inspectorette]

Heheheh - in before the ZOT!?

[RichInOC]

Now there's a Freudian headline if I ever saw one.

[BipolarBob]

Chimpybushitler?

[Kitten Festival]

Its what leftwingers call Bush. It's their intelligence at work.

[Willie Green]

Four banana, three banana
Two banana, one
All bananas playing in the bright warm sun
Flippin' like a pancake, poppin' like a cork
Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper an' Snork

Makin' up a mess of fun
Makin' up a mess of fun
Lots of fun for everyone

Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la

[expat_panama]

Puerto Armmuelles is a couple hours from here, and we've been following this.   Here's the pattern:

--Latin Americans call out for US investors to create jobs

--US investors create jobs and everyone prospers

--workers not satisfied with prosperity and seize ownership either by expropriation or strikes that force bankruptcy

--workers wreck company and loose jobs

--Latin Americans call out for US investors to create jobs

 It gets to be a broken record.

[Sonny M]

This explains something.

I was wondering why my friends boss was whining about the prices of his ingrediants and Bush.

[BunnySlippers]

Day - O

[microgood]

Bush better watch out for those banana growers when they get angry.

I am pretty sure that what makes them scary are what they use to cut the bananas out of the tree with.

[NicknamedBob]

So is that a banana in your pocket or are you just not happy to see me?

[caisson71]

Oh boy, those Democrats are all over the place.

[Jimmy Valentine]

[Sigh!] United Fruit Company used to deal with this b.s. and it never hit the news.