US ambassador criticism of the Norwegian oil fund's blacklisting of Americ

[The Sushi Bandit]

edit: Bushco apointee has the gall to tells Norway to invest their oil $$$ in american companies

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1442785.ece

Diplomatic broadside

The US ambassador to Norway gave a speech full of polite but very firm criticism of the Norwegian oil fund's blacklisting of American companies

<snip>"It's quite another thing for a sovereign government – particularly one like Norway - to take an official and very public action to accuse a foreign company of severely unethical conduct and sell its stock. And this is what has happened most recently to the American firms Wal-Mart, Freeport-Mason, and earlier to Kerr-Mcgee," Whitney said.

<snip> Norway primarily drops companies from its Petroleum Fund, now known as "The Government Pension Fund - Global", when it finds links to the weapons industry.

Link to Wal-mart Story: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/business/article1341741.ece

Norway dumps Wal-Mart stock

The huge fund that's meant to preserve Norway's oil wealth for future generations is pulling out of shares that don't meet the government's ethical standards. Among them is the Wal-Mart discount store chain

[angstlessk]

1. I recon Norway is looking for SUSTAINABLE companies into which

to invest..and not some get rich quick company who puts stores in Europe and then are forced to pull out cause you are a failure, they probably believe you will not make a good long term investment viable?

[tocqueville]

2. from the article

Wal-Mart's offenses

US-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer with revenues of nearly USD 300 billion, has been harshly criticized for its labour practices. Norway's Council on Ethics claimed that an "extensive body of material indicates that Wal-Mart consistently and systematically employs minors in contravention of international rules, that working conditions at many of its suppliers are dangerous or health-hazardous, that workers are pressured into working overtime without compensations, that the company systematically discriminates against women in pay," and that attempts to organize workers into unions are stopped.


Freeport's pollution

The Finance Ministry said that Freeport, which operates one of the world's largest copper mines on the island of New Guinea in Indonesia, is using a natural river system to dispose of 230,000 tons of tailings a day. This, claims the ministry, inflicts "extensive and serious damage on the environment" because the disposal releases large quantities... copper, cadmium and mercury into the watercourse."

The Council on Ethics found the environmental damage cause by Freeport's mining operations to be "extensive, long-term and irreversible," with "considerable negative consequences for the indigenous peoples residing in the area."

[Peace Patriot]

3. Now if we can only get OUR government to do this! It's almost...

...unthinkable, isn't it? --the idea of having a government that makes responsible, ethical decisions about corporate behavior. In California, the board that oversees public employees' pensions (teachers' pensions, for instance) had begun to make ethical decisions about the investment of those funds, with Gray Davis' appointments to that board representing the public interest in responsible labor practices and environmental policies. Schwarzenegger--the first governor (s)elected by Diebold and ES&S--cleaned out all the public interest appointments to that board and filled it with Bushite/corporate interests.

We CAN have good government, friends--but we must first restore transparent elections. Elections that are "counted" electronically, using TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by Bushite corporations, are not elections. They are tyranny.

Throw Diebold, ES&S and all election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW! Bust the Machines--Vote Absentee this November!

[silverweb]

4. "Shared core values" ???

:rofl:

"...shared core values 'like fairness, transparency, justice, dialogue, ethics' gave way to 'disappointment and surprise' due to the failure of Norway to live up these ideals when investing its petroleum riches."

Oh, that's rich!

Seems to me that Norway has the high moral ground on this one and our illustrious ambassador is just a hypocritical, lying sack of shit.

What a shock. :eyes:

US to Norway: Don't you get it? All your petroleum riches are belong to us!

:rofl:

[salin]

5. This is one of the many moments when I embrace

my Norwegian heritage.

[silverweb]

6. Likewise -- minuscule as it is in my case.

Apart from that, I'd just love to embrace that absolutely adorable Norwegian _Prime Minister_!!

:D

[The Sushi Bandit]

7. I'm proud that I have Norwegian blood in me

I'm 1/8!

[Briar]

8. Me too!

[Blue_Tires]

9. k+r

[The Sushi Bandit]

10. Labor day kick