Up, Down.Agricultural subsidies. Ai ai ai! Item 2 is also about 'subsidies', oil subsidies but what the hay?!I love it when they say 'serious concern' eh? Billions and tens-of-billions on beaurocrat palaver & pundit jizz.(Did you see the purple parasol in the first picture? :-) If not, you missed the point.)"Profits did rise impressively and so did the costs of "externalities" like shattered communities and lives, foreclosed homes, toxic fear and resentment of "others" here and abroad, and vast disparities in wealth, health, life expectancy, etc." Rick Salutin, below.Amen, Rick.A few words in German to remember: Klimawandel = Climate Change Erderwarmung = Global Warming.A decent on-line English<->German dictionary: LEO Dictionary GmbH.1. After 7 Years, Talks on Trade Collapse, NYT, July 30.2. Oil hike sparks 'serious concern', BBC, June 7.3. After Doha - Seeking a trade deal, Globe, July 31.4. Trade Talk Collapse - Why India and China Said No to US, Spiegel, July 31.5. Ding, dong Doha is dead, Rick Salutin, August 1.6. Shipping Costs Start to Crimp Globalization, Larry Rohter, August 3.7. The Fragmented Future of World Trade, Alexander Neubacher, August 5.*************************************************************After 7 Years, Talks on Trade Collapse, Stephen Castle & Mark Landler, July 30.GENEVA World trade talks collapsed here on Tuesday after seven years of on-again, off-again negotiations, in the latest sign of Indias and Chinas growing might on the world stage and the decreasing ability of the United States to impose its will globally.Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization, could not bridge differences between a group of newly confident developing nations and established Western economic powers. In the end, too few of the real power brokers proved committed enough to make compromises necessary to deliver a deal.The failure appeared to end, for the near term at least, any hopes of a global deal to further open markets, cut farm subsidies and strengthen the international trading system. It is a massive blow to confidence in the global economy, said Peter Power, spokesman for the European Commission. The confidence shot in the arm that we needed badly will not now happen.After nine consecutive days of high-level talks, discussions reached an impasse when the United States, India and China refused to compromise over measures to protect farmers in developing countries from greater liberalization of trade.Supporters of the so-called Doha round of talks, which began in 2001, say a deal would have been a bulwark against protectionist sentiments that are likely to spread as economic growth falters in much of the world.The failure also delivers a blow to the credibility of the World Trade Organization, which sets and enforces the rules of international commerce. It could set back efforts to work out other multilateral agreements, including those intended to reduce the threat of global warming.The collapse of the talks will not bring an end to world trade, of course, which will continue under current agreements, many of which are between two or more countries rather than under the W.T.O. But it is a big setback, particularly to the hopes of smaller and poorer developing countries, which were counting on gaining