There is a great scene in the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” At one point they decide to go straight and get a job guarding the payroll from the bank to the mine in Bolivia.
When they are ambushed by some bandidos Butch (Paul Newman) tries talk to them in Spanish. He tries to explain to the robbers that the money doesn’t belong to them saying, “No es de nosotros,” (It isn’t ours).
The robbers laugh and reply, “Si, es de nosotros,” (Right. It is OURS.)
I thought of that little bit of dialog when I read what happened at the end of the Three Amigos NAFTA summit in New Orleans. The United States, Canada, and Mexico sent their top leaders to talk about how great the alliance is. Bush, Harper and Calderon were working hard to explain how NAFTA is a blessing to us all. (That IS hard work!)
At the end of the meetings yesterday all these diplomats were gathering up their cell phones and Blackberries. (It is standard protocol to leave all such devices outside the meeting rooms during the conferences.)
So, everyone is heading for the airport to catch planes back home and seven Blackberries are missing from members of the United States delegation. A quick check of the surveillance video shows that “Rafael” from the Mexican delegation scooped them up on his way out the door.
The Secret Service stopped Rafael at the airport and made him return them. He said he picked them up by mistake. (You must be REALLY important to carry SEVEN Blackberries.)
“No son de nosotros.”
“Si, son nuestros, Rafael.”
I can hear Bush now. “You can steal our jobs, schools, and hospitals. But keep your hands off our PDAs!”
When they are ambushed by some bandidos Butch (Paul Newman) tries talk to them in Spanish. He tries to explain to the robbers that the money doesn’t belong to them saying, “No es de nosotros,” (It isn’t ours).
The robbers laugh and reply, “Si, es de nosotros,” (Right. It is OURS.)
I thought of that little bit of dialog when I read what happened at the end of the Three Amigos NAFTA summit in New Orleans. The United States, Canada, and Mexico sent their top leaders to talk about how great the alliance is. Bush, Harper and Calderon were working hard to explain how NAFTA is a blessing to us all. (That IS hard work!)
At the end of the meetings yesterday all these diplomats were gathering up their cell phones and Blackberries. (It is standard protocol to leave all such devices outside the meeting rooms during the conferences.)
So, everyone is heading for the airport to catch planes back home and seven Blackberries are missing from members of the United States delegation. A quick check of the surveillance video shows that “Rafael” from the Mexican delegation scooped them up on his way out the door.
The Secret Service stopped Rafael at the airport and made him return them. He said he picked them up by mistake. (You must be REALLY important to carry SEVEN Blackberries.)
“No son de nosotros.”
“Si, son nuestros, Rafael.”
I can hear Bush now. “You can steal our jobs, schools, and hospitals. But keep your hands off our PDAs!”
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