DISGRACEFUL - AT 7:44 A.M. ET:  Reader Guy Green alerts us to this, from the Financial Times:

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes.

Speaking in Brasília at a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, Mr Lula da Silva told reporters: “This crisis was caused by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing.”

He added: “I do not know any black or indigenous bankers so I can only say [it is wrong] that this part of mankind which is victimised more than any other should pay for the crisis.”

COMMENT:  Real class, huh?  Poor Gordon Brown, he gets abused standing next to just about anybody. 

The irony is that some of the bankers involved in our crisis happen to be African-American - including Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae.  That is completely irrelevant.  Lula's comments are disgusting, and prove that the United States is well ahead of many other nations in our racial attitudes.  Of course, we'll never get the credit for it, while Lula will be hailed as the workers' hero.

March 27, 2009