■"In Trade Talks, Western Farmers Hold Their Ground: Poor Nations, Multinationals Form Unlikely Alliance; Progress May Be Tough," by Greg Hitt and Scott Miller, Wall Street Journal, 13 December 2005, p. A1.

Poor countries wage diplomatic battle, alongside huge global multinational corporations, against Old Core states holding the line on the arguably immoral and murderous farm subsidies we maintain.

Why do the MNCs make this effort?

Simple. They want access to developing markets for their industrial goods.

That's the essential deal on the table: Core sells Gap industrial goods and the Gap sells the Core food.

Seem fair?

Seems like the fastest way to start shrinking the Gap by helping end the crushing rural poverty there, just like it was in China under Deng 25 years ago.