In Brazil, Gordon Brown continued his pre-summit tour but there was embarrassment when his host, President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, said the financial crisis was caused by "white people with blue eyes". He told a joint press conference with Mr Brown that he had never met a black banker.

<b>"This is a crisis that was caused by people, white with blue eyes. And before the crisis they looked as if they knew everything about economics," he said. "Once again the great part of the poor in the world that were still not yet [getting] their share of development that was caused by globalisation, they were the first ones to suffer.</b>

"Since I am not acquainted with any black bankers, I can only say that this part of humanity that is the major victim of the world crisis, these people should pay for the crisis? I cannot accept that. If the G20 becomes a meeting just to set another meeting, we'll be discredited and the crisis can deepen."

I think Lula may have forgotten that there are black bankers in Africa, the Middle East and also in India.

When Lula met Obama recently, he expressed his opinion correctly....that Obama had inherited (from Bush?) a huge cucumber! Even the translator was embarrased....in English the word "CUcumber" doesn't sound very polite (in Portuguese.

I agree that many of the bankers of Wall Street and the CITY do have "white skins and blue eyes".

These bankers aren't so mean afterall, they merely charge 1% per month in private current account bank loans....in Brazil bankers charge at least 5% per month. Credit card companies charge an interest rate of about 10% per month on overdue bills which weren't paid on a specified date!

BANKERS are the same...all over the world, most of them are usurers.

Armando Roz