Davos
Asks for Dignity
The World Economic Forum, composed of CEOs and ministers
from developed and developing countries, convenes this
week in Davos, Switzerland. Only a few days into the high-profile
meeting but already speakers from Brazil, India and Thailand
have spoken of how industrialization and global markets
may not solve the world's problems if the following issues
are not addressed - i.e. agricultural subsidies that
truly benefit farmers; IMF terms that really spur growing
economies; poverty, disease, environment. Forum organizer,
Klaus Scwab, was quoted saying "Business has to make
a special effort to establish a world where everybody
can live a dignified existence".
Porto Alegre Deplores Globalization
The World Social Forum, initiated by non-believers in
global trade and "industrial tinkering", meets
concurrently in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to raise awareness
about a world economy that they think has become too bottom
line-oriented at the expense of more pressing social issues
such as global warming and genetic engineering.
Prominently participating is activist Jose Bove, founder
of the French Peasant Confederation and veteran of the
1999 WTO protest in Seattle. Bove, Jr. wants to save the
world from GM foods. According to his father, a pro-GMO
microbiologist, Jr. wishes to see GMOs destroyed in much
the same way that witches were burned during the Middle
Ages.
World View on Bush
What does the world think of the new US President ?
There are three main reactions, according to writer
Andrew Nagorski, namely "the prove-me right optimists;
the convince-me-crowd and the prove-me-wrong pessimists".
The first group anticipates a NAFTA that extends beyond
the US, Canada and Mexico to include all Americas in
a free-trade zone that acts as a "counterweight
to the EU"; more focus on Tokyo over Beijing
; removal of sanctions against India ; more friendly
relations with Arab allies. The second group sees the
dependence of Asian economies on the US but cannot predict
whether the Bush administration will be pro-business,
or more specifically be on the side of eco-friendly
business practices. The third group doubts whether
the US can continue to act as leader of the world since
President Bush represents an extreme right that may
spur a "cultural divide" between North America
and Western Europe, among others
|
