Global News and Analysis

 

China’s Neo-Colonialism

Walden Bello April 1, 2010 Walden Bello

Source: The New Internationalist

Gene Zhang under a CC Licence 

On 1 January 2010, the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area went into effect. Touted as the world’s biggest Free Trade Area, CAFTA is billed as having 1.7 billion consumers, with a combined gross domestic product of $5.93 trillion and total trade of $1.3 trillion.

Under the agreement, trade between China and six ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) has become duty-free for more than 7,000 products. By 2015, the newer ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma) will join the zero-tariff arrangement. read more

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Haiti Looking More and More Like a War Zone

Ansel Herz* March 31, 2010 Ansel Herz*

Source: IPS News


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Mar 30, 2010 (IPS) – On an empty road in Cite Militaire, an industrial zone across from the slums of Cite Soleil, a group of women are gathered around a single white sack of U.S. rice. The rice was handed out Monday morning at a food distribution by the Christian relief group World Vision.

According to witnesses, during the distribution U.N. peacekeeping troops sprayed tear gas on the crowd.

"Haitians know that’s the way they act with us. They treat us like animals," said Lourette Elris, as she divided the rice amongst the women. "They gave us the food, we were on our way home, then the troops threw tear gas at us. We finished receiving the food, we weren’t disorderly. " read more

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Greece: A Tradition of Revolt

David T. Rowlands March 30, 2010 David T. Rowlands

Source: Green Left Weekly

In every corner of Greece, popular anger over the government’s latest neoliberal assault on job security, pensions and social services has lead to a series of general strikes involving hundreds of thousands of militant workers.

The Greek government’s attacks are being implemented at the behest of the European Union, which is seeking to make Greek workers carry the burden of debt generated by Greek governments in collusion with major banks such as Goldman Sachs.

This is part of a broader international struggle by working people against capital’s drive to make ordinary people pay for the global financial crisis it caused.

But Greek strikers have drawn on an indigenous political culture with deep roots – a culture that validates the people’s right to rise collectively as agents of change. read more

Hip-Hop Artist Gives Algonquins a Good Rap

Stefan Christoff March 24, 2010 Stefan Christoff

Source: The Dominion

An image from the video for Samian’s "Kisakiin."

MONTREAL-Algonquin hip-hop artist Samian raps about the realities of life on First Nations reserves in Quebec. With a growing following on reserves and in Quebec’s cities, he’s also struck a chord with hip-hop communities everywhere.

Exploding the classic political binary of Quebec’s two solitudes, Samian raps about Indigenous people and their history in the province. His chart-topping hit "La Paix Des Braves," a duet with Quebec hip-hop crew Loco Locass, appeals for solidarity between Quebecois and Indigenous people. Samian’s recent collaboration with Sans Pression on their single "Premieres Nations" helped cement his role as a key voice in the Montreal contemporary hip-hop scene. read more

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South Africa: Campaign Against New Coal Mines Gathers Momentum

Patrick Bond March 24, 2010 Patrick Bond

Source: Green Left Weekly

In an indication that the global climate justice movement is becoming broader, there is now intense opposition to a climate-destroying energy loan for South Africa.

The campaign’s leaders are community activists in black townships allied with environmentalists, trade unionists and international climate activists.

The World Bank is trying to lend nearly US$4 billion to the Johannesburg-based parastatal (quasi-government-run) Eskom. The power company is the world’s fourth largest and Africa’s largest carbon emitter (responsible for 40% of South Africa’s total emissions).

The loan is mainly for building the world’s fourth most CO2-intensive coal-fired power plant, Medupi, in the ecologically sensitive Waterberg area north of the capital of Pretoria. read more

Bolivian Ambassador Pablo Solon-Romero to the UN

Bolivia Creates a New Opportunity for Climate Talks

Pablo Solón Romero March 22, 2010 Pablo Solón Romero

Source: Guardian Unlimited

Bolivia’s UN ambassador Pablo Solon-Romero during a press conference. Photograph: Paulo Filgueiras/UN Photo

In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate conference, those who defended the widely condemned outcome tended to talk about it as a "step in the right direction". This was always a tendentious argument, given that tackling climate change can not be addressed by half measures. We can’t make compromises with nature.

Bolivia, however, believed that Copenhagen marked a backwards step, undoing the work built on since the climate talks in Kyoto. That is why, against strong pressure from industrialised countries, we and other developing nations refused to sign the Copenhagen accord and why we are hosting an international meeting on climate change next month. In the words of the Tuvalu negotiator, we were not prepared to "betray our people for 30 pieces of silver". read more