Mois : décembre 2006

Linked with Labour Market Flexibility and Foreign Direct Investment, and with The Bank that rules Europe? The ECB and Central Bank Independence.

Book Review: Britain & the EU, Alternative Futures, by Mark Baimbridge, Brian Burkitt & Philip Whyman (April 2005): This timely contribution to the growing debate in Britain and across Europe on the need for fundamental change in how European countries work together in the 21st century provides a groundbreaking analysis of the economic and democratic effect that EU membership has had on Britain. Published by the CIB, this important new book offers not only a concise examination of the costs of EU membership but also a well reasoned study of alternative relationships Britain, perhaps together with other European countries, could more beneficially forge in the future. Options scrutinised include a defence of the status quo through to various renegotiations of membership and options for withdrawal. (Read more on Referendum.org).

Mark Baimbridge – England

Book Review: ‘Implications of the Euro – A Critical Perspective from the Left’, Mark Baimbridge, Brian Burkitt, Philip Whyman – … critical analysis of the EMU project has largely been advanced from the centre-right spectrum of British politics.

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Linked with New social justice movements in a changing reality, with The WDM Death Counter, with The International Gender and Trade Network IGTN, and with The World Development Movement WDM.

She says: ”The Collapse of the WTO Doha negotiations are good for Africa and Women. This is an opportunity for Africa to move away from the myth that the Doha Round was a ‘developmental round’. Nothing could be further from the truth. From the start, the aim of the developed countries was to push for greater market openings from the developing countries while making minimal concessions on their part. Invoking development was a cynical ploy to make the process less palatable. The break down of the talks, is a turning point for Africa to contribute to developing a multilateral trading system based on developing Africa, women’s rights and sustainable development ». (Read the whole, on July 2006, on International Gender and Trade Network/ see also their Homepage ).

Read: THE NEW AFRICAN INITIATIVE IS A TRAGEDY FOR WOMEN.

Mohau Pheko – South Africa

Go to: The Ethical Globalization Initiative.

She asked the following questions (October 2002, but still valuable): I will try to address the following questions:

Why should Africa and African feminists be concerned about Europe’s move to the right? How are right-wing policies influencing the trade & economic discourse in Africa? What are the policy implications, in terms of gender justice?

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Linked with The Core Knowledge Foundation CK.

(Eric Donald Hirsch is an) American literary critic and educator who is best known for his work on cultural literacy. ‘What Every American Needs to Know’, 1987. He cowrote The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy 1988 (with Joseph F. Kett and James Trefil) and was the main editor of A First Dictionary of Cultural Literacy 1989. Born in March 22, 1928, Memphis, Tenn., U.S. (Read more on Britannica).

He says: ”Gramsci saw that it was a serious error to discredit learning methods like phonics and memorization of the multiplication table as ‘outdated’ or ‘conservative’. That was the nub of the standoff between himself and another prominent educational theorist of the political Left, Paulo Freire. Like Gramsci, Freire (a Brazilian) was interested in methods of educating the poor. Unlike Gramsci, Freire has been quite influential in the United States ». (Read more on daily times).

… He is currently a University Professor of Education and Humanities and the Linden Kent Memorial Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He is best known, however, for his writings on cultural literacy. He is considered the founder of the ‘back to basics’ movement. Hirsch holds degrees from Cornell University and Yale University. (Read more on wikipedia).

Eric Donald Hirsch – USA

I would label myself a political liberal and an educational conservative, or perhaps more accurately, an educational pragmatist. Political liberals really ought to oppose progressive educational ideas because they have led to practical failure and greater social inequity.
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He says: ”India and Pakistan needed to understand the importance of petroleum in the current world scenario. The West had reached a plateau of its oil supply while the Asian countries were still in the process of using a heavy quantity of oil. In this background the political history of the two countries needed an immediate reconsideration. Excessive geopolitics was one of the reasons of Partition in the world order » (Read all on Chandigarh Tribune, January 2004).

He said also: « There was a need for India and Pakistan to work in unison in the changed world order. Study of geo-economics had become more important than study of geo-politics in the changed world order », said Dr Sanjay Chaturvedi, Department of Political Science, Panjab University, here today. Dr Chaturvedi was speaking at a talk on ‘ Geopolitics of Indo-Pakistan relations’ organised by the local unit of the Association of British Scholars. (Read the whole article down on Chandigarh Tribune, February 2004).

Sanjay Chaturvedi – India

Sanjay Chaturvedi’s area of specialization is the theory and practice of Geopolitics; with special reference to Polar Regions and the Indian Ocean. He is currently the Coordinator, Centre for the Study of Geopolitics, Department of Political Science and Honorary Director, Centre for the Study of Mid-West and Central Asia, at Panjab University, Chandigarh.

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She said: « I don’t want to flee, nor do I want to abandon the battle of these farmers who live without any protection in the forest. They have the sacrosanct right to aspire to a better life on land where they can live and work with dignity while respecting the environment ».

Sister Dorothy Stang – Brazil  USA (June 7, 1931–February 12, 2005)

Look at these memory pages of Sister Dorothy Stang.

People walk 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) on the transamazonic highway carrying the coffin containing the body of American missionary Dorothy Stang from the airport to the Santas Missoes Church (Holy Missions Church) where Stang’s wake took place in Anapu, northern Brazil, Monday, Feb. 14, 2005. Stang was gunned down Saturday Feb. 12, 2005, at the Boa Esperanca settlement where she worked with some 400 poor families near Anapu, a rural town about 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro. (See the AP-Photo/Paulo Santos on commondreams.org).

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Linked with The Natural Step TNS, and with … a way of talking about « systems thinking ».

He says: ”How do we get from reductionist to systems thinking? A system is, as everybody knows, constructed by a concept of overall principles for the system. In football, for example, you have eleven players in each team in that system, you have one ball, two goals and a lot of other rules. You don’t approach the referee before the match and say, “Please couldn’t we have fourteen players in our team today?” All the players share the overall principles of what football is and those rules are non-negotiable, at least while you play the match. There are people with different skills in the team: a goal-keeper, attackers and so forth, and they can work together as an intelligent organism because they share the non-negotiable rules of what they are doing. They have exact images of that. (Read the 12 pages of The Ecology of Business).

Karl-Henrik Robèrt, M.D., Ph.D., is one of Sweden’s leading cancer scientists. In 1989, Robèrt initiated an environmental movement called The Natural Step TNS.

Read: Seeding a quiet revolution.

Karl-Henrik Robèrt – Sweden

Karl-Henrik Robèrt is one of the world’s foremost sustainability experts. In 1988 he founded The Natural Step in Sweden, an international environmental non-for-profit that coaches organizations to become role models in sustainability.

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