Heroic martyrs spur Latin America in new direction

 Christianity, Corporate agenda, Human rights, Latin America, United States  No Responses »
Mar 152007
 

I find Latin America a fascinating continent, though I have never been there. But I am inspired by the stories of the suffering of countless numbers of ordinary people who resisted the authoritarian rule of US-backed right-wing regimes. Many of these regimes served to protect the economic interests of the local (largely white) wealthy elite as well as the economic agenda of US corporations. Thousands were killed or tortured – brutally – at the hands of death squads during the Reagan years. Others simply disappeared. Heroic peace- and justice-loving women and men rose to resist such tyranny and oppression through sheer moral force. And their blood soaked the soil of the continent. People like Oscar Romero (El Salvador), Chico Mendes (Brazil), Ita Ford (El Salvador)… It’s a long list. Today, their sacrifices have inspired a new generation to take a more independent political, economic and social path, rooted in their [Read more]

Dabbling with the dark side

 Human rights, Iraq, Militarism, Neo-liberal economics, United States  No Responses »
Mar 132007
 

It is something of a joke these days to see the US State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Talk about the pot calling the kettle(s) black. Since the 11 September 2001 attacks, the human rights struggle has suffered a beating at the hands of the United States. In particular, the obnoxious practice of detention without trial has been given a new lease of life. The United States is holding close to 14,000 prisoners in Iraq, another 500 in Afghanistan and nearly 500 more in Guantanamo Bay. That’s not counting the unknown number of ‘suspected terrorists’ held by the CIA in secret “renditions” at various locations around the world. God knows how many of them have been tortured. That’s not counting the hundreds of others held without trial by other countries in their own regional ‘wars on terror’. For instance, in Malaysia, there are close to 100 people being [Read more]

Makeover for predatory IMF and World Bank

 Corporate agenda, Global justice movement, IMF/World Bank, Latin America, Neo-liberal economics, United States  No Responses »
Mar 092007
 

While attending the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Singapore, I soon realised that a slick makeover job, a real PR job, was underway. In recent years, these two global financial institutions have received some bad press for the tremendous damage their policies have had on developing nations. The PR job required a range of sweeping cosmetic measures. But could such measures really save the Bank and the IMF from their serious image and credibility crisis? No way. This is the review I wrote for Inter Press Service after the Annual Meetings were over. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind that the Fund and Bank cannot be reconstructed,” said Glasgow-based political scientist and author John Hilley, who has written about neo-liberal militarism, the Fund and the Bank, in e-mailed comments to IPS. ‘‘Both need to be replaced by bodies [Read more]

The 400-lb gorilla vs the skinny global justice movement

 Global justice movement, Latin America, Neo-liberal economics, Poverty, United States  No Responses »
Mar 062007
 

The real war in our world today is not “the war on terror” but a larger, more critical struggle for the soul of our world. A monumental battle is taking place between those who want to ram through neo-liberal economic policies that favour the large multinationals and those trying to formulate more enlightened pro-people economic policies that promote social justice and harmony with Nature and the spiritual realm. It is a struggle that is manifested in most countries around the world in different ways. Think about it. The following is an excerpt from a piece I wrote for the Malaysian Herald last August: In one corner of the ring, sits a 400-pound gorilla, the United States surrounded by its elite network power brokers, promoting a neo-liberal globalisation that largely benefits transnational corporations, widens income disparities and harms the environment. In the other corner of the ring, you have the skinny [Read more]

Malaysia-US FTA negotiations hit turbulence

 Malaysian finance/business, Neo-liberal economics, United States  No Responses »
Feb 222007
 

It looks like the FTA negotiations between the United States and Malaysia – now in a crucial phase – are not going to be easy to conclude. For one thing, there is the whole issue of government procurement and how an FTA would affect the NEP policy of affirmative action. More crucially, an FTA would take away economic sovereignty from Malaysia, allowing Big Business from the United States to gain power and influence over the Malaysia government. Not good. It would also lead to a quickening in the pace of the neo-liberalisation of the Malaysian economy, thus aggravating the already huge divide between the rich and the poor in the country. Because I was concerned about the impact an FTA would have on Malaysia, I wrote this piece for Aliran Monthly: The problem is while the Americans are going around and putting their “spin” on how Malaysia stands to “benefit” [Read more]

Page 19 of 19« First...10...1516171819