IV404 - September 2008

Are we approaching the onset of another debt crisis in developing countries? The question requires thought, because if such is the case, we need to be prepared and take appropriate measures to limit the damage.

The files in the September 2008 issue of International Viewpoint can be downloaded in PDF format.
To download the file, click here.

Like the image of the emblematic Hugo Chavez, the Bolivarian process never fails to surprise by the contradictions that it generates. Of course it is advisable to strongly remind ourselves that it is the most interesting experience that exists up to now.

Peter Camejo, one of the most prominent left leaders to emerge from the Sixties radicalization in the USA, lost a second bout with lymphoma Saturday, September 13. He was 68.

The 5th European Social Forum (ESF) which has just ended in Malmö (Sweden) is a good occasion to reflect on the trajectory and challenges of an initiative that has allowed activists and movements from across the continent to meet.

The food crisis has left thousands of people worldwide without food. With statistics showing 850 million hungry, the World Bank estimates that the current crisis increases that number by a hundred more. This ’tsunami’ of hunger is no natural process, but stems from the neoliberal policies of international institutions, imposed over decades.

Moscow’s decision to bombard Georgia and the way it recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have “borrowed” from Washington both in the methods employed and in the discourse – something that the defenders of double standards do not want to accept, repeating endlessly that Kosovo is not Ossetia. But there is nothing to celebrate: even if Putin is helping a multipolar world to assert itself, no progressive alternative is emerging.

Almost a year has passed since the IPCC released its reports on how rapid climate changes are taking us towards a disaster. The reports have made the issue more obvious and less controversial: the conclusion of this is that the climate threat can no longer be ignored.

A number of high-profile judicial cases have recently sharpened the question of whether or not the European Union protects collective bargaining agreements on the job market. This issue might be especially relevant to the Nordic countries since the job markets here to a large extent are regulated according to collective agreements.

An overwhelming majority within the scientific community has reached an unprecedented consensus: The current climate change is primarily a result of human activities, and climate change will reach a critical point if no measures are taken. Meanwhile, world leaders and economic powers ignore these facts, and offer superficial solutions such as green consumption instead of a fundamental structural change.