January 28th, 2008 by one1-watchdog
Many investors in china are still wondering how a mortgage credit crunch in the USA can so badly affect their stock prices and cause their banks to reserve billions of dollars of contingent losses. Even more surprising to many is how this is happening when the economy is clearly rushing ahead with growth rates exceeding 10% , and while affluence is clearly beginning to permeate and be evident, even in second tier cities, beyond those along the coast.
Talks of Asian stock markets or economies being decoupled from those of USA and the western economies were quickly quashed as stock markets around the world aligned themselves to Dow trends; the good and bad news from housing, employment, retail trends in the USA …and of course the macro-economic tweaks by the US administration.
The current financial crisis will certainly add to the overall debate about Globalization… Boon or Bane? The answer will depend on how countries and leaders can work together to avoid a global recession.
I have started a “Recession Watch” at my facepage site. You may join this group to more actively share in its discussion.
Tags: 2008 recession, stock market crash
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July 14th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
I am not sure if the article “China Not Sole Source of Dubious Food ” By ANDREW MARTIN and GRIFF PALMER published in the New York Time , July 12, 2007 , if published earlier, may have saved Zheng Xiaoyu once ranked as one of the most powerful regulators in China from his execution.
Zheng rose from modest beginnings to help create and lead Beijing’s version of the Food and Drug Administration in the United States but ultimately could not resist the bribes and gifts offered by the food and pharmaceutical Industry.
The article identifies many countries from which the USA has had encounters of unhealthy and unsafe food. It says….
“Critics say the F.D.A. has not changed to deal with the flood of imports in the last decade, as trade agreements have opened up borders to products from across the globe.”
In defence of the FDA, one has to acknowledge that this is no easy matter. In the area of food, the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) with the objective to protect their human, animal and plant life
or health has been one of the most vexatious to implement and administer…giving rise to many charges of trade protectionism.
The area of medicines and drug manufacture is probably far more complex. A review of the website of the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration will show the rash of international agreements, local and international authorities Read the rest of this entry »
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July 12th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
There is no denying the power and influence of the USA in the global economy. Many would suggest that the USA derives this power increasingly more from military might, and its political influence over the many Global Governance Organizations like the WTO, World Banks, IMF etc.
The more extreme of critics label the USA a the Facist Regime in the Global economy as is depicted in the following video
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July 8th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
7/7/07. As I write this Blog in Singapore , Live Earth Shows will have been staged in Sydney, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hamburg, Johannesburg and moving across the world to Rio de Janeiro, London and New York. A decade ago such an event done on a global scale may not be possible or economically feasible.
To me the event demonstrates the power of globalization much more than it does the awareness of climate change. I certainly congratulate the organizers and many supporters for their efforts…the world certainly needs the education. However looking at some of the high energy events many of which lavish in the use of energy, one wonder if the whole effort has not gone a tad commercial…with more emphasis TV and advertising sponsorships, tickets sales than climate change itself.
It was quite ironical to see one of the bands wearing a T-shirt, “Say No to Nuclear Energy”. If we are going to use energy the way the events are held and publicized then, what choice do we have? I note that some of the events were held in Read the rest of this entry »
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June 16th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
Being able to communicate through one mobile pone in any other as if we are in our own is certainly the wishes of a global citizen. The African are succeeding into doing this. This is defiently an achievement when Asia, not even ASEAN can yet have a vision of this happening.
Nairobi - Celtel International, the pan-African mobile telecommunications company, has announced that it was expanding One Network, claimed to be the world’s first borderless mobile network, to include the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Democratic Republic of Congo. This comes nine months after the successful launch of One Network in East Africa.
In September 2006, Celtel offered its customers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda the opportunity to move freely across geographical borders without roaming call surcharges and without having to pay to receive incoming calls. This was claimed to be the first time a mobile company was able to completely remove traditional roaming charges and offer its customers the same services abroad that they could access in their home country, such as airtime transfer from friends - Me2u, voicemail and customer service in their local languages. Read More
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May 20th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
Social learning is increasingly cited as an essential process for addressing the complexity and uncertainty inherent in many sustainability issues, and for developing understanding between the different perspectives involved.
Learning for sustainability.net aims to provide a practical resource for proponents of multi-stakeholder learning processes. It recognises that
- Social learning is an ongoing process, rather than an outcome to be achieved.
- The process occurs as a result of many well-managed relationships and the provision of a range of interactive opportunities between different stakeholder groups.
The guide to on-line resources includes a wide range of topics relevant to social learning and is a recommended reosurce for all who are involved in community and social development projects.
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March 23rd, 2007 by one1-watchdog
In a chapter, “The Issue of non-interference”, in his book “Southeast Asia in Search of an ASEAN community“, Rodolfo Severino, a former secretary general of ASEAN, asserts that that this concept has its underpinnings in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia which put an end to the eighty years of war between the Dutch and the Spanish. He writes…
“What is more significant for the future of international relations and thus, of mankind is that it conferred sovereignty on the nations of Europe over their respective territories, largely freeing them from the Holy Roman Empire…..It also guaranteed in much of the continent religious liberty and tolerance at least for the three major branches of Christianity - the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran and the Calvinist.”
This short passage, taken I must emphasize in its own context, made me reflect on how Read the rest of this entry »
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March 14th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
I never thought I would feature a book written in 1994, but I found Jennifer A Elliott’s, “An Introduction to Sustainable Development”, published by Routledge, timeless, especially the many quotations and excerpts she selected from other authors. In some ways this timelessness reflects that the crucial issues identified as important to the world’s sustainable development has remained somewhat Read the rest of this entry »
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March 7th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
This article from Robert Anderson, published in Scoop, New Zealand Independent Media, offers fruit for thought about globalization and progress… we quote
“We are now close to crisis point. This is not a melodramatic statement intended to frighten or shock readers. It is merely an inescapable fact. The Global Climate Change crisis is a most urgent concern - or should be - for all political parties. The Nat’s pay it lip service, but fully intend business as usual, while Helen Clark needs to act more decisively, but won’t or can’t”
My views are that Globalization cannot be fully blamed for the worsening environment. It has helped by making these a global concern. Imagine large population countries and land masses like Indonesia and China burning away without any one knowing about it!
See Scoop for full article
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March 6th, 2007 by one1-watchdog
“On the other hand, there is a strong prime facie case that the net impact of neo-liberalism has been negative. For example, in a study for the United Nations, British economist John Eatwell (1996) pointed out that financial liberalization of the 1970s was supposed to:
move savings from developed to developing companies
Read the rest of this entry »
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