 
The War on Poverty
Imagine for a moment if the developed world were as committed to fighting a war on poverty as we are to the war on terrorism. Massive resources would be redirected to the improvement of the lives of the hundreds of millions of ordinary people who struggle on a daily basis simply to survive. Rich nations seek to play the world trade system for their continuing benefit, while in the underdeveloped world there are 800 million chronically malnourished; 2 and a half billion people lack access to basic sanitation and one fifth of all children there do not complete a primary level of education. This week's backgrounder looks at the unconscionable inequity between the rich of the World's North and the poor of the South.
 
WTO-Cancun: Future Uncertain After Collapse of Talks
The WTO ministerial conference in the Mexican resort of
Cancun came to an abrupt end last Sunday without an agreement, leaving a big question mark
hanging over the future of the international trade talks. This is the second failed WTO conference since the world body was created in 1995. Talks also collapsed at the third ministerial meeting in the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington in 1999, amid massive street protests by the so-called ''anti-globalisation'' movement. 'This is a triumph of reason, a triumph of the poor countries and civil society, because we could not allow the rich countries to once again impose their views and their pressure,' Alberto Villareal, the head of the environmental group Friends of the Earth International's trade campaign, told IPS - Inter Press Service News Agency
Asia's take on Cancun
When the World Trade Organization (WTO) Fifth Ministerial Conference was going into its final throes in Cancun, Mexico, where officials had retreated in a vain hope that they could get away from anti-globalization protesters, Asian nations' goals diverge depending on
their export strengths or weaknesses. This report analyses five Asian countries in depth - China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and the Philippines - Asia Times Online
WTO: 'Extremely insensitive to people living in poverty'
As the talks broke down, developing countries reacted strongly to the Draft Cancun Ministerial Text as it has bypassed their concerns on a range of issues like agriculture, investment, competition and non-agricultural products access. Speaking to newspersons on Saturday night, the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, said: "In agriculture, not only are the distortions prevalent today being perpetuated, but a slew of new measures to increase such distortions are being proposed." He also said that the heightened ambition on market access, which ironically provides for special and differential (S&D) treatment in favour of developed countries was "utterly incomprehensible and extremely insensitive to the large number of people living in poverty in the developing countries." - The Hindu Business Line
 
Living on the brink
The tableau of a country disintegrating in civil war is starkly at odds with Nepal's enduring image as an enchanted Shangri-la, a place frozen in time. Yet it is the country's backwardness, so charming to backpackers, mountaineers and jet-setters alike, that lies at the heart of the deadly turmoil. Though Kathmandu has enjoyed steady modernization, in the rugged hinterlands the time warp that shrouds the Himalayan kingdom preserves a system of feudal landlords, bonded labor and a medieval level of destitution. The Asian Development Bank estimates that 42% of the 26 million population lives below the poverty line-and Nepal's leaders have made scant effort to address the gap between the impoverished many and the privileged few - Time
 
Cancun Protesters Realize that Neo-Liberalism Is a Form of War
Thousands of activists this week converged to declare that the brutal economic model advanced by the WTO is itself a form of war. War because privatization and deregulation kill - by pushing up prices on necessities like water and medicines, and pushing down prices on raw commodities like coffee, making small farms unsustainable. War because those who resist are routinely arrested, beaten and even killed. War because when this low-intensity repression fails to clear the path to corporate liberation, the real wars begin. The global anti-war protests grew out
of the networks built by years of globalization activism. And despite attempts to keep the movements separate, their only future lies in the convergence represented by Cancun - Aljazeerah.info
 
The Development Gateway
It is a widely accepted view that a freer trade can be an important factor in mitigating the poverty problem in many developing countries. It is also widely perceived that trade barriers work primarily at the disadvantage of the poor countries. The Poverty topic page of the Development Gateway is an open space where people can visit to share the experiences and knowledge on some of the key issues related to the problem of poverty in the developing world. The page also offers latest news, upcoming events, project information, statistics, useful web links and other knowledge resources. - The Development Gateway
 
7 Deadly Social Sins
1] politics without principle
2] wealth without work
3] commerce without morality
4] pleasure without conscience
5] education without character
6] science without humanity
7] worship without sacrifice - Ghandi
 
Fearless Stories from Asian Women - The Price of Freedom
This series examines the experiences of four women fighting for social justice. Each have
own fascinating story to tell, but all are united by their determination to stand up for
what they believe. In 1994 a young poet from rural Bangladesh called Doris Nuval plunged
the country into a wave of general strikes and mass protest. Her crime: to write her
thoughts about how religious fundamentalism has consigned women to a secondary role in
modern society. - SBS TV, Friday 19 September, 8.00 pm
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