CAN THE WORLD BE FIXED?

The world can be fixed:

INTERVIEW WITH CELSO AMORIM: "IBSA IS A BEACON FOR POLITICAL STRATEGISING AND SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION"

Celso Amorim, one of the fathers of the IBSA Forum (India, Brazil, and South Africa) says in this interview that for this alliance of three major emerging powers, "Helping the poorest countries is clearly one of its callings.This gives it both its uniqueness and its international legitimacy."

WE NEED BETTER, NOT MORE, INFORMATION

Not long ago we were convinced that the more information we had the more aware we would be as citizen and the more likely to make informed decisions at the polls. Today it seems the more information we have, the more questions we have. Ultimately, rather then feeling more secure, we feel more uncertain.

OP-ED: Ban’s Second Term: The Case for a Woman Secretary-General

Last Friday's recommendation to give the incumbent U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon another five-year term drew the international community's attention to another opaque, non- democratic process that is the hallmark of the 15-member Security Council's decision-making.

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS

Today millions of women workers from across the globe made history. From June 16, domestic workers secured the passage of the ILO Convention on domestic work for governments to ratify into law.

IMF PRIORITIES AND POLICIES NEED URGENT REFORM

Much of the recent public discussion on the International Monetary Fund has been about the successor to Dominique Straus-Kahn and the flawed system of choosing its chief.

THE DERAILING OF THE LEFT

One of the most powerful men in the world, director of the largest financial institution of the planet, sexually assaults one of the world's most vulnerable people, a humble African immigrant. In its raw concision, this image sums up with the expressive force of an editorial cartoon one of the central characteristics of our age: the violence of inequality.

THE EMERGING ECONOMIES AND THE CHANGE OF GUARD AT THE IMF

Despite the loud rhetoric about how the centre of gravity of the global economy and, with it, political influence, have moved from the trans-Atlantic to Asia, there continues to be strong resistance to reflecting this shift in the institutions of global governance.

THE EMERGING ECONOMIES AND THE CHANGE OF GUARD AT THE IMF

Despite the loud rhetoric about how the centre of gravity of the global economy and, with it, political influence, have moved from the trans-Atlantic to Asia, there continues to be strong resistance to reflecting this shift in the institutions of global governance.

THREE MEALS A DAY IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT

Lula launched the Zero Hunger Programme when he assumed the Brazilian presidency in January 2003, pledging that every Brazilian would be able to eat three meals a day.

WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT AMERICA

Whenever I praise something, my Japanese wife Fumiko asks, "And what is bad about it?" When I criticise something, she says, "Tell me something good about it." This is the Daoist "yin-yang" principle: in everything bright, there is also something dark, and vice versa, ad infinitum.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE NEW DEMOCRACY

The time has come to take a stand, to say calmly and firmly that humanity cannot continue to subject itself to the interminable throes of a system that has resulted in the current grave and multi-faceted (social, financial, food, environmental, political, democratic, ethical) crisis.

GROWTH WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE: TIME FOR A NEW ERA

More than 200 million people are officially unemployed worldwide, including nearly 80 million young women and men eager to secure their first job. Both figures are at their highest points ever, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. The number of workers in vulnerable employment – 1.5 billion (around half of the worldÂ's labour force) – and persons working but surviving on less than US$2.00 per day – 1.2 billion – is on the rise again.

HUMANIZING GLOBALISATION

In the past two decades, it has often been claimed that trade liberalization can, on balance, be a positive force for development. During this time, the Least Development Countries (LDCs) themselves became some of the most open economies in the world, based on the share of their exports in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But greater opening of LDCs markets has not always benefitted all people in these countries, and the impact of trade reforms has affected their populations differentially.

THREE MEALS A DAY IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT

Lula launched the Zero Hunger Programme when he assumed the Brazilian presidency in January 2003, pledging that every Brazilian would be able to eat three meals a day.

NO SILVER LINING TO THE IMF CLOUD

European powers appear set on perpetuating their arbitrary “entitlement” to the position of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in the wake of the controversy that precipitated the resignation of Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Despite claims from the IMF that the selection this time around would “take place in an open, merit-based, and transparent manner” as well as a longstanding commitment to open the position to nationals of all member states, most developed country representatives had expressed clear preferences for European candidates even before nominations opened on May 23. Their stances will do nothing to allay fears among developing countries and civil society that pledges to address unrepresentative governance at the Bretton Woods institutions are mere window dressing. They are in direct contravention of the explicit recommendation that resulted from extensive civil society consultations last year that the election would be conducted “without pre-selection by any sub-group of powerful countries”. Particularly since the arguments being proffered in favour of European candidates fly in the face of reason and logic.

AS KYOTO EXPIRATION NEARS, EMISSIONS TRADING SHOWN INEFFECTIVE

The Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. Its global focus on CO2 emissions and trading schemes based in London and other financial centres has grown suspect.

OP-ED: Iran’s Greatest Spiritual Leader

Iran's officially recognised "spiritual leader" today may be Ayatollah Khamenei, but for hundreds of years before the current establishment of mullahs and ayatollahs, Iranians of all creeds have looked to another spiritual leader: Jalal ad- Din Rumi.

OP-ED: Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion

All cultures contribute to the enrichment of humankind. Human beings must respect one another in all their diversity of belief, culture and language. Differences within and between societies should be neither feared nor repressed but cherished as a precious asset of humanity. This is a core challenge of the 21st century.

EUROPE: THE EPIDEMIC OF XENOPHOBIA

From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Europe is being swept by social and political changes so massive that they are calling into question its fundamental principles. Diversity, which has been a positive constant throughout our history, is now considered a threat. The signs are plain to see: a propagation of intolerance and fanaticism, growing support for populist and xenophobic parties, an ever more massive presence of immigrants without status or rights, "parallel" communities that do not interact with the rest of society, the repression of individual freedoms, and democracies in crisis.

DRINKING AND DRIVING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGE

There has been much progress in reducing drinking and driving in industrialised countries over the past 30 years. However, while drinking and driving continues to be a source of concern in developed countries, it is an even greater concern in developing countries. This is not only because alcohol-related crashes have significant [social and] economic costs, but because they often result in the death or serious injury of breadwinners such that families are no longer able to pay for essentials and are forced into poverty.