We Can Now See the True Cost of Globalization

When Karl Marx called for the workers of the world to unite, it seems unlikely he had in mind an iPhone boycott. But suggestions for just such a campaign in the US have thrown the spotlight on possible abuses at firms producing goods for hi-tech giant Apple, urging the public to think again about what happens at the other end of the production pipeline that leads to its swish, minimalist stores. Stung by the criticisms, Apple boss Tim Cook told his staff last week: "We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain," and the company is now inspecting scores of factories, providing the latest evidence that the public is no longer willing to ignore the dark underbelly of world capitalism.

Before the Great Crash, critics of globalization were isolated on the loony fringe: tear-gassed in Seattle and whacked with truncheons in Prague, as the west's leaders gathered to congratulate themselves on reaping the benefits of unfettered world trade. When the Asian financial crises of the 1990s toppled governments and forced one desperate country after another into mass impoverishment and emergency bailouts by the International Monetary Fund, the west's leaders – even many on the left – explained it away as a result of shoddy governance or poor economic management, instead of a devastating side-effect of globalization.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/29/observer-editorial-global-capitalism-bad

Zoe Weil - Localization v. Globalization -- A False Dichotomy

Published on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 by CommonDreams.org

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/06-4

by Zoe Weil

The economic localization movement is growing. Locavores have become widespread, with the “100 mile diet” representing the new eco-conscious food trend. Author Helena Norberg-Hodge begins her TEDx talk, The Economics of Happiness, with this impassioned plea: “For all of us around the world the highest priority, the most urgent issue, is fundamental change to the economy,” and goes on to say, “The change that we need to make is shifting away from globalizing to localizing economic activity.” This, she suggests, is the economics of happiness. Even in my own town, a yoga studio has a sign on the wall urging yoga practitioners to shop locally.

As a humane educator who teaches about the interconnected issues of human rights, environmental preservation and animal protection, I am uncomfortable with the fervor surrounding localization. While the farmer’s market and local food movements have certainly been beneficial – helping farmers, communities, and individuals alike – it’s not realistic, desirable, or responsible to reject global trade out of hand or to advocate localization as the urgent answer for our times.

A full commitment to local economies would mean that in Maine, where I live, people would need to give up coffee, citrus, rice, cotton and synthetic fabrics (among many other things) and rely on potatoes, wheat, lobsters and clams, canned food stored from our brief summers, and wear linen clothing and deer hides. It would also mean that medicines discovered and produced by scientists working in New England would no longer be exported to places where they are most needed. Perhaps they wouldn’t be discovered or produced at all, given that many ingredients and processes are derived across the globe.

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Dr. Mercola - How Ghostwritten Medical Articles Can Impact Your Health

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/26/medical-journals-using-ghost-writers.aspx?e_cid=20111126_DNL_art_2

Unfortunately, the practice of employing ghostwriters can have very serious ramifications for your health. For example, an August 4, 2009 New York Times article reported how Wyeth Pharmaceutical Company used this ghostwriting practice to successfully peddle hormone replacement therapy in women. Physicians prescribed these drugs based on 26 studies published in the medical literature, affirming the benefits and downplaying the risks of hormone replacement. 
As a result, sales of Premarin and Prempro soared. 
However, all the papers turned out to have been written by ghostwriters hired by Wyeth, and many women have since sued the drug maker for health problems suffered from these drugs. 

• Wyeth-Ayerst—Redux. Wyeth paid $20,000 for an article on the "therapeutic effects" of their diet pill, Redux (dexfenfluramine). As detailed in the book Our Daily Meds, Dr. Richard Atkinson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin was to receive $1,500 in return for putting his name to the finished piece. An excerpt from Our Daily Meds reads:

"When the article was complete, Dr. Atkinson sent a letter to Excerpta, praising the ghostwriter's work. "Let me congratulate you and your writer on an excellent and thorough review of the literature, clearly written," the doctor wrote. "... Perhaps I can get you to write all my papers for me! My only general comment is that this piece may make dexfenfluramine sound better than it really is."

A year later, the drug was pulled from the market as doctors began reporting heart valve injuries in as many as one-third of patients taking the drug. Redux, Pondimin (a similar drug), and fen-phen (of which dexfenfluramine was a part) were later linked to dozens of deaths.

• Parke-Davis (acquired by Pfizer in 2004)—Neurontin. Parke-Davis contracted with a medical education communication company (MECC) to write articles in support of the drug to the tune of $13,000 to $18,000 per article. In turn, MECC paid $1,000 each to friendly physicians and pharmacists to sign off as authors of the articles, making the material appear independent.Last year, Pfizer was found guilty of violating U.S. racketeering laws by illegally promoting off-label uses of Neurontin, and were fined more than $142 million in damages. 
  Merck—Vioxx. This deadly drug, which was eventually blamed for some 60,000+ deaths, was also linked to a number of shameful scandals relating to fraudulent studies and the use of ghostwriters to boost sales. The New England Journal of Medicine admittedly published an erroneous and biased Vioxx study, and the Annals of Internal Medicine found itself in similar hot water when one of the "authors" of a 2003 Vioxx study confessed he had little to do with the research.

Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor - Far Right on Rise in Europe, Says Report

Published on Sunday, November 6, 2011 by The Guardian/UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/06/far-right-rise-europe-report

Study by Demos thinktank reveals thousands of self-declared followers of hardline nationalist parties and groups

by Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor

The far right is on the rise across Europe as discontent with the fallout from globalisation reverberates across the continent, a study has revealed ahead of a meeting of politicians and academics in Brussels to discuss the rapid spread of hardline nationalist and anti-immigrant groups.

The report, by the British thinktank Demos, attempts for the first time to examine attitudes among supporters of the far right online. Using advertisements on Facebook group pages, they persuaded more than 10,000 followers of 14 parties and street organisations in 11 countries to fill in detailed questionnaires.

The study reveals a continent-wide spread of hardline nationalist sentiment among the young, mainly men. Deeply cynical about their own governments and the EU, their generalised fear about the future is focused onto cultural identity, with immigration – particularly a perceived spread of Islamic influence – a big concern.

"We're at a crossroads in European history," said Emine Bozkurt, a Dutch MEP who heads the anti-racism lobby at the European parliament. "In five years' time we will either see an increase in the forces of hatred and division in society, including ultra-nationalism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, or we will be able to fight this horrific tendency."

The report comes just over three months after Anders Breivik, a supporter of hard-right groups, shot dead 69 people at youth camp near Oslo. While he was disowned by the parties, police examination of his contacts highlighted the Europe-wide online discussion of anti-immigrant and nationalist ideas.

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Brasschecktv.com - Overpopulation: The Making of a Myth

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/5567.html

It seems that a lot of people really believe in the myth of
overpopulation, but where does this myth come from and how is it so
persistent?

Well, for one, it's easy to believe when you live in a city crammed
full of people stacked on top of one another. It's easy to forget
that there are still wide open spaces, and plenty of them.

It's also an idea that has been crammed into our heads our entire
lives, but the people doing the cramming are the same ones that
have lied to us over and over again to justify just about anything. 

Check out this animated short on the the making of a myth...

Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/5567.html

"John Feffer" - Why 2012 Will Shake Up Asia and the World

The United States has long styled itself a Pacific power. It established the model of counterinsurgency in the Philippines in 1899 and defeated the Japanese in World War II. It faced down the Chinese and the North Koreans to keep the Korean peninsula divided in 1950, and it armed the Taiwanese to the teeth. Today, America maintains the most powerful military in the Pacific region, supported by a constellation of military bases, bilateral alliances, and about 100,000 service personnel. It has, however, reached the high-water mark of its Pacific presence and influence. The geopolitical map is about to be redrawn. Northeast Asia, the area of the world with the greatest concentration of economic and military power, is on the verge of a regional transformation. And the United States, still preoccupied with the Middle East and hobbled by a stalled and stagnating economy, will be the odd man out.

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"Michael Payne" - The Impending Demise of Globalism; How It Will Cripple Corporate America

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Impending-Demise-of-Gl-by-michael-payne-110815-712.html

August 15, 2011 By michael payne Globalism, which has enriched Corporate America, has been an absolute disaster for U.S. manufacturing and the American worker. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. So let's make an objective analysis and a prediction of how globalism, the darling of the free traders and transnational corporations, will cease to be the driving force of the world's commerce. What exactly is globalism? Generally defined it is a "socio-economic system dedicated to free trade and free access to markets." It's an innovative form of international commerce whereby nations think of marketing with a world view rather than their own national view. Trade between nations has been going on for centuries but under globalism and the evolution of gigantic transnational corporations, it has become far more intensive and much more sophisticated. Think of the monumental volume of products and raw materials that are exchanged day in and day out between nations via air transport and ocean shipping; the enormous trade that goes on between the U.S. and China and Japan, albeit most of the traffic is for exports to America rather than exports by America; the volume is staggering.

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"Danny Schechter"- The Legacy of Nelson Mandela

At 94, Nelson Mandela is still kicking, inspiring an international day of community service on Juy 18^th in his name. This seems to be an idea that Barack Obama borrowed for similar events in the USA. 

While activists and athletes and entertainers, are honoring him by responding to his call for engagement, journalists in the obit departments of the world’s news networks are quietly, even secretly, combing their archives for footage and tributes that will air when he moves on to the next world.  They are getting ready and seem to think it will happen sooner rather than later.

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Global Crisis Strengthens WSF’s Legitimacy

European non-governmental organisations combating neo-liberal globalisation find their position vindicated by the ongoing socio-economic and environmental crisis upsetting the world.

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Be the Peace You Want to See on Earth

When President Barack Obama joined the ranks of Henry Kissinger and the other gentle souls who have received Nobel Peace Prizes, he did something that I don't think anyone else had previously done in a Peace Prize acceptance speech. He argued for war.

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