Transnational news - 7 March 2008

Editor's pick: Articles of the week

	UNGASS - 10 years review This month sees the start of a year-long review of UN drugs policy, set out in the political declaration and action plans of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs in 1998. TNI has launched a new website - www.ungassondrugs.org - with critical background on the key issues at stake.

	Afghanistan and the Pakistan crisis Mariano Aguirre Scarce attention to poverty alleviation and blind reliance on military might has brought the western forces in Afghanistan to a standstill. Putting Pakistan into the equation is a key to any solution in Afghanistan.

	In the dragon's lair Herbert Docena The manner in which the United States has re-established its military presence in the Philippines by expanding supposedly 'temporary' exercises illustrates its attempts to radically overhaul its global offensive capabilities to prepare against China's rise while overcoming mounting domestic opposition to its presence around the world.

	Cuba after Castro Pablo Navarrete The debate on whether Fidel Castro's retirement will usher in a neoliberal economy in Cuba misses the point. Under Raul Castro, the country has already engaged in a reform process and built up allies designed to renew its own form of 'socialism for the twenty-first century.'

New books

Iran in the crosshairs
Phyllis Bennis and the Iran team at the Institute for Policy Studies
Despite the National Intelligence Estimate's claim that Iran did not have a programme to build nuclear weapons, the possibility of a U.S. military strike on Iran remains a very real threat. This pamphlet examines the history and forces driving US policy towards Iran and proposes some ideas to prevent another looming disaster.

China's new role in Africa and the South: A search for a new perspective
Edited by Dorothy-Grace Guerrero and Firoze Manji
This unique collection of essays is the first collaboration between Chinese and Southern civil society voices on the challenges faced by Africa, Latin America and Asia as a result of China's rise as a significant global economic power. It provides fresh and diverse perspectives that focus on the economic, social and environmental impact of China's expansion.

Global outlook stories

Abolishing coca leaf consumption? The INCB needs to perform a reality check
TNI Press Release, 5 March 2008
The Transnational Institute condemns the decision by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) which calls on countries to 'abolish or prohibit coca leaf chewing and the manufacture of coca tea,' a policy that would criminalise millions of people in the Andes.

Pakistan votes for democracy
Praful Bidwai
The vote against the ruling coalition headed by the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), a puppet of General Pervez Musharraf, is a referendum against the establishment, including the army, and a vote for democracy.

A charity for overfed zombies
Boris Kagarlitsky
The whole industry that Kremlin created to cope with the Orange 'threat', will now have to be dismantled. But how to do that without turning them into enemies?

ERC video journal - Denial of democracy in France
Features Susan George
The French parliament's adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the essence of the rejected EU Constitution, epitomises the EU's undemocratic nature.

Les limites du pouvoir des contre-pouvoirs
Susan George
Le citoyen européen en quête de contre-pouvoir ne trouvera aucun secours auprès d'une Europe qui manque autant de moyens que de démocratie.

The WSF as "Moment"
Walden Bello
The WSF can continue to be a central part of future moments of the global justice struggle, but only if it moves toward becoming a site for bringing together critical analysis and decisive action on the key issues of our time.

The first time I was called a self-hating Jew

It was America in the 1960s, and his parents were civil rights activists who encouraged their children to speak their minds. Until, aged 14, Mike Marqusee criticised Israel.

India needs some healthy populism
Praful Bidwai
With elections 14 months away, the Congress Party lacks a clear political strategy: if is to win the elections it should rely less on 'media training' and more on the policies and programmes that prioritise the interests of the majority.
See also: Now or never for nuclear deal

Offsetting democracy
Exposing the inadequacies of carbon trading
Kevin Smith
Carbon trading and offsetting distracts attention from the wider, systemic changes that need to be taken to achieve a low-carbon economy.

It's the stupid economy!
Saul Landau
Like the truly rich, the Bush family doesn't feel or see material suffering, yet the US economy is crumbling under the burden of its wars.

We support the national agriculture strike in Peru and reject the repression of the Peruvian government
Network Enlazando Alternativas

Call to action against Europe's aggressive economic agenda in Africa
Declaration of civil society organisations at the meeting of the Africa Trade Network, Cape Town, South Africa

En español

Selección del editor

UNGASS: 10 años después
Este mes arranca la revisión de la política sobre drogas de la ONU, establecida a través de la declaración política y los planes de acción adoptados durante el período extraordinario de sesiones de la Asamblea General (UNGASS) sobre drogas, en 1998. TNI presenta una nueva web, www.ungassondrugs.org, con información crítica sobre las cuestiones clave del proceso.

	Las FARC: Del idealismo al narcotráfico – ¿Posibilidades de paz? Amira Armenta Un examen a las FARC desde sus inicios, la realidad de sus relaciones con los cultivos ilícitos y el narcotráfico, y el estado crítico en que se halla el ‘intercambio humanitario’ con el desbordamiento y escalamiento del conflicto en la región.

	Elecciones en España 2008: una campaña que empezó hace cuatro años Juan Carlos Monedero Si bien todo apunta a una victoria clara de los socialistas, está en duda si alcanzará la mayoría absoluta, por lo que necesitará el apoyo parlamentario bien de Izquierda Unida, o de los nacionalistas de derecha de Convergencia i Unió.

Nueva publicación

	Agrocombustibles Una revisión crítica de nueve puntos clave Este informe expone una serie de preocupaciones de vital importancia frente a la actual campaña para desarrollar agrocombustibles en el sector del transporte, sobre todo en los países industrializados.

Perspectiva global

¿Abolir el consumo de la hoja de coca? La JIFE debería abrir los ojos a la realidad
Comunicado de prensa, 5 de marzo de 2008
El Transnational Institute condena la decisión de la Junta Internacional de Fiscalización de Estupefacientes (JIFE) presentada en su informe anual publicado hoy, que llama a los países a "abolir o prohibir el mascado de la hoja de coca y la fabricación del mate de coca".

¡Es la estúpida economía!
Saul Landau
Como verdaderos ricos, la familia Bush no ve ni siente el sufrimiento material, pero la economía estadounidense se tambalea bajo la carga de sus guerras.

Llamamiento a la acción contra la agresiva agenda económica de la Unión Europea en África
Declaración de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en la reunión de la red 'Africa Trade Network', en Capetown, Sudáfrica

Respaldamos el paro nacional agropecuario de Perú y rechazamos la represión del gobierno peruano
Red Enlazando Alternativas

New from our network

Response to the INCB 2007 Annual Report
International Drug Policy Consortium >>

Ready, Aim, Foreign Policy (PDF)
Washington Office on Latin American Affairs >>

Existing trade preferences must be the starting point for negotiating an EU-Central America Association Agreement
Mexican Action Network against Free Trade >>

Las actuales preferenciales comerciales deben ser el punto de partida para un Acuerdo de Asociación entre Centroamérica y la UE
Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio >>

From the archives

Change of Course: An Agenda for Vienna
Drugs & Conflict Debate Papers 6
March 2003

Agenda para Viena: Cambio de rumbo
Drogas & Conflicto documentos de debate 6
Marzo de 2003

Events

14 - 17 May •
Linking Alternatives 3
Lima, Peru

14 - 17 mayo •
Enlazando Alternativas 3
Lima, Perú

21 May •
Tax Justice seminar
Amsterdam, Netherlands

In the media

UN Committee gives coca a surprise gift
Democracy Center, 7 March

Presidente regional de Puno será denunciado por legalizar hoja de coca
Pachamama Radio, 4 de marzo

Organizaciones sociales preparan agenda FSA 2008
Iván Escobar, Diario Co Latino, 4 de marzo

Conferencia de los Pueblos del São Francisco alerta sobre la degradación ambiental
Adital, 28 de febrero

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