IPS COLUMNIST SERVICE

IPS, civil society's leading news agency, is an independent voice from the South and for development, delving into globalisation for the stories underneath. http://www.ipsnews.net/weekly.asp IPS COLUMNIST SERVICE Copyright © 2009 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. Mon, 30 Jul 2009 18:52 GMT mgutierrez@ips.org (Miren Gutierrez) newsletters@ipsnews.net (Walter Garcia) en-US IPS COLUMNIST SERVICE http://www.ipsnews.net/logo_ips.gif http://www.ipsnews.net/weekly.asp 100 42 ART, APOCALYPSE, AND THE FUTURE http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47882 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47882 Leonardo Padura Fuentes <editors@ipsnews.net> The world has deteriorated to the point that the images from Blade Runner amaze us less and frighten us more because we know how close we are to living on a planet similar to the one shown in the film, writes Leonardo Padura Fuentes, a Cuban writer and journalist whose novels have been translated into a dozen languages. HEALTH INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC CRISIS http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47868 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47868 Mirta Roses-Periago <editors@ipsnews.net> At a time in which countries in the Americas are facing not only the effects of the worldwide economic crisis but also significant health challenges, it is crucial to increase or to at least maintain public health spending while using this opportunity to undertake a strong primary health care-based reform of their health systems, writes Mirta Roses-Periago is Director of the Pan American Health Organisation. CALIFORNIA DREAMS TURN TO NIGHTMARES http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47740 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47740 Mark Sommer <editors@ipsnews.net> The California dream has turned to nightmare. On July 1, facing a USD 24 billion budget shortfall, the state began issuing thousands of contractors IOUs that major banks warned they wouldn't honour, writes Mark Sommer, host of the award-winning, internationally- syndicated radio programme, A World of Possibilities. A MIXED PICTURE OF THE GLOBAL CRISIS http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47722 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47722 Pascal Lamy <editors@ipsnews.net> The world economy remains fragile and the economic outlook is still uncertain, writes Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). THE RISK OF ANOTHER DEBT CRISIS http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47648 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47648 Supachai Panitchpakdi <editors@ipsnews.net> The attention of policymakers is being drawn to addressing fiscal policy and financial issues in an effort to close the credit crunch and release financial flows, especially investment. G8 FOOD SECURITY INITIATIVE NO HELP FOR WORLD'S HUNGRY http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47647 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47647 Anuradha Mittal <editors@ipsnews.net> As the number of the world's hungry hit a historic high of one billion in 2009, the G8 held a lavish three-day summit/gala at which 25,000 meals were served to the powerful elites from rich countries, writes Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute. G8, THE GAME IS OVER http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47609 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47609 Hazel Henderson <editors@ipsnews.net> A powerful new global player has emerged on the world stage: the Group of 192, writes Hazel Henderson, author of Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy (2006), president of Ethical Markets Media, an independent social enterprise covering local economies, new currencies, and the growing green sectors. WHAT WE NEED IS A CLIMATE BAILOUT http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47535 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47535 Maurice Strong <editors@ipsnews.net> A recent study by the Global Humanitarian Forum, headed by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, postulates that the economic and human costs of climate change could now amount to some 125 billion dollars per year and the loss of 300,000 lives, writes Maurice Strong, who was the Secretary General of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, first Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Secretary General of the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. WOMEN'S HEALTH - A SMART INVESTMENT IN TROUBLED TIMES http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47517 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47517 Thoraya Ahmed Obaid <editors@ipsnews.net> The financial crisis that started in rich countries has deepened into a global economic crisis that threatens to reverse hard-won gains in education and health in developing countries, and women and children are among those hardest hit. That is why the theme of this year's World Population Day, 11 July, focuses on increased investments for girls and women to boost economic recovery and long-term equitable growth, writes Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). POOR COUNTRIES RAILROADED INTO WEAK COMPROMISE AT UN FINANCIAL SUMMIT http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47466 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47466 Sylvia Borren <editors@ipsnews.net> After weeks of negotiations, the conclusion of the UN High Level Conference on the Financial and Economic Crisis (24-26 June) was a huge disappointment, writes Sylvia Borren, co-chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and Worldconnectors. AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BOB ROACH : "IN THIS GLOBALISED ECONOMY COMPANIES DON'T RECOGNISE NATURAL BOUNDARIES." http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47465 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47465 Lucy Komisar <editors@ipsnews.net> MIAMI, Jul (IPS) Recently Bob Roach, Chief Investigator of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the US Senate, took part in a conference in Miami organised by Offshore Alert, a specialised media organisation focused on financial crime. KEY ISSUES IN THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON THE GREAT ECONOMIC CRISIS http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47464 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47464 Martin Khor <editors@ipsnews.net> Many around the world look to the United Nations conference on the global financial and economic crisis this week with great expectations, as it should be the start of a process that could bring the UN into the forefront of tackling the greatest economic crisis in half a century, writes Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre, Geneva. BRAZIL - POWER AND REALISM http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47463 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47463 Joaquin Roy <editors@ipsnews.net> It is said that a French politician, asked whether Brazil had a good future, answered with scorn and knowing irony, "Brazil has always had, still has, and will always have a magnificent future." It would seem that the country has suffered for decades under this sort of stigma, writes Joaquin Roy, ''Jean Monnet'' professor and Director of the European Union Centre of the University of Miami. NOSTALGIA FOR THE FUTURE http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47462 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47462 Leonardo Padura Fuentes <editors@ipsnews.net> This year's theme for the forum of the Literary Chiasso festival in the enchanting Swiss town was "nostalgia for the future", a subject that revealed with striking clarity the worries of thinking people today, writes Leonardo Padura Fuentes, a Cuban writer and journalist whose novels have been translated into a dozen languages. GRAINS AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47461 http://www.ipsnews.net/columns.asp?idnews=47461 Jacques Diouf <editors@ipsnews.net> The current global economic downturn is contributing significantly to deeper poverty and hunger across the world. Preliminary estimates indicate that more than 100 million could be dragged into hunger as a consequence, writes Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).