World Bank/ IMF/ WTO

=cochabamba bolivia water war boliviashots fired near family bechtel world bank<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb-vIbcOL4M">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb-vIbcOL4M</a><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.desmog.com/2022/10/06/world-bank-financing-fossil-fuels-climate-crisis/">https://www.desmog.com/2022/10/06/world-bank-financing-fossil-fuels-climate-crisis/</a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h4 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">===</h4><div>proto-Occupy? [KA also discounts importance of Koch TP?
</div><div><a href="https://www.kurtandersen.com/evil-geniuses">
</a></div><div><a href="https://www.kurtandersen.com/evil-geniuses">https://www.kurtandersen.com/evil-geniuses</a>
</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/books/review/evil-genuises-by-kurt-andersen-an-excerpt.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/books/review/evil-genuises-by-kurt-andersen-an-excerpt.html</a>
</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/i-was-useful-idiot-capitalism/615031/">https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/i-was-useful-idiot-capitalism/615031/</a></div><div>
</div><div>laffer w/ hart and later dems cans
</div><div>
</div><div>...</div><div>Although very few people I knew

voted for Reagan, affluent college-educated people, liberals and

otherwise, tended not to disagree ferociously about politics in the

1980s and ’90s, and certainly not about economics. In retrospect, the

rough consensus about economics looks like the beginning of an unspoken

decades-long class solidarity among the bourgeoisie. Affluent

college-educated people, Democrats as well as Republicans, began using

the phrase socially liberal but fiscally conservative to

describe their politics, which meant low taxes for higher-net-worth

individuals (another new term) in return for tolerance of . . . whatever,

as long as it didn’t involve big new social programs that affluent

people would have to pay for. It was a libertarianism lite that kept

everything nice and clubbable and it did at least have the virtue of

ideological consistency.When

Gary Hart ran a second time for president, in 1988, one of his

tax-policy advisers was Arthur Laffer, Reagan’s inventor of supply-side

economics. When Jerry Brown ran for the 1992 Democratic nomination, he

too sought Laffer’s help, to devise some kind of tax scheme “that was

clear and easy to articulate,” and Laffer himself says he voted for Bill

Clinton. (He’s now a Trump adviser.) The Democratic Leadership Council,

co-founded by Clinton in 1985, became a think-tankish anchor for

Democrats who didn’t disagree with Republicans that pretty much the only acceptable new solutions to any social problem were market based.<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/i-was-useful-idiot-capitalism/615031/#Correx">*</a></div><div>
</div><div>For the remainder of the

century, no candidate from the Democratic left became a plausible

finalist for the nomination. In 1992, when Clinton won the nomination,

his only serious competitors were two fellow New Democrats, Brown and

Tsongas. Democrats had settled into their role as America’s economically

centrist party. There was no organized, viable national economic left

in the vicinity of serious power. The collapse of the Soviet Union and

Communism at the beginning of the 1990s was very good news, but it had

the unfortunate effect of making almost any left critique of America’s new hypercapitalism seem not just quixotic but also kind of corny and quaint.Not

everybody in the 1990s was sanguine about the emerging future, or as

oblivious as I still was to the multi-faceted unfairness that had been

built into the economy, or as complacent as I was about the millions of

Americans losing out in the go-go globalizing digitizing frenzy. Around

this time, a middle-aged law-school professor and bankruptcy expert,

until recently a registered Republican who’d been affiliated in the late

1970s with the conservatives’ hugely influential new Law and Economics

movement, began to see the light. Elizabeth Warren has said that she

realized only in the ’90s that “starting in the ’80s, the cops were

taken off the beat” in financial services. “I was with the GOP for a

while,” she has said, “because I really thought that it was a party that

was principled in its conservative approach to economics and to

markets. I feel like the GOP just left that. They moved to a party that

said, No, it’s not about a level playing field. And they really

stood up for the big financial institutions when the big financial

institutions are just hammering middle-class American families.”</div><div>I’m betting that at the end of 1999, Warren didn’t feel complete

solidarity with all the thousands of demonstrators in Seattle outside

the biannual World Trade Organization meeting. Their grievances were

various—from AFL-CIO folks pissed off about U.S. companies manufacturing

more and more things overseas to anarchists smashing store windows and

otherwise acting out their hatred for the System. I know I rolled my

eyes at the Gen-X kids in Seattle chaining themselves together and

getting off on tear gas; at their lack of a feasible agenda or nuance or

even coherence; and at the belief of so many of them in a shadowy,

multi-tentacled conspiracy of the omnipotent elite to tyrannize the

little people and subvert democracy. It took me a few more years to

realize that their caricature of the new economic paradigm was closer to

right than wrong. What that new paradigm ultimately brought us, of

course, is Donald Trump....</div><div>
</div>The obeisance of the rich right

and their consiglieri to Trump for the past four years has exposed more

nakedly than ever their compact—everything about money, anything for

money—and the events of 2020 pushed that along to an even more hideous

crescendo. In early spring, when COVID-19 had killed only dozens of

Americans, Stuart Stevens, a strategist for the four previous Republican

presidential nominees, wrote that “those

of us in the Republican Party

built this moment,” because “the failures of the government’s response

to the coronavirus crisis can be traced directly to some of the toxic

fantasies now dear to the Republican Party … Government is bad.

Establishment experts are overrated or just plain wrong. Science is

suspect.”<p id="injected-recirculation-link-7" class="ArticleRelatedContentLink_rootv6EBD" data-view-action="view link - injected link - item 8" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-31117857_217="517452" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-31117857_217="100" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-31117857_217="1"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/decline-gop/614983/">Norm Ornstein: I’ve witnessed the decline of the Republican Party</a>Entirely

apart from this administration’s unique incompetence and Orwellian

denial of facts, while its handling of the pandemic may wind up as a political

failure for them, every piece of the crises’ exacerbation came directly

out of the right’s playbook of the past four decades. Stevens could

have also listed Believe in our perfect mythical yesteryear, Short-term profits are everything, Inequality’s not so bad, Liberty equals selfishness, and Entitled to our own facts.</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">water wasted in cochambamba b/c too cheap?!</div><div style="font-size: small;">in 2006, Wolfensohn founded the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookings_Institution" title="Brookings Institution" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Brookings Institution</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Washington, D.C.</a>-based think tank.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[31]</a> The center examined how to implement, scale up, and sustain development interventions to solve key development challenges at a national, regional, and global level and strove to bridge the gap between development theorists and practitioners. Its projects focused on youth exclusion in the Middle East, large-scale <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_reduction" title="Poverty reduction" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">anti-poverty programs</a>, reforms of global economic governance, and regional cooperation, particularly in Central Asia. The Center concluded work after five years.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[32]</a>Wolfensohn was a trustee of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Foundation" title="Rockefeller Foundation" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">Rockefeller Foundation</a>, and also served as an honorary trustee of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookings_Institution" title="Brookings Institution" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">Brookings Institution</a>. He was a trustee and past chairman of the board of trustees of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Advanced_Study" title="Institute for Advanced Study" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">Institute for Advanced Study</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton,New_Jersey" title="Princeton, New Jersey" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">Princeton, New Jersey</a>. He was chairman emeritus of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F.Kennedy_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts" title="John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts</a> in Washington, D.C. and also of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall" title="Carnegie Hall" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">Carnegie Hall</a> in New York City. He was a member of the non-profit think tank the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Foreign_Relations" title="Council on Foreign Relations" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Council on Foreign Relations</a>. In July 2008, Wolfensohn was selected as one of the inaugural fellows of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Institute_of_International_Affairs" title="Australian Institute of International Affairs" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; text-decoration-line: none;">Australian Institute of International Affairs</a>. He served on the board of various charitable foundations, including the Wolfensohn Family Foundation.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[33]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-:1-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[35]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-:0-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[17]</a>Between 1985 and 2015 Wolfensohn attended 27 conferences of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group" class="mw-redirect" title="Bilderberg Group" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Bilderberg Group</a>, which rendered him one of the most frequent participants of the organization during this time period. He also attended meetings of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen_Institute" title="Aspen Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Aspen Institute</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum" title="World Economic Forum" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">World Economic Forum</a>. He was a one time a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[36]</a> In 2004, Wolfensohn was the commencement speaker at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandeis_University" title="Brandeis University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Brandeis University</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[37]</a> Wolfensohn sat on the board of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endeavor(non-profit)" title="Endeavor (non-profit)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Endeavor (non-profit)</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-:1-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[34]</a> He was a member of the Honorary Board of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Paralympic_Committee" title="International Paralympic Committee" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">International Paralympic Committee</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">[38]</a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/vaccine/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium;">https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/vaccine/</a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">comm dr</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small;">While global health advocates applauded the Biden administration's recent <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/05/05/transformative-hopeful-event-under-pressure-biden-backs-covid-19-vaccine-patent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">decision</a> to support waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/05/05/biden-administration-support-trips-waiver-critical-first-step-more-must-be-done" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">"critical,"</a> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/05/05/bidens-trips-waiver-decision-transformative-hopeful-event" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">"transformative,"</a> and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/05/05/bidens-support-trips-waiver-unquestionably-right-thing-do" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">"unquestionably the right thing to do,"</a> Big Pharma took a decidedly less optimistic view of the move and has been hard at work behind the scenes in a bid to thwart the policy, a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/05/14/covid-vaccine-waiver-generic-phrma-lobby/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">report</a> published Friday by The Intercept revealed.In a bid to stymie U.S. support for a proposal by India and South Africa to enact a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the pharmaceutical industry is "distributing talking points, organizing opposition, and even collecting congressional signatures in an attempt to reverse President Joe Biden's support for worldwide access to generic Covid-19 vaccines," according to The Intercept's Lee Fang.Fang obtained an email from Jared Michaud, a lobbyist with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)—a trade group whose clients include vaccine developers AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer—describing how Big Pharma and sympathetic U.S. legislators are pushing lawmakers to oppose a TRIPS waiver.The email explains that Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) are leading an unreleased letter to Biden—which currently has 29 co-signers—"expressing concerns with the administration's support for waiving IP protections related to Covid-19 vaccines under the WTO TRIPS waiver.""We urge you to contact offices and ask them to sign onto this letter," said Michaud's email.</div>=<div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/heres-why-climate-change-has-become-a-lightning-rod-for-business-and-finance-leaders-report/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: currentcolor none medium;">https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/heres-why-climate-change-has-become-a-lightning-rod-for-business-and-finance-leaders-report/</a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="font-size: small;"><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">no lnx</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here’s why climate change has become a ‘lightning rod for business and finance leaders’: report</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Written by Alex Henderson January 24, 2020</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Countless articles have focused on the environmental and safety aspects of climate change, especially in liberal and progressive publications. But Dino Rabouin and Amy Harder, in an article published by Axios on January 24, discuss and analyze climate change from a business standpoint — explaining that climate change has “suddenly become a lightning rod for business and finance leaders around the world.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Drawing on data Axios received from the High Lantern Group, Rabouin and Harder report that climate change “generated the highest degree of public pressure on corporations by activists, policymakers and journalists” in 2019 — which was a 77% increase from 2018.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">High Lantern’s data, according to Rabouin and Harder, “includes analysis of more than 6 million tweets.” Rob Gluck, managing partner for High Lantern, notes that “the vast majority of relevant public actors” are “using (Twitter) to communicate.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“In recent months,” Rabouin and Harder observe, “the world’s foremost economic institutions have advocated for policies cutting greenhouse gas emissions. This trend is driven by a confluence of factors, including more extreme weather and greater public pressure.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Institutions that have been discussing climate change, Rabouin and Harder point out, include “major central banks” as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). In a research paper released on January 20, BIS warned that climate change could cause “potentially extremely financially disruptive events that could be behind the next systemic financial crisis.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to BIS, “This complex collective action problem requires coordinating actions among many players, including governments, the private sector, civil society and the international community.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="">IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, in a speech last week, asserted that the IMF “ought to begin to build standards for disclosure of climate risks” — and that includes “mandatory disclosure standards.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Journalist Josh Holland addressed climate change’s financial costs in a September 2019 article for The Nation, stressing that a Green New Deal wouldn’t be nearly as costly as the effects of climate change. Holland noted that in a 2015 report, the Economist Intelligence Unit warned that “the asset management industry — and thus the wider community of investors of all sizes — is facing the prospect of significant losses from the effects of climate change.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Rabouin and Harder also note that “BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, says it’s making climate change a pillar of its investment strategy, and even Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are calling for a price on carbon emissions.”</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Axios reporters emphasize, however, that “all this rhetoric should be scrutinized carefully and often” because “talking about supporting policies addressing climate change is quite different from actually doing something about it.”</div></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div>IDB int'l dev bank<a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/04/18/venezuela-idb-maduro-guaido/">https://theintercept.com/2019/04/18/venezuela-idb-maduro-guaido/</a>omg fail Reports have emerged that Trump will nominate David Malpass, a Treasury Department official, to be the new head of the World Bank. Malpass is an outspoken critic of the World Bank, saying it is overly intrusive. Malpass previously worked on Wall Street as the chief economist of Bear Stearns. In 2007, he wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Don’t Panic About the Credit Market”—less than a year before the collapse and subsequent sale of Bear Stearns amid the 2008 financial crisis.=<a href="https://www.alternet.org/environment/us-china-investment-war-quietly-emerging-and-environment-will-be-ultimate-casualty-0">https://www.alternet.org/environment/us-china-investment-war-quietly-emerging-and-environment-will-be-ultimate-casualty-0</a>~ envir/AGWOctober 3, the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-development/congress-eying-china-votes-to-overhaul-development-finance-idUSKCN1MD2HJ" style="text-decoration-line: none;">U.S. Senate passed a law</a> to create an agency called the International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), to replace the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) set up in 1969. The IDFC will invest up to $60 billion in developing countries and, unlike OPIC, is empowered to make equity investments. It is designed to counter what some in Washington describe as China’s “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/40d7eee4-bdc1-11e8-94b2-17176fbf93f5" style="text-decoration-line: none;">economic warfare</a>” of indebting developing countries and garnering diplomatic influence and support, largely through infrastructure projects such as the <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yddoqb6u" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Belt & Road Initiative</a>.The IDFC is set up by the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act (<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2463/text" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the Build Act</a>), which passed the House of Representatives in August with bipartisan support, and has been <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/07/10/how-the-build-act-advances-development/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">lauded</a> in international development circles for its <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/build-act-for-new-us-development-finance-corporation-sails-through-senate-committee-vote-93015" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pro-development agenda</a>. But there are at least four very concerning aspects of the Build Act, making it likely that the environment will be the ultimate casualty in this new front in the US-China war of influence.1. Key environmental threshold removedA key environmental safeguard imposed on OPIC has slipped out of the Build Act. <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2015-title22/pdf/USCODE-2015-title22-chap32-subchapI-partII-subpartiv.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">OPIC</a>’s authorizing statute required it to refuse support for any project which “will pose an unreasonable or major environmental, health, or safety hazard, or will result in the significant degradation of national parks or similar protected areas.”This underpinned the very first step in OPIC’s project screening procedures, designed to ensure that environmentally damaging projects don’t get supported. A <a href="https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc812651/m1/1/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">2003 report to Congress</a> shows that this provision formed the basis for OPIC to decide whether a project was ‘categorically prohibited’ from receiving support. According to OPIC’s <a href="https://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/opic_env_handbook.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">environmental handbook,</a> this captured “large dams that disrupt natural ecosystems, infrastructure and raw material extraction in primary tropical forests and other protected or ecologically fragile areas.”History also shows us how important this provision could be for pulling support for projects already underway. In 1995 OPIC <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/02/business/international-business-us-cancels-indonesian-mine-s-insurance.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">canceled $100 million of political risk insurance</a> for a U.S. company operating the world’s largest gold mine in Indonesia. The cancellation was prompted by environmental contamination from the mine that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/27/world/asia/below-a-mountain-of-wealth-a-river-of-waste.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">poisoned fish and local water</a> supplies, and reports of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/02/business/international-business-us-cancels-indonesian-mine-s-insurance.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">killings and torture</a> by the company’s private security services. While the legal basis for the decision has never been made clear, it could well have been the above provision.2. Host country notification requirements removedAnother of OPIC’s environmental mandates has been stripped from its successor organization under the Build Act. OPIC’s authorizing statute required it, before supporting a project, to contact the host country government, inform them of the likely environmental impacts and the international environmental standards applicable to the project, and any U.S. regulations that would apply if the project was carried out there. OPIC had to share any environmental impact assessments carried out, and to take into account any comments received in response. This provision was used by OPIC to notify governments from <a href="https://www3.opic.gov/environment/eia/buchanan/Host%20Country%20Notification.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Liberia</a> to <a href="https://www3.opic.gov/Environment/EIA/amandienergy/Host_Country_Notification_Amandi.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Ghana</a> to <a href="https://www3.opic.gov/environment/eia/evtl/dochostcountrynotificationengrovopak.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Pakistan</a> of OPIC’s potential support to projects in those countries with the potential to have “<a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2015-title22/pdf/USCODE-2015-title22-chap32-subchapI-partII-subpartiv.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">significant adverse environmental impacts</a>.” IDFC, on the other hand, will not be required by its authorizing statute to engage and assist host country governments in this way.3. Climate ignoredClimate considerations are entirely absent from the Build Act. OPIC was <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/climate-lawsuit/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">sued in 2003</a> by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and four cities in Colorado and California. OPIC accepted liability for financially supporting fossil fuel projects from 1990 to 2003 that accounted for nearly <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/climate-lawsuit/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">eight percent of global carbon emissions</a>—almost one-third of total U.S. emissions. In a settlement agreement, OPIC committed to establishing a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with its projects by 20 percent over ten years and increasing financing for renewable energy. The creation of IDFC would have been an opportune moment to carry such commitments over to the new body taking over OPIC’s mandates by enshrining them in the Build Act. As it stands, climate does not appear anywhere in the law.4. Foreign policy interests prioritizedThe Build Act explicitly mixes sustainable development with geopolitical strategic objectives, stating that one of the objectives of the IDFC is “to provide countries a robust alternative to state-directed investments by authoritarian governments and United States strategic competitors using high standards of transparency and environmental and social safeguards, and which take into account the debt sustainability of partner countries.”This explicit inclusion of foreign policy objectives is a major departure from OPIC’s authorizing statute, which did not even contain the words ‘foreign policy.’ The reference to environmental and social safeguards rings hollow in light of the key environmental safeguards imposed on OPIC that have been stripped from IDFC’s authorizing statute.The Build Act requires the IDFC to develop guidelines and criteria to ensure that each project it supports has “<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2463/text" style="text-decoration-line: none;">a clearly defined development and foreign policy purpose</a>.” The requirement that all projects serve a foreign policy purpose, combined with weakened environmental protections, could see the IDFC supporting environmentally damaging projects if they are seen to be in US foreign policy interests—for instance, if it was thought that if not financed by IDFC, the project would instead be financed by a ‘strategic competitor,’ with debt, influence and diplomatic relations accruing to that competitor rather than the U.S.OPIC’s track record has included support to projects that reportedly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-hydropower/exclusive-lenders-auditors-raise-red-flags-at-chilean-hydro-project-idUSKCN1B11CQ" style="text-decoration-line: none;">mismanaged hazardous waste</a> in Chile, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5848a141e4b013b566b2bab4?timestamp=1481224763673" style="text-decoration-line: none;">contaminated water and degraded forests</a> in Liberia, and <a href="https://www.ciel.org/news/investigation-finds-that-opic-denied-that-project-affected-community-is-indigenous-did-not-comply-with-its-policies/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">failed to recognize the existence of an indigenous community</a> in Bolivia because it did not carry out a social and environmental assessment. It is hard then to see how its successor agency, with a weaker environmental mandate, a broader potential investment portfolio, and an explicit dictate to out-compete Chinese money, is well placed to do better.<interaction data-token="5b96855f8198b4e625350260" data-context="true" data-tags="" data-fallback="true" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" />This article was produced by <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Earth | Food | Life</a>, a project of the Independent Media Institute, and was originally published by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/the-build-act-environmental-consequences-2622384653.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">EcoWatch</a>.<h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/world-bank-climate-change-2622267244.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">World Bank to Invest $200 Billion to Tackle Climate Change</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url css-listicle-body-2622267244" data-elid="2622267244" data-authors="Lorraine Chow" data-headline="World Bank to Invest $200 Billion to Tackle Climate Change" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><div class="widget__brief">As the all-important United Nations <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/cop24" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">climate talks</a> kick off in Katowice, Poland this week, the World Bank Group <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/12/03/world-bank-group-announces-200-billion-over-five-years-for-climate-action" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">announced</a> Monday that it will significantly ramp up its investments to fight <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style="text-decoration-line: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;">climate change</a>, and it is urging the wider global community to do so as well.It will double its current 5-year investments to around $200 billion from 2021-2025 to boost adaptation and resilience in a rapidly warming world, especially in the world's poorest countries.</div></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">giants pp:</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div>The Global Power Elite works out policies to advance their</div><div>interests with regard to the management and protection of</div><div>global capital and the enforcement of debt collection worldwide</div><div>in such private policymaking forums as the World Economic</div><div>Forum, Trilateral Commission, Group of 30, Atlantic Council,</div><div>
</div><div>and Bilderberg Group, and in such transnational state institu-</div><div>tions as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, G20, and</div><div>
</div><div>Bank for International Settlements.</div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div>gold nicaragua families could be displaced from their homes and have their livelihoods destroyed -- if mining giant Condor Gold gets its way in Mina la India, Nicaragua.The British mining corporation wants to go through with a destructive gold mine -- despite fierce opposition from the local community.The people of Mina la India have seen their ground water supply damaged and neighbours harassed. They know what they’re up against. And they’ve said they need the support of people around the world to win this fight.Here’s how we can help stop this.The International Finance Corporation (IFC, aka the private sector arm of the World Bank Group) is the second biggest investor in Condor Gold’s schemes and prides itself with investing responsibly.So what’s it doing investing in a gold mine that could destroy an entire community?If we convince the IFC to divest, we can help stop this destructive project from going ahead. <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://act.sumofus.org/go/355902?t=2&akid=34155%2E1605472%2Exu7gSP" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1504456824428_6104" style="padding-inline-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background: transparent; outline: none; font-weight: bold;">Tell the IFC to divest from Condor Gold’s destructive mining project in Mina la India.</a>Condor Gold is a bully: it went as far as suing protesters in Mina la India.But the community fought back -- and Condor Gold finally dropped its charges.They won a battle. But the intimidation continues.=<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26012017/world-bank-global-warming-coal-gas-developing-countries">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26012017/world-bank-global-warming-coal-gas-developing-countries</a>

maybe spilt off WTO to trade agreements?

==
round the globe, people’s access to water is being

threatened every day by one of the most powerful institutions on the

globe—the World Bank. Under the guise of development, the World Bank and

its investment arm, the International Finance Corporation, invest

hundreds of millions in water privatization schemes that reduce access

to water, increase costs and have a devastating impact on people. What’s

worse is that the IFC often positions itself to profit from these

projects, creating an irreconcilable conflict of interest.But

one congresswoman just took a stand against this threat that could mean

the beginning of the end of the World Bank’s harmful water-for-profit

pursuits. In a letter, Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) demanded the

World Bank cease all promotion and financing of these projects pending

an external review and congressional hearings on conflicts of interest.

Because Moore is the ranking member of a subcommittee with direct World

Bank oversight, it has no choice but to listen.The

letter, addressed to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, describes the

failure of a World Bank-backed water privatization project in Manila,

Philippines—the “<a href="http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/3f64d180498391a5856cd7336b93d75f/SuccessStories_MWSSweb.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">success story</a>” the IFC uses in marketing around the world—as the foundation of her concern. In Manila, the IFC advised the <a href="http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/sites/default/files/resources/shutting_the_spigot_on_private_water_corporateaccountabilityinternational.pdf">government</a>

to contract with two private corporations to manage the city’s water

system, which it did in 1997 in a concession deal that favored one

corporation, Manila Water Company, with less debt and better

infrastructure. The IFC subsequently took part ownership in MWC only.Since taking over, MWC has <a href="http://www.anakpawis.net/wp-content/plugins/downloads-manager/upload/HR%20109%20-%20review%20of%20MWSS%20contracts.pdf">raised rates</a> nearly 850 percent, and has even <a href="http://interaksyon.com/business/71403/manila-water-files-dispute-with-mwss-before-intl-body">brought the Manila regulator</a>—and the Philippines Department of Finance—into arbitration in an attempt to hike the cost of water even higher.As

part owner of MWC, the IFC is now in direct opposition to the

government’s efforts to keep water affordable for its people. And while

the IFC has stood by MWC, it has made $43 million from its initial

investment.Regrettably, these shady dealings aren’t unique to Manila. Recently, as adviser to the government in Kigali, Rwanda, <a href="http://ifcext.ifc.org/IFCExt/pressroom/IFCPressRoom.nsf/0/201FC9809DFB8A0585257E190045DDF4?OpenDocument">the IFC awarded</a> a 27-year public-private partnership contract to a subsidiary of Metito—in which IFC also has an ownership <a href="http://www.metito.com/about-us/keyshareholders/">stake</a>. As if that weren’t enough, it also approved <a href="http://ifcextapps.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/78e3b305216fcdba85257a8b0075079d/b53324e0006c5d9785257eff00636d42?opendocument">a $14 million loan</a> to the corporation as part of the deal.These

deals create a perverse incentive for the World Bank to try to squeeze

money out of the very people it’s supposed to be helping.Thanks

to organizing and powerful leaders like Moore, the World Bank’s course

could be changing. In the face of campaigning and public scrutiny, the <a href="https://www.globalwaterintel.com/global-water-intelligence-magazine/9/1/general/veolia-ami-brings-in-development-agencies-to-enhance-ppp-strategy">IFC divested</a> its

ownership stake in global water privatizer Veolia in 2014. And in

Lagos, Nigeria, a popular movement against a proposed privatization

project has brought the World Bank to its knees, forcing it to drop its

goal of securing a private sector contract for the water system in that

city.Moore’s intervention wasn’t only inspired by the

struggles for water outside of the United States. People in her home

state of Wisconsin successfully <a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/senate-vote-on-drinking-water-privatization-bill-scrapped/article_de28dbb4-0a09-5da7-a268-1d815c9f74bc.html">blocked a bill</a>

that would have fast-tracked water privatization by removing a

public-vote requirement. Just last month, Moore traveled to Flint to

hear firsthand from families affected by the lead contamination caused

by corrupt management of that city.The situation in Flint, Moore

says, "demands swift and effective action from federal, state, and local

stakeholders.” But as Moore explains, “It also begs of us in positions

of influence to take a broader look at the world around us to help

identify similar problems.”Globally, access to water is

threatened when those in power treat water as a business, not a public

right. The IFC openly markets such an approach to water delivery, using

various buzzwords like privatization, “public-private partnerships” and

“full-cost recovery.” But, regardless of how they spin it, the results

are the same: people lose.Rep. Gwen Moore’s bold stance

this week will likely compel others to take action and demand answers.

Ultimately, given that the lives and well-being of millions around the

world are at stake, there is no other option. If we are to ensure that

everyone has access to water, the World Bank must not only address this

conflict of interest, it must abandon its blind pursuit of water

privatization and other models that undermine democratic control.

          
                   </font><p dir="ltr"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jesse Bragg is the Media Director at <a href="https://www.stopcorporateabuse.org">Corporate Accountability International</a>.</font></p><p align="left"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></p><p align="left"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://ecowatch.com/2016/02/26/u-s-blocks-india-solar-plan-trade-rules/">http://ecowatch.com/2016/02/26/u-s-blocks-india-solar-plan-trade-rules/</a></font></p><p align="left"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">India has been told that it cannot go ahead as planned with its ambitious plan for a huge expansion of its <a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/">renewable energy</a> sector, because it seeks to provide work for Indian people. The case against India was brought by the U.S.

The ruling, by the <a href="https://www.wto.org/" target="blank">World Trade Organization</a>, says <a href="http://www.mnre.gov.in/solar-mission/jnnsm/introduction-2/" target="blank">India’s National Solar Mission</a>—which

would create local jobs, while bringing electricity to millions of

people—must be changed because it includes a domestic content clause

requiring part of the solar cells to be produced nationally.<div align="left">

<figure id="attachment_378390" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="max-width: 760px"><figcaption id="figcaption_attachment_378390" class="wp-caption-text">Sun-tracking discs at a vast solar thermal power plant in Rajasthan, India. Photo credit: Brahma Kumaris / Flickr</figcaption></figure>

</div>What a difference two months make. On Dec. 12 last year, U.S. President Barack Obama praised the <a href="http://climatenewsnetwork.net/euphoria-as-paris-finally-seals-the-deal/" target="_blank">Paris agreement</a> on tackling <a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/">climate change</a>,

just hours after it was finally concluded. “We’ve shown what’s possible

when the world stands as one,” he said, adding that the agreement

“represents the best chance we have to save the one planet that we’ve

got.”<div align="left">

</div>Clear-Cut Victory
Prakash was the lead orator in May 2003 when US Trade Representative <a href="http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php?title=Robert_Zoellick&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Robert Zoellick (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Robert Zoellick</a> announced the US's intention to file a <a href="http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="World Trade Organization (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">World Trade Organization</a> case against the European Union over its "illegal five-year moratorium on approving agricultural biotech products"<a href="http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/CS_Prakash#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[9]</a>.<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/11/12/world-bank-cop21">http://ecowatch.com/2015/11/12/world-bank-cop21</a>6/15ike the traditional Greek song, in Athens “everything changes and everything stays the same”. Four months after Syriza’s victory, the parties that had governed since the overthrow of the military dictatorship — the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) and New Democracy (rightwing) — have been completely discredited. The first radical leftist government since the “mountain government” at the time of the German occupation is very popular.   Although the “troika”, hated because of its responsibility for the current economic disaster, is no longer mentioned, its three “institutions” — the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) — continue their policies. With threats, blackmail and ultimatums, a new “troika” is imposing the same austerity on the government of Alexis Tsipras.   With wealth generation down by 25% since 2010 and an unemployment rate of 27% (more than 50% for those under 25), Greece has an unprecedented social and humanitarian crisis. But despite the results of the January elections, which gave Tsipras a clear mandate to end austerity, the European Union continues to treat Greece as a naughty pupil who must be punished by the stern teachers in Brussels, to discourage daydreaming voters in Spain and elsewhere who still believe in the possibility of governments opposed to the German dogma.   This situation is like Chile in the 1970s, when US president Richard Nixon was determined to topple Salvador Allende to prevent leftwing contagion in America’s backyard. “Make the economy scream,” said Nixon, and when it did, General Augusto Pinochet took over.<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/16/world-banks-broken-promise_n_7054842.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/16/world-banks-broken-promise_n_7054842.html</a><h1 class="title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 26px; direction: ltr; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 36px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Evicted and Abandoned: Inside The World Bank's Broken Promise To Protect The Poor</h1>

===

4/15

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important;">Big tobacco is suing Uruguay for their anti-smoking laws. <b id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429110159195_2263" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">If they win, it will threaten public health laws everywhere<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important;"> and prove one corporation can trump the public good, even when its product kills! But if we launch a giant call and Avaaz hires a world class legal team to carry our voices into the courtroom, the judges won’t be able to turn a blind eye.

===

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 29px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important;">Shopping for cigarettes in Uruguay isn't a pleasant experience. Photos of decaying teeth, premature babies and gruesome hospital scenes wrap around every pack. In fact, the country requires manufacturers to cover at least 80 percent of the packaging with medical warnings and graphic images.

Cigarette giant <a href="http://www.pmi.com/eng/pages/homepage.aspx" style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;">Philip Morris International</a>sees this requirement as a violation of a treaty law. So it's suing the country of Uruguay for $25 million.

<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; max-width: 680px; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The lawsuit is based on a 1991 trade agreement between Uruguay and Switzerland, where the company is located. The cigarette manufacturer <a href="http://www.pmi.com/eng/media_center/company_statements/pages/uruguay_bit_claim.aspx" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;">says</a> Uruguay is violating its promise to respect intellectual property rights.

<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; max-width: 680px; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Studies have <a href="http://211.144.68.84:9998/91keshi/Public/File/36/380-9853/pdf/1-s2.0-S0140673612608265-main.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;">found</a> that such gruesome packaging reduces smoking, particularly in pregnant women.

<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; max-width: 680px; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">To better understand this case before it goes in front of the World Bank this month, NPR's David Greene spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/chalexhall" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;">Alexandra Hall</a>, a reporter based in Uruguay's capital city, Montevideo.

===

===

how magna carta became minor:

HE CHARTER OF THE FOREST IMPOSED LIMITS TO PRIVATIZATION.  THE ROBIN HOOD MYTHS CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF ITS CONCERNS (AND IT IS NOT TOO SURPRISING THAT THE POPULAR TV SERIES OF THE 1950S, “THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD,” WAS <a href="http://monthlyreview.org/2012/05/01/a-red-robin">WRITTEN ANONYMOUSLY</a> BY HOLLYWOOD SCREENWRITERS BLACKLISTED FOR LEFTIST CONVICTIONS).  BY THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, HOWEVER, THIS CHARTER HAD FALLEN VICTIM TO THE RISE OF THE COMMODITY ECONOMY AND CAPITALIST PRACTICE AND MORALITY.

WITH THE COMMONS NO LONGER PROTECTED FOR COOPERATIVE NURTURING AND USE, THE RIGHTS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE WERE RESTRICTED TO WHAT COULD NOT BE PRIVATIZED, A CATEGORY THAT CONTINUES TO SHRINK TO VIRTUAL INVISIBILITY.  IN BOLIVIA, THE ATTEMPT TO PRIVATIZE WATER WAS, IN THE END, BEATEN BACK BY AN UPRISING THAT BROUGHT THE INDIGENOUS MAJORITY TO POWER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.  THE WORLD BANK HAS <a href="http://www.ips-dc.org/pressroom/world_bank_tribunal_ruling_in_el_salvador_mining_case_undermines_democracy" style=" background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">JUST RULED</a>THAT THE MINING MULTINATIONAL PACIFIC RIM CAN PROCEED WITH A CASE AGAINST EL SALVADOR FOR TRYING TO PRESERVE LANDS AND COMMUNITIES FROM HIGHLY DESTRUCTIVE GOLD MINING.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS THREATEN TO DEPRIVE THE COMPANY OF FUTURE PROFITS, A CRIME THAT CAN BE PUNISHED UNDER THE RULES OF THE INVESTOR-RIGHTS REGIME MISLABELED AS “FREE TRADE.” AND THIS IS ONLY A TINY SAMPLE OF STRUGGLES UNDERWAY OVER MUCH OF THE WORLD, SOME INVOLVING EXTREME VIOLENCE, AS IN THE EASTERN CONGO, WHERE MILLIONS HAVE BEEN KILLED IN RECENT YEARS TO ENSURE AN AMPLE SUPPLY OF MINERALS FOR CELL PHONES AND OTHER USES, AND OF COURSE AMPLE PROFITS

==

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1/15

On my heels came perhaps one of the world’s most effective spokespeople for the climate change movement, World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, Rachel Kyte. No one summarizes the global climate quandary better than Rachel and coherently explains what needs to be done. “We’ve never had this set of challenges before. If we continue to pollute like we are, we’ll warm the planet to a degree that we’ve all agreed isn’t safe,” she told the crowd.

She then charged the group with The Challenge. “We have to find a way to grow and met the needs of the people today. We have to grow with less carbon. By the time you’re in your 50s, 60s or 70s, we need to have zero net emission. This means emitting no pollution into atmosphere that can’t be sequestered by the planet or technology.”

==

gitlin:

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; background-color: rgb(175, 209, 187); display: inline !important;">What policies and terminology will best underscore the truths that carbon-based energy is scarcely “cheap” and that it exacts a host of planet-imperiling social and economic costs remains in dispute. There’s a <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/pricing-carbon" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: rgb(175, 209, 187);">big push for “carbon pricing”</a><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; background-color: rgb(175, 209, 187); display: inline !important;"> from the World Bank, for instance. What’s meant is a mixture of taxes, cap-and-trade policies, and internal pricing proposals, all based on the principle that once the actual costs of carbon are factored into policy calculations, it will become pricier and renewable energy less so.

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brics $100b dev bank shanghai IMF/WB

<h2 class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://thenationonlineng.net/new/brics-nations-to-create-100b-development-bank/" title="BRICS nations to create $100b development bank" style="text-decoration: none;">BRICS nations to create $100b development bank</a></h2>

By <a href="http://thenationonlineng.net/new/author/group/" title="Posts by Our Reporter" rel="author" style="text-decoration: none;">Our Reporter</a>. On Jul 18th, 2014 at 00:00

Filed under: <a href="http://thenationonlineng.net/new/category/business/" title="View all posts in Business" rel="category tag" style="text-decoration: none;">Business</a>

The leaders of the five Brics countries have signed a deal to create a new $100bn (£58.3bn) development bank and emergency reserve fund.

The Brics group is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The capital for the bank will be split equally among the five participating countries.

The bank will have a headquarters in Shanghai, China and the first president for the bank will come from India.

Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, announced the creation of the bank at a Brics summit meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil on Tuesday.

The halls of Fortaleza’s conference centre were full of whispers about whether or not these Brics nations – which often see one another

</div>

===

full text perkins economic hit man

<a href="http://archive.org/stream/ConfessionsOfAnEconomicHitman_257/JohnPerkins-ConfessionsOfAnEconomicHitman_djvu.txt">http://archive.org/stream/ConfessionsOfAnEconomicHitman_257/JohnPerkins-ConfessionsOfAnEconomicHitman_djvu.txt</a>

==

gop tries to trade imf help for ukraine to cancel irs scrutiny of 501c4? 3/14

==

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/13/export-import-coal_n_4441275.html?ir=Green&ref=topbar">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/13/export-import-coal_n_4441275.html?ir=Green&ref=topbar</a>

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Export-Import Bank has joined the growing list of international financial institutions that will no longer finance coal projects abroad.

Ex-Im is the official export credit agency for the U.S., focused on providing financial support to projects that spur the export of U.S. products and services. On Thursday,<a href="http://www.exim.gov/newsandevents/releases/2013/EXPORT-IMPORT-BANK-BOARD-ADOPTS-REVISED-ENVIRONMENTAL-GUIDELINES-TO-REDUCE-GREENHOUSE-GAS-EMISSIONS.cfm" target="hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">the bank announced</a> that it has revised its<a href="http://www.exim.gov/newsandevents/releases/2013/upload/Supplemental-Env-Guidelines-12-12-13.pdf" target="hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">environmental guidelines</a> to no longer support "high carbon intensity plants," except in countries with no other financially feasible options, or when a plant has carbon capture technology in place.

"No one has been more supportive of U.S. exports and the American jobs they produce and maintain than this bank and this board. Since 2009, we have supported nearly 1.2 million jobs," said Fred P. Hochberg, Ex-Im's chairman and president. "We can't do it, however, without considering the environmental costs associated with transactions."

The bank's support for fossil fuel projects abroad has drawn criticism from environmental organizations, which note that Ex-Im <a href="http://pacificenvironment.org/downloads/FACT%20SHEET:%20ExIm%20Bank%20fossil%20fuel%20financing.pdf" target="hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">loaned $9.6 billion to fossil-fuel projects in 2012</a>, despite its stated policy to consider the greenhouse gas emissions of projects it funds. In 2011, Ex-Im <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/12/south-africa-coal-kusile-durban-climate" target="hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">provided a $805 million loan</a> to build Kusile, a 4,800-megawatt plant in South Africa that will be among the largest in the world when completed.

But changes have been brewing at Ex-Im. During his big climate speech in June, President Barack Obama promised that the U.S. would stop funding coal projects abroad. A few weeks later, Ex-Im <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/07/export-import-bank-coal-plant-vietnam" target="hplink" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">declined to fund</a> a massive coal-fired power plant in Vietnam. And in October, the Treasury Department announced that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/12/south-africa-coal-kusile-durban-climate" target="hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">it would no longer fund most coal plants</a> though multilateral development banks.

Other major investment banks around the world have followed suit. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced earlier this week that it too<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/ebrd-scraps-most-financing-for-coal-power-plants.html" target="_hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">will no longer fund coal</a>.

"The Export-Import Bank's coal restrictions are just the latest resounding statement from public institutions that coal has no place in a 21st century, clean energy economy," said Justin Guay, associate director of the international climate program at Sierra Club.

Guay noted that Ex-Im's restrictions are "particularly historic," as it is the first export credit agency in the world to announce an end to funding for coal plants. "Of course, the most important thing now is implementation, and we'll be watching closely to be sure no new coal plants are approved," said Guay. "But more importantly, all eyes are now on other export credit agencies -- especially the Germans and the Japanese -- to follow suit."

===

<a href="http://www.globalpossibilities.org/world-bank-says-no-to-nuclear-as-it-lays-out-universal-energy-plan/">http://www.globalpossibilities.org/world-bank-says-no-to-nuclear-as-it-lays-out-universal-energy-plan/</a>

===

leaned on Brazil 70% intr rates, lula said no vultures

===

OSLO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The World Bank said on Tuesday it was planning "aggressive action" to help developing nations cut emissions of soot and other air pollutants blamed for causing climate change, in a shift also meant to protect human health and aid crop growth.

Of its funding to poor nations, almost 8 percent - $18 billion from 2007-12 - goes to sectors such as energy, farming, waste and transport that have a potential to cut emissions, a bank report said.

The bank said it would shift policy to insist that such projects in future - it did not predict levels of funding - included a component to curb air pollution.

"We will try to turn it (the funding) into aggressive action" to cut the pollutants, Rachel Kyte, vice president of sustainable development at the World Bank, told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting a 38-nation group in Oslo looking at ways to cut short-term air pollution.

"Anything that delays the pace at which global warming is arriving buys time for our clients, the poor countries in the world," Kyte said.  .... huffpo

==

<h1 class="headline">World Bank joins war on coal</h1>

By <a href="http://grist.org/author/john-upton/" title="Posts by John Upton">John Upton</a>

</header>

There’s a new ally in the fight against the dirtiest of fossil fuels.

The World Bank’s board of directors approved a strategy shift this week that will move the lending body formally away from its longstanding support of coal-fired power plants in favor of cleaner and smarter alternatives.

Following the adoption Tuesday of its <a href="http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/07/17/000456286_20130717103746/Rendered/PDF/795970SST0SecM00box377380B00PUBLIC0.pdf" target="_blank">Energy Sector Directions Paper</a> [PDF], the World Bank will “provide financial support for greenfield coal power generation projects only in rare circumstances,” such as where there are “no feasible alternatives to coal.”

The bank isn’t morphing from sinner to saint. It will still support new fossil-fuel projects, including those powered by natural gas, along with hydropower projects that wreck rivers and displace communities. But its shift away from coal could be significant, particularly <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2013/07/17/world-bank-abandons-coal-green-light-for-clean-micro-grids/" target="blank">as an example</a> for other international financing groups. In the same vein, <a href="http://grist.org/news/u-s-and-world-bank-might-stop-financing-dirty-coal-plants/" target="blank">President Barack Obama recently called</a> for an end to America’s financing of new coal plants abroad in most circumstances.

The World Bank is a huge financier of infrastructure projects, <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/06/29/world-bank-group-support-promote-growth-overcome-poverty-developing-countries-hits-nearly-billion-2012" target="_blank">loaning nearly $53 billion last year</a> to poor and developing countries. Its most recent support for construction of a coal-fired power plant came three years ago, when it <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/08/AR2010040805407.html">approved a $3 billion loan</a> for a coal facility in South Africa.

The shift is being welcomed by environmentalists, but they are anxious to find out how the bank will define the situations in which there are “no feasible alternatives to coal.” <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/16/us-worldbank-climate-coal-idUSBRE96F19U20130716" target="_blank">From Reuters</a>:

“While it misses an opportunity to close the door for good (on coal lending) it only allows it in narrowly defined cases where there are no feasible alternatives,” Justin Guay, a Washington representative for the Sierra Club, said about the new strategy.

Guay said there had been concerns China would not allow the new language to go through, as had happened with past proposals to cut back on coal funding.

The real test of the strategy may come next year, when the World Bank should decide whether to provide loan guarantees for [a] Kosovo power plant fired by coal.

</blockquote>

The strategy paper lays out the World Bank’s new energy priorities:

In countries with low energy access, the priority will be affordable and reliable energy. Grid, mini-grid, and off-grid solutions will all be pursued for electricity. In rural, remote or isolated areas, off-grid solutions based on renewable energy combined with energy efficient technologies could be the most rapid means of providing cost-effective energy services. Engagement in cleaner cooking and heating solutions will grow. …

Efforts to improve energy efficiency — one of the most cost-effective ways to expand supply and reduce environmental impact — will be scaled up according to countries’ needs and opportunities. …

The World Bank Group will continue to support and finance all forms of renewable energy … Rapidly declining costs are making wind and solar power competitive in some settings, while geothermal energy is a relatively low-cost source of renewable energy providing a dependable supply. Biogas and biomass-based energy also play useful roles. http://grist.org/news/world-bank-joins-war-on-coal/

</blockquote>

===

1999 seattle : <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Seattle_WTO_protests">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Seattle_WTO_protests</a>

...

Learning from what they saw as Seattle's mistakes, authorities responded with huge exclusion zones enforced well in advance and pre-emptive arrests of protest leaders; following Seattle's example, police made liberal use of chemical irritants and less lethal munitions. Subsequent protests in the U.S. did not replicate what the direct-action protestors achieved in Seattle on the morning of November 30, 1999.

In many ways the Seattle protests may have had their biggest impact on protest movements abroad and on the WTO itself. Two years passed before the WTO, meeting in Doha, Qatar, was able to agree on an agenda for a new round of talks -- what local boosters had hoped would be the Seattle Round instead became the Doha Development Round. Then when the WTO met in Cancun, Mexico, in 2003, a combination of massive street protests as in Seattle and rebellion by a group of developing nations brought negotiations to a complete halt. Over the years, WTO officials several times revived the Doha round negotiations only to see them fall apart again. Ten years after the WTO met in Seattle, it still had not reached substantive agreement on the issues that divided delegates and drew tens of thousands of protestors to Seattle streets....

<a href="http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9213">http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9213</a>

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization</a>

http://depts.washington.edu/wtohist/

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement</a>

davos; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum</a>

In January 2000, 1,000 protesters marched through the streets of Davos and smashed the window of the local <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s" title="McDonald's">McDonald's</a> restaurant.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum#cite_note-39">[39]</a> The tight security measures around Davos have kept demonstrators from the Alpine resort, and most demonstrations are now held in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich" title="Zürich" class="mw-redirect">Zürich</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern" title="Bern">Bern</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel" title="Basel">Basel</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum#cite_note-40">[40]</a> The costs of the security measures, which are shared by the foundation and the Swiss cantonal and national authorities have also been frequently criticised in the Swiss national media.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum#cite_note-41">[41]</a>

<h3>Public Eye Awards</h3>

The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards" title="Public Eye Awards" class="mw-redirect">Public Eye Awards</a> have been held every year since 2000. It is a counter-event to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Public Eye Awards is public competition of the world's worst corporation. In 2011, more than 50,000 people voted for companies that acted irresponsibly. At a ceremony at a Davos hotel, the "winners" in 2011 were named as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil" title="Palm oil">palm oil</a> diesel maker <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neste_Oil" title="Neste Oil">Neste Oil</a> in Finland and mining company <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AngloGold_Ashanti" title="AngloGold Ashanti">AngloGold Ashanti</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum#cite_note-46">[46]</a>

<ul>

<li>Winners: People's Award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shell" title="Royal Dutch Shell">Shell</a>, Jury Award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldman_Sachs" title="Goldman Sachs">Goldman Sachs</a></li>

</ul>

Nominees are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom" title="Alstom">Alstom</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_India" title="Coal India">Coal India</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G4S" title="G4S">G4S</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonmin" title="Lonmin">Lonmin</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repower_%28Swiss_energy_utility%29" title="Repower (Swiss energy utility)">Repower</a>

<ul>

<li>Winners: People's award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vale_%28mining_company%29" title="Vale (mining company)">Vale</a>, Jury award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclays" title="Barclays">Barclays</a></li>

</ul>

Nominees were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeport-McMoRan" title="Freeport-McMoRan">Freeport</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TEPCO" title="TEPCO" class="mw-redirect">TEPCO</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung" title="Samsung">Samsung</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syngenta" title="Syngenta">Syngenta</a>

<ul>

<li>Audience award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neste_Oil" title="Neste Oil">Neste Oil</a>, Jury award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AngloGold_Ashanti" title="AngloGold Ashanti">AngloGold Ashanti</a></li>

</ul>

Nominees were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Axpo&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Axpo (page does not exist)">Axpo</a> (a Swiss energy company), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP" title="BP">BP</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn" title="Foxconn">Foxconn</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Morris_International" title="Philip Morris International">Philip Morris</a>

<ul>

<li>Winners: 2x <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoffmann%E2%80%93La_Roche" title="Hoffmann–La Roche" class="mw-redirect">Roche</a> (Swiss, People), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Bank_of_Canada" title="Royal Bank of Canada">Royal Bank of Canada</a> (Global), water mandate of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Compact" title="Global Compact" class="mw-redirect">UN Global Compact</a> (Greenwash)</li>

</ul>

The Public Eye Award in the category Swiss and People was given to the Swiss health care-company for the selling of the drug <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellcept" title="Cellcept" class="mw-redirect">Cellcept</a> in China, where over 90% of the organs for transplantation comes from executed prisoners - against their own will.

<ul>

<li>Winners: 2x <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newmont_Mining_Corporation" title="Newmont Mining Corporation">Newmont Mining Corporation</a> (Global, People), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BKW_FMB_Energie_AG" title="BKW FMB Energie AG" class="mw-redirect">BKW FMB Energie AG</a> (Swiss)</li>

<li>Positive Award: Freddy Lozano and Jairo Quiroz Delgado, executive members from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union" title="Trade union">trade union</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sintracarbon&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Sintracarbon (page does not exist)">Sintracarbon</a>.</li>

</ul>

Newmont received the 2009 award for its Akyem project in Ghana. According to the jury it had destroyed unique natural habitats, carried out forced resettlement of local people and polluted soil and rivers.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-ips2009-01-30-5">[5]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-6">[6]</a> Newmont described the information as misleading and said the project had been extensively studied by international and national environmental experts, members of the local communities, and by the appropriate governmental agencies and departments.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-aa2009-02-02-7">[7]</a>

BWFK FMB Energie AG received the Swiss Award for their participation at German coal-burning power plants and the same time propagation of power efficiency and renewable energy in Switzerland.

The positive Award was given to two members of the union Sintracarbon in Columbia for their fight for better work conditions for the workers in the country's biggest coal mine (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cerrej%C3%B3n" title="El Cerrejón" class="mw-redirect">El Cerrejón</a>).

<ul>

<li>Winners: 2x <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areva" title="Areva">Areva</a> (Global, People), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glencore" title="Glencore" class="mw-redirect">Glencore</a> (Swiss)</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Positive Award: Hess Natur</li>

</ul>

Both the People’s Award and the Global Award were given to French state-owned Areva for the suppression of true health conditions of uranium mine workers at subsidiaries Somaïr and Cominak in northern Niger.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-8">[8]</a> Therefore, the hospitals would diagnose patients with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV" title="HIV">HIV</a> when they were actually displaying symptoms of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation-induced_cancer" title="Radiation-induced cancer">cancer caused by radioactive contamination</a> of air, water and soil. Glencore was “honored” for its opaque business practices and unacceptable labor rights in Colombian coal mines.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-9">[9]</a>

The Positive Award went to Hess Natur, Germany’s largest mail-order house for natural fabrics, for its social and ecological involvement that stresses fair trade of its raw materials.

<ul>

<li>Winners: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgestone" title="Bridgestone">Bridgestone</a> (Global), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novartis" title="Novartis">Novartis</a> (Swiss)</li>

<li>Positive Award: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coop_%28Switzerland%29" title="Coop (Switzerland)">Coop (Switzerland)</a></li>

</ul>

Bridgestone received the Global Award for the disastrous working conditions at a subsidiary in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia" title="Liberia">Liberia</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-10">[10]</a> The workers lived in mud huts, the children were forced to work, and they had to handle highly toxic materials without protection.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-11">[11]</a> Novartis received the Swiss Award for the patenting of the cancer drug Imatinib, forcing a halt in production of Indian generics. As a result, ten thousand patients worldwide could no longer afford medication that slowed the spread of leukemia.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-12">[12]</a> The product from Novartis is ten times more expensive than the generics.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-13">[13]</a>

Coop received the Positive Award for its dedication to ecological products and farming in Switzerland.

<ul>

<li>Winners: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_Corporation" title="Chevron Corporation">Chevron</a> (Environment), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citigroup" title="Citigroup">citigroup</a> (Taxes), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company" title="The Walt Disney Company">The Walt Disney Company</a> (Social)</li>

<li>Positive Award: Euzkadi Union SNRTE, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwatch" title="Germanwatch">Germanwatch</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_First_Information_and_Action_Network" title="Food First Information and Action Network">FIAN</a></li>

</ul>

For 30 years, Chevron allowed highly toxic waste water to flow into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Rainforest" title="Amazon Rainforest" class="mw-redirect">Amazon</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a>, and for cost-saving reasons it did not pump the waste water back into the earth, which was normal practice at the time.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-14">[14]</a> Chevron refuses to pay for the environmental consequences and the health problems of the local communities.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-evb.ch-15">[15]</a> Citigroup received its award for the unscrupulous advice it gave to tax evaders. Disney produces toys in China and does not disclose the names of the suppliers, thus protecting them from industry monitoring.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-evb.ch-15">[15]</a>

The Positive Award was given to the three organizations for their efforts against the unlawful closure of a Continental tire factory in Mexico, in which all of the organizations’ demands were met.

<ul>

<li>Winners: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Chemical" title="Dow Chemical" class="mw-redirect">Dow</a> (Human Rights), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shell" title="Royal Dutch Shell">Shell</a> (Environment), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart" title="Wal-Mart" class="mw-redirect">Wal-Mart</a> (Labor Rights), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPMG" title="KPMG">KPMG</a> (Taxes)</li>

</ul>

Dow received its award for the refusal to accept any responsibility for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster" title="Bhopal disaster">1984 catastrophe in Bhopal</a>. Dow merged with the company responsible for the accident.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-16">[16]</a> Shell received its award for gas flaring in Nigeria in residential areas.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-17">[17]</a> Wal-Mart denies responsibility for working conditions at its suppliers.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-18">[18]</a> KPMG received its award for encouraging its clients to practice aggressive tax evasion.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Eye_Awards#cite_note-19">[19]</a>

<h2>References</h2>

<h3>Washington A16</h3>

<div class="rellink boilerplate seealso">See also: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_A16,_2000" title="Washington A16, 2000">Washington A16, 2000</a></div>

In April 2000, 10-15,000<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-29">[29]</a> protesters demonstrated at the IMF, and World Bank meeting.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-30">[30]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-31">[31]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-32">[32]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Forum_on_Globalization" title="International Forum on Globalization">International Forum on Globalization</a> (IFG) held training at Foundry United Methodist Church.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-33">[33]</a> Police raided a staging warehouse on Florida Avenue.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-34">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-35">[35]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-36">[36]</a> 678 people were arrested.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-37">[37]</a> Three-time <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Spot_News_Photography" title="Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography">Pulitzer Prize</a> winning, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Post" title="Washington Post" class="mw-redirect">Washington Post</a> photographer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Guzy" title="Carol Guzy">Carol Guzy</a> was detained by police and arrested on April 15, and two journalists for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press" title="Associated Press">Associated Press</a> also reported being struck by police with batons.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-38">[38]</a> A lawsuit was filed for false arrest.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-39">[39]</a> In November 2009, the suits were settled, with $13 million damages awarded.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-40">[40]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-41">[41]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement#cite_note-42">[42]</a>

===

history of protests imf davos etc  <a href="http://www.globalissues.org/print/article/45">http://www.globalissues.org/print/article/45</a>

While protests have been aimed at different international bodies and blocs, the underlying themes are similar, while the actual themes of the protests have been different. For example:

<ul>

<li>The WTO protest of Seattle was about the trade policies being drawn up in undemocratic ways yet affecting people all around the world.

<ul>

<li>Here too, the elite’s “front guard” was mobilized to protect the image of the multinational corporations and institutions that support their “rights”.</li>

<li>The police crackdown was often violent and unprovoked.</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li>The IMF and World Bank protests in Washington D.C. were about the policies of the IMF and World Bank towards developing countries.

<ul>

<li>Their methods of “assistance” have been criticized for a long time for

<ul>

<li>increasing dependency on the richer nations</li>

<li>promoting a form of development whereby developing nations continue to provide cheap resources and labor to the richer nations</li>

<li>do little to address poverty or meet real development needs</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li>These policies are a precursor and basic framework to allow trade policies discussed at the WTO to be effective; they go hand in hand.</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li>The protests seen at various G8 summits have included issues such as debt relief.</li>

</ul>

It is ironic then, that in many countries, leaders, elected through processes of democracy (themselves often painful, trying and hard-won) have been turning against protestors, via pressure from the aristocracy of that nation and from “international” (western) financial institutions that are the target of the protests and criticisms. As protests increase, it is harder for elected leaders to hide behind their claims of being elected, if they are not fulfilling their promises, or turning out not to support their people via their policies:

==

http://grist.org/news/the-wto-may-halt-ontarios-clean-energy-program/

---

gangs of america:

[forget agenda 21] In general, the GATT process was described in the press as a matter

of removing “barriers to trade.” But critics pointed out that “barriers

to trade” frequently involved things like environmental laws and safety

standards that might happen to be stricter in one country than another.

In other words, NAFTA and other agreements appeared to be the first

pieces of global constitution.a body of new rights that would provide a

multinational corporation the ability to zap and destroy any pesky rules

that a particular country or locality might attempt to impose on it.

All three of the main Bretton Woods institutions have became integral

to the expansion of transnational corporations, especially in the

Third World. The international debt crisis of the early 1980s was a watershed

in the development of that role. During the previous decade, low

interest rates had encouraged a wave of borrowing from American and

European banks. Long-term external debt of low-income countries increased

from $21 billion to $110 billion between 1970 and 1980. In

1980, interest rates began to climb, and numerous countries found themselves

unable to meet their repayment schedules. The outcome of the

crisis was the creation of the “structural adjustment loan” by the IMF

and the World Bank, first developed with the Philippines in 1980 and

then with Mexico in 1982. Such loan packages provided emergency

funds for refinancing a country’s debt burdens, but not before securing

the government’s agreement on a number of conditions aimed at improving

its balance of payments. Among the austerity measures insisted

GLOBAL RULE .. 225

upon by the IMF were cuts in social services and privatization of stateowned

enterprises.

The requirement by structural adjustment programs that governments

sell state-owned businesses created a host of new opportunities

for transnational companies in public utilities, toll roads, bus systems,

oil pipelines, and power plants. An example is Enron, which generated

$23 billion in foreign revenues in 2001. Aided by World Bank privatization

pressure on Third World governments, Enron struck deals around

the world with numerous countries including India, the Dominican Republic,

Panama, Columbia, and Guatemala. In many cases, Enron also

received financing for such deals from the World Bank and from national

governments, including over $3 billion from the U. S. government.

...

Guided by that general objective, two channels emerged. One was

the GATT process, an ongoing series of multilateral negotiations involving

over 100 countries. But GATT’s sheer size made the process

slow and unwieldy. A quicker channel proved to be regional treaties,

starting with a US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 1987. In

1994, Mexico joined the regional agreement and the FTA was subsumed

into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). A

third treaty, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), is currently

being negotiated.

The regional agreements provided powerful new global rights for

corporationslegal mechanisms that allowed a corporation based in

one country to overturn the laws or judicial decisions of a different

country. In 1987, the first international corporate rights (national treatment

and minimum standard of treatment) came into being with the ratification

of the Canada−United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In

1994, that agreement was subsumed into the North American Free

Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which now included Mexico and which

added a third corporate right (compensation for regulatory takings).

The right of national treatment, defined by NAFTA’s Article 1102,

requires that governments must treat foreign corporations as favorably

as domestic ones. The right of minimum standard of treatment, defined

by Article 1105, means that all corporations must be treated according

to the requirements of international law. The right of compensation for

takings, defined by Article 1110, requires that if new regulations reduce

the value of a corporation’s property or expected future profits, the firm

is allowed to sue the host government for damages in a special court of

arbitration....

NAFTA’s corporate rights were stronger than those available to

corporations through the rules of the 144-member World Trade Organization

(WTO). While the WTO allows a government to challenge the

domestic laws of another government, NAFTA allows a corporation to

directly sue a foreign government in response to a law, a regulation, or

even a court decision within that government’s sovereign domain. Such

challenges are considered before secret arbitration boards that do not

allow any public participation.

Among NAFTA’s three corporate rights, the most potentially explosive

is the right of compensation for regulatory takings. In the negotiations

that led up to that right, and in the lobbying to persuade the

United States Congress to approve the agreement, the takings right was

presented as a protection against the sort of expropriation that took

place in 1938 when Mexico nationalized its oil industry. Indeed, the

language of NAFTA refers to any action that is “tantamount to” an “indirect

expropriation.”

But NAFTA’s protections for corporations are actually much

broader than would be necessary if the objective were merely to prevent

a government from seizing corporate property. Rather, the “indirect expropriation”

right contained in NAFTA appears identical to a right

which property rights advocates in the United States have unsuccessfully

sought to establish through a new interpretation of the Constitution’s

“takings” provisions. The campaign to expand the “takings”

provision was pioneered in the 1970s by conservative American law

professors such as Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago, and it

has been backed by a powerful array of conservative funders including

Richard Mellon Scaiffe and William Simon. The organizational face of

the movement, known as The Takings Project, seeks to persuade legislators

and judges to adopt the doctrine, and regularly hosts federal judges

at judicial education sessions held in posh retreats.

Takings advocates base their notions on the Fifth Amendment of

the United States Constitution: “… nor shall private property be taken

for public use without just compensation.” Obviously, the key word

here is taken. For example, when the government uses the power of...

gangs of america;

In response, MetalClad sought

compensation for $90 million under the provisions of NAFTA, alleging

that its national treatment rights had been violated and that the action of

the Mexican government constituted a regulatory taking. In August

2000, the tribunal awarded Metalclad $16.7 million, which was paid by

the Mexican government.

In a similar case, Methanex Corporation, a Canadian producer of

methanol used to manufacture the gasoline additive MTBE, sued the

United States government under NAFTA for $970 million after California

governor Gray Davis, with the backing of the California legislature,

ordered the phasing out of the additive. Davis’s action followed the discovery

that MTBE, an additive that smells like turpentine and creates a

foul taste in drinking water, had turned up in Shasta Lake, drinking

wells in the Lake Tahoe basin, 30 public water systems, and 3,500

groundwater sites. In addition, a study by the University of California

had revealed MTBE to be carcinogenic in rats and mice. On its web site

Methanex stoutly defended its case against the United States, asserting

that far from any adverse health effects, “pure MTBE has been successfully

and extensively used as a medicine to treat gallstones in humans.”

Often the mere threat of a NAFTA lawsuit is sufficient to produce

the necessary effect.

...

A chemical called MTBE, a type of binding arbitration known as a

NAFTA tribunal, and a treaty provision known as Section 11all these

dauntingly obscure, esoteric, and technical particulars would seem to be

an unlikely foundation on which to base an international mass movement.

Nevertheless, by the mid 1990s, activists around the world had

become aware of the corporate rights provisions of NAFTA and were

determined to prevent such rights from being implemented on a global

scale. Thus, when news of a proposed new agreement known as the

Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI), which had been negotiated

in secret for two years, was leaked to the public in 1997, a network

was in place allowing citizen groups to mobilize quickly in response.

The provisions of the proposed MAI were breathtaking in scope.

Its protections for corporate investments were similar to those of

NAFTA, only now they would apply on a global scale. Foreign corporations

would be able to directly sue national governments in closed arbitration

courts, demanding compensation for environmental or other laws

that had the “effect of taking” corporate assets.

The secrecy of the MAI negotiations and the dramatic nature of its

terms evoked protests around the world from hundreds of labor, environmental,

human rights, consumer, development, and other groups.

Over 565 organizations in over 70 countries sponsored a statement urging

the suspension of the MAI negotiations. In a major victory for this

far-flung opposition, the European Parliament voted 437 to 8 on March

GLOBAL RULE 231

9, 1998 in favor of a resolution opposing the agreement. A month later,

the MAI was removed from the agenda of the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development

It was a stunning victory for the ad hoc coalition that had mobilize

to stop the agreement, as well as an indication of the depth of opposition

to the extension of corporate rights into the global arena. The international

uprising against the MAI stands as the first example of the aggregate

organizing power of worldwide “civil society” in the age of the

Internet. Moreover, it marked the crossing of a threshold was crossed.

Whereas past movements had focused on particular problems associated

with multinational corporations, the new one focused on the corporate

power itself—specifically, the international institutions and trade

agreements that leveraged corporate power while undermining democracy.

</div>