Friends Planet

One of the creators of Oscar-nominated animation Waltz With Bashir has made a short film to alter Israeli perceptions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. A 90-second film Closed Zone has been launched online in support of the human rights group Gisha, which advocates freedom of movement for Palestinians. It shows a Palestinian boy chasing [...]

By Ann Pettifor – Posted March 16th on Labour List Together with the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. George Papandreou, I am going to give evidence to the EU’s Special Committee on the Financial Crisis in Brussels this Thursday, March 18th. So today’s leaked report from the EU, arguing that Labour’s plans for cuts to public spending [...]

Full article available at:
http://www.debtonation.org/2010/03/why-the-eus-leaked-docume...

Source: India Resource Center Kala Dera, India: The Coca-Cola company has continued to operate its bottling plant in Kala Dera in Jaipur, India even as the area has been declared a drought area last summer and the groundwater levels are falling sharply – leaving the largely agrarian community with severely restricted access to water. Data obtained [...]

The huge volume of opaque derivatives transactions was a major cause of the financial crisis. Derivatives markets have made commodity and other prices more volatile, and have created huge losses, destabilising economies. The regulatory measures that the EU and other powers are currently considering are inadequate. They should be replaced by bolder measures to regulate finance for the benefit of citizens in Europe and across the world.

Full article available at:
http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4041

The huge volume of opaque derivatives transactions was a major cause of the financial crisis. Derivatives markets have made commodity and other prices more volatile, and have created huge losses, destabilising economies. The regulatory measures that the European Union and other powers are currently considering on certain types of derivatives are inadequate. They should be replaced by bolder measures to regulate finance for the benefit of citizens in Europe and across the world.Read the full briefing  here.

Recently citizens and civil society organizations all over Europe have been stepping up the push for the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The large support for the FTT is due to its triple benefit: it has huge potential as a new source of revenue for public budgets, it would contribute to the stabilisation of financial markets, and it would be an invaluable tool for the tax justice movement ─ all of which is badly needed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Full article available at:
http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4039

Recently citizens and civil society organizations all over Europe have been stepping up the push for the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The large support for the FTT is due to its triple benefit: it has huge potential as a new source of revenue for public budgets, it would contribute to the stabilisation of financial markets, and it would be an invaluable tool for the tax justice movement ─ all of which is badly needed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

The Latin American Network on Debt and Development (Latindadd) has produced a report analysing debt in Latin American countries between March 2009 and January 2010.

Full article available at:
http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4037

In the context of the emerging debate on South-South Cooperation (SSC) and the nascent discussions around a new aid architecture, The Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) and the Spanish Senate hosted a seminar entitled 'Parliament and the MDGs in the context of the changing aid architecture, prioritising South-South Cooperation.” The Seminar facilitated an open discussion about the current state of the changing aid architecture, the important role of parliament therein, and the need to support and monitor positive developments in SSC. 

“The pound of flesh which I demand of him is deerely bought, ’tis mine, and I will haue it.”  Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. Despite the relevance of its theme to much of my work, I am not in the habit of quoting Shakespeare’s anti-Semitic play of 1596, the Merchant of Venice.  But William Buiter’s column [...]

Full article available at:
http://www.debtonation.org/2010/03/the-markets-demand-their-...

6th March 2010 Ann joins Joseph Stiglitz, Tariq Ali and Ruth Lea on Al Jazeera’s “Empire”

Full article available at:
http://www.debtonation.org/2010/03/what-future-for-capitalis...

4th March 2010 With Saturday’s Iceland referendum due in just a couple of days (6th March), Advocacy International’s directors have an op-ed article critical of the UK and Netherlands governments in today’s Morgunbladid, Iceland’s main daily newspaper. English version> Icelandic version> Press release> Full text of the article: So the negotiations have broken down, British and Dutch “bullying” (FT [...]

Full article available at:
http://www.debtonation.org/2010/03/after-icelands-referendum...

Karama’s delegation of 32 women from around the Arab world is headed to the UN in New York to participate in the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.   During the session, Karama’s team will join women’s activists from around the world to present a detailed review of progress towards fulfilling the [...]

3rd March 2010 If today’s speculators bring down the Greek economy, they will likely blow up more debtor nations, and then in a cascading effect, turn on their main benefactors, the now heavily indebted British and United States governments. Citizens are rightly angry at the way both the Bush and Obama administrations, aided by Governor Ben Bernanke [...]

Full article available at:
http://www.debtonation.org/2010/03/how-greeces-crisis-could-...

Eurodad member CCFD-Terre Solidaire supports the start that the French government is making towards tackling tax havens: the government has announced that it will publish a list of tax havens, with specific sanctions -demonstrating that it is taking the issue seriously. Furthermore, the list will be revised every year. But the measures France is putting in place leave a lot to be desired. 

Full article available at:
http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4027

Eurodad member CCFD-Terre Solidaire supports the start that the French government is making towards tackling tax havens: the government has announced that it will publish a list of tax havens, with specific sanctions -demonstrating that it is taking the issue seriously. Furthermore, the list will be revised every year. But the measures France is putting in place leave a lot to be desired. 

Economic growth is a powerful tool for lifting people out of poverty in developing countries.  Previous experience shows that reductions in income poverty have been largest in regions which achieved high growth rates.  The impact of growth on poverty however is not straightforward and several issues are often overlooked which mean that some groups are left behind in the growth process.  In a new briefing paper, Eurodad member Save the Children raises concerns that without a more nuanced discussion on the relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction, children will not fully gain from the potential benefits of growth.

24 February, 2010 In the international financial system, the Rule of Law seldom applies. It is in this context that a wake of vultures (for that is the collective noun) hovers over weakened debtor nations as diverse as the Congo, Iceland, Greece and Portugal and operate within weak international law. They are international creditors, and their presence reminds [...]

Full article available at:
http://www.debtonation.org/2010/02/a-wake-up-call-from-vultu...