STWR - Share The World's Resources

Many politicians and commentators suggest that 'protectionism' of domestic economies can only accelerate a worsening financial crisis. However, historical analysis shows that protectionism in times of economic crisis remains not only logical - but also sensible. By Serge Halimi.

The US-led 'reconstruction' of Iraq and Afghanistan illustrates the growing role of agribusiness on the battlefield, the blossoming of a private 'development' industry and a dangerous merging of the military and corporate humanitarianism, argue GRAIN.  

Economic growth, population increases and climate change are all contributing to stress on the world's water resources. By 2030, nearly fifty percent of the world population will be living under high-water stress, and 5 billion may be without water sanitation, according to a report by UNESCO.

Lack of international action against Israel's war on Gaza illustrates the grand hypocracy of human rights rhetoric. But civilian groups can now use international law to show the 'legitimacy gap' of Israeli government tactics in the Palestinian territories, argues Richard Falk.

A new report has named numerous major banks that conduct business with corrupt regimes. By accepting such customers, these banks are assisting those who are squandering state assets to enrich themselves or brutalise their own people. Report by Global Witness.

Since 1990 at least 18 violent conflicts have been fuelled by exploitation and competition over natural resources. The United Nations should integrate strategies of sharing natural resources to ensure post-conflict peace and security, according to a new report by the UNEP.

After a warning by the World Bank that the global economy would shrink this year for the first time since World War II, the IMF has now followed suit by dubbing the downturn the "Great Recession" - while several commentators are already starting to use the word 'depression'.

Suggestions that the economic downturn can be attributed to individual greed are misplaced. A new report  illustrates that an entrenched system of lobbying and 12 deregulatory steps by Washington led directly to a spiralling financial crisis. By Wall Street Watch.

Large NGO groups in the North often follow the tradition of Victorian philanthropy in their calls for charitable aid to the Global South. A better solution would be one of solidarity and the incorporation of Southern social movements into our calls for change, says James O’Nions.

Neither Keynesian thinking nor neoliberal policies can address the causes of the global financial crisis. Let's abandon the 'growth objective' and build a new humane economic system that simply provides people with what they need with our available resources. By Harry Shutt.