STWR - Share The World's Resources

Amid the hoopla surrounding the resignation of World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, few noticed another battle going on within the World Bank on the question of population.

It's quite telling to watch the MSM analyze the choice of Robert Zoellick to replace the disgraced (again) Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank. The MSM have never gotten it when it comes to exploring the real scandal behind the World Bank. And Zoellick will only make things worse, not better.

When Paul Wolfowitz finally agreed to resign from the presidency of the World Bank, it seemed that all of Washington breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, the Bank board's assurance that Wolfowitz acted "ethically and in good faith in what he believed were the best interests of the institution" was hard for many to swallow. But as one Bank insider told the Financial Times, "It is terrible--but I guess that was the price to pay to get him out."

The North American Free Trade Agreement is the world’s most advanced example of the U.S.-led free trade model. It’s not just about economics any more. The expansion of NAFTA into the Security and Prosperity Partnership reveals the road ahead for other nations entering into free trade agreements. It is not a road most nations -- or the U.S. public -- would take if they knew where it led.

The backlash against neoliberalism in Latin America is now leading to confrontations between several of the region’s governments and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

NOBODY should be surprised that international agencies like the World Bank and the IMF have rated Trinidad and Tobago among the leading countries with respect to economic development. It would have taken a complete fool in government, or a big-time bandit so placed, to have done otherwise given the high levels of revenue we have enjoyed over the past five years or so. So our GDP and GNP will have grown in tandem with the steep increases in prices of oil, gas and downstream energy products that account for most of our revenue. These and other indicators used by such agencies will also show a major reduction in poverty levels and almost zero unemployment.

The chaos that derives from the so-called international order can be painful if you are on the receiving end of the power that determines that order’s structure. Even tortillas come into play in the ungrand scheme of things. Recently, in many regions of Mexico, tortilla prices jumped by more than 50 per cent.