No pain, No gain
First, to Doha. As leaders congregate in Qatar for the fourth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation, we ask: whos set to gain? Well, aside from the obvious candidates, two of the more intriguing members of the beneficiary list are Russia and China.
China are expecting to see their application for membership of the WTO adopted, and the government has sent a delegation to the summit headed by Shi Guangsheng, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation. Watch out for big smiles.
Russia, meanwhile, are also feeling upbeat. While not members yet, they are certain to have their say at the summit. A delegation led by Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister, Maxim Medvedkov, is travelling to Doha, where, pending a positive vote by WTO member countries, they will be allowed to participate in the discussions. They shouldnt have any problems: an understanding has already been reached with several countries, among them the United States.
The Moscow Times reports Medvedkov as saying that it will give delegates the chance to monitor the action more closely. Russias hope is that the new round of trade talks will be postponed until it accedes, probably in 2003. Specialists have been given three months to produce a detailed assessment of the pros and cons of accession. Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin offers an honest analysis of the current situation: The number of favourable factors for joining the WTO is now maximal: economic growth and politically favourable relations after the September 11 events. Opportunism ho?
(More good stuff along these lines at www.wtowatch.org)
Smokin out the brackets
Meanwhile, some members of the General Council are scandalized by recent actions of its Chair Stuart Harbinson (ambassador for Hong Kong, China). The General Council is apparently the highest-level decision-making body of the WTO in Geneva. In it officials from member countries prepare the draft declaration, through a curious alchemy of consensus which has bogged down before (a memorable maze of brackets and alternatives went to Ministers at Seattle).
Harbinson decided the Qatar draft had to be clear and bracket-free, and undertook the task himself. But when total consensus still proved elusive, he teamed up with Director-General Mike Moore to submit the draft to Ministers on his own initiative. Opinion is divided as to whether this breaches the rules-based WTOs own rules Harbinson says, Nothing can be considered to be agreed definitely in the absence of agreement overall, and that is a decision that will be for Ministers to take in Doha. The Indian commerce minister is one of many up in arms: he is calling the WTO evil and threatening to withdraw. Perhaps a few brackets and options would have been preferable?
Radio Free Qatar
A few yards away, docked in the port of Doha, is the notorious Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior. Joining forces with Indymedia, Greenpeace plans to put on the web at least one hour of English programming a day during the WTO meeting, as well as some Arabic programming.
These reports will be broadcast from the Rainbow Warrior. Greenpeace says it wants to bring the WTO protests to the delegates and inform people around the globe of what is happening at the meeting. Hopefully, they will use the information to put pressure on their governments.
To tune in on 9 November, go to www.greenpeace.org or www.indymedia.org
On to a hiding
And what about those protests? The latest is that a number of NGOs have joined forces to plan street demonstrations and the like in more than two dozen countries, but not Qatar. The idea is to make up for the ban on public assembly in Qatar by holding events around the globe some twenty-eight countries have been identified. The streets of Washington will have a sixty-foot paper dragon roaming its streets, which, apparently, is a sign of the good health of the protest movement. In London, Naomi Klein is talking about putting the emphasis on teach-ins.
So, which is best? To be in Doha or to not be in Doha? Andrea Durbin, the national campaigns advisor for Greenpeace, says that by docking the Rainbow Warrior in the citys port sends out a clear message to the WTO: They cannot hide. But this sounds remarkably similar to the explanation of Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizens Global Trade Watch, as to why the anti-WTO protests are being moved all around the world: Our message is, you can try to run but you cant hide. Well bug you at home The protests will be all over the place. All bases have been covered in advance.
Still, WTO Director-General Mike Moore is losing no sleep. He has invited one representative from each of the six hundred and forty-seven NGOs from around the world to attend the Doha meeting. How many accept in light of the security risks is another matter entirely.
How to be an obstacle
If you find yourself in London on the weekend of 10-11 November, you could do much worse than head over to the ICA where a major conference is being held promising to explore all aspects of direct action and new social movements.
How to be an Obstacle: Direct Action, Politics, Antiglobalisation is a two day event running from 10:30am until 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. It will focus on individual action and the internet, as well as looking at the ambivalent response of the of the traditional left to these emerging forms of spectacular political activity. Plus, running alongside the conference, there will be film screenings, a workshop, and an exhibition of photographs.
Speakers include Antonio Negri (specially commissioned video), Ricardo Dominguez (Electronic Disturbance Theatre), George McKay (author of DIY Culture), Bruce Kent (former vice-president of CND), Stan Vincents (Head of Actions, Greenpeace), Paul OConner (founder of Undercurrents), Hilary Wainwright (editor of Red Pepper), and openDemocracys very own Paul Hilder.
Tickets are £9, (£8 concession, £7 for ICA members), and are available from the ICA on 020 7930 3647. The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), The Mall, London, SW1Y 5AH.
The writings off the wall
Word comes from Jan Culik in the Czech Republic that the Czech government has passed a law making it a crime to express approval of the terrorist attacks on the US.
In prosecuting this policy they have been investigating a piece of graffiti that has appeared on a wall in Zlin. The slogan, Solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, appears below a depiction of a figure in a turban. The police are planning to prosecute once they figure out if this is a depiction of Osama bin Laden, or Jimi Hendrix. See this link for the picture.
Schools definitely out
Speaking of the devil, we are thrilled to announce that the location of the worlds most wanted man can finally be revealed. Are you ready for this? Hes not in Afghanistan, or Bosnia, as Slobodan Milosovic keeps insisting. Rather, he is a schoolboy in Uganda.
Yes, believe it or not, a young ragamuffin of a student calling himself Osama bin Laden is up to his usual tricks in the town of Tororo, Uganda. This week bin Laden led a gang of classmates on the rampage, as they attempted to lynch their headmaster. Police used teargas in running battles with the students who had had enough of Bernard Wakewales corruption and poor administration since becoming head of Tororo College.
Wakewale was soon under police protection, but bin Laden was unrepentant. My fellow Taliban, he cried to the student body. Give me the dead headmasters head.
The District Education Officer announced the immediate closure of Tororo College. Presumably, they plan to send in the inspectors. They might start with the CIA.
A barking old game
And so to the world of football, where FIFA, the games governing body, has been forced to issue a strange demand on the co-host nation of the 2002 World Cup, South Korea. FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote a stinging letter to FIFA vice-president Dr. Chung Mong-Joon, who is, interestingly enough, president of South Koreas Football Association and a Member of Parliament.
You must, Blatter said, take immediate and decisive measures to put an immediate end to this cruelty. And no, he wasnt talking about Pelés speeches.
Rather, he was referring to the embarrassing eating habits of the South Koreans, which he fears could add a sour taste to the tournament. The message was: Stop eating dogs.
In South Korea, dog restaurants are very popular, particularly with older men, who believe that eating dog meat will improve their strength and virility. The favourite is spicy dog soup, which goes down a treat in summertime. Dogs are still raised specifically for eating, and although such traditional methods of preparation are now outlawed, many are still hanged or beaten with bats to soften the flesh before being slaughtered by electric shock.
Weve been here before. In 1988 dog restaurants were temporarily banned while Seoul hosted the Olympic games. We presume the health inspectors are already sampling the delights of the Beijing restaurant menus in advance of the 2008 games. Waiter, my soups got fleas!
News from the other side
The catharsis in the US continues, and TV is doing its bit. This month will see the screening of a series of controversial episodes of Crossing Over with John Edward in which the eponymous host will continue to put his ability to communicate with the dead to the ultimate test: ratings. His latest victims are those who lost their life in the 11 September terrorist attacks.
The hit show from Studio USA will be aired on WCBS-TV New York and other stations nationwide, as well as the Sci-Fi cable channel where it enjoys a large, devoted audience. Understandably however, the studio is anticipating a fair bit of complaint due to the sensitive nature of Edwards choice of guest. But, says Studio USA domestic syndication president Steve Rosenburg, theres nothing to worry about, as the show will be done tastefully and wont be exploitative.
Not only that, but Rosenburg says that the idea came from relatives of the victims approaching Edward, not the other way around. It seemed wrong not to do it! he insists.
And they say altruism is dead
If it dont explode, eat it
The US decision to use cluster bombs in the attack on Afghanistan is currently the focus of much criticism around the globe. And the situation has worsened with the revelation that the bombs are virtually identical in appearance to the emergency food parcels being dropped by US planes to relieve the humanitarian crisis. Unexploded bombs come in a yellow casing. Food parcels in yellow plastic wrapping.
The US has been forced to warn the Afghan people not to confuse the two. US psychological operations (Psy-ops) radio broadcast a confused message of reassurance to the Afghan people, promising that the chances of doing this were minimal, although distinctly possible. Bombs and food parcels were not being dropped in the same areas, it said, and most bombs would explode on impact with the ground (presumably food parcels dont do this unless their contents are at least a month past their sell-by date), but to be sure assess the geometric shape or measure them in centimetres.
Attention, noble Afghan people, the message in Dari and Pashto ran. As you know, the coalition countries have been air-dropping daily humanitarian rations for you. The food ration is enclosed in yellow plastic bags. They come in the shape of rectangular or long squares. The food inside the bags is Halal and very nutritional. In areas away from where food has been dropped, cluster bombs will also be dropped. The colour of these bombs is also yellow. All bombs will explode when they hit the ground, but in some special circumstances some of the bombs will not explode. The cluster bombs are 6cm in diameter and 16cm in length and they are cylindrical in shape. Of course, in future, cluster bombs will not be dropped in areas where food is air-dropped. However, we do not wish to see an innocent civilian mistake the bombs for food bags and take it away believing that it might contain food.
We would like you to take extra care and not to touch yellow-coloured objects thinking that they might be food bags. This issue is highly important, especially in areas where bombs have been dropped. You should not forget and take additional care. Do not confuse the cylinder-shaped bomb with the rectangular food bag.
This was additional to a broadcast earlier in the week by the Psy-Ops radio which had given detailed instructions on how to eat the items contained in the drops explaining that the butter should be taken out of its packet and spread on bread. What they suggested for the peanut butter, no-one knows.
No logo
Our lepidopterist reports devasting news on the butterfly front. Apparently, in Britain, three quarters of our butterfly species have declined over the past thirty years. The main culprits are loss of habitat and climate change. However, he insists that there is hope, recommending a move to cyberspace and lots of vigorous debate. After all, the British-based openDemocracy butterfly (vigorous debatus) is in fine health, and continues to spread its wings across the world.
Contact the Diary editor: dominic.hilton@opendemocracy.net
