Briefly stated Bill's basic idea seems to be that we need someone to find:

"....innovative ways to solve major problems for one billion of the world's poorest people, who don't get enough food or don't have drinking water or reliable access to medication, which the rest of us take for granted....”

Bill apparently doesn't understand that

"As of September 2008, the world's population is estimated to be about 6.7 billion (6,700,000,000). In line with population projections, this figure continues to grow at rates that were unprecedented before the 20th century, although the rate of growth has almost halved since its peak of 2.2% per year, which was reached in 1963. The world's population, on its current growth trajectory, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2042"

Why should we be concerned with Bill Gates’ appearance before some group known as the World Economic Forum? Because Barack Obama’s senior economic policy adviser is Austan Goolsbee, Mr Goolsbee is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago. His resume lists his honors and awards as including:

“Fulbright Scholar, 2006-2007

Named one of the Young Global Leaders, World Economic Forum, Switzerland, 2005

Named one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow, World Economic Forum, Switzerland, 2002"

You ask, why does that matter? It matters because Mr Obama’s agenda obviously includes continued wealth redistribution from the “wealthier” nations - like the United States - to the even more impoverished third world nations.

That might be a noble objective but noble ideas seem to lead these people to such stupid and dangerous ideas. For instance, Mr Goolesbee believes that the U.S. government should take more forceful actions to collect a greater proportion of taxes that are “owed” to it. He has said, “It’s quite clear that it’s the Republicans in Congress who have blocked almost every attempt to close the tax gap because they say it’s just an informal tax increase,”

Personally, I could care less what he accuses the republicans of doing. As far as I’m concerned it is just, “the pot calling the kettle black.” Mr Goolesbee has, however, written, “Practically speaking, the only hope of changing America's driving habits is a hefty price increase that lasts. For, oh, five years.”

Like I said, stupid and dangerous. Like Mr Gates concern for less than 20% of the people who inhabit this planet. What about the other 6,699,900,000 thousand of us? I guess someone has to pay for all those bright ideas.

And the International Monetary Fund (Homepage) said that Canada will not go into recession and is going to lead the developed world economy where all the world will go into recession (Read the news).

세계 경제 포럼에 따르면, 캐나다 은행들이 세계에서 가장 건전하고 튼튼하다고 한다 (영문기사).

또한 우리에게 익숙한 IMF(국제 통화 기금, 영문홈페이지)은 전세계가 경기 침체 국면으로 돌입할 것이지만 캐나다만은 경기 침체에 들어가지 않을 것이며, 선진국들의 경제를 이끌어갈 것이라고 했다 (영문기사).

캐나다 은행이 부실이 없는 이유는 내가 볼 때는 간단하다. 미국은 서브 프라임 모기지를 했고, 집값의 120%인가 또는 그 이상을 대출받을 수 있었다. 게다가 거품이었던 집값이 폭락을 하니 집을 은행이 집을 압수해서 팔아도 대출금의 60%도 못 챙기는 경우가 많고, 그러다 보니 돈이 없어 은행이 망하는데, 캐나다는 일단, 집값에 거품이 적어서 아직 폭락을 하지 않고 (오히려 일부 지역은 계속 약간의 상승세) 서브 프라임 모기지도 없고, 모기지 대출도 집값의 70% 이하로만 해준다. 조사해 본 것이 아니라서 잘못되었을 수도 있지만, 대체적인 개념은 맞을 것이다.

한줄요약: 캐나다에서 잘 살아 보세.

As the US and much of the world enters a financial and banking 'crisis' it makes us wonder how sound our banks really are. I'm sure those in the US have always thought and would argue that US banking is solid and fully sound. However, according to the World Economic Forum's The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 the United States ranks 40th internationally in the category of soundness in banking. Yes, the great financial strong hold and economic powerhouse ranks 40th in banking! The US ranked below Estonia and Namibia and narrowly ranked above the UK.

Now, in another arena Canada is taking the lead and the title. Ranked on top and in first in the category of 'soundness in banking' is the land of "the true north strong and free" - Canada. Canada has the soundest banking system in the world! Bet you would have missed that in a game of Trivial Pursuit.

So, a very BIG kudos goes to Canada. Congrats Canada - Keep it up!

The top 15 most sound banking systems:

1. Canada
2. Sweden
3. Luxembourg
4. Australia
5. Denmark
6. Netherlands
7. Belgium
8. New Zealand
9. Ireland
10. Malta
11. Hong Kong
12. Finland
13. Singapore
14. Norway
15. South Africa

SINGAPORE has climbed two notches to fifth place in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest global competitiveness index, distancing itself from the other Asian economies.

The annual survey, released last night, showed that the next most competitive Asian economy - Japan - had dropped to ninth from eighth spot.

It was only last year that Singapore overtook Japan in the annual ranking, which polled a record 12,297 business leaders in 134 economies this year.

Perennial business rival Hong Kong improved one place to 11th.

In the survey, economies were assessed according to 12 ‘pillars’ of competitiveness, ranging from infrastructure and macroeconomic stability, to business sophistication and innovation. These are weighted for each economy to reflect their stage of development.

Singapore’s improved ranking was reflected by its strong institutional environment that came about as a result of a strengthening across all aspects of the institutional framework.

It has the best ranking of all economies in terms of public trust of politicians, wastefulness of government spending, burden of government regulation and transparency of government policymaking.

It was also ranked among the top two countries for the efficiency of all of its markets - goods, labour and financial - ensuring proper allocation of these factors to their best use, the survey said.

‘Singapore also has world-class infrastructure, leading the world in the quality of its port and transport facilities.’

It scored high in other indicators as well, such as higher education and training, and technological readiness.

On the flipside, its overall ranking is constrained by its small domestic market and mixed performance in the macroeconomic stability pillar, where it ranks 59th and 121st respectively for its interest rate spread and government debt.

Respondents also cited inflation as their biggest bugbear for doing business in Singapore.

Notwithstanding the current financial crisis, the US retained its position as the world’s most competitive economy.

The survey was conducted between January and May this year, which means that the index does not reflect the worsening global crisis.

But Ms Jennifer Blanke, senior economist of the forum, said the index aimed to take a longer-term view, and on that basis, the US ranking was fully justified, Reuters reported.

The US scored highly as it is endowed with many structural features that make its economy extremely productive. This places it on a strong footing to ride out business cycle shifts and economic shocks.

Despite rising concerns about the soundness of the banking sector and macroeconomic weaknesses, the country’s many other strengths continue to make it a very productive environment, the survey noted.

On the other hand, the business costs of terrorism, crime and violence are points of concern.

But the country’s greatest weakness is its macroeconomic stability, where it ranks a lowly 67th overall.

Its burgeoning levels of public indebtedness - at more than 60per cent of gross domestic product -suggest that the US is not preparing financially for its future liabilities. Interest payments will increasingly restrict its fiscal policy freedom going into the future, the survey warned.

In second, third and fourth places were the Northern European countries of Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, rounding off an unchanged top four.

China continued to climb up the charts - up four places to 30 - helped by its large market and strong economic performance.

Ninth-ranked Japan has a major competitive edge in the areas of business sophistication and innovation.

Its overall performance, however, is dragged down by its macroeconomic weaknesses, with an extremely high budget deficit (ranked 110th), which have led to the build-up of one of the highest public debt levels in the world (ranked 129th).

As for Hong Kong, it is ranked first for its legal rights, capital flows and access to financing via the local equity market.

But its small domestic market size and mixed performance in the areas of health and primary education, as well as higher education and training, were a drag on its overall ranking.

Source : Straits Times - 9 Oct 2008

In the midst of the maelstrom, recent comments made to the South China Morning Post at the World Economic Forum by Bank of China vice-president Zhu Min seem instructive, ”from a business point of view, we are looking at all possible deals everywhere," he said. However, cash -strapped banking executives should take note, he qualified his remarks by saying that,”In our overseas acquisition endeavours, we are more interested in unique and profitable business models and financial products rather than….. seemingly undervalued financial assets."

Recent events put an interesting twist on a very divisive issue and will test the resolve of governments who may have previously stood in the way of asset acquisition on the part of foreign entities. To fence-sitting observers however, it will give an indication of the depth of the current crisis.

Il testo del rapporto (PDF)
Grafici e tabelle (PDF)

Roland Boer is a research fellow at Monash University, and the author of 'Rescuing the Bible'. Apart from writing books, he loves to travel by ship when he can and cycle as far and as long as possible.

I would like to paint a landscape – the contemporary religious landscape. What does this landscape look like? Wherever we look reactionary and fundamentalist, or so-called ‘Bible-based’ religion seems to triumph. In Rome, one right-wing pope is followed by another. The current pope (a former head of the Inquisition) has just overseen ‘World Youth Day’ in a global show of reactionary strength. On a range of moral issues, the conservative regime in the Vatican attacks contraception, abortion and stem-cell research. Radical clergy and scholars constantly watch their backs. In parts of the Roman Catholic Church of Australia where the ultra-conservative Cardinal George Pell (he has been archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney) holds sway there is a systematic effort to return to a pre-Vatican II agenda, especially in theology, education and sexual morality. A former football player turned parish priest, Pell has risen rapidly through the hierarchy – all the way to cardinal elector – due to his uncompromising conservative stances on religion, sexuality, Islam, education, and the environment (he believes global warming is rubbish).

In the USA, Bible-brandishing fundamentalist Christianity is so deeply entrenched, especially in the southern states, that the primary question for teenagers is not, ‘have you had sex yet?’ but ‘have you accepted Jesus yet?’ Global warming, peak oil, the disaster in Iraq, an Iranian attack on Israel (or vice versa), even the possibility of a Democrat victory in the US elections are all signs of the imminent end of the world, the Rapture, Armageddon and then the return of Jesus. For a handy ‘prophetic speedometer of end-time activity’ one may even consult the ‘Rapture Index’.

In each case, the religious right bases itself on the Bible. In each case, they have driven the religious left underground. In each case, right-wing religious belief and practice is wedded to right-wing politics. Above all, they have stolen the Bible and claimed it as their own. At the same time the religious left has been all too ready to hand it over to them. This is one of the main reasons I set out to rescue the Bible from the religious and political right and reclaim it for the left in my Rescuing the Bible.

In order to do so I suggested a political alliance between the religious left and a resurgent secular left. And the slogan for that alliance is to be ‘as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves’ (from Matthew 10:16). The wisdom in question is a very worldly wisdom, one based on experience and maturity. Such wisdom or even cunning knows how to live in the world without, however, being caught up in its corruption and exploitation. So I suggest we call ourselves the worldly left, a coalition of the secular and religious left.

This idea of a worldly left – one that is as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves – takes place when a very diverse left is in resurgence. Here is one example: at the protests against the World Economic Forum in Melbourne in 2000 and then again at the G20 meeting in 2006, we found anarchists, environmentalists, socialists, feminists, various elements of the loopy left, and some religious groups for whom the protests were perfectly consistent with their own convictions. Rescuing the Bible sets out to respond to these two problems by someone on the religious and political left. The best way to summarise what I wanted to so with the book is by means of the six theses. Here they are:

1. Since the old programme of secularism has run aground, I propose a new secularism that sees the entwinement of religion and secularism as necessary and beneficial, that reads the Bible in light of theological suspicion, denounces the abuse of the Bible, and fosters liberating readings and uses.
2. Since the religious left has been marginalised and has had the Bible stolen from it, and since the secular left is on the rise, in order to rescue the Bible we need a politics of alliance between the religious left and the old secular left. I call this alliance the ‘worldly left’, one that is as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves.
3. Despite the best efforts to impose dominant viewpoints on the Bible, through canonisation and interpretation, it remains an unruly and fractious collection of texts. For this reason it is a multi-valent collection, both folly to the rich and scandal to the poor.
4. The Bible is too important and too multi-valent a text to be left to the religious right. Thus, it is necessary to take sides with the liberatory side of the Bible, and in doing so we denounce the reactionary use and abuse of the Bible, for imperial conquest, oppression of all types, and the support of privilege and wealth.
5. Taking the side of liberation, we also need to recover the tradition of revolutionary readings of the Bible.
6. The Bible is one source for a political myth for the worldly left, a political myth that, while keeping in mind the perpetual need for theological suspicion, condemns oppression, imagines a better society and draws deeply on the mythic images of rebellious chaos.

To summarise: my task in Rescuing the Bible is to rescue the Bible from the clutches of the religious and political right, its most systematic abusers. It is far too important and too multi-vocal a text to be surrendered to right-wing agenda. As far as the left is concerned, the old divisions of religious left and secular left are no longer workable. So I argue that they should unite in a common front – a ‘worldly left’ – in order to reclaim and rescue the Bible for radical politics. Fortunately for such a common left, the Bible is so multi-vocal that it is perfectly plausible to draw from the Bible a deep current of revolutionary themes. And it matters not whether those who read the Bible in this way are ‘believers’ or not.
By way of conclusion, let me give one example of rescuing some specific biblical texts, namely the sticky texts of Acts 2:44-5 and 4:32-5. They read:

And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need.

Now the company of all those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need.

I said these are sticky texts. And they are so because they present a clear image of communal, if not communist living. So what do a range of scholars do with this text? They argue that such communal activity was voluntary and only for a short time (during a festival) and by no means the ‘imposition’ of a communist system. Or we find that such common living is restricted to that new invention of the last couple of centuries, the nuclear family (which, by the way, cannot be found in the Bible). Not only is this a very popular argument today, but it was also an argument of Luther and Calvin, who were desperate to avoid the communal interpretations of the Anabaptists and the abuses of Roman Catholic monasteries. Or, as neo-orthodox readings suggested, the qualities of unity, love and generosity are abstracted from the passage and the actual practice pushed into the background. In the last century the resistance to communism and the effect of the Cold War lies heavily on the interpretation of these texts. In reaction to claims by communist scholars such as Friedrich Engels, Karl Kautsky and Rosa Luxemburg that these texts speak of an early Christian communism that has much in common with the communism we know, a wide range of scholars resisted such interpretations in the name of the private individual. So the historical possibility was undermined, the text spiritualised or its sense diverted into acceptable forms of cooperation such as the family or one’s local church. In short, a wide range of interpreters sought to negate the text.

Over against these efforts to bury such images of communist living, Rescuing the Bible sets out to reclaim them. A powerful way of doing so is to recover a tradition of readings by notable radicals and revolutionaries for whom the Bible was central. For example, Acts 2 and 4 were important for Gerrard Winstanley and the Diggers of 17th century England who saw in them the inspiration for their peaceful political, social and economic movement of cultivating the commons and inviting all to join them in communist living. It has also been a crucial text for The International League of Religious Socialists, which has over 200,000 members and represents religious socialist movements in 21 countries and across a number of religions (www.ilrs.org), or Étienne Cabet (1788-1856), who, arguing that communism is in fact pure Christianity, fled France to establish socialist or ‘Icarian’ communities in the United States, or Father Thomas J. Haggerty, a Marxist Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Industrial Workers of the World (the ‘Wobblies’). And then there is Jose Miranda, who in his Marxism and the Bible cites these verses as part of his argument that communism and the classless society have their roots in the biblical tradition. These images of communal living join others in the Bible as well, such as Micah 6:8, Isaiah 35:5-7 and 61:1-2 to develop what I call a political myth. These texts do not present a pure golden age to which we should return; rather they form a powerful motivating myth that provides a sense of what might be possible.

It also retains its status as Asia's least corrupt country on the Corruption Perceptions Index, released yesterday by Transparency International (TI).

Conducted annually by the Berlin-based non-governmental corruption watchdog, the index studies the level of public sector corruption in 180 countries and ranks them according to scores. A score of 10 indicates highly clean and 0 means highly corrupt.

It defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain and measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.

In this year's index, Singapore scores 9.2, behind joint-leaders Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand, all of which obtained a 9.3 score. At the other end are Somalia (1.0), Iraq and Myanmar (1.3) and Haiti (1.4).

Asian economies which placed significantly are Hong Kong (12th), Japan (18th), Taiwan (39th), South Korea (40th) and Malaysia (47th).

Last year, Singapore was ranked joint-fourth with Sweden, behind Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. It came in fifth from 2003 to 2006.

Dr Johann Graf Lambsdorff of the University of Passau in Germany, who draws up the index, said Singapore's long tradition of strong oversight is an example for best practices in Asia.

Mr Liao Ran, TI's senior programme coordinator for East and South Asia, said factors contributing to Singapore's ranking included a strong commitment from political leaders; education, which has bred a culture of integrity among citizens; a sound and comprehensive legal framework; and an effective anti-corruption agency.

TI said the index continues to show there is a link between corruption and poverty. It also underlines the benefits of fighting corruption.

'Evidence suggests that an improvement in the index by one point increases capital inflows by 0.5 per cent of a country's gross domestic product and average incomes by as much as 4 per cent,' Dr Lambsdorff said.

TI also said the index shows that wealthy countries such as France and the United Kingdom, whose scores have slipped, need to step up their anti-corruption mechanisms.

Professor Neo Boon Siong, director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said Singapore's fourth position was a significant achievement.

A good ranking helps attract investments as it makes doing business here more predictable and cheaper, he said.

As to whether Singapore can reach the top of the index, he said: 'The real difference among the top leaders is not very wide. The actual ranking itself is not the main issue, because being ranked among the top few is a clear recognition the country is corruption-free.'

The index is computed with data from 13 corruption-related polls and surveys carried out this and last year by institutions like the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.

Source : Straits Times - 24 Sep 2008

The World Bank has denied imposing inimical policies on governments of poor countries as conditions for giving them aid.

The vice president of the Breton Woods institution has tasked African journalists from more than 20 countries to shift their attention to the policy choices of their governments instead of suspecting the bank and other donors of imposing inimical policies.

"It is not our practice at the World Bank to impose policies in countries and we have never done that," Ms. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Ms. Ezekwesili who is in Ghana to attend the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, told journalists, disclosing that last year alone, her bank gave out $5.4 billion as aid to poor countries, and has earmarked to deliver $7.2 billion by the close of this year. None of this money, she said, came with inimical policy impositions.

"It has always been the policy of the World Bank to support the development programmes of the governments of the countries it supports to ensure that those governments are in the driving seat as required by the March 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness."

She said the African media would fail their citizens should they continue to supply the public with wrong information that donor nations and multilateral organistions were held responsible for the contient's economic wores. Rather, the official said the blame lies on the policy choices of African governments.

Ezekwesili advised the African media to be more analytical in their approach to monitoring the factors that determine the level of development in their countries and ask why so much money has been invested in education and health for instance, yet these sectors have not delivered the desired results.

She said the bank's role has to do with offering assistance in technical and human capacity in the proper management and application of donor funds to ensure that those funds reduce poverty, increase growth, build capacity and ensure speedy achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Ms Ezekwesili said the World Bank's only goal is to ensure that poverty is reduced in less developed countries.

"Beside giving money to poor countries we have also championed lots of reforms that have improved the lot of the greater majority of the citizens of poor countries," she said. "For instance we championed reforms in the telecommunications industries in most African countries and today a lot of African citizens are on the GSM mobile phone networks, which was very rare about five years ago."

She said blamed Africa's major capacity and infrastructural gap for making the continent less competitive.

"Africa needs $22 billion to bridge the infrastructural gap and additional 18 billion US dollars to maintain the needed infrastructure."

She exhorted the media and civil society to hold governments accountable on proper application of natural resources rather than donor funds to bridge the huge infrastructure and capacity gap needed to make them competitive in the global market place.

The official said due to gap in human capacity, the continent has been witnessing a growth rate of 5.4% over the past decade. Ms Ezekwesili said Ghana, Burkina Faso and Uganda are among the few African countries that will halve poverty by 2015.

World Economic Forum today launched the world's first Financial Development Index, a rigorous, comprehensive analysis of financial systems and capital markets in 52 countries that analyses key drivers of financial system development and economic growth in developing and developed countries.

United States narrowly edged United Kingdom to take top position in the Financial Development Index. The US and United Kingdom have close rankings, outstripping remaining countries in the top 10 - Germany, Japan, Canada, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong SAR, Netherlands and Singapore.

Highest ranking African nation is South Africa at 25. Other African countries that have made the list are Egypt (37) and Nigeria (50).

The Financial Development Report 2008, which promotes the full potential of financial systems to drive economic growth in developing countries, provides a ranking of 52 of the world's leading financial systems through which countries can benchmark their performance and evaluate priorities for reform.

The rankings are based on over 120 variables spanning institutional and business environments, financial stability, and size and depth of capital markets, among other factors, in assessing the complex financial systems of the 52 countries studied.

An important and unique measure captured by the Index includes the degree to which businesses feel they can easily access capital.

Report draws on data taken from a variety of publicly available sources as well as the World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by Forum with its network of partner institutes.

Some countries, such as Mexico and Peru, perform better with respect to foundational requirements of sound regulation and the low cost of doing business; yet they have not been able to fully transform these strengths into robust financial intermediaries and markets, said forum's report.

"China and Egypt do not seem to demonstrate an ease of access to capital that is commensurate with the overall depth of financial assets in their countries. By contrast, the United Arab Emirates seems to provide strong access to capital for its businesses despite a relatively lower ranking with respect to its depth of financial assets," concluded statement by World Economic Forum.

I just finished a great session on Innovation Talent, led by BT CTO Matt Bross. The topic was focused on the impact of the sub-prime crisis. Amongst some of the concepts were the increasing need to collaborate, the pressure in companies to focus on their core competencies and outsource other tasks, and the opportunity to attract real top talent who have been "destabilized" by downsizing, etc.

More to follow later. Need to concentrate at Prith Banerjee (HP Labs) and Cisco are sharing their innovation processes on stage.

Dopo aver servito i suoi padroni nelle guerre dei Balcani del 1990-1991, George Soros lavorò ad un ciclo di missioni di addestramento a Belgrado, da cui lanciò più tardi la “Rivoluzione Rosa”, la “Rivoluzione Arancione”, e altri elementi di una serie di insurrezioni pensate per destabilizzare gli stati nazionali prescelti e creare un “anello attorno alla Russia” con cui arrivare al confronto armato tanto desiderato da Londra. Una delle operazioni più importanti di Soros fu il rovesciamento del presidente georgiano Eduard Shevardnadze e la sua sostituzione con Mikheil Saakashvili, educato nell’ambito del progetto “Open Society Institute” da lui animato da alla Columbia University.

Proprio per mandare a casa Shevardnadze, dal 1994 al 2004, con i tanti progetti e sottoprogetti di Soros furono spesi più di 40 milioni di dollari.

Nei primi mesi del 2003, Soros cominciò a pieno regime le azioni con cui attivare le “truppe” che avrebbero dovuto iniziare la conquista “democratica” della Georgia. Nel novembre successivo, il quotidiano canadese Globe and Mail fornì una descrizione molto precisa della cosa:

"Tbilisi – È in febbraio che il finanziere miliardario George Soros ha posato la prima pietra del progetto di rovesciamento del presidente georgiano Eduard Shevardnadze."
"In quel mese, con i soldi provenienti dal suo Open Society Institute un attivista di Tbilisi, il trentunenne Giga Bokeria, fu spedito in Serbia per incontrare i membri del movimento Otpor [resistenza] e imparare da essi come condurre dimostrazioni di piazza simili a quelle che avevano rovesciato il dittatore Slobodan Milosevic. Nell’estate, poi, la fondazione del Sig. Soros rimborsò il viaggio di ritorno in Georgia ad alcuni attivisti di Otpor, i quali istruirono per tre giorni consecutivi oltre un migliaio di studenti su come allestire una rivoluzione pacifica."
“Lo scorso fine settimana, il Liberty Institute, fondato con l’aiuto del Sig. Bokeria, è stato lo strumento con cui organizzare le proteste di piazza che hanno forzato il Sig. Shevardnadze a rassegnare le proprie dimissioni. Il Sig. Bokeria ha detto di aver imparato a Belgrado… come usare le tattiche di pressione popolare che si sono dimostrate così persuasive a Tbilisi, dopo le dubbie elezioni parlamentari di questo mese."

La Georgia non è stata l’unica nazione colpita dalle truppe giacobine della rivoluzione “colorata” addestrate da Soros. Il copione è stato ripetuto anche in Ucraina e in altre nazioni un tempo appartenenti al blocco sovietico.

Come attestò il giornalista Mark Almond il 14 novembre 2007, Saakashvili giunse al potere nel 2004 grazie ai tanti milioni di dollari forniti a lui e ad ogni suo uomo (lungo tutta la scala gerarchica) dal miliardario Soros e dall’allora vice segretario generale dell’ONU Mark Malloch Brown (oggi Lord Malloch Brown, segretario generale del Foreign Office britannico). Almond scrisse che, durante le elezioni del 2007, i poliziotti del governo Saakashvili, ben pagati con 1000 dollari al mese (una bella cifra in Georgia), agirono come una milizia in grado di dare man forte alle intimidazioni contro le opposizioni.

Il golpista dell'Impero | Lord Malloch Brown non è soltanto quel collaboratore di Soros che aiutò a rimpinguare le casse degli apparati di ‘guerra allo stato nazionale’ con i soldi delle Nazioni Unite: egli è anche socio in affari con Soros.

Nell’aprile 2007, Malloch Brown fu eletto vicepresidente del Quantum Fund, la finanziaria da cui provengono i tanti miliardi dello speculatore Soros. Una settimana dopo era nominato direttore generale del Foreign Office. Il Financial Times riportava che “Sir Mark [ora Lord Malloch Brown] sarà anche vicepresidente del filantropico miliardario Open Society Institute, che promuove la democrazia e i diritti umani, particolarmente in Europa orientale e nell’ex Unione Sovietica”.

Il quotidiano inglese aggiungeva, il primo maggio dello stesso anno, che “con una lettera agli azionisti dei vari hedge fundsdel Quantum Fund, il Sig. Soros diceva che Sir Mark avrebbe espresso consigli su un ventaglio di questioni a lui e ai suoi due figli, che quotidianamente gestiscono la società. Con i suoi tanti contatti internazionali, Malloch Brown aiuterà a creare occasioni in giro per il mondo per l’amministrazione del fondo di Soros…”

Lord Malloch Brown è nel business dei "cambiamenti di regime" da una vita. Nato in Rhodesia da una famiglia di proprietari terrieri dell'Impero, un certo istinto coloniale gli scorre nelle vene. Nel 1986 abbandonò la carriera di giornalista all'Economist per entrare nella sezione internazionale di un aggressivo studio di consulenza politica americano, Sawyer & Miller, per cui svolse attività di consulenza in favore di Corazon Aquino, allora leader dell'opposizione filippina. Egli si vanta di aver partecipato in maniera decisiva al rovesciamento del presidente Marcos.

Nel 1990 Malloch Brown rappresentò il romanziere fascista peruviano Mario Vargas Llosa, che si candidò alle elezioni presidenziali proponendo la legalizzazione della droga e sacrifici per le classi popolari. Naturalmente perse. Lo studio Sawyer & Miller ha anche promosso campagne a favore del Dalai Lama.

Malloch Brown e Soros tramano in combutta contro gli stati nazionali almeno dal 1993, quando il primo aderì a un gruppo organizzato dal finanziere anglo-ungherese, che aveva il compito di stilare suggerimenti su come spendere un fondo di 50 milioni di dollari per "ricostruire" la Bosnia, dopo che questa era stata distrutta dalla guerra orchestrata dai britannici.

Durante il suo mandato come vicesegretario dell'ONU, egli e Soros sembravano inseparabili, come Gianni e Pinotto. Nel 2002 tennero assieme una conferenza stampa a Monterrey, nel Messico, per annunciare piani su come usare i fondi dell'ONU, integrandoli con fondi procurati da Soros, per controllare l'economia e la politica dei paesi del terzo mondo. Soros non agiva come filantropo, ma in veste di presidente del Soros Management Fund, un noto fondo speculativo.

Oggi non esisterebbe il governo Saakashvili senza Soros e Malloch Brown. Nel gennaio 2004, alla riunione del World Economic Forum a Davos, Soros, Malloch Brown e Saakashvili comparvero assieme ad una conferenza stampa per annunciare un fondo di 1,5 milioni di dollari, due terzi dei quali provenienti dall'Open Society Institute e un terzo dal Programma di Sviluppo dell'ONU. I fondi erano destinati ad un "programma di riforma della governance" in Georgia, il cui progetto principale erano bustarelle organizzate: un "Fondo di supplemento salariale".

Il rapporto dell'UNDP – allora diretto da Malloch – confessava che quei finanziamenti avevano spinto "il presidente russo Vladimir Putin [...] a rimproverare il Sig. Saakashvili di essere sul libro paga del Sig. Soros". Nel 2006, i supplementi salariali superavano il milione di dollari al mese, secondo il rapporto UNDP.

Questi fondi sono andati ad un vasto contingente di agenti di Soros che sono il governo della Georgia: il capo del Consiglio per la Sicurezza Nazionale Alexander Lomaia; il vice ministro degli Esteri Giga Bokeria (uno dei primi ad essere addestrato dagli squadristi serbi di Otpor); il presidente della Commissione per l'Integrazione Europea del parlamento georgiano, David Darchiashvili; e tanti a seguire.

Ora Lord Malloch Brown è il segretario generale del Foreign Office. Si sarà preoccupato di dimettersi dal Quantum Fund e dall’Open Society Institute? Lo diciamo a coloro che ancora si indignano per i conflitti d’interesse, senza guardare più in alto.

Fonte: www.movisol.org
Link: http://www.movisol.org/08news178.htm

Né l'articolo né l'argomento hanno avuto il rilievo e l'attenzione che meriterebbero.

«Miracolo donna. Secondo uno studio della Banca d'Italia, una possibilità di risollevare l'economia italiana dalla fiacchezza che l'affligge sta - starebbe - nell'effettiva parità tra maschi e femmine sul mercato del lavoro. Almeno sulla carta. Se questo accadesse, obiettivo ancora assai lontano, ovvero se il tasso di occupazione femminile salisse al livello di quello maschile, il Paese avrebbe una discreta fetta di ricchezza in più.

Per restare solo nella sfera economica, che non è certo l'unica: il Pil, dunque il benessere, (a produttività invariata) crescerebbe addirittura del 17,5%, cioè circa 260 miliardi di euro. Un vero e proprio "tesoro" che vale come una valanga di pluristangate o migliaia di lotterie di Capodanno.

Per avere un'idea più concreta: grosso modo è come tutto il "sommerso". Ben 60 volte il taglio dell'Ici deciso dal governo. Quasi la metà di quel che s'è bruciato in tutte le Borse europee il 1 luglio scorso. Circa 1.400 volte gli aiuti che adesso l'Italia non vuole dare più ai paesi in via di sviluppo. Un miracolo, appunto.

Donna ausiliatrice, per così dire. Capace di fare da "stampella" all'economia malata, ma anche da straordinario volano per l'occupazione stessa. Con la parità, secondo lo scenario elaborato dall'economista Roberta Zizza, di colpo ci sarebbero quasi 5 milioni di occupate in più, per altro ben spalmate tra il Nord e il Sud, senza più le due Italie che esistono oggi. Un calcolo ancora più semplice dice che ogni 100 donne che entrano nel mercato del lavoro si creano 15 posti aggiuntivi nel settore dei servizi - dall'assistenza agli anziani e ai bambini, fino alle attività domestiche vere e proprie - prima non retribuiti perché gravavano sulle spalle della neo-assunta. «Effetto moltiplicatore», lo chiamano gli esperti.

Una soluzione di genere ai guai nazionali, insomma. E sarebbe un prodigio, anche senza arrivare al bilanciamento perfetto, se solo le donne riuscissero a risalire la china, fino ad un più onorevole tasso di occupazione del 60%. Ecco, pure in questo caso i benefici per il Pil sarebbero di tutto rispetto: più 9,2%. Non andrebbe male neppure se il pareggio avvenisse all´interno dell´universo femminile, con le occupate del sud balzate ai livelli nordici del 55,3%: più 5,8% del Pil.

Ma finché il miracolo non si realizza, il tasso di occupazione delle donne italiane resta tra i più bassi d'Europa, superiore solo a Malta: appena il 46,6%, contro il 70 degli uomini. Come se non bastasse, le femmine, costrette a dividersi tra casa e ufficio, pur essendo meno presenti sul mercato del lavoro, finiscono per sgobbare ogni giorno ben 75 minuti in più dei maschi, un record europeo. Hanno una retribuzione più bassa e percorsi di carriera più lenta. Sono pochissime le dirigenti: solo il 17% ha responsabilità di supervisione contro il 26 degli uomini e il divario rimane intatto nel tempo. «Bassa partecipazione e segregazione», nel linguaggio tecnico. Ecco, questa è la realtà, oggi, secondo dati 2007, denunciata di recente dallo stesso governatore della Banca d´Italia, Mario Draghi.»

Elena Polidori, La Repubblica, 22 luglio 2008.

Frente a la visión del turismo como paradigma de la globalización, el sociólogo Julio Aramberri mantiene que éste favorece en menor medida la integración entre sus componentes que otros sectores como el sistema financiero, las industrias audiovisuales o las redes de información. Esto se refuerza merced a que las principales fuentes estadísticas –OMT, WTTC y WEF-, se basan en el análisis de indicadores muy limitados, en especial al no considerar al turismo “doméstico” entre sus fuentes. Aramberri afirma que “…lejos de una generalización de la tendencia de todas sus partes, parece que el turismo mundial se distribuye en conjuntos o clusters donde el turismo se presenta cada vez más integrado entre emisores y receptores”. Obviamente los tres conjuntos destacados son los constituidos por Europa junto al Mediterráneo Sur y Norte, Norteamérica con Méjico y Caribe y en tercer lugar Asia Oriental al Norte y al Sur. Concluye que el sistema turístico mundial no se estructura en grandes flujos intercontinentales sino en conjuntos regionales o interregionales, contando cada uno con sus países claves y su hinterland. Al faltar esos hitos en zonas como Africa, Latinoamérica, Asia Meridional u Oriente Próximo, el turismo es escasamente globalizador. Sistematiza los datos del Consumo Turístico de los Viajes & Turismo (V&T) y su comparación con el PIB nacional, estructurando el turismo mundial en tres grupos (V&T/PIB):

I) Gran Incidencia. Países de bajo desarrollo y diversificación; islas o pequeños territorios; próximos a grandes mercados emisores: Maldivas, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Croacia, Rep. Dominicana.

II) Desarrollo sostenido:

II.1) Países desarrollados. Países desarrollados más otros cinco miembros de la UE, representando el turismo más del 10% del PIB, economías diversificadas, receptores y emisores importantes, mercados internos de altas rentas y productos turísticos diversificados.

II.2) Estrellas Ascendentes. Países en rápido desarrollo, economías crecientemente diversificadas con peso de la industria de V&T, destinos bien posicionados y próximos a mercados emisores: Túnez, Tailandia, Marruecos, Costa Rica, Malasia, Egipto, Kenia, Turquía, Senegal…

II.3. Intermedios. Economías poco diversificadas, a veces islas (Papúa), a veces más desarrollados (Hungría, Polonia), cercanos a mercados emisores (Ucrania, Albania).

III) Atrasados. Areas menos desarrolladas, bajo PIB y renta per capita, mercados interiores limitados, economías poco diversificadas y distantes de mercados emisores. Países como Federación Rusa, Vietnam, Méjico, Sudáfrica, China, Argentina, Pakistan, India o Bangla Desh.

Aramberri opina que el turismo seguirá animando una globalización limitada. Por otra parte, la correlación entre desarrollo humano y  turismo, muestra una mejora en educación, salud o lucha contra la pobreza paralela al incremento de llegadas turísticas, lo que nos lleva a pensar en el caso de los PVD si es el turismo el factor –o uno de los factores- que contribuye a mejorar estos indicadores o por el contrario es la mejora de éstos la que facilita la llegada de los turistas. El papel del Estado y sus políticas, la actitud de la población, su historia y cultura, son determinantes junto a los factores físicos y ambientales, las infraestructuras, inversiones y condiciones de acceso, de un mayor o menor crecimiento de la actividad turística. En este sentido, el  World Economic Forum, está elaborando un Indice de Competitividad Turística (TTCI), como instrumento con el que potenciar la competitividad turística de los PVD y reducir la pobreza. El Indice combina 14 indicadores, agrupados en tres subíndices: Base normativa, Infraestructuras y entorno de negocio, y Recursos culturales, naturales y humanos. La OMT como colaboradora, ha pedido un ajuste metodológico del TTCI que module la penalización que representa en este ranking el hecho de valorar el desarrollo sesgadamente en aspectos críticos en los PVD. En todo caso, añade la OMT, deberían darse importantes transferencias de fondos para pulir las grandes diferencias de la actual situación de partida.

Il 25 giugno scorso, con il decreto che anticipa la manovra Finanziaria, il Governo ha ridotto drasticamente i fondi dell'università e della ricerca. La protesta è cominciata piano, ma desso si sta allargando a macchia d'olio coinvolgendo tutti: rettori, docenti, ricercatori, studenti e pure il personale amministrativo.

La richiesta del mondo accademico è sostanzialmente unanime: stralciare dal decreto alcune delle principali novità oppure modificarle durante l'iter parlamentare per la conversione in legge. Una posizione che sarà probabilmente ribadita il 22 luglio a Roma, quando alla Sapienza si svolgerà un'assemblea nazionale dei rappresentanti di tutte le componenti universitarie.

Sono molti i punti criticati, tra i più contestato ci sono: la graduale riduzione del Fondo di finanziamento ordinario di di circa 1,5 miliardi entro il 2013 (prevede anche ad una forte stretta sulle assunzioni); la trasformazione degli scatti di anzianità negli stipendi dei docenti da biennali diventeranno triennali; una riduzione del Fondo di contrattazione integrativa del personale amministrativo; la possibilità per gli atenei di trasformarsi in Fondazioni di diritto privato e, quindi, di essere non essere più finanziati dallo Stato.

Secondo la CRUI (Conferenza dei Rettori Universitari Italiani), questi tagli porteranno inevitabilmente il sistema (che già non naviga in buone acqua) al dissesto e dai vertici delle università continuano a piovere critiche nei confronti del decreto legge. In molte università si stanno già mettendo a punto forme concrete di protesta. A parte qualche defezione e qualche accesa manifestazione di dissenso, a rischio è il prossimo anno accademico, dicono rettori, docenti, ricercatori e studenti.

Il Coordinamento Giovani Accademici, intanto, ha pubblicato sul proprio sito internet una petizione con cui si chiede un nuovo approccio da parte del Governo nei confronti dell'università italiana e con  cui  si manifesta il proprio dissenzo a quello che è stato ribattezzato "decreto taglia finanziamenti" che, tra le altre cose,  riduce ulteriormente i fondi dedicati alla ricerca di base. La petizione ha già raccolto più di 3.500 firme.

Non è un caso, quindi, che secondo l'ultimo Rapporto di Federculture, l'Italia è al 17° per quota di pil destinata a investimenti in ricerca e sviluppo. La nostra migliore università pubblica, inoltre, è al 173° posto nella classifica degli atenei. Secondo il World economic forum, poi, l'Italia è al 46° posto nella classifica della competitività; seimila cervelli ogni anno lasciano il paese e vanno all'estero e i professori sotto i 40 anni sono solo il 17% del totale.

E poi ci stupiamo nel leggere certi dati... ;-)

Obwohl von den Befürwortern als unvermeidlich deklariert, brauchte die Globalisierung stets Gefässe wie das World Economic Forum in Davos ab 1971, die G6 (G8 heutzutage) Treffen ab 1975, sowie Abkommen wie NATAL, GATE und danach WO. Das Wohl der Öffentlichkeit resultierte bei der Globalisierungsbewegung als Nebenresultat aus den Folgen von Handel, Wettbewerb und Selbstinteressen. Ihre Thesen waren verführerisch, einfache Lösungen, mit Verantwortung in unbekannten Händen (Marktkraft), so dass niemand für Nichts Verantwortung tragen musste. Gigantismus wurde als notwendig erachtet um Erfolg in den Weltmärkten zu erlangen.

Einzelne Widersprüche wurden bald erkennbar: Während Globalisierung die freie Wahl Einzelner über das Gemeinwohl zu stellen vorgab, positionierte sie in Wahrheit nicht die Konsumenten in ihren Mittelpunkt, sondern Unternehmenstrukturen, welche den Profit erhöhten in dem sie die Wahlfreiheit eindämmten. Ausserdem ist es fragwürdig wie diese Ideology ein Wachstum in globalen demokratische Strukturen predigen konnte, wo sie doch versuchte die Macht der Nationen zu schwächen. Demokratien existieren innerhalb der Nationen und eine Schwächung der Nationen kommt einer Schwächung der Demokratien gleich.

Hinzu kamen unzählige Privatisierungsexperimente, welche für den Konsumenten desaströs endeten. Der grosse Durchbruch im Arbeitsmarkt für weibliche Angestellte (vor allem in Nord-Amerika) wurde bald als aufgeblasen erkannt: Plötzlich brauchten die Haushalte zwei Einkommen. In 25-Jahren stieg das Einkommen amerikanischer CEOs vom 39-fachen des Durchschnittsgehalts eines amerikanischen Arbeiters auf mehr als das 1'000 fache an.
Es war bald klar das die Globalisierung ihre Versprechen nicht wird einlösen können. Die Führung einer Bewegung, welche als "wahrer Wettbewerb" gepriesen wurde, war mehrheitlich zusammengestellt aus Professoren, Berater und Technokraten, also Bürokraten des Privaten Sektors, welche grosse Firmen leiten. Die grossen Veränderungen, welche diese Leute einführten, hatten das Ziel Wettbewerb zu verhindern.

In den neunziger Jahren wurde allmählich klar, dass die Nationengefüge stärker waren, als man sich dies zugestand. Zum Beispiel 1991 als die Jugoslawische Armee versuchte Slowenien und Kroatien daran zu hindern ihre Föderation zu verlassen. Das folgende Massaker war ein Test für alle internationalen Organisationen. Alle scheiterten. Während darüber debatiert wurde, dass die globale Wirtschaft die Nationengebilde irrelevant machten, wurden tausende Menschen umgebracht um noch mehr Nationen zu kreieren. Schlimmer noch, das wirtschaftlich-administrative Gebilde der Europäischen Union war nicht in der Lage irgend etwas gegen diese Gräuel zu unternehmen. Ähnlich geschah in Rwanda: Die Nationen meldeten sich zurück; mit allem Übel.

Über mehrere Jahre versuchte Lateinamerika den Instruktionen, vom IMF, westlichen Regierungen und privaten Banken ausgelegt, zu folgen. Zwar gab es einige momentane Erfolge zu verzeichnen, aber langfristig führte der eingeschlagene Weg zum Kollaps. Befürworter beklagen, dass es hätte funktionieren können mit weniger starken Gewerkschaften, weniger Korruption etc., aber reale Wirtschaft muss sich auch in der Realität abspielen; ohne perfekte Bedingungen. Das Fazit ist, dass Latein Amerika nicht mehr an die Globalisierung glaubt. Ebenfalls Afrika, wie ein grosser Teil Asiens. Globalisierung ist nicht mehr global.

Einige Finanzminister haben in letzter Zeit, leise an Reregulierungen gearbeitet. Malaysia hat, als Antwort auf die Wirtschaftskrise, ihre Währung vom Markt genommen, den Export von fremdem Kaptial blockiert, Tarife erhöht und auch sonst alles getan was gegen die Regeln der Globalisierungsbewegung spricht. Trotz aller zynischen Kommentare westlicher Beobachter, dass der Staat dies nicht überleben würde, ging die eingeschlagene Strategie Malaysias schliesslich als Modell dafür hervor, dass eine Stützung der eigenen Währung hilfreich sein kann.

Ein weiteres Beispiel für einen Wirtschaftszweig, die von der Globalisierung richtig durchgeschüttelt wurde, ist die Flugindustrie. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg begann diese kräftig zu wachsen und Mitte der siebziger Jahren wurden erste Deregulierungen gefordert. Bei den Anschlägen vom 11. September 2001 erlitten diese einen Rückschlag von 5.7 Prozent, und obwohl es davor einen sechzig Jahre langen Aufstieg gab, war dies bereits zuviel des Schlechten. Diejenigen, welche 25 Jahre zuvor nach Deregulierungen riefen, waren nun Bankrott. Interessant sind auch die weiteren ökonomischen Auswirkungen der Anschläge vom 11. September 2001, als die Gefahr einer weltweiten Depression existierte und erst das eingreifen der Nationen in die Ökonomie schlimmeres verhinderte. Für einmal traten die CEOs zur Seite.

Neuseeland war in den frühen achtziger Jahren das Rollenmodell der Globalisierung. Was folgte waren Jahre mit stagnierendem Lebensstandard. Nachdem die nationale Industrie verkauft war, sich die Wirtschaft in Tiefflug befand und die Jungen das Land in alarmierender Zahl verliessen, kam die Wende in einer Abstimmung Ende 1999. Die Stimmbürger traten ein für die Wende: Mehr Regierungsinterventionen, mehr Regulierungen und einen stabileren privaten Sektor.

Im Frühjahr 2006 wollte Dubai Ports den britischen Hafenbetreiber P&O übernehmen, der sechs Häfen in den USA kontrolliert. Damit wären der Seezugang zu New York, Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans und Philadelphia in die Hände eines staatlichen Unternehmens aus den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten gefallen. In den Häfen wären zwar künftig weiterhin die US-Küstenwache und der Zoll für die Sicherheit verantwortlich gewesen, trotzdem verursachte diese Meldung in den USA heisse Köpfe. Zuletzt hatte sich abgezeichnet, dass das US-Repräsentantenhaus den Verkauf blockieren würde. Der Haushaltsausschuss beschloss einen Gesetzesentwurf, der die Übertragung von Pachtverträgen an die Dubai Ports World verbietet. Schliesslich teilte Dubai Ports mit auf die Übernahme der Häfen zu verzichten. Interessanterweise bildeten republikanische Representanten die Speerspitze des Widerstands gegen die Übernahme. Politiker, welche sich stets gegen Protektionismus ausdrückten und alle glauben machen wollten, dass freier Handel Garant sei für Wohlstand, Stabilität und Sicherheit.

Nationalismus ist unverkennbar zurück und präsentiert sich leider nicht bloss von der nette Seite. Dies zeigt sich in Wahlerfolgen extrem-nationalistischer Richtungen Mitte dieses Jahrzehnts in West-Europa (Belgien, Dänemark, Frankreich, Holland, Norwegen, Schweden, Italien, Österreich, Nord Irland und auch der Schweiz). Globalisierung ist, nach einem eher kurzen Gastspiel, gescheitert. Bleibt zu hoffen dass die Wunden nicht allzu tief stecken, damit das Pendel nicht übertrieben in die Gegenrichtung ausschlägt.

All companies and governments dependent on external suppliers are exposed to the risks of disruption in their supply chain. But the extent and complexity of current global supply chains mean that the problem of supply chain management is not limited to a single enterprise or industry: even a relatively small supply chain disruption caused by a global risk event may ultimately have consequences across the global economic system.

Global Risks 2008, a report prepared by the World Economic Forum, maybe an unlikely source of information on supply chain risks, or maybe a particular source of information in this era of globalization,  looks at global risks from a range of different perspectives.

The report focuses on four emerging issues that are shaping the global risk landscape:

• systemic financial risk
• food security
• supply chains
• energy

On supply chains, the report investigates a hidden set of vulnerabilities in the global economy and their affect to supply chain disruption:

Let me highlight some excerpts from the report concerning supply chain disruptions:

All companies and governments dependent on external suppliers are exposed to the risks of
disruption in their supply chain. But the extent and complexity of current global supply chains mean that the problem of supply chain management is not limited to a single enterprise or industry: even a relatively small supply chain disruption caused by a global risk event may ultimately have consequences across the global economic system.

Akin to the infamous "Butterfly effect", your minor disruption could have major and global implications. Or conversely, some other company's disruption may affect you severely, even though you in no (business) way are connected to said company.

However, despite their importance both at the level of individual enterprises and at the level of the global economic system, vulnerabilities to the supply chain are generally poorly understood and managed. This is partly because the risks in the supply chain are obscured, as enterprises and governments may be indirectly exposed to a global risk disruption through
a complex range of sub-supplier arrangements. But in some measure this is due to the range of possible global risk disruptions – from geopolitical risk to a natural catastrophe to pandemics. A US- or European-based company which sources key components from Asia will indirectly face risks that they may never encounter domestically, as well as very different cultural approaches to the management of risk.

As supply chains grow more and more complex and intertwined, the risk of cross-contamination from risky supply chains to secure/safe supply chains increases, and managing risks, and in particular disruptions, can become very difficult, if cultural barriers add to the confusion and lack of common understanding and consensus of what should be done:

The fragmentation of ownership of global risks and the complexity of interdependencies will make equitable and sustainable management of global risks hugely
challenging.

The report was published early in 2008 and given the current global economic state and fears of economic recession as of July 2008 I could not help but notice this:

Should systemic financial risk lead to a serious deterioration in the world economy, the prospects for collaborative (risk) mitigation may be reversed on several fronts simultaneously as attention turns to more immediate concerns.

Does this mean that supply chain disruptions are likely to increase now, as companies and governments are struggling to keep the economy afloat?

You can read the full report here: Global Risks 2008