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Written by Alex Singleton
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Monday, 04 June 2007 |
The following is a transcript of a speech given at a debate at Southwark Cathedral.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, once said the following:
“Every transaction in the developed economies of the West can be interpreted as an act of aggression against the economic losers in the worldwide game.”
Many people here tonight might sympathise with that point of view. European economies have been getting ever more affluent, but what if this is at the expense of the world’s poorest? What if the reason for wealth is because trade rules are rigged in our favour? What if our weekly shop at Tesco, as Rowan Williams believes, is an act of aggression on others?
The good news is that trade is not an act of aggression. Every act of trade is an act of peace. Some people believe that when two people trade, one person is a winner and the other is a loser. But if I buy a shirt, I do so because I value the shirt more than I value the money. The shop values the money more than they value the shirt. Trade happens because both sides believe they will benefit. |
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Written by Richard Boursy
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Thursday, 05 April 2007 |
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Nowadays nearly every music retailer – from the old fashioned bricks-and-mortar kind, through the online CD vendors, to the completely virtual iTunes Music Store – has a major section called “World Music” or “International.” The music in such categories typically encompasses the traditional musics of Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as hybrids that blend indigenous music with techniques taken from hip hop, rock or jazz. Purists may regard such Western influence as contamination, but trans-continental cross-fertilization has produced remarkable results; indeed, jazz itself is an American product that draws on both African and European sources.
In recent decades, European classical music has become conspicuously global as well. Yo-Yo Ma, perhaps the most famous and charismatic classical musician of our era, is a Paris-born Chinese-American who often performs with musicians from the “Silk Road” of Central Asia. Most major orchestras have numerous Asian or Asian-American members, and any list of leading conductors would include Seiji Ozawa, born to Japanese parents in Manchuria, and Zubin Mehta, a Parsee from India.
The radio, the jet plane and the internet have increased the pace of musical globalization, but throughout history, interactions among cultures – in the form of exploration, trade, evangelization, migration or war – have often had musical consequences. Because European classical music has been preserved in written form for centuries, we have an abundance of evidence regarding the European perspective. Early examples of interactions tend to be isolated novelties, such as “Thule, the Period of Cosmography,” a poem set to music by Thomas Weelkes (1600); it rapidly mentions an assortment of exotic locales and topics, including Iceland, Mount Etna, Tierra del Fuego and Spanish commerce in Asian goods.
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Written by Shada Islam
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Wednesday, 21 March 2007 |
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When European leaders gather in Berlin to mark the 50th anniversary of the bloc's founding Treaty of Rome, they will have much to celebrate, not least the 50 years of peace and prosperity unprecedented in their history. Yet no amount of uplifting speeches and champagne can disguise Europe's current malaise. Today's EU is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis of confidence.
Much of the hand-wringing is due to uncertainty over the fate of a new EU constitution, rejected in summer 2005 by voters in France and the Netherlands. Since unanimity is required for ratification, the treaty - designed to streamline decision-making in an expanded EU - has effectively been put on ice. EU governments are split on whether to revive or bury it.
Europeans also worry about the impact of globalisation on their jobs and further EU enlargement, especially plans to bring mainly Muslim Turkey into the bloc. At the same time, the failure to integrate up to 20 million Muslims living in Europe is creating social tensions, with many Europeans fearing that the radicalization of disaffected Muslim youth poses a long-term threat to EU security.
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Written by Patricia Wruuck
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Saturday, 11 November 2006 |
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The battle over Arcelor, Europe’s biggest steel company, was about more than a merger. The success of Mittal’s bid posed a setback to economic nationalists who seem to be on the rise lately. Arcelor’s shareholders accepted the bid of India-born Lakshmi Mittal despite the opposition of the board. This should be taken as an encouraging sign: Economic rationale defeated economic patriotism. Yet cross-border mergers remain sensitive and highly politicised - prompting politicians to interfere in business decisions.
Six months after his company launched a hostile takeover bid for the Luxembourg-based steelmaker Arcelor, Lakshmi Mittal finally succeeded. On June 25 Arcelor’s board agreed to sell the company to Mittal Steel for $32.2 billion. Mittal-Arcelor will be by far the world’s largest steel company in terms of output, revenue and market value. Shareholders approved of the deal because the two companies complement each other, both in the types of steel they produce and their geographical focus. In addition, the newly created giant will enjoy other advantages such as increased negotiating power with suppliers and synergies in purchasing, manufacturing and marketing. |
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