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Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrate in an anti-globalization and anti-war rally that opened the 3rd World Social Forum in Porto Alegre   DAVOS, Switzerland, January 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - As global business leaders and politicians met for a second day at the World Economic Forum, demonstrators gathered on the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Friday, January 24, to demand changes to economic policies and action to halt the threat of war on Iraq.

They were joined by thousands of protesters around the world who marked the start the world's largest anti-globalization event in Porto Alegre, Brazil -- timed to protest the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The World Social Forum, which seeks to act as a counter-weight to the meeting of the world's top business and economic leaders at a ski resort in Davos, Switzerland, is in its third year, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Both events have focused attention on growing fears of war with Iraq and concerns of a possible global economic crisis and were accompanied by anti-globalization and anti-war rallies during which thousands of protestors took to the streets on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of activists from around the world were at the opening event at the Catholic University in this southern Brazilian city, many waving anti-war banners.

Organizers said 100,000 activists from 157 countries would take part in the six-day gathering.

"We are here to say no to war, yes to peace, (and) 100 percent cancellation of the debt of poor countries," said Njoki Njoroge Njehu of Kenya, one of the opening speakers, from the 50 Years is Enough network.

The inaugural event focused on opposition to a possible Iraq conflict. The delegations from Iraq, as well as another representing U.S. peace activists, were warmly received.

Down with the imperialist war on Iraq Activists waved two large Iraqi flags and carried a photo-montage that compared U.S. President George W. Bush to Hitler with the caption "Down with the imperialist war on Iraq."

Groups representing Palestinians and pro-peace Israelis were also warmly received.

At the opening ceremony, organizers released a survey of 15,000 people in 15 countries that found six in 10 people believe social issues should take precedence over globalization and economic growth.

"The survey shows how in tune we are with the thoughts of society, with ordinary people, and it shows us that this is a movement we must believe in," said Candido Grzybowski, one of the poll's organizers.

The forum's star speaker will be Brazil's new left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. A former metal worker and union leader, Lula is scheduled to speak Friday.

Lula is then scheduled to fly to Switzerland and speak Sunday at the Davos economic forum. He said he would take the same message of the need to fight hunger and social inequality to both gatherings.

"Just as a new social contract is needed in Brazil, a global pact is needed to reduce the distance between rich countries and poor countries," Lula said in a statement.

"It's unacceptable that at the start of a new millennium, millions of human beings have nothing to eat."

Lula said his message to world economic and business leaders will be that "rich nations need to distribute the planet's wealth." Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, currently facing a lengthy opposition-driven general strike, is scheduled to speak Sunday. Ministers from other major governments, including French Education Minister Luc Ferry, will also be in Porto Alegre.

About 30,000 people have set up a camp in the center of Porto Alegre where organic food is served and the sun and moon are the emblems on specially-minted currency to circulate for the duration of the forum.

Meanwhile scores of homeless Brazilians, supported by foreigners at the event, took over vacant land in downtown Porto Alegre, setting up banners and makeshift bamboo structures covered with plastic tarps.

Sixteen poor families under threat of being evicted called for the occupation, protest leader Cintra Edymar said.

Davos concentrates on Iraq and oil Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum began a second day in Davos on Friday with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft calling for greater international cooperation on counter-terrorism measures, AFP said.

The Forum was also due to focus on the impact on the global oil market of a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq and economic prospects for regions of the world.

Senior ministers from Iraq's neighbour Turkey and oil-rich Kazakstan, the head of oil cartel OPEC, and the bosses of Saudi oil giant Aramco and Russian oil firms Yukos and Tyumen were also due to meet on Friday.

There will be closed-door discussions in Davos on Friday on "the correlation between oil and conflict", the effect of the Iraqi crisis on oil prices and what the west can do to stabilise relations with the Islamic world.

Britain's Guardian newspaper on Thursday reported the U.S. State Department as saying oil was the "number one issue" and that the U.S. military had drawn up plans to protect Iraq's oilfields in the event of a war to prevent Iraqi President Saddam Hussein setting them ablaze.

Iraq, which has the second biggest known oil reserves in the world, could produce four times their current production of 1.5 million barrels a day with the right investment and control, experts told the paper.

Other meetings in Davos will address the economic prospects for the struggling U.S., the enlarging European Union, ailing Japan, booming China and an African continent that is still largely excluded from the global trading system.

Four African presidents are billed to attend and four Latin American heads of state, including Eduardo Duhalde of Argentina, which last week struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund to roll over 6.6 billion dollars (euros) of its debt to the IMF.

On the sidelines of the forum, members of the Palestinian Authority will respond to allegations of corruption by announcing reforms to the management of their public finances.

www.guardian.co.uk Friday January 24, 2003 4:00 PM

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) - If there's a common thread joining the tens of thousands of participants at the World Social Forum, it's globalization, and deep skepticism about what it can do for the good of mankind.

As activists taking part in the forum's opening march Thursday heaped criticism on the International Monetary Fund, Francisco Giuliano was hard-pressed to come up with anything he likes about unfettered U.S.-style capitalism and free trade.

Globalization has come only to decide how the rich will distribute for their own benefit the cake of our countries,'' Giuliano said. This is a globalization made by the haves, by the powerful only.''

Organizers have predicted a turnout of 100,000 activists in Porto Alegre for the six-day forum, held as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum taking place simultaneously at the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos.

At least 2,000 police are on hand to keep order. Military police captain Joao Carlos Gomes said no major disturbances were expected.

With lectures from globalization critics and more than 1,700 seminars and workshops, the six-day forum seeks to change the perceived ills of capitalism, including foreign debt and unfair global trade that favor rich, industrialized nations and multinational corporations.

Some social forum participants are convinced that the new Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has a genuine chance at improving the lot of millions of impoverished Brazilians - and may even help the rest of South America's poor.

Silva, a former shoeshine boy who dropped out of school to help support his family, will address the social forum Friday.

The next day he will fly to Davos, where he reportedly will call for rich countries to join his fight to eliminate hunger affecting between 24 million to 44 million of Brazil's 175 million citizens.

During Thursday's opening march for the forum, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people demonstrated in Porto Alegre, many waving red flags and jumping into the air as a coarse voice repeated in Portuguese: ``No, no, no! Capitalism no! Long live socialism and the revolution!''

Brazilian theater student Camila Catario Fortes said anti-globalization sentiment is increasing because of ``negative outcomes of globalization across the world.''

Although the concept of opening all countries to free trade and allowing multinational corporations to operate without limits was good, the impact has not been for most of the world's citizens, she said.

It would have been different had it brought understanding among cultures, it would have been great,'' she said. But in practice, it hasn't happened.''

Annia Faas, a German writer from Hamburg said globalization was ``intrinsically wrong.''

``Differences among men are so great. You can barely understand your own neighbor, let alone the world.''

For Sergio Gomes, a metalworker from Sao Paulo, Brazil's industrial largest city, globalization ``is the new name of colonization.''

It means that industrial countries keep the clean industries, like electronics, and force developing countries to work with industries polluting the environment,'' he said. They get the best, we are left the worst.''

news.bbc.co.uk Friday, 24 January, 2003, 16:02 GMT

By Adriano Campolina Soares Action Aid Brazil's campaign director reports from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre Despite torrential rain, over 100,000 people turned up for the first day of the World Social Forum taking place from 23 - 28 January in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

Where else would a gay rights march be followed moments afterwards by a pro-Palestinian protest?

As soon as you arrive your senses are overloaded with colourful causes and campaigns all competing for attention.

Land for all, Rights for Women, No to war with Iraq.

It can seem like chaos, but that's what the Social Forum is all about.

It does not aim to promote one view but celebrate diversity.

Different planet Set up two years ago, the World Social Forum offers a radical alternative to the World Economic Forum, an elite meeting of international businessmen and politicians taking place in Davos, Switzerland at the same time.

Anti-American sentiment is running high The event has grown rapidly over the last two years from 20,000 attendees in 2001 to 100,000 today.

If the businessmen and political heavyweights from Davos were transported to Porto Alegre - slogan "another world is possible" - they really would believe they were on a different planet.

At the five-day meeting activists, campaigners and social movements from over 150 countries come together and share experiences.

It is here where alternatives to the free trade and neo-liberalist policies promoted at Davos are openly discussed and global alliances made.

Unique But with over 1,500 events spread out around the city there is too much choice and it becomes a little frustrating that there is no way to take everything in.

Adriano relishes the diversity of Porto Alegre

But as the biggest meeting of its kind, Porto Alegre is unique.

Where else would a gay rights march be followed moments afterwards by a pro-Palestinian protest?

Or landless people's movements from Latin American, Asia and Africa be able to sit round a table and compare notes?

Of course, conflict and disagreement are inevitable but that is half the fun.

Anti-war march The Social Forum offers everyone, from spiked-haired punks to farmers to university professors the opportunity to make their protest and revel in the joys democracy.

What's more, as it takes place in Latin America, activists from countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, who have actually suffered at the hands of corporate-driven globalisation, can have their say.

On the first day of the Forum the people took to the streets for an anti-war march.

As Brazilian government ministers walked with protesters there was an air of great hope spreading to campaigners from all across the globe.

After all, if Lula, a left wing unionist without a university degree can be elected President, then maybe another world really is possible.

www.zwire.com by Paul Menchaca, Western Queens Editor January 23, 2003

The threat of a war with Iraq has many Americans worried about what it could do to oil prices. Regular unleaded gasoline at this Whitestone Mobil station is nearly $1.60 per gallon, which is average for New York City. (photos by Anthony Correia   In a controversial television advertising campaign paid for by the non-profit group Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, a link is made between driving a sport utility vehicle and supporting terrorism, with the tagline “What Is Your SUV Doing to National Security?”

   The idea is that the gas-guzzling vehicles are supporting terrorism through their over- abundant use of oil that comes from the Middle East. In one spot, a group of SUV drivers make casual admissions such as, “I helped hijack an airplane,” “I helped our enemies develop weapons of mass destruction” and “I helped teach kids around the world to hate Americans.”

   The campaign is a response, and also a parody, of a similar advertising campaign from the Bush Administration that linked buying drugs to supporting terrorism. Both campaigns have drawn criticism for selling misconceptions, and some stations, including WABC in New York, have refused to air the advertisements from Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars.

   America’s reliance on oil from the Middle East has resonated as a topic of great discussion in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. As the country teeters on the edge of a war with Iraq, the issue continues to be the source of analysis and controversy for Americans.

   The issue of foreign oil is not a debate over whether or not the United States should rely so heavily on the supply in the Middle East. The political instability in that region, and the ongoing tension with Iraq, assures almost unanimous support to diminish a reliance on this region’s oil output.

   But two issues have generated intense scrutiny: Finding an alternative energy source and taking steps to combat a potential oil price hike in the event of a war with Iraq.

   For Queens residents, the risk of an oil crisis looms large. This is a commuters’ borough where—more so than in Manhattan—people rely on a car to get themselves from point A to point B. An oil price increase would also make it costlier to heat our homes.    Many analysts have discounted the possibility of a massive oil crisis if the United States goes to war with Iraq. Others think back 30 years ago when an oil embargo triggered a major international shortage, sparking a global recession that they believe can happen again.         Fueling The Fear    Experts studying the potential fallout from a U.S.-led attack on a country from which it imports oil, invariably bring up the energy crisis of 1973, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, placed an embargo on its shipment of crude oil to Western countries, particularly the United States and the Netherlands.

   Global oil prices rose to four times the level they were before the embargo, and the result was a recession and economic slump that matched the impact of the Great Depression for much of the world. In the United States, people were only able to fill up their cars with gas on alternate days based on whether their license plates ended in odd or even numbers. Lines for gas stations stretched for blocks in some areas.

   The energy crisis made many Americans aware for the first time of just how dependent the United States is on the Arab world for its crude oil supply. Thirty years later, renewed fears have again risen to the surface.

   After the energy crisis, automakers responded by making a move toward building smaller, more efficient cars, foregoing the large automobiles that had been built up to that point. However, as the crisis became a distant memory, and oil prices dropped and stabilized, large vehicles reappeared on the market.

   Congressman Anthony Weiner, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Queens, believes the obsession with big cars by many Americans points to a contradiction on the oil issue that exists in this country.

   “We, as a country, have always been schizophrenic on this issue,” he said. “We’re a country that is protective of the environment and concerned about oil prices, and at the same point we’re addicted to big cars.”

   He is also troubled by what he believes is the lack of a clear approach to energy by the United States.

   “The energy policy has been inconsistent to say the least,” he said. “It’s not only the Bush administration, but previous administrations as well. We have to find a way to reduce consumption. We cannot continue to be on the path that we’re on.”

   Weiner wants to see the government ask the American people to make sacrifices in order to help cut down the consumption of foreign oil.

   “Our leaders don’t ask us to sacrifice enough,” Weiner said. “During World War II, Americans were asked to conserve scrap metal and rubber, and it wasn’t because there was necessarily a shortage on these items, but there was a sense that we had to bring the country together. If you drive a car or buy a plane ticket, you are part of the (energy) conflict. We are not doing enough to improve fuel efficiency in our cars.”

   Some analysts doubt that there will be a crippling energy crisis that mirrors the one in 1973. For one, many believe that an invasion of Iraq would be swift, making any kind of disruption in oil exportation a minimal one.

   Furthermore, not everyone is convinced that Iraq is as important to oil production as it once was. Although Iraq has the second-largest known oil reserves—an estimated 112 billion barrels of crude oil, which is below the estimated 264 billion amassed by Saudi Arabia—its output accounts for only about 3 percent of the world’s supply.

   Experts point to other markets in the world—especially Russia, which is second to Saudi Arabia in oil production—where the United States can turn to for a new supply, weakening any threats from Baghdad of a potential oil embargo.

   However, for some Queens residents, the possibility of a severe oil price hike is a legitimate concern, especially because they are already feeling the effects of higher bills.

   “I think the prices are getting too high and I don’t think it’s right, especially for people on a fixed income,” said a 66-year-old Middle Village resident who gave her name only as Jessica. “(The home heating bill) has gone up quite a bit already, and when you are on a fixed income, you have to make things stretch. I also feel sorry for the young people too, because with these bills, combined with the high property prices, they can’t even afford to buy a house, and that’s not fair.”

   A Rego Park woman, who asked that her name not be used, said that the cold winter this year in New York has taken its toll on her heating bill as well.

   “It’s gone up quite a bit,” she said. “The last bill I got (in January) went up $300 from the previous month’s.”

   A recent report by Oil Price Information Service, a New Jersey-based publisher of petroleum data, indicated that heating oil has risen by 20 percent in New York, while gasoline prices have seen a 30 percent jump. The report further noted that while heating oil prices are expected to stabilize, gasoline prices are expected to see a hike by this spring.

   Although many oil experts believe a war with Iraq would only result in a temporary oil price hike, United States Senator Charles Schumer from New York believes that an invasion opens the possibility for long-term problems.

   “If a potential war goes bad and no additional oil reaches the market, even conservative estimates say gas prices would not just hit the roof, but shatter it,” he said.         Searching For Solutions    If gasoline prices do “shatter” the roof, what can Queens drivers do to cope? One solution could be to carpool.

   The College Point-based non-profit alternative transportation organization, CommuterLink, offers drivers the opportunity to meet other commuters who work and live in the same areas in order to form a carpool. The 13-year-old company also offers mass transit commuting itineraries to best reach a destination, trip reduction strategies and parking management programs.

   Although the company offers services to all five boroughs, Jennifer Covello, marketing manager for CommuterLink, noted that the majority of the clients are Queens residents. A person looking to enter a carpool will fill out an application and the company will use a specialized matching service to find other commuters with similar work schedules and destinations.

   “We find that people who carpool, like it,” she said. “If the person they are carpooling with pulls out of the program, we find that a majority of them will come to us looking for someone else.”

   Covello also indicated that a lot of the clients get involved with the carpool service in order to save money.

   “They want to save money because gas prices are so high,” she said. “Even if you do it two to three times a week, you are cutting your gas payments in half.”

   CommuterLink was started as part of the 1990 Clean Air Act. The company states its goal promoting and encouraging “ridesharing and other modes of alternative transportation, thereby reducing congestion and improving air quality and mobility.”

   Finding long-term energy solutions for the United States is more complicated. Chris McCannell, Congressman Joseph Crowley’s chief of staff, does not believe the government is investing enough money in alternative energy sources in order to make them cost efficient.

   He also believes that the Bush Administration should look more closely at other regions from which to import oil. Although the flow of crude oil from Venezuela has been disrupted because of political turmoil, McCannell believes the region—which is responsible for the fourth largest oil exportation to the United States—should be considered for a new supply source.

   “We don’t think the administration is exploring (other areas) as soundly as they should be with such a focus on the war on Iraq. We are not going to be able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but it is about being a little smarter about it.”

news.bbc.co.uk Friday, 24 January, 2003, 16:06 GMT

The head of the oil cartel, Opec, has told delegates at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that he is powerless to forestall the climb in the oil price.

During the past week, the price of oil has hit a two-year high in response to jitters over the prospect of war in Iraq and a general strike in Venezuela.

"What can we do more? I do not agree there is a lack of oil. The problem of the price is the threat of war," said Alvaro Silva, secretary-general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Time is not on North Korea's side

Chung Dong-Young Envoy for South Korean president-elect

So far the gathering in the exclusive Swiss resort of Davos has been dominated by talk of war and gloomy forecasts about the global economy.

Friday's debates will focus on prospects for the sluggish US economy, the enlargement of the European Union and Japan's struggle to return to health.

In addition, there will be sessions on the boom in China and poor growth forecasts for the African continent.

Delegates at Davos were also told that South Korea planned to send a special envoy to its communist neighbour, North Korea, to discuss the region's nuclear tensions.

Meanwhile, US Attorney General John Ashcroft called for greater international cooperation on counter-terrorism measures.

Oil blow

Mr Alvaro's comments crushed hopes that Opec would mandate the pumping of more crude oil should the US start a military campaign in the Middle East.

Ashcroft: Washington has switched terror tactics

Mr Silva said Opec producers, which agreed to a production increase earlier in January, were doing their best to bring crude below $28 a barrel, which is at the top end of the group's targeted price range.

Increasing international tension and a general strike cutting exports from Opec member Venezuela have led to high oil prices, with US crude trading at $32.32 on Friday.

Most Opec members are already pumping oil at full capacity, with only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates believed to be able to raise production further.

Nuclear fears

An envoy for South Korean president-elect Roh Moo-Hyun told the WEF on Friday that time was running out for North Korea to resolve the dispute about its nuclear programme.

"North Korea must face up to the reality that if it continues to threaten peace, the international community will not simply turn a blind eye," said Chung Dong-Young, co-chairman of the president-elect's Millennium Democratic party.

"Time is not on North Korea's side."

He added North Korea could benefit if it agreed to give up its nuclear programme because Seoul was considering a "bold" reconstruction plan for its isolated neighbour.

In another session, US Attorney General Ashcroft told delegates that the White House had switched tactics following the September 11 attacks.

During a discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism strategies, he said Washington was more concerned with tackling future threats than investigating who was involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

"We have shifted our priority from prosecution to prevention," he told world and business leaders, adding that 90 countries were cooperating with the US in the effort.

German optimism

Separately, on the sidelines of the WEF conference, Germany's deputy finance team told delegates that the strong euro was not hurting manufacturing.

Read why Japanese business looks to football for a revival

"So far I do not see a problem, but obviously we have to remain vigilant on further moves," said Caio Koch-Weser.

A rise in the euro could conceivably make it more expensive for German manufacturers to sell their products abroad.

Gerassimos Thomas, a spokesman for the European Commission, added: "The euro has been for a long time undervalued.

"Over the last six months we are seeing a correction by which the euro is more aligned with the fundamentals of the euro area economy."