World Press Review, February 2001

WAIS and the WORLD PRESS Review are closely related in that they strive to get people to understand the worldview of different groups in many countries. It is a serious international problem. Most Americans have little understanding of the worldview even of their closest neighbors, Canadians and Mexicans. The February 2001 issue of World Press covers subjects directly related to our July conference on globalization. There will be a session on climate, organized by Stephen Schneider. The cover of the magazine, referring to the feature section, shows an ice field with the wording "On thin ice. Cold Feet and Hot Air on Global Warming." I am puzzled because it features a polar bear, an Arctic beast. The main trouble is in the Antarctic, home of the penguins, whom I prefer because they do not have a bearish disposition. Let's view it as artistic licence, although penguins make better pictures. In any case, the recent Hague conference on the subject ended in a stalemate, a perfect example of conflicting viewpoints. The World Press section features articles from France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Australia and New Guinea,

Then comes a section on Israel, which will be discussed in our 4-6 session on July 29. Many Israelis fear a missile war involving among other things a fight over some old religious stones. This comes at a time when Americans are arguing about the separation of church and state, but why does the US not insist on separation of temple and state in Israel, which would defuse this issue? There is much talk of human rights in that rogue state Iran, but what about human rights in Saudi Arabia? I must remind those taking part in our session on religion that Sunday is a day of peace.

A World Press section on mad cow disease will have no counterpart in our conference, since it is as yet not a global issue. For this I am grateful since I have read so much about made cow disease that a discussion of it would drive me mad. There is an obvious solution. Let's all become vegetarians.

There is one area in which the US is not a superpower: cartoons. World Press always incudes two pages of delightful political cartoons, Some of the best come from minor countries. All in the February issue refer to the fiasco of the American presidential election. In addition to many Americans, virtually all non-Americans view our system as very flawed. I trust that the session on democracy will give people a chance to express their views and to point out the features of their own system.

The same counsel must be given to the session on economics. Many Americans have their doubts about the present brand of capitalism, and these doubts are much greater in other countries not in the forefront of globalization. One example from the wealthier counries: there is a serious shortage of nurses in the Western world because the pay is modest and the work exacting and hard. In the US there have been many strikes. Great Britain has imported a group of over 1,000 nurses from Spain. French hospitals are seriously understaffed with nurses.

At the same time, sports stars and pop musicians earn (?) sums which have no relation to whatever benefits (?) they bring society. A notorious case is that of rap mogul Sean "Puffy Combs", who is on trial in New York for bribery and for firing a gun in a nightclub. He is said to be worth $400 millions. It is not just the system which is to blame, it is the people, "we, the people", whose value system is reflected in these absurdities. Every people is said to get the government it deserves. Is it equally true that every country gets the economic system in deserves?

Ronald Hilton - 1/31/01