Monthly e-newsletter from Focus on the Global South, India


Content summary:

A couple of days ago on May 1st the working class across the world took to the streets to demonstrate their strength and solidarity and to remember past and ongoing struggles of fellow workers. We carry a new version of the ‘Internationale’ the anthem for several democratic struggles and among the most widely recognised songs in the world. We also have a statement from Iraqi trade unions, a comment on the state of prisoners in Pakistani and Indian jails, and a petition regarding so called “Naxalite' prisoners in Maharashtra.

Economist Jayati Ghosh lists down the elements that are likely to cause a downward spiral of the US economy. In this article Ghosh argues, given the sheer size of the US economy and its interlinkages with other key countries, that the global financial system will sooner or later feel the heat.

Talking of heat, our next article is on the science of climate change. Or rather the lack of it in a report that was recently unveiled by the czar of neo-liberalism in India, Planning Commission Deputy Chief, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Columnist Praful Bidwai blows the lid off the report on climate change by the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change (CSCCC) and terms it as utterly flimsy for its failure to grapple with the issues at the heart of the climate debate, including the extent of global warming and its relationship to green house gas emissions.

We also carry a letter to the Times of India on the controversial High Capacity Bus System in the city of Delhi and a statement from groups in Sri Lanka on the food crisis.

Contents:

1. NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
1.a. New version of the Internationale
1.b Johannesburg High Court declares prepaid water meters unconstitutional


2. STATEMENTS/REPORTS
2.a. Statement: May Day 2008 from the Iraqi Labour Movement
2.b. Statement: International Jewish Solidarity Network on Gaza
2.c. Statement Srilanka people’s organisations on high food prices
2.d. Petition: Save the lives of 13 under-trials in Nagpur Jail! Support demands of hunger strike!
2.e. Media Release: People's Parliament Slams UPA government: Demands Non Displacing Development Paradigm
2.f. Letter to Times of India on Delhi High Capacity Bus System


3. ARTICLES
3.a. Are we heading for global stagflation? By Jayati Ghosh
3.b. Falling back on pseudo-science? By Praful Bidwai
3.c. Plight of Foreign Inmates: When Errors becomes Sins by Jatin Desai