At the Oscar awards ceremony this year, one of the winners was a finger-wagging man who shouted "Shame on you Mr Bush!’ amongst a mix of boos and cheers. This public protest against the war on Iraq — watched by millions on TV across the globe — was staged by Michael Moore. Moore recently wrote a book with an unapologetic title ‘Stupid White Men’. He writes about very, very (sic) rich old men (emphasis added) who rule the most powerful country in the world, the United State of America — in the government and in the industry. He chronicles the way a few control the global wealth (corporates, banks, industries) and power (governments, guns, missiles) and what it means to the rest of the world.

Today’s international economic architecture ensures that the normal
operation of world market forces (the process we call ‘globalisation’) tends to yield disproportionate benefits to the rich, and confers autonomy on economic policy makers of the richer countries while curbing the autonomy of all others. This leads to an unhappy state of affairs as we can all see.

The good news of ‘globalisation’ is that citizens across the world who want to see economic, social and environmental justice are beginning join hands. I have also decided to join hands with ‘people for peace’. What about you?