De nazomerschool is in het week-end van 15-16-17 september in Amsterdam. Noteer vast in de agenda.
onderwerpen: multiculturele samenleving en de sociaal economsiche gevolgen van de IT-revolutie. opgeven en informatie: arthur.bruls@nijmegen.fol.nl

de novemberconferentie SAP is op zaterdag 2 december.
Op het congres juni 2000 is besloten dat in november 2000 een vervolgcongres zou plaatsvinden. Een aantal lijnen die in juni zijn uitgezet moeten dan worden uitgewerkt.
Het partijbestuur werkt momenteel aan een drietal teksten, over de jongerenorganisatie, het persbeleid en radikale demokratie.

Bijgaand bericht van Jim Stanford geeft toch wat meer inzicht in wat onder de vlag van de vrije handel allemaal kan. Voor hen die om voorbeelden verlegen zitten:

Thursday, August 3, 2000

This just in: A dispute-settlement panel of the World Trade Organization has
ruled that Japan's traffic laws constitute a barrier to trade and must be
changed.

The judgment is considered a major victory for North American and European
auto producers, who argued before the WTO that Japan's requirement that
vehicles drive on the left side of the road astablished an unfair barrier
to imports of cars and trucks.

As one auto-industry lobbyist explained, "The Japanese government literally
forces its citizens to drive on the wrong side of the road. It's the major
reason why they don't buy our left-hand-drive vehicles."

The Japanese government must now enter into negotiations with other
countries to determine a timetable for reforming its traffic laws. Sales of
imported vehicles in Japan are expected to enjoy an immediate boost as a
result of the WTO decision. Large North American sport-utility vehicles,
such as the Dodge Durango and the tank-like General Motors Hummer, are
likely to experience the greatest increases in market penetration thanks to
their enhanced ability to withstand head-on collisions.

International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew hailed the WTO's decision as a
victory for free trade. "Sure, there will be short-run adjustment costs," he
admitted, referring to the temporary increase in head-on crashes. "But, in
the long run, the Japanese will start to focus their skills and resources in
those industries where they are more efficient."

Emboldened by the WTO decision, foreign automakers plan to launch other
complaints against Japanese trade practices. Sources within the industry
hint that the next challenge may target the unfair use of the Japanese
language. "Japanese customers can hardly make sense of North American
owner's manuals," said one Detroit-based auto analyst. "They're much less
likely to buy a vehicle when they can't figure out how to make it work."

It's widely expected that Japan would resist any WTO demands to abolish
Japanese by claiming a cultural exemption to normal trade rules. But a WTO
official scoffed. "There's even less genuine cultural value to a
Japanese-language owner's manual than there is in the Canadian edition of
Reader's Digest."

China's trade ministry, meanwhile, expressed pleasure at the WTO decision,
suggesting that it enhances the likelihood that Beijing will soon be
admitted to the world trading club. "Sure, our country is still nominally
run by Communists," said one official. "But we drive on the right side of
the road. This clearly indicates our readiness to accept the discipline of
world market forces."

The implications of the WTO's ruling on traffic laws may extend to other
industries. An association representing U.S. beef growers is already
planning a trade challenge against the Japanese sushi industry. "Japanese
consumers are indoctrinated to eat raw fish from the time they are
toddlers," one beef lobbyist said. "No wonder they won't buy our meat.
That's completely unacceptable."

The beef challenge may be backed by powerful support from the pharmaceutical
industry, which has long complained of a lack of Japanese demand for
U.S.-made cholesterol-reduction drugs.

The latest WTO decision represents another expansion in the scope and
breadth of the trade body's dispute-settlement system. What was initially
intended as a means of arbitrating relatively narrow and arcane questions of
trade law has evolved into an authority with the mandate to challenge any
law, policy or practice found to inhibit the pre-eminent goal of expanded
world trade.