You're left understanding that, at least in the case of Jamaica, the IMF is mainly interested in accomplishing two goals: 1) making developing nations marketplaces for subsidized goods from the U.S. and other Western countries; and 2) exploiting cheap labor markets. The former goal ravishes the natural sustainable food industries of Jamaica (including dairy, poultry and meat production). The latter goal is a short-term gambit that leaves Jamaica paying for "duty free assembly zones" that have long since moved on to even cheaper suppliers of labor in other countries.
BuzzFlash recently interviewed Stephanie Black, the documentary director of "Life and Debt," which is available as a BuzzFlash premium.
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BuzzFlash: Your film, "Life and Debt," has woven into it a narrative from Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place. Her narrative was written about her native Antigua. You filmed "Life and Debt" in Jamaica. Why did you decide to do it in Jamaica?
Stephanie Black: I actually went to Jamaica in the 80s to make a documentary about a temporary worker's program for cheap labor in the U.S. Ten thousand Caribbean men were brought to Florida every year to cut sugar cane. I went to Jamaica to film the workers, and the film spoke of the substandard living and working conditions. I went to Jamaica to film an interview with Michael Manley and also to show where the men come from, and where the force is that kind of drives them to have to keep working under such extreme circumstances in Florida. And I fell in love with the country, as many people do with regards to Jamaica. I fell in love and I made a tacit promise to myself that as soon as I was done with the first documentary, I would try really to go back. And I was able to do that.
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/05/07/int05030.html
Note: http://www.buzzflash.co...
Life And Debt
Posted on Thursday, July 28 at 01:51 by AnonymousContributed By
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<a href="http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/stigindx.htm">http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/stigindx.htm</a><br />
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Mr. Stiglitz was the former chief economist and vice president of the world bank. He knows exactly how things work and he speaks out against the "third rate economists from first rate schools" that run the IMF.<br />
Then, when these students return home, like our own economists here, they keep on misleading their home politicians, many of them already corrupt to the bone, into believing that the further, corrupt destruction of their own peoples and countries is somehow part of the "globalized wealth creation" scheme.
Until this is stopped, there's no hope for any improvement.
Of course, it can't be stopped, as long as our universities are cash strapped and many departments have become the virtual subsidiaries of corporations, pushing junk foods and junk sciences.
I was talking to a foreign educated, Canadian forester some years ago, who was advised by a UBC forestry professor, that if he'd wanted to learn real good forestry practices, not to go to UBC, but out of Canada. This is being repeated in many other departments all over the world.
As far our economics departments are concerned, they should be transferred to Divinity, as what they're teaching is not economics, but a pseudo religion based on superstitions and phoney math. Ed Deak, Big Lake, BC.
He also pointed out that his system was adopted by major universities and is being taught as "good economics" today.
JesusJosephMaryX3