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GLOBALIZATION: NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

On February 6, 2006, Cuba and Venezuela's delegations criticised the decision-making process of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Both countries circulated at Geneva, Switzerland, a document, which declared that the meeting that took place at Hong Kong - 13-18 December 2005 was biased and flawed:

"...few states are forcing through agreements despite opposition from many developing countries...The adoption of a treaty at December's Hong Kong meeting was pushed through against the opposition of several of the WTO's 149 members and undermined the organization's credibility."

Indeed, WTO Members failed to reach their initial objective for the Hong Kong ministerial meeting of setting precise formulas for cutting tariffs and subsidies, leaving little time before a final, year-end deadline for concluding the Doha-round, launched in Qatar's capital in 2001.

However, Pascal Lamy, WTO Secretary General, waived a magic stick, and with the support of some prominent members, imposed the adoption of so called "consensual" final communiqué that reflects most the desires of developed countries.

In short, Globalization is forcibly pushed through the throat of reluctant developing nations for the benefit of developed ones. [Watch videos about globalization: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

There is nothing new under the sun. The first Globalization push against a developing nation occurred in 1830, when the Europeans - Britain in the lead - took the opportunity to deprive Egypt of those tariff barriers and market constraints necessary to its infant industries - resulting from the "industrial revolution" planned for and setup by a visionary ruler: Mehemet / Muhammad Ali.

So the Globalization trick had been used ages ago by the front runners in the developing process. They do their best to keeping followers at bay.

David S. Landes in its bestseller book: The Wealth And Poverty of Nations - Why Some Are So Rich And Some So Poor - (In Chapter 26 titled: Lost of Leadership) wrote:

"The market is supposed to be a level place of combat, often (usually) peaceful. Not that the players would have it so: if they had their way, they would be given every advantage and keep what they have from those who come after. The same for groups and industries and national economies: all want to get and keep."

So nothing new under the sun. Britain even tries the tricks against its European followers nations (France and Germany in particular) "...using unimpeachable arguments about division of labor and gains from trade, they (the Britons) sought to persuade other countries to reciprocate."

"Free trade became British dogma and practice; most other (European) countries flirted with it and found the water cold."

It is up to African nations' decisions-makers not to fall - in the 21rst century - victims to the trap [Watch videos about globalization: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. They would learn a lot reading Davis S. Landes' book to see how countries like Japan astutely managed to avoid the trick.

Click here for more on the matter: Why African Nations Are Flat On Their Back.
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Business Opportunities

PART VI: - PONDS' CONSTRUCTION AND BRIEFS ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF CATFISH'S FINGERLING PRODUCTION

There are different methods of establishing ponds to breeding fish and particularly catfish and tilapia. The one to use depending on many factors and particularly on the financial means available to the entrepreneur.

Outdoor ponds can be created digging holes right into the soil. Such ponds are labor intensive, and suitable for low-medium fish breeding. They are not so easy to manage as far as water biology and feeding's control are concerned.

Table below summarizes Investments, Operating Costs for the production of 280,000 catfish fingerlings per year with a small-scale breeding operation based on assumptions, data and information here available

Items	US$
INVESTMENTS
Production Space Layout: 5 fingerling fattening ponds / 200 sq. meter each; one broodstock pond / 200 sq. meter. Protection nets. Shelters. Small office space. Etc	25,500
Other Production Equipment: Broodfish acquisition. One pick-up car; 25 barrows; handling equipment, 50 small plastic basins (5 kg content); 75 pairs of plastic gloves. Etc.	14,500
Total investment	40,000
OPERATING COSTS
Operating Expenses: to producing 280,000 fingerlings per year as per assumptions and data exposed in previous table.	18,458
PRODUCTION COST PER 1,000 FINGERLINGS
18,450 US$ divided by 280 =	66
GENERATED REVENUES*
280,000 x 0,10* =	28,000
GROSS PROFIT
GROSS PROFIT	9,542

REMARK*: One notices the low production cost per fingerling that allows for the set up of selling price with a comfortable (51%) profit margin as above exposed.

Instead of selling fingerlings, a fish breeding entrepreneur could establish a fattening operation to producing mature fish ready for marketplace over 10 to 12 months' fattening period. Next Africabiz issue 84 (April 15, 2006) will deal with that opportunity.

For more on the economics Catfish's fingerling production " As Income Building Operations In Rural Communities in African Countries" Click here

MORE ON FISH FARMING

1- How to Start and Manage a Fish Farming Business by Jerre G. Lewis 2- Integrated Fish Farming by Workshop on Integrated Fish Farming 3- Catfish farming handbook by Jerry Mack Johnson 4- Commercial Catfish Farming by Jasper S. Lee 5- Cage Culture Of Tilapia In Rural Farm Ponds An article from: Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science [HTML] (Digital - January 1, 2000) 6- Backyard Fish Farming by Paul Bryant

7- Intensive Fish Farming by Jonathan Shepherd, Niall Bromage 8- Second International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture: by Thai International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture 1987 Bangkok, et al (Hardcover - January 1990) 9- Tilapia Culture by Abdel-fattah M. El-sayed, A. F. M. Sayed (Hardcover - February 2006) 10- Tilapias: Biology and Exploitation by M.C.M Beveridge (Editor), B. McAndrew (Editor)

Control Your Desktop

HOW TO WILLINGLY ACCEPT AN "USEFUL" ADWARE ON YOUR SYSTEM

Africabiz Online advised you in a previous delivery to "Beware About Freeware" because they may come packed with spyware or adware.

Nevertheless, in a previous issue we still recommend you to use Daemon Tools (one of the best free software available around to create multiple virtual DVDs on a hard disk) in spite of the fact that it comes packed with a Adware / Spyware / Search Bar.

We did so because that Adware / Search Bar / Spyware is "useful" to manage virtual DVDs drives created with Daemon Tools.

So, if you willingly opt to keep the adware that comes with the free Daemon Tools, you need to find a way to avoid constant warning by Antivirus and AntiSpyware utilities. Click here to read more about the matter and to review how to configure your Antivirus client to accept or ignore the "useful" intruder.

Freebie Of The Month

OPT FOR THE BEST SOFTPHONE AROUND

Everyone is trying to lower, at the most minimal level, telephone / communication's costs. Thanks to the Internet, that is now possible. Only those not yet aware are still "supporting" the classic TelComs outrageous pricing.

Now Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is mature and sound had the quality of classic land line phone. You can use PC-to-PC- Internet telephones like Microsoft Messenger, Yahoo! Video Voice and Mail, Google Talk and the likes to have peer to peer communications with respondents a continent apart; or you make PC-to-Phone's calls to anywhere in the world at large.

There are plenty of service providers and prices are slashed month after month. However, it is always good to have many VoIP providers to benefit from their peculiarities. Some providers service better a particular continent and have poor sound and connection time with another one. It is up to you to find out the one to use for a particular destination.

But, when you do opt for a string of VoIP / Internet telephony service providers, you would end up having up to ten clients sitting in your start tray. To avoid the resulting jam in your in-tray, there is now a solution: that is to Install a softphone, which allows for the creation of multiple accounts VoIP on a single platform.

Currently, as far as I know, there are only two systems that perform well for sound quality and quick connectivity time: EyeBeam / X-ten by CounterPath.com and SJPhone by Sjlabs.com

X-ten PRO and EyeBeam are software - that is you would shed off 50 to 60 bucks to get a single license that allow you to configure up to 10 VoIP / Internet Telephony providers on a single platform.

SJPhone is a freeware that does the same and more. You need to register - for free - with sjlabs.com to remove the annoying advertisement from the platform.

- EyeBeam / X-Ten PRO or SJPhone alone cannot make VoIP / PC-to-PC or PC-to Phone calls. You need to register with Internet Telephone Service's providers to use EyeBeam / X-ten PRO or SJPhone.

IconnectHere, Stanaphone, LunaPhone. Etc. VoIP / Internet Telephony providers are now swarming in the World Wilde Web.