One World Government on the Horizon??

[Shammu]

Alliance of Civilizations told to act - Summary
Posted on : 2008-01-15
Author : DPA

Madrid - The United Nations' Alliance of Civilizations project was Tuesday advised to engage in concrete programmes instead of just discussing inter-cultural dialogue at meetings and in documents. The countries involved should "tenaciously" seek to apply "concrete programmes," European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said at the alliance's first annual forum, which began in Madrid.

The Alliance of Civilizations, which was launched by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after Islamist train bombings killed 191 people in Madrid in 2004, seeks to break down cultural prejudice and to increase understanding especially between the West and the Muslim world.

The two-day forum brought nearly 400 people from more than 60 countries to the Spanish capital, including representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society as well as religious leaders, entrepreneurs and artists.

The guest list included the presidents of Senegal, Finland and Slovenia and the prime ministers of Algeria and Malaysia.

"We do not need new documents, but they need to be applied," Solana said, pointing out that many of the alliance's ideas were already contained in EU legislation.

The countries involved should not "just hold meetings, but the meetings need to serve to solve problems," Solana insisted.

The Alliance of Civilizations will only succeed if given a "concrete content," Zapatero said, calling on all countries to adopt it as a "policy of state."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed the urgent need for inter-cultural dialogue to thwart the threat of extremist movements.

"Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue," Ban said, describing the Alliance of Civilizations as a "unique" platform for that purpose.

It was easy to call for cultural bridges, Ban admitted, but it was much more difficult to turn the words into deeds influencing how people thought and acted.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos urged the participants to engage to back US peace efforts in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, complaining of a "lack of political will" to create a Palestinian state.

Former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, the UN high representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, said it was filling a "vacuum" existing on the international level.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has joined Zapatero in sponsoring the initiative, said Turkey's entry into the EU would "prove that the Alliance of Civilizations is possible."

The forum included workshops aimed at sparking initiatives and partnerships to promote inter-cultural understanding.

Jordan's Queen Noor announced the creation of a 100-million-dollar fund to subsidize audiovisual productions promoting cultural integration, while the Spanish government said it would support movies and television series of that kind.

Recommendations issued by 20 eminent personalities in 2006 set education, the media, youth and migration as the main areas to be targeted.

Zapatero's and Erdogan's initiative for an alliance of civilizations was adopted by the UN in 2005.

The United States has backed the initiative, though it has shown a limited interest, and only sent its ambassador to Spain to the Madrid forum, according to Spanish sources.

The general action plan issued in 2006 is now to be followed by national plans. Zapatero outlined Spain's 60-point national plan and pledged to appoint a coordinator to implement it.

Alliance of Civilizations told to act - Summary

[Soldier4Christ]

7-year plan: U.S.
'to join Europe' 
Rules, regs to be integrated
without congressional review

Six U.S. senators and 49 House members are advisers for a group working toward a Transatlantic Common Market between the U.S. and the European Union by 2015.

The Transatlantic Policy Network – a non-governmental organization headquartered in Washington and Brussels – is advised by the bi-partisan congressional TPN policy group, chaired by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah.

The plan – currently being implemented by the Bush administration with the formation of the Transatlantic Economic Council in April 2007 – appears to be following a plan written in 1939 by a world-government advocate who sought to create a Transatlantic Union as an international governing body.

An economist from the World Bank has argued in print that the formation of the Transatlantic Common Market is designed to follow the blueprint of Jean Monnet, a key intellectual architect of the European Union, recognizing that economic integration must inevitably lead to political integration.

As WND previously reported, a key step in advancing this goal was the creation of the Transatlantic Economic Council by the U.S. and the EU through an agreement signed by President Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel – the current president of the European Council – and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a White House summit meeting last April.

Writing in the Fall 2007 issue of the Streit Council journal "Freedom and Union," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., a member of the TPN advisory group, affirmed the target date of 2015 for the creation of a Transatlantic Common Market.

Costa said the Transatlantic Economic Council is tasked with creating the Transatlantic Common Market regulatory infrastructure. The infrastructure would not require congressional approval, like a new free-trade agreement would.

Writing in the same issue of the Streit Council publication, Bennett also confirmed that what has become known as the "Merkel initiative" would allow the Transatlantic Economic Council to integrate and harmonize administrative rules and regulations between the U.S. and the EU "in a very quiet way," without introducing a new free trade agreement to Congress.

No document on the TEC website suggests that any of the regulatory changes resulting from the process of integrating with the EU will be posted in the Federal Register or submitted to Congress as new free-trade agreements or as modifications to existing trade agreements.

In addition to Bennett, the advisers to the Transatlantic Policy Network includes the following senators: Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.

Among the 49 U.S. congressmen on the TPN's Congressional Group are John Boehner, R-Ohio; John Dingell, D-Mich.; Kenny Marchant, R-Texas; and F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc.

WND contacted Bennett's office for comment but received no return call by the publication deadline.

A progress report on the TEC website indicates the following U.S. government agencies are already at work integrating and harmonizing administrative rules and regulations with their EU counterparts: The Office of Management and Budget, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A step toward world government

The Streit Council is named after Clarence K. Streit, whose 1939 book "Union Now" called for the creation of a Transatlantic Union as a step toward world government. The new federation, with an international constitution, was to include the 15 democracies of U.S., UK, France, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and South Africa.

Ira Straus, the founder and U.S. coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO, a group dedicated to including Russia within NATO, credits Bennett as TPN chairperson with reviving Streit's work "seven decades later."

A globalist with leftist political leanings, Straus was a Fulbright professor of political science at Moscow State University and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations from 2001 to 2002.

The congruity of ideas between Bennett and Streit is clear when Bennett writes passages that echo precisely goals Streit stated in 1939.

One example is Bennett's claim in his Streit Council article that creating a Transatlantic Common Market would combine markets that comprise 60 percent of world Gross Domestic Product under a common regulatory standard that would become "the de facto world standard, regardless of what any other parties say."

Similarly, Streit wrote in "Union Now" that the economic power of the 15 democracies he sought to combine in a Transatlantic Union would be overwhelming in their economic power and a clear challenge to the authoritarian states then represented by Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union.

Also writing in the Fall 2007 issue of the Streit Council journal "Freedom and Union," World Bank economist Domenec Ruiz Devesa openly acknowledged that "transatlantic economic integration, though important in itself, is not the end."

"As understood by Jean Monnet," he continued, "economic integration must and will lead to political integration, since an integrated market requires common institutions producing common rules to govern it."

Transatlantic Common Market by 2015

Last February, the Transatlantic Policy Network formed a Transatlantic Market Implementation Group to put in place "a roadmap and framework" to direct the activity of the Transatlantic Economic Council to achieve the creation of the Transatlantic Common Market by 2015.

the Transatlantic Economic Council is an official international governmental body established by executive fiat in the U.S. and the EU without congressional approval or oversight. No new law or treaty was sought by the Bush administration to approve or implement the plan to create a Transatlantic Common Market.

The U.S. congressmen and senators are involved only indirectly, as advisers to the influential non-governmental organization.

In a February 2007 document entitled "Completing the Transatlantic Market," the TPN's Transatlantic Market Implementation Group writes, "The aim of this roadmap and framework would be to remove barriers to trade and investment across the Atlantic and to reduce regulatory compliance costs."

The document further acknowledged the impact the Transatlantic Common Market agenda would have on U.S. and European legislators: "The roadmap and framework will necessarily oblige legislative and regulatory authorities in both Europe and the United States to take into consideration from the outset the impact their acts may have on transatlantic economic relations and to ensure that their respective governmental bodies involved have the necessary budgetary and organizational resources to work closely with each other."

Clinton administration roots

The work to create a Transatlantic Common Market can be traced back to the Clinton administration's decision to join in the 1995 New Transatlantic Agenda with the European Commission.

Today, the website of the Transatlantic Economic Council openly proclaims the TEC is "a political body to oversee and accelerate government-to-government integration between the European Union and the United States of America."

The first meeting of the TEC was held Nov. 9 in Washington, D.C., and the next meeting is scheduled for June.

A joint statement issued at the Nov. 9 meeting specified progress was being made "in removing barriers to trade and investment and in easing regulatory burdens" in a wide range of policy areas, including drugs and disease control, the importation into the EU of U.S. poultry treated with pathogen reduction treatments, federal communication commissions allowing suppliers to create declarations of conformity for products, uniform standards for electrical products and agreements on standards for pure biofuels.

[Shammu]

7-year plan aligns U.S. with Europe's economy
Rules, regs to be integrated without congressional review
Posted: January 16, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

Six U.S. senators and 49 House members are advisers for a group working toward a Transatlantic Common Market between the U.S. and the European Union by 2015.

The Transatlantic Policy Network – a non-governmental organization headquartered in Washington and Brussels – is advised by the bi-partisan congressional TPN policy group, chaired by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah.

The plan – currently being implemented by the Bush administration with the formation of the Transatlantic Economic Council in April 2007 – appears to be following a plan written in 1939 by a world-government advocate who sought to create a Transatlantic Union as an international governing body.

An economist from the World Bank has argued in print that the formation of the Transatlantic Common Market is designed to follow the blueprint of Jean Monnet, a key intellectual architect of the European Union, recognizing that economic integration must inevitably lead to political integration.

As WND previously reported, a key step in advancing this goal was the creation of the Transatlantic Economic Council by the U.S. and the EU through an agreement signed by President Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel – the current president of the European Council – and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a White House summit meeting last April.

Writing in the Fall 2007 issue of the Streit Council journal "Freedom and Union," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., a member of the TPN advisory group, affirmed the target date of 2015 for the creation of a Transatlantic Common Market.

Costa said the Transatlantic Economic Council is tasked with creating the Transatlantic Common Market regulatory infrastructure. The infrastructure would not require congressional approval, like a new free-trade agreement would.

Writing in the same issue of the Streit Council publication, Bennett also confirmed that what has become known as the "Merkel initiative" would allow the Transatlantic Economic Council to integrate and harmonize administrative rules and regulations between the U.S. and the EU "in a very quiet way," without introducing a new free trade agreement to Congress.

No document on the TEC website suggests that any of the regulatory changes resulting from the process of integrating with the EU will be posted in the Federal Register or submitted to Congress as new free-trade agreements or as modifications to existing trade agreements.

In addition to Bennett, the advisers to the Transatlantic Policy Network includes the following senators: Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.

Among the 49 U.S. congressmen on the TPN's Congressional Group are John Boehner, R-Ohio; John Dingell, D-Mich.; Kenny Marchant, R-Texas; and F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc.

WND contacted Bennett's office for comment but received no return call by the publication deadline.

A progress report on the TEC website indicates the following U.S. government agencies are already at work integrating and harmonizing administrative rules and regulations with their EU counterparts: The Office of Management and Budget, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A step toward world government

The Streit Council is named after Clarence K. Streit, whose 1939 book "Union Now" called for the creation of a Transatlantic Union as a step toward world government. The new federation, with an international constitution, was to include the 15 democracies of U.S., UK, France, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and South Africa.

Ira Straus, the founder and U.S. coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO, a group dedicated to including Russia within NATO, credits Bennett as TPN chairperson with reviving Streit's work "seven decades later."

A globalist with leftist political leanings, Straus was a Fulbright professor of political science at Moscow State University and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations from 2001 to 2002.

The congruity of ideas between Bennett and Streit is clear when Bennett writes passages that echo precisely goals Streit stated in 1939.

One example is Bennett's claim in his Streit Council article that creating a Transatlantic Common Market would combine markets that comprise 60 percent of world Gross Domestic Product under a common regulatory standard that would become "the de facto world standard, regardless of what any other parties say."

Similarly, Streit wrote in "Union Now" that the economic power of the 15 democracies he sought to combine in a Transatlantic Union would be overwhelming in their economic power and a clear challenge to the authoritarian states then represented by Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union.

Also writing in the Fall 2007 issue of the Streit Council journal "Freedom and Union," World Bank economist Domenec Ruiz Devesa openly acknowledged that "transatlantic economic integration, though important in itself, is not the end."

"As understood by Jean Monnet," he continued, "economic integration must and will lead to political integration, since an integrated market requires common institutions producing common rules to govern it."

Transatlantic Common Market by 2015

Last February, the Transatlantic Policy Network formed a Transatlantic Market Implementation Group to put in place "a roadmap and framework" to direct the activity of the Transatlantic Economic Council to achieve the creation of the Transatlantic Common Market by 2015.

The Transatlantic Economic Council is an official international governmental body established by executive fiat in the U.S. and the EU without congressional approval or oversight. No new law or treaty was sought by the Bush administration to approve or implement the plan to create a Transatlantic Common Market.

The U.S. congressmen and senators are involved only indirectly, as advisers to the influential non-governmental organization.

In a February 2007 document entitled "Completing the Transatlantic Market," the TPN's Transatlantic Market Implementation Group writes, "The aim of this roadmap and framework would be to remove barriers to trade and investment across the Atlantic and to reduce regulatory compliance costs."

The document further acknowledged the impact the Transatlantic Common Market agenda would have on U.S. and European legislators: "The roadmap and framework will necessarily oblige legislative and regulatory authorities in both Europe and the United States to take into consideration from the outset the impact their acts may have on transatlantic economic relations and to ensure that their respective governmental bodies involved have the necessary budgetary and organizational resources to work closely with each other."

Clinton administration roots

The work to create a Transatlantic Common Market can be traced back to the Clinton administration's decision to join in the 1995 New Transatlantic Agenda with the European Commission.

Today, the website of the Transatlantic Economic Council openly proclaims the TEC is "a political body to oversee and accelerate government-to-government integration between the European Union and the United States of America."

The first meeting of the TEC was held Nov. 9 in Washington, D.C., and the next meeting is scheduled for June.

A joint statement issued at the Nov. 9 meeting specified progress was being made "in removing barriers to trade and investment and in easing regulatory burdens" in a wide range of policy areas, including drugs and disease control, the importation into the EU of U.S. poultry treated with pathogen reduction treatments, federal communication commissions allowing suppliers to create declarations of conformity for products, uniform standards for electrical products and agreements on standards for pure biofuels.

[Soldier4Christ]

'Enough Money to Buy Google': Arab States on a Buying Spree
Dubai-NASDAQ Tie-up Is Part of a Trend in the Global Oil Game

With oil in the mid-$80 a barrel range, there is a river of cash flowing into the Middle East.

And now the sultans, princes and emirs of the super-rich Gulf states are diverting that flow of cash into high-profile businesses and companies around the globe, hoping to leverage the high prices into power that extends beyond the petroleum economy that has made them rich.

"The oil producers are drowning in dollars," said Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute. "So it's natural that they would want to invest them."

Just today, the American-based stock exchange NASDAQ announced a deal in which it will sell 20 percent of its shares to Borse Dubai, a one-month-old stock exchange that is owned by the government.

It's just the latest deal in a high-profile buying spree that has put the Gulf states at the forefront of global dealmakers. And with more than a $1 billion a day in oil revenues flowing into their coffers, they have plenty of money to spread around.

"Many countries that are not democratic are suddenly popping up with huge amounts of money, and they're beginning to invest it and you can imagine, for example, that there are some countries that have enough money to buy Google," said Prestowitz. "You might not be too concerned if the Brits bought Google, but the Brits aren't going to buy Google. But I could imagine other countries that you might be more concerned about owning Google."

While a deal for Google isn't in the works, the Gulf states have been gobbling up big-name companies all over the globe.

Qatar started a process for buying J. Sainsbury, a major British supermarket chain, this week. They've purchased a 20 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange, too.

The government of Dubai has entered into a bidding war for American luxury retailer Barneys, purchased a stake in the MGM Mirage and has become one of the biggest owners of container ports through major acquisitions.

Their neighbors in Abu Dhabi just snatched up a huge stake in the American private equity firm Carlyle Group, which owns, in part, Dunkin' Donuts, Hertz Rent-a-Car and AMC Theaters.

The deal flow is, by any measure, massive. According to figures from Bloomberg, the Gulf states have put more than $68 billion in to foreign acquisitions so far this year, more than twice what they spent in all of 2006.

"The apostles of globalization never thought this kind of thing was going to happen," said Prestowitz. "And it has implications that are very significant both economically and politically, and I think we ought to think about it."

Critics of the buying spree are concerned that having nondemocratic, Middle Eastern governments in ownership positions of American firms could put the country at risk. These concerns have pushed some in Congress to publicly oppose almost any big-dollar deal from the Gulf states.

Just last year, the Dubai Ports World purchase of several major U.S. shipping facilities was scuttled when Congress raised concerns. ("Congress" raised these concerns only because enough people and grass roots organizations complained about it.

It's not clear where congressional scrutiny of the NASDAQ deal will lead, but President Bush commented on the tie-up, saying the administration would "take a good look at it, as to whether or not it has any national security implications."

Bush said he is "concerned about protectionism. I'm concerned about it because if the United States loses its confidence when it comes to trading, it'll make it less likely our economy will grow."

Supporters of the deals point out that this is all part of the larger trend of globalization. These countries, they say, are providing what the market wants, and should be able to use the proceeds any way they want, even if it's buying up American firms.

"We want them to come back in to the U.S. economy," said Sarah Emerson, an analyst at Energy Security Analysis. "We don't want them to go elsewhere. We need the investment here in our own assets and our own securities."

[Shammu]

Conference promotes global citizenship

By Shenandoah Sowash
For the Wausau Daily Herald

STEVENS POINT -- As America continues to struggle with overseas outsourcing and increasing global competition, professors at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are working to arm graduates with the skills needed to become global citizens.

Robert McGough, a senior education specialist, researcher and program manager with the World Bank, encourages professors to take seriously the need to give students a global education.

"Some see globalization as a destructive influence, as a bad thing ... at this time in history, globalization is here to stay, and we must learn to live with it," McGough told instructors Thursday during the 12th annual UWSP Teaching Conference, "Teaching with a Global Perspective: Preparing Students to be Global Citizens."

Globalization affects everyone, even the World Bank, which now outsources a majority of its accounting work to New Delhi, McGough said.

"Countries such as India and China are destined to be superpowers, or at least major players," McGough said.

Drawing on the need for sustainability, economic development and self-sufficiency, McGough offered a strong case for educating college students in the ways of the world.

"Over time, you'll find more college graduates going overseas for work. ... These other countries are going to be major sources of employment," McGough said.

Organized by the Office of Academic Affairs, the one-day conference featured workshops on cross-cultural teaching and learning, internationalizing the curriculum, developing interdisciplinary approaches to global education, incorporating non-Western themes in the classroom and developing global citizenship through local service-learning activities.

"Faculty have left this conference in the past and rewritten their entire syllabi," said David Ozsvath, a geology professor.

Maureen Giblin of the Tutoring Learning Center asked McGough what skills recent graduates are missing.

"Language is one aspect most graduates don't have," he said. "American graduates are often naive and immature; they have an inability to understand how to communicate."

Institutions of higher education have a responsibility to teach students to be globally aware, McGough said.

"The United States has had a good run, using 50 percent of the world's resources. But the world won't let us do that anymore," McGough said.

Conference promotes global citizenship

[Shammu]

Global government, mankind's gravest need - Ahmadinejad
Tehran, Jan 22, IRNA

Ahmadinejad-Globalization
IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Monday evening at the inauguration ceremony of new head of National Center for Globalization Studies, "mankind's gravest need today is a global government."

Appreciating the services rendered by the former head of that center (formerly called the International Center for Dialogue among Civilizations), Dr. Mohammad Nahavandian, the President said that choosing Esfandiar Rahim-Masha'ie was "based on precise calculations, and in accordance with a plan for the center."

The president added, "The Center for Globalization Studies must be a very dynamic center, able to take long studies forward, thanks to the presence of thinkers and intellectuals from various academic fields, able to pursue globalization discussions throughout the world."

Pointing out that God has definitely been pursuing objectives in creation of man, he stressed, "Almighty Allah has drawn the horizons of man's blessed life in this world and how to achieve that objective, based on man's innate desires and in the framework of his social relations with the others."

The President emphasized, "Man is created to be a global creature, as all divine religions are global, and if he would be deprived of this aspect of his personality, neither anything would remain of his humanity, nor any of his potentials and talents would find a proper ground for manifestation."

Proposing that the rule of single law in the entire world is a bare necessity for the mankind, he said, "The existence of a thousand laws in the world, and then expecting that the global society would reach a status of equilibrium, justice, and tranquility is wishing for the impossible."

He added, "It is not possible to observe global justice under such conditions that each country is ruled based on a different set of laws."

Ahmadinejad said, "The entire monotheist Arch-Prophets (PBUT) were leaders for the whole mankind, and accordingly, so long as a single law would not be put to effect globally, and a single perfect, and noble human being would not take the charge of a global government, the God given talents of the people would not be materialized, and there would be no sign of divine justice in the world."

He considered mankind's progress throughout history "a constant move towards perfection", reiterating, "Today, globalization has become an issue for daily talk of even ordinary folks, under such conditions that signs for accelerating move of the mankind towards the peaks of perfection are countless, and ever increasing."

The IRI President stressed that pure Mohamedan Islam has answers to modern man's entire questions, adding, "World nations would accept Islam in large groups if pure Islam would one day be presented to them free from all non-Islamic attachments."

Ahmadinejad said, "The entire developments in the world are pieces of a puzzle, being fit in their place in order to complete God's general scheme for a perfect world for the mankind, but in the process of this completion some people achieve perfection, while others fall in the abbeys of annihilation, and nowhere is ever devoid of God's will and Divine Rule, nor of his Caliph on earth." He said that the era for drawing border lines between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism is now over, reiterating, "Unadulterated Christianity and Judaism are the same as they are entirely manifestations of the same Divine Truth."

The President stressed, "The single and solid plan and order that we should present for the lives of the world people should be in a way to be acceptable by the pure innate nature of the entire mankind, and such laws need to be based on divine teachings."

Global government, mankind's gravest need - Ahmadinejad

[Shammu]

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Monday evening at the inauguration ceremony of new head of National Center for Globalization Studies, "mankind's gravest need today is a global government."

Mr. Nutjob, be careful what you wish for you will get your wish........ Though you may not survive to see it.

[Shammu]

Five Military Leaders Propose a New Global Partnership With EU/NATO

The CSIS Europe and International Security Programs, in partnership with the Noaber Foundation, hosted the launch of "Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World: Renewing the Transatlantic Partnership," a new report authored by Gen. Dr. Klaus Naumann (Germany), Gen. John Shalikashvili (United States), Field Marshal The Lord Inge (United Kingdom), Adm. Jacques Lanxade (France), and Gen. Henk van den Breemen (the Netherlands), with Benjamin Bilski and Douglas Murray.  The event also featured commentary by Robert E. Hunter, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.

In the report, these five distinguished military leaders consider the complexity of emerging global security challenges and the capabilities of existing institutions to address them. They conclude that dealing with these challenges requires a new transatlantic grand strategy that ensures a better integration of military and non-military capabilities. They argue that a transformed NATO, working closely with the European Union, should serve as the core element of a future security architecture. The group advances a number of near- and longer-term proposals to enhance NATO and transatlantic unity of effort. They advocate replacing the two-pillar concept of U.S.-European relations with an alliance of democracies ranging from Finland to Alaska.

Five Military Leaders Propose a New Global Partnership With EU/NATO

[Shammu]

'Magic is over' for U.S., says French foreign minister
By Alison Smale
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

PARIS: Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France and a longtime humanitarian, diplomatic and political activist on the international scene, says that whoever succeeds President George W. Bush may restore something of the United States' battered image and standing overseas, but that "the magic is over."

In a wide-ranging conversation with Roger Cohen of the International Herald Tribune at the launch of a Forum for New Diplomacy in Paris, Kouchner on Tuesday also held out the hope of talking with Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules the Gaza Strip but has been ostracized by the West and by its Palestinian rival, Fatah, because it opposes peace talks with Israel and denies that Israel has a right to exist.

Asked whether the United States could repair the damage it has suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency and especially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kouchner replied, "It will never be as it was before."

"I think the magic is over," he continued, in what amounted to a sober assessment from one of the strongest supporters in France of the United States.

U.S. military supremacy endures, Kouchner noted, and the new president "will decide what to do - there are many means to re-establish the image." But even that, he predicted, "will take time."

Kouchner began the 90-minute event with a speech that emphasized that "there is not just a new diplomacy; there is a new world."

To those intimidated by or fearful of what seem to be the rising challenges of globalization, climate change, spreading disease or new technology, Kouchner had a simple message: "The great difficulty is to accept this new world."

"There are not more problems - please, have a little memory - than 35 years ago," he said, recalling how, in 1971, he co-founded Médecins Sans Frontières in response to the horrors of the conflict in Nigeria over Biafra.

The challenges may be daunting, he said, noting for instance that the world had decided to act to curb the AIDS epidemic, but asking, "Can we take charge of all the other diseases? I'm not sure."

Some of the most persistent diplomatic challenges emanate from the Middle East, and Kouchner was asked about approaches to Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for the destruction of Israel, or to Hamas, which has the same stated goal.

Kouchner and other European diplomats have tried to talk Iran out of its controversial nuclear program, but officially rejected all contacts with Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. Asked whether there is a way to engage Hamas, which is supported by a significant minority of Palestinians, Kouchner appeared to hold out hope of contact, saying: "I'm looking for a diplomatic way to say yes."

He then carefully couched this statement by noting that, in general, "we have to talk with our enemies," and that Fatah, which controls the West Bank, "always said they were in favor" of unity talks with Hamas. But after Hamas routed Fatah forces from Gaza in June, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, has refused to deal with Hamas, which he accused of committing a coup. Kouchner, of the Socialist left in France, stirred controversy when he accepted the offer from President Nicolas Sarkozy, leader of the Gaullist center-right, to join his government last May.

At the end of the conversation, held in a glittering hall at the Académie Diplomatique Internationale, the IHT's partner in the new diplomatic forum, Kouchner denied that his activism had been curbed by the need to run the resplendent Foreign Ministry on the Quai d'Orsay and France's large diplomatic machinery around the world.

But he conceded that practicing the new diplomacy - which he defined as being action that is more practical, multifaceted and realistic than mere protocol calls and visits - "is very difficult, and very time-consuming."

'Magic is over' for U.S., says French foreign minister

[Shammu]

I could care less if the French or anyone likes us!! America is still, basicall a Christian country!!

It's interesting in the fact that the Europeans are playing taps for us and looking forward to the new world, they can have it!!

[Shammu]

British prime minister calls for global `interdependence'

By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer Fri Apr 18, 4:40 PM ET

BOSTON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in his first foreign policy address in the United States, called Friday on the U.S. and Europe to lead a new era of global "interdependence" aimed at solving international problems such as terrorism, poverty and climate change.

"We urgently need to step out of the mindset of competing interests and instead find our common interests, and we must summon up the best instincts and efforts of humanity in a cooperative effort to build new international rules and institutions for the new global era," Brown said to about 350 invited guests at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Brown cited Kennedy's Independence Day speech in 1962, when the president proposed a "new and global declaration of interdependence." Brown said Kennedy's call for public service "still reverberates around the world and always will."

Noting Kennedy's creation of the Peace Corps, Brown called for the creation of "a new kind of global peace and reconstruction corps," which he described as an organization of trained civilian experts available any time to rebuild states.

Brown also talked about U.S. leadership following World War II, including the Marshall Plan, which funneled millions in economic aid and technical assistance to help rebuild Europe.

"We must summon inspiration from the vision, humanity and leadership shown by those reformers to guide our actions today," he said.

Brown called on the World Bank to focus on reducing poverty and said the institution should become a bank for both development and the environment by transferring billions in loans and grants to encourage the poorest countries to adopt alternative sources of energy.

The British leader, who has set a mandatory target in the U.K. to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2050, insisted that a new global pact on reducing carbon emission must be agreed on by the end of 2009.

He said the deal, which would replace the Kyoto Protocol, should be led by the United Nations and needs to set binding targets for all developed countries.

Brown praised President Bush for leading the world in an attempt to root out terrorism and "our common commitment that there be no safe haven for terrorists."

Brown said the United States and Europe should act as "hardheaded internationalists," and use "diplomatic, economic, and yes, when necessary military action — to prevent crimes against humanity when states can no longer do so."

British prime minister calls for global `interdependence'

[Barbara]

Just got some disturbing info from Cutting Edge. Recently, we lost the Sky Angel satellite network after 8 years of some really great Christian programming. Now this, from Cutting Edge:

Christian Radio Threatened?

from WORLD NET DAILY

"WASHINGTON - Today is the last day for public comments on a proposed Federal Communications Commission rule change some say would threaten the licences of Christian radio stations from coast to coast. At issue is a proposal that would require every radio station to take programming advice from community advisory boards representative of the area's population."

...This type of regulatory change could prove deadly to Christian Radio, as it could conceivably require radio stations to accept advice from non-Christian groups like atheists and/or homosexuals. Remember, the power to regulate is the power to destroy.

"Some radio stations fear organized groups of atheists, for instance, could demand representation of the new FCC-mandated advisory boards that would factor into licensing decisions...explains the Christian Air 1 Radio Network. 'If any of these changes were to be adopted, there would be signicant impact on our ability to minister to you and your community. These rules would not only affect our stations but also thousands of stations around the country.' In addition to the requirement for the advisory boards, the new regulations would also mandate that radio stations produce every 3 months reports on how much programming of various types has been broadcast, who produced it and how it reflects the interests of the community, including segments that do not approve of or share Christian values."

[Soldier4Christ]

The rest of this article:

The National Association of Broadcasters, which opposes the rule change, offers an online form for making comments on the FCC rule change – but the deadline is today. All comments must be filed under the assigned docket number No. 04-233, meaning that number must be included in all communications about the proposed rule change to be considered by the FCC.

The NAB is advising its member stations to tell the FCC why the rule change is counter-productive – that it would pressure broadcasters to air programming that is not necessarily commercially viable. The group also suggests the FCC rule change would mandate programming quotas.

Broadcasters don't like another element of the rule change – one that would require stations to have at least one employee on duty during all hours of operation. Breakthroughs in automated programming have made that unnecessary in recent years, so the rule change would mean more expense for some smaller-market stations.

Last week, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell questioned the need to turn back the clock with such a rule change. In a speech before the Quello Communications Law and Policy Symposium, McDowell cited the proliferation of competing communications opportunities on the Internet, through cable television channels and other venues.

Given the media choices available, he questioned why "policymakers like us at the FCC" are dusting off decades-old regulations to impose on broadcasters.

"Why are we considering placing these proverbial albatrosses around the necks of traditional media precisely at this 'tipping point' in history when they can least afford a regulatory disadvantage vis-à-vis unregulated platforms like the Internet?" he asked.

The potential Orwellian implications of such policies are chilling, the commissioner argued.

_______________

This is a continuation of the attempt to pass the Fairness Doctrine that the democrats have been trying to impose in order to meet their agenda of silencing all opposition to them.

[Barbara]

Thanks, Pastor Roger,

I hadn't seen the rest of this article. I only got an 'alert' from the other ministry.

The timing is quite interesting, to say the least! I'm really interested to see what the FCC ruling turns out to be...it seems putting an end to anything Christian is a full time job for democrats and other 'special interest' groups.

[HisDaughter]

Thanks, Pastor Roger,

I hadn't seen the rest of this article. I only got an 'alert' from the other ministry.

The timing is quite interesting, to say the least! I'm really interested to see what the FCC ruling turns out to be...it seems putting an end to anything Christian is a full time job for democrats and other 'special interest' groups.

I hadn't heard this one yet, but it just figures doesn't it?