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Bronzesnake
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« Reply #15 on: April 29, 2004, 12:23:48 AM »

Continued...

 However, it is not just a political leader for whom the world is looking. All the major religions discuss the emergence, in the last days, of a powerful and terrifying spiritual figure-someone who will ultimately proclaim himself to be God. Today's widespread New Age philosophy is laying the groundwork for the Antichrist's global religious system. Did you know, for instance, that John Randolph Price, one of the world's principal New Age gurus, says his spirit guide revealed to him that 2.5 billion people may need to be wiped off the face of the earth for their utopian spiritual dreams to be realized (Revelation 6:8; 9:18; 13:15; 20:4)? Could such an organization claiming a billion followers produce the Antichrist? Definitely!

The New Age movement teaches that we are all "little gods." I believe the Antichrist will ride the crest of that belief and give it the credibility it does not deserve. However, the honeymoon for the Antichrist will not last forever. He will suffer a mortal head wound and come to his end in a battle with Russia (Daniel 11:45). After being incarnated by Satan, he then rises from the dead and declares himself as the god of gods (Revelation 13:3). He demands that every human being worship him under penalty of death (Revelation 13:15). Is it not fitting that today's New Age leaders are already beginning to justify the mass slaughter that will follow?

The Antichrist will have more help, too, from someone known as "the false prophet." It is from the leadership of this false prophet, propped up by the revived European Empire, that all such latter-day prophecies emerge. Rome will again be the center of the world economically, politically, militarily, and spiritually. Those currently moving Europe in this direction seem inexplicably drawn to their fate. Perhaps you remember that in 1987, the Belgians minted the first ECU silver coins. Imprinted on them was the bust of Emperor Charles the Fifth, crowned head of the Holy Roman Empire in 1519. Why was Charles chosen to be immortalized on the first-ever European coin? Because of the striking geographical similarity between the European Community and the Holy Roman Empire. But what about the ten toes and the ten nations? Hasn't the European Union evolved past this stage? Yes it has. That is to be expected. Remember that we are speaking of an eventual world government, not a regional one. The European Union began as ten nations. In fact, Daniel 7:24 shows us that a very significant eleventh nation arises.

That was Spain. Now we have fifteen and Poland and others may come aboard by the year 2002 for the formation of the one-world government or New World Order. The European Superstate, I believe, will provide the platform and the structure for this world dictatorship (Daniel 7:23; Revelation 13:7).

When Christ returns to establish His earthly kingdom, a grouping of ten kings or ten areas remain (Daniel 2:44). Interestingly, all of the prime movers behind the globalist dream have divided the world into ten spheres. The Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderbergers, the Club of Rome, and others that promote a one-world federation eventually break up the globe into ten regions.

One way or another God's Word will come to pass. Only now, after two great European wars have been fought and reunification has occurred, could the promises of the Bible about a world government centered in Rome be possible. Likewise, only now, as we prepare to enter the twenty-first-century computer age could such a government hope to keep track of the commercial activities of every human being on the planet (Revelation 13:16-17). The University of Edinburgh once was proud to claim it had a computer that was able to perform forty billion arithmetic transactions per second. However, that is only one of the ten fastest computers in the world! We now have computers that process upwards of one trillion pieces of information per second. What an up-to-date book is the Bible!

Soon the Rapture will occur, after which a time of unmitigated terror will engulf the globe. "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it" (Jeremiah 30:7). Daniel 12:1 describes it as a "time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." Jesus used almost the exact words in Matthew 24:21, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world." These things must happen. They are right around the corner. But we should have no fear about them, not as believers, anyway.

When these things come to pass, be not terrified (see Luke 21:9). Why? Because Jesus said that when these things come to pass, "Know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand" (Luke 21:31). We believers who are prepared will miss this horrendous hour. We will be gone before any part of the seven-year Tribulation period begins. We will be caught up in the air to meet Jesus in the twinkling of an eye, according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. Then we shall return with the King seven years later to rule and reign (Revelation 20:4). Soon we will hear the shout "Come up hither!" (Revelation 4:1). Then eighty-four months later, the Lord returns with His heavenly entourage for the millennial honeymoon (Jude 14; Revelation 19:7-8, 14; 20:4).

My friend, the Rapture is near! The "signs of the times" are everywhere:

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« Reply #16 on: May 19, 2004, 04:42:35 AM »

The Baha'i Influence at the United Nations

Part 1

The Baha’i faith now numbers some five million souls and the Encyclopedia Britannica lists Baha’i as the second-most widely spread independent religion in the world, after Christianity. With Haifa, Israel as the site of its international headquarters, its strong presence in the United Nations, and within other international groups, Baha’i is in a position to play a prominent role in the fulfillment of end times prophecy. In fact they state in their literature that their goal is to do just that. They eagerly await the man who will usher in global peace (otherwise known as Anti-Christ), and hold as one of their central missions the establishment of a united global commonwealth that will control all things political, financial, and spiritual. At times, while reading from Baha’i writings, one begins to feel like you’ve picked up a Bible and began reading directly from the book of Revelation.

The ultimate deception of the end times will involve the worldwide worship of the Antichrist. But the Antichrist will not rise to power alone. His success will result from a worldwide spiritual deception perpetrated by his sidekick, the False Prophet. The Antichrist will not appear until after the falling away (2 Thess. 2:3), but the spirit of Antichrist is already at work perverting the gospel and corrupting the church. The False Prophet will look religious, sound religious and use religious terms, but his message will be straight from Satan (Rev. 13:11). The final phase of apostasy before the Antichrist arrives on the scene will introduce a religious system to be led by the False Prophet. It will be an ecumenical, interfaith religion much like the Baha’i faith.

There are nearly 130 agencies and organizations operating within the U.N. system, each overseeing programs that require vast sums of money and massive bureaucracies to operate. These U.N. programs are all strategic parts of a plan to achieve global governance and eliminate national sovereignty from the planet. Most of these programs are never covered in the world’s media and are able to operate outside of the awareness of the public they hope to govern. This giant bureaucracy is so far outside the realm of accountability that most people have no idea how it is operating or what agenda it is moving forward. Most Christians would be shocked to know how deeply involved the United Nations is in the spiritual agenda of the interfaith movement. Just as they are striving for a world government, they are also working with religious leaders and organizations to create the one world religion found in Bible prophecy - the religion that is to be an integral part of the Antichrist’s rise to power.

The Baha'i community has, as a duly accredited non-governmental organization, long worked closely with the United Nations, supporting many of its goals and programs, and taking a leadership role in several international gatherings. Its involvement in the United Nations dates back to 1945 when it was founded. In 1947, the Baha’i communities of the United States and Canada were recognized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), and the next year, the Baha’i International Community itself was recognized by the UN DPI as an international non-governmental organization. In May 1970, they were granted consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), allowing for a greater degree of interaction with the Council and its subsidiary bodies. Since then they have also been granted consultative status with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and relationships with the many UN bodies have deepened and expanded over the years. Today for example, the Baha’i organization has a working relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO), is associated with the United Nations Environment Programme, and is involved in joint activities with UNIFEM and UNICEF as well as many other religious, environmental and social programs within the UN, to include peace-building, human rights, women’s affairs, education, health, and sustainable development.

When you examine the beliefs and writings of the Baha’i community, it is not hard to understand the United Nations’ support and confidence in this organization. Their end goal is the same. Just as the United Nations believes that a new world order is just around the corner, the Baha’i believe the human race is nearing the next stage in their spiritual evolution - a phase that brings us one rung higher on the evolutionary ladder toward world peace and utopia. In their belief statement they write that “the current world confusion and calamitous condition in human affairs is a natural phase in an organic process leading ultimately and irresistibly to the unification of the human race in a single social order whose boundaries are those of the planet.” They use their voice at the United Nations to convince global leaders of the need for a spiritual element in the development of the new world order. In the Baha’i document “A Vision of World Peace”, written by the Universal House of Justice, they state that “no serious attempt to set human affairs aright, to achieve world peace, can ignore religion.” The Baha’i “incarnation of God”, Abdul’-Baha’i, said, “religion is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world.” They refer to the organized religions of today as “stuff of history” and claim that these religions of exclusivity, intolerance, and perversions of truth are the root of all evil and the cause for all of the world’s social, political, and economic ills.

“A Vision of World Peace” goes on to say that “those who have held blindly and selfishly to their particular orthodoxies, who have imposed on their votaries erroneous and conflicting interpretations of the pronouncements of the Prophets of God, bear heavy responsibility for the confusion and artificial barriers erected between faith and reason, science and religion”. They blame the resurgence of “fanatical religious fervor” occurring across the globe for what they call a “dying convulsion that is undermining the spiritual values which are conducive to the unity of mankind”.

In 2 Peter 3:3-5, the Bible warns the following: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.”

To be contunied
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« Reply #17 on: May 19, 2004, 04:43:16 AM »

Part 2

Always eager to fulfill prophecy, a Baha’i statement reads: “The time has come when those who preach the dogmas of materialism, whether of the east or the west, whether of capitalism or socialism, must give account of the moral stewardship they have presumed to exercise. Where is the “new world” promised by these ideologies? Where is the international peace to whose ideals they proclaim their devotion?” Of course the new world of peace will come when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth.

I Thessalonians 1:10 “..and wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

God warns us not to be deceived by those who will try to pave the way for the Antichrists false peace and deception.

II Thessalonians 2:3, 6-7 "Let no one in any way deceive you for it (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. And you know what restrains him now, so that in this time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way."

The Bible teaches us that in the end times a global religion will be established. It is referred to as Mystery Babylon, the mother of all harlots, and it will ride in on the Beast that is Antichrist. We can see the beginnings of this global faith today in our increasingly ecumenical religious leaders, such organizations as the United Religions Initiative, the Parliament of World Religions, and in the United Nations.

The Baha’i faith sees the United Nations as the vessel by which the unifying of the world’s religions into one faith will come to fruition. Their plan for the future of our world and the role of the United Nations and a regionalized world, are an eerily complete and detailed picture of Bible prophesy. Baha’i writings state “the oneness of humanity implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced…It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world – a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language.” They also promote a redistribution of wealth and a communist system of government that would be able to bring about this leveling of the playing field. This brings to mind the Antichrist’s future financial system whereby no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the Beast.

While the Baha’i praise the United Nations as the only hope for the “world peace promised by all the major religions”, they are not satisfied with its progress and are a loud voice on the international stage for stepping up the pace of our “spiritual evolution”.

In a statement to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002, the Baha’i Community wrote, “despite significant achievements, the United Nations has yet to grasp fully both the constructive role that religion can play in creating a peaceful and prosperous global order, and the destructive impact that religious fanaticism can have on the stability and progress of the world.” They go on to say “while the United Nations’ human rights machinery has been used to condemn religious intolerance and persecution, UN development policies and programs have hardly begun to address religious bigotry as a major obstacle to peace and well-being.” The Baha’is won’t be satisfied until Bible believing Christians join them in believing that all paths lead to God, and all claims to truth are silenced. In response to what they call religious fanaticism, they suggest that religious leaders need to “work untiringly to exorcise religious bigotry and superstition from within their faith traditions and renounce claims to religious exclusivity and finality”. And who decides what is superstition and what is truth? The Baha’i and the world community of course. “Abdul’-Baha’i’, the Baha’i “incarnation of God”, in “The Promulgation of Universal Peace”, defined superstition as “beliefs and opinions that are found contrary to the standards of science; for the antithesis of knowledge is ignorance, and the child of ignorance is superstition”.

Baha’i writings also stress that force and coercion in matters of religion and belief are violations of the Divine command. This sounds reasonable. No one should be forced to accept a religion. However, Baha’i writings also consider proselytizing to be coercion. They believe humans should be able to investigate reality for themselves, and to present your truth to another is to violate that spiritual right. Not to mention, they believe all religions are equally valid and just different expressions of the same God, so there is no reason share your faith with others.

The Baha’i make no distinction between the government and private citizens when condemning intolerant religious speech and expression. They support building on the “Convention Against Discrimination in Education” to include sanctions for those who, in the name of religion, would use education and media to oppress freedom of conscience and to promote division. Whether public or private, they say, there should be no tolerance for educational institutions and initiatives, or media policies and programs that promote intolerant attitudes and behaviors. This would apply to private religious schools and quite possibly churches. In a statement to the United Nations on the spiritual dimension of Sustainable Development, the Baha’i International Community wrote “Ultimately, the creation of a peaceful and just global civilization, in which the diverse peoples of the world live in harmony with one another and with the natural world, will require a significant reorientation of individual and collective goals and a profound transformation in attitudes and behaviors.”

So, just how do they plan to bring about this transformation? In a statement to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Baha’i community presented several possible next steps for transforming the United Nations. As a first priority, they proposed holding a convention on freedom of religion and belief to be drafted and ratified as expeditiously as possible by all of the governments of the world. They suggested the foundation within the United Nations system of a permanent religious forum, patterned on the UN’s recently founded Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The creation of this body would be responsible for beginning the integration of religion into the UN’s work of establishing a peaceful world order.

Of course, to participate in this forum, religious leaders would need to meet certain criteria. Their proposal states “only those religious leaders who make it clear to their followers that prejudice, bigotry and violence have no place in the life of a religious person should be invited to participate in the work of this body.” You can be sure that any religious leader who actually believes that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him”, would be disqualified from participation. A belief in the Bible as absolute truth puts you in the category of intolerant and would make you guilty of prejudice.

The statement closes by saying that “until the religions of the world renounce fanaticism and work wholeheartedly to eliminate it from within their own ranks, peace and prosperity will prove chimerical. It is they who must raise their voices to end the hatred, exclusivity, oppression of conscience, violations of human rights, denial of equality, opposition to science, and glorification of materialism, violence and terrorism, which are perpetrated in the name of religious truth.” How very tolerant! Oppress someone’s conscience, have the nerve to believe the Bible is the only absolute truth, or claim there is only one path to God, and you will be eliminated. Once again the Baha’i have written their script for the world’s future directly from the prophecies of the Bible, and have given us a perfect example of the Spirit of Antichrist that marks all false prophets and false religions.
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« Reply #18 on: May 19, 2004, 04:51:48 AM »

KOFI THE KING
U.N. push for power is bad news for Iraq & America
by Amir Taheri
New York Post
May 16, 2004
WITH just seven weeks to the scheduled transfer of power to the Iraqis, the United States seems to be preparing to throw the baby out with the bathwater in exchange for a resolution from the U.N. Security Council.

Convinced that the Bush administration is looking for an exit strategy with the help of the United Nations, France and Russia have already started raising the stakes on the new Iraq resolution sought by the Americans. In a series of recent statements and leaks, the two veto-holding powers have made it clear that they will not settle for anything less than a humiliating abdication by the United States of its responsibilities in Iraq.

To begin with, they want Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. point-man in Baghdad, to name the new Iraqi government.

The Algerian diplomat has already made it clear that he is looking for "fresh faces," which means excluding all those who have worked with the U.S.-led Coalition since liberation.

In other words: Not only will the liberators have no say in who governs Iraq in the transition, but those Iraqis who have worked hard to make liberation a success will also be punished for their efforts.

Brahimi and his French and Russian backers also insist that the United States should have no control over the newly created Iraqi armed forces, police and civil defense corps.

This would create two military presences in Iraq: one led by the Americans, the other by Mr. Brahimi. It is not clear what each of those two would do. Would the Americans be cantoned in remote bases, spending time in a Desert of the Tatars exercise in waiting for suicide bombers to strike?

At the same time, however, the Brahimi plan envisages that all bills will continue to be sent to the Americans, who have allocated over $80 billion to the Iraqi project. In other words: The U.N. rules, the Americans pay.

Oh, to be sure, Mr. Brahimi will consult the U.S. and U.K. allies on occasion. But the two coalition partners will have no more of a say in what happens than will Russia, France and China, who opposed the liberation of Iraq in the first place.

The veto-wielding trio still refuse to acknowledge that there was liberation. Instead, the Franco-Russian "concepts" circulating for a new resolution speak of "ending the occupation." This means that Iraq was free under Saddam Hussein but became occupied territory when the Coalition forces arrived.

Paris and Moscow believe that the Bush administration is desperate enough to accept almost anything.

This is why they insist that the future U.N. interim czar should have the power to revoke any of the numerous edicts approved by the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraq Governing Council - e.g., Brahimi could cancel the edict that banned the Ba'ath Party. He also intends to cancel the statement of principles that commits Iraq to building a Western-style democratic system rather than a modified version of Arab despotism.

"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" shouted Shakespeare's forlorn hero.

"A resolution, a resolution, the whole of Iraq for a resolution!" shouts the Bush administration now.

What on earth might justify the handover of Iraq to the United Nations? Not a single Iraqi wants this, although most Iraqis would welcome some role for the U.N. as long as it is not in the driving seat.

Stalin once asked "How many divisions does the Pope have?"

A similar question could be asked about the United Nations.

Are the French, the Russians and the Chinese prepared to commit any troops to Iraq? If so, what will their mission be? To drive out the Americans and their allies?

Those who believed that toppling Saddam was wrong from the start have no interest in investing blood and money to ensure that Bush's theory of regime change produces positive results.

The United Nations does not believe in a democratic Iraq. It has no money to bring in. Nor does it have any troops to contribute. Worse still, it thinks that only by rubbing the Americans' nose in the dirt can it restore its own shattered credibility.

Wherever the U.N. has been in the driver's seat, it has either restored the status quo ante (Sierra Leone), or frozen the status quo (Cambodia). What Iraq needs is something new - let's call it a new life in freedom.

From 1990 to 2003, the U.N. was officially at war against Saddam Hussein; it passed 18 mandatory resolutions on Iraq. But it did nothing to implement any of those resolutions, except through the Oil-for-Food scam in which $4 billion disappeared in corrupt deals that involved senior U.N. officials.

So what is the rationale for putting the U.N. in charge in Iraq, even for a single day?

The liberation of Iraq led to a contract between two sides only: the U.S.-led Coalition of the liberators on the one hand, the people of Iraq on the other. There is no reason to seek a triangle. Two is company, but three is a crowd, even in the most pleasurable instances of a ménage a trois.

The Coalition seized the power that Saddam had confiscated from the people of Iraq. That power must be returned to its rightful owners - the people of Iraq - not to the U.N. or any other outside element.

Now, here is how the U.N. can be useful, although Iraq could still do well without any U.N. presence at all.

The interim government should be chosen by the Iraqis through consultations orchestrated by the Coalition. Even now, it is not too late to organize a conference for this purpose, as the Bonn meeting did for Afghanistan before its liberation.

If such a conference proves difficult to organize in time, a reshuffled version of the Governing Council, in which all the Iraqi political parties, except the Ba'ath, are represented, could form the basis of the transitional government. America should show that it is loyal to its friends and allies, that it does not abandon them for domestic electoral calculations.

The new Iraqi interim government would immediately conclude a series of agreements with the Coalition spelling out the terms under which U.S. and allied forces remain in Iraq during the transition. That would be an arrangement between the Iraqis as hosts and the liberators as guests, with no third party intervention.

The Iraqi interim government could then invite the United Nations to help with organizing general elections next year. The Security Council could then pass a resolution to set up an Iraq election mission.

Even then, Brahimi might not be the best candidate. After all, he was a senior member of an Algerian government that specialized in electoral fraud for three decades. (A Swiss or Norwegian diplomat might be a better choice. One could also enlist Jimmy Carter who, for want of something better to do, likes to travel the world observing elections.)

Regime change in Iraq and putting it on the path of democratization represent the main planks of the Bush administration's global policy. Building a new Iraq is also of vital importance in winning the War on Terror.

It is thus a mystery why anyone should want to risk all that has been achieved so far by handing power over to Kofi Annan and his French and Russian puppet-masters. It even risks domestic disaster for the Bush administration, for it greatly increases the chances for truly broad-based Iraqi unrest before the November U.S. elections.

The people of Iraq want to rule themselves, and that requires free and fair elections. Who could best help them achieve that - the United States, Britain and their other democratic allies, or the United Nations, a majority of whose member-states do not believe in free elections and people's rule?

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« Reply #19 on: May 19, 2004, 04:56:45 AM »

Front Page Story
Oil-for-Food scandal:
The French Connection

In the hidden-behind-the-Iraqi-prison-abuse-story oil-for-food scandal, the plot, as they say, thickens.

First came the shock that United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan’s son, Kojo was connected to the ill-fated program. According to the New York Post On-Line edition, family members of former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali are officers of a Panamanian-registered company in which Benon Sevan, a UN assistant Secretary General, appointed to administer the oil-for-food program, had a connection.

The Post said it got its information about the Boutros-Ghali connection from Claude Hankes-Drielsma, a British businessman and advisor to the Iraqi governing council.

The oil-for-food program could totally annihilate the credibility of the world’s largest bureaucracy, the United Nations.

Iraq sold $47 billion worth of oil in this program, giving Saddam Hussein a $4.7 billion personal profit.

Kicked off eight years ago as a UN plan to feed hungry Iraqis with Iraq’s legendary oil revenues, it ended last year in a stunning quagmire of alleged bribes, kickbacks and billions lost to "The Butcher of Baghdad".

Vouchers given to Sevan and other politicians, businessmen and political parties on the list enabled them to serve as middlemen and flip the contract to another oil company making between 10 cents and 60 cents profit on each barrel of oil.

The oil-for-food tap has never been turned off. The Post says there are "several hundred million" from the program sitting in three banks in Jordan. Someone is drawing the money from these accounts, but "no one knows whom."

Just weeks ago, Boutros-Ghali was awarded the prestigious Order of Canada. Only nine foreigners have been so honoured, and even as the former UN Secretary General was receiving the award, some Canadian officials were calling it "strange" because the Rwandan genocide happened under his watch as UN Secretary General.

It was under Boutros-Ghali’s direction that the UN 420-page Our Global Neighbourhood, which produced the blueprint for global governance, was published.

When Boutros-Ghali left the UN, he went on to head the Francophonie, the organization of French-speaking nations.

It gets worse.

Canadians are also said to have made oil deals with Saddam, and ties with the Canadian Company involved go all the way up to Prime Minister Paul Martin’s office.

A man called Benon Sevan may be the UN kingpin in the oil-for-food program.

In the Canadian connection, it’s a man called Paul Desmaris. Desmaris is the largest shareholder and director of TotalFinaElf, the largest corporation in France, which held tens of billions of dollars in contracts with the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.

Martin replaced Prime Minister Jean Chretien last December. Chretien’s daughter, France is married to Andre Desmaris, son of Paul Desmaris.

Martin maintains powerful UN connections through Annan’s special UN advisor Maurice Strong. In fact, Strong, who also happens to be the architect of the Kyoto Protocol, hired Martin in the 1960s to work for Paul Desmaris Sr.

According to respected Financial Post columnist Diane Francis, "In 1974, Desmaris made Martin president of Canada Steamship Lines and then in 1981, he made him spectacularly rich by selling the company to him and a partner for $180 million. Martin’s shipping company is estimated to be worth about $424 million, making him the 63rd richest person in Canada."

Shortly after his arrival in the Prime Minister’s office, Martin gave the company to his three sons.

Canadian columnists have lamented that Canada Steamship Lines has been the recipient of hundreds of thousands from the Liberal government in Ottawa.

In order to escape Canadian taxes, ships operated by Canada Steamship lines fly flags of convenience rather than the Canadian flag.

At the United Nations, it’s not only a global world; it’s the proverbial small one.

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« Reply #20 on: September 25, 2007, 11:53:23 PM »

Quartet Statement
23 September 2007

The Quartet Principals - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner - met today in New York to discuss the situation in the Middle East. They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.

The Quartet recognized the present opportunity for progress and the robust regional and international desire for peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expressed its strong support for the ongoing bilateral talks between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas and welcomed the formation of Israeli and Palestinian teams to discuss the core issues that are essential to progress towards their shared goal of a negotiated two-state solution and establishment of a viable Palestinian state living side-by-side with a secure Israel. The Quartet welcomed parallel steps taken by the parties to build confidence and improve conditions on the ground. The Quartet underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the Roadmap and the Agreement on Movement and Access, so as to create a positive atmosphere conducive to progress towards a two-state solution.

The Quartet expressed support for the international meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace called for by President Bush in his July 16 statement. Principals discussed the meeting and agreed that it should be substantive and serious, providing support to the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward urgently on a successful path to a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians. The goal of this meeting is to bring together key members of the international community in support of efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians to end their conflict and help bring a final peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expects the meeting to affirm its support for the two-state solution based on a rejection of violence and its support for progress by the parties in their bilateral discussions. The meeting should also review progress that has been made toward building Palestinian institutions and discuss innovative and effective ways to support further Palestinian reform. The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions.

Quartet Representative Tony Blair briefed the Quartet on his meetings and discussions in the region, and discussed the way forward on the development of a functioning Palestinian economy, and the institutions of governance that will form the foundation of a Palestinian state. The Quartet agreed that Mr. Blair should work closely with the Palestinian Authority government in developing a multi-year agenda for institutional and economic development, and looked forward to strong technical and financial support from the international community in support of these efforts, beginning with the September 24 Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting. In that context, the Quartet called upon all countries that are able to contribute to urgently provide financial support to the Palestinian Authority. The Quartet endorsed an extension of the Temporary International Mechanism until December 31, 2007, and expressed its hope that during this period a mechanism would be established to facilitate the transition to direct international assistance to this Palestinian Authority government.

The Quartet expressed concern over conditions in Gaza. It agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction. The Quartet called for the continued provision of essential services. It expressed its urgent concern over the continued closure of major crossing points given the impact on the Palestinian economy and daily life. The Quartet further noted its grave concern over the continued rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and recent efforts by Hamas to stifle freedom of speech and the press.

The Quartet discussed its forthcoming meeting with members of the Arab League follow up committee to consult on next steps on the Arab Peace Initiative and regional support for bilateral talks between the parties.

The Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on UNSCRs 242 and 338.

Quartet Statement
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« Reply #21 on: September 30, 2007, 11:50:11 PM »

UN Human Rights Council Prez. Apologizes to Israel for Being Unfair…

I’m 99.99% sure his fellow council members do not feel this way….

    The United Nations Human Rights Council has not managed to deal fairly with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the council’s president Doru-Romulus Costea told a Spanish newspaper on Saturday, according to Israel Radio.

    Doru admitted that he was dissatisfied with the fact the council had overly focused on the degree of human rights violations by Israel.

    “The body which I head must examine the actions of both sides equally, and we have not done that,” said Costea. “Clearly, from now on things need to change.”

    Israel Radio reported that earlier this week, US President George Bush criticized the UN Human Rights Council, saying that it had put too great an emphasis on Israeli actions.

Does Costea really expect anything else but this with so many islamists being on the Human Rights Council?

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« Reply #22 on: October 01, 2007, 12:26:22 PM »

UN established to prevent a Holocaust

No one disagrees that Iran speaks openly of its desire to wipe Israel off the map, Foreign minister tells United Nations General Assembly. 'Too many see the danger but walk idly by. It is time for the United Nations to live up to their promise of never again,' she says

Yitzhak Benhorin
10.01.07, 16:31
Israel News

WASHINGTON – Iran speaks openly of its desire to wipe Israel off the map, and the world does nothing, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

"Too many see the danger but walk idly by – hoping that someone else will take care of it," she said, adding that Iran was the most prominent sponsor of terrorist in the world.

"It is a major source of instability and conflict in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and across the entire Middle East and it is the enemy of Arab-Israeli co-existence," she added.

Addressing the issue of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial, Livni said, "No one disagrees that Iran denies the Holocaust and speaks openly of its desire to wipe a member state – mine – off the map.

"And none disagrees that, in violation of Security Council resolutions, it is actively pursuing the means to achieve this end.

"But there are still those who, in the name of consensus and engagement, continue to obstruct the urgent steps which are needed to bring Iran's sinister ambitions to a halt."

The foreign minister reminded the representatives of the UN member states that the organization was established after the Shoah with the goal of preventing another Holocaust.

"What is the value, we have to ask, of an organization which is unable to take effective action in the face of a direct assault on the very principles it was founded to protect?

"It is time for the United Nations, and the States of the world, to live up to their promise of never again. To say enough is enough, to act now and to defend their basic values."

In her speech, Livni also mentioned the three kidnapped IDF soldiers, whose family members were present at the Assembly while she spoke.

'World cannot afford another terror state'

Addressing the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Livni said, "There is no substitute for the bilateral process. Failure is not an option – but it is for the parties themselves to define success."

The foreign minister said that Israel opposed the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel.

"The foundation for true peace lies in the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. The world shares this vision, but it is also important that it clearly embraces the two core principles that emerge from it.

The first – two states, two homelands - just as Israel is homeland to the Jewish people, so Palestine will be established as the homeland and the national answer for the Palestinian people, including the refugees.

"The second – living side by side in peace and security - just as a viable and prosperous Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza is an Israeli interest, so a secure Israel must be a Palestinian interest. The world cannot afford another terror state."

In a direct appeal to the Arab world, Livni stated, "As the parties take the risks for peace, we look to the international community and the Arab and Muslim world, to offer support, not to stipulate conditions.

 

This support comes in many forms. It comes through economic and political assistance to the new Palestinian government, committed to co-existence and seeking to build the foundations of a peaceful and prosperous state.

"It comes through clear endorsement of any political understandings reached between the parties.

"It comes through enhancing and deepening regional ties and cooperation between the Arab world and Israel, while in parallel we make advancement towards Israeli-Palestinian peace.

"And, finally, it comes by confronting those determined to prevent us from succeeding."

The foreign minister stressed that Israel had proved that it was ready for a territorial compromise that lasting peace entails, "But we also know– especially after withdrawing from Lebanon and Gaza - that territorial withdrawal by itself will not bring peace unless we address the core clash of values that lies beneath the conflict.

"Israel may be on the front lines of this battle, but it is not our fight alone. This is a global battle."

Livni noted that the Middle East conflict was "not a cause of this global extremist agenda, but a consequence of it."

She called on the nations of the world "to be partners in a shared global struggle against the extremism and terror that feed conflict, for your sake not just for ours."

The foreign minister warned that "the notion that this battle was a local one - limited to isolated regions - collapsed in this city with the twin towers on a September morning six years ago.

"Today it is clear that the extremists are engaged in a bloody war against civilians and communities, against hearts and minds, in every corner of the world."

'Reject those who abuse democracy'

"This battle is global not just because it targets civilians everywhere, but also because the extremists have taken aim at the fundamental pillars of every modern society: democracy, tolerance and education.

"These are the new battlefields of the 21st century, and it is in these arenas, more than any other, that the future of our world will be decided.

"Democracy is a profound ideal, but it is also a vulnerable one," Livni said.

"Today, in different parts of the world, extremists - opposed to the very ideals of democracy - are entering the democratic process not to abandon their violent agenda but to advance it.

"As a spokesman for Al Qaeda recently declared 'We will use your democracy to destroy your democracy'. This should be a wake up-call for us all.

"It is time to reclaim democracy, and this begins by rejecting those who abuse it.

Genuine democracy is about values before it is about voting. No true democracy on earth allows armed militia, or groups with racist or violent agendas, to participate in elections."

The foreign minister made it clear that "Hamas and Hizbullah must be presented with a clear choice - between the path of violence and the path of legitimacy. They cannot have both. And it is this same stark choice that must be presented to the radical regime in Iran."

Following her speech, Livni will leave New York after eight days of meetings with world leaders ahead of the US-sponsored Mideast peace conference scheduled to take place in November in Maryland.

UN established to prevent a Holocaust
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« Reply #23 on: October 05, 2007, 09:51:10 PM »

General Assembly Holds Dialogue on Intercultural Understanding
4 October 2007

The United Nations General Assembly today opens its first-ever formal, high-level dialogue on issues of interreligious and intercultural understanding and cooperation.

Freedom of religion and belief and the need for respect for a diversity of religions and cultures are on the agenda as delegates open the session, which is being convened by Assembly President Srgjan Kerim. An informal interactive hearing with civil society representatives is also being held to provide a platform for exchange of views among Member States and civil society, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.

Among those slated to participate are leading academics, religious leaders and other civil society representatives. The High Representative of the Secretary-General for the Alliance of Civilizations, Jorge Sampaio, will address the interactive informal hearing.

At its last session, on 20 December 2006, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace which encouraged Member States, the UN system and civil society to carry out a range of initiatives in an effort to promote understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity of religion, belief, culture and language.

General Assembly holds dialogue on interreligious and intercultural understanding

The United Nations General Assembly today opens its first-ever formal, high-level dialogue on issues of interreligious and intercultural understanding and cooperation.

Freedom of religion and belief and the need for respect for a diversity of religions and cultures are on the agenda as delegates open the session, which is being convened by Assembly President Srgjan Kerim. An informal interactive hearing with civil society representatives is also being held to provide a platform for exchange of views among Member States and civil society, including non-governmental
(NGOs) and the private sector.

Among those slated to participate are leading academics, religious leaders and other civil society representatives. The High Representative of the Secretary-General for the Alliance of Civilizations, Jorge Sampaio, will address the interactive informal hearing.

At its last session, on 20 December 2006, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace which encouraged Member States, the UN system and civil society to carry out a range of initiatives in an effort to promote understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity of religion, belief, culture and language.

General Assembly Holds Dialogue on Intercultural Understanding
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« Reply #24 on: October 05, 2007, 09:52:25 PM »

General Assembly session on interreligious dialogue advances values – President
Srgjan Kerim

4 October 2007 – The General Assembly today convened its first-ever high-level dialogue on interreligious and intercultural understanding in a move the 192-member body’s president termed a step forward for advancing the values enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

“By convening this event, the General Assembly has taken an important stand,” Srgjan Kerim told participants. “We are reaffirming the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But more importantly, we are taking concrete steps to advance these values around the world.”

The Assembly President, who convened the two-day session, called for a sustained international effort to address the issue through exchanges of information. “We must begin a global dialogue, using public campaigns and all forms of media, to spread greater awareness of the issues,” he declared.

“Governments can play an additional role by adopting educational curricula that instil values of peace and tolerance,” he added, pointing out that children are not born with prejudice.

In order to “eliminate all distorted notions that deepen barriers and widen divides,” he called for a “multi-faceted dialogue that promotes unity in diversity, and replaces misunderstanding with mutual understanding and acceptance.”

The active involvement of the media, private sector, civil society, faith groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be crucial to this effort, he said. “Their insights and outreach will be instrumental in helping to achieve our goal.”

Toward that end, he welcomed an informal interactive hearing planned for the afternoon aimed at fostering an exchange of views among Member States and civil society and the private sector. Among those slated to participate are leading academics, religious leaders and other civil society representatives.

Also addressing the event today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to promote the idea that differences among peoples, far from being a threat, are what enrich humanity as a whole.

“It is time to explain that different religions, belief systems and cultural backgrounds are essential to the richness of the human experience,” Mr. Ban said. “And it is time to stress that our common humanity is greater – far greater – than our outward differences.”

Mr. Ban said that the different people he has met in his travels during his first nine months in office all share one common emotion – “a universal longing for peace, and an aspiration of prosperity.”

Mr. Ban noted that today’s gathering comes at a particularly auspicious time, as Jews mark the celebration of the Torah and Muslims approach the end of the holy month of Ramadan. “Such occasions remind us that men and women of faith around the world can be brought together, rather than separated, by their convictions and their belief in something greater than themselves.”

He also pointed out that in today’s era of global travel and instant satellite transmissions, people everywhere are encountering “less of the familiar, and more of ‘the other,’” leading to increased tensions among cultures and religions.

In light of that trend, Mr. Ban emphasized that “it is time – indeed, it is past time – for a constructive and committed dialogue; a dialogue amongst individuals, amongst communities, and between nations.”

General Assembly session on interreligious dialogue advances values – President
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« Reply #25 on: October 06, 2007, 11:14:40 PM »

U.N. looks other way as tsunami aid pilfered 
$500 million lost being to fraud and corruption: 'The oil-for-food scandal taught them nothing'

Reconstruction funds channeled through the United Nations for the reconstruction of tsunami-devastated Indonesia are being systematically pilfered and skimmed to the tune of $500 million dollars because the world body has failed to implement its own anti-fraud measures, the U.N.'s former deputy director of investigations has charged.

Frank Montil, a former Australian Security Intelligence Organization officer, worked for a decade investigating fraud and corruption within the U.N.

Montil told the Sydney Morning Herald he had been sent to the region ravaged by the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami as a senior U.N. investigator to identify the risk of fraud and mismanagement that could be expected when the monies, raised by appeals to the public and allocated by the U.N., would begin flowing into the area.

"When you have a disaster zone, you have all sorts of drifters and conmen walking in. It is the equivalent to the old gold rushes," Montil said.

Based on his research, Montil reported an automatic 10 percent skim on every project to pay bribes "to a variety of parties who may have an influence on whether or not a project will go ahead."

Collusion between winning contractors and government officials was identified in large infrastructure and building projects. Where public officials were out of the loop, collusion among large contractors to rig bids was documented.

According to the report Montil delivered to the U.N., colluding companies would all submit inflated bids, with the low bidder then subcontracting portions of the project to unsuccessful "competitors."

Government bodies applying for U.N. aid, Montil warned, were "duplicating, tripling and even quadrupling" their applications to various agencies for the same equipment.

"As such there is a risk for fraud, in that a government body could secure excess office space, and twice, three times or even four times its equipment requirement – including motor vehicles," he wrote.

Montil's report went unheeded, sitting on former Secretary-General Kofi Annan's desk for eight months.

"My estimations of fraud were that at the bare minimum in Banda Aceh alone there would be at least $80 or $90 million disappearing in fraud and corruption. That's only in emergency funds," he said.

"That doesn't include the half a billion that will be lost to fraud and corruption in reconstruction funds."

The U.N.'s handling of the disaster has come under attack from other quarters.

WND reported comments made by the U.N.'s "humanitarian czar," Jan Egeland, that Western nations were being "stingy" in providing relief. General Secretary Annan reportedly refused to leave his ski vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for three days after the disaster struck to take hands-on leadership in the tsunami relief effort.

Additionally, the U.N. agency charged with monitoring seismic activity around the globe sent all of its 310 employees on vacation the week of the massive earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, preventing any possibility of warning to the 227,000 victims.

In response to an inquiry by the Herald about Montil's report, tabled last December, a U.N. spokesman said: "The Deputy Secretary-General indicated that a number of funds and programs had expressed the view that their tsunami activities had already been extensively audited and that a further consolidated report would be superfluous."

Montil characterized the response as "willful abdication of the U.N.'s obligations."

"The oil-for-food scandal taught them nothing," he told the Herald.

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« Reply #26 on: October 11, 2007, 01:51:25 AM »

UN Human Rights Council Prez. Apologizes to Israel for Being Unfair…

It's about time!  The United Nations has been almost unanimous in it's U.N. resolutions condemning Israel with the United States often being the lone nation standing with Israel.  There have been more than 100 Security Council resolutions either outright denouncing Israel or favorable to her Arab enemies since 1948.   However, the U.S. has veto power and has kept the resolutions from getting through the Security Council which is a good thing for our country.  It is important for the U.S. to be on the right side in the controversy of Zion.  Unfortunately in recent years our government's foreign policy in the Middle East is beginning to tilt in favor of the enemies of Israel who are sworn to her destruction.  However, Bush did the right thing with his criticism of blatant U.N. anti-Israel bias.

Link: ' List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel ' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_UN_resolutions_concerning_Israel

Quote
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

- Zechariah 12:3 ( kjv )



« Last Edit: October 11, 2007, 01:54:15 AM by BHarper » Logged
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« Reply #27 on: October 17, 2007, 12:29:18 PM »

 Libya wins seat on U.N. Security Council

Libya — a former pariah state condemned by the U.S. as a sponsor of terrorism — won a seat on the U.N. Security Council Tuesday without opposition from the Bush administration.
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The U.S. decision not to support a rival African country for the seat angered families of victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland — some of whom watched the vote in the U.N. General Assembly from the visitors gallery. They said the United States should have done more to prevent Libya from getting a seat on the U.N.'s most powerful body.

Dan Cohen of Cape May Court House, N.J., who lost his 20-year-old daughter Theodora, said the vast majority of Lockerbie victims were Americans. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi "has more American blood on his hands than any other surviving dictator in the world," he said.

"It is a disgrace that the United States would not even put up a fight and try to defeat Libya," he said. "America just hasn't stood up on this issue at all. ... And the Libyan government is working diligently to get the one person convicted in this case out of jail in Scotland."

Just over a year ago, the U.S. removed the African nation from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The U.S. had regarded Libya as a pariah state for decades after Gadhafi came to power in a 1969 coup and turned his country against the West. It was the target of U.S. airstrikes in 1986, and subject to sanctions.

Libya was blamed for the Lockerbie bombing as well as a West Berlin disco bombing that killed two American soldiers in 1986. The U.S. accused the country of sponsoring terrorist groups from the Irish Republican Army to Palestinian factions and of undermining pro-Western governments in Africa.

In 2003, Libya officially accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and reached a $2.7 billion settlement with families of the victims. The next year, it paid $170 million compensation to the families of the 170 victims of a 1989 bombing of a French passenger jet.

Relations between Washington and Tripoli have improved since Libya's surprise decision in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to dismantle its clandestine nuclear weapons program under international inspection.

The Bush administration said in May 2006 that it was resuming regular diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time in more than a quarter-century.

"The world changes," U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. Alejandro Wolff told reporters when asked about Libya joining the council.

He did not reveal whether the U.S. voted for or against Libya, saying the U.S. does not disclose that information.

Wolff took note of the families of Lockerbie victims who watched the vote from the visitors gallery.

"Their presence was felt here today. I felt it and I know other delegations felt it," he said.

Glenn Johnson, who lost his 21-year-old daughter Beth Ann, complained that Libya still owes the families $2 million apiece as part of a settlement it made with the U.S. The families have already received $8 million each, said Johnson, who chairs the group "Victims of Pan Am 103," representing families of about 160 of the 270 victims.

"We really felt let down when the State Department didn't make the objections it has in the past," Johnson said. "The U.S. allowed (Libya) off the hook even though for some reason Libya decided it didn't have to take the last step of the agreement. We can't understand it."

In 2000 the United States successfully blocked Sudan's bid for a council seat, and Washington's candidate, Mauritius, won. But in 2005, the U.S. backed Nicaragua and Peru won. This year, Washington did not back a candidate against Libya.

Wolff said the U.S. is pursuing the compensation issue bilaterally with the Libyan government and will continue to do so.

Libya's U.N. ambassador, Giadalla Ettalhi, said the country received 178 "yes" votes in the 192-member General Assembly.

"It means I can say we are back to the international community, that all the problems we have faced in the past are now behind us," he told reporters. "I think our relations with the U.S. nowadays are back to normal ... and I think they have not worked against our candidacy. We are sure about that.

"We have fulfilled completely our agreement with the Lockerbie people," he added.

Libya was elected to a two-year term starting Jan. 1. It will join the council along with another former U.S. enemy, Vietnam.

The U.S. restored diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1995 — 20 years after the end of the Vietnam War — and is now the country's largest trading partner.

Burkina Faso was also elected with no opposition. Croatia and Costa Rica won seats on the third ballot after their opponents, the Czech Republic and the Dominican Republic, dropped out after two rounds of secret balloting.

Ten of the council's 15 seats are filled for two-year stretches. The other five are occupied by its veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
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« Reply #28 on: October 24, 2007, 05:28:50 PM »

Kofi Annan Joins the Board of the United Nations Foundation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 24, 2007) — The United Nations Foundation announced today that Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and winner of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, has joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“Kofi Annan is one of the world’s great moral leaders, was a great Secretary-Genera,l and is a tireless advocate for the United Nations’ life-saving work on behalf of peace and progress,” said Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the UN Foundation’s Board of Directors. “He was present at the creation of the United Nations Foundation, and we are honored that he has accepted the invitation to join the Board.”

“I am delighted to join Ted Turner and the remarkable members of the UN Foundation Board to help advance the UN’s work around the world. The United Nations is the world’s platform for solving the great challenges of the 21st century – from war to HIV/AIDS, human rights to global climate change,” said Kofi Annan. “The UN Foundation allows people from all sectors – from all walks of life – to get involved in helping solve these problems. I am pleased that my service on the Foundation’s Board will allow me to continue to contribute to the UN’s mission of global peace, prosperity, opportunity, and justice.”

“One of the hallmarks of his tenure as Secretary-General was opening the UN to enhanced cooperation with business and civil society. We look forward to continuing to work with him to engage governments, NGOs, corporations, and other experts in solving the great global challenges facing the world,” said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the UN Foundation.

Kofi Annan was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 through 2006. He was a UN veteran who took his first job with the organization in 1962 and held a number of posts, including Deputy Director to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1980-83) and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping (1995-96). In 2001, Secretary-General Annan and the United Nations were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in global peace and cooperation. He was succeeded on January 1, 2007, by South Korean Ban Ki-moon.

Former Secretary-General Annan is a native of Ghana. He graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1961. He was a fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management from 1971 to 1972 and received a Master of Science degree.

Since leaving the United Nations, Kofi Annan has continued to advocate for better policies to meet the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly in Africa.

Kofi Annan Joins the Board of the United Nations Foundation
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« Reply #29 on: October 24, 2007, 05:52:06 PM »

UN Secretary-General’s call, examination “the crisis in international security"
(I've inbedded the link to each section and sub-section. DW.)

The initiative asked experts from a wide range of perspective to submit short policy briefs intended to inform the dialogue surrounding the UN Secretary-General’s call for an examination of “the crisis in international security.”

These short pieces, found below organized by issue areas, address three questions:

    * What is the problem?
    * What can be done about it?
    * What contributions can be made by collective action mechanisms such as the United Nations?

Some papers have been briefed directly to the Panel. The project also accepted non-commissioned papers for publication on this site. Click here to view these submissions or to propose one. Shocked

Use of Force

     Legitimacy and the use of force
     Preemptive attack
     Collective security and humanitarian intervention
     Juridical institutions and security

Regulation of Deadly Armaments

     Controlling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
     Conventional weapons/small arms

Terrorism /Non-state Actors

     Non-state actors
     Terrorism
     Transnational crime

Strengthening International Peacebuilding Capabilities

     Peace Interventions—futile or vital
     Collective Response to Crisis
     Post Conflict Reconstruction
     Democratic governance and external intervention

Foundations for Peace and Security

     Human rights and challenges to security
     State sovereignty and external partners
     Eligibility standards for UN candidacies
     Women in peace and security

Foundations of a More Secure, Equitable and Sustainable World: Freedom from Want

     Root causes of peace
     Trade and insecurity
     Security and development
     Linkages between environment, population and development
     Biological security

Ingredients of Success or Failure in UN Reform Efforts



UN Secretary-General’s call, examination “the crisis in international security"

Enjoy lots of reading brothers and sisters. Cheesy
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