The European Union In The News
NATO Says Russia Has Cut All Military Ties With Western Alliance
Fox News
(August 21, 2008) - Russia has halted all
military cooperation with NATO, the Western alliance said Thursday, in
the latest sign of East-West tension over the invasion of Georgia. NATO
spokeswoman Carmen Romero said the alliance had received notification
through military channels that Russia's Defense Ministry had taken a
decision "to halt international military cooperation events between
Russia and NATO countries until further instructions." She said NATO
"takes note" of the decision, but had no further reaction. On Tuesday,
NATO foreign ministers said they would make further ties with Russia
dependent on Moscow making good on a pledge to pull its troops back to
pre-conflict positions in Georgia. However, they stopped short of
calling an immediate halt to all cooperation. Under a 2002 agreement
that set up the NATO-Russia Council, the former Cold War foes began
several cooperation projects. They include sharing expertise to combat
heroin trafficking out of Afghanistan, developing battlefield
anti-missile technology, joint exercises and help with rescue at sea.
Romero said she was unaware of any specific events under the cooperation
agreement scheduled before early September. NATO itself decided last
week to suspend plans for a Russian warship to join NATO
counterterrorism patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, deciding it was
inappropriate in the wake of the eruption of fighting in Georgia.
Monitor: UN peacekeepers in Lebanon co-opted by Hizbullah
World Tribune
(August 20, 2008) - A consultant to the
United Nations said its peace-keeping force in Lebanon has been
effectively paralyzed. An independent monitoring group, registered as a
consultant to the UN, said UNIFIL could not act without permission of
Hizbullah and the Lebanese government it now controls. "They [UNIFIL]
mustn't accept Hizbullah blackmailing," Toni Nissi, general coordinator
of the Lebanese Committee for UN Security Council Resolution 1559 said.
[On Aug. 19, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would lift
any limitations on military operations should Lebanon turn into what he
termed a Hizbullah state. Olmert said Israel had restrained itself
during the 2006 war with Hizbullah to avoid damage to Lebanon.] In a
briefing on Aug. 16, Nissi said UNIFIL has become a hostage of
Hizbullah. He said the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora has refused to grant permission to UN peace-keepers to halt
Hizbullah weapons smuggling or deployment south of the Litani River, a
key element of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the
Israeli-Hizbullah war in 2006. "1701 also calls for the implementation
of [Security Council resolution] 1559, especially the disarmament of the
militias, and calls for sealing the border between Lebanon and Syria and
forbidding the entering of arms and weapons via the border, especially
to Hizbullah," Nissi said. "So Hizbullah is violating 1701 big time, and
not only by hiding its weapons in warehouses in the south. Also, we
haven't seen any weapons coming out of the south after the war of 2006.
So did Hizbullah throw its weapons used in the 2006 war into the sea?"
The monitoring group, with representatives in Lebanon and other
countries, disputed an assertion by UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Claudio
Graziano that Hizbullah was honoring resolution 1701. Graziano also said
UNIFIL maintained excellent relations with the militia. "Is the UNIFIL
mandate to coordinate with Hizbullah or to kick Hizbullah out south of
the Litani?" Nissi responded. Former UNIFIL adviser Timor Goksel said
the 13,500 international peace-keeping force has sought to avoid
friction with Hizbullah. Goksel told a briefing in Beirut that Hizbullah
has established a major presence in southern Lebanon. "I know they are
careful not to challenge UNIFIL and there is practically no visible
Hizbullah fighter to be seen," Goksel said. "As far as UNIFIL is
concerned, this is compliance."
Norway: Russia to cut all military ties with NATO
Associated Press
(August 20, 2008) - Russia has informed
Norway that it plans to suspend all military ties with NATO, Norway's
Defense Ministry said Wednesday, a day after the military alliance urged
Moscow to withdraw its forces from Georgia. NATO foreign ministers said
Tuesday they would make further ties with Russia dependent on Moscow
making good on a pledge to pull its troops back to pre-conflict
positions in Georgia. However, they stopped short of calling an
immediate halt to all cooperation. The Nordic country's embassy in
Moscow received a telephone call from "a well-placed official in the
Russian Ministry of Defense," who said Moscow plans "to freeze all
military cooperation with NATO and allied countries," Espen Barth Eide,
state secretary with the Norwegian ministry said. Eide told The
Associated Press that the Russian official notified Norway it will
receive a written note about this soon. He said Norwegian diplomats in
Moscow would meet Russian officials on Thursday morning to clarify the
implications of the freeze. "It is our understanding that other NATO
countries will receive similar notes," Eide said. The ministry said the
Russian official is known to the embassy, but Norway declined to provide
a name or any further identifying information. A Kremlin official
declined to comment on the report, and the Russian ambassador to NATO
did not reply to messages left on his cell phone. But the Interfax news
agency, citing what it called a military-diplomatic source in Moscow
whom it did not identify, reported that Russia is reviewing its 2008
military cooperation plans with NATO. Officials at NATO headquarters in
Brussels said Moscow had not informed the alliance it was taking such a
step. Washington described the reported move as unfortunate. more...
Lisbon treaty would have helped in Georgia crisis, says France
EU Observer
(August 18, 2008) - French president
Nicolas Sarkozy has used the ongoing crisis between Russia and Georgia
to put the case for the EU's new treaty, currently facing ratification
difficulties. In an opinion piece in Monday's edition of French daily Le
Figaro, Mr. Sarkozy, who currently holds the EU's six month presidency,
wrote that the Lisbon Treaty would have given the bloc the tools it
needed to handle the Moscow-Tbilisi war. "It is notable that had the
Lisbon Treaty, which is in the process of being ratified, already been
in force, the European Union would have had the institutions it needs to
cope with international crises." He named the most important innovations
as being the "stable" European Council President - instead of the
current half-yearly system - " a High Representative endowed with a real
European diplomatic service and considerable financial means in order to
put decisions into force in coordination with member states. " The short
pitch for the Lisbon Treaty also revealed a little how the French
president views the role of the EU's first long-term president of the EU
- a post that can be held for up to five years. The treaty itself is
ambiguous about the president's exact role with the potential for
conflict rife with member states and EU officials divided about whether
the position should be ceremonial or have real teeth. Entwined in this
question is how much the president should represent the EU in external
policy, a policy area that is foreseen for the EU's foreign policy
chief. In the Figaro article, Mr. Sarkozy suggests that the president's
position in such crises as the Russia-Georgia one would be one of
"acting in close consultation with the heads of state and government
most affected." This would very much put the President in the foreign
policy field. It would also foresee a formal hierarchy among member
states as it would give priority to those considered most affected. This
kind of scenario has been predicted by some smaller member states who
fear that the president would have an all-powerful role, reducing the
say of certain governments, although the working principle of the bloc
is that member states are equal. But Mr. Sarkozy's words of support for
the Lisbon Treaty come amid doubt that it will ever come into force.
Although ratified by the vast majority of national parliaments, it was
rejected by Irish voters in a referendum in June. All member states need
to ratify the document for it to go into place. At the moment, Dublin is
considering its options. It could either put the treaty to another
referendum or try and figure out a legal contortion allowing it to use
parliamentary ratification only. But the January 2009 deadline by which
governments had hoped to have the treaty in place is certain to be
missed.
Europe's major
economies contract
BBC News
(August 14, 2008) - The 15 economies of the
eurozone contracted by 0.2% between April and June, heightening fears
that the euro area is sliding towards recession. The eurozone's first
decline since it was created in 1999 was driven by a slowdown in exports
and consumer spending. The German economy, Europe's largest, shrank by
0.5% in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter. And in
both France and Italy GDP shrank by 0.3% in the second quarter. The
slowdown was less pronounced in the wider European community of 27
nations including the UK, which contracted by 0.1%. However Estonia,
where the economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter, is now
considered to be in recession. Ireland, whose economy contracted in the
first quarter of the year, has not yet released its second quarter
growth figures. Compared to the second quarter of 2007, the eurozone
economies grew by 1.5% and the 27 European Union countries grew by 1.7%.
The news weakened the euro, which was already well down from its recent
highs against the dollar. But high eurozone inflation, which was
unchanged on the month, made it unlikely that the European Central Bank,
which raised interest rates last month, will reverse its stance. Spain
was the only one of the major eurozone economies to see its economy
expand between April and June. It grew by 0.1% compared with the
previous quarter. Figures also released on Thursday showed that prices
across the euro area rose by 4% in July compared to a year earlier. The
European Central Bank increased interest rates in July by 025% to 4.25%
in a bid to combat rising prices. The July figure is the same as June's
inflation rate, but although the rate of increase is not quickening,
economists said rising prices were still a concern. "Although inflation
has been stable at 4.0 % in July, it is still way above target," said
Jörg Radeke from the Centre for Economics and Business Research. "Hence,
the possibility that the European Central Bank is cutting interest rates
in 2008 to support the sickening economy is remote." more...
Is the U.N. advocating homosexuality and pedophilia?
One News Now
(August 11, 2008) - The United Nations has
granted consultative status to two homosexual activist groups. For at
least a decade now, activist groups have hammered away at the United
Nations for recognition and they have finally won. Matt Barber of Liberty
Counsel finds that unacceptable. "They are associated with pedophile
groups like
NAMBLA
and others, and have advocated lowering the age of consent to levels
that would essentially foster pedophilia," he explains. Barber believes
it is wrong to equate homosexual behavior with the color of one's skin,
or their gender, and give them special status. "For the U.N. to side
with radical homosexual activists, in this case, has only served to
further discredit the U.N., and I think it's problematic in further
damaging their reputation," he contends. Activists, according to Barber,
will be trying to use the United Nations and the International Court to
force their agenda on an international level, including imposing it on
Christians who believe homosexuality is a sin.
EU under
pressure to shed light on expert panels
EU Observer
(August 11, 2008) - A transparency campaign
group has written to seven European commissioners to pressure them
to make good on a promise to reveal the names of the people who sit
on the expert groups that influence EU legislation in key areas.
ALTER-EU, made up of 160 organisations, on Friday (8 August) sent
letters to the commission president, vice-president, and
commissioners in charge of industry, energy, research, health and
environment to ask whether the commission intends to take the
name-publishing step "by the summer" as it promised earlier this
year. It said it is "deeply concerned about the lack of progress so
far on the issue of over-representation," referring to advisory
groups where business lobbyists outnumber NGOs and civil society
groups. The transparency group says that the only way to avoid
"privileged access for certain specific interests" is to establish
consistent membership criteria and called in the letters for an
"open and transparent process" for the selection of such expert
groups. It also asks commission president Jose Manuel Barroso what
he intends to do about those groups where it is already clear that
there is an over-representation of business interests. According to
the group, EU industry commissioner Guenter Verheugen is responsible
for 127 expert groups but only 19 of these include membership
details. As an example, it points to the expert group on
biotechnology which has 20 industry representatives, six academics
and no NGOs. Meanwhile, his research colleague Janez Potocnik
oversees 97 groups of which just 17 have their details listed while
energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs is in charge of 36 groups of
which three contain membership details. For health commissioner
Androulla Vassilou, the tally is 70 closed groups to eight public
groups while environment commissioner Stavros Dimas is said to
preside over 95 closed groups and only three open ones. The
commission promised earlier this year that the process of collecting
and publishing the names of members of the different groups shall be
completed by the summer. It also pointed out that experts from
national governments and agencies made up two-thirds of those in the
panels. more...
Russia Deploys Ships, Expands Georgia Bombing Blitz
Fox News
(August 10, 2008) - Russia battled Georgian
forces on land and sea, reports said late Sunday, despite a Georgian
cease-fire offer and its claim to be withdrawing from South Ossetia, the
separatist Georgian province battered by days of intense fighting.
Russia claimed to have sunk a Georgian boat that was trying to attack
Russian vessels in the Black Sea, and Georgian officials said Russia
sent tanks from South Ossetia into Georgia proper, heading toward a
strategic city before being turned back. Russian planes on Sunday twice
bombed an area near the Georgian capital's airport, officials said. The
violence appeared to show gargantuan Russia's determination to subdue
diminutive, U.S.-backed Georgia, even at the risk of international
reproach. Russia fended off a wave of international calls to observe
Georgia's cease-fire, saying it must first be assured that Georgian
troops have indeed pulled back from South Ossetia. International envoys
were heading in to try to end the conflict before it spreads throughout
the Caucasus, a region plagued by ethnic tensions. But it was unclear
what inducements or pressure the envoys could bring to bear, or to what
extent either side was truly sensitive to world opinion. Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili said one of the Russian raids on the
airport area came a half hour before the arrival of the foreign
ministers of France and Finland — in the country to try to mediate.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Temur Yakobashvili said Russian
tanks tried to cross from South Ossetia into the territory of Georgia
proper, but were turned back by Georgian forces. He said the tanks
apparently were trying to approach Gori, but did not fire on the city of
about 50,000 that sits on Georgia's only significant east-west highway.
Russia also sent naval vessels to patrol off Georgia's Black Sea coast,
but denied Sunday that the move was aimed at establishing a blockade.
The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman as
saying that Georgian missile boats twice tried to attack Russian ships,
which fired back and sank one of the Georgian vessels. South Ossetia
broke away from Georgian control in 1992. Russia granted passports to
most of its residents and the region's separatist leaders sought to
absorb the region into Russia. Georgia, whose troops have been trained
by American soldiers, began an offensive to regain control over South
Ossetia overnight Friday, launching heavy rocket and artillery fire and
air strikes that pounded the regional capital Tskhinvali. Georgia says
it was responding to attacks by separatists. In response, Russia
launched massive artillery shelling and air attacks on Georgian troops.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said more than 2,000
people had been killed in South Ossetia since Friday, most of them
Ossetians with Russian passports. The figures could not be independently
confirmed. The scope of Russia's military response has the Bush
administration deeply worried. "We have made it clear to the Russians
that if the disproportionate and dangerous escalation on the Russian
side continues, that this will have a significant long-term impact on
U.S.-Russian relations," U.S. deputy national security adviser Jim
Jeffrey told reporters. The U.S. military began flying 2,000 Georgian
troops home from Iraq after Georgia recalled them, even while calling
for a truce. "Georgia expresses its readiness to immediately start
negotiations with the Russian Federation on a cease-fire and termination
of hostilities," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement,
adding that it had notified Russia's envoy to Tbilisi. But Russia
insisted Georgian troops were continuing their attacks. Alexander
Darchiev, Russia's charge d'affairs in Washington, said Georgian
soldiers were "not withdrawing but regrouping, including heavy armor and
increased attacks on Tskhinvali." "Mass mobilization is still under
way," he told CNN's "Late Edition." President Bush sought to contain the
conflict in Georgia on Sunday as the White House warned that "Russian
aggression must not go unanswered." Bush, in Beijing for the Olympics,
has pressed for international mediation and reached out Sunday to French
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who heads the European Union. The two agreed
on the need for a cease-fire and a respect for Georgia's integrity, a
White House spokesman said. more...
EU keeps ticking
without Lisbon treaty, report says
EU Observer
(August 8, 2008) - Europe continues to work
without the Lisbon treaty and the demise of the document would not be a
catastrophe for the bloc, an influential think tank has said. In an
assessment of Ireland's referendum rejection of the EU treaty published
on Thursday (7 August), the London-based Centre for European Reform
concludes that "Europe works fairly well in many areas with the current
treaties." It notes that the 27-nation bloc continues to achieve results
and "integrate" using intergovernmental bodies such as the European
Defence Agency and through new laws such as those on liberalising the
energy market in Europe or the Emissions Trading Scheme. But the paper
suggests that the EU would be "much better off" with the Lisbon Treaty -
already ratified by 23 member states - as it would clear up the
"dreadful arrangements" for managing EU foreign policy, currently a
mishmash of personalities and responsibilities. It would also allow
easier decision-making in the area of justice and home affairs and give
more power to national parliaments, writes Charles Grant, the author of
the report and director of CER. His assessment concludes that there are
three possible options ahead, with the treaty needing ratification by
all member states if it is to go into place. Under the third "most poisonous" scenario, Ireland
would hold a second referendum and vote No, leading to "internal
divisions," with countries such as Britain and central European states
likely to block any attempt to kick the country out of the EU. The paper
predicts that whatever eventually happens with the Lisbon Treaty, it is
likely to be the last attempt by the EU to adopt a "big, comprehensive"
treaty. Instead the bloc will probably opt for sectoral treaties in
areas such as energy or migration policy in future. more...
Sept launch for bid to crack secrets of universe
Reuters
(August 7, 2008) - The world's most
powerful particle accelerator, aimed at unlocking secrets of the
universe, will be launched on September 10, the European Organization
for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on Thursday. The Large Hadron Collider
(LHC), housed in an underground tunnel 27 kilometers (17 miles) in
circumference, will recreate conditions just after the Big Bang which
many scientists believe gave birth to the universe. It will seek to
collide two beams of particles at close to the speed of light. "The
first attempt to circulate a beam in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
will be made on September 10," the Geneva-based CERN said in a
statement. The LHC will study a new frontier of physics, producing beams
with seven times more energy than any previous machine. But starting it
up is not as simple as flipping a switch. Each of its eight sectors must
be cooled to their operating temperature of minus 271 degrees Celsius
(minus 456 degrees Fahrenheit), colder than outer space. This phase is
reaching a successful conclusion but electrical testing must follow.
"We're finishing a marathon with a sprint," said LHC project leader Lyn
Evans. "It's been a long haul and we're all eager to get the LHC
research program underway." Scientists hope the experiment will help
explain fundamental questions such as how particles acquire mass. They
will also probe the mysterious dark matter of the universe and
investigate why there is more matter than antimatter. Some 10,000
scientists from around the world have worked on the complex 10 billion
Swiss franc ($9.5 billion) apparatus since construction began in 1994, a
spokesman said.
Libya says
Mediterranean Union will divide Africa
EU Observer
(August 5, 2008) - Libya's leader Muammar
Gaddafi has reaffirmed his critical stance towards the Union for the
Mediterranean - the brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy -
saying it will divide the 53-nation African Union. "We have good
relations with European countries, with the European Union, but I do not
accept integration into the Union for the Mediterranean," Colonel
Gaddafi said on Monday (4 July), AFP reports. Libya's head of state -
once isolated by the West - added he did not agree with "cutting up
Africa for hypothetical prospects with Europe" referring to a possible
split between north African countries and the rest of the African Union.
Muammar Gaddafi was the only leader who refused to attend the launch of
the Mediterranean union in Paris in July. Mr Sarkozy's plan brings
together 43 states - the 27-member EU as well as Algeria, Egypt,
Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Syria,
Turkey, Israel, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro,
Monaco and Mauritania. The aim is to boost ties between the EU and its
southern neighbours. At the moment, it is focussed on six specific
projects, including the cleaning up of Mediterranean pollution, the
development of maritime and land highways and the setting up of a joint
civil protection programme on prevention and response to disasters. But
Muammar Gaddafi, who came to power in 1969 and has become the Arab
world's longest serving leader, has labeled the participation of African
countries in the Mediterranean project a "violation" of resolutions by
the African Union. In addition, he has accused the EU of wanting to
dominate its southern partners, once under European colonial rule.
Lebanese gov't: Hizbullah can use force to 'liberate' territory
The Jerusalem Post
(August 1, 2008) - In a display of
Hizbullah's extended involvement in conflicts throughout the Middle
East, Coalition Special Forces captured two members of the group during
a raid over the weekend in eastern Baghdad. According to the
Multinational Force Iraq, the raid targeted the home of an individual
suspected of serving as a member of a Hizbullah cell - called "Kata'ib
Hizbullah" or "Hizbullah Brigades" - suspected of making videos of
attacks on coalition forces. The videos are then used to raise funds and
resources for additional attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces.
According to media reports, the Hizbullah Brigades have been active for
over a year in Iraq and like Hizbullah in Lebanon, the group is trained
and financed by Iran, likely via the Hizbullah's Al Kuds force, which
was commanded by its chief operations officer Imad Mughniyeh who was
assassinated in Damascus in February. "The Hizbullah Brigades receive
support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command for financing,
weapons, training and guidance," the Multi-National Force in Iraq said
in a statement in response to a Jerusalem Post inquiry. "They have
claimed responsibility for attacks against coalition forces and Iraqi
Security Forces as early as late 2005." On videos that it has posted on
the Internet, the Hizbullah Brigades group uses a logo very similar to
the Lebanese Hizbullah flag, showing a raised arm holding a Kalashnikov
assault rifle, although coalition forces said they were not sure of the
nature of the relationship with the Lebanese Hizbullah. This is not the
first time that Hizbullah operatives have been captured in Iraq. In July
2007, coalition forces apprehended Ali Mussa Daqduq, a senior Hizbullah
leader and explosives expert, in Basra where he was reportedly training
forces and even participated in several deadly attacks against US
troops. Daqduq, a veteran of the Al-Kuds Force, was reportedly in Iraq
to train and evaluate the performance of anti-US Shi'ite militias. Also
Friday, Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, Hizbullah military commander in Southern
Lebanon, told the Daily Telegraph that the group was stronger today than
before the Second Lebanon War and was prepared for conflict with Israel.
"The resistance is now stronger than before and this keeps the option of
war awake," he told the paper. "If we were weak, Israel would not
hesitate to start another war... We are stronger than before and when
Hizbullah is strong, our strength stops Israel from starting a new
war... We don't seek war, but we must be ready." Israel has claimed that
since the war Hizbullah has tripled its missile arsenal and today has
more than 30,000 rockets, some of which are capable of reaching almost
anywhere within Israel and as far south as Dimona. Last week, Defense
Minister Ehud Barak met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon and warned him that Security Council Resolution 1701 had
collapsed and that UNIFIL was not effective in curbing Hizbullah's
military build-up. "To our disappointment we are witnessing that over
the past two years the number of missiles in Hizbullah's hands has
doubled and maybe even tripled," Barak told Ban. "The ranges of the
missiles have been extended and this is mainly due to close Syrian
assistance." Managing Global Security per German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier Constance Cumbey (July 29, 2008) - This was a telling speech given to the latest "Managing Global Insecurity" conference. It was delivered at the Berlin site of the MGI July 14-15 Conference co-held by the Brookings Institution and the Bertelsmann Foundation. It was given by German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier. As it says, they are now 'singing from the same sheet." Having read and listened so very many times to Javier Solana's launching speech delivered March 21, 2007 in Washington, D.C., I cannot help but notice the deep similarities to the speech given now by one of the constituent foreign ministries to Javier Solana's European wide one. You may read Solana's launching speech last year by clicking here. As a former political speech writer, I wonder who composed this one? As you can see from the context, they have BIG PLANS for 2009. Stay tuned! "Responsible Sovereignty in an Era of Transnational Threats", Rede von Bundesaußenminister Steinmeier anlässlich der Konferenz "Managing Global Insecurity" der Bertelsmann Stiftung, Berlin
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | NewWorldOrder |
Sarkozy: no Mideast peace without sharing Jerusalem
Arab News
(June 23, 2008) - French President Nicolas
Sarkozy said an agreement between Palestinians and Israelis is possible,
tomorrow, and that agreement would allow the two peoples to live
side-by-side in peace and security. During their meeting on diplomatic
affairs, Sarkozy stressed that the peace process between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority should progress. "Those who will make peace in the
end will be Israelis and Palestinians," the French president said. At
the start of a three-day visit to Israel, Sarkozy said it is important
for the Palestinians to establish a state of their own. Referring to the
settlements, Sarkozy said that it must be said loudly the decision to
build settlements in East Jerusalem is not good for Israel. "I believe
that the path to peace lies there before us, that the path to peace is
not blocked. I have come to bring my support and that of France and the
European Union, your partners in the negotiations." Meantime, Sarkozy
said according to the The Washington Post today that "there could be no
Mideast peace unless Israel drops its refusal to cede sovereignty over
parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians." This coincides with a
report of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) that said
that the total Palestinian refugeed is more than six million. According
to UN organization UNRWA, Palestinian registered refugees totaled to
4.56 million at end of 2007, of whom about 41.7% in Jordan, 9.9% in
Syria and 9.1% in Lebanon. About 1.5 million Palestinians refugee are
estimated to be non-registered refugees.
U.S. companies vulnerable to foreign buyers
Reuters
(July 29, 2008) - With a record volume of international takeovers
of U.S. companies, it almost appears America itself is up for sale.
The weak dollar and slumping stock prices of U.S. companies has
created a window of opportunity for international buyers to snatch
up American icons such as beer brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc and the
landmark Chrysler Building in New York. "The dollar has depreciated
so much that America is on the sale rack," said Sung Won Sohn, a
professor of economics at California State University. "America has
such an appetite for foreign goods -- Chinese imports and oil --
that U.S. dollars have gone overseas. Now, many Americans aren't
happy that foreign companies are buying pieces of America with the
money we gave them in the first place," Sohn said. In the second
quarter, acquisitions of U.S. companies by international buyers
totaled $124.3 billion, marking the highest total for any second
quarter on record and jumping 23 percent over the year-earlier
quarter, according to research firm Dealogic. International
takeovers represented 22 percent of all U.S. merger activity in the
first half of the year, up from 17 percent in the first half of
2007, according to research firm Dealogic. InBev NV's deal to
acquire Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion gave Belgium the distinction
of being the most active foreign buyer of U.S. assets in the first
half of this year, followed by Spain and Canada, Dealogic said. The
Anheuser-Busch deal ranked as the second-biggest cross-border
acquisition of a U.S. company in history, following Vodafone Group
Plc's $60.3 billion acquisition of AirTouch Communications in
1999, according to Thomson Reuters. Other U.S. assets recently
falling into international hands include Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc,
which agreed to be acquired by Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries Ltd, the world's largest generic drug company, for $7.46
billion; and eye care company Alcon Inc which is being bought by
Switzerland's Novartis AG for about $27.7 billion. Earlier this
month, Swiss drugmaker Roche AG made a bid to acquire the shares of
its U.S. partner Genentech Inc it does not already own for $43.7
billion. Even the Pennsylvania Turnpike awarded long-term leasing
rights to a Spanish-led investor group for $12.8 billion. Although
some investment bankers and analyst pin the spike in cross-border
activity to the weak dollar, others contend that strategy and the
desire to expand globally were the motivators behind many of these
recent corporate deals. "Strategic buyers don't wake up in the
morning and say: 'This currency is cheap. I'm going to go do a
deal.' They do a deal because it's strategic and makes sense," said
Herald Ritch, president and co-chief executive officer of investment
bank Sagent Advisers. "There's no question that, on the margin,
currency levels tend to influence decisions, but strategic deals get
done because they fit a company's strategy," Ritch said. European
companies have been the most active buyers of U.S. assets, with 314
deals so far this year, compared with 117 deals by Asian acquirers,
and 33 by African and Middle Eastern buyers, according to Thomson
Reuters. "Europe and the U.S. dominate deal activity globally, so it
makes sense that deals between those areas would predominate," Ritch
said. Although some investment bankers view the second quarter's
record pace of U.S. takeovers as an anomaly, Sohn said the
13-percent depreciation of the dollar against major currencies over
the past 18 months should fuel more acquisitions. "There are
trillions of dollars overseas that have to be put to work. This is
just the tip of the iceberg," Sohn said.
Solana: EULEX operational by autumn
New Kosova Report (July
21, 2008) - European Union’s mission in Kosovo EULEX will be
fully operational within fall, said EU’s foreign policy chief Javier
Solana after the statement by Ban Ki-Moon that allows EULEX’s operation
according to Resolution 1244. Solana said that in Kosovo currently there
are 400 members of EULEX and “until this mission is completely
established, UNMIK will have all the responsibilities.” He added that
EU’s aim is to have the mission completely operational by autumn. Solana
made these statements immediately after the United Nations Secretary
General, Ban Ki-Moon, announced that he had made recommendations for the
start of reconfiguration of the UNMIK mission in Kosovo. Ki-Moon will
present a more detailed quarterly report on Kosovo to the UN Security
Council on 25 July.
Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the CFSP, signs agreement on
security of information with the European Space Agency
Council of the European Union (July 18, 2008)
- Javier SOLANA, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and
Security Policy (CFSP), signed an agreement today, on behalf of the
European Union, with the European Space Agency (ESA) on arrangements for
exchanging classified information. The agreement, signed with the
Director General of ESA, Mr Jean-Jacques Dordain, marks a further
milestone in EU/ESA relations and will facilitate the work of those
involved in advancing European policies and industries in the space
sector. Background The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's
gateway to space. early all of the 17 members of this international
organisation are also members of the EU. Its mission is to shape the
development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in
space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe. ESA's
programmes are designed to find out more about the earth, its immediate
space environment, our solar system and the universe, to develop
satellite-based technologies and services and in so doing to promote
European industries. Although ESA is an independent organisation it
maintains close ties with the EU. For example, the joint EU/ESA European
Space Policy sets out a basic vision and strategy for the space sector
and tackles issues such as security and defence, access to space and
exploration. On the back of this policy ESA is able to provide the tools
needed for Europe's activities in space. Cooperation between the ESA and
the EU is formalised in particular through the ESA/European Commission
Framework Agreement, which establishes a common basis and appropriate
practical arrangements for efficient and mutually beneficial cooperation
between the two. Recent tangible joint initiatives that have come about
as a result of cooperation with ESA include the European global
navigation satellite system, or 'Galileo', and the Global Monitoring for
Environment and Security services, known as the 'GMES'. Under these
joint EU/ESA initiatives there is a pressing need for the EU to be able
to exchange classified information with ESA. While to a limited extent
this was already possible under an administrative arrangement dating
from 2003, last year it was decided that the EU ought to have a
fully-fledged agreement with ESA on the security and exchange of
classified information.
EU Lisbon treaty officially ratified by UK
The Independent (July 17, 2008)
- Britain has officially ratified the controversial Lisbon Treaty, it
was announced today. The Government confirmed that the final stages of
passing the agreement have been completed. But the future of the deal is
still in doubt as EU leaders consider how to respond to Ireland's
surprise referendum "no" vote last month. Under the UK's ratification
process, both houses of Parliament must pass the treaty. The Queen then
gives Royal Assent, and signs goatskin "instruments of ratification"
along with the Foreign Secretary. These are then sealed, bound in blue
leather, and deposited with the Italian ministry of foreign affairs in
Rome. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said all these stages had now
been completed. "The documents were lodged in Rome yesterday," he said.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband is due to deliver a statement to
Parliament on the matter later. The process had been stalled while a
High Court challenge was considered over the Government's refusal to
hold a referendum on the treaty, but that was dismissed last month.
Under EU rules, all 27 member states must ratify the Treaty before it
comes into effect.
Dinars for Dollars: Arabs Buying Out Collapsing Western Banks
Israel National News
(July 16, 2008) - First it was Citibank.
Now it's Barclay's and New York City's Chrysler Building skyscraper.
Muslim Arabs are buying out collapsing Western banks and businesses and
gaining growing international power, but some Arab investors are worried
their investments may go down the drain with the American economy. The
current financial crisis in the United States has spread to other
countries because of a massive debt that was not backed by enough real
and liquid collateral. Banks and businesses gasping for financial breath
are up for sale at basement prices, but no one is certain if the
basement is the bottom. "The possibility remains that more Arab white
knights will be sought to rescue ailing financial institutions," wrote
Dr. Mohammed Ramady, a former banker and Visiting Associate Professor at
the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in the Financial
Adviser magazine. He said he fears that Arab investors will end up
chasing their investments with more money to keep them from going under.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Council of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates
kingdom of Abu Dhabi last November announced it was bailing out the
mammoth Citibank financial institution, formerly headed by Bank of
Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer, with $7.5 billion. Next in line
was Britain's Barclay's Bank, which raised $9 billion from investors in
the oil-rich kingdom of Qatar and in Asian countries. The Abu Dhabi
Investment Council last month forked out approximately $800 million for
a 75 percent stake in New York City's 1,046-foot-tall Chrysler Building,
which was the world's tallest building for a year until the Empire State
Building surpassed it in the 1930's. The purchase of American banks by
foreigners has been blocked in the past by security and political
considerations, but the barriers have come down, wrote Dr. Ramady. "How
long this lasts is only a matter of guesswork, as once again, the
specter of foreign takeovers of 'national' symbols will be hard to
accept," he added. In a more serious vein, The Australian
editor-at-large Paul Kelly wrote earlier this month that the foreign
investments, headed by Arabs, signal a major change in international
power. "The energy, financial and political woes that grip the U.S.
signal a decisive shift in world power, mocking the liberal delusion
that Barack Obama or John McCain can return American prestige and power
to its pre-Bush year 2000 nirvana," he wrote. "There is no such nirvana.
There is instead a new reality: the greatest transfer of income in human
history [and] the rise of a new breed of wealthy autocracies that
cripple U.S. hopes of dominating the global system and demands on the
U.S. to make fresh compromises in a world where power is rapidly being
diversified." more...
Euro soars to $1.60 against U.S. dollar, a new record high
Associated Press
(July 15,
2008) - The European single currency leapt to a record high above
1.60 dollars here on Tuesday as investor fears grew over the state
of the US economy and its financial services sector, dealers said.
In late morning London deals, the euro jumped to 1.6038 dollars,
which beat the previous all-time peak of 1.6019 that was set on
April 22.
43 nations creating Mediterranean union
Associated Press
(July 13, 2008) - French President Nicolas
Sarkozy urged the disparate and conflicted countries around the
Mediterranean Sea on Sunday to make peace as European rivals did in the
20th century, as he launched an unprecedented Union for the
Mediterranean. Yet the summit did not mask all the divisions that
crisscross the region: Syria's President Bashar Assad left the enormous
table before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave his speech to the
more than 40 leaders seated around it, Israeli government officials said
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. It
was the first time the two men had sat at the same table. "The European
and the Mediterranean dreams are inseparable," Sarkozy told leaders from
more than 40 nations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. "We
will succeed together; we will fail together." The union Sarkozy
championed as a pillar of his presidency brought together around one
table for the first time dignitaries such rival nations as Israel and
Syria, Algeria and Morocco, Turkey and Greece. Coping with age-old
enmities involving their peoples and others along the Mediterranean
shores will be a central challenge to the new union encompassing some
800 million people. "We will build peace in the Mediterranean together,
like yesterday we built peace in Europe," Sarkozy said. He insisted the
new body would not be "north against south, not Europe against the rest
... but united." Sarkozy went to special efforts to bring Syria into the
international fold for the summit: Assad met Lebanese President Michel
Suleiman and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, separately, both for the
first time. And he met Sarkozy, after years of chill between their
countries. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, co-presiding the summit with
Sarkozy, said: "We are linked by a common destiny." He said the union
has better chances of success than a previous cooperation process
launched in Barcelona in 1995 because the new body focuses on practical
projects parallel to efforts toward Mideast peace. more...
Iran says Solana nuclear talks July 19 in Geneva
AFP (July 11,
2008) - Iran said on Friday that its top nuclear negotiator and
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will hold their next talks on
ending the nuclear standoff on July 19, despite Western concern over the
test-firing of several missiles by Tehran. "They are to continue their
negotiations about the package on Saturday, July 19" in Geneva, said
Ahmad Khadem al-Melleh, spokesman for the secretariat of Iran's supreme
national security council, according to the state-run IRNA agency. World
powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States
-- last month presented Iran with a package aimed at ending the
five-year-old nuclear crisis, notably offering Tehran technological
incentives in exchange for suspending the sensitive process of uranium
enrichment. "The trip of Dr Jalili to Geneva is taking place after the
world powers welcomed the continuation of the talks on common points in
the two packages that have been proposed," the spokesman added. Iran has
proposed its own package -- a more all-embracing attempt to solve the
problems of the world including the nuclear standoff -- and has made
much of the common ground between the two proposals. The French foreign
ministry has, however, confirmed that Iran does not say in its response
that it is prepared to suspend uranium enrichment, which world powers
say they fear could be used to make a nuclear weapon. Solana's
spokeswoman Cristina Gallach declined to confirm the date, saying "we
are continuing to work on the meeting and we are in the process of
holding discussions" with Iran. But she reaffirmed that a meeting was
still scheduled by the end of this month. more...
U.N. scheme to make Christians criminals
WorldNet Daily
(July 10,
2008) - Dozens of nations dominated by Islam are pressing the
United Nations to adopt an anti-"defamation" plan that would make
Christians criminals under international law, according to a United
States organization that has launched a campaign to defend freedom of
religion worldwide. "Around the world, Christians are being increasingly
targeted, and even persecuted, for their religious beliefs. Now, one of
the largest organizations in the United Nations is pushing to make a bad
situation even worse by promoting anti-Christian bigotry," the American Center for Law &
Justice said yesterday in announcing its petition drive. The
discrimination is "wrapped in the guise of a U.N. resolution called
'Combating Defamation of Religions,'" the announcement said. "We must
put an immediate end to this most recent, dangerous attack on faith that
attempts to criminalize Christianity." The "anti-defamation" plan has
been submitted to the U.N. repeatedly since about 1999, starting out as
a plan to ban "defamation" of Islam and later changed to refer to
"religions," officials said. It is being pushed by the 57-member
Organization of the Islamic Conference nations, which has adopted the
Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, "which states that all
rights are subject to sharia law, and makes sharia law the only source
of reference for human rights." The
ACLJ petition, which is to be delivered to the United Nations High
Commissioner on Human Rights, already had collected more than 23,000
names in just a brief online existence. The ACLJ's European division,
the European Center for Law & Justice, also has launched its work on the
issue. It submitted arguments last month to the U.N. in opposition to
the proposal to institute sharia-based standards around the globe. "The
position of the ECLJ in regards to the issue of 'defamation of religion'
resolutions, as they have been introduced at the U.N. Human Rights
Council and General Assembly, is that they are in direct violation of
international law concerning the rights to freedom of religion and
expression," the organization's brief said. "The 'defamation of
religion' resolutions establish as the primary focus and concern the
protection of ideas and religions generally, rather than protecting the
rights of individuals to practice their religion, which is the chief
purpose of international religious freedom law." "Furthermore,
'defamation of religion' replaces the existing objective criterion of
limitations on speech where there is an intent to incite hatred or
violence against religious believers with a subjective criterion that
considers whether the religion or its believers feel offended by the
speech," the group continued. Interestingly, in nations following Islam,
the present practice is to use such laws to protect Islam and to attack
religious minorities with penalties up to and including execution, the
brief noted. "What should be most disconcerting to the international
community is that laws based on the concept of 'defamation of religion'
actually help to create a climate of violence," the argument explained.
more...
EU Governments Endorse Capability Plan for Future Military Needs, Pledge
Joint Efforts
European Defense Agency (July 8, 2008)
- European Union governments today endorsed a Capability Development
Plan (CDP) defining the future military needs and priorities of European
Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and agreed to use it to guide future
national defence investment decisions and to seek opportunities to
collaborate so as to address their short-to-longer-term military
requirements coherently. The CDP, developed over the past 18 months by
the European Defence Agency, its 26 participating Member States (pMS),
the EU Military Committee and the EU Council General Secretariat,
contains a significant body of analysis from which conclusions and an
initial tranche of practical proposals for action have been derived. It
was presented to a meeting of the EDA’s Steering Board, made up of
directors of capability planning from the 26 pMS. “The CDP provides the
picture all Member States need to take into account when planning future
capability development agendas and finding the right balance between
ambition and resources. Linking theory to practice is a job for
everyone,” said Javier Solana, Head of the Agency. “It is quite clear,
however, that the CDP is not a supranational military equipment or
capability plan which aims to replace national defence plans and
programmes. It should support, not replace national decision-making,” he
added. The CDP is an attempt to address the well-documented
fragmentation in demand for European military capabilities, caused in
part by a lack of coordinated military requirements and comprehensive
priorities. It builds on the EDA’s Long-Term Vision report, published in
2006. Among its principal conclusions are the importance of intelligence
and information-sharing during operations in complex environments; the
need for flexible and agile responses to unpredictable threats; the
requirement to coordinate military and civilian activities in crisis
management operations; and the challenge of recruiting talented and
well-qualified personnel for the armed forces. more...
Javier Solana: What Kind of Palestine?
Middle East Times
(July 4, 2008) - Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators have now been talking to each other for more than six
months, since the peace process was re-launched at Annapolis in November
2007, with the stated aim of reaching agreement on a Palestinian state
before this year is out. The final status issues of borders, Jerusalem
and refugees are back on the agenda, and the outlines of a two-state
solution are visible. There have recently been some encouraging signals:
Egypt has mediated a truce between Hamas and Israel in Gaza; there are
signs of inter-Palestinian dialogue; and there appears to be movement on
the Israeli-Syrian track. We have to grasp the opportunity for peace.
Comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the strategic goal of the
European Union, and resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict on the basis of
a two-state solution is the key to achieving this. Europe wants, and
needs, to see the creation of an independent, democratic, and viable
Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. For this, the
foundations and the structures of a Palestinian state have to be
created, which is where the European Union is playing a distinctive
role. It is leading international efforts to assist the Palestinians
with their state-building efforts under a major strategy adopted by the
EU last year. An important part of this strategy is devoted to
developing security and the rule of law, which are the cornerstones of
the fledgling Palestinian state and the theme of a large international
conference of foreign ministers hosted in Berlin on June 24. The EU is
making a tangible difference on the ground. It is helping the
Palestinians strengthen their civilian security capabilities not just
with words or money but also with people. Our police mission, EUPOL
COPPS, has been active in the Palestinian territories since November
2005, advising and mentoring the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to
build up a civil police force and establish law and order. Canada,
Norway and Switzerland are supporting the mission and we are working in
close coordination with our U.S. partners. We are now about to increase
the mission in size and expand its scope to the broader rule of law
sector, embracing in particular the penal and judiciary systems. A
democratic Palestinian state needs a properly equipped, trained and
disciplined civil police and it needs functioning law courts and
prisons. The EUPOL COPPS is not the only EU security mission in the
Middle East. Our border assistance mission, EUBAM Rafah, established at
the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza in 2005, is currently on
standby and ready to deploy as soon as circumstances permit and EU
member states form the backbone of the United Nations force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL). Our efforts are bearing fruit and are helping to make a real
difference on the ground. In the past year alone, the EU mission has
trained 800 civil police officers in public order, refurbished police
stations and contributed to the communications network of the civil
police. The Palestinian Authority has begun to deploy forces in major
urban areas such as Nablus and is gradually taking over responsibility
for security in the West Bank. Palestinian and Israeli security forces
are cooperating and this cooperation must continue and increase. These
measures in the area of security and rule of law are part of a wider
effort to improve conditions for the Palestinian people and revive the
economy. For democracy to take root, the people must see that their
lives are improving. Roadblocks must come down, trucks must be able to
transport goods freely, people must be able to travel to work, to school
and to hospitals unhindered, farmers must be able to grow and sell
produce, investors must be encouraged to come with foreign capital, and
businesses must be set up. And, of course, it is not only the
Palestinians who gain from this. Israel's security interests can only
stand to gain from a peaceful, democratic, and ultimately prosperous
Palestinian state. In truth, the entire region will be stabilized if the
Israelis and Palestinians resolve their 60-year-old conflict. The EU is
doing everything it can to help with this.
'UN report ignores Hizbullah violations'
Jerusalem Post
(July 1, 2008) - The quarterly report on
UNSC resolution 1701 submitted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Tuesday does not accuse Hizbullah of violating the terms of the
cease-fire, despite Israeli allegations that the Shi'ite militia has
retaken its border positions and continues to amass rockets and other
arms banned under the resolution. "Israel maintains that Hizbullah is
continuing to build its military presence and capacity [not only] north
of the Litani River but also in [the] UNIFIL area of operations, in both
open and urban areas, including private houses," the report states. "To
date, it [UNIFIL] has found no evidence of new military infrastructure
in the area of operations." However, the report goes on to list a number
of incidents, including one involving "armed elements," though it stops
short of mentioning Hizbullah by name. The report states that UNIFIL did
encounter "unauthorized armed personnel" on one occasion during the
night of March 30-31. According to the report, when UNIFIL began
following a suspicious truck towing a trailer near the village of Jubal
al-Butum, "two cars with five armed elements arrived at the scene and
blocked the road." Though "the armed elements" left three minutes later,
the truck managed to escape. In the report, the Secretary General says
he "continues to believe that the disarmament of Hizbullah and other
militias should take place through a Lebanese-led political process."
Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN Dani Carmon said "We
attach great importance to the implementation of 1701, and these reports
are an important instrument of the international community which could
improve even more the implementation of the resolution." "As long as
this UN report will paint a clear and comprehensive picture of the
situation in South Lebanon where Hizbullah is redeploying and where the
embargo is being violated, the better, because it will be apparent where
implementation should be improved." Pieced together, the incidents
mentioned in the report paint a picture of the situation South of the
Litani River, but the UN Secretary General remains hesitant when it
comes to drawing any conclusions. more...
U.S. and EU near deal on sharing data
International Herald Tribune
(June 28, 2008) - The United States and the
European Union are nearing completion of an agreement that would allow
law enforcement and security agencies to obtain private information -
including credit card transactions, travel histories and Internet
browsing habits - about people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Seeking to improve information-sharing to fight crime and terrorism,
government officials have been meeting since February 2007 to reach a
pact. Europe generally has more-stringent laws restricting how
governments and businesses can collect and transfer personal data, which
have led to high-profile disputes over American demands for such
information. Negotiators have largely agreed on draft language for 12
major issues that are central to a "binding international agreement"
making clear that it is lawful for European governments and companies to
transfer personal information to the United States, and vice-versa,
according to an internal report obtained by The New York Times. American
and European Union officials are trying to head off future
confrontations "by finding common ground on privacy and by agreeing not
to impose conflicting obligations on private companies," said Stewart
Baker, the assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland
Security, who is involved in the talks. "Globalization means that more
and more companies are going to get caught between U.S. and European
law." Paul Schwartz, a law professor at the University of California,
Berkeley, said such a blanket agreement could transform international
privacy law by eliminating a problem that has led to negotiations of
"staggering" complexity between Europe and the United States. "The
reason it's a big deal is that it is going to lower the whole
transaction cost for the U.S. government to get information from
Europe," Schwartz said. "Most of the negotiations will already be
completed. They will just be able to say, 'Look, we provide adequate
protection, so you're required to turn it over."' But the prospect that
the agreement might lower barriers to sending personal information to
the U.S. government has alarmed privacy-rights advocates in Europe. The
Bush administration and the European Commission, the EU's executive
body, have not publicized the talks. But in a little-noticed paragraph
deep in a joint statement following a summit meeting between President
George W. Bush and European leaders in Slovenia this month, the leaders
hailed their progress. Issued June 10, the statement declared that "the
fight against transnational crime and terrorism requires the ability to
share personal data for law enforcement," and it called for the creation
of a "binding international agreement" to facilitate such transfers
while also ensuring that citizens' privacy is "fully" protected. In
addition, businesses that operate on both sides of the Atlantic are
pushing to eliminate the prospect of getting caught between conflicting
legal obligations. "This will require compromise," said Peter Fleischer,
the global privacy counsel for Google. "It will require people to agree
on a framework that balances two conflicting issues - privacy and
security. "But the need to develop that kind of framework is becoming
more important as more data moves onto the Internet and circles across
the global architecture." more...
PLO Sees Bush's Exit as Chance for EU To Take Over
One News Now
(June 24, 2008) - Hind Khoury, French
ambassador of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Monday
that next year's exit of American President George W. Bush from office
will allow France and the rest of the European Union (EU) to exercise a
more powerful role in the Middle East. Khoury noted that French
diplomats have expressed they are prepared to "shake hands with
Hizbullah." French President Nicolas Sarkozy met on Monday with
Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders, including Khoury, at the French
consulate in Jerusalem. Scientist: 'Global warming' scheme to push global tax WorldNet Daily (June 19, 2008) - A scientist whose reservations about "global warming" have been officially endorsed by tens of thousands of other scientists is accusing the U.N. of using "mob rule" to generate fear-mongering climate change reports intended to scare national leaders into submitting to its worldwide taxation schemes. "Science has always progressed on the basis of observations, experiments, and thoughts published by individual scientists and sometimes pairs or small groups of scientific coworkers," Art Robinson, a research professor of chemistry and co-founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, said in a recent column in Human Events. Except at the U.N., he said. Robinson's concern over the political manipulation of science earlier led him to launch the Petition Project, a compilation of more than 31,000 scientists – with more names arriving daily – who have voluntarily signed their names to the following statement:
He said the scientific process begins with the results
of individuals' work and their distribution of their ideas. "A few of
these published articles are especially valuable; a greater number,
while not remarkable, provide relative mundane studies that add to the
infrastructure of science; many are not useful at all; and some are
completely wrong. As individual scientists read these articles, they use
their own wisdom, knowledge, and judgment to separate new information
that they find valuable from information that they find of no use,"
Robinson said. Eventually, the good, accurate and valuable information
is advanced. "Always, scientific progress is a result of a large number
of individual decisions that trend in a specific direction," he said.
Not so, however, at the United Nations. Especially with the
organization's
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has generated many
of the claims of catastrophic results of man's use of hydrocarbon fuels,
including submerged coastlines and a deadly, massive expansion of
African deserts. The IPCC website boasts of sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace
Prize with Al Gore Jr. for "efforts to build up and disseminate greater
knowledge about man-made climate change." It also notes its goals are to
eradicate poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education,
promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, improve mothers'
health, combat HIV/AIDS, ensure environmental sustainability and others.
"The IPCC provides its reports at regular intervals and they immediately
become standard works of reference, widely used by policymakers, experts
and students," the organization itself says. "The primary requirement
for selection is a willingness to participate in the United Nations' new
'process' and the agenda behind it," Robinson said. "These people study
and discuss the current and past research literature concerning climate
and climate prediction. … These emanations are closely observed by a
very select small group of United Nations operatives." At the end of the
meetings, "this small group of observers combines the products of the
meeting into a large important-looking report – carefully editing the
report so that it supports United Nations political objectives,"
Robinson said. "At no time is this report submitted to the 600-plus
'scientists.'" The results then are distributed as "settled science," he
said, "regardless of the fact that the scientists involved do not agree
upon the text. … The elite few who oversaw the meeting and interpreted
its results are special. They are the U.N.'s anointed messengers of the
truth." A spokeswoman for the United Nation's Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon declined to respond to WND questions about the process,
referring those questions to the IPCC office in Geneva. There a
spokeswoman confirmed for WND the process that has a small number of
specially appointed U.N. operatives write reports following "scientific"
meetings. Also, "science" has become devalued. "And nowhere is it more
abused than in the United Nations, where institutionalized mob rule is
called 'science,'" he said. "In its headlong drive to gain the power to
tax and ration world energy (and thereby control world technology –
sharing taxation authority with other governments in return for their
support) the United Nations has created a 'process,' which it calls
'science,'" he said. In real science, however, "truths are never
determined through such meetings; unsolved scientific questions are
never resolved by such meetings; and scientific articles are never
published unless every putative or listed author has personally approved
every word of the publication," Robinson said. "Scientific truth is
never decided by meetings organized to decide which ideas are true and
which are false. more...
Ireland to hold second referendum
The Australian
(June 23, 2008) -
THE Irish Government is expected to bow to Franco-German pressure and
hold a second referendum to try to rescue the Lisbon treaty that voters
rejected this month. The plan for a possible new vote in Ireland, being
discussed by some ministers in Dublin, will be greeted with outrage by
opponents of the treaty in Britain. Irish ministers say they might be
able to rescue the treaty if they can secure concessions from Europe to
placate voters on a list of issues. "A yes vote can be achieved if the
Irish people are offered guarantees on issues like defence and
taxation," said one senior Irish official. "The no campaign will be
picked off one by one. Everyone has a price." The likely time for a new
referendum is next spring so that the treaty can come into force before
the June 2009 European election campaign for the Brussels parliament.
The date is favoured by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel. If the Irish vote no again, British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown would have to choose between siding with Ireland
to stop its citizens being turned into second-class Europeans or siding
with France and Germany to push ahead with further EU integration.
Concessions likely to be sought by Ireland include guarantees to protect
its neutrality in the event of European armed forces being created, the
reinstatement of its right to a European commissioner, and the right to
set its own abortion laws and corporate tax rates. Mr Sarkozy is
determined to "save" the EU as France takes over the rotating presidency
on July 1. "It is not written down in the summit conclusions, but
everyone agreed that we need to get out of this before next year's
European elections," Mr Sarkozy said last week. He said European leaders
had already mandated France to ensure the EU "does not grind to a halt".
Both Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel have exerted subtle pressure on Ireland
and its potential allies by threatening the end of the EU's enlargement
east if theLisbon treaty does not come into force. The French President
will visit Ireland on July 11 for talks with Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach,
or Prime Minister. "We will try to make this 'no' an opportunity," he
said, pledging to use "English pragmatism" to find a solution. The Irish
Government has to decide its next move before the European Council
meeting on October 15. more...
RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert
Telegraph UK
(June 19, 2008) -
The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a
full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next
three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks. "A very
nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the
bank's credit strategist. A report by the bank's research team warns
that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more
than 300 points to around 1050 by September as "all the chickens come
home to roost" from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion
spreading across Europe and emerging markets. Such a slide on world
bourses would amount to one of the worst bear markets over the last
century. RBS said the iTraxx index of high-grade corporate bonds could
soar to 130/150 while the "Crossover" index of lower grade corporate
bonds could reach 650/700 in a renewed bout of panic on the debt
markets. "I do not think I can be much blunter. If you have to be in
credit, focus on quality, short durations, non-cyclical defensive names.
"Cash is the key safe haven. This is about not losing your money, and
not losing your job," said Mr Janjuah, who became a City star after his
grim warnings last year about the credit crisis proved all too accurate.
RBS expects Wall Street to rally a little further into early July before
short-lived momentum from America's fiscal boost begins to fizzle out,
and the delayed effects of the oil spike inflict their damage. "Globalisation
was always going to risk putting G7 bankers into a dangerous corner at
some point. We have got to that point," he said. US Federal Reserve and
the European Central Bank both face a Hobson's choice as workers start
to lose their jobs in earnest and lenders cut off credit. The
authorities cannot respond with easy money because oil and food costs
continue to push headline inflation to levels that are unsettling the
markets. "The ugly spoiler is that we may need to see much lower global
growth in order to get lower inflation," he said. more...
EU Presses Ahead With Treaty Ratification Despite Irish "No"
Deutsche Welle
(June 18, 2008) -
Ahead of a summit in Brussels, the European Union called Wednesday
for the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty to continue despite
its crushing rejection by Irish voters last week. A planned two-day
European Union summit which opens on Thursday, June 19, meant to focus
on weighty topics such as rising oil prices is likely to be overshadowed
by the institutional crisis plaguing the bloc after Irish voters last
week resoundingly rejected the Lisbon treaty. Ireland plunged the
European Union into chaos last week when 53 percent of voters rejected
the treaty meant to streamline the bloc's cumbersome institutions and to
make it more efficient after a recent eastward expansion. Slovenian
Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who will act as chair for the last time as
president of the European Union, insists that "not a single item has
been dropped from the official agenda because of what happened in
Ireland." "Leaders will want to show that they are paying attention to
what matters to consumers, which is oil and food prices," one diplomat
told news agency DPA. Yet despite their best intentions, EU leaders will
inevitably focus on the institutional chaos sparked by Ireland's
rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso called on the EU heads of state and government to take
time at Thursday and Friday's summit in Brussels to find a consensus
together with Ireland. "We must work very closely with the Irish
government to help solve this problem," Barroso told members of the
European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday after being harangued by
a group of deputies wearing green sweat shirts emblazoned: "Respect the
Irish Vote." But the Social Democrats warned of a "crisis of trust" in
EU institutions. It was worrying that all the major Irish parties had
called for a yes vote and the electorate had still voted no, Social
Democrat faction leader Martin Schulz said. According to leaked results
of an EU survey published on Tuesday by the Irish Independent, many of
the people who voted no in the referendum did so either because they did
not understand the treaty, or because they had other concerns, such as
immigration and unemployment. Moreover, 70 percent of those who rejected
the treaty thought it could be easily renegotiated. One possible
solution is for Ireland to be granted a number of concessions before
being asked to vote again, either in the autumn or early next year. In
the meantime, leaders have called for the remaining eight national
parliaments to ratify the treaty and have avoided talking about a
"two-speed Europe," whereby some member states would go ahead with
further integration, leaving the sceptics behind. "We want to continue
with a one-speed Europe," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on
Tuesday. more...
Eye on the EU: The Trouble With Iron and Clay
Fulfilled Prophecy
(June 14, 2008) -
The Lisbon Treaty was rejected Thursday by Irish
voters. What does their vote mean for the EU and for the
WEU Ten? Guest columnist Mishael Meir — an
attorney with interest in EU legal development — answers this
question. Ireland’s “No” vote on the Lisbon Treaty tells us just how
brittle the EU structure really is. The existing EU treaties gave
rise to a power-thirsty oligarchic government that overlays 27
sovereign democracies. It’s quite a brittle blend of iron and clay,
an iron fist attempting to rule over the pliable clay of democracy.
Having bullied the vote on the Lisbon Treaty out of citizens’ hands
from all but one democracy, the EU heads of state concocted a bait
and switch: get Ireland to say yes by hiding their plans for
expansion of the EU military and security mechanisms until after the
Irish had voted. See
here,
here and
here. Up until the vote results came in early Friday morning, EU
leaders had been huddled behind closed doors, divvying up the power
they hoped would soon be handed over by the member states under the
Lisbon Treaty. As reality sets in and finger pointing begins, the EU
leaders may again pressure the Irish to reconsider and hold a second
referendum, just like they did in 2001 when they agreed to insert
stronger provisions to preserve Ireland’s neutrality as incentive
for the Irish to approve the Nice Treaty on their second vote. More
immediately, the EU will press its member states to continue with
the remaining ratifications through 2008. Without these outcomes,
the EU won’t be able to assess how much work is needed to fashion
yet another means to what they call “institutional efficiency.” See
here. But more on that later. What could deepen this crisis even
further is that the EU could see more “No” votes in coming months.
Thus far, 18 state parliaments have voted “Yes,” Ireland’s citizens
have voted “No,” and eight parliamentary votes remain. Citizens in
the UK and the Netherlands will bring increasing pressure on their
governments to allow them to vote instead of their parliaments. See
here and
here.
Without getting the Irish on board and collecting the remaining
ratifications, it will be nearly impossible for the EU to enact the
failed constitution/Lisbon Treaty under yet another treaty or by
legislation. See
here.
That’s because for EU power to have legitimacy, it has to have at
least the semblance of democratic consent. See
here. It
doesn’t look like it is going to get it. Meanwhile, the
WEU Ten Is the Only Alliance Standing.
more...
Ireland's no vote: Europe is not going away
Times Online
(June 14, 2008) - It took hundreds of
pages of the Federalist papers, a few dozen men locked for weeks in
a sealed room in Philadelphia and a bloody civil war for the US
constitution to be accepted. So the little local difficulties in
France, the Netherlands and now Ireland must be seen in a broader
perspective. Anti-Europeans are lacing their champagne with Guinness
as they celebrate the “no” vote and proclaim with W.B. Yeats “all
changed, changed utterly”. Yet the EU, its Commission, existing
treaties and directives will still be in place tomorrow. Europe has
been here before and will be again. Ireland's “no” campaigners
accused the wordy Lisbon treaty of introducing abortion and high
taxes, and abolishing peat-cutting, union rights and Irish
neutrality. Then Alistair Darling gave a speech saying that
Ireland's beloved Common Agricultural Policy should be pruned and
Peter Mandelson promised to reduce agricultural protectionism to
help the Doha trade talks. The chance to kick British bigwigs and
their own former prime minister, now helping the authorities with
their inquires, was too tempting. As the money men, the Socialist
Workers' Party, the Unite union and Sinn Fein enjoy their weekend of
joy, Ireland and the rest of Europe will wake up on Monday with a
headache but not much else. Not a single Eurocrat will lose his job.
The bloated 27-strong Commission may even breathe a sigh of relief
as a little-noticed clause in the treaty cut its size. The loss of a
guaranteed EU Commission seat for Ireland was one argument used by
the “no” campaign to defeat the treaty - the first time that
Eurosceptics have sprung to the defence of the Brussels bureaucracy
instead of wanting it slimmed down. The big losers are Turkey and
Croatia. British Tory Eurosceptics hypocritically proclaim their
support for Turkish accession, but know that demanding referendums
on future treaties means an end to enlargement. No EU treaty can
come into force until all signatory nations ratify it. But Ireland
represents 1 per cent of the EU's total population and some
old-fashioned democrats may feel that 1 per cent does not outweigh
the rest of Europe's nations which are saying “yes” to the treaty.
But the rules are clear. Had the Irish voted “yes” and the British
Parliament voted “no”, it is unlikely that Open Europe and Stuart
Wheeler would describe the Irish popular vote as superior to one by
Britain's sovereign parliament. But amid the clamour from anti-EU
campaigners in Britain and other nations to ignore sovereign
parliamentary decisions, some way forward will have to be found. So
what now? First, the Irish Government must tell its 26 EU partners
what happened and why. Secondly, other European nations must stay
calm, despite the screeching of the “no” camp for instant
repudiation of the treaty. Many countries have voted not once but
twice for a new EU rule book. They will be sore that the French and
the Dutch, and now the Irish, have blocked new rules deemed
necessary to make Europe work better. more...
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