statism watch

BBC News
Sunday, 8 June 2008

Ireland’s PM Brian Cowen has launched a strong attack on opponents of a key EU reform treaty ahead of the country’s referendum on the issue on Thursday.

The Taoiseach accused the No campaign of “sheer inaccuracy and absurdity” and said Ireland could not get a better deal than the one on offer.

Opponents say the Lisbon Treaty should be renegotiated.

Recent opinion polls suggest the result of the referendum – the only one being held in a EU country – could be close.

The other 26 members of the EU are using parliamentary votes to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. But Ireland is obliged to hold a referendum because it involves changing the constitution.

All 27 must ratify the treaty, which is meant to streamline decision-making processes in the EU, for it to come into effect next year, as planned.

Turnout

Mr Cowen told BBC radio’s The World This Weekend that the treaty had covered all Ireland’s requirements on issues like tax and defence.

“There is no better deal to get – all our problems have been accommodated,” he said.

He said the No campaign had been “successful in raising confusion and fears” and attacked the “sheer inaccuracy and absurdity of some of the claims – all designed to keep turnout down”.

The PM admitted there was a core of about 500,000 people who had consistently voted No in such referendums and it was important to “get across that there are consequences to the No vote”.

An opinion poll released on Sunday – the Red C survey for The Sunday Business Post – suggested that 42% backed the treaty and 39% were opposed.

A survey in the Irish Times on Friday had suggested 35% of people would vote No and 30% Yes.

Declan Ganley, the businessman heading the anti-treaty Libertas group, said the “referendum is still there for the taking by either side”.

A key No argument is that the treaty cements EU power without providing accountability.

The Sinn Fein party also opposes the treaty, insisting it could be negotiated if it is rejected.

The Lisbon Treaty replaces the ill-fated EU constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Source | See Also: Ireland Only Country to Hold Referendum on Contentious EU Constitution | EU Looking for Presidential Candidates | European Parliament Members Revolt Over Treaty of Lisbon

Elaine Sciolino and Eric Schmitt
June 8, 2008

WASHINGTON — A bitter personal struggle between two powerful figures in the world of terrorism has broken out, forcing their followers to choose sides. This battle is not being fought in the rugged no man’s land on the Pakistan-Afghan border. It is a contest reverberating inside the Beltway between two of America’s leading theorists on terrorism and how to fight it, two men who hold opposing views on the very nature of the threat.

On one side is Bruce Hoffman, a cerebral 53-year-old Georgetown University historian and author of the highly respected 1998 book “Inside Terrorism.” He argues that Al Qaeda is alive, well, resurgent and more dangerous than it has been in several years. In his corner, he said, is a battalion of mainstream academics and a National Intelligence Estimate issued last summer warning that Al Qaeda had reconstituted in Pakistan.

On the other side is Marc Sageman, an iconoclastic 55-year-old Polish-born psychiatrist, sociologist, former C.I.A. case officer and scholar-in-residence with the New York Police Department. His new book, “Leaderless Jihad,” argues that the main threat no longer comes from the organization called Al Qaeda, but from the bottom up — from radicalized individuals and groups who meet and plot in their neighborhoods and on the Internet. In his camp, he said, are agents and analysts in highly classified positions at the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If Dr. Hoffman gets inside organizations — focusing on command structures — Dr. Sageman gets inside heads, analyzing the terrorist mind-set. But this is more important than just a battle of ideas. It is the latest twist in the contest for influence and resources in Washington that has been a central feature of the struggle against terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001.

Officials from the White House to the C.I.A. acknowledge the importance of the debate of the two men as the government assesses the nature of the threat. Looking forward, it is certain to be used to win bureaucratic turf wars over what programs will be emphasized in the next administration.

If there is no looming main Qaeda threat — just “bunches of guys,” as Dr. Sageman calls them — then it would be easier for a new president to think he could save money or redirect efforts within the huge counterterrorism machine, which costs the United States billions of dollars and has created armies of independent security consultants and counterterrorism experts in the last seven years.

Preventing attacks planned by small bands of zealots in the garages and basements just off Main Street or the alleys behind Islamic madrasas is more a job for the local police and the F.B.I., working with undercover informants and with authorities abroad. “If it’s a ‘leaderless jihad,’ then I can find something else to do because the threat is over,” said Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, who puts himself in Dr. Hoffman’s camp. “Leaderless things don’t produce big outcomes.”

On the other hand, if the main task can be seen as thwarting plots or smiting Al Qaeda’s leaders abroad, then attention and resources should continue to flow to the C.I.A., the State Department, the military and terror-financing sleuths.

“One way to enhance your budget is to frame it in terms of terrorism,” said Steven Simon, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But the problem is that ‘Al Qaedatry’ is more art than science — and people project onto the subject a lot of their own preconceptions.”

Full Story | See Also: CIA chief claims big gains against al-Qaeda | Is global terror threat falling? | Afghan attacks rise as al-Qaeda gains strength: U.S. report | Demise Of Al-Qaeda Leader Championed For Second Time | U.S. Government Caught Red-Handed Releasing Staged Al-Qaeda Videos

(Ed. note: Henri Kissinger is wanted for questioning in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, France and Spain for war crimes. One wonders why Canada is rolling out the red carpet for a man with connections to some of the most horrific genocides of our age.)

tradingmarkets.com
Wednesday, April 09, 2008

MONTREAL, Apr 9, 2008 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) — – Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, will be one of the keynote speakers at the 14th edition of the International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal, taking place this June 9 to 12 at Montréal’s Hilton Bonaventure Hotel.

Gil Rémillard, Founding Chairman of the International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal, made the announcement today as he announced the preliminary program for the prestigious event, the largest private annual forum on economic issues to be held in the Americas.

“Mr. Kissinger’s presence, and that of several other international decision-makers, confirms the importance attributed to our economic forum by key players from around the world,” Mr. Rémillard said.

This year, the International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal will bring together more than 3,000 delegates from the private and public sectors, as well as several international delegations, all coming to hear some 160 speakers. Together, they will focus on the state of the world, given that countries are increasingly facing the same issues.

The following topics will be addressed under the conference’s central theme of “Mastering Change: The Great Transition:”

- Finance and Governance: The international economy in transition, international economic perspectives, the financial crisis and its global impacts (June 9);

- Sustainable development and Innovation: access to energy (the challenge of infrastructure and sustainable development), reconciling economic development with sustainability (June 10);

- The Americas’ Day: Growth prospects in a shifting economic and political landscape, the international economy and the recession in the U.S., competitiveness in the private sector in the Americas, biofuels and the world agri-food market, the challenge of integrating immigrants June 11);

- Economic Development and Infrastructure: Financing and developing infrastructure (June 12).

“We are living in changing times, with many factors leading us to think and act differently,” Mr. Rémillard noted. “In every area, whether finance, economy, sustainable development or trade, it is vital to properly master these changes. Under the central theme ‘Mastering Change: The Great Transition,’ all participants will focus on how some of these important changes are laying new foundations for strategic decision-making.”

The International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal

The International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal, a not-for-profit organization, is an initiative of the Institut international d’études administratives de Montréal. The Conference’s Board of Governors is chaired by Paul Desmarais Jr., Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation of Canada.

The 14th edition of the International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal receives support from several partners, including Power Corporation of Canada. A number of sponsors have contributed to the Forum’s success, including the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), RBC Capital Markets, RioTintoAlcan, CN, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Bell, Hydro-Québec, Export Development Canada (EDC), Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), VIA Rail Canada, Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC), L.L.P., Air France, Investissement Québec (IQ), SNC-Lavalin, Bombardier, HEC Montréal, National Post, La Presse, The Gazette, Forces Magazine and CNW Telbec.

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