Prime Minister Kamla Pershad Bissessar – TRINIDAD TOBAGO DESERVES TO BE WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION FOR 2012

The award of World’s Best Tourist Destination will significantly assist in branding destination Trinidad and Tobago globally. We must change the perception of our country in the overseas markets. We must celebrate our country and work hard to sell our country abroad. It is anticipated that this award will open us to untapped European markets that are perhaps weary of the traditional leisure destinations and desire a more exciting vacation experience.

Honorable Kamla Pershad Bissessar –Prime Minister of Government of Republic of Trinidad and Tobago 

Date: Wednesday October 19, 2011

Venue: Regency Hall-  Hyatt Regency Trinidad

Time: 12.30pm

I am indeed truly humbled and deeply honoured to be standing here today to accept, on behalf of the People of Trinidad and Tobago, the World’s Best Tourism Destination Award for 2012 from the European Union Council on Tourism and Trade. A non-governmental organisation, this body has a wide ranging membership of tourism representatives within the European Union.  

We were also declared the World’s Favourite Cultural Destination in 2012 by the European Union Council on Tourism and Trade.  

It is my understanding that this award was unanimously given to Trinidad and Tobago primarily for our history of impressive cultural festivals, environmental conservation and biodiversity protection amongst other factors.  

It is not an award that is traditionally given to well-established tourism destinations but it is the highest honour awarded to non-European Union countries that have embraced sustainable tourism as a tool for cultural and social development and that respect and preserve their cultural and natural heritage.  

I extend my heartfelt thanks to the European Union Council on Tourism and Trade for having us join other distinguished winners of this award such as the United Arab Emirates, Syria and South Koreea. 

But moreover, I thank the Council for recognising what most of us fail to acknowledge and value. And this is … Trinidad and Tobago is brim-full with tourism potential.  

We are not the traditional sun, sea and surf destination. What differentiates us from the rest of our Caribbean neighbours is our diverse and rich natural, cultural and built heritage.  

This People’s Partnership Government is seriously committed and dedicated to the development of the tourism industry in Trinidad and Tobago. Tourism is an incredibly important pillar in our national economic diversification effort.  

We are not paying “lip service” to the industry as some may have done in the past. For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second class service sector. 

We recognise that tourism is a business and fiercely competitive. Tourism requires skills, talent, enterprise and more importantly the support of government. 

The award of World’s Best Tourist Destination for 2012 is important for several reasons.  

Firstly, it facilitates the formation of closer linkages with Europe for tourism, trade and investment possibilities. The European continent, as in its colonial past, is a formidable trading partner especially with the fall of communism and the rise of new economic powers.  

Europe is, and will certainly continue to be, a cornerstone for our international business.  

Ladies and gentlemen,  

The economic and social advancement of this beautiful twin island Republic of ours depends to a large extent on how well we develop and harness our resources. And one such untapped resource is that of tourism.  

The award of World’s Best Tourist Destination will significantly assist in branding destination Trinidad and Tobago globally. We must change the perception of our country in the overseas markets. We must celebrate our country and work hard to sell our country abroad.  

It is anticipated that this award will open us to untapped European markets that are perhaps weary of the traditional leisure destinations and desire a more exciting vacation experience.

Ladies and Gentlemen,  

An important opportunity that this award presents is a platform to advance the commitments of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). 

As many of you may or may not be aware, in 2008 Trinidad and Tobago, along with its neighbours in the rest of the region, embarked upon a reciprocal trade agreement with one of our largest trading partners – the European Union (EU). The signing of the EPA signalled a shift in our trade and economic development. 

We are now required to open our markets to Eastern Union manufacturers and service providers; but the EPA also provides market access for our country’s export of services to the European Union.  

The Economic Partnership Agreement also speaks to specific disciplines on tourism services because of its importance to the social and economic development of the European Union and the Caribbean. These rules are complemented by a commitment to legally binding open market conditions for each other. For instance, the Europe Union has made commitments for travel agencies, tour operators, tourist guides services.  

Trinidad and Tobago, on the other hand, have made commitments in relation to hotels and restaurants, marina services and spa services.  

The EPA also includes measures that would make it easier for European Union investors to invest in the Trinidad and Tobago. This award, then, will provide a platform to attract increased investment and to promote growth and development in the tourism sector. The Economic Partnership Agreement is, therefore, rendered more relevant, more strategic and more focused on deliverables.

Honorable Prime Minister Kamla Pershad Bissessar receives WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION AWARD  for 2012.

The World’s Best Tourism Destination award will, moreover, engender a measure of national pride amongst our citizenry and raise the level of public confidence in Trinidad and Tobago as a tourist destination. 

We should be proud of our country and its tourism potential. We have so much to be proud of, so much to share with each other, and so much to show off to the rest of the world. Let us not doubt or question our intrinsic value.

In closing, ladies and gentlemen, I must take a moment to publicly acknowledge the hard work and sacrifices of our tourism community … the stakeholders in our midst. The last few years have been quite challenging for all in the tourism industry. 

But rest assured that the tourism industry will get the backing it needs. 

But we cannot do it alone. We have all to work together. The private sector in the lead but with government acting as a facilitator; supporting every step of the way.

I want to urge you to continue working with commitment, energy and enthusiasm for the betterment of the tourism industry. 

I thank you. God’s richest blessings on us all.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – FAVORITE EUROPEAN DESTINATION FOR 2012

On 9^th of October 2011 in a public séance of the European Union Council on Tourism and Trade gathering, representatives of tourism organizations from EU members country it was debated the list of candidates for WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION for 2012.

Professor Dr. Mircea Constantinescu, Director of European Tourism Academy, had presented a report on the last year situation of the Award for WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION that was dedicated to United Arab Emirates and it was used accordingly with rules and regulations and have being proving highly efficient in attracting new tourists and investor attentions as United Arab Emirates was the ONLY country in the region that registered an increase in number of visitors despite tensions in the region.

On the debate for WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION  AWARD FOR 2012 professor dr. Anton Caragea , President of European Union Council on Tourism and Trade ( ECTT) presented the report titled : TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO : A SUCCESS STORY IN TOURISM proposing TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO as the winner of WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION FOR 2012.

Among the reasons for awarding WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION FOR 2012 to TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO the report outlined:

   –  Respecting cultural patrimony and traditions in offering to tourists a possibility to participate in impressive paraphernalia festivals such as: Holi, Hosay, Divali, Corpus Christi, Eid Al Fitr and special Tobago Heritage Festival Tobago Fest and Trinidad GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH etc.

Keeping alive spiritual traditions , integrating tourist and visitors in the atmosphere of the islands , offering possibility of an enriching cultural experience are achievements that transform Trinidad and Tobago in a spiritual destination of first hand.

–                      Promoting Trinidad and Tobago environmental protection, especially East Coast natural patrimony of wetlands, beaches and ecological and geographical biodiversity that make Trinidad and Tobago unique in the region. Supporting a new concept of tourism friendly to nature, with low nature impact and preservation of natural biodiversity and protection of endangered species and areas, especially rainforest eco-climate.

–                      Offering to tourists not only cultural experience or relaxation opportunities but also the possibility to explore nature , to contribute to ecological preservation and the opportunity to observed in Tobago the impressive Forest Reserve are model achievements in ecological tourism that must be world appreciated.

–                      The continuous development and protection of cultural and historical patrimony of Trinidad and Tobago, the transformation of Port of Spain in an historical center offering to the visitor a glimpse into rich culture of Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean heritage.

–                      Offering to the tourist a large area of cultural and ecological impressive programs such as: Wildlife Photography in places such El Tucuche Reserve, Valencia Wildlife Sanctuary, Caroni Bird Sanctuary. Cave exploration (in splendid places such as Gasparee Caves).Cycling, Hiking (Argyle Waterfall –a special destination), Kayaking (Paria bay and Tobago area).

For all this reasons European Union Council on Tourism and Trade decided, unanimously, to award WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION FOR 2012 TITLE TO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO and to declare TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO- FAVORITE CULTURAL DESTINATIONS in 2012.

It was also presented the Official Invitation, on behalf of Ministry of Tourism of TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO for a delegation of European high ranking official of European Union Council on Tourism and Trade, to present the WORLD BEST TOURIST DESTINATION AWARD in Port of Spain, in person, to His Excellency Minister of Tourism DR. RUPERT GRIFFITH.

Awarding the highest tourism distinction of European Union Council on Tourism and Trade, the invitation for an working visit of high ranking members of European Union Council on Tourism and Trade in TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO are estimated by European tourism experts as a good example of close tourism relations and mutual appreciation   between European Union and Trinidad and Tobago, said at the end of the meeting Professor Anton Caragea, President of European Union Council on Tourism and Trade.

EUROPEAN UNION REPORT CONSIDERS SYRIA AS REFORM AND DEMOCRATIC ORIENTED COUNTRY

On 9 May 2011, Professor Anton Caragea , President of European Council on International Relations has presented a comprehensive report on Anti-Syria revolution. The truth behind the lies.

The report had stressed the fact that in Syria there is now revolution in making ,but a classical coup d`etat ,supported by old colonialist powers. ″ Syria is the least possible target for a so called revolution. In front of the country is a leader of undoubtedly huge popularity: Bashar Al Assad. Young, western educated, modernist, reform minded- his rule of just 11 years is miles away from the decrepit autocracy of Hosni Mubarak or Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Bashar Al Assad is having a clear track of successes: opening Syrian society, release of all political prisoners, fighting corruption, opening internet, accepting a western style society and creating a huge social and political base for his government ″ appreciates Professor Anton Caragea .

The reports emphasize the fact that Syria is a viable democracy an open society, in full process of reforms and modernization on all sectors of life, and the main target is just the independent foreign policy that the country is pursuing .  The main vectors for this attack on Syria are according to professor Caragea evaluation : ″the Syrian-Iran alliance it is targeted here. Iran was not attacked yet, because of just one reason: an attack on Iran, will instantly inflame the Middle East ,with Syria supporting Iran and Hezbollah in attacking Israel.

Now, taking Syria out of the equation, will mean the dissolution of Hezbollah, the dismantle of Lebanon and the end of any retaliation possibility for Iran.

The destruction of Iran alliances it is not the only thing at stake in the aggression on Syria.

In the last years Turkey had becoming a worrisome partner for West and Ankara`s  main partner in a new policy toward Arab states and Islamic community is Syria. With Syria, Turkey resolved border issues pending from more than 80 year ago, opened frontiers, resolved the disputes on Euphrates water and opened markets.

This was a success story of unmatched efficiency and now, if Syria collapsed , Turkey new policy will also collapsed and in the Arab world eyes will be just another partner of western aggression and the dream of a Turkey-Arab alliance will be shattered″ .

In this climate of conspiracy and pressure by dint of media manipulation and terrorist attacks the foreign power realized that :″ being impossible to create a revolution inside, Syria was targeted by a media war off unthinkable intensity. Photos and videos from Bahrain where presented on Al Jazeera and western stations as BBC and CNN as images from Homs or other Syrian cities , protest in Alexandria , with Egyptian flags, where portrayed as demonstrators in Latakia and the list could go on indefinitely  .

While in Syria there was no protests, groups of armed gangs where crossed from southern Syria and sent to kill civilians in Deraa, Homs, Hama , Latakia hoping to provoke a civilian reactions against so called army and police atrocities . This had failed one more time, as in Syria everybody knows that the army  will never fire on  protestors or civilians. The high regards that army is having in popular minds blocked this new attempt of spreading chaos″ .

In front of all this failed plots and attack the report of professor Anton Caragea is ending in a brighter light :  ″ people of Syria will always stead fast on their dedication to build an independent and free country by dint of honesty and refusal of compromise .

Syria will always prevail″concluded professor Anton Caragea

PEOPLES OF BANIYAS ( BANIAS ) ASK FOR HELP: STOP BBC AND AL JAZEERA LIES AGAINST SYRIA

Today 7 may 2011 BBC is reporting about some demonstrations in Syria, an inhabitant of Baniyas had called Syrian News to protest: there is no protest, no army, no arrests, please ask the international media to stop the lies against our country he pleaded with us .

Syrian people protest against international broadcaster campaign of lies and manipulation.

The campaign of media instigation and fact distortion undertaken by several satellite channels continues, with these channels broadcasting reports and footage and using all available methods and techniques to fabricate false stories and reports, in addition to using so-called eyewitnesses to distort facts regarding what is happening in Syria and mislead public opinion in Syria and abroad.

Al-Jazeera broadcast a video of around 50 people walking in street without showing their faces, saying that they were protesting in al-Midan, Damascus, adding sounds of thousands and looping the footage several times to give the illusion of great numbers. They also resorted to calling people coming out of mosques protestors.

The channel also tried to pass off a protest in Yemen as a protest in al-Qamishli, despite the obvious presence of the Yemeni flag.

Al-Jazeera went on to show a gathering of around 200 people with the title “thousands of Syrians protest today” in addition to using a static image of what it purported to be a protest in Banyas, despite the image being the same one used last week, only to backtrack and show another image supposedly from this week.

The channel then showed footage of a protest in Idleb from three weeks ago and said that it took place on May 6th, apparently forgetting that this scene was displayed before or maybe just ignoring the fact and counting on the viewers’ short memory span or lack of attention to details.

Meanwhile the people of Idleb denied al-Jazeera’s claims of a protest in front of the Governorate building, denouncing the news broadcast by al-Jazeera and their use of lies to cause chaos and undermine Syria’s security and safety.

In a statement to SANA, Director of Awqaf (Endowments) in Idleb Mazen Lababidi said that the news ran by al-Jazeera is completely false and that the shown footage was of a number of youths after leaving al-Rawda Mosque near the Governorate on April 22nd, adding that people went to Friday prayers on May 6th and returned to their normal lives afterwards in a calm atmosphere.

The channel also showed images of “tens of thousands of protestors” allegedly taking place in the town of Nimr in Daraa… a town of less than 5,000 inhabitants. The images were used last week on the same channel.

In the ongoing saga of “eyewitnesses,” Mohammad Abazeid phoned the channel from Daraa and claimed that a large number of specific security bodies entered the city, detailing the personnel and the bodies, leaving one to wonder how he found out all this information while he claimed that he wasn’t allowed to leave his house.

As for Anas al-Shouri, an alleged eyewitness from Banyas who was promoted by the channel to the rank of the protest’s organizer, he said that there are more than ten thousand persons in the protest. The channel itself showed images of less than one thousand people allegedly in the protest that took place in Banyas.

The channel aired footage of people it claimed are protesters in Tel Kalakh area. The channel dubbed inconsistent voices with the aim of changing the slogans chanted in the gathering, while the news broadcaster repeated the slogans he claimed were chanted in that gathering.

Meanwhile, the al-Jazeera’s reporter in the Jordanian city of al-Ramtha talked as if he is indeed in Daraa despite his own claims that Daraa is blockaded and that communications are cut off.

When Dr. Bassam Abu Abdullah from Damascus spoke with the channel and started refuting the al-Jazeera claims, the two broadcasters tried repeatedly to move to other topics in an attempt to keep the channel’s role in the incitement hidden.

Najati Tayyara, who was promoted by the channel from a human rights activist to a researcher, narrated a science-fiction story about him hearing protests and hunfire noises in five separate places in Homs at the same time.

In al-Qamishli, Spokesman of the Kurdish Parties Gathering Mohammad Ismael disappointed France 24 channel when he told it that the slogans chanted by protesters in al-Qamishli are all patriotic, peaceful and democratic, adding that these slogans express true demands for reforms.

Ismael told the channel, despite the broadcaster’s attempts to manipulate his statements, that there were no arrests at all.

In the same context of fabrication, the BBC channel aired during the sunny afternoon of May 6th a number of photos of a nightly candle procession in an unknown location under the title “Protests in Syria Today.”

EUROPEAN UNION CONFIRMS DEMOCRATIC STATUS OF KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Between 28 of March and 6 April 2011 a European Union delegation from European Council on International Relations has realized the election monitoring for Kazakhstan presidential poll.

The monitoring mission was realized based on an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. Between 28 of February and 28 of March the Monitoring commission has under scrutiny the mass media law, the election law, the political laws and the Constitutional Law of Kazakhstan and had operated a surveillance of the measure taken by the Central Electoral Commission in order to insure a free and open election atmosphere.

Professor Dr. Anton Caragea , President of European Council on International Relations , declares : Kazakhstan elections where in compliance with European norms

The conclusion of the European Council on International Relations monitoring commission was that: the necessary steps in order to insure an honest and balanced electoral consultation respecting democratic standards were taken by Government of Kazakhstan. The European Union monitoring mission insured also the Election Day supervision, the supervision of counting and tabulation of elections results in a significant and representative number of sections and commissions.

The preliminary conclusion of the Kazakhstan monitoring mission was publicly presented on 4 April 2011 in a press conference at Ramada Hotel in Astana by Professor Dr. Anton Caragea, President of European Council on International Relations . The press conference included the presentation of Preliminary Monitoring Report for 3 April Presidential Elections and official presentation of data collected on election day and on tabulation phase, the conclusion being that the Monitoring Commission is endorsing the Kazakhstan elections as representing the free and democratically expressed voice of Kazakh people decision.

The European union report endorsing the free and fair character of Kazakhstan elections was presented on 4 April at 14:00 hour being fallowed at 16:00 by the Report of European Parliamentary Assembly endorsing also the democratic process of elections held in Kazakhstan and at 18:00 hours by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization report also supporting the elections result.

Finally Professor Dr. Anton Caragea held the honor of speaking on Security and Proximity Policy of European Union at Euro-Asian University. This honor was previously awarded to Hillary Clinton, George Bush jr.-United States President and Prince of Norway- Haakon and President Emil Constantinescu of Romania.

The meeting with students and professors of university had marked a two hours dialogue on European Union realities and mechanism bringing closer Central Asia and Europe.

The final report of monitoring mission of presidential election held in Kazakhstan was read in a double and concomitant ceremony in Bucharest and Brussels on 12 of April 2011.

Professor Dr. Anton Caragea , President of European Council on International Relations , presents the Final Monitoring Report on Kazakhstan Presidential Election on 12 April 2011 in a duplex Bucharest-Brussels .

In the presence of Diplomatic Corp and a huge audience , Professor Dr. Anton Caragea , President of European Council on International Relations has presented the Final Report of EU Monitoring Mission concluding that :

The Election Process was on all his duration and in all his faze in conformity with international standards , international accepted norms and Copenhagen Criteria and is recognizing the April 3 Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan as free , fair , open and in complying with democratic values and criteria’s.

Today democratic and prosperous Kazakhstan is building a new euro-asian relation. Once Kazakhstan had obtained the democratic credentials European Union is having a stabile and open partner in Central Asia. The involvement of European Council on International Relations in supporting democratic process in Kazakhstan is a new bridge that is uniting the two countries.

WORLD REPORT IN 2011 by Professor Anton Caragea

It is in human nature to search for answers regarding the shaping of the future. It is a natural impulse that today science is offering a response by such disciplines as futurology and political science. 2011 it is in many respects just a continuation of 2010 evolution in economy and foreign affairs and is creating the path for 2012 when new and decisive election will be held in United States, Russia and across the world.

Homeless in United States: a common faith for 10 million people.

The economic crisis will worsen.

A regular companion of world economy in the last 3 years was the economic crisis. The crisis that unlashed over United States in 2007 and soon consumed the all world. 2011 will be still a year of the crisis. United States fails to be the engine for recovery in economy is fighting a record public deficit of   over 14 trillion dollars, more than 47 million americans living below poverty line and consumer confidence hitting record low. In politics a time and resource consuming battle between democrats and republicans in Congress and a paralyzed presidency of a crippled Barrack Obama , all this show that United States are far away not only from any recovery chance,  but also for a stagnation that will be more favorable that the present day gloomy economic outlook.

European Union is also confronting severely battled economy .Public record deficits in Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal (famous PIGS of European economy) are hindering EU image as an economic powerhouse. France and Great Britain are far from being out of recession and Germany fantastic growth figures are regularly downgraded, making a shame of the famous German punctuality and honesty. Germany has long receded from being the leader and acumen of Europe to be the problem child of Europe economy. With record deficits, rampant inflation, record dropping life standards, Germany is looking set in becoming the next bailout candidate of Europe not the pillar of Europe recovery.

India and China also experienced a halt in their record growth figures and 2011 will see this figures rapidly diminished. China economy ,  is growing now only on internal market demand at the expense of here competitivity  . Growing salaries and improving life conditions in China are surely positive news for Chinese people, but this is reflecting in a 35% increase in Chinese products prices in 2010. These tendencies will continue in 2011 and will reduce Chinese goods appeal in the world market.   China and India are not in the position to drag alone the world economy out of the precipice.   The economic crisis is here to stay in the next five years.

Pressure on China .

The most interesting political game of 2011 will be the cat and mouse game that Washington is playing with Beijing. In 2010 Washington wanted China`s alignment on anti-Iran resolution in the Security Council. It was enough for United States to play the economic card, agitating measures such as nominating China as a currency manipulator and imposing unilateral economic sanctions for China to back down and to support the US sponsored resolution in United Nations Security Council. In late 2010 when United States decided on a show of force on China Sea, at the door step of China, it was enough to describe China as a menace for the Far East region and to support Japan military resurgence for China to back down. It was reportedly that the December military exercises held by South Korea and US in East China Sea have being proven so efficient that China was put on a defensive posture.

In 2011 China will face new decisions: a new anti-Iran resolution that is drafted by US and will be put before Security Council in the spring of 2011, clearing the way for a military action against Iran. If China joins this resolution, his stance in the third world as an alternative power to United States and an agent of multilateralism will fade away definitively. Also United States are decided to support South Korea pressure against  North Korea, pressure that will be efficiently only if China goes on board. In a word China is confronted  in 2011  with the same decision as in 2010: should it be content with the stature of a middle power, as Great Britain or France ,and take care of his regional agenda or maintaining a great power profile embarks himself in a confrontation policy with United States ? Regional politics or big player, this is the alternative that Beijing is had to make.

Iran: new sanctions.

In December 2010 after failed talks, Iran and P+5 decided on a last ditch attempt in January 2011 to lift up the dialogue in Istanbul on Iranian nuclear issue. The rift between the parties is clearer than ever: Iran hold us up to his right on peaceful nuclear development while United States is determined to see Iranian nuclear program dismantled. Under this conditions is not difficult to predict the failure of the talks. United States have  already drafted a resolution, clearly laying out the path for military action against Teheran. Last year Russia and China with Brazil and Turkey intercession, succeeded to amend the draft, excluding the key phrase of -by every dint necessary. This year Russia will not oppose this green light for military action , while China stance is yet unclear. The battle around this new United Nations resolution will be undoubtedly the main diplomatic event of 2011.

Putin and Medvedev: a love-hate relation ?

Russia: fight for power.

In Russia the power struggle between the make shift President, Dimitry Medvedev and his benefactor, omnipotent prime-minister Vladimir Putin, is taking epic  and opera type proportions. Until now the battle between President  and Prime Minister was held on the streets of Moscow ,where Kremlin backed supporters tacking  to the streets against the Prime Minister administration. This battle in the street was won by Medvedev, that obtain on grounds of police brutality against manifestant`s, the removal of Putin rock-stone allied, Yuri Rajkov, mayor of Moscow. With the battle for Moscow won, Medvedev started two more fronts: a public offensive against the corruption and inefficiency of Putin government and on the world stage a battle for a new Russia image. Inflaming the rage of Putin, Dimitry Medvedev launches his new vision on Lisbon Treaty backstage. A Russia led by Medvedev ,without the omnipresent Putin , will support US efforts in controlling Iran and China , will assure a steady supply of raw materials to US and Europe economy and will request only a regional influence. Medvedev went as far as asserting that Russia relations with Georgia could be massively improved.    As naturally US and Europe force pledge support for the democratic vision of President Medvedev in contrast with authoritarian past of Russia, a diplomatic phrase describing Vladimir Putin policies. Vladimir Putin opera style response: in Sankt Petersburg a giant show on Christmas with him as a super star, congratulated as the greatest man that ever lived by Alain Delon, Sharon Stone, Kurt Russell and Gerard Depardieu. The star of the show-Putin even made a public performance and sings on the piano. 40 millions Russian have watch the show live on television. Score 1-1 for Putin.  The battle for Russia will be another interesting event of 2011.

Israel: a new aggression?

For Tel Aviv 2011 is starting under negative auspices: a frozen relation with White House after the illegal settlements build on Palestinian soil continued controversy and Barrack Obama support for an independent Palestinian state. The Israel international isolation after Mavi Marmara attack in international waters and Turkeys movement to isolate the hebrew state and illegal Gaza blockade made even European Union to start swaying away from Israel position.  After all this failures Benyamin Netanyahu extreme right government has only one solution to galvanize public opinion on his side: a new conflict either by unleashing a new attack on Gaza or on Lebanon. In 2010 Israel violated daily Lebanon air space, sponsored spy infiltration rings in the Cedar country and created a strong pressure to further weaken the country. But anew attack on Lebanon risk to alienate even further the western supporters of Israel and the lessons of 2006 defeat of Israeli military at the hands of Hezbollah is not easy forgotten. In Gaza ,also Hamas has survived blockade and daily attack by Israel in 2010 and even grow in popularity and capitalized on the international humanitarian effort for the people of Gaza in 2010. Gaza is a more labile target; with light weaponry could not stand efficiently against Israel war machine. But a small military victory will compensate the political storm that such an attack will unleash? Benyamin Netanyahu seems to think that this wage worth tacking it.

Savage german police brutality images.

Europe: fight for democratic system.

Europe is having a lot of problems to sort off in 2011. The economic crisis that is engulfing the continent is already described. Another ugly head that is appearing on the continent is sectarian divisions. Nobody forgets the Switzerland vote in banning minarets, the France ban on Muslim scarf, the closing of hundreds of mosques in Europe in the last year and the vicious attack on Tony Blair sister in law that converted to Islam and was nearly to be killed by British extremists. These anti-minority events will repeat and inflammatory statements like Angela Merkel opinion that multiculturalism have failed will support this kind of attacks. Europe is having in this moment more than 40% of population living below poverty line of 500 euro’s per month , increase unemployment’s ,  social and cultural amenities incapable in supporting European population needs, a medical system in grip and a deficit of democracy. As states are finding difficult to cope with this problems an easy escape is the time old remedy of anti-immigration rhetoric.

After being championship of democracy in the last 50 years, European democratic system is starting to show his wrinkles.  Great Britain police resulted to argentine style suppression of mass student demonstration in December 2010 against tuition fees rise. In France against anti-pension reform demonstrators were halted by armed forces and in Germany government resorted to pointing out in a 30`s style the immigration and failed multiculturalism as the culprits behind economy collapsed. The fight for maintaining a viable and democratic system in Europe is a difficult one that 2011 will just be a step.

 

EUROPEAN UNION DELEGATION IN TURKMENISTAN

European Union delegation visit in Turkmenistan .

Between 10 and 15 of December 2010 a European Union delegation from the European Council on International Relations was paying an official visit in the Republic of Turkmenistan at the invitation of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The European Union attended the International Congress marking the 15-th anniversary of proclamation of Turkmenistan neutrality. On this occasion professor Dr. Anton Caragea, President of European Council on International Relations  and his delegation where received by Turkmenistan President that emphasized his desire for a closer relationship with European Union  . During the talks was re-issued the invitation for Turkmen President to pay an official to European Council on International Relations in 2011. The President of Turkmenistan accepted greatfully the invitation

Also on the side lines of the Conference prof.Dr.Anton Caragea, President of European Council on International Relations has discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey ,Ahmed Davutoglu  , Sergei Lebedev , Executive Chairman of Community of Independent States , Elmar Mamedyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan , Vladimir Norov , Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan and other personalities from Republic of Moldova , Belarus , OSCE, ECO and CIS etc.  On this occasion the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan addressed an official invitation for Professor Anton Caragea, President of European Council on International Relations to carry an official visit in Uzbekistan in 2011.

Professor Anton Caragea , President of European Council on International Relations and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan

The European Union delegation was received by Turkmen Parliament Presidency and hold talks at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Economy of Turkmenistan. The parties had agreed on intensifying the bilateral relation, the political relation being considered as excellent and was emphasized the need to foster economical cooperation dimension on bilateral relations. Also was decided to make efforts in balancing the economical trade deficit between European Union  and Turkmenistan by increasing imports of European Unions  goods by Turkmenistan. Also the parties had agreed to support the opening of Turkmenistan presentation stores in Paris , Berlin and Bucharest in 2011.

The European Union delegation also visited important cultural and economical institution from Turkmenistan as: Turkmen Academy, Ashgabat University, Archeological excavation site of Nyssa, Carpet National Museum, National Museum of History, and energy sector of Turkmenistan. On this occasion the Turkmen National Television filmed and broadcasted a documentary about the international activity of Professor Anton Caragea, President of European Council on International Relations and the significance of his visit in Turkmenistan.

The visit of European Union delegation in Turkmenistan was a resounding diplomatic success in fostering bilateral relations and in increasing the quality of European Union -Turkmenistan relationship bringing a plus of visibility and prestige to European Union diplomatic activity in Central Asia region.

ANDERS RASMUSSEN IS A LITTLE NAZI FUHRER SAY`S FIDEL CASTRO

NATO – A MILITARY MAFIA – SAY`S FIDEL CASTRO

Many people feel nauseous when they hear the name of that organization.
On Friday, November 19 in Lisbon, Portugal, the 28 members of that aggressive institution, engendered by the United States, decided to create something that they cynically call “the new NATO”.
NATO was born after WW II as an instrument of the Cold War unleashed by imperialism against the USSR, the country that paid for the victory over Nazism with tens of millions of lives and colossal destruction.
Against the USSR, the United States mobilized, along with a goodly portion of the European population, the far right and all the neo-fascist dregs of Europe, brimming with hatred and ready to gain the upper hand for the errors committed by the very leaders of the USSR after the death of Lenin.
With enormous sacrifice, the Soviet people were able to keep nuclear parity and to support the struggle for the national liberation of numerous peoples against the efforts of the European states to maintain the colonial system which had been imposed by force throughout the centuries; states that, in the post-war period, became allies of the Yankees who assumed command of the counter-revolution in the world.

In just 10 days –less than two weeks –world opinion has received three great and unforgettable lessons: G-20, APEC and NATO, in Seoul, Yokohama and Lisbon, in such a way that all honest persons who can read and write and whose minds haven’t been warped by the conditioned reflexes of the imperialist mass media machine, can have a true idea about the problems affecting humankind today.
In Lisbon, not one world was said that was capable of transmitting hope to billions of persons suffering from poverty, under-development, shortages of food, housing, health, education and jobs.
Quite the opposite: the vainglorious character who is the head of the NATO military mafia, Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared, in tones reminiscent of a little Nazi Fuhrer, that the “new strategic concept” was to “act anywhere in the world”.  Not in vain was the Turkish government about to veto his appointment when the Danish neo-liberal Fogh Rasmussen, as premier of Denmark, using the excuse of freedom of the press, defended, in April of 2009,  the authors of serious offences against the prophet Mohammed, a figure much respected by all Muslim faithful.
There are quite a few in the world who remember the close relations of cooperation between the Danish government and the Nazi “invaders” during WW II.
NATO, a bird of prey sitting in the lap of the Yankee empire, even endowed  with tactical nuclear weapons that could be up to many times more destructive that the one that obliterated the city of Hiroshima , has been committed by the United States in the genocidal Afghanistan war, something even more complex than the Kosovo exploit and the war against Serbia where they massacred the city of Belgrade and were about to suffer a disaster if the government of that country had held its ground, instead of trusting in the European justice institutions in The Hague.
The ignominious declaration from Lisbon, vaguely and abstractly states in one of its points:
“I support regional stability, democratic values, the security and integration of the Euro-Atlantic space in the Balkans.”
“The Kosovo mission is oriented towards a lesser and more flexible presence.”
Now?
Even Russia cannot forget it so easily: the actual fact is that when Yeltsin broke up the USSR, the United States moved NATO boundaries and its nuclear attack bases forward from Europe and Asia to the heart of Russia.
Those new military installations were also threatening the Peoples’ Republic of China and other Asian countries.
When that happened in 1991, hundreds of SS-19, SS-20 and other powerful Soviet weapons were able to reach, in a matter of minutes, the US and NATO military bases in Europe.  No NATO Secretary General would have dared to speak with the arrogance of Rasmussen.
The first agreement on nuclear weapons limitations was signed as early as May 26, 1972 between President Richard Nixon of the United States and Communist Party Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev of the USSR with the aim of limiting the number of antiballistic missiles (ABM Treaty) and to defend certain points against missiles having nuclear payloads.
Brezhnev and Carter signed new agreements in Vienna, known as SALT II in 1979, but the US Senate refused to ratify those agreements.
The new rearmament promoted by Reagan, with the Strategic Defence Initiative, ended the SALT agreements.
The Siberian gas pipeline had been blown up already by the CIA.
A new agreement, on the other hand, was signed in 1991 between Bush Sr. and Gorbachev, five months before the collapse of the USSR. When that happened, the socialist bloc no longer existed. The countries that the Red Army had liberated from Nazi occupation were not even able to maintain independence.  Right-wing governments that came to power moved over to NATO with weapons and baggage and fell into the hands of the US.  The GDR which, under the leadership of Erich Honecker had made a great effort, was unable to overcome the ideological and consumerist offensive launched from the same capital that had been occupied by the Western troops.
As the virtual master of the world, the United States increased its mercenary and warmongering policy.
Due to a well-manipulated process, the USSR fell apart.  The coup de grâce was dealt by Boris Yeltsin on December 8, 1991 when, in his capacity of president of the Russian federation, he declared that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist.  On the 25th of that same month and year, the red flag bearing the hammer and sickle was lowered from the Kremlin.
A third agreement about strategic weapons was then signed by George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin, on January 3, 1993, that prohibited the use of multiple-warhead Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (the IBMs). It was passed by the US Senate on January 26, 1993 with a margin of votes of 87 to 4.
Russia was the heir to USSR science and technology – which, in spite of the war and the enormous sacrifices, it was able to bring its power up to the level of the immense and wealthy Yankee empire – the victory over fascism, the traditions, the culture and the glories of the Russian people.
The war in Serbia, a Slavic country and people, had severely sunk its fangs into the security of the Russian people, something no government could allow itself to ignore.
The Russian Duma – outraged by the first Iraq war and the war in Kosovo where NATO had massacred the Serbian people – refused to ratify START II and didn’t sign that agreement until 2000 and in that case it was to try to save the ABM Treaty that the Yankees were not interested in keeping by that date.
The US tries to use its enormous media resources to maintain, dupe and confuse world public opinion.
The government of that country is going through a difficult phase as the result of its war exploits.  In the Afghanistan war, all the NATO countries, with no exception, are committed along with several others in the world, whose people find hateful and repugnant the carnage that rich industrialized countries such as Japan and Australia and others in the Third World are involved in to greater or lesser degrees.
What is the essence of the agreement approved in April of this year by the US and Russia?  Both parties commit to reduce the number of strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550. About the nuclear warheads in France, the United Kingdom and Israel, all capable of striking Russia, not one word is spoken.  About the tactical nuclear weapons, some of them much more powerful than the one that obliterated the city of Hiroshima, nothing. They do not mention the destructive and lethal capacity of numerous conventional weapons, the radio-electric and other systems of weapons to which the US dedicates its growing military budget, greater than those of all the other nations together.  Both governments are aware, and perhaps many of them that met there also, that a third world war would be the last war.  What kind of delusions can the NATO members be having?  What is the tranquility that humankind can derive from that meeting?  What benefit for the countries of the Third World, or even for the international economy, can we possibly hope for?

They cannot even offer the hope that the world economic crisis will be overcome, nor for how long that improvement would last.  The US total public debt, not only of the central government but of all the rest of the public and private institutions in that country, now totals a figure equal to the world GDP of 2009, totalling 58 trillion dollars. Have the persons meeting in Lisbon even wondered about where those fantastic resources would be coming from? Simply, about the economies of all the rest of the peoples of the world, to whom the US handed over pieces of paper transformed into currency that over the last 40 years, unilaterally, ceased to be backed by gold and now the value of that metal is 40 times as much. That country still has veto power in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.  Why didn’t they discuss that in Portugal?
The hope of pulling out US, NATO and their allies’ troops from Afghanistan is idyllic.  They will have to leave that country before they hand over the power to the Afghan resistance, in defeat. The self-same US allies are beginning to acknowledge now what could happen decades before the end of that war; would NATO be prepared to stay there all that time? Would the very citizens of each of the governments meeting there allow that?
Not to be forgotten that a vastly populated country, Pakistan, shares a border of colonial origin with Afghanistan, as well as quite a large percentage of its inhabitants.
I do not criticize Medvedev; he is very correctly trying to limit the number of nuclear warheads that are pointing at his country.  Barack Obama can make up absolutely no justification. It would be a joke to imagine that the colossal and costly deployment of the anti-nuclear missile shield is to protect Europe and Russia from Iranian rockets, coming from a country that doesn’t even own any tactical nuclear devices.  Not even a children’s comic book can make such a statement.
Obama already admitted that his promise to withdraw US soldiers from Afghanistan may be postponed, and the taxes for the richest contributors suspended right away.  After the Nobel Prize, we would have to award him with the prize for “the best snake charmer” that has ever existed.
Taking into consideration the G.W. Bush autobiography now on the best seller list and that some smart editor pulled together for him, why didn’t they give him the honour of being a guest in Lisbon?  Surely the far right, the “Tea Party” of Europe would be happy.

MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR 2010 SURPASS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN IMPORTANCE

Foreign dignitaries , academic corp. member , professors warmly greeted professor Anton Caragea , president of European Council on International relations and director of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania on the decision of awarding MAN OF THE YEAR title to President of Turkmenistan , H.E Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov . Professor Shirin Akiner from Cambridge University went as far as observing that MAN OF THE YEAR award has become this year more influential and less controversial than the Nobel Prize congratulating Romania for this decision.

Professor Shirin Akiner congratules prof.dr.Anton Caragea and Ambassador Shohrat Jumayev of Turkmenistan to Romania for MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

 

OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut,

Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), had arrived in Ashgabat to attend the OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. The head of the authoritative international organisations congratulated the Turkmen leader on receiving the diploma of the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and Professor Anton Caragea presence on the 15th anniversary of neutrality and the great success of the international forum dedicated to the national holiday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu, had arrived in Ashgabat to participate in the celebration of the 15th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan. Minister Ahmet Davutoglu congratulated the Turkmen leader on receiving the diploma of the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and Professor Anton Caragea presence and the great success of the international forum dedicated to the national holiday. In this regard, the distinguished guest said that Turkey was proud to be one of the first states in 1995 to support the adoption of the United Nations Resolution on the Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan, the constructive foreign policy strategy of which due to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s prudence stood today as a critical factor for peace and stability in the region.

Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee

Chairman of the Executive Committee, Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergei Lebedev, had arrived in Ashgabat to attend the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress and the celebrations in honour of the 15th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan, at the Ruhiyet Palace. Expressing gratitude for the heartfelt welcome extended in the Turkmen land, the guest congratulated the President on receiving the diploma of the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and Professor Anton Caragea presence and emphasized that he was glad to visit again Turkmenistan, which due to the Turkmen leader’s innovative, prudent policy had gained the reputation of being a dynamically developing country with the great future in the world arena. Another evidence for this was the high-level forum organized in Ashgabat, which had provided an open platform for an exchange of views on new approaches and forms of interstate cooperation, including issues of stability and security in Central Asia and all over the world.

ECO Secretary General

Mohammad Yahya Maroofi, Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), who had arrived in Ashgabat to attend the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress, at the Ruhiyet Palace. Expressing gratitude for the opportunity of a personal meeting, the distinguished guest heartily congratulated the leader of the Turkmen state and the Turkmen people the 15th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan. Mr Mohammed Yahya Maroufi emphasized that Turkmenistan’s open door policy and the Turkmen leader’s constructive initiatives on wide international cooperation had earned Turkmenistan the high international prestige. Another evidence for that was the presence of Professor Anton Caragea awarding the title of honour of “the Man of the Year” of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the presence of the Executive Committee of the Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania, said the ECO Secretary General.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov,

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, had arrived in the Turkmen capital to participate in the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress, at the Ruhiyet Palace. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan congratulated President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on receiving the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” awarded by the Executive Committee of the Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and Professor Dr. Anton Caragea presence at the meeting noting that this award vividly testified to worldwide recognition of the outstanding achievements of the Turkmen leader, the author of the foreign policy neutral Turkmenistan and the strategy for fundamental progressive reforms, which had won the country had the high international prestige by the community.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Republic ,

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov, who had arrived in Ashgabat to participate in the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress. The meeting took place in the Ruhiyet Palace, which had become the venue for the conference. The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister congratulated the Turkmen leader on receiving the prestigious title of “The Man of the Year” , of Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and Professor Anton Caragea presence. He said that Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania, one of the major research centres in Europe.

UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais,

Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development of the United Arab Emirates, who arrived in Ashgabat to attend the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress, in his residence at the Oguzkent Hotel. Emphasizing that the United Arab Emirates took great interest in large-scale progressive reforms launched in Turkmenistan on the initiative of the national leader and were sincerely proud in the achievements gained by Turkmen brothers, the guest congratulated President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on receiving the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” by the Executive Committee of the Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and on the presence of professor Anton Caragea on the event .

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary General ,

Muratbek Imanaliev, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), who had arrived in Ashgabat to participate in the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress and the celebrations to mark the 15th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan, at the Ruhiyet Palace. Greeting the leader of the Turkmen state, the distinguished guest congratulated Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the organisation of the high-level international forum in Ashgabat dedicated to the landmark date in the history of independent Turkmenistan as well as awarding the diploma of the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” to the Turkmen leader. The SCO Secretary-General noted that by pursuing the active, consistent peacekeeping policy, Turkmenistan demonstrated a responsible approach to international cooperation as illustrated by the Turkmen leader’s statement at the conference opening ceremony.

Organization of Islamic Conference

Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the Ruhiyet Palace, where the ceremony of opening the International Conference on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan: Cooperation for Peace, Security and Progress had taken place. The head of the largest international organisation congratulated President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the success of the statement at the International Conference, the high level of which was another bright evidence for the growing prestige and role of Turkmenistan in the world arena and the 15th anniversary of neutrality of Turkmenistan celebrated widely in the country. taking an opportunity, Mr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu congratulated the leader of the Turkmen state on receiving the title of honour of “The Man of the Year” warded by the Executive Committee of the Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania and emphasized that this event was a sign of wide recognition of an invaluable contribution made by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to strengthening peace, security and sustainable development.

 

A NEW ECONOMIC CRISIS WILL HIT THE WORLD ANNOUNCED FIDEL CASTRO

A Colossal Madhouse. This is what the G-20 meeting that started yesterday in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, has been turned into. Many readers, saturated with acronyms, may wonder: What is the G-20? This is one of the many miscreations concocted by the most powerful empire and its allies, who also created the G-7: the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada. Later on they decided to admit Russia in a club that was then called the G-8. Afterwards they condescended to admit 5 important emerging countries: China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Then the group membership increased after the inclusion of the member countries of the OECD –another acronym-, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Australia, the Republic of Korea and Turkey. The group was also joined by Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Indonesia, and they all summed up 19. The twentieth member of the G-20 was no other than the European Union. As from this year, 2010, one country, Spain, holds the peculiar category of “permanent guest.” Another important international high level meeting is taking place almost simultaneously in Japan: the APEC meeting. If patient readers bother to add to the former group the following countries: Malaysia, Brunei, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong,  Taiwan, Papua-New Guinea, Chile, Peru and Vietnam -all of them with a significant trade volume, with coasts washed by the Pacific Ocean waters- the result would be what is called the APEC: the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, and with that the entire jigsaw puzzle is completed. They would only need a map, but a laptop could perfectly provide that. At such international events crucial international economic and financial issues are discussed. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, with decision-making powers when it comes to financial matters, have their own master: the United States. It is important to remember that after the Second World War, the US industry and agriculture remained intact; those in Western Europe were totally destroyed, with the exceptions of Switzerland and Sweden. The USSR had been materially devastated and scored huge material losses that surpassed the figure of 25 million persons. Japan was defeated, in ruins and occupied. Around 80 per cent of the world’s gold reserves were sent to the United States. In a remote, though spacious and comfortable hotel at Bretton Woods, a small community of the US north eastern state of New Hampshire, the Monetary and Financial Conference of the recently created United Nations Organization was held from July 1st to 22 of 1944. The United States was granted the exceptional privilege of turning its paper money into an international hard currency pegged to a gold standard mechanism fixed at 35 US dollars per one Troy ounce of gold. Since the overwhelming majority of countries keep their foreign exchange reserves in the US banks -which is the same as granting a significant loan to the richest country in the world-, the gold pattern mechanism established at least a ceiling for the unrestricted issuance of paper money. This was at least some sort of guarantee on the value of the reserves that countries kept in US banks. Based on that enormous privilege -and for as long as the issuance of paper money was limited by the gold standard mechanism- that powerful country continued to increase its control over the planet’s wealth. The military adventures of the United States in alliance with the former colonial powers, particularly the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and the recently created West Germany, led that country into other military adventures and wars that plunged the monetary system established at Bretton Woods into a crisis. At the time of the genocidal war in Vietnam, a country against which the US was at the verge of using nuclear weapons, the US President took the shameless and unilateral decision of suspending the dollar’s gold pattern. Ever since then, there have been no limits to the issuance of paper money. That privilege was so much overused that the value of the Troy ounce of gold went from 35 dollars to figures way above 1 400 dollars, that is, no less than 40 times the value it kept for 27 years until 1971, when Richard Nixon took such nefarious decision. The worst thing about the present economic crisis that affects the American society today is that former anti-crisis measures applied at different moments in the history of the US imperialist capitalist system have not helped it now to resume its usual pace. The US is wracked by a national debt close to 14 billion dollars -that is, as much as the US GDP- and the fiscal deficit remains unchanged. The sky-rocketing banks bailout loans and interest rates almost equal to zero have hardly decreased unemployment to figures below 10 per cent. The number of households whose houses are being closed out have barely decreased either. Its gigantic defense budgets which are much higher than those of the rest of the world – and what is worse, those devoted to the war- have continued to grow. The US President, who was elected hardly two years ago by one of the traditional parties, has been dealt the biggest defeat ever remembered in the last three fourths of a century. Such a reaction is a combination of frustration and racism. The US economist and writer William K. Black wrote a memorable phrase: “The best way to rob a bank is to own one”. The most reactionary sectors in the United States are sharpening their teeth and have appropriated an idea that would be the antithesis of the one expressed by the Bolsheviks in October of 1917: “All power to the US extreme right.” Seemingly, the US government, with its traditional anti-crisis measures, resorted to another desperate decision: the Federal Reserve announced it would buy 600 billion US dollars before the G-20 meeting. On Wednesday November 10, one of the most important US news agencies reported that “President Obama had arrived in South Korea to attend meetings of the world’s top 20 economic powers.” “Tensions over currencies and trade gaps have simmered ahead of the summit following a decision by the U.S. to flood its sluggish economy with $600 billion in cash that has alarmed leaders around the globe. “Obama has defended the move by the U.S. Federal Reserve.” On November 11, the same agency reported to the world’s public opinion the following: “A strong sense of pessimism shrouded the start of an economic summit of rich and emerging economies Thursday […] with world leaders arriving in Seoul sharply divided over currency and trade policies. “Established in 1999 and raised to summit level two years ago, the G-20 has— encompassing rich nations such as Germany and the U.S. as well as emerging giants such as China and Brazil — has become the centerpiece of international efforts to revive the global economy and prevent future financial meltdowns…” “Failure in Seoul could have severe consequences. The risk is that countries would try to keep their currencies artificially low to give their exporters a competitive edge in global markets. That could lead to a destructive trade war. “Countries might throw up barriers to imports — a repeat of policies that worsened the Great Depression. There are countries, such as the United States, whose top priority would be “to get China to allow its currency rise” against other currencies that would allow for a reduction of the huge trading surplus of the Asian giant with Washington, since it will make Chinese exports to be more expensive and US imports cheaper. “There are those which irate over U.S. Federal Reserve plans to pump $600 billion of new money into the sluggish American economy”. They see this measure as a selfish move to fill markets with dollars, thus devaluing that currency and giving US exporters and unfair price edge. “The G-20 countries […] are finding little common ground on the most vexing problem: What to do about a global economy that depends on huge U.S. trade deficits with China, Germany and Japan?” “Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, warned that the world would go “bankrupt” if rich countries cut back on consumption and tried to export their way to prosperity.” “‘If the rich countries are not consuming and want to grow its economy on exports, the world goes bankrupt because there would be no one to buy. Everybody would like to sell…’” The summit started amid a rather pessimistic ambiance for Obama and the South Korean President Li Myung-bak, “whose negotiators failed to agree on a long-stalled free trade agreement that it was hoped could be reached this week.” “G-20 leaders gathered Thursday evening at Seoul’s grand National Museum of Korea for the dinner that marked the official start of the two-day event.” “Outside, a few thousand protesters rallied against the G-20 and the South Korean government.” Today, Friday 12, the summit concluded with a declaration that contained 20 items and 32 paragraphs. Presumably, the world is not made up only by the 32 countries that belong to the G-20 or only by those which belong to the APEC. The 187 nations that voted in favor of lifting the blockade against Cuba, as opposed to the two that voted against and the two that abstained, make a total of 192. For 160 of them there is no forum whatsoever where they could express a single word about the imperial plundering of their resources or about their urgent economic needs. In Seoul, the United Nations does not even exist. Won’t that honorable institution say a single word about it? In these days European news agencies have been publishing really tragic news about Haiti –where, in only minutes, an earthquake killed around 250 000 persons in January this year. According to reports, the Haitian authorities have warned about the speed with which the cholera epidemic is spreading throughout the city of Gonaives, in the northern part of the island. The Major of that coastal village, Pierreleus Saint-Justin, asserts he has personally buried 31 corpses on Tuesday, and expected to bury another 15. “Others could be dying as we speak”, he added. The report states that as from November 5, 70 corpses have been buried only in the urban area of Gonaives, but there are more people who have died in rural areas nearby the city. According to the report, the situation is becoming catastrophic in Gonaives. The floods caused by hurricane ‘Tomas’ could make the situation to be even worse.” Last Wednesday, the health authorities in Haiti fixed at 643 the number of victims who had died until November 8 in the entire country as a result of the epidemic. The number of persons infected with the cholera virus during the same period amounts to 9 971. Radio stations report that the figures to be released on Friday could include more than 700 deadly casualties. The government asserts now that the disease is taking a serious toll on the population of Port-au-Prince and is threatening the capital outskirts, where more than one million people have been living in tents since the earthquake on January 12. News are reporting today a figure of 796 deaths and a total of 12 303 persons infected. More than 3 million inhabitants are now threatened; many of them live in tents and among the rubble left by the earthquake, without potable water. The main US agency reported yesterday that the first part of the US Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti was already on the way now, more than seven months after being committed to help rebuilding the country devastated by the earthquake in January. Reportedly, in the next few days, the agency will transfer approximately 120 million dollars –around one tenth of the amount promised- to the Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti, managed by the World Bank, as was stated by P.J.Crowley, the State Department’s speaker. An assistant of the State Department stated that the money allocated to the Fund would be used to remove the rubble, build houses, grant credits, support and educational reform program to be implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank and support the Haitian government budget. Not a single word has been said about the cholera epidemics, a disease that for years affected many countries in South America and could spread throughout the Caribbean and other parts of our hemisphere.

Fidel Castro Ruz