NEWS ARCHIVE – August 2014
AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
East Africa: EAC to Harmonize Integration Through PPP
East African Business Week, Aug 31, 2014 – The East African and Central members states have being agreed to work together through Public Private Partnership (PPP) to revamp the regional infrastructure system in harmonizing regional integration to foster social and economic development in the region. …Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Dr Shaaban Mwinjaka said member states are ready to work together in collaboration with private sector in improving infrastructure system in the region such as roads, railways and airports.
“PPP (Public Private Partnership)” has become a common euphemism in the U.S and around the world for old-fashioned fascism, defined as an amalgam of big-business corporatism and big-government socialism. All of the world’s regional blocs are designed to be governed in this fashion.
GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL
Gulf monarchies say ready to help counter jihadists
Channel NewsAsia, Aug 31, 2014 – A GCC statement said Gulf monarchies are ready to act “against terrorist threats that face the region and the world”. The foreign ministers of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – the six GCC states – also pledged a readiness to fight “terrorist ideology which is contrary to Islam”.
EUROPEAN UNION:
Euroskeptic U.K. Lawmaker Defects to UKIP From Cameron’s Party
Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2014 – Mr. Carswell’s move is also an unexpected coup for UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who now has a chance to get the first elected UKIP lawmaker into Parliament even before the general election. The defection is also likely to fuel concerns among Conservatives that the small euroskeptic party, which wants the U.K. to leave the EU, could split the right-wing vote in 2015 and make it harder for Mr. Cameron to win a second term.
EUROPEAN UNION, EURASIAN UNION & UKRAINE:
From Minsk to Wales, Germany is the key
RT (Russia), Aug 28, 2014 – Merkel talked about “decentralization” of Ukraine, a definitive deal on gas prices, Ukraine-Russia trade, and even hinted Ukraine is free to join the Russia-promoted Eurasian Union (the EU would never make a “huge conflict” out of it)…. The short translation for all this is there won’t be a Nulandistan (after neo-con Victoria ‘F**k the EU’ Nuland), remote-controlled by Washington, and fully financed by the EU.
ASEAN:
House reso seeks single visa to ASEAN-member countries
GMA News (Philippines), Aug 27, 2014 – A resolution has been filed at the House of Representatives seeking to establish a single-visa scheme that would allow Filipinos to enter any of the 10 ASEAN-member countries. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, co-author of House Resolution 1313, said their proposed scheme is similar to Europe’s unified visa system allowing non-ASEAN nationals to enter the Asian countries using a single visa, saving them time and resources in securing travel documents for each country of destination.
GCC & THE CREATED ‘ISIS CRISIS’
A Necessary Response to ISIS
New York Times, Aug 24, 2014 – ISIS has received financing from donors in Kuwait and Qatar. Saudi Arabia funneled weapons to Syrian rebels and didn’t care if they went to ISIS. Turkey allowed ISIS fighters and weapons to flow across porous borders. All of that has to stop. Creating a regional military force may be required, including assistance from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Turkey.
Donors in GCC countries weren’t the only ones who didn’t care if their support went to those tied to ISIS. See John McCain’s track record in Libya and Syria.McCain with, to his left, General Salim Idiris
EUROPEAN UNION & ‘SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE’
We must vote Yes to protect pensions
Glasgow Evening Times-Aug 22, 2014 – “With the Westminster parties dancing to Ukip’s anti-European tune, Scotland faces the very real prospect of being ripped out of the EU against our will in the event of a No vote. “With independence we will finally be able to take our place around the European top table, building on our positive relationships with our European partners and ensuring we get the best possible deal for Scotland.”
The movement for Scottish “independence” from Britain is an end-around, “divide and conquer” strategy against the growing sentiment in the UK to separate from the European Union. “Independence” from Britain will only bring Scottish dependence on the EU, while eroding British sovereignty and resistance to EU dominance.
ASEAN:
Japan may sell weapons to ASEAN countries to contain China
China Times (Taiwan), Aug 19, 2014 – Japan is reportedly considering selling arms to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in response to China’s growing influence in the region and aggressiveness in asserting maritime claims.
EUROPEAN UNION:
EU to help farmers hit by Russian import ban
Deutsche Welle (Germany), Aug 18, 2014 – The European Union would pay fruit and vegetable farmers 125 million euros ($167.3 milllion) to help soften the impact of Russia’s embargo on most Western foods, the European Commission said Monday.
European Union To Assist Vegetables Farmers With $168m – Spy Ghana, Aug 18, 2014 – Moscow imposed the ban on EU agricultural products in response to EU economic sanctions targeting Russian banks and the defence and energy sectors.
EURASIAN UNION:
Customs Union to benefit from Russia’s food import ban
ITAR-TASS (Russia), Aug 18, 2014 – Belarus and Kazakhstan, which have created the Customs Union together with Russia, will benefit from Moscow’s food import ban, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Monday. “Our colleagues in the Customs Union can benefit from this situation as they will process a part of the products which we previously received directly,” he said….
NORTH AMERICA:
Document: Army Preparing to Use Lethal Force Against ‘Unarmed Civilians’ During ‘Full Scale Riots’ in U.S.
Infowars.com, Aug 18, 2014 – A document released by the U.S. Army details preparations for “full scale riots” within the United States during which troops may be forced to engage in a “lethal response” to deal with unruly crowds of demonstrators. The appearance of the document amidst growing unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, with the National Guard now being called in to deal with the disorder, is an ominous coincidence. The 132-page document, titled U.S. Army Techniques Publication 3-39.33: Civil Disturbances (PDF), was written in April 2014 and recently obtained by Public Intelligence. The document makes it clear that the techniques detailed therein are to be applied both outside and inside the “continental United States (CONUS)” in the event of “unruly and violent crowds” where it is “necessary to quell riots and restore public order.”
….The most shocking aspect of the document is the fact that it describes the deployment of a “lethal response” directed against “unarmed civilians,” including “sniper response” and “small arms direct fire.” Under the heading “sniper response,” the document states, “Ensure that target leaders or troublemakers are targeted,” in addition to a passage which states, “Exploit the psychological effect of an attack.”
GCC, ARAB LEAGUE & the ‘ISIS CRISIS’
ISIS: The new Red Line
Al Arabiya (Dubai, UAE), Aug 16, 2014 – We are witnessing a unique situation…. ISIS has become the reason behind the gathering of opponents. Most of the Iraqi forces, whether Shiite, Sunni or Kurdish, agreed to reconcile because they are all afraid of ISIS…. Likewise, Iran has abandoned al-Maliki and Saudi Arabia accepted his substitute Haider al-Abadi. What an extraordinary story!
EUROPEAN UNION:
EU exit could force Wall Street banks to desert Britain
Telegraph (UK), Aug 18, 2014 – Wall Street banks could desert Britain if the country decides to leave the European Union, senior figures in the industry have reportedly said. Some foreign banks are reportedly already drawing up plans to move activities abroad amid concerns that the UK is drifting further away from the EU.
AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
EAC meets on joint defence
East African Business Week, Aug 17, 2014 – Addressing the delegates, the EAC [East African Community] Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, Charles Njoroge recounted the previous decisions and attempts to establish an EAC Peace and Security Council. He invited delegates to come up with a workable and practical proposal that mirrors the commitment to regional security, taking into account the need to accommodate the need for broader coordinated and approximated continental infrastructure.
AU – SADC: Mugabe to head African blocs in endorsement of election victory
Set take over the rotating chairmanship of SADC and African Union.
Moneywatch (South Africa), August 17, 2014 – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is set to win an endorsement of his fellow African leaders to head two regional bodies, an affirmation of his victory in last year’s disputed elections. Mugabe, 90, will take over the rotating chairmanship of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community today from Malawian leader Peter Mutharika at the start of a two-day leaders’ summit in the Zimbabwean resort town of Victoria Falls. He is also in line to lead the 54-nation African Union from 2015.
NORTH AMERICA:
Rick Perry: National Guard protecting U.S., not playing politics
Your Houston News | Associated Press, Aug 14, 2014 – Perry noted that crime committed by people in the U.S. illegally had affected not only Texas, but Iowa, South Carolina and North Carolina, all of which he’s visited recently and two of which hold early presidential voting contests….
The National Guard will not have arrest powers and will mostly just observe, referring anyone crossing the border illegally to federal authorities.
By withholding arrest or deportation power, but only referring illegal aliens to a federal bureaucracy that has blatantly displayed its intent with its derelict border policy, Governor Rick Perry’s deployment of the Texas National Guard to the Mexican border is indeed a mere political maneuver that does nothing to resist the globalists’ North American Union objective. Any effective border enforcement would not please the secretive, globalist Bilderberg group that Perry attended in Turkey in 2007. Perry acknowledges Bilderberg meeting – YouTube audio
GCC:
GCC joint security, foreign policy deal implemented in week – Al-Zayani
MENAFN | Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)), Aug 14, 2014 – Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council have issued instructions to complete formalities related to the Riyadh Document, over common security and foreign policy, in no less than a week, Secretary General Abdullateef Al-Zayani said on Wednesday.
EU, GCC:
EU consults Gulf countries on Iraq
MENAFN, Aug 14, 2014 – A senior EU diplomat met the ambassador of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Brussels, Amal Al Hamad, today to exchange views on the situation in Iraq and Gaza. “We want to get a sense of how they relate to the Islamic State (IS) both in terms of funding and terms of threat they see from the IS to the Gulf countries itself,” said the sources.
ASEAN & REGIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
DSI to strengthen Asean ties
Hopes to share data, train up staff abroad
Bangkok Post, Aug 14, The plan is part of the DSI’s [Department of Special Investigation] attempts to strengthen law enforcement cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to fight international crime, deputy director-general of the DSI Pol Col Paisit Wongmuang said…. With the launch of the Asean Community next year, one of the problems countries could face is the ease in which workers can move around the community, Pol Col Paisit said.
UNASUR:
UNASUR Representatives Recall Fidel Castro’s Birthday
Participants at the First Forum on Citizen Participation in the Integration of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, recalled today the birthday of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro. At the suggestion of Bolivian President Evo Morales, who chairs the forum, participants sang “Happy Birthday” to former Cuban president. ….”In my opinion, Fidel is like a father to all our peoples,” Morales said.
‘ISIS CRISIS’: EMPOWERING THE ARAB LEAGUE & GCC
Arab and Gulf Countries Must Take the Lead
New York Times, Aug 8, 2014 – Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council countries should take the lead and provide humanitarian and military aid in the form of air power and ground troops to defeat and uproot ISIS, as it is already a coming attraction for Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
Regional cooperation could be ray of hope for Israelis – HAARETZ (Israel), Aug 10, 2014 – There are now powerful common interests between Israel and Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and parts of the Maghreb. None of these states are capable of containing the danger of radical Islam on their own. The security of the whole region depends on pooling resources of intelligence, counterterrorist organizations and armies to fight the forces that are threatening to push the Middle East into chaos. This has led influential Saudi columnist Mohammed al-Sheikh to call for peace with Israel (“Peace with Israel is the solution,” Al Arabiya, in Arabic). For most Israelis, this may sound like science fiction. But the Arab League’s peace initiative has been on the table since 2002….
EURASIAN UNION:
Putin and Sargsyan discuss prospects of Armenia’s joining EAEC
Trend (Azerbaijan), Aug 9, 2014 – Presidents of Russia and Armenia Vladimir Putin and Serzh Sargsyan at the meeting in Sochi discussed prospects of Armenia’s joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEC), the situation in Ukraine and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, RIA Novosti reported.
ASEAN:
China Rejects Push at Asean to Curb South China Sea Activity
Bloomberg, August 9, 2014 – China won’t budge from its stance on defense and maritime rights, Wang said in a statement after meeting with counterparts from Asean…. The Asean Regional Forum includes the 10 Southeast Asian nations plus about two dozen other countries including the U.S., China, Japan, both North and South Korea, Australia and Canada.
AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
East African Pension Funds to Be Integrated
Tanzania Daily News, Aug 8, 2014 – At the inaugural meeting, Dr Enos Bukuku, the East African Community’s Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure ….stated that the path for integration of the financial sector was clearly defined with the signing and coming into force of the EAC Common Market Protocol (2010), as well as the EAC Monetary Union Protocol (2013). The Deputy Secretary General urged the Pension Supervisors’ Forum to…move towards providing its services without hindering the mobility of citizens across Partner States.
UNASUR:
Meaningless Multilateralism
Foreign Affairs (Council on Foreign Relations), Aug 8, 2014 – Brazil sponsored the creation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in 2008 and, with Mexico, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in 2011, with the stated goal of promoting regional solidarity and independence…. But these organizations did not follow the example set by other multilateral arrangements — whether economic (North American Free Trade Agreement), security-focused (NATO), or diplomatic (United Nations) — of requiring member states to subordinate some aspect of national sovereignty.
Hugo Chávez – Revolutionary Internationalist – Venezuelanalysis, Aug 4, 2014 – Everybody likes a nice literacy programme, but why oh why did Chávez have to go and align himself with brutal dictatorships…. Such a sentiment could be found in more than a few Chávez obituaries emanating from the western left…. The Nicaraguan anti-imperialist analysts Jorge Capelán and Toni Solo write that “in Latin America, it is impossible to engage in the construction of socialist and anti-capitalist alternatives without at the same time struggling to integrate the region politically, economically and even culturally…. This is so because the colonial and imperial powers needed to split the region up into small countries in order to exploit its resources and labour.”…. This project has been pursued through the creation of various organisations of regional integration – in particular ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America), CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and UNASUR (Union of South American Nations).
SAARC:
Nepal seeks to host Saarc Bank HQ
Kantipur (Nepal), Aug 6, 2014 – Nepal has expressed its desire to host the headquarters of the Saarc Bank proposed by India during the eighth meeting of the South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta) Ministerial Council held on July 23-24 in Thimphu.
Regional grouping: Visa-on-arrival facility proposed for SAARC
Express Tribune (Pakistan), Aug 6, 2014 – “Free movement of business persons in the region is crucial and multiple-entry visa policy must be adopted on a reciprocal basis,” Saarc CCI Pakistan delegation leader Iftikhar Ali Malik said as he addressed the concluding session of a special meeting of SCCI. He said that in prevailing global economic scenario, India and Pakistan, the two most powerful members of Saarc, should enter a suitable trade regime.
GCC:
GCC mulls free movement for expat jobseekers
Emirates 24/7, Aug 6, 2014 – Gulf hydrocarbon producers are considering allowing their large expatriate community to move freely and work in any member state…. More than 20 million expatriates, mostly Asians, live in the GCC states—the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
EUROPEAN UNION:
Vladimir Putin is the EU’s ‘recruiting sergeant’, says Boris Johnson
The Telegraph (UK), Aug 4, 2014 – Russia’s increasingly aggressive actions on the borders of eastern Europe are acting as a “recruiting-sergeant for Brussels”, said Boris Johnson. Writing in the The Telegraph, Mr Johnson said that Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in Ukraine were helping to bind countries like Poland more tightly into the European Union.
EURASIAN UNION:
Eurasian Economic Union plans to adopt common currency unit
ITAR-TASS (Russia), Aug 3, 2014 – Processes of financial integration within the Eurasian Economic Union “are especially important now that the European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions against Russia’s financial sector – Sberbank, VTB, VEB, Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank,” the Rossiiskaya Gazeta notes…. The Union is to supersede the Common Economic Space of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on January 1, 2015. Two more countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, have announced their plans to join the Union.
AFRICAN UNION & BRICS:
A shot in the arm for African finance
Ecns.cn | China Daily, Aug 4, 2014 – No lesser a commentator than Jim O’Neill – the former chairman of investments at Goldman Sachs, who is credited with coining the acronym “BRIC” in the first place – has disputed the worthiness of South Africa as a BRICS member…. It is no coincidence that the rollout of the new BRICS bank came barely a month after the African Union endorsed a plan for the establishment of the African Monetary Fund.
SAARC
SAARC to fast-track development of regional bank: Nepal
Jagran Post (India), Aug 4, 2014 – South Asian countries, including India and Nepal, would fast-track the process of setting up of the SAARC Development Bank to garner funds for development of infrastructure in the region. The decision regarding the bank comes close on the heels of BRICS leaders formalising the framework for the BRICS Development Bank.
PIF
Thorny challenges for Pacific’s regional ‘pooling of sovereignty’ option
Scoop (New Zealand), Aug 4, 2014 – Representatives of Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member countries gathered in Palau last week with an oceanic task on their hands: to revitalise their region’s premier political organisation…. The solution, according to the review team led by a former prime minister of Papua New Guinea Prime, Sir Mekere Morauta, is for the region to engage in some “pooling of sovereignty”, but not full integration.
AFRICAN UNION:
African Union chief heads to US for summit
World Bulletin (Turkey), August 2, 2014 – Leaders of 50 African nations along with representatives from various civil society organizations and U.S. authorities will take part in the summit, slated for August 4-6…. “It is expected that these discussions and other side engagements will further strengthen the cooperation between Africa and the U.S. at the continental level, building upon the existing strong bilateral and regional cooperation,” the African body said in a press release.