How Is This Not World Government Already?

There will be no date, no particular point in history where you can say, “On this date, the New World Order was ushered in.” To a very large extent, we’re already in it. We’ve been in it for a long, long time. What they’re really doing is just building the walls a little bit at a time with the passage of each day, and we’re in it. We will never be able to say, “Gee, it started on this date.” If there was to be a date that historians might want to put on the arrival of this monster, I suppose it would be the date on which all of the nations of the world surrendered control over their money and over their military, because those are the two legs on which national sovereignty stands. If you’ve got a strong military and a strong money system, you’re a sovereign nation. If you don’t have those things, you’re nothing. You’re just a territory that is controlled by someone who does have strong money or a strong military. So we’re very close to the surrender of our money right now. I suppose that would be a date that historians might choose for the crossover point. - G. Edward Griffin, Restore the Republic's Reality Report, May 17, 2009

Obama Sees 'Win-Win' Relationship with India

November 6, 2010

Associated Press – President Barack Obama announced a host of new trade deals with India supporting tens of thousands of U.S. jobs Saturday as he began a 10-day trip through Asia on a determinedly domestic note.

Intent on demonstrating his attention to the sluggish U.S. economy even while overseas, Obama also told a meeting of U.S. and Indian executives that the U.S. would relax some export regulations that have complicated trade between America and this fast-growing country of 1.2 billion people.

"As we look to India today, the United States sees the opportunity to sell our exports in one of the fastest growing markets in the world. For America, this is a jobs strategy," the president said in a speech to the U.S.-India Business Council.

The remarks also were aimed at U.S. voters who punished Democrats in the midterm elections in part over continued high unemployment.

Obama said it should be a "win-win" relationship with India, but in a nod to U.S. sensibilities he also acknowledged concerns in the U.S. about outsourcing.

"There still exists a caricature of India as a land of call centers," the president said.

He said people in India also are concerned about the impact of U.S. goods coming into their country, but contended that growing trade could only benefit both sides in the long run. He said he sees huge untapped potential in the relationship, noting that India doesn't even rank among America's top 10 trading partners.

"There is no reason this nation can't be one of our top trading partners," the president said.

To that end he said the U.S. would seek to reform export controls that resulted from past administrations' concerns about India's nuclear industry. The changes, which have been much sought-after in the business community, include relaxing controls on India's purchase of so-called "dual use" technologies that could be used for civilian or military purposes, and removing a few of the last remaining Indian companies on a so-called "entities list" of groups that face restrictions on doing business in the U.S.

The commercial deals he announced include the purchase of 33 737s from Boeing by India's SpiceJet Airlines; the Indian military's plans to buy aircraft engines from General Electric; and preliminary agreement between Boeing and the Indian Air Force on the purchase of 10 C17s.

For the most part, the deals were already pending, but the White House contends Obama's visit to India helped finalize them. Officials said the deals would support 53,670 U.S. jobs, but it was not clear how many, if any, new jobs would be created as a result.

Obama addressed the business leaders shortly after arriving in Mumbai, where his first stop was at the Taj Mahal hotel to commemorate the 2008 terror attacks that killed 166 people across the city. The president said he intended to send a signal by making Mumbai the first stop of the trip and by staying at the Taj, which was a target during the terror siege.

"The United States and India stand united," he said.

"We'll never forget.

But illustrating the difficulties of the U.S.-India relationship, Indian commentators quickly seized on the president's failure to mention Pakistan. Pakistan was the home of the 10 assailants, the place where they trained and the base they used to launch the attack.

Pakistan is also India's archrival — but a linchpin for Washington and its allies in the war in Afghanistan.

After his remarks on the terror attacks, Obama visited a museum in a home where Mohandas Gandhi once lived.

The president is aware of sometimes being perceived as antibusiness in corporate America, and said after the elections that he wanted to change that perception. Much of Obama's day Saturday appeared geared toward that goal.

Before speaking to business leaders, he met separately with some of them, letting reporters look on as he tied his mission to U.S. job creation and proclaimed the importance of working with fast-growing economies.

The White House also arranged for four American chief executives who are in India for the occasion to brief reporters traveling with the president. They talked up the importance of India as a trading partner and praised Obama's decision to come to the country to underscore that point in person.

Obama was spending three days in India, his longest stretch yet in one country, a point U.S. officials have been careful to emphasize as they play up the administration's interest in nurturing the relationship. On Sunday he heads to New Delhi, the capital, where he will address the parliament.

After India, Obama is scheduled to travel to Indonesia, where he lived for four years as a youth. From there he goes to South Korea for a meeting of the Group of 20 developed and developing nations and then to Japan for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, before returning to Washington on Nov. 14, a day before the start of Congress' lame-duck session.

Obama Heads to Asia after Rebuke by Voters

November 4, 2010

Associated Press – Rebuked by voters, President Barack Obama is turning overseas, heading to Asia for 10 days of diplomacy, tourism and dealmaking that could boost the battered chief executive and highlight his political skills on the world stage.

Obama risks criticism he's fleeing the Democrats' midterm election wreckage for friendlier territory as sets out Friday on the longest foreign trip of his presidency, a sojourn through India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan aimed at highlighting America's increasing engagement with Asia.

The trip is anchored by must-attend gatherings of world leaders in South Korea and Japan, timing unconnected to Tuesday's midterm elections. The abbreviated stop in Indonesia, where Obama spent four years as a boy, was already canceled and rescheduled twice.

In India, the White House is intent on showcasing its commitment to the world's largest democracy, and U.S. economic engagement with a huge and growing trading partner. The administration also views strengthened ties with India and other Asian democracies as a counterbalance to China's rising power.

The trip aims to "open up markets so that we can sell in Asia, in some of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and we can create jobs here in the United States," Obama said Thursday. "And my hope is, is that we've got some specific announcements that show the connection between what we're doing overseas and what happens here at home when it comes to job growth and economic growth."

But this week's Democratic bloodletting is sure to dog Obama to the other side of the globe as he readies for encounters with growing powers certain to be keenly aware of dealing with a newly weakened president backed by a divided Congress, its repercussions uncertain.

White House officials acknowledge Obama will have to spend some time overseas reassuring U.S. trading partners about the political changes in the U.S., but downplay any impact of the election on the president's overseas agenda.

"Regardless of the election results, the president is committed throughout this whole trip ... to doing what is right for expanding U.S. exports and creating jobs here at home," said Mike Froman, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs.

Beyond seeking out economic benefit for the U.S., advisers are emphasizing Obama's decision to visit four vibrant and growing democracies, an itinerary meant to reinforce support for democratic values at a time when the U.S. commitment to human rights worldwide has sometimes come into question. The president returns to the U.S. Nov. 14, a day ahead of an important and likely tense lame-duck congressional session where he'll have to search for compromise with emboldened Republicans on extending Bush-era tax cuts, among other issues.

The president, whose popularity overseas has mostly held steady even as it's waned at home, is making a point to engage with the populace along the way. He's meeting with schoolchildren and holding a town hall for college students in India and speaking to a large, open crowd in Indonesia, where the president lived with his mother and Indonesian stepfather between ages 6 and 10.

Previously scheduled visits to Indonesia were canceled twice for domestic reasons, first because of final negotiations on the health care bill and then because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This time Obama will spend less than 24 hours in the country and won't be visiting any old friends or childhood haunts; the White House says there's no time for that.

The president, who will be accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama for the first part of the trip, is squeezing in some sightseeing, including a visit to the enormous Istiqlal Mosque in Indonesia, the Great Buddha statue in Japan and the Gandhi museum in Mumbai. He opted against visiting the famed Golden Temple Sikh holy site in India, though White House officials denied rumors that it was because he would have had to wear a head covering that could have stirred false speculation that he's a Muslim.

Although Obama visited Asia last year, this will be his first trip to India, a country of 1.2 billion people where U.S. officials see infinite economic potential. The president is spending three days there, dividing his time between Mumbai and the capital of New Delhi. It's the longest single stretch he's spent in any foreign country, a point U.S. officials are careful to emphasize.

He'll meet with U.S. and Indian business leaders, including the chief executive of Boeing, and announcements on deals including possible purchases of Boeing aircraft by India are expected. The U.S. also will be pushing for more favorable terms for U.S. exports.

U.S. economic concerns also are front-and-center at a summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Seoul, followed by a meeting in Yokohama, Japan, of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Obama hopes to be able to announce concrete progress on a Korea free trade agreement, which has long been stalled in Congress primarily because of opposition from Democratic lawmakers over barriers to sales of U.S. autos in Korea, among other things. A more heavily Republican Congress could be more amenable to the deal.

Also high on the agenda is controversy over how China values its currency, with many in the U.S. contending it's artificially low to keep Chinese exports cheap. Obama will meet at the G-20 with Chinese President Hu Jintao, but officials say they don't expect the currency issue to be resolved.

France Announces $22.8B in Deals with China

November 4, 2010

Associated Press – France announced euro16 billion ($22.8 billion) in deals Thursday to sell uranium, technology and more than 100 Airbus planes to China, and the two countries also agreed to a sweeping strategic partnership on nuclear power.

Chinese President Hu Jintao's three-day state visit to France opened with a red carpet welcome, Chinese flags flying on the streets of Paris and dinner at the Elysee Palace — as well as a flurry of deals that made clear how much the countries' ties have improved.

It was a turnaround from the tense relations of two years ago, when French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics out of anger about China's treatment of Tibet.

That stance brought fears that France could lose big business in China, and Sarkozy's tone has changed. To the distress of human rights groups, Sarkozy's advisers say he is avoiding confrontation and going for convergence.

Sarkozy said the two countries decided on "strategic cooperation without limits" on nuclear energy, from constructing plants to recycling fuel.

The deal expands on 30 years of nuclear cooperation between China and France, which gets about three-quarters of its electricity from nuclear power and has deep knowledge of the field.

Sarkozy and Hu looked on as business leaders signed contract after contract. The Airbus deal alone — which will see airlines including Air China, China Eastern and China Southern buy 102 of the European consortium's A320, A330 and A350 models — is worth around $14 billion.

France's Areva nuclear engineering firm said it would sell China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. 20,000 tons of uranium over a decade. The contract is worth around $3.5 billion dollars.

Cooperation is cultural as well: Paris' Louvre Museum and Beijing's Forbidden City agreed to work together on temporary exhibits and to share conservation and restoration techniques.

References to human rights have been subtle during the visit.

In a toast at a dinner table covered with gold ornaments and Champagne glasses, Sarkozy praised China's staggering recent development, adding:

"The world is confidently waiting for (China) to take on all the responsibilities that accompany its rediscovered power."

Sarkozy believes China's support is essential as France takes the leadership of the Group of 20 major global economies starting Nov. 12. Sarkozy has ambitious goals, saying France will push for reform of the international monetary system and mechanisms to limit swings in commodity prices.

Sarkozy and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy greeted Hu at the airport on his arrival, an honor the French president rarely grants visitors. Their motorcade rolled down the famous Champs-Elysees avenue, where French and Chinese flags flew from lampposts.

At the presidential palace, guards in silver helmets and on horseback awaited Hu as he arrived.

Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders released doves from cages to press for the liberation of jailed Chinese dissidents. At another demonstration to support Tibet, the Uighur minority and the banned Falun Gong spiritual group, one demonstrator held a sign reading "Welcome, dictator."

Many observers have complained that Sarkozy said nothing last month when jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize. Sarkozy's office says he will discuss all subjects "without taboos" during the visit.

Asked about human rights, China's Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying told French reporters:

"We don't criticize your political system, it's up to you to improve it. Our regime has its own problems. We're not perfect. That's why we are going forward with reform."

On Friday, the two leaders head to the French Riviera city of Nice for more talks and dinner at a cozy Provencal restaurant. Hu departs Saturday for Portugal.

Sarkozy has often flip-flopped on China. Despite his boycott threat, he did back down and attend the Olympic opening ceremony.

Sarkozy again angered China by meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in Poland in late 2008. After that the two countries' high-level contacts were frozen, and France was snubbed during major Chinese purchasing and investment missions to Europe.

The two countries reconciled with a fence-mending agreement last year. Sarkozy's conservative UMP party even signed a cooperation agreement with China's ruling Communist Party — a move that raised eyebrows in France.