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From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: Global Governance book review (fwd)
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The propaganda machine never quits;
it keeps churning while we sleep.
/s/ Paul Mitchell
http://www.supremelaw.com
>Our Global Neighborhood
>
> The Report of The Commission on Global Governance
>
>Oxford University Press
>
>In one way, this article is a book review. On a deeper level, it is an
>exposure of a force that is rapidly decreasing the ability of any nation to
>remain independent and make its own decisions about how it will be governed.
>For many years, the phrase "New World Order" has brought
>fear to the hearts of many and derisive snickers from the mouths of those
>who disbelieved its existence. The forces behind global
>government press inexorably forward, ignoring the hype and hysteria
>surrounding world government fears. It is my desire to show that the
>"new world order" is real, and is advancing to take away many freedoms that
>I generally believe are granted by God, our Creator.
>
>In 1991, a meeting took place in Sweden, called "Common Responsibility in
>the 1990s: The Stockholm Initiative on Global Security and
>Governance." As a result of this meeting, with the endorsement of the United
>Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a
>commission was formed to study the concepts of Global Governance.
>
>The United States had two representatives to the Commission. One, Adele
>Simmons, is president of the John D. and Catherine T.
>MacArthur Foundation in Chicago and is an elected member of the Council on
>Foreign Relations (CFR). From 1977 to 1989, she was
>President of Hampshire College in Massachusetts.
>
>The other US representative to the Commission, Barber Conable, was president
>of the World Bank from 1986 to 1991. At the time the
>report was published, he was Chairman of the Committee on US-China
>Relations, and a member of the Senior Advisory Committee of the
>Global Environment Facility (GEF). He has served as a member of the U.S.
>House of Representatives on various committees, and is currently
>the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents of the
>Smithsonian Institution and a Trustee Fellow and Executive
>Committee member of Cornell University.
>
>The report generated by this Commission, Our Global Neighborhood, is a
>carefully-crafted deception. In the Co-Chairmen's Foreword, the
>co- chairmen make the following statement: "As this report makes clear,
>global governance is not global government."
>
>Now, let us first settle on a simple definition of government. For my
>purposes in this article, I will take a definition of government from
>Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary:
>
> Government: the continuous exercise of authority over and the
>performance of functions for a political unit.
>
>Simply stated, let's say that government is the exercise of authority over a
>group of people. Through the body of this article, discern for
>yourself if the United Nations wants to exercise authority over you and your
>country.
>
>For fairness' sake, I need to say that most of the justifications cited in
>the report are real, compelling reasons why the world needs solutions
>to certain problems. World population is, in fact, rapidly overtaking the
>ability of nations to feed their people. Environmental destruction is,
>in fact, taking place so rapidly that the earth's atmosphere is being
>destabilized. Armed violence is, in fact, killing many millions of people
>worldwide. These are problems that, I admit, desperately need solutions.
>However, I don't believe, as Bill Clinton does, that we "have to give
>up a little bit of freedom" to achieve solutions to these problems. I
>believe we can find solutions outside of a one-world government, while
>keeping our nation's sovereignty intact.
>
>Chapter One - A New World
>
>In this chapter, the report covers some historical background concerning how
>the world arrived in its current circumstances. A definition
>of Global Governance is provided, as follows:
>
> "Governance is the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions,
>public and private, manage their common affairs. It is
> a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may
>be accommodated and cooperative action may be
> taken. It includes formal institutions and regimes empowered to enforce
>compliance, as well as informal arrangements that
> people and institutions either have agreed to or perceive to be in
>their interest."
>
>The chapter discusses globalization of industry and the changes that are
>occurring in the world due to communications advances. It builds
>justification for global governance on the premise that all nations are
>becoming inextricably intertwined by financial, trade, social, and legal
>ties.
>
>Chapter Two - Values for the Global Neighbourhood
>
>This chapter establishes the values upon which the Global Neighborhood
>should be constructed:
>
> "People have to see with new eyes and understand with new minds before
>they can truly turn to new ways of living. That is
> why global values must be the cornerstone of global governance."
>
>Some basic values are covered, such as respect for life, liberty, justice
>and equity, mutual respect, caring, integrity, and rights and
>responsibilities. These all are familiar values, and ones most people will
>accept as worthy of achievement. But the United Nations has
>different definitions than we might expect for many of these values.
>
> "A concern for equity is not tantamount to an insistence on equality,
>but it does call for deliberate efforts to reduce gross
> inequalities, to deal with factors that cause or perpetuate them, and
>to promote a fairer sharing of resources. A broader
> commitment to equity and justice is basic to more purposeful action to
>reduce disparities and bring about a more balanced
> distribution of opportunities around the world."
>
>For illustration of the United Nations concept of equity, one might look to
>the example of the United Nations Conference on Human
>Settlements, in Istanbul, Turkey, held in June of 1996. Nicknamed "Habitat
>II," this conference established United Nations guidelines for
>making cities and towns fit a certain environmental model, a model which is
>favorable to sustainable development. This U.N. Conference
>established the view that housing is a universal human right.
>
>Housing as a universal human right sounds appealing, but the U.N. approach
>is to take from the rich and give to the poor, as illustrated by
>the following sections taken directly from the Treaty that resulted from the
>Habitat II conference. Read these lines very carefully:
>
> "Within the overall context of an enabling approach, Governments should
>take appropriate action in order to promote, protect
> and ensure the full and progressive realization of the right to
>adequate housing. These actions include, but are not limited to:
>
> (a) Providing, in the matter of housing, that the law shall prohibit
>any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and
> effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race,
>colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
> opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;
>
> (b) Providing legal security of tenure and equal access to land for
>all, including women and those living in poverty, as well as
> effective protection from forced evictions that are contrary to the
>law, taking human rights into consideration and bearing in
> mind that homeless people should not be penalized for their status;
>[emphasis added]
>
> (c) Adopting policies aimed at making housing habitable, affordable and
>accessible, including for those who are unable to
> secure adequate housing through their own means, [emphasis added] by,
>inter alia:
>
> (i) Expanding the supply of affordable housing through appropriate
>regulatory measures and market
> incentives;
>
> (ii) Increasing affordability through the provision of subsidies
>and rental and other forms of housing
> assistance to people living in poverty;
>
> (iii) Supporting community-based, cooperative and non-profit
>rental and owner-occupied housing programmes;
>
> (iv) Promoting supporting services for the homeless and other
>vulnerable groups;
>
> (v) Mobilizing innovative financial and other resources - public
>and private - for housing and community
> development;
>
> (vi) Creating and promoting market-based incentives to encourage
>the private sector to meet the need for
> affordable rental and owner- occupied housing;
>
> (vii) Promoting sustainable spatial development patterns and
>transportation systems that improve accessibility
> of goods, services, amenities and work;
>
> (d) Effective monitoring and evaluation of housing conditions,
>including the extent of homelessness and inadequate housing,
> and, in consultation with the affected population, formulating and
>adopting appropriate housing policies and implementing
> effective strategies and plans to address those problems."
>
>To accomplish these ends, the U.N. advises governments to take measures such
>as the following (excerpted from various sections of the
>Treaty on Human Settlements):
>
> (d) Apply public policies, including expenditure, taxation, [emphasis
>added] monetary and planning policies, to stimulate
> sustainable shelter markets and land development;
>
> (f) Apply appropriate fiscal measures, including taxation [emphasis
>added], to promote the adequate supply of housing and
> land;
>
> (g) Periodically assess how best to satisfy the requirement for
>government intervention to meet the specific needs of people
> living in poverty and vulnerable groups for whom traditional market
>mechanisms fail to work;
>
>Some readers might feel that these U.N. solutions are exactly the solutions
>needed to the global crisis of homelessness. I, however, object
>strongly to a global welfare state that robs resources from productive
>people and distributes them freely to people who are not willing to
>work for themselves. I most especially object to this idea of a global
>welfare state since it will be enforced effectively at gunpoint by U.N.
>peacekeeping forces. I offer an alternative solution to the global welfare
>state by saying that as Americans, we obtained our wealth by
>productive labor. Instead of a gun-enforced "tax the rich and give to the
>poor" scheme, we need to empower the rest of the world by training
>them in effective methods of food production, housing production, etc.
>
>Chapter Three - Promoting Security
>
>It is within this chapter of Our Global Neighborhood that we see the
>intentions of the United Nations to control all firearms. The
>commission states these common beliefs in the following "norms for security
>policies in the new era":
>
> » Military force is not a legitimate political instrument, except in
>self-defense and under UN auspices.
>
> » The development of military capabilities beyond that required for
>national defense and support of UN action is a potential
> threat to the security of the people.
>
> » The production and trade in arms should be controlled by the
>international community.
>
>Do these things sound like global government to you? One visible evidence of
>the progress made by the United Nations is the current United
>States efforts to reduce the size of its armed forces. Chapter Three closes
>with a final plea:
>
> "We strongly endorse community initiatives to protect individual life,
>to encourage the disarming of civilians, and to foster
> an atmosphere of security in neighborhoods."
>
>I submit that, even if the United Nations places peacekeeping forces in
>every town in the world, there will always be those that manufacture
>and distribute firearms regardless of any laws prohibiting such activities.
>
>Chapter Four - Managing Economic Interdependence
>
>This is a broad chapter dealing with governing the global financial arena.
>It deals with challenges such as environmental protection,
>poverty, multi-lateralism in trade, the World Trade Organization, and the
>International Monetary Fund, among others.
>
>Tucked away at the end of the chapter is the necessary evil of taxing the
>world to pay for all of the new United Nations' government
>programs. Here, again, we see the typical circumlocution of UNSpeak, as the
>text reads:
>
> "We specifically do not propose a taxing power located anywhere in the
>UN system. User charges, levies, taxes - global
> revenue-receiving arrangements of whatever kind - have to be agreed
>globally and implemented by a treaty or convention.
> Proposals for them can be initiated in the UN system - in the Economic
>Security Council (ECOSOC), when established - and
> negotiated and approved by the General Assembly before being embodied
>in an international agreement to be approved and
> ratified."
>
>One of the largest taxes being contemplated at a global level is the "carbon
>tax". When any kind of fuel is burned, there is an emission of
>carbon. Whether it is wood, gasoline, propane, or other fuel, all send a
>carbon residue into the atmosphere. A tax on carbon emissions would
>affect the price you pay for almost every single item you might purchase. It
>would directly increase your expense for gasoline. It would
>indirectly, but in a major way, affect the price you pay for electricity. It
>would indirectly, in countless thousands of ways, affect you by
>increasing the costs of:
>
> * producing any manufactured goods whose factories are driven by
>carbon- based fuels
>
> * transporting the groceries you buy, as well as any other item
>transported by truck, car, train, etc.
>
> * paying the electric bill of your grocery store, the local Wal-Mart,
>or school, etc.
>
> * heating and cooling your home.
>
>Our society is so completely dependent upon carbon-based fuels that it is
>almost inconceivable how many times even the slightest carbon tax
>will multiply to increase your cost of living. The United Nations generally
>favors a system of global trade which is completely free of trade
>barriers. As an American, I object strongly to this in principle. In my home
>state, I frequently read about factories closing to relocate to
>Mexico, Canada, or locales even further removed from this country.
>
>I read recently that workers in a new Wal-Mart in China were to be paid the
>equivalent of US$120 per month. In China, this is probably a
>reasonable wage. But, as a result of the movement of industry out of this
>country, I see a vast leveling effect. Lower wages in the countries to
>which our factories are fleeing cannot help but to depress wages in this
>country until the world wage levels tend to an average much lower
>than current American wage levels. Americans will lose jobs until they are
>willing to work for the lower wages found in these other
>countries.
>
>Chapter Five - Reforming the United Nations
>
>In this chapter, the commission stresses that "the UN is us", that the UN is
>merely the product of what nations of the world have desired.
>The first few pages are spent bemoaning the historical weakness of the
>United Nations as an organization that could recommend, but not
>enforce, solutions to world problems.
>
>The UN Security Council is comprised of five nations, the United States
>being one of those. Recently, the United States exercised its veto
>power as a Securit¼ Council member to prevent Boutros Boutros- Ghali from a
>second term as Secretary-General. The Commission wants
>to not only expand membership in the Security Council, it wants to remove
>the veto power completely.
>
>This chapter is broad as well, encompassing new processes of selecting the
>Secretary-General, restructuring the accreditation of Non-
>Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other topics.
>
>Chapter Six - Strengthening the Rule of Law World-Wide
>
>This chapter deals with increasing the authority of the World Court,
>strengthening international law, and establishing an international
>criminal court. This should immediately warn the reader that yes, in fact,
>an increase of authority over an individual or nation constitutes
>government, regardless of the name it is given.
>
> "In an ideal world, acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the
>World Court would be a prerequisite for UN
> membership."
>
> "The absence of an international criminal court discredits the rule of
>law. It must be established soon."
>
>There is an aspect of the United Nations that is disturbing at many levels,
>that of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The UN has
>long used such organizations to carry out its goals. If you study the
>motives and methods of the UN, you will see a pattern that to me
>suggests that NGOs are merely called Non-Governmental so that they will not
>have to be elected to office or answer to the electorate in any
>way. Many of the increasingly-powerful environmental groups in this country
>are United Nations NGOs.
>
>The United Nations intends to give NGOs substantial power in governing the
>global neighborhood. In this chapter, in the section dealing
>with establishing an international criminal court, the Commission applauds
>existing courts who recognize a body of international law
>already, and seeks to establish enforcement power in NGOs.
>
> "This process should be encouraged by courts being more ready than in
>the past to admit cases in which individuals and
> non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seek to enforce compliance with
>international norms in domestic courts, or wish to
> ensure that their government's foreign policy is in conformity with
them."
>
>It is easy to see that the UN wants to use NGOs to enforce its will upon the
>various governments of the world via a "back door". For any
>system of laws, there must be some enforcement mechanism, as the Commission
>states here:
>
> "A necessary condition for strengthening the rule of law world-wide is
>an efficient monitoring and
> compliance regime. The very essence of global governance is the
>capacity of the international community to ensure
> compliance with the rules of society."
>
>I do not wish to see any sort of monitoring and compliance regime from the
>United Nations established in our country. If global governance
>is not government, why then do they want to establish a monitoring and
>compliance regime?
>
>This chapter contains a paragraph which sheds valuable light upon how the
>United Nations guides the actions of individual countries. Many
>people question whether the United Nations has any authority to truly
>enforce its mandates. As is evident here, the authority for
>enforcement builds over time due to what is called "soft law".
>
> "International law has evolved techniques to respond to this challenge.
>Standards may be set by instruments (such as
> resolutions of some international organizations [or UN Treaties and
>Commissions - ed.]) that are technically non-binding but
> in fact have considerable influence on behavior. If applied in
>practice, these standards may begin to assume some legal status.
> This is the hardening of so-called 'soft law'."
>
>Chapter Seven - A Call To Action
>
>Chapter seven reprises the content of all of the earlier chapters in the
>book, so that one might get a good idea of the book's scope by reading
>only this chapter. Moving forward from this point, the chapter introduces
>the Commission's recommendation that the UN General Assembly
>should agree to hold a World Conference on Governance in 1998, with its
>decisions to be ratified and put into effect by the year 2000.
>
>Summation
>
>I would strongly recommended that anyone desiring an understanding of global
>government trends should read Our Global Neighborhood.
>Using this work as a starting point, the reader should continue study with
>the many treaties originating in the UN from recent world
>conferences, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, the
>Biodiversity Treaty, etc., which currently make up a body of "soft law"
>that has an increasing effect on our lives.
>
> In pre-American England, the government imposed its own will upon the
>citizens. Many of these people were fortunate, in that
> the New World opened up the opportunity to vote with their feet by
>coming to America. They could leave the tyranny behind.
>
>If we turn over the whole globe to the rule of one group, where then will we
>flee when tyranny knocks at our door?
>
>NOTE: The Official Home Page of the Commission on Global Governance is at
>CGG and the UN
>
>Respectfully,
>
>(book reviewer wished to remain anonymous)
>
>
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>
>
========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine
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