HMMM, IN CLASSIC centrist fashion, I was planning to split my vote in the U.S. presidential election Tuesday between Barack Romney and Mitt Obama. Sorry, neither side ever has a monopoly on the wisest policies for our nation. I'll take a merger of many approaches over dead-set dogma and doctrine.
But hearing an off-the-record panel talk involving White House politicos at Stanford the other night may have swayed me in one direction. The panelists were current and former national security and foreign policy advisors, including those involved in the biggest global issues and news events of recent years. Not surprisingly, they were clear and convincing that the President was the right man to lead our country into the new and scary global future. Having said that, policy-makers and public servants on both sides are well-schooled in posing and posturing for the public -- in this case, well-heeled Democratic donors. Political spin? Say it ain't so.
I'm convinced, though, after listening to these learned panelists and watching them in action at a reception. I plan to cast my precious ballot tomorrow morning for . . . .
IN A WELCOME respite from the real world, the Clinton Global Initiativeconvened this week in New York, bringing together global dignitaries and U.S. President Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Regardless of your politics, you've gotta admit that Clinton aims to bring together folks. During his recent DNC speech, who else made it a point to praise presidents of both parties?
FOR MODERATES TIRED of political pissing matches, it's always refreshing to hear consensus-builders such as former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, a former Democrat and White House chief of staff during the Reagan era. Respected by anyone who aims dead center, Baker is a master deal-maker who builds trust between parties, rather than divide them. Among other negotiations, he persuaded Russia to stand with the United States in condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the 1990s, when Iraq was an ally and "client" of Russia. Imagine Baker helping the U.S. and China join forces in the 21st century as economic partners and military allies. Baker spoke recently at the Asia Society in Houston, Texas, on the Pacific Century:
HOW TO BALANCE economic growth with human rights in semi-democratic nations and dictatorships? The question of the 21st century will be the question of free trade vs. liberty.
MOST OF US don't see the megatrends until they suddenly surface and smack us. Geopolitical experts have been saying for years, decades even, that the world economic order is shifting, that U.S. dominance will be challenged this century by our allies and rivals in Asia.Some in the West scoffed at the idea, or stayed stuck in denial. The latest blunt warning comes from former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. The era of Pax Americana will be succeeded by "Pax Pacifica," he recently told the Asia Society in New York.
"The world today is approaching a turning point of truly historic proportions," Rudd said. "Historical trends are by definition slow to emerge. They then gather pace, often with a sudden burst of momentum . . . often well before the political community and broader public opinion has fully woken up to the fact. And so it is with the global economic power of the United States of America. For the last 130 years the United States has been the world’s largest economy. Within the current decade, that will no longer be the case when China takes its place."
Editor's note: This is a compilation of 9/11 photos from Flickr in recent years. Several have appeared in earlier blog posts, while others have been added September 2011.
THE NEXT REVOLUTION will be found where the new breed of global media is the most active. And the epicenters are growing in the Second and Third Worlds, where modernization and raw forms of self-rule and semi-democratic governance will take shape with each non-violent protest. As the global economy spreads, it's only a matter of time before similar youthful and middle-class revolts surface in Asia, Russia and Latin America.
In the current Columbia Journalism Review, Lawrence Pintak explores the role of the Al Jazeera media network and the Arab media in the recent Middle East uprisings:
THE FATE OF the United States economy and future ties with China could ride on how well the U.S. handles the growing wave of Chinese investments to the West, according to a new report today by the Rhodium Group and the Asia Society. Some Chinese investments, such as CNOOC's failed merger bid for U.S. oil company Unocal several years ago, have faced political backlash from U.S. lawmakers. But the report finds that the U.S. can "embrace Chinese investments" while also safeguarding national security. China has 230 foreign direct investments in the U.S. valued at $12 billion, and China's worldwide direct investments will hit $1 trillion by 2020, according to Rhodium. "China already is a massive global trader" and "Chinese investors are coming to the West in growing numbers already," co-author Daniel Rosensays in an Asia Society video. "The question is not whether we're going to let it in, but whether we're going to slam the door on it, now that it's starting."
