[GreenCell]

The armed forces of today are training more and more with NGOs and their experiences where our military goes. It is very important that our military leaders truly understand the "danger" in fully cooperating with these organizations....never give up your freedom of maneuver

[AuntB]

Bump!

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

---

If this is taxes with reprsentation
Give me taxes without representation
I much prefer a tax on tea!
Instead of everything else.

[Old Sarge]

Madam Secretary.

From Kentucky.

Thank you, hon.

[livius]

Excellent! Everybody knows this, but few have the courage to say it publicly. The NGOs hide behind a sort of fuzzy philanthropic image which effectively makes anyone criticizing them look like a big meanie.

Glad Elaine Chao was willing to look like a meanie, because what she said is very important.

[marron]

Have observed NGOs at work in Latin America, at least from a distance, and have concluded that they are malevolently subversive. The kids that work for them are often nice kids and a lot of the projects sound nice but the directorate and the driving philosophies do damage.

It would be interesting to establish who their big donors are.

Example: The Indian tribes both Andean and jungle peoples are actually very political, their tribal leadership is closely advised by Euro NGOs. The general direction is to agitate against the central government. Most especially they agitate against oil and gas companies trying to operate there. These are very poor countries, whose only hope is industrial development to put people to work and draw hard currencies into the economy.

But any effort to diversify a broken economy will be met with riots, lawsuits in both national and European courts, national strikes, road blockages, and so on. This is what is happening in Bolivia, for example, where the tribes are rising up in rebellion to stop a pipeline which will allow the development of their natural gas industry.

The tribes are being told that the gas will enslave them, which is pure leftist cant, and that the coca industry is their authentic heritage, which is dangerous nonsense. You can imagine that an Andean farmer who has never been outside his canton might believe such a thing but you know the suits advising them know better.

Minus the coca, the same exact thing is happening next door in Ecuador. I can't help but believe that if we could scratch the surface we would find Saudi funding. You will never find a Euro NGO organizing national strikes to stop a pipeline in an OPEC country. Nor will you ever find them organizing to shut down gas fields in Russia or China. This only happens in countries not under OPEC control.

[Bonaparte]

But, but, but justice o'connor says we should be governed by european law...

[B4Ranch]

ping

[marsh2]

The U.N. has a formal relationship with "Civil Society," including NGOs: http://www.un.org/partners/civil_society/home.htm
In most cases, specific NGOs are recognized in policy forming processes and some are not. This "Civil Society" of NGO special interests competes with the influence of participating states in forming policy: http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/int/un/access/2003/0604panel.htm