World's great minds gather for Jordan summit

Yahoo! News | AFP ^ | 5/18/05

[LibWhacker]

Hollywood actor Richard Gere joined some 30 Nobel Laureates for a gathering of the world's top thinkers in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra.

The conference, bringing together luminaries such as former peace prize winner the Dalai Lama, has set itself the none too modest task of finding solutions to the world's problems.

"A process begins here -- a process that all of you will shape -- and by your effort, help shape our world," host King Abdullah II of Jordan said in his opening speech.

Highlighting the conflict in the Middle East, he said the world needed to make a "new beginning" to create more freedom and opportunity, build peace and expand global cooperation, with a particular focus on the world's youth.

Gere, star of "Pretty Woman" and a close friend of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told AFP the two-day meeting has "a lot of possibilities because the people who are meeting are not political, they have no agenda."

Former US president Bill Clinton was to join the gathering on Thursday.

Jordan's Finance Minister Bassem Awadallah said the conference -- hosted by King Abdullah and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel -- was aimed at bringing the best minds together to think about where the world is going.

"They are coming in from various disciplines in order to discuss issues because they believe the world is in real danger," he said.

Over the course of two days, the 29 laureates and other leaders will examine and try to find solutions for problems in four main areas, including terror and peace, economic development and poverty, health and environment, and education and media.

The conference is taking place amid centuries-old rose-coloured ruins of Petra, a World Heritage Site some 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of the capital Amman.

It is being held just days ahead of a World Economic Forum summit on the banks of the Dead Sea in Jordan.

Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and writer, co-sponsored a similar conference in 1988, when French President Francois Mitterrand hosted some 75 Nobel laureates.

"Can we effect a change?" Wiesel said of this year's conference. "Can we bring about a 'merger' between power and morality? We are on a runaway train hurtling toward the abyss. Do we have the determination to stop it? It will not be easy but we must, lest our past become our children's future."

Other conference attendees include Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who won the 1994 peace prize, former Northern Ireland Protestant leader David Trimble, a 1998 peace laureate, and author Wole Soyinka who won the 1986 literature prize.

The acclaimed novelist and travel writer V.S. Naipul, a literature laureate from 2001 will also be present, along with several winners from the fields of chemistry, medicine, economics and physics.

[LibWhacker]

Hmmm . . . Richard Gere and great minds . . . Oxymoron alert!

[Toddsterpatriot]

Oxymoron alert!

[iopscusa]

World's great loser's, where is Kofi and his bud, Jimmah...countin' their OFF cash? Hope they are armed, this sounds like good opportunity for an exercise by Terrorist, aka Insurgents, aka Freedom Fighters...it is for the Children's Peace for God's sake!!

[DB]

Your tribal world of death and destruction will continue as long as you continue this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1405385/posts

The problem's of the Middle East aren't caused from the outside. They're deeply rooted from the inside.

[Question Liberal Authority]

It's not just Richard Gere. Later in the article it mentions that Bill Clinton will be showing up.

The french word for "pompous buffoons" is often mistranslated as "great minds".

[sgtbono2002]

>>>>>Gere, star of "Pretty Woman" and a close friend of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told AFP the two-day meeting has "a lot of possibilities because the people who are meeting are not political, they have no agenda."

Former US president Bill Clinton was to join the gathering on Thursday. <<<<<<<<

Bwahahahahahha Clinton is not political and has no agenda. Bwahahahaha. Does Gere tie his own shoes? That stupid bastid probably cant wipe himself if the directions arent printed on the TP.

Gere meeting with anyone with an IQ over 65 is way over his head.

[ARCADIA]

Compared to Richard Gere everyone has a great mind.

[Libloather]

Former US Preisdent Bill Clinton reaches past a police officer to shake hands with supporters upon arrival in Copenhagen, Denmark Tuesday May 17, 2005. Clinton is in Denmark to speak with business leaders about globalization. (AP Photo/John McConnico)

Hollywood actor Richard Gere (C) speaks to 1998 US chemistry Nobel Prize winner Walter Kohn (L) at a gala dinner in the ancient city of Petra, 230km south of Amman. The Dalai Lama and former US president Bill Clinton are among the Nobel laureates and celebrities gathering in Petra this week with the lofty goal of trying to fix the world's woes. A total of 36 of the world's top thinkers in economics, medicine, physics and literature are expected to attend the May 18-19 conference, being hosted by Jordan's King Abdullah II and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Elie Wiesel(AFP/Rabih Moghrabi)

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton speaks about globalization during a conference in Copenhagen May 17, 2005, arranged by, among others, a leading Danish business newspaper. REUTERS/Scanpix/Jan Joergensen

Former US President Bill Clinton, center, speaks after meeting with former Denmark prime Minister Poul Nyrup, left, and Social Democratic leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt in Copenhagen, Denmark Wednesday May 18, 2005. Clinton is in Denmark to speak with business and political leaders about globalization and other issues. (AP Photo/John McConnico)