Recent Summit of the Americas a Success, U.S. Official Says (taxpayers will be stuck money)

U.S. State Department ^ | 16 Nov 2005 | USINFO

[hedgetrimmer]

Attention taxpayers and US citizens! New global institutions to be funded from your paychecks.

[hedgetrimmer]

The Plan of Action did not have quite as many concrete time-bound initiatives as we would have liked. However, the hemisphere welcomed many of our concrete proposals, including:

1) An Infrastructure Facility of the Americas, a new institution to assess the feasibility of infrastructure project proposals from private and public sponsors.

2) The creation of five Opportunity Zones, which will encourage new business opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged citizens.

***

To further the doctrine of hemispheric integration, the Bush White House proposes expanding the federal government and federal largesse into the hemisphere with these programs.

Opportunity Zone sounds like orwellian newspeak, doesn't it.

[B4Ranch]

The guy is a damn globalist from the soles of his feet to the tips of the hair on his head. He should be impeached for refusing to honor his Oath of Office!

[hedgetrimmer]

"Opportunity Zones" started as a Bush White House domestic program.

President Bush Proposes New "Opportunity Zones"

President Bush believes that America's the Americas economic prosperity should extend to every corner of our country hemisphere. To help reach that goal, he has proposed a new "Opportunity Zone" initiative to assist America'sthe Americas transitioning neighborhoods member states.

[hedgetrimmer]

I have tried to find information on the infrastructure program, but its not on any government pages yet. One can imagine that it will be the worse for our freedoms as American citizens when we discover how the program will be implemented.

[Willie Green]

He added that the region's leaders are committed to more than democratic elections and will work to ensure that leaders govern democratically.

Translation: instead of representing the interests of their own citizenry, they've agreed to cooperate with the lobbyists of the transnational corporations who want to locate there. Crony "capitalism" strikes again.

[Willie Green]

"Opportunity Zones" started as a Bush White House domestic program.

Didn't the Confederacy call those "plantations"???

[hedgetrimmer]

As hemispheric leaders work to implement the summit's Plan of Action, Maisto said many U.S. proposals were incorporated into the plan, including the creation of an Infrastructure Facility of the Americas, the creation of five Opportunity Zones to encourage new businesses and the effective implementation of the Declaration of Florida, which enhances the ability of the OAS to address threats to democracy in the region.

Declaration of Florida
REAFFIRMING the commitment of the member states to uphold the principles, duties, and rights of the OAS Charter, in particular those set out in its Articles 1, 3, 10, 11, 12, and 33, and to act in accordance therewith in their inter-American relations;

DETERMINED to promote and defend democracy on the basis of the commitments arising from the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter

DETERMINED to adopt and implement those actions required to generate productive employment, reduce poverty, and especially eradicate extreme poverty, while taking into account the different economic realities and conditions of the countries of the Hemisphere, and that the elimination of extreme poverty is essential to the promotion and consolidation of democracy and constitutes a common and shared responsibility of the American States;
the marxist rhetoric of "free trade"

ADDITIONALLY RECOGNIZING the legitimate aspirations of all the peoples of the Americas to live in democracy and enjoy the rights and benefits enumerated in the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter
What, no Bill of Rights or US Constitution?

REAFFIRMING that, as the premier multilateral forum of the Hemisphere, the OAS has a unique role in strengthening democratic institutions and consolidating representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention; Yeah, right....

COGNIZANT ALSO of the commitment made to active solidarity in the fight against poverty, illiteracy, low levels of human development, social and political instability, environmental degradation, and the spread of lethal infectious diseases;
Bird flu perhaps?

RECOGNIZING that the Declaration of Margarita, on poverty, equity, and social inclusion, affirms our determination and commitment to urgently combat the serious problems of poverty, social exclusion, and inequity, which affect, in varying degrees, the countries of the Hemisphere; and to face the causes that generate them and their consequences and create favorable conditions for socioeconomic development with equity to promote more just societies;
Pure Marxism

[Toddsterpatriot]

Yawn. Get back to me when the OAS imposes this plan on the US without a vote of Congress.

[hedgetrimmer]

Get back to me when the OAS imposes this plan on the US without a vote of Congress.

The USTR has already committed us. Congress was not consulted.

[Toddsterpatriot]

The USTR has already committed us. Congress was not consulted.

So, this is now the law of the land? What does it force us to do? What does it force us to spend? Prove it.

[hedgetrimmer]

Yawn

Creating huge new hemispheric bureacracies at US taxpayer expense is no big deal to the "free traders" among us.

Maybe you can tell us all about how the "Infrastructure Facility of the Americas" protects individual American citizen rights, which is the duty of our government under the US Constitution. Perhaps we have elected officials and unelected "permanent" bureacrats like John Maisto that have forgotten our Constitution in favor of OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter?

[hedgetrimmer]

"The hemisphere's leaders committed explicitly to the full and effective application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter," Maisto said. The Inter-American Democratic Charter,

Why would "permanent minister" John Maisto go to south America and say this? Is he a rogue bureaucrat or does he think the white house is backing him up on it?

As hemispheric leaders work to implement the summit's Plan of Action, Maisto said many U.S. proposals were incorporated into the plan, including the creation of an Infrastructure Facility of the Americas, the creation of five Opportunity Zones to encourage new businesses and the effective implementation of the Declaration of Florida, which enhances the ability of the OAS to address threats to democracy in the region.

Did the white house tell "permanent minister" John Maisto to incorporate "infrastructure facility of the Americas, five opportunity zones and the implementation of the declaration of Florida" into the the very communist "plan of action" or did he just come up with the ideas himself?

[hedgetrimmer]

To achieve the investment of infrastructure necessary to lift the 1.1 billion extremely poor people in the world to a level of sustenance, Dr. Sachs estimates that the rich nations of the world need to contribute between $135 billion and $195 billion per year for the next decade. That amounts to between 0.44 percent and 0.54 percent of the gross national income of the rich nations. Considering that these countries (including the United States) reaffirmed a pledge in the 2002 Monterrey Consensus to “make concrete efforts toward the goal of 0.7 percent of gross national income as official development assistance,” Dr. Sachs’ agenda doesn’t seem so grandiose. (By the way, in 2004, U.S. foreign assistance amounted to 0.16 percent of gross national income).

So the "Infrastructure Facility of the Americas" is part of the action plan from the "Monterrey Consensus" where unelected "permanent ministers" and bureaucrats pledged 0.7 percent of gross national income as official development assistance. We have gone from Congress making decisions about foreign aid, to global socialist bureaucrats making the decision for them. One wonders why the "free traders" in this country don't object to billions of dollars being spent by "rich countries" to build their infrastructure? These are nothing but massive subsidies to transnational corporations, so they can outsource and offshore in every corrupt little country that allows slave labor. And one wonders why a percentage was pledged instead of a dollar amount? It has all the appearances of a Marxist progressive tax on the American citizen to fund the global socialists and transnational corporations.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Why would "permanent minister" John Maisto go to south America and say this? Is he a rogue bureaucrat or does he think the white house is backing him up on it?

Bla bla bla. So, couldn't find any proof this forces us to do or spend anything? Typical.

[Toddsterpatriot]

So the "Infrastructure Facility of the Americas" is part of the action plan from the "Monterrey Consensus" where unelected "permanent ministers" and bureaucrats pledged 0.7 percent of gross national income as official development assistance.

Until Congress authorizes spending, this means nothing. Just like hedgetrimmer hot air.

[Amish with an attitude]

http://www.stoptheftaa.org/default.html

[A. Pole]

Reviewing the results of the summit, Maisto pointed out that all but one country reaffirmed that representative democracy is indispensable for peace, development and stability in the region. He added that the region's leaders are committed to more than democratic elections and will work to ensure that leaders govern democratically.

Democracy is very good on condition that the elected leaders do not pander to the wishes of population and stick to the free trade/free market agenda.

[hedgetrimmer]

Until Congress authorizes spending, this means nothing

The USTR, the Treasury Department and USAID disburse funds in South America without any congressional oversight.

[Toddsterpatriot]

The USTR, the Treasury Department and USAID disburse funds in South America without any congressional oversight.

Until Congress authorizes spending, this means nothing

Is Congressional oversight the same thing as Congressional authorization? I didn't think so.