This panel discussion, featuring Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, Dr. Jose Antonio Ocampo, and Dr. Mark Weisbrot, was organized by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Multilateral economic institutions are facing a period of unprecedented challenges — among these are large macroeconomic imbalances (including the US current account deficit), stalled negotiations at the WTO, and a much-reduced IMF. Three economists discussed some of these current challenges and their implications for economic growth and development. The panel discussion was followed by a brief question and answer period.

WASHINGTON: World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Monday that the current financial turmoil highlighted the need for a "new multilateralism" to replace outdated structures. Describing the financial turmoil of this year as a "wake-up call," Zoellick said the world needed to look beyond resolving the current crisis to the underlying role of multilateral institutions. "We will need a new multilateral network for a new global economy," Zoelli....

Peter Mandelson, Commissioner for External Trade, European Union Presider: Richard Medley, Medley Capital Management

Chuck Hagel discussing multilateralism, the roles of the UN and the U.S., and how to deal with new security threats. From an event sponsored by the New America Foundation and the Princeton Project on National Security

Former Chilean ambassador to the UN Heraldo Munoz expects a more committed strategic partnership between the U.S. and the UN under the next administration. While this partnership may never reach a full commitment, the U.S. will also never break off the relationship, as it needs the legitimacy of the UN to address issues like global warming, the food crisis, pandemic diseases, and humanitarian disasters.

Former Irish President Mary Robinson calls on the United States to renew its commitment to multilateralism and respect for international human rights law to meet the challenges of the globalizing world in this address to the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego. Series: "Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series" [4/2005] [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 9282]

Speaker: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of the Argentine Republic Presider: Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations September 22, 2008 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the president of Argentina, addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York during the opening week of the UN General Assembly. She discussed the economic progress Argentina has made since its crisis in 2001, noting that Argentina recently agreed to repay its debt to the Paris Club and is in talks with three international banks to deal with bondholders who were not included in a 2005 debt swap. "We have been able to rebuild a country on the brink of extinction," she said. She also discussed the concept of multilateralism and its application to diplomatic crises in Latin America-both between Colombia and Ecuador and within Bolivia. She emphasized her belief that Argentina must build a strong economy based on the production of goods and services, and cautioned that the U.S. financial crisis was precipitated by lack of regulation. In response to a query on how she hopes the new U.S. president will approach Latin America, Kirchner noted her excitement at the U.S. election and her hope that the new president will work on the "reconstruction of multilateralism" and devote increased attention to Latin America.

Sunita Narain is asked about multilateralism.

Sangokushi IV - Koei - 12/09/94 JP "Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire (三國志IV) (Sangokushi IV in Japan) is the fourth game in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. This game was also the last in the series to be released in America for the PC - later games were strictly console-only in the U.S. Game play In this update, ships can make other ships catch on fire. As well, archers can also fire flaming arrows at other soldiers and catapults. The graphics are enhanced and there are more things to do within the bounds of ancient China herself. The player can even summon barbarians to do raids on enemy territory. There are 4 different scenarios, and the ultimate goal is complete reunification of China. Alliances and friendships can hold back the tide of war and invasion but in the end, the player only holds allegiance to himself. Such betrayal of a ruler's allies will be witnessed often as the AI is not geared towards long-term friendship, and eventually its need to conquer China before the human player will override its need for partnership and multilateralism. In this pre-modern time, not only is unilateralism accepted, it is expected for most rulers in the 3rd century to have their nations be militarily superior to other nations in case of war or civil disorder." -Wikipedia

Dr. John C. Hulsman and Dr. Henning Riecke of the German Council of Foreign Relations explain which transatlantic policy disagreements will be resolved with the election of a new US president and which will continue to exist.

Hon. Ahmad Kamal. Ambassador Ahmad Kamal served as a professional diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan for forty years until his retirement in 1999. During this period he held diplomatic postings in India, Belgium, France, the Soviet Union, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and with the United Nations both in Geneva and in New York. During his decade long assignment as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, he held many of the highest elective posts, as Vice President of the General Assembly, President of the Economic and Social Council, Chairman of the Consultations on the Role of NGOs at the United Nations, Chairman of the Working Group on Informatics, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute of Training and Research, and a Member of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. He was the chief negotiator of Pakistan in the Uruguay Round negotiations which led to the establishment of the World Trade Organisation. He continues to be a Senior Fellow of the United Nations Institute of Training and Research. He is also the President of The Ambassador's Club at the United Nations He is the author of important publications, on disarmament, on management, on multilateralism, on global economic issues, and on technical aspects of informatics and information technology, and is an Honorary Visiting Professor at several universities in the United States.. He has received numerous honours in Pakistan and in the other countries of his posting.

Speaker: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of the Argentine Republic Presider: Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations September 22, 2008 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the president of Argentina, addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York during the opening week of the UN General Assembly. She discussed the economic progress Argentina has made since its crisis in 2001, noting that Argentina recently agreed to repay its debt to the Paris Club and is in talks with three international banks to deal with bondholders who were not included in a 2005 debt swap. "We have been able to rebuild a country on the brink of extinction," she said. She also discussed the concept of multilateralism and its application to diplomatic crises in Latin America-both between Colombia and Ecuador and within Bolivia. She emphasized her belief that Argentina must build a strong economy based on the production of goods and services, and cautioned that the U.S. financial crisis was precipitated by lack of regulation. In response to a query on how she hopes the new U.S. president will approach Latin America, Kirchner noted her excitement at the U.S. election and her hope that the new president will work on the "reconstruction of multilateralism" and devote increased attention to Latin America.

Ambassador Ahmad Kamal served as a professional diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan for forty years until his retirement in 1999. During this period he held diplomatic postings in India, Belgium, France, the Soviet Union, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and with the United Nations both in Geneva and in New York. During his decade long assignment as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, he held many of the highest elective posts, as Vice President of the General Assembly, President of the Economic and Social Council, Chairman of the Consultations on the Role of NGOs at the United Nations, Chairman of the Working Group on Informatics, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute of Training and Research, and a Member of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. He was the chief negotiator of Pakistan in the Uruguay Round negotiations which led to the establishment of the World Trade Organisation. He continues to be a Senior Fellow of the United Nations Institute of Training and Research. He is also the President of The Ambassador's Club at the United Nations He is the author of important publications, on disarmament, on management, on multilateralism, on global economic issues, and on technical aspects of informatics and information technology, and is an Honorary Visiting Professor at several universities in the United States.. He has received numerous honours in Pakistan and in the other countries of his posting.

John McCain Speech Denver, CO 05/27/08 TRANSCRIPT: JOHN MCCAIN: "As we improve the national and multilateral tools to catch and reverse illicit nuclear programs, I am convinced civilian nuclear energy can be a critical part of our fight against global warming. Civilian nuclear power provides a way for the United States and other responsible nations to achieve energy independence and reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas. But in order to take advantage of civilian nuclear energy, we must do a better job of ensuring it remains civilian. "Some nations use the pretense of civilian nuclear programs as cover for nuclear weapons programs. We need to build an international consensus that exposes this deception, and holds nations accountable for it. We cannot continue allowing nations to enrich and reprocess uranium, ostensibly for civilian purposes, and stand by impotently as they develop weapons programs." LABEL: JM CO 5-27 (GR#85) UABC - Clip I To download a high res version of this clip, VISIT: http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/qop23mr0gc To download the full campaign event, VISIT: http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/ahhkrm9wko

John McCain Town Hall Meeting Hudson, WI 07/11/08 TRANSCRIPT: AUDIENCE MEMBER: "One of my biggest concerns is our sovereignty. We seem sometimes all too willing to turn over our decision-making processes to someone like the U.N. [...]" JOHN MCCAIN: "[...] You have a very dangerous situation [in Iran]. What should be happening at the United Nations is the United Nations Security Council enacting vigorous, tough sanctions, which would then modify Iranian behavior. But what happens [...]? The Russians will block meaningful action. [...] "But you've got other countries, like India and China, who are growing and coming on the world stage. And it seems to me that we ought to work more closely with our allies [...] "My friends, things are not going the way we want them to in Afghanistan [...] But at least we are there with a number of other countries, who are sending their young people to serve as well. [...] And we have to urge more of our friends and more of our allies, particularly within NATO, to dispatch more troops and help out in a lot more ways. [...]" LABEL: JM WI 7-11 (SD#26) YKHB-ClipE To download a high res version of this clip, VISIT: http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/glheawksog To download the full campaign event, VISIT: http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/pjaxw0ts8o

For any nutcase out there who panicked after seeing a 20 second youtube clip about Barack Obama with no context, here is the actual transcript of his speech: http://volokh.com/posts/1216451854.shtml More about the exercise of soft power: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-nye/barack-obama-and-soft-pow_b_106717.html Since you people believe that Barack Obama will create a liberal Gestapo force based on no evidence whatsoever beyond two sentences from one speech, then let's look at the two sentences: "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." What are our "national security objectives"? They're more than just keeping Americans safe, and they involve more than just guns. They also include controlling material resources (like oil), maintaining international stability, advocating free trade policies, encouraging the expansion of liberal democracies, promoting fundamental human rights, providing humanitarian relief, and eradicating terrorism - all of it overseas. Would you agree that such objectives promote American national security interests? Obama says, quite reasonably, that a powerful military cannot accomplish such national (security) interests alone. A powerful military cannot kill or capture every terrorist, it cannot replace every rogue regime, it alone cannot promote democracy (see: Iraq). Obama argues that there ought to be a "civilian national security force" - and here he means the civilian foreign service office - to promote American interests abroad. Civilian diplomats, contractors, intelligence agents, and volunteers... all performing vital activities pursuant to American national security interests without firing a single bullet. That is what Obama is talking about, and this is precisely the rationale behind soft power. "...just as powerful, just as strong, and just as well funded." Here, he means "powerful" and "strong" in the sense of effective, not literally well-armed. Notice also that Obama doesn't say his "civilian national security force" is domestic, or has anything to do with homeland security. You are reading all of that into his words, which clearly contrasts the military as a national security force against the foreign service as a national security force. He talks about the foreign service and Peace Corps in the previous sentence, but that was deliberately omitted from the video to make Obama sound like a facist! I don't know what more to say. Think of how impossible it would be to create a secret domestic army as a black Democrat, when the military and most police departments are controlled by white Republicans. How many Democrats do you know actually know how to use guns? Who would be on this secret police force? And think of how utterly absurd it is for a man promising hope and unity to create a secret police force. Barack Obama is going to be elected on Tuesday, and it will be a cause for national - no, international - celebration. Not only as a historic milestone in America's progress over racism, but as a symbol that the national nightmare of the past eight years will finally be over. There is no need to be afraid of anything - things can only get better from here, and they will.