Serbia's triumph over EU double standards

Image Courtesy of motherjones.com

"Serbia's success in persuading the UN general assembly to support its application for an advisory opinion from the international court of justice (ICJ) on the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence represents a victory not only for Serbia's diplomatic endeavours in recent months, but for the rule of law and multilateralism more broadly. The decision by many EU member states not to back this initiative, however, further demonstrates the EU's contradictory attitude and approach towards matters of international law."

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I think this represents the greatest obstacle in terms of international cooperation. A body such as the EU, made up of many different states with which a diverse population, is simply unable to make such decisions without impacting one party over another.

Where international law is concerned, it will never be a black and white line between good and bad policy. It simply cannot take into account each individual case with the relevant history in mind to make informed decisions, let alone those that greatly impact the citizens within their borders.

What do others think? Is the EU too divided to make proper decisions and recommendations? Is there too much of a powerplay between the bigger nations for effective administration?

What about for Serbia? What problems does it pose for Serbia, depending on the avenue taken by the EU?

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Brian Familar

American Empire: Near the end??

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/23/ahmadinejad.us/index.html

I think it was a brave move by the Iranian President to come out with such a statement, and one that has been long overdue. It is fair to say that one would be hard pressed to deny that the United States have supreme power in terms of Nuclear capability. What is interesting to note, though, is that there has been no concentrated frontal attack on the U.S of having such an arsenal of weapons - Simply because the US administration is seen to be too 'civilized' to use it on other parts of the world. But i ask, why bother having something if you do not have the will to fire it upon another nation state? Surely, those countries with nuclear weapons or even nuclear capability would not dare to fire upon such a heavily populated area. Lose-Lose situation for everyone! I also find myself asking why the United States has been so keen to stop other nations from developing their nuclear capability to a standard that is far inferior than their own? I am a big supporter of freedom on a global scale, but i also feel that things may not necessarily have to happen on such a linear path of international freedom and development. There is more than one way to proceed into the next 15-20 years of our planet - and perhaps the U.S administration would be much wiser to approach it with open arms as opposed to non-stop rhetoric and bashing of the term freedom, democracy and allies.

Brian Familar

Please click here for the full article!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/23/ahmadinejad.us/index.html

Post Bailout - AIG Executives Enjoying The Sun

What a joke! All the US government has done is to contradict itself by screaming for a free market economy. They hated the way other developing nations wanted to control their own domestic economy and as a result pushed for policy toward privatisation. That's how they dominate other nations through massive corporations.As soon as something happens to the US economy... they run and cry out for help. The fact they were backed by the US government in the first place, which allowed them to expand their company without solid economic grounding, should be reason enough to let the companies fall and crash to the ground. Let the market decide who stays and who doesn't. That's what they were screaming from the very start!

Hundreds of corporations have crashed in developing countries as a result of the pathetic attempt of the US administration trying to 'develop and spread democracy' throughout the rest of the worlds population using structural adjustment programs.

Why can't the US government just live in the same world as everyone else. Instead they look to manipulate and control and 'fix' problems to suit their needs. Why should the US population and in this case the rest of the world have to help corporations that have run themselves into the ground. All that has done is allow them to continue what they have been doing to get into the mess in the first place.

And no-one should argue that it does not affect the rest of the international community - what happens in the US, as much as I HATE to say, will affect the rest of us. Damn you Bush, and damn the rest of Congress for passing this bill. You truly represent a sick bunch of people!!~!

Brian Familar

Please click here for the full article!

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5973452&page=1