Chinese company wants to buy Brussels Airlines and its Airport.
VALENTINA POP, September 5, 2008.

Chinese airline Hainan may challenge a bid by Lufthansa to buy Brussels Airlines, with the Asian firm already in talks to snap up Belgium’s Charleroi airport.

German carrier Lufthansa remains the favourite bidder for Brussels Airlines, but some shareholders in the Belgian company believe the offer is too low and are looking at other partners, such as British Airways and Hainan, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday (5 September).

Late last week, Lufthansa said it was in “constructive negotiations” to acquire a 45 percent stake in Brussels Airlines for €65 million, expecting to close the deal within the next few weeks. The remaining stake was then to be taken over after two years.

But shareholders in Brussels Airlines believe the carrier is worth at least €200 million. Brussels Airlines is the heir to the bankrupt Sabena, with a 30 percent share having been taken over in 2006 by Richard Branson’s Virgin Express.

Hainan’s interest in Brussels Airlines is fortified by its bid for Charleroi airport, a low-cost hub 46 km south of the Belgian capital.

Hainan is among the three companies shortlisted to buy up the currently publicly owned Charleroi airport, with the Chinese company saying it is one of their priorities and promising further developments of the low cost terminal, La Libre Belgique reported on Tuesday.

The move has sparked internal competition between Charleroi and the main Brussels airport, Zaventem, out of which Hainan operates a number of flights. Unidentified sources close to the deal told the Belgian newspaper that the managers of Zaventem had launched a “sabotage and denigration campaign” of Charleroi airport, in order to distract the Chinese.

La Libre Belgique also reported that the Flemish region and the Brussels Airport Company (BAC) who manages Zaventem gave Hainan Airlines financial advantages worth €1.5 million.

The newspaper draws a comparison with the aid offered by the Charleroi airport and the Walloon region to the Irish carrier Ryanair, aid deemed illegal by the European Commission in 2004.

After having read the newspaper report, the Walloon minister for transportation, Andre Antoine, said: “Nobody is stupid. The aim of the manoeuvre is to attract the Chinese to Zaventem, not Charleroi.”

Zaventem is Brussel’s main international airport.

In return, BAC said it didn’t understand the minister’s reaction and didn’t see any problems with the €1.5 million contract it signed two years ago with the Chinese company, in order to promote the Flemish region in Shanghai and Beijing. The contract does not involve directly neither BAC, nor Hainan Airlines, a press spokesman for BAC said.

La Libre Belgique reported that the contract involved some €400,000 being payed to Hainan for “marketing support” and €200,000 for language training for the pilots of the company. Only €900,000 were allocated to promoting the region in China, the newspaper says.

———————-

[Comment / Opinion on EUobserver] After Georgia: is Ukraine next?
ANDREW WILSON, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, September 5, 2008.

EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - The war in Georgia began by exposing the security vacuum in the surrounding region. Now it has claimed its first collateral victim, after the fall of the Ukrainian government on 2 September.

The crisis has been brewing over the summer recess, but came to a head in late August after President Yushchenko’s administration accused Prime Minister Tymoshenko of trading her relative silence over Georgia for Russian support in a campaign to supplant him as president.

Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko - the 2004 Orange Revolution feels a long time ago (Photo: timoshenko.com.ua)

When parliament reassembled, Tymoshenko joined forces with the east Ukrainian-based Party of Regions, ramming through a law to reduce presidential power, and apparently repositioning herself as a more pro-Russian candidate in the presidential race.

Parliament was also unable to agree any of several diametrically opposed resolutions on Georgia, ranging from outright condemnation of Russia to recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The crisis comes in between the emergency EU summit on Russia-Georgia in Brussels on 1 September and the regular EU-Ukraine summit on 9 September in Evian, France.

The EU therefore has an ideal opportunity to push back against Russia’s attempts to dominate the European neighbourhood by starting with Ukraine, which is also the linchpin for the whole region.

***

War of words:

Many Ukrainians now hear domestic echoes of the lead-up to war in Georgia. Ukraine has its own potentially separatist region in Crimea, and the country’s Russian minority numbers some 8.3 million (the largest minority in Europe).

Half of Ukraine’s population of just over 46 million are Russian-speaking in various degrees. Although the Ukrainian constitution bans dual citizenship, the government has launched an inquiry into alleged covert Russian passport-holding in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.

Some Ukrainians note that Russia justified its invasion of Georgia, as the Nazis once justified their dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, as being necessary to “protect” a minority to whom they had just given citizenship.

Russia has begun a war of words over Ukraine’s alleged supply of arms to Georgia. And the conflict itself has shown that the Russian Black Sea Fleet, based in Sevastopol, can operate with impunity, whether Ukraine likes it or not.

Based on its analysis of Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution” as a foreign-backed “NGO coup,” Russia has also been quietly building its own network of Russia-friendly NGOs in Ukraine since 2004.

Ukrainians also talk of an otkat ekonomiya (”kickback economy”), in which Russian money percolates throughout the Ukrainian elite.

***

A strategy for Ukraine:

What should the EU therefore offer in Evian? The European Neighborhood Policy is a worthy enough technical process, but it does not address pressing political concerns about maintaining and securing Ukraine’s independence.

Many member states will worry about leaping straight to the contentious issue of ultimate membership for Ukraine, but the EU already recognizes Ukraine’s theoretical right to join once it has met the Copenhagen criteria; and it cannot be beyond EU leaders’ verbal dexterity to play up the prospect.

What Ukraine would value and needs most is a real sense that it is being treated distinctly in its own right. The key words are “association” and “partnership,” in whatever order or combination.

The EU has greater scope for short-term measures, which should be designed to deliver a multi-dimensional solidarity strategy for Ukraine.

The EU’s foreign ministers should invite their Ukrainian counterpart to give a briefing on Ukraine-Russia relations at their next meeting.

Ukraine should be offered a road map for visa-free travel, as well as ensuring that member states deliver on current visa facilitation measures. The new EU-Ukraine agreement should include a beefed-up solidarity clause, building on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, whereby the EU would consult and assist Ukraine in case of challenges to its territorial integrity and sovereignty. And the EU should back Ukraine if it insists that the Russian Black Sea Fleet leaves on schedule in 2017.

The EU should also launch a comprehensive study of all aspects of Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies, including transit, energy security and conservation, supply diversification, and the impact of “bypass” pipelines like Nordstream and South Stream.

It should consider linking the opening of the Nordstream pipeline, which would allow Russia to cut off gas to Poland and Ukraine while maintaining deliveries to Germany, to the opening of the proposed “White Stream” pipeline to bring gas from Azerbaijan directly to Ukraine via Georgia, bypassing Russia.

The EU could even play a part in keeping the 2012 European Championship football finals on track. The decision to appoint Ukraine and Poland as co-hosts was a powerful symbol of European unity across the current EU border (Poland is a member, Ukraine is not).

UEFA is unhappy with Ukraine’s progress in building the necessary infrastructure, but Ukraine should be given time to get its act together.

Where appropriate, the EU should extend these measures to Moldova, which is now calling Ukraine a “strategic shelter,” most probably after the elections in March 2009.

Ukraine faces a crucial presidential election in 2009 or 2010. After getting its fingers badly burned at the last election in 2004, Russia is clearly tempted to intervene again. The “Russian factor” will strongly influence the campaign.

Greater Western engagement is needed to ensure that the “Europe factor” is equally prominent.

UNEP NEWS RELEASE - 2008/31

World Heritage Push for Garden of Eden: Italy Backs Bid to List Iraqi Marshlands Following Completion Of UNEP Restoration Project.

KYOTO/NAIROBI, 5 September 2008–A plan to list as a World Heritage Site an
area known as the Fertile Crescent, and thought by some to be the location
of the Biblical “Garden of Eden”, was unveiled today by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The initiative, to be supported by funding from the Government of Italy,
aims to further the protection and conservation of a significant wetland of
global cultural, natural and environmental importance.

The Marshlands, spawning grounds for Gulf fisheries and home to species
like the Sacred Ibis, were almost totally drained and destroyed by the
former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein during the 1990s and early 21st
century.

Dams upstream on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which feed the fabled
area, had also aggravated the decline. By 2002 the 9,000 square km of
permanent wetlands had dwindled to just 760 square km.

UNEP estimated then that these wetlands would be completely lost within
three to five years unless urgent action was taken.

The World Heritage management support plan, announced at the end of a
meeting in Kyoto, follows a four-year, $14 million UNEP project to restore
the ecological viability of the site, while bringing sustainable
livelihoods to the Marsh Arabs.

***

The Marsh Arabs, the 5,000 year-old heirs of the Babylonians and the
Sumerians, and their wetland home had been targeted by the former Iraqi
Government forcing an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 into exile or camps in
and outside Iraq.

With the collapse of the Saddam Hussein Government in mid-2003, local
residents began breaking the drainage embankments and opening the
floodgates to bring water back into the marshlands.,

The UNEP marshland management project, which commenced in 2004 with funding
from the UN Iraq Trust Fund, the Government of Japan and the Government of
Italy, has been working with the Iraqi Environment Ministry and local
communities to accelerate improvements.

These include environmentally-friendly methods that are providing safe
drinking water for up to 22,000 people, the planting of reed banks and beds
as natural pollution and sewage filters and the introduction of renewable
energies such as solar.

A Marshland Information Network has been established. Training in
satellite and field monitoring and wetland restoration and management has
also been part of project which today completed its final evaluation phase
at the Kyoto meeting.

During this meeting, the Iraqi Ministry of Environment also requested UNEP
to provide support for accession to multilateral environmental agreements
(MEAs) in order to take part in the international environmental challenges
but also opportunities facing the planet.

MEAs range from the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to the Convention of
Migratory Species and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Narmin Othman, the Iraqi Environment Minister who is in Japan for the
event, said: “I am very happy that we are now going to work towards making
the Marshlands a National Park and a globally important World Heritage
Site.”

“Because of what Saddam Hussein did, the marshlands were in danger of
completely disappearing as was the centuries-old culture of the Marsh
Arabs. It had become an ecological but also a human tragedy”, she said.

“Now we have 50 to 60 per cent of the marshlands back we can look forward
to further improvements and putting them on the map as Iraq’s first mixed,
natural and cultural World Heritage Site as befits an area of global
significance”, added Minister Othman.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director,
said: “I would like to thank the Governments of Japan and Italy for their
support and congratulate the Iraqi people on these extraordinary
achievements.”

“The work in the Iraqi marshlands may have been unique and challenging for
a whole variety of reasons. But the lessons we have learnt go beyond
Iraq’s border. They provide a blue print for the restoration for the many
other damaged, degraded and economically-important wetland ecosystems
across the world”, he added.

***

Mr. Steiner said he looked forward to working with the Iraqi Government and
cooperating with UNESCO on developing a comprehensive management plan en
route to securing a World Heritage Site listing and thanked the Government
of Italy for its invaluable support.

Chizuru Aoki of UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC)
in Japan, which has been coordinating the project, said today that the
Italian funds would be used to draw up and implement a sustainable
preservation and management plan.

This will include pilot projects on community-wide ecosystem management and
cultural preservation as well as capacity building, jointly with UNESCO and
the Iraqi authorities.

According to UNESCO, the earliest that Iraq could envisage a submission to
the World Heritage Committee might be 2010 which, if approved could see the
Marshlands of Mesopotamia listed as World Heritage in 2011.

“It is essential that we continue to work with the Iraqi partners, UNESCO,
as well as other relevant organizations to help Iraq move towards this
goal”, Ms. Aoki said.

***

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

The Iraqi Marshland Project:  http://marshlands.unep.or.jp/

UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch Iraq Reports:
 http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications…

Downloadable maps and images at www.unep.org?

For more information, please contact: Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson and
Head of Media, +41-79-596-5737 or +254-733-632755, or
 nick.nuttall at unep.org”,

Yukio Yoshii, Senior Liaison Officer, UNEP International Environmental
Technology Centre, +81-6-915-4591, or  yukio.yoshii at unep.or.jp

Habib El-Habr, Director and Regional Representative, UNEP Regional Office
for West Asia, +973-178-12-777, or  habib.elhabr at unep.org.bh.

***********************************
Jim Sniffen
Programme Officer
UN Environment Programme
New York
tel: +1-212-963-8094/8210
 info at nyo.unep.org
  Permalink | Printer Friendly |  Email This Article
Posted in Policy Lessons from Mad Cow Disease, Reporting From the UN Headquarters in New York, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, Reporting from Washington DC, Global Warming issues, Israel, Real World's News, Green is Possible, European Union, Futurism, Japan, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Nairobi, Eco Friendly Tourism, Vatican, Geneva, Paris, Rome

del.icio.us Digg Reddit Google Technorati Windows Live Yahoo! | what's this?

Discuss this article

From the IPCC Meeting in Geneva:

Mr. Rajendra Pachauri, has been reelected by acclamation this morning for a second term.

Mr. Pachauri will meet the press on Thursday following the closure of the Plenary at 13.00, at the CICG in Geneva.

He will then introduce the new Bureau members and provide information on other major items concerning the future IPCC work program.

The Chairman will only be available for interviews on that occasion.

Please see Press release attached.

With best wishes,

Brenda Abrar-Milani
IPCC information and communication Office
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
7 bis, avenue de la Paix
CH-1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel. +4122 730 8066
Email:  babrar at wmo.int
Web: www.ipcc.ch

————————————————-

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday September 2, 2008.
The IPCC is happy to announce that its Chairman, Mr. Rajendra Pachauri, has been reelected by acclamation this morning for a second term.

Mr. Pachauri has been the head of the organization since 2002. Under his leadership, the IPCC released “Climate Change 2007”, its Fourth Assessment Report, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that same year.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is holding its 29th Plenary session in Geneva until Thursday 4 September.

All other agenda items under discussion, including the election of the other Bureau members, are still in progress. The new team elected by all member countries will lead the IPCC through the preparation of the Fifth Assessment Report, which is expected to be released in 2014.

Mr. Pachauri will meet the press on Thursday following the closure of the Plenary at 13.00, at the CICG in Geneva. He will then introduce the new Bureau members and provide information on other major items concerning the future IPCC work program.

The Chairman will only be available for interviews on that occasion.
Contact :
Brenda Abrar-Milani :  babrar at wmo.int Tel: +33 614 81 73 98/ IPCC website : www.ipcc.ch

 Statement by Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme

In Response to Hurricane Gustav and the Devastating Indian Floods

2  September,  2008- The  evacuation  of  New  Orleans  in  advance of hurricane Gustav and the
displacement  of  two  million Indians to the worst flood in 50 years underline the increasing
vulnerability  of  humanity  to  natural disasters-vulnerability that is set to rise under the
scientific scenarios if climate change if left unchecked.

According  to  Munich  Re,  one of the world’s leading insurance companies and a member of the  UNEP Finance Initiative, 2008 is already shaping up to be a significant, disaster-prone year.

By  June,  an  estimated 400 natural disasters had occurred costing $82 billion. And while the  earthquake  in  Sichuan  Province, China cannot be laid at the climate change door many of the  others  are  in line with the scientific predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate  Change (IPCC).


“The  year  is  following  the  long-term  trend  towards  more weather catastrophes, which is
influenced by climate change,” said the German-based re-insurer last month.

Significant  weather-related disasters in 2008 include Cyclone Nargis and related storm surges
that  impacted  Myanmar in May leaving 138,000 people dead or missing; winter storm Emma which
hit  Europe in March costing an estimated $1.5 billion and the floods along the Mississippi in
the United States in June that have cost around $10 billion.

As  our  hearts  go  out  to  the  victims  and  the  families  affected by current exodus and
impacts-the  death  toll  in India stands at 75 but is likely to rise- our heads must focus on
the urgency to act on rising greenhouse gas emissions.

 There  is  now  less than 500 days before governments meet in Copenhagen in 2009 to agree on a
new climate deal to kick in post 2012.

Nothing  less  than firm, legally binding commitments to significantly reduce pollution linked
with  the  burning  of  fossil fuels will suffice alongside increased funding to climate-proof
vulnerable economies and communities.

Indeed  the  way  we  manage-or  fail  to  manage-our  cities and coastal infrastructure up to
transport networks; agricultural lands; forests; mangroves and wetlands will be as critical as
managing a big decline in carbon dioxide, methane and other key pollutants.

The  IPCC,  whose  20th  anniversary  we  mark  in Geneva this week, has provided the sobering
assessments and the clear direction that detours and delay and are not options.

 It is not just weather-related catastrophes that are of concern.

Other  far-reaching  phenomena threaten lives, livelihoods and economies. These range from the
melting  of  glaciers  and snow-pack in the Alps and the Andes to the Himalayas and the Sierra
Nevada  mountains  up to sea level rise threatening the livelihoods of millions across Africa,
Asia indeed the entire world.

Some  small  island  states have already drafted permanent evacuation plans which means entire
cultures are at risk of extinction unless we unite to stop climate change.

The current calamities facing the planet, from the serious threat of famine in Ethiopia to the
misery  and  loss of life in India and the disruptions to the people of New Orleans, underline
the kind of economic and human suffering the globe is facing within the coming years.

But  the  IPCC  assessments have shone an even brighter light on the costs of action-indeed it
clear  that  it  will  not  cost  the Earth to save it, perhaps as little as a few tenths of a
percent of global GDP a year over the next 30 years.

In  doing  so  the  globe  can  also  address other running sores from the loss of forests and
biodiversity to delivering clean energy to the rural poor and conserving water supplies.

So  the  IPCC  remind  us that we have challenges but we also have choices. It is time to make
those.                                                                                        

In Bali last year at the climate convention meeting, governments agreed to negotiate a package
of actions to be finalized by, or at, the Copenhagen climate convention meeting.

While some progress was made in August at a meeting in Accra, Ghana, the level of consensus is
failing  to  match  the  magnitude of the challenges nor the opportunities to Green the global
economy.

 The  start  of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season should serve as a reminder and catalyze that
urgent response.

According  to the United States National Oceanography and Atmospheric Administration, there is
now an 85 percent probability of an above-normal season as a result of atmospheric and oceanic
conditions.

The  IPCC said in its fourth assessment last year that there has been an increase in hurricane
intensity  in  the North Atlantic since the 1970s, and that increase correlates with increases
in sea surface temperature.

The  IPCC  also said it is likely that we will see increases in hurricane intensity during the
21st  century-it  is  not  too  late to act, first at the climate convention meeting in Poznan
later this year and decisively in Copenhagen a year later: we have some 500 days left.

California Presses Its Green Chemistry Initiative.
August 2008, by Peter Hsiao, Robert L. Falk,  http://www.mofo.com/news/updates/files/1…

California has undertaken a number of new initiatives in its environmental and product liability laws. One of the most significant is its Green Chemistry Initiative to attempt on a state level to remove or reduce toxic chemicals in products, and to require advance study and disclosure of chemical risks. Introduced by Governor Schwarzenegger in April 2007, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has conducted a series of public workshops, expert panel meetings and electronic solicitations to collect ideas for how to implement the Initiative.

These efforts have led to the introduction and recent amendment of Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1879 by our former colleague, Assemblyman Michael Feuer. The proposed legislation would empower DTSC, with the help of a “Green Ribbon” panel, with new statutory authority to adopt regulations by January 1, 2011 to identify and regulate chemicals of

These efforts have led to the introduction and recent amendment of Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1879 by our former colleague, Assemblyman Michael Feuer. The proposed legislation would empower DTSC, with the help of a “Green Ribbon” panel, with new statutory authority to adopt regulations by January 1, 2011 to identify and regulate chemicals of concern in consumer products.

AB 1879 proposes the creation of a systematic process to evaluate products for green chemistry regulation. The process includes 13 life-cycle criteria to be considered including the product’s manufacturing process, use characteristics, and its waste and end-of-cycle disposal. Based upon that analysis, AB 1879 allows DTSC to adopt a broad variety of regulations that may require:

(1) Disclosure of additional information needed to assess a chemical of concern and its potential alternatives,

(2) Labeling or other types of consumer product information,

(3) Restrictions on the use of the chemical of concern in the consumer product,

(4) Prohibition of the use of the chemical of concern in the consumer product,

(5) Controlled access to or limited exposure to the chemical of concern in the consumer product,

(6) Requiring the manufacturer to manage the product at the end of its useful life, including recycling or responsible disposal of the consumer product,

(7) Seeking funding for green chemistry challenge grants where no feasible safer alternative exists,

(8) And – in a broadly worded authorization, DTSC would be authorized to seek any other outcome to accomplish the requirements of the law.

AB 1879 is joined to a companion bill, Senate Bill (“SB”) 509. SB 509 aims to make more chemical risk information available to the public by directing the DTSC to create a web accessible Toxics Information Clearinghouse of chemicals listing their hazards and toxicological end-point data.

Morrison & Foerster is carefully following the Green Chemistry Initiative and participating in the agency process. If you would like more information, please contact Peter Hsiao, the Chair of the firm’s Green Chemistry Group, Bob Falk, or any other member of the Group.

***

AB 1879 proposes the creation of a systematic process to evaluate products for green chemistry regulation. The process includes 13 life-cycle criteria to be considered including the product’s manufacturing process, use characteristics, and its waste and end-of-cycle disposal. Based upon that analysis, AB 1879 allows DTSC to adopt a broad variety of regulations that may require:

(1) Disclosure of additional information needed to assess a chemical of concern and its potential alternatives,

(2) Labeling or other types of consumer product information,

(3) Restrictions on the use of the chemical of concern in the consumer product,

(4) Prohibition of the use of the chemical of concern in the consumer product,

(5) Controlled access to or limited exposure to the chemical of concern in the consumer product,

(6) Requiring the manufacturer to manage the product at the end of its useful life, including recycling or responsible disposal of the consumer product,

(7) Seeking funding for green chemistry challenge grants where no feasible safer alternative exists,

(8) And – in a broadly worded authorization, DTSC would be authorized to seek any other outcome to accomplish the requirements of the law.

AB 1879 is joined to a companion bill, Senate Bill (“SB”) 509. SB 509 aims to make more chemical risk information available to the public by directing the DTSC to create a web accessible Toxics Information Clearinghouse of chemicals listing their hazards and toxicological end-point data.

Morrison & Foerster is carefully following the Green Chemistry Initiative and participating in the agency process. If you would like more information, please contact Peter Hsiao, the Chair of the firm’s Green Chemistry Group, Bob Falk, or any other member of the Group.

The following was published on Japan Times online and we think it is either very naive or somewhere partisan and misleading.

 The UN, when it come to disputes - means the UN Security Council - the only UN body that can decide on matters of war. The Veto-Power system turns there the P5 into plain untouchables. How does Ramesh Thakur expects a UN position on Georgia when Russia holds a veto vote? Then, does he really believe that the other 4 Veto Powers will take decisions that are contrary to their self interests or perceived alliances?

Is it possible that Russia took positions on Kosovo, so they van prepare the base for their positions on South Ossetia and Abkhazia? Then, what kind of Russians are the people of South Ossetia? Do they really want back under a Russian roof, or actually they would prefer to have their own State for the Ossetians - North and South United?

We can only pray that the Japanese readers will be better informed then Mr. Thakur and those that gave him the ACUNS 2008 Award for the best recent book on the United Nations system think.
***

Payback time for Russia by Ramesh Thakur, Saturday, August 23, 2008.

You have to admire the chutzpah of the neocons for their castigation of Russia for attacking another country and emulating, in the Caucasus, NATO’s behavior in the Balkans. Who does Vladimir Putin think he is — U.S. President George W. Bush?

It was U.S. and NATO actions that set the precedent for flouting the rule of international law and violating long-settled collective norms of the international community against unilateral military interventions. Those who challenge or evade the authority of the United Nations as the sole legitimate guardian of international peace and security in specific instances undermine the principle of a world order based on international law and universal norms under U.N. authority.

If U.N. authorization is not a necessary condition for waging war lawfully and legitimately, then we must accept the resulting international anarchy and the law of the jungle in world affairs.

We no longer cede the right to any one state to use massive force within its borders free of external scrutiny or criticism. Claims for reversing the progressive restrictions on the right to interstate armed violence will be met with even more skepticism. To argue that NATO alone has the right to determine whether military intervention, by itself or any other coalition, is justified against others outside the coalition, is a claim to unilateralism and exceptionalism that will never be conceded by the “international community.” The claim that NATO should be set up as the final arbiter of military intervention by itself and every other coalition is breathtakingly arrogant.

In justification, Russia has pointed to Georgian complicity in killing thousands of South Ossetians, the fact that many of these are Russian citizens, the responsibility of Russia to protect its nationals, and the responsibility of the international community to protect South Ossetians from genocidal attacks by Georgia. Moscow is wrong to invoke the norm in this case, but no more so than the Americans and British were wrong in Iraq five years ago. Both actions prove the risks of unilateral interpretations and actions and the wisdom of channeling action through the U.N. Otherwise, the only certain end result is vigilante justice, which is no justice at all.

The U.N. Charter encapsulates the international moral code and best-practice international behavior. The urge to “humanitarian intervention” by powerful states, coalitions of the willing or regional organizations outside their own area of operations must be bridled by the legitimizing authority of the U.N. as our only available international organization for this purpose.

The second problem is the opposite one — of behaving as if geopolitics and realism belong on history’s shelf and have no relevance or applicability anymore. As Henry Kissinger is reported to have said after the Argentine invasion of the Falklands that roused the slumbering British lion into action to retake the islands by force, “a great power does not retreat forever.”

The end of the Cold War saw a very rare phenomenon in human history. Russia acknowledged its defeat and the new world order that came out of it. But instead of demonstrating grace in victory and some sensitivity to Russia’s legitimate fears, interests and national dignity, the West has repeatedly rubbed Russian noses in the dirt of their historic Cold War defeat.

Kosovo was detached from Russia’s Serbian ally and its declaration of independence readily recognized earlier this year. Instead of being dismantled with victory in the Cold War, NATO, an alliance in search of a role and mission, has progressively expanded its borders and reach steadily closer to Russia, slowly but surely encroaching on some areas that are part and parcel of Russian historical soul and identity.

Great powers have core vital interests that they will defend. Repeated warnings from Russia of red lines that must not be crossed were serially dismissed as the angry growls of a Russian bear in deep and permanent hibernation.

Russia has been encircled by Western bases, missiles and allies, while alternately taunted, ignored and dismissed. Champion chess players that they are, the Russians bided their time before checkmating the West brutally but brilliantly in South Ossetia and firing a warning shot across the bows of other former parts of the now forgotten Soviet empire.

No two situations are exactly alike. Still, much as most Westerners dismiss any analogy between Russia’s actions to pry South Ossetia and Abkhazia away from Georgia and NATO actions to detach Kosovo from Serbia, most others do accept the basic parallel.

Those who wish to back rebel movements and internationalize a crisis by intervening militarily had better be prepared for payback time in other places and conflicts. And for the moral hazards to come home to roost.

The wreckage of Georgia’s towns and countryside proclaim the ruins of the Bush administration’s foreign policy that has so recklessly squandered the hard won fruits of the Cold War in terms of both moral authority and geopolitical gains.

Ramesh Thakur is distinguished fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Canada. His book “The United Nations, Peace and Security” recently won the ACUNS 2008 Award for the best recent book on the United Nations system.

The Supreme Court In Brazil Setting an Important Precedent for Indigenous Lands.
Friday 22 August 2008, by Marta Caravantes, Inter Press Service.

 http://www.truthout.org/article/setting-…

Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil - An imminent decision by Brazil’s Supreme Court on