Canadian Institute for International Affairs (CIIA)
Canadian International Council (CIC)
The Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) was a Canadian, non-partisan, nationwide forum for the discussion and analysis of international affairs. The CIIA had 13 branches across Canada and a membership of 1,300. It hosted conferences, seminars and a speaker series. The CIIA was a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.
In 2007, the CIIA was reformed as the Canadian International Council.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Institute_of_International_Affairs
The CIC Here is their web site
This is from their about us page
The Canadian International Council (CIC) is a non-partisan, nationwide foreign policy council established to strengthen Canada’s foreign policy. It promotes dialogue and research on international affairs issues through a national network that crosses academic disciplines, policy areas and economic sectors. Its 16 branches across the country hold events to prompt citizen interest and engagement with international issues. The CIC now features a digital media platform—www.opencanada.org—that aims to bring the best work being done on global affairs into the Canadian conversation (there is the proof of the change in name.
Welcome to www.opencanada.org, the CIC’s digital communications platform. Building on the historic mandate of the CIC—and of its predecessor, the Canadian Institute of International Affairs—to promote discussion and debate on international affairs, we have designed the site to become a hub for those discussions, and to amplify and augment citizen engagement with international affairs by bringing the discussions online. Our new site introduces a number of signature features that we hope you will develop the habit of visiting regularly.
Just like the CFR this is the Canadian version. Canada's idea differ from ours widely.
As i peruse the site I find this article and wonder what do they all know that I dont? ... Yet? As I type this today October 4 2011 gas price have fallen to a glorious all time low of 3.39 and 9/10 per gallon! ( personally 2.39 sounds better but I will enjoy this price while it lasts!) Think about it... and the title is absolutely frightening given what we as believers know is to shortly happen...
Desperately Looking for Leadership
André Pratte | September 23, 2011
http://www.opencanada.org/features/desperately-looking-for-leadership/
As the world is on the verge of a second economic crisis in fewer than five years, western political leaders seem unable to act in as unified and determined way as they did in 2008 and 2009. All are very good at lecturing others, specially at the Europeans (as John and Jennifer have mentioned in earlier posts).
I could not believe my eyes when I read that US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, would press the EU to do more to solve its sovereign debt crisis. Then on Thursday, our own Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Europe needed to do more: “Certainly, in Europe, we need an exercise in political will, we need decisiveness, we need clarity.” Who are we to provide advice on political courage?
It is easy to criticize European leaders for not being decisive enough. Yet we should recognize that most are, locally, in a very difficult political situation. Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, has seen her grip on power considerably weakened as Germans get ever angrier about footing the bill for the continent’s less disciplined nations. On the opposite side of the bill, it is difficult to imagine what more Greece’s PM George Papandreou could do to satisfy the country’s creditors.
Managers and consumers desperately need to be reassured. “We need a conductor,” said the head of an investment firm quoted by the Globe and Mail. “If we don’t get that conductor, it is going to be a very messy orchestra.” Of course. But who could it be?
Herself calling for strong, collective action, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde added a note of realism: “There is obviously a gap between very solid, very strong governmental commitments at the highest level and the implementation time. That’s inherent to parliamentary life … we are no longer in Napoleonic times when a leader could just snap his fingers and make it happen. We are in democracies and it takes time.”
So the kind of leadership the world needs is not only one that will convince fellow heads of government to act but also that will persuade the citizens of each country to support the measures necessary to avoid the precipice.
In the US, not only is the economic situation dire but the political gridlock renders any government action impossible. President Obama may look like a great conductor but half the orchestra is looking the other way. As Mr. Geithner recognized after his first unfortunate intervention in Europe, the Americans “are not in a particularly strong position to provide advice» to other countries about political will.” Who knows how high the unemployment rate will be before the November 2012 elections free Washington. (Wait, I thought the unemployment rate was going down...???)
As far as Europe is concerned, most experts believe that in the longer term, the common currency will survive only if the member countries agree to a closer coordination of their fiscal policies. European Central Bank’s President, Jean-Claude Trichet, has even called for a European Finance Minister. But such changes would need popular approval through referendums; in the current context, such a result is highly improbable.
So yes, extraordinary political leadership is desperately needed in these troubled times. But what if the world has become so complex and are democracies too weak (cynical politicians, embittered citizens) that finding and implementing solutions is beyond our capabilities?
Emphasis and comment in red are mine but please re-read that last paragraph... this is a vote of no confidence in the global economies to pull themselves out of this tail spin. Now Folks all we need is someone anyone to waltz in with place position power and MONEY to impliment ANYTHING and EVERYONE will love them! If this tiny little article relects a large enough mindset of the population surrounding.... what are the odds?!