The global economic crisis has revealed the folly of large U.S. budget and trade deficits, as well as of the strong dollar that makes them possible. If it is serious about recovery, the United States must balance the budget, stimulate private saving, and embrace a declining dollar.
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Semantics: Getting them correctly
This looks like an old article by Prof. Huntington that also is from his seminal book - The Clash of Civilizations.
Ignorance and bitter memories via identifications and identity-politics spring as immediate factors here. In brief: What is politics? What is religion? What do they mean by themselves and what is/are their end-objective(s) or goal(s)? Once that can be adequately answered, much of the answers are completed. I have written something that is related to the topic at hand and is found at www.johnlately.webs.com where it leads to the Freedom Network blog. Interested readers may read them. One however does feel that getting our semantics correctly (across the spectrum) over the terms that one uses and in their meanings (primarily by the actors themselves) in such contexts make for better sense, even as it lends to a better comprehension of differences. As one would find out - the answers are self-explanatory in many senses, while educating the rest of the world about and over the 'world' at play here!
May we all get educated soon enough by the actors here - and thus move away from a topic that catches our attentions so in nervousness!
Role of Europe
What should the role of Europe be? EU's values and experience should be enough to be able to build bridges amongst civilisations.
Spanish Prime Minister's initiative to launch an Alliance of Civilisations constitutes a good example, and has been backed by the UN. However, internal tensions within the EU (growing islamic population + economic crisis) are putting these efforts at risk.
The EU should in any case play a key role to avoid any clash, although during the Bush era it was unable to take any leadership.
www.eurodatum.com
Lisbon
In this sense, it is absolutely necessary that the EU straucture is reformed. This is why the Lisbon Treaty is so necessary (it will provide the EU with a single and -more or less- sound foreign affairs policy and a number Kissinger can call to).
www.eurodatum.com