August 27, 2010
By Mark P. Barry
Early this month, cash-strapped North Korea offered to repay its long-standing debt with former socialist ally, the Czech Republic, through barter and offered 400 tons of ginseng. The Czechs responded they only use one ton a year, but would accept zinc ore. Then on August 15, in his Liberation Day address, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak proposed the nation adopt a unification tax to prepare for unification with the North, reflecting an anxiety about North Korea’s near-term stability and potential for collapse. These two events raise questions about North Korea’s current condition and the costs and benefits of reunification.
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The World Economy – Strengthening Democracy through Credit and Ownership
IN 1992, upon the collapse of the Socialist and Communist experiment in the Soviet Union, after more than 70 years of a state command economy, there were great pronouncements that capitalism had triumphed over Communism and socialism . Today, 17 years later we see clearly that peace and justice have by no means prevailed in the post-Cold War world.
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by Dr. Norman A. Bailey
March 31, 2009
In 1862, in the midst of the American Civil War, the Congress passed and President Abraham Lincoln signed the most important piece of economic legislation in the history of the United States and probably the world. The government of the United States transferred to its people a huge territory, which they paid for with their work -- that is, their value-added.
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H.E. Rodrigo Carazo Odio
Peace is not merely a matter of noble sentiments. It requires, by its very nature, some measure of precise and diversified knowledge, both theoretical and practical. That is why it is urgent that human beings’ intelligence and culture be directed towards peace. What is involved is marshalling all of our intellectual faculties, all of the cultural and scientific heritage of humankind, in order for them to become instruments of peace. What this implies, finally, is preparing and training humankind’s will and intelligence for peace. Peace is made, not found. Peace is not rest. It is not another word for fear. It is the pulse of life.
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Paul Chamberlin
What can religious people do to alleviate suffering in North Korea and help relieve persistent tension on the Korean peninsula?
As a Christian, a few measures come to mind for Christians to achieve these important goals. How much they apply to members of other religions is for them to decide. But first, I want to touch on some impediments.
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World Russia Forum
The Summit Council for World Peace is co-hosting with the American University in Moscow the 29th annual World Russia Forum in Washington, D.C., on April 26-27, 2010 at the Hart Senate Office Building, George Washington University, and the Russian Cultural Center. The Forum is one of the leading venues for the discussion and analysis of U.S.-Russia political, economic, social, and cultural relations. It has been annually attended by senior Russian officials, members of the Russian Duma, and leading Russian businessmen, who gather for discussions with their American counterparts.
This year the World Russia Forum takes place on the anniversary of an historic event in U.S.-Russian history. On April 25, 1945, in the last year of World War II, American and Russian forces (traveling from west and east, respectively) linked up 75 miles south of Berlin in the town of Torgau, Germany, on the Elbe River. When the troops met, they effectively bifurcated Germany, contributing to the end of the Third Reich. April 25, 2010 marks the 65th anniversary of that momentous meeting between the U.S. Army’s 69th Infantry Division and Russia’s 58th Guards Division, and will be commemorated in a cultural event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the day before the Forum, on Sunday, April 25.
Speakers on the American side include: U.S. Secretary of Energy, Hon. Dr. Steven Chu; Director of National Drug Control Policy, Hon. R. Gil Kerlikowske; and Hon. William J. Burns, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. From Russia, attending will be: Hon. Victor Ivanov, Head, Federal Drug Enforcement Service; Hon. Sergei Ryabkov, Chief Arms Control Negotiator; and Hon. Constantin Kosachev, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations, Russian State Duma.
For more information, email WorldRussiaForum@gmail.com or visit this site
60th Anniversary of the Korean War
June 25 marks the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, in which soldiers from 16 nations fighting under the United Nations flag deterred aggression against the Republic of Korea and preserved freedom.
In June, the renown Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet of Korea will commence a tour to the 16 countries that contributed troops to the UN as an expression of gratitude to those who came to Korea’s aid. Initially, they will perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; New York; Atlanta; Ottawa, Canada; and Bogotá, Colombia; the tour will then shift to Southeast Asia and Oceania this fall, and Europe and Africa in 2011. The Summit Council is providing significant administrative support to the Korean War 60th Anniversary Memorial Committee for this worldwide tour.
The Little Angels have performed at the White House, at the United Nations General Assembly, before HRH Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, at the Kremlin, as well as at other notable venues throughout the world. These children are a symbol of peace and the Korean people’s ambassadors for peace and goodwill.
Letters of welcome for the Little Angels tour have been received from H. E. Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea; Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; Hon. George H. W. Bush, President of the United States (1989-93); Hon. George W. Bush, President of the United States (2001-2009); and Gen. Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State (2001-05).
On June 25, the Summit Council will co-host a wreath-laying ceremony with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea at the Korean War Memorial. After the short ceremony, guests are invited to the nearby stage area by the reflecting pool for formal remarks and a Little Angels performance. Veterans are especially welcome to attend. For more information, contact koreanwar60@gmail.com or visit this site .
March 25, 2010
The ad hoc committee for the building of the World Peace and Unity Temple released new details this month about the project.
The World Peace and Unity Temple, an interfaith facility in Seoul, Korea that would accommodate approximately 210,000 people through multiple services during the week, aims to be completed by 2013. Once operational, services would be conducted in all the major faith traditions. The ad hoc committee is led by Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon’s sons: Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, Chairman of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International and Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation, and Dr. Kook Jin Moon, Chairman of the Tongil Foundation.
According to the committee, the main sanctuary would hold 10,000 worshippers. There would also be chapels for each of the major world religions in the style and ambiance of each religion. A large assembly hall would be the venue of world peace-related international and interreligious conferences. An education center would have religious education programs for adults and children, as well as language courses. There would be an interreligious prayer room for people of all faiths, signifying interreligious harmony.
The World Peace Conference Room would host meetings of interreligious political and religious leaders and play a central role for an international organization of religions such as an interreligious peace council. A pastoral consultation room would be used for counseling as well as to articulate to guests the vision of the World Peace and Unity Temple and its role for world peace. A content development facility would be for the study of each religion and creating material to support world peace and harmonious unity among religions. Additionally, there would be a choir room for rehearsals; administrative offices for management of the facility; an international dining hall featuring foods from a wide variety of cultures; a convenience store; a lounge; and recreational facilities to connect culture and life.
Potential sites in Seoul are being carefully examined and efforts to obtain global contributions for its construction have entered a new stage. The Summit Council acts as a facilitator, advocate and advisor for the building of the World Temple of Peace and Unity as a common home for worship, dialogue and goodwill for all people of the world’s religions.
If you are interested in making a contribution for the building of the Temple, please contact the Summit Council at worldpeace@summitcouncil.org.
To read more about the World Peace and Unity Temple, click here
May 21, 2009
With the advent of the Obama administration a year after Raúl Castro’s succession to the presidency in Cuba, a new window of opportunity in U.S.-Cuban relations has opened. Long-entrenched positions on both sides that have persisted despite seismic shifts in the global political terrain appear ripe for adjustment or even fundamental change, especially if Track II diplomacy can complement official diplomacy.
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March 17, 2009
The Summit Council for World Peace has been supporting efforts toward the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula since 1991 when the Chairman of its Board of Presidents, H.E. Rodrigo Carazo, former President of Costa Rica (1978-82), and Secretary General, Dr. Antonio Betancourt, first visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). During the decade of the 1990s, the Summit Council organized several high-level conferences on U.S. relations with the two Koreas, created an International Commission for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, and facilitated U.S.-DPRK dialogue during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
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INTRODUCTION
January 27, 2009
H.E. Rodrigo Carazo
The program was opened by Summit Council Secretary General Dr. Antonio Betancourt with an explanation of the history of the Summit Council for World Peace having been active in the 1980s through 1997, then shifting its attention until last year to support the establishment of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) as a substantial international organization. Now with a newly-established relationship with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International (FFWPUI) and the Tongil Foundation, the Summit Council will resume its activities in contributing to peace-building through religion and spirituality along with politics, economics, and other spheres of professional activity.
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