tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42086775817304915282024-02-19T02:44:11.315-08:00Diagonal LengthsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-65469294300188496902017-12-25T12:02:00.000-08:002017-12-25T12:05:35.354-08:00Time for the European Union to adopt a new strategy...The European Union White Paper on the Future of Europe, appears somewhat timid, and its five scenarios all are alternative ways of managing the slow and gradual but relentless decline of the European Union as its relative demographic and economic heft diminishes in the world.<br />
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<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/white-paper-future-europe-reflections-and-scenarios-eu27_en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">EU Strategy White Paper</a><br />
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With respect, it is more about managing the status quo and lacking in ambition and scope and undersells the possibilities.<br />
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In this post, I present a sixth scenario which I would like the EU to consider. This is radically different and would allow the EU to play a central and pole position in the future global economy and politic.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Future of Europe: Scenario Six<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>1. Rationale <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The current White Paper feels to be more about managing the
status quo and lacking in ambition and scope and undersells the possibilities
and to an extent is about managing a gradual erosion of the EU role in the
world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2. EU Label is an
implicit barrier move to a different label - GU<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The label “European” is now becoming an implicit limiter of
ambition and scope. I propose that the EU change itself from the “European
Union” to the “Global Union” (GU).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>3. Expansion beyond
the continent of Europe<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The EU is more about the concept and vision of people rising
above petty nationalistic desires and thinking of the broader global good. In
that sense it is more of an emotional vision and journey than a narrow
mercantilist “what’s in it for me” attitude. In that context, it makes no sense
to limit the EU to only the continent of Europe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I propose that the following countries be invited to join
the GU as full members:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Australia<o:p></o:p></div>
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New Zealand<o:p></o:p></div>
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Canada<o:p></o:p></div>
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Israel<o:p></o:p></div>
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Japan <o:p></o:p></div>
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Singapore<o:p></o:p></div>
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South Korea<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>4. Creating a Tiered
/ Staged system to encourage further entrants<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Between the start of the process of joining the GU to
finally becoming a full GU member can take many years. During this period
governments may change and politicians pushing for GU membership have little to
show and their electorates will only put up with the “Jam Tomorrow” message for
that long. If new governments get elected they may entirely take the GU
membership off the agenda. (e.g. Turkey). <o:p></o:p></div>
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A Staged system is proposed where the stages represent
partial membership of the GU. Each of the stage would have defined criteria
that need to be met for the country to be given this partial stage of
membership. The decision of which stage the entrant has reached would be a
technocratic decision and not a political one, and as the candidate nation
progresses in its civil systems and governance it would seamlessly move up the
stage ladder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Four stages of S20, S40, S60 and S80 are envisaged
corresponding to a 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% membership, with the next stage after
S80 being S100 or full membership of the GU.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As countries progress up the stage ladder, the progressively
gain further GU benefits, eg a progressive lowering of barriers to trade and
free movement of people with the rest of the GU. Of course if they backslide in their governance, then they can move backwards too e.g. from a S80 to S60.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once the Staged System is in place, it makes the GU
attractive to a wider audience as the politicians in potential candidates can
see that they can get benefits within the term of their own government. It also
protects the GU against having to give full membership to countries whose civil
systems and governance are not yet matured to allow full GU membership.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This approach creates a powerful force for innovation and
change in the entrant countries as although G100 (or full membership) may be
many years or even a decade or two off, they can aspire to G20 and achieve it
within a single parliament term.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>5. The Staged System
will grow GU Influence in Emerging Markets<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Once this staged procedure is in place, countries from
emerging economies could be invited to enter talks and move towards becoming
S20 members, including the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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India<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brazil<o:p></o:p></div>
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Argentina<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mexico<o:p></o:p></div>
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South Africa<o:p></o:p></div>
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As these are all emerging economics with growing populations this would
help them to further develop but also help the GU to maintain and grow its
influence in more rapidly growing economies, and is a win-win for both parties.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>6. The Impact of this Sixth Scenario
on the GU and the World<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Rather than managing an eroding influence and relatively speaking a
slow and gradual decline, as would be the case in the other five Scenarios,
this Sixth Scenario is positive and with growth and expansion allows the GU to
increase its influence and presence around the globe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With many problems being cross national and global in nature, it
uniquely positions the GU to play a leadership role in setting the agenda and
resolving these issues, such as climate change, military / nuclear build up,
trade etc<o:p></o:p></div>
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This strategy enables the GU to be a huge and powerful catalyst and agent
of progress towards better democracies, governance and civil societies around the world
creating a powerful upward spiral of change and progress and benefit to all the
citizens within the GU nations. In effect it is directly exporting good
governance around the world with huge benefits to all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It would in time allow the GU with its increased demographic and
economic heft to become a more powerful and influential integrated unit than
the current so called super powers of United States, China and Russia which
would stand out like dinosaurs and as legacy relics of history, until they too
face the inevitable and join the GU.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>7. Political Demands of the
Sixth Scenario<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The previous five scenarios are pretty much tinkering with the status
quo and rather timid and not too exciting to get people engaged. It is also
something that really only needs everyday technocratic politicians to deliver.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The sixth scenario is something that would capture the imagination of
all the peoples of Europe, as well as the world, and engage them emotionally,
and would need politicians who can rise to the challenge and who would
certainly go down in history as great statesmen and stateswomen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-7199873260889773002017-11-13T15:39:00.000-08:002017-11-13T15:55:05.193-08:00The Plight of the Rohingya - its all predictable as I outlinedIts quite distressing and dismaying to see the plight of the Rohingya's in Myanmar. However as I outlined in Diagonal Lengths, how do you cope when the government itself is the perpretator, and use sovereignty to draw a veil across their misdeeds. That is why in Diagonal Lengths I made the case for an international body, the World Compliance Organization, (WCO) that has the absolute right to go anywhere in the world to ensure that people's human rights are not being violated without the need for their personnel to get Visas / Travel Documents or any prior notification.<br />
<br />
In the absence of such a body that could go and see exactly what is happening, then the tragic situation being faced by the Rohingya's was sadly entirely predictable as something that could and will unfortunately continue to happen in the future until we create the systems that will directly expose and prevent this happening.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-64309925642041450322010-12-27T16:09:00.001-08:002011-06-18T16:27:13.879-07:00Description of the Book<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Had this book been written a few hundred years ago, its author would by now be in prison. Had he managed to escape the clutches of the political classes, the Religious authorities would have done for him. It’s testament to our democracy and free speech that you’re able to buy this book. However even today, in many parts of the world the author would find himself behind bars for having written this book, and that forms one of the threads of the book - how do we ensure all of us enjoy the same high standards of political and economic freedom, and human rights.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Apart from the inequalities, as a global community we’re facing issues such as global warming, religious divide, terrorism, corruption and poverty and even in the affluent west people increasingly find life turning into a rat race. Often these issues arise from a fundamental structural mismatch where as a world we’ve outgrown the capacity of our foundations to bear the new social loads placed upon it. However most of us accept these issues to be the norm or unchangeable given’s - in the same way as a child born within a prison knows no other reality and will happily play, oblivious to the prison walls.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">It’s as if we’re on a giant set of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, most can see the problems, but we’re all too busy leading our lives to get involved. The politicians too have their heads down focussed on short-term priorities and electoral goals, with everyone passing the buck and no one focussing on truly ground-breaking solutions. The publishing of this book is like the moment when the boy in the crowd pointed out the Emperor had no clothes on, and is a wake up call for us all.<i></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The book also deals with our spiritual organisation, looking at religions and god and asking some of the big questions. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The book is more than a mere catalog of issues, in each case the author has moved on from identifying the issues to developing and proposing innovative, radical and pragmatic solutions creating an agenda and route map for change.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">As a society we’ve developed huge technical innovations from splitting the atom to sending space ships to far off planets and the Internet. However when it comes to our own social organization we’ve failed to show the same innovative streak and have lived with problems and issues that have come to appear intractable. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Unhindered by any political or social affiliations, the author’s been able to think on what would be the ideal solution were we to start with a blank piece of paper. The result is a radical set of ideas and approach that if implemented can act as disruptive social engineering, every bit – if not more - powerful as the major technical innovations, and with the ability to transform our world.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times;">It’s highly likely the book will also transform peoples’ thinking and the way they see the world. The author himself was not immune either, having changed his views on God during the course of writing the book.</span></div><br />
<a href="http://www.diagonallengths.com/p/purchase.html" style="color: maroon;">Buy Now</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-77709697576856652702010-12-27T15:57:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:35:16.856-07:00Chapter 1In this chapter I look at Countries and ask some fundamental questions - why and for whom does a country exist...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-3068458539581520712010-12-27T15:49:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:17:53.594-07:00Chapter 2At the end of Chapter 1, I asked the question why and for whom a country existed - coming up with something that may surprise most readers!<br />
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In this chapter I use that as a starting point, and building on it, logically lead to a number of follow on conclusions that will radically alter the way you see countries and their role in the world...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-69772635501901533262010-12-27T15:32:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:54:34.095-07:00Chapter 3This chapter takes the findings of the last two chapters to their logical conclusion, and presents a way of structuring ourselves in a way that few politicians dare even dream about...<br />
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In this chapter I outline what I see is the ideal way we should structure ourselves...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-28005755778468232452010-12-27T15:18:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:36:25.321-07:00Chapter 4In the last chapter I outlined what I see is the ideal way of structuring ourselves.<br />
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However we're not going to be able to move to that ideal in a single step. In this chapter I outline some practical, pragmatic ways and steps we can take in moving towards that ideal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-50064778976492520402010-12-27T15:11:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:24:10.239-07:00Chapter 5In this chapter I continue the theme of the previous chapter in searching for ways in moving forward towards the ideal, and outline one more way of moving towards the ideal structure.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-66649624036006071082010-12-27T11:58:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:36:55.625-07:00Chapter 6This chapter poses the question: "Why are some countries poor?" It aims to answer that in a no holds barred manner, and then develop ways to deal with the core / fundamental factors that keep certain countries in poverty.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-76470792379886240422010-12-27T11:52:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:35:51.778-07:00Chapter 7Having identified what leads to countries being and remaining poor, this chapter looks at further practical ways of dealing with the factors.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-77202180539643746392010-12-27T11:46:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:37:45.106-07:00Chapter 8This applies the discussions in the previous two chapters, and looks at a case study to further examine how countries get left behind and remain in poverty.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-68442879997389702412010-12-27T11:31:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:39:15.532-07:00Chapter 9This chapter puts political systems under the microscope and comes up with some rather uncomfortable conclusions about the current day state of politics...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-63342826557102808842010-12-27T11:13:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:43:26.621-07:00Chapter 10This chapter exposes and highlights the deep issues with our present day politics, identifying why we need to overhaul of our political systems.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-56776642152447483952010-12-27T10:59:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:43:08.592-07:00Chapter 11In the last chapter I outlined how our political systems were broken. In this chapter I move on to highlight the kind of ideal political system we need to move towards.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-51960061953605149472010-12-27T10:47:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:45:41.305-07:00Chapter 12This chapter takes a look at Immigration and comes up with some surprising conclusions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-2728557525222614772010-12-27T10:23:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:54:22.482-07:00Chapter 13Race tends to be a taboo subject. In this chapter I break the taboos, and aim for a frank discussion of the subject and recommend how we can as a society move beyond race...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-77597524454607813062010-12-27T09:44:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:50:16.113-07:00Chapter 14This chapter puts many of our international bodies under the microscope, and a frank exposure of the cracks appearing in the way they're structured.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-90167686373836870942010-12-27T09:25:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:52:10.474-07:00Chapter 15This chapter looks at the Military and armed forces, and identifies some better and radical ways for us to organize.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-70740381478760721112010-12-27T09:16:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:54:59.061-07:00Chapter 16A somewhat surprising chapter, in which I identify a risk to which we as a race appear blissfully unaware of, and are in effect, sleepwalking towards a potential disaster and oblivion...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-33860957798631169752010-12-27T09:08:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:57:56.819-07:00Chapter 17This chapter identifies a new Global Body that is currently missing as it hasn't yet been innovated into existence. <br />
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Once the body is innovated into existence, we'll all wonder how did we ever manage without it...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-9470932956462245582010-12-27T07:25:00.000-08:002011-06-18T15:59:30.572-07:00Chapter 18Like the previous chapter, this chapter outlines yet one more missing international organization, whose absence is felt by the chaos around the world.<br />
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Once it's been innovated into being, it will help the world become a much better place.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-54398592804388117202010-12-27T07:06:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:01:00.974-07:00Chapter 19This chapter identifies another missing international organization. Once its been outlined and is in place, we'll wonder how did we ever muddle on in its absence.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-48055191428474766342010-12-27T06:38:00.001-08:002011-06-18T16:03:35.383-07:00Chapter 20This looks at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and puts that under the microscope.<br />
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The Declaration of Human Rights was done many decades ago, and this chapter looks the gaps, and proposes five new human rights that need to be acknowledged and incorporated into the Declaration.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-59824116917924358232010-12-26T12:22:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:08:23.868-07:00Chapter 21This chapter looks at war and weapons, and how we can better structure ourselves in the future.<br />
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It also looks at Terrorism and the way we deal with it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208677581730491528.post-63557141146087478622010-12-26T12:17:00.000-08:002011-06-18T16:10:31.825-07:00Chapter 22This chapter looks at Business and Trade, and ways of moving towards more open markets.<br />
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It also proposes a radically new approach of dealing with the stalled Trade Talks and moving towards completely free markets.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0