Friends of Bill Clinton Initiative Meeting with Who?

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Newsmax.com


FOBs (Friends of Bill Clinton) Gather in NYC
Monday, September 22, 2008 10:43 PM

By: Stewart Stogel


NEW YORK -- The fourth annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) gets under way in New York City on Tuesday.


The project, founded by former President Clinton, is designed to bring world political, economic and entertainment leaders together under one roof to tackle issues confronting the world community.


Unlike other symposiums, the CGI, created to occur during the annual United Nations General Assembly, is targeted "not only to bring together world leaders, CEOs and entertainment notables to discuss world problems, but get specific commitments on how to handle them," says the former president.


Taking a swipe at the Bush administration's current economic problems, Clinton quipped, "Things weren't too bad when I was president ... were they?"


President Bush is not expected at the Clinton gathering, and it is not clear if he had been invited.


Among the many expected to attend this year's symposium are: Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan; U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon; Mexican President Felipe Calderon; British Prime Minister Gordon Brown; former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; former Vice President Al Gore; Microsoft founder Bill Gates; cyclist Lance Armstrong; Bono; and Muhammad Ali.


GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain is slated to deliver opening remarks at the plenary session on Integrated Solutions ... Water, Food and Energy. Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barak Obama will address the attendees by satellite.


The topics for this year's gathering are: energy-climate change, poverty alleviation and global health.


Over the past four years, the CGI has drawn more than 80 heads of state, 130 CEOs and 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Prize recipients.


Unlike the U.N. meeting, the CGI is promoted as a meeting place where discussions and traditional debates actually occur. The U.N. assembly, which is billed as a "debate," is in reality no more than a series of individual speeches.


Notably absent for this year's gathering are Wall Street leaders.


Only Citigroup Chairman Robert Rubin (former Clinton Treasury secretary) and Swiss Re's CEO Jacques Aigrain are on the schedule.


In all, the CGI and the U.N.'s General Assembly are expected to make a mess of Manhattan traffic throughout the week.


Between police "frozen zones" and countless protests, gridlock will be the topic of the day.


NYC television stations have been repeatedly urging citizens not to drive into the Big Apple this week, and to use mass transportation.


Now if the CGI could get those same world leaders to use that same mass transportation and ditch their limos, that would surely be a major achievement.

© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.   

Muhammed Ali a brain, scientist, diplomat, American representative?  Not likely, not wanted, not needed.  Remember who it was that spent a few years in prison for being a draft dodger?  Changed his religion to Muslim and name also to reflect his new beleif?  What possible advantage could America gain, what possible opening of diplomacy, what possible result is beneficial with this man as one of the invited delegates?  Another of the failed Clinton social and economic policies that Americans swallowed with his 75% popularity as President and now more of the same in the name of world peace, poverty, climate change, and global health.  Unlike the old soldier slowly fading away with my thanks and admiration, I wish the Clintons and Obamas quickly depart along with their legacy.

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Unlike the old soldier slowly fading away with my thanks and admiration, I wish the Clintons and Obamas quickly depart along with their legacy.

Couldn't have said it better.  Also, I've never really bought into those high Clinton approval numbers.  If he had 65% approval, how come he was NEVER able to get even 50% of the vote?

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One must remember that a third party candidate took many of the votes away from conservatives.  After election and once more inaugarated, many of those people supported him while in office.  Also, too many people thought the Lewinski probe to be partisan attacks rather than perjury and violation of oath of office.  I too don't necessarily buy into the high popularity poll numbers, but remember who supported him, the liberal media.  When the liberal media supports a candidate by opinion or mis leading reporting, then I know the opposite candidate is my voting choice.