VOLUME 5, NUMBER 6 -- JUNE 25, 2000

REGION 2020 - WHAT'S NEXT?

The Birmingham Post Herald reported June 6, 2000, page C 12, that "Community leaders will get to know their neighboring counties a little better through a program sponsored by Region 2020 and the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce."

"The program, 'Building Bridges 2000,' is a series of meetings between a delegation of community leaders from the Birmingham area and leaders from Blount, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker counties.
"The meetings, which will be held in the neighboring counties throughout June, are a chance for the Birmingham delegation to find out the needs and problems of neighboring counties, said Yvonne Baskin, community development vice president at the Birmingham chamber.

"Issues affecting the area include ozone and the creation of a highway beltline around northern Birmingham. The delegation is not going into the meetings with an agenda, Baskin said.

"We're simply going to sit and listen, she said. What we might think are issues for the community might not be what the community thinks is an issue.

"The program is the brainchild of the Birmingham chamber's president and chief executive, David Adkisson, said Tom Cosby, chief operating officer for the chamber. Adkisson was previously the mayor of Owensboro, Ky. where there was a great deal of regional cooperation."

You may remember last year Region 2020 held "visioning sessions" in Blount County (see newsletter v4 n5). The purpose, according to 2020, was to help the region develop a land use management plan. The residents of Blount County, quite frankly, showed their displeasure at the so called "visioning sessions" by informing 2020 that they needed to position their plan in an appropriate place and return to Birmingham. Taking a lesson from the nations consummate socialist who cannot define the word is, they thought the word no meant yes, and have returned to Blount County yet again, according to the above quote from the Birmingham Post Herald. A similar article appeared in the Birmingham News.

Regionalism was the theme of the June 15, 2000, meeting held in Oneonta. Attending were: Pat Ballew, Oneonta Chamber of Commerce; Bernard Kincaid, Mayor of Birmingham; Gary White, Jefferson County Commission; Donnie Thomas, Probate Judge of Blount County; Danny Hicks, Mayor of Oneonta; Betty Ward, Coordinator for Economic Development & Tourism; David Adkisson, Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting was originally scheduled as a closed meeting, but when some inquires were made and complaints lodged the meeting was opened to the public. One wonders if closed door meetings regarding regional government are truly the "brainchild" of David Adkisson, the new CEO of the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce. Modern technology is amazing. It has placed at the finger tips of the news media (and virtually anyone else who is interested) information on any subject. Region 2020 and regional government are no exceptions. A search phrase (Chamber of Commerce and Agenda 21) was typed into a standard Internet search engine and the following publication appeared: United States, by Ed Cohen-Rosenthal, International Labour Office Geneva Copyright © International Labour Organization, 1996, ISBN 92-2-110120-7. The pamphlet is sponsored by the International Labor Organization and may be downloaded at http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/wei/usa.htm.

First a word about the author Mr. Ed Cohen-Rosenthal. He states in his publications that he: "....is Director of the Work and Environment Initiative and Senior Extension Associate in Programmes for Employment and Workplace Systems at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labour Relations. Mr.Cohen-Rosenthal served on the President's Council for Sustainable Development Ecological Industrial Park Task Force. [The council exist because the US is in compliance with United Nations edicts.] He facilitates the United States Chamber of Commerce Dialogue on Jobs and the Environment."

He states that "....as part of the ILO's (International Labor Organization) commitment to promoting effective follow-up action to Agenda 21 - the programme of action adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 - a series of National Reviews on the environment and the world of work were commissioned from developing and industrialized countries...." (emphasis added)

This "National Review" in section 6.1 examines the role which the US Chamber of Commerce is playing in the implementation of the United Nations Agenda 21. The section states:

"Currently, the United States Chamber of Commerce USCOC), an organization of businesses, associations with a business focus and state and local Chambers of Commerce, is conducting the dialogue series 'Competitiveness, Jobs and the Environment.' The dialogue sessions provide a neutral forum for substantive communication among diverse stakeholders on selected environmental issues. The outcome of the project will be not only a heightened awareness of key issues facing the natural environment, but also an enhanced spirit of collaboration as diverse stakeholders work toward common, equitable goals. The USCOC hopes that initiating these discussions on a national level will catalyze local discussions, encouraging local Chambers of Commerce to bring together the various stakeholders in regions and communities throughout the country. (emphasis added)

Section 4.6 titled "Global Tomorrow Coalition" States:

"The Global Tomorrow Coalition (GTC) was founded in 1981 with the goal of promoting understanding of sustainable development; its work focuses on both environmental and economic issues. The GTC is an alliance of 100 NGOs and businesses. Sectors participating in GTC collaborative work and regional network include governmental agencies at national, state and local levels; corporations, business associations and chambers of commerce; trade unions; non-profit groups with focus such as environment, population and development; television and radio broadcasting systems; religious institutions; and indigenous groups and ethnic associations. The three basic goals of GTC are to develop national, state and local benchmarks to evaluate progress toward sustainability; promote sustainable development philosophy and action; and recognize leadership in and promote positive models of sustainable development. (emphasis added)
"Currently, the major GTC project is the Sustainable America Initiative (SAI), a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder, three-year initiative that promotes training in and practical application of sustainable development in North America. The SAI is conducted in coordination with the PCSD, US and international organizations and regional and local institutions. Activities include creating audio-visual materials and tool kits to suggest how to integrate sustainable development management principles into project design; organizing leadership training programmes on the meaning of sustainable development for government representatives, business executives and others; promotion of leadership councils for regional sustainability through regional leadership forums on topics such as jobs and urban redevelopment and full-cost accounting and business leadership for sustainable development; creating within GTC a Sustainable Development Resource Centre for networking among US programmes focusing on sustainable development and parallel initiatives in Canada and elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere; and conducting the conference 'Globescope '95: Making America Sustainable' in Washington, DC in October 1995 to assess US progress toward a sustainable development strategy responsive to Agenda 21. (emphasis added)

Yvonne Baskin, community development vice president at the Birmingham chamber made the statement that "The delegation is not going into the meetings with an agenda". Clearly someone is misinformed. The agenda has been set and evidence abounds.

Once in place the total agenda will encompass every aspect of our lives. To see the next items on the agenda one merely has to look at some of the pilot projects. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is just such a project. This planning district which covers 5 counties with a combine population of about 200,000 people may be accessed at http://monticello.avenue.gen.va.us/Gov/TJPDC/ - the link does not work as of 6/22/05

The district has submitted to the state government the "Local Workforce Area VI Draft Strategic Plan....", which is to be implemented on July 1 2000. Just the name should give you some idea where this is headed.

"This plan is a living document that will grow and evolve over time, with significant revisions and enhancements expected throughout the first year of implementation." (page 1)

IF our laws are to become living documents that will grow over time we will never know which revision we must adhere to.

"The strategic plan shall match services with current needs and economic development plans for the region."

Obviously regional planning will encompass the 5 county area.

"Utilize a Holistic Approach. The workforce development system must serve the whole person, addressing issues such as self-confidence, health, drug use, transportation, childcare, and life transitions.
"Foster Lifelong Learning. The workforce development system shall emphasize the need for continual education, both within the employment setting and in formal and informal training opportunities in the community, to serve individuals through all phases of their work life.
"Address Basic Skills. The workforce development system shall provide training for basic job-readiness and retention skills including literacy, teamwork, reliability, commitment, communication, and conflict resolution."

These are a few of the stipulations that are required by the agenda.

Every business will meet with a representative from the workforce board. The document puts it this way.

"An ambassador or visitor group from the Board should meet with area businesses to survey their needs."

Sounds rather regal.

Not to leave out the elected officials altogether the plan will create a "CLEO". The organizational chart looks like this:

The mind of man is truly amazing.

As we delve more deeply into what is happening around the country with these regional planning groups it becomes increasingly obvious that they are designed to implement the UN Agenda 21 at local levels. In the process we will be bypassing our Constitutional system of elected representation and substituting a system of regional governance by appointed boards, the members whom will be accountable to those agencies appointing them and not to the public at large. They will retain their positions not by appealing to a voting public but by catering to the special interests of those who placed them in their positions.
While some of the proposals being put forward sound like they would be good for the region as a whole we need to ask ourselves if we really want to trade our elected governments for a number of appointed boards. Not that we would cease to have elected officials, the formality of elections would be maintained. It's just that those elected officials would no longer have the power to govern, that power having been ceded to the various boards established for the many long-term, renewable projects.

This approach is the "partnership" approach spoken of quite openly in many of the UN's documents, that call for public-private partnerships involving government and industry and special interest NGOs like the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. All NGOs are not, of course, environmental groups. They come in all shapes and sizes. The feminists movement has been heavily involved in shaping UN policies through NGOs like NOW. Planned Parenthood has been much involved in pushing their abortionist agenda, etc.

The UN refers to such involvement as a democratic process that gives the people a say in their government. That's equivalent to the Communist nations saying the people's republics of countries like Cuba give the people a real say in the government. But like those governments select the candidates one can vote for, the UN selects the NGOs they permit to participate in policy making.

No, our system of Constitutional government is the only kind that truly allows the people to govern themselves. Change it at your peril.

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