text:
At the inaugural conference in San Francisco, the UN could clearly not have been launched as the United States Organization, even though that name is less misleading: the name "United States" was pre'mpted. (In any case, people find plenty of reasons to claim that the UN has been an instrument of American power.) Still, the official terminology has it right: membership in the United Nations belongs to Member States, not to Member Nations.
The closer we come to the political pinnacles of the UN Organization, as a result, the less guarantee there is that the people who have standing to speak in its councils speak for Nations, rather than that for State Governments - these too often represent monoethnic, oligarchic subgroups of a given population. (Fill in your own examples.) When spokespersons for Member States address, say, the Security Council, informed listeners know that their speeches present the opinions of sub-groups in the domestic politics of that Member State, and interpret the speeches in light of that information. But, when the debates concern worldwide problems like Human Rights or Population Control, it is hard to cut a way through the thickets of domestic politics to the serious transnational issues. As a result, the hermeneutics of Councilspeak generate cynicism, of the kind that was evident in the counter activities of the NGOs at the Vienna Human Rights conference of 1993, and again, in 1994, at the Population conference in Cairo. (I shall return to this point.)
The Variety of Non-Governmental Organizations
This last example brings us to the central topic of this essay. My subject is the tension in the institutions of global governance, between Nation State Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations . I will first sketch the number, scale and variety of the "nongovernmental organizations" active in different practical situations: this done, I shall be better placed to map the particular areas in which this tension is most evident. I will then focus on the major transnational NGOs, which (I shall argue) play a role in global affairs today that needs fuller understanding than it often gets.
The term "nongovernmental" is what Aristotle calls a privative term: it defines its instances by what they are not. A familiar everyday example is the term "amateur", as applies in Sport: "amateur" golfers do not play golf for a living, do not teach others to play golf, do not sell golf clubs and equipment, nor do any other things that endanger their amateur status. (Despite its etymology - the word amateur, from the Latin amat, refers to one who "loves" an activity - amateurs do not lose their status if they stop enjoying the game!) In its broadest sense, the term "nongovernmental" is applied to any organization or institution that performs a public function, but is not a part of the Government of the territories in which it works.
To narrow the overall class of NGOs down a first stage: in the mid 20th century, Nation State Governments began to hive off public functions that were previously the responsibility of government departments, to newly established bodies set up in ways that insulated them from political criticism. This activity had gone a long way, before State enterprises began to be explicitly privatized in the 1970s or '80s: before that, the line between the "governmental" and the "non-governmental" had become very thin - the Arts Council in Britain, which gives public funds to orchestras, art museums etc., and the SNCF, which runs the French railways, were dependent on and answerable to the Government for overall policies and control of their budgets, so they might as well have been government departments. With this in mind, the Economist launched the name quangos - "quasi-nongovernmental organizations." The insulation of such bodies from Government was something of a pretense, and to this extent their independence was a sham. So let me begin by setting "quangos" aside, as outside the class of NGOs I shall be discussing here.
I also say little in this essay about a second, and more numerous class of NGOs. In many countries, including some of the poorest in Africa, farming cošperatives and other local organizations are set up without any blessing from the Government of the Member State in which they operate: these organizations facilitate, or finance, better methods in farming, irrigation, medicine, education and other cošperative activities. These NGOs are typically local, and operate on a small scale: in a single country, or a single locality. They raise funds from a variety of sources: partly, as loans from IDA, the low interest branch of the World Bank, more often from charitable organizations like Oxfam, sometimes as grants or loans from the U.S. AID, the British ODA, or similar agencies in other Governments: notably, those of Canada, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries.
These local NGOs have strictly delimited goals, and are usually somewhat fragile - dependent on one, or a few, funders and activists. Their need to keep good standing with their donor agencies obliges them to guarantee the quality of the "work product" from their grants or loans; so they tend to keep their heads down, and are disinclined to develop an independent stance over matters of general policy.
Moving to a somewhat larger scale of operation, a substantial number of agencies are not confined to limited localities, but maintain more extensive - or even world wide - areas of concern. Once these organizations have developed international ambitions, they seek "observer status" at the United Nations, which can give them access to UN Headquarters, to papers that the UN Secretariat prepares for circulation to recognized NGOs, and to some direct participation in conferences in their special areas of concern. (More of this later.) The status is so helpful that people sometimes think of NGOs in ways that treat only nongovernmental organizations with UN observer status as being genuine "NGOs" at all. However much the potential role of NGOs was a factor in the preparatory discussions of the UN Charter, it is worth recalling that many influential NGOs were established, and proved their worth, at a time when cošperation between the UN and external NGOs was in a very early stage of development. In a few cases, indeed, the lifetime of particular NGOs had long antedated the UN itself: the ICRC - the International Committee of the Red Cross - is a prime example.
Having set on one side the nongovernmental organizations I am not concerned with in this essay, let me sharpen my focus, and identify the large, transnational NGOs that are my main concern. Several kinds of organization are relevant here, and have much in common. Their scope is world wide, and they pursue their topics on a global scale. They operate on a transnational basis: for administrative purposes, their headquarters may be located in one particular country, but their work is carried out by networks of local organizations, which have local autonomy and raise most of their own funds. Typically, they take no money from either industry or government, but get it through subscriptions from individuals who have their "cause" at heart. Most crucially, they seek to protect their independence of judgment, and their claim to be impartially critical, by keeping a distance from both Nation State Governments and the United Nations - dining with them (as the English saying is) "using a long spoon."
The purest instances are those transnational single-issue NGOs that concentrate, in some cases, on humanitarian issues, in some on problems of the environment, in some on abuses of human rights. The first group includes the ICRC, the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam), MŽdŽcins sans FrontiŹres and the Save the Children Fund; the second includes Worldwatch, the World Wild Life Fund and - most particularly - Greenpeace; the third includes Amnesty International (the pioneer post-1945 NGO), the network of regional organizations that makes up Human Rights Watch, and such impromptu organizations as the group of Nobel Peace Laureates who joined to exert pressure on the Military Government of Burma to release the country's elected leader, Aung Sang Suu Kyi.
Another group of NGOs is grounded in shared commitments of professionals in different disciplines and countries. Physicians together, or lawyers together, find a common cause in the distinctive values of their professions. Organizations such as the World Psychiatric Association, World Medical Association, or International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, conduct a transnational defense of medical values - including the values of the public health movement - in a way that transcends the policy of all Nation State Governments. (Israeli and Palestinian physicians who meet over the injured body of a shared patient, will approach his treatment in the same frame of mind, and set aside all considerations that rest only on questions of citizenship or nationality.) The same can be said in the legal profession for, e.g., the International Commission of Jurists and other such institutions.
Finally, a few transnational NGOs engage in charitable work from a commercial, not a professional or academic angle. In modus operandi, a business consultancy like McKinzie resembles Greenpeace or Amnesty: it has branches in two dozen countries, each of which is an independent operation with traditions and experience that allow it to address the special problems of its own country; but which pool technical ideas about working with clients, and handling other issues that go beyond their own boundaries. Meanwhile - though the NSGs of Europe grumbled at "unscrupulous currency dealers" - the Soros Foundation started the Central European University in Budapest and Prague in less time than it took the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, its intergovernmental counterpart, to buy marble for its grandiose entrance hall. In the background, of course, older Foundations of commercial origin (Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie, etc.) continue to operate multinationally, or sometimes transnationally.
None of these groups of organizations - humanitarian, professional or commercial - is tempted to act as agents for a National Government. If anything, their relations with Government are conducted at arm's length to preserve both the appearance and the fact of independence. As we shall see, the efficacy of their operations, and their credibility for those who benefit from them, depends on keeping a real distance in these relations, so that political disputes among States or peoples do not touch the NGOs' reputations as honest brokers or disinterested bringers of aid.
In number and variety, the NGOs have multiplied since World War II, but their historical origins are much older. Like so much of the educational or social services given by the State in modern secular societies, the work of NGOs was in earlier times undertaken by Churches and religious orders. (In Europe from 1200 on, the Medieval Christian Church was in effect a transnational institution, with a standing above, and apart from the secular rulers of the time. ) As we know it now, the tradition of NGOs dates from the establishment of the ICRC in Switzerland in 1865. To this day, indeed, the ICRC succeeds, by acting with great care, in keeping the confidence of countries with very different cultural and religious traditions: peoples and governments in most parts of the world have learned to accept its impartiality and independence.
Reasons for the Influence of NGOs
So much by way of background about the general nature and standing of NGOs. Now, let me turn to the central issue for this essay, about the significance of the large, financially independent transnational NGOs in global affairs. The fact that NGOs have been increasingly influential over the last twenty years is clear to observers of current events. The decline of the USSR's political authority on the international stage was accelerated by its hostile reactions to the award of Nobel Prizes to Boris Pasternak, Alexander Solzhenitsyn and AndrŽ Sakharov, while Amnesty's campaign for Soviet prisoners of conscience only made matters worse: Mikhail Gorbachev therefore felt bound to invite representatives from Amnesty International to visit Moscow, to discuss reforms that might help restore Russia's standing in the larger world.
More recently, humanitarian, environmental and human rights organizations have worked with the international Press and Television to draw their viewers and readers' attention to ecological catastrophes and oppressive regimes, massacres and famines, from Alaska to Rwanda, Somalia to Guatemala, Bosnia to Kashmir. In response, the World Powers, large or small, have felt bound to acknowledge disasters they might have preferred to ignore, and have reacted by despatching mobile hospitals and food supplies, election observers and armistice monitors. Suffering that is visible on the TV screens of richer countries touches the conscience of electors, and so of politicians also: what the Eye cannot help seeing, the Heart cannot help grieving about.
The fact that NGOs are influential is undeniable: what is less obvious is why their influence has increased at this time. The alliance of NGOs and the media is a potent instrument of change; but about the deeper significance of NGOs something more has to be explained. In particular, what we face at this time is not just a growth of influence for NGOs, but a shift in the balance of influence as between NGOs and Nation State Governments. The significance of NGOs becomes more apparent, as people find more and more suspect the claim of NSGs to "sovereignty". In a dozen ways, we are at a turning point in the history of State Power and Sovereignty: the spotlight is leaving the governments of totally Sovereign Nation States, and other actors are becoming visible on the global stage. In the long run - I shall argue - the Nation State Governments can no more monopolize the political conduct of global affairs than OPEC can monopolize the World market for petroleum.
The heart of the matter is this. The birth of Nation States from the 1650s on, after the Peace of Westphalia, was - in practical terms - the work of Louis XIV of France. After a brush with dissident nobles in the Fronde, he used all available force to create the unitary State that France has since remained, both as a monarchy and as a republic. In theoretical terms, European ideas about the power of the Nation State are dominated by the model in Hobbes' Leviathan. On this view, the prime function of the Sovereign is to provide security to his Subjects or Citizens: for this he is given a monopoly in the legitimate exercise of Violence in the State. The authority of the Sovereign is displayed in the use of State Violence, to preserve domestic order by the power of the Police, and to protect the State's external integrity by the power of its Armed Forces. Against the Sovereign's legitimate Force, Hobbes saw no scope for any legitimate resistance. The execution of King Charles I in 1649 marked for him the final breakdown of the State: even the secession of the Dutch Republic from the Spanish Crown in the 1570s or '80s had, in his eyes, been illegitimate.
In the three and a half centuries since the Peace of Westphalia, the political Powers of the World have constructed a diplomatic system in which every Sovereign is free to ensure the domestic order and external integrity of the State. By both formal and tacit agreement among these Sovereign authorities, all States respect each other's monopoly in the domestic use of Violence, and they will resist each other's external use of Force, only if their own compelling interests are threatened. In this sense, the Westphalian Order created a Cartel of Nation States.
The United Nations Treaties did nothing to weaken the power of this Cartel: rather, they created a new instrument for existing Sovereign States to use in their own interest. Under the UN Treaties (as in other Treaties) States took on voluntarily accepted limits on their Sovereignty: in principle, at least, they retained their option to leave the UN, and resume unqualified authority to defend their State interests as they thought best. Since the end of the Cold War, the authority of States to protect Sovereign interests has been qualified in ways that are now familiar. A new rhetoric constructed around such novel ideas as human rights law and the international community - a community with needs and interests of its own - is winning currency in debates at the UN, as well as in other forums: the force of this rhetoric deserves careful scrutiny.
The crucial transition was the case of Iraq vs. Kuwait. Initially, the attempt by one member of the UN and OPEC Cartels to seize the assets of a fellow member was found unacceptable for purely Westphalian reasons. But the penalties to which the Sovereign State of Iraq was exposed, and the lengths to which the alliance opposed it went in its interpretation of the Security Council's resolutions, give evidence of a change of view. The use of those resolutions, for instance, to warrant intervention between the Baghdad authorities and their Subjects in Kurdistan to the North, and in the Delta to the South, imposed restraints on the exercise of Iraqi Sovereignty that had very little to do with its seizure of Kuwait.
On the contrary, these actions rested on pre-Westphalian ideas of State Sovereignty. In short, the actions of Saddam Hussein against the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs were condemned as those of an "unjust" Sovereign: Iraqi Kurds were entitled to appeal for support and understanding in resisting those actions, as much as the Netherlanders of the 1570s were entitled to support and understanding against religious persecution by Philip of Spain's Army. On the Hobbist view, the only "injustice" a Sovereign can do to his Subjects is to fail to preserve the State's domestic peace and its external integrity: acting on this view, most Member States of the UN are quick to object to any "external" interference in their "internal" affairs - e.g., the People's Republic of China, challenged about Tibet. Yet this is just the argument the Security Council did not let Saddam use in his own cause.
On a pre-Westphalian view, however, a Sovereign's obligations went beyond those of preserving domestic peace and external security. Legitimate Violence may be a way to create and maintain an effective State; but, if a Sovereign were to retain legitimacy, his actions must meet other conditions. In general, it was not acceptable for Subjects to rebel, but the way in which Philip II persecuted the Netherlands Protestants gave them a right to "abjure" their earlier loyalty to the Spanish Crown. Loyalty was a two-way affair. The Sovereign was expected to act in his Subjects' interests, not just vice versa: if he failed in these requirements, he invited difficulties of other kinds. The murder of Thomas Becket (say) made King Henry II of England an object of contempt to people of conscience all the way across Europe: as a result , he was not forced but shamed into submitting to the authority of the Church.
Claims about a Sovereign's "injustice" carried conviction for Aquinas but, until 1991, they had little weight in the UN. At the high point of the Modern Nation State, matters of Power were interpreted as questions about a State's ability to bring Military Force into action. (Stung by the Catholic Church's criticisms, Stalin reputedly asked, "How many divisions has the Pope?") In the early 20th century, the central issue for British diplomacy was the numbers of battleships available for service in the German, French and British navies, respectively: during the Cold War, the rival numbers of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) in the forces of the US and the USSR played a similar part in the strategic debate.
Since 1989, the capacity for Military Force is longer the only measure of political influence. Even now, Shame may only a limited ability to (say) change the minds of the Burmese junta. But limited power is not zero power: in the balance of influence, one strength of the NGOs is the role of Shame, as a counterweight to Force. So one reason why major transnational NGOs can win and retain public respect just is their manifest abstention from Violence. As I wrote some years ago,
. .in the eyes of decent human opinion, moral challenges are never answered by displays of force. The day that Amnesty International takes possession of a machine gun, let alone an atom bomb, its ability to gain a hearing and influence events will be at an end. . Amnesty International's moral authority is that much the greater, just because it is a Lilliputian institution.2
While the Superpowers boasted about nuclear arsenals, NGOs were seen as inherently nonviolent. While the policies of NSGs were slanted by their own ambitions, and the speeches in the Security Council were aimed at national advantage, NGOs seemed free of ulterior interests - grinding no axes, uncommitted to one country rather than another, speaking not for any Government but for its victims, the sufferers and the oppressed. Put idealistically, NGOs became Humanity's Conscience, and were taken seriously because their arguments were disinterested. Of course, this view involved an element of exaggeration. If pressed, UN officials who handled nongovernmental organizations would reply that NGOs can act in ways as self-interested as those of any Government. But this reply involved a counter-exaggeration, too. The basic insight still holds good: Oxfam and Amnesty are not inherently self-interested parties, and their arguments can be taken as meaning just what they say.
The Political and Technical Faces of the UN
On a less high flown level, the shifting balance of influence was in evidence at the Conferences on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Human Rights in Vienna, most recently on Population Policy in Cairo. At Cairo, a coalition of NGOs and women's groups - above all, from the developing countries that suffer most from population pressures - played a major role by preventing the representatives of NSGs from making concessions to the Vatican and other conservative male religious groups, which were trying to destroy the effectiveness of the Conference's final documents. NSG spokespeople are exposed to a clash of interests among different groups on their domestic scene: so, Benazir Bhutto presented a more conservative Islamic view than one might expect from a woman of her education. The interests for which the NGOs spoke were less ambiguous and more clearly defined; and they mounted a powerful operation to defend the central purposes of the Conference.
Here we can begin to answer one of the larger questions facing this meeting, about the relative efficacy of the UN's political and technical agencies. In ways exemplified in the Cairo proceedings, the UN's political / diplomatic activities have all the turmoil of domestic politics, but on a larger stage. They are subject to the familiar criticisms that ordinary people direct at politicians back home: that they are "corrupted by" the groups whose needs they serve, "subservient to special interests" and so uncommitted to the Public Good.3 The technical activities are effective, on the other hand, to the extent that their goals are defined in advance clearly enough to ensure a consensus. We may thus form an impression that the technical agencies of the UN function well, and its political institutions badly. But this impression rests on a confusion over this division of tasks. The single-mindedness of NGOs makes them natural allies of the technical agencies: in their work, they turn to the same technically equipped professionals - agricultural scientists, hydrologists or physicians - whose advice and opinions the UN agencies rely on, and whose knowledge and skills are of use in the kinds of practical situations that the NGOs also address.
In passing, let me remark on a stratagem that NGOs use to shift the field on which issues are debated. At the end of the Cold War, groups like International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and Physicians for Social Responsibility argued that nuclear weapons are a public health problem, like communicable diseases and polluted drinking water, so that nuclear disarmament has to be viewed as a public health issue. The stratagem had both strength and weakness. On the one hand, it focused attention on the catastrophes that will follow any use of nuclear weapons: the problems created in the affected countries would be too vast for the Public Health authorities to tackle effectively.4 Policy debates about nuclear weapons or disarmament, per contra, have for long focused not on radiation and the like, but on the balance of interests involved in nuclear deterrence: diplomatic issues that a Public Health approach cannot resolve.
Certainly, there is a virtue in replacing political and diplomatic issues by technical and professional ones, wherever this is practicable; but it cannot be done completely, or in all cases equally. On the contrary, medical information serves only to spell out, in detail, the consequences that should be a necessary component in all political and diplomatic equations: even after these have all been taken into account, there is still substantial room for NSG bargaining to go on as before.
The Reaction of NSGs to the Influence of NGOs
Meanwhile, the very things that draw NGOs into a natural alliance with the UN's professional or technical agencies enhance the difficulties between NGOs and NSGs: these we must now turn to. They come from NSGs seeing their hands forced by the influence of NGO's and their media allies. The absolute sovereignty of Nation States is now constrained, not just by their economic interdependence, but also by the ability of selfappointed NGOs to raise a worldwide response from world opinion by their advocacy of humanitarian, environmental, medical or human rights causes.
The difficulties in question are sometimes trivial: a matter of differences of style or even injured pride. At a meeting in the Netherlands, I spoke of Greenpeace as a serious organization, and was surprised by the Japanese representative's disgust: Greenpeace and its works filled him with distaste. But it was clear that his reaction was a response, in part, to the deliberately shaming and melodramatic character of Greenpeace's public demonstrations, which are intended to put the industry or government being criticized in the wrong before the general public. Yet this is only one half of Greenpeace's mode of operation. The other half acts as a counterbalance: in the corridors of the UN, the organization tries to persuade the object of its attacks that it would do better to sign a treaty (say) or to enforce environmental controls, that they had been slow to adopt.5
Behind injured feelings, however, lie real and painfully embarrassing difficulties. The intervention in Somalia by the United States and the United Nations was triggered by the humanitarian crisis at Baidoa: public attention was caught by heart wrenching television images of children with swollen bellies, and other marks of disease and starvation. The initial international response was a flow of medical help and food to relieve this crisis; but it was soon clear that much more was needed. The prevalence of banditry and the risk of injury and even death to aid workers, at the hands of gangs run by a dozen rival warlords, persuaded the US government and the UN to introduce military forces, hoping - vainly - to establish a a stable governmental framework in Mogadishu, which might regain effective authority over the rest of the country.
The story is fresh in our minds. Its opening was the most ironic of all: unarmed aid workers and television cameramen on shore near Mogadishu harbor watched and filmed Marines in full combat gear crawling ashore, as though ready to meet well dug in enemy troops, rather than American civilians. But before long the security situation became totally ambiguous: disgusted by the apparent ingratitude of people they were trying to help, politicians insisted on bringing home, out of harm's way, first the US troops, and eventually the entire UN contingent.
It was (and still is) unclear if peaceful humanitarian doctors or relief workers and heavily armed government armies can operate effectively on the same groung: this is no clearer in Bosnia than in Somalia, and the dissonant policies of the United States and the European powers toward the arms embargo against Bosnia only underline the lack of a practical solution. Yet State governments remain open to a well-intended pressure (or temptation) to interpose forces, in places where much good can seemingly be done in an otherwise desperate situation. The intervention at Goma, on the Rwanda-Zaire border, was one case where government force and humanitarian agencies cošperated to good effect in the short term, to relieve an immediate disaster; but the intervention's inconclusive political effect leaves the underlying problems as obscure as ever.
For the time being, States having a capacity for disinterested helpfulness are liable to slip into political quagmires, once their help goes beyond medical supplies and food, and involves putting armed force on the ground. In President Clinton's speeches, the rhetoric of "national interests" blurs into one of "our natural humanitarian interests"; but (as in the case of Haiti) his political critics are now becoming hard nosed about the limited extent of America's truly "national" concerns.
Yet there is little doubt that the underlying tension will continue. People in the rich countries will go on demanding that their Governments react to disasters of all kinds - floods or starvation, torture or "ethnic cleansing" - and the political implications of that demand will remain as ambiguous as ever. In situations of anarchy (Somalia) or civil war (Bosnia and Rwanda) the lack of effective authority puts humanitarian workers at risk in ways no outside State can remedy, short of imposing a colonial administration. So it is no wonder that the ways in which governments react to calls for intervention in good causes are coming to sound like the alarm from the Trumpeter of Cracow - the first arrow to the throat brings it to a sudden stop.
Earlier, we remarked on the narrower, pre-Westphalian concept of Sovereignty. When a Sovereign's treatment of his Subjects deeply offended the Consciences of the other Powers, considerations of Shame could oblige him to change his policies and correct his actions, in ways that left questions about Force and Violence on one side. In the three centuries and more of the Modern era, appeals to morality and shame lost much of this effectiveness. A few rulers - King Bomba of Naples in the early 1800s - and a few major powers - the 19th century Ottoman forces in Bulgaria - acted in ways so outrageous as to attract general condemnation; but Shame was rarely sufficient to change their minds or their policies. Now, however, though we still face unresolved practical problems, our situation at least testifies to the renewed power of Shame as an influence in global affairs. Some current regimes - the Burmese junta, for instance - are still in effect shameless. Even there, however, an awareness of being international pariahs, and the experience of being besieged by a delegation of Nobel prize winners, weakens their ability to ignore outside criticism and continue imposing their power with unrestricted Force . Though something less than outright Shame, this is a move in the same direction.
Transnational Representative Institutions
Let me return to an idea implicit in my earlier discussion: that the tension between NGOs and NSGs today is a revival of earlier conflicts in Medieval Europe, between the Church and the secular Monarchs. NSGs today wield temporal power in the sense of Legitimate Force or Violence: the NGOs speak for longer term values, which are not (supposedly) restricted to one country or epoch. More should be said about the limits of this parallel: there are significant differences between the centralized structure of the Medieval Papacy and its modus operandi, on the one hand, and the independent and separate standing of the transnational NGOs, on the other hand. But the central point holds good: the exercise of Force by Sovereign Nation State Governments is open to criticism by transnational standards, from NGOs and others, in a way that was easier and more intelligible in Medieval than in Modern times, before the Treaty of Westphalia than after it.
To pose a topical question: "Is the effectiveness of NGOs enhanced, or lessened, by their institutional fragmentation?" The answer to that question is not clear. Would the voice of a formal NGO Assembly be louder than that of a thousand distinct NGOs? Or is the effectiveness of NGOs (paradoxically) increased by the ability of separate and independent organizations to reach consensus? Certainly, the centralized authority of the Vatican undermined rather than strengthened its credibility at the Cairo conference. Vatican representatives at that meeting acted so like Nation State Governments in, e.g., forcing a conservative position on the smaller Latin American powers, that their tactics ended by generating resentment: these were seen as inappropriate to the occasion.6
This question is part of a larger institutional problem facing the whole UN: how to make the Organization more democratic. The institutions of the European Union are currently criticized for their "democratic deficit": neither the central administration in Brussels, nor the Council of Ministers, is directly representative of the peoples whose lives their decisions touch. The recent enlargement of the authority of the European Parliament go some way to correct this deficit, but much more remains to be corrected.
A similar criticism applies to the institutions of the UN. The General Assembly (e.g.) is no less a Cartel than the Security Council; and there is little chance for the citizens of any Member State to get a hearing in the agencies or bureaus of the UN - legislative or executive, judicial or technical - without cošperation from Government representatives, even where that Government treats its own citizens tyrannically. Unless that "deficit" can be remedied - it may be argued - the Governments of the Member States, however unrepresentative on the domestic level, will keep a monopoly of national representation, when the interests of the peoples over whom they rule come up for debate in the UN's institutions.
What alternative is there - a directly elected World Parliament? As matters stand, this proposal is visionary but impractical. The Governments of many Member States are unwilling to hold, on their territories, free and fair elections to which all permanent residents of the State have effective access.7 So there is little prospect that these States have either will or experience needed to organize elections for a World Parliament that are acceptable by transnational standards.
For want of a World Parliament, then, some people look to NGOs to make the UN more representative. Norway's Department of Development Cooperation Programmes (for instance) has commissioned a pollof NGOs aimed at two questions,
"How effective is NGO access to intergovernmental decision-making?" and
"How can it be made more democratic?"
(Once again the Scandinavians took the lead in support of NGOs.) The consulting firm conducting the poll begins with a useful back-history of the problem:
As originally conceived in the UN Charter discussions, NGOs would be recognized by the Economic and Social Council as important participants in considering issues before the Council and that's all. Subsequently, large numbers of NGOs arrived at official UN conferences and made their presence felt through specialized conferences, and UN staff planning meetings. At the . . . negotiations for a New International Economic Order, NGOs were given the ability to produce in-house newspapers during . . . meetings in order to inform Governments about the on-going proceedings. [In] the discussions of the Human Rights Commission,
NGOs were "asked" to monitor the behaviour of Governments and to report back to inter-governmental bodies on the compliance of Governments to . . . international standards. In the World Health Organization, NGO expertise was given prominence in drafting international guidelines and standards on infant formula sometimes equal to or greater than individual Governments. The Bergen conference on sustainable development experimented with a five sided formula: Governments, business, youth, labour and environmental groups had to agree on . . . a statement. The European Union has now held ministerial / NGO level consultations. And the UNCED process [post-Rio] formally defined . . . the role of NGOs in [preparing] global conferences and their follow-up.
Several things are clear in this account. From the beginning, NGOs viewed the role grudgingly allotted to them by NSGs as insufficient. Early on, they felt the need to "make their presence felt" at meetings, by staging "counter-conferences, parallel events and demonstrations": even now they doubt if a current review of the status of NGOs by the Economic and Social Council will give their views adequate attention.
Finally, they still need to follow a strategy of "counter-conferences, parallel events, and demonstrations." The exemplary "counter-conference" was at the Human Rights meeting at Vienna, in Spring 1993. The Nation State Governments of the World met Upstairs in the Conference Hall, and worked their way through an agenda sanitized to avoid offending the People's Republic of China. (The Upstairs conference declined to listen to the Dalai Lama, or anybody who saw Tibet as raising issues of human rights.) Downstairs in the basement, the NGOs meanwhilelistened to the Dalai Lama, took on other issues the NSGs evaded, and gave a running commentary on the meeting that the World Press by all accounts found more interesting, informative and entertaining than the Upstairs proceedings. Similar counter-events took place at the Rio Environmental meeting and the Cairo Population conference: at Cairo, the (female) Prime Minister of Norway Upstairs cooperated with the NGO Forum Downstairs, in planning initiatives that ended by being effective in the official proceedings.
Elsewhere, UN Secretariat and agencies have chosen to take NGOs on as partners: Sadako Ogata, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has regular meetings with humanitarian and other NGOs that work on the problems of refugees in war torn and starving regions. The documents following the Rio Conference - e.g., Agenda 21 - also acknowledge the environmental NGOs, while the Commission on Sustainable Development opens up its internal planning discussions to NGOs in a way that such political agencies as the Security Council rarely do.
Still, such alliances between NGOs and UN staff do not fully overcome the UN's democratic deficit. How is it decided which NGOs shall participate in such meetings? Who chooses which NGOs sit down and talk with Sadako Ogata? At these meetings, democracy is not "one person one vote": it is syndicalism, in which representation is tied to occupation, as with the Trade Union "block vote" in the British Labour Party, or the membership of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, based on the professions. Organizationally, then, much still needs doing to create modes of collaboration among NGOs and the UN bureaux and councils, before the UN's operations can seriously claim to be democratic.
Hitherto, in any case, the major humanitarian and environmental NGOs have been unwilling to coordinate their administrative practices, let alone establish a framework of common institutions. Much of their influence (the argument goes) comes from the fact that their goals are exactly defined. There was a long and painful internal debate before Amnesty International enlarged the organization's targets to include capital punishment: similar soul searchings preceded Greenpeace's decision to extend its area of activities to the Latin American South, as well as the prosperous North and Australasia. In Britain, the Aid and Environment Group is responsible for some cošrdination among different NGOs, and in Europe there is similar cošperation among humanitarian NGOs. For the most part, however, this collaboration is only arranged ad hoc, in response to the needs of a particular crisis in (say) Bosnia or Rwanda, not with any expectation of creating a standing Council or permanent Assembly of NGOs.8
The problem remains. From the start, the UN Organization was an "inter-national" (inter-State or inter-Governmental) organization. At its 50th anniversary, it is unwilling to broaden its representation of Citizens, at the cost of States or Governments. On the contrary, many Member States fear to offend the oligarchies that dominate their own politics. For now, the natural allies of NGOs are the UN Secretariat, or the technical and professional agencies. It is not that the goals of NGOs are intrinsically technical, but their single mindedness sharpens their attention in a quasitechnical way.
Transnational Judicial Institutions
The peripheral institutions of the UN have similar limitations, arising from the fact that the UN is intergovernmental not transgovernmental, international not transnational. The World Bank is a good example. Its statutes prevent it from making loans directly to agricultural cošperatives or other NGOs. All of its funds have to go via NSGs for allocation within a country, and some of them fail to reach their intended beneficiaries, being diverted to pay for Mercedes cars for the State Žlite. Yet, as the Grameen Bank found in Bangladesh, local agricultural cošperatives (run by women) default on their loans at a markedly lower rate than regular commercial firms, let alone Governments. This discovery has, however, been frustratingly slow to influence thinking at leading international financial agencies.9
For NGOs in the field of human rights, however, the crucial global institutions are judicial; and there the weaknesses of a purely inter-governmental system are flagrant. The International Court of Justice, e.g., adjudicates only disputes as between States: more exactly, disputes between States that allow it jurisdiction in the case in question. In the Nicaraguan civil war, Nicaragua tried to sue the US Government over the CIA mining of the harbor at Corinto; but the US Administration rejected the jurisdiction of the Court, so no ruling could be put into effect. This leaves no provision for actions in which individual citizens, or classes of citizens, seek to press claims against Sovereign States: specifically, claims in which NGOs like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch publicize offenses by State authorities against their own citizens.
As matters stand, indeed, Sovereign Immunity - a product of the Westphalian era - stops individuals bringing suits in the domestic Courts of their own country; and the Cartel of inter-Governmental institutions stops them doing so under International Law. Even less are there tribunals in which transnational humanitarian agencies can bring "class action" suits for groups of citizens who are penalized, or discriminated against, by the Government of a State. Whether as individuals, as classes, or through NGOs as guardians, Citizens have no "standing" in the tribunals responsible for adjudicating matters of International Law.
In the judicial realm, in a word, we conspicuously lack trans-national tribunals, to determine the rights of Citizens against Nation State Governments, and to hand down rulings enforceable for a Citizen, and against a State. However much NSGs may now concede their economic interdependence, few of them would think of surrendering to outside Courts any right of adjudication between the State and its Citizens. Sovereign Immunity is the last refuge of Leviathan, the last appeal of rulers who remain above the Law, so above the rights of their own Citizens - and who claim the right to do so in the name of national autonomy.
One rare exception is that created by the Treaties establishing the institutions of the European Union, e.g. the European Court of Human Rights. As before, these treaties imposed on Member States voluntarily accepted limitations; but by now there is a body of practical law, from cases in which Member Governments were held by the Court to have contravened individual rights entrenched in those Treaties.10 If such problems face unquestioned Citizens of European States who seek protection from the Court of Human Rights, how much harder is it for Residents who are unreasonably kept from Citizenship. If these issues of Standing were resolved, a new field of action will open up for the transnational humanitarian NGOs that now operate by the Politics of Shame: rousing public indignation, and embarrassing NSGs that find themselves held in scorn across the globe. For who would not prefer to see Nation State Governments exposed to enforceable judicial orders to right the wrongs they do their citizens and residents?11
Human rights is not the only field that can profit from a transnational judicial forum or tribunal. In due course, scientific consensus may be achieved about environmental issues, and generate a world wide Code of Environmental Practice. Respect for this Code could become the subject of a global system of administrative law: opening to NGOs a chance to initiate actions before a World Environmental Court, for injunctions requiring a State to change its the laws and practices, as a threat to Nature and public health in their own or neighboring countries.
Does this idea at present sound fanciful? If so, let me remark that the procedures for such a system are already in place and operative in the United States of America, where practices and laws that survive challenge in the system of State Courts are open to review in the Federal Courts, and can be struck down there. National Governments that resist the adoption of Federal institutions on a European scale will (needless to say) at first reject any such Federal jurisdiction; but, given the impotence of State borders in the face of a Chernobyl disaster, the obstacles to a global jurisdiction of environmental and public health issues may not for long remain insuperable.
The NGOs: Prophets or Politicians?
To conclude: Any account of the place of NGOs within the international system of institutions must address two fundamental issues. One of these is, at least on its face, philosophical rather than political; the other is more political than philosophical; but, in actual practice, these two issues are closely connected.
The first is the claim to "universality" often made in discussions of human rights. Historically, this idea goes back to the late 18th century philosopher, Immanuel Kant. Today, it is sometimes understood as implying that all of the rights claimed by people in the developed countries of Western Europe or North America are rights for people in any country: if it is morally objectionable for the police to torture prisoners in Holland, it is morally objectionable for them to torture prisoners in Zimbabwe, Paraguay and Malaysia as well. Universal imperatives against the deliberate infliction of cruelty do not ask where or when deliberately cruel actions are performed: at all places and times equally, avoiding these actions is part of the moral fabric of human existence.
Such claims underlie programs on which the major NGOs embark with conviction; and when the content of the moral point at issue is (say) torture, their force is not easily challenged - can torture be unpardonably evil in one country, yet defensible in another? But, recently the claim to universality has been challenged by Asian politicians - most strongly by Dr Mahathir, Prime Minister of Malaysia. To impose worldwide respect for the rights Europeans and Americans insist on for themselves at home is, he argues, a new Cultural Imperialism: an attempt to impose Western patterns of life on countries which have their own independent systems of moral thought and practice. Rather than let organizations like Amnesty poke their noses into Malaysian affairs, Westerners had best let Asians look after their own affairs.
This reply is self serving - the head of an NSG defend Sovereign Autonomy from encroachment. But there is more to it. Western insistence on "taking rights seriously" leads to exaggerations. In California, some see it as morally objectionable for people in restaurants to impose tobacco smoke on fellow-diners; but is it just as objectionable to smoke in restaurants in Bangkok or Accra? This appeal to universality is overdone.12
Immanuel Kant understood this point. He claimed only that moral maxims have a universal form. What substantive content any maxim cashes in for is a different matter: a topic for "casuistical digressions" analyzing its significance in particular situations.13 Between the bare statement of a rule and its specific applications, then, lie questions of its meaning for different practical situations. What counts as "honor" or "dishonor" in a given country is far more the product of local history and custom than what counts as "kindness" or "cruelty": so, there is less ambiguity over torture than (say) over matters of honor.
What can properly claim "universality" are the general themes of moral argument: their specific implications depend on the particular situations to which they are applied. One of the skills required of transnational NGOs is the discernment needed to see how general maxims match particular cases. To current critics of the claim to universality, we can reply that organizations like Amnesty International evoke world wide response: they "speak" to people in all countries alike. Subtlety and discernment are required in seeing how their general maxims fit the special problems of a new region.14 But many moral issues are too plain to require interpretation. Like cholera and hunger, torture or arbitrary imprisonment has the same meaning in all countries. To that extent, the vision of idealistic NGOs as disinterested Voices for Humanity - or for environmental NGOs, as Voices for Nature - retains its philosophical charm.
At this point, the second, political issue comes in, and the picture has another side. In disciplining rulers who contravened the general moral imperatives of human reason, the Medieval Church was unavoidably drawn into secular politics. The results could be unedifying. Popes and Cardinals learned to play politics like seasoned politicians, and cultivated that art to this day - as at the Population Conference. Transnational NGOs, likewise, operate unavoidably on the edge, if not the middle, of the political scene. However valid their moral claims, effective campaigns intended to put these into effect necessarily take them into the domain of public politics. In dining with NSGs, they "use a long spoon"; but they all pay a price for operating in the political arena.
With this in mind, we should return to the questionnaire to NGOs sponsored by the Norwegian Government. There, the contrast between basic moral goals and day to day political methods is much in evidence.15 The questions on the questionnaire's first page are very general, and remain on the level of high principles:
a. Are the 'peoples' voices heard at [the UN's] international events [?]
b. Are the concerns of 'Nature' heard at international events [?]
c. Are you heard at international events [?]
d. Do Governments think 'peoples' voices are heard [?]
e. Do Governments think 'Nature' is heard [?]
f. Do Governments think NGOs are heard [?]
By the last two pages, however, we are plainly operating on the down to earth level of practical politics, and a distinctive political style has begun to show itself:
17. At NGO international events, do you generally feel the potential dominance of a. northern NGOs / b. the larger NGOs / c. accredited NGOs / d. male-run NGOs / e. white-run NGOs / f. English language-run NGOs?
. . . . .
22. If you could re-structure an NGO alternate conference, the first two things that you would do are:
a. insist on gender / racial balance in NGO delegations
b. provide documentation / translation in additional languages
. . . . . .
f. book all NGO participants into the same hotel / district
g. remove the podium and arrange chairs in a large circle . . .
By now, it is clear that, inter alia, the NGO movement has taken over the mantle of the radical Left. A concern for political correctness colors these questions: any procedure that fails any egalitarian demand is suspect. It is not enough that the moral goals of the NGO be achieved: they must be achieved in a perfectly equitable way.
I do not object to this coloration. The goals and methods of the Left have a long and proud historical ancestry going back, at the least, to the Sectarians of the English Commonwealth from 1649 to 1657: the Ranters and Diggers, Quakers and Levellers. I draw attention to this strand in the NGO movement here, because it helps to explain some other aspects of the NGOs' role in the practical politics of the UN. There, they also display the coloration of Left vs. Right - Equality vs. Privilege - familiar from the domestic politics of single States or countries.
Many people in NSG delegations, and some members of the UN bureaucracy, find this aspect of NGOs a stumbling block. Growing up within the comfortable etiquette of diplomacy, they react against the rough tactics of (e.g.) Greenpeace, whose public actions - notably, their attacks on Japanese whalers - they regard as deeply unpleasing: "Highly Undiplomatic: not Fair Play!"
This reaction to the NGOs is understandable, but we should avoid generalizing it. Many of the most influential NGOs - whether Amnesty International, or Oxfam, or the International Commission of Jurists - are not specially radical in orientation: by origin and tradition, these organizations are Middle of the Road, if not Veering to the Right. Whatever impression we may get from the NGO questionnaire, there is no reason to expect all "non-governmental" organizations to share any uniform political coloration, any more than all members of the Roman Catholic Church have shared political views. The deeper factors that keep NSGs and NGOs at arm's length are on a level at which spokesmen for global moral goals are inevitably distinct from representatives of local political interests. So long as the major transnational NGOs protect their right to hold the activities of Nation State Governments up to public view and criticism, they create a "field" that can make it politically indispensable for NSGs to reorder their national policies, in ways that pay proper respect to the NGOs' global concerns.
In reply to this whole line of argument, some people might respond, both, that it risks drawing too sharp a distinction between democratic NGOs and nondemocratic NSGs, whose implications could be unhappy; and also, that it exaggerates the purity of the motives - i.e. the disinterestedness - of NGOs.16
Both reactions call for some qualifications. As to the first: the question it puts -
"Do NGOs truly represent the people whose interests they try to articulate in the World community? Do they represent, even, the views of their own field workers? In the last resort, do they represent anyone but the self-appointed activists who run them and draft their speeches?" -
states a legitimate challenge. But this paper was not meant to address that challenge. Clearly, NGOs rely on us taking at face value their claim to represent poor, deprived and tortured fellow humans, or the threatened species and environments of the Globe: to put the point at its weakest, different NGOs have different records in this respect, so the whole issue of the "representativeness" of NGOs deserves fuller discussion.
Similarly, for the second response: when I said, earlier, that Amnesty and Oxfam are not "inherently self-interested parties" to the global debate, my intention was only to contrast our understanding of their speeches and statements with our understanding of speeches and statements made by the representatives of Nation State Governments. Oxfam, Amnesty and other such agencies are advocates for groups of human beings, birds, animals and so on anywhere in the globe, that have no NSG to speak for them, rather than for individuals, corporations and the like within a particular territorial State: the contrast intended was my present one, between global concerns and local interests. (Here again, the standing of the Vatican as a "Member State" of the UN is anomalous.) On the other hand, the fields of operation of NGOs are, by now, crowded: as a result, there is an active competition for the leadership roles in any particular situation among those NGOs whose areas of concern are relevant to the case. To put the point bluntly: this competition calls into being a new realm for political activity as (e.g.) Greenpeace seeks to pre'mpt a leading role over an environmental issue from (say) the Sierra Club. The "internal politics" among the NGOs, too, is not the issue for this paper, though it deserves fuller discussion elsewhere.
In conclusion, let us return briefly to the role of professionalism in global affairs. Many of the areas of productive action by Non-Governmental Organizations (arguably) are ones in which the problems at issue lend themselves to professional intervention: areas in which there is enough practical experience, and intellectual consensus, for the solutions to be argued out to a stage at which reasonable agreement is within our grasp. Once issues move beyond the clash of preferences and parties, and become matters for professional analysis - as they often do in, e.g., the field of medicine or public health - the practical task is to persuade Nation State Governments to develop the political will needed to take the steps that the professionally informed community have agreed are needed to handle the problems concerned. So understood, the collaboration of NGOs with members of the UN Secretariat, in preparing the agenda and the papers for large International Conferences, takes on a new aspect.
In this respect, the record of Japanese public servants in the operations of the UN - notably, Mr Akashi and Ms Ogata - displays a professional excellence that explains the esteem in which they are held by the Secretary-General. In the thankless and endless tasks of the High Commission for Refugees, in the difficult negotiations of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia and the Sisyphean demands of the Bosnian conflict - in which every constructive step forward is followed by two frustrating steps back - their record illustrates well the lessons of this essay. It has argued that a capacity for military force is longer the primary measure of political influence on the global scene. As one result, in important ways, demilitarization has strengthened, not weakened, the position of Japan in the UN.
It has also argued that, in pursuit of transnational goals, the evident good faith of non-governmental organizations makes them more influential allies of the technical and professional agencies of the United Nations, than they can ever hope to be in its more purely political Councils. Working together, UNHCR and Oxfam (say) can practice the Politics of Shame, focusing the World's attention on the tragic situations in which - thanks to them - Nation State Governments can go on leaving the sick untreated or the starving hungry, only at the price of worldwide humiliation. Given the current World Disorder and taking all things together, this is one somewhat promising aspect of an otherwise depressing situation.
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Candid SRK: On 20 years in B-Town!
On this day two decades ago, a new Hindi film superstar emerged: Bollwood's all-time favourite romantic hero Shah Rukh Khan, who debuted with Deewana. On completing two decades, SRK says he just "got lucky" and admits he has made mistakes all along.
"Twenty uninterrupted years of serving. Not enough talent or looks or game plan. Thank you all. I guess I got lucky, lucky to be working all the time," tweeted Shah Rukh, who entered filmdom with Deewana, which released June 25, 1992.
Superstardom, disappointment and controversies - Delhi guy SRK has seen it all in his celebrityhood.
For Shah Rukh, it's been two decades in Bollywood, but his tryst with showbiz began in 1988, the year he started his journey with TV series Fauji, after being trained at The Barry John's Acting Studio. Next year, he featured in another successful show Circus and Doosra Keval.


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To the editor:
In response to the recent article regarding the Outlying Field flying times, the Navy is quoted: "The safety risk to carrier-based aircraft would increase significantly if Navy pilots weren't able to practice at Coupeville's Outlying Field."
What about the safety of the rest of us? We've learned from the Navy Hornet crash at Virginia Beach that accidents do happen. Three out of four Ault Field runways end at or near water. And the fourth extends over marsh land to Crescent Harbor. So why do Navy aircraft fly low over North Whidbey homes as they approach and depart runways? If the Navy followed flight patterns over water, safety for all of us would be improved (noise too).
Suggestion: Carrier landing practice could take place on Smith Island, or on a decommissioned carrier anchored near Smith Island. Safety and noise would be improved for us all.
Tim Verschuyl
Oak Harbor
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Well, they are right where they've always been for the past six years (in the paper every Friday after Jan. 1) except for some reason they haven't been on our website. Oops!
Well, I've asked the powers that be to get that corrected.
Every Friday, we'll have updates on all of Syracuse's high school recruits, including the four juniors. We started them on Jan. 6 and we'll keep doing them through the end of the regular season. So look for them in paper and on the website.
In between, we'll put any items of interest regarding the recruits on the blog, too.
Mike Waters


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These are the results of work in 2011, presented by department of customs control of The North region.
Export goods turnover 296 million US dollar has made. In the structure of export goods the turnover of basic share are wheat, barley, flax.
Import goods turnover 146,3 million US dollar has made. In the structure of import goods turnover growth of import of following goods is marked: the equipment for industrial production of foodstuff or drinks, a live horned cattle, railway locomotives, cars or mechanisms for harvesting
Choose a region or a city:
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Interest Level
Grades K - 2
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 1.1
Lexile® Measure: Not Available
Guided Reading: A
Type of Book: Activity Book
- Informational
- Bilingual Education
- Vocabulary
- Neighborhood Life
About This Book
During a walk, a person sees many objects. The objects seen are named by both English and Spanish words. Take a walk and see how many of the names you know!
Items Added to Cart:
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Art, comedy and music all make into this week's Top 5.
5. Fulton Street Artisans Market. It's back! The Fulton Street Artisans Market and my "FSAM Still Loves Gonzo" Facebook page. Last year, someone created a Facebook page to get me to put the market in the Top 5, and it worked (I reward clever ideas). This year's market features 107 Michigan artistans, featuring "fine art, good food and great company." It is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the Farmers Market facility, 1147 E. Fulton Ave. The market will run every Sunday until the last Sunday of September. For more information, go online to grartmarket.com or Facebook.com/fsartmarket.
4. Reeds Lake Art Festival. Speaking of art festivals, this annual tradition in the Gaslight district of East Grand Rapids returns from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The juried show, sponsored by Grand Valley Artists, features quality art and fun shopping. More info: grandvalleyartists.com.
3. Matt Giraud. The Kalamazoo piano man-turned-"American Idol" star returns to Grand Rapids for a show at 7 p.m. Thursday at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 East Beltline Ave. NE. I have a pair of tickets I am giving away on my "Going Gonzo" blog. Just go to MLive.com/grand-rapids for more information. Tickets are $30. Find a complete schedule of upcoming shows in the Meijer Gardens Summer Concert Series online at meijergardens.org.
2. Tim Allen. He'll be on a new ABC sitcom this fall called "Last Man Standing." So, it's possible that fans attending his stand-up comedy show at 6 p.m. June 19 at Soaring Eagle Casino, 6800 Soaring Eagle Blvd. in Mount Pleasant, might get a sneak preview of what to expect. At least you'll get Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, Buzz Lightyear and more of Allen's famous characters. Tickets are $21.50-$62 at Star Tickets outlets, 800-585-3737 or startickets.com. More information at soaringeaglecasino.com
1. B-93 Birthday Bash. Last year's venue change from Ionia to the U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin was a big hit with fans and organizers. That means the two-day, outdoor country music festival returns with its usual mix of established acts and newcomers, including West Michigan's own Frankie Ballard, who performs on Saturday. Also performing on Saturday: headliner Eric Church, Thompson Square, Aaron Lewis, Jane Dear Girls, Corey Smith, LoCash Cowboys, Detroiter Ty Stone and local act Brian Lorente and the Usual Suspects. On June 19: headliner Josh Turner, Gary Allen, Josh Kelley, Ashton Shepherd, Randy Montana, Kip Moore and Gunnar and the Grizzly Boys. For more information on how to get your free tickets, listen to B-93 (FM-93.7) or go to b93.com.
E-mail John Gonzalez: email@example.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/GRGonzo


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BAY CITY, MI – Bay County residents wishing to utilize the Bay City Lions Club's assistance programs for free glasses or hearing aids should now go to the Salvation Army at 401 10th St. for applications.
The programs were formerly handled by the Bay County Division on Aging.
Business hours for the Salvation Army are Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Those interested can go to the front desk and ask for a Lions Club assistance application. Lions club members will pick up applications from the Salvation Army each week and process them.
For more information, call the Salvation Army at 989-893-3041.


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EUCLID -- Euclid High School basketball coach Gregory James pleaded not guilty Monday in Euclid Municipal Court to a charge of domestic violence.
James, 34, was arrested by Euclid police early Friday morning for "knowingly causing or attempting to cause physical harm to a family or household member."
Although a court clerk would not identify the victim, she did say Judge Deborah A. LeBarron set James' bond at $300 and ordered no physical violence or violent threats towards the victim.
James' pretrial hearing has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on May 16. He has been the varsity basketball coach since July, 2011 and the school website lists him as a social studies teacher.


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VERSAILLES, KY. -- Lawyer Ron, who as a 3-year-old, won the Risen Star at the Fair Grounds and the Southwest, the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn before the 2006 Kentucky Derby was euthanized Friday night because of complications from colic surgery, Stonewall Farm Stallions said on its Web site.
The 6-year-old horse was among the Kentucky Derby favorites in 2006 and a champion older horse in 2007. When he was retired from racing last year, he had earned nearly $2.8 million.
"Not only was he a superior racehorse horse but his physical presence and contagious personality captivated everyone that saw him," Stonewall manager Clark Shepherd said.
Lawyer Ron won 12 of 26 races. He was standing his second season at stud at Stonewall and his first crop of foals arrived this year.


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HOLYOKE – The city has begun a search for an economic development director who will be energetic and able to focus on innovation and technology, Mayor Alex B. Morse said.
"The director of economic development needs to be my point person as we move the city forward," Morse said Friday.
Current director Kathleen G. Anderson is personable and able to work with all parts of government and the business community in pitching the city, said Morse, who said her replacement must share those skills.
Anderson, whom Morse said is a friend, will become president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce on May 31.
"I think Kathy brought a lot of wonderful things to the position and I think we have to make sure the new person emulates Kathy's ability to be personable with so many different people," Morse said.
The job will pay $56,587 to $78,516 a year depending on qualifications and experience, he said.
The application deadline is March 30.
The technology and innovation theme is related to the $165 million high performance computing center being built downtown and the area around it being designated the Innovation District.
Morse has said he wants to transform Holyoke from being known as the Paper City, in reference to the paper mills that used to dominated industry here, to being the Digital City.
City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain said the planning and economic development director should have urban-planning experience and strong ties to business and the community, along with an entrepreneurial edge.
"Because whole focus of that position is to be out there marketing the city and working with the businesses we have," Jourdain said.
Requirements include a bachelor's degree in a related field, with a master's degree preferred, minimum of five years experience in business or economic development and proficiency in Windows Office applications.
The director leads the city Office of Planning and Development and is a member of the Holyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corp., known as HEDIC, a city development arm.
HEDIC's job is to help and take on certain projects. It can acquire, demolish, construct, finance and handle the disposition of land and buildings.
The Office of Planning and Development helps existing businesses grow and attracts new ones, working them to find sites, areas to relocate, permitting and financing.
The director works with HEDIC and two other development arms, the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority and the Mayor's IndustrialDevelopment Advisory Committee. Those three groups consist of community and corporate volunteers.
The redevelopment authority is authorized to plan and take steps to re-use under-developed areas and promote sound growth.
The Mayor's Industrial Development Advisory Committee is liaison between the city and local industry.
The planning department administers zoning and subdivision regulations, including site plan review for major projects.
The long-form job posting:
The City of Holyoke, Massachusetts is seeking an energetic and experienced planning andeconomic development director with a focus on innovation and technology who possesssignificant networking, communication, and interpersonal skills. The ideal candidate will be abold leader committed to helping the City prosper for several years.
For more information, please consult the detailed job description and application instructions below:
Office of Planning and Development
• Appointed Director of the Office of Planning and Development by, and reports to, theMayor.
• Appointed a Director of the Holyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corporation(HEDIC) by the Mayor and reports to the Mayor and to the Board of Directors ofHEDIC.
• Appointed Executive Director and ex-officio Secretary of the Holyoke RedevelopmentAuthority (HRA) by the HRA Members.
The Office of Planning and Development assists new and existing businesses, as well thoseconsidering a location in the City of Holyoke. The office is led by a professional director andprovides programs and technical assistance.
Services include:
• Assisting the growth of existing businesses
• Attracting new business to the City
• Administration of Incentive Programs
• Site Location and Development Services
• Workforce Development Resources
• Site identification for relocation and expansion
• Project permitting
• Assistance in project financing
• Liaison to government programs
The Office consists of the Department of Economic Development and the Planning Department,and works with the Planning Board, the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA), the HolyokeEconomic Development and Industrial Corporation (HEDIC), and the Board of Appeals (BOA).The three policy development branches are HEDIC, HRA, and the Mayor's IndustrialDevelopment Advisory Committee (MIDAC). These branches are composed of community andcorporate leaders who volunteer their time and efforts to help guide the development activity ofHolyoke.
Department of Economic Development
The Holyoke Economic Development Department provides technical assistance to businesses.Services include:
• Site identification for relocation and expansion
• Assistance in the financing of projects
• Making businesses aware of government programs for which they are eligible
• Providing research and background information
A key role is to help firms work through the "red tape" of government at all levels. The Officeadministers the Massachusetts Economic Development Incentive Program (state and local taxcredits, tax abatements) on behalf of the City of Holyoke. The Department has three policydevelopment branches: the Mayor's Industrial Development Advisory Committee (MIDAC); theHolyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (HEDIC); and the HolyokeRedevelopment Authority (HRA). These branches are composed of community and corporateleaders who volunteer their time and efforts to help guide the development activity of Holyoke.
Planning Department
The Planning Department administers the City's Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations,including the oversight of Site Plan Review.
Board of Appeals (BOA)
The Board of Appeals (BOA) is known as the "Special Permit Granting Authority" and consistsof 3 Members and 2 Associate Members who are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by theCity Council. The BOA acts on matters within its jurisdiction under Sections 10 and 11 ofChapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Holyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (HEDIC)
HEDIC is chartered under Chapter 121C of the Massachusetts General Laws.
HEDIC's purpose is to facilitate and undertake certain development projects. HEDIC can acquire, demolish, construct, finance and handle the disposition of land and buildings. HEDIC is a Grantee ofForeign-Trade Zone (FTZ) #201, which can provide potential savings for companies involved ininternational trade. HEDIC has led a variety of development projects in Holyoke, including theValley Hydro-wheel project, the Holyoke Crossroads Development Park, and the Holyoke Gasand Electric Industrial Land Project. In addition, HEDIC administers the Holyoke IndustrialDevelopment Loan Program which provides low-interest financing to growing Holyokemanufacturers.
Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA)
HRA has the powers to plan and implement activities needed to redevelop underutilized areas fornew development and to promote sound growth for the City of Holyoke. Chartered underMassachusetts General Law Chapter 121B, it places great importance on the achievement ofsocioeconomic development, such as the provision of jobs for the unemployed, the addition oftax revenue to the community, and the assemblage of land parcels of sufficient size for thelocation or expansion of business or housing. HRA is currently focusing on Census Tracts 8115,8116, 8117 and 8118 in the City and is collecting baseline data for the purpose of creating anUrban Renewal Plan.
Mayor's Industrial Development Advisory Committee (MIDAC)
MIDAC is in effect the "Board of Directors" of Holyoke's industrial development programs andserves as the primary liaison between the City and local industry. MIDAC meets monthly withthe Mayor to develop policy, advise on program direction, address environmental concerns, andwork on emergency planning.
In General
1. Represent the Mayor and the City of Holyoke as required.
2. Administer the activities of the Department of Economic Development, thePlanning Department, the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA), theHolyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (HEDIC), and theBoard of Appeals (BOA).
3. Prepare correspondence and reports as required.
4. Attend meetings as required.
5. Develop information and reports to be discussed and reviewed with the Mayor,City Council, and Board(s) of Directors as required.
6. Apply professional skills and knowledge in the field of economic development,real estate, financing, development of new programs, business prospect recruiting,economic development studies and planning, and other related areas.
7. Increase real estate property tax revenue.
8. Stimulate private investment.
9. Provide technical assistance on City development and planning programs.
10. Administrate the Zoning Ordinance under the Planning Board.
11. Increase employment, employment opportunities, and workforce developmentservices.
12. Provide information and assistance to citizens and businesses as requested and/ornecessary.
• Department of Economic Development
1. Administration and Operations
2. Information
3. Technical Assistance
4. Business Retention Program
5. City Land, Buildings, Disposition, Demolition, etc.
6. Liaison to Business
7. Liaison to City Departments and Services
8. Brownfield Programs
9. Direct Assistance (Site Matching, Grants, Loans, Educational Programs,Incentives, Training, etc.)
10. Emergency Management
• Planning Department
1. Administration, Operations, Grant Management
2. Liaison to Planning Board, City Departments and Services, and Customers
3. Policy and Program Development to meet City's present and future needs
4. Zoning Ordinance and Map
5. Zoning Amendments, Interpretations, and Initiatives
6. Site Plan Review
7. Canal Walk
8. Public Outreach
• Holyoke Economic Development Industrial Corporation (HEDIC)
1. Industrial Development Projects
2. Industrial Development Loan Program
3. Holyoke Crossroads Development Park
4. Holyoke Foreign Trade Zone
• Mayor's Industrial Development Advisory Committee (MIDAC)
1. Power Supply Taskforce
- Holyoke Industrials Power Association
2. Environmental Affairs Taskforce
- Joint Committee on Combined Sewer Overflow Issues (CSO)
3. Emergency Management
- Hazardous Materials Taskforce
- Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
4. Joint Committee on Real Estate Tax Classification
5. MIDAC Marketing Committee
• Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA)
1. Serve as Executive Director and ex-officio Secretary
2. General supervision over the administration of HRA business and affairs, subjectto the direction of the HRA Members
3. Management of development projects
4. Care and custody of all funds, including deposits
5. Keeping of regular books of accounts showing receipts and expenditures
1. Manage the day-to-day activities of the Department and all associated staff, includingselection, training, scheduling, and direction of subordinate personnel.
2. Evaluate Departmental and employee work performance and take personnel actions asappropriate and in accordance with related policies.
3. Develop and administer Departmental budgets and engage in continual review ofDepartmental expenses to ensure compliance with budgetary constraints, as well asoptions for enhanced fiscal efficiency.
4. Properly receive, maintain, and transmit funds.
5. Establish and maintain Departmental policies and procedures, and ensure they are incompliance with applicable laws, contracts, City policies, etc.
6. Establish and maintain information gathering and retention systems and procedures.
7. Prepare applications for grants and assist other departments in preparation of grantapplications.
8. Prepare reports as required.
9. Provide and review data and reports required to deal with existing Holyoke businessesand prospective businesses.
10. Manage the Holyoke Industrial Development Loan Program.
11. Manage the Holyoke Regional Economic Target Area.
12. Manage the Holyoke Foreign Trade Zone.
13. Assist with property management for HEDIC-owned real estate.
14. Coordinate and assist with the development of Economic Development Plans and UrbanRenewal Plans.
15. Create and maintain meeting agenda and minutes for HEDIC, HRA, and MIDAC.
16. Meet with private businesses and help them resolve related issues.
17. Provide real estate services to new and existing businesses by: overseeing theinventory of available property in the City of Holyoke; connecting business prospectswith appropriate real estate; working with businesses regarding financing, permitting,and predevelopment services; work with the business community to assist in theirneeds; provide support to the Regional Economic Target Area members; undertakevarious studies and compilation of data of economic indicators for Holyoke; plan andcarry out various meetings; prepare written and graphic materials; provide assistanceto the Mayor, City Council, and other City Departments.
18. Maintain comprehensive approach to development and implementation of planningpolicies, programs, and studies.
19. Fulfill statutory requirements of zoning and subdivision laws within comprehensiveplanning framework.
20. Prepare agendas and materials for Planning Board meetings.
21. Maintain communications with Planning Board regarding Departmental activities,problems, accomplishments, and other issues.
As required by the position and as assigned and/or required by the Mayor, the Board of Directorsof the Holyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (HEDIC), and/or theMembers of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority (HRA).
$56,587 per year to $78,516 per year, depending upon qualifications and experience
Bachelor's Degree in related field required; Master's Degree in related field preferred. Minimum offive (5) years of experience in business and/or economic development required; three (3) years ofmanagerial experience preferred. Experience in economic development, banking, and/or realestate required. Knowledge of related laws, regulations, and other compliance matters required.Proficiency with Windows Office applications required. Familiarity with the City of Holyokeand municipal government preferred.
(1) Please submit the following documentation:
• Cover Letter;
• Resume and/or Curriculum Vitae; and
• Three (3) Letters of Reference
(2) Please send all documentation to:
Mayor Alex B. Morse, via:
• Adam Pudelko, Esq.
Acting Personnel Administrator
City of Holyoke Personnel Department
536 Dwight Street, Suite 7
Holyoke, MA 01040
email: email@example.com
phone: (413) 322-5555
fax: (413) 322-5556
Friday, March 30, 2012


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Network 9 - Math, Computer Science, and Physics and Engineering
What is Network 9? Watch this 1 minute video and find out. https://vimeo.com/50862835
Interact with nine or more professionals from your field of interest. Learn more about what they do, where they work, and how they got started - all at an event that's small enough to promote real conversations.
Register here today!
Thursday, November 8
Nicholson Commons Cunningham A and B
5:00 p.m. Check-In and Pre-Networking
5:30 p.m. Panel Presentation
6:30 p.m. Networking Reception
Network with professionals from the following companies:
Janna Wagner – Math Teacher at Grossmont Union High School District
Janna Wagner M.S. graduated from SDSU with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Flute Performance in 1977. She and her husband, Larry, also a music major, purchased the Yamaha Music School, now Wagner's School of Music, which is still thriving in La Mesa, with a student base of some 350 children and adults, ages 3-80.
Wagner had her quadruplet sons in July of 1977, after praying fervently for "a child"! She went back to school when her children were in middle school, after witnessing how desperately that age group needed hope, encouragement, patience and solid instruction. Through National University she earned a multi-subject teaching degree with supplemental authorization in Math, Music, Physical Education, and Science.
Wagner taught Special Day Class at Hillsdale Middle School for 3 years, while simultaneously working towards her Master in Science in Special Education (completed in 2002). The next position was 3 years as a Math teacher at Christian High School, having earned a Single Subject Credential in Math by passing the Single-Subject Exam after months of self-directed study. During her years at CHS, she taught summer school math for the Grossmont High School District, and was later hired to teach full-time for the district in 2004 at Monte Vista High School, where she also was the Women's Tennis Coach for 3 years.
Currently, Wagner is at Monte Vista High, teaching Algebra I and II. On the side, she is active at Newbreak Church, learning piano, and reflecting on the marvelous influence of the Christian faith in her life.
Anthony Trumbo – Director of Educational Technology at Bishop's School
Anthony Trumbo graduated from Drexel University with a B.S. in Informational Systems in 1997 as the Valedictorian, as well as receiving his M.S. from Syracuse University in 2011. He currently works as the director of Educational Technology at the Bishop's School in La Jolla. This school is an independent coeducational college preparatory day school for students six through twelve, living throughout the San Diego area.
Trumbo also acted as the Director of Technology at the Ensworth School for nine years, where he led the school in planning and implementing the technology infrastructure for a brand new high school campus, as well as integrating the new campus with the existing k-8 campus.
Dave Tribolet – Research & Development Section Manager at Hewlett-Packard
Dave Tribolet works as the Research & Development Section Manager at Hewlett-Packard which provides products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual customers, small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including the public and education sectors. They offer a span of personal computing and other access devices.
Bob Cohen – Vice President Information Technology at Cadence Pharmaceuticals
Bob Cohen is the Vice President Information Technology at Cadence Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2004, which is striving to improve the lives of hospitalized patients while building the premier hospital focused pharmaceutical company in North America. Cadence prides itself within having a culture with strong embedded values that are critical to how they conduct business with each other, the medical community, strategic partners, and shareholders. They attempt to create a competitive advantage and as a guiding force plan to navigate and thrive during periods of rapid growth and challenging endeavors.
Dave Nebo – Vice President/CIO at San Diego Housing Commission
Dave Nebo is a graduate from Lawrence Technological University where he received a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering. Dave has over 25 years of technical and managerial experience with a strong history of successful implementations of IT strategies and ERP systems. Dave has experience in multiple industries including health care & life sciences, aerospace & defense, e-commerce, high tech, manufacturing, public sector, and utilities.
Dave is currently the Vice President of IT and Chief Information Officer at San Diego Housing Commission. He is responsible for the executive leadership and responsibility for all aspects of informational technology including setting the vision, strategic planning, system implementations, data security and IT operations. Prior to his employment at the Housing Commission, Dave was the Chief Information Officer at General Atomics, IT Director at Provide Commerce and Sr. IT Director at Cardinal Health.
Brad Taylor - Senior Systems Architect at Eplica Services, Inc.
Brad Taylor is the principal architect of Eplica's Security Services Division. Having designed a security system for an existing client, Eplica began offering it as a service to other organizations. Now with installations over all of North America it has become one of the most profitable divisions for Eplica. He oversees all aspects of the division from design and support to marketing and sales. And to ensure he is busy, Taylor is also the chief architect and manager of Eplica's IT operations.
Taylor has a Bachelor's of Art degree from Utah State University in Human Resource Management. He is currently President of the Southern California Kronos User Group, a group with over two hundred members, and is a member of many technical boards. He just returned to San Diego with his family following a two year visit to New Jersey.
Val Bellora – Principal Engineer at LIFEPROOF
Licensed Professional Engineer in California. BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Missouri at Rolla (Summa Cum Laude). Research Fellow at University of Michigan in Crash Injury Research. Embedded Controller Programming course at UCSD Extension.
Invetech President's award for Customer Satisfaction. Excellence in Oral Presentation Award from SAE International in 2000. Five Merit awards Chairman's Award and from Johnson Controls.
3 Patents Granted and 1 pending, with many applications and disclosures including Electro-Mechanical, Vehicle Safety, Cell Processing and Microwave technology. (pat. No. 5765897, 6278676, 6907991)
Self-taught RC Airplane design, construction and piloting, electronics design, optics for telescopes and cameras, embedded microcontrollers, and high voltage resonator design (He has a 500,000 Volt Tesla Coil in his garage!)
Val has 25 years experience designing and analysis of automotive interiors, medical devices for ventilator patients, fighter aircraft avionics, environment proof cell phone cases, live cell processing and shoe polish applicators.
"I first attended college at the University of Arkansas and dropped out after 3 years with a 2.0 GPA. I became a Christian and committed my life to Jesus Christ. After a number of years and getting married, I went back to college in a more rigorous University. So at 29 years old I graduated with my BSME with honors. God gets the credit for that, I blew it when I tried on my own." - Val Bellora
Scott Landis - Application Service Management at Life Technologies
Scott Landis is an alumnus from UCSD, Revelle College. After graduating with a BA in Linguistics, he worked as a software developer and eventually IT manager for a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. After leaving Ford, Scott worked as a consultant for the San Diego District Attorney, designing the case management system in use today. Since then, Scott has held management positions in IT with First American Title Corp., GMAC Residential Funding, and is currently leading Application Service Management with Life Technologies. Altogether, Scott has over 20 years of experience managing IT systems and projects.
Scott is a 4th generation Californian, having grown up in Vista, California. He and his wife, Chikage, are the proud parents of 2 boys, ages 14 and 4.
John Boyd – Director of Engineering at Qualcomm
John Boyd graduated from UCSD's Warren College with a BS in Computer Engineering in 1995. He joined Qualcomm in 1996 as a software engineer and currently works as a Director of Engineering for Qualcomm Research. John spent his first years at Qualcomm as a Macintosh software developer on the Eudora email client. In 2001, he transitioned to BREW, where he created software interfaces that enabled mobile developers on one of the first marketplace-based handset application platforms. His most enjoyable contributions involved enabling new functionality in the platform and in 2008, he realized his penchant for research by moving into a formal R&D role as a member of the Advanced Technologies Group. Today, he leads several research projects and makes opportunities to contribute to these technically. John has over 17 years of experience in software engineering and project leadership, and is currently focusing his skills on finding new applications and opportunities for Qualcomm's wireless technologies.
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Wolves await post-season fate
South Kitsap High Schools boys basketball players were Port Angeles fans last night. SK needed PA to defeat Gig Harbor to force a three-way tie for first-place in the Narrows League Bridge Division.
Results were unavailable at press time, but if Gig Harbor won then the Wolves will have the next three days to prepare for Mount Tahoma the Bay Division No. 2 team to determine the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds going into the West Central District tournament.
If PA pulled out the win to force the three-way tie, then all three teams must play for seeds.
The athletic director from each of the three schools would hold a coin-toss.
The odd-team would get a bye and await the winner of the game between the remaining two teams, and play for the No. 1 seed.
One of the goals SK players set before the season was to beat Lincoln.
SK may have to wait until districts to accomplish that goal.
Callaghan said the only scenario he dreads is a loss to Mount Tahoma.
We dont want to be the fourth-place team out of the Narrows League, SK Coach John Callaghan said. The No. 4 team has to travel to Vancouver to play the No. 1 team (Battle Ground) out of the Southwest League.
SK is familiar with Mount Tahoma. The Wolves defeated the Thunderbirds 59-50 at Mount Tahoma Dec. 7.
SK (9-3 Bridge, 14-4 overall) ended its regular season with a 64-48 win at Central Kitsap Wednesday night.
Winners of eight of the last nine games, Callaghan said he thinks SK can continue to improve if it maintains the same type of intensity it showed at CK.
Early in the game CK showed what can happen to SK if the intensity isnt there.
The Cougars broke out to an 18-13 first-quarter lead. But the Wolves tightened the screws in the second quarter.
The Wolves held the Cougars to just four points in the second quarter and took a 29-22 lead into halftime.
SK continued to chip away at the score with solid efforts in the third quarter (19-13) and fourth quarter (16-13).
SK and CK were nearly even in rebounds (33-31) but SKs defense held CK to just 30 percent shooting from the floor while SK shot nearly 50 percent.
SKs Jake Beitinger led the Wolves with nine rebounds and chipped in 12 points.
Nate Seitz led SK with 13 points, and Adam Bennett added 12 points.
Souths a tough matchup because of their size inside, and they can still shoot the three and theyre deep, CK coach Al Gleich said. They got us to play a little faster tempo than we needed. We needed to slow
it down more (like CK did in the opening quarter).
Gleich said SK and Gig Harbor are clearly the divisions strongest teams and drew a comparison between the two.
Theyre both good defensively, he said. Souths bigger. Gig Harbors interchangeable. Theyve got a bunch of 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 guys. Souths got more weapons offensively. Gig Harbor relies more on Allisons shooting.
No matter the outcome of last nights game between PA and Gig Harbor, SK senior Josh Meeker said it was important to end the regular season strong.
This is just the beginning, but we wanted to go out on a good note to go into the postseason, Meeker said. We wanted to get some momentum to go into the playoffs, and I think we did a good job of that (at CK).
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