Subject: July Newsletter from Blue Star Strategies
From: "Blue Star Strategies" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:06:15 -0400 (EDT)

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Blue Star Strategies [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dgxbm4dab&et=1106467557538&s=956&e=001fex_PTPiYombaU5Ro5V1GWiH-5GJD3yrE7VUTDFwO_bCHdiLNILCaVwJd5y3ECNqlKU6n0phATs4M3c-87Oqd54kmKBhWL-sz_DaQncfBR75PhKCHqvml7nHxoMzbXON]
is a dynamic interdisciplinary government affairs firm based in Washington, DC and
servicing the world.

IN THIS ISSUE

Latin America without Chavez?
Trade Deal is Applauded but Not Complete
Radical Thinking for the European Economic Crisis
Lithuania asserts its leadership while preparing for bigger stages

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Latin America without Chavez?

On Thursday June 30th, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez went on television to confirm
what had been rumored over the past weeks, that he had a cancerous tumor removed.

Questions about Chavez's lengthy stay in Cuba and lack of public appearances were
raised after the Miami based newspaper "El Nuevo Herald" published a report saying
that he was gravely ill.

Since then, the Venezuelan government managed information regarding Chavez's health
in extreme secrecy and played down any concerns, until last Thursday when the president
himself came out to shed some light on the situation.

As expected, since the announcement, there has been growing unease of what will 
happen in Venezuela and Latin America if a leader like Chavez, who has played such
an important political role over the past decade, were to pass away or be permanently
incapacitated.

Chavez' particular way of running Venezuela, where he holds most of the power, has
not allowed for other leaders to emerge. Therefore, there does not appear to be 
any clear successor to Chavez. This lack of a clear replacement raises questions
 of how a potential successor would govern and if he or she would focus as much 
as Chavez has on expanding the 21st Century Socialism to the rest of the continent...

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dgxbm4dab&et=1106467557538&s=956&e=001fex_PTPiYok9dB-MM-aaQrTMEsEPx2WGDNgRyL0z4thjDET9Ju5UYTryU4RcWvqz5oxbX-8O2HYYaefNwZxPuzXUeVG0i7VTGCgF_Cjmx1pfrNUDzqK_8cpLQNZJIVXuRhVIfkAgU95k7u-JxVJCXRH1ZSdOOJHZB8HRCB6Y12vev2zXbeszcg==].
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Trade Deal is Applauded but Not Complete

The White House announced June 28th that it had finally reached a deal with congressional
negotiators from the Senate and the House of Representatives to send the three pending
free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama to Congress for a vote.

Included in the deal is Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which provides money 
and other benefits to U.S. workers who lose their jobs due to foreign competition.
Though Republicans have signaled their opposition to TAA, the White House has not
budged on its commitment to include the $1 billion program in the overall deal.

TAA has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past but due to the current anti-spending
political climate, Republicans have, contrary to the facts, blasted the $1 billion
program as ineffective and unworthy of government backing.

Still missing from U.S. trade policy discussion are two of its most important programs,
the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Andean Trade Preferences Act
 (ATPA)...

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dgxbm4dab&et=1106467557538&s=956&e=001fex_PTPiYoklDU_V8gsrs-tMliTgF8WiP7dq4vV2Y0P0TXefRpRa9XsCahBMzjsCu9vofUpFBgLbh1MlWDN2u5mgRQ8PI2fZtbPSp2NbGrot0AXVGu2TgilgIAdotmhy3gse_zED5KkAq1vUAfH0mHIR5l2u2t3t2jzhL5vBG2kOEi2ZgOq6Pw==].
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Radical Thinking for the European Economic Crisis

With the European Union's 27 nations facing years of austerity, and member-state
 Greece nearly bankrupt, last week top European Union officials underwent deliberations
to increase spending under a seven-year funding plan worth about $1.4 trillion. 
While Greece is the current focus, the true breadth of the problem extends well 
beyond its borders.

In order to ensure fiscal stability, the leaders of the European Union countries
 must agree on long-term solutions. Strengthening the multilateral institutions 
that govern the currency and connect Member-States' economies are only a start. 
This will include creating a robustEuropean Financial Stability Facility and a single
authority responsible for tax policy oversight and government spending coordination
for Eurozone countries.

But that is only the start of the work that will need to be done. More steps will
need to be taken in order to keep the Euro currency stable. If Greece defaults after
the bailout, they might have to leave the Euro in order to protect other European
economies. But the cost of this to the global economy would be disastrous, and in
the end it does not address recovery, it just protects the more stable economies
 at the cost of the vulnerable.

A more out-of-the-box alternative is creating a two currency solution...

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dgxbm4dab&et=1106467557538&s=956&e=001fex_PTPiYolvOTlIUyTzu2qfLBP-1O3qSMGmuw0U-i2j4IsqTbzS2t47jhRGmX9dszUIgs-d_7EVCrYraOxT8wOoN9aWLoXuPJfNwe_DuY-e3hUON-bvize7xzTv9SxX9n9WB7GYuAfsRvi0ykQHk_aiNF3GerZfKQLN4mNWOuvjoVoQf6zq0A==].
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Lithuania asserts its leadership while preparing for bigger stages

On July 1st Lithuania officially concluded its two year chairmanship at the Community
of Democracies, an organization uniting over 100 democratic countries worldwide.
  In December, Lithuania will pass on its leadership position at the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to Ireland.

For the past seven months, Lithuania has led both of these high profile multinational
organizations concurrently, a responsibility that Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors
have never assumed before.

In addition to strengthening Lithuania's image, leading both the OSCE and the Community
of Democracies has been useful practice before the country presides over the European
Union in 2013.  Through these organizations, Lithuania has taken key steps to establishing
necessary leadership skills it will need to helm a successful EU Presidency...

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=dgxbm4dab&et=1106467557538&s=956&e=001fex_PTPiYonoS-37ZqVzmpEx2VD79RxLiKJRsb1SUKMdYB4FDLks_EtyRFAbXm0H6_rNeSnMg90ylrSXqFxXi4V-5LsLQcHe5UWdT7pV4uRLR_G-pzGJE8y0tVsgvwDMirLFulsCj3SJAYP49OYXVYnFdlBpmn9ws4xpVy_IYHa7EAZZ-De2XA==].

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