AboutHank Hokamp Expertise U. S. (American) History has been a hobby of mine for many a moon. Ask me a question about what happened in a certain year and I`ll tell you! My answer(s) won`t be boring!
Publications Champaign (IL) News-Gazette newspaper = Feature writer and City reporter. Will soon submit a 220 page non-fiction manuscript that deals with subjective thinking for publication.
Education/Credentials Two universities, one college and an institute. My major was Journalism with minors in American History and Sociology.
Awards and Honors 46 athletic awards, mostly in baseball and golf
Expert: Hank Hokamp Date: 6/9/2008 Subject: Global Civil Society
Question QUESTION: How has international laws addressed matters of trade, human rights and the environment?
ANSWER:
Hello, Michelle:
Through the ages, a code developed for the relations and conduct between nations. The end result was called International Laws. Branches of international law include:
International criminal law.
The law pertaining to use of force.
International human rights law.
International Humanitarian Law.
Law of the sea.
Diplomatic law,
Consular law.
Law of State Responsibility.
International Environmental Law.
International trade law.
International Space Law.
International Aviation law.
Take your pick ... one at a time, Michelle ... and send me your question. Thanks.
HANK
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Ok, one question at a time, sorry about that! How does international law address matters of trade?
Answer
That's more like it, my friend.
Globalization is driving demand for an internationally competent workforce. Our nation's trade with Asia, now concentrated in California, has exceeded Europe since 1979 and is expected to approach $1 trillion a year this decade. The majority of future growth for industries of all sizes is in overseas markets; today one in six new jobs created flows from international trade. Access to good jobs will require new skills and competencies. Future careers in business, government, health care, law enforcement, and other good jobs will all require global knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, minorities are underrepresented in international careers and must be exposed to global content earlier in their education. Solving new national and human security challenges, including terrorism and HIV/AIDS, and the ongoing problems of poverty and environmental degradation, will require increased knowledge of other world regions, cultures and languages. Increased diversity in our nation's classrooms, workplaces, and communities, including new immigrants from many different parts of Asia and Latin America, requires greater understanding of the myriad cultures and histories students bring to school.
The U.S. and global economies have become increasingly intertwined. Today, one in six U.S. jobs is tied to international trade and investment, and over the past decade exports accounted for about 25 percent of U.S. economic growth. Trade with Asia has surpassed trade with Europe and now exceeds $800 billion per year; Asian investments in the United States are valued at approximately the same amount. Yet American students lack even rudimentary knowledge of Asia and other world regions.
Both national and state policymakers have followed the development of trade liberalization and deregulation by the U.S. and other governments, as well as the profound impact of telecommunications during the past decade. These changes, as well as changes in the geopolitical sphere, have meant that previously domestic markets have become international in scope. Increasingly, businesses position themselves as international competitors, even those firms that never used to give serious thought to events outside U.S. borders. James B. Hunt, Jr., former governor of North Carolina, noted that "knowledge of other countries and an ability to work with people from other cultures is going to be needed in an increasing number of jobs and professions. It's not just limited to the diplomatic corps these days." The ability to navigate international issues is becoming an essential asset for many professions, even in traditionally domestic industries. Most of America's growth industries-from multinationals to small businesses-are globally engaged industries, either through exports, imports, investment overseas, or joint research and business ventures. In spite of the current slowdown in the world's economy and continuing uncertainty in the aftermath of September 11, these trends present enormous opportunities for state leaders as they shape their economic development and long-term education plans.
No jurisdiction, from Bangor, Maine to Honolulu, Hawaii, can afford to ignore the global economy and the rising demand for a workforce equipped with international knowledge and skills. Governors and state legislators understand that the economy today transcends state and national borders. The potential for export growth in the future is a very exciting prospect: two-thirds of the world's purchasing power and 97 percent of the world's consumers are outside the United States. In export-related jobs, wages are estimated to pay 13 to 18 percent more on average than non-export jobs. According to recent data provided by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, since 1971 trade and returns on international business investment have risen from 13 percent of the nation's economy to nearly 30 percent.
Paula Stern, former Chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission, emphasized that business and policy leaders in most countries have come to a broad agreement that globalization and liberal trade policies are important engines of growth. Entrepreneurial states, especially, have been the beneficiaries of these trends. Whether it is the agricultural or high-tech strengths of California, the biotechnical inventiveness of North Carolina's research triangle, the uniqueness of Kentucky's equine or Tennessee's music industry, states have profited in new world markets from focusing on what they do best.
A free and open system of trade is critical to the most competitive sectors that drive many states' economies. American farmers in places like Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Montana, and Vermont plant one in three acres for export and generate a quarter of their profits from exports. Manufacturing exports from states such as Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee are roughly 35 percent of the value of U.S. manufacturing establishments' output. America's wounded, but still dynamic, high-tech sector depends on exports as well, with over $160 billion in foreign sales in 2001. Software producers earn over half of their revenue overseas.
Ultimately, governors in every state care about jobs and having a workforce that can adapt to a changing economy, with opportunities for upward mobility. State economies are the economic engines of the nation; the future prosperity of the United States depends largely on the success of states in educating tomorrow's workforce and in providing their citizens with growth opportunities. As states review their economic ties to the world, the strategic importance of international knowledge and skills to seize these economic opportunities is apparent. If states are truly to address the demand for international competency, they must conceive of international education not simply as an issue of education policy, but also as one of critical workforce development and economic development policy.
Your answer is in there, somewhere, Michelle. One reason WHY gas is so high now in the United States is because the Middle Eastern countries are selling MORE to India and China. Greed, of course, is always present in the minds of those who run all corporations --- EVERYWHERE! OPEC (Oil Producing European Countries) had better get there acts together before America has to take some drastic measures.
