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May 30, 2015 05:24 AM UTC

Weekend Open Thread

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.”

–Napoleon Bonaparte

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23 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

  2. Does trade trump all for Democrats? Is slavery in Malaysia a good thing, as long as we can export more carbon emitting energy?

    Mike Lux at C&L writes, "We're not going to object to slavery because a country that openly engages in it might trade more with China than with us? Doesn't this kind of blow up the whole 'most progressive trade agreement in history' thing?"

    Then I came across this post from Gaius Publius at Down With Tyranny, referencing Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism:

    Cue Antifa:

     

    Malaysia’s membership in the circle of TPP nations is not vital because Malaysia — it’s vital because of the Malacca Straits, through which virtually all the shipping in that part of the world passes. It’s a bottleneck, a chokepoint, and if Malaysia is “driven into the arms of China” then China can close those Straits to shipping how, when, and as they please.

    Which would neuter the US Navy in that part of the world, reducing them to observer status. When people at the Pentagon talk about America’s role as the world’s policeman, they are talking about the Navy’s ability to project overwhelming force wherever and whenever needed. The three little chokepoints world trade and shipping depend on are the Strait of Hormuz, the Straits of Malacca, and the Panama Canal. Taking one of those and giving control of it to China and Friends — or to anyone but the US Navy — puts the world’s policeman in a clown suit.

    And do we still need, or want, to be the "world's policeman"? Doubtful. Ask your neighbor, see what they say. Bennet and Obama say yes.

    ColoradoPols defers on most of these tough questions, be they "political" or policy, of D's from Colorado elected to the state or national level. Cuz Pols knows one thing: Democrat = Good, Republican = Bad, and that's about as far as they'll go.

    2. Perhaps control over the strait of Malacca is critical strategically. But I'd bet that there are ways to accomplish that without either war, tolerating slavery from Malaysia and Thailand, or maintaining our US role as the world's policeman.

      For example, as consumers, we can be weakening the slave trade by weakening the trade in Thai prawns. Boycott them! Ask our stores and restaurants  where their shrimp come from, and let them know we won't buy from Thai or Malaysia. We need a tag on it like we did for tuna – dolphin safe. How about slavery free?

      Supermarkets which have sourced cheap Thai "king" prawns supplied by CP Foods include the world's top four retailers – Walmart, Carrefour, Costco and Tesco – along with big UK supermarket chains Morrisons, the Co-op, Aldi UK, and Iceland.

      I'm not naive enough to think that this will do it by itself, but it's a necessary piece.  Protesting the TPP is another. Diplomatic compromise solutions, like that which secures the Panama canal for international shipping (yes, I know China controls the end ports – but Panama still controls the canal and all the land around it) are another.

      We should not be buying any line that says we should blindly trust our President to do the right thing. Not this time.

       

       

      1. Just wrote this letter to our Senior Senator via his email contact function. Maybe there is a human on the other side. ………….

        Dear Sir, 

        Why are you attempting to expedite and remove from our valid legislative debate process, trade bills and trade promotion authorities that ignore the very real problem of slave labor in east Asia? 

        It is quite ironic that the first black President of the United States of America, with your legislative help, is pretending this problem does not exist. 

        From The Huffington Post:

        WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's push for legislation that would enable the U.S. to strike a major trade deal with 11 other countries has gotten tangled in a debate over Malaysia's record on slave labor, throwing up a last-minute legislative obstacle.

        Inconveniently for backers of the trade deal, a full-blown humanitarian crisis is erupting in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar, directly connected to the region's reliance on human trafficking in industries as varied as electronics manufacturing, fishing and prostitution.

        Last year, Malaysia and Thailand joined North Korea and Saudi Arabia on the State Department’s list of countries that are the worst offenders in forced labor and human trafficking — formally known as a tier 3 designation. One year later, little has changed, though the importance of the tier 3 designation has surged as a result of the trade debate. the U.S. Senate last week passed legislation declaring that no country that engages in slave labor, such as Malaysia, can be a part of the trade deal.

        ==============================================

        This is truly disgusting and  I expect you to act like a true Democrat, and a Human Being  no less, and reject these back room deals and authorities that will promote slavery, human trafficking, accumulation of ever more profits by American Corporations at the expense of human dignity and economic fairness the world over.

          2. The reason Obama's trying to include Malaysia, even with its terrible slavery practices, has to do with limiting China's expansion in the South China Sea. It's a geopolitical power play.

            Melissa Harris Perry has an in-depth piece on how China is building (literally) islands in the area, and possibly positioning artillery in that area. She hosted a discussion on whether we're about to go to war with China. Consensus of her guests: We're not there yet, but accidental escalation could happen. 

            But…..I think  we should still keep the moral high ground – many diplomats argue that Malaysia is likely to cave on curbing slavery , given enough pressure, and we have Senators like Sherrod Brown, who argued:

            Brown added that “no country should get in with that designation,” referring to Malaysia's Tier 3 ranking. He said he plans to try to build momentum in the House against granting the president trade promotion authority and is hopeful that Republicans will be unable to tweak the anti-slavery language in the Senate bill.

            So an informed letter to the President should include the points that we understand the power plays and worries about China getting aggressive in the area, but that isn't a strong enough reason to accept the profitable misery of human trafficking. That's what mine will say.

    1. And still claiming they oppose it for the economy's sake, just like higher minimum wage when there's no evidence either hurts the economy.Less than 90% would be fine, though. Lots of room.

  5. I still do interviews, just on a much more upbeat topic than politics. And this last Eurovision I did my first video interviews. I think they're pretty good for a first effort. My favorite is Genealogy's (Armenia) answers.

    And for those of you that like Eurovision – Call the Police! Five crimes of the Eurovision 2015 grand final (by me) and Simon Cowell: “I would love to take the reins of Eurovision

    mamajama – The act by Boggie was good and that backdrop art was amazing (that didn't show well on the TV). But it wasn't at the level of the top 6 or so. If she was your favorite you might like the Netherlands entry too – it didn't make it out of the semi but was similar and very good.

    Monika (Poland) is the one that had me crying the most. But I have to admit that the top 3 were better.

    1. Nice job on the interviews. Someone in one of the other video clips said something that made sense to me – this is like the Olympics, only with pop music. A way to compete and show your culture and national pride, without warfare or violence.

  6. It will be interesting to see the response to this of our senate delegation…as in…will there be a difference?

     

    GOP pledges to 'rein in' Obama on EPA rules, global warming

     

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration says a new federal rule regulating small streams and wetlands will protect the drinking water of more than 117 million people in the country.

    Not so, insist Republicans. They say the rule is a massive government overreach that could even subject puddles and ditches to regulation.

    Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is promising to "rein in" the government through legislation or other means.

    It's a threat with a familiar ring.

    What else are Capito and other Republicans pledging to try to block?

    — the administration's plan to curb carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

    — its proposal for stricter limits on smog-forming pollution linked to asthma and respiratory illness

    — a separate rule setting the first national standards for waste generated from coal burned for electricity.

    The rules are among a host of regulations that majority Republicans have targeted for repeal or delay as they confront President Barack Obama on a second-term priority: his environmental legacy, especially his efforts to reduce the pollution linked to global warming.

    http://coloradopols.com/diary/71601/weekend-open-thread-114#sthash.plK4Ccls.dpbs

    1. Just found this…

       

      Colorado senator________on Wednesday didn't take a position. Sen.________ "looks forward to reviewing this new rule and hopes it will be workable for Colorado," a ________ spokesman said. "He's heard from farmers and ranchers, sportsmen, water providers and local governments who are all asking for the certainty a balanced rule can provide."

      I inserted the blanks…take a guess….

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