Hear Interview with Tom Friedman

I don't always agree with Tom Friedman (more like Tomfoolery at times - example #1 would be his position on the invasion of Iraq). But here he is talking about the decline of the U.S., the current political malaise, and how this Country will get its but kicked economically if it doesn't take steps to become more competitive. Once in a while he actually says something that makes sense. Listen Here.

Utah Governor Huntsman - Next Ambassador to China

US President Barack Obama (L) chats with Utah Governor Jon Huntsman in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House May 16, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama nominated Huntsman as the next US ambassador to China. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

From HuffingtonPost.com:

Jon Huntsman: China Ambassador
DARLENE SUPERVILLE
| May 16, 2009 11:24 AM EST |

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama reached across the political divide Saturday and named Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a possible GOP White House contender and top John McCain supporter, to the sensitive diplomatic post of U.S. ambassador to China.

With the selection, Obama may have sidelined a potentially formidable moderate Republican from the 2012 presidential field. For Huntsman, it's a chance to burnish his credentials and position himself as a viable hopeful _ perhaps for 2016 if Obama is seen as a strong candidate for a second term in 2012.

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese from his days as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan, the 49-year-old Huntsman is a popular two-term governor who served in both Bush administrations and was national co-chairman of Arizona Sen. McCain's campaign against Obama last year. Huntsman has made a name for himself advocating a moderate agenda in one of the nation's most conservative states.

Rest of article at link above.

Al Giordano over at The Field, has another take on it:

Huntsman to China: It's About Romney
Posted by Al Giordano - May 16, 2009 at 9:55 am By Al Giordano

When, a day before the 2008 Tsunami Tuesday primaries, Michelle Obama visited with top apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, eyebrows were raised. What was the Obama campaign doing reaching out to Mormons, some said, who have long been a reliable voting bloc for Republicans? Mormons for Obama had, in fact, been formed a year before that, even as former Mormon Bishop Mitt Romney was pursuing the Republican nomination for President.

The nomination, yesterday, of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman to be US Ambassador to the People's Republic of China - like Romney, a handsome and articulate boy-wonder billionaire of that faith - has those eyebrows wagging again. It speaks volumes of the outside-the-box tendencies of the President and his team that the thought would even occur to them to appoint such an unexpected envoy, that they would know that Huntsman - a former LDS missionary in Taiwan - speaks Mandarin, and that they'd be able to convince the Governor to switch jobs for a post that is not necessarily a promotion. They must have also had good enough intelligence to sense that Huntsman was bored at his current gig. That they made the sale is a head turner, indeed.

Read more »

Bill Clinton's Ties to China----show us the $$$$$$

From The Los Angeles Times.com

CAMPAIGN '08

Bill Clinton, China linked via his foundation
Eugene Hoshiko, Associated Press

IN HANGZHOU: President Clinton gave the keynote address at a 2005 conference organized by Alibaba, hailing the Internet as “an inherently cooperative instrument.”
A firm that has donated to the president's charity is accused of collaborating with the government in its crackdown on Tibetan activists. Hillary Clinton has spoken out against China's actions.
By Stephen Braun, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 13, 2008

NEW YORK -- As Chinese authorities have clamped down on unrest in Tibet and jailed dissidents in advance of the 2008 Olympics, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has taken a strong public stance, calling for restraint in Tibet and urging President Bush to boycott the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing.

But her recent stern comments on China's internal crackdown collide with former President Bill Clinton's fundraising relationship with a Chinese Internet company accused of collaborating with the mainland government's censorship of the Web. Last month, the firm, Alibaba Inc., carried a government-issued "most wanted" posting on its Yahoo China homepage, urging viewers to provide information on Tibetan activists suspected of stirring recent riots.

Alibaba, which took over Yahoo's China operation in 2005 as part of a billion-dollar deal with the U.S.-based search engine, arranged for the former president to speak to a conference of Internet executives in Hangzhou in September 2005. Instead of taking his standard speaking fees, which have ranged from $100,000 to $400,000, Clinton accepted an unspecified private donation from Alibaba to his international charity, the William J. Clinton Foundation.

The former president's charity has raised more than $500 million over the last decade and has been lauded for its roles in disaster response, AIDS prevention and Third World medical and poverty relief. But his reliance on influential foreign donors and his foundation's refusal to release its list of donors have led to repeated questions about the sources and transparency of his fundraising -- even as Hillary Clinton has talked on the campaign trail about relying on him as a roving international ambassador if she is elected president.

Foreign contributions to American-based charities are allowed under U.S. law, but political and philanthropy ethics advocates worry that Bill Clinton's reliance on international businesses and foreign governments to finance his worldwide charity campaigns raise issues of potential conflicts of interest if he were to take an active role in his wife's administration.

"This is a perfect example of why it's critical for both Clintons to provide prompt and complete disclosure of all their sources of income, not just personal sources but also his foundation," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director for the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, a government reform advocacy group.

The Clinton foundation and the former president's library in Little Rock have received millions of dollars in donations from the Saudi royal family and the Middle East sheikdoms of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, along with the governments of Taiwan and Brunei.

Fueled by such cash, the foundation has grown into a worldwide philanthropic dynamo, using its financial clout and influence with business leaders to streamline solutions for logistical logjams that have long plagued charity operations. The foundation has pressed to lower the price of expensive AIDS medications and set up long-term projects across the Third World.

But like many charities, the Clinton foundation maintains a strict policy of keeping its donations confidential to protect the privacy of donors. Still, partial lists have emerged in the foundation's tax filings and in press accounts, leading to growing scrutiny of the activities of some contributors.

Some human rights activists suggest that the Clinton foundation's contribution from Alibaba undermines his wife's outspoken stance on China's internal crackdown.

"A former president of the United States received a donation from a Chinese firm that is involved in censorship, and now his wife is running for president. This is a shame of the U.S.," said Harry Wu, an exiled Chinese activist based in Washington.

Rest of article at link above.

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See, while the MSM obssesses over Obama's so-called 'Elitist' comments,


They still havent gotten the list of Donors to
1. Bill Clinton's Charity
2. Bill Clinton's Library

I wanna know how much the Chinese have given him, as well as others.

It's called TRANSPARENCY...something The Clintons don't want any parts of this election season...just exactly WHERE are those 2007 Tax Returns? And what's up with that partnership with Ron Burkle? What did you do to earn those millions?

Another Bush Ally Ready to Bite The Political Dust

Ma Ying-jeou, KMT Party candidate for Taiwan Presidency

Yet another Bush ally is ready to go down in defeat. It looks like Cowboy diplomacy is going out of style all over the World. Over the Summer it was Britain's Tony Blair. A few months after that, John Howard of Australia went down. And we can't forget Prime Minister José María Aznar of Spain and his government going down in defeat in 2004, and Silvio Berlusconi's defeat in Italy, and all of the other defeats of Bush allies around the World. All were a result of voters in those Democracies telling their leaders "No More" to the idea of following Bush & Co. and their Cowboy diplomacy. They realized that it was taking them nowhere.

The latest Bush ally in distress is Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, the radical leader who wants formal Independence from mainland China and who is willing to drag the U.S. into a war with China to meet that goal. The Bush administration claims publicly that it supports the "One China, Two Systems" approach (which exists in Hong Kong, and Macau), and that it does not support Taiwan independence. However, the Bush administration has insisted on getting the U.S. involved in a Civil War by supplying high tech weapons to Taiwan, and giving Chen tacit U.S. support for his plan to declare Independence and join the UN as an Independent State.

That would be the same as China supplying weapons to Puerto Rico if there was ever an internal conflict on our own Continent. Americans of course wouldn't stand for it. Yet American leaders feel that they have a special license from God to meddle in the conflicts of other Countries.

Well, Chen Shui-bian's DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) suffered a crushing defeat in recent days. Taiwan's opposition Party, the KMT (the original Party that engaged in Civil War with China and settled on the Island in 1949) is more open to the idea of listening and negotiating with China on the future of the Tawain-China relationship. The results of the Parliamentary elections likely foreshadows what will happen in Presidential elections in March 2008, when Chen Shui-bian is likely to go down in defeat. So as for now, Chen has only been put on the chopping block.

This is good for the U.S. because it reduces the chances of a future war with China over Taiwan. China and Taiwan, both economic powerhouses, would benefit from a more cordial political relationship, as both economies enjoy success. An economic and cultural partnership, or loose Federation of States, would be better for all involved, and would certainly be better than war. All three Countries in this complex relationship would be able to save face.

See Report from the Times UK

China recycling used condoms as cheap hair bands

Can't make this stuff up.

From CNN.com:

China recycling used condoms as cheap hair bands
Mon Nov 12, 10:48 PM ET



BEIJING (AFP) - Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China, threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, state media reported Tuesday.

In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.

"These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said.

Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said.

"People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, as saying.

A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for just 25 fen (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.

A government official was quoted as saying recycling condoms was illegal.

China's manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.

In response, it launched a public relations blitz this summer aimed at playing up efforts to strengthen monitoring systems.

Anyone else just freaked out by this?

Gross.

I believe in recycling, but I think used condoms should be left to die. The entire premise is icky.

Wonder How All Those Tainted Toys Could Get To Store Shelves So Easily?

It turns out that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been playing a double role- one as advocate for protecting consumers, and another as more of a lobbyist for the industry that it is responsible for regulating.

It seems that one organization after another has, at the very least, a hint of corruption, malfeasance, or incompetence under the Bush Administration. The fraud of FEMA and its phony Bush appointed director Michael Brown was exposed for the World to see, as bodies floated through New Orleans. Then we find that the FDA is in bed with the drug industry. Then we learn more about MSHA and its phony director Richard Stickler (another political appointee), who was a former Coal industry executive. We also now know of the HUD Director Alphonso Jackson being under a Grand Jury Investigation for alleged corruption. We have also learned about all kinds of shenanigans at the Pentagon... including a recent report of an Air Force Officer killing himself because he was caught up in a web of fraud where he was probably just a pawn. And all of the fraud connected to the war in Iraq is of biblical proportions... something that we will be hearing about 30 years from now.

Now we have the Consumer Product Safety Commission to add the this list of Federal agencies involved in suspicious & very questionable conduct.

I often wonder when and where this train of corruption & questionable conduct will end?

The Washington Post was able to find all kinds of conflicts of interests with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and its relationship with the corporations that it is supposed to regulate, especially those in the Toy industry. Commission Chair Nancy Nord and former Chair Hal Stratton accepted lavish travel from Corporations, including a trip to a fancy Golf resort. Nord has been involved in damage control over the past week, trying to clean things up by describing the trips as necessary for her work (Oh Please!!!). The Washington Post was able to obtain records of the trips, often paid for by Lobbying groups and lawyers working for Companies linked to hazardous products.

A summary of the Washington Post's findings:

The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency’s acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans, and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Notable among the trips — commonly described by officials as “gift travel” — was an 11-day visit to China and Hong Kong in 2004 by Stratton, then chairman. The $11,000 trip was paid for by the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory, an industry group based in an office suite in Bethesda whose only laboratories are in Asia.

But CPSC officials defend the industry-paid trips as a way for the agency to be in contact with manufacturing officials and hear their concerns despite a limited travel budget. Commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese said the agency’s counsel and its ethics officers conducted “a full conflict-of-interest analysis” of the trips and stand behind their decisions.

Several ethics experts and lawyers say the two administrators’ travel records, some of which they reviewed at the request of The Post, suggest a conflict of interest.

“This is a blatant violation of the ethics code,” said Craig Holman, an expert on governmental ethics law for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. The rules allow nonfederal sources to pay for trips, “but not if you’re a private party with business pending before the agency,” he said.

The records show that Nord and Stratton repeatedly accepted gift travel for events from industries subject to CPSC enforcement. In February 2006, the Toy Industry Association provided Nord with rail fare, two nights in a hotel, meals — and even $51 to pay her Union Station parking bill — to attend the American International Toy Fair in New York, one of the industry’s biggest product exhibitions.

Read the Full Report from the Washington Post.

Also see a report from the New York Times

Troops Open Fire On Protesters In Myanmar

Troops have opened fire on protesters in Myanmar, killing nearly a dozen and wounding several more. Several Monks have also been arrested in the largest crackdown in Myanmar in 20 years. A brutal crackdown in 1988 led to the deaths of thousands of civilians there.

Meanwhile, the Russians have made it clear that they don't stand on the side of Democracy in these kinds of conflicts. They have worked to block a joint statement of condemnation from the UN Security Council. China also supported blocking any condemnation, but that is to be expected from China. This is why it is so important for the people within Myanmar to fight for themselves and not depend on outsiders, including the United States. Although it is interesting that the U.S. received help during its freedom struggle, the Chinese received help from its Brutal repression at the hands of the Japanese, and the Russians beat back the Germans with the help of a Western front in WWII drawing precious German resources. But when another nation is battling for its freedom... they (China and Russia specifically) can't even agree to make a statement.

Perhaps China has forgotten about the Japanese occupation. Perhaps Russia has forgotten about the great battle of Stalingrad. Quite frankly, China is afraid of having another Democracy in its neighborhood, fearing that the protest sentiment could spread. And Russia wants to see governmental authority preserved at all costs... because it wants to feel comfortable knowing that it can continue with its own crackdown against Democratic elements there.

The Chinese throw a fit at the mere mention of Japans brutal repression in their Country... all they want to do is "condemn".

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Previous Post Regarding the Myanmar Protests