COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, February 16, 2014

December 19th New Jersey Senator Menendez (D) and Senator Kirk (R), supported by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), introduced Senate Bill 1881 in an attempt to derail peace negotiations and set the stage for potential war with Iran. - They were defeated!

AIPAC has been trying to get the US into war with Iran for the last seven years:




How Iraq Vets against War & Peace Groups stopped Senate bid to derail Iran Talks

(By Robert Clack)

In 2013, an unprecedented diplomatic breakthrough happened when the United States and Iran, along with other world powers, reached an interim agreement to lift sanctions over a long-standing dispute regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Not content with allowing for peace, on December 19th New Jersey Senator Menendez (D) and Senator Kirk (R), supported by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), introduced Senate Bill 1881 in an attempt to derail peace negotiations and set the stage for potential war with Iran. Despite successful negotiations, the bill called for more sanctions and for the United States to support Israel militarily in the event they decided to take military action on the country.

Press slowly began to circulate on the left about AIPAC efforts, raising questions about what kind of stand the anti-war left is taking on Iran. By late December the bi-partisan bill had gained 26 sponsors.

Upset by Senator Mark Kirk’s chief sponsorship and by the prospects of another potential war, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War-Chicago sprung into action. “It’s important to lead by example, to step up to the occasion and the threat of war,” said Navy Veteran and IVAW member Michael Applegate. “Our organization is about stopping war.”

In the midst of the holiday lull, 48 hours notice, and a climate change polar vortex winter, IVAW Chicago was able to turn out two dozen protesters to a frozen New Year’s Day picket at Senator Kirk’s office with the message of “Don’t Ruin the New Year with War on Iran.”

“We wanted to tell the people in government we don’t want this bill” said Iraq Veteran and IVAW member Greg Broseus. “This bill was a way to spit on the face of the diplomatic solution and peace.

Empowered by the response to the action, IVAW followed the New Years Eve action with a statewide call-in day to the Senator and formed an ad hoc “No War on Iran-Chicago Coalition.” Despite the effort by the veterans and other peace groups, things looked dire by the second week of the New Year, when the bill grew to 59 Senate supporters. In response to the bill’s growing momentum, the coalition called for another antiwar Demonstration for February first.
Then fortunes started to change.  On January 14th, the National Iranian American Council, along with 71 other groups, released a public letter denouncing the bill and asking the Senate to give peace a chance. Various groups began organizing call-in and lobby days. According to sources, some Senate offices received hundreds of calls against the bill with only a couple of calls in support. The push culminated with Obama’s State of the Union address when the President himself brought the issue to national attention as he vowed to veto the bill.

On February first — another cold and this time snowy Chicago day — the newly formed No War or Sanctions on Iran coalition mobilized over 60 peace activist to the streets. The group marched to Chicago’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial where Veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan gave speeches against the sanctions and the new threat of war. At the solemn memorial, Vietnam Veteran and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) member Barry Romo, spoke on the human cost of war. “As you look at the Wall of the names of hundreds who died, think of the names that won’t be there. People who died of Agent Orange, people who killed themselves with drugs, people who drank their lives away.”
As he said these solemn words I reflected on the human cost of war and the war weariness of the country. I think of those passed from my own community — IVAW Chicago members Anthony Wagner and Joshua Casteel — who died from the Iraq war, not in country, but from the same brutal aftermath Vietnam Veterans endured with PTSD, moral injury, and environmental poisoning.
As well-funded lobby groups, super PACs, and defense contractors beat the war drums, it’s important for the American public to honor and remember courageous men like Wagner and Casteel. Casteel — who was an eloquent Conscientious Objector, and Wagner — who was arrested as part of the Occupy movement and who took political action until his untimely death.  
The example of Syria and now Iran show the American public clearly wants a new way forward. This sentiment is the result of the millions who opposed war the last decade but also by the very real human cost our country and communities have endured.

On February 6th AIPAC itself backed off its own bill signaling defeat for the lobby and another significant victory for the peace movement. As the peace movement moves forward we must be broad in our vision in working to demilitarize a society and government that spends nearly half its national budget on military spending. We must also make the connection of this enormous military spending to cuts to pensions, food stamps, unemployment, mental health services and other vital human need services—programs the American public desperately needs in the midst of the worst economic situation since the Great Depression. In spite of this need, our politicians prioritize an expansive military industrial complex that has hundreds of military bases throughout the world.  Priorities have to change.

Iran has the right to Nuclear Energy, but in the aftermath of the environmental disaster of Fukushima, we need to also work with the world community in dismantling dangerous nuclear energy as well as nuclear weapons. We must be a peace movement that calls for the demilitarization of all world powers and that works to ensure all of the world’s populace be allowed to live decently and with dignity.     

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Mirrored from Commondreams.org

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72 comments:

  1. Good Lord, they must be showing Porn on one of the Free Channels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The conga line should have had a hundred posts up by now.

      Delete
    2. .

      The conga line is slowly drifting away.

      Allen's gone and I hope there is nothing wrong with him. His departure was rather abrupt and he had mentioned something about it not being a good year for him health wise. Hopefully, the two are not related.

      Bob is contemplating a long hiatus.

      And Doug is thoroughly disgusted. Yes, that is what I said. The Maui Haole is disgusted, perhaps even incensed, possibly livid.

      :-)

      .

      Delete
    3. As long as he's not 'pissed.'

      :) :) :)

      Delete
    4. The intermittent dribble is harmless.

      Delete
    5. I spend some real time pissing. But I'm hardly ever pissed.

      Delete
  2. I went back to plan “A” . I simply am too busy to put up with post-adolescent nonsense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) Yeah.

      Actually, I was kind of getting a kick out of it. It was getting a bit nuts toward the end, though.

      Delete
  3. Maybe the rat will register? He said he would.

    ReplyDelete
  4. .

    The usual suspects.

    What's new?

    A waste of a thread, but like you, Ruf, it was interesting seeing the rat being fed a little of his own pudding.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  5. .

    As to this thread, what can you say. It's the same old story we have had for the past 50 years. The weasels in D.C. responding to their minders get us into war and eventually it requires the people to get us out. Unfortunately, it is usually way too late. Maybe this time will be different. If so, I am willing to give Obama credit.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think, right now, I'm willing to give Obama credit for being luckier than a dog with two dicks.

      Delete
    2. When it came time for the cartels of Hong Kong to elect a new Tai Pan, they took several things into consideration. Intelligence, Courage, Honor, etc. But, above all else, they valued "Luck."

      Delete
  6. .

    No doubt what you say is true.

    However, IMO, it was not solely luck. I think right along Obama's natural tendency was to avoid further foreign entanglements. [Note: This is no way my endorsement of his foreign policy which I view as ad hoc, inconsistent, and ineffective.] However, significant problems were created by his reliance on certain advisors, in point of fact, the triad of warmongering witches, Clinton, Rice, and Powers, as well as, his careless use of the words 'red line'.

    I don't think in his heart Obama wanted to invade Libya but hoping to avoid being called soft he succumbed to the advise of the witches over that of more experienced advisors. Likewise, his careless use of the term red lines wrt Syria and Iran could have been prompted by being called a 'wimp' by Mr. Democrat, Bill Clinton. He was no doubt lucky that a whole series of event came together serendipitously to same him on Syria and Iran but I think the end result was what he wanted right along.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      ...save him...

      ...witches/bitches/whatever...

      .

      Delete
    2. I pretty much agree with all that.

      Delete
    3. Probably, for every war brought about by naked aggression there's at least one other that comes about from an unlikely warrior (s) just stumbling, and bumbling into conflict. It looks like Obama has been, at least temporarily, spared from that particular fate.

      Delete
  7. We must be a peace movement that calls for the demilitarization of all world powers and that works to ensure all of the world’s populace be allowed to live decently and with dignity.

    And we must be a peaceful nation with the baddest military pound for pound.
    Ready to defend our culture of freedom and self-determination, as well as our allies.
    Think we can all just sing koomba-ya and put down our swords?

    Never gonna happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iranian Mullahs are nothing, if not trustworthy, Dougman.

      They're gonna leave that Uranium Oxide as is, forever.

      Honest

      Delete
    2. .

      The thread Deuce put up was a little Kumba-ya-ish admittedly. However, the guys involved are at least willing to get out and demonstrate for their beliefs.

      The US has conventional forces to meet any threat. As for the Mullahs getting the bomb, we also have the nuclear capacity to fry the world.

      I'm not worried about the mullahs.

      Those that are remind me of the sheeple who are willing to give up their basic rights in exchange for Uncle Sam promising to protect them from the bad old terrorists.

      You saw it on the flight to Detroit, you saw it in Times Square, you saw it in Boston. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

      .

      Delete
  8. I'm not sure what Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Iran have to do with "Our culture of freedom, and self-determination."

    Maybe, the trick is to know the difference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. demilitarization of all world powers

      I wouldn't mind if they were demilitarized.

      Delete
    2. .

      demilitarization of all world powers

      NaĂŻve. There is too much money involved in keeping the world militarized.

      Only, the other hand, if you could slow down the march to war, that might be nice.

      .

      Delete
  9. "Without more action to combat global warming, scientists predict extreme weather events such as last year’s Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines will occur, Kerry said. He likened climate change to global threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

    “The solution is energy policy. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “Governments and international financial institutions should stop incentivizing the use of energy sources like coal and oil.”"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. China, India, Pakistan, SE Asia, and the rest of the World, plus Volcanoes, render us insignificant...

      But it's convenient tool for Control Freak Liberals to impose their wills on the masses.

      Delete
    2. "It's as simple as that."

      Yep, simpler than running for POTUS, Mr Global Test guy.

      Delete
    3. .

      Ban Solar. Save the Birds.

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2560494/Worlds-largest-solar-farm-SCORCHING-BIRDS-fly-it.html

      .

      Delete
    4. I gotta read about that sometime: 700 ft tall, right?

      I used to read about much less ambitious plants, I even foolishly thought I would build one.

      At our Nike base in Kansas, guys would tie birds (never saw them in action, I think the birds were already dead) in front of the radar emitter and fry them.

      Delete
    5. To bad there's not some high-tech way to keep the birds away.

      How bout a giant horn right below the focal point?

      Delete
    6. Jeeze, it's brighter than shit, you'd think they'd stay away.

      Delete
    7. $14,300 per household, plus costs of distribution, cleaning, and maintenance, would probly be better to figure out a way to install 14 k of rooftop solar per household.

      Delete
    8. "Michael J. Connor, said alternatives to the site were not considered and serious environmental impacts, including fragmenting the tortoise population, were ignored.

      'Do we really need to have these giant plants first, or is it better to generate solar power on people's roofs, the place it's going to be used?' Connor asked.

      NRG did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

      Resch said a key issue for the industry will be maintaining government policies that encourage development, including tax credits for solar projects that are set to expire in 2016 and government loan guarantees. 'The direct result of these policies is projects like Ivanpah,' he said."

      Delete
    9. .

      How bout a giant horn right below the focal point?

      There is hope for Corolla listeners. I was afraid you were going to suggest bird seed.

      .

      Delete
    10. .

      Jeeze, it's brighter than shit, you'd think they'd stay away.


      The lure of bright shiny objects. I just hope Farmer Bob doesn't come across this place in his travels.

      .

      Delete
    11. Anything bright and shiny in the desert makes him think Eureka, Casino!

      Delete
  10. It's getting ugly in Venezuela. Three people were killed in anti-government protests on the streets of Caracas on Wednesday.

    ...

    Mr. Maduro was Hugo Chávez's hand-picked successor, and one of Chávez's Cuban-influenced legacies was politicizing the armed forces and the police and developing an informal militia...

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  11. .

    If you are wondering where Farmer Bob and WiO are today, they are the third and fourth guys from the left in the fifth level down in the picture.

    Grasping for their lucky sticks: Thousands of men in loincloths take part in annual NAKED festival in Japan where they fiercely battle for a pair of blessed batons. More than 9,000 Japanese men took part in Hadaka Matsuri - known as Naked Festival - at Saidaiji Temple today donned white loincloths, before stepping into cold fountains, where they purified their bodies with water
    Then battled fiercely with each other in bid to grab lucky sticks being thrown by priest at temple in Okayama
    Sacred batons are believed to bring good luck and happiness for an entire year to whoever catches them.


    The Boys at Play

    WiO really was interested in going but he lost the bet and Farmer Bob insisted.

    .



    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2560212/Naked-festival.html#ixzz2tX0MN7HH
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama (born October 27, 1952) is an American political scientist, political economist, and author.
      Fukuyama is best known for his book The End of History and the Last Man (1992), which argued that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies and free market capitalism of the West and its lifestyle may signal the end point of humanity's sociocultural evolution and become the final form of human government. However, his subsequent book Trust:
      Social Virtues and Creation of Prosperity (1995) modified his earlier position to acknowledge that culture cannot be cleanly separated from economics. Fukuyama is also associated with the rise of the neoconservative movement,[2] from which he has since distanced himself.[3]

      Fukuyama has been a Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University since July 2010.[4] Before that, he served as a professor and director of the International Development program at the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.

      Previously, he was Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University.[4]

      Delete
    2. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/15/article-2560212-1B8507A000000578-762_470x625.jpg


      Quirk is the fat ass in the middle. His little geisha lady giggled. "Silly drunkhigh Quirk" I remember her saying. "He silly shit Yank."

      Hamdoon, WiO, Umatilla Jack and I all stayed at sushi bar and drank from Quirk's Vodka supply. H didn't notice it missing as he was high on the new Washington Wowie he made me promise to provide him, and filled with Vodka too. It really fucks up his memory, that Washington Wowie.

      He thought he was The Emperor of Japan for awhile. May have gotten the idea when young geisha girl said, "You big man, Yank. And you ride the throne forever."

      The first pic looks like something out of Hieronymous Bosch.

      Delete
  12. The National Security Agency was involved in the surveillance of an American law firm while it represented a foreign government in trade disputes with the United States,The New York Times reported in a story based on a top-secret document obtained by former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Replies
    1. Ha !!

      I've been fighting some guy named 'Norton' much of the day. He is a wily sucker, for sure. But he wasn't good enough to deal with my wife and some over the phone tech support.

      I'll be dealing with you later, Quirk.

      Delete
  14. Sweden is doing well in the cross country skiing, but nobody can touch our Sage Kostenburg USA with a snowboard.

    Did I mention Sage is from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho?

    Did I ever mention that Sarah Palin is one or ours, too?

    We raise them up straight, smart, strong around here !

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ash, the NSA running roughshod over the 4th Amendment harms our 1st Amendment rights too. People who know their emails and such can be read by NSA will be less likely to engage in free discussion with their friends and others. In our lingo this is called a 'chilling effect'. We already have some cases where the attorney - client privilege was violated. If you can't talk to your lawyer without the spooks around.........

    ReplyDelete
  16. .

    Eight out of the top ten ice dancing pairs from the Sochi Olympics train in the Detroit area. Most, including the American and Canadian champs, train in Canton with some famous Russian coach and a few more train in Novi.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  17. .

    After years of supporting Saudi radicals in Syria, those same radicals are coming home to roost in Saudi Arabia. it couldn't happen to a nicer brand of dicks.

    The upcoming visit by President Barack Obama to the kingdom in late March is the second factor behind the new policy. King Abdullah will make a major push for a more vigorous American effort to oust Assad when he hosts Obama. The Saudis have been openly disappointed that Obama has not used force to get rid of Assad or provided more assistance to training and arming the Syrian opposition. By taking steps to curb Saudi help to al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra, the king hopes to disarm American concerns that the kingdom is naively helping terrorists gain a stronghold in Syria. Prince Nayef just visited the White House last week for meetings with national security adviser Susan Rice and assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, Lisa Monaco. The meetings were preparations for the president’s trip. The same issue of foreign fighters traveling to Syria came up in Obama’s meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah in California on Feb. 14. Hundreds of Jordanians have joined Jabhat al-Nusra.

    Saudi King Abdullah has a special attachment to Syria and has tribal and marriage connections to the country. He has been appalled at the gruesome bloodshed and the horrific cost of the civil war. He blames Washington for not doing more to stop the war, oust Assad and put in place a Sunni government that will break with Iran and Hezbollah. He would like Syria to become a Sunni base for toppling Hezbollah dominance of Lebanon.

    The Saudi point man on Syria for the last three years has been intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan. Ironically, Bandar was a key player in helping Assad consolidate his power with the Alawite generals who run Syria when his father Hafez died in 2000. Some sources suggest the failure to get rid of Assad has cost Bandar influence with the king. A rising player is the king’s son, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, who became last year the first ever minister of the Saudi Arabian National Guard — elevating command of the kingdom’s elite praetorian security force to the level of a ministry. Mutaib is an important player in the kingdom, an up-and-comer who has taken on more diplomatic missions recently, including rallying support for the Saudi opposition in Europe. The National Guard was commanded by Abdullah from 1962 until 2010.



    Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/saudi-arabia-barack-obama-syria-fighters.html##ixzz2tYkkF8z7

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We should have body slammed those bastards on 912.

      Delete
  18. .

    The U.S. Middle Class Is Turning Proletarian

    Roughly one in three people born into middle class-households, those between the 30th and 70th percentiles of income, now fall out of that status as adults.

    Neither party has a reasonable program to halt the decline of the middle class. Previous generations of liberals — say Walter Reuther, Hubert Humphrey, Harry Truman, Pat Brown — recognized broad-based economic growth was a necessary precursor to upward mobility and social justice. However, many in the new wave of progressives engage in fantastical economics built around such things as “urban density” and “green jobs,” while adopting policies that restrict growth in manufacturing, energy and housing. When all else fails, some, like Oregon’s John Kitzhaber, try to change the topic by advocating shifting emphasis from measures of economic growth to “happiness.”

    Other more ideologically robust liberals, like New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, call for a strong policy of redistribution, something with particular appeal in a city with one of the highest levels of income inequality in the country. Over time a primarily redistributionist approach may improve some material conditions, but is likely to help create a permanent underclass of dependents, including part-time workers, perpetual students, and service employees living hand to mouth, who can make ends meet only if taxpayers subsidize their housing, transportation and other necessities.

    Given the challenge being mounted by de Blasio and hard left Democrats, one would imagine that business and conservative leaders would try to concoct a response. But for the most part, particularly at the national level, they offer little more than bromides about low taxes, particularly for the well-heeled investor and rentier classes, while some still bank on largely irrelevant positions on key social issues to divert the middle class from their worsening economic plight.


    http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2014/02/16/the-u-s-middle-class-is-turning-proletarian/

    .

    ReplyDelete
  19. I predicted, last year, that in 2014 the Democrats would be all about the Minimum Wage. It looks like that could be coming to pass. The Dems are promising to introduce a "Discharge Petition" in the House to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 / hr.

    If the Pubs refuse to sign on (which, almost all of them will,) the Dems will have an issue to beat them over the head with in November. This won't "save" the Dems in the mid-term, but it should help, somewhat, to slow the bleeding.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Obamacare "Approval" up to 45% in latest Rasmussen "likely voters" poll.

    The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters rate the new law at least somewhat favorably, while 52% share an unfavorable opinion of it. This includes 16% with a Very Favorable view and 40% with a Very Unfavorable one. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

    Favorable reviews for the law are up from 42% earlier this month and are the highest since mid-October. Unfavorables hit an all-time high of 58% in mid-November. Favorables fell to a record low of 36% in that same survey.

    Forty-one percent (41%) now say the government should require every health insurance company and health insurance plan to cover the exact same set of medical procedures. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree, while 22% are undecided. That’s the highest level of support measured for government-established standards since early September, but voters remain more evenly divided on this question than they did for much of 2013.


    Up 3 Points

    ReplyDelete
  21. The ole rat is chicken it appears.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Another snake-handling preacher died the other day. The second one, that I've read about, in the last six months.

    Defies commentary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Does make me think about Karl Rove, and his bizarre elevation of Calvin Coolidge, and the similar results of the two administrations - Great Depression / Great Recession.

      ie - some results are wholly predictable

      Delete
    2. I've got a Jake The Snake - Stone Cold Steve Austin story link for ya, but too busy right now.

      Involves Jake's Python getting loose in the Austin household.

      Mrs. Austin was not amused.

      Delete
    3. "Defies commentary"

      I'd put it in the occupational hazard category:

      Good business model for The Scam, but with occasional negative outcomes.

      I'd just drum up business on Twitter.

      ...if I used Twitter and was a "preacher"

      Delete
  23. .

    Countries that should be our allies rather than afterthoughts.

    The Most Important Alliance You've Never Heard Of

    Latin American countries have failed to work together for two centuries. That may be about to change.


    Amid all the bad news in the region, the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru met with little fanfare in Cartagena last week to seal an economic pact launched in 2012. They call their project the Pacific Alliance, and it will soon include Costa Rica and possibly several other countries. The four founding members are the most successful economies in Latin America; they boast the region's highest economic-growth rates and lowest inflation rates. Together, they represent 36 percent of the region's economy, 50 percent of its international trade, and 41 percent of all incoming foreign investment. If the Alliance were a country, it would be the world's eighth-largest economy and seventh-largest exporter. Its members lead the lists of the most competitive economies in Latin America and those where it’s easiest to do business. Given that trade among the four countries is currently a mere 4 percent of their total trade, the potential to expand trade and investment flows is huge.

    Unfortunately, history shows that potential alone is not enough to cement regional agreements. Like all previous attempts at integrating Latin American economies, the Pacific Alliance is animated by the huge gains that would accrue from successfully developing closer economic ties between neighbors. But the potential of Latin American integration initiatives has always been as enormous as the actual results have been meager.

    The surprise, however, is that the Pacific Alliance has already yielded more results in its 20 months of existence than similar initiatives that have been around for decades. The four countries have eliminated 92 percent of all import tariffs among them. Chile, Colombia, and Peru have linked their stock markets so that a company listed in one of the exchanges can be traded in the other two. Mexico is expected to follow suit this year, meaning this integrated stock market will rival that of Brazil as the largest in Latin America. The four countries have eliminated the need for business and tourist visas for visiting nationals of bloc members. In a break with tradition, the joint communiqués of Alliance presidents tend to be brief and concrete in terms of goals, timelines, and roadmaps...


    http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/02/the-most-important-alliance-youve-never-heard-of/283877/

    .

    ReplyDelete
  24. Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Colombia . . . . . . . it seems like these countries all have something in common. Let's see, what was that, again?


    Oh, yeah. These are all countries with which we have signed Free Trade Agreements.

    ReplyDelete
  25. "If the Alliance were a country, it would be the world's eighth-largest economy "

    Meanwhile, Brazil is the seventh-largest, and it hasn't.

    ReplyDelete
  26. On March 19, 2011, President Obama and Presiden Rousseff signed the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation , to enhance cooperation on trade and investment between the Western Hemisphere's two largest economies. The agreement will expand our direct trade and investment relationship by providing a frameworkto deepen cooperation on a number of issues of mutual concern, including innovation, trade facilitation and technical barriers to trade. The agreement represents a shared commitment to broad-based economic growth, and will become a foundation for cooperatoin in other trade for

    ReplyDelete
  27. Replies
    1. "Apr 6, 2010 - WASHINGTON — The United States and Brazil have reached an agreement aimed at settling a long-standing trade dispute over American ..."

      ---

      They aimed, but they missed.

      Delete
    2. "Sep 19, 2013 - Next to China, the US is Brazil's biggest trade partner. ... that economic - and thus political - relations between both nations remain strong."

      I did not know that.

      Now if we can only get Farmer Bob to give back some of them Cotten Subsidies.

      Delete
  28. Farmer Bob is not me out here in Idaho.

    I am not posting a long period of time.

    Glad to see Doug back though.

    ReplyDelete