UAE - Ports - and Free Trade Free markets are necessary for free trade but not quite the same. In order for free trade to exist between countries both countries must have free markets. If only one country has a free market then free trade is impossible.

I am one of the few "economics" enlightened liberals that believes in free trade. While there will always be individual winners and losers free trade - real free trade that is - benefits everyone. But here is the problem, China does not have an open free market. Japan does not have an open free market. Central America does not have a free market. And the UAE does not have a free market.

What happens when a free market economy like the U.S. trades with a closed economy like Japan, China, or Mexico? What happens is that the free market economy (that would be us) gets cheated. Take Mexico or China as examples. Both countries allow multinational corporations to evade environment laws and basic rights of workers to collective bargaining, as well as, health and safety. So, so called American multinational corporations - which are granted full human rights status as people under the U.S. Constitution - including the right to $$$free speech$$$ - but which have no moral or patriotic commitments to the United States can go to these countries and rape the environment that everyone in the world depends on for survival - and they can rape, cripple, kill, and unfairly exploit the workers. These factors create defacto subsidies for these corporations to move production to these countries. Therefore these countries are not practicing free trade. They are subsidising the corporations to move production to their country. This puts downward pressure on the ability of American workers to earn a living wage under survivable working conditions. It is a race to the bottom.

In true free trade, production would move to these countries, but they would need pollution control equipment - standard of living and wages would rise - which would create new markets for American products - which would create new economic opportunity for Americans. That is not happening. More and more of our productive capacity - more and more of our economic power - more and more of our "equity" and ownership of our own country, is transferred over the border as we borrow more and more money to buy more and more products from more and more countries that cheat us in international trade by subsidising our amoral multinational corporations to transfer production to their countries without giving us a fair opportunity to sell our products to them.

Japan is a little different case. They invaded our markets while keeping their markets closed to us. Their markets are still largely closed to us. They cheated us starting in the 70s and they are still cheating us.

Increasing industrial productive capacity in China combined with decreasing industrial capacity in the U.S. will make China into the worlds only super-power.

So... it is clear that the real agenda of the Bush Regime is to serve the amoral UnAmerican American multinational corporations, and that this regime does not care about the real interests of the American people.

So... the UAE does not practice free trade and that is reason enough to deny them this deal.

It has been pointed out by others that this company is tied to the UAE government. That being the case, it is reasonable to look at the UAE and question their intentions and sympathies. Others have pointed out that there is clear evidence to suspect that the UAE has terrorist sympathies. It has already been pointed out by others that even assuming that this company is innocent it is reasonable to wonder if they have been infiltrated.

If I were Osama, and I wanted to be able to ship WMD around the world, I would like to have some friends in the shipping business. The easiest way to infiltrate the shipping industry would be to infiltrate the Arab shipping industry and then migrate from there. Now that is all speculation - yes - but reasonable suspicion.

Sure the Coast Guard provides security. The police provide security on your street, but they don’t know what really goes on on your street as well as you do. Your boss controls your office, but does he really know what people talk about the water cooler. He probably does. He probably spies on you. The point is simply this, people on the inside have access to inside information - hence the term inside job.

So this is clearly an issue that raises security concerns, and the fact the this Regime would rubber stamp this deal without a full blown investigation is, at the very least, another example that Bush is still reading “MY PET GOAT.” It is “hard work”, sounding out all of those big words. That is the best face that you can put on this.  ¶ 7:25 PM 0 comments

  A little more of Ray's Brief Dictionary of Political Buzz words and Phrases

Estate Tax (Ĕstāt΄ Tăx) noun. 1.) The fair tax levied against the rich for the explicit purpose of leveling the playing field from one generation to the next and preventing the establishment of virtual Royalty in the United States of America. As in: America is the land of opportunity and someone who has the privilege of becoming rich should pay an estate tax, thereby donating much of their riches back to the public good when they die, and allow their children to become rich the old fashioned way – by working for it.

Ethics (Ĕth-ēēks΄) Adjective. 1.) An archaic term describing something that has not existed in the Whitehouse for over fifty years. 2.) A class that President George Bush the Second has ordered taught, in order to restore honor and dignity to the Royal Court… er… um… Whitehouse… 3.) Core traditional Republican values. 4.) Core traditional Democratic values. 5.) Doing “not just what is legal” but “doing what is right”. 6.) The types of political processes used by President George Bush to advance the administration’s agenda. As in: We got values – you see. 7.) The opposite of Karl Rove. 8.) The opposite of Dick Cheney. 9.) The opposite of… Oh… you get the point.

Extremist (Ĕx-trēm΄-ǐstss) noun. 1.) The other guy. 2.) Republican. 3.) Democrat. 4.) Pat Robertson. 5.) Dick Cheney. 6.) Donald Rumsfeld. 7.)Osama bin Laden 8.) Me.

Fag (Făg) See Karl Rove Adjective. 1.) A derogatory term used by homo-phobes (see Republican) to describe Godless hordes of homosexual men (see Democrat) that threaten to overwhelm the American way of life (see missionary position).

  ¶ 9:37 PM 2 comments

  Electoral System I have lost respect for McCain because I think that he has sold out to Bush in order to position himself to run for President. I have lost respect for Hillary for the same reason - plus I just don't like dynasties at the Presidential level. Worse, I don't think that she is electable. I like Mark Warner, Joe Biden, or Wesley Clark.

I liked McCain (I might even have voted for him) and I thought McCain and Bradley would have been far better candidates in 1999. I thought Clark, Gephart, or Dean would have been better candidates in the last election. It is clear that McCain would have been more electable than George Bush. I also believe that Bradley would have been more electable than Gore. In our electoral system it is often the case that the best most popular candidates never get the opportunity to run.

This highlights one of the problems with our electoral system (Scientific American has some very good articles on this). Some decades ago there was a move toward open primaries in an attempt to democratise the choosing of candidates. Prior to that party bosses had a lot of influence in choosing the candidates. The problem is this, the party bosses at least had some connection to the grass roots base of the party. Now, with open primaries the so called "free speech" of big money special interests have a much louder voice in choosing the nominees. So, the process is actually less democratic. The current system means that candidates have to sell themselves to $special interst$ and to the party base instead of to the main stream of America. This is good for $$$special interest$$$, and it is good for party base activists like me, because our voices resonate more loudly. It is not good for the United States of America. The loudest voice by far in picking candidates, and in electing them, is the $$$free speech$$$ of special interests.

It has been a while since I read the articles in Scientific American, so my senile Reagan-esc mind is fuzzy on the all important details... but... one of the problems with the current system is that; if you like someone like Nader or Buchanan, you either have to throw your vote away by trying to vote for a "winner" or, you have to throw your vote away by voting for the obvious "loser". This is hardly democratic and will not express the real will of the people in either case.

One, of many alternatives, that addresses these and other problems is rank order voting. So, if there where 5 candidates - your first choice would get 5 points - your second, 4 points - and so on. The candidate with the most points would win. People would put their names on the ballot by meeting some minimum standard of popular support, then voters rank their order of preferences. This allows things like voting for anybody but Bush - or anybody but Hillary. It would allow people to express a mandate or support for the ideas of someone like Nader or Buchanan without throwing their vote away.

There are many voting schemes to consider. Each scheme has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Many other schemes would do a better job of representing the will of the people than our current system.   ¶ 12:08 PM 0 comments

  Some more of Rays Brief Dictionary of Political Buzz Words

Economy (Ē-cŏn-nō-mē΄) noun. 1.) The Holy Temple of the Almighty Dollar. 2.) A system of organizing labor, capital, and resources to produce the goods and services that people need. 3.) A system for making the rich richer. 4.) Something that is far less important than making sure that two adult men do not have the right to enter in to a civil contract of marriage. As in: People will vote against there own best interest on the economy in order to prevent gays from getting married – because?... if two consenting adult men got married – that would just be the end of the world – for sure – because?... all the closeted fags in the Christian right coalition would become liberated?... and run off and marry each other?...

Economist (Ē-cŏn-nō-mǐst΄) noun. 1.) The High and Holy Priest of the Holy Temple of the Almighty Dollar. 2.) Someone who advocates for “free trade” agreements like NAFTA that allow a third world country to subsidize industry by not demanding reasonable environmental standards or that workers be empowered to be anything more than slaves. Also someone who advocates for “free trade” agreements that allow third world countries to subsidize industry by not requiring any health and safety standards for workers. 3.) Someone trained to understand the complex inter-relationships between labor, capital, resources, and, goods and services. 4.) Someone who knows how to make the rich get richer on the blood, sweat, and tears of the working class. 5.) A General in the class war against God fearing hordes of subhuman workers.

Editorial (Ěd-ǐ-tōr΄-ē-ǐl) adjective. 1.) See Ray’s Brief Dictionary of Political Buzz Words. 2.) The opinion of an opinionated person. 3.) Political spin. 2.) The insightful comments of real journalist. 3.) The lies told by Fox News. 4.) The exercise of free speech, some of which, would not be worth paying for.

Election (Ē-lĕct΄-shŭn) noun. 1.) A fraudulent process for choosing U.S. Presidents. 2.) An important element of Constitutional Democracy. 3.) Something that can be bought with $$$free speech$$$. 4.) A system of one man one vote - as long as the man is not black and does not have a vagina (see Republican).

Electioneering (Ē-lĕct΄-shŭn-ēr-ǐng) verb. 1.) Republican meaning: To attempt to win votes by sending The Swift Boat Veterans for Lies onto TV talk shows. 2.) Democratic meaning: To get involved in a campaign.

Elected (Ē-lĕct΄-ǐd) verb. Republican Meanings: 1.) To get five Supreme Court Justices to vote for you in a close five / four election. 2.) To get your best Republican friend at Diebold to make electronic voting machines with no paper trail. 3.) To keep every Republican talking head to stick to, and continually repeat, exactly the same set of talking points, even after they have been proven to be flat out bald faced lies. Then there are the Democratic Meanings: 4.) To have five Supreme Court Justices vote against you in a close five / four election. 5.) To have no best Democratic friends that are in the business of manufacturing electronic voting machines without paper trails. 6.) Something that does not happen to Democratic Presidential candidates.

Endorsement (Ěn-dōrs΄-mĕnt) noun. Republican Meanings: 1.) The signature on the back of the government handout checks from no-bid contracts. 2.) President Bush’s signature on pork barrel bills that build bridges to no where. 3.) Tom Delay’s signature on bribery checks from Jack Abramoff. 4.) Political support from Fox News. 5.) Political support from closeted Christian Right Coalition fag-a-phobes. The Democratic Meanings: 6.) The signature on the back of welfare checks. 7.) The signatures on petitions demanding free and fair elections. 8.) The support of all ten people in the Rainbow Coalition and the women’s movement.

Evil (Ēv΄-ǐl) noun. 1.) Homosexuality. 2.) Sodom me (that is really evil), and Gum more a (especially a mans gums more on a man), (but giving oral or any other kind of pleasure to a women is also evil… see missionary position). 3.) A state of existence, behavior, or action that is characterized by extreme self-centered, self-serving, spiritually bankrupt greed (see Republican – see no bid contract – see Jack Abramoff - see Haliburton – see especially, Pat Robertson taking contributions for aid to Africa, pretending to load a plane with aid, then turning the cameras off, taking the aid off from the plane, reloading the plane with mining equipment, and shipping that mining equipment to his business partner, the savage, vicious, brutal, mass murdering, dictator of Liberia, Charles Taylor – see that – if you want to see evil – see that ). 4.) See bombing third world peasants so that Haliburton and the oil oligarchy can make record profits.

Evil Doer (Ēv΄-ǐl Dö-ĕr) noun. 1.) Bushism for Osama bin Laden… takes one to know one… nuff said.

Evolution (Evǐl΄-lü-shŭn) noun. 1.) The excuses for going to war in Iraq. 2.) A faith based belief that contradicts the science of intelligent design. As in: The belief in evolution is based on the ridiculous idea that events in a natural universe will have natural causes. 3.) Scooter Libby’s account of his actions relating to the treasonous outing of an undercover CIA agent. 4.) George Bush’s policies on how to handle anyone who leaked classified information. 5.) George Bush’s policies for restoring honor and dignity to the Whitehouse. As in: George Bush’s policy of “We will do not just what is legal, we will do what is right” has evolved… (left wing commie pinko fag Democrats would say devolved - but that is just semantics) …has evolved into Karl Rove is OK as long as you cannot prove that he has actually committed the moral equivalent of treason. 6.) George Bush’s understanding of what the meaning of torture is is. 7.) The American people’s understanding of what Bill Clinton actually means when he says “lick my cigar”. 8.) Something that George Bush says has never happened to him - and - upon due and careful consideration - I have to agree with him.

  ¶ 12:15 PM 0 comments

  More recent Additions to Rays Brief Dictionary of Political Buzz Words Democrat (Dĕm-mŏk΄-krăt) verb. Street slang. 1.) Meaning to run a weak Presidential campaign. noun. Republican Meanings: 1.) Godless tree hugging queer. 2.) Godless anti-American fag. 3.) Godless nigger loving gay guy. 4.) Godless pro-terrorist homosexual. 5.) Godless liberal, lesbo loving, sissy boy. The Democratic Meaning: 6.) A person with the traditional American values of equality, liberty, diversity, civil liberties, environmental stewardship of God’s green earth, and fighting for the poor and disenfranchised against the overwhelming power of the rich and privileged elite.

Defense (Dē΄-fĕnss) noun. 1.) Justification for the military / industrial complex.

Defense Intelligence (Dē΄-fĕnss Ĭn΄-tĕl-ǐ-gĕnss) noun. 1.) A well thought out military campaign involving the use of enough troops to maintain stability after victory is complete. 2.) Sending troops into combat with adequate armor. 3.) Torturing Arabs so that they no longer even know what the truth is, and will tell us whatever they think that we want to hear. 4.) Drawing pictures of fictional mobile bio-weapons labs on semi-trucks. 5.) Warrant-less spying on American enemies of His Highness President George Bush the Second. 6.) Really cool little remote controlled planes with big assed missiles.

Department of Justice (Dē-părt΄-mĕnt ŏv Jăs-tǐss΄) noun. 1.) An important department in the U.S. government charged with the responsibility of finding legal justification for subverting the Constitution of the United States of America by legalizing torture and illegal wiretaps.

Diplomacy (Dǐ-plōm΄-ă-sēē) noun. 1.) Refering to something that the U.S. no longer does since we allowed an idiot jackass gun slingin Texan to shoot his way into the Whitehouse - mind you - a gun slingin Texan would be fine – but the idiot jackass has to go. 2.) A process of finding and working cooperatively with international partners to achieve national objectives - but it really is “hard work” – so George Bush does not like it. 3.) A fun pastime in the Whitehouse involving the treasonous “outing” of the undercover CIA wives of diplomats.

Dissembling (Dǐs-sĕm-blǐng΄) transitive verb. 1.) Politician talking to voters.

Dynasty (Dī-năstē΄) noun. 1.) American meaning. A group of Kings… er… Presidents from the same family line. 2.) The Bush family. 3.) The Clinton family? 4.) The Kennedy family – by the way - I might be a distant kissin cousin – on my sister / Mom’s side.  ¶ 8:03 PM 0 comments

  The World Can't Wait Protest in Washington News reports state that there were between 1000 and 2000 protesters at the World Can't Wait to Drive out the Bush Regime protest in Washington. Another source told me that there were about 4000. It certainly seemed to me that there were a lot more than 2000. In any case the turn out was disappointing to those of us who feel passionately about what the "Disgrace on the Presidency" has done to undermine and subvert our Constitutional Democracy and to defile the American flag that symbolizes all of our shared American ideals. There should be millions of people in the street. There were 4000. This is our country. This is our flag. We must fight to protect it. Where were you? Why weren't you marching with us?

  ¶ 9:27 PM 0 comments

 
Too much cold rain... soaked to the bone... too many speakers... it is time to march. DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME... www.worldcantwait.net   ¶ 12:01 PM 0 comments

 
Thad's sign.   ¶ 11:44 AM 0 comments

 
The world can't wait to drive out the Bush Regime.    ¶ 11:39 AM 0 comments

 
More police in front of the White House - if we accomplishished nothing else at least we got some overtime for our Boys in Blue.   ¶ 11:33 AM 0 comments

 
Cold, cold rain.   ¶ 11:31 AM 0 comments

 
Police in front of the White House.   ¶ 11:30 AM 0 comments

 
Cold rain - dedicated protesters.   ¶ 11:28 AM 0 comments

 
More signs.   ¶ 11:26 AM 0 comments

 
More signs.   ¶ 11:25 AM 0 comments

 
A Banner.   ¶ 11:25 AM 0 comments

 
Super Protester.   ¶ 11:25 AM 0 comments

 
More of the 4000 protesters against Bush on 2-4-06 in Washington D.C.   ¶ 11:24 AM 0 comments

 
Protest speaker (www.worldcantwait.net) 2-4-06   ¶ 11:24 AM 0 comments

 
More Protesters.   ¶ 11:23 AM 0 comments

 
Four thousand Americans protesting against Bush in Washington D.C. on 2-4-06. Organised by www.worldcantwait.net   ¶ 11:19 AM 0 comments

 
Vietnam Memorial - Respect for the brave soldiers who died doing thier duty in the last mis-guided, incompetently civialian micro-managed, American war.    ¶ 9:42 AM 0 comments