5 NOVEMBER

Beijing and Taipei ignore politics to sign trade deal

* Tania Branigan
* The Guardian,
* Wednesday November 5 2008


China and Taiwan moved closer yesterday to ending six decades of hostilities, as they signed deals drastically expanding direct flights and allowing shipping links between the two countries.

The deal follows a dramatic thaw in relations over the last six months, since the election in Taiwan of Ma Ying-jeou as president. Taiwan broke away from China at the end of the civil war in 1949.

Beijing and Taipei have agreed to set aside contentious political issues to work on improving economic links - important to both at a time of worldwide gloom.

Thousands of protesters led by Taiwan's opposition Democratic People's party spent a night on the streets of Taipei, using loudspeakers to condemn the visit of Chen Yunlin - the most senior Chinese official to visit the island in 60 years - and accuse Ma of selling out to Beijing.

But yesterday Chen enjoyed a warmer welcome as he sipped champagne with his Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung. The men posed for photographers holding a piece of calligraphy reading: "Peaceful negotiation creates a win-win situation."

This summer saw the first regular direct air links across the 110-mile Taiwan Strait since the civil war, and yesterday's agreement would triple the number of flights, which formerly went via Hong Kong.

Chiang said direct shipping links would shave 16 hours and up to 30% of costs off voyages that previously went via Hong Kong and would help Taiwan to become an Asian transport hub.

Andrew Yang, of the Chinese Council for Advanced Policy Studies thinktank in Taipei, said the deal was also a major advance on that symbolic change. "Now it's more substantial ... Hopefully, more robust cross-Straits economic ties will help to stabilise the economic situation."

But he added that it was too early to judge how Ma's slumping poll ratings would be affected by the agreement.

The deal also includes greater cooperation on food safety, enabling faster recalls of substandard products, and an agreement to hold talks every six months.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/05/beijing-taipei-trade-deal







there's something significant here. that whole paradigm (oops,
word alert!) of china's longstanding powerstruggle with taiwan is just going to keep receding into irrelevance and their relationship is just going to continue to evolve as though the whole 'taiwan is china's property' deal doesn't exist. watch.

pix from last week's flooding in ha noi

PRESIDENT FUCKIN OBAMA!

when michelle obama appeared onstage at the dnc with her kids, i kept thinking, there must be some mistake, i mean, hello, she's black! i kept waiting for someone with a long cane to come and yank her off, scoot her and the kids off the stage.

this is a proud moment, even for a canadian in viet nam.

Barack's step-grandmother Sarah Obama in Kogelo, Kenya





At Obama's former school in Jakarta, Indonesia





shanghai





athens





jerusalem,





kogelo, kenya,




sydney





afghanistan





kenya





obama, japan

If You Want George W. Bush to go to Prison...You Better Vote for Obama
by Kris Seals
Monday November 03, 2008, 11:32 PM

We have heard the arguments. We have heard the agendas. Now, the country goes to vote. Will the winner be successful in turning the nation around for the better? Probably not. It will take more than two terms to fix this mess. However, there is something at stake, and that is George Walker Bush paying for his crimes.

Here is the short list: An invasion of Iraq that has not achieved its original purpose (Weapons of Mass Destruction...remember?) Enron, Halliburton truckers being paid exponentially more than the soldiers protecting them along their routes, invasion of privacy via the Patriot Act, waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay, the current economic crisis brought on by companies he allowed to run amok, the Hurricane Katrina relief disaster, a third world energy grid (no one ever thinks of that one) and last but certainly not least, the events of September 11th, 2001. There is a big difference between making inspirational speeches after an attack and doing your real job, which is to prevent the attack in the first place.


Should there be an investigation of Bush? Definitely. Do the American people want it? Of course. Remember, the Michael Moore film "Fahrenheit 9/11" raked in millions for his non-official investigation of the president.

Also, the government spent $60 million to prove Bill Clinton has an affair. Surely, Bush Jr. has to be worth a few pennies.

Now, should the country finally respect the American people and the soldiers who are dying for no good reason in Iraq, after an investigation would come the trial. "Guilty", and the case better not take weeks either.

Here is where the choice for president comes in, and it is critical. If McCain wins, Bush wins. As soon as the guilty verdict comes down, McCain will pardon Bush, and all of it was for nothing. George will walk, and he will be as the legendary "Die Hard" villain Hans Gruber said, "...sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent."

If Obama wins, then the pardon is out of the picture, unless Washington is more corrupt than anyone could fathom. However, if Obama is genuine, then Bush will go to prison. Who knows? In an ironic twist, maybe, just maybe, he may be the recipient of some of that old fashioned Texas justice that he likes so much. Yes, I mean execution. Normally, I am against that, but I will make an exception for him. Yes, he deserves it.

The point is, George has to pay, severely. His antics have not just plunged the United States into a debt so massive that the board in Union Square ran out of digits, but the whole world is now in a recession, despite whatever he says.

Granted there are some Bush supporters who will surely reply to this. They have their opinions. I have facts. I win.



http://www.nj.com/newark/index.ssf/2008/11/if_you_want_george_w_bush_to_g.html





and throw away the frickin key!

'' I know this now. Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing yet they give their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. And then it is gone. But to sacrifice what you are and live without belief, that's more terrible than dying.''

Joan of Arc

A Chance To Govern From The Heart


Last night we witnessed a graciousness that belies the apparent animus that oozed through much of the last several weeks of the campaign.

Last night, John McCain evidenced a grace and essence in his concession speech that helped me considerably. As much as I have disagreed with the Republican campaign rhetoric, I have tried my best to look past the unseemly smears and expressions of anger to see the person, the human being that lies more deeply within.

My sense is that had Senator McCain campaigned with the same grace and elegance as he evidenced in his concession speech, he just might have won.

As I wrote earlier this week in Election Anxiety articles about Lincoln and what to do if the other side wins, I hold to the notion that both Barack Obama and John McCain care, and care deeply. They certainly disagree about how to demonstrate and act on their caring, but care they do.

The anger that often flares around John McCain is something I recognize inside of me. It comes out most frequently when I care deeply about something and feel frustrated and ineffective in my ability to communicate that caring.

Barack Obama cares and cares deeply as well. One of his great blessings is the ability to stay in touch with his caring and to communicate from that place of caring, even at those times when he, too, must be feeling frustrated, even angry.

As an educational psychologist by training, I recognize the difference between denial or suppression of deeply held feelings, and the channeling of that deeply held feeling into positive resourcefulness. Throughout the campaign, I witnessed times when Barack Obama found himself tested, angry, and otherwise mistreated. However, I also witnessed him channel those tests and discomforting feelings into a resourcefulness that allowed his caring to be communicated even more profoundly.

Like John McCain, Barack Obama demonstrated graciousness and a profound elegance in his election night speech. In particular, he evidenced a confidence unencumbered by hubris, an ability to assess the challenges that lie ahead, a conviction in his and our ability to address those challenges, and a willingness to embrace his opponents in discovering solutions to the challenges we face.

After Barack Obama gave his speech, the CNN panel tossed around ideas about how the President-Elect might lead going forward. As suggestions were made that he might govern from the left, or perhaps claim Reagan era centrist turf, David Gergen reminded everyone that Obama's victory was not one of simply left or liberal proportions; rather, Barack Obama claimed vast numbers of voters from all across the nation, and from just about every demographic subset CNN could find to post on the wall.

As the govern-from-the-left vs. govern-from-the-right debate ensued, my wife offered a profound insight: Barack Obama has the opportunity to govern from the heart.

That struck me in a very resonant chord. What is it about Barack Obama that has penetrated so many different people from so many different walks of life? Sure, he has some brilliant campaign strategists and ran an amazing campaign over the past 20 months. However, there have been brilliant strategists and effective campaigns in the past. This one seems different.

The difference to me is that President-Elect Barack Obama cares, is willing to share that he cares, and has the amazing ability to connect his heart to his considerable intellect. By connecting heartfelt concern to reasoned problem solving, he represents an opportunity to bring about the change that was the theme of his campaign.

Beyond a mere campaign slogan, my sense is that this man cares enough and knows enough to realize that he must stay focused on the outcome, while be willing to adapt to the inevitable changes that will arise. He signaled clearly that solving the problems before us and creating real change will require far more than he can accomplish alone, and far more than can be accomplished in his first 100 days.

Perhaps his first 100 days will be characterized by the bridging of differences, connecting heartfelt concerns with practical realities. Perhaps we will focus on building like-minded communities of people willing to lead from the heart while slogging through difficult times of rebuilding our broken economic, social and political systems. Perhaps the common tie that will bind people of different backgrounds and disparate points of view about the way forward, will be a common bond of caring, commitment, and compassion.

Surely the nation could use greater caring and compassion. We already know that the President-Elect has the commitment to go with his caring and compassion.

The real question will not be what he can or will do as President, but what we and and will do as individuals. Are we willing to demonstrate the graciousness that both Senator McCain and President-Elect Obama showed us last night? Are we willing to take up the challenge to repair and rebuild with our own combination of caring, commitment and compassion.

Yes We Can.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-bishop/gorverning-from-the-heart_b_141323.html