Paul Davidson on Obama's job speech

Here is a link to an interview with Paul Davidson. He makes it clear why a payroll tax cut and other incentives to hiring will not be enough to create new jobs. Lower costs will not lead to hiring if there is no demand. It's not just basic economics, it's simple logic.

Economists for Edwards

Remember Edwards. Yep, progressive economists weren't for Obama. Or Hillary for that matter. At some point, it was evident that those two were the options. Barkley Rosser commented, at that time, in his blog about the Obama option. He said:

"I am jumping the gun as this has not yet been publicly announced, but on Sunday about half of the former group, "Economists for Edwards," agreed at the urging of James Galbraith and Clyde Prestowitz to endorse Barack Obama for president. A condition of this, which I insisted on as a condition for signing on, was that it be made clear in our statement that we would be working to change some of Obama's policy positions, particularly on health care and social security, to become more like those supported by Edwards."

Well, how did that work?  From the debt-ceiling agreement, not very well.  This agreement is as anti-Keynesian as it could be. It will involve cuts, cuts and cuts.  It's not clear that this even classifies as an intellectual surrender, since it seems that Obama never really understood basic Keynesian economics in the first place.  It looks increasingly important to have an alternative to the left in next year primaries.

Wouldn't it be nice if ...



Nope, not the Beach Boys song.  Ronald Dworkin reminder that Obama is not FDR (here).  From FDR's Madison Square Garden's speech:

"For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up. We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master."

These days that would be called class warfare.  And you know that's not acceptable. There are no social classes in the US.  There are only winners and suckers!

Nation building

Jamie Galbraith compares Obama speech to JFK's American University speech (here).  And then picks up Obama's preoccupation with Nation building at home and asks:

"President Obama rightly stressed the need to restore our strength and prosperity at home: to create jobs, to rebuild infrastructure, to meet the challenges of energy and climate. In this he called us all to a “common purpose.” Will this vast task now get underway? Will a program follow? Will it dispel the deficit-and-debt doomsayers who degrade today’s economic debates?"

Sadly, I doubt it. How can he do that and try to get more funds for his reelection from Wall Street (read more here)?  Hope springs eternal.

Cornel West on Obama and the Jobless

Via Naked Capitalism. This is not very recent, but worth your time.

This is harsh critique from a public intellectual that was, and still is in many respects, pro-Obama.  And yes he is right we DO need a New New Deal.

US rules China dumps aluminium products

WASHINGTON - THE US Commerce Department said on Tuesday that it had found 29 Chinese companies guilty of dumping some US$500 million (S$630.5 million) worth of extruded aluminium products into the US market last year.

A department investigation concluded that the products, used in construction, vehicle parts, furniture and other goods, were being exported to the United States at roughly 33 per cent less than their fair value.

If the conclusion is upheld by the US International Trade Commission, the companies' products could be slapped with anti-dumping tariffs at that rate.

'Commerce determined that Chinese producers/exporters have sold aluminium extrusions in the United States at dumping margins ranging between 32.79 to 33.28 per cent,' the department said in a statement.

Several companies were also determined to have received significant subsidies that also merit penalty tariffs.

In 2009, China exported US$514 million worth of extruded aluminium products to the United States, falling slightly to US$503 million last year. -- AFP

US-Japan solidarity blooms amid cherry blossoms

WASHINGTON - AMERICANS celebrating the beauty of Washington's landmark pink cherry blossoms this spring have at heart the tragedies jolting Japan, which gave the trees to the United States.

'I'm here to show support. I have a lot of friends, students affected by this earthquake,' Chris Hudler, a 31-year-old soccer coach, said under some of the 3,000 trees donated by Japan, the first of which were presented to Washington as a gesture of friendship exactly 99 years ago on Sunday.

Mr Hudler was an English teacher from 2007 to 2009 in Natori, one of several Japanese cities hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami.

Yayoi Nagayama, who hails from Fukushima and arrived on a US vacation just days before the March 11 disaster that crippled the nuclear reactor some 29km from her home, was clearly distraught under the blossoms.

She struggled with her English as she tried to speak of Japan, and the worst crisis to hit her homeland since World War II. To 'think nothing is better than thinking' about the tragedy now, said Ms Nagayama, 25, as she took part in a ceremony to show support to victims of the disaster.

More than 27,000 people are dead or missing, and two weeks after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami crippled the aging nuclear plant in north-eastern Japan, rescue work is still under way to avoid a major nuclear disaster. -- AFP

Asian population soars in US: Census

WASHINGTON - THE Asian population in the United States has grown by nearly half over the past 10 years as the country looks increasingly diverse, the US Census Bureau said on Thursday.

The Asian American population totalled 14,674,252 as of last year, a rise of 43 per cent from a decade earlier, the Census said in a study on race. Asians who identify with only one race now make up 4.8 per cent of the US population.

The only other group rising at the same pace was Hispanics, whose ranks also jumped 43 per cent over the past decade.

Growth has been much more tepid among non-Hispanic white people, whose numbers rose by just one percent in the past decade. They now make up 69 per cent of the US population.

The minority population is not evenly spread among the United States.

California, the most populous state and a major Asian American hub, is 'majority minority' with 53.3 per cent belonging to minority groups. -- AFP

Time running out on US soldiers missing in Vietnam

HANOI - WITH increasingly few of their families left alive and acidic soil eating into their buried remains, time is running out to find the last Americans listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War.

But for the head of a relatives' group, giving up is not an option. 'We need to act now,' said Ann Mills-Griffiths, executive director of the National League of POW/MIA Families, whose brother has been missing since September 1966 when his navy aircraft disappeared over North Vietnam.

Almost four decades after the end of US combat involvement in the South-east Asian nation, few parents of about 1,700 missing soldiers and airmen are still alive and siblings are often in their 60s.

Witnesses are also ageing, their fading physical and mental abilities limiting their ability to assist in investigations. Mrs Mills-Griffiths, 69, was in Hanoi for talks that ended at the weekend with Vietnamese officials about a 'renewed effort' to open up archival records which could provide vital clues as to what happened in some of the cases.

She was optimistic that the records would be made available, with 'very good commitment' from the Vietnamese during the talks. 'But we're running out of time,' warned Mrs Mills-Griffiths, who has made about 30 trips to Vietnam as head of the families' group.

The US and Vietnam have cooperated on investigations into missing American servicemen since 1985 - 'the bridge', she says, which led to a normalisation of diplomatic relations 10 years later. -- AFP

Gaddafi compound strike hit control centre: Official

WASHINGTON - AN AIRSTRIKE against an administrative building in a compound including Muammar Gaddafi's residence in Tripoli destroyed the Libyan leader's 'command and control capability,' a coalition official told AFP on Sunday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, commented after a missile destroyed the building in the compound that includes Gaddafi's residence in Tripoli.

'The coalition is actively enforcing UNSCR (UN Security Council Resolution) 1973, and that in keeping with that mission, we continue to strike those targets which pose a direct threat to the Libyan people and to our ability to implement the no-fly zone,' the official said.

The building, which was about 50m from the tent where Gaddafi generally meets guests, was flattened.

Tripoli was rocked by powerful explosions late on Sunday, of which one was heard coming from the area around Gaddafi's residence.

An AFP journalist saw smoke billowing from the residence and barracks at Bab el-Aziziya in the south of the Libyan capital as anti aircraft guns fired shots. -- AFP

US regulators backs Japan over nuclear safety

WASHINGTON - THE main US nuclear energy regulator said on Tuesday that Japan had taken appropriate actions in the face of damage to reactors following a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said its analysts 'continue to conclude the steps recommended by Japanese authorities parallel those the United States would suggest in a similar situation'.

The NRC said the evacuation to 20km around the affected reactors 'parallel the protective actions the United States would suggest' under similar circumstances.

Japanese crews battled to avert a nuclear disaster and said they may pour water from helicopters to stop fuel rods from being exposed to the air and releasing even more radioactivity.

Radiation near the quake-hit Fukushima No.1 plant has reached levels harmful to health and was high overnight, officials said, advising thousands of people to stay indoors after two explosions and a fire at the facility on Tuesday. -- AFP

Obama considering military action against Libya

(AP)  

President Barack Obama warned Libya's leaders that the U.S. and its NATO allies are still considering military options in response to what he called "unacceptable" violence perpetrated by supporters of Moammar Qaddafi.

"I want to send a very clear message to those who are around Colonel Qaddafi. It is their choice to make how they operate moving forward. And they will be held accountable for whatever violence continues to take place," Obama said during remarks in the Oval Office Monday.

Libyan warplanes launched multiple airstrikes Monday on opposition fighters in the second day of a harsh government crackdown to thwart rebels advancing on Qaddafi's stronghold in Tripoli.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said a military response was no more likely Monday than it was before the surge in violence. He said the U.S. and its partners are considering a wide variety of military actions, including a no-fly zone, but said deploying ground troops "is not top of the list at this point."

Carney said the U.S. also is considering providing weapons to rebel forces, although he cautioned that there remain many unanswered questions about what groups comprise those forces. He said the U.S. is using diplomatic channels, as well as contacts in the business community and nongovernmental organizations, to gather information about the opposition.

Obama said he has also authorized $15 million in humanitarian aid to help international and nongovernmental organizations help and evacuate people fleeing the violence in Libya. More than 200,000 people have fled the country, mostly foreign workers, creating a humanitarian crisis across the border with Tunisia, another North African country in turmoil after an uprising in January that ousted its longtime leader.

Hundreds if not thousands of people have died since Libya's uprising began, although tight restrictions on media make it nearly impossible to get an accurate tally.

The U.S. and United Nations have imposed sanctions on Qaddafi's regime, and U.S. military forces have also moved closer to Libya's shores to back up demands that Qaddafi step down.

Obama spoke alongside Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is in Washington for meetings.

US airport screener admits stealing from travellers

NEWARK - A SENIOR transportation security officer at Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey has admitted that he and his supervisor regularly stole money from travellers' bags during security screenings.

Transportation Security Administration officer Al Raimi pleaded guilty on Thursday in Newark federal court to theft by a government officer.

Federal prosecutors say the 29-year-old Raimi stole between US$10,000 (S$12,800) and US$30,000 cash over nearly a year from travellers passing through his checkpoint.

He gave a cut of the cash to his supervisor, Michael Arato, who pleaded guilty to related charges this month.

Raimi could face up to 10 years in prison at his June 6 sentencing.

Separately, two TSA agents at a New York City airport were arrested this month on charges of stealing US$40,000 from passengers' luggage. --AP

Pakistan's intelligence ready to split with CIA

ISLAMABAD (Pakistan) - PAKISTAN'S ISI spy agency is ready to split with the CIA because of its frustration over what it calls heavy-handed pressure and its anger over what it believes is a covert US operation involving hundreds of contract spies, according to an internal document obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with US and Pakistani officials.

Such a move could seriously damage the US war effort in Afghanistan, limit a program targeting Al-Qaeda insurgents along the Pakistan frontier, and restrict Washington's access to information in the nuclear-armed country.

According to a statement drafted by the ISI, supported by interviews with officials, an already-fragile relationship between the two agencies collapsed following the shooting death of two Pakistanis by Raymond Davis, a US contracted spy who is in jail in Pakistan facing possible multiple murder charges.

'Post-incident conduct of the CIA has virtually put the partnership into question,' said a media statement prepared by the ISI but never released. A copy was obtained this week by the AP.

The statement accused the CIA of using pressure tactics to free Davis.

'It is hard to predict if the relationship will ever reach the level at which it was prior to the Davis episode,' the statement said. 'The onus of not stalling this relationship between the two agencies now squarely lies on the CIA.' -- AP

Pakistan intelligence says US gunman is CIA

Washington voiced fear for the safety of Raymond Davis (above), who says he acted in self-defence. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD - A PAKISTANI intelligence official said on Monday that an American in custody for killing two men was an undercover CIA contractor, setting off new friction in a crisis with the United States.

Washington voiced fear for the safety of Raymond Davis, who says he acted in self-defence. The United States has put intense pressure on Pakistan to free him, arguing that he enjoys diplomatic immunity.

But the unpopular government in Pakistan is also feeling heat from the political opposition not to cave in to US demands, with analysts even warning that the case could bring down the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

'It is beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was working for CIA,' an official from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency told AFP on condition of anonymity.

'He's on contract. He's not a regular CIA guy, but he's working for CIA. That's confirmed,' the Pakistani official said.

US Senator Lindsey Graham also last week referred to Davis as an 'agent.' Davis was arrested in eastern Pakistan, the base of virulently anti-Indian groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba which was linked to the 2008 siege of Mumbai. -- AFP

US and China launched space weapon tests

LONDON - THE United States and China both used advanced missiles to blow up their own satellites in a mutual show of military strength, documents published in on Thursday's Telegraph newspaper showed.

The memos, leaked by the WikiLeaks website, revealed that the US responded to China's 2007 destruction of a weather satellite by blowing up its own malfunctioning satellite in a 'test' strike.

The US insisted at the time that it undertook the operation to prevent the satellite returning to earth with a toxic fuel tank which would pose a health hazard.

A leaked cable sent from the US embassy in Beijing in February 2008, the day after the US strike, revealed that China was doubtful of this explanation.

'Teng Jianqun, Deputy Secretary General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Department, described the shoot-down as unnecessary and simply an opportunity to test the US missile defense system,' the memo said.

According to the cable, Mr Teng said the shoot-down was 'an ideal opportunity to voice their (the US) objection' and proved 'the US missile defense system is also an offensive system.' Another leaked cable revealed that the US embassy in China received 'direct confirmation of the results of the anti-satellite test' from the US military command in the Pacific. -- AFP

Thailand invites Obama to patch up

Panitan Wattanayagorn, Thailand's acting government spokesman and special envoy of the prime minister to Washington, speaks during an interview. -- PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON - AS THE United States steps up its focus on Southeast Asia, its oldest regional ally Thailand is inviting President Barack Obama to visit as it tries to shed images of last year's political violence.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva sent a special envoy to Washington this week to convince US policymakers that the kingdom is returning to stability and is committed to shift its fractious politics from the street to the ballot box.

'Our mission is to tell them that we're back in business,' envoy Panitan Wattanayagorn, who also serves as the Thai government's acting spokesman, told AFP on Wednesday.

The Obama administration has worked to build ties with Southeast Asia, sensing that the dynamic and mostly US-friendly region has been neglected due to Washington's preoccupation with Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Mr Obama has promised to attend the next East Asian Summit, tentatively slated for October on Indonesia's resort island of Bali. A month later, Mr Obama will welcome Asia-Pacific leaders to his native Hawaii for an annual summit.

Mr Panitan said that Thailand welcomed the warming US relationship with Indonesia, which the Obama administration sees as an ideal partner in light of its vast, moderate Muslim population and its rapid shift to democracy. -- AFP

China could act on currency this year: Kissinger

WASHINGTON - CHINA could act on revaluing its currency over the course of the year, without admitting defeat in their battle with the international community over its value, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said on Sunday.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Kissinger, who worked to open US relations with China 40 years ago, said he would be 'disappointed' if China did not make such a move on the yuan or renminbi (RMB).

'If it can be done in a way that it does not look like a Chinese defeat, in other words, if they don't have to step up to a rostrum and say say, 'We have agreed to move the currency,' I believe they now understand a way it might be done with some mutual concessions over a period, say, of a year.' 'I would be disappointed if that did not happen,' he said.

Mr Kissinger acknowledged, however, that the change may not reflect the percentage the United States is looking for.

'But I think that (Treasury Secretary) Tim Geithner has laid out something that is compatible with the way the Chinese define their self-respect on this issue so that it does not look as yielding to American pressure,' he said.

Beijing has pledged to increase the flexibility of the yuan's exchange rate to make it a global currency rivalling the dollar, but critics have charged that China still unfairly undervalues the yuan to boost its own exports.

China has warned that a big upswing in the yuan's value would hammer the country's key export industries, sparking job losses for millions of workers and leading to social unrest. -- AFP


 

Obama warned Hu to pressure N.Korea

WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama warned Chinese President Hu Jintao he may be forced to redeploy US forces in Asia, as he pressed for a stronger Chinese stance on North Korea, an official said on Friday.

Mr Obama told Mr Hu that North Korea's long-range missile work, nuclear programme and 'belligerent behaviour' had convinced Washington that Pyongyang was now a threat to the US mainland, as well as its allies in Asia, the official said.

North Korea was a key issue in Oval Office talks on Wednesday between Mr Hu and Mr Obama during the Chinese President's state visit, and American officials said the US warnings contributed to a sterner Chinese line on North Korea.

The New York Times reported earlier that the US warning was first made in a phone call between Mr Obama and Mr Hu last month and was repeated over a private dinner at the White House on Tuesday.

White House officials said the discussions between Mr Hu and Mr Obama contributed to North Korea's offer this week to resume a high-level military dialogue with South Korea to ease tensions, an offer Seoul has accepted.

The talks will be the first such contact between the Koreas since a deadly North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island in November. The strike lurched the peninsula seemingly to the brink of war. -- AFP

Hillary Clinton calls Suu Kyi, pledges support

WASHINGTON - SECRETARY of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pledging to work with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to promote democracy in Myanmar.

Department spokesman PJ Crowley said in a post on Twitter that Mrs Clinton called Ms Suu Kyi on Wednesday.

Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after the country held its first elections in two decades in November. She had been detained for seven years.

Her National League for Democracy party said the elections were a sham and did not take part. It was disbanded by the government as a result. -- AP