Costa Rican Close Call Turns the CAFTA Tide: Free Trade Surf’s Up Dudes!
What the hell is up party plaid people? I heard you kicked ass on your mid-term exam….Congratulations! Your success was probably largely thanks to my colorful and creative cacophony of clarifying current event concoctions, of course! And sticking with the alliteration of C, I just had to come down to
Central American Leaders Applaud Costa Ricans Approving CAFTA
Costa Rica votes in referendum on US free trade deal
U.S. warns Costa Rica against rejecting CAFTA
CAFTA will open doors for Costa Rica’s workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs point
DR-CAFTA: A Bad Deal for Poor Countries counter-point
So
DR-CAFTA stands for the ‘Dominican Republic/Central America Free Trade Agreement’ and is an international treaty to increase free trade. It was ratified by the Senate of the
So why isn’t the
Hmmmm….let’s test your Latin American learning my plaid amigos: what leaders south of the border would be opposed to some trade block action with the
Since the rise of the letftist/socialist in
But why so tough a fight to begin with? Wouldn’t poor ass countries be thrilled to get a trade deal with the
And think about it. Could any Costa Rican company really compete with Wal-Mart? Or Ford Motor Company? Or Exxon? You gotta face the facts: these trade blocks create a level economic playing field between countries…and even medium-sized
So the fight for free trade is a much debated debacle of our age….and the Americans are extremely anxious to continue the free trade ball rolling south of the border, so as to keep the dream of the FTAA alive as well. That’s why the Costa Rican CAFTA vote was such a nail-biter for the
Ah….but the Plaid Avenger will let you in on another little secret that the headline news sources are too shallow to figure out! The
What’s that got to do with anything? Just this: In officially recognizing
And I have to say, my plaid hat is off to President Oscar Arias and his whole Costa Rican funky bunch…they just played a masterful hand of pitting the two world powers against each other, completely benefiting themselves. Nice job guys! You got China and the US kissing your asses!
Damn I’m good! I bet no one has linked these two stories but me. But then again, no one but me has had so many sultry relationships with so many Costa Rican hotties either…
How else do you think I have such good insider information….Watch out all you world leaders! Protect your wives from …the Plaid Avenger!
Japan Unearths Fukuda Fossil, Promotes it to Prime Minister
Holy shit! Sorry for the absence my Plaid Friends….but somehow I just woke up in a Toyko back alley, ringside at an illegal sumo competition in which competitors wrestle to the death while simultaneously engaged in an all-you-can-eat sushi showdown. And the fish wraps and fat rolls are flying! Dudes, you do not want to get in-between a sumo and his sushi. What an event! Unfortunately, the last thing I remember was going head to head with Vladimir Putin doing caviar-vodka bombs outside Moscow…but that was about four days ago I think….My, how time flies. However, this is a fortuitous touch down in Toyko, because I have been meaning to introduce you to the newest world leader of note…our main Japanese squeeze, Prime Minister Fukuda:
Japan PM sets out policy agenda
Japan May Cut Support of Afghan Mission
DIAM says new Prime Minister Fukuda positive for Japan
Fukuda Is More Pragmatic Than Former PM
Japan PM Fukuda likely to build on Abe’s Asia policy
Fukuda? Sounds like a Japanese curse word. I love it man! But I’ve heard that you folks are prepping for a mid-term exam, so I’ll keep this rant brief. Yasuo Fukuda is this ancient-ass dude (he’s 71 years old) who just replaced Shinzo Abe as the Prime Minister of Japan. Back up the sake cart for a second. What happened to Abe? You remember me ranting about Abe in the past, yes?
Poor Abe. He had a rough year to say the least. After riding into the Prime Minister position on the coat-tails of his extremely popular predecessor Junichiro Koizumi, ‘Honest’ Abe just kept getting the shit kicked out of him from the word go. His administration was beset by multiple scandals (most of which started before Abe even took office); he took a public pounding for downplaying Japanese war atrocities during WWII (specifically, the use of Korean ‘comfort women’ aka indentured sex slaves); and then his political party got smacked down in the 2007 elections (in which they essentially lost control of the upper house of the Diet—which is the Japanese ‘Congress’).
But the final straw came about a month ago when it became clear that the Diet was not going to pass Abe’s request to continue to use Japanese naval vessels to support the
Following Abe’s resignation in September 2007, our new boy Fukuda announced that he would run in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election, which would also determine the prime minister, given the LDP’s majority in the House of Representatives. Just so you know: the LDP would be the equivalent of the Republican Party in the
So Fukuda won the LDP party leadership, and then instantaneously was formally elected as
Prime Minister Fukuda has inherited the split Congress situation from Abe, but is known to be a dude who can quietly get folks working together—a unifier. He is already distanced from all of Abe’s troubles, so he stands a better chance of getting the government to work with him, and stands a much better chance of getting some of the LDP’s legislation through. But make no bones about it: the Diet is split, so he will have to work hard to get things passed, and many folks in the opposing political party are already promising to make his life suck, just like they did to Abe.
Specifically referenced in a story above, the issue of continued Japanese naval support for the
Because
FYI: Most Japanese folks did not support the use of their troops abroad, as they interpreted this as counter-intuitive to their pacifist constitution which bans the use of an active military for anything other than self-defense of the island nation itself. The Japanese leadership was compelled to do it anyway as a sign of support for its #1 ally, the
On a more positive front, Fukuda will likely continue the work of his predecessor Abe in mending ties with Asia countries, specifically
Plaid Avenger tip: watch for Fukuda to take numerous trips to neighboring Asian countries in an effort to better diplomatic relations—and I’ll bet he does way more Asian partying than any Prime Minister before him. Especially if his domestic agenda gets smacked down by the Diet. When a leader gets stymied at home, the best ones simply go abroad and work on their foreign policy…and he may be old, but Fukuda ain’t no fool.
To finish this rant, allow me to point out a specific policy which demonstrates Fukuda’s much more open policy to dialogue with
So know you know a little about this Fukuda dude. And you need to know this guy! He does lead the second largest economy on earth, is a huge
Fukuda: He’s old, but not dead yet. And I hear that Viagra also sharpens your political skills…..hmmmmm….I’ve got to party with this dude.
The State Can Take It or Leave It: Nationalization v. Privatization
What is happening my plaid party people? The Avenger decided to stay on here in Russia for another day to work off my wicked Putin-induced vodka martini hangover…and to investigate the nationalization of Russian oil; a process that has also been going down in Kazakhstan, in Bolivia, and in Venezuela too. And man, the
How Russia is Nationalized: The Oil Sector
Zimbabwe Votes to Take Control of Foreign-Owned Mines
Exxon pursues arbitration against Venezuela over seizure of oil assets
Chavez threatens to nationalize Venezuelan private schools
Bolivian President Seizes Gas Industry
…and the opposite side of the coin:
Japan begins privatization of its mammoth postal system
Activists Oppose Egyptian Healthcare Privatization
Iran to Privatize Airline, Banks
India’s Privatization Plan Is On Track
So what’s the deal with these two terms? They are polar opposites my friends, and folks around the planet have passionate views about the good or evil effects that nationalization or privatization can produce. People get downright hot and bothered about these terms! And in some circumstances, initiating these actions has caused political dissent, diplomatic friction, or outright violent hostilities between peoples, companies, and even countries! Damn! Why so much heat? First…what are they?
Nationalization is a process whereby a government takes control of an economic activity that was owned by and/or run by private individuals/companies hands. It could be transportation, corn, water, uranium, or even bananas…but usually it happens to high-dollar commodities. For example: Exxon acquires rights thru a government contract to pump shit tons of oil out of selected oil fields in
But it never really works that simply. Even in this Venezuela/Exxon example (which actually happened) Hugo didn’t simply just kick Exxon out and take their shit; he offered to buy back their shares and their investments at a fair market value. Sometimes the parties have to go to court to negotiate these settlements (see Exxon story above). Nationalization of an industry often involves the government simply re-writing all prior contracts with the companies in such a way that the state owns more than 50% of the action. But make no bones about it: if the companies refuse to co-operate or sell back their shares, then the state will just take the shit from them!
And OMG nationalization so completely pisses off ‘the West’…especially the
So why would a state do this nationalization gig? Sometimes its done to protect a critical industry in times of war or emergency (some countries have nationalized steel during wartimes); sometimes its done because the industry is a matter of national security (Israel runs its airline industry); sometimes its done to an industry that is floundering and about to crash on its own (perhaps the US/health care issue). But more often than not, a state will reclaim rights on an industry that it feels it’s getting ripped off in. Stick with the oil example: when Exxon or Shell or anybody else is pumping oil out of
Let’s say a barrel of crude sells for $50 on the international market; Exxon may pay $5 to
Oh, by the way, did you see President Evo Morales of Bolivia on the Daily Show with John Stewart last week? Totally hilarious! And Evo referenced why he decided to nationalize his countries oil and natural gas: “On the issue of nationalization of oil and gas,” Morales said, “in 2005, before I came president, the Bolivian state received only 300 million dollars from its oil and gas exports. And now since they’ve been nationalized, the Bolivian state receives more than two billion dollars. Therefore, we followed through on what we promised.”
Are you starting to realize why this is happening at this particular juncture in history, particularly in the energy sectors? If you answered: ‘because the price of oil is freakin’ high, and expected to get even higher’ than you win the prize! Oil producing states see the future sales going nowhere but up, and want to have a bigger slice of the pie for themselves. Oil is one of those special commodities that kind of defies free market capitalism–in that lots of states control their industry as opposed to letting private individuals run the show. See map below for a few countries of note… And while die-hard capitalist countries claim that governments cannot run industries as well as private corporations, those states that are controlling their oil do seem to be making a holy shit load of cash right now…despite the fact that the private industry isn’t in charge. And speaking of private….
Privatization is precisely the opposite of nationalization: it’s when a state sells off an industry or business that it controls to a private entity, most often a company/corporation. Look to the above story from
The theory goes like this: because private entities are motivated to maximize profits, they will do a better job making an industry like a post office more efficient, or they will work harder to find more oil, and are more flexible to invent new technologies and try new approaches which make the business run the best. Remember: one of the golden rules of capitalism is that competition will weed out the least efficient, and the better mousetrap will win every time. Folks of this opinion believe that governments are clunky, inefficient—and because they don’t have to compete with anybody—are uncompetitive! No shit? Lack of competition makes you become uncompetitive? Yeah, I can dig that!
Places like
And its not like the governments simply privatize the industry and then just walk away poorer for the experience. Capitalist theory would suggest that not only does the state make money on the initial sale of the industry, but in the long run will make way more in profits by simply taking a cut of the profits and/or taxing the service/product. Since private business will do it better, there will be more oil or more uranium or more corn or more stamped letters to tax…therefore the state makes more money! And without having to actually spend money running the damn show! You dig?
Does it sound like I’m picking sides on this nationalize/privatize debate? Don’t be fooled. The Plaid Avenger is here to tell you this: this is complicated shit, and there is no wrong or right side here. It really goes on a case by case basis in my book. Does private industry typically do shit better than government-run shit? Absolutely! Are some countries getting totally reamed by some private corporations? Absolutely! Are some states unfairly grabbing shit from corporations whose time and investments made the industry profitable in the first place? Absolutely! Are some multinational corporations total scumbags who use their money and power to corrupt and control industries within a state? Ab-so-fucking-lutely!
So pay attention to which states are selling, and which states are buying, their industries. And also pay attention to which industries are up for grabs. You will hear a lot in the
I just hope I can still get my damn collectable Godzilla stamps in Toyko…even if it is from a private vendor…
Presiding President Postures for Potential Prime Minister Position: "Pootie Poot" Putin’s
Greetings World Watchers! Couldn’t help but fly into
And sorry for the corny blog title, but I am returning from a day at the Kremlin with some disturbing news… Apparently, back in 2002, George W Bush gave Vladimir Putin the nickname “Pootie Poot”. No, I’m not joking. Check this out: Bush’s love of Pootie-Poot Putin; Analysis: Bush and Putin on nickname terms
How did I miss that shit? Bush seriously referred to the most badass of world leaders as “Pootie Poot” Putin. Dubya is just begging to have a thermobaric bomb dropped on
I think if George Dubya were to call Vlad ‘Pootie-Poot’ in today’s political climate, he might well get his jugular ripped out by the icy hand of the Siberian shit-kicker…. A nickname that I think may be more appropriate for the Russian leader. Of course, I have also given the KGB veteran a more print-friendly nickname too: Vlad “The Man” Putin. Why do I call him “The Man”? I’ll give you a quick list:
1) He’s a former KGB agent. The KGB was the Secret Service in
2) Putin is a judo black belt. This is all part of the KGB training. Vlad is a serious ass kicker. If the UN was a professional wrestling organization, Putin would be Hulk Hogan. In fact, if the UN ever did turn into a wrestling organization the only imaginable scenario is Putin standing atop the main podium yelling, “I challenge anyone to dethrone me! I am king of the world” and every other world leader cowering in fear. Not even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is crazy enough to challenge Putin’s badassity.
3) Putin has training with small munitions. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
4) All of this aside, Putin is a damn handsome man. You should see the foxy Ruskiettes that hang out at the Kremlin Grotto. All I can say is WOW. He drives the Russian ladies (and gay men the world over) wild with lascivious lust.
Anyway, the real reason I came to
Vlad is highly popular in
Putin Says He Will Run for Parliament
The nonstop thrill ride of Russian politics
Basically, a couple of weeks ago, Putin fired the old Prime Minister and replaced him with a no-name nobody named Viktor Zubkov. Literally. No one had ever heard of the dude. The only thing Zubkov has going for him is complete loyalty to Vlad. It would be like George Bush nominating his personal lawyer, Harriet Myers, to the Supreme Court just because she was loyal to him… Oops… I guess that did happen. But I digress…
Anyway, in Russian politics, the position of Prime Minister has been a spring board to the Presidency. By appointing Zubkov to be Prime Minister, Putin has made Zubkov the de facto favorite to be the next President. Why would Vlad appoint a no-name to be President? Does he want to pull strings from behind the curtain?
Actually, it turns out that Putin wants to pull strings from IN FRONT of the curtain. Putin announced that he will be running for Parliament. As the leader of his party (United Russia), which is the most popular party in Russia, he will almost certainly be elected to Parliament and then selected as Prime Minister. But, isn’t Prime Minister a suckier job than President? Maybe…maybe not. If the President of Russia is politically weak–which looks like it will be the case (does anyone even remember that guys name? Rubadub-Zub? Zuberanski? Shit, who cares..) then the Prime Minister could start to increase his power. This would especially be the case if the President wanted the Prime Minister to be powerful. The current situation is that the President makes decisions and the Prime Minister rubber stamps them. Very easily, next year it could be the exact opposite. Vlad “The Prime Minister Man” Putin could be the decision maker and President Rubadub-Zub could be the rubber stamper. Ha! There I go again!
So, this brings me to the FINAL REASON Vlad is “The Man”:
5) The man is more powerful than his position. Imagine if Bushie Bush ran for congress in 2008 and became Speaker of the House–and from that position, he was able to control the US government. You can’t imagine that. It’s too freakin’ crazy! In
And, damn, he mixes one mean vodka martini…but perhaps I’m disclosing too much….
Incensed Iranian links up with Lively Latin Leftists…and America Annoyed
Greetings World Watchers! The Plaid Avenger is reporting to you live from a
Latin leftists use New York stage to polish image
Latin America welcomes Ahmadinejad
South America embraces Bush’s arch enemy
Iran Strengthens South America Ties
Ortega Lauds Iran’s Aids to Nicaragua
Is Ecuador’s Correa Following Chavez? (an anti-leftist, pro-US perspective)
Ecuador’s Correa celebrates ‘win’
So what’s the deal? Well, That whack-job Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been on a
And that’s what this blog is all about: the newly flowering relationship between
You probably already know that there is lots of bad blood between the
But Hugo’s other main squeeze right now is the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales…who was also just on the Daily Show with John Stewart! Did you see that shit? It was hilarious! YouTube it! Evo said something to the effect of: “please don’t put me on your Axis of Evil list.” Ha! What a character! And a deep leftist too! Morales is the first indigenous dude to be elected president, and he used to be a coca farmer…yeah, that’s right…the stuff you make into cocaine! Damn! The
But Hugo also has Daniel Ortega of
And there are others on the lefty Latin list too: Lula of Brazil is a moderate leftist that the US likes; Nestor Kirchner of Argentina and Michelle Bachelet of Chile are center-left folks that the US can deal with; and the newest of the bunch is Raphael Correa of Ecuador, a leftist that may be following more closely to the Chavez playbook when it comes to lefty-socialist stuff.
But wait, wait is this leftist shit anyway? In politics, left-wing or the left, on the left-right political spectrum, is associated with the interests of the working class. Center-left, left of center, and left liberal refer to the left side of mainstream politics in liberal democracies. They support liberal democracy, some degree of private property rights and free markets…but are mostly known for their 1)high spending on social welfare, 2)extensive regulation of the economy, and 3)some public ownership—you know, the state owns the shit. Like in
So perhaps now you are starting to see why the
These Latin leftist leaders have mostly worried the
And pissing off the big boy is just what is happening. The
But that was then and this is now. Since 9/11, the
Its an interesting scenario to be sure.
By the way, do you understand why more fervent socialism/left-leaning systems are becoming so dominant in South America/Latin America? Can you guess? Answer: Because they’ve got shitloads of poor people down there! Absolute shitloads! This region has some of the greatest wealth disparity on the planet…and it really shouldn’t given its natural resources and proximity to the
If you were shit poor, in a shit poor country, would you vote for someone who promised more social programs? Hmmmm….. I know that’s a tough one. Think it over for a bit. I’m not saying the leftists are right, I just want you to understand why they are so popular right now.
Get it? Good. Now you know why the Iranian dude chilled with Chavez. Now you know why that pissed off the
You now know a lot. Congrats. You should have a drink.
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Issue 2: Battle For Burma
Well, the battle for the heart and soul of this country is on, but no one outside Burma seems to be able to do a damn thing about it! Why not?
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