Mês: março 2018

Trade

Por | 21 mar, 2018 | , , , |

Trump trade policy will turn the US into Brazil   Shielding raw materials exporters while ignoring the decline of America’s high-tech capacity, defensive trade action stands no chance of rejuvenating the US industrial base   David P. Goldman Mar. 2, 2018 Aerial view of steel mills in Indiana Harbor on Michigan lake near Gary, USA. Photo via AFP/Ricciarini   The broad US stock market gave up an early rally and fell over 5% after President Trump’s announcement of punitive tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, the highest in US history. US Steel, the country’s largest producer of the metal, rose 6.4% on the news and aluminum producer Nucor gained 2.4%, while the S&P 500 average lost 1%. General Motors fell almost 4%, Ford fell 3%, United Technologies fell 2.8% and Boeing fell 3.4%. Raw materials prices have little to do with the erosion of America’s industrial base. Chronic underinvestment in capital-intensive manufacturing is the underlying problem, and American manufacturers avoid big capital commitments because they can’t compete with Asian subsidies for industrial plant and equipment. Asian economies view a $10 billion semiconductor fabrication plant the way Americans view a bridge, stadium or airport, as a public good that merits taxpayer support. China’s economy is so big that its subsidies distort capital investment around the world. By protecting raw materials exporters while ignoring the decline of American...

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Nukes

Por | 21 mar, 2018 | , , , |

US Raises White Flag, Wants Talks With Russia Over Arms Race   When you are 10 years behind the competition, making a deal is probably your best move …   Gilbert Doctorow Mar. 21, 2018   He scored a direct hit in the Pentagon, where our senior generals were left dumbfounded. But, as is normally the case, when these gentlemen need time to collect their wits, we heard first only denial: that the Russians were bluffing, that they really have nothing ready, that these are only projects, and that the US already has all of the same, but is holding it back in reserve. Of course, not everyone in US political elites bought into this stop-gap response. On 8 March, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- California), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and two lesser known Senators from Massachusetts and Oregon wrote an open letter to then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging him to send a delegation to open arms control talks with the Russians “as soon as possible.”   This was an improbable demarche that even their supporters in the Progressive camp, let alone mainstream Democrats found hard to believe. The two named Senators have been bitter foes of Russia and were actively promoting the Trump Collusion with Russia fairy tale in recent months. They were among those who had hissed at the pictures of Jeff Sessions, not yet Attorney General, shaking...

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Anarquia

Por | 20 mar, 2018 | , , |

A anarquia é a norma política no Brasil   Os anarquistas são os próprios governantes agarrados às cadeiras nos Três Poderes, boa parte deles em cargos vitalícios, intransferíveis e irremovíveis   J. R. Guzzo 15/03/2018   Os personagens que mandam na vida pública do Brasil de hoje, muitos dos quais não receberam um único voto para exercer os cargos que ocupam, estão envolvidos até a cabeça, neste momento, numa experiência sem precedentes: governar o país por meio de decretos judiciários, burocráticos e pessoais, estes últimos baixados basicamente por indivíduos cujo maior mérito é ter acesso ao Diário Oficial da União. Esqueçam os Três Poderes, como estão previstos na Constituição, e a obrigatória independência entre eles. Para que isso? O Brasil já está tentando há anos seguir essa regra, e obviamente não deu certo. Ruim por ruim, que tal experimentar um sistema em que as autoridades mais altas, sem maior entendimento entre elas próprias, saem por aí tomando as decisões que lhes dão na telha — e ficam olhando para ver se o resto do país obedece? Se obedecer, beleza: mais uma vez “as instituições funcionaram”. Se não obedecer, paciência: tenta-se alguma outra coisa ou deixa-se tudo mais ou menos como está. É uma espécie de anarquia aplicada, algo aparentemente inédito na história das nações. Os anarquistas, no caso, são os próprios governantes agarrados a suas cadeiras nos Três Poderes,...

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Vladimir Putin

Por | 20 mar, 2018 | , , |

Putin reveals primary objective of new presidential term   “There will be no increase in spending, no arms race. We have everything, we have secure reserves in this field.” (Vladimir Putin)   RT Mar. 18, 2018   Russian President and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin visits his campaign headquarters. Right: Dmitry Peskov, presidential press secretary and deputy chief of the presidential executive office © Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik   Russian President Vladimir Putin says that raising the standard of living will be a key task in the coming years, but also acknowledged the importance of strengthening the nation’s defenses. “The main thing that we will be working on is of course the internal agenda. First of all we must ensure the growth rate for the economy and make it an innovative one. We must develop healthcare, education, industrial production, infrastructure and other branches that are crucial for moving our country forward and increasing the living standards of our citizens,” Putin said in a Monday meeting with people in senior positions at his election headquarters. “Workforce productivity is a key issue. Let us work on this agenda together!” he said. “Of course, there are also issues connected with the national defense and security, we cannot do without them, but still the internal agenda is of primary importance today,” the president added. Putin also promised that those who worked in his election...

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Russophobia

Por | 20 mar, 2018 | , , , |

Behind this week’s Russia headlines: A mystery, a leap to conclusions and a fateful turn   Did the Russians try to murder a former spy? Maybe. But that has little to do with the larger Russophobe narrative   Patrick Lawrence Mar. 18, 2018   What a week for the Russophobes. The British government pins an unsolved murder attempt on Moscow, and the French, Germans and Americans quickly pile on. Washington imposes still more sanctions on Russia for its meddling and “malicious cyberattacks” during our 2016 election season — this out of the blue, it’s fair to say, given that nothing new came to light last week. Treasury then accuses Russia of hacking into the very heart of America’s heart — the power grid, the nuclear generators, the water systems, manufacturing operations — and asserts they have their fingers on the cyber-levers as we speak. Exhausting. By the end of the week I thought of those early-1950s horror movies, wherein the cameras linger on mobs of innocent citizens as they hold their hands up and their faces dissolve into a combination of fear and revulsion. That is what we are supposed to feel, do and look like, it seems. The Russians! They lurk above us poised to destroy all at any moment. Only truth, justice and the American Way — as managed by patriots such as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin,...

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