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I am for free trade agreements that are mutually beneficial to the People, not the corporations, that is the problem... This kind of free trade is not free trade...
People own, manage and work for corporations so anything that benefits a corporation also benefits a lot of people.
I would assume you mean that you don't like agreements rigged to only benefit a certain group of people instead of being written fairly so as to make the benefits available to all the people.
I wish people would blame the individuals involved when something is wrong instead of just saying Halliburton or MGM or Whole Foods did it. When that is done a lot of decent, innocent people get tarred by the same brush.
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5-11 with 'em. 5-11 without 'em.
I am for free trade agreements that are mutually beneficial to the People, not the corporations, that is the problem... This kind of free trade is not free trade...
Aren't "the people" employees of these corporations? What "people" are you talking about?
Is that a joke??? Do you realize how little of what is imported into this country is actually inspected? And if you increase the volume, proportionately less gets inspected.
Bingo, Wally!
Its no joke, nothing that comes in to this country is exempt from inspection period, whether it be conveyances, freight or people.
In a few years every container on every ship will have to be precleared before it enters this country--that is an absolute fact. Its already happening at a ton of ports across the world and is expanding more every year. Preclearance requirements include xray and radiation scan among other things. These preclearance exams are being done by our officers serving in foreign ports. If freight destined for the US does not leave from a port staffed by our people that freight will have to make a stop in a port that does offload those containers before they can get the OK to enter US waters.
This preclearance does not mean a shipment is further exempt from examination when it arrives to a US port of entry, the officers at the ports of entry can and will choose whatever shipments they want to inspect. Smugglers continue to try to get things by but a free trade agreement is not going to change that.
I'm currently just outside of DC working on this very thing so I know what I am talking about. I don't know if I agree with free trade agreements for a number of other reasons but to say its going to somehow make cocaine smuggling more common is just wrong.
Its no joke, nothing that comes in to this country is exempt from inspection period, whether it be conveyances, freight or people.
In a few years every container on every ship will have to be precleared before it enters this country--that is an absolute fact. Its already happening at a ton of ports across the world and is expanding more every year. Preclearance requirements include xray and radiation scan among other things. These preclearance exams are being done by our officers serving in foreign ports. If freight destined for the US does not leave from a port staffed by our people that freight will have to make a stop in a port that does offload those containers before they can get the OK to enter US waters.
This preclearance does not mean a shipment is further exempt from examination when it arrives to a US port of entry, the officers at the ports of entry can and will choose whatever shipments they want to inspect. Smugglers continue to try to get things by but a free trade agreement is not going to change that.
I'm currently just outside of DC working on this very thing so I know what I am talking about. I don't know if I agree with free trade agreements for a number of other reasons but to say its going to somehow make cocaine smuggling more common is just wrong.
Sure. (snicker, snicker). Try not to take it personal.
There had to be some reward for Colombia being Bushco's proxy in the border war with Ecuador and Venezuela.
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In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
Its no joke, nothing that comes in to this country is exempt from inspection period, whether it be conveyances, freight or people.
In a few years every container on every ship will have to be precleared before it enters this country--that is an absolute fact. Its already happening at a ton of ports across the world and is expanding more every year. Preclearance requirements include xray and radiation scan among other things. These preclearance exams are being done by our officers serving in foreign ports. If freight destined for the US does not leave from a port staffed by our people that freight will have to make a stop in a port that does offload those containers before they can get the OK to enter US waters.
This preclearance does not mean a shipment is further exempt from examination when it arrives to a US port of entry, the officers at the ports of entry can and will choose whatever shipments they want to inspect. Smugglers continue to try to get things by but a free trade agreement is not going to change that.
I'm currently just outside of DC working on this very thing so I know what I am talking about. I don't know if I agree with free trade agreements for a number of other reasons but to say its going to somehow make cocaine smuggling more common is just wrong.
You're missing my point, but I can tell by your post and by what you're doing just outside of DC that perhaps you don't have the most open mind on this.
S'ok.... If you're working towards a way to better inspect all imports into the US, good on ya. Although impossible, I'd like to see 100% on this.
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Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather. ....
Is that a joke??? Do you realize how little of what is imported into this country is actually inspected? And if you increase the volume, proportionately less gets inspected.
Let's say, 10 inspectors, 1000 cargo containers. They have the time/ability to inspect 200 of them. that's 20%
Now let's say 10 inspectors, 1200 cargo containers. They have the time/ability to inspect 200 of them. That's 16.67%
I realize the numbers are goofy, but the concept is there. One could make the argument that the trade agreement's increase in containers would be statistically insignificant, but if we're talking hi-grade drugs, there really isn't such a thing as "statistically insignificant," IMHO.
Did that make sense???? I guess it would be better said that "the percentage of the whole would decrease," perhaps?
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Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather. ....
Alms for the proxy fighters. Any enemy of Chavez is a friend to Bushco.
Quote:
Bush Scolds Congress on Colombia Trade
Apr 14, 11:41 AM (ET)
By DEB RIECHMANN
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush stepped up pressure Monday on Congress to approve a controversial free-trade pact with Colombia, saying the deal is "dead" unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi schedules a vote.
After a meeting with his Cabinet, Bush said it's not in America's interest to "stiff an ally" like Colombia.
Bush sent the agreement to Capitol Hill earlier this month, but the House, led by Democrats, decided to eliminate a rule forcing a vote on the deal within 60 legislative days. The House's decision probably kills consideration of the Colombia agreement this year, leaving it for the next administration.
"This free trade agreement is in our national interests," Bush said. "Yet that bill is dead unless the speaker schedules a definite vote. This was an unprecedented move. It's not in our country's interests that we stiff an ally like Colombia and that we don't encourage our goods and services to be sold overseas."
Pelosi, D-Calif., who initiated the rules change, blames Bush for submitting the agreement before a consensus was reached with congressional leaders on outstanding differences. She has said that whether the agreement is dead for the year depends on the good faith of negotiations between Democrats and the White House.
Bush has staked out free trade as one of his chief economic legacies, winning a bruising battle to implement the Central American Free Trade Agreement with six countries in Latin America as well as a number of individual pacts. While two other agreements with Panama and South Korea are also pending, analysts said the Colombia agreement is likely to be the last one that has any chance of winning approval in Bush's last year in office.
The administration insisted the deal would be good for the United States economically because it would eliminate high barriers that U.S. exports to Colombia now face, while most Colombian products are already entering the United States duty-free under existing trade preference laws.
Trade also is shaping up as a key issue in the presidential campaign and in the fight for control of Congress.
The administration charged that Democrats were forsaking a key South American ally while Democrats said Colombia needed to do more to halt the violence against union organizers before they would consider the trade pact.
In explaining their opposition, Democrats have cited the continued violence against organized labor in Colombia and differences with the administration over how to extend a program that helps U.S. workers displaced by foreign competition.
White House press Dana Perino told reporters later that unless Pelosi scheduled a vote, she will be accused of killing the deal. Perino said she was not aware of any conversations between Bush and Pelosi since last week, but that presidential advisers are working with lawmakers.
"The president believes she (Pelosi) made a choice to kill the Colombia free trade agreement, and that if, and until, she schedules a vote on the Colombia free trade agreement, she has, in effect, killed it," Perino said.
Perino would not speculate about the prospects of getting such a vote.
Bush also talked with members of his Cabinet about the troubled U.S. economy and urged lawmakers to make his tax cuts permanent. Noting that income taxes are due on Tuesday, Bush said the economic stimulus package will allow some tax payments to be returned to taxpayers.
"The second week of May, checks and/or credits to your account will start coming to you," Bush said. "And that's going to be an important part of making sure this economy begins to recover in a way that will add confidence and hope."
"One way Congress can act is to make the tax cuts permanent. If they really are that concerned about economic uncertainty, they ought to create certainty in the tax code."
He said his administration has set up programs to help more homeowners stay in their homes, but that Congress also needs to modernize the Federal Housing Administration and implement other changes that will encourage the housing market to turn around.
"Congress recently has been working on legislation for beach monitoring and landscape conservation, and those are important issues, but not nearly as important as FHA modernization and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement or making the tax cuts permanent," Bush said.
(This version CORRECTS SUBS 14th graf, 'Bush also,' to correct to troubled U.S. economy)
__________________
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
Alms for the proxy fighters. Any enemy of Chavez is a friend to Bushco.
You do know that the ONLY reason this bill is being stiffed is because Bush came out and gave Congress 90 days to get it submitted... Pelosi and Co. didn't like being told they had 90 days to do their job, hence....
I guess it would be better said that "the percentage of the whole would decrease," perhaps?
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