Florida Governor Lobbies Obama to Sell F-16 C/Ds to Taiwan

choi

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Zep Hu, Chou Yung-chieh and Elizabeth Hsu, Florida Governor Lobbies Obama to Sell F-16 C/Ds to Taiwan. Central News Agency, Aug 6, 2011
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201108060009
(Republican Rick Scott cites Florida jobs)

Quote: "Asked whether U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will talk with Chinese leaders on the arms sale to Taiwan during his upcoming visit to China, the de facto ambassador [of Taiwan, Jason Yuan, ] to the U.S. said Washington has already made clear that Biden will not touch on Taiwan-U.S. affairs during his Chinese stay.


---------------------------Separately
(1) 中国为铁路建设运营举债200亿. BBC Chinese, Aug 7, 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/business/2011/08/110807_china_railway_bonds.shtml

(2) Christine Ahn, Unwanted Missiles for a Korean Island. International Herald Tribune, Aug 6, 2011 (op-ed)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/opinion/06iht-edahn06.html
("The naval base on Jeju Island will equip South Koreans and their American allies with the capability to strike long-range ballistic missile batteries in southeast China that target Japan or Taiwan. Washington sees this base as a central pillar to its defense system in the Asia-Pacific region. China, no doubt, sees it as a new threat.")

My comment:
(a) Jeju-do
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeju-do
(濟州特別自治道; Capital  Jeju City)

In the island there is Gangjeong River 江汀川. See photograph 2 (whose caption reads, "Walkers can see the Gangjeong river as they walk along route 7") in
Olle road
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olle_road

See also at least four bilingual (traditional Chinese/English) blogs titled "An umbrella for today 一把雨傘給這天用" by "A Room of One's Own":
(i) 江汀川The Gangjeong River. July 11, 2011.
http://fromlospalos.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post.html
(the village is Gangjeong-dong 江汀洞)
(ii) 無名英雄 No-name Heroes. July 12, 2011.
http://fromlospalos.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_5491.html
(iii) 反海軍軍港建設的第1542天  The 1542nd day against Naval Base Construction. July 17, 2011.
http://fromlospalos.blogspot.com/2011/07/20117181542.html
(iv) 3 actions for saving Gangjeong  請採取三個行動拯救江汀洞. July 24, 2011.
http://fromlospalos.blogspot.com/2011/07/3-actions-for-saving-gangjeong.html
(b) DAI Su  戴 旭
(c) I gather since US can not use Taiwan militarily, the neighbors will have to sacrifice to host American bases.

(3) Editorial: Without Reform, the US Faces a Slow-Growth Future. Washington Post, Aug 6, 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2011/08/05/gIQAOdy3yI_story.html

Quote:

"Even China seems near exhaustion of a growth model based on an overvalued currency and inefficient, state-determined investment. Economists warned that the longer we postponed the day of reckoning, the more painful it would be; now, perhaps, that day is here.

"The next time someone tells you that this predicament is all the fault of a) Wall Street b) President Obama c) the Republicans or d) China, respond with this number: 138 percent. That is the ratio of U.S. household debt to disposable income as of 2007. There’s no way to restore robust consumer spending until that ratio returns to a more sustainable level; it’s now down to 110 percent, which is still far above historical averages. No matter what politicians or foreign countries may do, ordinary Americans still have their work cut out for them.

My comment:
(a) In quotation 1, presumably the "overvalued currency" should be "undervalued currency."
(b) There is no need to read the rest.

(4) Lisa Mascaro and Don Lee, Breakthrough on Stalled Trade Pacts Announced; Senate leaders promise swift votes on the trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama after Congress returns next month. Los Angeles Times, Aug 5, 2011
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-free-trade-20110805,0,5411738.story

Quote:

"The South Korean agreement is seen as the most substantial of the three pacts, opening overseas markets not only to U.S. exports, including popular American beef, but also to professional services in law, finance and accounting. It also deepens U.S. diplomatic ties with the Asian region at a time when China is an ascendant political force, experts said.

"Under the framework for moving to a vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed to decouple the two issues, holding separate votes.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

(5) Elliot Blair Smith and Gopal Ratnam, $35B Missile Defense Misses Bullet With Bullet. Bloomberg, Aug 3, 2011.  
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-03/missile-defense-costing-35-billion-misses-bullets-with-bullets.html

Two consecutive paragraphs:

"Before Congress voted to cut $2.4 trillion from government expenses over the next decade, lawmakers budgeted a 1.2 percent increase, to $8.6 billion, for all missile defense programs in fiscal 2012. That would raise total costs to about $150 billion, or roughly the inflation-adjusted amount poured into the Apollo program sending men to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.

"As one of the Pentagon’s biggest acquisition programs, the Missile Defense Agency got $141.1 billion out of the $149.8 billion requested from Congress over 27 years for all of its programs, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lawmakers have been reluctant to challenge spending because the program generates jobs and neither party wants to appear soft on defense, says Gordon Adams, a professor at American University in Washington.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

(6) Ricardo Lopez, Chinese Teachers Are on a US Mission. Los Angeles Times, Aug 1, 2011.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-chinese-teachers-20110801,0,7199823.story

Note:
(a) For folklórico, see Baile Folklorico
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baile_Folklorico
(literally "folkloric dance" in Spanish; Latin American dances that emphasize local folk culture with ballet characteristics; A good rule of thumb is if the woman raises her hands about her head (thus showing her legs), it is folklórico; Amalia Hernandez pioneered baile folklorico in the 1950s with her establishment of and leadership of the Ballet Folklorico Mexico)
(b) STARTALK Language Program. National Security Agency, undated.
http://www.nsa.gov/academia/early_opportunities/startalk/index.shtml
("established by President Bush in 2006 as part of the National Security Language Initiative to expand national capacity in critical languages")


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