http://www.cnbc.com/id/40130051
President Obama will be returning home from Asia empty-handed. The G20 has pushed him around and South Korea poked its finger in his eye with their refusal to open their market to American cars, in spite of selling millions of them in the U.S. Aside from a promise by India to buy a few cargo planes (which they probably had planned to buy anyway), he has nothing to show for his efforts except a few footprints on his backside, a black eye and a fat lip. Bullying Barack has become the new sport on the global school playground.
It should come as no surprise. Like a pack of wolves, these bullies can smell fear and weakness. His weakness in negotiating became evident almost immediately. When he went to Mexico to complain about the terms of the NAFTA trade agreement, he was sent packing with a bunch of new Mexican tariffs. He made no response. When he delayed allowing Mexican big rigs access to American highways, they smacked him with even more tariffs. Still no response. At the same time, while everyone inside and outside the auto industry knew that the Japanese were dumping vehicles on the American market, Obama pretended not to notice.
So it’s no wonder that he’s now endured the biggest humiliation yet at the hands of South Korea. In spite of taking in this orphan six decades ago, nurturing it and sheltering it from the bully to the north, it’s now clear that we’ve rasied a spoiled brat. After all we’ve done for South Korea, including opening our market to their cars, they thank us by refusing to allow us to sell them a few. They gave our president a swift kick and a push, laughing at his weakness. He then found himself confronted by the G20 and they too, laughing at his feeble attempts to address China’s currency valuations and global trade imbalances, gave him another shove.
Yet, all the while, he remains in denial, thinking these are his friends. As reported in the above-linked article:
…. he contended he has now developed genuine friendships with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak — and even Chinese President Hu Jintao.”That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be differences,” the president added.
This is sickening. Mr. President, these aren’t your friends. They’re your (our) trade adversaries. Just because you’re unwilling to put up a fight doesn’t mean you’re not in one. Until you display some backbone and come out fighting, they’re going to continue to treat us this way. It doesn’t have to be like this. You could change it in a heartbeat. Like a kid on a playground who gets pushed around and shoved to the ground one too many times and suddenly comes up with a baseball bat he found lying on the ground next to him, their attitudes would adjust very quickly. Watch how fast they start back-pedaling. “Hey. Barack. We’re still buddies, right? You know we were just kiddin’ around, right?”
South Korea’s refusal to open its market to American cars screams out for a response. The most obvious response would be to immediately slap a 50% tariff on Korean auto imports. If we can’t sell them cars, why should we buy any of theirs? If they don’t like it, then perhaps it’s time to start withdrawing our forces from the Korean peninsula. South Korea is of little strategic significance anyway. Who needs them? Who cares if they end up groveling in the rice paddies for the “dear leader?” Good riddance.
It’s time to “man up,” Mr. President. See that bat lying on the ground next to you (the one whose label reads “tarriffs” instead of “Louisville Slugger”)? Pick it up.
"Five Short Blasts" Forum 
I wonder what kind of deal Russia made with India for this that we in the USA could not deliver ???
Or is it more of a Ploy to divide the USA away from India ??
http://en.rian.ru/news/20101007/160867582.html
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20101027/161108468.html
Good Article Pete !!!!!
I think we are seeing Our Government crumble under its own weight of developing a Environmental organizations that lobbies for American restrictions to manufacturing and resource developments , but allows other countries to import Free and flood the USA with product that has turned America into a Consumer only nation . I just have to think it was by design .
And while we crash our economy with debt driven import process we are not pushing to negotiate trade with tariffs , and the deals in world economies goes on
Russia signs India nuclear reactor deal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8561365.stm
everyone forgets Reagan Used tariffs to negotiate with and we had Balanced trade
I tell ya Pete when I see all this stuff it looks like the USA better tell the Environmentalist Voter bases to get out of the way because it won’t be too long before we see the dollar less and less taken in exchange for Imported goods and less and less supply in the USA as a Result , forcing Prices up on what supply we do have in stock on the retail shelves in the USA . We need to start massive developments of our domestic energy programs , all forms or we are going to suffer .
China, Russia vow to advance military ties
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-11/09/c_13598156.htm
Obama is Losing control of Economic National Security in oil price http://ning.it/dfRW1G http://ning.it/cxurAL http://ning.it/9mLGq6
OPEC NATIONS CALLING FOR NEW WORLD ORDER !!!!!!!! http://ning.it/9C8HT1
Russia to build nuclear power station in Venezuela
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE69E1SD20101015
Here’s a couple of good trivia questions that will demonstrate that this problem was years in the making:
Where did the 800 miles of 48″ pipe originate from that was used the build the Alaska Pipeline in 1974-1977?
Where did the communications towers originate from for that same project?
Any good guesses?
I have to admit, Mike, I can’t answer these questions. I’m guessing it’s not the U.S. My guess is Korea.
You’re a pretty darn good guesser Pete…the pipe came from S. Korea and the towers were made in France.
I was a working supervisor for RCA Alaska Communications at the time and we installed the communications and control systems, which at the time was the most difficult terrestrial micro-wave project ever attempted in the world.
At least the micro-wave radios that we used were produced by Farinon Electric of San Carlos California. However, out next large project saw Northern Telecom radios from Canada.It’s been a long and continuous slippery slope and road to recovery has not yet been mapped.
Since it is already costing us; we need to redeploy our troops from South Korea, Japan and Europe to the Mexican border.
We no longer have ANY “tax payer” interests to protect in these regions.
Don’t even get me started on that subject. If the president’s commission on debt is looking for ways to cut defense spending, they could begin by ending our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and also pull them out of the places you mentioned above. That’d save hundreds of billions. There’s much cheaper ways to fight the “war on terror.” It’s hard to take debt reduction efforts seriously when we continue to piss away money like that.
Like it or not guys, the wars provide massive employment from those who are actually engaged, to those who make everything from bombs to buns. It’s the latter category that owns our officials; those who hold the massive and bountiful government contracts complete with kickbacks.
Have you ever been in an area where it was threatened to shut down a military installation? Believe me, the taxpayers don’t want government spending cuts that would negatively affect the present income stream in their own areas.
Power, greed, and ignorance will rule right up to the day that we reach that invisible, impenetrable barrier that is commonly referred to as reality.
And that day is fast approaching. Bring it on.
My only experience with the closing of a military installation was the closing of Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis a number of years ago. The fort is now a really nice park – a real asset to the area. But you’re right: the end of wars means even more unemployment. All the more reason to bring our manufacturing jobs back home.
” Power, greed, and ignorance will rule right up to the day that we reach that invisible, impenetrable barrier that is commonly referred to as reality “.
MikeF you just described VANITY . It was allowed to spread throughout the credit and finacial industry to the point WE ARE AT TODAY .
Think about it , we should have saw a Reality of Interest rate Guidance over the last 20 years that would have kept Growth at Realistic levels , but Vanity baby its a Killer to Reality …..
Pete if we would have used Interest rates and kept standard 30 % minimum debt to equity rates in the qualifications of Underwriting would this have been better to have kept credit growth and Trade , public and private deficits more balanced , that Might have worked in the same manner say as a Trade Tariff Policy ?????
I mean we would have only seen probably a 10 trillion dollar GDP but it certainly would have been stable and maybe sustainable if the trajectory of the capital expansion was directed at a industrial expansion that say was better focused of the sustainable aspects of the Human aspects of sustaining life on finite earth …..like expanding the value of education around the principles of what earth and the resource base is so that by understanding this conservation and environmental quality along with a sense of pressure to develop the Alternative Renewable resources of tomorrow would be in the topic of education too , then true sustainable valued growth in a GDP fundamental would be our reality which in turn could sustain the growth of a retirement account with a way to facilitate a finacial exchange in the private finance institutes that would bear the usage cost in Interest rate paying positions like CDs, Bonds , and other forms of Credit based positions of financial guarantees .
Its all because of the lack of trust in the future from a Lack of trust in the ways we are developing resources for future developments of sustainable life thats froze the private sector monetary process , and until we see a societal shift in the fundamental philosophy of what we are teaching the society in terms of sustainable value we are going to continue to see this extreme volatility in all forms of economics, finance and deficits . You can see this sustainability issue at place with how the BRIC and OPEC Nations are consolidating world Resource supply and the locations within these alliances .
Our only hope is to fast track into a Domestic Alternative resource development phase immediately because the restriction thats coming from the BRIC and OPEC nations soon as they close the accumulation of dollars down by rejecting the currency we are going to see supply shortages rise in the USA the longer we do nothing to replace the supply we are losing from these outside sources .
Our manufacturing base is gone , hell we don’t even make generator windings or a Nut and Bolt anymore , and the time line to reboot that Industry will take longer than we have to keep the civilian population from becoming panicked and violence result . The USA is down to where it is Only printing Paper Dollars to Fund the purchasing of imports , how long before the BRIC and OPEC nations say we don’t want your paper Dollars because they are only paper and you Americans are even monetizing the credit to print those dollars you want to give us for our Durable Products , hows that a logical exchange ?????
A trade “adversary”?
I’m no trade negotiator, but did you know that Hyundai developed plants, logistical hubs, and other facilities in the U.S. that employ U.S. workers to produce and distribute U.S. finished goods in the form of parts and vehicles? I’m not passing judgment. I’m just saying.
Yes, I’m aware. But Korea exports far, far more cars than it imports and the American plants you referenced are often there to assemble imported parts. (Like the Japanese and Germans, they figured out that they could fit far more parts on a container ship that they could finished vehicles.)