Sleeping with/Lobbying for the Enemy?
Former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II is the face and voice for a TV ad campaign for Citgo, which is owned by the Venezuelan government. Citgo is partnering with Kennedy's Citizens Energy to discount home heating fuel to poor US families.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/16/AR2007021601003.html.
Kennedy thanks "our friends in Venezuela;" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ballyhoos the program as well. Many in the US, however, see the campaign as a political effort to boost Citgo and Chavez. A bitter critic of President Bush and the US, Chavez is nationalizing US and all foreign oil companies out of Venezuela.
A Washington Post Business Section article (2/24/07, P. D-1) quoted Kennedy as saying he was "morally righteous." Is he playing politics to boost a "friend" of Iran and Cuba and "enemy" of the US (Venezuela's biggest oil customer)? You decide.
Should he register as a Foreign Agent under US law? That's for someone else to decide. Read more!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/16/AR2007021601003.html.
Kennedy thanks "our friends in Venezuela;" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ballyhoos the program as well. Many in the US, however, see the campaign as a political effort to boost Citgo and Chavez. A bitter critic of President Bush and the US, Chavez is nationalizing US and all foreign oil companies out of Venezuela.
A Washington Post Business Section article (2/24/07, P. D-1) quoted Kennedy as saying he was "morally righteous." Is he playing politics to boost a "friend" of Iran and Cuba and "enemy" of the US (Venezuela's biggest oil customer)? You decide.
Should he register as a Foreign Agent under US law? That's for someone else to decide. Read more!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
"Got any change, Buddy?"
When I was in grad school, people forecast a "cashless society." Grad students never have money, so the phrase seemed merely ironic to me. Now, it's much more real, here and around the world.
The DC Express (www.readexpress.com, 2/12/07, page 33) cites Federal Reserve figures showing that 49.5 billion checks were paid in the US in 1995, and 36.6 billion in 2003. Debit transactions rose from 8.3 billion to 15.6 billion; credit card transactions from 15.6 billion to 19 billion. Combined they rose from 33% to 43% of all non-cash payments, so the Fed is closing its check-processing centers and will be at 18 (from 45) by the end of 2008.
The Express (2/23/07, page 12) also reported that more and more vending machines make debit and credit transactions, boosting sales between 5% and 35%. Since ATMs generally dispense $20s, which vending machines do not take, this is a great market response to new demand from people who are totally comfortable with plastic.
Mark Jackson, VP at Cadbury's Beverages says, "...we're moving more and more to a cashless society." And those cards work world-wide. The prophets may deserve some honor on this one. Read more!
The DC Express (www.readexpress.com, 2/12/07, page 33) cites Federal Reserve figures showing that 49.5 billion checks were paid in the US in 1995, and 36.6 billion in 2003. Debit transactions rose from 8.3 billion to 15.6 billion; credit card transactions from 15.6 billion to 19 billion. Combined they rose from 33% to 43% of all non-cash payments, so the Fed is closing its check-processing centers and will be at 18 (from 45) by the end of 2008.
The Express (2/23/07, page 12) also reported that more and more vending machines make debit and credit transactions, boosting sales between 5% and 35%. Since ATMs generally dispense $20s, which vending machines do not take, this is a great market response to new demand from people who are totally comfortable with plastic.
Mark Jackson, VP at Cadbury's Beverages says, "...we're moving more and more to a cashless society." And those cards work world-wide. The prophets may deserve some honor on this one. Read more!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Trade, Security -- and no coverage
The US Navy last month sold the USS Trenton (LPD-14) to the Indian Navy. The sale never got press here, but it's a big deal in India and contributes to the growing relationship between the two largest democracies.
The Trenton, an "amphibious transport dock" (for troop movements and landings) was launched in 1968 and commissioned in 1971. Her long service life -- East Coast to West Indies routine missions, multi-nation exercises in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Caribbean, Kiel Week naval celebrations in Europe and civilian evacuations during crises in Cyprus in 1974 and Lebanon in 2006 -- was varied, useful and honorable.
The Trenton was scheduled for decommissioning in late 2006, but the Indian Government initiated purchase negotiations. The transaction was completed in January 2007; renamed the INS Jalashva (river horse), the vessel will be refitted and her new crew trained in Norfolk, until her May departure for her new home base in India.
Why so little press in this country? Congress was working on the US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act. Enactment was important to both nations, and some worried that sale of the Trenton could be a useful red-herring for its opponents. Now the Indo-US nuclear bill is law and the Indian Navy has a new ship (for which the US Government received $48.44 million); good results for all concerned and good for a growing strategic relationship.
Read more!
The Trenton, an "amphibious transport dock" (for troop movements and landings) was launched in 1968 and commissioned in 1971. Her long service life -- East Coast to West Indies routine missions, multi-nation exercises in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Caribbean, Kiel Week naval celebrations in Europe and civilian evacuations during crises in Cyprus in 1974 and Lebanon in 2006 -- was varied, useful and honorable.
The Trenton was scheduled for decommissioning in late 2006, but the Indian Government initiated purchase negotiations. The transaction was completed in January 2007; renamed the INS Jalashva (river horse), the vessel will be refitted and her new crew trained in Norfolk, until her May departure for her new home base in India.
Why so little press in this country? Congress was working on the US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act. Enactment was important to both nations, and some worried that sale of the Trenton could be a useful red-herring for its opponents. Now the Indo-US nuclear bill is law and the Indian Navy has a new ship (for which the US Government received $48.44 million); good results for all concerned and good for a growing strategic relationship.
Read more!
Friday, February 2, 2007
Energy Policy Comprehension
A Washington Post editorial (27 January 27 2007, page A20) evaluated the energy discussion in the State of the Union address. Sadly, the Post did not contrast the President's proposals with the earlier House action that will damage US energy prospects (http://thomas.loc.gov.h.r.6.EH).
Unlike the House, the President proposed a comprehensive package, not a punitive one. He spoke of energy interdependence and reduced reliance on unstable or unfriendly suppliers; he did not lay our pipe dreams about energy independence. He called for major conservation (20% of gasoline use in 10 years through changes in Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency Standards. He said we need more nuclear power and clean coal transmission plants, and to update America's electrical infrastructure. He sought environmentally responsible increases to domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production, and implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, his Advanced Energy Initiative and the Global Nuclear Partnership.
He called for renewable and alternate fuels rather than simply throwing money and mandates at ethanol or wind. He laid out incentives rather than subsidies or punishment, and asked Congress to remove earmarks that transmogrify authorizations for energy spending.
The President's proposals balance supply, demand, new technology, new approaches to efficiency and conservation, and funding responsibility. The seek international cooperation rather than isolationism, reject empty promises and rely on a comprehensive approach to policy. Read more!
Unlike the House, the President proposed a comprehensive package, not a punitive one. He spoke of energy interdependence and reduced reliance on unstable or unfriendly suppliers; he did not lay our pipe dreams about energy independence. He called for major conservation (20% of gasoline use in 10 years through changes in Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency Standards. He said we need more nuclear power and clean coal transmission plants, and to update America's electrical infrastructure. He sought environmentally responsible increases to domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production, and implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, his Advanced Energy Initiative and the Global Nuclear Partnership.
He called for renewable and alternate fuels rather than simply throwing money and mandates at ethanol or wind. He laid out incentives rather than subsidies or punishment, and asked Congress to remove earmarks that transmogrify authorizations for energy spending.
The President's proposals balance supply, demand, new technology, new approaches to efficiency and conservation, and funding responsibility. The seek international cooperation rather than isolationism, reject empty promises and rely on a comprehensive approach to policy. Read more!
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