Tuesday, June 12, 2018

English Garden in Vermont


13 comments:

  1. This seems to be as good a summary as any of what happened in Singapore (hint: win-win-win for Kim):

    A Nothingburger in Our Time[Click]

    —Alan

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    1. "It’s best to say we gave little and got little. But the chances of a military confrontation are much lower than they were at the end of last year." Although, despite DT's previous bellicosity (word chosen deliberately), I never thought there was much chance of war. The summit certainly increased Kim's stature, especially at home, but otherwise was as near-meaningless as expected.

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  2. Why pharmaceuticals could be the prescription for trade warfare that truly hurts America[Click] “Opinion: If Canada wants to decisively threaten maximum pain and stop the escalating trade war with the U.S., it should propose expropriating pharmaceutical patents.” The only criticism I would make is that for maximum effect Canada should not threaten to do this, but simply do it; the psychological effect would be far greater.

    —Alan

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    1. I just sent approval of this idea off to the office of Premier Trudeau. Now that I have decided how to get past the filters intended to limit missives to those from Canadian citizens, it's a piece of cake. (I used an address based on that of my grandfather; the post office disappeared long ago.)

      Alan

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    2. Hmm. Remember that many of the largest pharmaceutical companies are not US based. Aside from the treaty violations involved, I'm not sure how this would work.

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    3. OK, that works. I think the short answer, Bill, is that it would work the same way it did before.

      Alan

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    4. I found this remark puzzling, so I read the article to see what event you might be referring to. It turns out that the guy isn't talking about expropriating patents at all. He's talking about compulsory licensing -- which is much simpler, more straightforward, and understandable. And it would target specific drugs that are currently big money-makers for specifically US companies. But I think he probably exaggerates the effect, since it only affects the Canadian market and patent exclusivity typically only lasts for a few years. But still, it's a stronger measure than most tariffs would be.

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  3. Senate panel rejects Trump’s proposed Interior, EPA cuts - Click

    As one commenter on The Hill's FB page pointed out, they have to maintain funding levels just to pay the interior decorators.

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  4. Mark Sanford concedes to Katie Arrington in SC District 1 race, losing his first election[Click]
    Darn. Despite his temporary extreme foolishness around Nude Hiking Day, there was a lot to like, and a lot to respect, about Sanford. He seemed like the embodiment of the effective local pol.


    North Korea State Media Says Trump Agreed to Lift Sanctions Against North[Click] So Trumpy got totally rolled? Never send a boy to do a (wo)man’s job.

    This is for you, Susan; I hope it holds up:
    A new Enquirer/Suffolk University poll in Ohio – the first statewide, independent poll since the Ohio primary – showed Richard Cordray (D) leading Mike DeWine (R) in the governor’s race, 43% to 36% among likely voters. In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) leads challenger Jim Renacci (R), 53% to 37%.

    Why you should never let a kid play with a loaded tariff…[Click]

    —Alan

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