Friday PO...I have had a horrible week, TGIF, I can just hide all week end...

[Z is for Zangie]

Some kind of crisis every day, personal, work, and political...I am exhausted. Been around 100 degrees for two days, we get those temps once in while, but not in June, usually August.

[Tarmaque]

I think the good news today is that Eastman is going to jail. Pretty much everyone agrees that his plan to have Pence (the unlikely hero of this quagmire) void the election was gonzo illegal and utterly unconstitutional. I suspect his asshole is very puckered today. I still don't think Carrotface von Golfcart is going to be held accountable, but things look worse for him every day. It's just that I don't think Garland has the guts to indict him. Garland would have made an adequate Supreme Court Justice, but I don't think he has the temperament to be a really good Attorney General. He's too meek, and middle of the road. Which of course is why Obama nominated him for SCOTUS in the first place. He was trying to appeal to the Republicans, which after 8 years he should have known better. Then Biden chose him for AG for similar reasons, which I think was a mistake. He's too wishy-washy to indict a former President short of an actual recording of him ordering the overt assassination of Pence. Which he kinda did, but in the way of criminals everywhere that left it open to intepretation.

But I still think Eastman is well and truly fucked.

[Tarmaque]

I'm sorry to hear you're in an unhappy state, Angelle. I don't want to pour gasoline on your fire, but it's been very pleasant here. Looks like low 60's and showers through the weekend, then some sun and 70's next week. Typical Pacific Northwest weather for June. However we have just got over a couple weeks of substantial rains, which has lead to some near flooding. Vancouver has been 1 foot below flood stage for a week, and Longview (40 minutes north) has been 1 foot over flood stage. This isn't really problematic, but does mean the main bridge into Portland has to lift more frequently which disrupts traffic. Also, my favorite path to walk/bike is under about 6" of water.

But I hope things get better for you and the weather is more pleasant soon. (We usually don't get serious hot weather until August these days, but the last few years it has lasted right through September, which sucks.)

[Slip Shod]

China orders US companies to set up Communist Party units to oversee firms in new global enforcement
americanmilitarynews.com - Yesterday

The Chinese government is preparing to enforce regulations on all fund management companies operating in China — including U.S.-based and other foreign firms — requiring them to set up an internal unit for supervision by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In May, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) implemented new changes to its industry rules governing publicly offered securities investment funds. Ignites Asia — an extension of Financial Times — first reported this week that one of the provisions in the new CSRC rules requires companies to establish a CCP apparatus within their companies.

“Fund management companies shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Association of the Communist Party of China, establish party organizations, carry out party activities, and provide necessary conditions for the activities of party organizations,” the provision states, according to a translation by Ignites Asia. “State-owned fund management companies shall, in accordance with relevant regulations, integrate party leadership into all aspects of corporate governance, and include party building work requirements into the company’s articles of association, so as to implement the legal status of party organizations in the corporate governance structure.”

According to Ignites Asia, other broader national laws in China require all companies in the country, including foreign firms, to establish internal CCP organizations, but those laws had been largely symbolic. The new rules specifically governing fund companies come as major U.S. and international investment firms are working to bring branches of their business to China.

Legal experts who spoke with Ignites Asia said the new CSRC rules are meant to bring stricter oversight to the investment sector. The new rules could raise the fiduciary risk to these foreign investment firms, including those based in the U.S.

A Shanghai-based lawyer who works with foreign business managers told Ignites Asia that this rule is the first explicit “party organization” requirement for the public fund industry. The lawyer, who declined to be named due to the political sensitivity of the matter, told Ignites Asia the new rule applies to foreign-Chinese joint ventures and the Chinese subsidiaries of wholly foreign-owned companies working in China. U.S. multinational firms like BlackRock, Fidelity and Neuberger Berman are among these entities expanding into the Chinese market.

It remains to be seen how much influence these internal CCP organizations may hold over the various firms working in China, or what carrying out “party activities” might entail. Ignites Asia reported party units in wholly foreign-owned firms are unlikely to have any major executive function. On the other hand, CCP organizations inside foreign-Chinese joint ventures — especially those ventures with Chinese state-owned enterprises — may select senior Chinese executives to represent the CCP’s position at a high level.

Victor Shih, a California-based associate professor who has studied Chinese banking policies, said the new CSRC rules reflect the Chinese government’s desire for “some degree of political control through party members and party cells” of investments within the country.

“For foreign investors, that’s just the price of admission,” Shih told Ignites Asia.

Shih said CCP organizations inside existing business structures often convene to discuss the latest orders and messages coming from the CCP central leadership.

“Sometimes party members have to propagate the spirit of the latest dictates to non-party members and get them to support party policies,” Shih said.

In addition to the potential fiduciary risks associated with the new CSRC rules, foreign investors may perceive political risks to complying with the rules. Logan Wright, the leader of the China Markets Research for the Rhodium Group, told Ignites Asia that the requirement for foreign businesses to accept a CCP organ within their structure will “add to the perceived political risks associated with deepening foreign investment in China.”

“It’s another small signal that China’s system is increasingly diverging from global business practices and norms, rather than converging with them over time,” Wright said.

[Tarmaque]

The Chinese government is preparing to enforce regulations on all fund management companies operating in China — including U.S.-based and other foreign firms — requiring them to set up an internal unit for supervision by the ruling Chinese Communist Party

You may enjoy this very interesting recent interview with Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is also a scholar and expert on China. (He speaks fluent Mandarin and knows Xi personally.)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct31br

I found particularly interesting his comments on how Xi himself is a scholar of Marxist literature and fully believes in it. I do wonder how Xi reconciles Marxism with modern capitalist style business practices that have made China rich. (Edit: This may not be the interview I was remembering. I just finished listening to it and the part I remembered wasn't there.)

[Slip Shod]

The Chinese government is preparing to enforce regulations on all fund management companies operating in China — including U.S.-based and other foreign firms — requiring them to set up an internal unit for supervision by the ruling Chinese Communist Party

You may enjoy this very interesting recent interview with Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is also a scholar and expert on China. (He speaks fluent Mandarin and knows Xi personally.)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct31br

I found particularly interesting his comments on how Xi himself is a scholar of Marxist literature and fully believes in it. I do wonder how Xi reconciles Marxism with modern capitalist style business practices that have made China rich. (Edit: This may not be the interview I was remembering. I just finished listening to it and the part I remembered wasn't there.)

I pulled up an interview on BBC video YouTube and listened and was quite impressed, so much so that I believe this fella is the most consummate silky smooth politician I have ever encountered and it's scary - no doubt very intelligent, able to charm, but the scary part is you never really know where he's truly coming from. As I listened I don't believe he had the best interests of his fellow Australians foremost, but rather he is a true globalist and leaving the chips fall wherever they may - if Australians or anyone else in the West should be compromised or hurt in any way, so be it. It's his idea of the big picture he cares about and I can't read his true self or allegiance. This guy is so good he's scary.

[Tarmaque]

I pulled up an interview on BBC video YouTube and listened and was quite impressed, so much so that I believe this fella is the most consummate silky smooth politician I have ever encountered and it's scary - no doubt very intelligent, able to charm, but the scary part is you never really know where he's truly coming from. As I listened I don't believe he had the best interests of his fellow Australians foremost, but rather he is a true globalist and leaving the chips fall wherever they may - if Australians or anyone else in the West should be compromised or hurt in any way, so be it. It's his idea of the big picture he cares about and I can't read his true self or allegiance. This guy is so good he's scary.

Kevin Rudd is no longer a politician, and when he was Prime Minister and MP of Australia he was quite divisive. However, today he teaches Asian studies at Harvard University and that was the context in which I was referencing him. He has studied China in particular most of his life and his insights are valuable.

[Senor Natural]

I think the good news today is that Eastman is going to jail. Pretty much everyone agrees that his plan to have Pence (the unlikely hero of this quagmire) void the election was gonzo illegal and utterly unconstitutional. I suspect his asshole is very puckered today. I still don't think Carrotface von Golfcart is going to be held accountable, but things look worse for him every day. It's just that I don't think Garland has the guts to indict him. Garland would have made an adequate Supreme Court Justice, but I don't think he has the temperament to be a really good Attorney General. He's too meek, and middle of the road. Which of course is why Obama nominated him for SCOTUS in the first place. He was trying to appeal to the Republicans, which after 8 years he should have known better. Then Biden chose him for AG for similar reasons, which I think was a mistake. He's too wishy-washy to indict a former President short of an actual recording of him ordering the overt assassination of Pence. Which he kinda did, but in the way of criminals everywhere that left it open to intepretation.

But I still think Eastman is well and truly fucked.

Garland is a wimp . . .

[Tarmaque]

Garland is a wimp

I tend to agree. It's what happens when you hire the candidate you perceive to be the least offensive to both sides.

[Senor Natural]

The USA desperately needs new, younger leadership. A combination of moderate and progressive for the White House - no more arrested development backward looking baby boomers from either party. John Tester/Amy Klobiuchar would be my ticket.
It would help to have a more progressive congress, one focused on actually getting things done, not stuck on continuing needless culture wars.
That's where removing the old leadership form both parties is a necessity - they democrat ones are inept, the GOP ones are corrupt authoritarians.
Neither represents the best interests of Americans.
No more geezers for president from either party, please . . .

[Senor Natural]

Garland is a wimp

I tend to agree. It's what happens when you hire the candidate you perceive to be the least offensive to both sides.

He would have been a terrible SC justice, would have been badgered by the likes of Alito and Thomas. Roberts is a bit wimpish, too.
I wouldn't mind seeing a 12 year single term for SC justices, too. 15 years tops . . .

[Tarmaque]

He would have been a terrible SC justice, would have been badgered by the likes of Alito and Thomas. Roberts is a bit wimpish, too.
I wouldn't mind seeing a 12 year single term for SC justices, too. 15 years tops . . .

I disagree that he would have been terrible. I think he would have been mediocre though, and right now we don't need a mediocre SCOTUS justice.

On the other issue, I don't want to see "term limits" for SCOTUS justices. I don't think that actually gains us anything. However I do firmly believe in mandatory retirement at age 75. Not just for justices, but for Congresscritters too. And we should never be electing a President over the age of 65 for their first term. No more geezers indeed.

I know little about Jon Tester, but I've changed my mind on Amy Klobuchar. In the primaries last election I opposed her for what are still some very real concerns, but in retrospect I think she was the best person for the job. (I supported Kamala Harris, and after she has made some very public and avoidable mistakes I have changed my opinion. I don't dislike Harris, but I also don't think she's Presidential material anymore.) I never thought Biden was the right person to be President, and I would suggest he has proven me right. Not bad, but not the right person in the right place at the right time.

[Mike]

About wimpiness: y’all do realize that, the moment trump is indicted (should it occur, as it should), a hundred million conservo-Americans are coming out with their guns…. Right? You do grasp that, don’t you? The whole thing was tenuous 50 years ago, but Nixon was perceived on all sides as a political hack. For all his faults, he did get us out of Vietnam and did make progress on many fronts where race and minorities were concerned. So for the Right, which wanted to continue in Vietnam and wanted to erase the civil rights gains, there was not a huge level of investment in Nixon.

It’s different this time around. The Right found its savior in trump. He fully embraced their hatred, their vitriol. He vilified immigrants, legitimized marginalization of blacks and women, gave his approval to all efforts to persecute LGBTW. He filled the courts with jurists who will execute that agenda. He was eager to let covid kill off as many ‘weak’ Americans as possible (yes, that was and is a huge motivator for the anti-mask, anti-vaxx crowd). And so they have become a cult of personality around him. Unlike Nixon, the Right has huge personal investment in trump.

Kicking Nixon out of office was kicking out just another politician.
Going after trump with criminal charges? That would be a whole different ballgame.

[Slip Shod]

@ with Mike in mind -
I'm sure it will ruffle feathers here, but it's okay. All this anti-trumpism in the House investigations (pelosi and the other crazies can't leave Trump alone, it's a passion with them) is all about pinning something on him as to keep him from being able to run again. That's how fearful they are of him.
But I have some bad news for you..
Nothing will stick -it's all going to fail; he will run again and be elected. It's politics, you should never let it affect you so much as letting it physically upset you.
~
Ya'll put your man in office, he had a shot at it and he screwed it up. These midterms will prove it.

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[Mike]

‘Trump and his supporters remain a clear and present danger to American democracy.” - J Michael Luttig, conservative judge appointed by George HW Bush, and adviser to VP Mike Pence

While you are likely correct about your final thought, the meat of your post is so clearly misguided. It’s not about pinning something on trump. It’s about saving this nation.

[Slip Shod]

The CCP, clearly, is presently this world's most malignant actor on the world stage and Biden, he screwed up here too, possibly indebted to China because him and his family have been on the take for years. Even George Soros who I detest is claiming China is a rogue nation among nations that has to be stopped by all means; a threat to all democracies. Mike's concern for democracy (Trump?) It's a piss ant in comparison

[Z is for Zangie]

The CCP, clearly, is presently this world's most malignant actor on the world stage and Biden, he screwed up here too, possibly indebted to China because him and his family have been on the take for years. Even George Soros who I detest is claiming China is a rogue nation among nations that has to be stopped by all means; a threat to all democracies. Mike's concern for democracy (Trump?) It's a piss ant in comparison

Biden is not and never has been on the take, his son used his father's position to do some unsavory things, but, Biden was not involved (and neither was any other member of the family and lets talk about Trumps kids who are corrupt and on the take) and did nothing wrong...please read some sane people and stop promoting conspiracy theories, thanks

Disinformation is not allowed here, different opinions yes, but spreading falsehoods is not, please Slip, stop this

[Z is for Zangie]

@Slip Shod

PS: everyone with any knowledge of what happened and what Trump did knows him and the Republican Party as it stands now is a threat to our Democracy, they tried to overthrow the government for Pete's sake, that is sedition...a lot of them are in legal hot water now...especially Eastman...

CHina is a threat, but it is a threat from without, what is within is the bigger problem now..sigh, you are not a dumb guy Slip, why do you fall for the lying,falsehoods and conspiracy theories?

[Mike]

@Slip Shod

PS: everyone with any knowledge of what happened and what Trump did knows him and the Republican Party as it stands now is a threat to our Democracy, they tried to overthrow the government for Pete's sake, that is sedition...a lot of them are in legal hot water now...especially Eastman...

CHina is a threat, but it is a threat from without, what is within is the bigger problem now..sigh, you are not a dumb guy Slip, why do you fall for the lying,falsehoods and conspiracy theories?

Shoddy clearly supports trump. Which means shoddy supports the insurrection.

[Slip Shod]

These are not my words, but an interview from the Senator of the great state of Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn - And.. not a word about Trump. And if it feels good to you, throw abuse her way . I'm sort of expecting it.. she's a strong woman, she can handle it
~