You just knew this was going to happen eventually.  The skyrocketing price of petroleum soon reaching the $200 level as the astute Jerome a Paris of the European Tribune  noted, has not only caused pain at the pump.  It has also started to hit the foundations of the whole way manufacturing done.  The whole mad free trade system is starting to buckle.

Earlier in the week or possibly last week, I read that one of my WA state Congressmen was pushing for a yes or no vote on the "free trade" deals with South Korea and Colombia. Who is that person? Why that would be Rep. Adam Smith of WA State.

So today I see the same story pop up again and felt that I needed to say something!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080522/pl_n m/usa_trade_congress_dc

I know that WA state exports a lot of goods to South Korea and we all know that this country and WA state import a lot of goods from South Korea. So WHY do we need another "free trade" deal, especially with South Korea?

I 100% oppose ANY "free trade" deals until they are looked at as "Fair Trade" deals and then I would still be suspect of these deals, especially if they are done during the bush regime or pushed by the bush regime!

More Below...

As MyDD has spiraled exponentially into the depths of anti-Clinton and anti-Obama hatchet jobs (and more recently...whose supporters said what when that offended whom and who honestly cares...diaries), we seem to have lost touch with a number of ideals and characteristics which, for me at least, are inherent in the spirit of a tireless progressive activist.

As progressive activists, we can separate out our emotions - which run rampant toward the furtherance of progressive causes - from the strategic choices we know that we must make in order to see progressive policy implemented. We can find it in our hearts to forgive and forget when a (largely) progressive candidate panders for votes by trotting out gimmick-laden policies. And perhaps most importantly, we can temper our enthusiasm for progressive causes with the pain that millions of Americans are suffering. We can know and understand that sometimes the best policy for the country isn't the best policy for each individual voter, and that sometimes progressive unity requires understanding an issue from an alternative perspective.

This blistering report from tonight's ABC Evening News completely undercuts Hillary's hypocrisy on trade and exporting American jobs.

Hoosier Responsible?

"We went to Valparaiso," Clinton told voters in Princeton, Ind., last night, "where there used to be a plant called Magnequench that made the magnets that helped to guide the precision-guided missiles, the so-called smart bombs. You've seen those -- they take off, they go down the chimney, they were incredibly sophisticated and these magnets, you know -- not the kind you put on the refrigerator, like we all do -- but these really sophisticated magnets were instrumental making that happen."

Clinton continued, saying, "Well, a Chinese company bought Magnequench and then they decided that they were going to move the whole company from Indiana to China. Now the president of the United States has the authority to veto that kind of a move, but Senator [Evan] Bayh begged the Bush administration not to export it -- it was going to lose jobs but it was also going to lose the know-how, the technical sophistication that created those magnets. President Bush and his administration wouldn't, basically wouldn't even give Evan Bayh the time of day. Those jobs left, and along with them went the savvy to make the magnets."

What Clinton doesn't tell voters is that Magnequench was originally sold to Chinese interests during her husband's administration, which okayed the move despite concerns about national security and eventual job loss. Experts say the Chinese acquired the "technical sophistication" that created the magnets long before George W. Bush took office.

In the ABC Report Hillary is caught lying about how the Magnequench jobs left Indiana. This has just eclipsed Obama's bitter remarks among blue collar Americans (I'm proud to be blue collar).

I expect it's already going viral on UTube

In previous diaries, I have discussed the perils of globalization.  Briefly, globalization has resulted in increased opportunities for all (which is a good thing), but it also opens up the door for the strong to exploit the weak (which can be a catastrophic thing).

In this diary, I will discuss the issue of globalization, as it pertains to the current economic situation in the US.  I will try to show that globalization, and free trade, is the only thing that can save us from impending doom.  

In previous diaries, I have examined the perils of globalization.  To summarize, there is a strong driving force for globalization of goods and services.  However, globalization also increases the impact of potential adverse events, and it also enables the "strong" to exploit the weak more efficiently.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/4/12/0924 /00749
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/4/11/1293 2/3810

In my opinion, the defining trait of a progressive is that he/she will stand for the weak.  So the natural question is: how do we, as progressives, help the weak ?  How do we create a system (a set of global institutions) that will prevent the strong from exploiting the weak ?  And as a corollary to the specific issue of globalization, another related question is: How do we create a system wherein the impact of potential adverse events is limited.

In this diary, I will examine the question of helping the weak.

In my previous diary, I examined the perils of globalization.  To summarize, there are tremendous benefits to globalizing the world, but the downside is that the impact of potential negative events becomes that much more severe.  The impact is manifest as an increase in the gravity of potential manmade and natural disasters, and as an increase in the potential for mischief.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/4/11/1293 2/3810

In this diary, I was going to discuss ways in which we can mitigate the risks associated with globalization.  But that diary is proving to be harder to write.  And so, I am documenting cases in which the strong have been known to exploit the weak.

Such a discussion is appropriate because the world is on the cusp of a food crisis largely of our own making.  The world is also on the cusp of "peak-oil", a potential shortage of potable and safe water, and of a shortage of habitable space brought about by changing weather patterns.  There will be plenty of critical resources that we will be fighting over.

I am not a free trade protestor.  I do not make common cause with those that protest WTO summits, and blame globalization for all of our problems.  In fact, I believe in free trade, I believe in globalization ~ I believe that these are powerful forces that can be used for our common good.  I also believe that globalization & free trade comes with a downside.

This diary is about globalization, and it's downside.