another site
By EconMatters
With the prominence of passive investing stock pickers need to make sure they pick a good stock, but within the right sector which has the passive money at their back from an overall fund flows perspective. Having a strong outperformer in the “hot sector” can really juice your returns!
© EconMatters All Rights Reserved | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Email Digest | Kindle
via http://ift.tt/2g4Y1tz EconMatters
View full archives at Trader Scott’s Market Blog:
via http://ift.tt/2fWSbqY Trader Scott
Submitted by Joseph Jankowski via PlanetFreeWill.com,
Reports are claiming that Donald Trump’s lead over Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania popular vote has shrunk by some 22,000 votes as some counties wrap up counting overseas ballots and settled provisional ballot challenges.
According to Philly Voice, an updated count Friday by state election officials shows Trump’s lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton has shrunk from 71,000 to 49,000.
If this new number is accurate, Trump’s lead is at 0.8 percent, down from more than 1 percent. That is still shy of Pennsylvania’s 0.5 percent trigger for an automatic statewide recount.
On Monday, Jill Stein of the Green Party filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania seeking a statewide recount of presidential votes in a continuation of her mission to contest the election results in three key voting states.
Philly.com reported:
Legal papers filed in Commonwealth Court by a lawyer for Stein’s campaign contend the Nov. 8 election was “illegal” and the results inaccurate based on research suggesting there might have been irregularities with electronic voting machines, among other evidence.
“Petitioners have grave concerns about the integrity of electronic voting machines used in their districts,” the suit stated.
Attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump moved on Thursday to block the vote recount effort in Pennsylvania, adding to similar complaints filed to stop proceedings in Wisconsin and Michigan.
“Despite being no more than a blip on the electoral radar, Stein has now commandeered Pennsylvania’s electoral process, with an eye toward doing the same to the Electoral College,” the complaint states.
“There is no evidence — or even an allegation — that any tampering with Pennsylvania’s voting systems actually occurred.”
A court hearing is scheduled in the case on Monday.
Stein has admitted that there is no concrete evidence of voter fraud inside of any of the three state she seeks a recount.
After the first day of the Stein recount in Wisconsin, Hillary Clinton gained one vote on Trump.
via http://ift.tt/2gZfbqa Tyler Durden
By the SRSrocco Report,
If the market has finally experienced a peak in world silver production, this warns of higher prices in the future. In addition, the global silver market suffered another large net supply deficit in 2016. These factors point to a big upcoming trend change in the future silver market.
The Silver Institute just published its 2016 Silver Interim Report. This report is published by Thomson Reuters GFMS. According to their forecast for 2016, global silver production will decline to 887 million oz (Moz), down from 893 Moz in 2015:
While forecasted global silver production for 2016 is down only slightly versus last year, GFMS also stated this in their report:
1) We estimate that mine supply peaked in 2015 and will trend lower in the foreseeable future.
2) Declining total supply is expected to be a key driver of annual deficits in the silver market going forward.
I will get to the annual silver deficits in a minute, but let’s look at their world silver mine supply by region:
What is interesting here, is that GFMS forecasts the number one silver producer, Mexico, to be down in 2016 by more than 6 Moz. Last year, I forecasted that global silver production would likely be lower in 2015. I was going by data by the “World Metals Statistics.” However, Mexico’s INEGI (government agency) considerably revised their figures higher for 2015. While I have seen revisions take place, the revisions by Mexico’s INEGI for 2015 were quite substantial.
Regardless, GFMS does a pretty good job with the silver mine supply data. The important take-away here is that the trend of global silver production will likely be lower going forward.
The Majority Of Global Silver Production Declines Will Come From By-Product Base Mining
The majority of silver production comes from the by-product of base metal mining. According to GFMS 2016 Silver Interim Report, lead & zinc accounted for 34.4% of silver supply, while copper yielded 22.1%. Thus, the mining of these three base metals supplied 56.5% of global silver production in 2016. Primary silver production accounted for 30.4% and gold mining supplied 12.5%:
As I have mentioned in prior articles, the decline in global oil production will impact base metal mining to a larger degree than primary silver production. It takes a great deal of liquid fuels to produce the world’s base metals.
For example, the Chilean Copper Commission stated in a 2014 report, that the country consumed 535 million gallons of liquid fuel to produce 5.7 million tons of copper. Thus Chile’s copper industry consumed 94 gallons of liquid fuel for each tonne of copper produced.
On the other hand, Pan American Silver burned 20.5 million gallons of liquid fuel to produce their 26.5 million oz of silver in 2015. Which means, each ounce of silver production took 0.80 gallons of liquid fuel. If we use Pan American Silver as a guide, then the 269 Moz of primary silver production in 2016 consumed 215 million gallons of liquid fuel. However, I would imagine the global primary silver production average is much less, more like 0.50 gallon per ounce of silver. So, we are talking about 135-150 million gallons of liquid fuel to produce all the primary silver in the world.
Now, the world produced a total of 18.4 million tons of copper in 2014. Taking Chile’s average of 94 gallons per tonne of copper produced and providing a conservative estimate of say 75 gallons per tonne for entire globe, then the world consumed roughly 1.4 billion gallons of liquid fuels to produce its copper in 2014. This is about ten times the amount of fuel it took to produce all the primary silver production. Of course this is a simple estimate, but there you have it.
Once the world enters into the next financial collapse, U.S. and world oil production will plummet. This will impact base metal mining a great deal more than primary silver production. Which means, overall silver production will decline more rapidly due to more than half coming from zinc, lead and copper.
Global Annual Silver Deficits Continue For 13 Consecutive Years
Due to the huge increase in Global Silver ETF demand as well as a large Exchange Inventory build, the silver market will suffer a forecasted 185 Moz annual deficit in 2016. If we look at the annual silver deficits since 2004, it equals a stunning 1.5 billion ounces:
GFMS calculates their “net balance” by subtracting physical demand from supply, then deducted or added changes in Silver ETF and Exchange inventories. According to their data (as of Sept 2016), Silver ETF’s and Exchanges added 133.3 Moz of silver to their inventories. Furthermore, total physical demand exceeded total supply by 52.2 Moz to arrive at the total 185.5 Moz (rounded to 185 Moz) net deficit.
These annual deficits have been supplemented by silver surpluses of the 1980’s and 1990’s. However, annual deficits are forecasted to continue as mine supply continues to decline along with subdued scrap supply.
Why Do These Supply & Demand Factors Matter For the Future Price Of Silver?
Recently I have stated that new information on the Thermodynamic Oil Collapse, based on the Hills Group and Louis Arnoux’s work, suggests that supply and demand are not the real factor that determines price, rather it’s the cost of production.
However, gold and silver are different from most other metals, commodities and energy. While silver is consumed more than gold, it still functions as “MONEY” or a “STORE OF VALUE.” Thus, it should be valued differently than copper, wheat or oil.
I don’t look at global mine supply or the annual silver deficits as factors that will impact the market price of silver by certain degrees, rather I look at them as a TELLTALE sign that the overall trend is changing, and has been for nearly a decade. It is the longer term fundamental trend change that interests me, not the year by year supply and demand factors on price.
Currently, the silver price is based on its cost of production (90-95%) plus some supply and demand factors. While many believe the BIG BANKS can push the price of silver anywhere they see fit, this is pure nonsense. If the Big banks pushed the price of silver 25-50% below its average primary silver cost of production, traders would come in by the droves. While traders may be uninterested in long-term fundamentals, they aren’t stupid as it pertains to short-term market forces.
That being said, silver’s ultimate value is not based on its cost, it will be based on its STORE OF VALUE properties when the MOTHER OF ALL DEFLATIONS finally arrives. I am talking about deflation of most paper assets (stocks & bonds) and real estate.
Because there is so little real physical silver out in the market, 3-4 billion oz, any significant amount of capital moving into it will push its value to seriously high levels. This may seem a play on hype, especially for those who are a bit disillusioned by the price smash since the Trump President election.
Unfortunately, for those who continue BELLY-ACHING about low silver prices, there isn’t much I can say to change your opinion. I have come to realize that a significant percentage of silver investors who continue to understand the long-term fundamentals, will never complain about lower prices. They just suck it up and know that insane Central Bank policies won’t last forever.
Unfortunately, the precious metals community also has its group of individuals who will complain when the going gets rough. This should be expected as this is the typical nature of a FICKLE public. All slaps on the back when things are good and the first to bad mouth when things turn south.
I get a kick out of the BELLY-ACHERS who seem to forget that the Central Banks have embarked on the most insane monetary policy in history. They have pushed debt and money supply to an exponential trend. I find it simply amazing how a disgruntled silver investor points out how wrong the precious metals analysts were on the silver price since 2012, while totally dismissing massive Central Bank monetary invention.
Regardless, peak silver production on top of the continued annual deficits point to a trend that will reach an INFLECTION POINT in the future. So, here is the BEEF. If you think exponentially increasing debt and monetary liquidity will continue for the next 5-10 years, then maybe you should stay in Dollars, U.S. Treasuries, Stocks and Real Estate. However, if you aren’t suffering from brain damage as many in the markets are today, you may want to consider staying put in the 2,000+ year monetary history and store of value of silver.
Lastly, if you haven’t checked out our new PRECIOUS METALS INVESTING section or our new LOWEST COST PRECIOUS METALS STORAGE page, I highly recommend you do.
Check back for new articles and updates at the SRSrocco Report.
via http://ift.tt/2fT6mSK SRSrocco
Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com,
A fistful of bolivars buys… well, next to nothing. A sad state of affairs in Venezuela.
Is this how the economic crisis will play out in America? A cash strapped population, forced to the brink and stripped of their dignity?
Unfortunately, it is already underway in Venezuela.
Of course there is a higher standard of living in the United States overall, but tens of millions of people are already on the edge of poverty and tens of millions more can be brought to their knees in a matter of hours.
Some 46 million Americans are already on food stamps, and reliance on digital systems, EBT debit cards and electronic transactions could make Americans more vulnerable than they appear on the surface.
If the system shut down tomorrow, what would you do? How would you feed your family? Unless you are a prepper, the answer could make you uneasy.
Long lines have been the norm in Venezuela for over a year now; shortages and rations just another part of their upended lives. But now, the sheer free fall of their currency’s value has made live even more precarious – forcing many to visit as many as six ATMs just for enough to buy very basic, cheap goods.
via Bloomberg:
“I’ve had to go to six different ATMs just to get 6,000 bolivars,” said [Domingris] Montano… She needed to buy groceries. A package of rice would cost 3,500 bolivars, more than half the daily withdrawal limit, and the automated teller machine might be empty by the time her turn came. Maybe she could hit a few more before dark?
Lines are nothing new in Venezuela, where the economy is shattered, inflation is soaring and the currency fell a staggering 67 percent against the U.S. dollar on the black market last month alone — making 6,000 bolivars worth just $1.30.
[…] It takes almost six minutes for it to spit out, 3,500 bolivars at a shot, and the victor walks away with a 3-inch stack worth $5.32.
“Sometimes I go to five ATMs without getting anything at all,” he said, because the devices are busted or bare.
[…]
“The last time I cashed a check [with a live bank teller], it was for 44,000 bolivars and they gave it to me in bills of 5 and 10,” said Elyn Hernandez, a 27-year-old assistant chef. That many bolivars in notes of 10 would fill a Duffel bag. An ATM delivers in larger denominations.
Most of the people is poor, and cash has long been the only fluid transaction for most vendors, and the wide segment of the population that don’t have bank accounts.
This has proven to be an especially difficult logistical problem – as banks have responded to an accelerating crisis by placing harsh limits on the amount of money that can be withdrawn from ATMs – with the maximum equating a huge fistful of bolivars but only a few U.S. dollars of purchasing power.
That is why President Maduro has ordered a revaluing of the currency, and will issue higher denomination bills sometime early next year. But that will do little to alleviate the problems that everyday people are facing in the meantime.
They have been desperate already, but now things are reaching a point of outright hyperinflation and spiraling collapse.
So for anyone still unsure what real-time hyperinflation looks like, here is the updated visual answer.
Pray for these people, and prepare so that it might not happen to you or yours.
via http://ift.tt/2fWObGS Tyler Durden
At least nine people were confirmed dead and 25 others are unaccounted for after a fire broke out during a rave at a “huge” warehouse in Oakland, California, local media reported on Saturday, according to city fire officials, cited by KTVU.
The fire was first reported Friday night at 11:30 p.m., on 31st Avenue and International Boulevard. The building houses a group of artists and their studios, according to police. The building in the Fruitvale district housed units where people lived and worked, and it had no sprinkler system, Fire Chief Teresa Deloach-Reed told the East Bay Times newspaper.
#breaking: Greater alarm fire burning inside commercial building in #Oakland, California. Firefighters have taken a defensive mode. http://pic.twitter.com/GcssQ6dTvs
— Tim Jue (@timjue) December 3, 2016
31st- http://pic.twitter.com/8TX6jk0iYq
— Oakland Firefighters (@OaklandFireLive) December 3, 2016
The blaze broke out on 31st Ave in Oakland during a party advertised as a ‘Rave Cave’ as part of musician Golden Donna’s ‘100% Silk’ West Coast tour. A Facebook event page showed 176 people planned to attend the party, which featured a performance by the electronic music act Golden Donna. The page, which listed 355 others as interested in going, carried posts from people who were either missing or accounted for.
31st- http://pic.twitter.com/8TX6jk0iYq
— Oakland Firefighters (@OaklandFireLive) December 3, 2016
Fire Chief Teresa Deloche-Reed said that at least another 13 people are still unaccounted for after the deadly blaze started around 11:30pm in the 1300 block of 31st Avenue during an event advertised as ‘Rave Cave’ featuring musician Golden Donna’s 100% Silk West Coast tour. Officials said they were informed that between 30 and 70 patrons were at the event when the fire broke out, the East Bay Times reports.
#breaking: More video of commercial structure fire in Oakland, California. 3 alarms and counting. Mutual aid from City of Alameda arriving. http://pic.twitter.com/Gqw6EUjPjH
— Tim Jue (@timjue) December 3, 2016
‘We still have to do a more thorough search of the building and we don’t know the potential number of other victims,’ Deloche-Reed said.
Fire officials were still trying to determine how the fire started, the fire chief, who described the building as “huge”, said. She added the roof had collapsed, complicating efforts to recover bodies.
“There is a large majority of that building that has not been searched,” Deloach-Reed said during a press briefing.
“We are hoping that the number nine is what there is and that there are no more,” the fire chief said, referring to the number of known fatalities. “But we have not done a complete search of the building.”
An aggressive attack on the fire was underway when conditions suddenly changed and firefighters had to go back outside.
31st Ave: Fire through the roof, Command requests all units out of the building, going defensive. @KTVU @kron4news @CBSSF @abc7newsbayarea
— Oakland Firefighters (@OaklandFireLive) December 3, 2016
As of 4:20am PT, the fire was not officially under control, as smoke was still coming from an upper floor in the building, the Times reported.
31st Ave- crews will remain on scene for several more hours. 2 ladder pipes and hand lines still deployed extinguishing hot spots. #oakland
— Oakland Firefighters (@OaklandFireLive) December 3, 2016
Sabrina May Dolan told DailyMail.com that her sister, Chelsea Faith, was performing at the party under her stage name Cherushii when the fire started on the second floor of the building.
As RT notes, dozens of people posted on the event’s Facebook page to say that they had safely escaped the fire, while others are inquiring about friends and relatives yet unaccounted for.
One, Eveline Darroch, wrote: “I am here with the fire inspector going through the list of missing names of missing/safe. At this point there are several threads. I am requesting that you only post in this thread their name and missing or safe next to it. Thank you.”
A Twitter account that posts about Oakland firefighters reported that the fire has gone through the roof and all units have been told to withdraw from the building. There has been no official update from the Oakland Fire Department, however.
via http://ift.tt/2fWEmIW Tyler Durden
2016 is shaping up as the year when countless conspiracy theories will be confirmed to be non-conspiracy fact: from central bank rigging of capital markets, to political rigging of elections, to media rigging of public sentiment, and now, commercial bank rigging of silver. In short, tinfoil hat-wearing nutjobs living in their parents basement have been right all along.
In early October, we reported that “In A Major Victory For Gold And Silver Traders, Manipulation Lawsuit Against Gold-Fixing Banks Ordered To Proceed,” however one bank was exempt: Deutsche Bank. The reason why was known since April, when we first reported that Deutsche Bank had agreed to settle the class action lawsuit filed in July 2014 accusing a consortium of banks of plotting to manipulate gold and silver. Among the charges that Deutsche Bank effectively refused to contest were the following:
An affidavit filed in October shed more light on the settlement process:
The negotiations with Deutsche Bank over the material terms of the Settlement took place over several months starting in December 2015 and continuing until the Deutsche Bank Settlement Agreement was executed on September 6, 2016.
Following initial phone calls with Deutsche Bank’s counsel in December 2015, Lowey and Grant & Eisenhofer engaged in lengthy negotiations with Deutsche Bank’s counsel over the material terms of the settlement, including the amount of the settlement consideration, the scope of the cooperation to be provided by the Deutsche Bank Defendants, the scope of the releases, and the circumstances under which the parties would have the right to terminate the settlement.
During the course of the negotiations, Class Counsel presented what we perceived to be the strengths and weaknesses of the claims and defenses, as well as Deutsche Bank’s litigation exposure.
In February 2016, we reached an agreement with Deutsche Bank on the amount of the settlement, subject to the negotiation of other material terms of the deal. For example, given that this is the first settlement in the case, it was our view that the cooperation provisions of the deal were extremely important to our ability to maximize the overall recovery for the class against the Non-Settling Defendants. The negotiations as to the scope of the cooperation provisions continued for several months.
On April 13, 2016, counsel for Deutsche Bank and Class Counsel signed a Binding Settlement Term Sheet (“Term Sheet”). The Term Sheet set forth the terms on which the parties agreed, subject to the negotiation of a full Settlement Agreement, to settle Plaintiffs’ claims against Deutsche Bank. At the time the Term Sheet was executed, Class Counsel was well-informed about the legal risks, factual uncertainties, potential damages, and other aspects of the strengths and weaknesses of the claims and defenses asserted.
By letter dated April 13, 2016, the Parties reported to the Court via ECF that the Term Sheet had been executed, and advised the Court that the Term Sheet would be superseded by a formal settlement agreement. ECF No. 116.
The parties negotiated the Deutsche Bank Settlement Agreement over the course of the next several months. The negotiations over the terms of the Deutsche Bank Settlement Agreement included various material terms over which the parties had substantial disagreement, requiring significant give and take on both sides. To that end, drafts of the Deutsche Bank Settlement Agreement went back and forth between the parties, and numerous contested issues were raised, negotiated and resolved, including without limitation, continuing negotiations over the scope of Deutsche Bank’s cooperation (see ¶ 4(A)-(G)), the scope of the releases (see ¶ 12 (A)-(C)), and the circumstances under which the parties could terminate the Settlement (see ¶ 21).
Thus, the Deutsche Bank Settlement Agreement, which was executed (along with the Supplemental Agreement) on September 6, 2016, was the culmination of arm’s-length settlement negotiations that had extended over many months.
The Deutsche Bank Settlement was not the product of collusion. Before any financial numbers were discussed in the settlement negotiations and before any demand or counter-offer was ever made, we were well informed about the legal risks, factual uncertainties, potential damages, and other aspects of the strengths and weaknesses of the claims against Deutsche Bank.
The Deutsche Bank Settlement involves a structure and terms that are common in class action settlements in this District. The consideration that Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay is within the range of that which may be found to be fair, reasonable, and adequate at final approval.
There was just one thing missing: the settlement amount. Then, on October 17, the first part of the answer was revealed when according to court filings, Deutsche Bank had agreed to pay $38 million to settle the silver manipulation litigation. The settlement, which was disclosed in papers filed in Manhattan federal court, concludes one of many recent lawsuits in which investors have accused banks of conspiring to rig the precious metal markets. However, until Deutsche Bank’s payment of $38 million to settle silver manipulation allegations, there was never any formal closure.
On Friday, two months after the silver settlement, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay another $60 million to settle the other side of the antitrust litigation: that of rigging the gold market.
As Reuters first reported, the preliminary settlement was filed on Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval. As part of the settelement, Deutsche Bank has denied any wrongdoing, and with the two settlements, and some $98 million out of pocket, it is clear of any future liability regarding precious metals manipulation.
The case is one of many in the Manhattan court in which investors accused banks of conspiring to rig rates and prices in financial and commodities markets.
As we reported previously, in an Oct. 3 decision, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said investors could pursue much of their lawsuit against the other four banks named in the anti-trust lawsuit which include Barclays, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC and Societe Generale.
In October, Vincent Briganti, a lawyer for the investors, said the silver settlement deal provides “substantial monetary compensation plus cooperation from Deutsche Bank in the continued prosecution of this important case against the non-settling defendants.” He has yet to comment on the gold settlement.
So who gets to benefit from the settlement? This is what the lawyer said on the silver settlement disclosed in early October:
We have reason to believe that there are at least hundreds of geographically dispersed persons and entities that fall within the Settlement Class definition. The Settlement Class includes traders of COMEX Silver Futures contracts, anyone who traded in physical silver based on the Silver Fix, and traders in various silver derivatives.
The same will likely be applicable to gold traders following Friday’s monetary settlement.
The other beneficiary, of course, is the class of investors, people and “conspiracy theorists” who claimed all along that gold and silver were subject to rigging in various forms throughout the years. Well, you were right. However, we wouldn’t hold much hope for getting any substantial monetary rewards. By the time the settlement is done, there will likely be at best a few hundred dollars left per claimant.
The good news is that this formal closure will open the door for other, similar lawsuits – for both silver and gold manipulation – now that the seal has been broken.
via http://ift.tt/2h5gZ4X Tyler Durden
About six weeks ago, we launched the Reason podcast, a daily conversation on all sorts of topics that lasts between 30 to 90 minutes that fits in your pocket (phone). You can check it out here or subscribe for free at iTunes (rate and review us while you’re there).
We’ve always been interested in new ways of spreading the message of “Free Minds and Free Markets” and we’ve always taken delight in how technology and the breakdown of traditional gatekeeper institutions effectively deregulated the production and consumption of culture every bit as much as, say, interstate trucking was deregulated in the late 1970s. The podcast is one of the things we’re asking you as readers of Reason.com to support during our annual webathon. Through December 6, we’re trying to raise $250,000 to help cover the costs of our journalism—the print magazine, this website, Reason TV, and more.
We love what we do—and we can’t do it without your help. That’s why we’re hosting our annual webathon through Tuesday, December 6. We’re asking readers of this site to make tax-deductible donations in dollars and Bitcoin to Reason Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that publishes our award-winning journalism in video, audio, and print form.
Different giving levels come with different levels of swag:
$100 Reason magazine sub (includes print or digital) {digital includes access to archives of 46 years of Reason Magazine} Receive invitations to Reason events in your area.
$250 Includes print and digital subscription to Reason plus a Reason T-Shirt custom designed for this webathon by Reason Magazine art director Joanna Andreasson. Receive books by Reason authors.
$500 All of the above and a copy of the film “Can we Take a Joke?”
$1,000 Receive all of the above plus a private lunch in Washington, DC with a Reason editor and an invitation to Reason Weekend.
$5,000 Receive all of the above plus a Reason 1oz silver Bastiat Coin & 2 tickets to the Reason Media Awards in NYC (includes VIP seating and a reception with Nick, Katherine, & Matt).
$10,000 All of the above & 2 tickets to Reason Weekend for 1st time attendees.
Here’s what early reviewers of the podcast are saying:
In recent podcasts, we’ve talked with “renegade” historian Thaddeus Russell about why he thinks Donald Trump will be a “peacenik president,” one less likely to indiscriminately bomb random countries (though Russell says Trump will be awful in the Middle East).
And we’ve talked with food historian Rachel Laudan about the origins of Thanksgiving as a uniquely American meal designed to give the finger to European elites.
And we talked with libertarian Republican Rep. Thomas Massie about how Trump wasn’t elected dictator and it’s well past time for Congress to assert its role as the first branch of government.
Those are just three of the dozens of podcasts we’ve produced over the past six weeks or so—and there are literally thousands more like them to come in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Never miss a podcast by subscribing to us at iTunes now and having our fast-paced, fact-filled conversations piped into your phone, computer, or tablet. We’ve got other options too:
Subscribe to our video channel at iTunes.
Just as Reason TV, which we launched with Drew Carey’s inspiration and help in 2007, gave us a whole new way to reach people with news, commentary, analysis, and debate from a principled libertarian perspective, the podcast is a new space from which we can help build the next generation of freedom-loving dreamers, give loyal and long-time readers news and info, and help us learn more about the world around us too. Check it out, why don’t you, and if you like it (and Reason.com) please think about giving us a fully tax-deductible donation. The 21st century may not have officially started yet (well, it hasn’t by my count anyway) but it’s gonna be a hell of a ride. And we want to help guide it in the right direction. We can do that with your help.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/2gzitDr
via IFTTT
Following yesterday’s unexpected phone call between Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen and President-elect Trump, which broke with decades of foreign policy norms resulting from Washington’s official “One China” stance….
NEW PHOTO: Taiwan releases photo of President Tsai Ing-wen, center, speaking with Trump during controversial call https://t.co/Gt2CAiKH7K http://pic.twitter.com/RoLIjWlYML
— ABC News (@ABC) December 3, 2016
… and which spooked numerous foreign policy pundits, concerned that China would see the call as a hostile act by the Trump team and lead to a material deterioration in US-China relations, which also prompted Trump to take to twitter on Friday night to explain that he did not initiate the call but was merely responding to good wishes from the president of Taiwan…
The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016
….and further poked the hypocrisy of the US establishment by saying “Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call” in a follow up tweet…
Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016
… China responded on Saturday morning in two ways.
First, as Xinhua writes in its English edition, it “lodged solemn representations with the United States, urging the latter to honor its commitment to the one-China policy, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Saturday.”
“It must be stated that, there is only one China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China. Those are all facts recognized by the international community,” Geng said. The one-China principle is the political foundation for the China-U.S. relations, Geng said.
The White House on Friday reaffirmed backing for its long-standing support of the one-China policy and the three China-U.S. joint communiques. “We remain firmly committed to our one-China policy based on the three joint communiques,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price told local media. “Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-strait relations.”
Geng also urged “relevant parties in the US to honor the commitment to the one-China policy as well as the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, and to handle Taiwan-related issues with caution and care to avoid unnecessarily interfering with the overall situation of Sino-US relations.” That was interpreted as a direct warning to Trump to be careful while observing international diplomatic protocol, especially when China is involved.
According to AFP, it was not immediately clear whether Trump’s telephone call with Tsai Ing-wen marked a deliberate pivot away from Washington’s official “One China” stance, but it fuelled fears he is improvising on international affairs. China added that the one-China principle is a cornerstone for healthy development of Sino-U.S. relations, and China does not want this political foundation to be interfered with or damaged, Wang added.
That said, to avoid being seen as too critical on the president-elect, Xinhua also reported that overnight, Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Tsai’s call with Trump “a little trick”, or loosely translated in English as “gimmick”, by Taiwan which would not change the one-China consensus in international community. He added that the “One-China” policy is the foundation for the healthy development of China’s relationship with the U.S.
Further de-escalating tensions, Wang also said on the sidelines of a foreign policy seminar on Saturday that “I don’t think it will change the one-China policy of the U.S. government either.”
* * *
Prior to Beijing’s response, in China, analysts painted the call as something originating from Taiwan, claiming it was a deliberate Taiwanese attempt to upend America’s China policy. Jin Canrong, from China’s Renmin University, told AFP Tsai had been “very cunning” in her call to Trump.
“Tsai Ing-wen would like to draw the United States against the mainland,” he said.
During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency to harm US manufacturing and threatened to impose tariffs on some of its exports. “One can see at once that Trump is very reckless, not familiar at all with the whole context,” Jin said.
Chinese citizens were quick to react to the call on social networking platforms, noting Trump’s reference to Tsai as “president” whereas on the mainland she is only referred to as Taiwan’s “leader”.
“The US dares to recognise Taiwan independence,” one user said on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.
Another posted: “He calls Tsai as +president+ on Twitter!!! Is Trump thinking of using Taiwan as a bargaining chip in his negotiations with China?”
However Zhang Wensheng, of Xiamen University, was more circumspect, dismissing Trump’s use of the term “president” as “personal greetings” that “do not reflect a political position whatsoever”.
While the motive behind Trump’s conversation with the Taiwan president remains unclear – and perhaps there was no motive to begin with – Friday’s incident is a reminder that under the President-elect, everything is about to change and what was formally considered “mere protocol” is now officially out of the door, for better or worse.
via http://ift.tt/2gl1kub Tyler Durden
“There is no greater joy than seeing the wide-eyed look of wonder in a child’s face the first time he’s successfully shredded a target with a full magazine of hot lead death from a rifle.”
That’s J.D. Tucille writing in Reason’s January 2017 print edition in this awesome article which is now available for nonsubscribers for free.
You won’t find articles like this at any other website. So please support Reason’s 2016 Webathon which runs through Tuesday, December 6.
We’re asking Reason.com readers to provide $250,000 in tax-deductible donations so that we can keep bringing you the very best libertarian news, analysis and commentary. Please join over 500 readers who have supported us so far.
Go here for giving levels, associated swag, and other details.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/2gYGgJU
via IFTTT