George Zornick at The Nation writes—Obama Won’t Let Some Mass Graves Stop the TPP:
Malaysia is home to many “outsourcing companies” that are, in reality, professional slaving operations: foreign workers, often refugees fleeing desperate situations in nearby countries like Burma, are recruited to the country with the promise of legitimate work but then subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.Senator Robert Menendez inserted language into the Senate version of fast-track prohibiting the use of fast-track for a trade deal with a Tier 3 country, presumably with an eye on Malaysia. The Obama administration and Republican leaders in the House tried to have the language removed but were unable to excise it due to the complicated path the fast-track bill took through Congress.Observers were then unsure what would happen next. Would Malaysia be thrown out of the deal? Would the United States lean hard on the Malaysian government to crack down on human traffickers so it could sign the trade deal? Was there any chance fast track would be disengaged for the TPP?
Instead, the Obama administration appears to have chosen another path that has shocked the human-rights community: It will simply reclassify Malaysia. Reuters has reported that when the Trafficking in Persons report comes out next week, Malaysia will no longer be a Tier 3 country.
There is essentially zero evidence Malaysia has done anything to earn this reclassification.
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Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2006—Live from New York! It's Brian Keeler Blograising Night!:
Our own netroots hero, Brian Keeler (NYBri), set on taking the New York State Senate back from the Republicans, is hosting a fundraising/summer party/cool meetup at Prey in New York City, ready to kick off in a few minutes.And now, due to the miracle of blogs, you too can be virtually there!
For the next three hours, we will attempt to break down the space/time continuum here at Daily Kos ... with live accounts and interviews and pictures of the Prey event, as the East Coasters belly up to the bar on Brian's behalf while the West Coasters are still—depressingly—stuck at work.Endorsed by Eliot Spitzer, Brian's campaign for the 41st State Senate seat has been designated a top tier race by the New York DSCC, and tonight we want to raise a boatload of money before the July 11 filing deadline so he can fulfill the prediction that early money makes money. Let's take care of the netroots' own!
Remember: Taking back the NY State Senate has national implications for all of us as well; if the Dems take back the State Senate, a 2007 redistricting could deliver four more congressional seats in Washington in 2008.
On today's Kagro in the Morning show, we're back on the air! Could it be same culprit that took down NYSE, UA, WSJ & KITM? Connect the dots! Follow the money! Actually, the money can come from you. Help support that which benefits you the most! Will Bernie or Hillary benefit you the most? Can David persuade you to pick your politicians pragmatically? The confederate flag comes down - Yay! (But not everyone is happy.) About this third person stuff: thanks to Scott Anderson for his help in crafting these summaries, and also for clips of guest appearances on the show that you'll be seeing more of soon!
