Archive for April, 2009

More taxes in WA – Obama giveth, state taketh

6:18 am, April 18th, 2009 on Taxes, Washington State

Washington already has one of the highest state sales tax rates in the US, at 6.5%, a little behind New Jersey and California. Total averages with local taxes are at 8.5% already, behind only TN and LA. King county in WA sits pretty at 9%. King County recently increased its sales tax by .5% to 9.5%.

And, that’s only for the next 6 months, at which point the Council will decide whether to increase it further. Read on »

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Obama to exempt CIA torturers?

5:46 am, April 18th, 2009 on Foreign Policy, Politics, White House

Quite honestly, two of the very few things that Obama has done so far that I have approved of is the ban on torture and other extra-legal procedures of obtaining information, and the proposed closure of Guantanamo. But, both these approvals have to be strongly qualified.

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When does the honeymoon end?

7:22 pm, April 14th, 2009 on Media, White House

It has been 84 days since Obama was sworn in, but our honeymoon just doesn’t seem to end. Clinton’s lovemaking with the media lasted barely a few weeks. Bush Jr. wasn’t really accorded that pleasure because the media was all to ready to accept Gore as their President.

But, Obama continues to enjoy his superstar status in the domestic and international media establishment. His media claque continues to blindly applaud everything he does, even if it involves some major flip-flopping. I decided to search WashingtonPost.com, an important representative of the media establishment, today for stories on Obama. This is what I found:

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An end to a dysfunctional policy in Somalia

3:06 am, April 13th, 2009 on Africa, Foreign Policy

Somalia has been without a functional government since the 1991 revolution against Siad Barre. Numerous warlords fought each other and remnants of the Central Government to gain control, but no one was successful. The UN and the US tried intervening between 1992-95 and failed miserably. An enduring image of this failed operation was the body of an American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Since then, Somaliland and Puntland have declared independence, but have not been recognized by a single country.

After 2001, the US again tried intervening in Somalia by creating the Transitional Federal Government, a completely dysfunctional authority, considered to be a puppet government within Somalia. TFG has failed to unite and consolidate its power over Mogadishu, let alone all of Somalia.

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Just like any other of the 190…

7:23 pm, April 1st, 2009 on Europe, Foreign Policy, White House

Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, was treated like any reliable ally of the United States ought to be : just like any of the 190 other nations in the world, with a DVD box set of popular Hollywood movies, with Region 1 encoding, unplayable anywhere outside the US. No private dinners, no Camp David, just a quick meeting and out you go. Brown could have been a minor African ruler, says the National Review.

This despite the fact Mr. Brown is unlike any of the other 190. His country is the 6th largest economy in the world by GDP. Britain is also the staunchest ally of the United States, having supported its endeavours in Afghanistan and Iraq from the beginning. The UK is the only country that has actually provided a significant number of troops for both wars and continues to spend billions of dollars each year to pay for two of America’s wars.

This reminds me of the way Rajiv Gandhi, a former PM of India, treated the King of Nepal during an official visit to Delhi in the 1980s. The King was made to wait outside Gandhi’s office for several hours while Gandhi conducted other business, including playing golf and having lunch. Albeit the comparison is not perfect, but allies and friends don’t treat each other this way. Nepal has had a long relationship with India, just as Britain has had with the US. UK has proved over and over again that it is the only reliable ally for the United States in Europe.

It is understandable that Obama wants to break away from GWB’s policies. It is also understandable that he is too “busy” dealing with the economic crisis to pay any attention to minor details of protocol. Obama just doesn’t have time for dealing with foreign affairs at this time. There are, however, simply no excuses for the way Brown was treated.

The blame lies squarely with the official charged with handling Brown’s visit. Given the high level of specialization these days, this official is most likely only responsible for visits by foreign dignitaries. Is he also too busy with the economy to buy a more appropriate gift to mark Brown’s first official visit to meet the new President?

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