Sunday, September 07, 2008

Announcements: Politics of Modern Taiwan/Obama Fundraiser

First, Dr Dafydd Fell alerted me to that Rutledge has just been published a great new Taiwan studies resource this summer titled, "Politics of Modern Taiwan." This four volume collection includes 63 of the best and most influential English language articles on Taiwan's domestic politics published in the last two decades. If you think the collection will be useful for you or your students, please do pass this information on to your librarian. Dr Fell says that a book launch for this publication will be held this year in London.[click to be taken to the image's flickr site; my capture, not Dr Fell's]

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Democrats Abroad is hosting a fundraiser for the future President Obama. They say:

Please join us in support of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

The election is very close and even here in Taiwan, we can help make a difference. Bring your friends and family to El Gallo at No. 42, Chung Shan N. Road, Sec. 7 for dinner on Saturday, September 27 from 7 to 9 pm to hear from the Obama Campaign and celebrate the upcoming election! Giving levels -

* Underwriter - $25,000 NT per couple ($800US)
* Hosts - $15,000 NT per couple ($500US)
* Benefactor - $7,500 NT per couple ($250US)
* Ticket price - $2,500 NT per person ($80US)

Donations will be made at the site using credit cards from individual donors and
will go directly to the campaign.

The Friends of Obama in Taiwan
Hosted by:
Amy and Alec Cooper
Milena and Chris Fay
Carolina and Max Ferran
Sarah and Scott McMullin
Gabrielle and Ken Petersen
Please RSVP to Amy Cooper at acooper@pstrategies.com or 0988062292

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that underwriter or undertaker for $800?

Anonymous said...

Must be money rich today, Michael. The new Routledge book series costs over US$1000.

Anonymous said...

Does Obama even know where Taiwan is? Or maybe he is a step ahead and assumes we are part of the "57 states."

Anonymous said...

Obama already picked a Vice-Presidential nominee who says "we've decided" that Taiwan is not independent and has to merge with China. Aside from a suggestion of extremely arrogant future American foreign policy, this suggests that there won't be much tolerance for any freedom and democracy that upsets China. What are we expecting from his other picks?

I wouldn't say Palin is a foreign policy expert due to being so close to Russia, but from what I understand she is an expert in oil and energy policies (not surprising as the chief executive of Alaska), and those are areas of expertise that require a strong understanding of global markets and global politics.

Oil and energy are the critical issue of the current world, and if what I've read about Palin's knowledge of those issues is correct then McCain has shown wisdom in picking a candidate with expertise in those areas.

Haitien said...

readin
...and those are areas of expertise that require a strong understanding of global markets and global politics.

Oil and energy are the critical issue of the current world, and if what I've read about Palin's knowledge of those issues is correct then McCain has shown wisdom in picking a candidate with expertise in those areas.


If Gov. Palin's drill here, drill now rhetoric is any indication, then she is conveniently ignoring the reality of the problem of increasing global oil demand in favor of pandering to voters with the idea that nothing need change in terms of consumption. Is this good politics? Perhaps, in that many it is an easily understood idea. Is it good policy? No. EIA studies have shown that it would take a decade for production to ramp up, and the net reduction in oil prices would be minimal. Projected reduction on oil prices would range from only $0.41 - 1.44 per barrel. For reference, oil prices today are floating around $100 per barrel.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/results.html

The main beneficiaries of opening ANWR and other restricted areas to drilling are the oil companies, who get a massive land grab on top of what they already have, and aren't using.

The whole "drill here, drill now" idea is as simple mindedly stupid as Ma's "China will save us!" economic policy. It won't work, and worse yet, it lures everyone into a false sense of security with the idea that we need not worry about our over-consumption and over-dependence on petroleum. So Governor Palin's insistence on drilling in ANWR is either illustrative of her lack of knowledge on the subject, or just a cynical political ploy.

Unknown said...

I don't trust Obama.
Democratic party must be firmer on Taiwan's status. China and Taiwan are two countries and let Taiwan join UN.

Anonymous said...

Forget Palin. Trying to use facts agains Palin is a waste of time. The 45% of people who are "fact baesd" are already on our side anyway. We're after the fuzzy middleground of "emotional" voters. The GOP really gets this, the Dems (more generally "we") do not. To really feel this, check out this W ad from Ohio, 2004: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ0Vvb4Bilk Genius, right? Obama and Biden et. al. need to learn how to play this emotional game. O should stop sounding like a law professor. He's already bagged the "law prof" 45% of the electorate.