In some ways I am impressed on your comments as well as the links you've posted. I'll take back some of the things that I was thinking about u, since you didn't comment on any of my posts listing some of the horrendous things that the administration is doing to our own troops (See McCains failure to support Webbs GI bill within the last couple weeks for a current example).

There are many examples of less then ideal behavior from our govt that span multiple presidents, dem and repub. Refering back to Chalmers Johnson's books, our govt closed their eyes at several atrocities in Asia 20-30 yrs ago, in the name of supporting govts that were anti-communist.

>Actually, neither was I. I labeled it Clinton and China only to separate it from the other articles and to include some history in our economic trade relations with China. Do you remember Nixon's 1972 visit to China? I remember my parent's jaws dropping. Gee, this is a sad state if everything posted has political party connotations...
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>>Clinton and China? I wasn't making a political point at all. Isn't there plenty of political finger pointing going on around here already? ;-)
>>
>>>Clinton and China:
>>>http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/blchinatrade.htm
>>>
>>>Our sad truth:
>>>http://www.latinalista.net/palabrafinal/2008/03/china_reports_on_us_human_rights_violati.html
>>>
>>>Central America:
>>>
>>>http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/February/20080226163402xjsnommiS8.045596e-02.html
>>>http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/legislative-alert-free-trade/
>>>http://www.pcusa.org/trade/cafta.htm
>>>
>>>Warning - 10.65 mb pdf:
>>>
>>>http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/globaleconomy/upload/colombia_briefing.pdf
>>>
>>>>Don't we do the same thing, apart from the child labor? (And we don't seem to mind too much when it's someone else's child labor, apart from a few protests against Nike). It sure isn't keeping us from trading with China to beat the band. We say we sure wish you would do a little better on human rights, they say sure, we'll think about it, and we go right on doing business.
>>>>
>>>>Considering how much American debt China is holding I'm not sure we dare irritate them too much. What a sad state of affairs. Rural China still has one foot in the third world but financially they have us over a barrel. Which is our own damned fault with our spend, spend, spend attitude.
>>>>
>>>>>The other side:
>>>>>
>>>>>http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0804/S00113.htm
>>>>>
>>>>>We have serious problems with our trade relations with China now. Economics is typically a pawn in political maneuvering by countries. I think the agreement is great from what I can see (although I could find almost nothing that spells out what China gets out of the deal other than aprox 1800 workers which is doubtful), but it certainly demonstrates that NZ puts trade and the economy above human rights and forced and child labor. Surprising.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Thomas, for interest, check out
>>>>>>
>>>>>>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10502506
>>>>>>
>>>>>>NZ remains hopeful that it may be able to achieve a similar agreement with the USA one day, or with the EU for that matter. ;-)