USA -Trump Trade Wars: Southern states among hardest hit by China tariffs - by Andrew Soerge

 Exporters in manufacturing-heavy states such as Alabama, South Carolina and Kentucky are among those that stand to lose the most from a protracted trade war with China, according to a U.S. News analysis of government trade data that suggests newly erected trade barriers into the Chinese market could stifle industries shipping billions of dollars of goods into Asia's largest economy each year.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the U.S. exported nearly $130 billion in commodities to China last year, an increase of nearly $14 billion from 2016's trade total. Newly erected tariffs on some of those goods – a byproduct of a tit-for-tat trade conflict that's developed between President Donald Trump's administration and members of Chinese President Xi Jinping's regime – stand to raise prices on U.S. exports, with farmers and manufacturers, in particular, concerned about their products getting priced out of the world's second-largest economy.

"What is clear is that we are in a trade war," Daniel Ikenson, director of the Cato Institute's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, said in a statement last week. "With very little substantive dialogue underway between the governments, matters are likely to get much worse before they get better."

The average U.S. state shipped 9 percent of its total commodity exports to China in 2017 – valued at an average of $2.5 billion. Washington, California and Texas led the way in China exports, each shipping more than $16 billion in goods to the country in 2017.

Read more: Southern states among hardest hit by China tariffs

Britain - Brexit : a menace ro society in Northern Ireland - and here is why

Read the full report here:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/04/brexit-northern-ireland-eu-human-rights-law-good-friday-agreement?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Britain - Brexit: Theresa May should start reading the Tea Leaves as 2.6 million Leave voters have abandoned support for Brexit since referendum, major new study finds - by Benjamin Kentish

The Brexit disaster

More than 2.6 million people have abandoned their support for Brexit and now back staying in the EU, a major study has concluded.

If the huge number of Britons who have changed their mind had voted to stay in the EU in 2016, the referendum would have delivered a clear Remain verdict.

The data will add to the debate about whether the country now needs a new referendum, with millions having second thoughts about their Leave vote amid growing fears about Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

In a key finding that will particularly intensify pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to take a tougher stance against Brexit, the study found the overwhelming majority of those changing minds are Labour voters in seats the party currently holds.

It comes as Conservative divisions over Brexit deepened, with Theresa May attempting to slap down Boris Johnson after he wrote another article attacking her approach.

The Independent has launched its own campaign for a Final Say referendum, with almost three quarters of a million people having signed our petition demanding one so far.

Read more: 2.6 million Leave voters have abandoned support for Brexit since referendum, major new study finds | The Independent

US Economy: might look good based on Wall Street figures, but certainly not good for "Joe Bloke" and the "Have Not"s

US economy might look good, but reports show collectively, Americans have more than $1 trillion in credit-card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.

They have another $1.5 trillion in student loans, up from $1.1 trillion in 2013. Motor vehicle loans are now topping $1.1 trillion, up from $878.5 billion in 2013. And they have another nearly $15 trillion in mortgage debt outstanding.

EU-Digest

USA: America, and America's friends abroad, say farewell to a true American patriot

Americans and America's friends around the world, sadly say farewell to US Senator and Viet-Nam War Hero, John McCain. - A True American Patriot - May He Rest In Peace.

Almere-Digest

Religion: Indonesian president invokes 'Pancasila' to counter rising Islamism

 Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a moderate Muslim who enjoys widespread support from the country’s minority religious communities, is resurrecting the country’s founding secular ideology, known as “Pancasila,” as he aims to counter the growing forces of Islamism in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Pancasila, a term from old Javanese that roughly translates as “five precepts,” is a set of principles including “belief in the the One and Only God” and has historically been thought to demand respect for the country’s formally recognized religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. Promising a unified Indonesia and social justice for all citizens, it has been considered a key to Indonesia’s relative stability since it gained independence from the Netherlands 73 years ago.

It’s also why, many say, Indonesia has never had an expressly Islamic government.

Read more: Indonesian president invokes 'Pancasila' to counter rising Islamism - Religion News Service

Turkey: Vision versus Suppression, "What a difference a day makes", as Turkey Celebrates its "Victory Day" over invading Allied Troops 96 years ago

Turkey's visionary leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Turkey commemorated the 96th anniversary of the War of Independence today Aug. 30 Victory Day with celebrations, as politicians marked the day’s importance and stressed their determination in protecting Turkey’s independence.

Throughout his presidency, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk diligently implemented his visions of a modern nation.

For over 600 years, Turks had only known Sultans as absolute monarchic rulers, a system to be obeyed.

But to bring his nation into a new era, Atatürk knew he needed to expedite Turkey’s social, political, and technological standards to those of Europe. He also understood that encouragement was needed for the citizens who were war-shocked, exhausted, near poverty, and confused about this new way of governing.

He was also quite aware that progress meant a struggle with those who advocated the return of ancient traditions and the religious Ottoman Sultanate dynasty.

Atatürk scrapped the archaic, convoluted Ottoman form of government and replaced it with policies and principles based on Swiss and other European laws. More than just trading one system for another, Atatürk dedicated himself to his people, believed in them, and knew that they would value the reformations as deeply as he did. As a result, Turkey was transformed into a secular nation with westernized legal, economic, social, educational, and cultural programs.

The following highlights the most prominent aspects of Atatürk’s reforms:

• Abolished the Ottoman Sultanate (late 1922).
• Declared the Turkish Republic (29 October 1923).
• Formed the office of Prime Minister, President, and a democratically-elected National Assembly (1923).
• Adopted a new constitution (1924).
• Abolished the Caliphate (leadership of the Muslim religion) and restricted its theocratic institutions (early 1924).
• Replaced the religious education system with a national education system (1924).
• Adopted the Gregorian calendar and western time zone system, including defining the workweek as Monday to Friday (1925).
• Prohibited the veil and other religious-based clothing but only encouraged western-style clothing for women. Atatürk believed that women would follow fashions according to their free will.
• Enacted a revised legal system, including the Civil Code, Penal Statute Law, and Trade Law, based on Swiss and Italian civil law (1924-1937).
• Replaced the Arabic script with the Latin alphabet, which was mandated to be taught in schools (1928). Atatürk believed that the Latin alphabet would be easier to teach to a largely (90%) illiterate population, easier to learn, and therefore would immediately impact the literacy rate.
• Promoted construction of thousands of new schools, made literacy reform a priority, and made primary education compulsory and free.
• Accelerated Turkey’s post-war economic development by establishing state-owned factories for textile and agricultural industries.
• Supported construction of the national Turkish State Railways (1927).
• Modernized state banking systems.
• Promoted advancement in the fields of science, health and medicine, law, and education.
• Adopted the international numeric system (1928).
• Supported Turkey’s culture by establishing a Turkish Historical Society (1931), a Turkish Language Association (1932).
• Adopted the International System of Units to standardize national measurements (1933)
• Changed the tax code to reduce the tax burden on peasants.
• Enacted women’s suffrage rights (1934).
• Legalized gender equality and women’s emancipation rights (1926-1934). 
• Passed a law to require that everyone have a surname instead of surnames based on titles of honor (1934).
• Developed foreign policies of neutrality and cultivated friendly international relationships.
• Replaced a provincial legal system (called millet) that allowed every minority community to govern themselves with a unified, secular constitution.
• Established the Directorate for Religious Affairs, which affirmed the new Republic of Turkey’s protection and equality of all religions, including Islam.
• Encouraged reform of the Turkish language by establishing a Language Commission that replaced foreign words with Turkish ones with standardized spelling and phonetics.
• Declared that “Culture is the foundation of the Turkish Republic.” Strongly supported the arts, such as opera, theatre, literature, and music; opened museums; encouraged interest in Turkey’s indigenous Anatolian heritage, eg, naming the state-owned banks Sümerbank after the Sumerians and Etibank after the Hittites; and encouraged the importance of Turkish folk Art.

Today on August 30, 96 years later, Turkish present President,  Recep Tayip Erdogan, wrote in the guest book at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, without mentioning Turkey's greatest leader Ataturk by name, the following comment.
 
“Increasing threats, violations and attacks against our country’s independence will not withhold us from our ideals and aims. The Turkish nation is defending its independence as it did 96 years ago with the inspiration from its thousands of years of historic values,” 

Parliamentary Speaker Binali Yıldırım, Vice President Fuat Oktay, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, high judicial authorities, ministers and top soldiers were among guests who visited Anıtkabir as a part of official celebrations.

So far, President Recep Tayip Erdogan,  now the sole ruler of Turkey, major claim to success has been the elimination of all opposition forces against his regime, which included: 

1) Some 160,000 people were detained for questioning, of which over 77,000 were formally arrested for alleged links to terror organizations, including Gulen’s network and outlawed Kurdish rebels. Those arrested include military personnel, police, journalists, lawmakers, judges and prosecutors.

2) According to Justice Ministry figures, close to 35,000 people put on trial for links to Gulen’s network have been convicted so far. Around 14,000 others were acquitted.

3) More than 130,000 people have been purged from the public service through emergency government decrees. Those dismissed include tens of thousands of teachers and close to 6,000 academics. Around 1,300 people were re-instated to jobs by a commission that was set up to review cases but 18,000 other appeals were rejected.

4) Some 170 generals and around 7,000 other senior military officers were arrested as part of the crackdown. At least 58 generals and 629 senior officers have been convicted to life terms in prison so far in trials against military officers, according to Justice Ministry figures. Eight generals were acquitted.

5) At least 143 journalists or media workers are currently behind bars, most accused of links to Gulen or Kurdish rebels, according to the Turkish Journalists Syndicate. Using emergency decrees, the government closed down around 200 media organizations, including newspapers, periodicals, radio stations and television channels.

6) Ten legislators from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political party, including former co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, are in prison on terror charges for alleged links to Kurdish militants. Enis Berberoglu, a legislator from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, is in prison convicted of espionage for giving an opposition newspaper images allegedly showing Turkey’s intelligence agency trucking weapons into Syria.

7) Human rights activist and businessman Osman Kavala is in jail pending trial, accused of seeking to overthrow the government and having alleged links to Gulen. Eleven prominent activists were arrested last year at their hotel on an island off of Istanbul while on training. They were eventually released from jail pending the outcome of their trial for supporting terror groups. Among them was Taner Kilic, Amnesty International’s former Turkey chairman, who was released earlier this month.

Note EU-Digest : “Authenticity is the language of visionaries" wrote  Andrena Sawyer - Unfortunately Turkey today lacks that vision, so brilliantly carried out by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and is turning back the clock towards pre-Atatürk days.  

A  report from the Canadian AP  Global News  
and EU-Digest