Questions that Hillary, Obama and McCain Must Answer-2
Rizwan Ghani
February 16, 2008
d. In terms of energy independence policy:-
Q1. How, when and who will implement miners´ safety rules?
Q2. Who will hold the miner owners responsible for safety failures?
Q3. Why funding is slow or insufficient for advance generation of coal fueled power plants?
Q4. Why can´t energy generation be shifted to alternate energy in next two to four years instead of 2025? It took 18 months to complete Washington wind farm that will provide energy to 38,000 Houses. It takes one wind turbine to generate energy for 5,000 Houses. The 250 MW Arizona Solar plant (complete in 2012) will provide energy to75,000 houses (www.nreca.org).
Q5. According to figures released in Western media before Feb., 08 OPEC Meeting in Vienna the G-7 States earned 1,600 billion US dollars from oil taxation between 2000 and 2004, as compared to 1,300 billion by the OPEC member states. It shows that real cause of burden on the consumers is high level of taxation (US taxes are lowest) in consuming countries. G7 governments don´t want to lose the revenue that they are generating from oil taxation and therefore are guilty of ignoring slow transfer to alternate energy if not party to it. In view of this information it would be interesting to see how McCain and Hillary:-
i. Defend current foreign policy to secure country´s energy interests, profit of private energy giants versus public welfare as is the case in oil producing countries where state owned energy companies are giving subsidized fuel and energy to citizens.
ii. Their views on nationalization of energy sectors in Russia, China and Venezuela vis-a- vis their benefits to state, public and growth of domestic economies.
iii. Failure of private US energy sector to uphold their part of contract in terms of expansion of national refining capacity in last thirty years to utilize cheap crude oil that is reportedly left unused for want of adequate refining capacity in oil producing countries.
iv. How will the Hillary and McCain ensure that US foreign policy makers cut dependence on foreign oil because of huge tax revenue, interests of energy giants and ensure early adoption of alternate energy? Because in these answers lie
a. The basics of US foreign policy and future business and diplomatic relations with ME, Russia and African oil producing states.
b. US cannot continue to occupy Iraq and have good relations with ME and rest of the Muslim world.
c. If it continues to occupy Iraq, Afghanistan US will have to sleep with dictators, leaders of quasi democracies, ignore human rights, national and international rights conventions, suppression of media and judiciary in such states. In turn it will breed hatred and discontentment and thus initiate an un-ending cycle of peace, war, peace. China and Russia unlike American policy of open colonization through military and political coups are using trade and commerce ties to successfully achieve their foreign policy objectives in Africa, Asia and ME.
Q6. Under these circumstances how does Clinton and McCain Plan to make US safer, investment friendly as Gulf States are looking for investment opportunities and with US occupying Iraq, Afghanistan and failing to solve Palestine issue?
Note: If Americans are voting for Obama it is because they expect change in US Foreign policy on these issues. Obama is different from Hillary and McCain because he is ready to look at other US foreign policy options like engaging Iran, Syria etc. whereas both Hillary and McCain aren´t even ready to do that. Can Obama walk the walk only time will tell but What Obama and his supporters understand clearly is the fact that US as an economic giant should stay away from wars, occupations and pressure. History shows that commerce and trade and use of power don´t go together. ME´s look ´East Policy´ and growing influence of China and Russia are cases in point. US by opting for military option and supporting dictators has damaged and lost its global appeal of beacon of democracy, hope, justice and freedom.
e. In terms of elections there is still lot left in terms of implementing Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 2002 and there are predictions of problems in ´08 Presidential election like:-
i. failure of states to submit integrated and interactive list despite Jan. 06 deadline.
ii. Despite HAVA providing funds for up gradation to electronic voting machines there is no federal action to provide voter-verified paper- audit trails VVPAT . Only 27 states have VVPAT (www.stateline.org)
iii. Poll workers are over worked and underpaid. Uniform rates are needed.
iv. issues related to provisional ballots and their counting.
v. Issue of voter identification
vi. Election management remains under the thumb of
partisan officials
Q1. How and when will the presidential candidates address these issues for upcoming election and future?
Q2. What will be their course of action if these predicted problems
actually affect the election?
f. Only 30 states have enacted laws that impose restrictions on expiration dates and service fees under gift card protections. How will other states be convinced to introduce similar laws in public interest?
g. Policy on random dope test policy for school and college athletes.
h. Text messaging policy while driving.
I. Decision on stem cell because five billion dollars of tax money are stuck in the research loop for next ten years.
j. Crumbling infrastructure of states:-
i. Who, how and when will 26 percent of country´s 600,000 bridges need to be replaced. Rhodes Island tops the need with 56 percent of its bridges are in need replacement.
ii. Who, how and when will the country´s national electric grid system will be replaced which is long overdue for the same.
iii. US has been put in 6th place by WEF with the score of 6.10 on the scale of 1 to 7 in terms of roads, rail transport, air transport, telephone, electricity and communication infrastructure. How do the presidential candidates expect to improve the grading in terms of air travel safety concerns and slow progress on
transferring from fossil fuel to ´green energy´ despite having made tremendous progress in alternate energy sector.
k. In terms of education OECD´s 2004 report issued every four year rated US 24th in 44 advanced nations group. The report assessed 250,000 school students in math´s, science and other subjects. How do the candidates plan to improve the ranking.
l. How do they plan to bring education standard of all states at par with
standardized tests.
m. Their position on Real ID and six states passing law refusing to comply with Federal Act of Real ID.
n. In terms of foreign policy how do the candidates expect to keep the president accountable to voters under the idea of potential for a democratic foreign policy and security and liberty not by force alone or without use of force:-
(a). In wake of detail key players in devising country´s foreign policy:-
i. The president´s foreign policy advisor.
ii. The National Security Council.
iii. The State Dept.
iv. The Foreign service
v. and Intelligence and CIA.
(b). The Politics of Making Foreign Policy and its violations:-
i. public opinion
ii. Special interests
iii. Foreign countries and foreign companies.
iv. Political parties.
v. The Role of Congress.
(c). The Role and support for UN
(d). Use of different foreign policy strategies given below:
i. conventional diplomacy
ii. foreign aid and corruption
iii. economic sanctions and human rights
iv. political coercion, covert operations and military interventions.
o. Policy to avoid repeat of ´run up to Iraq war´ and action against concerned in light of ISG report.
p. President´s wartime powers and president acquiring the powers after elections.
q. Policy of promoting military spending versus role of public opinion in
military spending
Finally, it important to address these issues in the upcoming Obama-Hillary debate and national campaign between Democrat and Republican presidential candidates to determine future direction of domestic issues, economy, America´s foreign policy, its relations with rest of the world and world´s relations with US. The answer to these questions is of critical importance in third world countries with reference to the future of pro-Bush governments, their role in undermining constitutions and democracies. Democrats by debating these issues at this stage can help America make informed decisions on domestic issues and voice their opinion for global policies. Third world needs US clarity on its support for democracy, independence of judiciary and media than aid and support. Position of all three presidential candidates will reflect individual and party position on these issues. Lastly, it will also help voters distinguish between Hillary´s support for status quo and Republican McCain´s stand for continuation of current US policies.
Q1. How, when and who will implement miners´ safety rules?
Q2. Who will hold the miner owners responsible for safety failures?
Q3. Why funding is slow or insufficient for advance generation of coal fueled power plants?
Q4. Why can´t energy generation be shifted to alternate energy in next two to four years instead of 2025? It took 18 months to complete Washington wind farm that will provide energy to 38,000 Houses. It takes one wind turbine to generate energy for 5,000 Houses. The 250 MW Arizona Solar plant (complete in 2012) will provide energy to75,000 houses (www.nreca.org).
Q5. According to figures released in Western media before Feb., 08 OPEC Meeting in Vienna the G-7 States earned 1,600 billion US dollars from oil taxation between 2000 and 2004, as compared to 1,300 billion by the OPEC member states. It shows that real cause of burden on the consumers is high level of taxation (US taxes are lowest) in consuming countries. G7 governments don´t want to lose the revenue that they are generating from oil taxation and therefore are guilty of ignoring slow transfer to alternate energy if not party to it. In view of this information it would be interesting to see how McCain and Hillary:-
i. Defend current foreign policy to secure country´s energy interests, profit of private energy giants versus public welfare as is the case in oil producing countries where state owned energy companies are giving subsidized fuel and energy to citizens.
ii. Their views on nationalization of energy sectors in Russia, China and Venezuela vis-a- vis their benefits to state, public and growth of domestic economies.
iii. Failure of private US energy sector to uphold their part of contract in terms of expansion of national refining capacity in last thirty years to utilize cheap crude oil that is reportedly left unused for want of adequate refining capacity in oil producing countries.
iv. How will the Hillary and McCain ensure that US foreign policy makers cut dependence on foreign oil because of huge tax revenue, interests of energy giants and ensure early adoption of alternate energy? Because in these answers lie
a. The basics of US foreign policy and future business and diplomatic relations with ME, Russia and African oil producing states.
b. US cannot continue to occupy Iraq and have good relations with ME and rest of the Muslim world.
c. If it continues to occupy Iraq, Afghanistan US will have to sleep with dictators, leaders of quasi democracies, ignore human rights, national and international rights conventions, suppression of media and judiciary in such states. In turn it will breed hatred and discontentment and thus initiate an un-ending cycle of peace, war, peace. China and Russia unlike American policy of open colonization through military and political coups are using trade and commerce ties to successfully achieve their foreign policy objectives in Africa, Asia and ME.
Q6. Under these circumstances how does Clinton and McCain Plan to make US safer, investment friendly as Gulf States are looking for investment opportunities and with US occupying Iraq, Afghanistan and failing to solve Palestine issue?
Note: If Americans are voting for Obama it is because they expect change in US Foreign policy on these issues. Obama is different from Hillary and McCain because he is ready to look at other US foreign policy options like engaging Iran, Syria etc. whereas both Hillary and McCain aren´t even ready to do that. Can Obama walk the walk only time will tell but What Obama and his supporters understand clearly is the fact that US as an economic giant should stay away from wars, occupations and pressure. History shows that commerce and trade and use of power don´t go together. ME´s look ´East Policy´ and growing influence of China and Russia are cases in point. US by opting for military option and supporting dictators has damaged and lost its global appeal of beacon of democracy, hope, justice and freedom.
e. In terms of elections there is still lot left in terms of implementing Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 2002 and there are predictions of problems in ´08 Presidential election like:-
i. failure of states to submit integrated and interactive list despite Jan. 06 deadline.
ii. Despite HAVA providing funds for up gradation to electronic voting machines there is no federal action to provide voter-verified paper- audit trails VVPAT . Only 27 states have VVPAT (www.stateline.org)
iii. Poll workers are over worked and underpaid. Uniform rates are needed.
iv. issues related to provisional ballots and their counting.
v. Issue of voter identification
vi. Election management remains under the thumb of
partisan officials
Q1. How and when will the presidential candidates address these issues for upcoming election and future?
Q2. What will be their course of action if these predicted problems
actually affect the election?
f. Only 30 states have enacted laws that impose restrictions on expiration dates and service fees under gift card protections. How will other states be convinced to introduce similar laws in public interest?
g. Policy on random dope test policy for school and college athletes.
h. Text messaging policy while driving.
I. Decision on stem cell because five billion dollars of tax money are stuck in the research loop for next ten years.
j. Crumbling infrastructure of states:-
i. Who, how and when will 26 percent of country´s 600,000 bridges need to be replaced. Rhodes Island tops the need with 56 percent of its bridges are in need replacement.
ii. Who, how and when will the country´s national electric grid system will be replaced which is long overdue for the same.
iii. US has been put in 6th place by WEF with the score of 6.10 on the scale of 1 to 7 in terms of roads, rail transport, air transport, telephone, electricity and communication infrastructure. How do the presidential candidates expect to improve the grading in terms of air travel safety concerns and slow progress on
transferring from fossil fuel to ´green energy´ despite having made tremendous progress in alternate energy sector.
k. In terms of education OECD´s 2004 report issued every four year rated US 24th in 44 advanced nations group. The report assessed 250,000 school students in math´s, science and other subjects. How do the candidates plan to improve the ranking.
l. How do they plan to bring education standard of all states at par with
standardized tests.
m. Their position on Real ID and six states passing law refusing to comply with Federal Act of Real ID.
n. In terms of foreign policy how do the candidates expect to keep the president accountable to voters under the idea of potential for a democratic foreign policy and security and liberty not by force alone or without use of force:-
(a). In wake of detail key players in devising country´s foreign policy:-
i. The president´s foreign policy advisor.
ii. The National Security Council.
iii. The State Dept.
iv. The Foreign service
v. and Intelligence and CIA.
(b). The Politics of Making Foreign Policy and its violations:-
i. public opinion
ii. Special interests
iii. Foreign countries and foreign companies.
iv. Political parties.
v. The Role of Congress.
(c). The Role and support for UN
(d). Use of different foreign policy strategies given below:
i. conventional diplomacy
ii. foreign aid and corruption
iii. economic sanctions and human rights
iv. political coercion, covert operations and military interventions.
o. Policy to avoid repeat of ´run up to Iraq war´ and action against concerned in light of ISG report.
p. President´s wartime powers and president acquiring the powers after elections.
q. Policy of promoting military spending versus role of public opinion in
military spending
Finally, it important to address these issues in the upcoming Obama-Hillary debate and national campaign between Democrat and Republican presidential candidates to determine future direction of domestic issues, economy, America´s foreign policy, its relations with rest of the world and world´s relations with US. The answer to these questions is of critical importance in third world countries with reference to the future of pro-Bush governments, their role in undermining constitutions and democracies. Democrats by debating these issues at this stage can help America make informed decisions on domestic issues and voice their opinion for global policies. Third world needs US clarity on its support for democracy, independence of judiciary and media than aid and support. Position of all three presidential candidates will reflect individual and party position on these issues. Lastly, it will also help voters distinguish between Hillary´s support for status quo and Republican McCain´s stand for continuation of current US policies.
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