http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/commerce/ en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:52:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410812/posts KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Dec. 18, 2009 – Getting through downtown Asadabad, Afghanistan, has become easier for hundreds of Afghan families, thanks to two and a half miles of new roads that were completed Dec. 13. Local workers cleaning the streets in Asadabad, Afghanistan, watch a provincial reconstruction team patrol conduct a final quality-assurance check on a new road through the provincial capital of Kunar province prior to a dedication ceremony, Dec. 13, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Brian Boisvert  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Provincial reconstruction team engineers completed their final quality-assurance check just before a... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410812/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:52:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402468/posts Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue is a wanted man -- at least according to the liberal activist group that's put a de facto bounty on his head. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue is a wanted man -- at least according to the liberal activist group that's put a de facto bounty on his head. A network of liberal groups known as Velvet Revolution started an ad campaign offering $200,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man whose trade organization has become a thorn in the side of the Obama administration and congressional Democrats. The... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402468/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 00:58:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362861/posts POLITICAL power is rarely ceded without good reason. So eyebrows were raised last week when the US Department of Commerce decided to relax its grip on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body responsible for the naming system that ensures that when you type a web address, your browser knows where to go. In future, governments and other international organisations will be able to nominate staff to sit on one of ICANN's three newly created steering committees, something the DoC had resisted for years. "What it really means," says ICANN's chief executive Rod Beckstrom, "is that... NewScientist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362861/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:04:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371425/posts U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue says a campaign by the White House and its allies to undermine his $200-million-a-year association has largely failed — and actually has helped raise even more money for its pro-business efforts. In a 75-minute interview with POLITICO, Donohue dismissed recent defections by Apple and at least four other companies, which quit over the Chamber’s opposition to Democratic climate change legislation — as essentially meaningless. “Members come and go all the damn time,” he said. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28720.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371425/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:37:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371244/posts The White House may want to diffuse its spat with the Chamber of Commerce, but Big Labor clearly has no such intentions. Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union and chairwoman of the five-union federation Change to Win, slammed the big business lobby and its president, Tom Donohue, in a letter delivered today to House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the committee. Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371244/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:02:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363093/posts President Obama recently shifted authority for approving sales to China of missile and space technology from the White House to the Commerce Department -- a move critics say will loosen export controls and potentially benefit Chinese missile development. The president issued a little-noticed "presidential determination" Sept. 29 that delegated authority for determining whether missile and space exports should be approved for China to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363093/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:36:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362883/posts At an event Wednesday to launch its ‘Dream Big’ campaign to promote the American free enterprise system, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue said that people, not government, will create the jobs needed for economic recovery. “The government can support a few jobs in the short-run, but over the long-run only the private sector, powered by free enterprise, can keep America working,” Donohue said in his prepared remarks. “We believe it is imperative to remind, educate, and persuade our fellow citizens and leaders that it was a free enterprise system based on individual initiative, hard work, and personal responsibility... Cybercast News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362883/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:01:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355579/posts ZURBATIYAH, Iraq, Oct. 5, 2009 – Work to improve commerce and security in Iraq continued as a cargo transload area opened along the Iraq-Iran border following a ribbon-cutting ceremony here Sept. 26. Army Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, director of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq’s training and advisory mission, talks with Maj. Gen. Isam Salih Yaseen, Zurbatiyah port director for Iraq’s border enforcement department before a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a cargo transload area at the Zurbatiyah, Iraq, point of entry on the Iraq-Iran border, Sept. 26, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Bethany L. Little  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355579/posts#comment Mon, 5 Oct 2009 23:53:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2296133/posts With the U.S. secretaries of energy and commerce in China this week, much of the attention focused on the standoff over emissions reductions or small breakthroughs in clean-tech cooperation. But yesterday, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said something amazing—U.S. consumers should pay for part of Chinese greenhouse-gas emissions. From Reuters: “It’s important that those who consume the products being made all around the world to the benefit of America — and it’s our own consumption activity that’s causing the emission of greenhouse gases, then quite frankly Americans need to pay for that,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke told the American Chamber of... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2296133/posts#comment Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:19:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2287674/posts WASHINGTON, July 7, 2009 – U.S. forces are helping to equip Afghan forces with the tools they need to improve security and commerce in Afghanistan. Army Spc. Jacob Morris constructs a covering for Combat Outpost Penich's new water pump as construction at the six-month-old base in Afghanistan’s Kunar province nears completion, July 3, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In recent days, U.S. forces trained Afghan border police on the use of up-armored Humvees, advised farmers to boost crop production and, to improve quality of life for their own, put the... On the Ground http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2287674/posts#comment Tue, 7 Jul 2009 23:40:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276414/posts A piece of legislation is before the U.S. House that could drive up your electricity bill by 47 percent. The proposed bill would put a cap on carbon dioxide emissions output for all electricity companies. As part of a national effort alerting rate-payers, Grand Valley Power is sending a letter to their customers. they know their customers are hurting in this economic climate, and urges them to speak up. KJCT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276414/posts#comment Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:47:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2270625/posts “Supporters and critics alike agree that capitalism is at a crossroads,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue. The Freedom Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2270625/posts#comment Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:19:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259749/posts Is China really a modern country? Can China be a modern country? Paul Midler’s book leaves you wondering. After studying Chinese at college, Midler lived and worked in mainland China through the 1990s before returning to the U.S.A. to take a business degree. In 2001 he went back to China, setting himself up as a consultant to American importers dealing with Chinese manufacturers. This has given him profound insights into the Chinese way of doing business. In Poorly Made in China he shares those insights. After reading his book, you will find yourself thinking carefully before putting Made in China... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259749/posts#comment Thu, 28 May 2009 12:49:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2253883/posts - President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the U.S. Census Bureau pledged Friday that he will keep politics out of the 2010 population count and will not push for sampling – a controversial method he has previously advocated. Robert Groves, currently director of the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, is also a former associate director of the Census Bureau in the early 1990s. CS news.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2253883/posts#comment Tue, 19 May 2009 14:12:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242557/posts Many states are looking for ways to increase their tax revenue by taxing purchases made online. This extends to third party solicitors located in another state. Our Constitution infers that states are restricted from enacting laws that burden or restrict interstate commerce. Let’s stop this tax now. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242557/posts#comment Sat, 2 May 2009 05:15:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228865/posts During World War II, my father was a U. S. Navy Signalman assigned to an outfit named the Armed Guard, whose purpose was to protect and assist the merchant shipping which was vital to the war effort. The Armed Guard was effective in many cases in protecting merchant ships against the Nazi privateers. If the Somali pirates want a war, here's a way to combat them. American Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228865/posts#comment Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:24:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2219214/posts Clean up your fumes or stay away. That's the message US officials are sending to all vessels approaching US coasts. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its intention to designate the US coastal region an "emission control area" within four years. Ships entering US coastal waters, which typically extend 370 kilometres from the coast, will need to meet the highest clean air standards under international law. To approach the US, international vessels will have to cut sulphur emissions by 98 per cent on average by either burning cleaner fuel or chemically "scrubbing" their exhaust. Annual shipping emissions are thought... New Scientist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2219214/posts#comment Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:10:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2217573/posts Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said the world's poor people should not be forced to pay for the global financial crisis. President Lula said white, blue-eyed people - not Indians, nor black, nor poor people - had created and spread the crisis throughout the world. bbc.co http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2217573/posts#comment Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:49:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205602/posts Sales at the nation's retailers fell slightly less than expected in February, suggesting that the economic deceleration may at least be slowing, according to a government report on Thursday. The Commerce Department said retail sales declined 0.1 percent from January, better than the 0.5 percent drop that economists had expected, but nonetheless returning to negative territory after a surprise 1.8 percent gain in January. Not including automobiles, which dragged down the overall number, sales ticked up 0.7 percent after a 1.6 percent gain in January. Retailing analysts and economists said that sales in February were helped by a decline in... IHT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205602/posts#comment Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:55:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192313/posts WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's likely third pick for Commerce secretary is former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a senior administration official said Monday. Locke, a Democrat, was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he served two terms in the Washington statehouse from 1997 to 2005. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192313/posts#comment Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:15:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192063/posts Does that mean, when Obama finally finds someone who has no integrity, has paid their taxes, and isn’t involved with phony contracts, that we will end up with a third rate Commerce Secretary? (or will third rate, be over qualified for Obama's team?) Barrys Obamanation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192063/posts#comment Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:12:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2187882/posts This story isn't getting nearly as much attention as it should. After nominating Republican Senator Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary, the Obama administration announced it was taking the census away from Commerce and taking over the job of counting the American people. This should scare you, because it is a clear abuse of power. Martha Zoller of Human Events summarized it this way: The preservation and expansion of the Democrat majority is the only reason the Obama Administration is exercising its power and taking over the Census. Last week, without much fanfare, The White House moved control of the Census... Start Thinking Right http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2187882/posts#comment Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:02:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185011/posts (2009-02-13) — With the announcement that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has pulled out of his bid to become President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Commerce the Republican National Committee (RNC) today offered Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) as a replacement. “Sen. Specter is a career lawyer and politician, but he’s a fast learner and could be quickly trained to run the Commerce Department,” said RNC Chairman Michael Steele. “Of course, Republicans would miss his stalwart, reliable voting in the Senate. Conservatives never have to wonder how Arlen Specter will vote.” White House insiders suggested Sen. Specter could get the same deal from... Scrappleface http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185011/posts#comment Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:42:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2184386/posts OBAMA BURNED: GREGG WITHDRAWS AFTER POLICIES TOO MUCH TO STOMACH Thu Feb 12 2009 16:18:14 ET For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 12, 2009 Senator Gregg Statement on His Withdrawal for Consideration of U.S. Commerce Secretary Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle. “However, it has become apparent during this... Drudge Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2184386/posts#comment Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:37:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2183127/posts Hispanic and black groups didn’t like the idea of Republican Judd Gregg being named Commerce Secretary and having responsibility for the census. No, no, no. Didn’t like it at all. So President Obama compliantly stripped census responsibilities away from Gregg and said the Director of the Census would now report directly to the White House. Republicans know that when Obama said “White House,” he really means Rahm Emanual, long-time Democratic political operative and nastiest man in Washington, DC. The census is important politically because it is used to re-apportion congressional districts and to dole out federal funding. So it probably... IHateTheMedia.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2183127/posts#comment Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:18:45 GMT