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of their force projection in the persian gulf into that conflict. i think there is hope that the u.s.-israel relationship is strong and open enough and the lines of communication are open up that it would not happen. one of the other things that if it may give a little positivity towards that is a concern that the nuclear facilities are so far in the ground that israel does not producing a satisfactory assault. they would need u.s. plant emissions to carry some of those weapons. perhaps that might give some hope there would be communication, if there is an attack down the line, that the two countries would be to work together and cordray. host: 3 more, go to foreignpolicy.com. thank you for talking to our viewers. guest: thank you for having me. host: that does it for today.
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we will be back live tomorrow morning but lawmakers make their way back for the lame-duck session that begins today. we will be up there taking your calls and your comments and questions. thank you for watching today. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> on the c-span networks, getting under way momentarily on c-span 3, symposium on the so- called fiscal cliff including automatic tax hikes and spending cuts unless congress acts by the end of the year. it is hosted by the new america foundation. right now, a discussion on yemen
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and the fight against al qaeda just getting under way at the brookings institution. you can watch that on c-span to. on c-span, today's white house briefing, spokesman jay carney answers questions at 12:30 p.m. eastern. both the house and senate return for business today with a week and showing leadership elections and no white house meeting later this week, caviling at 2:00 p.m. eastern today with four bills on the calendar including one that would deal with the over-the- counter asthma inhalers, requested vote postponed until 6:30 p.m. eastern. you can watch the house on c- span. the senate will dabble in at 2:00, considering legislation expanding hunting and fishing on federal land. the senate is live on c-span2. c-span and its middle and high school students to send a message to the president through a short video. but president obama know what is
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the most important issue he should consider in 2013 for a grand prize of $5,000. the competition is open to students grades 6-12 and the deadline is january 18, 2013. for complete details and rules, go online to studentcam.org. yesterday, a discussion of the inter-american dialogue look at the results of the november 6 election and the implications for latin america. the panelists discussed the prospects for change with the obama administration's policies and on immigration, trade and drug policy, an economic cooperation. speakers include inter-american dialogue president michael shifter among others. this is about one hour and 10 minutes. >> this morning we're going have a conversation, a discussion about the elections, november 6
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elections in the united states and what the results may mean for u.s. relations in latin america. the idea really is to have a good exchange and to engage everybody here to talk about what the significance of the outcome might be. we're going to start with a few opening remarks, and then invite, encourage you to share your perspectives and insights about what the elections might mean. i am joined this morning by three of my colleagues from the inter-american dialogue, peter hakim, the president emeritus and senior fellow at the dialogue who can talk about anything. [laughter] and we'll talk about anything.
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anything having to do with .atin-american o and also the director of our program remittances and development and also writes as an expert on immigration issues and will share some thoughts about that and other questions. and margaret myers who directs the dialogues program on china and latin america. china is also going through a transition and china's economy is extremely important for many latin american countries, increasingly so, and she is going to share some thoughts about what that relationship might look like. we're delighted to have margaret with us as well. margaret just came back from about a month in china, so i
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think we will have some fresh perspective and insight about the situation there, obviously, people interested in america, what is happening in china and the united states, to dip a very important players. let me begin with a few comments before turning it over to my colleagues and opening up to all of you. last april, the dialogue produced a policy report that reflected the analysis and recommendations of the members of the inter-american dialogue, and we talked about opportunities in the areas of trade and energy and other global affairs that really should be taken advantage of by the united states moving forward. but we have to -- we emphasize as well there are three issues that were on an old agenda that had not been resolved and stood
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in the way of more productive relationship between the u.s. and latin america. these issues were drugs, cuba, and immigration. the first two issues were important at the summit of the americas. the report was released right before the summit of the americas. the first two issues were raised at the summit. the presidents get a mandate to the american states to study the drug issue and the president made it clear there would not be another summit or unlikely another summit unless there was cuban participation in the summit. those issues certain were prominent. i think the election results had interesting implications for all three of these. perhaps the most important is the last one, immigration, which was not on the summit agenda. i think it has raised some
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expectations that this may be a real opportunity and moment to pursue more serious reform on the immigration system, largely thanks to the significant latino vote, which i guess is the big story coming out of the election and how crucial it was nationally, especially in the real critical swing states, which made the difference in the election. clearly, it is not the only issue that is in port for latinos, but it is important that it has symbolic meaning as well. i am not sure why this is been such a great surprise to some money. it seemed like it was pretty clear this was a trend that was pretty evident, but people seem to be very surprised and shocked that all of the sudden latino population, hispanic population is planning a significant role in exercising enormous influence.
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that turnout in this election coupled with president obama is move on sort of a dream act light several months ago, also makes one more hopeful that something may happen this time besides avoiding a fiscal cliff, immigration reform is frequently mentioned as a very high priority for the second term of the obama ministration. it will not be easy. we all know that. this is not a slam dunk. this depends on a lot of dynamics within the republican party. they're still a lot of opposition, resistance to that, and this will have to watch closely. clearly, there seems to be more space and more of an opportunity to do something serious on this issue, which we alluded to in our report than before. the second issue, cuba, it is also striking that i think
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president obama won about half the cuban vote in florida and also won florida by more than 70,000 votes. i think that reveals the politics with the cuban-american community may be changing significantly. again, this probably should not have come as a great surprise or shock to people following it, but it seems to have gotten a lot of attention. there may be more space to pursue more energetic policy of engagement from obama with cuba. from obama point of view, i think there has been some steps made with the lifting of restrictions on travel and remittances of cuban-americans and making travel more flexible. there's a sense not much has changed from the latin perspective. perhaps in the second term, there may be more of a change moving forward. on this issue, we also have to look carefully at the
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composition of the new congress and some of the pieces moving around. some new members of congress, some members of congress that held important positions that will no longer be holding them in the next couple of years and the senator from texas, also a cuban-american. congress obviously will be critical in this whole issue, but a lot to be done even without congress. there is no great incentive for the obama administration, i don't think, to do anything particularly dramatic on cuba. of course, i think one would expect continued caution really following developments within cuba to see what happens -- unless there is further change and reform that would open up space for more engagement and steps forward. finally on the drug issue, there is a mandate i mentioned at the oas has and there has been
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former presidents that have called for serious rethinking of u.s. drug policy, and now current presidents have made the statement clear -- most recently at the general assembly meeting in september at the u.n., and now we have interesting results from two states here from washington state and from colorado. in addition to the many states -- i think there are 17 or 18 -- where marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes. in these two states, they can be used for recreational purposes. there we have the pressure from the region joined with some of the pressure and trends in shift in public opinion in the u.s., which i think will contribute an ad to greater pressure on the administration at the national level to rethink its policy on
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drugs, which is clearly having very negative effects are perceived to having negative effects in terms of crime, violence, and corruption in many countries in latin america. i think obama administration will probably say it has done some things to move forward on this issue, talking about shared responsibility, but i think despite some changes in the discourse, the essential elements of the policy have been pretty unchanged until now. again, this does open some -- possibilities. the reaction in mexico will be particularly critical to see where this goes. president-elect peña negative will be here at the end of this month. i'm sure this has got a lot of attention in the mexican press and among mexican commentators and i'm sure this will be raised and discussed with president obama when peña nieto is here.
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it is had complications to the u.s. policy in latin america. there is an opportunity that perhaps is greater than when we wrote the report in april to make some progress on these issues. there is more space, little more pressure. at the same time, it is probably smart to keep expectations in check and under control. president obama, i think, has been shown to be pretty cautious when it comes to foreign policy. we still have a divided government and we also have to take care of this fiscal cliff that is looming, and that is the first order of business. not making any predictions, but i think it is just useful to see where we are and i do think the election results to have implications for some of the concerns that we outlined in this report. i will turn it over to peter and
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then market and manuel. >> thank you. a good introduction. let me start -- i want to focus on the opinion yet to visit at the end of this month, which will really be the first major opportunity to see the extent to which the election really has had any kind of impact on the way the u.s. is thinking about latin america or the way that latin america is thinking about the u.s.. this is an important meeting for both presidents. it has become somewhat routine now with the president elect of mexico to come to the u.s. before the inauguration. calderón did, foxx did. i do not remember back farther than that, but anyhow -- i was too young then. [laughter] in any event, the visit itself
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opens up just a huge number of opportunities that probably -- they existed before. i don't want to say it did not exist before the election, but somehow they have been heightened by the election. the obvious one that michael talked about was immigration, and the fact suddenly, as one commentator on tv said over the weekend, last it was a great week to be latino -- last week was a great week to be latino. suddenly, latinos became the centerpiece of commentary. all of the sudden, it became respectable again and republican party, at least, to talk about immigration policy and suddenly amnesty was no longer a nasty word.
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theny event, we're hearing committee is being formed, senator schumer and and senator gramm are coming to gather now to try to sort through published together now to sort through comprehensive immigration reform, and their terms. prospects are better than they were certainly before the election. they look significantly better than they had. of course, with regard to mexico, i personally do not think there is any issue that is more important for the quality of the relationship at this point. it is one of those issues that is sort of behind-the-scenes, whatever issue one is talking about, for many, if you know, in mexico, not only is u.s.
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immigration policy annoying and irritating, is offensive. the fence, the walling in, the immigrant -- which are largely mexican communities -- are talked about. this would, if there is a policy shift in any major way, i think would have an important impact. as important, however, i think if one looks at the immigration issue -- and i'm not going into details now -- then it is also an economic issue. immigration -- manuel will talk more about that as well. in other words, the fact is, if you can bring 6 million mexicans out of the shadows and provide some legal status to them, they should earn more money, and it will begin to play a larger role in the u.s. economy.
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similarly, the the minces to mexico, which are now $25 billion a year, said immigration is a tremendously -- it is our young immigrant population that is sort of changing the age profile of our labour force year to one that is much more productive than it would ordinarily be. some say immigrants, that the social security system depends on immigrants here. for mexico, what is happening at the same time in mexico, there is suddenly a huge potential place on economic reform. a wide range of issues, but let's just take one, which is of particular interest -- energy. if mexico can begin to open its oil exploitation, even modestly,
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to private sector, some foreign companies, that make a huge difference. mexico has the fourth largest quantity of shale deposits in the world. again, reform of their energy policy could open them. what is interesting, and without going into detail, these were the two issues -- the liver migration, labor markets and energy, which were excluded from nafta because the more politically impossible to deal with. now all of the said they may be possible to deal with, which would have are really enormous profound effect on economic relations between the two countries if progress can be made on these two issues together. let me just say one other thing on the marijuana issue and
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legalization in washington and colorado. it is very interesting. the reaction from mexico was pretty quick. the reaction was, does mexico have to change its policy now? why are we defending a border in trying to prevent importation of marijuana when in fact the u.s. has legalized it in two states? it is legal there, and we're sacrificing mexican lives to prevent it from getting their. i hope peña nieto does not, that attitude in mind, but the attitude that this legalization sort of signifies a trend in the u.s. population, sort of a changing cultural attitudes toward marijuana and drug policy, and that it is an opportunity to open up a real
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conversation about where drug policy should head. that would be a real serious conversation where both sides are examining their own policies. i think it might be possible to publish again, another opening that if mexico and other latin american countries are willing to sort of use this as a way to say, look, this is really the time. two of your states have legalized it, have your population in polls suggest it is time for legalization, let's open up the conversation for alternative approaches. in any event, i think we should all focus very hard on the peña nieto visit, how the preparations go, what is discussed, and where it has left -- peña nieto takes office four days after the visit. thank you. >> thank you very much, peter.
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manuel? >> thank you. i think there is a message and a amark. we told you to take immigration seriously. something that has been coming up for the last three years. there was some disbelief by many. and basically now, 7.5% of the u.s. population voted for obama of a particular ethnic group. we're talking about 12 million voters, 75% of which chose to vote for obama and considered the second most important issue to them was immigration. to some extent, there is a mandate. that mandate has become more validated, to some extent, by many people in the policy-making circles and political elites
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from both political parties and from a range of organizations, both immigration-related as well as other groups from civil rights organizations. to some extent, there is an alignment in the making. immigration public opinion has been shifting to the extent that some polls show 65% of americans were more willing to provide some sort of a path to legalization for undocumented migrants but at the same time, the white house, the obama administration, has been making some changes toward some sort of immigration policy change that will give some relief to some immigrants. the question mark is, are ready for salsa? the fact of the matter is, this population has been growing not only in numbers, but has been
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forging a political capital of the past five years not only shifting the debate of the dream act, but before. they have recognized the political capital was significantly week, but there were very disorganized and did not have enough financial system to mobilize. that has been changing to some extent. there are groups coalescing over immigration reform issues. the question mark left is, so what kind of reform? there is a concern that we are ready to talk. the issue is, what? it seems from the extent the base line of the dream act, nothing below that will be negotiable. the question is, what does this
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mean to let america? where this latin america fit into the equation? the immigration policy from one perspective is a national sovereignty issue, [indiscernible] the reality is a domestic issue. the united states has been conducting foreign policy relating to migration. one area is development, for example. u.s. aid and the state department has several approach to the development and tried to connect investment opportunities. latin america is one of them. the idea initiative, for example, is one of those initiatives. also working on immigration development issues. what are the implications for
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latin america in this context? one of them is, there is recognition in latin america that there seems to be an alignment of immigration reform. whatever that means to latin americans. there is at least an understanding of common interest over that. the second issue is that some countries, mexico for example, say -- see this as an opportunity for corporations. the question is over a range of other issues. here comes the third issue, which is an opportunity and the relationship between u.s. and some of the mexican continents. the issues may have to deal with labour rights, human rights of migrants, but also may have to do with development issues as well as ways to cooperate in the
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event of immigration reform that and have an effect on the legalization of immigrants in the united states. it may also have to deal with people in dps. for the most part, emerging both in the u.s. and latin america, the concerns it is the intersection between migration development today is far stronger than any other point in time. also to invest back home. the process of legalization will have an effect on strengthening development in latin america.
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there is another issue that has some implications, and may have an effect on the way immigration reform might be considered. the fact immigration in general has changed significantly from where it was before in terms of high number of undocumented migrants and low-skilled migration. today, immigration is completely -- increasingly high skilled, even at the level of the service industry. this may present an opportunity to engage governments in latin america and the u.s. over a strategy of corporation for labor aggression that is managed. with a growing number of people with higher skills preparing to migrate, the greater demand of migrants with high skills training for the opportunity for integrating any type of relations of reform. the whole idea of high skill. i think the main concern that
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remains is one of numbers. when people think about immigration reform, if you look at the fresh labor force and certain population groups. families with young immigrants. the population that is highly undocumented is actually the one that is old and has been in the u.s. for a longer period of time. immigration reform and have an adverse affect on this group. -- may have an adverse affect on this group. what are the implications of this group? these are people that are more -- they do not have health care, face more difficulties integrating into the u.s. as opposed to the under -- younger folks. this to the implications are the meanings of development for latin america. >> thank you very much, manuel orozco.
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>> as michael mentioned, i direct the china program here at the dialogue and so i'm much more well versed on china by an american issues and u.s. latin american issues. in this integrated world in which we live, i think is worth considering the ways in which this election will have an influence not only on u.s.- latin american issues and policy toward the region, but also on the was in which latin america and the hemisphere more broadly will engage asia in coming months. there has been much reference in recent years to the idea the u.s.-china-latin-american trying to relationship, and i am sure all of those here have heard talk of this. the of of administration in a way has legitimize this concept by means of its foreign policy focus on specific, or recognition of a pacific
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century. u.s. officials have gone to great lengths to emphasize not only that asia, but also let america, is part of the specific strategy. the proposed the idea of leveraging partners on one end of the ocean to advance u.s. goals on the other, or this is the is to establish partnerships and not america that will help all to better engage asia and vice versa. one example is aipac, with its latin american members. the tpp is another example, intended to permit a 21st century mechanism for trade cooperation among the countries of the pacific rim. two of the nine charter members are that american countries, and then we have mexico and canada that are in the process of joining these negotiations. then there are various dialogues the u.s. has with asian countries on issues related to
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latin america, the most prominent is the u.s.-china some dialogue on latin america. the u.s. also discusses issues on latin-american issues with south korea and japan. increasingly, there's more space for discussion of asia in u.s. talks with latin-american nations. but when considering this idea of a pacific strategy or u.s.- china-latin america apart trying diller relationship, there are a couple of questions that come to mind. the first is whether the obama administration will continue this foreign-policy pivot toward the pacific. it is my sense the general consensus is, yes, the administration will continue to prioritize and state -- the focus policies. the second is the extent which latin america as a region is factoring into the u.s. focus on the pacific. some countries in the region are certainly benefiting from
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the trade arrangements that i have mentioned, but what about the rest of the region? are we releasing much in the wake of strategic integration in the western hemisphere in an effort to were fully engaged asia? i think it is important to note that latin american countries certainly are not waiting for the united states to engage the pacific to deepen the relations across the pacific. we have several regions, a series of bilateral trade agreements between china and countries in the region, the two in other asian countries and latin american countries, and other recent cooperation between china and regional organizations. latin america is very much pursuing its own pacific agenda in many cases. i will conclude by saying that,
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as michael mentioned, surely following the u.s. elections, china began its 18th party congress in the process of selecting its new leadership, which will be announced this week. it seems evident, or the opinion of scholars both in the u.s. and china, that china's leadership transition is unlikely to have much of an effect on china's official foreign policy toward latin america. it is pretty much on autopilot at the moment, and based, essentially, on china's 2008 white paper on latin america and the caribbean, and will continue to be based on that document. but this transition could affect other factors that influence china latin america relations. for example, the proposed economic transformation that china will be attempting to undertake and the next few years. state-owned enterprise operations, urbanization and
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industrialization plans, financial liberalization and so on. china passed domestic developments will be as of critical importance throughout the western hemisphere, something certain to keep an eye on. >> great pride to give very much, margaret. why don't we open it up now. please, tell us you are and do not feel you have to disguise your comment as a question. we want to get as many ideas out there. why don't we start here. wait for the microphone, please, ambassador. >> one thing i did not hear mentioned, and i'm very glad it happened though-and panama, we do not have any immigrants. they call it an opportunity and
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prosperity. what happened in maryland is very significant. i did not hear an mentioned. a little bit of the dream act. the fact that now if your parents were undocumented or whatever and you win your last three years of high school in maryland, these students can go to college in maryland and paint institutions like if you are an american. that is a very, very good signal and i see that as what is to come. they're not asking as immigrants or the immigrants -- first, we know most of them are not bad people they're asking for an opportunity. this is a very, very good decision. it was bipartisan voting. i think from there, besides the
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other things, i think that will be the flagship program and message that i know both governments, both parties in congress are going to get. and it is going to take off from there. >> thank you very much. i am glad you mentioned that. i appreciate that. thank you. >> thank you, the peterson institute for international economics. first, i should correct the omission, michael, you should have welcomed the ambassador as our latest and very important new trading partner of the united states as a result of the entry of bilateral free-trade agreement. >> sorry about that. i will work on that. [laughter] >> the presentations were all excellent, but they sounded like u.s. interests with the northern hemisphere. there was no mention of brazil.
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actually, almost nothing about most of latin america, certainly, south of the equator. i wonder if you could lend some insight on the implications of the election for broader u.s. policy, including u.s. economic policy with the rest of latin america. >> sure. why do we get water to other questions. >> i think i need to be more skeptical than other people because we have heard a lot of similar statements in the past. my question to michael and peter and manuel will be, ok -- [inaudible] the recent polls that reelected president obama and in power what?os to do what custome
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this question is related to, what is the political capital that the latinos now have once president obama has been reelected and there won't be any more real elections? for the many problems that president obama is facing both internally and externally, to what extent does his in ministration be committed to either immigration, policy reform, [inaudible] which are to the big issues with latinos. >> thank you. one last one? what i have a try at these two, and i'm sure my colleagues will want to jump in. first of all, i would say two
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things and i know peter will want to talk about brazil. i am always struck by how important immigration is for the whole region. i remember when president bush went to uruguay and the president of third way, vázquez, and there were two issues that he talked about on the agenda. one was trade and the other was immigration. one does not think immigration would be a central concern for uruguay, but i'm struck by how important it is not only for mexico, central america, the caribbean, but for a lot of south america, even a country like uruguay. frankly, if there were
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serious immigration reform, that would provide a very helpful for broader cooperation with much of south america. colombia, peru, these countries have lots of immigrants here. i think that is very very important it also remember, the president's that talked about the drug issue, as the presidents who talked about the drug issue, have made a strong stand to open for debate, so any sign of change, that will be embraced and welcomed enthusiastically. let me make one final comment on columbia. there is a peace process the president santos is pursuing, which the talks began in havana this week between the government and the farc. i think there was some concern in colombia that its results
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have been different in the presidential election, may have complicated some of those talks because they're taking place in havana. and venezuela is also very active as one of the guarantors of those talks. certainly, one heard the rhetoric and discourse that was a little more aggressive coming from the republican nominee than with president obama. romney said venezuela represented a national security threat. president obama had a very different view. so that is one issue where i think it is seen as being helpful. and if there have been a different result, there may have been -- and may have been more complicated. and to the other question, you make a good point. how much of these issues matter. i think immigration, i'm not sure about the drug issue, but
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that i would agree on. i think that is going to be much more difficult. but there does seem to be sort of a coincidence, a lot of things coming together now on immigration. especially, one factor we did not talk about, but will influence that, is the u.s. economy. there are some encouraging signs the last couple of months and consumer confidence and other things that seem to be -- if those trends continue, the economy becomes stronger, that will also be very favorable and helpful for immigration reform. i think it seems to be occupying in terms of legacy, obama's legacy and so forth, i think that -- there are signs that is very much on his mind. >> let me start with the second question, if i can i agree with michael.
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obama talked about immigration policy before the election. there was talk about this being one of his signature issues. i'm not quite sure how anyone gets empowered, but in other words, when people pay attention to you and the issues you want to promote, that is a form of empowerment. certainly, the extent to which the press and the pundits and the newspapers have all paid attention to latinos in the past week is sort of an empowering act. the fact there are different groups of senators and congressman talking about immigration, i think is a change. and whether that leads to anything, we know the huge obstacles that still remained and skepticism is always in order, but we still can go back
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and see when president bush was pushing very hard, when john mccain was pushing hard, ted kennedy was taking a lead and immigration reform was defeated by 15 votes in the senate. i mean, there's no guarantee it will happen, but, you know, the discussion about future elections and growing from latino vote, etc., etc., then maybe exaggerated two years ago -- two years ago we were all lamenting, the democrats were lamenting about the tea party coming forward and the republicans were cheering and looked like the country was going in the the direction. gay marriage was been defeated election after -- so i would also take these trends as
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written in concrete, the all-i would not take these trends as written in concrete, but they still look favorable. i love the quote,-i cannot remember his name -- on a talk show, it was a great week to be latino. on the rest of latin america, i think what michael said is right. i also think immigration means more for mexico and central america and the caribbean that it does for the other countries. it is important, but it has less -- by and large i do not think the election changes very much the equation for south america or brazil, i mean, i was looking for something i could say that would -- and my sense is there was a certain sigh of relief and a lot of south america that romney did not win, that there were looking perhaps toward
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attention, new strains with venezuela and renewal of sort of a more neocon attitude. but that is one of those hypotheticals -- andy, i think romney made far more interesting proposal on relations with latin america than obama did. in fact, when he talked about -- and you should be following this closely -- increasing trade with latin america, sort of which i presume he means keeping the trade relations with the has free the u.s. trade agreements, the 11 countries. and beyond that, to try and explore opportunities for increased trade, if not free trade agreements, which would be very difficult with certain countries, to sort of find ways to, nonetheless, would have accelerated and expand trade. in some ways, romney had been
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more interesting proposition, i think, but he did not win. and i don't think that necessarily is going to easily transfer to an obama administration. >> i actually would like to take or a peter's approach. i think your question is very good. the answer is, there's a very limited agenda and not america relations. the prime agenda is drugs and security. the secondary issue is migration. it doesn't have much to do with latin-american policy to the u.s. i think there might be an opportunity now to work along those lines, but drugs and security, immigration, trade, and democracy. democracy, you are paying lip service to it. there is not much of a policy- making effort in the u.s. side
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and latin america. i think this new administration have a chance to change, to learn from some possibilities for change. but that is the reality. the content of the discussion here is immigration issue to a large extent, because that is what has more implications for latin america. it does have implications for countries like brazil included. every year you have 800,000 brazil's coming with non immigrant resilience. a percentage of them stay here. it has a very important effect on the brazilian economy. we're talking about $5 billion at least. you cannot give explanations why immigration may be most important to latin america, but
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the point is we have an immigration agenda. one is to be proactive. as latinos told the two opponents, the two candidates, they needed to take migration seriously. one did not and the other dead. the same has to happen with u.s. policies in latin america. just look latinos, 90% of latinos see the context of latin america is very important to them. on the question of double-your question is interesting. how to empower people? there so many ways to empower, beginning with the fact a number of latinos who registered increased by 1%, which is a great demonstration of empowerment.
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in the past five years, there's been a growing change in latino organizing. they learned from the debating in congress that defeated in immigration reform bill that was basically called the frankenstein. no one wanted to bet on it. part of it was because it was not a very well organized group of latino organizations. now there is more coordination. there's a coalition not only among migrant groups, but among latino groups, immigrant groups, as well as other groups including gay-rights. the religious groups are perhaps the most important ally next to the union. the three most important groups right now that represent the political capital of the immigration reform movement are trade unions, churches, an immigrant rights organizations. and from that, you're going to
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see a growing number of other groups that will come along in the process. there is definitely and harman. the empowerment comes in the fact that more people registered to vote, more people voted both in numbers and percentages over 2008, and there is a clear message there were giving and the message was being taken seriously. that is basic empowerment. does that give the political capital? yes. is it the only one? no. there is a great connectivity between congress and margaret -- migrant groups. also, the cities and several united states are taking also more seriously their relationship in the latin communities. it is not something that only has to do with latinos. with a project with some audience -- with some malians
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and other parts of the state. the city's take this seriously. the capital is changing politically. that does not mean we are rubbed with salsa. it means that there has to be some accommodation and communication process that latino organizations were not very familiar with, but have learned in the past five years how to adapt. >> thank you, manuel. margaret? >> not to keep talking about china, i think the south american question is interesting and offers an important comparison. the u.s. is still by far the largest trade partner for the region and largest investor in the region, but you have time as the largest trade partner chile, peru and brazil.
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yet the pacific alliance, three of these countries are in south america, and that has emerged to a third from this perception and that america that the u.s. has failed to fully work hard enough to integrate some countries into existing trade agreements. there is a real interesting dynamic. i would say, the u.s. is still very critical player economically and south america, but the trend is certainly toward diversification. >> great. thank you. any other -- yes, ambassador. >> thank you very much. after the canadian mission to the os. margaret myers mention the trans-pacific partnership, the pacific alliance, and the very -- there is trade groups which are forming in the hemisphere.
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you mentioned, michael, in your introduction, cuba and the summit and some countries are not going to attend any more summits without cuba's being present. with the panamanian ambassador, panama 2015, the next summit of the americas, it is clear something has to be done or the summit process is going to fail and decline without some fundamental addressing of these issues. joining all those dots together, we left quebec city in 2001 with a soulful charter and ftaa, which crashed and burned in 2005. the social charter was just approved a few months ago. the oas, the whole into american agenda, has not address the economic business investment climate. i'm looking forward to 2015 to
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the panama summit, which i see is absolutely crucial for the hemisphere's. is there any appetite? d.c. any appetite in the u.s. government to engage in economic integration in a serious manner? you spend a lot of time talking about immigration, which is imported from a domestic point of view. bringing the agenda at a level to a more broader hemisphere, how do we balance between economics and the more soft side of economic, social issues, drugs to some extent? my question is, basically, to see any political will inside the u.s. government to recapture the agenda which died in 2005? >> thank you. i am sure peter has something to say. why don't we collect any other -- yes.
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>> thank you. i'm a political counselor at the spanish embassy in washington. thinkt know if we have to about the implications of the rising latino influence in u.s. politics, taking into account the vast majority of hispanics in the u.s. comes from a very specific area in america, which is mexico, central america, and the caribbean. i don't know if this in the long run will have implications on u.s. policy toward latin america and the special manner in this area. for instance, thinking about mexico. central america, from a political viewpoint, one of the biggest priorities and the western hemisphere for the u.s. -- i know it because spain and canada, where very much involved with u.s. industry.
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strategy. the fact there is so many hispanics in the u.s. that come from this region [indiscernible] comes from south america proper. i wonder, is this going to have an impact in u.s. policy focusing on other -- much more in this specific region? also, i sought a person said president obama should try to push through an embargo as a concession dollars lifting the embargo as a concession. it is funny because i think it may be the first time in which latin american leader has made a connection between the rights of hispanics with political issues. it is not secure drugs, but a political issue. it is assuming hispanics are
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very much concerned about [inaudible] it is not the case for cuban- americans. i don't know if it signals a change, a rise in hispanics with political issues. >> thank you for that good comment and question. any other -- no? >> let me respond to that one. i do think it is a very useful comment, because it is a cautionary note. a lot of us have been saying this is a logical connection between the growing latino population and now the political significance that was reflected in this election somehow translating into a great the --
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greater concern for latin america. logically, one could make an argument that makes some sense, but it does not seem to have happened whether this will be a turning point or not. i would be very careful about that. the latino population is interested in other things, and your comment, he assumes this is sort of a political mobilized lift the embargo on cuba, which is not on the minds of mexicans and other immigrants in the united states. there are other concerns. there has been a little bit -- the press has written some over anxious leap to connect this with the latin american policy, and we have been talking about it for a long time, and this is not happening on november 6.
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this has been going on for a while, and there was no evidence before the election that this translated into a greater commitment for latin america. i would be careful about that, and it is a good point. hi will let -- i will let my colleagues weigh in on that, but i'm skeptical. i do not see a great appetite for another push of economic integration. i do not think the politics are aligned very well right now. either in the united states or in latin america. that may be different in a couple of years depending on how the u.s. economy goes political trends in the region, but i just do not see -- and peter mentioned romney's proposal that that may be more agreeable, but it was unclear what that meant and what the details were. it sounded appealing and sounded
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nice, but there was a lot of hard issues there that were underlying that, and whether the u.s. is prepared to take steps domestically in terms of protection for some u.s. industries to sort of make that happen, i just did not see a lot of movement right now. i would be more skeptical that that will change in the next couple of years, depending on how our our economy goes. >> it is always the complaint about campaigns, either people did not make proposals, or they do not give you the details, so you really do not know. no, in many respects, i think there were no details to what romney suggested on the trade issue with latin america, but how many details were there on anything that anybody suggested
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during the four months of campaign? that was an interesting raising of the issue. we also raise the question of north american energy integration, which was absent from the obama campaign. but on the whole, i think that michael is right in the sense that there does not seem to be much eagerness here for any kind of new economic relations, except perhaps with mexico and canada. i recall the first choice for obama's trade representative back in 2009 when he was first elected decided not to take the job because he did not think anything would happen on trade. we did see the ratification of
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the panama ratificationcolombian agreements, but beyond that very little. we have negotiations on the trans-pacific partnership, but i think what michael is precisely right on, there does not seem to be any great eagerness in latin america at either for new trade agreements. one does not seek brazil or argentina knocking very hard at r to somehow keepoo in their trade relations. some of this depends on economic integration now, and things do not look too good, frankly. i thought part of your question, your question was whether in fact the heavy migration from central america,
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mexico would shape the way we think about that america in the sense that those areas would get a lot of attention and we would make the move further away, we would become more distant south america. i think the migration patterns just followed trade patterns and they follow remittance patterns and they follow lots of other patterns, and geography does plate just a huge role -- does play just a huge role in these issues, and not surprising that the u. s has 11 trade agreements with latin american countries, and eight of them, indeed, every country but you but in the northern part of latin america, has a trade agreement, and only three out of 10 have trade agreements in south america. geography is going to play an
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important role in next -- and mexico is the big fish. the elephant, and a sense that 2/3 of all our trade with latin america is with mexico. >> i think before you push forward on integration is -- immigration, you want to foster economic cooperation. and if there is a nation we think it is economic issues in latin america. it might be a way for the support that has succeeded in the past few years. on the second issue, i do disagree. the integration of latin american is not coming from a few countries. it is quite widely dispersed. 45% of the immigrants in the u.s. are from mexico. 30 years ago it was 70%.
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the rest is coming from different parts of central, the caribbean, and south america. there is a strong correlation between trade and migration. the countries from which you have a jaundiced bilateral trade relationships -- you have bilateral trade relationships are also those where there is the most immigration. together, south america [indiscernbile] just brazilians alone, they are everywhere in the u. s. >> everywhere. >> in terms of an opportunity for relationships, it is there, and one of the important issues is relating to labour rights for
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migrants, which is very protected in united states. there's no protection of labor for immigrants in this country there is complete disregard for the labor rights. human rights is much known in terms of the condition of migrants across borders. in terms of relationship, especially in this age where you see growing migration of moving forward, coming into the u.s., for example, there are some elements of corporation to strengthen bilateral relations over labor migration. that would be in port. right now the u.s. imports 2 million immigrants on short-term migration, and this is going to be a trend that will increase as part of this immigration reform. the immigration policy does
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apply -- does not apply to everybody and lacked in america. -- in latin america. >> the final word? >> there is no real appetite in latin america or eat less for a push for economic integration, and rather a push for bilateral engagement and economic engagement, and the same can be said for china. i just heard this in beijing, there are rumors floating around that china is trying to organize a meeting all the heads of state in latin america. they have something similar in africa and the caribbean, which will involve a strong economic component, ways in which china can cooperate with the region, but no talk of economic
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engagement in particular. >> panama. that would be the next summit of the americas. >> i want to thank all of you very much for joining us this morning. it has been a good discussion. we will be following these developments on our website. we have a lot of commentary and articles about the elections and what they may mean. thank you all very much, and enjoy the rest of veterans day. thank you very much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] spokesman jay carney is expected to answer questions at
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12:30 eastern. both the house and senate return for business today. the house gavels in at 2:00 p.m. eastern, including a bill that will deal with asthma inhalers. in the requested votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. eastern. watch the house on c-span. the senate also coming in at 2:00. lawmakers will talk about how expending hunting and fishing on federal lands. the new the elected democratic house members will be meeting with reporters today. this is their first news conference, scheduled at 2:00 p.m. eastern. in all likelihood this will be carried in at 2:00 p.m. after the house gavels out. we will keep you posted on our schedule. >> what i like about c-span's coverage, it is in debt.
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they will cover an event from start to finish and i can get the information that i need. i like to watch "to communicate is." congressional hearings, the vince you do at the national press club there are policy leaders speaking. >> howard watches c-span on verizon. >> bono urged u.s. politicians titian's yesterday to not cut aid for children. he spoke at georgetown university as congress and the white house try to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. this tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for january.
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bryan one hand introduced bono at this hour-long event. [applause] >> thank you. we are thrilled. the band is thrilled. they wanted me to thank you, because they have committed to the idea that every kid in ireland will have access to free music lessons if they need them. so brian has been helping us out with that, along with the american islands form. thanks to president -- to the president who has welcomed us to hear and to the school of
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business. and also a person who is learning courts instead of doing his homework. all right, j.t. this is the spirit, and it is going to change the world. you have it in here in this room, and what a room it is, by the way. i do not know if this is an election pulpits, but i feel oddly comfortable. welcome to pop culture studies.
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please take out their notebooks. today will discuss why rock star should never beginning a microphone at an institute of higher learning. i am not sure i am accurate the first existential question might be what am i doing? pint. pop culture references. isn't it amazing how repined can make everything seem like the victory bought for five and
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you know you're about to taste defeat? congratulations are in order not just for turning out in record numbers but for electing an extraordinary man as president. i think you have to say that. you're finally free from the tyranny of negative advertising. can you imagine what it would be like if we did this for everything all the time? attack ads about television shows, a rival smart phone companies, college admissions.
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hello. we are georgetown and we approve this message. let me say a few words about some other fine words you may be considering. uva. thomas jefferson, what have they done to you? syracuse a school whose mascot. duke, school that worships the devil. georgetown, you are in with the other guy. everybody knows that is a catholic, right? i have been hanging out with politicians more than i should admit. i do not get these assets and i
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do not understand politics and that form. but there was an attack ad on malaria, 3000 people die every day. that was an attack ad on malaria. i would get that. choose your enemy is carefully. they define me. make sure they are interesting enough. you're going to spend a lot in the company. let's pick a worthwhile enemy. how about all the obstacles to the selling human potential, not as yours or mine but the world's potential. poverty is so extreme it
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brutalizes, vandalizes, human dignity. poverty so extreme its doubts how far we have travelled and our journey of the quality. the journey that began with force taking on slavery. it will not end until misery and deprivation are in these stocks. but social movements have always been powerful. the subject of my speech tonight is going to point out what is the transfer native element about this moment in this generation of the chance that you have to rid the world of the obscenity of extreme poverty. wouldn't that be a helluva way to start the 21st century? the history department might disagree with me. i only lost a few weeks and college. i do not believe that the 21st century started in the world
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2000. for large parts of the world and started in 2011 with the of people of the arab spring. what happened in egypt was that the traditional model of power, the pyramids, but inverted. the people at the top got up and it and the base had its say. the arab spring is ongoing. it is messy. it is dangerous. what i'm talking about is bigger than egypt or anyplace else. it is a massive shift. it is one of those moments in 100 years the real historians like those at georgetown will write about this phenomenon. the base of the pyramid is taking more control. institutions that have always governed our lives, and music, are being bypassed answers the tested. people are holding them to
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account, demanding that they be more open, more responsive, more effective, or else. here in the u.s. to have the tea party hammering big governments. you had occupy due to the jolly bankers of wall street. social movements are competing. we have to help the more of my mental and the day. we are 3.2 million people at last count. we are asking the world to pay attention to the least among us. there are many things we can do to help them. we will see things are happening in the developing world. think about this particular moment.
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not just facebook in the heat of the square but the peaceful march across the world mobile phone. across the parched land of the dense rain forests of the congo. technology is transforming things. everything is speeding up. everything is opening up. if i can talk about something i actually know about for a moment, this reminds me of the arrival of punk rock in the mid-70's. the clash was the very base of the rock-and-roll pyramid. overnight they gave the finger to be dreadful business that was at the top of the pyramid. it was called progressive rock. great reviews. epic songs, no good lyrics. great reviews.
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but the band made no pretense of being better than the audience appeared they were the audience. virtuosity was out. the clash were like a public- service announcement with guitars. they gave u2 the idea that social activism could make for a good social right. i would like to point out none of your professors as ever draw the connection between the arab spring and the clash. [applause] [laughter] little intermission. ok. sharpen your pencils. i do not need to lecture you about change of the air you breathe.
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you are in it. i think change is your expectation. what might mean for you when the pyramid and the whole lot else gets turned on its head? what a huge opportunity that affords you if you are willing to seize it. there is not just one lever up power anymore. you have a lot of them in your hands. will we press them together at the same time, that is when things really start happening. let me hit the brakes before some of you do. let it the knowledge that it is brutal out there. it is brutal out there. by there i mean here in america. the economy is still in a rough
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shape. this sounds you hear is a big pair of scissors bearing down on the safety net cuts, foreign aid cuts and all these cuts coming in for a drive over this fiscal cliff. cuts hurt. somebody believes. the aid cut alone would mean that two injured 75,000 people will not get the -- 275, 000 people will not get the treatment they need resulting in 65,000 deaths. broke people. real bleeding. that is why you will hear us making the campaign that cuts should not cost lives. it should not be a hard case to make but it is right now in hall of congress, the senate. maybe even here. i put it to you.
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we must not let this economic recession become a moral recession. that would be double cruelty. you know, it is not just take away your chances here at home. it might therefore take away your generations shot at the greatness in the wider world. the generation before you outlawed the idea of the color of your skin deciding whether you could vote. it challenge that your sex could decide your future. this generation has the chance to challenge the absurdities of where you give deciding whether you live. [applause] the most vivid example of this
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for me was a clinic in rwanda and in 2003. there were far too skinny men and women. long lines of men and women courageous enough to take hiv/aids test, the nurse is not a diagnosis was a death sentence. there were no other clinics in rwanda. looking into the eyes of hopelessness i was surprised to find no anger, no rage. just a strange acquiescence not from the versus. -- from the nurses. the nurses knew that this was not a killer disease in europe or america. they had a very different look
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in their eyes. fast forward five years. the same clinic, a whole different scenario. nurses beaming with the job satisfaction. these debt accounts have become a bird counts, maternal clinics. not just in the city but the whole country. they understood the united states have deep respect for their lives. this is not the old paternalism. this was partnership. without partnership rwanda would not have managed to get life-saving drugs to 91% of the people who needed them. good leadership. there are problems in rwanda with the leadership. on this comment they got the strokes provided by the united states. it is a blooming story. we are moved by such moving events. i am probably here because such
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events. ours is not a soft oakland's. we try to keep our of - -lens. we try to keep our honor code. can you believe the dryness of the term, evident based, excellence. yours truly. i am here to tell you that your heart is not the most important thing. your heart is not going to solve these problems. if your car does not find the right in your head we're not going to get away. it is not charity that fires us. it is justice. that is what inflames us. justice is a higher standards. people are looking for clean and simple melody lines. just a dollar and you can save a life. just an hour.
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bollix. it is not true. if you want to turn the world right side up, it is not what to take a minute or an hour a day. it is going to take your whole life. i am going to make a bid for that. that was the brakes. now for the gas. for me where it all started where humanity started. where are humanity is needed now, africa. you should ask why would you be listening to me talking about africa? this backup has been an extraordinary and the venture to me and privilege.
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wild, magnificent, magical, sometimes maddening. it is extraordinary. i realized i have been working for nelson mandela and archbishop desmond tutu for most of my life. from anti-apartheid to the fight for human rights. the right to live like a human. nelson mandela and archbishop tutu, there is no way to turn them down. particularly to two. he called in the big guns. on the rare occasion i have tried to turn him down, he is told me that he will personally see to it that i will not get into heaven. i think he might have that kind of pull. even if that were not for them,
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i think i would have felt people to africa. ireland, maybe? ireland has a very living memory of famine. i am coming out from under colonialization. we are all interested in the future and what the world will look like for the kids. people say china is the future. if you ask the chinese, and they are all headed to africa. the largest diaspora of recent times is from china to africa. by 20,015 it will be twice the size of china. africa is going to be big and young. 60% of africans right now are under 25.
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all across the continent, people are writing new rules for the game. african civil society, a whole new generation of politicians. they are the catalyst of change. you can see the impact. 14 of the poorest countries which did not benefit from the last decade commodity boom by did get 100 term debt cancellation achieve the following, child mortality nearly halved. school enrollment doubled. this is not an african tiger. this is a lion.
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this is a pride of lions. lots of them are roaring. some of them are not. some of them are in a bad mood. looking their wounds. injured. the trace the origins of the blues to mawi. it is amazing. a month after we left al qaeda, they took over the whole north of mali. it is about the size of france. now the hotel that we stayed in is 8 sharia tribunal and music is now against the law.
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i mean, if they put you into prison for playing music. you get beaten for playing the blues. you get beaten to death on occasion for playing the blues. mallee is a case study for the whole of that vast sell a fan and savannah. nigeria is an enormous country. in this geography, we get to see a close what we call the three extremes. it is an unholy trio. extreme poverty, extreme climate, and extreme ideology. it is very dangerous.
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stronger than any chain and harder to break. some of africa is rising. some of africa is stuck. the question is whether the rising but will pull africa up or whether the other africa will weigh the continent down. which will it be? stakes here are not just about them. imagine for a second this last global recession but without the economic growth of china and india, without hundreds of millions of newly minted middle-class folks who now buy american and european goods. imagine that. think about the last five years. rocks are preaches capitalism. well. sometimes i hear myself and i cannot believe it. commerce is a real pure that is what you're about. commerce, entrepreneurial
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capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aids. we know that. we need africa to become an economic powerhouse. it is not just in their interest. it is in our national security interest, too. we want to see the region to fill its potential. queque up the drum roll. you can if you like. enter our protagonist. enter the most powerful force for change on the continent. enter the loudest voice for progress. enter the nerd. yes.
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.yes. i did say "the nerd." it is the nerds, the elevators that are changing the game not only here in america but even more in places like africa which are more mobile than we are. africa is the second-largest mobile market after asia. this is the era of the afro nerd. what are they up to? they are up ending the pyramid. you know about social media and the role played in the arab spring. i recently met a man who worked in google. he set up one of the face of groups behind the square and got thrown in jail. he was explaining the role of technology and how it has narrowed the gap between power
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of the politicians and the power of individuals. according to him, a technology is turbocharge. this is the element i'm telling you about that defines your generation. it works on lots of services. for example, it is definitely true that the biggest killer of them all, bigger than malaria, aids, bigger than tb, the disease that kills the most people is corruption. we have the vaccine. it is called transparency. it is called daylight. sunlight. information. technology is increasing transparency. there might be some downside to this like the fact that i am on the holidays with my kids and the picture of my sunburned arse turned up on a tabloid.
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that is true. "bottoms up" was the headline, i think. [laughter] it should have been "rock bottom." the upside is that someone is up to no good in business or government, it is getting harder for them to hide it. this is true north as low as out of the equator. it is really extraordinary that the two parties who are the most important in a transaction that we called development assistance, the tumult of born parties give them money. these are the two people that know the least. that is mad. i know rationing is that.
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this is a tiny fraction of the federal budget, less than 1%. bureaucracy gets in the way. not everyone can see what is happening. the treachery of information is more information. african citizens are holding their companies to account. in uganda there monitoring elections of mobile phones. in kenya they're using web sites to expose officials who are on the take. in east africa there's one that literally means "yes we can" in swahili. who knew? these are opening the books on government spending. trance parents he is dragging
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them. it is even starting to try these. this is big. there is a lot of wealth and national resources. this opened at six can help get that above-ground to benefit the people who live over it. all of this is a start. i'm not even mentioning banking by phone or pricing information for farmers. here is a catch. it is an obvious one. technology does not accomplish this on its own. the cannot duck a cell phone in the desert and create an oasis. there is now up for that yet. the crucial elements are still human elements. they are determined to stir things up. it is the human element that got this to a moment or an extra million ones will go to school today.
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they marched for debt cancellation. people and the u.s. were willing to stand up and shout and pay for that. those and other victories put the boots on the ground of everyday activists and every town and city. this is really but what moves the dial. when people get out there, will change happens. it is a simple equation. outside pressure, and sign movements. the story of one of social enterprise. they put on the marching boots
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and go buy some red shit. debra runs the show. the idea that there is a moment of their when myself and bill gates is going to lobby a president or prime minister to try to get their commitments to the poorest of the poor. that politician is hearing it from hundreds of thousands of people who agree with us. it is harder to ignore them and it is to ignore me. as the congressman who thought it looked good on him. he tried to block an important bill and said he did not think his constituents thought it important. he is bombarded by e-mails and petitions. they were waiting for him when he came out of his church on sunday. he threw his hands in the air. i have no idea the people felt so strongly.
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that is what we do. then there is the politicians that you do not have to lobby. i just want to stand up. i want to make a major share of debt for leader nancy pelosi and senators pat leahy. and norm coleman. all of whom not just great leadership, real personal commitment. we should not just think them. we should shout their names across the land. i cannot even consider the number of lives that had been transformed in say by these people. it must be millions.
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people are right because these people exist. these people are heroes. this is civic duty. with the global citizen and mind. george bush is here. i would get matt damon to kiss him on the lips. i would give him a more irish, macho handshake. it is incredible. president bush's name is in the history books. the greatest health crisis and 600 years. both sides working.
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i just want to thank bono here. i want to thank bono. [applause] i want to thank bono for stepping away from the microphone. i knew he could not rhyme. i am so glad he can fall back on adding and subtracting. it might be the one thing all of us can agree on. all of this happened without social media. can you imagine? can you imagine what you can accomplish? that leverage if we're willing
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to use it. i think we are. i know we are. i know you are. whether you join one or by red or join an ngo that we work along side. we need you. it is the defining struggle. it is trade. it is investment. tell them what they're on domestic resources of the the trip from themselves. to think anyone in africa like skates, and don't think anyone in ireland likes aids. it is not a right/left issue. it is a right/wrong issue. america has constantly been on the side of what is right. when it comes down to it, this
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is about keeping faith with the idea of america. ireland is a great country, but it is not an idea. great britain is a great country, not an idea. that is how we see you around the world, as one of the greatest ideas in human history. right up there with the renaissance, right up there with crop rotation and the beatles' white album. the american idea, but the idea that you and me are created equal, and will ensure that an economic recession does not come and equality recession. the idea that life is not meant to be endured but enjoyed. this country was the first to claw its way out of darkness and put that on paper.
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these are not just american ideas anymore. there is no copyright on it. you brought them into the world. the family tree has lots of branches. the thing is, the world has a bit of america in it, too. these truths or self-evident in us. those people i have been talking about today, the poor, they are not those people. they are us, they are you. they may be separated by oceans and circumstance, but they dream is to dream, the value what you value. there is no them, only us. the american anthem is not exceptionalism, it is universalism. there is no them, on the us. i am because we are. there is no them, only us. the jesuits', they know
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something about this. the largeness of spirit, this expanded since, in light and sense of who is your neighbor. i am not a jesuit. my mother or the protestant and my father a catholic. he was of a whole nother order. but here is what i know. i love reminiscing, but here is what i know about the jesuits'. he was a soldier, lying on a bed, recovering from his wounds when he has what they call a conversion of a heart. he saw god's worked and the call to do god's work. not just in the church, but in everything, everywhere. once he knew about that, he could not unknow it. changed him, it forced him out
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of bed and into the world. that is what i hope happens here, in georgetown. we neutrally except that those children in some far off village, in god's eyes, or even just in your eyes, then your life is forever changed. you see something that you cannot unsee. we have a sense a bit from these words -- a sense of it from these words. i have his words tattooed on my brain, the man used it stood in tahrir square at the beginning of the 21st century. we are going to win because we don't understand politics. we don't play their dirty games. we are going to win because we don't have a party political agenda. we are going to win because the tears that come from our eyes actually come from our hearts. we are going to win because we are willing to stand up for our
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dreams. we are going to win because the power of the people is so much stronger than the people in power. thank you. [applause] thank you very much. >> thank you so much. kissing george bush on the lips is going to get me fired. >> bono has agreed to take a few questions.
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please try to hold yourself to one question so that we can get in as many as possible. thank you. >> i am a member of the mcdonough school class of 1999. on behalf of the alumni, thanks for coming this evening. i used to stand on that stage and sing your songs when i was with a group called the phantom's here. i work at an organization that cares a lot about the same issues that you do, called united way. i have worked with a lot of companies like bank of america and companies that are part of red. my question for you is, what
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advice do you have for all of us to bring new people into the work, and where should we go to find them? >> i was a big fan of the phantoms. your first two albums were great, and then you sold out. [laughter] as regards the company, let me talk about red. i think we are going to announce that we have 200 billion by this world aids day. the whole thing was getting red partnered was you had to work for them, you know? if you take car companies are drinks companies, we think that if one becomes red and the other doesn't, people will
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choose t onehe red one. you used to have an ad, coke adds life. now you can say coke saves lives. it is about values as well as value. i think that this generation is very smart about their choices. they know that they can play with the stock market, just by what company they support by buying their stuff. that is powerful. we call it a conscious
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consumerism. if you are greedy, if you are just the company that is just on the attack ads, well, we will buy somewhere else. >> thank you for coming to speak with us tonight. my sister is currently serving in the peace corps in southwestern rwanda and living with three nuns. in the first week she was serving in southwestern rwanda, the nuns she was living with an herb found a 3-year-old orphan with aids and she has been taking care of him for the last three months. i was just wondering what words you would speak to either the 3-year-old boy named françois or my sister, even words of
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encouragement, or what would you say to him about his future? >> thanks to the united states and the leadership in this room and in britain, i have to say, you know, and a time of great austerity, david cameron and the conservative government in coalition with the liberal democrats are increasing their aid budget. i would say that the future for francois is in jeopardy, depending on if we can get other countries to follow the lead of britain and the united states. it is not just enough to say that child live, you want to make sure that john has an education. girls' education is the greatest return on investment.
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women transform landscapes of poverty quicker than men. it is not just a single -- it is global health, agriculture, making sure farmers can deal with difficult climatic conditions. you've seen what happened around the world this year with the weather. terrifying if you live in bangladesh, not just in new york. it is complicated. but i do think, i speak to your generation across the world, francois is going to have a great future. an entrepreneur on every street in rwanda. i remember in ethiopia, the
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president said to me, the farmers are the smartest people in our country. i said why is that? he said because if they were not, they would be dead. the innovation that it has taken africans to survive difficult conditions means that in the marketplace, they are so sharp. i feel an affinity with the irish there. if you have known the struggle, you get good at survival. thank you. >> i just want to congratulate you for giving one of the greatest motivational speeches i've heard ever. >> thank you. >> i was also told to tell you
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that ben says hello. how did think we can promote investment and try to promote economic growth and political change in africa? >> it is happening. maybe i could have spent longer on it, but that was pretty long and fidel castro school of speechmaking. [laughter] it's the key. it really is the key is investment. you know,one of the things we are very pleased with is called millennium challenge account. it is quite an innovative attitude to aids, linking it with the fight against corruption and linking it with business-minded approaches to aids, and therefore leveraging it to create the environment for investment. the corruption piece is
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amazing. let me tell you -- but in the dodd-frank bill, there can an amendment called cardin-lugar and it makes it law that any extractive industry, mining, oil, gas, registered on the new york stock exchange, it is law that they have to publish what they paid for those mining rights. it sounds obvious, doesn't it? the truth is that right now, the american petroleum institute is suing the s.e.c. to try and overthrow that. that is astonishing. i know people and oil companies who are amazing people, and it is very important to energy here. and shouldn't be and is not, in
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this case, a political issue. europe and america are going to make this outlandish opacity, and if that word doesn't exist i'd like to suggest it to the committee of the oxford dictionary. you know, the opaque nature of these deals is north of the equator. when you publish what you pay, then the civil societies in those regions get to hold the government to account. that is one of the best things you can do to stimulate business investment. thank you. >> hi. i'm a senior as well as in international development so this is close to my heart. i am a terrible public speaker. how do we develop the perspective and the mindset and incentivize people --
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>> how do we preserve -- sorry. i missed that. >> the whole question? >> it sounded good. >> how do we develop the global citizen, for example? >> there is an amazing website, global citizen. they are an amazing group. they just put on a concert in central park. they asked us to play. sorry. we couldn't. we got neil young, the black keys. jack white is like --they are really pushing this idea. it is a jump for human consciousness. go to that website, i recommend it. they do a great job. >> good morning, bono. my name is vivian. i am originally from nabibia.
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i just want to say thank you so much for coming here today and speaking so candidly about africa. i am so excited to hear about my continent and what is going on. my question is, maybe just thinking about the continent and thinking about the diversity that exists in africa and how there seems to be a single story idea of what is going on in africa and one view of it. i guess this is more of a personal question, what kind of advice the have four young africans like myself who have access to world knowledge and opportunities and want to be able to take that back without being condescending or without thinking i necessarily know more just because i have gone to georgetown, and really just thinking about how we can ease back into the african experience and assist people without being condescending, if that makes sense. >> yes, it makes a lot of sense. i look forward to meeting you when you are president of
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namibya, which you are clearly going to be. condescending being the key word, not to condescend. it is very hard. partly what we do is raise the alarm, and we have to, when there is deep injustice and crippling poverty, to raise the alarm, to raise the funds. we've got to be very careful about how we frame it. africa is a continent, it is not a country. it's so many countries. trying to say this tonight, there are roaring successes and then there are terribly frustrating, awful, intractable conflicts. it is not even like two
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africas. there's 51. it's -- it's a -- it's -- i find it quite difficult because when you meet really smart, entrepreneurial africans. one is unbelievable. he talked to me about this. you have to be careful because it is just very easy to caricature -- and this is complex. i am not wanting to condescend to you, and say we don't quite have the answer. honestly, i look forward to the do when you -- what's your name again? >> vivian. >> will be holding this speech because i see the absurdity of patty standing at a lecturn talking because desmond tutu is smitten. i serve you.
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called to serve you. by president mandela and then tutu. i think, you know, we're all called to serve each other in that sense, by god, in the sense of common decency. africa is a continent we pick on because the real issue we are fighting is extreme poverty. it just so happens a lot of it is there. there is such a stark contrast, but i am absolutely sure you are ramping up, and as regards your own role, i really don't think you need any advice from me. >> i would like to ask that everyone keep your seat until
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the members of the stage party have left, as well as the distinguished guests here and the ushers will release each row, for safety and security reasons. >> can i just say one last thing before we go? my favorite singer is here, andrea, sitting right there, with her husband. >> bono, thank you. >> thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> president obama at the white house today. he'll have a news conference
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tomorrow. the first one since he won re-election. jay carney will hold his news conference coming up in about 20 minutes or so, 12:30 eastern. we'll get that live for you on c-span. in the meantime, look at items in the news and viewer phone calls from today's "washington journal." host: we'll again with the denver post this morning. their headline is -- span.org. courtesy of the newseum, washington, front page of that newspaper and many of the newspapers this morning, including "the washington post," liberal groups prepare for an entitlement fight. this is what zachary goldfarb rights. -- writes.
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host: there is what president obama said in the past that he might do. we're turning to you outside washington today to get your take on this. can it be part of a grand bargain to avoid a fiscal cliff? bob, your first. caller: i never understood, when you are eligible of age to go on medicare, that that is the simultaneous with social security. i do not understand why those are staggered. for all the republicans out there, i agree, i am a fiscal conservative, that the very
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least to raise the eligibility age from 65 to 67 in medicare should absolutely be on the table. i would like to say, i do not get why we do not use our institutions, government institutions. to allow for people like myself, i pay about $7,000 per year out of pocket or an individual policy that i do not use. i might use $200 per year out of 7000. if they give that money to medicare so that i can buy into medicare, i am 54, and spend my next however many years prior to going on medicare paying into
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medicare on an individual policy, i bet you that there are millions like me read the government could raise so much money and i do not understand why it is not being talked about or presented. host: what if there was an agreement that said anyone over 55, we're raising the eligibility? caller: you look like a reasonable person yourself. i think i qualify. i would be more than happy. i am a democrat. host of you voted for the president? caller: -- host: you voted for the president? caller: i did. host: erica, your thoughts? caller: thank you for c-span. i think that whatever congress decides, we have to be down
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with. the republicans, they do not want to raise taxes. raising taxes, cutting spending, one group cannot shoulder the whole thing. they cannot take all the taxes to get our financial health in order. i think you have to do spending cuts reasonably. there is waste in health care system. you can find things to cut. there is waste, but you have to do it now. i think most people would agree with that. host: before we hear from andy in port richey, florida, let me read from this from "the washington post."
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host: andy, with that in the mix, what do you think? retirement reform on the table? caller: i feel that the real problem, anyway, is that when you have jobs in this country and you work for, say a big company, something like that, they pay for half of your social security and medicare and you pay for the other half out of your tax money. you send jobs out of the country, who is going to pay for it? these jobs have to be brought back here. are they kidding me? host: how does that relate to our topic? caller: medicare and medicaid, if there were more jobs here. host: so, do not touch medicare
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and medicaid? caller: got to bring jobs back. the people would pay for it, the companies would pay for it. host: we will keep talking about all of this this morning. president obama meeting with labor leaders this morning. here is a list of who will be at this meeting from "the associated press." host: i want to go back to the news that we started with, general john allen. "the washington post" has that story this morning. they write this --
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have shaken up the carefully chosen plans for the military and intelligence team in the second term.
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secretary of defense leon panetta put out a statement about this statement, saying that while the matter is under investigation, and before the facts are determined, general allan will remain as commander. "his leadership has been instrumental in the significant progress that has been made in bringing greater security to the afghan people and making sure that afghanistan never becomes a safe haven again for terrorists. he is entitled to due process in this matter." that was the statement from leon panetta about general allan. also in the news, the chairwoman of the senate intelligence committee said yesterday that she would put out a subpoena for the general's testimony, if need be. she said she would go as far as to order a vote on the floor of the senate if the administration
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does not cooperate. part of the hearings that the intelligence -- intelligence committee will be holding later this week. the house foreign affairs committee also has a hearing, although the intelligence proceeding hearings will be closed. this is a look at who is testifying this morning from "the washington times." "the following are scheduled to testify on thursday during this closed door hearing." there is the list, right there. host: so, those are the folks that will be testifying on thursday. also, other news on this, the baltimore -- "the baltimore sun" this morning.
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"18 new of the affair before the election -- one aid of the -- knew of the affair before the election." host: all of this will be our topic later this morning. we will be talking with ronald kessler, an author who has written books about the fbi and the cia. back to our topic, avoiding the fiscal cliff, do you cut entitlement spending? and become a port richey, florida. -- andy, democratic caller, port richey, florida. excuse me, let me move on to
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nick. caller: every time they talk about these in congress, they will not cut their pay, not cut their staff, will not cut any federal employees, which is exactly what all that money is. immigration, those people are costing the american taxpayers' dollars. host: you say that that is exactly where it is going, the number that folks put out there and that experts are saying is that that is not where it is all at, that that would get you very far. but that the real drivers are these entitlement programs. host: i have a friend who works on c130's. they had an $800 garbage can and they were not allowed to ask if they could take a cut in military pay, because it was
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disrespectful. that is how congress treats the american people. actually, they work for us, so they should start to cut their pay, their staffs. think about that. explain to me why they should make more than the average working person. host: do you think that that really drive down the deficit? caller: over the next 20 years if they cut state and senator pay, the juno that in the state of illinois you get $25,000 -- did you know that in the state of illinois they get $25,000 to eat? we should tell them that they are buying all this debt, well we do not need you. keep the paper, we will keep the gold and see you later. host: all right, betty, pa., independent caller. what do you think? caller: i absolutely do not think they should cut social
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security. i am 81 years old. every time republicans get power, that is the first thing they want to do. social security is not part of the federal budget. there is no reason for it to be touched. the only part of the budget for social security is what the government owes. every time they need money, they-if into it, which is why it is broke. they do not have the money to pay this back, they're asking us to give up what we are owed. host: what if they did not touch it for people 70 and older, that this is something that comes later on? caller: they should never have touched it,. . they owe people the money? they should pay it. host: harry reid agrees with betty. he told reporters that he is open to a deal, but that we are not going to mess with social
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security. the obama 2013 budget would reduce spending on health care programs by $630 billion over a decade by reducing payments to drug companies in part, as well as an increased premium for some retirees starting in 2017. robert, md., independent caller. we are talking about entitlement spending. should it be part of a grand bargain to avoid the fiscal cliff? caller: i hope that you will allow me to give you a brief history, and then we will come to the president -- to the president. under abraham lincoln and ulysses s. grant, the president in the 1890's, under hoover, each of these people had to deal with the same problems. in they withdrew money from the federal treasury for their own purposes and then they tried to
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exploit the working class people. from 1980 until the present time we saw a transfer of wealth out of the social security system and the medicare system, money being borrowed to finance these projects, and then they blame the people who are being victimized. this is not something new. seven times this has happened in our history. each of these times, these people who are buying off politicians, they do the same thing over and over, then they want to blame the poor people and the working class people for the problems they have created. they want to shut down medicare and social security. this is nothing new. host: that was robert, an independent caller. facebook comments for you right here --
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host: two comments from viewers who do not want entitlement spending to be part of any kind of package. stocks were nearly unchanged on monday after a day of uneven trading plagued by investor fears of the approaching fiscal cliff. this message from twitter -- host: next we will go to lisa, new jersey. republican caller, go ahead. caller: for three years obama care has affected medicare. i was stressed out about that. back then it was $550 billion to $560 billion, but now i know more. president obama signed obama
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care, as it is known, and my insurance went up 20%. personally, i am an immigrant, i do not care about nationality, but i know a nurse in the state and she knows that they abused those emergency rooms. people coming in with minor stuff. they have out of wedlock kids in this country who are getting a free ride. where are the rights for the low-income white people? my mother never and still does woe is me attitude, that you should all feel sorry for me, and a large segment of society is built in to taxpayer welfare
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money. host: we got your point. labor leaders, meeting with president obama today. mrs. "the new york times." -- this is "the new york times." host
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host: so, that is the story from "the new york times" this morning. "the wall street journal" has the headline as well, "the president needs to persuade the left." let me give you some other news as we continue to talk about this issue this morning of entitlement spending. let me go back to the story about general john allen. here is "the washington post."
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most of the as asking for that confirmation to be x -- host: he is asking for the confirmation to be expedited. "the pentagon was still reviewing the e-mail and declined to comment on the relationship." host: also next to that story is a story from "the boston globe." "kerry considered as possible defense chief." "the president is considering
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asking john kerry to join the national security team." host: so, that is the latest on that. also this morning, "nancy pelosi considers leaving post as house democratic leader." "the decision could come as early as tomorrow, wednesday." washington journal will be live from capitol hill tomorrow with several lawmakers from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. to keep you updated on what is happening this week in washington. the looming fiscal cliff, that is what we are talking about
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with all of you today. how do we avoid it, should entitlement spending be part of the package? james, go head. caller: i had to retire because of back problems or whenever, but i do not get disability, i would not apply for it, it is an entitlement. it is ludicrous to ask people in my age bracket, people who pay for their medicare -- that is what people are not saying. we paid for it for a long time. many of us are sick, we are not asking for anyone to help us along. we are not asking for the government, we paid for this. what it really is is a pyramid scheme. you have to get people working in this country so that they can pay in. it is not the people cheating
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the system. years ago we used to get articles about retirees in my condition. eating dog food. remember that? as it was cheaper than groceries. is that what this country has turned into? all of the veterans -- this general petraeus thing, i am very much ashamed that a leader of that man's competence would do something to ruin his career. as you can say, under the military code of justice, that is a crime. host: mark, how do we avoid the fiscal cliff? independent caller, hollywood, florida. you are on the air. caller: thank you. most people do not realize that the president makes $250,000 per year. if he paid, no one would have a problem. it would solve everything very
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simply. host: all right. edward, clinton, michigan. go ahead. caller: i have listened to this for a while. the thing that i look at is -- i do not know what kind of future my children will have. that is a bit of a disappointment for me. the democrats continually preach that they are for the poor, the minorities, for this group for that group, but the problem is that most of their agenda tends to keep people in poverty. and keep them voting for the same people over and over again. i say, let the fiscal cliff happen. let the american people experience what the chinese experience when mao had 60 million of them starve to death.
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host: can i get your thoughts, as a republican, of the front page of "the financial times." "republicans shift stance over taxing the wealthy." host: what do you think? caller: i believe that jesus said it best, let cesar be thatr, and what is god's,
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is god's. when they put the income-tax system in, they should have put it in the constitution that there is a ceiling to it. just like a minimum wage, there should be a maximum wage. i do not think that any politician should be getting more than $1,000 per week, because let's face it, i do not see anyone in the private sector earning more than that unless they are a high paid guest:. -- high paid ceo. they say they get these degrees, go to school? fine. $1,000 per week. host: "the baltimore sun" has a story, "boehner ways next moves." this is from "the wall street journal." "post office hint of gop path."
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host: "she fit a profile." so, more on leadership, which both sides will be voting for this week when they return to washington on who will be their leaders. so, we will continue to watch that story for u.s. well. part of the mix to avoid the fiscal cliff is these jobless benefits. that is the headline in the politics and policy section of "the washington post." "over 2 million americans could lose their jobless benefits before the end of the year."
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host: susan, michigan, what do you think? should we cut medicare and social security? caller: absolutely not. absolutely not. host: why not? caller: i am a woman who has finally reached the age of social security. all the years the work, this money was taken out of my paycheck. i was told from a very young age that when i reached a fine age of the period where you retire and you can get social security, that all the money that i paid in would be refunded to me. this money is not to be
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touched, not to be changed. for my generation, or the generations that are coming after i am gone, to mess with social security is absolutely a travesty. it should never, ever retouched. host: president obama, meeting with labor leaders today, as well as other liberal groups, and also planning to meet with business leaders. here is a full-page ad this morning taken out by the business roundtable, quoting about the fiscal cliff. "we are immobilized, the national debt increases about $3 million every minute. our leadership needs to adapt to the economic realities, ticket disciplined approach, and most
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importantly act." that is the message from several of these c o's, that the congress and the white house needs to do something to deal with the fiscal cliff. in other news, courtesy of "the houston chronicle," "american production will surpass the saudis within eight years." on the same story in "the wall street journal," "america is on track to surpass saudi arabia by 2020." that is also a front-page story in the washington times as well. below the fold, a piece written by guide taylor. -- guy taylor. president obama, traveling overseas on saturday to several countries, including burma. this is after he meets with congressional leaders on friday.
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that is why we are turning to all of you today to discuss this. john, ohio, what do you think? president obama, when he meets with congressional leaders on friday, should he say that he is open to cuts to medicare and social security? caller: medicare and social security should not be cut. there are other ways to deal with it. you can cut welfare, you can cut wigs. while he is in asia, president obama should look at the pay of the average ceo to the employee is 10 to one in japan. in american it -- in america it is 300 to one. social security, i am a small business owner and have paid into it already.
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i do not believe they should touch it. host: you do not think that they should touch it? caller: no, ma'am. host: how do they bring down the deficit? caller: they need to bring down defense spending. find out what they have been doing with our money. we do not have nowhere, no idea of the deficit. host: let's hear from amanda in wilson, n.c.. caller: i think that everyone should work together, all of these elected officials. everyone should work together to help the people. host: everyone should compromise? caller, i think they should. they were not elected to fight with each other. to help out the public, help
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them have a better life. every president that we have been under, we have been under debt. we elected them to do their jobs, not bicker like little children. host: "the daily news" in new york has this piec
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host: let me show you the list of states where these p host: let me show you the list of states where these petitions came from. it of course includes texas and goes on and on. wu will take a look at that as we go to from royal, virginia. you have got to turn down your television, all right? i will put you on hold and we will come back to you in just a minute. a reminder, if you do not turn down your television, we get the annoying and confusing feedback. here is "the washington times" this morning. washington times" this morning. these are still the races that are not called. arizona's second district. california's 52nd district. california's seventh district. north carolina's seventh district. called on monday was arizona ninth district.
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so, that is from "the washington times" this morning. the headline, "to west allen, west." he is refusing to concede the house reelection battle. six days later. that is "the washington times" with an update. front royal, virginia, republican, let me go back to you. go ahead. caller: my thought is that i am a republican, but also an american. america voted for obama. we need to pull together as a country. all of the people in the congress and the senate need to pull together and think about what all of the american people need and what is good for this country. if that means that right now republicans have to been in a little bit, they have to do it and fix this budget so that we can move forward as a country.
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host: taxing the wealthiest americans, is that enough? caller: now, it is not, but we have to make a move forward, working together, and if we do not stop fighting and work together, we will not do anything. host: so, does that mean the democrats, also, leading -- leaning forward a little bit? caller: i am a republican, but my mother is 84, i do not want that to be touched right now. i wanted to stay the same for the future. this country is changing, the world is changing. things can change, but right now things are staying the same and we have to figure out a way to fix all of this, america. there are good people in places that should be able to bring our country back to the way it needs
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to be. that should be the goal of the democratic party, the republican party, quit fighting, work for us. stop fire wall and start over. people are sick of the fighting back and forth. let's work together. that is what we need to do. we need to think about the american people, all of them. host: all right. speaking of campaign 2012, the richmond times dispatch this morning, "george allen, no intention of running again." by the way, those that were elected to the 113th congress, the house freshmen, they will be in washington this week and will get their first lessons on parliamentary procedure, dinners and two words, a group photo, and the arduous process
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of securing assignments and scoring office spaces, all of that happening this week in washington. leadership elections, house minority leader nancy pelosi, expected to make a decision on wednesday about whether or not she stays in her top role for house democrats. james, what is the name of your town? what are your thoughts on cutting entitlements, independent caller? caller: hello, am i on? host: you are on. caller: i am 65 and have been working for the u.s. postal service for 28 years. i want to get into a particular part of that fiscal cliff. it reminds me of what i thought was happening when bush first started. it was not his fault, it seems to me. there are a lot people, however,
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that followed the same ground. all of a sudden, everything went up. my home, which i purchased in 1997, was worth $120,000, four bedrooms in california. all of a sudden, when i got divorced in 2000, did not work out how live plan, all of a sudden everything went up. a lot of people have that luxury of -- gosh, money. and the next thing you know? we are all looking at a number that is too high for the average person. a number that we all wish we could have kept hold of. i sold my house, we thought we could afford to live in this place or that place, we moved
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on and we lived our lives. at this point, i do not understand where we are going with the fiscal cliff from the beginning. someone moved the goal posts and has been allowed to stay that way. i believe that if i had all my opportunities, with the money and the house, we could still do what we wanted. maybe everyone should have been republicans. host: jack, independent caller. caller: basically, what is going on here is a long played the game of the shell game. you know that game? the three shells of? host: right, right.
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caller: social security has not added to the deficits that caused the national debt and the fiscal cliff. it has not basically added to it. it has kicked out huge surpluses for the last 30 years. so, obviously, obviously, it could not have added to the deficits that caused this problem. host: what about these rejections? baby boomers retiring? caller: that is covered by the fact that we have a huge number of bonds that represent the surplus. if those are worthless, the chinese had better start worrying. and everyone else. that is the trust fund. that has been taken care of. the reagan commission raised the
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tax rates and cut the benefits by raising the retirement age back in '83. that caused huge surpluses in the program. the corrupt elites that run this country are trying to weasel out of paying that money back. you can bet on it. what is causing this problem? it is our empire maintenance and graft assurance departments laughably called the fence. they cut taxes under the bush administration, raised defense department spending hugely, and had two criminal wars. that is what is causing the problem. host: we got your point. front page of "the new york times." "with both parties negotiating to avert a fiscal crisis --
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host: so, that is one idea being floated out there, an idea that some democrats say they're looking at. eric, you are our last caller on this topic. what are your thoughts? eric, arizona. are you there? caller: can you hear me? host: go ahead. i have some problems, here. i am 27 and everyone wants to cut, you know, social security.
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everyone wants to tax the rich. making over $250,000 per year? you are not paying enough. i do not understand. if you're making that much money, you are successful. you have done what you have needed to do, taken the risks, traded a business, taken the time, gone to college, gotten a better job and better yourself. did you have probably better your community. -- you have probably battered -- bettered your community. people living off of government entitlement programs, thinking -- how can i get more everything?
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rent control, section a. why are we talking about taxing the rich? why not talk about helping getting people off. that is not even an option right now. host: all right, let's stop there. first, i want to show you "the daily news" about superstore sandy, new york hit with a $30 billion bill. "the daily news" is saying to suck it up. >> we're live at the breaching room at the white house here on c-span. jay carney is expected to brief reporters shortly. president's been at the white house today. he met earlier with leaders of
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several labor unions and he'll have his own news conference tomorrow at the white house. we'll have conference on the c-span networks. the house and senate both coming in today in about 35 minutes at about 2:00 p.m. eastern. off the floor of the house this week, both intelligence committees will be holding closed hearings on the attack in benghazi. also in washington today, a look ahead to the beginning of the holiday travel season next week with thanksgiving on the way. t.s.a. head talked about things t.s.a. is making. we'll show you as much as we can. this is a portion at reagan national airport in washington. >> well, good morning and, again, t.s.a. administrator, thanks for being here at ronald reagan international airport. as we look at the holiday fast approaching, thanksgiving next week, we are anticipating a busy travel seasons once again and the men and women of t.s.a.
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are standing at the ready to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way. this year we're anticipating over 24 million passengers traveling during the thanksgiving holiday period, and as you know, that can create both challenges and opportunities for the traveling public especially those that travel infrequently. so part of the reason of being here today is to ask those infrequent travelers to visit the t.s.a. website to understand the screening process in a way that will help all those others in line to deal with the longer lines that we usually see. this has been a busy and productive year for t.s.a. as we've focused on developing and testing and implementing a number of what we call risk-based security initiatives. things that are enabling understand to again provide the most effective security
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