Trump's challenge: Can he stop conflict in the South China Sea?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/donald-trump-china-global-headaches/index.html

"We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing," Trump said at a rally in Indiana in May. 

In my opinion, the answer is no. In light of the near certainty that Trump will scrap President Barack Obama’s strategic “pivot to Asia” (Trans-Pacific Partnership), Chinese leaders will be especially emboldened to challenge American presence in Asia.

Under President Barack Obama’s administration, the U.S. has consistently opposed China’s unilateral claims to sovereignty over much of the South China Sea. If Trump believes that the South China Sea is none of Washington’s business, Beijing will likely further escalate its activities, such as building military facilities and drilling for oil, thus escalating risks of conflict with Vietnam and the Philippines. As more than $5 trillion worth of commerce transits through the South China Sea each other, a military conflict or acceptance of China’s de facto control of the area will gravely undermine American security interests.

Trump’s second wall

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/17/donald-trump-ireland-golf-resort-wall-climate-change

When speaking of building a wall, your first thought goes to the wall that Trump mentioned to create on the border between America and Mexico. In fact, there is a second wall that he has in mind to build. Less people would be affected by the wall but the significance of this wall would be high as it would disprove the fact that Trump denies climate change. The talk is of erecting a wall around Trumps luxury golf resort in Doonbeg on the Irish West Coast, in County Clare.

During his election campaign Trump repeatedly declared to not believe in climate change. His investment plans concerning that resort show differently. Even though the Irish coast has always been a rough one, locals have seen the storm washing away the coastline as sea-levels rise due to global warming, based on research conducted for several years. Irish supporters of the wall acknowledge the amount of jobs that Trump provides on his resort. Others are concerned about sacrifice the environment to secure a “playground for millionaires”.

Silicon Valley Investor Peter Thiel Will Join Trump's Transition Team

While most of entrepreneurs did not support Trump, Peter Thiel is rare one who donates more than one million dollars to Trump. Now Peter Thiel joins Trump's transition team. He became a billionaire by co-founding Paypal and investing in Facebook. I believe he won another lottery beyond investing Facebook. I am very looking forward to seeing how he makes changes entrepreneurial environments in the U.S.

Link: http://fortune.com/2016/11/11/thiel-trump-transition-team/

US stock market is on the rise

During the election, once Trump was beginning to take a lead and have a foreseeable path to vistory, investors became panicked as the DOW futures plummeted to large losses. However, the futures were completely worthless in terms of projecting the future. The following morning, when the market opened, the stock market was in the green for a vast majority of the day, and ended up having a great day in the US stock market. This trend continued for the remained of the last week. Rising oil prices have contributed to gains in the US and European markets. After everyone was terrified that a Trump victory would decimate the market, some even compared the event to how the market reacted after the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001. Thankfully, they were all wrong and the market is now setting all-time highs as the DOW approaches 19,000 points. Chinese currency is taking a hit, and is at its lowest level against the US dollar in 8 years. Hopefully these recent gains in the market are a sign of things to come. Many of the elder generation have lost significant faith in the stock exchange since their devastating loses nearly a decade ago. There are numbers to support Millennial generation isn't big on investing either. This surge will hopefully instill confidence in the market again from others than those on Wall Street. The dollar is projected to take off in the next 4 years while Trump is in office, based upon his plans that would increase fiscal spending, raising inflation and growth.  

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/15/u-s-stock-futures-edge-higher-on-oil.html

Japan’s parliament approves TPP deal, labeled ‘disaster’ by Trump

https://www.rt.com/news/366367-japan-tpp-trump-china/

President Barack Obama's push to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in 2016 was resisted by the 2016 presidential candidates in both major parties. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump opposed the deal, arguing that it would hurt American workers. 

Japan’s Lower House of parliament has passed the controversial TPP free trade agreement, despite the fact the deal is likely doomed after Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory.

What the TPP Means for Japan? Why it is so important?

This trade agreement is central to U.S. President Barack Obama’s “rebalance” to Asia, because it would allow the U.S. and U.S. allies and partners to establish the “rules of the road” for free and fair trade in the most economically dynamic region of the world. In addition to strategic and intangible benefits, Japan also profits concretely from the TPP. 

First of all, regulations over foreign companies entering markets have been relaxed, and this will make it easier for Japanese companies to expand overseas into new opportunities.

Second, the auto industry will benefit from a phase-in in the reduction of tariffs on their exports. Also, they will be allowed to buy more parts for their products from Asia, including, significantly, from countries not in the TPP. 

Third, the lowering of tariffs on farm, dairy, and other goods will help lower the costs of these items to Japanese consumers.

Trump's Appointment for Chief Strategist Seen as Voice Of Racism

On Monday, Donald Trump announced his plan to appoint Stephen K. Bannon as his chief strategist. Bannon, a former head of Breitbart News, has come under scrutiny for his racist views on certain issues. This comes following a slew of rumors surrounding the possible appointment of far-right conservatives into high-ranking positions in Trump's cabinet. Trump has also been considering officials such as Rudy Giuliani and Senator Jeff Sessions for his Attorney General.

One of the arguments surrounding Trump's leadership is his tendency to promote "yes-men" to powerful positions, as well as officials who identify as very conservative. Given the fact that both the Senate and the House are Republican-controlled, the country could see a drastic change in the political ideology within the White House. However, the fact that Trump has been gathering an army of leaders with political experience could help him build upon his leadership amongst those in Congress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/donald-trump-presidency.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=span-ab-top-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Trump's deportation plans

Yesterday on 60 minutes President-Elect Trump announced certain aspects of his plan in respect to Immigration, more specifically Illegal immigration. Trump said that he hopes to deport roughly 2-3 million undocumented immigrants. These people would be ones who have criminal records or gang affiliations. He then stated that after the border is secure and those undocumented with criminal records are deported, he will then decide on the cases of other undocumented immigrants.

While illegal immigration was one of the main issues he was driving this election, it appears as if Donald Trump is appearing to attempt to be more realistic about the situation. While he spoke about mass deportation and building a wall on the southern border on the campaign trail, even the most Conservative politicians and pundits would agree that this would be a lofty task. How efficient and costly would it be to deport roughly 11 million people (maybe more). As President Obama stated today, Trump is more a pragmatist rather than a ideologue. He is not necessarily tied to an ideology or a set of principles. I hope this may make him seem more reasonable and diplomatic than he showed in the election.

http://time.com/4569034/donald-trump-undocumented-immigrant-deportation/

China's Xi Jinping calls Donald Trump for a talk

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/china-xi-jinping-calls-donald-trump-talk-161114144248433.html

China's leader has spoken to US President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his stunning election victory.

President Xi Jinping and Trump spoke on the phone Sunday night, and "established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another," according to a short statement from Trump's transition team.

Annually there is $650 billion annually in trade between the two countries, although Trump may put some of that at risk -- he's proposed significant tariffs on Chinese imports, risking starting a trade war.

In terms of foreign policy, Trump has largely shied away from giving his opinion on the South China Sea issue -- where the Asian giant has been building on existing reefs to advance territorial ambitions in the region. Some analysts say that the incoming leader's inward focus might present an opportunity to consolidate these gains.

To keep or not to keep Obamacare?

http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37953528

Throughout his campaign, President-elect (I guess we are going to have to get used to saying that) Trump said he would scrap Obamacare entirely and replace it with "something better." But, after meeting with President Obama, it comes with no surprise that he now wants to "keep some parts of it." Namely, he wants to keep the part where insurance companies cannot deny insurance based on pre-existing conditions and that children can stay under their parents' plans until the age of 26.

Like I said, this comes with no surprise, but I think there are quite a few things to take from this. The first being, is anything that Trump said he would do during his campaign really going to happen (they've already said the wall is not going to happen....makes me wonder who bought that in the first place)? Will jobs really be "brought back from China," will Muslim people be banned from entering the country, will slashing taxes really help the US economy, will he follow through with his pledge to appoint very conservative judges to the supreme court, will he really sue the media for saying negative things about him (which was free media, and worked great in his favor...so understanding why he has a problem with that is beyond me) and will he actually make America great again? It's interesting to speculate from all different angles, but personally, I hope the answers to some of those questions is yes and to some it's a no.
The second, does Trump know how the government works or how bills are passed or how laws are made, or does he believe he has authoritarian power? There is a difference between being your own company's boss and being president of nation.
Third, did Trump not know during his campaign that the two things he now says are "good parts of Obamacare" were included in the Affordable Care Act because of Obama's healthcare reform? Or maybe he will spend the first few years of his presidency learning that how little he knows about a lot of things.
And fourth, is this level of uncertainty and "hope for the best" the only reliable trait we get from the president-elect?

To put this uncertainty into perspective, my SIP is on primary care, and I never thought I would ever have to wonder what the shortage of primary care would look like if Obamacare was to be taken away. The ACA is not perfect and the road to reform is long, but getting rid of it will never be a step in the right direction. The ACA insured millions of more people. Consequently, there are now more people who can afford primary care. It was a step in the right direction because healthcare should be a public good.  Additionally, ACA pushes for funding primary care residency programs through Medicare, which Trump did not list as one of the good parts. I'm not denying its flaws, but to say that, besides two clauses, the entire thing is useless is a bold statement and it makes me wonder how well he actually knows the ACA.

Sure we can hope for the best, but to sit on the hope that the President-elect's unknown alternative will be able to address healthcare issues in this country is quite depressing.  

Colombia Reaches New Peace Deal with Rebels

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/americas/colombia-peace-deal-farc-rebels.html?ref=world

After the rejection of the first peace deal between government and the FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, about six weeks ago, there is now a chance for a new peace deal. With only a margin of 0.2 % the first deal was denied. It showed that there was a huge desire for peace in the country, but a lot of people simply thought the deal was not fair. So, now the parts about, e.g. the guaranteed seat in congress (originally a key demand) or the possibilities to take disarmed rebels to court, have been renegotiated. 

I have visited that country and I have a friend there who was bitterly disappointed when the deal was rejected. The first peace deal seemed like a chance in a thousand to bring peace to the country and the person working for this was even worth receiving the Nobel peace prize (Colombian President Mr. Santos was nominated). The fact, that there is now a second chance that could make the proponents of the deal happier and surely get the majority is a sign, that also the FARC is tired of fighting and desperately looking for a way out of this war. Ending this war could largely improve this beautiful country’s reputation and bring an economic upsurge.