Integrity Legal

It recently came to this blogger’s attention that exporters in Australia are expecting a robust economy in Asia in the future. In order to provide further explanation it is necessary to quote directly from the official website of the Herald Sun, HeraldSun.com.au:

This blogger encourages readers to click upon the aforementioned hyperlinks to learn further details from this interesting article.

There are many who feel that the economies which comprise ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam) are likely to continue to show signs of economic integration along with the concomitant economic benefits that come therewith. Hopefully such possible circumstances will accrue to the benefit of all concerned.

The economies in the ASEAN jurisdictions are not the only foreseeable beneficiaries of possible future economic luster. In fact, China appears to be viewed by many as a possible economic powerhouse in coming decades. This is not to say that this will accrue to the disadvantage of other economies since global economics is not always a “zero sum” game. The growth of a sustainable middle class in any of the Asian jurisdictions is likely to create tangible economic rewards on a local, regional, and global scale. To provide further insight into the encouragement of Chinese small business it is necessary to quote directly from the official website of China Daily, ChinaDaily.com.cn:

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged stronger financial support for China’s smallbusinesses and better regulation of private lending activities to prevent risks of capital shortage from spreading.

This blogger strongly encourages readers to click upon the hyperlinks noted above to read this interesting and concise article in detail.

Clearly tangible benefits can be garnered by both the Chinese and ASEAN economies through bi-lateral relations, but when viewing this in conjunction with the fact that Australia and the US maintain a strong economic relationship with ASEAN and her component jurisdictions there is at least an inference which can be made to support the conclusion that there is likely to be dynamic economics at play in Asia’s future. Meanwhile, this economic dynamism can have ancillary benefits for the global economy.

How future economic events will transpire remains to be seen, but there are strong indicators that all of the economies mentioned above have bright futures indeed.

For information regarding legal services in Southeast Asia please see: Legal.

Posted in American Business, ASEAN Business, ASEAN Visa, Cambodia Business, China Business, Indonesia Business, Laos Business, Malaysia Business, Myanmar (Burma) Business, Thailand Business, US Business, US Company Registration, Vietnam Business | No Comments »

It recently came to this blogger’s attention that the President of the United States noted his disapproval of negative reactions to comments made by a gay American serviceman. In order to elucidate further it is necessary to quote directly from the official website of the Washington Times, WashingtonTimes.com:

President Obama has taken a swipe at the entire field of Republican presidential candidates, saying they are guilty of “smallness” for failing to stand up for a gay U.S. service member who was booed by a few audience members at a GOP debate. “We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders — one of whom could end up being the President of the United States — being silent when an American soldier is booed,” Mr. Obama told a cheering crowd of gay and lesbian advocates Saturday night at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Washington. “We don’t believe in standing silent when that happens. You want to be Commander-in-Chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it’s not politically convenient…”

This blogger strongly encourages readers to click upon the hyperlinks noted above to learn further details about this apparent incident.

It was heartening for this blogger to see this show of solidarity from President Obama as “booing” of any American military personnel willing to lay down their lives in service to their country is uncalled for notwithstanding personal disagreements regarding lifestyle choices. No member of the LGBT community willingly serving in the American Armed Forces should be subjected to such “second class” treatment, especially by those whom they are tasked with protecting.

Issues surrounding LGBT Equality have been a topic of discussion in recent months as discussions persist with respect to the repeal of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” leading to analysis of States’ Rights issues and matters pertinent to the Erie Doctrine. Of more immediate concern for those proponents of DOMA repeal is the possibility of a political solution in the form of an Act repealing DOMA. In order to shed further light upon endeavors aimed at the aforementioned goal it is necessary to quote directly from Advocate.com:

When Jo Deutsch and Kathryn Lehman are en route to Capitol Hill for meetings with Republicans, they find it best to avoid certain conversations. The debt ceiling is off the table. So are their respective political resumes — one has worked for Barbara Boxer, the other Newt Gingrich. In fact, the two lobbyists could not be more divergent on most issues — except repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA, which House Republican leadership is defending in several legal challenges, is a deeply personal issue for Lehman, because 15 years ago, she helped to write it…Deutsch and her partner, Teresa Williams, have been together for 28 years and have three children. However improbable legislative repeal of DOMA is in the near future, Deutsch’s professional raison d’etre, as Freedom to Marry national campaign director Marc Solomon sees it, “is to make our strongest case in D.C. with every influential player. Members of Congress, political operatives, the press corps — you name it.” And by hiring Lehman, the organization is taking a page out of the playbook from Proposition 8 opponents, who hired polar opposites Ted Olson and David Boies to make a court win happen.

The administration of this web log asks readers to click upon the hyperlinks noted above to gain further insight.

Perhaps one day a bi-partisan lobbying approach will lead to tangible benefits for LGBT couples and same sex bi-national couples who are in many cases unable to obtain immigration benefits such as the CR-1 visa, IR-1 visa, and/or the K-1 visa since there has been a legal presumption that DOMA precludes recognition of same sex marriages, even those performed in a sovereign American State.

For further relevant information please see: Full Faith and Credit Clause.

For further information regarding legal issues pertaining to US Immigration from Southeast Asia please see: Legal.

Posted in same sex visa | No Comments »

It recently came to this blogger’s attention that the dynamics of Sino-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam) relations has been a topic of discussion. In order to provide further insight into these matters it is necessary to quote directly from the official website of Bernama at Bernama.com.my:

KUALA LUMPUR, October 3 (Bernama-AsiaNet) — The economic relation between China and the ASEAN is very close despite the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The establishment of the China and ASEAN Free Trade Area creates the world’s largest free trade area that comprises developed countries and has 1.9 billion consumers, a GDP of nearly US$6 trillion and foreign trade totaling US$4.5 trillion…

This blogger asks readers to click upon the hyperlinks noted above to read this article in detail.

It would seem that many feel as though there will likely be further economic benefits derived from further economic cooperation between China and the countries which comprise ASEAN. In the context of specific countries, such as Thailand, this benefit may be further magnified by bilateral relations with the US. Thailand maintains a strong economic relationship with the United States as enshrined by the US-Thai Treaty of Amity. Bearing this in mind, the dynamics of Asian economics is subtle and multifaceted. That stated, there are many indications that the economies of Asia will continue to economically thrive in the future.

In news pertaining to travel matters in the United States it recently came to this blogger’s attention that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been recently analyzed for what appears to have been an invasive pat down of a woman who had been afflicted with breast cancer. In order to provide further information regarding this situation it is necessary to quote directly from a posting by Lori Dorn via Boing Boing on the website Gizmodo.com:

Lori Dorn, the wife of Laughing Squid’s Scott Beale, recently submitted to a backscatter scan at JFK airport. The TSA pulled her aside for a breast patdown, even though she stated she had breast implants in place after her bilateral mastectomy. Of course, that didn’t stop them. They didn’t even let her take out the Device Identification Card that would could have explained where the implants came from and their medical purpose. No. Instead they humiliated her in public…

The administration of this web log strongly encourages readers to click upon the aforementioned hyperlinks to read more from this interesting article.

In this blogger’s mind, there is no question that security should be a concern for travelers both in the US and abroad. However, usage of the term “security” as an umbrella term to allow for the humiliation of a breast cancer survivor seems rather draconian especially in light of the fact that the woman in question apparently had a Device Identification Card for just such occasions seems perplexing, to say the least. Hopefully measures will be taken to provide some sort of protection for travelers with disabilities so as to address safety concerns while simultaneously preventing humiliation while traveling.

– Benjamin Walter Hart

For information pertaining to legal services in Southeast Asia please see: Legal.

Tags: ASEAN Free Trade Area, ASsociation of Southeast ASian Nations, breast patdown, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China and ASEAN Free Trade Area, Device Identification Card, Indonesia, JFK airport, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sino-ASEAN relations, South China Sea, Thailand, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, US-Thai Treaty of Amity, Vietnam
Posted in ASEAN Business, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) | No Comments »

It recently came to this blogger’s attention that the President of the Philippines has voiced his belief in the advisability of further integration of the economies in the countries which comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam). In order to provide further insight into these comments it is necessary to quote directly from the official website of Asia One at AsiaOne.com:

Asean must take advantage of opportunities at a time when the world’s traditional growth centres are slowing down, Philippine President Benigno S Aquino III yesterday said. At the close of Asia Inc Forum’s Asean 100 Leadership Forum here, Aquino said for Asean to grow further, it is necessary for the member states to work together to continue to maintain peace, stability and an environment that attracts investments. “I am aware that the diversity in Asean makes it difficult to completely agree with one another on some issues, but this has not stopped us from collaborating on the economic front, and integration has always helped us push our economies.”

This blogger encourages readers to click upon the hyperlinks noted above to read this interesting article in detail.

There seem to be few who question the soundness of the idea that economic integration in ASEAN would provide benefits to the citizens of all of the economies at issue. That stated, ASEAN is a unique regional bloc due to the fact that it has utilized a relatively slow economic integration process which has allowed the participating members to provide mutual benefits to one another while simultaneously allowing the member nations to respect the views of each other regarding national interest and foreign policy, especially in a global context.

Meanwhile, another ASEAN member; specifically the Kingdom of Thailand, has recently been the topic of an article about that nation’s relationship with the United States. In order to provide further context it is necessary to quote directly from an article by Walter Lohman posted to the official website of The Heritage Foundation at Heritage.org:

The administration of this web log asks readers to click upon the aforementioned hyperlinks in order to read this article in detail.

This blogger must take note of the rather precise understanding of the complex interplay of relationships between Asian countries in the context of global diplomacy. It is especially gratifying to see that type understanding in an analysis of US-Thai relations. A prime example of how some such relationships smoothly operate over time can be viewed in an analysis the relationship between the United States and Thailand. The US-Thai Treaty of Amity has proven to be a useful platform for Thai-American business while simultaneously having the ancillary benefit of providing new business opportunities in the economies of the surrounding nations. Hopefully the same trend will continue and similar situations will arise in the other ASEAN economies which foster and facilitate sustainable regional growth for the whole of ASEAN.

For information pertaining to procurement of legal services in the Kingdom of Thailand or the Greater ASEAN region please see: Legal.

Tags: ASEAN, Asean 100 Leadership Forum, ASEAN Business, ASEAN economies, ASsociation of Southeast ASian Nations, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cold War, economic front, foreign policy, grand strategy, Indochina, Indonesia, Korean Peninsula, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, national interest, Philippine President Benigno S Aquino III, Philippines, rapprochement, Singapore, Thailand, Thailand Business, Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1833, U.S.–Thai alliance, US-Thai Treaty of Amity, Vietnam
Posted in Amity Treaty, ASEAN Business, China Business, Thailand Business | No Comments »

For frequent readers of this web log there may have been some notice of the lack of postings in recent weeks. In an effort to provide more broad based coverage of current events and legal news, the administration of The Integrity Legal Blog has been devising new strategies to provide up-to-date information regarding matters pertaining to the Kingdom of Thailand, the members states of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam) as well as global events which may impact international immigration, Consular Processing, and the general body politic. This blogger appreciates the patience of previous readers during this transition and further appreciates the general readership of this web log. Further postings on many of the topics previously discussed should be added shortly, in the meantime thanks to all of our readers as we look forward to providing further pertinent information to the public in the blogosphere and beyond.

– Benjamin Walter Hart

Posted in Editorial | No Comments »