New US Tariffs on 60 countries, Including in Europe and China, for goods produced with forced labor inspired by US Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh's dissent

Good news! A very interesting angle to impose import tariffs! 

Will President Trump try to go down in history as an abolitionist? Way to go!

How serious is modern slavery or indentured servitude or similar arrangements/conditions around the world even today at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century?

Caveat: I am not familiar with the details of President Trump's latest imposition of tariffs.

"... Trump imposed the latest tariffs, ranging from 10-12.5 percent, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. They follow an investigation under Section 301 finding failure to prevent the importation of goods as a result of forced labor in the respective countries.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is one of the pathways forward that Kavanaugh highlighted in the dissent when the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s worldwide International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which he imposed on April 2, 2025. ..."

"Today, Ambassador Jamieson Greer is taking final action, at President Trump’s direction, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 by imposing tariffs on 60 economies for their failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.  Today’s action comes after the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) investigations, which included two rounds of public hearings, more than 2,100 public comments, and engagement with our trading partners to remedy these longstanding concerns.

“President Trump recognizes that decades of moral suasion have not eradicated forced labor from global supply chains.  The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said Ambassador Greer.  “Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.  I am encouraged by the trading partners who have moved quickly to adopt forced labor import prohibitions, and look forward to ensuring their effective enforcement.” ..."

U.S. Tariffs 60 Trading Partners, Including Europe and China, for Slave Labor Product Imports "United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer on Thursday announced “tariffs on 60 economies for their failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.”"

Trump’s Tariffs on 60 Countries Adopt Method Justice Brett Kavanaugh Laid Out in SCOTUS Ruling "The tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on 60 countries Thursday night utilize one of the mechanisms that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh laid out in the dissent of February’s Supreme Court ruling striking down Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs."

USTR Takes Action in Forced Labor Section 301 Investigations (original government news release)

Trump's Newest Tariffs Are Likely Illegal Too (a critical voice) "The Section 301 tariffs announced on Thursday overstep the powers granted by Congress and likely run afoul of the major questions doctrine."

Chart of the day

Still a long way to go!

Source, Credits

India Slams "Shallow" Switzerland Over Human Rights Criticism with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Why was Switzerland, of all countries, lecturing India at the UN Human Rights Council? One of the oldest most and most direct democracy v. the largest democracy in the world!

  

India’s Digital Future Just Changed after SC Ruling declaring digital access to be a fundamental right with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! However, I am not sure this new fundamental human right makes much sense. It requires e.g. big government!

Caution: This video contains disturbing imagery of two women whose faces were attacked with acid.

The Prosecution Of Daniel Penny Is A Soviet-Style Attack On The Right Of Self-Defense by the infamous Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg

This is a very serious case about the right to self-defense!

It is also a stark reminder again that known violent mentally ill individuals should no be out in public!!!

"Closing arguments were heard in the New York City trial of military veteran Daniel Penny, who is charged with murder for subduing a dangerous mentally ill homeless man on a subway train.

The TPPF take: The prosecution of Daniel Penny is an attack on the right of self-defense.

“If capable, well-intentioned individuals like Penny refrain from intervening, who will ensure public safety in moments of crisis?” asks TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “New Yorkers, already accustomed to high-profile subway crimes, may feel abandoned. It is no coincidence that under DA Alvin Bragg, a prosecutor known for prioritizing controversial cases like those against President-elect Trump over addressing violent crime, public trust in the justice system has justifiably eroded.”"

"American justice has become politicized — a weapon against enemies with hall passes for favored groups. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and dozens of big city, George Soros-funded leftist district attorneys routinely prosecute innocent citizens while letting criminals walk free.

The actions of these powerful officers of the law fit a pattern that the great Soviet-era Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn not only would have recognized, but he also detailed. ...

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s prosecutions of both Donald Trump and Daniel Penny — closing arguments for Penny’s trial are scheduled for after Thanksgiving — combined with his leniency for deadly criminals are a case in point. ...

Penny, a former Marine, intervened when Jordan Neely became aggressive and threatening on a subway train. Neely, who tragically died, either during the confrontation or shortly after ... had a long history of violence and assault. By stepping in, Penny averted harm to fellow passengers. Yet instead of being hailed as a protector, Penny was prosecuted. It appears Bragg is a fan of the Soviet Union’s Article 139. ..."

The Prosecution Of Daniel Penny Is A Soviet-Style Attack On The Right Of Self-Defense - Texas Public Policy Foundation

Texas Public Policy Foundation Cannon

Getting abortion pills through the mail is safe, quick, and effective, study finds. Really!

Not safe and maybe not quick for the unborn life! Such headlines are appalling and barbarian!

Should such abortion pills become an easy, convenient substitute for contraceptives? Rather not, especially not for late term abortion!

"Amid a national furor over access to abortion, a new study found that dispensing abortion pills though mail-order pharmacies worked as effectively as requiring patients [???] to obtain medication in person at a clinic or physician’s office. ..."

Getting abortion pills through the mail is safe, quick, and effective, study finds

Russia loses bid for seat on UN Human Rights Council

Bravo! To have the country run by a megalomaniac war criminal with international arrest warrant Putin the Terrible on this council would have been a really bad joke!

Who were those 83 people who voted in secret for Russia? Incredible!

"“UN member states sent a strong signal to Russia’s leadership that a government responsible for countless war crimes and crimes against humanity doesn’t belong there,” said Louis Charbonneau, United Nations director at Human Rights Watch, on Tuesday. 

About a year after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia lost its seat on the UN Human Rights Council, a seat it tried to get back in a vote to add two seats to the body. Those seats went instead to Bulgaria (160 votes) and Albania (123 votes), while Russia managed just [???] 83 votes in the secret ballot."

Today's Headlines - 11 Oct

Health care as a human right has the potential to bankrupt a country or seriously deteriorate health care

There is a strong demand in Western countries to socialize/nationalize medicine or health care services as much as possible. In some countries like, unfortunately the UK (NHS) or the U.S. (Medicare), this has become reality.

To insist on health care as a human right is one of the avenues to socialize health care.

Once health care is largely run by government it takes control over your health. It has the potential to become so expensive as to bankrupt a country. Price and service controls may become systemic and expand. There is a tremendous risk of deteriorating medical services. Medical professionals become mediocre or emigrate for better opportunities.

A mixed system of private and public healthcare is difficult to maintain. The upward pressure on increasing the share of public healthcare at the expense of private healthcare is enormous.

An appeal to abortion fanatics on both sides

Given the pending decision of the U.S. Supreme Court affecting abortion rights in the country it is important to remind the radicals for what they are.

Anyone who defends the right of a woman to abortion without reasonable compromise is a fanatic and worse a person with murderous thoughts! 

On the other side, we have fanatics denying any right of a women to abortion for religious or other reasons.

Such fanaticism is primitive and uncivilized!

Way too many demagogues over several decades have pushed such zealotry within our society! It is long past high time to call them out for what they are! 

Fanatics like these are an impediment to human progress, because they waste our energy and resources for way too many years! Humanity would be so much better off without those fanatics!

Peace at last! When will this senseless, medieval, and divisive debate finally be over!

Nobody with common sense will deny an abortion if the life or health of the pregnant woman is in danger or if the woman was raped or if incest occurred.If a fetus is diagnosed with serious disorders an abortion or child adoption may be considered. Apart from abortion, child adoption should always be considered as another option.

One can also reasonably debate the use of medications to end an unwanted pregnancy within a few days or so after the intercourse when e.g. contraceptives were lacking or sex was unprotected.

It is a fundamental fact that human life begins latest at conception! The unborn human life is precious and deserves protection. The U.S. Constitution plus the Declaration of Independence leave no doubt here! 

Wait for the next wave of fanatics, once humans have developed artificial wombs and gestation ex utero! History repeats itself very often!

How many Albert Einstein's have we already killed by abortion? One would be already too many!