President Obama and Diplomat Jim Patterson on Human Rights

Dear Jim, Thank you for writing.  America’s dedication to universal human rights does not stop at our borders.  In too many places, people are still persecuted for their beliefs, imprisoned for their ideals, and punished for their convictions.  As a Nation committed to upholding freedom and equality for all, we insist on respecting the value and dignity of every person—no matter where they live, what they believe, or who they are. Many countries have pledged themselves to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because they recognize that restricting the rights and opportunities of any people tears at our social fabric and our common humanity.  But expressions of support are not enough.  Now more than ever, we must shine a spotlight on the dark corners where injustice persists. We have a moral obligation to pursue the world as it should be—in the Americas and the Middle East, across Africa and Asia, and throughout Europe.  Human dignity and justice demand that no man, woman, or child should ever be exploited, and no person should be denied their human rights because of how they pray or who they love.  And leaders and extremists who cling to power and fan the flames of hate and division will continue to be challenged from within and isolated abroad. We must not hesitate to stand on the side of those reaching for their universal rights.  Using the extensive diplomatic and economic tools at our disposal, we will keep working to amplify the courageous voices sounding the call for change.  We still have more to do, and as those in the international community take charge of their destiny, the United States stands ready to do our part to support them. Thank you, again, for writing.  I want you to know I am dedicated to forging a path to a future of greater freedom, democracy, opportunity, and justice for all.  To learn more about my Administration’s work to safeguard human rights around the world, help prevent mass atrocities, and replace tyranny with good governance, visit www.HumanRights.gov. Sincerely, Barack Obama

Dianne Feinstein and Jim Patterson on the South China Sea

Dear Mr. Patterson:

Thank you for writing to me regarding territorial disputes between Vietnam and China in the South China Sea.  I appreciate the time you took to write, and I welcome the opportunity to respond. 

              

Overlapping territorial claims by China and countries surrounding the South and East China Seas have caused tensions within the region.  Though Vietnam and China have been able to work together to delineate maritime boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin, which lies between northern Vietnam and the southernmost parts of China, their respective and conflicting claims to the Paracel and Spratly islands have not been resolved.   

On May 1, 2014, the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation stationed an oil rig in disputed waters approximately 120 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam, just south of the Paracel Islands.  Reports indicate that the rig is accompanied by approximately 80 ships, including private fishing, Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese military vessels.  Vietnam contends the rig is located within its exclusive economic zone and therefore opposes the rig's placement and has repeatedly demanded its removal.  

You may be aware that on July 17th, China removed its oil rig from contested waters, a month earlier than expected.

Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, have publicly expressed the United States' opposition to any attempt by any nation to assert authority over disputed areas in the South and East China Seas through force or intimidation. The United States has repeatedly called for the use of existing arbitration mechanisms to resolve territorial disputes. In order to preserve peace and stability in the region, I believe it is imperative that all nations in the Asia-Pacific region clarify their territorial claims and submit any dispute to arbitration in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas.  

You may be pleased to know that on July 10, 2013, the Senate approved by unanimous consent S. Res. 412, of which I am a co-sponsor, which reaffirmed the strong support of the United States Government for freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region. Specific to Vietnam, the Resolution stated that China's territorial claims and recent actions "have not been clarified under international law, constitute a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force, and appear to be in violation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea."

You may be aware that on July 17th, China removed its oil rig from contested waters, a month earlier than expected.

Please know that I have carefully noted your views on this issue, and I will be sure to keep them in mind as I continue to monitor territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. 

Again, thank you for your letter.  I hope you continue to keep me informed on matters of importance to you.  Should you have any further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841.  Best regards.

Sincerely yours,


  Dianne Feinstein
         United States Senator

Diplomat Jim Patterson and Senator Dianne Feinstein on Mexican Human Rights Abuses

Dear Mr. Patterson:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding human rights abuses by police in Mexico.  I appreciate the time you took to write, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

As you mentioned in your letter, on September 26, 2014, a group of 43 students went missing near Iguala, Mexico.  Various accounts have indicated that local police, under the direction of Igualan Mayor Jose Luis Abarca, were responsible for their disappearance and suspected murder.  Federal Mexican authorities have an ongoing investigation and have identified at least one victim, whose body was found burnt and buried.  According to statements made by the Attorney General of Mexico and media reports, the investigation has led to over 70 arrests, including Mayor Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda.  Please know that Mexican authorities are in communication with the U.S. State Department regarding the matter.  

I understand that as a result of these recent events, you have concerns about U.S. foreign aid provided to police programs in Mexico, including programs funded through the State Department's Merida Initiative.  You may be interested to know that the Merida Initiative funds programs that mitigate corruption and promote human rights within police departments.  During the past several years and in part through funding from the Merida Initiative, Mexico has invested over $10 billion in justice sector institutions to improve government transparency and legal protections for its citizens.

However, please know that I appreciate and agree with your view that foreign aid should be withheld from perpetrators of human rights abuses.  As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I supported the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act, 2015" (H.R. 83), which was signed into law by the President on December 16, 2014.  This bill includes various provisions to address human rights in Mexico, including $148 million for international narcotics control and law enforcement and $7 million for foreign military financing.  Be assured that this funding is contingent upon the Mexican government demonstrating its compliance with and enforcement of human rights laws, including searching for victims of forced disappearances and investigating and prosecuting those responsible for such crimes. 

Please know that I have taken careful note of your concerns, and I will be mindful of your letter as the Senate considers funding for foreign aid programs in Mexico going forward.

Again, thank you for writing.  I hope you will continue to contact me regarding issues of importance to you.  Should you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C., office at (202) 224-3841.  Best regards.

Sincerely yours,


  Dianne Feinstein
         United States Senator
Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website, feinstein.senate.gov. And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me.

Diplomat Jim Patterson Comments on President Obama's Iran Letter

Activism

Dear James:Thank you for writing.  On April 2, the United States—together with our allies and partners—reached a historic understanding with Iran.  If fully implemented, this framework will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, making our Nation, our allies, and our world safer. For decades, Iran has been advancing its nuclear program.  When I took Office, Iran was operating thousands of centrifuges—which can produce the materials for a nuclear bomb—and was concealing a secret nuclear facility.  I made it clear that the United States was prepared to find a diplomatic resolution if Iran came to the table in a serious way. But that didn’t happen.  So we rallied the world to impose the toughest sanctions in history, profoundly impacting Iran’s economy.  Sanctions couldn’t stop Iran’s nuclear program on their own, but they helped bring Iran to the negotiating table.  And after many months of tough and principled diplomacy, the United States—joined by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the European Union—achieved the framework for a deal that will cut off every pathway Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon.  I want you to understand exactly what this deal entails. First, it stops Iran from pursuing a bomb using plutonium, because Iran will not develop weapons-grade plutonium.  The core of its reactor at Arak will be dismantled and replaced.  The spent fuel from that facility will be shipped out of Iran for the life of the reactor.  Iran will not build a new heavy-water reactor.  And Iran will never reprocess fuel from its existing reactors. Second, it shuts down Iran’s path to a bomb using enriched uranium.  Iran has agreed to reduce its installed centrifuges by two-thirds.  It will no longer enrich uranium at its Fordow facility, and it will not enrich uranium with its advanced centrifuges for at least the next 10 years.  And the vast majority of its stockpile of enriched uranium will be neutralized. Third, it provides the best possible defense against Iran’s ability to pursue a nuclear weapon in secret.  Iran has agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history.  International inspectors will have unprecedented access not only to Iranian nuclear facilities, but to the entire supply chain that supports Iran’s nuclear program—from uranium mills that provide the raw materials, to the centrifuge production and storage facilities that support the program. If Iran cheats, the world will know. In return for Iran’s actions, the international community has agreed to provide Iran with relief from certain sanctions—our own sanctions, and international sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.  This relief will be tied to the steps Iran takes to adhere to the deal.  And if Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place.  Meanwhile, other American sanctions on Iran—for its support of terrorism, its human rights abuses, and its ballistic missile program—will be fully enforced. Now, our work is not yet done.  Negotiators will continue to work through the details of how this framework will be fully implemented, and those details matter.  And let me be clear:  If Iran backslides, and the verification and inspection mechanisms don’t meet the specifications of our nuclear and security experts, there will be no deal. But if we can get this done, and Iran follows through on the framework that our negotiators agreed to, we will be able to peacefully resolve one of the gravest threats to our Nation.  To learn more about this historic deal and how it will make the United States, our allies, and our world safer, please visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/Iran-deal. Sincerely, Barack Obama This is a realistic letter and I am glad to see President Obama mentioned “allies and partners.” I assume “partners” includes Congressional foreign policy leadership. It is good the White House and Congress are working together on this. Iran is an aggressor natio and poltically hostile to the West. I am disappointed President Obama did not address Iran’s human rights abuses. Economic sanctions related to abuse of women, girls and gays should be maintained until the US and the world community sees real change in terms of an end to abuses and extensions of legal protections for the all abused minorities. Jim Patterson

Senator Dianne Feinstein on PA's move to Join International Criminal Court.

Dear Mr. Patterson: Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about recent actions taken by the Palestinian Authority to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).  I appreciate the time you took to write, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.  On January 6, 2015, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon formally approved recent documents submitted by the Palestinian Authority to accede to the Rome Statute and become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC).   As you may know, the United States has publicly stated opposition to Palestinian efforts to join the ICC.  I believe that unilateral actions by either Israel or the Palestinians, including the Palestinians' move to join the ICC, make achieving a two-state solution more difficult.  Please know that I am strongly committed to Israel's continued survival as a safe, secure, and democratic country.  As Vice Chairman of the of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the strength of the American-Israeli relationship, one based on shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.  The recent violence in the region reaffirms the need to resume peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in order to create a viable two-state solution.  As the United States has done in the past, I believe we must always stand ready to be an active partner in this process.   Please know that I have made careful note of your thoughts on this issue, and I will be sure to keep your concerns in mind as I continue to monitor the situation.  Once again, thank you for writing.  I hope that you will continue to keep me informed about issues of importance to you.  Should you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C., office at (202) 224-3841 or visit my website at www.feinstein.senate.gov.  Best regards. Sincerely yours,   Dianne Feinstein          United States Senator Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website, feinstein.senate.gov. And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me.

China's Innovative Approach

China's long and slow march to the 21st century is worthy reading in the popular and academic press. CEO Jack Ma is taking considerable risk but likely with Beijing's blessing as long as AliBaba is profitable and can be managed in such a way Beijing's dinosaurs do not feel threatened.

China faces many obstacles to quick economic growth. Clear, future will show economic growth at a rate Beijing finds acceptable. With growth goes information, which investors will need to fund the growth.

To date, Japan and Germany seem to be addressing economic growth effectively. Still, much work needs to be done.

Tim Cook announced Monday Apple operations in China are expanding. Chinese want more technology to gain an edge over other economies. Maybe in the long run this is the way to manage. Though Cook's first concern should be how easily China can copy his technology and disrupt his market and unsettle his stockholders. Therein lies the big question for China. Will it continue to be s society that values intellectual property theft or will the mainline blossom for entrepreneurs.      

Evidence exists China maybe slowly embracing values that breed modern-style entrepreneurship. According to UCLA words, like "innovation," used in more than 270,000 Chinese-language books published between 1970 and 2008. Traditionally, Chinese come to the US West Coast for education and business training in"innovation" and "innovative" thinking in technology. Ditto for Koreans. Anyone been to Korea lately? It is a thriving economy in overdrive.

Innovation in an economy seen as desperately out of step with Korea, Japan, and other economically thriving Asians countries, pressures Beijing socially and culturally. Thus, Xi Jinping attempt to weaken sophisticated Western values among his citizenry. Internet freedom and the freedom of speech that goes with it are attracted among Chinese willing to learn evermore about Western values, innovation, and the World Wide Web. Does this spell an end to Communism? Perhaps it becomes a Westernized market economy lite form of Communism. 

Whatever economic path the Chinese are taking, it will be vastly different than past economic planning and maybe more profitable for all involved, provided Xi Jinping can control his military.  

"You can be brilliant here," a Chinese researcher told the Financial Times. But you can be more brilliant in the US. As the world’s largest and most populous economy, China needs to be a leader in innovation. 

The most brilliant Chinese students consider an education in California to he an (investment) their government owes them. For the country to approach its economic potential, Western values like freedom, should be encouraged in China. 

Dear Mr. Patterson:

Thank you for your letter regarding the recent cyber attack on Sony Picture Entertainment. I appreciate the time you took to write, and I look forward to the opportunity to share my views on the subject.

In November 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment stated that it had been a victim of a destructive cyber attack that caused widespread damage and stole significant amounts of data from its corporate servers.  A group called the "Guardians of Peace" claimed responsibility for the attack.  However, on December 19, 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it had "enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible" for the cyber attacks against Sony Pictures.

The attack on Sony is notable both because of its scale and the fact that the attack was conducted with the intent to physically destroy systems and not simply to steal data.  This new objective of attack suggests that cyber intrusions may have entered a new and more destructive phase.  As the global trend of cyber attacks continues to tick upward, I believe that legislation must be enacted to strengthen the cyber defense of both our government and those of private industry.

To that end, Senator Saxby Chambliss and I introduced the "Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act" (S. 2588) in the 113th Congress.  This bill would have required the federal government to share information about cyber threats with private sector companies and would have allowed, but not required, companies to share threat information with the government under appropriate privacy protections.  The Senate Intelligence Committee approved the bill on July 8, 2014 by a bipartisan vote of 12-3, but it did not receive Senate action prior to the Senate's adjournment in December 2014.  I am currently working with Senator Richard Burr to introduce the bill again in the current Congress.

Again, thank you for your letter.  I will keep your concerns in mind as Congress continues to consider methods for combatting cyber attacks.  If you should have any additional questions or concerns about legislation to combat cyber threats, I invite you to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841.

Sincerely yours,


  Dianne Feinstein
         United States Senator