In a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on August 6, Senators from both parties accused the Obama Administration of putting its Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) goals ahead of Malaysia’s modern-day slavery; however, this was just half of the equation.   A coalition of national and international organizations in Asia has charged both Vietnam and Malaysia with “Modern Day Slavery” -- Vietnam for its “blood cashews” and Malaysia for its oil palm industry; both are engaged in state-sponsored human-trafficking and indentured servitude. However, they are being rewarded by the US State Department that pretends these countries have “demonstrated sufficient progress on human rights” despite the fact that both have repeatedly “come under fire for paltry efforts” to reduce human rights abuses. In the blood cashew industry, political prisoners are forced to work seven hours a day for $3 a month, for as long as seven...(Read Full Article)