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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (16553)	4/6/2003 11:09:27 AM
From: SOROS	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

All they have to do is IPO an Iraqi Mutual Fund. Lots of name possibilities -- "Ravish Every Arab Like Bill And Lewinsky Loving Saddam" maybe -- stock symbol, REALBALLS, the motto of our government and the Federal Reserve (funny how they get an impotent old man to run the joint -- Alan Greenscrotum, as you like to call him). Can you imagine the cash money coming off the sidelines if they spin it correctly? I mean, once a country is blown to bits with nothing but dead and starving everywhere, it only has one direction to go, right? All the liberal, politically correct goonies would join with the blind, conservative "patriotic" bunch to "fund Democracy and save and Iraqi whale." I remain, SOROS

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (16553)	4/6/2003 11:30:59 AM
From: SOROS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Just had a meeting with a brokerage firm. They feel the "debt" problem is WAY overstated. They say that the figures are always from mid-cycle when people's credit is all used on their cards, etc., but most people simply pay off all credit cards each month, so they really have no credit card debt as reflected in the stats. They also feel that the trillions in cash right now will soon come flooding back to the market. It's only there because of geo-political uncertainty. They hang their entire hat on betting that the phrase "it's different this time" has and always will be a moron's chant. They ignore on-going, permanent debt, company valuations created in 20 years of stock bubble run, unique geo-political things happening that truly could have "once-in-a-lifetime" consequences, trade gaps set up by no manufacturing developing over many years and terrible government policies, destructive "open border" policies, world hate for USA, generation by generation deterioration accomplished by worship of entertainment over ALL other things [generation of video game, rap, sports, cable kids coming up -- watching foul things on cable/internet from young age will create a generation of mindless sociopaths (imagine a world where Bill Clinton is the HIGHEST moral example to follow)], and for me, the most important thing they are totally blind to, which only confirms all the above, is the prophecies -- on track exactly. Watch the chaos is the Iraqi streets. The USA version could be worse because no one expects it, and no one is prepared mentally, spiritually, or physically for anything but "life goes on" and peaceful "retirement". I remain, SOROS

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (16553)	4/6/2003 12:04:02 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Some thoughts about debt. investorshub.com lurqer

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (16553)	4/7/2003 10:00:29 AM
From: mt_mike	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

Based on the rally we are getting lately if we take out Iran and Syria maybe we get to new highs on the Dow. Hell if we go for North Korea Dow 36,000. War is bullish, to hell with the economy.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (16553)	4/11/2003 12:11:32 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 89467

Our Place in the World: Bush allied most of world against us CHRIS AJEMIAN GUEST COLUMNIST The Seattle Post-Intelligencer Friday, April 11, 2003 We have never been so alone. In taking the United States to war, President Bush chose to leave the United Nations and international legitimacy behind in his drive to rid the world of Saddam Hussein. The road to war against Iraq was long but by signaling at the outset there was only one acceptable outcome and by ramming his initiative through the United Nations, Bush made the international body irrelevant even as he sought to label it so for not acting in the manner he found acceptable. Using harsh rhetoric toward traditional European allies, fanning the fear created by the Sept. 11 attacks and presenting dubious intelligence work to justify his goals, Bush allied almost all the world against his Iraq policies. In the run-up to the war, conservatives argued the issue raised by Iraq is whether U.S. power will be used for good or left on the shelf. But they forgot to allow for dissent and the organic requirements of the international system. In doing so, they forced the international system underground. They could not extinguish its resistance to U.S. policies, however, as the failure to successfully obtain a final resolution justifying war and the disagreement over running postwar Iraq demonstrate. Liberals never found the Bush administration's connection between dictators and terrorists convincing. They also fixated on the fact that many lives will be lost in a war that we started. While undeniable, so is the fact that the world is a dangerous place and dictators like Saddam must be dealt with, sometimes with force. As the war began, administration officials took pains to demonstrate how many countries had joined its coalition. The effort indicated Bush is aware that very little of the world accepts his handling of the threat that Iraq posed. But he has done little to demonstrate that he understands the importance of genuine international legitimacy. What we have instead is the administration's media relations campaign to show the U.S. public that the world is with us, not real support. True legitimacy is characterized by more meaningful support on the part of our so-called coalition partners than permission to use their names in the administration's parade of other similarly reluctant and silent allies. Such was the case in the first Gulf War. The international coalition involved a majority of Arab states, solidly unified in their opposition to Saddam and his aggression, who sent their forces to fight alongside Americans in Operation Desert Storm. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan recognized this simple fact on the first day of the current war when he stated that a collective decision would have endowed U.S. action with greater legitimacy than is now the case. Nor will an easy U.S. victory resolve the problem. Even if coalition forces have eradicated all resistance quickly, the war is relatively inexpensive and the occupation of Iraq goes smoothly, the United States will still be judged by the high-handed manner in which Bush brought the world to this point. The world will remember. Today, with the war effectively over, world opinion remains unchanged and strongly against the United States' Iraq policies. Perhaps most unfortunate was the attitude that Bush took in his evening speech announcing the war. He stated that the United States had done nothing to deserve the danger that dictators and terrorism presented us -- blatantly ignoring our past administrations' roles in creating Saddam. The United States, of course, is by no means responsible for Saddam's choice to suppress, starve and murder his own people. But at certain points through the years, the United States aided Saddam, supplied him and, at important junctures, did nothing to dissuade him. Our leaders made policy toward Iraq based on the international circumstances at the time and thus cannot bear all or even the majority of the blame for Saddam's evils. However, the failure to take responsibility for our country's actions will fuel the world's perception that the administration, and unavoidably the United States, sees itself as above the rules and international norms. Until Bush listens to the world instead of throwing our country's weight around, our policies will lack international legitimacy. No amount of military or economic power will change that fact. Never in history has a country been so powerful. And never have we been so alone. __________________________________________________________ Chris Ajemian is a lawyer and member of the World Affairs Council of Seattle. seattlepi.nwsource.com