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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gamesmistress who wrote (22080)	12/30/2003 12:25:46 AM
From: gamesmistress	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794389

Japan May Forgive Loans to Iraq China to Consider Granting Debt Relief to Baghdad; Paris Club Accord Is Sought By SEBASTIAN MOFFETT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TOKYO -- Japan agreed to forgive the "vast majority" of its loans to Iraq as part of a U.S.-led initiative, as long as other nations also help ease Baghdad's crushing debt burden. Iraq owes Tokyo $4.1 billion in unpaid loans, making Japan the largest creditor in the 19-member Paris Club of creditor nations. When interest payments are included, the total owed to Tokyo rises to $7 billion, making Japan the second biggest creditor after Russia, which is owed $8 billion. Last week, Russia offered to write off more than half of its debt. Also Monday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his country "will consider" reducing debts owed to it by Baghdad. It isn't clear how much Iraq owes Beijing, though the state newspaper China Daily has estimated the figure at "several billion" dollars. Tokyo's offer and China's promise to consider debt relief were the latest in a series of pledges given to U.S. envoy James A. Baker III, who has been visiting key creditors. U.S. officials argue that debt relief is needed to help revive Iraq's economy, and the former American secretary of state has previously won support for the idea from Germany, France and Russia. Mr. Baker described a Monday meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as "exceedingly good," adding that they made "very, very good progress." But a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry didn't specify an amount, and made the offer conditional on an agreement by the Paris Club. "Japan would be prepared to eliminate the vast majority of its Iraqi debt, if other Paris Club creditors are prepared to do so in the context of a Paris Club agreement," the Foreign Ministry said after the meeting. The statement didn't specify whether the "majority" referred to the principal amount owed to it by Iraq or the total debt. Iraq owes Paris Club members about $40 billion, and at least $80 billion to Arab countries. Much of the money owed to Japan is tied to hospitals and power stations built by Japanese companies during the 1970s and early 1980s. The Iraqi government later assumed the debts. Japan already has said it will provide Iraq $5 billion in aid over four years starting during 2004. It also began the first stage of deployment of its Self-Defense Forces on Saturday, when an advance party of 20 Air Self-Defense Force personnel arrived in Kuwait. The first Ground Self-Defense Force troops are expected to arrive there in mid-January. The troop dispatch is politically sensitive in Japan because of its war-renouncing constitution, and the recent deaths of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq have increased concerns over security there. The dangers were highlighted over the weekend, when two Thais were killed in attacks in the southern city of Karbala. To provide security for his country's noncombat troops, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced Monday the deployment of 30 more soldiers to Iraq. Thailand sent 422 soldiers during September to provide medical services and to help rebuild roads, buildings and other infrastructure destroyed during the war. Saturday's deaths were the first among the Thai force. "We are sending the additional unit of 30 soldiers to protect the humanitarian unit, which will not engage in combat or fight with the coalition forces,'' he said. He added that Thailand would fulfill its one-year commitment to the U.S., a longtime ally, and would "not run away from a friend." Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday that China, an opponent of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, "will consider" reducing debts owed to it by Baghdad as a humanitarian gesture. Mr. Wen made the announcement after he and Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Mr. Baker, the U.S. envoy Monday. The Chinese government didn't say by how much it might reduce Iraq's debt. And it wasn't clear whether Beijing received any U.S. concessions in exchange, such as greater access for Chinese companies to Iraqi reconstruction work. Mr. Wen said "China will consider reducing the debts owned to it by Iraq out of humanitarian concern," the official Xinhua News Agency said. It paraphrased the premier as saying Beijing "fully understands the difficulties of reconstruction in Iraq and the situation of the Iraqi people." It isn't clear how much Baghdad owes Beijing. The Communist Party newspaper People's Daily said Monday that China was owed about $1.1 billion before the first Gulf War -- mostly for work by two state-owned construction companies. The state newspaper China Daily has put the figure at "several billion" dollars.

To: gamesmistress who wrote (22080)	12/30/2003 12:32:11 AM
From: MSI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794389

We have a kid, and own property. For us to be better off, we should keep more of our own money to use as we see fit. Great idea. Won't happen with totalitarians in the WH, of either party. America is being looted into the next three generations. The idea to quote Norquist, is to "drown gov't in the tub", which he the the GOP means bankrupting gov't by spending like drunken sailors on friends and campaign donor lobbyists. Anytime you have an all-powerful central gov't, the people lose, freedoms and property. You are losing both, but don't know it yet. I'm glad to hear wh dropped $200-$300 /mo., and I hope your ppty tax, college costs and medical costs don't exceed that. But they likely will, imo. I'm in an extreme case -- Calif., but this ghost of excesses past will visit each state in the union, as we are robbed of federal taxes, that are no longer repatriated back to the states. Sure, the fed takes a few hundred dollars less... then the state kicks in to recover the services citizens demand, and any savings go up in smoke. I'm in favor of shaking things up, whether through tax revolt, or tax cut, and I never met a tax cut I didn't like. However, the level of lying has reached an extreme, that whatever is said in Washington, a brief investigation shows the opposite most likely the case. Following the money demonstrates we are indeed on the way to bankruptcy, courtesy of political profiteers.

To: gamesmistress who wrote (22080)	12/30/2003 8:25:47 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794389

We have a kid, and own property. Gina, would you remind me what property had to do with it? I'm drawing a blank. I own property, but if I got a tax cut, I sure didn't notice. For us to be better off, we should keep more of our own money to use as we see fit. I agree with that, but that's only half of the equation. The other half is to cut spending to match that tax revenues. If you only do half, IMO that's worse than doing nothing at all. And lowering taxes while you increase spending, well, that's just outrageous. [I hate this subject. Thinking about it always forces me to acknowledge to myself I would probably be somewhat less opposed to the tax cut had I gotten some of it.] :(