Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (214943)	1/15/2005 10:01:32 AM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573901

'CAIR Makes a Mockery of American Democracy through Deception' "Another instance of the same kind … occurred when I appeared on the MBC network, and to my left sat the well-known American Islamist Mr. Nihad Awad, who heads the American-Islamic organization CAIR. "I am not referring to the organization CARE. [This organization's] activist in Iraq, Margaret Hassan, had her throat slashed by the 'heroes of Iraq.' [I am referring] to the organization CAIR, whose areas of interest are different – and they are not humanitarian services. "The program's subject was 'Islamophobia' … and it took place before the events of September 2001. Mr. Nihad Awad brought with him a film prepared by his organization, and screened it for us in order to prove to us that America was hostile to Islam and hates Muslims, and that American Muslims are subject to ethnic discrimination and racist fanaticism and that the organization therefore requires financial support from Muslims in order to protect the Muslims in America. "As proof of CAIR's activity in the U.S. and in order to attract the required support, he related a story about a book that was in front of him. He [claimed] that this book was written against Islam, was used for teaching American pupils, and contained grave damage to the Prophet of Islam – because it discussed the Prophet's marriage to Safiyya bint Huyay ibn Akhtab, after her father, her brother, her husband, and all her tribe were killed. [Nihad Awad added that] CAIR sued [in the matter] and won, and that this section was removed from the book… "I reached out my hand and picked up the book, and was surprised by its title: ' The Religions in the World. 'It was not a book dedicated to Islam. I skimmed the table of contents and saw that it presented all the world religions in general, apparently because they [the Americans], with their civil education, do not teach so-called Islamic or Christian education. "Do you feel, as I do, the magnitude of this tragedy? It is our tragedy, not the Americans'. This is because the story [about the Prophet's marriage to this woman after killing her family members] is historical truth and there is a consensus [regarding its truth], and it is written in all the Islamic traditions. [Our heritage] sets out in detail the reasons for this incident, the kind of war that was being fought then, and the rules of war [that prevailed at that time] – according to which the women of the defeated side were the captives of the victor. "But the organization CAIR vehemently denies that this incident even occurred. This is denial of something that is known for certain in the religion, because it is linked to the history of Da'wa and the history of the Koran and Islamic law… "This is also a mockery of the democracy and noble laws of America, by a deception that exploits the progress [that guides American] legal values, and by a blatant lie in order to eradicate the story from an American [school] book. "The Americans, out of respect for Muslims and their religion … ordered that the story be expunged from the [school] book, and even accused its authors of ethnic extremism – which is a terrible accusation in America…"

To: RetiredNow who wrote (214943)	1/15/2005 10:02:21 AM
From: Alighieri	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573901

Waging War on Social Security By Charles Cutter (www.cuttersway.com) Jan 13, 2005, 18:51 Email this article Printer friendly page It looks like George W. Bush has finally given up; in a shocking acknowledgement of reality, the U.S. government has now officially stopped looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Turns out the Iraq crisis was, in fact, no crisis at all. It was all a game of pretend, manufactured by Bush & Co., intended to scare a frightened post-9/11 American public into accepting an unprovoked invasion. At the end of the day, the Bush people got what they wanted - not just access to oil wealth, but the freedom to divert billions of U.S. tax dollars to favored corporations. The occupation of Iraq was the primary goal of the Bush administration during their first term, and it had nothing to do with illegal weapons or homeland security. Now they’re applying the same methodology to achieve their primary second term goal - they intend to invade and occupy the money fields of Social Security. And it has nothing to do with providing financial security to retirees. The strategy first requires convincing the American public that there is an imminent crisis with Social Security - financial WMDs, so to speak, hidden in their retirement benefits. Mr. Bush is busily firing salvos to this effect: "By the time today’s workers who are in their mid-20s begin to retire, the system will be bankrupt…" The fact that this is untrue is not particularly meaningful. After all, the absence of WMDs in Iraq can’t undo the damage done in that country, cannot bring back more than 1300 dead American soldiers or the uncounted thousands of slain Iraqi civilians. In the same vein, once Social Security becomes "privatized" it’ll be too late. Mr. Bush has been deliberately vague on specifics, but the essence of his program is this: Current workers would be allowed to divert some of their Social Security withholding tax into private stock market accounts. However, because today’s Social Security taxes are paid to today’s Social Security beneficiaries, we’re facing an instant cash crisis. Mr. Bush’s solution? Borrowing, adding an estimated one to two trillion dollars to the national debt over the next decade. Who really benefits? Investment bankers, fund managers, the entire corporate elite who fuel the Bush administration. <>A recent Gallup poll showed that only forty-one percent of Americans support Mr. Bush’s plans regarding Social Security. No problem there, from the Bush perspective; after all, only forty-five percent of Americans supported the invasion of Iraq - in a Harris poll taken shortly before Mr. Bush invaded Iraq. There is a transparent consistency in all of this. George W. Bush has been trained in gutter politics and gutter capitalism - win, at any cost, then gloat about the victory. Bush & Co. saw the writing on the wall regarding a Medicare prescription drug program. Instead of opposing it, they simply embraced it with a vengeance, taking the idea and warping it to benefit the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. They were so anxious to get the legislation passed they even lied about the cost…until it was a done deal. The upcoming inauguration is a powerful gauge of the wasteful opulence associated with the Bush forces. "Private donors" are funding the festivities, to the tune of $40 million dollars, in addition to an undisclosed expense to the federal government. Need further evidence of Mr. Bush’s priorities? "D.C. officials said yesterday that the Bush administration is refusing to reimburse the District for most of the costs associated with next week's inauguration, breaking with precedent and forcing the city to divert $11.9 million from homeland security projects." (Reuters, 1/11/05) A spokesman for Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-VA) said: "It’s an unfunded mandate of the most odious kind. How can the District be asked to take funds from important homeland security projects to pay for this instead?" A "let them eat cake" kind of moment, signaling the beginning of four more years. So, make no mistake about it: George W. Bush intends to gut Social Security. He’s raiding its vast financial resources for the benefit of his Wall Street friends. His team senses the opportunity, and they will seize it. This is not to say that Social Security is not in need of some serious tweaking - indeed, the entire U.S. budget is out of control. But there is a vast difference between Social Security reform and the plunder envisioned by George W. Bush. The time is now for people to contact their senators and representatives, to let them know that supporting Mr. Bush’s plan will have a vote-altering impact in the next election. Unless you want your Golden Years to resemble the shambles that is post-invasion Iraq.