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 : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (54325)	5/7/2009 7:29:05 PM
From: Bread Upon The Water	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 149317

I basically agree with what you say, Koan, about the dollars slide and the rise of what you hold, but I disagree that the Fed will do this deliberately. (by that I mean by making an announcement like Mexico did a few years ago.) Instead they will let the market do it for them, which it is, albeit more roughly than a one time announcement. That way it will be a more slower more deceptive process. Why do we need deception? Well, first of all if your a voter your not going to be happy if you wake the next day and find out your bank account is now worth 36% less (the announcement method). Secondly, the dollar is the world's reserve currency. those countries that hold bunches of it (China, Saudi Arabia) are not going to be happy either and will stop cooperating with us economically. But I do think by 2025 the dollar will be worth about half as much as it is today.

To: koan who wrote (54325)	5/8/2009 9:26:10 AM
From: Mac Con Ulaidh	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 149317

Me and Southern Baptists in sync on something? almost too spooky - Richard Land of SBC: No room for torture in U.S. intelligence-gathering It took a while, but Richard Land, who leads the Southern Baptist Convention ethics and public policy office, has come out with a strong statement against torture, including water-boarding. Keep reading: NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 6, 2009 --There is no room for torture as part of the United States' intelligence-gathering process, Richard Land said today. He also said he believes the practice known as "waterboarding" is torture and, as such, is unethical. Land, president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said there is no circumstance in which torture should be permissible in interrogations by U.S. officials, even if the authorities believe a prisoner has information that might involve national security. "I don't agree with the belief that we should use any means necessary to extract information," said Land. "I believe there are absolutes. There are things we must never do under any circumstances. "For me the ultimate test is: Could I, in good conscience, do whatever I am authorizing or condoning others to do? If not, then I must oppose the action. If I could not waterboard someone--and I couldn't--then I must oppose its practice." Land said he considers waterboarding to be torture because the definition of torture includes the determination of whether a procedure causes permanent physical harm, noting he is unable to "separate physical from psychological harm" in this instance. The practice contravenes an individual's personhood and their humanity, he said. "It violates everything we believe in as a country," Land said, reflecting on the words in the Declaration of Independence: that "all men are created equal" and that "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." "There are some things you should never do to another human being, no matter how horrific the things they have done. If you do so, you demean yourself to their level," he said. "Civilized countries should err on the side of caution. It does cost us something to play by different rules than our enemies, but it would cost us far more if we played by their rules," Land concluded. The Southern Baptist Convention is America's largest non-Catholic denomination with more than 16.2 million members in over 44,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBC's ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.