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America, heal thyself
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alexZA
Aug 19, 08 17:47
Post #1 of 36 (361 views)
America, heal thyself
Can't Post
With the elections coming up, watching all you guys in the LR tear into eachother is certainly fun, but it doesn't allay the real worry that many people in the rest of the world have about US politics. Whether or not Americans care what the rest of the world thinks about them, the rest of the world would dearly like a US president that is on the same page. It might also be more important than US citizens think to play nice.
Again, whether US citizens care or not, George Bush has been a colossal failure in the eyes of the world. He squandered the post-911 goodwill on Iraq, the budget deficit blew out to sickening proportions, and he failed to deal with a financial system drunk on easy money that imploded. He also was the only leader in history to go to war with tax cuts! His presidency has been marked by the shocking absence of any major progressive policy on energy, health care or infrastructure. Despite being Republican, he has amassed the largest government of all time. The connected web of government, lobbyists, NGOs, private contractors etc is truly amazing.
The most worrying thing for voters should be be the US' relation with the world. For one, Asia holds much of US debt and they are getting bloodied by negative real interest rates. What's to stop them and the oil-rich nations diversifying their currency risk by dumping the dollar? The symbiotic relationship between China and the US: you buy our crap, we stop you from going bankrupt; can only swing in China's favour.
"Small" things like tungsten also highlight a administrative failure. China mines and produces 80% of the world's tungsten using technology given to them by the US as part of industry cost-cutting. Uses: cutting tools; armour for military vehicles and warships; armour piercing ammunition; high temperature coating materials used in the construction jet engines; high temperature materials used in the construction of nuclear weapons. Serioulsy strategic stuff and do you think China will just keep selling the stuff to the US ad infinitem as their domestic demand grows?
One of the most admirable things about trhe US is its ability to reinvent itself. Time for that to happen again.
America, wake up. Elect someone who will bring the US in from the cold. In my opinion, Obama is the only guy who can do this. McCain is an older carbon copy of the same neocon manifest.
America, I never stopped loving ya, but with GWB in charge, it has been secret affair.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
parkito
Aug 19, 08 17:57
Post #2 of 36 (354 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [alexZA]
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To each his own.
Elect someone who will bring the US in from the cold. In my opinion, Obama is the only guy who can do this.
Great. Fanatastic.
One question, how's he going to do it?
Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (
James Bryant Conant
)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (
Doug Stern
)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (
William Shakespeare
)
vitus979
Aug 19, 08 18:00
Post #3 of 36 (352 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [parkito]
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There is a lot to agree with in the OP. Of course, the world might want to take its own lesson, and "heal thyselff" before lecturing America.
Have you noticed that "the rest of the world," in these discussions, always amounts to Europe+Canada-Eastern Europe?
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
alexZA
Aug 19, 08 18:04
Post #4 of 36 (349 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [vitus979]
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I agree, the rest of the world has a lot to do. My adopted country, Australia, has been a total flop at infrastructure and energy. However, as 25% of global GDP, the US has a larger responsibilty than most.
As for Europe, the UK especially, they might have it worse economically than the US. By all accounts, housing could fall 50% in parts of the UK.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
alexZA
Aug 19, 08 18:06
Post #5 of 36 (346 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [parkito]
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Be a leader in cooperation through the G8, fix the circus that the WTO has become. Enable policies that support the dollar rather than bail out investment banks. Set the example for energy independence.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
parkito
Aug 19, 08 18:13
Post #6 of 36 (336 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [alexZA]
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1) Those sound more like goals that processes.
2) The majority of them are a) initernational related and b) extremely dependent on the actions, intentions and personal goals of other countries.
3) Aren't these really are your proposals as to what should be done and are therefore independent of who ever is elected president? I really want to know specifics of what Barack Obama is going to do. What I have heard so far concerns me.
Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (
James Bryant Conant
)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (
Doug Stern
)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (
William Shakespeare
)
alexZA
Aug 19, 08 18:29
Post #7 of 36 (327 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [parkito]
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Stuff from my wildest dreams for Aus and the US:
1. Flat tax system i.e 20% everybody pays. (note falling US tax receipts)
2. Invest in rail infrastructure to take freight and poeple off the road.
3. Subsidies to individuals to install solar, wind power.
4. Remove farm subsidies.
5. Nuclear power
6. Remove speculators from oil and food futures markets.
7. Support the dollar by inflation control measures (helped by no.6) to get real interest rates positive. Give US investors in the Middle and Far East some decent returns.
As for Obama, I'd like to know more specifics from him too.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
Monk
Aug 19, 08 18:41
Post #8 of 36 (320 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [alexZA]
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In Reply To
Be a leader in cooperation through the G8, fix the circus that the WTO has become. Enable policies that support the dollar rather than bail out investment banks. Set the example for energy independence.
I'm wondering why this should be the United States' job to do this. We're not your daddy. This is a wonderful place to have been lucky enough to have been born in. Prosperity, standard of living, etc. And for some reason, people in other countries, and Democrats like to tell us what a terrible country this is, compared to other enlightened nations, what bad people we are, etc. Yet, somehow, when there is a problem, the world looks to us to "be a leader". Work it out on your own. Let us know how it goes.
majorminor
Aug 19, 08 19:46
Post #9 of 36 (307 views)
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alexZA
Aug 19, 08 20:17
Post #10 of 36 (292 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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"Speculators/futures traders are not causing inflation. Changing supply and demand and world crisis threat premiums are changing the price of commodities. Maybe the speculation changes the price more often/quickly that everyone would like, but hey, we live in a global business world. It matters what happens around the world, and the markets are reacting in real-time. Deal with it."
Oil doubled in less than a year. I guarantee you that demand did not double, nor did a decrease in the rate of supply growth send the prices into orbit. Since mid-June the price of oil has dropped nearly 25% - again not an accurate reflection on demand.
When I speak about speculators in futures markets I don't mean business "hedging" by buying forward inventory, I speak about speculators. There is a difference that you have missed. Speculators never take delivery of the underlying commodity.
Some very large mutual and hedge funds have moved between equity markets and commodity markets after the credit crunch hit. they are now moving out of commodity markets. They aren't exactly light-footed - talking trillions here. I'm not saying that there isn't another oil spike coming in the future, just that this last one was a speculative bubble.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
majorminor
Aug 19, 08 20:27
Post #11 of 36 (286 views)
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alexZA
Aug 19, 08 20:35
Post #12 of 36 (278 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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"My recommendation woudl be to stop drinking the conspiracy kool aid and take off that tin foil beanie.
There is no smoke filled room with the tyrants big oil, big finance, TriLateral Commission, CFR, etc all conspiring to screw the average citizen."
Not sure where you got that from my posts. Not saying there is some conspiracy, just that a lot of big instutional money "diversified" right into the commodities bubble. The herd is now moving out. This can be seen by the Reutes/Jefferies CRB Index being down 20% in the last 6 weeks.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
alexZA
Aug 19, 08 20:45
Post #13 of 36 (275 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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"Disagree. Go read your Econ 101 book. Supply/Demand curves are NON-LINEAR."
I merely pointed out that your suggestion that demand and supply issues plus some sort of geoplitical premium were responsible for the oil spike.
Furthermore, I wouldn't pay much credence to curves of supply and demand. Traditional economics presumes a closed, rational financial system. It even assumes that financial institutions don't matter when it comes to asset pricing. There is a serious gap between academics and market professionals. Too many assumptions in traditional economics theory for the real world.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
(This post was
edited
by alexZA on Aug 19, 08 20:46)
Monk
Aug 19, 08 20:47
Post #14 of 36 (270 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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I would love to have French style 60% (I think) electricity from nuke.
Google it-its about 80%--and they still don't glow in the dark.
CaptainCanada
Aug 19, 08 20:48
Post #15 of 36 (268 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [alexZA]
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The above sounds to me just like a few of our right wing ST commentators (no names, you know who you are), just had to share.
===============
2009 Race Schedule:
Wine Country Oly, IM Lanzarote, Wasa Lake Oly, Rhode Island 70.3, Ultraman Canada Relay (swim/bike), Apple Oly, IM Canada, Grand Columbian Half
parkito
Aug 19, 08 20:52
Post #16 of 36 (264 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [CaptainCanada]
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Well played by an anonymous Canadian.
Not.
Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (
James Bryant Conant
)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (
Doug Stern
)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (
William Shakespeare
)
CaptainCanada
Aug 19, 08 20:58
Post #17 of 36 (260 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [parkito]
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Oh don't get your panties in a bunch Parkito - I can't vote in your election.
===============
2009 Race Schedule:
Wine Country Oly, IM Lanzarote, Wasa Lake Oly, Rhode Island 70.3, Ultraman Canada Relay (swim/bike), Apple Oly, IM Canada, Grand Columbian Half
majorminor
Aug 19, 08 21:04
Post #18 of 36 (256 views)
Post deleted by majorminor
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alexZA
Aug 19, 08 21:11
Post #19 of 36 (252 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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Look, you really need to work on your own assumptions. I didn't say ignore the curves completely, just that they can't adequately explain the moves in the oil price.
What I am saying is that the below curve includes a lot of assumptions.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
parkito
Aug 19, 08 21:16
Post #20 of 36 (244 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [CaptainCanada]
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Hey, I go commando. I never have to worry about bunching.
Now, if you have got some insight on Obama, give it up!
Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (
James Bryant Conant
)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (
Doug Stern
)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (
William Shakespeare
)
erichollins
Aug 19, 08 21:16
Post #21 of 36 (242 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [alexZA]
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Heal thyself? We have to admit that we have a problem first.
--
Patience isn't a virtue. Patience is a waste of my time.
http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/
alexZA
Aug 19, 08 21:18
Post #22 of 36 (241 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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"The Law of Supply/Demand is called a Law for a reason. Yes, there are many nuances and assumptions, but they really are laws. They really do generally hold true."
The laws of supply and demand work perfectly according to the assumptions inherent in the theory:
Flexible prices
Say's law
Saving -Investment equality.
This doesn't help explain, for example, the credit crisis where the market for CDOs and the like ceased to exist. Prices were not seet by the market, but by financial agents.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
majorminor
Aug 19, 08 21:23
Post #23 of 36 (230 views)
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CaptainCanada
Aug 19, 08 21:28
Post #24 of 36 (224 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [parkito]
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Hey, I go commando. I never have to worry about bunching
Well, we have one thing in common at least.
My insight on Obama - frankly I don't really hear enough specific from him to think that he would be anything more than a Jimmy Carter clone, a well meaning and naive guy in over his head. But the incredibly negative tone that STers take when discussing him is a little over the top.
But I also think that McCain has lost so much of his credibility by abandoning his principles and cozying up to GWB the last four years. Maverick my ass.
So if I had a choice, I think I would vote Obama, only because I think the symbolism of the simple act of electing someone who is the anti-Bush will go a long way to solving a lot of the foreign relations problems that GWB and his cronies have caused. Perception is reality.
I think all the hand wringing over Obama's tax proposals is actually unpatriotic. The US citizenry elected GWB who led the US into a stupid war of aggression and put the US into a horrible deficit position. Unfortunately is time to pay up. I think it is unreasonable to think that tax cuts are a good idea. I can't imagine any of the good republicans on this message board would ever manage their households as horribly as GWB has managed the business of governing.
Flame away.
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2009 Race Schedule:
Wine Country Oly, IM Lanzarote, Wasa Lake Oly, Rhode Island 70.3, Ultraman Canada Relay (swim/bike), Apple Oly, IM Canada, Grand Columbian Half
alexZA
Aug 19, 08 21:30
Post #25 of 36 (222 views)
Re: America, heal thyself [majorminor]
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"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you don't have a college education or own a successful business..... "
Careful on the assumptions there. Wasn't aware that Econ 101 was a requirement for running a business. Better go and tell Bill Gates and Ingvar Kamprad.
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Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilisation. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. In road racing, you kick him to death.’ - The Rider, Tim Krabbe.
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