No More American Authority — Will the U.S. financial crisis lead to an erosion of U.S. influence comparable to the Iraq war? With what moral authority can the U.S. government fight against international corruption, defend transparency and preach the virtues of globalization after this shameful spectacle?
Naturally, the U.S. financial crisis will decrease the relative moral and material weight of American leadership. The irresponsibility of large banking institutions, the probably criminal behavior of very important companies in the stock market, and the continued negligence of the government show that today in the U.S. unscrupulous behavior in the economic arena is not an isolated phenomenon.
This is serious, given that the U.S. is not only the most important nation in the planet, it is, as well, a sort of role model to the rest of the world. With what moral authority can the U.S. government fight against international corruption, defend transparency and preach the virtues of globalization after this shameful spectacle? There is no doubt but that this crisis will severely affect America’s ability to influence the rest of the world. — Carlos Alberto Montaner [ READ MORE ]
Carlos Alberto Montaner is a Cuban-born writer, journalist, and former professor. He is one of the most influential and widely-read columnists in the Spanish-language media, syndicated in dozens of publications in Latin America, Spain and the United States. He is also vice president of the Liberal International, a London-based federation devoted to the defense of democratic values and the promotion of the market economy. He has written more than twenty books, including Journey to the Heart of Cuba; How and Why Communism Disappeared; Liberty, the Key to Prosperity; and the novels A Dog’s World and 1898: The Plot. He is now based in Madrid, Spain.
Top 10 Dumbest Sarah Palin Quotes — Idiotic Quotes by Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin
1. “As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?” –Sarah Palin, interview with CNBC’s “Kudlow & Co”, July 2008
2. “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.” –Sarah Palin, interview with Alaska Business Monthly, March 2007
3. “Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending soldiers out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.” –Sarah Palin, on the Iraq war, speaking to students at the Wasilla Assembly of God, June 2008
4. “I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that.” –Sarah Palin, on the $30 billion national gas pipeline project that she wanted built in the state, speaking to students the Wasilla Assembly of God, June 2008
5. “I told the Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that Bridge to Nowhere.” –Sarah Palin, who was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it, multiple
6. “We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative.” –Sarah Palin, on the Bridge to Nowhere, interview with the Ketchikan Daily News, Oct. 2006
7. “And our congressional delegation, God bless ‘em. They do a great job for us,” Palin said at the forum hosted by the Alaska Professional Design Council. “Representative Don Young, especially God bless him, with transportation — Alaska did so well under the very basic provisions of the transportation act that he wrote just a couple of years ago. We had a nice bump there. We’re very, very fortunate to receive the largesse that Don Young was able to put together for Alaska.” –Sarah Palin, on federal pork and earmarks secured by Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
8. “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.” –Sarah Palin, dismissing global warming as influenced by human activity, Newsmax interview; August 29, 2008
9. “When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism, or maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think, ‘Man, that doesn’t do us any good, women in politics, or women in general, trying to progress this country.” –Sarah Palin, on complaints from Hillary Clinton’s campaign about sexist coverage, Spring 2008
10. “It’s great to see another part of the country.” –Sarah Palin, campaigning in Pennsylvania, Aug. 2008
1. John McCain, who is shameless about promoting himself as America’s ultimate patriot, put the best interests of the nation aside in making his incredibly reckless choice of a running mate. But there is a profound double standard in this country. The likes of John McCain and George W. Bush can do the craziest, most irresponsible things imaginable, and it only seems to help them politically. With Gov. Sarah Palin, it’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with her on the issues. It is that she doesn’t appear to understand the important issues…..She’s Not Ready | Read More
2.Gov. Sarah Palin’s visceral style and tendency to attack critics contrast with her public image, her record shows. Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal. So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency. Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages…..[Read More]
“(AHN) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday that he will not attend the Democratic National Convention as claimed by Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard editor.
‘I do not have time to waste on Bill Kristol’s musings,’ Powell told ABC. ‘I am not going to the convention. I have made this clear.’
Kristol said in a Fox report earlier in the day that Powell was planning to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on the third night of the convention, the day Democrats speak about the theme “Securing America’s Future.” He added that Powell is scheduled to give a speech explaining his support for Obama.” — Kris Alingod/AHN News Writer
Colin Powell was a voice of moderation and reason in the Bush Administration. He was frequently at odds with Dick Cheney and the rest of the neocons, who had an ill-fated pipe dream of invading Iraq and turning the Muslim country into a bastion of democracy.
“In July 2007 Powell revealed that he spent two and a half hours trying to persuade George W. Bush not to invade Iraq but that he did not prevail.” — Quotation from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell)
Powell was deeply opposed to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, but instead of doing the honorable thing and resigning he went before the United Nations to present his “dog and pony” show in favor of attacking Iraq.
Colin Powell: The Speech that led to WAR (1/8)
Powell’s speech before the UN was such an egregious betrayal of everything that he stood for, that it forever mars an otherwise sterling political and military career.
Sen. Barack Obama’s early claim to fame was that he was against the Iraq war from the start. His vehement opposition to the Iraq war is the main reason why he is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Under no circumstances should Obama accept Powell’s endorsement, it would be a betrayal of everything he stands for.
Powell’s timidity and cowardice at a critical juncture in history has forever stained his legacy, and if Obama accepts his endorsement it will compromise his moral legitimacy.
REFERENCES:
Singer Harry Belafonte Slams Colin Powell — Calls Him A “Sellout” TUES OCT 17, 2002 15:30:38 ET
Singer Harry Belafonte took to the AM radiowaves on Tuesday morning to slam Secretary of State Colin Powell as a sellout to the black race!
Belafonte, appearing on San Diego’s 760 KFMB, told host Ted Leitner that Powell was like a plantation slave who moves into the slave owner’s house and only says what his master wants him to say.
“There’s an old saying,” Belafonte began. “In the days of slavery, there were those slaves who lived on the plantation and were those slaves that lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master… exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him.
“Colin Powell’s committed to come into the house of the master. When Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture.”
For close to twenty minutes, Belafonte ripped the entire Bush administration, including an attack on Attorney General John Ashcroft.
“There’s something wrong with men who think the way Ashcroft does and who manipulate the justice system the way he does.”
Belafonte likened Ashcroft’s tactics to the McCarthy era:
“Families were destroyed, neighbors spied on neighbors. Now we find Ashcroft cutting in under the guise of catching terrorists, suspending liberties and rights. To deny those rights, to any citizen, to any people, is to cast a great shame on us and lead us back to another dark period.”
Belafonte also sang the praises of the United Nations as a pillar of global democracy, and decried President Bush for failing to attend the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa earlier this year.
“There were tens of thousands of peoples and leaders from all over the world gathered to discuss the issue of race. It was an honorable arena… But by not showing up, by sticking it to the government of Nelson Mandela… It was a dark page on our foreign policy.”
Belafonte is best known for the international hit “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”.
2. Former aide: Powell WMD speech ‘lowest point in my life’ — A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state’s presentation to the United Nations on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction was “the lowest point” in his life.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney, both former oil-company executives, have long tried to tell us this war(Iraq War) was about terrorism, about weapons of mass destruction, about bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people, about anything but oil.
Said Mr. Bush: “We cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.”
One of the starkest examples of U.S. priorities came during the eruption of looting that followed the fall of Baghdad. With violence and chaos all about, American troops were ordered to protect one particularly treasured target — the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
Being a Western oil giant with a no-bid contract in Iraq is a prize, yes. But at what cost? …[MORE >>]
…..Actually, it’s more sophisticated than that: Get Saudi Arabia, our chief oil pusher, to up our dosage for a little while and bring down the oil price just enough so the renewable energy alternatives can’t totally take off. Then try to strong arm Congress into lifting the ban on drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
It’s as if our addict-in-chief is saying to us: “C’mon guys, you know you want a little more of the good stuff. One more hit, baby. Just one more toke on the ole oil pipe. I promise, next year, we’ll all go straight. I’ll even put a wind turbine on my presidential library. But for now, give me one more pop from that drill, please, baby. Just one more transfusion of that sweet offshore crude.”
It is hard to find the words to express what a fraudulent, pathetic excuse for an energy policy President Bush’s new plan is…..[MORE]
