Friday, November 09, 2007

The Suffering Of Children in Iraq Continues

What did these children do to deserve this? What happened to the Republican sloganof "The sanctity of life"?

Reading this story made me so sad for the children of Iraq many of whom have no hope and no future. After reading this story, who with a heart will be able to remain silent as the devastation of Iraq continues? What crime did these children commit other than being born in a country with United States oil under their sand?

The plight of these children is a war crime and Bush and Cheney are no better than the despotic leaders they rail against. While their cronies get rich the children of Iraq are left to suffer and die and then we wonder why they hate us. If impeachment is off the table then those at the table need to be replaced. How can we as a nation tell our future generations that we did nothing to stop a despotic moron and his henchmen and expect them to understand. Doing nothing means admitting that this great experiment called American democracy has failed and the reason for its failure is apathy.
The head of Iraq's main humanitarian group said an 18-year-old approached him with a baby suffering from leukemia. The desperate mother said she'd do "anything" for treatment for her child -- and then offered herself up for sex.

Said Ismail Hakki breaks down in tears as he recalls that story. Leukemia can be treatable to a degree in much of the world, but not in Iraq. The baby died two months later.

"It shook me like hell," said Hakki, the president of the Iraqi Red Crescent. "All my life I've been a surgeon. I've seen blood; I've seen death. That never shook me -- none whatsoever. But when I see the suffering of those people, that really shook me."

The plight of Iraq's children is nearing epidemic proportions, he said, with mothers and fathers abandoning their children "because they're becoming a liability." The parents don't do it out of convenience, they do it out of desperation.
Can any of us even imagine the situation of this mother? Can you imagine watching your child slowly die and there is nothing you can do and no one available to help. This is hell on earth.
Hakki says Red Crescent has the monumental task of treating and feeding more than 1.6 million children under the age of 12 who have become homeless in their own country. That's roughly 70 percent of the estimated 2.3 million Iraqis who are homeless inside Iraq.
1.6 million children in Iraq is roughly 8% of the total population. If the same percentage of US children were homeless that would be 24 million homeless children. Can we ever imagine a day when that would happen?

We must all remember that this is being done in our names. The death and destruction must stop. The Iraqi children need peace and stability. They need to be educated, fed and loved. What we want for our own children we must demand for them. Doing anything less is criminal.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Investors Agree: Anything But The Dollar

Do you still believe we are the envy of the world? Our dollar is like poison around the world.

This is what happens when you elect fools whose only goal is to enrich their friends. How can we possibly finance our huge debt if no one wants dollar denominated assets? The answer is that we can not unless we raise interest rates to attract more investment. If we do that then we will kill what is left of our economy. Its a catch 22 brought to you by the economic policies of the Bush administration. What more proof do you need to understand that he has destroyed both our good name around the world and our economic future.
In financial market jargon, a "flight to quality" when times are uncertain used to be synonymous with "buy dollars." Not anymore.

Currency traders gave the U.S. dollar a thorough pounding Wednesday and pushed the value of the euro to $1.47, the highest on record. The Swiss franc rose to a 12-year high against the dollar, and the pound climbed to the value it reached 26 years ago.

In short, markets appeared firmly in the grip of a mood that seemed to scream for any investment other than the dollar, a reflection of a broad lack of confidence in a U.S. economy that could not seem to put the subprime mortgage crisis behind it. Unusually, powerful new Chinese investors appeared to endorse the idea that the U.S. currency was bound to fade as a result.
This is what happens when you borrow as muich as we have from foreign governments. You are now at their mercy and China could kill us without ever dropping a bomb.
An unprecedented public badmouthing by the Chinese government - a colossal dollar investor by virtue of its $1.43 trillion in currency reserves, most of which are presumed to be denominated in dollars - helped drive the U.S. currency lower Wednesday.

"In terms of the structure of our foreign exchange reserves, we should take advantage of the appreciation of strong currencies to offset the depreciation of weak currencies," Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the National People's Congress, said in Beijing on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
We are witnessing the death of the American middle class and the American way of life unless we act quickly to take back our government from these thugs. Time is running out.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Bush Finally Calls Musharraf

Bush finally talks to Musharraf.For four days after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, President Bush refused to directly contact Musharraf. Reuters reports that Bush has finally made the call:

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he had spoken to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and urged him to both hold elections and give up his military post.

"My message was that we believe strongly in elections and that you ought to have elections soon and you need to take off your uniform. You can’t be the president and the head of the military at the same time," Bush said at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "I had a very frank discussion with him," Bush said.

Its nice that this fool finally got involved in the Pakistan crisis. I thought he would wait until the nukes were firmly in Osama's hands. Worst President Ever.

The Markets Get Hammered Again

A weak dollar, soaring oil prices and the credit mess create another huge selloff on Wall Street.
Credit market fears once again sent stocks reeling, as the Dow industrials plunged 361 points Wednesday, marking one of its biggest point declines of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial average finished 361 points, or 2.65 percent, lower - its fifth biggest point decline so far this year.

Stocks tumbled Wednesday, with the Dow industrials finishing 360 points lower amid renewed credit market fears.

Wednesday's selloff also marks the second 300-plus point decline for the Dow in less than a week as the 30-stock index tumbled 362 points late last week.
I still think we are headed for a recession. I believe parts of the United States are already in recession. Will a deep recession in the United States bring economic problems throughout the globe? What can the Federal Reserve do to stop a recession or lessen its depth? The only good news that can come from a recession is that finally the American people will be forced to face the fact that this administration and their criminal cronies have dug us in to a hole so deep that it will be hard to dig our way out. Hopefully after the next election the Republican party will have an equally hard time digging themselves out of the hole that the American people will put them in.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Pakistan - The Most Dangerous Nation On Earth

While this administration brings us closer to war with Iran our buddy Musharraf moves closer to a dictatorship.

This is just more of our insane foreign policy coming home to roost. Am I the only one who doesn't understand how we can invade the country of one dictator but financial support others? I have been writing since the inception of this blog my belief that Pakistan is the world's most dangerous nation. This weeks events prove me right.
Musharraf imposed emergency rule in Pakistan on Saturday, saying the suspension of his country's constitution was made necessary by the growing threat of terrorism and out-of-control judicial activism.

By imposing a state of emergency, Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and put elections that had been scheduled for January on indefinite hold. Press freedoms have been curbed and independent television stations taken off the air.

Bush said Monday he recognized the threat Musharraf faces from extremists, citing past attempts on Musharraf's life, but said the emergency measures "undermine democracy.
Bush telling others how they are undermining democracy while he institutes the most undemocratic measures here at home is laughable.

Our foreign policy has been a disaster under this administration and the situation in Pakistan is just the latest example. Pakistan is a nuclear armed nation on the verge of violent civil strife and our resources are so stretched that all we can do is sit by and hope for the best. That is foreign policy Bush style. He is the worst President ever.