13 March 2008
News and Comments - 03/13/08
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: What's News .
11 Comments so far...
Jesse Says:
13 March 2008 at 1:29 am.
I don’t know how I feel about this man saying this. I know things are rocky but I want to believe we can turn things around. I guess I’ve been a little irritated with France for the last…oh, I guess seven years.
‘Magic is over’ for the U.S., says foreign minister of France
Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France and a longtime humanitarian, diplomatic and political activist on the international scene, says that whoever succeeds President George W. Bush may restore something of the United States’ battered image and standing overseas, but that “the magic is over.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with Roger Cohen of the International Herald Tribune at the launch of a Forum for New Diplomacy in Paris, Kouchner on Tuesday also held out the hope of talking with Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules the Gaza Strip but has been ostracized by the West and by its Palestinian rival, Fatah, because it opposes peace talks with Israel and denies that Israel has a right to exist.
Asked whether the United States could repair the damage it has suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency and especially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kouchner replied, “It will never be as it was before.”
“I think the magic is over,” he continued, in what amounted to a sober assessment from one of the strongest supporters in France of the United States.
U.S. military supremacy endures, Kouchner noted, and the new president “will decide what to do - there are many means to re-establish the image.” But even that, he predicted, “will take time.”
Cameron Says:
13 March 2008 at 6:55 am.
Israel continues to defend itself. (They had better because no one else will).
Hamas offering Israel truce, not peace
By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 12, 4:39 PM ET
JERUSALEM - When is a truce not quite a truce?
Hamas is once again offering Israel a cease-fire, but the language that the Islamic movement has chosen reveals a deep reluctance to talk about any real peace with the Jewish state.
Ismail Haniyeh, Gaza’s Hamas prime minister, on Wednesday proposed a “tahdia” — which in Arabic means a loosely defined period of calm that falls short of a formal cease-fire.
Still, this semantic nuance could well determine the success of Mideast peacemaking. As long as Israelis and the Islamic militants are killing each other in Gaza and southern Israel, a U.S.-sponsored drive to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by year’s end stands little chance.
Israel is formally rejecting the truce talk, and on Wednesday its army killed four militants in the West Bank town of Bethlehem after opening fire on their car. Israel sees a broad Iranian-driven effort to besiege it from the north through Hezbollah in Lebanon and from the south through Hamas, and fears a truce will simply give Hamas time to regroup and strengthen its fighting forces.
Mac Says:
13 March 2008 at 9:15 am.
Jesse that is just a nasty piece. We are hated more than most people will face. They keep a smile on their face for American tourists to get their dough but there is so much proof of world hatred.
Cameron I think Israel has no choice but to protect itself just like you said, no one else will. Trying to appease the Arabs just shows weakness and makes them bolder. They will still hatred a strong and determined Israel but they will at least respect them more.
Cameron Says:
13 March 2008 at 9:22 am.
The first paragraph is all I need to grab to sum it up:
Stocks slide in early trading
NEW YORK - Stocks pulled back early Thursday as investors grappled with further declines in the dollar, a spike in oil and gold prices and as the investment fund Carlyle Capital appeared close to collapse. The major indexes each lost more than 1 percent, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling nearly 200 points.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080313/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street_261
E.E. Says:
13 March 2008 at 11:54 am.
Rush is on a roll. He says Obama is living two lives. On one hand he tries to take race out of the race. On the other hand his pastor is a racist and an advisor in his campaign. Then he goes on about McCain saying we can’t even say al qaeda would be happy for Obama to win. Rush said he is ready to throw political correctness out the window. It is stifling discussion. We have been talking a lot about political correctness around here so this is great. People just absolutely have to wake up to the effort the stifle our first amendment rights. Huge emotional pressure to stick to straight liberal speak.
E.E. Says:
13 March 2008 at 12:21 pm.
I was thinking about posting an article or two on the economic situation but after reading a dozen articles and seeing a lot more out there, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Instead I will just say that the economic news is bad everywhere I turn. I’m going to buy some more canned goods.
Cameron Says:
13 March 2008 at 12:36 pm.
E.E. I struggled with the same thing this morning. It is getting a little depressing and I’m trying not to dwell on it.
Jesse Says:
13 March 2008 at 2:23 pm.
Experts say the bleak U.S. economic forecast means it will take years for the greenback to recover its value and prestige.
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Antique store owners in lower Manhattan, ticket vendors at India’s Taj Mahal and Brazilian business executives heading to China all have one thing in common these days: They don’t want U.S. dollars.
Hit by a free fall with no end in sight, the once mighty U.S. dollar is no longer just crashing on currency markets and making life more expensive for American tourists and business people abroad; its clout is evaporating worldwide as foreign businesses and individuals turn to other currencies.
Negative dollar sentiment is growing in nations where the dollar was historically accepted as equal or better than local currency — and dollar aversion is even extending to some quarters in the United States.
At the Taj Mahal, dollars were always legal tender, alongside rupees, for entry into the palace. But because of the falling value of the dollar, the government implemented a rupees-only policy a month ago. Indian merchants catering to tourists have also turned bearish on the dollar.
“Gone are the days when we used to run after dollars, holding onto them for rainy days,” said Vijay Narain, a tour operator in the city of Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. “Now we prefer the euro. It gives us more riches.”
During previous U.S. economic downturns, big foreign funds typically snapped up U.S. treasuries, helping to shore up the dollar to a certain degree. But the euro and currencies from other nations are now seen as legitimate options, and interest rates are higher outside the United States — meaning the funds can get better returns on investments elsewhere.
“You have the U.S. still holding this trade deficit, but now you have the possibility of a U.S. led recession, and you have a weakening currency. So it’s a very dark outlook for the dollar,” said Gareth Sylvester, senior currency strategist with the British firm HIFX Inc., which executed $40 billion in currency trades last year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080313/ap_on_bi_ge/diving_dollar
Peter Says:
13 March 2008 at 3:05 pm.
Jesse, regarding your first post, I don’t think we should care what France says. They are completely compromised by socialism and seem pretty thick in the thinking department.
Cameron Says:
13 March 2008 at 4:13 pm.
The shoe finally dropped. I would rather be honest and face where we really are and deal with it than pretend it isn’t so. We are in a recession.
Most Economists Say Recession
Has Arrived as Outlook Darkens
By PHIL IZZO
March 13, 2008
The U.S. has finally slid into recession, according to the majority of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal economic-forecasting survey, a view that was reinforced by new data showing a sharp drop in retail sales last month.
“The evidence is now beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Scott Anderson of Wells Fargo & Co., who was among the 71% of 51 respondents to say that the economy is now in a recession.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120534519452630845.html?mod=yahoo_buzz
Jeezer Says:
13 March 2008 at 4:26 pm.
SHOOT
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.