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Reasons Why Chavez Is Up For Noble Peace Prize

Posted By: gt on 2005-10-04
In Reply to:


An article published in VHeadline.com on November 26
last year, headlined Venezuela's President Hugo
Chavez Frias proposed for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize aroused great interest


Since that piece was published, Chavez has continued
his humanitarian projects, the most recent of which
are extending Mission Miracle in alliance with Cuba to
correct blindness and sight disorders to the whole of
the American continent, including the US and the
Caribbean. He has also offered crude oil, gasoline and
heating oil at preferential, financed rates to smaller
Caribbean countries, as well as Uruguay and Paraguay
which are struggling with the sky high price of
energy.

The improvement in cash flow of these countries
generated by the financing aspect at 1% per year,
allows their governments to use this surplus to invest
in social programs.

This initiative has also taken into account poor
communities, schools, hospitals, old peoples homes
facing a predicted brutally cold winter in the United
States ... part of this program includes donations of
heating oil as well as financing part of the
deliveries from CITGO, a 100%-owned US-based
Venezuelan company based in Houston with 8 refineries
delivering to over 14,000 gasoline stations. Pilot
projects will be underway in Chicago and Boston as of
October 14.

As per the Nobel Peace Prize website the 2004 winner
was Wangari Maathai of Kenya for her contribution to
sustainable development, democracy and peace.

If these three qualities are key to winning the Nobel
Peace Prize then Chavez has all these in abundance ...
and more. He must be the world's leading democrat
having been to the polls 9 times since 1998. He
promotes peace by asking for troops out of Afghanistan
and Iraq, so that these sovereign nations can exercise
self-determination and define their own path in the
future.

Other accomplishments, which have been pushed by
Chavez' personal leadership in Venezuela are the
Social Missions, all grouped under the humanitarian
banner of Mision Cristo (Christ's Mission). The most
important of these, Mision Robinson has taught 1.4
million Venezuelans to read and write; Mision Barrio
Adentro (Neighborhood Within) offers free primary
healthcare in the poor areas and is now reaching 14
million Venezuelans out of a population of
approximately 25 million; Mision Mercal sells cheap
staple foods and has impacted more than half the
population at the time of writing.

Chavez, however, is up against some very stiff
competition including Colin Powell (for his efforts to
end the 21-year civil war in Sudan); the ex-governor
of Illinois, George Ryan (for his campaign to abolish
the death sentence in the US); Israeli Mordechai
Vanunu (for denouncing the existence of nuclear
weapons in his country); the Japanese Hidankyo group
(survivors of the US' atomic bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki).




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Bush peace prize, LOL
I dont think any leader would try to invade America..unless, like what they are trying to do in Europe..create a European Union, band together as one.  Then one day..probably many years off, they just might be stronger than America or equal to America's strength.  I think things in the world would be much more stable with a fairer playing field..you know, countries just as strong as America who could keep a watch on our administrations who are too over-zealous.  Kind of makes me a little ashamed that our president was not nominated, that a *dictator revoluntary* got nominated..not that I would ever think Bush or his ilk would be nominated..The Noble Peace Prize does not nominate warmonger/chickenhawks..and I question the brainwashing of Americans that Chavez is so bad, such a *dictator, revoluntary*.  Maybe America needs a *revoluntary*, in ideology, of course (I am not suggesting strong arm tactics)  to get this country turned around on the right track.  However, the way America describes Chavez, I wonder if it is true..Gotta do some checking.  I know one of my *heros* was Che Guevara (even named one of my cats after him..smile)..and when you read the history of Che Guevara..He was a privileged person who became a doctor, saw the poverty and injustice and inequality in the world and became a revoluntary..and, of course, America had a hand in his assassination. 
Nobel Peace Prize Winners since 1975 sm

Nobel Peace Prize winners since 1975





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From the Associated Press
October 12, 2007

Nobel Peace Prize winners since 1975:

* 2007: Former Vice President AL Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for efforts to educate about the effects of man-made climate change.

* 2006: Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, the Bangladeshi bank he founded.

* 2005: Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

* 2004: Wangari Maathai, Kenya.

* 2003: Shirin Ebadi, Iran.

* 2002: Jimmy Carter, United States.

* 2001: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

* 2000: Kim Dae-jung, South Korea.

* 1999: Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

* 1998: David Trimble and John Hume, Northern Ireland.

* 1997: Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, United States.

* 1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor.

* 1995: Joseph Rotblat, Britain, and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

* 1994: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat; Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, Israel.

* 1993: Nelson Mandela and F.W. DE Klerk, South Africa.

* 1992: Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala.

* 1991: Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar (also known as Burma).

* 1990: Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Union.

* 1989: The Dalai Lama, Tibet.






   

* 1988: The U.N. Peacekeeping Forces.

* 1987: Oscar Arias Sanchez, Costa Rica.

* 1986: Elie Wiesel, United States.

* 1985: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, United States.

* 1984: Desmond Mpilo Tutu, South Africa.

* 1983: Lech Walesa, Poland.

* 1982: Alva Myrdal, Sweden; Alfonso Garcia Robles, Mexico.

* 1981: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR.

* 1980: Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Argentina.

* 1979: Mother Teresa, India.

* 1978: Anwar Sadat, Egypt; Menachem Begin, Israel.

* 1977: Amnesty International, Britain.

* 1976: Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, Northern Ireland.

* 1975: Andrei Sakharov, Soviet Union.


The Nobel Peace prize is given for environmental concerns. sm
The Nobel Peace prize was given in 2004 to Wangari Maathai of Kenya, an environmental activist, for forming the Greenbelt Movement, so the Peace prize being given for environmental concerns is not new......
Yeah. That Nobel Peace Prize recipient
What do you have against clean environment, alternative energy, jobs creation and a global warming plan?
He didn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize
"What do you have against clean environment, alternative energy, jobs creation and a global warming plan?"

I don't have anything against a clean environment, alternative energy or job creation. I don't, however, buy into the global warming hype, especially when it's pushed as hard algore is trying to sell it because he is a politician and I don't trust him anymore than I trust the rest of them. There HAD to have been someone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than that clown. (I'll bet he traded some of his carbon credits for votes.)
what about the noble war?
dont they feel COMPELLED to join on their own?
Now, that's very noble of you and if you have never judged..sm
anything or anyone good for you. But you are coming to the defense of a woman who not only judges people, but is in a position to spread her ideals to millions. You have shown more vigor on this thread than you have on any of the other threads, and I know it was the F-word or maybe even the word devil that got your blood boiling.

You ask about Ward Churchill, and all I can say is it's too bad he feels the way he does about his country. I can't discount his feelings, but it is too bad he feel that way. He was wrong in indicating that the people in the twin towers somehow deserved what they got, dead wrong.

Now one reason why he doesn't bother me as much as Ann is because she has stereotyped *liberals* of which I fall in that category.
thats real noble of ya why then

did you post a list of inflammatory statements about race out of any context whatsoever.


 


I commend you on your noble efforts...
but I say again...unless you direct your rhetoric toward the people who obviously are in direct opposition to your way of thinking (terrorists) and changing their minds...ohhh, but you said didn't you...leave it to God to change their minds while you concentrate on your fellow Americans, i.e., preach to the choir, the safe and warm route. That makes any real committment to peace, as you say you have, appear very hollow to me. But, I am sure as with Sarandon, Penn, and the Code Pink ladies, they rather prefer their heads attached to their shoulders and protesting in the comfort of a free country paid for by the blood of patriots, rather than taking their cause to the real enemies of this country. Whereas you have said you don't care if someone cuts your head off...I daresay the above mentioned would not share that sentiment.

And as a side note, Hanoi Jane, in my opinion, should be in a jail cell for treason.

I commend you on your charitable works and have said so before. However, that was not and never has been the basis of the criticism. I have said in posts before that I commend your charitable work, and I have, as I said I would, looked into service dogs for disabled vets. But what I do or do not do is not at issue here, as I am not using it as a badge to tell everyone how good I am or how committed I am. You seem to want to enumerate that for me to somehow take the attention away from the core issue I was trying to address....
...I was talking specifically about the *peace* movement, and why you and others do not take the *peace* movement to the real enemies of peace. Unless of course you believe that your fellow Americans are more an enemy of peace than the terrorists are. Which is probably true...when Democrats when polled 49% say they do not want the surge to succeed and 51% say they are not sure they want the surge to succeed. That says it all in my opinion. All that tells me is that 49% of Democrats polled are antiAmerican and 51% have not as yet decided for America or against her.

Have a good day.
Looking out for your fellow Americans, how noble sm

Did you figure out how to spell McCain yet?


Hey Libby, where's all the noble rich people?
Sure is a shame all those rich guys can't spring a buck for the effort. And where is the Republican base? - the pro-war screamers can't seem to put their money where their mouths are any more than they can bring themselves to enlist for the cause. Let somebody else do it, seems to be their motto!
Hey, Bush, sign your daughters up for Iraq, such a *noble* cause

Like George did, the new generation of Bushes let other Americans do the dying for them.


Bush has derided the mothers and fathers of our nation's war dead for not wanting any more young American men and women to die in Iraq. We owe them [the already killed and wounded soldiers] something, he told veterans in Salt Lake City (even though his administration tried to shortchange the veterans agency by $1.5 billion, according to Maureen Dowd). We will finish the task that they gave their lives for.







BUSH EXTENDED FAMILY PHOTO taken January 20, 2005

Yet, not one -- not one -- of any of Bush's children or his nieces and nephews have volunteered for service in any branch of the military or volunteered to serve in any capacity in Iraq. Not one of them has felt the cause was noble enough to put his or her life on the line.


Here is the full list of the children of Bush and his siblings who have chosen to let other young men and women -- mostly poor, rural and minorities -- die for them, because they have no desire to die for George W. Bush's alleged noble cause (assuming an eligible age of 17 with parental consent to join the military):


Military Service Eligible Children of George W. Bush
Jenna Bush
Barbara Bush


Military Service Eligible Children of Jeb Bush
George P. Bush
Noelle Bush
John Ellis Bush Jr.


Military Service Eligible Children of Neil Bush
Lauren Bush
Pierce Bush


Military Service Eligible Children of Marvin Bush
Marshall Bush


Military Service Eligible Children of Dorothy Bush Koch
Samuel LeBlond
Ellie LeBlond


Here is the complete chart:







Furthermore, not one of George's siblings served in the military when they were eligible, and Bush got a cozy stateside position in the Texas Air National Guard to avoid risking his life in another noble war, Vietnam.


Why do George W. Bush, his siblings, and their children think that the war is noble enough for kids like Casey Sheehan to die in, but not them?


Sign this petition, demanding that the Bush sibling children serve in George's noble war or he must bring the troops home now. Because if it's not noble enough for the Bush family to risk their lives fighting for, it's just a disastrous graveyard for poor and middle class Americans, dug deep to advance Bush's partisan agenda.


Bush can be brave with other people's children, because he has nothing personally to risk.


Bush tell your daughters they are needed in Iraq for a *noble* cause
Oh really, going off the deep end, LOL..by asking Bush and his daughters and other young people in his family to sign up for duty in Iraq since the Bush family thinks it is so important and the *Noble* thing to do?  And Im going off the deep end, LOL.  You are so silly sometimes in your posts.  I see nothing wrong in asking the chickenhawk warmongers to urge their children to join up..after all our country is fighting a *war on terrorism*..or..wait a minute..what is the new saying the WH is throwing out there..*a global war on extremists*..or....oh geez..I need to start writing down the reasons for our blood shed in Iraq..I cant remember all the reasons why we pre-emptively invaded Iraq..Cant keep up with the spin cycle of the WH..
It may not be new....but if you read the criteria for the prize...
set out by the man who endowed it..."environmental concerns" or anything remotely like it are listed there. Over the years it has become a political statement rather than a true peace award. Sad, in my opinion, and even if it were given for environmental concerns, it should not have been given for flawed science. Again, just my opinion.
Give the lady her prize, She got the-----
Congratulations! One box of brand new light bulbs will be coming your way.
And the prize is? I know, a free copy of
.
Thank you Mr. Chavez
What a sorry state America is in when we have people scrounging around to try to fill up their cars to get to work and this winter people will be going broke just to stay warm and Bush does not offer any help, like maybe capping gas prices or releasing some gas from the reserves, yet, here we have a socialist leader, Chavez, offering to help the low income Americans with cheap oil.  Is this screwy or what?  Chavez is caring more about the downtrodden of America than our elected servant.
Chavez

Just imagine what COULD happen, though.


Chavez could take a good long look at all the problems with America that you have listed, decide that Bush is an evil, greedy tyrant, declare war on the USA to free us of this tyrant, with the promise of free medical care for all, no more homeless people, no more street crime, no more children being brutally molested and murdered, no more starvation for the poor, reasonable gas prices, etc., etc., etc. 


He could invade and occupy the USA, killing some innocent Americans, destroying our water supply, taking out our electricity, terrifying us all while he does it, turning our streets into IED targets, and do it with most of the world disapproving of such an action.


Sure is a good thing we don't live in a world where one president can actually to do such a thing, right???  RIGHT????!!! 


Chavez
I know, was really happy when I read about it. Did you see his picture? Sad and... But no, I don't think it is the end for him. He has a few more years as President? Dictator? and there is a lot he can still do. He is a crazy man with too much power on his hands. Let's just hope for the best and enjoy the victory in the meantime.
It's like Palin won a pagent and the prize is $150,000 clothes
yeah! what a waste of money.
Bingo. Give that girl a prize.
I can no longer say that sm - m and I never agree on anything. I can't handle a 61-cent hike in cigarettes. Just got off the phone with my husband who has been told to book a hotel suite for the duration while I go through withdrawal. I will be taking my last puffs with coffee and the inauguration. My quit date is Tuesday, Jan 20, just as soon as O is sworn in.

Having said that, cigarettes tax has always been the source of funding for SCHIPS and I see no reason for that to change, though you and the other posters have made good points about looking for other sources of unhealthy lifestyle choices OTHER nonsmoking Americans make.
chavez threat
There have been many arrested over the past few years for just voicing threats that were meaningless, not like Robertson broadcasting all over the world about assassinating Chavez.  That most certainly is a crime.  You cannot threaten leaders of other countries, especially in a forum like Robertson has. 
One more thing about Chavez.
I will never forget MANY moons ago when I was in junior high school and learning about different kinds of governments in my Social Studies class.  I remember secretly thinking to myself that socialism seemed like the fairest kind of government.  Of course, I could never VERBALIZE that sentiment since we were still engaged in the *Cold War* at the time, as well as on the heels of the McCarthy era, and anyone expressing such a view was automatically labeled a *Communist*.  LOL.  In fact, this is the first time in my entire life I've ever shared these views with anyone. I grew up actually believing I was a horrible person for thinking what I thought and was very ashamed of it until lately.
Chavez has a lot of admirers. sm
It wasn't that long ago on this very board that he was spoken of very highly.
I think the flip flop prize still belongs to Joe Biden...
from "He is not ready to lead; the job does not lend itself to on-the-job experience" to "He is ready to lead." Talking about the #1 on his ticket. Think that one still takes the prize. :)
FYI-Chavez not dictator??? Venez's..sm

saw some thread either here or there (another board here) where someone challenged Chavez and said he is not a dictator....well, the middle class and upper class are leaving in droves....watch this from 2 days ago...(and I know they began leaving 8-10 years ago coming here to the states).


http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=71705&videoChannel=2602


 


Article on Chavez and oil to American poor

There are a few articles that I have read on this..here is one that originated from Reuters.  GT


Wednesday, August 24 2005 @ 08:06 PM MDT


General

Chavez Offers Cheap Gas To Poor In U.S.



Published on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by Reuters

By David Pace

HAVANA, Cuba - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular with the poor at home, offered on Tuesday to help needy Americans with cheap supplies of gasoline.

Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ... and exploited consumers" were cut out.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "We want to sell gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities in the United States," the populist leader told reporters at the end of a visit to Communist-run Cuba.

Chavez did not say how Venezuela would go about providing gasoline to poor communities. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA owns Citgo, which has 14,000 gas stations in the United States.


The offer may sound attractive to Americans feeling pinched by soaring prices at the pump but not to the U.S. government, which sees Chavez as a left-wing troublemaker in Latin America.

Gasoline is cheaper than mineral water in oil-producing Venezuela, where consumers can fill their tanks for less than $2. Average gas prices have risen to $2.61 a gallon in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Chavez said Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ... and exploited consumers" were cut out.

Chavez oil versus American fat cat oil companies

Article from Juan Gonzalez, a NY Daily News columnist, RE:  Hugo Chavez and his oil versus American oil companies:












Oil fat cats vs. Hugo Chavez




I pulled into the Mobil gas station on 11th Ave. in Manhattan yesterday for my weekly stickup from the oil companies.

Their take this time was an astonishing $3.05 per gallon for premium unleaded.

"Every three or four days the price goes up," said Patel, the man in charge of the station. "Lots of complaints from my customers."

Complaints from everyone except oil executives.

Last year, Exxon/Mobil, the world's largest corporation, posted the highest profits of any company in history - more than $25 billion. The oil giant, based in Irving, Tex., is on track to shatter that mark this year, with revenues that now approach $1 billion per day.

Which brings me to Pat Robertson and Hugo Chavez.

Robertson, the right-wing evangelist and friend of the Bush family, publicly called this week for the U.S. government to kill - or at least kidnap - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"This is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us badly," Robertson said. His less-than-Christian remarks ignited an outcry and forced him to issue an apology of sorts, though he still insisted that he had at least "focused our government's attention on a growing problem."

That "problem," quite simply, is that Chavez, a radical populist who has been voted into office repeatedly by huge majorities in his own country, controls the largest reserve of petroleum outside the Middle East.

Neither Robertson, nor former oil executives George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice, nor their buddies at Exxon/Mobil, Chevron, etc., are happy about all this.

Even more scandalous for Big Oil, Chavez is using Venezuela's windfall not to fatten his own country's oligarchy but to benefit the Venezuelan poor and help neighboring countries.

Yesterday, while Robertson was issuing his half-baked Chavez clarification, the Venezuelan president was in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where he announced a new oil agreement with that country's prime minister, P.J. Patterson.

Under the agreement, Venezuela will supply 22,000 barrels of oil a day to Jamaica for a mere $40 a barrel. That's far lower than the current world price of about $65 a barrel. With the price of gasoline in that destitute nation already more than $3.50 a gallon, the Chavez plan means more than half a million dollars a day in savings for Jamaica on oil imports.

Chavez also announced his government will provide $60 million in foreign aid to Jamaica and finance the upgrading of that country's oil refineries.

The agreement is part of a broader Chavez plan called Petrocaribe, which he unveiled at a Caribbean summit in Venezuela last June.

At that conference, Chavez offered the same kind of deal to the leaders of more than a dozen other neighboring nations, including Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez and Cuba's Fidel Castro.

Fernandez jumped at the offer because his government is nearly bankrupt from oil prices. Last year, the Dominican Republic spent $1.2 billion on oil imports; this year, it expects to fork out more than $3 billion. The price of gasoline in Santo Domingo has zoomed past $4 a gallon in recent days.

Pat Robertson looks at Chavez and sees a devilish danger. He wants our government to "take him out." Over at the White House, Bush and his aides may use more restrained language, but their goals are not much different.

But there's a whole different view down in Latin America, where a half-dozen nations have seen liberal and populist governments swept into office in recent years.

Down there, Chavez has become the new miracle man of oil. Unlike Exxon/Mobil and the Big Oil fat cats, who wallow in their record profits while the rest of us pay, Chavez is spreading the wealth around.

A dangerous man, indeed.


President Chavez offered to help America's
poor purchase oil at affordable prices while Bush's cronies are enjoying skyrocketing profits as a result of price gouging.  I've heard some poor people say that Chavez cares more about them than Bush does.  Who can possibly argue with that?
Chavez lost a lot of credibility with his UN antics...sm
Even in the most democratic circles, which I travel in. He made a mockery, not of Bush, but himself. Anything credible he had to say went out the window with *smells of sulfa.*

I agree with JDH, once I determine a person is a whacko I don't put much stock in what they have to say.
I'm ecstatic-CHAVEZ was defeated yesterday!!

http://voanews.com/english/2007-12-03-voa7.cfm









Venezuela Rejects Constitutional Changes


03 December 2007


Venezuelan voters have rejected a sweeping constitutional reform project launched by President Hugo Chavez. In Caracas, VOA's Brian Wagner reports opposition leaders see the vote as a major blow to the president's efforts to impose socialist changes.


(more info at above link) 


Chavez Takes Bush to Task Over Iraq War
See link
Not to mention, Chavez blasting the US over Iraq on the floor of the UN...nm
x
Peace
Several people have told me I am wrong?  About what?  Jews and socialism/communism?  Guess those posts didnt come through on my computer.  Other things?  If you mean disagreeing, we all do on this board, so what.  I didnt think you kept track of who agrees with who.  That is what is meant by debate, disagreeing and agreeing and getting heated up and calming down and, shock..ending the debate with a hand shake and maybe a cup of coffee or cola afterwards.  Peace!
For the same reasons
they're against gays, anyone of a different religion, a woman's right to choose and all the other things that Americans in general are in favor of.  They're like all the other neocon groups who are not happy unless they can force everyone else to believe like they do.  That's why I wondered if it was even real.  Truth telling and honesty aren't high on their list of priorities, as we've all seen from other similar hateful groups that claim they are morally better than everyone else.
For several reasons

And I'm not required to answer to you for any of them since your only purpose here is to demean people who don't agree with you.  (I see that yesterday Mystic left the door wide open and invited friendly, respectful, intelligent dialogue with you below, but you chose to ignore that in favor of continuing on with your rudeness to others in your other posts.)  You remind me of a pesky fly that disturbs the peace surrounding the person it invades.  If this is typical Israeli behavior, then maybe it's time to take a fresh look at why Israel is having so many problems coexisting in peace with its neighbors.


For any L-I-B-E-R-A-L-S who read the L-I-B-E-R-A-L board and are interested in my reasons for posting this, I'd be glad to list them.  After reading this article, these are the questions that came to my mind, and I would appreciate it if LIBERALS would add to this list any questions that are raised in their minds after reading it.


1.  I'm trying to understand Hezbollah's commitment to a cease fire.  I'm wondering if they would spend the time, effort and money (Iran's)  to begin to rebuild if they had plans to violate the cease fire.


2.  I'm wondering what impact their doing this will have on other nations of the world in relationship to how they will view Israel and the United States.  Will they garner more support, and is it justified?


3.  In furtherance of #2 above, will their role in the Lebanese government grow as a result of their concern (be it real or fake) for the Lebanese people whose homes have been destroyed?


4.  Finally, I was wondering how long it would take the two-headed snake known as the Bush administration to compete with Hezbollah in the rebuilding of Lebanon, after arming Israel with some of the weapons that caused the destruction, and whether or not Israel will feel betrayed as a result.  As you will see below, not long.  (Think of all the money we spend there that could be much better used here to truly fight terrorism by keeping our ports, borders and rail systems safer.  Is that really where you want your tax dollars to go?  Do you want your tax dollars used to supply the weapons to tear down a nation and then supply the money to rebuild it a month later in this cat and mouse game that Bush is playing in the Middle East?)


U.S. Hopes to Rival Hezbollah With Rebuilding Effort


Administration officials say quick action is needed in response to the militant group's reconstruction plans.

By Paul Richter
Times Staff Writer

August 17, 2006

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is scrambling to assemble a plan to help rebuild Lebanon, hoping that by competing with Hezbollah for the public's favor it can undo the damage the war has inflicted on its image and goals for the Middle East.

Administration officials fear that unless they move quickly to demonstrate U.S. commitment, the Lebanese will turn more fully to the militant group, which has begun rolling out an ambitious reconstruction program that Washington believes is bankrolled by Iran.

American officials also believe that the administration must restore its influence to keep a newly assertive Syria from undermining U.S.-supported reformers in Lebanon.

A major rebuilding investment would put the United States in the position of subsidizing both the Israeli munitions that caused the damage and the reconstruction work that will repair it. Such a proposal could meet with resistance from Congress, but administration officials said that the need for action was urgent.

People have been seized by the need to do more, in a tangible way, and they're working feverishly on this, said a senior administration official who asked to remain unidentified because he was speaking about plans still in development. They know we're in a race against time to turn around these perceptions.

U.S. officials and private experts agree that the administration faces an uphill effort trying to outdo Hezbollah, which has a broad local base, well-developed social service programs and the confidence of many Lebanese.

Hezbollah is deeply integrated into Lebanese society, said Jon Alterman, a former State Department official who is head of Middle East studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

We're coming in when there's a sense that we stood by the destruction of Lebanon by an ally, with U.S. weapons, and didn't complain. So we may be too late.

Even so, Alterman said he supported the idea of trying to rebuild U.S. influence in Lebanon at a time when the political situation there is in flux.

The United States has only $50 million in the pipeline for relief and rebuilding in Lebanon, a figure dwarfed by multibillion-dollar estimates of the need. The U.S. is lagging behind some other contributors, such as Saudi Arabia, which has pledged $1.5 billion. An international donors conference is to be held Aug. 31.

But American officials say they expect to expand the effort, which is largely focused on rebuilding the airport, restoring electric power, cleaning up environmental damage and reconstructing some of the estimated 150 destroyed bridges.

The U.S. effort is aimed in part at supporting its allies in the fragile Lebanese central government, which is competing with Hezbollah for influence. Moving rapidly, Hezbollah officials fanned out across the country this week, canvassing the needs of residents and promising help. In some areas of the south, Hezbollah already had fielded cleanup teams with bulldozers.

The U.S. official said talk of a deeper rebuilding role was one of several discussions underway within the administration. He said there was talk about launching a broader diplomatic and economic initiative for the Middle East aimed at increasing involvement in mediating the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as in regional economic development and politics.

Officials are focused on the idea that things better change, or we're going to have serious problems, he said. Many people in the region believe the United States was a co-combatant in the war, he acknowledged.

With Congress on its August break, lawmakers have not explicitly taken positions on funding for rebuilding. But some influential members have given indications.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said he would like the United States to take a lead role in the rebuilding by giving generously and organizing meetings of donors. He has argued that the U.S. missed an opportunity by failing to do more in Lebanon last year, as Syria withdrew its troops from the country, leaving a partial vacuum.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, voted for a resolution that called for a postwar donors conference. But he made it clear that there should be careful planning before the U.S. committed large sums, an aide noted.

Alterman, the analyst, said providing aid posed complicated challenges in Lebanon, and that the money could easily be wasted without the United States getting any advantage from it.

Lebanon is a tough commercial environment…. It's tough coming from the outside, trying to identify reliable people, he said. We could end up getting no credit — or, worse yet, it could end up in the bank accounts of the very people who are trying to get us out.


That's just one of many reasons why I'm

3 reasons
1. He fights for us.
2. He admits his mistakes (keating 5)
3. He isn't going to just throw money at a problem.
4. He is a reformer.

Your reasons he shouldn't be:

His age - So what? I've seen perfectly healthy men drop dead at age 52 and people with cancer live to 94.

His temper - Seriously? You're going to use this one? I know three times at least tonight that I wanted to reach out and smack Obama for his smugness. I think he does a very good job of controlling it.

His running mate - I like Palin. If you don't want the "good ol' boys club" and you want a "breath of fresh air" well there ya go. She will go against the majority to fight what she believes in.

His aggression - kinda the same thing as temper. So what? You want a wimp in the White House? There is nothing wrong with being aggressive. He isn't overly aggressive, and sometimes you need a little aggression to get things done.

Of course Obama is going to know how to SAY all the right things, HE'S A LAWYER!!! THEY ARE TRAINED TO DO SO!!! But he hasn't walked the walk! He does not have the experience to be in the white house. He is going to make foolish, costly, mistakes.

As a famous person once said (take a wild guess who)

"The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."
Too bad your reasons
don't have anything to do with McCain being a good candidate.
10 Reasons..........

10 Reasons Why Conservatives' Fiscal Ideas Are Dangerous


By Sara Robinson, Campaign for America's Future
Posted on February 27, 2009, Printed on February 27, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/128900/


Yes, it's true. The conservatives -- that's right, the very same folks who just dragged us along on an eight-year drunken binge during which they borrowed-and-spent us into the deepest financial catastrophe in nearly a century -- are now standing there, faces full of moral rectitude, fingers pointing and shaking in our faces, righteously lecturing the rest of us on the topic of "fiscal responsibility."


I didn't think it was possible. I mean, they were mean enough drunk -- but hung over, in the clear light of morning, it turns out they're even worse.


I know. The choice is hard. Laugh? Cry? Scream? All three at once? It would almost be funny, if it weren't such clear evidence of a complete break with objective reality -- and their ideas of what that "fiscal responsibility" means weren't so dangerous to the future of the country.


The next episode in this surreal moral drama is set to take place next Monday, when President Obama will convene a "fiscal responsibility summit" at the White House to discuss the right's bright new idea for getting us out of this hole: let's just dismantle Social Security and Medicare.


As usual, this proposal is encrusted with a thick layer of diversions, misconceptions, factual errors and out-and-out lies. Here are some of the most pungent ones, along with the facts you need to fire back.


1. Conservatives are "fiscally responsible." Progressives just want to spend, spend, spend.


The comeback to the first assertion is easy: Just point and laugh. Any party that thought giving cost-plus, no-bid contracts to Halliburton was fiscally responsible (and let's not even get started on handing Hank Paulson $700 billion, no questions asked) deserves to be made fun of for using words that are simply beyond its limited comprehension.


And a quick look back at actual history makes them into even bigger fools. For decades now, liberal presidents have been far and away more restrained in their spending, and more likely to turn in balanced budgets. Part of this is that they've got a good grasp of Keynes, and know that the best way out of bad financial times is to make some up-front investments in the American people -- investments which have almost always, in the end, returned far more than we put in.


Conservatives believe wholeheartedly in investment and wealth-building when individuals, families, and corporations do it. But their faith in the power of money well-spent -- and the value of accumulated capital -- completely vanishes when it comes to government spending. They think it's morally wrong for government to ever invest or hold capital -- despite the long trail of successes that have enriched us all and transformed the face of the nation.


Under the conservative definition of "fiscal responsibility, " we'd have never set up the GI Bill and the FHA, which between them launched the post-war middle class (and made possible the consumer culture that generated so much private profit for so many). We wouldn't have 150 years of investment in public education, which for most of the 20th century gave American business access to the smartest workers in the world; or the interstate highway system, which broadened trade and tourism; or research investment via NASA and DARPA, the defense research agency that gave us the microchip and the Internet and made a whole new world of commerce possible. There wouldn't be the consumer protection infrastructure that allowed us to accept new products with easy confidence; or building and food inspectors who guarantee that you're not taking your life in your hands when you flip on a light or sit down to dinner.


What we're proposing now is not "spending." It's the next round of investment that will create the next great chapter in the American future. And the most fiscally irresponsible thing we can do right now is lose our nerve, and fail to prepare for what's ahead.


2. It's not gonna work. Everybody knows the Democrats spent us into this mess in the first place.


The only remaining "everybodys" who "know" this are the ones who are simply impervious to facts.


Ronald Reagan came into office with a national debt of less than $1 trillion. Mostly by cutting taxes on the rich, he grew that debt to $2.6 trillion. George H.W. Bush broke his "no new taxes" pledge, but it wasn't enough to keep the debt from ballooning another 50 percent, to $4.2 trillion.


Bill Clinton''s aggressive budget balancing slowed the growth rate a bit: eight years later, he left office with a debt of $5.7 trillion -- and a tight budget in place that, if followed, would have paid whole thing off by 2006. Unfortunately, George W. Bush had no intention of following through with Clinton's plan: on his watch, the debt nearly doubled, from $5.7 to $10.6 trillion. So, nearly 80 percent of the current debt -- about which conservatives now complain -- was acquired on the watch of the three most recent conservative Presidents.


3. $10.6 trillion? But I got this e-mail that says we're looking at a national debt of $56 trillion...


Wow. That's a big, scary number, all right. It's also a perfect example of one of the classic ways people lie with statistics.


This particular mathematical confection was whipped up by Wall Street billionaire and former Nixon Commerce Secretary Pete Peterson, whose Peterson Foundation is the driving force behind the effort to defund Social Security. According to this group, "As of September 30, 2008, the federal government was in a $56 trillion-plus fiscal hole based on the official financial consolidated statements of the U.S. government. This amount is equal to $483,000 per household and $184,000 per American."


This "fact" is only true if you're willing to do a reckless amount of time traveling. The $56 trillion number is what you get if you project the entire U.S. debt a full 75 years into the future, which is how far out you have to go before you can get into numbers that big. In other words: we're not in that hole now -- but we might be in 2084, if we keep going the way we're going now.


Of course, it should be obvious that we're not going to keep going that way -- and that's the other fatal flaw. Peterson's calculations assume that there will be exactly no changes in Social Security and Medicare policy or inputs in the next 75 years -- something that has almost a zero chance of actually happening. Also, there's the usual problem with any kind of long-range projection: even a small error in the calculations at the start will compound over time, creating enormous errors at the end of the range. If he's off by even one percent (which is highly likely), the projection's worthless, even 20 years down the road.


Peterson and his posse are laying bets that Americans are too mathematically and logically challenged to notice the flaws in his reasoning -- even though the holes are big enough to drive an entire generation of retired Boomers through.


4. Whatever. It's still irresponsible to take on that much debt.


Even John McCain's economic adviser thinks this one's wrong. Here's what Mark Zandi said about the U.S. national debt on the February 1 edition of Meet The Press:



It's 40 percent of GDP now. If the projections are right, we get to 60, maybe 70 percent of GDP, which is high, but it's manageable in our historic -- in our history we've been higher, as you pointed out. And moreover, it's very consistent with other countries and their debt loads. And more -- just as important, investors understand this. They know this and they're still buying our debt and interest rates are still very, very low. So we need to take this opportunity and be very aggressive and use the resources that we have at our disposal.


To repeat: Debt is never a good thing; but history is on our side here. We've carried a lot more debt than this in the past; and so have other fiscally responsible countries. And the world's investors are still flocking to buy U.S. bonds -- even though with inflation, they're getting slightly negative interest rates, which means they're effectively paying us to use their money. If they have that much faith in our economy, we're probably not wrong to have a little faith in ourselves. By world standards, we're still looking like a very good bet.


5. But Social Security is headed for disaster. It's out of control!


It's a testament to the short attention spans of the media that the cons try to launch this talking point every six months or so -- and every damned time, the punditocracy goes running flat-out after the bait, fur flying, like an eager but not particularly bright Irish Setter. And then people like us need to collar them, make them sit, scratch their ears, and calmly explain all over again (as if it were brand-new information) that Social Security is in perfectly fine shape, and the conservatives are making much ado about nothing -- again.


The Congressional Budget Office projects that the Social Security trust fund will continue to run a surplus until 2019. (More conservative fund trustees put the date at 2017.) The fund's total assets should hold out until 2046. And that's assuming that nothing changes at all.


If it turns out we do need to make adjustments, there are two very simple ones that will more than make up the difference. One is that we could raise the cap. Right now, people only pay Social Security taxes on the first $102,000 they earn; everything over that goes into their pockets tax-free. Increasing that amount would cover even a fairly large shortfall. And in the unlikely event that fails, we can talk about raising the retirement age to 70 -- a sensible step, given how much longer we live now.


6. Ending Social Security would be well worth it, because putting those deductions back in people's pockets would provide a big enough stimulus to get us out of this mess.


Anyone who spouts this is apparently not counting on the 70 million Boomers whose wallets would snap shut permanently if you withdrew their retirement benefits just a few years before they're going to need them. As Digby put it:



Boomers are still sitting on a vast pile of wealth that's badly needed to be put to work investing in this country. But it's shrinking dramatically and it's making people very nervous. As [Dean] Baker writes, if one of the purposes of the stimulus is to restore some confidence in the future, then talk of fiddling with social security and medicare is extremely counterproductive. If they want to see the baby boomers put their remaining money in the mattress or bury in the back yard instead of prudently investing it, they'd better stop talking about "entitlement reform." This is a politically savvy generation and they know what that means.


If they perceive that social security is now on the menu, after losing vast amounts in real estate and stocks, you can bet those who still have a nestegg are going to start hoarding their savings and refusing to put it back into the economy. They'd be stupid not to.


Bad economies get that way because people no longer trust the future, and refuse to take on the risks associated with spending, lending, or investing. Social Security was created in the first place because FDR understood that a guaranteed old-age income is a major risk-reducer -- not just for elders, but also for their working adult children. And it still is. Affirming the strength of Social Security not only raises the confidence of the Boomers, as Dean and Digby have pointed out, but also of their Xer and Millennial children, who are going to have to add "looking after Mom and Dad" to their list of big-ticket financial obligations if that promise is broken.


Breaking a 70-year-old generational promise for the sake of a little temporary financial stimulus is the very definition of penny-wise and pound-foolish.


7. OK, forget I even mentioned Social Security. Besides, the real problem is Medicare.


Finally, we come down to the truth. There's no question that exponentially rising health care costs -- both Medicare and private insurance -- are unaffordable in the long term; and that getting ourselves back on track financially means getting serious about addressing that.


On close examination, even Peterson's figures eventually reveal this truth. (About 85% of his projected 2084 debt comes from expected Medicare.) Unfortunately, though, most of his materials lump Social Security and Medicare together, creating a fantasy figure that blows the real problem so far out of proportion that you can't even begin to have a rational conversation about it -- which was, of course, the whole point of ginning those numbers up in the first place.


8. Next, you're going to tell me that some kind of government-sponsored health care is the answer.


Yes, we are. The Congressional Budget Office notes that health care costs were only 7 percent of the GDP in 1970 -- and are over double that, at 14.8 percent, now.


Much of that increase came about because in 1970, most health care providers ran on a not-for-profit basis. Hospitals were run by governments, universities, or religious-based groups; in some states, private for-profit care was actually illegal. Even insurance companies, like Blue Cross, were non-profit corporations. AdminIstrators and doctors were still paid handsomely; but there were no shareholders in the picture trying to pull profits out of other people's misfortune.


The first step to restoring affordability is to kick the profiteers out of the system. (According to the most conservative estimates, this one step would drop the national health care bill by at least $200 billion a year.) The second is to put it in the hands of administrators whose first concern is providing high-quality care instead of big bottom lines; and who are accountable to the voters if they fail to perform. Our experience with Medicare and the VA -- which, between them, currently provide care to over 70 million Americans, or about 22% of the country -- proves that we are perfectly capable of providing first-class, affordable care through the government.


If Costa Rica and Canada can manage this, why can't we?


9. But this Peterson guy's a billionaire Wall Streeter. Obviously, he knows something about finance...


Let's punt this one to William Greider:



Peterson, who made his fortune on Wall Street, never raised a word about the dangers of hyper leveraged finance houses gambling other people's money. He never expressed qualms about the leveraged buyout artists who were using debt finance to rip apart companies. He didn't fund an all out effort to stop Bush from raiding the Social Security surplus to pay for tax cuts for the rich.


But now he wants folks headed into retirement who have already prepaid a surplus of $2.5 trillion to cover their Social Security retirements to take a cut and to work a few years longer to cover the money squandered on bailing out banks, wars of choice abroad, and tax cuts for the few.


Basically, we're only having this conversation in the first place because a conservative ideologue was willing to pony up $1 billion of his own money to fund a "foundation" devoted to killing Social Security. Given that most politicians -- both Democrat and Republican -- are extremely unwilling to touch the notorious "third rail of politics," it's pretty clear that next Monday's "fiscal responsibility summit" wouldn't even be happening if Peterson wasn't bankrolling the Beltway buzz on this terrible idea.


10. OK -- if killing Social Security isn't the answer, just how do you propose to get us out of this?


The idea of a White House summit on fiscal responsibility is a good one -- but only if it focuses on real solutions to our real problems.


Cutting health care costs by getting all Americans into a rationally-managed system that puts delivering excellent care above delivering shareholder profits has to be a central part of any long-term economic health strategy. We're also about 15 years overdue for a complete overhaul of our military budget, too much of which is still focused on fighting the Soviet Union instead of responding to the actual challenges we're currently facing. Finally, it's time to ask the wealthy -- who've profited more than anyone from the past 15 years, and yet haven't paid anywhere near their fair share -- to step in a pay up for the system that enabled them to build that pile in the first place.


There's plenty we can be doing to actually reduce the national debt, and really stimulate the economy for both the short run and the long haul, without ending Social Security and sending hundreds of millions of Americans into sudden panic over their retirement. True "fiscal responsibility" can never be achieved by breaking promises.



Sara Robinson is a Fellow at the Campaign for America's Future, and a consulting partner with the Cognitive Policy Works in Seattle. One of the few trained social futurists in North America, she has blogged on authoritarian and extremist movements at Orcinus since 2006, and is a founding member of Group News Blog.


Two reasons.........
Democrats want MORE votes, looking toward the next election as well. They want the Latino vote and by blocking the "legal" process, the one that uses common sense, they can look forward to more votes from the "illegal" community to put their sorry butts back into office again.....


Also, that puts ACORN in a great position to go in and do just what they have been doing all along illegally..... signing folks (make believe and otherwise) up to vote that aren't citizens or are brought over from another state to vote illegally in order to push the vote in Democrat's favor.

That is the very reaso ACORN has been under investigation for years and is STILL under investigation and have had indictments as well. They are a purely racist group in the first place........

Now, if the KKK were standing around the street corners signing up folks to vote, do you think for one minute Obama wouldn't be jumping on that one? But it's the black vote he wants added, illegal or not, and he will never see to it that ACORN is stopped from their illegal doings.

Two reasons, I think............. sm
The first and foremost is appearance. Obama's black ancestory is more prominent in his appearance and therefore makes him appear to be a black person. Secondly, I think his own statements against his mother's people spoke volumes about how he feels about his Caucasian blood.

While it is a historical event to have a black man or person of mixed race in the WH, I have to wonder, would a Chinese American or Native American have garnered as much attention were they elected? I have to say probably not, but the black man's history in this country is no more or less tragic than that of the Chinese or Native Americans.
Not only will we not leave them with peace,

deficit in American history, caused by WHAT?


And I just love how anyone who doesn't agree with them is labeled as having no values.


What kind of values does someone have to take a healthy surplus upon entering office and not only SQUANDERING it but then going on to create the biggest deficit in American history?


What kind of values does someone have to send our children to an unnecessary war to die and/or be injured while neglecting to give them inadequate supplies?


What kind of values does someone have to send our children off to a foreign land to die for his own personal bogus war, when he was too much of a coward to serve in combat duty himself?


What kind of values does someone have to take the blood of 9/11 victims and the fear of all other Americans and USE it to wage a bogus war against Iraq when that was his goal before he was even elected President?


What kind of values does someone have to not care enough about securing or borders or our ports or protecting our airspace and chemical/nuclear plants and decreases the budget for rail and subway security?


What kind of values does someone have to have to neglect to develop enough smallpox vaccines FOUR YEARS after the worst attack in American history, when bio attacks using smallpox was felt to be a threat?


What kind of values does someone have to have to make sure that his huge war budget includes FREE comprehensive medical benefits for all Iraqi citizens while he presides over a country where many of his own citizens who work 40 hours or more a week can't even afford health insurance?


What kind of values does someone have to have to deny American scientists the opportunity to study stem cell research, using the argument that he wants to "protect life" when he presides over a country where our children are being routinely molested and MURDERED by animals who the government refuses to keep in jail? 


Out of all the talk on these boards about life being "precious" as it regards stem cell research, I have yet to see ONE SINGLE POST about the multitude of children that have been abducted, sexually abused and murdered in this country in the last six months.  What kind of values does someone have to have to care more about cells in a petrie dish than the children who are already here?


Those examples aren't values. Those examples do nothing but reflect the values that are ABSENT in an egotistical moron of a president who, at his very BEST, is nothing but DANGEROUS.


No problem. Peace to you. NM
...
Yes, I can understand your reasons very well!

I see the neocons have been trashing you on their board.......again, insisting that my posts were posted by YOU, which you and I both know isn't true. 


 


I hope for peace
Well, Im gonna post more than I would normally about myself..sigh..Im Jewish (though not practicing)..so that kind of makes my heart, mind and soul a bit concerned and tied up with all this, however, I am an American first and foremost and what happens in Israel and Palestine, that is their concern.  I do not live there.  I see what is happening and frankly I agree with Sharon's decision.  It pains me cause I cannot believe how it would feel giving up a home after 30+ years or so..where are these people going to relocate..My heart truly is heavy for them.  I dont like Sharon, never have and I think his political life is quite over.  I think the land has to be shared by both Palestine and Israel.  Whatever decisions their leaders make, I as an American truly have no say.  Quite a few in Israel are fanatics, totally Orthodox.  My family, my friends, my ex, my boyfriend, we all look upon the Orthodox as kind of radical as can be.  If you dont agree, I invite you to visit New City in upstate NY or Borough Park in Brooklyn (many other areas too, of course, but these two areas are my *home areas*).  You will find extremely fanatical Jews who if you are not Orthodox Jew wouldnt even look your way or give you the time of day.  I think the situation between Israel and Palestine is quite complex, longstanding, for sure, and something we as Americans really dont understand.  A childhood friend of mine went to Israel after high school to join the Army.  She was an American citizen and did not have to.  She and I have had long discussions, believe me.  This is too complex a situation that has been going on for eons. When Sadat and Begin signed a peace accord, my heart was full of joy, I cried my eyes out.  My father was more leery.  The Middle East is a complex land and we as Americans really cannot understand all the turmoil, passion, pain, etc., that has occurred and is still occurring.  Sure, to debate it is fine but to make an absolute decision about how you feel.  Please keep an open mind.  All I hope for is peace in the Middle East and peace in America.
Can we keep the peace and also debate, please?
Here we go..how many days was there peace over here on the liberal board..three?  Five?  Oh geez..I did not generalize..I most certainly have seen many anti choice people screaming out against a womans right to choose about her body..all I was stating is I sure hope they are screaming also for the children who are lost in the system, living in horrible homes or group homes.  From what I can see, there are so many children waiting for adoption, in foster care. Lets help them FIRST..
I am sad you feel that way. Peace will sm
only come with justice. This is still very much an open wound for America, half of us that is.

It amazes me that Americans were gung-ho to spend 30 million investigating Clinton's famous BJ, yet do not question why only 1/4 of that amount was spent investigating 911 - a blow job was more important to America than 3,000 of its citizens murdered.

Yes, Democrat, the reasons you
that unhealthy foods are inexpensive. I've read many articles like the one below that show how difficult it can be for poorer people to get to a market where they can get healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables. The fact is, though, that people are just getting fat across the board regardless of their income level - 1/3 of the ENTIRE population is overweight. It is hardly a problem that affects only the poor.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/190061_obesity09.html
One of the reasons you are not hearing as much sm
about the Republicans, especially the current administration, is that they have been very effective at almost completely shutting up any voices of dissent. When Clinton was in office we heard about him nonstop.
In the long run it has everything to do with peace
As it disrupts the global economy and the ability of this planet to feed its population it will have very much to do with peace.  Power struggles, especially over oil/food/usable land = wars, historically.