United States
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America
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Written by The Editor
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Sunday, 11 April 2010 |
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In the Guardian this weekend was a fluffy, myopic piece about Venezuela written by some left-wing student, named Pablo Navarrete, who has done some jobbing for the New Statesman's John Pilger and spent some time in Venezuela a few years ago. The article, entitled "Venezuela deserves a fair hearing" is so flawed it merits almost total clarification.
Venezuela- for obvious reasons (to those who know me) - is very close to my heart (I spend a great deal of time there and know the land well) and I'll not allow left-wing light weights to paint the place as some kind of haven when I know very well that its people (and I tell you, I have mixed with the rich and poor, the weak and strong) are suffering there now far worse than they have ever been. In his article in a section of the Guardian entitled Zeitgeist (this week as third class and spurious as the film) Navarette whines about how Western media outlets ("right-wing" outlets such as Murdoch's Fox News but even "liberal" outlets such as the BBC) offer distorted media coverage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his government (which has now been in power for eleven years). Navarrete despairs, for example, that of 304 BBC reports concerning Venezuela published between 1998 and 2008 only three mentioned any of the Chavez Government's positive reforms (here Navarette mentions Chavez halving the Venezuelan poverty rate from 46.5% in 1998 to 23% in 2009). Navarette talks of his own participation in a documentary on the contemporary political situation in the country and his desire to provide "a platform for the voices of the government's grassroots supporters, who the mainstream media (in the West) routinely ignores". Navarrete discusses how he visited in particular the government's grassroots supporters and community activists in the barrios (low-income neighbourhoods / shanty towns) that encircle Caracas and how these supporters insisted they, the people, were the true force behind Venezuela's process of radical change. Navarrete then goes onto discuss the "threats" from the US (lazily declaring US military support to Colombia's President in hisfight against drugs and FARC as "US militarization of Colombia" and then erroneously claiming that the Obama regime is supporting a return to US support of dictatorships in the region following the overthrow of the democratically elected Honduran Government of Manuel Zelaya last year - as if the Americans were behind Zelaya's overthrow in the first place). Navarette's main point is that he feels Venezuela gets a rough press and that (what he calls) "the other Venezuela's voice" is not heard as the media (in the West) refuses (as if in some conspiracy against Chavez) to air it. Where do I start?! |
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America
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Written by Amil Imani
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
Obama's economic plan is a
recipe for long-lasting disaster. Keep in mind that wrecking anything,
as opposed to building things, requires very little time and effort.
Obama's plan is deceptively attractive, while in reality it is a huge
wrecking ball that will capsize the already listing ship of our
economy. Here is a partial list of reasons why. Judge for yourself.
Obama
is proposing a trillion dollars in new spending. Where is he going to
get the money, given the government's present huge budget deficit? From
the filthy rich and blood-sucking corporations, that's where, he says.
A terrific vote-getting scheme. But will it work?
Obama
doesn't tell you that in the present world money is like water. It
flows to the lowest ground. And the lowest ground for money is found in
places where it can make more money -- not locations where it is
seriously tapped by government. For example, Ireland where the
corporate income tax rate is 12.5%second highest rate
in the world. As it is, one of the biggest reasons that many
corporations set up their businesses abroad is the high cost of doing
business here at home. Hence, a great many jobs are lost to overseas
enterprises. and not the United States, which has the
Obama
doesn't tell you that rich people didn't get to be rich by being
stupid. The minute they hear him talk about "spreading the wealth
around", they shift their money to safe havens where Obama can't get to
it. Like those hedge funds run by George Soros and other big Democrat donors.
Obama doesn't tell you
that much of the money invested in this country is from non-Americans,
who do so not because they are philanthropists but because they believe
in the American genius and our creative hard-working people who know
how to produce wealth. Once they see Obama the taxman, they sell their
holdings and move their money to safer havens. The result is that
American company shares drop in value, companies won't be able to raise
cash to do product development, so they will shut down their research
departments and layoff workers. Or, they simply move their entire
operation, or parts of it, abroad.
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America
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Written by WJ Newsdesk
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Monday, 22 September 2008 |
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Nine
years, three defeats, two wipeouts and one absent superstar since the last time
it belonged to the United
States, the Ryder Cup changed hands Sunday
at Valhalla Golf Club, where the routine cheer was just as unexpected as the
outcome.
"Red,
white, Boo!"
For
sure, the homespun Boo Weekley inspired the U.S. team and its fans, but it
still wasn't easy coming up with a blueprint for success that didn't include
top-ranked Tiger Woods - who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery. Yet
that is exactly how the underdog U.S.
team played it, winning 16 ½-11 ½, with a trump of Europe's
aces that most observers didn't expect.
Sergio
Garcia of Spain, Lee
Westwood of England and
Padraig Harrington of Ireland
didn't win a match in three days. When Anthony Kim, a 23-year-old Ryder Cup
rookie, put a bruising, 5-and-4 defeat on Garcia in the first of the day's 12
singles matches, the Americans were off and running.
Jim
Furyk's 2-and-1 victory over Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain
in the eighth match secured the victory, giving the United States the 14 ½ points it
needed, and it was over with four matches in progress.
And
so, after standing in mute misery, watching back-to-back-to-back victory
celebrations of group singing, flag waving and Guinness swilling by the
European side, it was somebody else's turn to smile.
"I'm
coming out of my skin right now, I'm so excited," said Kim, who was 2-1-1
and set the tone for the pressure-soaked last day with the way he handled
Garcia. "We're feeling pretty proud of ourselves."
Paul
Azinger, the first-time U.S.
captain, led the celebratory parade in his red golf cart, speeding down a
fairway past fans holding large flags.
U.S. players
quickly joined the act around the clubhouse. Weekley removed his cap and bowed.
Furyk fought back tears of joy. J.B. Holmes raised his arms to encourage fans
to raise the roof. Phil Mickelson grinned, as usual. Hunter Mahan and Kenny
Perry waved American flags from the clubhouse veranda.
Then
the champagne came out, and its spray filled the air. Azinger emptied the
contents of one bottle on Weekley's head.
On
the raucous scale, this one bordered on subdued, but it was surely satisfying.
The previous U.S. victory
was in 1999 in Brookline, Mass.
Perhaps
because that was so long ago, the U.S. team came up with a boisterous
performance and won by its largest margin since 1981.
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America
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Written by Amil Imani
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Friday, 12 September 2008 |
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The
left lost not a minute in tarring Sarah Palin after McCain selected her as his
running mate. Of course they had to be careful-very careful. As hard as they
worked, they couldn't dig up anywhere near as much dirt on this outstanding
self-made governor than they have all along covered up for their darling Obama.
What
did they do? The cunning leftists are nothing if they are not devious and
Machiavellian. It would have been a huge self-inflicted disaster if the men had
led the offensive. So, true to form, these unscrupulous leftist cowards hid
behind their women's skirts and let them do their dirty work.
Women
vilifying a woman, no matter how baseless and vicious the assaults may be are
better tolerated than men doing the dishonourable thing-they are chalked to the
nasty game of partisan politics. To the leftists, as is the case in war and
love, all is also considered fair in politics.
Here
is a woman, by all accounts, a personification of the American story. A
self-made woman rising from the heart of the middle class, distinguishing
herself as a tireless devoted public servant who had worked through the grades
to the governorship post by single-mindedly remaining faithful to the trust of
her electorate.
Here
is a woman who had no sugar-daddy sponsor to send her to an Ivy League school,
but had to work hard on her own with the support of her not-so-wealthy working
parents to finish college.
Here
is a woman, as wife and a mother of five children, who served in her community
to better things for all. She was an active and constructive member of the PTA.
Her tireless services in the community impressed the people of the town to
elect her as their mayor. All along, she championed the best interest of the
people, rather than her own self interest.
Here
is a woman who took on the powerful corrupt officials at the state level. She
confronted corruptions and the old-boys network. She even challenged the
miscreants in her own political party and took on an incumbent governor and beat
him without selling herself to the powerful interest groups.
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America
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Written by Thomas Sowell
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Sunday, 25 May 2008 |
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Many years ago, a great hitter named Paul Waner was nearing the end of his long career. He entered a ballgame with 2,999 hits -- one hit away from the landmark total of 3,000, which so many hitters want to reach, but which relatively few actually do reach.
Waner hit a ball that the fielder did not handle cleanly but the official scorer called it a hit, making it Waner's 3,000th. Paul Waner then sent word to the official scorer that he did not want that questionable hit to be the one that put him over the top. The official scorer reversed himself and called it an error. Later Paul Waner got a clean hit for number 3,000.
What reminded me of this is the great fervor that many seem to feel over the prospect of the first black President of the United States.
No doubt it is only a matter of time before there is a black president, just as it was only a matter of time before Paul Waner got his 3,000th hit. The issue is whether we want to reach that landmark so badly that we are willing to overlook how questionably that landmark is reached.
Paul Waner had too much pride to accept a scratch hit. Choosing a President of the United States is a lot more momentous than a baseball record. We the voters need to have far more concern about who we put in that office that holds the destiny of a nation and of generations yet unborn.
There is no reason why someone as arrogant, foolishly clever and ultimately dangerous as Barack Obama should become president -- especially not at a time when the threat of international terrorists with nuclear weapons looms over 300 million Americans.
Many people seem to regard elections as occasions for venting emotions,
like cheering for your favorite team or choosing a Homecoming Queen.
The three leading candidates for their party's nomination are being
discussed in terms of their demographics -- race, sex and age -- as if
that is what the job is about.
One of the painful aspects of studying great catastrophes of the past
is discovering how many times people were preoccupied with trivialities
whenthey were teetering on the edge of doom. The demographics of the
presidency are far less important than the momentous weight of
responsibility that office carries.
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