Members GoldenDogs Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 So ridiculously untrue. I'll join the chorus to criticize Bush for his part in unrestrained spending... but the mortgage crisis can't be pinned on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roman Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/23/m...ypocrisy-again/ McCain nailed on “golden parachute” hypocrisy again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MTSRocks Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 LoL, why try? Is that a serious question? No, maybe we should just shoot him instead lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roman Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 And who was that Senator who sung the song "Bomb-Bomb-Bomb.....Bomb-Bomb Iran"? I'll have to look (McCain) that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GoldenDogs Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Well, MTS, you would likely find a majority of people supporting that notion. Share with me your thoughts on dealing with the Iranian President. I'm interesting in hearing what you have to say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roman Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Cost of the bailout (in perspective) Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 2:24 PM by Domenico Montanaro Filed Under: Congress, 2008 From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Just how big is the proposed Wall Street bailout? Let's look at how it compares to some other numbers... -- $700 billion: proposed Wall St. bailout -- $695.4 billion: GDP of Taiwan. If the bailout were a country it would be the 21st largest GDP, larger than most nations. -- $653 billion: cost of Iraq war (so far) -- $515.4 billion: proposed 2009 Pentagon budget -- $315 billion: McCain's nuclear energy plan -- $295 billion: amount Pentagon overspent original budgets by. -- $150 billion: Obama's energy plan -- $50-$65 billion: Obama's health care plan, per year -- $59.2 billion: proposed 2009 U.S. education budget -- $10 billion: McCain health care proposals, per year -- $38 million: Hank Paulson's post-2004 salary as Chairman, CEO of Goldman Sachs -- 16.1 million: number of median Ohio household incomes ($43,371 as of 2004) that would add up to the bailout -- or about THREE Ohios. [EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly listed where on the GDP list the bailout would be. It's actually higher.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GoldenDogs Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Thanks for that, Roman... very interesting. But one thing (at the risk of sounding left-leaning!)... But Hank Paulson's $38 million salary.... I mean, honestly, who the HELL is worth that? Outrageous salaries really piss me off, whether it be a CEO or Hollywood actor. NOBODY does ANYTHING worth that sort of salary. My conservative friends, feel free to slam me for a less than free-market vision here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roman Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 By Glenn Kessler Maybe it's just a coincidence, but after two weeks of requests for a list of the world leaders that Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has met with, his office released one -- on the very day GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin met with her first world leaders. Judging from the eight-page document -- which Biden's office said was only a "partial list" -- Biden has quite a headstart on Palin. As of September 23, his office says, he has met with the leaders of nearly 60 countries, territories and international organizations (such as the United Nations and NATO.) The list of names runs to about 150 people -- including nine Israeli prime ministers (ten if you including prime minister designate Tzipi Livni), four Soviet leaders and two Russian presidents, a few kings and a queen (of England), Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama, and even a few tough guys like Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and Serbian president Sloban Milosevic. The complete list provided by Biden's Senate office is below: As of September 23, 2008 Senator Biden/Meetings with World Leaders This is a partial list of world leaders that Senator Biden has met with at least once over his nearly 36 year career as a United States Senator. As mentioned, this list is not exhaustive. As chairman of the subcommittees on Europe and Africa earlier in his career, the list is certainly much longer. ****The dates listed indicate when the foreign leader was in office. Iraq Prime Minister Iyad Allawi (May 2004 - April 2005) Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (April 2005 - May 2006) Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (April 2006 - Present) President Jalal Talabani (June 2005 - Present) Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani (June 2005 - Present) Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (March 2006 - Present) Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir (March 1969 - June 1974) Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (July 1992 - November 1995) Prime Minister Shimon Peres (November 1995 - June 1996) Prime Minister Menachem Begin (June 1977 - October 1983) Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir (October 1986 - July 1992) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (June 1996 - July 1999) Prime Minister Ehud Barak (June 1996 - July 1999) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (March 2001 - April 2006) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (April 2006 - Present) Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (January 2006 - present) Palestinian Territories Chairman Yasser Arafat (September 1993 - November 2004) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (November 2004 - Present) Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad (June 2007 - Present) Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (October 2003 - March 2006) Jordan King Hussein (August 1952 - February 1999) King Abdullah (August 2005-Present) Egypt President Hosni Mubarak (October 1981 - Present) President Anwar Sadat (October1970 - October 1981) Libya Prime Minister Col. Muammar Qaddafi (March 1977 - March 1979) Lebanon Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri (October 1992 - December 1998) Prime Minister Najib Mikati (April 2005 - July 2005) Bahrain Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (March 1999 - Present) Syria President Bashar al-Assad (July 2000 - Present) Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (March 2003 - Present) President Ahmet Sezer (May 2000 - August 2007) Prime Minister/President* Abdullah Gul (November 2002 - March 2003, Current President) Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit (January 1999 - May 1999) Prime Minister Demirel (November 1991 - June 1993) Greece President Kostis Stephanopoulos (March 1995 - March 2005) Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis (March 2004 - Present) Prime Minister Kostantinos Mitsotakis (April 1990 - October 1993) Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou (October 1981 - July 1989) (October 1993 - January 1996) Cyprus President George Vassiliou (February 1988 - February 1993) President Glafcos Clerides (February 1993 - February 2003) Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai (December 2001 - Present) Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari (September 2008 - Present)* Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani (March 2008 - Present) President Pervez Musharraf (June 2001 - August 2008) Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (December 1988 - August 1990, October 1993 - November 1996) Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (November 1990 - July 1993, February 1997 - October 1999) India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (May 2004 - Present) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (May 1996 - June 1996) (March 1998 - May 2004) Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe (May 1993 - August 1994) (December 2001 - April 2004) Russia President Vladimir Putin (May 2000 - May 2008; current Prime Minister) President Boris Yeltsin (July 1991 - December 1999) Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev (March 1990 - December 1991) Soviet Union President Andrei Gromyko (July 1985 - October 1988) Premier of the Soviet Union Alexey Kosygin (October 1964 - October 1980) Premier of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev (May 1960 - July 1964) France President Jacques Chirac (May 1995 - May 2007) Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin (May 2005 - May 2007) President Francois Mitterrand (May 1981 - May 1995) U.K. Queen Elizabeth (February 1952 - Present) Prime Minister Tony Blair (May 1997 - June 2007) Prime Minister John Major (November 1990 - May 1997) Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (May 1979 - November 1990) Ireland Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (June 1997 - Present) Prime Minister John Bruton (December 1994 - June 1997) Prime Minister Albert Reynolds (February 1992 - December 1994) Prime Minister Charles Haughey (December 1979 - June 1981) (March 1982 - December 1982) (March 1987 - February 1992) Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel (November 2005 - Present) Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (October 1998 - November 2005) Chancellor Helmut Kohl (October 1982 - October 1998) Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (May 1974 - October 1982) Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (June 2001 - May 2006) (May 2008 - Present) Prime Minister Romano Prodi (May 2006 - May 2008) Prime Minister Cossiga (July 1989 - April 1992) Serbia President of Serbia Boris Tadic (July 2004 - Present) Prime Minister of Serbia Vojislav Kostunica (March 2004 - Present) Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Djindjic (January 2001 - March 2003) President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic (May 1989 - July 1997) Yugoslavia Premier of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito (January 1953 - May 1980) Croatia President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman (May 1990 - December 1999) Slovenia Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Drnovsek (December 2002 - Present) President of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova (March 2002 - January 2006) President of Slovenia Milan Kucan (October 1991 - December 2002) Bosnia and Herzegovina President of Bosnia Haris Silajdzic (November 2006 - Present) President of Bosnia Sulejman Tihić (October 2002 - November 2006) President of Bosnia Alija Izetbegovic (March 1992 - October 2000) Kosovo (as an independent nation) President Fatmir Sejdiu (January 2008 - Present) Prime Minister Hashim Thaci (January 2008 - Present) Poland President Lech Walesa (December 1990 - December 1995) Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz (October 1993 - March 1995) Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel (February 1993 - February 2003) Hungary Prime Minister Gyula Horn (July 1994 - July 1998) President Arpad Goncz (August 1990 - August 2000) Prime Minister Viktor Orban (July 1998 - May 2002) Finland Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (April 1995 - April 2003) Romania President Ion Iliescu (December 1989 - November 1996) Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili (January 2004 - Present) President Eduard Shevardnadze (October 1995 - November 2003) Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev (December 1991 - Present) Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko (January 2005 - Present) Canada Prime Minister Paul Martin (December 2003 - February 2006) Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (September 1984 - June 1993) NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson (October 1999 - January 2004) Secretary General Javier Solana (December 1995 - October 1999) Secretary General Manfred Woerner (July 1988 - August 1994) Secretary General Lord Peter Carrington (June 1984 - July 1988) China President Jiang Zemin (March 1993 - March 2003) Premier Zhu Rongji (March 1998 - March 2003) Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa (July 1997 - March 2005) Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian (May 2000 - Present) Korea President Kim Dae Jung (February 1998 - February 2003) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (June 1959 - November 1990) Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (November 1990 - August 2004) Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (August 2004 - Present) Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri (July 2001 - October 2004) President Bambang Yudhoyono (October 2004 - Present) Australia Prime Minister John Howard (March 1996 - December 2007) Prime Minister Paul Keating (December 1991 - March 1996) Philippines President Gloria Arroyo (January 2001 - Present) President Fidel Ramos (June 1992 - June 1998) Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Van Kai (September 1997 - June 2006) East Timor President Ramos Horta (May 2007 - Present) Tibet The Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (1950 - Present) Colombia President Alvaro Uribe (August 2002 - Present) President Andres Pastrana (August 1998 - August 2002) President Cesar Gaviria (August 1990 - August 1994) Mexico President Vincente Fox (December 2000 - December 2006) President Ernesto Zedillo (December 1994 - November 2000) Bolivia President Jaime Paz Zamora (August 1989 - August 1993) South Africa President Thabo Mbeki (June 1999 - September 2008) President Nelson Mandela (April 1994 - June 1999) Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (January 2006 - Present) Lesotho Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan (July 1965 - January 1986) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (January 2007 - Present) Secretary General Kofi Annan (January 1997 - January 2007) Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali (January 1992 - January 1997) Vatican City Pope John Paul II (October 1978 - April 2005) Slovakia President Rudolf Schuster (June 1999 - June 2004) Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov (October 1990 - December 2006) *Senator Biden met with leader before he or she became head of state. 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Members GoldenDogs Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Cool! It's actually impressive until you consider how many horribly embarrasing things he may have said to them all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members George008 Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 With Biden's foreign policy expertice, wouldn't he be better suited as Secretary of State more so than VP? It's not really the role of the Vice-President or President to focus this heavily on foreign affairs...I still say Hillary's experience is a better fit for VP, but Biden would make a great SoS, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roman Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Palin briefed by Director of National Intelligence Posted: 05:31 PM ET From From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby Sarah Palin was briefed by the Director of National Intelligence prior to her meeting heads of state today. Sarah Palin was briefed by the Director of National Intelligence prior to her meeting heads of state today. NEW YORK (CNN) – Before heading out for a trio of well-publicized meetings with foreign dignitaries on Tuesday, Sarah Palin received a national security briefing from the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Michael McConnell, who met with the governor this morning in her New York hotel. Palin’s top foreign policy adviser informed reporters of the meeting at a small briefing following Palin’s visits with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The adviser, Stephen Biegun, formerly a senior official on the National Security Council under President Bush, characterized the intelligence briefing as “routine” and said it was the sort of meeting that “is standard for candidates for the vice president and president.” Biegun said several officials were present to brief Palin. Palin then departed her hotel for a series of motorcade trips around Manhattan, visiting with foreign leaders for the first time in her career. “These are relationships that she intuitively understands are very important for the next President and Vice President of the United States,” Biegun said of the meetings. In those get-togethers, Palin kept the focus primarily on energy issues and the growing influence of Russia, according to Biegun. Palin found Kissinger particularly engrossing — their meeting had been scheduled to last 30 minutes, but the two met for nearly an hour and a half. “In talking to Dr. Kissinger,” Biegun said, “she certainly had a lot of questions about how the United States can develop a cooperative relationship with Russia, what are some of the unique challenges to the current state of Russia's political development, and having been in particular, some of the recent developments we've seen with Russia — backsliding democracy, Russia’s incursion into Georgia.” Asked about her meetings with Karzai and Uribe, Biegun said Palin “liked them very much” and “established a great personal rapport.” With Karzai, Palin chatted for half an hour about John McCain’s desire to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. With Uribe, she listened for about 20 minutes as the president discussed the country’s security situation and its handling of the FARC guerillas. According to Biegun, “rather than make specific policy prescriptions, she was largely listening, having an exchange of views, and also very interested in forming a relationship with people she met with today.” Biegun, who is helping prepare Palin for her debate with Sen. Joseph Biden on October 2 in St. Louis, would not say what specific topics the governor was concentrating on in her study sessions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jess Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Well, as a Democrat, I think there are some very dark days out there for McCain and I also feel that he personally is very undisciplined. He can not control his temper and that very much concerns me. It also would be refreshing of McCain or Palin would step up and acknowledge their campaign lies. You know you can say Roman, Wales and I are biased and we say yes we are. We do not try to pretend that we are giving objective comments on the candidates. Are you trying to tell me that you are objectively assessing McCain and Obama? If you do try to tell me that, let me tell you in advance, I call BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jess Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Should we bomb them? Is he less stable than the leader of North Korea who we attempt to bribe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GoldenDogs Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Why, you'll find nobody as fair and balanced as me, Jess! >>Brian pounds the table with his fist<< How DARE you suggest otherwise! Why, I have NEVER been so insulted in all my years... Are you kidding? Do the heaps of posts the last couple of days making fun of Biden look like I'm being non-partisan? Jess, I make no such an attempt! However, you won't have to look too far back to find me criticizing Bush or McCain. In that respect, I think I've been fair enough for someone who has decided how he is going to vote. Of course I'm not going to search out anti-McCain propaganda and post it here. The question is, Jess, is there anything about Obama that actually DOES give you pause? You don't have to tell me what it is... but I'm wondering if there is any issue out there that you are privately concerned about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GoldenDogs Posted September 24, 2008 Members Share Posted September 24, 2008 Bomb them? Oh, no... that would be violent and violence begets violence. Brute force is soooooo... well... brutal. No rash actions here. I think we should wait until they lob a nuke at Israel and wipe them out... or arch one off (a nuke, of course) at our European friends and change the face of the world forever. Okay, I'm being ridiculously smart-assish... LOL! Should WE bomb them? I honestly don't know what we should do. It's above my pay grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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