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topic archives: politics 1 2 3 4 5 III-2004: 10 18 22 25 27 31 IV-2004: 09 13 15 26 V-2004: 03 03-2 07 13 18 19 21 23 26 VI-2004: 06 07 14 16 18 26

reagan was instrumental in bringing down socialist dictators.will bush do the same to the dictators of the middle east?
A speech by George W. Bush given in Turkey.

“This struggle between political extremism and civilized values is unfolding in many places. We see the struggle in Iraq, where killers are attempting to undermine and intimidate a free government. We see the struggle in Iran, where tired, discredited autocrats are trying to hold back the democratic will of a rising generation. We see that struggle in Turkey, where the PKK has abandoned its cease-fire with the Turkish people and resumed violence. We see it in the Holy Land, where terrorist murderers are setting back the good cause of the Palestinian people, who deserve a reformed, peaceful, and democratic state of their own.

“ The terrorists are ruthless and resourceful, but they will not prevail. Already more than half of the world's Muslims live under democratically- constituted governments -- from Indonesia to West Africa, from Europe to North America. And the ideal of democracy is also powerful and popular in the Middle East. Surveys in Arab nations reveal broad support for representative government and individual liberty. We are seeing reform in Kuwait and Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan and Morocco. We're seeing men and women of conscience and courage step forward to advocate democracy and justice in the broader Middle East.”

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics040618.php#votes

how government just keeps lying about inflation while manipulating markets
[From The Spectator – nominal registration required]

“During his first term as chancellor, Gordon Brown was prepared to tolerate house price inflation. Over the past couple of years, however, he has begun positively to encourage it. Most blatantly he has done this by dropping the Retail Prices Index (RPI) as the official measure of inflation and replacing it with the Index of Consumer Prices (ICP). The Chancellor excused the change on the grounds that he needed to bring Britain’s inflation figures in line with those of the rest of the EU. [...] While the former contained a minimal element of house price inflation, the latter includes no housing costs whatsoever [...]

“Manipulation of the inflation figures is far from the only way in which the Chancellor has sought to stoke the housing boom. Over the next three years he has committed himself to pumping £690 million of taxpayers’ money directly into the housing market.”

To force even more money out of shares and into housing, Gordon Brown has also sheltered speculative investment in housing and removed tax shelter from share ownership.

The Bank of England target figure for pretend inflation is 2.5% last I looked. My own latest [20/05/04} calculation for UK inflation gives 4.7%.

related document
inflation: the mechanics of inflation – the great government swindle

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics040618.php#lying

“Bush has set himself a similar challenge— to remake the Middle East. I think he can do it. He’s played a shrewd hand with both fractious Iraqi politicians and devious UN diplomats and he’s seen off Chirac, but at home there’s undeniably a rhetorical shortfall, as there was in his Reagan eulogy. He could use some Reaganesque clarity and toughness, plus a little more lyricism in the patriotic uplift. But one of the problems with the Bush Administration is that they think they’re so good at walking the walk they don’t have to bother talking the talk. Wrong. Last week conservatives were reminded of everything they’ve missed these last ten years. Never glad confident ‘Morning In America’ again? Your call, Dubya.”

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics040618.php#steyn

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