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Pelosi Invests in Iran
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
Saturday, June 30, 2007
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has disclosed that she holds stock valued at up to $15,000 in Alcatel-Lucent (formerly Alcatel SA), a company with extensive investments in Iran and Sudan — nations that sponsor terrorism.
The disclosure of Pelosi's holdings comes at the same time that legislation is making its way through the California legislature barring state pension fund managers from investing in companies, like Alcatel-Lucent, that do business with "terror-friendly" nations.
According to Divestterror.org, a citizens group pushing a South Africa-style disinvestment program to discourage companies from doing business in terror countries, Alcatel-Lucent's investments in terror countries are so extensive that it is included on the organization's "dirty dozen" list of offending companies.
The organization estimates that the company has invested upwards of $300 million in terror sponsoring nations during the past five years.
According to Divestterror.org, Alcatel is aiding Iran's terrorist activities by providing state controlled companies with data transmission and switching network capabilities. "These contracts have reportedly included the provision of hardware, software, technologies, and training to Iranian companies." It is also installing an undersea telecommunications cable in Iran.
Prior to his overthrow, Alcatel carried out major fiber optic products for dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq, despite U.S. government warnings to the French company that the project could advance Iraqi military capabilities.
Alcatel is currently "involved in similar telecommunications projects ranging from upgrading networks to the installation underwater fiber optic cables" in Sudan and Libya.
Criticizing Alcatel, former House Armed Services Committee Chairman and current GOP presidential contender Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., expressed his worry over Alcatel's activities in a letter to President Bush. In it, he wrote, "I am concerned about potential transfers of technology or sensitive information to other countries with which Alcatel has business dealings, which have included Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria."
Florida has passed, and its governor, Charlie Crist, has signed legislation to state pension funds to sell their equities in companies that do business with Iran, Syria, Sudan, or North Korea. Similar legislation has passed in Louisiana and is making its way through state legislatures in New York, New Jersey, Ohio and California. Missouri's state treasurer Sarah Steelman has implemented a disinvestment strategy administratively.
For the Speaker of the House to own stock in such a company is a particular outrage. She should immediately sell her stock and call on all other members of Congress who hold stock in the company to do likewise.
Only if we send a signal to these companies that their associations with Iran and other terrorist states comes at a huge price can we dissuade them from continued involvement. But if there is a massive selloff of their stock, company executives will feel the pinch in their salaries and bonuses.
Iran is in serious economic trouble. Yesterday, it announced that it would have to ration gasoline — this in a nation with the second largest proven oil reserves. But it can't get at its oil resources without massive foreign investment. As a result, government revenues from the energy industry have dropped from $55 billion in 2006 to a projected $44 billion in 2007.
In a nation where 70 percent of the labor force is employed by the government, the costs in social instability of budget cuts militated by declining energy revenues could be formidable.
Under such pressure, Iran may well have to curb its nuclear ambitions or face the prospect of overthrow by an enraged population.
Mrs. Pelosi: Do your part!
© NewsMax 2007
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 26, 2009 12:44 PM
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Children and young adults are probably the least sickly... and they make up a large portion of the uninsured.
The only reason they pander to the elderly is because they have the time to vote, thus show up in largest proportions than any other age group.
18 - 30 needs to get off their ass and vote, then keeping grandma happy wouldn't be priority # 1.
When I think of the elderly upset that children and young adults would use up THEIR coverage, I start becoming more and more open to death panels.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 26, 2009 12:34 PM
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> Previous commentary
> about the Obama plans has focused exclusively on
> their impact on healthcare in America. The elderly
> are increasingly recognizing that, whatever its
> defenders say, extending coverage to 50 million new
> people -- without any new doctors or nurses or
> equipment or hospitals -- will create a scarcity that
> will lead to rationing, to the disadvantage of those
> over 65.
So what's the solution? Thank God for Joe, taking the tactics of the Right. Scaring the shit out of people and offering no solutions to the problem. It may or may not be to the advantage of those 65 and over (whom by the way have had at least 47 years of adulthood to see this coming) but it will be to the advantage for all of the uninsured children that universal healthcare would help. Douchebag.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 26, 2009 12:25 PM
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Self explanatory.
Dore Gold: Stop Iran Before It Builds Nuke
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 6:09 PM
By: Jim Meyers
Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was the last survivor of a privileged and charismatic family that in the 1960s dominated American politics and attracted worldwide attention (AP Image)
Former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and best-selling author Dore Gold tells Newsmax that the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is more immediate and more dangerous than commonly believed.
Gold, whose latest book is "The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West," asserts that the Islamic Republic already has the nuclear fuel necessary to produce two atomic weapons.
And he warns that a nuclear Iran would not only threaten Israel and Europe, but surely set off a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East.
See Video: Dore Gold talks about the Iranian threat and what Obama must do to stop it - Click Here Now
Gold's earlier New York Times best-sellers include "The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City." He served at the U.N. from 1997 through 1999, and is currently president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Newsmax.TV's Kathleen Walter asked Gold where Iran stands now with its nuclear program.
"We know from data of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has already enriched uranium in sufficient quantities so that they have basically the feedstock for making military grade uranium sufficient for two atomic bombs," Gold said.
"That is of June 2009. If no one stops the centrifuges from spinning in Natanz ? that's where the enrichment is going on in Iran ? then they will have even more enriched uranium in the future.
"In terms of missiles, they have new missiles which they have been launching that are solid fuel, that are multi-stage, and are able to strike targets deep into European territory."
Is it too late to block Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and what should President Barack Obama do about the Iranian threat? Walter asked.
"I don't think it is too late to block Iran," Gold declared.
"I think there are a number of measures that can be taken very quickly. First of all, President Obama and the administration have spoken about engaging Iran. A lot of time has been given in 2009 for that engagement, and essentially the message from Iran is they will not stop their nuclear program.
"That means the West as a whole has to move to a new stage of painful, I repeat painful, sanctions on Iran, even if it's implemented just by the U.S. and its European allies. That can cut very deeply into the Iranian economy, especially if the export of gasoline and other refined products is halted.
"Last but not least, the military option must be on the table. In my book I prove that only the fear of a Western military strike, along with painful sanctions, might bring the Iranians to stop what they're doing."
Walter asked why Iran has been allowed to get this far with its nuclear development.
"I stress in the book that almost every American administration and many European leaders have totally underestimated the threat of Iran," Gold responded.
"There is a whole cottage industry trying to present to the American people and to the Western alliance as a whole the idea that Iran does not have hostile intentions. That is completely wrong."
Asked how Israel is faring in the face of the Iranian threat, the former Israeli ambassador told Newsmax:
"I think the Israeli leadership is fully aware that Iran has stated that it wants to destroy the state of Israel, and it has said that in the context of its acquisition of atomic weapons.
"Israel is preparing to defend its people if Iran decides to move down that road. But Israel is also aware that the entire Middle East is today threatened."
A nuclear Iran would lead to a "chain reaction" across the Middle East, with countries like Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia all seeking their own nuclear weapons programs.
"You would suddenly have, in the most unstable part of the world, multiple nuclear powers that would each suspect each other of planning to strike one another, creating a very unstable security situation for the whole area," said Gold.
But the real problem with a nuclear Iran, he added, is that Iran is the "greatest supporter of international terrorism around the world, and terrorist organizations would act far more freely knowing that the country that is supporting them has a nuclear umbrella.
"For that reason a nuclear Iran must be stopped."
© 2009 Newsmax.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 26, 2009 6:32 AM
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Thank God for Joe.
LIEBERMAN OPENS THE DOOR TO DEMOCRATIC RETREAT
By DICK MORRIS
Published on DickMorris.com on August 25, 2009
Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) criticism of the Obama healthcare initiative may prove to be a pivotal turning point in the congressional debate over the increasingly unpopular proposal. Previous commentary about the Obama plans has focused exclusively on their impact on healthcare in America. The elderly are increasingly recognizing that, whatever its defenders say, extending coverage to 50 million new people -- without any new doctors or nurses or equipment or hospitals -- will create a scarcity that will lead to rationing, to the disadvantage of those over 65. Defenders of the free enterprise system have looked with alarm at the socialization of one-sixth of our economy and opponents of single-payer systems have argued that government control of healthcare is the inevitable result of the plan.
But Lieberman's critique was not primarily focused on the healthcare aspects of the program, or even on its ultimate desirability, but rather on the wisdom of attempting so radical a transformation and so extensive -- and expensive -- an extension of government's role in our economy during a major recession attended by a huge budget deficit. His go-slow commentary integrates worries about the economy, the deficit, the debt and interest rates with those about the healthcare proposal itself. In effecting this linkage, Lieberman cautions supporters of the idea and of the plan that this might not be the right time to try to do it all.
His comments come at a time when the Congressional Budget Office predicts a growth in the 10-year deficit projection to $9 trillion and when Americans are growing increasingly nervous about the massive debt we are incurring. Few buy the president's argument that spending $1 trillion extra will cut the deficit and rein in spending. The very notion is so counterintuitive that it is hard to give it any credibility.
If the elderly are worried about the projected $500 billion cut in Medicare and Medicaid over the ensuing decade and conservatives fret over socialization of healthcare, the average American can relate most easily to the concerns over the size of the debt and the deficit that Lieberman articulates.
Lieberman's critique gives moderates a place to go in the healthcare debate. Caught in the tug between the liberals who dominate Democratic primaries and the more conservative voices that may prevail in November, centrist Democrats can rally easily around the "not now" approach of Joe Lieberman. It is obvious that, despite the Obama majorities in Congress, this is the exact wrong time to embark on a major new government spending program.
Worries that the deficit will drive us anew into recession abound. And, increasingly, it appears that the back end of this "double dip" will be accompanied by inflation, as happened in the '70s. Alarm mounts that the Fed will be unable to fight the inflation without hurting the economy further and, conversely, cannot stimulate a flagging economy without worsening the rise in prices. Add to all this concerns that the world might not be willing to invest further in a deteriorating dollar and we have the makings of, well, a Catastrophe!
By expressing the obvious -- that this is a time for retrenchment, not for expansion of the public sector -- Lieberman may even have given the president an avenue of escape, permitting him to accept a scaled-back, phased-in program that might attract bipartisan support.
***COPYRIGHT EILEEN MCGANN AND DICK MORRIS 2009.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 26, 2009 1:51 AM
Rate this post:
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> What's an asshole with $100,000,000?
A Republican, usually.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 26, 2009 12:19 AM
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> Rush is a great man.
Great, as in massive.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 11:22 PM
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Rush is a great man. Lived in his building or were you panhandling outside it?
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 10:13 PM
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> A drug dealer, huh?
Nope. But dealing on a scale equal to Rush's consumption, so much he gave himself permanent hearing loss, would certainly be lucrative.
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 9:29 PM
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> You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a
> legal recount and appointed a President.
>
> You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company
> officials to dictate energy policy.
>
> You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got
> outed.
>
> You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
>
> You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a
> country that posed no threat to us.
>
> You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion
> (and counting to 3 trillion) on said illegal war.
>
> You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just
> disappeared in Iraq.
>
> You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Grahib
> photos.
>
> You didn't get mad when you found out we were
> torturing people.
>
> You didn't get mad when the government was illegally
> wiretapping Americans.
>
> You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
>
> You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible
> conditions at Walter Reed.
>
> You didn't get mad when we let a major US city
> drown.
>
> You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion
> dollar mark.
>
> You finally got mad when.. when... wait for it...
> when the government decided that people in America
> deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.
> Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture,
> stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer,
> are all ok with you but helping other Americans...
> well screw that. That about right? You know it is.
bump
*stands, Cheers*
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 8:23 PM
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> > I still have side effects to his attack of
> Michael J.
> > Fox. If memory serves, Fox took the high road.
>
> Whenever I find myself wondering aloud how Rush can
> be so stupid and insensitive, I remind myself...
>
> Rush is a high school graduate who dropped out of
> college in his first scholastic year, and has managed
> to learn nothing since.
>
> He degrades the status of high school graduates
> everywhere.
.....Limbaugh is an " oaf "...when I first lived in New York ( in early to mid 90s ) , he lived in my building ( or I did in his !? )...he had bodyguard come in and escort him down in lift...several times was in same lift and felt like telling him he talked nonsense..still does..do not take him seriously. Republicans will ultimately realise that they need to get rid of dependence on idiots like him and Christian right and re-assert some more traditional libertarian views.. or will not govern....or so one would hope...otherwise the descent into continued ill-informed Blue v Red states nonsense does not bode well for US
--
Edited by ManUtd99 at 08/25/2009 5:24 PM PDT
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 8:18 PM
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> > > I still have side effects to his attack of
> > Michael J.
> > > Fox. If memory serves, Fox took the high
> road.
> >
> > Whenever I find myself wondering aloud how Rush
> can
> > be so stupid and insensitive, I remind
> myself...
> >
> > Rush is a high school graduate who dropped out
> of
> > college in his first scholastic year, and has
> managed
> > to learn nothing since.
> >
> > He degrades the status of high school graduates
> > everywhere.
>
j101:
> He can buy and sell you though.
What's an asshole with $100,000,000?
Just another asshole.
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268
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 8:12 PM
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> > Wrong again. The stimulus has just screwed up
> natural
> > business cycles. Please try to educate yourself
> and
> > return when you have done so.
>
> Yeah, I forgot. Depression and the collapse of
> markets everywhere with the related fallout of
> starvation, war and pestilence is just part of the
> natural rhythms of unbridled free markets at work.
>
> Who are we to think we can fuck with the perfect
> order of things?
...is this a rant or analysis ( lol! )..because it clearly is the latter...the US economy, irrespective of its relative decline in the last 40 years, remains the single largest wealth creating market in the world. It will not remain that way indefinitely. It is not attuned to the idea that Government overcomes or reverses the economy's own inertia ( that has always been part of its strength and you cannot compare the Great Depression and the Keynsian policies that were followed then to now, if indeed we are coming out of a recession ).
...it is difficult to see how the discussion on this subject on this board is nothing but hacks taking opposite positions on what is so called " stimulus" versus so called " bail out "..it works if you want to hurl insults and labels, but doesn't really advance much
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 8:11 PM
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> > He can buy and sell you though.
>
> That just makes him a prick with the income to back
> it up.
>
> Besides, he'd never be mean to me, I can get him
> Oxycontin.
>
> People's loyalties to politics pale in comparison to
> their loyalty to opiates.
... He goes runnin' for the shelter of his
Mother's Little Helper
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 8:10 PM
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> > He can buy and sell you though.
>
> That just makes him a prick with the income to back
> it up.
>
> Besides, he'd never be mean to me, I can get him
> Oxycontin.
>
> People's loyalties to politics pale in comparison to
> their loyalty to opiates.
A drug dealer, huh?
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Re: Opinion of The Right.
Aug 25, 2009 8:03 PM
Rate this post:
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> He can buy and sell you though.
That just makes him a prick with the income to back it up.
Besides, he'd never be mean to me, I can get him Oxycontin.
People's loyalties to politics pale in comparison to their loyalty to opiates.
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