Whoa, something's gone downright bizarre with Bush...

[DroppinScience]

First he takes responsibility for the Katrina fiasco, now he's acknowledging that poverty is a root cause of terrorism (something right-wingers NEVER ever ever admit a correlation to).

Bush broadened the terrorism fight beyond the military arena, saying world leaders have "a solemn obligation" to stop terrorism in its early stages. Declaring that poverty breeds despair and terrorism, he challenged leaders to abolish all trade tariffs and subsidies to promote prosperity and opportunity in poor nations, a move that would be worth billions of dollars.

"Either hope will spread, or violence will spread, and we must take the side of hope," he said.

This approach — and Bush's support for achieving U.N. development goals such as halving extreme poverty by 2015 — was welcomed by many leaders.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/un_world_summit;_ylt=AuaBxRcsps7Z7SQ_NoFq3DnmWMcF; _ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--

What's he gonna do next? Resign? :eek:

[Medellia]

Droppin, you'd better not get everyone's hopes up with this.

[Ali]

I keep pinching myself.

[DroppinScience]

Droppin, you'd better not get everyone's hopes up with this.

Look out your window, pigs just might be flying! :eek:

[Ali]

Look out your window, pigs just might be flying! :eek:And it's raining pig poop. Great.

[QueenAdrock]

Burns: You know, Smithers, I think I'll donate a million dollars to
the local orphanage...when pigs fly!
[They laugh. The pig sails across the sky before them.]
Smithers: Will you be donating that million dollars now, Sir?
Burns: Nooo, I'd still prefer not.


In life, I've realized that every situation in life has a reference to either the Simpsons, or Seinfeld.

[DroppinScience]

In life, I've realized that every situation in life has a reference to either the Simpsons, or Seinfeld.

So true. In fact, I haven't been watching the Simpsons for at least 3 or 4 years (well, the odd new episode here and there, it's gone really downhill). Despite that, those first 10 or so seasons contain EVERYTHING you need to quote in everyday life.

And yeah, Seinfeld is just indispensable.

[Schmeltz]

he challenged leaders to abolish all trade tariffs and subsidies


Physician, heal thyself.

[Medellia]

Look out your window, pigs just might be flying! :eek:
I just went to hell to pay Satan a visit, and we had a snowball fight! Satan's really an alright guy once ya get to know him. (y)

[Ali]

I just went to hell to pay Satan a visit, and we had a snowball fight! Satan's really an alright guy once ya get to know him. (y)Did he look like Dick or Donny?

[synch]

I wonder how many people there were waiting for the punchline.

[Ali]

I wonder how many people there were waiting for the punchline.Yeah... for Bush to go PSYCHE! and flip everyone the Bird.

[Funkaloyd]

I don't think that this is particularly spectacular. It may be an unusual admission, but he's only using it to sell globalisation. It's extremely unlikely that the statement is going be reflected in America's "defence" policy, or foreign aid policy for that matter.

[Ali]

I don't think that this is particularly spectacular. It may be an unusual admission, but he's only using it to sell globalisation. It's extremely unlikely that the statement is going be reflected in America's "defence" policy, or foreign aid policy for that matter.Defense.

[synch]

I don't think that this is particularly spectacular. It may be an unusual admission, but he's only using it to sell globalisation. It's extremely unlikely that the statement is going be reflected in America's "defence" policy, or foreign aid policy for that matter.
But what he's doing is admitting that poverty breeds terrorism. That is quite unusual...

Did anyone see the movie "Dave"...?

[Funkaloyd]

Defense.That's the second time you've done that now, but it's my understanding that you have ties to both the UK and South Africa, so I'm going to assume that you're just toying with me.

[Ali]

That's the second time you've done that now, but it's my understanding that you have ties to both the UK and South Africa, so I'm going to assume that you're just toying with me. :p (http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/warriorshtm/grammarian.htm)

[EN[i]GMA]

The latest issue of Time had a figure that said Western nations give 1 billion dollars to help poor farmers and agriculture in poor countries.

They also give a billion dollars to their own farmers via subsidies.

Disgusting.

[Ali]

GMA']The latest issue of Time had a figure that said Western nations give 1 billion dollars to help poor farmers and agriculture in poor countries.

They also give a billion dollars to their own farmers via subsidies.

Disgusting.Your point being?

[sam i am]

Maybe.....just MAYBE.....you're seeing the return of "compassionate conservatism."

Us true conservatives have been preaching the message of poverty being the root cause of endemic problems for a lot of years.

It's akin to supply side economics....a rising tide lifts all boats, but on more of a global scale. The less people have to worry about their daily needs, the more they can focus on their wants : which leads to trade and better relations between countries all around. If you're not so jealous of what your neighbor has because you have enough yourself, you're much more inclined to get along with your neighbor.

[infidel]

What's he gonna do next? Resign? :eek:No, first he's going to raise taxes on the rich.

[synch]

Not before he marries Dick Cheney and has an abortion though.

[DroppinScience]

Not before he marries Dick Cheney and has an abortion though.

Aw man, Rumsfeld's heart will be broken when he hears about that. :(

[EN[i]GMA]

Your point being?

We spend as much paying farmers not to grow crops as we do to feed the poor in the third world.

[infidel]

GMA']We spend as much paying farmers not to grow crops as we do to feed the poor in the third world.I'm a farmer and while I don't receive subsidies realize their importance while most folks don't. The whole idea behind them is to keep prices up so that the US farmer doesn't go bankrupt and we have to depend on imports for our food supply. If the US farmer is gone and we rely on imports when the rest of the world gets pissed off at us and cuts off our food supply we'd be up shit creek. Even a major disruption in the oil supply that shuts down the cargo ships could cause starvation. Post WWII Europe is an excellent example of what happens when countries don't grow their own food.
Granted there is much abuse in the system that needs to be fixed such as millionaires who don't need subsidies to stay in business but for the most part the subsidy system does what it was intended to do. Most farmers are hardly getting rich but at least they aren't going out of business.

[Medellia]

Did he look like Dick or Donny?
It's crazy, but he looked like both! When you first see him he looks just like Rummy, and then when you pin him in the face with a snowball and his head kida falls back and you see Dick's face. Just like Zaphod in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.

[Ali]

I'm a farmer and while I don't receive subsidies realize their importance while most folks don't. The whole idea behind them is to keep prices up so that the US farmer doesn't go bankrupt and we have to depend on imports for our food supply. If the US farmer is gone and we rely on imports when the rest of the world gets pissed off at us and cuts off our food supply we'd be up shit creek. Even a major disruption in the oil supply that shuts down the cargo ships could cause starvation. Post WWII Europe is an excellent example of what happens when countries don't grow their own food.
Granted there is much abuse in the system that needs to be fixed such as millionaires who don't need subsidies to stay in business but for the most part the subsidy system does what it was intended to do. Most farmers are hardly getting rich but at least they aren't going out of business.My grandparents were farmers in South Africa (where there are no state subsidies) and eventually had to sell their farm (a big, fertile, well watered property in a climatically-favourable area) simply because the prices whey were getting for their stock were plumetting as the costs rocketed. Plenty of other family farms have gone out of business and ended up selling to big farming companies, who are the only ones with the collateral to maintain the kind of debt which most farmers end up in. I agree that subsidies can and do get abused, but farming in the First world is no more or less tough than farming in the third world... you have to battle Mother Nature in both.

The problem, as I see it, is not the subsidies given to Western farmers, but the appropriation of land in the third world by Western multinationals and the fixing of prices and imposition of quotas on goods produced by third world countries... I have ranted at length about this on other threads.

[EN[i]GMA]

I'm a farmer and while I don't receive subsidies realize their importance while most folks don't. The whole idea behind them is to keep prices up so that the US farmer doesn't go bankrupt and we have to depend on imports for our food supply. If the US farmer is gone and we rely on imports when the rest of the world gets pissed off at us and cuts off our food supply we'd be up shit creek. Even a major disruption in the oil supply that shuts down the cargo ships could cause starvation. Post WWII Europe is an excellent example of what happens when countries don't grow their own food.
Granted there is much abuse in the system that needs to be fixed such as millionaires who don't need subsidies to stay in business but for the most part the subsidy system does what it was intended to do. Most farmers are hardly getting rich but at least they aren't going out of business.

So we need to tax everyone to pay people to do something we don't need them to do?

Sign me up!

I don't see how this 'if' scenario is at all plausible.

The ENTIRE world would get pissed off at us? That argument is such a blank-check it could literally be used for anything.

If they aren't profitable, why should they be farming? Obviously what they're producing isn't desired.

[Ali]

GMA']So we need to tax everyone to pay people to do something we don't need them to do?

Sign me up!

I don't see how this 'if' scenario is at all plausible.

The ENTIRE world would get pissed off at us? That argument is such a blank-check it could literally be used for anything.

If they aren't profitable, why should they be farming? Obviously what they're producing isn't desired.
What did you have for breakfast today?
What are you going to eat for lunch?
Where does the cotton or wool in the clothes you're wearing come from? How much did it cost?

Think about these things and then let us know whether helping farmers stay profitable is worth it, or not.

I agree, the subsidies shouldn't be abused, but they shouldn't be abolished, either, should they?

And third world farmers should certainly not be getting foreign aid while foreign competitors put them out of business.

That's where the problem lies.

[Funkaloyd]

GMA']Obviously what they're producing isn't desired.I'm sure it's that the millions of Americans living in poverty simply don't demand food.

[infidel]

GMA']So we need to tax everyone to pay people to do something we don't need them to do?In English please.




The ENTIRE world would get pissed off at us? It's damn close to that right now, only thing is they still want our money and won't cut off exports. It could happen though if we piss them off enough by doing something stupid like blowing off a bunch of nukes that screw with the climate.
Venezuela has threatened to cut off oil sales unless we quit fucking with them. I could see the same thing play out if we were to let Argentina supply most of our wheat and then turn around and back overthrowing their government.