text:
A leader of the nation's largest evangelical organization sharply chastises Bush for his failure to act in a crisis situation. The dreaded g-word — genocide — is deployed. And the press says… no big deal. This isn't New Orleans, of course, but a tragedy even more awful: the violence in Sudan. In a brutal reminder that some lives are worth more ink than others, the press has mostly ignored a statement from Richard Cizik, vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals, in which he scolds the Bush administration for failing to follow up on its declaration that the Sudanese civil war constitutes genocide. "It is time to move the Darfur genocide from a talking point to an action item," said Cizik in a press release that seems to have vanished into the ether.
There's been a slow-but-steady drumbeat of below-the-fold stories about evangelicals crossing traditional left/right lines, particularly with regard to environmentalism and international human rights. The Revealer has been skeptical — many of these stories reflect the lazy desire of reporters to get a "Used to go this way, now it goes that way" story. They don't ask hard questions, and, worse, sometimes give good spin to efforts that more political than they at first appear.
But the Save Darfur Coalition seems like the real deal. And when Rich Cizik, a long-time veteran of Christian conservative politics and a man known as honest broker, declares that the Bush administration is falling down on the job, that's news. Because genocide should always be news; and because American responses to international atrocities are determined by domestic politics. Cizik's announcement should be heard as a seismic rumble. Christian conservative activists are growing more and more frustrated with the Bush-led G.O.P., not just on issues such as abortion, where Bush strikes them as too liberal, but on issues that cross party lines. Like, you know, stopping the murder of half a million people.
Here's the press release:
One Year after Bush Administration Declared Darfur Violence a 'Genocide,' Progress is Minimal, Evangelical Official Says
Contact: Sean Crowley for the National Association of Evangelicals, 202-478-6128, 202-550-6524 cell, email@example.com
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /Christian Wire Service/ — Since the Bush Administration declared that the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan amounted to genocide one year ago (September 9, 2004), it has made minimal progress protecting millions of victims of the world's worst humanitarian crisis. That's the conclusion of an official for the National Association of Evangelicals and the Save Darfur Coalition — http://www.SaveDarfur.org — an alliance of more than 130 faith- based, humanitarian and human rights organizations committed to protecting the civilians of Darfur. Together, the organizations united in the Save Darfur Coalition represent more than 130 million Americans.
"It is time to move the Darfur genocide from a talking point to an action item. President Bush must put this issue on the top of his inbox," said Richard Cizik, vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. "The more the American people learn about the suffering, devastation and killing, the more they are demanding that our president turn his words into action. America has been the world's conscience and halted genocide when it raised its evil head in Europe. We have a moral obligation to do the same in Africa."
Since February 2003, government-sponsored militias known as the Janjaweed have conducted a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement in Darfur. It is estimated that 400,000 people have died due to violence, starvation and disease. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes and more than 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad. Many now live in camps lacking adequate food, shelter, sanitation, and health care.
"While the Bush Administration has displayed some leadership in this humanitarian crisis, it has not done nearly enough to stop the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in Darfur," concluded David Rubenstein, coordinator of the Save Darfur Coalition. "If every American citizen understood how serious this crisis is, they would demand that our leaders take action to save our brothers and sisters in Darfur. Our government needs to hear from concerned American citizens about the need to step up its leadership and march the world towards peace in Darfur."


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West Virginia, the spoiled beauty state, is just one example of what happens when Republicans get their way to sacrifice environmental responsibility for higher profits. The result is from loopholes in laws that fail to keep pace with the introduction of new hazardous chemicals.
"The coal-processing chemical that cut off the water supply to 300,000 West Virginians is one of tens of thousands of potentially hazardous substances that have fallen through a decades-old loophole in federal regulations, leaving authorities with little information on what dangers it poses."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/west-virginia-water-chemicals-regulations-102125.html#ixzz2qNYVgTKV
A sustainable economy balances social and environmental responsibility to ensure a good life for all citizens. A profit-driven society that undermines equality in government by equating corporations with persons reduces the balance of responsibility.
Ensuring clean air and water without compromise is essential for humanity to survive on the planet. The world population is at a tipping point, and West Virginia is one example. The industries in that state are allowed to pollute the air and water, and that pollution spreads to other states that are downstream or upwind.
Just as coal-fired power plants in Ohio spew air pollution that kills forests in upstate New York, the menacing industry must be brought under control. Fossil fuels are an unacceptable source of power until and unless they can be used without negative effect on the environment.
Renewable energy sources are the only way forward, and the sooner Americans embrace that approach the better chances we have of surviving and saving the planet.

subset: commoncrawl


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Theories abound about the New Orleans Saints' exhilarating start to the exhibition season.
Experts note New Orleans' three victims finished a combined 17-30-1 last season. They are quick to mention the rudimentary preseason game planning or to warn about the illusion of preseason results, noting the Detroit Lions' 4-0 mark a year ago.
But here's another theory to consider:
What if the Saints are just really good?
I realize a divining rod is often a more reliable predictor of regular-season results than preseason performance, but it's hard to deny what the Saints are doing.
A 3-0 start is one thing, but it's the way they're doing it that merits consideration. These aren't W's; they're WWs -- woodshed whippings.
The domination is hard to ignore.
Saints defeat Cincinnati Bengals 17-7
Saints defeat Houston Texans 38-14
They lead the league in scoring (33.3 points per game), total offense (424 yards per game) and rushing defense (70.7 ypg) and are second in takeaways (nine) and third in scoring defense (9.3 ppg). They've outscored opponents by a league-best 72 points.
"It's always tricky to evaluate the preseason," said NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly, a former general manager with the Redskins and Texans who visited Saints camp Tuesday. "When you're with a club, the first thing you always look at is how do your starters do against the other teams' starters."
Good enough. In three preseason games, the Saints' offensive starters have played 11 series, largely against the opponents' first-stringers.
After breaking the rust off with a missed field-goal attempt and punt in its first two drives, here's what the first-team offense has done on its subsequent nine series: touchdown, punt, touchdown, missed field-goal attempt, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown.
The first-teamers are gaining 7 yards per play and have 37 first downs without committing a turnover.
The running backs are gaining a healthy 6 yards per carry behind the first-team line, and the team's top two rushers -- Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas -- have combined for only 11 carries.
Drew Brees has completed 72 percent of his passes and has a passer efficiency rating of 132.7. He has been sacked once, hit only three other times and, by my unofficial count, had only one defender lay a finger on one of his 40 passes.
In their 88 total snaps, seven have produced gains of 20 or more yards, and only two have resulted in lost yardage. And no first-team receiver has dropped a pass.
"What's real here is the offense is certainly legit," Casserly said "Drew Brees and their concepts on passing, they'll move the ball on anybody."
Defensively, the numbers are equally encouraging.
The first unit has allowed just one touchdown in 12 series. Meanwhile, they've forced four turnovers and six punts. Opponents are gaining 3.75 yards per carry and have a paltry passer rating of 77.5. And the numbers would be even lower if Jason David wasn't on the field. (And, by the way, he isn't anymore.)
"(Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams) had a tremendous impact in Washington when he went in there, and he'll certainly have an impact here," Casserly said. "He'll be aggressive now. You'll know what his philosophy is. There'll be no waffling on what you're going to get."
Most encouraging, the offseason points of emphasis all appear vastly improved.
• Fast starts? Check. The Saints have marched into the red zone on all three of their opening series and have outscored foes 55-14 in the first half.
• Short-yardage rushing? Check. The Saints have converted six of seven third-and-short rushes. Last season they went 26-of-43 (60 percent) in similar situations on third and fourth down.
• Takeaways? Check. The Saints have forced nine turnovers, each of the "created" variety, the way Williams likes them.
"From the first time we met this offseason, our defensive coordinator said we're going to create turnovers," tight end Billy Miller said. "They're stripping the ball from us in practice 20 yards downfield, and we're getting angry, (yelling), 'Stop touching us.' But the fact of the matter is, look at the game last week against the Raiders, there's a strip 20 yards downfield. You can see those habits start to form."
Saints players and coaches spent Tuesday trying their best to curb the enthusiasm of fans and reporters, but their denials rang hollow. Even they seem impressed by what's going on.
"We've done well," backup quarterback Mark Brunell said. "That is good. As far as preparation and getting ready for the season, we're on track. But it's not the regular season."
Then again, maybe this is what the Saints would have looked like last season if they had a power running game and a defense with a playmaking attitude.
"I feel like we've put a lot of hard work into (improving the running game)," quarterback Drew Brees said. "The time, effort, game planning, the study that we've done throughout the offseason in terms of coming up with the run plays we're best at and working on those things. Yes, we've put a lot of time and effort into it. (But) let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's not get overconfident."
In 2006, Saints Coach Sean Payton placed a bunch of mousetraps in the Saints' locker room when the team raced to a hot start. His message: "Don't eat the cheese." In other words, don't believe the hype.
No doubt the mantra will resurface if the Saints mash Miami tonight at the Superdome.
And true, the Saints have been far from perfect. The pre-snap penalties must desist. The pass rush must improve. The field-goal battery must synchronize. Some key players must mend.
But relatively speaking, those are minor issues. And I'm not the only one saying so.
Former Bucs coach Jon Gruden picked the Saints to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl in ESPN Magazine's NFL preview issue, and other national experts have climbed on the bandwagon as the preseason poundings have commenced.
"If I'm a Saints fan, I would be excited," Casserly said.
Who knows, the Saints might lay a complete egg tonight against Miami, and this crazy talk will cease and desist.
But until then, Who Dats have earned the right to disregard Payton's gastronomic advice.
After all, overindulgence is wired into New Orleanians' DNA, right?
The Saints are 3-0.
Have some cheese, Who Dats.
Jeff Duncan can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or 504.826.3404.


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The City of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $1.425 million and to make policy changes to settle a class action lawsuit regarding "posting and disclosing of what we alleged was confidential license to carry firearms (LTCF) information," Prince Law Offices, P.C., announced Tuesday.
"[A] proposed settlement has been reached in John Doe, et al. v City of Philadelphia," a press release, jointly issued by Joshua Prince, Esquire of Prince Law Offices, P.C., Benjamin R. Picker, Esquire of McCausland Keen & Buckman, Jonathan Goldstein, Esquire of McNelly & Goldstein, LLC, Jon Mirowitz, Esquire, and attorneys for the City of Philadelphia, announced. "The settlement is the result of a year and a half of litigation and extensive settlement discussions during two day s of mediation with former United States Magistrate Judge Diane Welsh."
The City settled in spite of maintaining that information it posted on its website "was not confidential and was not exposed to the public in violation of Pennsylvania law," and after further insisting "the City does not admit liability to the plaintiffs as part of the settlement."
"Under the proposed settlement, the City will pay $1.425 million to the class and will be separately responsible for the costs of administering the settlement," the release explains. "In addition, the City will voluntarily implement substantial changes in certain policies and procedure s, which will positively affect firearm owners who have legally obtained a firearm, and those who choose to carry a firearm for self defense and other lawful purposes.
"Such policy changes will include, but are not limited to, ensuring that confidential LTCF applicant information will not be disclosed by the City electronically or in person, not requiring or contacting references for any LTCF applicant , processing LTCF application s within 45 calendar days, refunding $15 of the LTCF application fee to any applicant who is denied, and not confiscating a firearm or LTCF unless an officer has probable cause to believe it is evidence of a crime," the release elaborates.
An inescapable observation is that for people who don't admit to doing anything wrong, the defendants certainly appear to be taking extraordinary measures to make things right. Despite their denials, the settlement represents a definite setback for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's anti-gun administration, which curiously, was turning a blind eye to its own infractions while focusing its attentions on citizens trying to be compliant with the laws.


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text:
SEE ALSO: • Ohio helps carry Obama to second term
• ANALYSIS: de Souza | Kasich, his allies played role in outcome
President Barack Obama rolled to re-election Tuesday night, vanquishing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney despite a weak economy that plagued his first term and put a crimp in the middle class dreams of millions. In victory, he confidently promised better days ahead.
Obama spoke to thousands of cheering supporters in his hometown of Chicago, praising Romney and declaring his optimism for the next four years. "While our road has been hard, though our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come," he said.
Romney made his own graceful concession speech before a disappointed crowd in Boston. He summoned all Americans to pray for Obama and urged the night's political winners to put partisan bickering aside and "reach across the aisle" to tackle the nation's problems.
Still, after the costliest — and one of the nastiest — campaigns in history, divided government was alive and well.
Democrats retained control of the Senate with surprising ease.
Republicans did the same in the House, ensuring that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Obama's partner in unsuccessful deficit talks, would reclaim his seat at the bargaining table.
At Obama headquarters in Chicago, a huge crowd gathered waving small American flags and cheering. Supporters hugged each other, danced and pumped their fists in the air. Excited crowds also gathered in New York's Times Square, at Faneuil Hall in Boston and near the White House in Washington, drivers joyfully honking as they passed by.
With returns from 84 percent of the nation's precincts, Obama had 53.7 million, 49.6 percent of the popular vote. Romney had 53 million, or 48.9 percent.
The president's laserlike focus on the battleground states allowed him to run up a 303-206 margin in the competition for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, the count that mattered most. Remarkably, given the sour economy, he lost only two states that he captured in 2008, Indiana and North Carolina.
Florida, another Obama state four years ago, remained too close to call.
The election emerged as a choice between two very different visions of government — whether it occupies a major, front-row place in American lives or is in the background as a less-obtrusive facilitator for private enterprise and entrepreneurship.
The economy was rated the top issue by about 60 percent of voters surveyed as they left their polling places. But more said former President George W. Bush bore responsibility for current circumstances than Obama did after nearly four years in office.
That boded well for the president, who had worked to turn the election into a choice between his proposals and Romney's, rather than a simple referendum on the economy during his time in the White House.
Unemployment stood at 7.9 percent on Election Day, higher than when he took office. And despite signs of progress, the economy is still struggling after the worst recession in history.
Obama captured Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado and Nevada, seven of the nine states where the rivals and their allies poured nearly $1 billion into dueling television commercials.
Romney won North Carolina among the battleground states.
Florida was too close to call, Obama leading narrowly in a state where there were still long lines of voters at some polling places long after the appointed closing time.
Romney, who grew wealthy in business and ran the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City before entering politics, spoke only briefly to supporters, some of whom wept.
"I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction," he said. "But the nation chose another leader and so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation."
Moments later, Obama stepped before a far different crowd hundreds of miles away.
"Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual," he said. He pledged to work with leaders of both parties to help the nation complete its recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression.
By any description, the list of challenges is daunting — high unemployment, a slow-growth economy, soaring deficits, a national debt at unsustainable. To say nothing of the threat of a nuclear Iran and the menace of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups more than a decade after the attacks of Sept., 11, 2001.
There was no doubt about what drove voters to one candidate or the other.
About 4 in 10 said the economy is on the mend, but more than that said it was stagnant or getting worse more than four years after the near-collapse of 2008. The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and a group of television networks.
In the battle for the Senate, Elizabeth Warren turned Republican Scott Brown out of office in Massachusetts, and Rep. Joe Donnelly captured a seat from GOP hands in Indiana.
Deb Fischer picked up a seat for Republicans in Nebraska, defeating former Sen. Bob Kerrey.
In Maine, independent former Gov. Angus King was elected to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe. He has not yet said which party he will side with, but Republicans attacked him in television advertising during the race, and Democrats rushed to his cause.
In the presidential race, Obama won in the reliably Democratic Northeast and West Coast. Pennsylvania was his, too, despite two late campaign stops by Romney.
Romney won most of the South as well as much of the Rocky Mountain West and Farm Belt.
The president was in Chicago as he awaited the voters' verdict on his four years in office. He told reporters he had a concession speech as well as victory remarks prepared. He congratulated Romney on a spirited campaign. "I know his supporters are just as engaged, just as enthusiastic and working just as hard today" as Obama's own, he added.
Romney reciprocated, congratulating the man whom he had campaigned against for more than a year.
Earlier, he raced to Ohio and Pennsylvania for Election Day campaigning and projected confidence as he flew home to Massachusetts. "We fought to the very end, and I think that's why we'll be successful," he said, adding that he had finished writing a speech anticipating victory but nothing if the election went to his rival.
But the mood soured among the Republican high command as the votes came in and Obama ground out a lead in critical states.
Like Obama, Vice President Joe Biden was in Chicago as he waited to find out if he was in line for a second term. Republican running mate Paul Ryan was with Romney in Boston, although he kept one eye on his re-election campaign for a House seat in Wisconsin, just in case. He won re-election to Congress.
The long campaign's cost soared into the billions, much of it spent on negative ads, some harshly so.
In a months-long general election ad war that cost nearly $1 billion, Romney and Republican groups spent more than $550 million and Obama and his allies $381 million, according to organizations that track advertising.
According to the exit poll, 53 percent of voters said Obama was more in touch with people like them, compared to 43 percent for Romney.
About 60 percent said taxes should be increased, taking sides on an issue that divided the president and Romney. Obama wants to let taxes rise on upper incomes, while Romney does not.
Other than the battlegrounds, big states were virtually ignored in the final months of the campaign. Romney wrote off New York, Illinois and California, while Obama made no attempt to carry Texas, much of the South or the Rocky Mountain region other than Colorado.
There were 33 Senate seats on the ballot, 23 of them defended by Democrats and the rest by Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, won a Connecticut seat long held by Sen. Joe Lieberman, retiring after a career that included a vice presidential spot on Al Gore's ticket in 2000. It was Republican Linda McMahon's second defeat in two tries, at a personal cost of $92 million.
The GOP needed a gain of three for a majority if Romney won, and four if Obama was re-elected. Neither Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada nor GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was on the ballot, but each had high stakes in the outcome.
All 435 House seats were on the ballot, including five where one lawmaker ran against another as a result of once-a-decade redistricting to take population shifts into account. Democrats needed to pick up 25 seats to gain the majority they lost two years ago.
House Speaker Boehner, R-Ohio, raised millions to finance get-out-the-vote operations in states without a robust presidential campaign, New York, Illinois and California among them. His goal was to minimize any losses, or possibly even gain ground, no matter Romney's fate. House Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California campaigned aggressively, as well, and faced an uncertain political future after her party failed to win control.
In gubernatorial races, Republicans picked up North Carolina, where Pat McCrory won easily. The incumbent, Democratic Gov. Bev Purdue, did not seek re-election.
In a campaign that traversed contested Republican primaries last winter and spring, a pair of political conventions this summer and three presidential debates, Obama, Romney, Biden and Ryan spoke at hundreds of rallies, were serenaded by Bruce Springstein and Meat Loaf and washed down hamburgers, pizza, barbecue and burrito bowls.
Obama was elected the first black president in 2008, and four years later, Romney became the first Mormon to appear on a general election ballot. Yet one man's race and the other's religion were never major factors in this year's campaign for the White House, a race dominated from the outset by the economy.
Over and over, Obama said that during his term the nation had begun to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression. While he conceded progress had been slow, he accused Romney of offering recycled Republican policies that have helped the wealthy and harmed the middle class in the past and would do so again.
Romney countered that a second Obama term could mean a repeat recession in a country where economic growth has been weak and unemployment is worse now than when the president was inaugurated. A wealthy former businessman, he claimed the knowledge and the skills to put in place policies that would make the economy healthy again.
In a race where the two men disagreed often, one of the principal fault lines was over taxes. Obama campaigned for the renewal of income tax cuts set to expire on Dec. 31 at all income levels except above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.
Romney said no one's taxes should go up in uncertain economic times. In addition, he proposed a 20 percent cut across the board in income tax rates but said he would end or curtail a variety of tax breaks to make sure federal deficits didn't rise.
The differences over taxes, the economy, Medicare, abortion and more were expressed in intensely negative advertising.
Obama launched first, shortly after Romney dispatched his Republican foes in his quest for the party nomination.
One memorable commercial showed Romney singing an off-key rendition of "America The Beautiful." Pictures and signs scrolled by saying that his companies had shipped jobs to Mexico and China, that Massachusetts state jobs had gone to India while he was governor and that he has personal investments in Switzerland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.
Romney spent less on advertising than Obama. A collection of outside groups made up the difference, some of them operating under rules that allowed donors to remain anonymous. Most of the ads were of the attack variety. But the Republican National Committee relied on one that had a far softer touch, and seemed aimed at voters who had been drawn to the excitement caused by Obama's first campaign. It referred to a growing national debt and unemployment, then said, "He tried. You tried. It's OK to make a change."
More than 30 million voters cast early ballots in nearly three dozen states, a reflection of the growing appeal of getting a jump on the traditional Election Day.
Congratulations to our President! America has spoken. All of the promises made by the opposition mean nothing if there is no plan. There never was. There was only attack. Americans are too smart for that. An empty suit is not the answer. The promise of more jobs is unbelievable when a plan is not presented. Romney never said HOW he would be better, he only said he would be such. Not good enough for Ohio. Not good enough for America. Too many Americans were bright enough to know Romney was a lightweight and a bad gamble. No experience and no statesmanship. And women were totally unimpressed. This is not the 50s. Good job, Mr. Obama! You deserve another 4 years! No one wants to return to the Bush debacle. Obama 2012! Great victory!
Would be nice Palmer , Big Brother has what it wants, its population fighting with themselves instead of Uniting as a people.
oldskool. Your name says it all. Get over it. It is NOT old school or steel mills anymore. And apparently people are happy with this President. Romney offered no solutions to your 'list'. Obama does. You forgot to mention women's rights Thus your name. That is why he won. It is NOT old school. America is not going backward. It's FORWARD.
My congratulations to all my liberal democrat friends and foes on this victory. The people have spoken and though we conservatives may disagree I hope we all see it is time now to come together, unite behind our President and work for the success of our Country. I am looking forward to a bright future and wish the President all the best and hopes for a better tomorrow. Cheers and congratulations on a hard-fought victory!
God bless the United States of America
Well-said, William Swinger. Would that Congress would be as magnanimous.
Thank you Mr Swinger.
What a dreamer you are! We actually had a chance to elect a decent, moral person and we elected Mr. Abortion.
Four more years of depravity!
Sung to Dion's Abraham, Martin & John
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.
Don't you see the one we have been waiting for is here
Don't you love the things Obama will create?
He will try to find some good in you and me
And then we'll be free
Yes today is the day, yes today, we can ...
Now my savior Obama is here
Can you tell me where to kneel?
I thought I saw him leading up over the hill,
In front of Abraham, Martin and John…
The things that this election has taught my family are
1) the entitlement sector of the population is alot stronger and bigger then (47%) we could have ever imagined
2) The people will allways vote in the biggest BSer to the office of president.
3) The american people has shown the world just how stupid we really are.
4) For all the people who voted BO in , don't start to p!$$ and moan when you lose your job as the entitlement sector continues to grow and has no money to buy things like new cars
You have made your bed , now lie in it quietly!
One last thing, we can only hope that he is IMPEACHED for the deaths of the Americans in BENGHAZI and soon.
i cant believe how dumb and lazy the x-greatest country in the world has become. last night people voted for only selfish reasons and not for love of country. we are on only one track which is that of spain or greece. if any one still believes in God they better start praying now.
LORD help us!
Thank GOD it's over!!!
Next 4 years should be interesting.....
I really do expect the president and congress to get something done now. Everyone thinking about any kind of future office should understand that they must have a record to run on. Simply saying you oppose the other party will not be enough. Future candidates will have to list their accomplishments or lose in the primaries. Hopefully this means congress gets some real work done.
What about the trillion dollar debt my kids are inheriting? What happened in Libya with our ambassador? No one mentions THAT? Do they even know??? Let's be honest. Blacks voted for Obama because he was black. I don't vote on color. I vote on the man. We are truly a house divided. Not since the civil war have we been at each other's throats (literally). I want illegal aliens gone. My family were immigrants but they came over legally. They worked hard and didn't ask for handouts. Everyone thinks they're entitled now. I am so sad for our future generations. The world has gone crazy. No morals, no values and it's just getting worse every day. Obama is only part of the problem. I hope both sides do pull together. We need to whatever our party affiliation is. Otherwise we will get eaten up by other countries who truly are after our blood. Good luck Mr. President and God bless us every one.
The Republicans need to watch the Christmas Carol this year if they want to have a future to compete in the political arena. The people won this election. Are there no prisons, are there no poor houses, you get the drift. Talk about the Republican arogance. They totally forgot about the other 50 percent of the citizens that are not White. We are a country of many different groups, some one needs to tell the GOP.
DwightK Your statement they must have a record to run is totally false, If that was true BO would have LOST! . You see they only have to give out hand-outs to win now. People don't look at records and last night proved that.. BO didn't have any kind of record to run on, but BS and hand-outs. I hope the grid lock remains for the next 4 years. By the way the line at the gun shop was long this morning, with people buying guns and ammo.
May our Lord have mercy on us.
Lots of good comments here this morning. I am proud to be an Ohioan today.
busyman is right -- the GOP had better start reaching out to the 50 percent of the population they look down their nose upon if they want to stick around, or else they are going to fade away fast. I couldn't help but notice the diversity in the crowd on TV last night at O's victory party and the lack of diversity at Mitt's.
The gender gap in favor of Obama was awesome too. Women just didn't relate to Mitt's awkward words and policies that are of interest to them.
Now will someone please tell that cry baby Boehner he had better learn how to compromise or else he'll be replaced by someone who will.
Apparently Romney was wrong about 47 %.
The election results indicate that the number is much higher.
Busy man, don't forget who built this great country. Now all I see is a Democratic party which wants to give handouts to ev eryone, including the middle class, so they become more and more dependent on these hand outs so they vote fpr the Democrat. All sounds good until we become a country like Greece ad Spain. By then it will be too late and you will see anarchy in the streets of the "new USA",
It struck me funny when I saw the crowd in Chicago waiting to see the President. Whites,blacks,people from all walks of life,all dressed in normal street clothes waving flags and dancing. Then I saw the crowd in Boston where they were waiting for Romney to give a victory speech. All whites,men dressed in suits,women dressed in formal dresses like they were going to a wedding. all of them with glasses in their hands drinking. What that said to me was two different type of people,rich and normal. This country was built on the hard working,normal people,not people who were born with the silver spoon in their mouth. I hope and pray the the Republican congress will start trying to work together with every one including the President and help this country move forward. Until they do,and loose that "Holier than Thou" attitude they will never have a Republican President. Mitt Romney and the Republicans thought that they could say any thing and that the middle class was so stupid that we would believe any thing they said.Well they were mistaken!!
HellaBB A person who feels that they are entitled to alll the FREE things that they can get. OBAMA = One Big A$$ Mistake America
HellBB One more thing if BO was so poor Who paid his way through Harvard and law school? HUH Who does he owe now? How come he never mentioned he's half white ?
FCB Thats how the entitled dress when they go out to party.
A great day for the health care bill, and for those with preexisting conditions..
hey hellabb, you mean obama's dad wasn't around? hard to believe.
I see Wall Street is really impressed with the Obama reelection. You think this is bad wait until next year when this guy has time to work his socialist magic.
I hope for the better of the USA that the Congress and President can work together. It will take both to give in some. The excess spending has got to stop.
Instead of the Social Security, where employess pay 4.2 now and was 6.2, can't they work it out where it increases to 6.2. Make employess pay 4.7 in 2013, 5.7 in 2014 and back to 6.2 in 2015. That way it is not a Big decreases in bring home pay all at once.
They MUST work together and smarter, not harder.
brains, ambition and affirmative action. you don't think he went ivy on his grades do you? well, you probably do. don't be so angry though, your welfare and free cell phone are safe for 4 more years. community organizer to the rescue!
Justice Roberts- "Obamacare's a tax..."
Expect income tax to equal that of Canada.
Everybody thinks Canada has free healthcare.
But facts are facts and they pay a 52% income tax up there so that their "free" healthcare is properly funded.
I have relatives in Canada who informed me of this. That's just the way it is folks.
Be prepared- a 52% income tax is around the corner just waiting to fund Obamacare.
"Don't be fooled..."
I, too, hope for a better America but it is going to take a meeting of the minds which I'm not sure is going to happen. Social Security and Medicare are on track to bankrupt the Treasury; a long-term solution is needed. But, the rigid thinking has to be abandoned or the republic is doomed. The "no new tax" pledge these guys made with Grover Nordquist is absurd. Those at the very top can certainly pay a few percent more even though it won't have much of an effect other than symbolic. The biggest problem was that Obama's stimulus package was targeted to specific people and industries and did little to expand the workforce. Trillions of dollars with little to show for it. His only option now is to try another stimulus that will have to be paid for by borrowing or printing new money. Any way you cut it, inflation is certainly around the corner.
AAC Show me a person who can spend whatever, knowing others will be paying for their stuff who will quit spending. I have never met one. My guess is will never happen. Your plan for SS will never work, because the people have gotten so use to the so-called tax break that they will whine forever if that is taken away. That plan has been the worse thing to happen to SS in a long time. Dollars lost, never to be made up!
The cell phone program was put in place by Bush, not Obama.
The people have spoken. So don't go away mad, just go away.
Obama 4 more years!!
teabaggers, don't be sad, michele bachmann and rick perry both said they are gong to study up and run again next year. Maybe they could be running mates. Now that would be a ticket.
bachmann/perry 2013!
Bachmann and Palin
Palin and Bachmann?
Obama was the editor of "Harvard Law Review" HellaBB you are typical black racist pig , Did you or anyone else ever think that those that pay his way to school bought him that job too. Besides has anyone seen any kind of official papers from Harvard stating that. NO!
Obama's transcripts and birth certificate are in the pages of Mitt-Flopper's tax returns.
Bush nominated Chief Justice Roberts!!
Christie swung it Obama's way in the final week of the election!!
Gingrich said Romney was NOT QUALIFIED to be President!
If it weren't for the Tea Party, the Senate would be in the hands of the Repoobs.
28% of people surveyed said they TRUST FIXED NOISE NETWORK!!!
Only 39% of WHITE PEOPLE voted for Obama!!!
You alienated ALL demographics that aren't WHITE. Slogans like, "Lets Take Our Country Back" tend to do that. African-Americans, Latinos, Gays & Lesbians vote (whether you like it or not). Keep pushing to the right.
No one knew where you stood and your 47% comment was the icing on the cake!!
Hey Island Mike and Cambridge
don't forget Jimbo. Or is one forbidden to run for office if one is a convict?
Jimbo and The Bimbo --I'll let you guys guess who the Bimbo is.
IM The stock market is falling like a rock , down over 300 pts right now. Coindence I think not , Because the rich are now shipping their wealh to the Cayman Islands Banks. In case you don't understand that means NO more money will be available to be invested in corporations in the USA. So its only a matter of time before corporations start laying off . When you get your pink slip don't come crying here okay!
When we vote, we get what we deserve!
C'mon man!! He was polishing the pots and pans, he knows how important sparkling culinary collections are to the homeless.
come on hochie, w's grades were released and were better than john kerrys or don't you remember. you y-town hood rats make me laugh. you really think life in the hood is where its at. 315 glenwood av. is poverty central, not to mention stupid central. now that i think of it all of y-town is poverty and stupid central. nice school system and murder rate.
All these things must come to past for the second coming of the Lord and the final battle of Armageddon.
On Jan 20, 1961, President John Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Well folks, we are not that country any more. No one wants to do anything for our country anymore, but everyone wants our country to do something for them, like more welfare, food stamps, free phones etc.. I have no idea where we are headed, but I believe we are headed in the wrong direction. Very sad.
yo baby, easy wit dat. i knows one of you baby daddys and he would't like you spouting like you is. you knows about as much about gpa'sis as i knows about birthin childs.
Don Rickels says:..
President Obama just completed the UNHOLY and ANTI-AMERICAN TRIFECTA:
1st president in 110 years to miss the annual Army-Navy Football Game.
1st president to not attend any Christmas religious observance.
1st president to stay on vacation after a terrorist attack.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Obama was not well-known among classmates after he transferred to Columbia University from Occidental College in the early 1980s. The article quotes a former roommate who states that Obama's performance improved after he stopped taking drugs (which Obama has admitted to openly). Since Obama did not graduate with honors, that means his GPA was between a 2.0 and a 3.3 — although, since he was admitted to Harvard Law School, it's hard to imagine his GPA was much lower than a 3.3.
Obama graduated from Columbia in 1983 with a degree in political science. He specialized in international relations.
Law school was another story for Obama. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School (the second highest honor available) in 1991. He also was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, a very prestigious honor.
Obama WINS Repoobs LOSE (again)
If you axe me This here election has divde this country awhole lots more. Its them entilement people VS the people who work. I'm not counting people on SS or medicare in that., The ones I be talking about are the hoodrats . Yo hoodrats remembers when the moolaa is all goned so is your benefits It will be sooned then yof think!
HellaBB You best be saving for your liitle hoodrats Christmas because the way I hear and see it, not to many white people will be donating to the Salvation Army red kettle drive ever again, or any other program that provides for welfare rats like you. You see your arrogant attitude will be what does you in. So if your hanelle or janquin wants to get gifts at christmas either start saving or shop lifting. The well has run dry.I trully hope that alot people refuse to give money period.
Romney and Ryan both lost their own home states. How pathetic is that?! Romney, in spite of bragging how "I've done it before, I'll do it again" (meaning working with the "other side"), lost Massachusetts by a whopping 60 to 37 percent. Guess he either didn't work hard enough with "the other side" or it was another one of his many "mis-truths".
Once again I will say that the GOP had better learn to embrace diversity and women's issues or else they are going to fade away into the sunset.....
Kensgirl, or whatever your names is. You have to be ignorant and racist. Black people voted for President Obama because he is black? No because he is qualified. No other reason. Give me a break. Sounds like you have your head in the sand.
Big Brother has what it wants, its population fighting with themselves instead of Uniting as a people !!!
In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.
From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.
rumppy BO doesn't have the enough qualifications to be a dog catcher. Quit trying to BS the public . The black population voted for him for one reason and only one reason. MORE FREE HANDOUTS Maybe you should get your head out your arse and tell the truth for once. I know that is hard to do when BO the liar is your hero!
The election is over and people still want to debate...never-ending rhetoric.
"every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship"
Tonight on FIXED NOISE NETWORK
HANNITY swallows his tongue
RUPERT MURDOCK fires the entire staff.
TOP 10 LIST for Obama's 2nd Term
1. Gets the Flag of Kenya tatood to his head.
2. Has Rapper Common play at his second inauguration.
3. Changes his last name to Mohammed
4. Includes Free Kleenex Tissues in the ObamaCare program for crying Repoobs.
5. Gets a Dental Program in place, the Repoobs need it because they just got their teeth kicked in.
6. Paints the White House Black.
7. Names Bill Ayers to head The Department of Homeland Security.
8. Has a Koran place on the nightstand in the Lincoln Bedroom.
9. Has The Lincoln Bedroom renamed The Sarah Palin and Glen Rice Love Shack.
10. Reaches accross the aisle by legalizing Oxycontin. This should make Rush Limpdick very happy
2016 Hillary Clinton
2020 Hillary Clinton
Repoobs better hope to God she decides not to run. Could you think of a worse outcome for the repoob party? They'll be soundly beaten by the two things they hate most in this world:
1) a minority
2) a woman
Island MIke Dont you mean they were soundly beaten by
1) Welfare Hoodrats like you
@ IslandMike:
the two things
1) a minority
2) a woman
Speaking of Hilary Clinton, a minority and a woman?
That is how you posed the point.
F' both of the clowns who ran. They should have been running mates. Same crap out of both of them.
Republicans get what they deserve running the same empty suits. Reruns. Maybe they'll think twice about how they treated Rep. Paul and his delegates at the Convention?
Oh the choices, such great choices. Can't let 3rd party folks in the debates or even fairly on the ballot.
Do I pick Opium or do I pick crack cocaine? Which is the lesser evil?
More opium for the dumb masses.
I am surprised by the results. Really was close on popular vote and all votes still haven't been totaled. Not a convincing win or landslide. Very much was 2008 result with some loses by Obama. Two states and a bunch of votes.
Want to know how much confidence one big segment of business has in Obama?
"The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 313 points, or 2.4%, logging its worst daily decline since November 2011."
I'd say we are in for four more years of crushing decline.
Ask Japan about their decade of stagnation and how they propped their banks up with federal dollars. They are on their second or third decade of that. STAGNATION.
Guess what? The US has been doing the same since around 1997-8. Dot com bubble pummel, then September 11, then Bush phony wars, then Obama's first term.
We aren't going to catch any serious relief until next election in 2016.
Yeah baby, put some mo' cash on my EBT Card!
KENSGIRL posted "Blacks voted for Obama because he was black"
This is the most RACIST stupid remark that irritates me to DEATH! First off, Ken Blackwell was a black man running for GOVERNOR in Cleveland Ohio, and who got elected? Ted Strickland a WHITE person. Look at what happened to Allan west in Florida last night! He's BLACK and lost to a white man! By saying that WE vote on color you are implying that we are INCAPABLE of understanding politics! I'm VERY offended by your remark! Obviously you live in a shell. I VOTED against a man who LIED and flip flopped
Awwwee, look at these predictions again...I remembered the idiot neo-cons claiming that Obama was going to TAKE their guns once he's elected. Did that happen? NOPE! Now people are coming up with a NEW threat, increased taxes. *twiddle thumbs* yeah ok and Santa Claus delivers toys to EVERY child in the world in one night.
Neo-Cons are crying today. some have threatened to move to Canada, to which I say GOOD RIDDANCE!!
The first post by Bill Swinger- "Let's all unite and hope for a bright future..." Give me a Break!
There's a word for that kind of thinking- it's called to be "pollyannish"- which means to be absurdly optimistic in the face of devastating facts.
How the hell can we possibly expect a "bright future" when our National Debt just exceeded the level of our GNP and we have in the White House someone pledged (with his policies) to carry that debt "onward and upward".
How can anyone possibly be optimistic in face of those facts.
rumpy and wcid
"""KENSGIRL posted "Blacks voted for Obama because he was black""""
"Black people voted for President Obama because he is black? No because he is qualified. No other reason. "
"This is the most RACIST stupid remark that irritates me to DEATH!"
Your sadly mistaken, I know plenty of blacks that voted for Obama because he's black. They admit it, they don't deny it, they didn't want the rich white dude to win. Their exact words.
When I went to vote, a black guy and his girlfriend came out, waving there hands and yelling, no white guy in the white house anymore, and kept saying it, till his mother with a walker, told him "boy shut up and go get the car". That was priceless.
You know, some of the people in this forum defending Obama and Liberals in general are real morons. Don't you know it all comes down to Economics- the rest is just fancy language, sophistry, and empty rhetoric.
The economic reality is that our National Debt (for the first time ever) just exceeded our entire Gross National Product. Do You Know What That Means?
It means that pretty soon Washington, DC and Athens Greece will be one and the same thing. That's the direction we are moving in thanks to Barack and his friends.
Granted, Bush wasn't much of a help. He started us in the direction, but Obama (and his ultra-left friends) is the one that really pushed us in the direction of complete insolvency.
Oh, I Know the Vindy Endorsed Obama- but I guess they know where their Bread is Buttered: you don't sign up subscribers in an overwhelmingly Democratic Area by dissing the "Anointed One". Well, I guess there are some pretty good daily papers in Athens, Greece, too.
The problem with the Republicans is that they don't understand who they are dealing with. The Democrat Party they are facing today is not the Democratic Party of Harry Truman or JFK- one that was reasonably centrist and actually committed to working people -rather the people in charge today- Obama, Harry Reid, Pelosi, et. al., are hard-core leftists- committed Marxists- and the only way to confront them is with someone equally committed to Conservative Principles.
You don't do it with wimps and ahistorical nincompoops like John McCain and Mitt Romney- the Dems (read Marxists) take people like these and eat them for lunch as the last two Presidential Elections have illustrated.
You need someone with a "fire in his belly". Newt Gingrich I think would have been good- he had passion and he knew history.
Speaking of History: Look up what Vlad Lenin was able to do with Alexander Kerensky in 1917 during the Russian Revolution. You had "nice guy" Kerensky (Romney) facing committed Marxist Lenin (Obama)- and guess who won?
Re: wcid- bent out of shape because someone said Blacks voted for Obama because of his Race.
What's there to get upset about? That's the way people are. The country is full of graying, stoop-shouldered Irish-Americans who voted for JFK simply because of their shared background. If you tried to tell them that JFK was grossly overrated and in many ways a big prick (chronic womanizer somewhat of a racist, spoiled rich boy, etc. really, a minor leaguer, except for Daddy's Money) - watch out man- It's a Fighting Mick, you'll be up against!
No different for African-Americans. I know if I were Black and I knew I had a chance to vote for the first person of my race to be President of the United States- I would bend over backwards, to find every virtue in that man and bury every flaw. That's the way people are.
Too bad that our first Black President couldn't have been someone of the caliber of Herman Cain or Condeleeza Rice.
Now, Condy Rice, in 2008 I would have supported her in a heart beat: First Black President and First Woman in the White House not a First Lady. Pretty Good. Hard to Beat.
Instead of rehashing the same old political arguments and trash talk, for an interesting take on the election and America's standing in the world read:
First off keep praying for god to save you, republicans because nothing fails like prayer.
I'd also gladly pay much higher taxes if it meant we would get a nationalized healthcare system like Canada or the UK, or France, or Germany... so on so forth.
Don't get me wrong Obamacare is a great step forward but its not the solution. The ultimate goal is a universal single payer system where all americans can get access to healthcare.
No longer will we have to go years with out seeing a doctor and using the E.R. as a poor man's doctors office. No longer will we be denied a MRI because we don't have $3,000 in cash to pay.
Thank you America for not turning your backs on the man who has brought us closer to true healthcare reform that any other.
Thank you Ohio for showing our true colors last night and supporting the President.
Only 63 shopping days left until Obama's 2nd Inauguration!!
its sad that so many conservatives cannot be gracious in defeat and have no clue that its going to take either bipartisanship or voting out every republican in congress to accomplish the things our country needs badly. it astounds me how blind and ignorant people can still be in the 21st century


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Argentina and the IMF
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Press Conference on the World Economic Outlook
Thursday, April 26, 2001
Washington, D.C.
Michael MUSSA, Economic Counselor and Director of the Research Department, IMF
David ROBINSON, Assistant Director, Research Department, IMF
Tamim BAYOUMI, Division Chief, World Economic Studies Division,
Graham HACCHE, Deputy Director, External Relations Department, IMF
MR. HACCHE: Good morning. Let me say, first, that there is simultaneous translation of this briefing. You will find Spanish on channel 2, French on channel 3, and English on channel 4 of your headsets.
Welcome to this press briefing on the IMF's latest report on the World Economic Outlook, which will provide part of the documentation in the usual way for the meeting of ministers and central bank governors at the IMFC on Sunday.
The contents of the World Economic Outlook and this press briefing are under embargo until 11 a.m. today.
I am Graham Hacche, Deputy Director of the External Relations Department of the IMF. To my right, to answer your questions, are, first, Michael Mussa, Economic Counselor and Director of the Research Department, under whose general direction the WEO is prepared. To his right is David Robinson, Senior Advisor in the Research Department, who directs the World Economic Outlook project. And to David's right, is Tamim Bayoumi, Chief of the World Economic Studies Division.
Before turning to Mr. Mussa for his opening remarks, perhaps I could draw your attention to something that he may omit to mention. It is easy to miss it.
On pages 145 to 149 of the report, you will find the Chairman's summing up of the Executive Board's discussion of this report. On page 149 you will see in the last paragraph the Board's expression of their appreciation for the outstanding contribution of Mr. Mussa to the work of the Fund, and particularly for his oversight and direction of the World Economic Outlook over the past ten years.
That paragraph is there because this is Mike's last WEO as he will be leaving his current position in the coming months.
By my count, this is also his 22nd WEO, if you include the three interim reports written to assess the implication of some inconveniently timed financial crises.
As a former member of the WEO team myself for ten of those 22 issues I know how much Mike has contributed to the development of this series of reports: His intellectual leadership; his insistence that the projections we publish should be as realistic as possible; his openness about how he views the risks around the projections; his insistence that the WEO focus directly on the issues faced by policy makers; and his rare ability to see and explain with clarity things that to most others seem more difficult and complex. All these have contributed vitally to the avid attention that the WEO receives, perhaps including the demand for leaks, which our indicators suggest has recently been at an all-time high.
His anecdotes and jokes have probably contributed somewhat less to the WEO's success, but they have certainly improved our job satisfaction. I have sometimes wondered if the reports that you, the press, have written about the WEO over the past decade would have been as interesting and as extensive as they have been if it had not been for his ability to make the economic outlook more entertaining than we ever had a right to expect.
So, thank you, Mike.
In my remarks this morning, I will comment briefly on the global economic outlook and key policy issues for the main industrial countries, then turn to David Robinson and Tam Bayoumi for some brief remarks on the rest of the policy and analytical content of the present WEO.
At the WEO press conference last September in Prague, we anticipated that global growth this year would slow somewhat from the 5 percent pace of last year to a still vigorous 4.2 percent growth rate, a broadly desirable slowing in view of overheating pressures beginning to emerge in some key economies. Now, it is clear that global growth is slowing more than was anticipated, or is desirable.
The IMF staff's forecast for world economic growth for the year has been cut a full percentage point to 3.2 percent. For the United States, which has been the mainstay of global expansion in the past decade, growth this year is forecast to be only 1.5 percent, down from almost 5 percent last year and from an earlier forecast of over 3 percent for this year. With economic sluggishness now expected to persist into the second half of this year, the projection for year-over-year growth for the U.S. in 2002 has been reduced to 2.5 percent, still about a percentage point below the estimated potential growth rate of the U.S. economy.
The slowdown in the U.S. economy is expected to be reflected, although to a somewhat lesser extent, in Canada, where growth both this year and next is projected to be just under 2.5 percent. The U.K. economy also appears to be slowing somewhat, with growth now expected to fall somewhere below 3 percent.
In the euro area, growth this year is now expected to be only 2.4 percent, a full percentage point less than we expected last September.
In Japan, the situation is even more worrying. Growth for this year is now forecast to be barely over 1/2 percent, and growth for next year is now projected to reach only 1.5 percent.
Among developing and emerging market economies, Asia is expected to be hit by the slowdowns in North America and Japan, by the global downturn in telecoms and high technology, and by adverse domestic developments in several countries. Growth forecasts for this year have generally been cut by between 1 and 3 percentage points, relative to six months ago.
China and India are important exceptions where, with greater relative isolation from the rest of the global economy, growth is expected to be reasonably well sustained.
Latin America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, will feel the effects of the pronounced U.S. economic slowdown. So far, growth forecasts for most of South America have been relatively little revised.
However, with the global slowdown, and with the recent problems in Argentina, I expect that by the time of the next WEO reality will have made a somewhat greater dent on the IMF staff's continued optimism for South America.
For the Middle East and North Africa, the continued relative buoyancy of world oil prices, supported by OPEC production cuts, is reason for relative optimism about growth. This also applies to the oil exporters south of the Sahara, but not generally to exporters of other commodities.
For the transition countries, relative optimism still seems warranted provided that growth prospects for Western Europe do not deteriorate significantly further.
Adding it together, we are clearly looking at a substantial and broadly distributed slowdown in global economic growth this year. But not, or at least not yet, at a likely global recession. There are clearly risks on the downside, but there is also some potential for upside surprises relative to our baseline.
Relative optimism is importantly supported by the vigorous policy responses already undertaken in several key countries. And, by the room that generally exists for even more vigorous action should downside risks appear more threatening.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has already appropriately cut overnight interest rates 200 basis points, and further moderate cuts may be anticipated if incoming evidence confirms continuing weakness. Meanwhile, enactment of substantial tax cuts now seems certain to begin to provide support to demand later this year.
In Japan, policy room is clearly more limited. Under the new monetary policy framework, stimulative actions beyond the return to zero short-term interest rates can and should be used to combat deflation. And, the new prime minister has usefully placed very high priority on aggressive efforts to recognize and to resolve problems in the Japanese financial system. This is essential to lay the foundation for stronger sustained growth and to signal the type of change in policy approach that is needed to reinvigorate confidence.
In most other industrial countries, improvements in fiscal positions in recent years are now allowing for tax reforms that will help to support demand in a period of global slowdown. Also, with inflation generally well contained in most other industrial countries, central banks have begun to cut policy interest rates in measured efforts to combat economic weakening.
The euro area is so far the one important exception to the move toward monetary, but not an exception for fiscal easing. With growth appearing likely to be better sustained than in the United States or Japan, and with headline inflation still running above its medium-term desired ceiling, the ECB has kept policy interest rates on hold since last autumn, and did so again today. This generally has been a prudent policy. However, as growth and growth prospects have softened for the euro area, and for the global economy, with the implications that inflationary pressures should be expected to be less of a concern going forward, the balance of considerations for ECB policy has clearly been shifting toward the desirability of easing. In my view, last month that balance reached the point where an initial step of easing was called for. On purely domestic grounds, the balance was at least neutral, and from a global perspective the case for easing was unambiguous.
From the global perspective, it is noteworthy that in recent quarters, GDP growth in the euro area has exceeded domestic demand growth, implying that the euro area has been subtracting demand net from the rest of the world. Moreover, according to virtually all market commentaries, disappointment about the lack of a more forceful pro-growth policy in the euro area is the key reason why the exchange rate of the euro has depreciated again in recent weeks, a development that seems likely to keep the euro area in the posture of subtracting demand net from the rest of the world. In a period when general economic slowdown is the main problem and when inflation is not likely to be a continuing threat, the euro area, the second largest economic area in the world, needs to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem of slowing global growth.
MR. ROBINSON: Tam and I will briefly review the remaining chapters in the World Economic Outlook. Before I do this, I would like to very much on behalf of the WEO team second the remarks that Graham has made about Mike and his contribution to the World Economic Outlook which those of us inside know is extremely substantial, and state that he will be very greatly missed.
Chapter 2 consists of three essays on current policy issues. The first looks at the impact of the global correction on technology stocks, which has averaged 20 to 30 percent of GDP in many advanced economies, and its impact on growth and demand. It finds that there are indeed significant effects in North America and the United Kingdom, although they're not very different from those from nontechnology stocks. Interestingly, in Europe there is also a significant effect, although we find that the impact of nontechnology stocks there is actually rather small.
Nonetheless, this suggests that the decline in technology stocks will have a significant impact on demand looking forward.
The second essay, building on earlier work in the last WEO, looks at the determinants of exchange rate movements among the major currencies, and particularly the strength of the U.S. dollar and the weakness of the euro. The essay sets out some evidence supporting the new conventional wisdom, if you like, that movements in the euro dollar exchange rate have been associated with equity flows from the euro area to the United States, and with relative expected growth rates between the two areas.
Equity flows do not, however, explain movements in the yen-dollar rate, which appear to be more affected by current account developments and long-term interest rate differentials.
The last essay is on a rather different topic. It looks at Africa's integration into the global economy. Africa's share of global trade has declined steadily, and the World Bank has calculated that the loss of market share since 1950 has cost about one fifth of GDP. The essay finds evidence that Africa does, indeed, "undertrade" relative to other developing countries, despite substantial trade liberalization efforts by many countries in Africa during the 1990s.
This suggests that further trade liberalization, and I would say streamlining of what has become a very complex network of regional trade agreements in Africa, is an important element of the policy agenda.
But, Africa's trading partners, importantly, must also play their role through eliminating barriers to African and other developing country exports. And here, I think the recent moves by the European Union and some other countries are, indeed, welcome, but certainly much more remains to be done.
In addition, the present improvement has occurred in a context of a range of newly adopted fiscal rules, which also tend to make improvements, will also tend to make the improvements longer lasting, although it will be interesting to see how fiscal positions respond to the current global economic slowdown.
The last part of the essay looks at the fiscal challenges crated by population aging in the advanced countries. On an international level, the increased numbers of dependents to workers in advanced economies can be contrasted with the fall in this ratio in developing countries. This implies that, in addition to domestic pension system reforms, part of the solution to population aging can come through international movements of financial assets, trading goods, and migration.
Turning to chapter 4, this documents extraordinary improvement in the price performance in emerging markets, where inflation on average across all markets has fallen to rates not seen since the 1930s. This improvement seems to reflect a number of factors. On a global scale, the improvements in inflation in advanced countries has clearly held both in terms of providing a more stable anchor for developing countries in terms of their monetary policies, and also providing improved operating rules for the monetary regime, including through inflation targeting.
On the domestic side, the move to hard pegs or inflation targeting has also helped, particularly when accompanied by substantial fiscal consolidation effort. Here, I would particularly stress the connection between these regimes and using seigniorage to fund fiscal operations. In a hard peg, the use of seigniorage is largely eliminated, while an inflation-targeting regime requires an independent central bank, which also implies that the government does not have direct recourse to monetary financing. These regime changes are important as fiscal profligacy is often associated with high inflation.
The adjustment of balance sheets, including possibly the injection of further public funds, does not in and of itself harm economic growth. Making the Japanese financial system more profitable on a sustained basis, which does necessarily involve some downsizing of their staffs and so forth, in number of offices, is likely to involve some negative impact on growth in that sector, but not for the economy as a whole. Some of the corporate sector restructuring, the closing down of businesses that are not now and probably have not been for sometime economically viable, would also imply some loss of jobs. We don't think that is of such a broad scale that it would imply negative growth for two years for the economy as a whole.
In terms of the impact of the Bank of Japan's use of its room for maneuver to expand liquidity under the new monetary policy framework, I think it is reasonable to anticipate, as we have already seen, that will tend to put downward pressure on the yen. Modest further depreciation of the yen should not in our judgment be a matter of concern for Japan or for the international community, in view of the very high priority that we all need to put on seeing a reinvigoration of growth in Japan.
If depreciation were to become very large, say, toward or even beyond the low point of the yen in June of 1998, then probably some signal of official resistance to excessive depreciation would be useful; a weak yen does assist the Japanese economy in terms of export growth, but, given the weakness that already exists, further weakening beyond a certain point is not productive in that regard, and tends to create problems elsewhere in the world economy.
We don't think the euro area in that sense can replace the slowdown that is occurring elsewhere among the major industrial countries, nor should euro area economic policies be directed at such an objective that would be in our judgment unachievable. There is the problem that with GDP growth slowing in Europe, and indeed with demand growth in Europe slowing even below GDP growth, Europe is, the euro area in particular, actually making a negative contribution vis-a-vis the rest of the world, and we think they should be able to do somewhat better than that and contribute something positive, not only to strengthen their own growth performance some, but also to contribute a net positive contribution to growth in the rest of the world at a time when other things are going through a period of consolidation. We think there is room for that contribution, but one should not overestimate its quantitative magnitude.
That being said, the situation in Africa in terms of the magnitude of the economic problems that it continues to confront is immense, so one certainly takes solace from the fact that they're not much affected by the present global economic slowdown. What is needed to get both going on a better sustained basis across broader regions of Africa, the international community has devoted considerable attention to this effort, and no one has denied that debt relief is an important contribution to that from the international community.
Most of the debt of sub-Saharan Africa is to the bilaterals. The debt to the multilateral institutions is a comparatively small fraction of that total, and the debt to the Fund is a very small fraction of that total; significant for a couple of countries, but not more broadly.
And the broad-based effort to give relief on the debt is a useful one, but the international community insists, and we believe rightly so, that needs to be combined with efforts within these countries to use the flexibility that is provided by debt relief to address issues of poverty and social development, not, for example, to build bigger armies.
Even more important, in terms of the economic impact on Africa in terms of an external contribution, is the opening to trade, and the provision of financial assistance other than debt relief. And, those combined external contributions are small relatively speaking in comparison to what African countries need to do themselves in their own interest.
The chapters in the World Economic Outlook comment on the issue of trade, and I think we probably will hear a little bit more about that. And trade among African countries can be an engine of growth as well as trade with the industrial countries. And, it is clearly the case that in several important African countries, extreme problems of either conflict, or very poor governance, are major impediments to economic advance. And those issues need to be addressed, in some cases with the assistance of the international community, but it cannot be solved here in Washington, or in Brussels.
Turning to trade, the essay in chapter 2 which Mr. Robinson discussed does identify the patchwork of trade arrangements, particularly in eastern and southern Africa as an issue. I would note that the analysis indicates that a large part, that there is more "undertrading" relative to other developing countries with the advanced world, than with the other countries within Africa, which does indicate that some kind of advanced, some kind of united states of Africa, which included relatively high tariff barriers, might not be a good solution. An important part of Africa's trade is with the rest of the world, and that is relatively low.
And, in terms of domestic debt relief, I think that we would all agree that it is an important part, and it is part of the solution in addition to stronger domestic policies, where the poverty reduction and growth initiative is an important part of our efforts to improve domestic policies, as well as trade.
Now, subsequently, we have had less desirable developments in global financial markets for emerging market borrowers. Partly there was the crisis in Turkey with the devaluation of the lira, but that was largely felt by Turkey and with limited spillover elsewhere, and very limited spillover to Latin America. However, a variety of events in Argentina-and this included political events, controversies, so forth, a change, the failure of the new finance minister to have his stabilization program achieve the requisite political support, and then his departure and so forth-clearly raised a lot of concerns about whether Argentina was going to be able to live up to the commitments that it had made in conjunction with the large international support package, the support package enabling Argentina this year to deal with its external financing problems, but still leaving to the Argentines the necessity to rollover a modest amount of their internal financing. And, in the face of these uncertainties, the interest rates at which Argentine paper was traded in international markets and the interest rates at which the Argentine government needed to float new paper domestically began to spike upward, and they went up from 600, 700 points above U.S. treasuries to a thousand points above U.S. treasuries, and then after the disturbances of a week ago, they peaked at 1300 basis points above U.S. treasuries, suggesting a substantial loss of confidence among not only foreign, but also domestic investors in the policy program of Argentina. Those spreads have begun to come down over the last couple of days, and today we seem to be trading around a thousand basis points above treasuries.
That situation needs to improve further. The Argentine authorities need to, through action and through the statements they make, reestablish a greater degree of confidence in their capacity through their policies to manage the economic and financial systems situation, in a way that enables those interest rate spreads to come down to more reasonable levels, not only as a matter of government financing, because the value of debt that actually needs to be rolled is comparatively small, but because it is going to be very difficult to get the domestic economy moving forward if interest rates remain a thousand basis points above U.S. treasuries. So that is a challenge that the Argentine authorities clearly face and need to deal with.
There has been an adverse spillover clearly from Argentina onto other emerging markets, particularly in Latin America and including especially Brazil, and we have seen the Brazilian currency come under significant downward pressure. We have seen interest rate spreads for Brazil also increase, and we have seen the Brazilian central bank respond to the inflationary implications of a weaker currency by raising short-term interest rates within Brazil. And, successful resolution of the difficulties in Argentina is clearly something that the Brazilians are looking forward to as something that will help them get past this period of difficulties, as well.
Could you explain a little bit more what you mean by that? You talk about tax reform in another sentence, but in terms of improving the fiscal stance.
Nevertheless, the overall fiscal situation of the Mexican Government does remain pretty good. President Fox has additional reform measures pending before the congress. And, we think it is important that action proceed rapidly to enact those reforms. The present economic and financial environment for emerging market economies generally is one where the markets are very sensitive and very nervous. They will, we believe, reward strength and penalize weakness. Mexico, I think, is benefiting because it has a strong fiscal position and a strong policy record. It looks forward to an upgrade of its status to investment grade in terms of its sovereign credits. It will be important to achieve that upgrade, especially if the environment for emerging markets generally in global financial markets remains relatively tense.
There is also risk on the other side. The forecast of 1.5 percent has built into it the assumption that only very sluggish growth occurred in the first quarter, will occur this quarter, and will occur in the summer quarter. A little bit of a pickup at the end of the year and a more substantial pickup next year. So, it is certainly not a forecast of a buoyant U.S. economy, and with the degree of easing we have already seen by the Federal Reserve with significant tax cuts which we believe will be enacted, policy is doing a substantial amount to guard against the downside risks of an actual recession. It doesn't seem that necessarily will be avoided, but it also potentially means that we'll get a stronger outcome than what we have allowed for in our forecasts. So there is a forecast, but there are risks, both below and above in terms of what the actual outcome may turn out to be.
Whether further cuts would be called for down the road would obviously depend on how the economic data evolve. If the slowdown turns out to be significantly larger than what we now expect, than a rather substantial easing of monetary policy would be called for. However, if growth is sustained around 2.5 percent, then one or two steps of monetary easing would probably be appropriate in the course of this year.
I don't want to exaggerate that we're going to get a large bang from that, either on euro area growth or on global growth. But, in a slowdown such as we're now experiencing, every little bit helps, and it is desirable that the central bank of the second largest monetary area in the world be part of the solution rather than part of the problem going forward.
And, consumer spending also is unlikely to return to the buoyancy that we saw in the preceding four or five years. For the remainder of this year, I think we're looking at a relatively sluggish U.S. economy, that is why our forecast is 1.5 percent this year and 2.5 percent for next year. The 2.5 really is encompassing the fact that the second half of this year is expected to continue to be fairly slow, before the economy returns to something closer to potential growth in the early part of next year.
There are, however, areas of strength in the U.S. economy. The reduction in short-term interest rates is clearly one of the factors that kept housing investment relatively buoyant. The stock market has recovered some of the losses that it took in February and March and that will help to contain the downside negative wealth effects on consumption and on broader investment spending. And, fiscal policy will provide, I think, a meaningful boost to demand, either late this year or early next year.
Now, if we're asking what is going to return the U.S. economy to 5 percent growth, well, the answer is, I don't see it, and I think that is probably a good thing, because the U.S. economy was overheating in the middle of last year, and some slowdown to a more sustainable pace of advance is desirable.
In terms of productivity growth, no doubt as the economy slows down on a cyclical basis, we will have the usual cyclical downturn in productivity. But, most analysts believe that the underlying basis for more rapid productivity growth in the medium term in the United States remains in place. And while investment levels as a share of GDP in real terms may not return quite to the peak of last year, that even if they come down a modest amount, they would still remain significantly higher than they were, say, in the 1980s as a share of business fixed investment, real business fixed investment to real GDP, and that would be an important factor keeping labor productivity growth relatively strong, so we can see investment come off somewhat on a sustained basis beyond the present cyclical slowing, and nevertheless continue to see capital deepening in addition to total factor productivity growth as something that keeps labor productivity expanding at a moderate pace. Though, again, not as rapid as we have seen in a couple of recent years.
So, China, by that measure, is roughly half the size of the U.S. economy, and Japan is less than a third.
Now, when you use instead market exchange rates, the situation is very different. At market exchange rates, the Chinese economy is 10 percent the size of the U.S. economy, not half the size of the U.S. economy, and the Japanese economy is about half as big as the U.S. economy, not a third as big.
Now, you begin to reweight things and you say, okay, let me raise Japan's weight modestly; so I'm going to raise the weight of an economy whose growth forecasts for us is .6, that tends to knock down the global growth forecast. Let me reduce China's weight. China has the highest growth forecast of virtually any country, at 7 percent, okay, and you cut that 7 percent weight from 11 to 1, you knock 7/10 of a percentage point off the global growth forecast. So, the technical issues about how you add together the growth projections for different countries have a significant impact on what you give as the global growth forecast. If we were giving our forecast based on current market exchange rates, rather than the WEO PPP-based exchange rates, rather than 3.2 percent global growth this year, we would be forecasting 2.5 percent or a little less, 2.3.
For each country, the number is what it is, but it is how you add them together, the different weights; so the U.S. forecast is 1.5 percent. And, in our weighting scheme, since we put the U.S. at the center of it, its weight is about 22 percent in global growth.
Will the slowdown be more than desirable? I think there is a meaningful risk of that, because trade is now a very important fraction of Mexico's GDP, and trade with the United States is over 80 percent of Mexico's total trade. So when the U.S. economy slows down, inevitably, there is some negative effect on Mexico. So far, that effect appears to be quite limited. But, it remains to be seen whether that keeps up or not. So it is a little hard to judge, but a slowdown to 1.5 percent growth in the U.S. this year cannot be a positive overall for Mexico. So we'll see some slowing of the Mexican economy.
But, we don't see a serious danger of a return of financial crisis in Mexico because the exchange rate is now floating, it is not fixed. So, if the economy slows down, and people become more pessimistic, the exchange rate can adjust downward without crisis. Mexico does not have a large volume of short-term foreign currency debt, which was a difficulty in the last crisis. There is room for maneuver on monetary policy and the slowing economy, inflation will be less of a threat, even if the peso does depreciate.
So, while there are risks, we think that those risks should be reasonably well contained.
A pegged exchange rate or adoption of the dollar does imply a certain rigidity of monetary policy and a surrender of national monetary policy independence, sometimes that can be helpful. But, sometimes it can also get you into difficulty as well. So, it seems to me this is an issue which the Canadians would be well advised to debate for awhile and assess carefully before making a judgment to change a long-standing policy.


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CFLs offer extended life and energy efficiency compared to traditional incandescent bulbs. Because the bulb contain a small amount of mercury, it is best to recycle them instead of placing them in the regular trash.
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Katharine Balfour Movies and Career Information
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Feb 07, 1921
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Katharine Balfour was an actress.
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