Letters to the Editor
MacK..
Published Letters: 481 Editor's Choice: 49
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The Establishment Does not even read the numbers
[Read the article: Iraq taught us nothing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Can the US afford a war with Iran. How many people understand how badly the US’ fiscal position has declined – how much for example the run-up in Oil prices can be explained by the declining US dollar (not to mention models fee (see Giselle Bundchen’s demand to be paid in Euros.) Under George Bush the US is not strong, it is weak and getting weaker. The incompetence of this administration is breathtaking. And every day, more and more of Bush’s alies discover that he has cursed their careers, Blair is gone, so is Aznar, so is Burlusconi. The Saudis are getting nervous. Musharef just declare martial law. I think people need to look at some hard objective numbers:
Where is the US right now, compared to just after 9/11 – or before Bush took office? Could the US afford another war? Can it deal with the consequences?
Dollar Exchange Rate:
On the day of Bush’s 1st 11 the exchange rates were
$1 = €1.14; $1=£0.71 (£1=$1.42); $1=¥127
On 9/11 the exchange rates were
$1 = €1.11; $1=£0.68 (£1=$1.47); $1=¥121
Today the exchange rates are:
$1=€0.69; $1=£0.48 (£1=$2.09); $1=¥114
To make sense of this under Bush the Dollar has declined by almost 40% against the Euro, about 30% against sterling and even against the Yen, in the face of Japan’s sclerotic economy by 8%
The Pew Global Attitudes report for 2007 shows 51% of British people had a positive opinion of the United States compared with 83% in 2000; 39% of French compared with 62%; Turks 9% compared with 40% in 2000. To quote the 2007 report:
“Since 2002, however, the image of the United States has declined in most parts of the world. Favorable ratings of America are lower in 26 of 33 countries for which trends are available.
The U.S. image remains abysmal in most Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia, and continues to decline among the publics of many of America's oldest allies. Favorable views of the U.S. are in single digits in Turkey (9%) and have declined to 15% in Pakistan. Currently, just 30% of Germans have a positive view of the U.S. – down from 42% as recently as two years ago – and favorable ratings inch ever lower in Great Britain and Canada.”
You can read it here: http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=256
The CIA world factbook now ranks the US as 9th in per Capita GDP – in 1999 the US ranked 2nd – moreover at $31,500 it was only marginally behind Bermuda at $32,700. Worse, at $43,500 it is way behind Bermuda at $69,900.
In 2000, Clinton’s last year, the surplus amounted to $236 billion. The forecast ten year surplus stood at $5.6 trillion. Even the Bush administration’s own projections for 2007 are $450 billion (after dubious budgetary efforts to take Iraq and other charges off balance sheet) and September the US raised its Federal Debt Ceiling to $9.82 trillion, the increase of $850 billion was the fifth since President Bush took office in 2001.
US external debt is now $10,040,000,000,000 of a total world external debt of $44,620,000,000,000 – i.e., closing on 25% The US is literally “up to its neck in debt” and a huge amount of that is owed in countries other than the US, China, Saudi Arabia, etc. To be blunt, they own the US right now…
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Ironman Syndrome
[Read the article: Working women's "absence culture"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is a lot of pressure on men to be tough, to "suck it up." It's what society, male and female expects of them. Men consequently get points for dragging themselves to work when sick, and other assorted heroics. Ever notices how a man will admit to feeling like crap at work ... but stay at the office .. women don't.
Seriously, no matter how shitty you feel, as a man you also feel the pressure to deliver, to not let the team down. Men even try to go see the doctor outside working hours -- hell they brag about surgery scars.
All of this has adverse consequences -- men come in with influenza and infect the whole office. Men die younger than women 7+ years on average, and a lot of this is down to not seeking medical help. Women make a big deal about breast cancer and joke (wincing) about mamograms; men demand funds for prostate cancer, hah! -- discuss having the doctor stick his his fingers up their ass -- or let them do -- you have to be kidding.
Result, men resent women in the office taking time off, resent their "weakness," regard them as unreliable and pay for all of this by living shorter lives, and suffering poor health.
As a manager I used to call it Ironman syndrome -- funny how much women expected it of men as men themselves did . . .