A Kadir Jasin
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TODAY, Jan. 20, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America, making him the first mixed parentage person to hold the post in 332 years.
He is half white and half black. His father was a Black African from Kenya and his mother a White woman from Kansas.
The 47-year old Obama won a landslide victory in the Nov. 4, 2008 presidential election, thanks in part to the unpopularity of the George W. Bush Republican presidency and the financial meltdown that occurred just months earlier.
Thus it’s both a boom and a bane for President Obama to take office at this critical juncture. He inherits a very sick US and global economy, and a string of disastrous foreign policy misadventures of his warlike predecessor.
So, what does his inauguration has in store for the US and world? A lot -- whether we like it or not. Briefly:
The economy
He has no choice but clear the mess created during the Bush two-term presidency. Just days ago he had asked the outgoing Bust Administration for the remaining $350 billion (RM1,260 billion) in the Wall Street rescue money.
So it can be expected that he will disburse the fund, which, hopefully, will send positive ripples around the globe. Even we in Malaysia need it given the state of economy and our stock market.
America and the world do buy we cannot sell, plain and simple. That an average of 6,000 American families are losing their homes everyday cannot be good news for us.
“I felt it would be irresponsible for me, with the first $350 billion already spent, to enter into a new administration without any potential ammunition should there be any potential emergency or weakening of the financial systems,” Obama said after meeting the visiting Mexican president, Felipe Calderon.
Obama’s Economic Policy Platorm
1. To restore fairness to the tax code and provide 95 percent of working Americans the tax relief they need. They will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family;
2. To provide tax relief for small businesses and startups. He promises to eliminate all capital gains taxes on startup and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation; and
3. To Fight for fair trade. He promises to fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world.
Foreign Policy
Obama’s foreign policy platform states, among other things, that:-
1. Secure loose nuclear materials from terrorists – Obama and Vice Presiden Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden will secure all loose nuclear materials in the world within four years, and will negotiate a verifiable global ban on the production of new nuclear weapons material to curb the spread of nuclear weapons;
2. Pursue tough, direct diplomacy without preconditions to end the threat from Iran: Obama will present the Iranian regime with a clear choice. If Iran abandons its nuclear program and support for terrorism, they would offer incentives like membership in the World Trade Organization. If Iran continues its troubling behavior, Obama will step up our economic pressure and political isolation;
3. Renew American diplomacy: Obama will renew American diplomacy to meet the challenges of the 21st century. They will rebuild our alliances. And they would be willing to meet with all nations, friend and foe, to advance American interests.
On Israel
1. Ensure a Strong U.S.-Israel Partnership: Barack promises to strongly support the U.S.-Israel relationship, believe that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America's strongest ally in the Middle East. They support this closeness, stating that that the United States would never distance itself from Israel;
2. Support Israel's Right to Self Defense: During the July 2006 Lebanon war, Barack Obama stood up strongly for Israel's right to defend itself from Hezbollah raids and rocket attacks, cosponsoring a Senate resolution against Iran and Syria's involvement in the war, and insisting that Israel should not be pressured into a ceasefire that did not deal with the threat of Hezbollah missiles. He believes strongly in Israel's right to protect its citizens; and
3. Support Foreign Assistance to Israel: Obama has consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel. They defend and support the annual foreign aid package that involves both military and economic assistance to Israel and have advocated increased foreign aid budgets to ensure that these funding priorities are met. They have called for continuing U.S. cooperation with Israel in the development of missile defense systems.
On Iraq
1. Obama will responsibly end the war in Iraq. Immediately upon taking office, Obama promises to give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: successfully ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased;
2. Encourage political accommodation. Obama will press Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future and to substantially spend their oil revenues on their own reconstruction; and
3. Increase stability in Iraq and the region. Obama will launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to reach a comprehensive compact on the stability of Iraq and the region. They also will address Iraq's refugee crisis.
Trivia
The inauguration celebrations, how much will they cost?
The short answer, according to the US media reports, is more than $150 million (RM540 million) — the most expensive ever. (By comparison, George W. Bush's 2005 inauguration cost $42.3 million (RM152 million) and Bill Clinton managed with $33 million (RM119 million) in 1993.
And President Bush has to declare an emergency in Washington D.C. in order to supplement the $15-million (RM54 million) Congress has already allotted for security measures.
The reason? Obama received Secret Service protection very early in his presidential campaign and record crowds -- anywhere from 1.5 to 3 million -- are expected to converge on the US capital.
The Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, to the Associated Press: “This will be the most security, as far as I'm aware, that any inauguration's had."
But at the end of the day, a US President is a US President. He will always be under the spell of the lobbyists, the big companies and, not to forget, the omnipresent and omnipotent Jewish-Israel lobby.
“I am asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about change in Washington…. I’m asking you to believe in yours.” – Barack Obama.
PS: The information is mostly from Obama’s official website.
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About Me
- A KADIR JASIN
- I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).
31 comments:
Obamas policy on Israel is to support Israel's Right to Self Defense?
Today the Arab nations accused Israel of blasting Gaza with ammunition containing depleted uranium since traces of it had been found in victims of the shelling. The IAEA has been urged to investigate.
In continuing to be a tough on Iran's nuclear ambition, Obama has to seriously re-look into the ability of Israels so called "Right of Self Defense", or else he will end up the same as all the former presidents!
Salam Dato',
As far as I had read of Obama, he was not that directly involved with the international scene before.
Yet he had already decided who are on which side of the fences.
Who am I to say? That text was directed to the US citizen, exclusively. Not to the rest of the world.
Definitely not to me!
"Here is the excerpt from Daily Reckoning that can prepare us, what in 'front' of us:-
Tomorrow, the man called Obama takes up the president's job. Poor man. He seems like a decent sort. A shame…something like that happening to him.
But he hung around with the wrong crowd - lowbred types in high political circles - and look where it has gotten him. Tomorrow, he'll be called upon to stand before a hundred million viewers, put his hand on a Bible, and lie.
To the question - will he swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States America - he will give the answer he has rehearsed. Yes, I can! Then, like almost every American president since John Quincy Adams, he will ignore it.
But before we return to tomorrow, let's turn back to yesterday…or, Friday. So far this year, stocks are down nearly 7%. But at least the Dow bounced a little at the end of last week - up 68 points.
Oil held at $42. And dollar was steady at $1.33 per euro.
The excitement on Friday was in the gold market - the yellow stuff bounced $32. Why would gold go up…when the world economy is clearly going down? We don't know. But if we were Mr. Obama, we'd approach this new job like renting a car from a disreputable agency. We'd want to take a good look and take note of all the dents ands defects before driving off the lot. We wouldn't want to get charged for the previous drivers' mishaps!
The founding charter of the U.S.A. made no allowance for going into the banking business…nor the auto business…nor any other kind of business. Neither did it allow invasions of foreign countries, without a declaration of war…or imagine a standing army that costs about as much as all the rest of the world's armies put together.
In the beginning, the U.S. government was specifically limited in what it could do. Now, very little remains that it can't do. But in all matters - big or small…torturing people or taking their money - government leaders must pretend to be acting in the national interest. It's a low-down, dirty business that usually attracts people of the same sort. People like George W. Bush and Joseph Biden…people with no sense or no principles - or neither. People who don't know a lie when they hear it or…don't mind telling one.
That's why we're sorry to seem Obama in the trade; he seems like such a nice fellow.
But politics…alas, someone's got to do it. As the old Latin expression puts it: The voters want to be deceived; then let them be deceived.
So many patsies…so little time. Bernie Madoff could barely keep up with all the people who wanted to give him money. The hopefuls joined his Palm Beach country club just for the opportunity to slip a few extra large bills in his pocket. Old buddies sought him out…eager to part with their entire fortunes.
And look at the Treasury market! The patsies line up to buy I.O.U.s from a deadbeat debtor who already owes money all over town. And now he's passing out more I.O.Us…at a faster and faster pace…trillions of dollars' worth of them. Not only that, the debtor in question has said publicly that he intends to lower the value of his paper - at all costs.
And now the voters…the general public…the lumphouseholders - they're dying for a lie too. They want someone to tell them that he's got the recession under control.
Well, if they're going to be deceived someone's got to tell them lies. Barack…you're up!
The people want to believe that if the president weren't such a screw-up, we wouldn't be in this mess. In other words, if the administration would get its act together, it could "do something" to get the good, ol' times back.
Rarely do we get an opportunity to come to the defense of George W. Bush. But here we will say without equivocation: this financial crisis is not his fault.
Sure, he made it worse by wasting $2 trillion on that silly war of his - the 'war against terror.' And sure, he should have gotten rid of Alan Greenspan at the beginning of his term…and he should never have signed so many spending bills without a fight. And, it's too bad he didn't understand what was going on in the financial sector and warn people - instead of jawing on about how great the U.S. economy was. But, heck, who did? He acted like a moron; no doubt about it. But who didn't?
So give George W. Bush a break. Let the man skulk back to the ranch without trying to pin this financial collapse on him. He didn't cause the problems; and he couldn't cure them either. The financial problems faced by the U.S.A. cannot be solved by politicians. They can only be made worse by politicians.
The problem is that there are a lot of bad loans, bad investments and bad businesses that need to be cleaned out. All the politicians can do is to try to prevent the clean up…
*** The lumpen want to be deceived; so the politicians take it as an opportunity. Last October, for example, they raided the Treasury for $700 billion that they could pass out to their friends on Wall Street. Of course, that program was supposed to be in the 'national interest.' The banks were supposed to lend the money out to the taxpayers whence it came.
As absurd as it sounds, and as unconstitutional as it surely is, it is nevertheless the law of the land. And now that a few months have passed…and a few hundred billion have been passed around, we're beginning to understand what happened to it.
The New York Times reports:
"Speaking at the FBR Capital Markets conference in New York in December, Walter M. Pressey, president of Boston Private Wealth Management, a healthy bank with a mostly affluent clientele, said there were no immediate plans to do much with the $154 million it received from the Treasury.
"'With that capital in hand, not only do we feel comfortable that we can ride out the recession,' he said, 'but we also feel that we'll be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves once this recession is sorted out.'
"'The Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., said in October that banks should 'deploy, not hoard' the money to build confidence and increase lending. He added: 'We expect all participating banks to continue to strengthen their efforts to help struggling homeowners who can afford their homes avoid foreclosure.'
"But a Congressional oversight panel reported on Jan. 9 that it found no evidence the bailout program had been used to prevent foreclosures, raising questions about whether the Treasury has complied with the law's requirement that it develop a "plan that seeks to maximize assistance for homeowners."
What did they think? Bankers don't make loans in the hopes of getting 'good citizenship' awards. They lend money when they think they can make money at it. Now, with so many balance sheets in such bad condition, they are afraid their loans won't be repaid.
Typically, Thomas L. Friedman has a solution. The president should get 300 banking presidents in a room and give them a "come to Jesus" speech, he says. By that, he means the feds should play a more muscular role in the banking crisis. Good banks should be saved. Bad banks should be dissolved.
And what about all those bad loans? Ah…the New York Times columnist has a solution for that problem too. The government should buy them up…hold them…and then "sell them later when the market rebounds."
See how easy it is, dear reader. Problem solved. That's what Obama should promise the voters.
And if the patsies will believe that…maybe they'll kick in a few hundred billion more for Wall Street.
Until tomorrow,
Bill Bonner
The Daily Reckoning
Salam Datuk,
Based on the review, I believe that there will be little hope for 'peace' in the world to be achieved.
The 'change' is only in history but not in reality. However, in the context of Malaysian politics (i.e. UMNO), I really hope there will be a reality 'change' in March 2009.
Choose the right leader that are able to bring back the country's leadership to a higher standing.
Wassalam
Srazali Aripin
Brisbane, Australia
It will take time and experience for wider layers of workers and young people to realize that the Democrats' reforms are designed primarily to benefit US capitalism and to restore faith in the political system, while benefits to working-class communities and the environment will only be of secondary concern.
However, as economic conditions worsen and the volatile occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan unravel, more and more workers and youth will realize that Obama and the Democratic Party are thoroughly tied to corporate interests. They will be compelled to move into struggle to defend their living standards, the environment, and their rights.
The fact that Obama has aroused expectations has already emboldened an important layer of people to get politically active to ensure that their hopes are realized.
http://asocialistmalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/01/us-obama-takes-power.html
In the coming period, workers and young people will increasingly draw the conclusion that we need to build our own mass movements—and our own independent party that is prepared to take on Corporate America—to bring about real change.
as i had commented before on other blogs, obama is just another puppet of the jewish elite capitalists who controlled u.s. economy. as both major u.s. political parties are under this shadowy group, it doesn't matter who is at the helm of u.s. government, the policies is just not that much different from the other. of course you can just dismissed this as just another conspiracy theory.
and furthermore, discussing u.s politics these days is just the same like discussing wrestling match on tv. it's so fake and no soul. you can almost see those invisible hands controlling the politicians, enough said....
please watch michael moore's recent film 'sicko' or better yet 'fahrenheit 911' to further understand the workings of u.s. politics
Dato,
Zionist is no God and Obama is no angel.
It's the ruling royal families of the middleeast kingdom that should change their approach to the world issue in order for no more ordinary rakyats suffers from the regime of Zionist and their US puppets.
Never to put high hopes on US president unless they are willing to be shot down just like JFK and brothers.
Dato Kj.
Saya tak yakin Obama boleh buat banyak perubahan dalam foreign Policies sebab dalam administration nya banyak Zionist supporter dan American Jews.
Saya ingat Obama juga mungkin tak akan hidup lama,Gang White supermist dan Klu Klux Khan akan membunohnya.macam Dr Marthin.
Good News untok Pakatan Raayat,Obama telah bersetuju untok melantek Anwar Ibrahim sabagai Penasehatnya dalam menghadapi Negara Islam di rantau ini.Ini atas cadangan President Turkey.
Good Luck.
Dato.
Obama will become 44 President of America.The Chinese say 44 is See,See.meaning Mampus Mampus.
Even in the lift no 4 chinese co dont use it.
I think the White supremist will kill him.
Fung Suei no good ma?
Dato',
Saya yakin pemerintahan Obama akan bercelaru sepertimana celarunya identiti dia (Black?, White?, Mixed?, African?, Indonesian? (step father)). Jika beliau bertindak untuk menjadikan America Baik (Good American) maka nasib dia akan jadi macam Kennedy kerana bagi CIA, untuk terus jadi polis dunia maka dunia perlu terus dalam keadaan kacau bilau.
Bye/roti planta
Datuk,
After what we had experience here in Malaysia with Pak Lah, I won't dare to have high expectation to leaders who potray "Clean and Nice" image anymore.
Good luck to him, anyhow.
-sinbad-
Salam Dato'
3. Support Foreign Assistance to Israel: Obama has consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel. They defend and support the annual foreign aid package that involves both military and economic assistance to Israel and have advocated increased foreign aid budgets to ensure that these funding priorities are met. They have called for continuing U.S. cooperation with Israel in the development of missile defense systems.
tidak.......................dh tiba masanya kita usaha bina tamadun gemilang seperti dulu.
Scribe,
Almost another malaysian product this bara(c)k obama: bro anwar bin ibrahim.
Hello Dato,
Better Obama then any other president because Obama has the background and perception from the various races he grew up with. He could make decision with that background to help him decide on critical issue hopefully more rational and less of discriminatory or confrontational as compare to Bush. Good luck to Obama.
To the Israel haters, no one is born good or bad....just misunderstood due discrimination.
From,
Watcher in the Rye
Whoever is US President, whether he or she is white, black, yellow or blue, or you can put a piece of shoe at that seat, their policy on Israel will be the same..They only a damn puppet..
"But at the end of the day, a US President is a US President. He will always be under the spell of the lobbyists, the big companies and, not to forget, the omnipresent and omnipotent Jewish-Israel lobby."
So faham2 jelah. Cancel semua titisan airmata anda!
Salam Dato' AKJ,
Siapapun yang memimpin US akan menjadi boneka yahudi laknatullah kerana perlantikan presiden mendapat restu dari persatuan yahudi US.
Yang membezakan antara presiden US adalah nama mereka sahaja dan parti yang mereka wakilkan. Polisi terhadap Islam masih sama iaitu melabelkan Islam sebagai penaja keganasan, HAMAS,HEZBOLLAH dan semua gerakan ISLAM akan di anggap pengganas...
Begitulah US..Hentikan mengharap keajaiban dari BARACK OBAMA..hanya kulit berbeza...kejahatan masih sama
Salam Dato'
(Mohom maaf terlebih dahulu kalau catatan ini dianggap perkauman, tapi saya fikir tidak kerana itu realiti kita masa ini)
Dalam lanskap politik Malaysia khususnya, sesiapa sahaja ahli politik baik dari pemerintah mahupun pembangkang, yang berani "menjentik" sekolah jenis kebangsaan cina maka hayat politiknya akan terus kabur bahkan boleh berkubur serta merta.
Dalam lanskap politik America pula, sesiapa sahaja ahli politik yang berani "menjentik" Yahudi Israel maka hayat politiknya bahkan hayat badannya boleh melayang.
3 minggu Gaza dibom, saya melihat-lihat dan membelek-belek beberapa surat khabar cina tiada satupun gambar kehancuran Gaza berada dimuka depan atau dijadikan tajuk utama bahkan didalam kandungannya juga sanagt sedikit dimuatkan mengenai Palestin. Apakah editor surat khabar cina langsung tidak berasa tersentuh dengan apa yang berlaku di Gaza Palestin?
Berbalik kepada Barrak Hussain Obama, saya tidak menaruh apa-apa harapan kepada beliau. Yang saya menaruh harapan adalah lahirnya seorang pemimpin ulung Islam yang berjaya menyatupadukan negara Islam menentang Israel. Sesiapa jua jadi Presiden Amerika, skrip dasar luar negara terutamanya mengenai Timur Tengah sudah siap ditulis dan dibukukan. Hanya kepetahan lidah Presiden memanipulasikan keadaan tetapi matlamatnya adalah sama.
Sallahudin Al-Ayubi pemimpin Islam ke 2 yang berjaya menguasai Palestin selepas Saidina Umar Al-Khattab berkata "Seseipa yang menguasai Palestin, maka belaiu akan menguasai dunia". Kata-katanya benar kerana sebenarnya Israel yang menguasai Palestin!
Say amat yakin Sallahudin Ke 2 akan muncul, kalau bukan dihayat saya ini dimasa akan datang, Insya Allah.
I hope muslims all over the world especially Malays to stop blaming the US for supporting Israel. By right they (muslims) should direct their anger to conservative but rich arabs rulers for their failure to influence the US policy in the middle east inspite of the fact that US is depending on the arabs oil.
These arab regimes also supported US and European economy by investing heavily in these two continents particularly prior to 11 Sept. 2001. Unfortunately, like camels they only know how to obey orders but do not know how to think.
They are good for nothing except boasting and throwing shoes. They quarrels among themselves. One good example is between Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah) and Hamas.
Actually I am very sick of hipocrisy. Remember, Saddam Hussein was deposed and sent to gallows by fellow arabs. These conservative arab regimes are currently "main silap mata" with the US and Israel as regards to the Iran nuclear programs.
sdr anak perak, who put the arabs there in the first place?
so direct your anger to god, anak perak?
Obama kalau tak perform, dia akan jadi another Pak Lah. Orang ada high expectation terhadap Pak Lah dulu, mendapat undi tertinggi dalam sejarah Malaysia, tapi tengok macamana dia permainkan amanah rakyat. Apa yang dia dah buat hanya menjerumuskan negara ke kancah kemusnahan.
Dengan hubungan antara-kaum yang semakin menjurang jauh, dan pentadbiran negara yang kucar-kacir, Pak Lah akan tercatat di dalam sejarah Malaysia sebagai Perdana Menteri yang paling cepat naik dan paling cepat turun.
Ambillah iktibar ketika memilih pemimpin bukan hanya berdasarkan tanggapan umum sahaja, tetapi apa yang telah disumbangkan kepada negaraa.
tok..
salam sejahtera..
MOHON JAGA KESIHATAN..
salam
Wacana Melayu
25 Tahun yang Mendatang
Tempat : Kolej Kediaman Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah, Universiti Malaya
Masa : 10.00 pagi
Tarikh : 22 Januari 2009
Sahabat saya, Dr Zamri Abd Kadir; Mediator Wacana Melayu. Syukur saya kepada ALLAH SWT kerana saya di beri amanah dan tanggungjawab bagi membentangkan kertas 2 Wacana Melayu 25 Tahun yang Mendatang.
Saya melihat bangsa Melayu ini akan terus pupus dan terhakis di atas kelemahan dan kelalaian sehingga Melayu terlupa,terleka di atas gelombang Lamda 50 tahun jarak bangsa ini dibina.
Perbezaan politik dan kefahaman agama memisahkan kesatuan persaudaraan di antara bangsa Melayu itu sendiri.Sikap serta pengabaian tanggungjawab serta menari mengikut retak irama luar membawa kehancuran lantai pemerintahan kuasa yang ada pada bangsa Melayu ini.
Bila mana pemimpin Melayu gagal mengguna hak kuasa mutlak yang memastikan kekebalan bangsa ini akan pupus seperti mana seekor dinosaur yang gagah;hanya tinggal kenangan dan difilem kan oleh pengarah filem Steven Spielberg.
Melayu lebih gemar kepada soal soal keraian sehingga mereka mengabaikan tanggungjawab bagi membina sahsiah anak bangsa yang akan menerima padah 25 tahun yang mendatang.Kegagalan pemimpin Melayu bagi memastikan masa depan agama,bangsa dan negara kerana mereka merebut sisa sisa tulang yang tinggal seperti mana haiwan yang buas memakan daging daging kedamaian yang disediakan oleh pejuang pejuang bangsa yang terdahulu.
Bagi memastikan bangsa ini terlindung dan terpelihara,perubahan sikap anak gadis yang bakal melahirkan ganerasi ganerasi yang akan datang menjadi ganerasi yang mampu mempertahan kan gelombang Lamda itu.Saya mengesyorkan satu pelan rangka rancangan jangka panjang bagi memberi keutamaan bagi membina sahsiah ketahanan mental ,fizikal supaya mereka ini tidak terkulai layu dibuai igauan igauan sains dan teknologi.
Kalau dahulu bangsa ini yang dibina dengan keringat dan air mata,Alquran menjadi asas dimana saya masih ingat lagi disebalik bendang yang hijau itu terlontar keluar suara suara yang menyebut kalimah kalimah yang Maha Esa.
Kini,apabila SMS dan teknologi maklumat telah menghantui dan meracun fikiran anak bangsa sehingga mereka tidak lagi dapat membezakan yang mana batu yang mana bata.sebesar mana pun gedung ilmu itu dibina ia akan bermula dengan helaian kertas dari muka surat yang pertama.
Sidang perwakilan pergerakan pemuda dan pemudi Melayu yang hadir pada pagi ini sudah menjadi tanggungjawab kalian semua kerana 25 tahun yang mendatang,saya yakin ketika itu saya sudah berada di alam barzakh.Ini menjadi permasalah dan pertanggungjawaban saudara saudari sekalian.
Akhir kata, sikap yang besertakan disiplin yang beristiqamah akan mampu merubah sesebuah bangsa itu supaya ia tidak menjadi spesis yang terancam sama taraf dengan beruang panda.
Terima kasih diatas perhatian kalian semua,apa yang mampu saya perkatakan hanyalah menjadi wadah serta wacana yang terpikul diatas ubun ubun kalian. Bumi ini bumi bertuah ,kalau bala yang datang hanya lah ditempah oleh penghuninya.
Dengan kalimah yang Maha Esa, saya sudahi dengan doa selamat bagi kalian semua.
Sekian.
Askum Dato',
1.Obama menjanjikan new America dalam pendekatan kepimipinan barunya.Kita semua akan tunggu samada AS akan berubah seperti yang janjikan,khuusnya dalam dasar luar dan usaha menyelamat krisis ekonomi yang melanda dunia masakini. Kedua-dua ini juga akan memberi kesan kepada perubahan landskap politik dunia.Kita juga berharap beliau akan menjadikan AS sebagai negara yang dihormati dunia dan bukan yang dibenci seperti yang dilakukan oleh pentadbiran Bush.
2. Secara kebetulan pula Malaysia juga akan menyaksikan peralihan kuasa dan kepimpinan bulan Mac ini iaitu dari Pak Lah kepada DS Najib. Rakyat Malaysia juga sedang menunggu tentang apakah bentuk perubahan yang bakal dibawa oleh DS Najib. Kemusnahan dari segi senario politik yang dilakukan oleh kepimpinan Pak Lah memang amat ketara. Kekalahan BN dalam PRK K.Terngganu baru2 ini adalah bukti terkini kebencian rakyat pada BN. Memang kita boleh terima bahawa masej itu bukannya untuk DS Najib secara khusus tapi ia adalah kemuncak kebencian rakyat kepada kepimpinan Pak Lah.
3. Namun demikian DS Najib dan kepimpinan lain dalam Umno harus juga pikul tanggungjawab kepada kerosakan dan kemusnahan pada Umno ini.Mereka jangan lupa tentang sumpah setia mereka untuk "Bekerja Bersama Saya (Pak Lah)" yang pernah mereka buat semasa menyokong kepimpinan Pak Lah dulu. Jadi mereka juga adalah antara punca dan penyumbang kepada kerosakan Umno ini.
4. Oleh itu bagi perwakilan Umno yang bakal menguna kuasa yang diwakilkan kepada mereka oleh ahli untuk membuat pemilihan pada puncuk kepimpanan Umno nanti, diharap akan mengambil kira keadaan ini.Jika mereka benar2 mahu menyelamatkan Umno dari hilang penguasaan negara janganlah lagi termakan dengan sogokan wang yang tidak seberapa jika dibandingkan dengan nilai masa depan bangsa Melayu. Janganlah gadaikan maruah bangsa dengan wang sogokan dari pemimpin yang tidak bermaruah. Ingatlah juga jika anda tersalah pilih maka anda juga bertanggungjawab di atas kemusnahan ini dan akan kena menjawab di akhirat nanti.
5. Bagi DS Najib pula, apabila menerima tampok kepimpinan baru nanti handaklah berani membuat perubahan drastik.Pemimpin yang tidak berkesan dan bermasalah hendaklah diketepikan. Jangan buat kesilapan Pak Lah yang hanya lantik pemimpin yang sanggup memujinya sahaja. DS Najib hendaklah fikirkan tentang amanah untuk menyelamat maruah bangsa dan negara,bukan lagi kepentingan diri.
6. Semoga Allah akan bersama perwakilan, kepimpinan Umno dan DS Najib dalam usaha mengubah corak politik negara dan menyelamatkan UMNO.Amin.
Israel has shown its might again by policing that they wouldn't want to see Hamas involved in the re-building of Gaza. Reason being afraid that Hamas would be at the forefront of the rebuilding effort and ruling Gaza again after their 3weeks blitz on Gaza.
and Arab countries have split in two camps over the crisis - one supporting Hamas, the other hoping to lure the Hamas towards the so called 'moderate' Fatah.
Saudi King Abdullah urged Arab countries to end that rift during an Arab economic summit in Kuwait.
Blaming Israel for the Gaza crisis and warned Israel that an Arab peace initiative won't remain on the table forever.
Saudi Arabia has promised $1B for the rebuilding of Gaza. Wonder to whom will this money go?
But then Hamas already started the re-building effort with their limited funds. It would be interesting to see how Hamas rebuilds the war devastated Gaza and how Obama handles this issue.
"Thirteen Israelis also were killed, 10 of them soldiers" is the most repeated word in any news report on the Gaza war!
datuk...
nak tunggu anwar ibrahim bersumpah pasal liwat ...obama sudah bersumpah
kalau secara tersirat Obama jadi presiden sekadar nak pecah rekod, mencipta sejarah dan keagungan sebagai president of USA (world?), maka skrip tidak berubah. Tapi, jika Obama mempunyai naluri dan kekuatan seperti Abe Lincoln untuk mankind. Maka we should solute him. Tapi, sejarahnya siapa seperti Abe or JFK, maka umurnya pendek. Itulah, kalau dalam Islam, mati macam ini pasti dapat syurga terus.Tiada sia-sia.
Najib think tank and speech writer must learn from series of Obama speech especially how he bring the crowds in a single emotion with him
Listen to his inaugural speech for the 1st 12 minutes he laid out what gone wrong in America and the next 10 mins he gave his recipe to recover..and he forewarn long and hard battle..
The Deficit King
(master of the universe)
Geithner hints at harder line on China
By Jackie Calmes
Friday, January 23, 2009
WASHINGTON: Timothy Geithner, who moved closer to confirmation as Treasury secretary on Thursday, told senators that President Barack Obama believed China was "manipulating" its currency, suggesting a more confrontational stance toward that country than under the Bush administration.
Geithner's comment was made in writing to the Senate Finance Committee hours before it voted 18 to 5 to recommend that the full Senate confirm him. The statement, which is expected to anger the Chinese government, comes at a particularly sensitive time, with economies in the United States and China weakening and tensions already rising around the globe over trade. The United States, moreover, is increasingly dependent on China to finance its ballooning fiscal deficit.
An administration official said that Geithner was only repeating what Obama had said during the campaign, and pointed out that his statement also emphasized that Obama intended to use "all the diplomatic avenues available to him" to address the currency question.
It remained unclear whether Geithner was signaling that Obama would officially declare later this spring that China was engaging in currency manipulation, when the administration is required by a 20-year-old trade law to report to Congress on exchange rate issues. Such a finding would begin a legal process that starts with diplomacy and could end with the imposition of trade barriers like tariffs. The objective would be to persuade China to let the value of its currency, the yuan, float freely — a move that would let its value rise, increasing the cost of Chinese exports.
"President Obama — backed by the conclusions of a broad range of economists — believes that China is manipulating its currency," Geithner wrote. He stopped short of charging that China is manipulating its currency intentionally to gain an unfair trade advantage, as the 1988 law requires for an official citation of currency "manipulation."
Even so, the Obama administration's restatement of that position in writing on its second day was immediately seen as significant. The Bush administration purposely did not use the term "currency manipulator" to avoid antagonizing the Chinese, even when it was criticizing Chinese trade policies.
The more aggressive position will be popular with organized labor in the United States, a major supporter of Obama's presidential campaign, and with many manufacturers who say China is purposely keeping its currency devalued against the dollar and leaving American exports at a competitive disadvantage against lower-priced Chinese goods.
"It's huge," said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund who is a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "I'm very supportive in general and I think China needs to be called to account and the IMF has not done it."
But, he added, "I have to say this is really a bit of an issue for Obama's internationalist sort of theme for his foreign policy because this is going to be at least a spat with China, and if we don't back down it's then a row, and you know how that goes."
Prices of Treasury debt fell modestly after news of Geithner's comments, reflecting worry among investors that China might be less willing to buy United States debt if the new administration pushed the country to further revalue its currency. The yield on the 30-year bond, which moves in the opposite direction from its price, climbed to 3.247 percent from 3.159 percent on Wednesday afternoon.
Even before, yields on long-term government debt had been moving up in the last three weeks, as investors anticipated a significant increase in government borrowing.
The Obama official, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of Geithner's confirmation process, cited the Treasury nominee's earlier oral testimony to the Finance Committee. "As Tim Geithner said, it is important for the United States and the world economy that our major trading partners operate with a flexible exchange rate system," the official said, "in which market forces determine the value of exchange rates. The new administration is committed to using a fully integrated approach to bring this about in the current economic environment."
As a senator, Obama supported legislation as recently as last year that would open the door to trade sanctions against China for currency manipulation.
Geithner's statement was in response to a written question about the new administration's stance that was submitted by Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, a vocal critic of Chinese currency policies.
On Thursday, Schumer welcomed Geithner's reply. "For the first two days, this is a big step" from the Obama administration, he said in an interview. "And I think it's an indication: They are not going to be anti-free trade; they are not going to be for putting artificial barriers in the way. But when other countries do, they're going to be much tougher on them."
The National Association of Manufacturers, whose members have pushed previous administrations to get tougher with China, was pleased, but also cautious given the potential for a confrontation that could exacerbate global woes.
"You know the world has changed a lot with the financial crisis and China has a lot in U.S. Treasuries," said Frank Vargo, vice president for international economic affairs at the manufacturers' association. "This needs to be done in a cooperative, not a confrontational, way."
Some market strategists said Geithner's statement inflamed a contentious issue unnecessarily given that Chinese exports and economy were slowing significantly.
"Things have changed quite a bit since Hank Paulson made an issue of this," said one, Edward Yardeni, an independent analyst, referring to Henry Paulson Jr., the just-departed Treasury secretary. "The Chinese trade surplus is shrinking dramatically and China's economy is falling into recession. I think it really wasn't necessary. It doesn't accomplish anything."
Paulson initiated a round of strategic talks with the Chinese and, on his watch, the Chinese allowed the yuan to depreciate nearly 20 percent.
Geithner would be as aware of Chinese sensitivity as anyone, and no one has suggested that he made his statement in error. Before taking his post as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Geithner was a policy director at the International Monetary Fund. Before that, he was the under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs in the Clinton administration, a crisis manager during the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s and a Treasury attaché to Japan. By his own description, Geithner's expertise is in matters of currency exchange rates and monetary policy.
In his written statement to the Senate panel, Geithner further noted Obama's support as a senator for "tough legislation to overhaul the U.S. process for determining currency manipulation and authorizing new enforcement measures so countries like China cannot continue to get a free pass for undermining fair trade principles."
"The question is how and when to broach the subject in order to do more good than harm," he added. "The new economic team will forge an integrated strategy on how best to achieve currency realignment in the current economic environment."
The full Senate is expected to confirm Geithner, 47, as Treasury secretary on Monday. Some Republican senators blocked a vote for this week, given lingering objections about Geithner's failure until recently to pay about $34,000 in payroll taxes on his income at the fund from 2001 to 2004.
He was roundly criticized in his Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, but its bipartisan vote reflected members' opinion that Geithner's expertise outweighed his personal tax lapses. Those were "completely unacceptable," said Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota. "In normal times that alone would lead me to oppose his nomination. These are not normal times."
All the panel's Democrats and five of the 10 Republicans voted for Geithner.
"I'm convinced he's a person of great integrity even though he's made these mistakes," said Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah. But another Republican, Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming, said, "I'm really disappointed that we're even voting on this," given that other nominees had been disqualified for less.
the disease of usuary ameliorates
the madness of plastic credit limits
while electronic banking radiates
an aura of peace and serenity
and the guards still dress sharp
teaser ready and eco-friendly
while the bank managers take you
your credit for a fool and sell you
to the lowest bidder of liability
of debt issues -
it is all in a click
the geiger sings of rays near
of days of hope and nights of fear
nuclear credits holding dear gold
hostage to capitalist ransom
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