Stronger Dollar....

[Roger Hicks]

Well. CNN does not have a patent on 'the truth' either. I think that we all should read our main stream media with a lot of sceptisism. The Chinese are in no way more brainwashed than ordinary Americans - or Norwegians, for that matter. That's my view.

Dear Olsen,

How much time have you spent in China? Talking to 'ordinary' citizens? Especially about 'difficult' subjects?

And how much time trying to get onto innocent websites: www.rogerandfrances.com is 'unavailable' in China. You'd need to look long and hard to find the one or two pages that could offend anyone.

I cannot answer for Norway, as I have never been there. But a Chinese who has been taught that (alphabetic) Tibetan is a 'dialect' of (pictographic) Chinese, and that this justifies China's occupation of Tibet, seems to me to have been fed a shaky grasp on both linguistic theory and the roots of nationalism.

To be sure, if you are stupid and uninquisitive, you can be fed any old rubbish: Fox News is clear proof of this, apart from the fact that it is designed for people with the attention span of a goldfish. But imagine if Fox News were the only permitted source of news in the United States. At least Americans are allowed to look at other sources. If any individual American is too lazy/stupid/arrogant to do so, that's his/her look-out, and as I say above, no nation has a monopoly on laziness, stupidity or arrogance.

Yes, reading media skeptically is an essential skill. As I have said before, this is why the VIth form common room at my old boarding-house at school subscribed (at my instigation) to both the North Vietnam Peace News and the newsletter of the British Union of Fascists. Anyone who is encouraged to read a wide range of media will soon acquire a measure of skepticism. Anyone who is spoon-fed state media (or any single controlled medium), and forbidden to read anything else, will have much greater difficulty in doing so.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Joe Mondello]

Yikes.

Olsen asked if there were any rebates on M8s in the US.

The answer is yes

http://us.leica-camera.com/news/news/1/5837.html

 

[Olsen]

It's more a case of some oil states showing dissatisfaction with american dominance in oil affairs.
Sadam "threatened" to deal in euros.............
Chavez has also "hinted" the same.


"You're either with us, or you're with the terrorists." Resident Bush.

Even if crude oil is 'priced' in dollars does not mean that the real trade is performed in dollars. It could well be Euros. - Or Thai Bat - or whatever.

My impression fo the dollar-market - as a segment of currency market, is that 'companies' - american multinationals included, tend to prefer Euros while 'national banks' and governments do their best to keep up the dollar. - Or, at least, this has been the situation up until now.

the Norwegian National Bank and the Norwegian public pension fund (you find them here: http://www.norges-bank.no/default____106.aspx ) - to name one, has 'enormous' investments in 'dollars' (directly - indirectly). If the dollar goes down, - so do we....

Further; it could well be that some large banks (even though they are not allowed to) or hedge funds have placed large 'bets' on that the dollar should fall below a certain level and that when this low level has been reached they take their profit and run. That is; leaves the dollar market to itself.

 

[Olsen]

Dear Olsen,

How much time have you spent in China? Talking to 'ordinary' citizens? Especially about 'difficult' subjects?

And how much time trying to get onto innocent websites: www.rogerandfrances.com is 'unavailable' in China. You'd need to look long and hard to find the one or two pages that could offend anyone.

I cannot answer for Norway, as I have never been there. But a Chinese who has been taught that (alphabetic) Tibetan is a 'dialect' of (pictographic) Chinese, and that this justifies China's occupation of Tibet, seems to me to have been fed a shaky grasp on both linguistic theory and the roots of nationalism.

To be sure, if you are stupid and uninquisitive, you can be fed any old rubbish: Fox News is clear proof of this, apart from the fact that it is designed for people with the attention span of a goldfish. But imagine if Fox News were the only permitted source of news in the United States. At least Americans are allowed to look at other sources. If any individual American is too lazy/stupid/arrogant to do so, that's his/her look-out, and as I say above, no nation has a monopoly on laziness, stupidity or arrogance.

Yes, reading media skeptically is an essential skill. As I have said before, this is why the VIth form common room at my old boarding-house at school subscribed (at my instigation) to both the North Vietnam Peace News and the newsletter of the British Union of Fascists. Anyone who is encouraged to read a wide range of media will soon acquire a measure of skepticism. Anyone who is spoon-fed state media (or any single controlled medium), and forbidden to read anything else, will have much greater difficulty in doing so.

Cheers,

R.

That skill, of reading the news with sceptisism, is far more developed in typical 'one party states' that don't even claim to have a 'free press'. Like in the old Sovjet Union - and China. I am far more scared at the news being presented to us 'westerners' about 'the fight against terrorism in Iraq' - or the truth about the conflict in Caucasus. What main stream media tells us here is a mix of half truths and left-outs. We will pay for this.