Billionaire's ads challenge U.S. case for Iraq war

[Nambe]

NEW YORK (Reuters)

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros is running full- page ads in major U.S. newspapers on Sunday challenging the honesty of the Bush administration's case for waging war in Iraq.

The ads in The New York Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Houston Chronicle, are titled, "When the nation goes to war, the people deserve the truth."

A dozen statements made by President George W. Bush (news - web sites), Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld making the case for war are reprinted and described as either exaggerated or false.

The statements center on claims about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and large quantities of poison gasses. ---

"Both George Soros and Lewis Cullman have been deeply concerned about the deception used to justify the war in Iraq," said Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Soros.

"They believe their fellow citizens should also be concerned and took out these ads to move them to action." ---

Ride Don’t Drive It’s Global Cool

[amazona]

1. god bless him, stay out of small planes!

I wonder how long it will be before some fabricated "scandal" or air crash occurs involving Mr. Soros.

[sfecap]

16. Don't worry....

Mr. Soros has a very large plane. A Boeing 737, in fact. :-)

[DemoTex]

50. B-737CJ?

I saw a 737CJ at DCA shortly before 9/11. Great looking airplane with the winglets and wide-span wings. I think it was GE's. God I love the B-737. I have over 8000 hours in that airplane. It beats the MD-80 like a drum!

[American Renaissance]

52. BBJ and ETOPS,

Your a 737 pilot, do you know how ETOPS applies to the BBJ varients of the 737s?
I think the 737NG is limited to ETOPS 120 or 180

[stevebreeze]

2. In defense of Bush.......

he doesn't always lie. Remember when he said he would not balance the budget on the backs of the poor? Well he hasn't ballanced a budget has he?
Anyone but Bush 2004
"kcik:

[pw]

17. He hasn't balanced the budget

But he's still done it on the backs of the poor. Combine that iwth the tax cuts for the rich and you have a trifecta.

[lark]

53. LOL

No, he's balancing the budget on the poor, middle class, children and the environment. See, he technically didn't lie. LOL

lark

[Pastiche423]

3. Hip hip hooray for Mr. Soros!

I want a copy!

[clarkbarr]

4. HELP US, MR SOROS!

MR SOROS:

PLEASE DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO UNSEAT THE NAZI REPUBLICAN PARTY!

CLARK BARR

[searchingforlight]

5. GOOD FOR THEM.

Let's give them a tax break!!!

[SpiralHawk]

6. My favorite billionaire

Let the truth be revealed. May justice prevail.

[Karenina]

43. Mine too.

Here's a bit from him. Sorry, no link. It's a long article, well worth reading in its entirety.

WHY THE MARKETS CAN'T FIX THEMSELVES.

Busted

by George Soros

Post date 08.21.02 | Issue date 09.02.02 TNR

The whole country is up in arms about corporate abuse and financial wrongdoing. Our outrage is coupled with amazement: How could it have happened? Yet we shouldn't be amazed. The excesses of the 1990s boom and the clamor for reform that has accompanied the current bust are in fact a recurring feature of financial markets. What is truly amazing is that after so many boom/bust cycles we still do not properly understand how financial markets operate.

The prevailing wisdom holds that markets tend toward equilibrium--i.e., a price at which willing buyers and sellers balance each other out. That may be true of the market in widgets, but it is emphatically not true of financial markets. In financial markets a balance is difficult to reach because financial markets do not deal with known quantities; they try to discount a future that is contingent on how they discount it at present. What happens in financial markets can affect the economic "fundamentals" that those markets are supposed to reflect--which is why recent years have produced such a dramatic and seemingly irrational stock market rise, followed by an equally dramatic and seemingly irrational fall. Instead of a one-way connection between supply and demand via market prices, there is a two-way connection: Market prices can also alter the conditions of supply and demand in a circular fashion. In my 1987 book The Alchemy of Finance, I called this two-way connection "reflexivity." And I think it better explains the current turmoil in financial markets than the more commonly accepted idea of equilibrium.

<snip>

Market fundamentalism is a false and dangerous ideology. It is false on at least two counts. First, it profoundly misapprehends the way financial markets operate. It assumes that markets tend toward equilibrium and that equilibrium assures the optimum allocation of resources. Academic economists have proceeded far beyond general equilibrium--multiple equilibriums are all the rage now--but market fundamentalists continue to believe they have solid science behind them, not just economics but also Charles Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. Second, by equating private interests with the public interest, market fundamentalism endows the pursuit of self-interest with a moral quality.
But if financial markets do not tend toward equilibrium, as the theory of reflexivity maintains, private interests cannot be equated with the public interest. Left to their own devices, financial markets are liable to go to socially disruptive extremes.

<snip>

The fallacy of endowing the market mechanism with a moral quality goes deeper still. What distinguishes markets is exactly that they are amoral--that is to say, moral considerations do not find expression in market prices. That is because efficient markets by definition have so many participants that no single one can affect the market price. Even if some participants are held back by moral scruples, others will take their place at only marginally different prices. For instance, moralists cannot prevent alcohol and tobacco companies from raising capital on more or less the same terms as not-so-sinful enterprises. As a consequence, anonymous market participants need not be overly concerned with the social consequences of their actions because those consequences are so marginal. The amorality of financial markets is one of the factors that contribute to their efficiency: It allows participants to be single-minded about maximizing their returns without regard to the social consequences. (Of course the concept of efficient markets is only an abstraction. In reality many large participants are not anonymous and their decisions may sway others.) It is exactly because markets are amoral that we cannot leave the allocation of resources entirely to them. Society cannot hold together without some consideration of the common interest. If private interests cannot be equated with the public interest, the public interest must be given expression in some other way than through the market.

<snip>

It is unrealistic to expect that all market participants will suddenly undergo such an ethical conversion. But public opinion and public discourse--as we saw in the '90s--can have a dramatic impact on individual behavior. Americans must relearn the difference between a collection of individuals each pursuing his or her self-interest and a society of people guided by the public interest. How well Americans relearn that difference may well determine whether this country and the world return to economic stability and prosperity in the months and years to come.

George Soros is chairman of Soros Fund Management and founder of the Open Society Network.


Copyright 2002, The New Republic

[nuxvomica]

7. When I saw the subject line, I thought "Probably Soros"

He's a great man IMO. Soros was sort of W's boss once. When asked why he chose W to head Harkin, he said it was simply because they needed someone with the best political connections. He didn't think W was very bright but he thought Poppy's son would be useful.

[Cha]

8. I love these two men....George Soros and Lewis Cullman and

Dorothy!!
:kick:


This land is your land, this land is my land.. from California to the New York Island .. This land belongs to you and me!

[Wwagsthedog]

9. Billionaire

1. Who is Lewis Cullman?

2. My thanks to Mr Soros for choosing the Houston Chronicle because it has wide circulation in delay's, k. brady's & culberson's Congressional districts. Yeah, they're the nineteenth century guys (and that is a kind way to refer to them).

[lastliberalintexas]

44. Kind way to refer to them is right!

I've always pictured DeLay as the man who would have been in charge of the Star Chamber. Except that he's not even that intelligent!

Soros is great and has been speaking out against this administration for several months. I've heard much criticism from Warren Buffet too- I wish he would join in these ads or publish some of his own.

And welcome to DU Wwagsthedog- great nick! :hi:

[TacticalPeek]

10. is Soros acting suicidal yet?

nothing a little medicinal cannabis wouldn't cure, in case they try.

[LauraK]

14. I believe he knows who he's dealing with.

Maybe dimson had better watch out, his house is crumbling.

[ColumbusGirl]

11. Hopefully he has enough cash to protect himself.

[ChillEB]

36. Oh, YEAH he does...

You don't f*** with Soros. He could wipe his ass with $100 bills, and if Georgie tried to have him 'suicided? He'd be wiping his ass with Georgie...

[onehandle]

12. Rock and Roll!

Despite what our Soviet masters say, there are some super-wealthy willing to buck the system.

Let's hope this is the start of a trend.

[dArKeR]

13. Disgraceful when a man who's barely American is the only one who

stands up and says 'We're taking our country back'. You all you be ashamed of yourselves!

This man has more moral character than the entire Bush Family and GOP Party combined! (Do you think I'd get the chance to say that on Me The Press or Larry King Live?)

Not to mention the 'American' Media Whores, the Treasonous Bastards! The media companies are blocking grassroots organizations from buying ad time. The radio companies are blocking listeners requests for anti-war songs. There is no doubt it is a GOP Party/GOP Corporation conspiracy. RICO.

http://darkerxdarker.tripod.com/

[Pastiche423]

15. Barely American?

George Soros became an American citizen in 1956.

How long have you been a citizen?

[dArKeR]

18. You've missed the irony of my statement. Soros is a hero!

[gristy]

19. OMG - This is WONDERFUL

I just love full-page ads.

[madrchsod]

20. soros was after bush

right after the first tax cut and when he saw bush destoying the wealth in this country. before he got into trouble a few years ago he was powerful eough to bring down bush.but now he`ll do it in public....

[mmm]

21. May peace be unto him

May God Damn Bush

[PROGRESSIVE1]

22. Thank you George...

Soros that is! It's nice to see that one George is taking on another.
God Bless you Mr. Soros.

[JohnKleeb]

23. Who is Soros never heard of him

His name sounds Greek but kick ass Mr. Soros fight the bastards,

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. I think he's

Hungarian.

[NYC]

34. Definitely Hungarian.

.

[nuxvomica]

48. He is a speculator in world money markets

It has made him billions and his strategy is to exploit the fact that government officials never seem to do what's in the best interest of their economies. He grew up in Hungary under the Nazis and later the Communists. He has seen firsthand what fascist/totalitarian goverments do and through his foundation seeks to improve the lot of oppressed, impoverished people around the world. Much of his money went to help ease Eastern Bloc countries into market economies after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
He tends to support liberal policies that make economic sense and he has been an avid proponant of drug law reform. Someone once said of him that he was "the only private citizen with his own foreign policy."
But this is all off the cuff. Check out www.soros.org.

[Julien Sorel]

24. Soros should get involved with the publishing business.

It would even the media odds a little bit.

[goforit]

25. If the Gov't won't prosecute..The people WILL! (no Ashcroft /no S.Court!!)

There is nothing worse than the "People" deciding the
innocence of the parties involved.

We the people do say Mr. George W. Bush and Mr.Dick Cheney are
guilty!!!!

[Democat]

26. Thank you George Soros!

Now we need to get Bill Gates to put some of his money into fighting against Bush and his attempt to destroy all that is great about America!

[jamesinca]

27. did you see the price tag on the ads.

That will save a nice chunk of change for the Dem candidate. You are limited in the amount that you can give to a candidate, but you are not limited in the amount of personal money you can use to smear a presidents already tanished name and image. $185,000+ for the ads. That is the cost of 90,000 people giving $2,000 each.

Sorry I hung up on the numbers there for awhile. I am happy that somebody with the power is willing to speak, and he is doing it in Repug strong holds.

If anybody gets the link to the ads, please post it, I want to see it.

[prolesunited]

28. Glad to see

that he is putting his tax cut to good use. Kind of ironic, isn't it? :evilgrin:

[w4rma]

29. 93 folks giving 2K each (n/t)

[ChompySnack]

46. Actually

" $185,000+ for the ads. That is the cost of 90,000 people giving $2,000 each"

Actually that would be only 90 people, still a lot of people with a full donation. That's why this kind of activity is funded by party soft money (which is less regulated).

[RevolutionStartsNow]

30. Now there's a good use of money

Great job, Soros.

ps. He also likes Dean. He's a smart guy. :)

[PartyPooper]

31. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

I hope we can all write letters to Mr. George Soros and thank him for his courageous and patriotic endeavor to expose the truth.

And, BTW, it's okay to ask Santa for a new president in 2004...you know a "real" one...not a knock-off from the Supremes! ;)

:bounce:

[Merlin]

33. Soros is one of the world's great men of our times

He's a philanthropist, philosopher, statesman (nearly was drafted for the presidency of Czechloslovokia), economist, investor, author, and political activist. (And lots more.)

He's been keenly concerned with the problems of the third world and the poor.

This campaign is exactly what we need right now. I'm so damn happy I've got tears in my eyes. Maybe us good guys can win after all!

[ChillEB]

35. I dig Soros...

One of the few truly 'good-guys' amongst the uber-rich. I've followed his public persona ever since I found out he was a staunch "Anti-Drug-War"-rior. I almost always appreciate the things he says and does, but this move clinches it for me - I gotta tell you, this one makes it official: I'm a BIG FAN...

Thank You Mr. Soros! Thank You, Thank You, Thank YOU!

[knight_of_the_star]

37. This is good, but

He has something else in mind. Unless he is fit to be another saint, he has an agenda behind that money he is spending for those ads. It might be a good idea to keep a close eye on Soros.

[Gingersnap]

38. maybe, maybe not

Perhaps he's just like one of us--pissed off at this outrageous treasonous administration and happens to be a billionaire. Heck, if I could drop $185,000, I'd be taking out the ads too, with no concern for personal gain.

[Pastiche423]

39. Do a little research

on Mr. Soros. Then you will see what his "agenda" might be.

He is a good man.

[lanlady]

47. he's a man with a conscience

Pure and simple I have some personal acquaintance with a foundation (non-political) that benefited from his philanthrophy. He just likes to do good. He's not s saint on earth and always remains the shrewd businessman. But having grown up in Hungary during WWII and the early Soviet occupation, he witnessed no end of human tragedies. I'm just speculating that this affected his view of the world.

[lark]

55. The enemy of my enemy

still applies.

lark

[sujan]

40. I say Soros is a fair man

[Aaron]

41. I was hoping some of our big money would show up to fight bush

Soros is a good guy from everything I've read. Supports drug war reform, various charitable projects, and now this.

[0007]

42. Three cheers for a real American

The poll numbers are reversing.

[Best_man23]

45. Thank you Mr. Soros

My only other remark to him would be "I know of several progressive websites and publishers, all of whom would benefit greatly from your generosity."

If he throws his $$$ behind Dean, Kerry, or Edwards, Dumbya will have to be on the campaign trail 24/7 to raise funds just to keep up.

Wait....Dumbya is already on the campaign trail 24/7, sorry, my bad.

[madmax]

49. Use the website

http://www.wedeservethetruth.com

Contact your Congressman and Senators. Let's kick some butt :evilgrin:

[TahitiNut]

51. Money rules.

Not votes and not honesty. :eyes:

[Nottingham]

54. Even the rich & powerful are getting worried about Bush

Thats something to get worried about :bounce:

[latebloomer]

56. "Democracy Now"

Amy Goodman's show on Pacifica and affiliates, has been partially funded by Soros. Which I always thought sounded kind of suspect, considering he's a multi-billionaire. But maybe not.

What's that saying--"Behind every great fortune is a crime. . . "? Just wondering. . .