Excerpt:
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar's value is dropping so fast against the euro that small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands.
[...]
That's because the smaller currency exchanges -- despite buy/sell spreads that make it easier for them to make money by exchanging small amounts of currency -- don't want to be caught holding dollars that could be worth less by the time they can sell them.
Xe.com says 1 euro is $1.57 now...
16 years
Cheers. I tried, but the image tags didn´t work. I got a message like "file format incopatible" or summat. WTF, it´s a jpg?
Wikipedia has tricky URLs.
This is an HTML page with a URL that ends in .jpg: :confused:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Inflation-1923.jpg
This is the image:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Inflation-1923.jpg
but some day you´ll always pay the price. It´s a slippery slope.
I hope it won't get as bad as the picture above...
16 years
Wikipedia has tricky URLs.
Aha, cheers.
I hope it won't get as bad as the picture above...
Certainly not. The Germany of 1923 was a crippled country, ruined by the costs of WWI, territorial losses and huge debts due to the Versailles peace treaty. It was not exactly a well-established democracy, but still got through that crisis remarkably well, until we received the second major blow in 1929.
The US is still a very rich country with lots of recources of any kind. Still, it´s massively overstretched. It has troops in 120 countries, spends more on military than the rest of the world combined and the industrial core was "outsourced" in the last two decades. The middle class is falling apart while the rich stuff their pockets. America will get "downsized" dramatically in the near future, and that´s good news for the world.
16 years
Certainly not. The Germany of 1923 was a crippled country, ruined by the costs of WWI, territorial losses and huge debts due to the Versailles peace treaty. It was not exactly a well-established democracy, but still got through that crisis remarkably well, until we received the second major blow in 1929.
In my cynical opinion, if you read the same substituted by different words, wouldn't you get the same results? ;)
The U.S. after 9/11 is a crippled country, ruined by the costs of having armies around the world, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, financial losses due to hedge funds and huge debts due to the U.S. dollar's recirculation...
Btw, it was the U.S. pumping money into Germany after WWII, regarding the Marshall-plan... but who's gonna pump money into the U.S. economy now?
:rolleyes:
16 years
The U.S. after 9/11 is a crippled country, ruined by the costs of having armies around the world, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, financial losses due to hedge funds and huge debts due to the U.S. dollar's recirculation...
The US does not have any enemies. That´s pure imagination. Republican fearmongering.
"Al Quaeda" is a fiction, too. The terrorists have learned from the news that they have a name now. This is not an organization. There are only lunatics with similar ideas, and the US does everything to increase their number.
They are no threat to the US as a superpower. They can neither be beaten by the American military. Intelligence could do the trick, but the Iraq WMD fiasco has shown us what sort of intelligence the Americans have.
I doubt you can compare the economic situation with that in the twenties. People were literally starving in Europe, some countries have lost millions of lives. The US has lost 3000 in 9/11 and another 3000 in Iraq. That´s too bad for those 6000, but not a world war.
16 years
The US does not have any enemies. That´s pure imagination. Republican fearmongering.
That's right, no enemies. Only competition. Such as Russia, China, and the Arabs. The Arabs should be counted as a competition as long as they have oil. Because it is all about oil now. Even the EU is a competition, but without integrated government and no joint army...
"Al Quaeda" is a fiction, too. The terrorists have learned from the news that they have a name now. This is not an organization. There are only lunatics with similar ideas, and the US does everything to increase their number.
the Al-Q is more likely an anarchist system which is made of cells and an non-solid structure, but no central base. If they would have a base, the US could have bombed them down. It is very similar to the structure of Viet-Kong, and the US was defeated there...
See more about fourth generation warfare.
They are no threat to the US as a superpower. They can neither be beaten by the American military. Intelligence could do the trick, but the Iraq WMD fiasco has shown us what sort of intelligence the Americans have.
9/11 was not a superpower... Only four planes, but the biggest threat they have ever had. And everyone remembers that.
I rather think that WMD was only a reason for the declaration of war, not the reason for the war... Just like Franz Ferdinand for the monarchy at WWI. I think the US just made up WMD to countdown an old enemy. IMHO.
I doubt you can compare the economic situation with that in the twenties. People were literally starving in Europe, some countries have lost millions of lives. The US has lost 3000 in 9/11 and another 3000 in Iraq. That´s too bad for those 6000, but not a world war.
You are right, it is not the same situation... Although there is a big change of the same things happen. Due to the hedge funds the British Pounds lost nearly 15% of its value already... (1GBP was 1.5EUR, now it's 1.26) flying down together with the USD (1GBP is still around 1.98$)! Sooner or later it will pull down all USD related currencies... and as US dollar is the most international reserve currency... if it is keep dropping, what happens if these countries are willing to sell their reserves?
Then that picture of burning Deutsche Marks could happen again with the green bucks... And I don't want to imagine what could happen then...
16 years
Due to the hedge funds the British Pounds lost nearly 15% of its value already... (1GBP was 1.5EUR, now it's 1.26) flying down together with the USD (1GBP is still around 1.98$)! Sooner or later it will pull down all USD related currencies...
The Pound is dropping against the Euro? Do you think it is better to earn money in euros or pounds?
16 years
The Pound is dropping against the Euro? Do you think it is better to earn money in euros or pounds?
Euros. :cool:
16 years
the Al-Q is more likely an anarchist system which is made of cells and an non-solid structure, but no central base.
Exactly! The crux of the matter is, Al-Queda is always described as a centralized organization, with a "commander in chief" - Osama. Which is clearly not the case, despite the name (Al-Quaeda means "the base"). There are even claims that the name "Al-Qaeda" was coined by the Americans (they know more about branding than Afghans, after all! :D).
I rather think that WMD was only a reason for the declaration of war, not the reason for the war... Just like Franz Ferdinand for the monarchy at WWI. I think the US just made up WMD to countdown an old enemy. IMHO.
"Old friend" would be the correct term! ;)
16 years
That's right, no enemies. Only competition. Such as Russia, China, and the Arabs. The Arabs should be counted as a competition as long as they have oil. Because it is all about oil now. Even the EU is a competition, but without integrated government and no joint army...
depends how to define enemies. i DO think that the traditional notion of a enemy is over - no major players are going to conquer each other. we're all to interconnected. but states still define their interests as power - and power is a zero sum game. the difference between a competitor and an enemy in a race for power is far from clear cut.
the Al-Q is more likely an anarchist system which is made of cells and an non-solid structure, but no central base. If they would have a base, the US could have bombed them down. It is very similar to the structure of Viet-Kong, and the US was defeated there...
See more about fourth generation warfare.
thats one thing that irritates me about al qaeda - apparently every islamic nutcase with a stick or 2 of dynamite is now a member of al qaeda. the irony of course is that the name means 'the base'... and the nature of the organisation is that is has no real base.
I rather think that WMD was only a reason for the declaration of war, not the reason for the war... Just like Franz Ferdinand for the monarchy at WWI. I think the US just made up WMD to countdown an old enemy. IMHO.
yeah, the WMD issue was a trigger, not a reason. i think many believed sincerely that he had WMDs - buit more believed he wanted them. and im sure he did. once you can provide a motive, in the post 9/11 world, that was all it took. oh, and of course there were the personal grievances of bush, cheney et al
You are right, it is not the same situation... Although there is a big change of the same things happen. Due to the hedge funds the British Pounds lost nearly 15% of its value already... (1GBP was 1.5EUR, now it's 1.26) flying down together with the USD (1GBP is still around 1.98$)! Sooner or later it will pull down all USD related currencies... and as US dollar is the most international reserve currency... if it is keep dropping, what happens if these countries are willing to sell their reserves?
Then that picture of burning Deutsche Marks could happen again with the green bucks... And I don't want to imagine what could happen then...
the USD will probably drop a little more - and i think its reign as THE currency is over. a round of applause for the euro! but that said, its in nobodies interests to see the dollar utterly collapse. the US is still the worlds largest and arguably vibrant economy, the USD will always be a good currency. China is far and away the biggest holder of US dollars - and the last thing on their mind is ruining the US economy. they'll hold on as long as they have to - their manufacturing industry relies on the US market.
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