George Soros: Defeating Bush is "a matter of life and death".

[Bozita]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=468293

Billionaire Soros stakes fortune on 'matter of life and death' - defeating George Bush  

By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles

29 November 2003


George Soros has donated almost $5bn (£3bn) over the years to help emerging democracies in Eastern Europe recover from the shadow of tyranny. Now he is applying the same principles, and a large chunk of his fortune, to the United States, where he believes the defeat of George Bush in next year's presidential election is "a matter of life and death".

So far, he has spent more than $15m: two-thirds of it going to a liberal-leaning group called America Coming Together, which intends to mobilise voters in battleground states next November; $3m of it going to a new Washington think-tank run by Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, John Podesta; and $2.5m to the passionately anti-Bush internet lobbying group MoveOn.org, to help pay for television advertisements attacking the President.

Political donations on this scale have precedents. On the right, figures such as Richard Mellon Scaife and Howard Ahmanson have given hundreds of millions of dollars over several decades on political projects both high (setting up the Heritage Foundation think-tank, the driving engine of the Reagan presidency) and low (bankrolling investigations into President Clinton's sexual indiscretions and the suicide of the White House insider Vincent Foster).

more...

[Kanary]

1. How to contact Soros?

I'd like to send a letter or email of thanks. How would I go about finding out an addy?

TIA for any clues.

Kanary

[cliss]

2. Well, he's right.

It is a matter of life and death. US troops' lives are at stake, to stop this madness before it becomes Dante's Inferno and sucks us in deeper and deeper.

I'd like to donate to SOROS' campaign.

[Lindsey]

3. I contacted his office in New York and they referred

me to moveon.org. Apparantly, that is THE organization that everything will be funneled through. My understanding is that he's already donated millions to them. I will volunteer for them and encourage my friends who are interested to do so as well.

[hlthe2b]

4. Thank you, God.........

for George Soros! Finally, a billionaire with a conscience.

[madrchsod]

5. i`m not shure

about his conscience. i`d say it`s more about money or the value of money in relation to trade and debt. which is all about the welfare of nations and it`s citizens. bush is upsetting that balance and that makes soros angry. buffett ,according to rumors, may join the fight against bush. it will be interesting how many others will join up.

[hlthe2b]

6. well, it will end up helping our cause... so

I'll take it!

[maggrwaggr]

8. I think that's a cynical view

just because the guy has money doesn't mean he's an evil crime lord.

I actually know people who are filthy rich who are actually nice human beings and want to change the world for the better.

Money does not automatically corrupt.

[calimary]

7. Truly. But hang on. There will likely be many posts to this, warning of

what a scumbag Soros is. Well, okay. He ain't pure as driven snow. Okay. Fine.

But do we really want to look a gift horse in the mouth? I say let's shut up, take his money, use it to kick out the guy he hates, and thank him for it.

It's for the GREATER GOOD!

And for those who'd maintain that this is NO guy to get into bed with, FINE. But then, would you guys rather let bush cakewalk his way to an ill-gotten-gain second term?

NOT THIS DEMOCRAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Melinda]

9. Hahaha, right on Mary! :-)

Your passion always makes me smile - thanks! :)

[Melinda]

10. John Podesta's Think Tank "Center For American Progress"

http://www.americanprogress.org

Check it out, join the email list for daily updates. They are on top of our issues and well sourced.

*edited to add link to WP article about them:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2623-2003Oct22.html

[Ruby Romaine]

11. Another Soros funded project:

http://www.americacomingtogether.com/

Tax cuts to benefit the wealthy … More arsenic and mercury in the water; fewer parks, wildernesses and forests for our future … Turning back the clock on civil rights, on women’s rights, on workers’ rights.

It’s time to fight back against the extremist Bush agenda. It’s time for America Coming Together (ACT).

America Coming Together (ACT) will conduct a massive voter contact program, mobilizing voters to defeat George W. Bush and elect progressive candidates all across America.

[Q]

12. It's funny how Republicans are complaining about Soros...

..funding Left Wing groups when they've been accepting hundreds of millions of dollars over the last couple decades from right wing ideologues for the exact same purpose.

- Double standard? Of course it is.

[moondust]

13. George is correct. Why didn't Nader get it?

It was a matter of life and death for a lot of people in 2000. Not just Americans but for people all over the world. It's too late for many of them now.

Why didn't Nader understand this and exercise better judgment? I thought he was supposed to be smart.

[Mari333]

14. No complaints from ME about Soros

Think of it from this perspective...
In 2 days a very nice young man of 21, who is named Michael, will be sent to Fort Schnelling in Minnesota, and is scared to death..he is my stepson, and was over yesterday for T giving dinner...he has NO idea why they are taking him in for a 5 day processing, and NO one in his unit of kids (yes these are KIDS) has any idea why either...they are being processed and stamped...for what??? to leave to, as his team leader said "a sandy place with guns where we will be buttfucking people" ..those are her words...Now, in January they will be deployed...
will we hear where ??? do we as a family KNOW anything???? is this our LAST Christmas with him for 2 years (or forever??)....we dont know...My husband cries all day, my stepson is a weekend reservist, and we are at the whim of some asshole in office who shouldnt even be there and has started an ILLEGAL war based on LIES and corporate interests..
I dont care who are why Soros is doing this or who he is..but if he can get that Lowlife son of a bitch OUT of the White House , thats all I care about..right now, for this family, its a matter of Life and Death...totally. and for thousands of other families too.

[9215]

15. I wonder if Soros' opposition to Bush is related

to Wall Street's grumbles about Bush's foreign policy position in Venezuela and other areas.

Stability is very appealing to investors and Bush has not been a stabilizing force in the world..... hmmmmmm.


Wall Street sees blue skies for Venezuela's Chavez
Reuters, 10.22.03, 11:47 AM ET


By Hugh Bronstein

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - International investors are giving Venezuela a surprise vote of confidence, buying the nation's bonds with enthusiasm that could hardly have been imagined when leftist "revolutionary" Hugo Chavez won the presidency five years ago.

Since winning office in 1998, Chavez has sent shudders through Wall Street with his anti-capitalist diatribes. But when the rhetorical dust settles after each of his infamously long speeches, fund managers see a country flush with oil export revenue and a growing track record of expert debt management.

"Even though Venezuela bond prices have gone up a lot, they still have room to go," said Jose Cerritelli, a Bear Stearns debt strategist.

Should investors keep buying? "Absolutely," Cerritelli said. (snip/...)

http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/newswire/2003/10/22/rtr1118788.html