Even the U.N. wants Barack Obama

By Colum Lynch
for the Washington Post
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UNITED NATIONS — There are no “Obama 2008” buttons, banners or T-shirts visible here at U.N. headquarters, but it might be difficult to find a sliver of territory in the United States more enthusiastic over the prospect of the Illinois senator winning the White House.

An informal survey of more than two dozen U.N. staff members and foreign delegates showed that the overwhelming majority would prefer that Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, saying they think that the Democrat would usher in a new agenda of multilateralism after an era marked by Republican disdain for the world body.

Obama supporters hail from Russia, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere. One American employee here seemed puzzled that he was being asked whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was even a consideration. “Obama was and is unstoppable,” the official said. “Please, God, let him win,” he added…

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The World’s Most Worthless Money

From Portfolio.com…

Zimbabwe: As Americans worry about the rate of inflation exceeding 4 percent, we should consider Zimbabwe, where the inflation rate broke the shocking 100,000 percent mark and the country released a 10 million-dollar note (now valued below $4 on the black market). But Zimbabwe’s currency is hardly the only one inflated beyond reason. —George Quraishi

Vietnam: 500,000-dong note. U.S. value: $31.37. An early-1980s U.S. embargo hobbled exports, leading to price controls and the printing of excess currency.

Indonesia: 100,000-rupiah note. U.S. value: $11.05. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the rupiah lost 80 percent of its value within months, sparking riots in Jakarta (and soon ending President Suharto’s 32-year rule).

Iran: 50,000-rial note. U.S. value: $5.35. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran’s inflation rate has hovered around 15 percent, thanks in part to ever-rising oil prices.

São Tomé: 50,000-dobra note. U.S. value: $3.47. This African island nation’s economy is tied to the volatile price of its chief export, cocoa, and is measured against its trading partners’ robust euro.

Guinea: 10,000-franc note. U.S. value: $2.33. In 2002, the mineral-rich African country refused to implement reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund; foreign cash dried up, and the central bank printed too much money.

(Photos by Tim Hout and Dalia Nassimi)

The World Is Awaiting President Obama

By Alan Fram
for the Associated Press
June 12, 2008
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WASHINGTON — People around the globe widely expect the next American president to improve the country’s policies toward the rest of the world, especially if Barack Obama is elected, yet they retain a persistently poor image of the U.S., according to a poll released Thursday.

The survey of two dozen countries, conducted this spring by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, also found a growing despondency over the international economy, with majorities in 18 nations calling domestic economic conditions poor. In more bad news for the U.S., people shared a widespread sense the American economy was hurting their countries, including large majorities in U.S. allies Britain, Germany, Australia, Turkey, France and Japan.

Even six in 10 Americans agreed the U.S. economy was having a negative impact abroad.

Views of the U.S. improved or stayed the same as last year in 18 nations, the first positive signs the poll has found for the U.S. image worldwide this decade. Even so, many improvements were modest and the U.S. remains less popular in most countries than it was before it invaded Iraq in 2003, with majorities in only eight expressing favorable opinions…

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