*************************************
Palin slams Obama's spending in debut Asian speech...
Attacks Fed for Asset Bubbles...
Positioning herself as a libertarian?
'We're not interested in government fixes, we're interested in freedom'...
*************************EXCERPT***************************
Former US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said the US government was wasting taxpayers' money and could aggravate poverty, said delegates at her first speech outside North America on Wednesday.
Palin, the former governor of Alaska, gave hundreds of financial big-hitters at the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong a wide-ranging speech that covered Alaska, international terrorism, US economic policy and trade with China.
Her performance, which was closed to the media, divided opinion.
Some of those who attended praised her forthright views on government social and economic intervention and others walked out early in disgust.
"She was brilliant," said a European delegate, on condition of anonymity.
"She said America was spending a lot of money and it was a temporary solution. Normal people are having to pay more and more but things don't get better. The rich will leave the country and the poor will get poorer."
Two US delegates left early, with one saying "it was awful, we couldn't stand it any longer". He declined to be identified.
Palin Addresses Asian Investors
*************************EXCERPT**************************
In other areas, she criticized Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for speaking skeptically about the need for more troops in Afghanistan. "Afghanistan is where the 9/11 attacks were planned and if we are not successful there, al Qaeda will find a safe haven there again," she said.