The Statue of LIberty: A "Demonic Idol" -- sources close to Rick Perry

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most powerful symbols of the US, both at home and in the world.

So it's scary to see the current governor of Texas, Rick Perry, associate with a "Christian" group that claims that Lady Liberty is a "demonic idol":

The right wing is again riding the "big hate" bandwagon, fanning those old flames:  "self-righteousness", "moral superiority", "rampant xenophobia".  Still, if you target the very symbol of Liberty itself, aren't you also attaching the very heart of the American Way of Life?

Scary and unfathomable.

Dubya as in "Waterboarding": HRW Calls for an inquiry

I just saw an excellent interview with Reed Brody of HRW on the French answer to CNN: France 24 (pronounced France vingt-quatre, s'il vous plaît). Brody presented an official report, Getting Away with Torture, recommending investigation and even prosecution of Bush administration offficials and even Dubya himself.

There were a couple of interesting points that I took away from the interview:

1) Under the Bush administration, the practice of "extraordinary rendition" included sending prisoners to Syria, mostly because Syria was known for using torture in interrogation. Very interesting to see that cozy relationship with Syria broken up today in the light of Arab Spring.

2) Brody made the argument that the Obama administration was loathe to prosecute Bush and needed some prodding.

3) Another argument is that the US is today asking Arab states to "respect human rights" in their own countries but that those requests appear as exploiting a "double standard" on human rights: one standard for Arab and African countries and a different standard for the US itself.

4) Finally, Brody argued that the torture campaigns under the Bush administration had created greater insecurity for the US. Photos of Abu Ghraib have turned into recruitment posters for militant islamic groups. The US prosecution of those behind the illegal torture campaign could only improve the image of the US in the Arab world.

Obama has stated previously that he did not want to prosecute the former administration. He may have trouble of his own with the Bradley Manning case, by the UN no less.

I've covered the secret prisons before, including the dismal level of analysis in international media. Happy to see this come to the forefront today.

"Oh, You Mean ***Those*** Secret Prisons"

Back when things were heating up about the Washington Post disclosure of "secret prisons" in Europe where the CIA spirited away "terrorists" for "interrogations", there was a weird sort of double-think going on in the US. On the one hand, "W" announced that there were no secret prisons, while the EU claimed that they believed that there were some although they couldn't name any in particular. On the other hand, "W"'s administration was talking about prosecuting journalists for breaches of national security. Which sort-of meant that "hey, we know that aren't supposed to be secret prisons, but really there are some, but, you know, we can't just say it, and journalists shouldn't either".

W seems to know how to best capitalize on human nature and cognitive dissonance in general. By releasing information in that way, media followers largely bought into the doublethink. Everyone said to himself "No, there aren't any secret prisions, but if there were some, then that would be OK." Which seems to explain the current media reaction on "W"'s declaration today that there are, after all, secret prisons, but they're OK, right?

Most of the articles that I've read in the US suggest that Europe was "comforted" by "W"'s admission.

At least CNN seems to have the real scoop.

The EU parliament's investigation's deputy leader, British Liberal Democrat Sarah Ludford, said Bush's admission "exposes not only his own previous lies. He also exposes to ridicule those arrogant government leaders in Europe who dismissed as unfounded our fears about extraordinary rendition."

Other European MP's are not so "comforted" either:

"Kidnapping people and torturing them in secret, however tempting the short-term gain may appear to be, is what criminals do, not democratic governments," said Rene van der Linden, president of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, which conducted the investigation.

"In the long term, such practices create more terrorists and undermine the values we are fighting for," he said.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me ... what, oh nevermind.

Rocky's Full Court Press -- Not Covered by the Press

If I weren't a regular reader of cursor then I wouldn't have come across this excellent video of Mayor Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City giving the Bush administration, the current congress and the American media a sound verbal thrashing. It's a thrilling video to watch. What's amazing is that it's coming from Salt Lake City -- I would never have imagined that the Mormon state would permit such defiant acts of political courage.

Rocky pulls no punches and gives everyone his share of criticism. He is especially critical of the US print media, including the local Salt Lake City journals, for not printing the corrections on their articles about WMD in Iraq until after the Iraqi invasion, at which point it was too late.

While Rocky doesn't ask for it, his speech clearly makes the argument for the impeachment of Bush. He does mention that Bush Sr. and Rumsfeld should be sharing the docket with Hussein for Human Rights Violations because they were complicit with Saddam during his gassing of the kurds. That's a strong note that I'm sure a lot of Americans are not ready to come to grips with.

I'm wishing this man the best ... and I'll have to keep my eyes open for him in the future.

My quick search of "Rocky Anderson" on news.google.com came up with few media stories outside of Utah. Clearly, the US media have not picked up on this, although it is very rare for the Mayor of the capital city to harangue the President while he is staying in the state overnight. It has probably never happened before, quite a powerful story, really, but Americans other than Utahns won't hear anything about it. Instead, they will get to see lots of stories about the arrest of a certain Utah polygamist, as if that were news.

Menez: Iain Blair Must Resign

The amazing part of the calm, cool statement of "no criminal charges" is just how normal the "error" is made to sound. The CS Monitor writes:

"I concluded that while a number of individuals had made errors in planning and communication, and the cumulative result was the tragic death of Mr. de Menezes, no individual had been culpable to the degree necessary for a criminal offense," said [O'Doherty], senior lawyer from the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division.

"The two officers who fired the fatal shots did so because they thought that Mr. de Menezes had been identified to them as a suicide bomber and that if they did not shoot him, he would blow up the train, killing many people," O'Doherty said in a statement read to reporters.

I have several remarks on this finding.

First off, someone made a very big error. Someone said "this guy is a terrorist" without checking his facts. That's the first big mistake and it should be considered criminal because by flagging this guy as a "terrorist" his death penalty was effectively signed by the police. The moment he was considered a "strong suspect", shoot to kill took over. That was the point in time where no one thought of anything else but "clap this guy on the ground and shoot him in the head". That's what they effectively did.

Secondly, someone else made a big error. That someone else said "let's shoot to kill" without checking the first guy's mistake. The "shoot to kill" decision maker (a.k.a. the "decider") should have verified before giving the order. The second person would have caught the first person's mistake.

Clearly, these are two criminal acts: negligence in identifying potential terrorists, which is an effective death sentence in England, and negligence in ordering "shoot to kill". Sure, there must have been some other people involved in the errors, but at the end of the day, these two people should be punished severely for what can only be criminal negligence. They should be tried for their crimes, because this kind of negligence is a crime.

But finally, since the CPS give a clean bill of health to these guys, the real criminal error must reside in the top command. Clearly, if this kind of "error" can occur, the folks at the top made the wrong call, putting into please a murderous new rule, "shoot to kill", without putting in place the proper safeguards. Organizational disaster. This, too, is a crime, or at least should be.

At any rate, any reasonable person of authority would have already resigned if he had any sense of honor whatsoever. Iain Blair clearly doesn't. Known for his high-level organization, having given the green-light for London "shoot-to-kill" death squads, he really should be sacked for his incompentence. But instead, he's given the option to resign on his own, an option he should take if England is ever to enjoy one day any image of justice on the world front.

We can expect that the fate of Iain Blair will be the same as that of Tony Blair: not long for England's political world.

Burt Bacharach and the New York Press "Big Hate" Bubbas

1984-ish Big Hate "journalism" has become so rampant in the states that I'm more than a little concerned that Americans have forgotten what true journalism is about. Even the op-ed pages, where viewpoints are expressed, the journalistic requirement should be still be "nothing but the facts, ma'am". But America has lost the virtue of facts, left behind the civilities and respect required by dignified discourse, oblitered the notion of reasoned argument.

The examples are legion, but this one strikes me as "funny" because the subject of the "Big Hate" is Burt Bacharach, a songwriter with whom I've gotten re-aquainted recently. I remember Burt singing the charms of "Martini and Rossi" aside heart-throb then-wife Angie Dickinson. Recently, Burt has been the muse-object of the "Austin Powers" films, said to be liked by Bubba W.

Burt is easily part of the "elite". But, careful there ... Burt also has heart, writes about love and about "what the world needs now". It doesn't surprise me to read what Burt has said recently:

"People ask why a man who has been known for writing love songs all of his life is suddenly rocking the boat," Bacharach says. "I had to do it. This is very personal to me, and this is the most passionate album I have ever made.

"I had to express myself, not only musically but lyrically. It was time for me to ask, 'who are these people who are taking control of our lives and how do we stop the violence?' I've got two little kids and a 19-year-old son and I wonder what they're going to do with their lives. It's so personal to me that I even decided to do some of the singing. This is dedicated to my kids and your kids,"

In another quote:

"Instead of pushing the funding up, they took most of it away to fight this stupid war."

So what do the Big Hate Bubbas have to say about Burt?

There were lots of stupid comments in the wake of Katrina, but few more so than those of the previously harmless Burt Bacharach [...].

I was honestly baffled why a legend would put himself in such an embarrassing position. Turns out it was marketing.

[...]

It [the album] all has the shameless dementia of a Cindy Sheehan blog entry.

[...] I'd rather hear that from Burt than from some sad pierced girl handing out anti-Semitic flyers in Union Square.

Any surprise that the initials of this Big Hate Bubba are "J.R."?

We all want accountability -- don't we?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded accountability on Friday after a U.N. report said high-ranking Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies were involved in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

'Accountability is going to be very important for the international community,' Rice told reporters as she flew with Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for a tour of Alabama. 'We cannot have the specter of one state's apparatus having participated or having been involved in the assassination of the former prime minister ... in another state.'

In Bubba Rice's terms, the "international community" wants accountability. So what are Americans getting? Who's accountable for lying to Americans about the imminent threat posed by Iraq? Who's accountable for Powell's "blotted" speech to the UN Security Council? (Not Bubba Colin -- he blamed it on bad intelligence!)

So where's the accountability, Bubba Rice? I agree with you, we should have it, now come up with it!

And while you're banging the war drum about "one state can't be involved in the assassination of so-and-so ... in another state", how about the assassination of tens of thousands of Iraqis by the US-UK "coalition"? Is that OK?

Britian imposes BubbaLogic in the European Union

FT.com: Path clear for Turkey to discuss joining EU

Mr Straw had warned his counterparts that they were on the edge of a “precipice”. Other ministers said that, by pulling back from past promises to begin the talks with Turkey on October 3, the EU would be jeopardising its strategic interests, breaking its word and plunging into a fresh crisis.

The final proposals remained a closely held secret; British officials would not even allow Cyril Svoboda, the Czech foreign minister, to see the text sent to Ankara.

Selling a political agenda by fear has been the hallmark of the Bubba Administration in the United States. While fear didn't work to force the French and Dutch to vote for the ridiculous Constitutional Treaty, fear has been adopted on the European level by the Brits to force in the Turkey agenda.

This sort of action will ultimately work to destroy the European Union. Treaties that are voted "in secret" can only be bad treaties. Democracies with secret agendae are bad democracies.

NY Times: Clinton Criticizes Bush Admin on Katrina

"'This is a matter of public policy,' [Bill Clinton] said. 'And whether it's race-based or not, if you give your tax cuts to the rich and hope everything works out all right, and poverty goes up and it disproportionately affects black and brown people, that's a consequence of the action made. That's what they did in the 80's; that's what they've done in this decade. In the middle, we had a different policy.' "

Clinton presents, in a pseudo-factual manner, that the Katrina disaster is simply a result of Bubba Bush administration policy. I don't suppose that he'll be getting invited back to fundraising by this administration.

Good to see this administration getting some heat.

Blair critical of BBC's "hatred of America" in Katrina coverage

"Tony Blair was shocked by the BBC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina, describing it as 'full of hatred of America', Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, said on Friday night."

Dunno if Tony Bliar was shocked or not, since it's Rupert "I defecate on the whole world" Murdoch who says so.

Nonetheless, we can well imagine that Rupie was shocked, as was everyone who watched the Katrina drama and debacle unfold. Shocked and saddened.

Rupie reminds me of what Bill Moyers said recently:


"The more compelling our journalism, the angrier became the radical right [...]
That's because the one thing they loathe more than liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them as liberal is to tell the truth."

Clearly what may have shocked Tony Bliar, who probably shocked Rupie, was the simple truth. They are mostly shocked, not to discover it themselves, but by the fact that it is getting out!

Reuters Says Bush Photo Not 'Malicious,' Reports Wide Interest at Home and Abroad

It's already saturated the blogosphere, but I still can't help including it here for the record.



That's right: Bubba Bush, with bracing, hardy style, reservedly asks Bubba Condi if he can have a bathroom break.

To top off the story, The DailyKos has the gut-wrenching cliché of Bubbas Rice, Bush and Bolten yucking it up at the UN.

Editor And Publisher: Origins of the New Orleans Catastrophe in Bush Administration Budget Cuts

Here's an article from Editor and Publisher that cites pre-Katrina articles about funding cuts in levee projects.

"When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.

Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside."

Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle.

On June 8, 2004, Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; told the Times-Picayune: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."

The funds necessary for finishing the levee projects are quite meager compared to the estimated at US$200 billion for New Orleans reconstruction. That's BubbaLogic for you!

NY Times: Equality and Preference

Choice remarks on the new CDC report:

"'One thing that surprised me is that we expected, based on anecdotal evidence, that girls might be more likely to give oral sex and boys more likely to receive it, but we didn't find that at all,' said Dr. Jennifer Manlove, of Child Trends, which, like Ms. Brown's group, released an analysis of the data, 'There's more gender equality than we expected.'"

Tell me, why would one tend to think this? Are we simply propagating the idea that females don't have any sex drive themselves?

"A very significant proportion of teens has had experience with oral sex, even if they haven't had sexual intercourse and may think of themselves as virgins," Dr. Manlove said. "We're not sure whether these teens who have not had sexual intercourse are engaging in oral sex because they view it as a way to maintain their technical virginity or even because they regard it as an easy method of birth control."

Or, just maybe, because they enjoy it!

The Victoria Advocate: Pledge Policy "Compliant" with State Law, but What About Democracy?

In Victoria, Texas, where I grew up, here's a good example of the "coercive requirement to affirm God".

"The Victoria schools' policy is in compliance with state law concerning the Pledge of Allegiance, communication specialist Diane Boyett said.

The Texas Education Code states: 'The board of trustees of each school district shall require students, once during each school day at each school in the district, to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag.'

The law also requires a minute of silence following the Pledge of Allegiance.

In Victoria schools the pledge is recited daily.

However, Boyett said, a student is not required to participate if a parent or guardian turns in a written request for exemption."

I think that this is quite an interesting case in point. Texas law requires students to "pledge" every day. Yet, doesn't this requirement essentially deprive them of free-will in the matter? Isn't the "written exemption request" a form of "blacklisting"? Why require the "exemption request" from a parent when students should have their own say in the matter?

Clearly, this is a stringent requirement. Is this democracy?

BBC NEWS | Politics | Blair throws down gauntlet to UN

Blair has the gall to say this to the UN:

"It was now widely recognised the UN could intervene when nations failed their own people, he argued. "

Hmm, is he thinking of the Katrina disaster? Or of the British Healthcare System?

Perhaps he's really thinking of the murderous invasion of Iraq.

NPR : Federal Judge Rules Pledge Unconstitutional

"U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge's reference to one nation 'under God' violates school children's right to be 'free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.'"

I'm glad to see this item back in the courts -- and once again scared of the outcome.

I would like to see the "under god" pledge ruled illegal. In fact, most folks in Europe wonder what kinda Nazi state is being put into place in the US when they see that the "pledge of allegiance" is a daily requirement in schools. I even can admit that I admire those Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse to do it -- for religious reasons, of course, but not without backlash.

One nation, indivisible, undivided by "coercive requirements to affirm God', that's the country that I know and love.

BBC NEWS | Powell's Revealing Expression

"But Mr Powell said so many African-Americans were left unprotected because they were poor, rather than because they were black.

It 'should have been a blinding flash of the obvious... that when you order a mandatory evacuation, you can't expect everybody to evacuate on their own', he said. "

Now here I agree with Colin, that it's not a racist thing, it's a wealth thing. And while it isn't illegal to be poor, it might as well be.

The phrase "blinding flash of the obvious" is quite interesting. A "flash of the obvious" should be convincing, but if it is "blinding", aren't we saying that we will not be convinced, but will turn a "blind eye"? That would seem to be explain why the Bush administration didn't foresee the Katrina damage to New Orleans.

It would also explain why Bubba Colin didn't see that there was no proof of weapons in Iraq.

New York Times : Powell Calls His U.N. Speech a Lasting Blot on His Record

"'I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world,' [ former secretary of state Colin ] Powell told Barbara Walters of ABC News, adding that the presentation 'will always be a part of my record.'

Asked by Ms. Walters how painful this was for him, Mr. Powell replied: 'It was painful. It's painful now.' Asked further how he felt upon learning that he had been misled about the accuracy of intelligence on which he relied, Mr. Powell said, 'Terrible.' He added that it was 'devastating' to learn later that some intelligence agents knew the information he had was unreliable but did not speak up."

Good points for admitting that your speech was wrong, Colin, and for feeling bad about it.

However, you don't feel bad enough about your own failures in the deal. You put the blame on folks in the CIA, but aren't you forgetting something? Aren't you forgetting that Hans Blix also testified that there was no evidence of weapons? Aren't you forgetting all of the international scrutiny that said that you were wrong? Aren't you forgetting that you didn't obtain a UN resolution to go to war? Aren't you forgetting how you isolated the US in world opinion and generated historically massive protest marches in the US, in the UK and around the world?

Your flimsy excuse of "folks at the CIA didn't give me the info" doesn't cut the mustard, not for you or for Bubba Bush. The info was there, but you chose to ignore it, a willful choice that you should also admit.

What is the difference between willfully ignoring readily available contrary evidence and lying?

When did you apologize to Hans Blix?

The legacy that you leave is not only one of lying to the UN, of failing to generate a real coalition, and of lessening the image of America in the world. No, you've also left the legacy of "blind loyalty" to an idiot and a criminal. You have broken with the American tradition of "self reliance" and "personal integrity" and chosen the path of "cronyism".

These accusations are all the more harsh because I at one time respected you and thought that you might be able to bring some courage and determination to the Bush administration. My naive hopes have been well laid to the wayside now, thanks to you, bubba Colin. In fact, I don't see much difference between you and Bubba Rice.

New York Times: Harlem Pupils Meet Swiss Chard

"Eating at the Promise Academy is about more than just the food. Children learn to respect where it comes from and who serves it, as well as whom they eat with. They must use tongs to pick up their morning bagels. They may not bang their trays down on the cloth-covered cafeteria tables. No one is allowed to toss out whole peaches or to cut in line.

To make it all work, Mr. Canada relies on Andrew Benson, a young chef with a culinary degree from Johnson and Wales University. Mr. Benson, a veteran of three public school cafeterias in Harlem, said he was defeated by the city's school food bureaucracy. (Actual cooking from scratch is done in less than half of the city's 1,356 schools.) "

This is what I've been wanting for America for a long time now, ever since coming to france almost 15 years ago. I said to everyone "If back in the US they could imagine this kind of life, where the school and work cafeterias are good and you go to the "market" and not to the "supermarket" to buy food, then I think that they would prefer it. And I think that Americans deserve it!"

I'll be watching to see the outcome of "Promise Academy" and their experiment.

US Squandering Foreign Aid Offers

From a New Zealand newspaper:

"Other assistance unlikely to be accepted is from longtime foe Cuba, which has more than 1500 doctors on standby waiting to come to the United States. The State Department said there appeared to be enough US medical volunteers.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called coordinating the aid offers a 'complicated process.'
'I think that what we have seen is a very effective response from the Department of State, as well as the other US government agencies, to really in a concrete way realize these offers of assistance on the ground,' he said. "

Amazing, amazing. The auto-congratulatory State Department is "very effective"? Is a doctor "very effective" when all of his patients are dying? Is a teacher effective when his students are failing? Is a department effective when there are still bodies decomposing in the streets after days and days?



Are US medical volunteers "enough" when people are dying of dysentery, starving to death and dying of thirst? When old folks with medical conditions are just left to die?

How dare this somber cretin say that his Department is effective? What a cynical attitude, tantamount to "leaving the poor to die is OK by us, we're just doing our jobs!" What a bloodthirsty scoundrel! With the still-countless dead turning the entire southern coast into a plague area, we have a petty, ideological, "let the poor die and rot" spokesman complaining about how difficult it is for him to "realize in an effective way" the many, many offers of real assistance from much poorer countries than the US. If you can't get it together, McCormack, find someone who can!

Once again, squandered good will.
Once again, Americans put in jeopardy by the Bush Administration.

CELINE DION - DION SLAMS US AUTHORITIES OVER KATRINA RESPONSE

"'How come it's so easy to send planes in another country to kill everyone in a second, to destroy lives? We need to be there right now to rescue the rest of the people.' "

So maybe I'll end up liking the Quebecoise crooner!

I totally agree with her comments. And I noticed that they almost didn't make the US press at all! How telling!

CNN.com - Castro: U.S. hasn't responded to Katrina offer -

"Castro, a longtime adversary of the United States, initially offered to send 1,100 doctors and at least 26 tons of supplies and equipment, but the Communist leader announced Sunday during a televised speech that he had increased the number of physicians to 1,586. Each doctor would carry about 27 pounds of medicine.

'You could all be there right now lending your services, but 48 hours have passed since we made this offer, and we have received absolutely no response,' Castro said at Havana's Palace of the Revolution"

Dunno if Castro is an adversary. After all, Cuba hasn't tried to invade the US, even if it has been the brunt of a brutal economic embargo.

But here you go: the offer from Cuba to sends lots of doctors. Let's face it: doctors in the states would not make this offer to Cuba. They don't even make house calls! But the Cuban doctors were ready to go and to save lives in the name of "humanity". And Dubya and Condi turned them down, didn't even pick up the phone. How shameful!

Krugman: Killed by Contempt

"[T]he federal government's lethal ineptitude wasn't just a consequence of Mr. Bush's personal inadequacy; it was a consequence of ideological hostility to the very idea of using government to serve the public good. For 25 years the right has been denigrating the public sector, telling us that government is always the problem, not the solution. Why should we be surprised that when we needed a government solution, it wasn't forthcoming?"

I'm still surprised, perhaps because I never imagined to what extent that the Bush administration carried out its cynical mathematics.

During lunch, my friend Andrew Boucher told me about some discussions equating the Paris August 2003 heatwave deaths (estimated at 22,000) and the Katrina deaths (in the thousands for the moment) because both situations involved marginalized segments of the population, unimportant for political purposes, with the implications that "natural disasters" of this sort are almost "programmed in", at last factually if not intentionally.

Sadly Surprised

Even this long-standing Bush denigrator is surprised by the extent of the heartlessness and ruthlessness of the Bush administration's response to Katrina. As much as Bush likes to stick it to the poor, as idiotic as he is to think that killing overseas is going to do anything but exacerbate terrorism, as ruthless as he is in his tax cuts to the rich and his granting of pork-belly contracts to friends, I still never imagined for a second that Dubya was so bloodthirsty and so negligent as to let thousands of Americans in Southern States die in squalor in the aftermath of a totally forseeable disaster, a disaster created by the war in Iraq, by the gutting of funding for basic services and by federal ineptitude. I start to wonder, even, about the sanity of this man and about the groupthink that engulfs his entourage.

After all, what can you possibly think about an administration that is constantly on vacation. Our beloved leader has set the tone: after his 5-week vacation at the ranch where he chose to ignore Cindy Sheehan at his doorstep, Dubya waits 5 days before visiting the disaster area, and then under extremely controlled conditions, we can be sure, although CNN and other media have chosen not to bring to light the details. I saw an interview on CNN of two young black girls in Mississipi who were gushing over see Dubya, about he he reassured them: this well-picked audience said nothing about anger, fear, disappointment, just about how reassured that it was.

The CNN anchor did not ask them what they thought about the Secretary of State who was still on vacation in NY. Condi was not going to be put out by the problems in the South: she spent evenings on Broadway and her days in Fashionable Shopping, expelling dissenters manu militaris.

"Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, “How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!” Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman."

As much as we may admire Condi and her husband (er, boss) for their cool headedness in the face of such tragedy, it is perhaps their carelessness which comes to mind the most: not caring about the worst natural disaster in recent American history, not caring enough to do the job that they were given, which is to say protecting this country.

This is when I start questioning their sanity and I start wondering if the recent winner of the Faux Faulkner competition wasn't even closer to the truth than we could have imagined.

“You give him that gun back, right this minute,” Condi said. Rummy gave me Saddam s gun back and I held it my hands. It was hot like a horseshoe.

“You got the gun, now you stop that hollering,” Rummy said.

Condi patted me on the back. “It sure is hot in here,” she said. She fanned herself and took off her jacket. She smelled like perfume.

Now Condi is Dubya's trump card when it comes to getting out of the racism stigma that natural follow bloodthirsty faux southerners: in a way, Condi, as was Powell, is Dubya's Ace of Spades that he can pull out to trump critics like Rapper Kanye West who says "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People". However, I confess that I don't believe that Dubya is a racist, only an oligarchist for whom poor whites are just as bad as poor blacks. After all, the Bush clan is able to represent so-called minorities very well, as long as they are fabulously wealthy. Wealthy Jews and wealthy Arabs are all welcome at the Bush table. Bush even likes wealthy Europeans, having a weakness for Germans ever since Granddaddy did good business with the Nazis.

Carelessness and recklessness are more than the hallmarks of this administration: they have become a badge of honor, and this is the heart of bubbalogic. Yes, this is where guys like me who, unlike the faux-Texan commander-in-chief, grew up in the great state and even went to school there. I know that particular bubba mentality that goes along with the marvelous Waylon and Willie song "Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys"

"He ain't wrong, he's just different, but his pride won't let him do things to let you think he's right."

But what's OK for a cowboy is not OK for the president of the USA. We like the cowboy when he's Slim Pickens riding the bomb as it falls from the plane, but we don't want to see that in an ideological psychopath that we happen to have voted as President. Pride is a sin, and Dubya's pride is his downfall: it's the blinders that keep him from seeing the reality of the US situation, perhaps even more than do his "handlers".

The reality that he doesn't see, but which has been made even more clear to the rest of the world, is that the US is already a kind of hell, a deeply depraved state with a violent streak running through to the core. We see that being "evacuated" really means "everyone for himself" with the poor left to die without a thought. We see that being "violent" is a term that is applied to "looters", who are people that have been left to die but have decided to live: survival is the name of the game. These people are "put down" by Police and the Army with a "Shoot on Sight" order that is worthy of the London Police. The situation is so bad that a lot of New Orleans police had "deserted". Watching a segment on CNN, one New Orleans police officer was taunting his "deserter" camarades for cowardice.

This is the legacy for which Dubya will be known: destroying the image of the US abroad and, now, at home as well. This is the beginning of the end of the Bush honeymoon in the media. This is where we realize, finally, that Dubya makes Dick Nixon look like a humanitarian, makes Reagan look like a genius, makes the US press look like the jerks that they are.

I think that this is it for Dubya. If he isn't impeached by this Republican congress, then they will be replaced by Democrats. Not that the Democrats deserve this windfall, being the lapdogs of power and neo-con wannabes in general.

September 11, 2005, will be Dubya roasting day in the press. Four years later, we will celebrate the triumph of BubbaLogic over freedom and dignity. "We won't be fooled again!"

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Rev. Jackson Meets With Venezuela's Chavez

"The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday urged President Bush to strongly condemn a U.S. religious broadcaster's call to assassinate Venezuela's leftist president, saying Washington needs to cool down the rhetoric against this South American nation and major oil producer.
...
``We must make it clear that talk of isolating Venezuela, talk of assassinating its leader, this is unacceptable, and it must be denounced roundly by our president and by our secretary of state,'' Jackson told The Associated Press in an interview shortly before meeting Chavez."

Once again, Jesse Jackson has shown good sense where the Bush administration prefers to act like a bunch of dumb hicks.

Various Shades of the American Spirit

While Pat Robertson shows what it means to be an American Conservative Christian and a Pragmatist, studies shows that obesity is expanding in America, the concert given by Joan Baez in Crawford is loved and loathed, peace protesters in Pittsburgh get tasered for lying in the steet, and life goes on in this best of all possible worlds.

Two Bliars for the Price of One?

Mr Menezes' family want Sir Ian to resign for incorrectly linking the shooting to the attempted bombings early on.

On the day of Mr Menezes' death, Sir Ian said the shooting was "directly linked to the ongoing and expanding anti-terrorist operation".

Sir Ian has told the News Of The World it was 24 hours before he learned the Brazilian was wrongly shot dead.

The family's lawyer has expressed "incredulity" that he made statements without knowing facts.

Sir Ian has said he will not step down over the Menezes case

...

[A] spokesman for Tony Blair said he fully backed Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair over his handling of the case.


Ay, there's the rub. The Scotland Yard police chief blunders horribly at the least, lying at the worst, and yet he is not accountable!

The Prime Minister blunders horribly at the least, lying at the worst, and yet he is not accountable.

Perhaps the Brits will finally realize something: that having liars in your government does not advance your image worldwide!

Sir Iain Bliar Should Resign

Much like Tony, Sir Iain's way of assuming responsibility is by passing the buck or denying the charges. Given the current state of British political depravity, he will probably get away with it, too.

But let's look at the case in an objective manner.

First, we have all these staid Brits explaining about how the "shoot-to-kill" order is necessary and how there will be "accidents". I had thought that the Brits knew better than this, having seen how badly it works in the states.

Second, we have the facts of the case: a nice guy takes the subway, runs for the approaching train, is overpowered immediately by one policeman and then is shot in the head repeatedly by another. Murderous action for no real reason other than the "jitters". These men should be immediately reprimanded and indicted. Oh, and by the way, the "kill him" order was given by a woman, how up-to-date we are!

Third, we have Sir Iain backing these guys to the hilt. Do tell, Sir Iain, are you "justifying" such murderous acts? Then you should resign, good Sir, and take Tony with you.

My naive images of a civilized Britain are forever dispelled.

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | Day in pictures

I know that this isn't "news" or "bubbalogic", but it's still pretty cool.

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Jeb Bush is a Disgusting Runt

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush reopened Terri Schiavo's case yesterday by asking a prosecutor to review a perceived delay by her husband in seeking medical help after her collapse 15 years ago.

[...] Michael Schiavo accused the governor of attempting to deflect attention from the autopsy findings, which concluded that his wife was not strangled or beaten at the time of her collapse, as her parents had alleged. Why she collapsed remains undetermined.

Now the Rebubbalicans have been shown wrong, damned wrong and hateful by their Schiavo witch hunt, their only recourse is to turn up the Big Hate machine to eleven.

csmonitor.com | Is 'Downing Street Memo' a smoking gun?

"Joe Conason of Salon.com writes that Kinsley's response to the memo is just more proof that 'the leading lights of the Washington press corps are more embarrassed than the White House is by the revelations in the Downing Street memo.'

Mooing in plaintive chorus, the Beltway herd insists that the July 23, 2002, memo wasn't news -- which would be true if the absence of news were defined only by their refusal to report it."

This "news" is finally getting to the papers. Maybe there is still hope for James Guckert and Gannongate.

The Bubba-C: French Bashing is OK

The BBC says that the Congressman who famously requested that "French Toast" and "French Fries" be changed to "Freedom" toast and fries at the House of Representatives cafeteria has now "had a change of heart".

Good to see the BBC covering this kind of info, but too bad to see that the bashing continues.

To see this, first off, you need to realize a little of the history of the change from "French" to "Freedom". The BBC covered it well in an earlier article when they noted that the "freedom" switch originated in WWII with German-labeled items.

The owner [of a restaurant], Neal Rowland, said he got the idea from similar protest action against Germany during World War I, when sauerkraut was renamed liberty cabbage and frankfurters became hot dogs.

So, briefly, the "freedom" tribute was given to the enemy at the time of a bloody war. That same "tribute" was later given to France who, as an ally, tried to keep the US (or rather Bush) from going to war against Iraq on false pretenses, amongst other things. The reasons for which France argued against war have all shown to be justified (no WMD, no imminent threat, occupation doesn't build democracy). Furthermore, France was but a more vocal component of a much larger anti-war movement of historical proportions, especially with Britain itself.

Now back to the BBC article which claims that Walter Jones has made a "U-turn" about the war on Iraq. OK, maybe about the war on Iraq, but not for his French-bashing attitude. That's seems to still be OK as "Freedom Fries" and "Freedom Toast" are still on the menu. And no "apology" has come forth.

Yet the BBC didn't analyze this aspect of things. Why? Because for the BBC, much like the American press, French bashing is OK. The Bubba C, in short.

The US media and the French referendum

"Thomas Friedman of the Times made perhaps the most contemptuous and ignorant of all these attacks on the French voters in his June 3 column, headlined, “A Race to the Top.” Writing from Bangalore, India, Friedman sneered that “French voters are trying to preserve a 35-hour work week in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day. Good luck.”

Hailing Bangalore as “the outsourcing capital of the world,” Friedman added, “The dirty little secret is that India is taking work from Europe or America not simply because of low wages. It is also because Indians are ready to work harder and can do anything from answering your phone to designing your next airplane or car.”

Friedman concluded, “this is a bad time for France and friends to lose their appetite for hard work—just when India, China and Poland are rediscovering theirs.”

In the course of Friedman’s absurd depiction of the Indian masses as wildly enthusiastic over the ruling elite’s repudiation of Indian “socialism” and its attack on previously established social protections, with Indian workers chomping at the bit to be super-exploited by native entrepreneurs and global corporations, the Times’ columnist noted in passing: “Sure, a huge portion of India still lives in wretched slums or villages...”

Such casual indifference to the horrific poverty that grips hundreds of millions of Indian people bespeaks a level of intellectual and moral depravity that requires little additional comment. Suffice it to say that Friedman has the same attitude to the conditions facing workers in France, or in the United States."

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who become violently sickened by the articles written by Enduring Friedman.

BBC NEWS | The treaty is dead, long live the treaty

"'It is important to hear all voices, not just some voices, so all member states should make their decisions on this treaty' said John Palmer of the European Policy Centre. 'What has happened underlines the need for the Union not to develop farther than its democratic polity. It must give ownership back to the people. But we will need another treaty.'

'However,' he went on, 'the next one will have to be built upwards and not delivered downwards. For example, another constitutional convention should be directly elected.' "

In other words, don't try to shove a load of baloney onto the European electorate (again)!

Good and Bad Vision

Today's CS Monitor offers bad vision on the resulting "non" to France's European Constitional Treaty Referendum. In their editorial When 'Non' Means So Much More:

"If just the Constitution itself had been discussed, it's hard to see how it could have been trounced so thoroughly by French voters in a Sunday referendum. In isolation, it's nothing more than a useful simplification of the European Union's existing treaties - a way to smooth the workings of the cumbersome 25-member EU, and to give Europe as a whole more foreign-policy oomph."

What a poor rendition of the debate around the Constitution and its contents! Sure, that was the "Oui" camp's mantra: "It doesn't change anything", a mantra often coupled with the contradictory "But it's very important!" So which is it: benign or important?

Good vision is to be found elsewhere. The wikinews has the best, most faithful analysis of the referendum that I have come across:

Arguments of the "No" vote

Proponents of the "No" vote, both on the left and right, argued that the proposed constitution enshrined what they claim is an undemocratic Europe, with much of the responsibilities granted to a body of unelected political appointees, the European Commission and not enough checks and balances. They also point out that it vests much legislative power in the European Council, representing the executives of the various countries; this is seen as a bad arrangement with respect to Separation of powers. While the treaty adds supplemental powers for the directly elected European Parliament, many opponents, particularly on the left, consider that they are still insufficient in order to provide checks and balances.

Much criticism was directed at the length of the proposed Constitution. The real treaty submitted to French voters is about 80 pages long, which many argue is too long and complex for a constitution. It is followed by 100 pages of appendices, declarations and protocols, some of them dealing with matters such as oil refining in the Dutch West Indies or specific nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe.

Opponents of the treaty argue that the proposed constitution will largely hamstring the French government and prevent it from leading its own policies in matters as diverse as social services or foreign policy.

Much of the opposition was targeted at Part III of the proposed constitution, which sets the policies of the European Union. Opponents point out that the constitutions of most countries, including France, do not specify policies explicitly, except for a limited number of fundamental rights, but rather are limited to specifying the core principles and procedures of how governmental institutions work. Part III, they argued, sets in stone a number of economic and social choices, while these should be a matter of political choice depending on democratic votes.

That's very much the motivation for my "Non" vote: this treaty doesn't propose a Constitution but the end of public service and social standards, not to mention the end of democracy itself in Europe, installing an oligarchical political system led by the twin evils of the European Commission and the Europe Council, neither required to uphold decisions made in the European Parliament.

BBC News: Giscard d'Estaing's Extreme Modesty

"'There can be no other constitution for Europe,' he said. 'People know that we have the best treaty possible.' Despite his buoyant predictions in the run up to the referendum, M. Giscard d'Estaing's fears for the eventual outcome became apparent with his interventions in the French 'yes' campaign.
Earlier this year he expressed doubts about the decision of President Jacques Chirac - his political enemy - to ratify the treaty by referendum. 'The French don't know how to vote on texts ... they only answer the question that they want to be asked.'"

That's the usual bureaucratic answer: "we had the best deal, but the people didn't understand it."

Phooey and horse hooey! Not only was the Constitutional Treaty a bad deal but it was far too complicated, far too "interventist". Explicitly forbidding "harmonization", this project was a race to bottom for Europe.

Now, to make sure that the "Non" is not just a parachute that slows Europes tumble into the void, we need a real Constitution!

BBC NEWS | Europe | France 'rejects EU constitution'

"There were cheers from supporters of the 'No' campaign when the exit polls results were announced just after voting ended at 2100 GMT.

Those who rejected the treaty included Communists, various left-wing groups, dissident socialists and far-right parties."

All right, it's true that the "Non" camp included the contestation camps. But the Non camp also included about 40% of the UMP, the current right-leaning government party. And about 50% of the Socialists were voting "Non". It's a travesty for the BBC to try to paint the "Non" camp as extremists or even "anti-Europe". I think that the majority of the "Non" camp is like me: we voted "Non" because the proposed European Constitution stinks and we want a good one: one that people can read, one that doesn't put market in front of ideals. We want "Liberty, Egality and Fraternity" and not "Commodity, Complicity and Regressivity".

So there, BBC, today you are the "Bubba-C".

Coins Go Missing, and G.O.P. Insider Becomes Outcast - New York Times

"But this week, Mr. Noe's lawyers said that as much as $13 million of the state's $50 million investment in his two [rare coin] funds could not be accounted for. Mr. Noe, meanwhile, has become the focus of at least six investigations or audits involving either his handling of the coin investments or his campaign fund-raising. Federal investigators are also looking into his contributions to President Bush's 2004 campaign as a 'Pioneer,' raising more than $100,000.

And suddenly, Republicans who once stood staunchly at Mr. Noe's side, and at his fund-raising parties, cannot seem to run from him fast enough."

I blogged this style about a month back when I picked it off of cursor. At the time, the story had made no national attention and the Republican blowhards were saying "We all thank Mr. Noe for the wonderful returns we've had on his investments." As you could have expected, these statements proved false.

Now the scary part:

Even the state's highest court has been touched by the case. When a series of lawsuits seeking an inventory of Mr. Noe's coin investments was brought before the Ohio Supreme Court recently, five of seven justices recused themselves. All had received campaign contributions from Mr. Noe.

As a result, the lone Democrat on the court will preside over the cases and has selected five other judges to stand in for her Republican colleagues.

Is there any possibility of Justice in America when the courts are stacked with Rebubbalicans?

BBC NEWS | French media in referendum 'bias' row

"'Publicly-owned media in France are broadcasting sheer propaganda to the public, and this absence of any pluralism or any attempt to represent and discuss the point of view of those who want to vote No to the Treaty is profoundly undemocratic'"

Interesting to see that the debate regarding "public television" in France is largely the opposite critique of that in the US.

Whereas the new Nixonian CPB chairman claims that PBS is demonstrating a "liberal" (sic) bias, the French public media are claiming a "pro-yes" bias, largely interpreted as a "pro-business" bias.

This is perhaps one of the most flagrant and fundamental differences between French and US culture: the knee-jerk reaction in the US is always towards an ultra-neocon-capitalism and it's usually hard to get voters to think realistically about this attitude. In France, on the other hand, the usual reaction is toward socialism. We see this all the more during the transport strikes which usually are viewed quite favorably by the majority of the population.

New York Times | Bush Speaks to the Calvin College commencement

"Mr. Bush added: 'Someday you will appreciate the grammar and verbal skills you learned here. And if any of you wonder how far a mastery of the English language can take you, just look what it did for me.'"

Just what is Bubba Shrub making fun of: academia, his own poor level of self-expression, the common belief that he is technically illiterate (i.e. he doesn't read any reports, everything is verbal)? Curious way of getting a laugh.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Barroso warns France over No vote

"A No vote in the French referendum on the EU constitution would be 'bad news' for the French and European economies, the EU Commission president has warned.

Jose Manuel Barroso urged French voters to vote Yes in the 29 May vote.

Speaking on French radio, he said he agreed with the French prime minister that a No vote would affect the economy by creating uncertainty for investors."

I'm very sure that, if there is any justice at all in any eventual afterlife, that this is a very warm place in Hell waiting for Barroso!

Briton puts senators on defensive on Iraq: printer friendly version

"'The biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians,' Galloway said. 'The real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own government.'"

Give 'em hell, Galloway!

AFP : Democrats point to US role in oil-for-food scandal

"The Democratic opposition in the US Congress pointed to a US role in diverting funds managed by the regime of Saddam Hussein, arguing that American authorities had facilitated the smuggling of Iraqi oil in early 2003.
'We need to look into the mirror at ourselves, as well as point fingers at others,' said Democratic Senator Carl Levin."

Carl, Carl, Carl! That's not nearly garrulous enough!

Baghdad Burning

"The last two weeks have been violent. The number of explosions in Baghdad alone is frightening. There have also been several assassinations- bodies being found here and there. It's somewhat disturbing to know that corpses are turning up in the most unexpected places. Many people will tell you it's not wise to eat river fish anymore because they have been nourished on the human remains being dumped into the river. That thought alone has given me more than one sleepless night. It is almost as if Baghdad has turned into a giant graveyard. "

Things are not looking up in the democratic republic of Iraq.