I've been listening to George W Bush talking about Gaza.
I wasn't going to post about him again but I can't resist.
The man continues to astound me. He's learnt nothing.
He's learnt nothing after two catastrophic terms, eight years of not only extreme ideology and a complete lack of understanding but also of the administrative incompetence that would be expected of a struggling third world country's government.
Mistake after mistake after mistake but he sounds exactly the same as he did at the beginning of it all.
The first impression was that his scriptwriter is still away on Christmas holiday because the speech was simply reading the press release issued by Israel's fantastic PR machine. A transcript of the speech is here.
Had he been the leader of a small country it wouldn't matter to anyone but his own citizens. But his decisions affect all of us across the entire world, have affected us, continue to affect us.
And the effects have been so catastrophic that I'm afraid it will take much longer than the incoming administration has to get us back on track
Just think about just a few of the disasters that are his legacy:
- the erosion of international institutions, the contempt for international treaties, the scrapping of the Geneva Convention that led to Guantanamo, the US kidnapping people around the world, 'extraordinary rendition', the CIA's black holes, the officially approved use of torture.
- the huge increase in terrorism, the war we're losing in Afghanistan, the catastrophy that is Iraq, Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda still operating.
- illegal spying on Americans, the apparatus in place for it and the culture of doing it.
- the erosion of America's standing in the world, unbelievable after the bonus he had to begin with after 9/11, when there was a huge surge of goodwill towards America.
- the worst financial crisis for generations with world-wide recession probably going into depression, a record number of Americans, nearly 32 million, relying on food stamps.
- incompetence in many government departments - the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina, the lack of oversight of financial institutions.
I could go on but it's too depressing.
What a combination. The arrogance of all ideological extremists coupled with a lack of knowledge and lack of curiosity, who surrounded himself with similar people.
And here he is at the end of it all sounding exactly the same as he did before he made such a mess of the world.
Comments are now open for the infantile name-calling which I'm expecting...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
18 comments:
George Bush is just a puppet for the powerful elite and will say anything that is put in front of him. We live in an illusion of democracy.
Innocent people are dying on both sides and this is being allowed by idiot Bush
*Comments are now open for the infantile name-calling which I'm expecting...*
Hehe... yes, so true.
I can't think of what to call him that no one else has... honestly...
Why not look closer to home?
The GCC leaders have issued strong words of condemnation of the attacks. Boo faqing hoo.
How about send Hamas some money, troops and weapons? How about pressuring the USA to intervene? How about letting refugees into the GCC? Or sending humanitarian manpower and aid?
Oh, I forget, we canceled New Year's celebrations. That will show those evil zionists not to mess around!
The GCC states might condemn Israel's actions, but they just as much dislike Hamas/Hezbolla, so they will stand by while Palestinians get slaughtered.
GWB is a tard, but he's an easy target. Your local leaders, if maybe more articulate, are equally puppeteered.
But let's not forget that the American people had the oppportunity to show their own discontent with him and have thrown him out with their vote. Welcome Barack Obama...let's see what the new US president can do!!!
It's not "all" GWB - but that arrogant SOB, Cheney! He is a silent Hitler. I hate that man!
Yes Rosh, he's the world's most dangerous man.
Yes Rosh, he's the world's most dangerous man
So is he more dangerous than the man who is currently responsible for deliberately causing mass starvation in his country in order to stay in power (and is currently doing next to nothing about a cholera epidemic); or is he more dangerous than the man who is deliberately supporting militias carrying out mass killings of civilians (some would call it genocide) in a region of his country; or is he more dangerous than the man who deliberately blocked foreign aid to a part of his country suffering from a terrible cyclone because he was fearful that aid workers might lead to the ouster of his government; or is he more dangerous than man who has called for the wiping away of another nation state?
What nonsense you and some of your other commentators spout here Seebee. You let your anti-American feelings blind you to what is really wrong with the world. The Bush administration my have made some terrible cock-ups over the last 8 years and you might justifiably have issue with many of its policies. But it is not, and specifically Dick Cheney is not, in the same category as these other madmen. Please try to gain some perspective.
Well done Anon, the first of the infantile name calling I referred to... You let your anti-American feelings blind you
I simply don't understand the thought process that equates criticism of an individual to being anti- an entire nation. Yet you think I need to get some perspective!
Astonishing.
he is the elected leader of a country who did a great job protecting his people after thr 9-11. he did what he thought was right, many of his people do agree with him whether you like it or not.it is more than what you can say for your own leaders who suck up to bush while knowing he is not right.
as for these idiots fighting in your neighborhood, who gives a damn. wish all of them will die so rest of world can live in peace. they are taking their trouble to people who have nothing to do with it in other parts of the world. all because their ego does not allow them to give up some piddly shit of land.
it is not that i dont care about kids dying, this issue has been beaten to death, and no one actually gives a damn except for lip service. why do u think no one is stepping in to solve it.
Anon, sorry, I thought you were from Planet Earth. Obviously you're not, otherwise you'd have the knowledge to know what's actually happening and why. Then you wouldn't make such nonsensical statements such as that a great job has been done protecting Americans, that people in other parts of the world have nothing to do with Israel/Palestine, that the problem there is about egos, and not understanding why no-one is stepping in to solve it.
Cheney is the elected leader who thinks this of his people - from an interview on ABC about Iraq:
RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.
CHENEY: So?
RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?
CHENEY: No.
Well done Anon, the first of the infantile name calling I referred to... You let your anti-American feelings blind you
How is it that my expression of an opinion that you, Seebee, have anti-American feelings is either: (i) infantile; or (ii) name calling? I certainly did not intend to flatter you with my comment but I don’t see any name calling in it, childish or otherwise. Some might think it is the first sentence in your response that is infantile in nature: accusing me of engaging in name calling simply because you didn’t like my comment (again, note that in making this observation I am neither accusing you of name calling nor, yet again, engaging in it myself). Perhaps you crafted that final italicized sentence in your original post to use in the above fashion against your first detractor in these comments? If so, this is not the most mature debating tactic (again, I’m not name calling).
Anyway, name-calling or not aside, let’s get back to dangerous men.
I simply don't understand the thought process that equates criticism of an individual to being anti- an entire nation. Yet you think I need to get some perspective!
It’s a thought process caused by the fact that I cannot understand how you can conclude that a popularly elected politician from a democratic country who is about to peacefully leave office in a few weeks is in your view the most dangerous man in the world, when there exist other men in power (most illegitimately) who are undeniably implicated in either deliberately starving, killing or criminally neglecting significant parts of their populations or threatening to wipe from existence another country.
In my view, Dick Cheney can only shown to be most dangerous man in the world if it can be demonstrated that: (i) he would be personally willing to match or exceed the actions of the other rulers I have referred to; AND (ii) he would be capable of controlling the levers of power in the US government to cause US forces or American allies to effect such actions or equivalent atrocities. In the case of Dick Cheney I don’t think this can be demonstrated but please do disabuse me. I very much doubt Cheney has any personal willingness or ambition to do any of the aforementioned things (please do refer us to any statement issued by him to the contrary). In addition, during his eight years as Vice-President and also during his stints in the Bush senior, the Reagan and the Ford administrations, the United States has not embarked on any policy or action or even condoned one that would in any way come close to: (a) causing the deliberate starvation of a population; (b) the deliberate and continuing neglect of a population suffering the effects of a terrible natural disaster; (c) the support of and/or the active prosecution of the genocide of an ethnic minority; or (d) calling for the annihilation of another nation state.
Accordingly, if you don’t dispute the above, how can you claim that he is the most dangerous man in a world, containing the likes of Robert Mugabe, Than Shwe, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Either you, Seebee, irrationally think that Dick Cheney by his words and his actions (and through him the actions of the US government, for he is hardly that dangerous as a private citizen) is more dangerous than any of these and many of the other authoritarian dictators in power in the world today (I don’t think you are that irrational – the posts on your blog, which do not refer to the USA, seem fairly sensible)? Or, when it comes to international politics, you are blinded/misled or somehow otherwise befuddled by a form of anti-Americanism which causes you to conclude that the current leaders of the US (despite their democratic credentials, the checks and balances of their political system and the lack of any deliberate past policy and, indeed, any past actions, which have had an effect anywhere near as adverse as the vile deeds and statements of the aforementioned despots) are the most dangerous people in the world? Or maybe you were just being flippant in your response to Rosh and didn’t actually mean what you wrote? But might not such flippancy by its very ridiculousness be caused by anti-Americanism?
So yes, I do still stand by my statement that I think you need to get some perspective!
Astonishing.
Quite.
Anon, sorry, I thought you were from Planet Earth.
From Anon (January 06, 2009 12:35 AM): Seebee - if the above was directed at me, thanks for the compliment. Do you still stand by it after my latest comment (at: January 06, 2009 6:48 PM)?
:-)
Anon @ 6.48...name calling indeed - calling someone anti-American is one of the the worst insults an American can use.
First let's put Cheney in context. It is acknowledged that he is the most powerful VP ever, that he is the driving force and that it is his policies, his ideology which the administration follows.
What the US does, whether political, military or economic, affects the entire world.
That's where Cheney sits.
Bizarrely, you compare tinpot dictators of third world countries with the man acknowledged to be the real power of the world's only superpower.
You're saying that Mugabe is a dangerous man to the world? He's the most dangerous man in Zimbabwe, not the world.
Ahmadinijad is not the real power in Iran, and Iran can do no more than tinker in countries around its borders...and I should add is in a position to do so more than it should be thanks to the policies of Cheney which destroyed the only army in the region which cancelled theirs out.
Cheney is a powerful, powerful man in a world sense. The others are not.
I cannot understand how you can conclude that a popularly elected politician from a democratic country who is about to peacefully leave office in a few weeks is in your view the most dangerous man in the world
It's a myth that the two things are connected. Being elected doesn't confer anything on the elected person; honesty, integrity, ability, goodness, badness or anything else. Being democratically elected does not mean that the person is one of the good and great. Nixon & Agnew were democratically elected. Gov. Blagojevich of Illinois was democratically elected. Bush & Cheney, largely acknowledged as one of the worst administrations in America's history, were democratically elected, at least the second time, and look what havoc they've wreaked on the world. And what, I wonder, do you think of Hamas, democratically elected by the Palestinian people.
Since this administration came to power, with Cheney as the driving force and his ideology and policies being pursued, the world has become a more dangerous place, terrorism has increased, America's standing in the world has plummeted, thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of non-Americans have been killed as a result of his adventures, Bin Laden is still at large thanks to Cheney's insistance on invading Iraq, hundreds of people have been kidnapped and held in prison for years without charge, torture and 'extraordinary rendition' were officially approved, as was illegal spying on Americans. International institutions have been weakened by his policies, international treaties have been torn up, the 'Bush Doctrine' , more accurately the 'Cheney Doctrine', has placed the use of force before politics and negotiation.
Mugabe more dangerous to the world? Ahmadinajad, Bashir, tribal leaders more dangerous to the world? They're local or regional players, they don't come close to Cheney.
Seabee the wise, now you are saying bush and cheney's fault lie not in what they did wrong ( which is debatable to many, and damn the researches you quote, any research can be done to show you are only true barometer of global opinion), but that they represent a OOWERFUL nation. if that is the fault you can pinpoint, they will be happy to own up to that fault. and yes, like you said, ahmednejad is a very peace loving, local leader of no international consequence. oh, in his sleep he did spew something about wiping off some country. but then, come on, he is my friend, he offers me tea and shisha. and also, it makes me more popular by bashing america, especially since I am white. wins you more middle-eastern friends. never mind that ends the moment religion becomes a topic of discussion.
Bill O'Reilly has descended onto Life in Dubai :)
Mr Reilly, I hope we can respectfully agree to disagree on Cheney.
Anon, sorry, I thought you were from Planet Earth. I AM GLAD I AM NOT FROM THE PLANET EARTH YOU BELONG TO.
Obviously you're not, otherwise you'd have the knowledge to know what's actually happening and why. Then you wouldn't make such nonsensical statements such as that a great job has been done protecting Americans, that people in other parts of the world have nothing to do with Israel/Palestine, that the problem there is about egos, and not understanding why no-one is stepping in to solve it.
SORRY TO RAIN ON YOUR PARADE, THERE ARE INDEED A HIGE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN MANY COUNTRIES WHO DO NOT AGREE WITH YOUR WISE VISION AND VIEWS ON THE MIDDLE-EASTERN CONFLICT WHICH IS ENTIRELY MAN MADE. WE LIVE IN PLACES WHICH SEES ENOUGH SUFFERING FROM HUNGER AND CALAMITIES AND HEALTH, AND WE CAN ONLY FEEL THAT IDIOTS WHO HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE MANY TIMES OVER IN LAST 70 YEARS TO LIVE IN PEACE AND EAT WELL, WILL NOT DO THAT. THEY WANT TO BE VICTIMS, AND PERPETUATE THE MYTH OF BEING VICTIMS, SO THEY CAN FIGHT FOR SOME PIDDLY PLACE CALLED JERUSALEM. IF ALL PREVIOUS WORLD WARS WERE FOUGHT WITH THIS PERSPECTIVE OF , TILL THE LAST DROP OF BLOOD, WE WILL NOT GIVE UP, THEN THERE WOULDVE BEEN NO ONE LEFT IN THIS WORLD. JUST WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES, WHEN U SHOOT ROCKETS, IT COMES BACK. IN WAR PEOPLE DIE, WHAT IS THE SURPRISE. AND THIS ONE IS NOT GOING TO BE SOLVED IN YOUR LIFETIME OR MINE. SINCE FOR A CHANGE THEY FOUND ANOTHER BUNCH OF LUNATICS WITH SAME GENETIC CODE, WHO WILL NEVER GIVE UP.SERVES BOTH RIGHT.
Rosh, it's always good fun to criticise an American or American policy because of the frothing at the mouth, purple faced outrage it attracts :-)
its one thing to bash bush (i am not all too hot about him either), but it is another to mention relevants facts at least. the facts attributed to the deteriorating condition of the world can easily be blamed on the current president, but what could have another done any different? the core underlying root cause of these problems has always been there. it is nothing new. things just happened to unravel during bush's term.
Post a Comment