Sunday, March 26, 2006

Saddam 'Tried To Kill My Dad'

A lot of republicans try to say that George W. Bush did not attack Iraq because of a grudge Bush had for Saddam Hussein trying to kill his dad George H. W. Bush.

Well, it is true. It was a reason hey gave for going to war.



George W. Bush Hanging Out With a Bunch of Republicans

CNN
September 27, 2002

Bush calls Saddam 'the guy who tried to kill my dad'

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- President Bush leveled harsh criticism Thursday at the Senate on homeland security issues, but he revised his stump speech to make clear "there are fine senators from both parties who care deeply about our country."

And, in discussing the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Bush said: "After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad."
Keep in mind that this is around 6 months before we went to war in Iraq. Bush was stumping for war. This speech was one of the many where he was pushing to go to war. So, he did use Saddam trying to kill his daddy as a reason to take an entire country to war.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Charlie Sheen Speaks Up On 9/11 Cover-Up!

So, Alex jones was on CNN's Showboz Tonight to discuss Charlie Sheen's interview, in which Sheen stated that he felt there was a government cover-up regarding the events of September 11, 2001.

This is really the first time that a major star and major network have discussed a possible conspiracy theory around 9/11.


Wednesday, March 22, 2006

What is the definitaion of "terrorist"?

Reading through some late night CNN.com stories and I came across this one:



Bomb Damaged Riosinio Hotel In La Paz, Bolivia

CNN
March 23, 2006 1:43AM

American and his girlfriend arrested in hotel bombings

American man and his Uruguayan girlfriend were arrested Wednesday, accused of killing two people and injuring at least seven with bombs that severely damaged two hotels.

Police puzzled over their motive, discounting terrorism but saying they had religious reasons and that the American appears to be mentally ill.

The first bombing was at the Alojamiento Linares Hotel, also in La Paz on Tuesday. The fatalities came from the first bombing, because the police were able to uncover the plot and evacuate the Riosinio Hotel before the second bomb went off.

These are the two whackos responsible for two bombing attacks in Bolivia:


Claudio Lestad, 25, of New Orleans


Alda Ribeiro, 40, of Uruguay

The story continues to say that these two were planning a bigger hit than the two hotels.

The couple had planned to bomb the Chilean consulate in La Paz on Saturday, National Police Chief Issac Pemintel said.
The President of Bolivia imediately called these people terrorists, according to the story.




Bolivian President Evo Morales

President Evo Morales lost no time in denouncing them as an attack on Bolivia's democracy. "This American was putting bombs in hotels," Morales said. "The U.S. government fights terrorism, and they send us terrorists."

So, what makes these two loonies different than the crazy people who bomb embassies? What is the difference between a consulate and an embassy?

Consulate:

1. The residence or official premises of a consul.
2. The office, term of office, or jurisdiction of a consul.
3. Government by consuls.

Embassy:

1. A building containing the offices of an ambassador and staff.
2. The position, function, or assignment of an ambassador.
3. A mission to a foreign government headed by an ambassador.
4. A staff of diplomatic representatives headed by an ambassador.

Consul:

1. An official appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country and represent his or her government's commercial interests and assist its citizens there. See Usage Note at council.
2. Either of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, elected for a term of one year.
3. Any of the three chief magistrates of the French Republic from 1799 to 1804.

Ambassador:

1. A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and
accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another, usually for a specific length of time.

2. A diplomatic official heading his or her country's permanent mission to certain international organizations, such as the United Nations.
3. An authorized messenger or representative.
4. An unofficial representative: ambassadors of goodwill.

So, the National Police Chief, Issac Pemintel stated that the couple had a plan together to blow up the Consulate of Chile in La Paz, Bolivia on Saturday, but the police "denounced terrorism" as the reason, but sited "religious reasons" for the bombings.

What did the victims of these bombings have to say about what happend?


"This doesn't make any sense. It seems like a joke. Clearly they are psychopaths and they wanted to kill people," said Natalie de la Quintana, who lives up the street.

"It knocked me out," [Ramiro]Calle [employee at the Riosinio Hotel] said. "I was very frightened."

"I was terrified," said Helga Bruggeling, an Australian tourist who was staying across the street. "Our entire building shook. Now we're wondering if it's safe to stay here anymore."
So, what is a terrorist?
Terrorist:

1. One that engages in acts or an act of terrorism.
2. Of or relating to terrorism.

Terrorism:

1. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person
or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
2. The unlawful use or threat of violence esp. against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion 3. Violent and intimidating gang activity
4. The calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimindation or coercion or instilling fear.
So, what do you call two people who planned to bomb the consulate of a soveriegn nation in a second soveriegn nation for religious reasons?

Sounds like terrrorists to me.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Why the US is Losing the War in Iraq

Why are we having so much trouble with the insurgents in Iraq? This was supposed to be a very short war that wouldn't cost America every penny in our coffers.

You will remember that on November 16, 2002, Donald Rumsfeld was quoted as saying that if war erupted in Iraq, it wouldn't last more than "five days or five weeks or five months."




Gaurdian Unlimited
November 16, 2002

Iraqi Army is Tougher Than US Believes

"I can't say if the use of force would last five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that," he said. "It won't be a world war three."
This quote is from an interview Donald Rumsfeld had with Steve Croft of CBS Radio Connect on November 14, 2002. This interview is supposed to be hosted on the Department of Defense web site, but their site seems to be down. Here is the cached page of the transcript.

Rumsfled used this same line a second time on February 7, 2003, but replaced the 555 with 666.



CNN
February 7, 2003

Defense Secretary Speaks to American Troops

And it is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.
You'll notice he dropped the world war III stuff. Because nobody wants to hear Rumsfeld say 666 and World War III at the same time.

It is importnant to note what the November 16, 2002 Gaurdian Unlimited article was about.




Please take a second to read: Iraqi army is tougher than US believes
The article is by Dr Toby Dodge who was an Iraq expert at Warwick University and an associate fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs and discusses the difference between the Iraqi army the US led coalition faced during Operation Desert Storm and what was the current Iraqi army in November, 2002.

According to Wikipedia, their were roughly 660,000 US led coalition forces with Iraq having around 1,000,000 troops. A little over 500,000 of the coalition forces were American. Of the roughly 1 million Iraqi troops most not the highly trained Republican Guard or Special Republican Guard types. There were 80-100,000 Republican Guard and 15-20,000 Special Republican Guard troops.

When Operation Desert Shield was turned into Operation Desert Storm the RGs and SRGs were pulled back to Baghdad and the regular Iraqi troops, who were hungry for the most part and sometimes wearing Chicago Bulls jerseys (looking for this link) other times, were left to die.


So, what happened to the Republican Guard troops that were extremely motivated to keep to Saddam Hussien regime in power? Well, rather than trying to turn them to our side, they were disabanded.




Department of State
Under Constant Updating
Background Note: Iraq

When major combat operations ended in April 2003, the Iraqi Army disintegrated, and its installations were destroyed by pilfering and looting. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) officially dissolved the Iraqi military and Ministry of Defense on May 23, 2003. On August 7, 2003, the CPA established the New Iraqi Army as the first step toward the creation of the national self-defense force of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Support for the manning, training and equipping of Iraq’s security forces is being led by the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq.
George H. W. Bush was smart enough to keep us out of Baghdad and the quagmire we are in today.


CNN
February 27, 2000

CNN20: Kuwait is Liberated

Kuwait is liberated, The Iraqi army is defeated. Our military objectives are met.
Why did George H. W. Bush stop the US led coalition troops short of Baghdad? Is it because he listened to his advisors who told him that Baghdad was protected by 95-120,100 higly trained Iraqi Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard troops?

It is quite clear that George H. W. Bush knew that going into Baghdad was not a good idea. He had liberated Kuwait which is why Operation Desert Storm was turned into Operation Desert Farewell.


What happened to the Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard troops. What happened to the regular Iraqi army troops when they were disbanded on May 23, 2003, one week after George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished."

White House
May 1, 2003
Remarks by the President from the USS
Abraham Lincoln At Sea Off the Coast of San Diego, California
President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended

Thank you all very much. Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.

Did all of those Iraqi troops become pizza delivery guys or do they sell rugs on the side of the road. Or, did they become insurgents.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Bush's "Big Deal" for New Orleans

Today, George W. Bush is lauding his recovery plan for New Orleans residence. So, what is the jist of this $4.2 billion plan? Each resident that lost a house due to hurricane Katrina "up to $150,000. "


George Bush With His Blue Sleeves Rolled Up

CNN
March 8, 2006

Bush touts $4.2 billion plan for Louisiana homeowners

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- During a tour of the hurricane-damaged Gulf Coast, President Bush on Wednesday pressed Congress to pass a proposal that would reimburse up to $150,000 to each Louisiana homeowner who lost a residence to Katrina.

Big freaking deal.

What happened to the $10.5 billion that Bush spoke of in his famous "and, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" speech? He even mentioned needing more money than that.



George Bush With His Blue Shirt Slevees Rolled Up Six Months Ago

White House
Mobile Regional Airport Mobile, Alabama
September 2, 2005

President Arrives in Alabama, Briefed on Hurricane Katrina

We have a responsibility to help clean up this mess, and I want to thank the Congress for acting as quickly as you did. Step one is to appropriate $10.5 billion. But I've got to warn everybody, that's just the beginning. That's a small down payment for the cost of this effort. But to help the good folks here, we need to do it.

It is interesting that FEMA Director Michael Brown was not the only person that Bush said was "doing a heck of a job." He wasn't even the first. The governors of the Gulf Coast States were. From the same speech as above, directly after Thanking the Coast Guard and the Commander and Troops in Iraq.

"I want to congratulate the governors for being leaders. You didn't ask for this, when you swore in, but you're doing a heck of a job."

Bush also said something else important in this speech. It has to do with "federal responsibility." He states the following:

"And the federal government's job is big, and it's massive, and we're going to do it. Where it's not working right, we're going to make it right. Where it is working right, we're going to duplicate it elsewhere. We have a responsibility,
at the federal level
, to help save life, and that's the primary focus right now. every life is precious, and so we're going to spend a lot of time saving lives, whether it be in New Orleans or on the coast of Mississippi."

Bush went on national TV in a highly televised to give a speech to let us know that not only did the Congress approve the $10. 5 billion on he asked for on September 2, they gave him even more.

George Bush With His Blue Slevees Rolled Up
And His Buttons Crooked 5 3/4 Months Ago

White House
Jackson Square New Orleans, Louisiana
September 15, 2006

President Discusses Hurricane Relief in Address to the Nation

To carry out the first stages of the relief effort and begin rebuilding at once, I have asked for, and the Congress has provided, more than $60 billion. This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis, which demonstrates the compassion and resolve of our nation.

Wow, $60 billion, that would be up to $2,250,000 for each resident who lost a home due to Katrina. I'll bet that amount of money would get some people up and on their feet. That is easily enough money to get your lot comepletely cleared and have a new house put back there.

When Bush mentioned the "more than $60 billion," he was adding together the $10.5 billion requested by Bush and approved by Congress on September 2 (Public Law 109-61) and the $51.8 billion requested in a letter September 7 and approved by Congress on September 8 (Public Law 109-62).

The Democrats saw the abuses starting right away and presented the following document the day after Bush's Jackson Square speech on September 15.

Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing
September 16, 2005

An Oversight Hearing on Whether the Army Corps of Engineers Retaliated Against Whistleblowers Who Objected to Iraq Contracting Abuses

Ironically, the problems that are emerging in post-Katrina contracting in many ways echo the problems that emerged in Iraqi reconstruction contracting, and which Ms. Bunnatine Greenhouse has had to address.

On September 8, 2005, the President signed the second supplemental emergency appropriation of $52 billion for Hurricane Katrina relief. That legislation included major changes to procurement law, including a provision that exempted Katrina-related procurement, up to $250,000 per contract, from all normal federal procurement requirements.

This new exception means that Katrina relief procurements up to $250,000 can be made without competition, and out of the public view. This new exception therefore raises serious concerns that the same problems that dogged U.S. contracting in Iraq – failures in competition, failures in transparency, and failures in integrity – will arise again in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

So, the Democrats saw the problems, that are now being reported, two weeks after the hurricane hit. But, as usual, nobody paid attention.

So, I figured I would get the total amount of money spent on hurricane Katrina relief right form the horses mouth: The Department of Homeland Security, who oversees FEMA, who is in charge of hurricane Katrina relief. I found a page that list everything. It is very long and drawn out I am gonna have to do some math or find a web site. Here is the updated (?) report.

Department of Homeland Security
Emergencies & Diasters
Hurricane Katrina: What Government Is Doing

Here is the latest tally of all of the money that had been appropriated by the Senate for hurricane relief. This includes both Katrina and Rita.

Senate Budget Committee
February 28, 2006
Senate Budget Committee Releases Current Tally of Hurricane-Related Spending

The Senate Budget Committee today released a current tally of congressional legislation related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Enacted hurricane-related relief is now more than $100 billion.

Now as of February 28, 2006 $100 billion dollars would be

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Boondoggle

This is a great video that shows just how poorly America's national reserves are being wasted on the "war" in Iraq.

Pay close attention to the Nightline clip with Ted Koppel and Andrew Natrios. This clip is the first estimate given by the Bush administration for how much money the "war" will cost the American taxpayers. That amount: $1.7 billion.

The US has now spent the following amount on the "war" in Iraq.




Wednesday, March 01, 2006

New Video Shows George W. Bush Knew Levees Would Be Breeched

A new video has surfaced today regarding the events starting the day before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast States. This Associated Press video states that it "was Sunday August 29, 19 hours before Katrina slams ashore on the Louisiana coast." Katrina made initial landfall at 6:10 CDT August 29, 2005 , in Buras, Louisiana. Crawford Texas is also in the Central Time Zone. We also know that August 29, 2005 was a Monday. So the AP video has to be from August 28, not the 29th.

View the August 28, 2005 video at Crooks and Liars

This new video shows Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown briefing George W. Bush on just how sever Katrina could be. Brown states that Katrina is "to put it mildly, the big one."

This video proves that Bush was well aware of how deadly and exactly how much damage could be caused by a category 5 hurricane. At one point in the video National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield tells Bush that he "wants to make absolutely clear to everyone that the greatest potential for large loss of life, is still in the coastal areas from the storm surge."

The National Hurricane Center also released a hurricane advisory on August 28 that stated that the storm surge from Katrina could cause flooding as high as 25 feet with "large and dangerous battering waves."
National Hurricane Center
August 28, 2005
COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 15 TO 20 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDELEVELS...LOCALLY AS HIGH AS 25 FEET ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL.

HEAVY RAINS FROM KATRINA SHOULD BEGIN TO AFFECT THE CENTRAL GULFCOAST SUNDAY EVENING. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE PATHOF KATRINA.
THE HURRICANE IS STILL EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES OVER EXTREME WESTERN CUBA...AND 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL IS EXPECTED OVER THE YUCATAN PENINSULA.

As you can see from this cross section diagram of the New Orleans levee system, the maximum levee height is 23 feet.

Click On Diagram to Enlarge

If the levees are 23 feet at their highest level and the National Hurricane Center was predicting floods of up to 25 that would put the water two feet over the top of the levees. That combined with "large battering" waves would easily top the levees.

"Over topping" is the action that can cause a levee to fail during a hurricane. This exactly what happened during Katrina.

The Times-Picayune

January 30, 2006

Levees must be armored, corps says

Katrina proved overtopping is the far more serious threat to the metro area, investigators said. Evidence clearly showed overtopping caused the Industrial Canal I-wall collapse that flooded much of the 9th Ward and parts of St. Bernard Parish. Overtopping also was the main cause of the wholesale disintegration of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet levee, which allowed Lake Borgne to rush over much of northern St. Bernard Parish, engineers said.

Had either system stayed intact while being overtopped, the flooding would have been much reduced, because the storm surge receded below the tops of the levees and flood walls in little more than two hours, records released by the corps show. But when the levees collapsed, the water continued to pour through the breaches for hours until the lake receded to sea level or the hole was filled by the corps.

Here is my brief timeline of the first few days of Hurricane Katrina and what George W. Bush was doing. Talking Points Memo has a much more detailed timeline of what occured.

null

George W. Bush Gets Briefed on Katrina August 28, 2005

August 28, 2005 7:25 am CDT:

Bush is fully briefed by FEMA and the NHC at his ranch in Crawford, TX on how bad hurricane Katrina could turn out. Bush tells Brown and others "I want to assure the folks at the state level...that ah...we are fully prepared...to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm to help you deal with ... ah ... ah ... with the loss of property and we pray for no loss of life, of course."

August 28, 2005 11:31 am CDT:

null

Bush Addresses the Nation From His Ranch in Crawford, TX.

White House

Prairie Chapel Ranch Crawford, Texas

August 28, 2005

President Discusses Hurricane Katrina, Congratulates Iraqis on Draft Constitution

THE PRESIDENT: This morning I spoke with FEMA Undersecretary Mike Brown and emergency management teams not only at the federal level but at the state level about the -- Hurricane Katrina. I've also spoken to Governor Blanco of Louisiana, Governor Barbour of Mississippi, Governor Bush of Florida, and Governor Riley of Alabama. I want to thank all the folks at the federal level and the state level and the local level who have taken this storm seriously. I appreciate the efforts of the governors to prepare their citizenry for this upcoming storm.

Yesterday, I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Louisiana, and this morning I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Mississippi. These declarations will allow federal agencies to coordinate all disaster relief efforts with state and local officials. We will do everything in our power to help the people in the communities affected by this storm.

Hurricane Katrina is now designated a category five hurricane. We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground. Please listen carefully to instructions provided by state and local officials.

August 28, 2005: Bush signs a disaster declaration for Mississippi.

White House

August 28, 2005

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Mississippi

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Covington, Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, and Stone.

August 29, 2005 6:10 am CDT: Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans as the largest hurricane in recorded history. Bush goes to Arizona to push Social Security reform and has cake with John McCain.

null

Bush at Naval Air Station North Island San Diego, California

August 30, 2005: New Orleans has been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, with massive flooding throughout the city. Bush goes to San Diego, CA to compare the war Iraq to World War II and "plays" guitar with a country singer.

White House
August 30, 2005
President Commemorates 60th Anniversary of V-J Day

September 1, 2005: Victims of Hurricane Katrina still have not received aid from FEMA. Hundreds of vixtims locked in the New Orleans Convetion Center, not knowing that there are 200 National Guard troops also barricaded in another area of the convention center.

George Bush states that nobody thought that the levess would break, in an interview with Diane Sawyer. George Bush does a fly over and has another photo-op to show he cares. Media Matters has the video of this interview.

ABC's Good Morning America

September 1, 2005

Associated Press Hosted PDF of Exchange

Sawyer: "But given the fact that everyone anticipated a hurricane five, a possible hurricane five hitting shore, are you satisfied with the pace at which this is arriving? And which it was planned to arrive?"

Bush: "Well, I fully understand people wanting things to have happened yesterday. I mean, I understand the anxiety of people on the ground. I can imagine -- I just can't imagine what it is like to be waving a sign saying 'come and get me now'. So there is frustration. But I want people to know there is a lot of help coming. I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm. But these levees got breached. And as a result, much of New Orleans is flooded. And now we are having to deal with it and will."

September 15, 2005: Thousands of New Orleans victims are given one way tickets away from their homes without a way back. George Bush has generators brought in to New Orleans for a photo-op in Jackson Square, bu ttakes the generators with him when he leaves.

The most disturbing part about the reporting of this new video is that the media sat on it for 6 months. Just like the New York Times sat on the NSA wiretapping scandal for a year. It could have potetially change the outcome of the 2004 presidential election, but we will never know.

LA Times
March 2, 2006
Bush Is Warned on Katrina in Video

Department briefings are routinely recorded, said [Homeland Security spokesman, Russ] Knocke, adding that Homeland Security does not know how Associated Press got the footage of the Aug. 28 briefing. It was also obtained that day or the day after by a network and a cable affiliate, but neither aired it, he said.


Here is a
3D model that shows just how big Katrina was.