GDAEman: George Bush

Showing posts with label George Bush. Show all posts

October 9, 2010

GDAE Podcast - Episode 35

Left / Right Populism - Part VI

Can principled people on the left and right clean up our democratic institutions?

Case-study from Electoral Politics: David Sirota on Tea-party-backed candidate for US Senate in Colorado, Ken Buck.

Shared Left/Right Populist Anger: CNN interview with David Sirota explains Bush & Obama failure on Financial Bailout.

MUSIC: Ryan Harvey, "It's Not Just Bush"

Historical Context of Tea Party: We've seen this before in past decades. Kevin Drum exposes how the Tea Party follows the same broad contours of past right-wing spasms during Democratic Party presidencies.

Prosecute Bush: An example of a "nation of laws," Iceland is holding its leaders accountable for financial meltdown.

Play Episode 35 from this page:

Click to Download Episode 35.

Listen to Part V in the series, Episode 34:

Listen to Part IV in the series, Episode 33:

Listen to Part III in the series, Episode 32:

Listen to Part II in the series, Episode 31:

Listen to Part I in the series, Episode 30, (20-minute abridged version):

April 18, 2010

This Date in 2004 - Iraq War Plan

On April 18, 2004, Bob Woodward wrote that on November 21, 2001 Bush collared Rumsfeld physically and asked him:

What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq? What is the status of the war plan? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret.

Source:

Mother Jones, Sept/Oct 2006, "Chronicle of a War Foretold," Tim Dickinson & Jonathan Stein.

October 18, 2009

GDAE Podcast - Episode 21

Episode 21

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Escalation in the Balance: Voices of Rickback Bookboch, Stephen Walt, General Petraeus, WakeUp AM, Obama, Richard Engel.
MUSIC: Dana Lyons' "Cows with Guns".
Prosecute Bush: Guantanamo Detainee Attorney Michael Rapkin calls for Bush & Cheney prosecutions for torture.
Afghanistan II: Rory Stewart on US Poised to Drive off Cliff in Afghanistan
The Answer: How we know "We are All One"

April 21, 2009

On Sunday: Rahm Emanuel says Obama will not prosecute Bush attorneys.

On Tuesday: President Obama says prosecution possible.

My heart sank after reading about Emanuel's statement. My heart lifted when hearing President Obama's statement.

Our best hope of preventing similar crimes in the future is to hold Bush administration criminals accountable in full public view.

Contact Obama
Comment Line: (202)456-1111.

Contact Attorney General Eric Holder

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

February 7, 2009

GDAE Podcast - Episode 5

Episode 5 - February 6, 2009

Rickback Bookbock on Accountability. A tie-in to peanut butter and milk.
Prosecuting Bush officials for Torture: An interview with law professor and National Lawyers Guild President Margarie Cohn.
MUSIC: "Vat of Chocolate" and "You're American (video)" the later by Brian Fox.
Listener Feedback: Corporate media coverage of Israeli assault on Gaza and a few suggestions.
An exchange with the crew from the WakeUp AM Podcast from Portsmouth New Hampshire.

February 4, 2009

Looking Backwards: A Prerequisite to Looking Forward

I've been away from the blogging world a bit here. Been thinking about accountability lately, 'cuz it's a feature of the upcoming GDAE Podcast... the 5th episode should be finished in a couple days.

One concept I'm pushing relates to Obama's desire to "Look Forward," which has become his and Joe Biden's montra in the context of whether their administration will hold criminal actors of the Bush administration accountable. The concept is, if we want to look forward to living in a nation of laws, we need to enforce those laws. That means holding people, like David Addington, John Yoo, Condoleezza Rice and George Bush accountable for their actions.... actions that happen to have occurred in the past.

So, help me advance this concept that, sometimes, looking backwards is a prerequisite setting things right for the future.

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

January 3, 2009

Sign the Petition for a Special War Crimes Prosecutor

Get Website Badge for Petition for a Special Prosecutor to Investigate Bush War Crimes

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

January 1, 2009

Prosecute Bush: Change.gov

I've tried to beat the drum on the reasons Bush should be prosecuted. You probably agree, so now lets create the pressure. Here's an important drum to beat:

1. Go to Obama's Transition Team web site, Change.gov
2. Go to the "Open for Questions" page
3. Sign In to your Change.gov account or register if you don't have one (it's easy)
4. Search for the questions using the keywords: special prosecutor
5. Vote in favor by clicking the check mark (NOT the X)

Note: Many people have asked the same question (over 500). You can vote on as many of them as you like, just beware of the "truth commission" cop out questions mixed in... you might not want to vote for them.

As of today, the most popular "Additional Issue" under "Pick a Topic" is the following:

"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor - ideally Patrick Fitzgerald - to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"

14,350 votes "yes" as of today. Lets go viral and get that number to 500,000 million before the January 20 inauguration.

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

Thanks to the Godless Liberal Homo for the instructions on Obama's site.

December 28, 2008

The Fair Trial of George Bush

In an essay, "Why Bush and Cheney Should Get A Fair Trial," Nightprowlkitty at Docudharma poses the question, Why should they get a fair trial? Much of the piece presents variations on the theme:

One reason is because so many have not gotten a fair trial, both here in the USA and abroad.

Underlying that theme is a message that the legitimacy of the United States system of Justice depends on it.

If we do not hold those in power accountable for their crimes, then who will ever believe the average American has any chance of a fair trial? Why should our faith in our justice system continue?

This is a very powerful rationale for letting blind justice take its natural course, rather than having the natural flow dammed by the establishment. But there is another powerful reason.

Impunity of the elite from justice is a certain path to social breakdown. We know the crimes committed by George Bush and others. In the words of chief American prosecutor at Nuremberg, Robert H. Jackson:

To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.

The crimes are not in question. The only question is whether society will allow Bush to get away with these crimes. If it does, the rule-of-law will become illegitimate in the eyes of many more people and the thread of civil order will unravel further.

Put another way, do the elites want orderly Justice or disorderly Justice? I saw the dot-com bubble burst coming, I saw the Bush wars coming, I saw the housing bubble-burst coming, I see inflation coming and I see social breakdown coming if Bush and his associates are not prosecuted.

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

December 18, 2008

Look! Up in the Sky. It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

No, it's Super Al-Zaidi's Tennis Shoes.

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

December 16, 2008

Release the Heroic Shoe Thrower

You can join the growing international call for the release of al-Zaidi! Click here to sign a petition: http://www.iraqsnuclearmirage.co...cles/ Zaydi.html

I'm just doing the progressive echo-chamber thing:

By now, you've all seen the footage of the Iraqi journalist hurling his shoes at George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad this past Sunday. Click here to see a YouTube video of the event.

What has not been so widely reported are the words Muntadar al-Zaidi, a correspondent for Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV, shouted out. As the first shoe was thrown at Bush, he said: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog." And with his second shoe, which the president also dodged, al-Zaidi said: "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq ."

This bold statement also has to be understood in its cultural context. Showing the soles of your shoes to someone, let alone tossing your shoes at them, is a sign of contempt in Arab culture.

After throwing his shoes, al-Zaidi was wrestled to the ground by security personnel and hauled away. According to Democracy Now! this morning, "Muntadar al-Zaidi has been held without charge for over twenty-four hours and has been reportedly beaten in jail. His brother said al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury. Earlier today, al-Zaidi was handed over to the Iraqi military command in Baghdad."

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

December 9, 2008

White Supremacy Joke

In the context of the crumbling economy Rep. Charles Rangel (D. N.Y.) said, when asked what he thought about the President;

"Well, I really think he shatters the myth of White Supremacy once and for all."

Psssst... Do Something

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

The Future Was Yesterday blog

July 21, 2008

Karadzic Arrested: Could Be Bush

Contemporary War Criminals:
Pinochet, Bashir, Bush, Fujimori, Karadzic

Bush is famous for saying, "You can run but you can't hide." Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic is experiencing this saying first hand.

The world is witnessing Karadzic being brought to Justice. It signals that even the highest official in the land cannot commit crimes with impunity. This helps maintain social stability; if the public loses confidence that justice will be enforced through official channels, they will be tempted to seek vigilante justice.

We've also seen justice brought to Sudanese president Omar Bashir through the International Criminal Court. Chilean President Agusto Pinochet also learned that "you can run but you can't hide" from justice. The same fate befell former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori.

These national leaders committed crimes, and despite some delay, have eventually faced justice. This signals the potential that George W. Bush could eventually face justice for waging an illegal war of aggression in Iraq.

Sources:

Associated Press, Top war crimes suspect arrested in Serbia, DUSAN STOJANOVIC, July 22, 2008.

July 19, 2008

Bashir and Bush

The World is witnessing the indictment of Sudanese President Omar Bashir for war crimes. A leader is being held responsible for his acts.

President Omar Bashir (Sudan) and President George Bush

With the impeachment of George W. Bush "off the table," people could turn to the next logical option to hold him responsible for his acts: criminal prosecution. Bush might wish, some day, that he had simply gotten away with impeachment rather than criminal prosecution and punishment.

Mark Levine, a University of California professor, is drawing a parallel between the indictment of Sudanese president Omar Bashir and George Bush's crimes. Levine observes that, with the change of a couple words in the Bashir indictment, it could be applied to Bush:

[Bush] was directly responsible. He is the president. He is the commander-in-chief. Those are not just formal words. He used the whole state apparatus. He used the army; he enrolled the [military]. They all report to him. They all obey him. His control is absolute.

Absolute control. Absolute responsibility. Absolute liability.

Sources:

Al Jazeera, First al-Bashir, next ... Bush? by Mark Levine, July 16, 2008. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2008/07/20087166397881715.html

Mark Levine is a professor of Middle East history at the University of California, Irvine and is the author of the newly released Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam.

June 2, 2008

Will Edwards Prosecute Bush?

You might have heard it here first.... The call for John Edwards to be Attorney General.

Now we're hearing reports, like the following:

Another Democrat who has discussed strategy with friends in the Obama inner circle said that Mr Obama was openly considering asking Mrs Clinton to join his cabinet, alongside two other former presidential rivals: John Edwards, who is seen as a likely attorney general...

This notion was raised in my first video commentary: Prosecute Bush et al., Chapter 1

May 27, 2008

Justice Prevailing in Chile Fifteen Years Later

Bush operatives take note. You should never rest easy, because justice just might prevail in your prosecution.

Chile Cracks Down on Ex-Dictatorship Forces

In Chile, arrest warrants have been issued for nearly 100 former soldiers and police officers under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It’s the single largest mass arrest for crimes under the seventeen-year military rule that began with the overthrow of the elected Allende government in 1973. The suspects are accused of involvement in Operation Colombo, in which at least 120 dissidents were killed. Chilean Interior Ministry lawyer Boris Paredes says the government will press the case until the end.

Boris Paredes:

Judge Montiglio’s investigations are accusatory investigations. Because of this, they give so much responsibility, which is logical here because the entire state conspired in this crime, in these horrendous crimes. Therefore, we will pursue criminal responsibilities to the end.

More than 3,000 people died under Pinochet’s rule. He died in December 2006 after evading numerous attempts to put him on trial.

Sources:

DemocracyNow Headlines, May 27, 2008.

May 15, 2008

Funny Bush Quote

... or a sad quote when you consider he's led the once mighty US into the sunset for the past seven years.

I do remain confident in Linda [Chavez]. She'll make a fine labor secretary. From what I've read in the press accounts, she's perfectly qualified.

Sources:

www.BushCalendar.com January 8, 2001. Comment of president-elect in a press conference.

May 14, 2008

Then and Now: Bush on How to Handle Oil Prices

On Jan. 26, 2000, during a presidential debate, Bush opposed taking oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and instead said then-President Clinton should "jawbone" oil producing nations. That week crude oil prices were $28 a barrel.

Today, prices are $127 a barrel. That's a 500% increase since Bush took office. Goldman Sachs predicts oil at $200 a barrel possibly within a year. Bush tried to "jawbone" Saudi Arabia, again, into increasing production. They effectively said, "no." [More]

Sources:

Associate Press, Bush fails to win Saudi help on gas prices, TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent.

May 12, 2008

Why Bush is Going to Israel

George W. Bush's Future Sanctuary from US Prosecution

A friend, with excellent sources, informed me of the ulterior motive for Bush's visit to Israel.

Bush wants to know if Israel will give him sanctuary from prosecution in the US. Israel, informed of this pending request, is said to be considering a standing offer of the Ariel Sharon Suite at the Jerusalem Hilton.

A related aside... I still think Edwards should be Obama's Attorney General. Then, some of these Bush adminiatration criminals might actually get prosecuted.

YouTube Video on the Topic:

Prosecute Bush et al. Chapter 1

Source:

Jerusalem Hilton, 7 King David St, Jerusalem 94101 Tel: 972 2 6211111
fom-jerusalem@hilton.com

March 19, 2008

How Bush Started the Iraq War

Most of us believe that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) served as Bush's lynch pin for starting the war with Iraq five years ago today (March 20 in Iraq). But Bush used a different criterion to trigger the war.

The context to Bush's ultimate trigger was that the WMD inspections were going well, unless like Bush you wanted to use WMDs as the excuse for starting a war. 731 inspections between November 2002 and March 2003 had found nothing, despite using intelligence from the US. As an aside, this puts the lie to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's claim that....

We know where they are (Iraq's WMD). They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat.

On March 7, 2003, Hans Blix, the UN's chief weapons inspector in Iraq, told the UN Security Council that his inspectors faced "relatively few difficulties," and

at this juncture are able to perform professional, no-notice inspections all over Iraq and to increase aerial surveillance.

Asked how long it would take to address the remaining issues, Blix said it:

will not take years, nor weeks, but months.

Bush's excuse for starting the Iraq war, disarming Saddam Hussein, was seriously threatened. He had to come up with a guarantee to ensure he could have his war. At the 11th hour Bush changed his criterion for triggering a war. On March 17, 2003 Bush gave an ultimatum that he knew Hussein would not accept:

Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict.

There you have it. Bush's final excuse for starting a war of agression was that Hussein and his sons would not leave Iraq upon his demand.

Sources:

1. Interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News This Week, March 30, 2003.

Vincent Buliosi, The Prosecution of George Bush for Murder. See pages 130-135 for more on this.

October 9, 2010

April 18, 2010

October 18, 2009

April 21, 2009

February 7, 2009

February 4, 2009

January 3, 2009

January 1, 2009

December 28, 2008

December 18, 2008

December 16, 2008

December 9, 2008

July 21, 2008

July 19, 2008

June 2, 2008

May 27, 2008

May 15, 2008

May 14, 2008

May 12, 2008

March 19, 2008

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