The World Rushes To Tha Aid Of America

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Lots of countries are offering aid.

My favorite offer is by Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, has been recently targeted for assassination by BushCo, speaking through its mouthpiece, Pat "Man of God" Robertson.

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BushCo, speaking through its mouthpiece, Pat "Man of God" Robertson.

Wow. Can you trace that Bush/Robertson connection for me? Sounds interesting.

Jim

Maybe a bit of a sideline, but what I can't understand is why this particular storm caused so much devastation. Surely, tropical storms and the like have been hitting that bit of coast at the rate of 10 or more a year for as long as people can remember.

Discovery Channel and others run 'extreme weather' programmes ad nausium; 'oo, how scary, what with all those roofs flying around, and just look at all those devastated houses ...' Even reports on the news of assorted storms with images of boats washed up on harbour walls etc. are forgotten a day later.

So, what is it with New Orleans this time around...

/dl

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Legge:
Maybe a bit of a sideline, but what I can't understand is why this particular storm caused so much devastation. Surely, tropical storms and the like have been hitting that bit of coast at the rate of 10 or more a year for as long as people can remember.
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This was a particularly ferocious storm. However last year after hurricane Ivan, promises were made that procedures would be put in place to minimise casulties. Seems Dubya's priorities lie elsewhere.

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Originally posted by David Legge:
Maybe a bit of a sideline, but what I can't understand is why this particular storm caused so much devastation.

Several factors at work:

• New Orleans is largely below sea level. Often, the most destructive force in a huge storm is what is called a storm surge, walls of water not unlike a tsunami. The storm surge rose higher than the levees and/or broke through them, thus filling up the large bowl that is New Orleans, and also pouring into Lake Pontchartrain, which borders New Orleans. Its own levee broke and its waters overflowed into the bowl.
  
  
• The levee system was in dire need of maintenance and improvements, including building them higher because they sink over time. Congress allocated the money for this but funds were severely cut by BushCo, diverted toward tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and toward the illegal, immoral, and insane folly in Iraq.
  

And President Junior actually had the balls to say: I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.

This is either a bald faced lie, egregious incompetence, or, most likely, both. It was a well documented concern by many government agencies.

It's become painfully embarrassing to be an American these days.

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Has everyone topped up ready for the fuel strikes???????

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Originally posted by Jim Lawson:

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BushCo, speaking through its mouthpiece, Pat "Man of God" Robertson.

Wow. Can you trace that Bush/Robertson connection for me? Sounds interesting.

Pat "Man of God" Robertson, founder of the right-wing Christian PAC called the Christian Coalition, and former presidential candidate, has been a prominent force in moving the Republican party, and, ultimately, the USA government, toward theocracy. G.W. Bush, a Christian Evangelist himself, would likely not be president today if not for Robertson's influence, and Bush is not about to forget that. Documentation of Robertson's influence is widespread.

Although President Ford officially banned the assassination of heads of states in 1976, such assassinations and attempts by the USA/CIA litter the sordid history of modern geopolitical machinations. Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter and a major supplier of oil to the United States. Chavez has declared his desire to move Venezuela toward socialism. Anyone who thinks that BushCo is gonna stand around and let a major supplier of US oil go socialist with impunity is naive.

It's been the standard operating procedure of Karl Rove, "The Architect" as Bush calls him, to float potentially distasteful ideas and policies, as well as outright lies and disinformation, through outside groups friendly to and/or in the pocket of BushCo (Swiftboat Veterans for "Truth," anyone?), and it's very unlikely that a man as powerful, visible, and connected as Robertson would say this without at least tacit covert approval by BushCo. That BushCo immediately distanced itself from Robertson's remarks is right out of Rove's play book.

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That'll be the evangelist christian president who just declined to rid Africa of curable disaeases as UK's £rown has suggested? Several European countries are offering money over long periods. Bill Gates has stepped into the US gap to offer £400 over 10 years because Bush couldn't afford it. (allegedly)

Anyone recognise a pattern here? Black, poor ... in need? That'll be "those people" again. At least he recognises them as people... doesn't he?

Swdish plane with water purification equipment aboard is denied landing rights at American airfields. Can't trust those pesky Swedes canya "Burning"? (GWB quote "Let's speed things up")

Here are some good books:

Rising Tide - John Barry (my kid brother) - covers river engineering on the Mississippi and the flood of 1927

What's the matter with Kansas? - Thomas Frank - right-wing 'Christian' politics on the ground in Kansas, describing a mob enraged at the 'elite', and getting back at the elite by cutting their taxes

Don't Think of an Elephnat - George Lakoff - a psychologicial/linguistic approach to understanding the right wing appeal

Frank and Lakoff both note the impact of right wing money in paying to build pro-business attitudes in the US electorate.

Why anyone thinks Pat Robertson, son of a former US segregationist Senator, is a Christian is beyond me.

Phil

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Originally posted by Phil Barry:

What's the matter with Kansas? - Thomas Frank

I'm reading this right now, and it's excellent. It all comes down to money (big surprise, I know), using socio-cultural scare tactics to convince the formerly progressive, Democratic working class to vote against their own best interests over and over again. If you wanna understand just how this has been accomplished, read this book.

Fred

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And you should take a look at 'What's wrong with America?' by Jonathan Neale (Vision, 2004) for a passionate, highly readable account of the growth of the Neo-cons, first in the U.S. then how they are exporting their creed to the rest of the world.