Bush Won't Help Tsunami Victims until Halliburton gets into Relief Line..

[Octafish]

Once Cheney figures out to make a buck off the disaster and how the scheming turds can get their kick backs, then the efforts will get under way in earnest.

To men such as Bush and Cheney, human life means nothing. All they care for is profit and power. Spawn by Mammon, their lust is the cause of much of the misery in the nation and world, with or without natural disaster.

Are Tsunamis Good for the Economy?

By Chris Westley

EXCERPT...

I say most everyone because some groups in the economy clearly benefit, and often this includes firms that depend on government contracts resulting from emergency funding. Firms such as Halliburton or Bechtel may do great work in the private sector, but absent government contracts, these firms would play a much less notorious role in the society because their market power would be based, not on the forced conscription of capital that is taxation, but on voluntary exchanges between buyers and sellers. Politicians also benefit, if only because of the publicity they receive when disbursing other people's money to the disaster sites.

It doesn't have to be this way. Natural disasters are a fact of life, but the evidence is clear that they cause much less destruction than wars (and other fruits of the nation-state). For instance, as horrific as the loss of human life resulting from last week's tsunamis is, it doesn't come close to the loss of innocent human life that has resulted from U.S. intervention in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

According to a study reported last fall in the British medical journal The Lancet, this number is already well over 100,000. Compared to the innocent civilian deaths resulting from the wars of the 20th century, it is clear that large, bureaucratic nation-states are a greater threat to human life than occasional and inevitable natural disasters.

Indeed, wars are synthetic natural disasters, writ large. As Ludwig von Mises pointed out in Human Action: "Modern war is merciless, it does not spare pregnant women or infants; it is indiscriminate killing and destroying. It does not respect the rights of neutrals. Millions are killed, enslaved, or expelled from the dwelling places in which their ancestors lived for centuries."

He could have been describing much of what is occurring today both in Iraq and along the rim of the Indian Ocean.

CONTINUED...

http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?control=1712&id=75

[Warpy]

1. Oh, just bypass this son of a bitch

and donate directly. Doctors without Borders, the Salvation Army, and Oxfam will deliver the biggest bang for yout buck.

[Flabbis_the_Goon]

2. kjh

If the U.S is the most generous country in the world why do so many people resent giving to charity? Here (UK) I don't hear anybody complaining about giving aid to the Asian countries, in fact the opposite is true - the British contribution was recently doubled after public objection to how little the UK had given. Then a UN official generally criticises wealthy nations for their contributions and it becomes anti-American bias and the world should "fvck themselves". Someone answer this question - why is it that when this same statement is directed at the U.S/UK the (general) response in the UK is to agree with the statement and lobby their government to give more and the response in the U.S is to claim the UN is anti-American and tell the world to go fvck themselves?

[Hello_Kitty]

6. Unfortunately, arrogance is bred into us from an early age.

That is why 59 million Americans 'can be so dumb' as that UK headline proclaimed. Arguments that Bush is creating massive antipathy in the world through his foreign policies fall on largely deaf ears over here. It's hard to get through that We're Number One attitude that is so firmly entrenched in the American psyche. Add to that the threat of being loudly and repeatedly labelled unpatriotic and even treasonous by conservatives if you dare to criticize a single aspect of America, it's culture, or a President (Republican - OK if it's Clinton) in the international media.

As for charity, Americans give a lot of lip service to it as a concept. And indeed, many individuals and organizations here do give often and generously. I can't understand the current reticence in this situation. Why is our country shooting itself in the foot by being stingy and with the phony indignation over supposedly "anti-American" comments (that really weren't)? I don't get it. I really don't. We could afford to give so much more and it would go a long way to restoring some of the good opinion of the world that we used to enjoy.

[newyawker99]

10. Hi Flabbis_the_Goon!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Octafish]

5. If I could, I would.

In four years, all Bush has done is wreck the nation and a good chunk of the world. This disaster has demonstrated publicly his callow intellect, splenetic character and evil nature. Just like his illegal invasion of Iraq, people pay the price with their lives.

THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF IRAQ

 --written Edward Jayne and Ronald Kramer
--submitted by Edward Jayne

            Critics of the U.S. invasion of Iraq have emphasized the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the lack of evidence to prove an Iraqi connection to al Qaeda and the 9-11 attacks.  However, an even more compelling issue is often overlooked--that the invasion of Iraq was a flagrant violation of international law, since it was undertaken without Security Council authorization and therefore in violation of the UN Charter.  As a result it was illegal, and those who carried it out can be held responsible for war crimes.

            Significantly, the Preamble to the UN Charter begins by declaring its primary purpose is “to prevent the scourge of war,” and Article 1 repeats and em-phasizes this prerogative by stating that the UN’s role is to “maintain international peace and security.”  Article 2(4) more explicitly prohibits the use of military force in international affairs except in accord with the guiding principles of the UN: “All members shall refrain . . . from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state or in any manner in-consistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”  In retrospect this emphasis may be appreciated as a consequence of the UN Charter having been drafted and adopted at the end of World War II, but its rejection of warfare has been no less relevant to more recent international developments.

            In the event that war becomes a possibility, Articles 41 and 42 of Chapter VII in the UN Charter specify under what circumstances military force can be sanctioned.  Article 41 declares that effective means short of conflict can first be employed to resolve differences, and Article 42 makes it plain that the Security Council can permit military intervention only after having voted that these preliminary measures have failed.  This decision is obtained by a majority vote as specified by Article 27(3) earlier in the Charter.

CONTINUED...

http://www.truthinaction.net/iraq/illegaljayne.htm

[malaise]

3. I had a similar thought this morning

while watching BBC. I wondered how come all these media giants are so adept at showing us this unbelievable catastrophe and yet all now we can't see the destruction which has shattered hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq.

[Octafish]

7. War news is censored.

Fisk warned us.

How the news will be censored in this war

A new CNN system of 'script approval' suggests the Pentagon will have nothing to worry about

Robert Fisk - 25 February 2003

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=381438

Already, the American press is expressing its approval of the coverage of American forces which the US military intends to allow its reporters in the next Gulf war. The boys from CNN, CBS, ABC and The New York Times will be "embedded" among the US marines and infantry. The degree of censorship hasn't quite been worked out. But it doesn't matter how much the Pentagon cuts from the reporters' dispatches. A new CNN system of "script approval" – the iniquitous instruction to reporters that they have to send all their copy to anonymous officials in Atlanta to ensure it is suitably sanitised – suggests that the Pentagon and the Department of State have nothing to worry about. Nor do the Israelis.

Indeed, reading a new CNN document, "Reminder of Script Approval Policy", fairly takes the breath away. "All reporters preparing package scripts must submit the scripts for approval," it says. "Packages may not be edited until the scripts are approved... All packages originating outside Washington, LA (Los Angeles) or NY (New York), including all international bureaus, must come to the ROW in Atlanta for approval."

The date of this extraordinary message is 27 January. The "ROW" is the row of script editors in Atlanta who can insist on changes or "balances" in the reporter's dispatch. "A script is not approved for air unless it is properly marked approved by an authorised manager and duped (duplicated) to burcopy (bureau copy)... When a script is updated it must be re-approved, preferably by the originating approving authority."

Note the key words here: "approved" and "authorised". CNN's man or woman in Kuwait or Baghdad – or Jerusalem or Ramallah – may know the background to his or her story; indeed, they will know far more about it than the "authorities" in Atlanta. But CNN's chiefs will decide the spin of the story.

CNN, of course, is not alone in this paranoid form of reporting. Other US networks operate equally anti-journalistic systems. And it's not the fault of the reporters. CNN's teams may use clichés and don military costumes – you will see them do this in the next war – but they try to get something of the truth out. Next time, though, they're going to have even less chance.

CONTINUED...

http://www.robert-fisk.com/articles173.htm

Then there are the stories from before Selection 2000 where the Pentagon had all the "interns" working secretly at CNN...

Military Interns Booted From CNN, NPR
How Did Army Officers Get Into The News Business?

TV Guide April 15-21, 2000
The Robins Report By J. Max Robins

Top executives at CNN and National Public Radio were more than a bit surprised when they learned that their organizations had used interns from a rather nontraditional source-the United States Army's Psychological Operations unit (PSYOP).

"We have interns from all over the world, but they are accredited journalists or studying ," says Eason Jordan, CNN president of news gathering and international networks. "But those interns had no business being here."

Both internship programs were ended shortly after top management learned of their existence.

A highly specialized unit of the military, PSYOP personnel are often trained in the production of videos as well as television and radio programming used to advance American policy abroad. "In Somalia, we broadcast on radio and shortwave," says Lt. Col. Paul J. Mullin. "We've helped countries in South America produce antidrug public-service announcements."

According to CNN executives and military officials, the intern program began last June and ended in March. A total of five PSYOP sergeants were assigned to the network's Atlanta headquarters-two at the Southeast bureau, two at CNN Radio and one at the satellite department. At NPR's Washington, D.C., base, three PSYOP personnel worked for periods ranging from six weeks to four months from September 1998 through May 1999 on such programs as All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

CONTINUED...

http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Martial_Law/Turner_psyops.htm

The average person thinks: "Gee. It doesn't feel like fascism. The world's still in color and all."

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. Probably why Jeb is being sent.

Oversee the profit margin for the BFEE.

[Octafish]

8. Phi Beta Jebthro

"The smart one." Evil can never be smart enough, though.

Bush Family Financial Scams

The Enron scandal is but the tip of the Iceberg. Fully documented by the US and British media, the Bush family has been implicated in a string of financial scams since the 1980s.  

The following text based on a compilation of press excerpts (first published in December 2000 in the wake of the US presidential elections) is self-explanatory. 

The personal links between the Bush and Salinas de Gortiari families are also documented. The Salinas family was closely tied to the Mexican drug cartel.  

When Carlos Salinas was inaugurated as President, the entire Mexican State apparatus become criminalised with key government positions occupied by members of the Cartel. The Minister of Commerce in charge of trade negotiations leading up to the signing of NAFTA was Raul Salinas Lozano, father of Raul Junior the Drug kingpin and of Carlos the president.

Financial Scams and the Bush Family

CONTINUED w/Details 'n' links...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO202C.html

I know this is old hat to you, Blue State Native. I'm shameless in using every opportunity possible to plug these turds for what they are -- liars, crooks and murderers.

http://adap2k.freeservers.com/~poppy.htm

[Karenina]

9. Here comes annudda one

jes' like de udda one... :SIGH:

[BeFree]

11. Look how fast it went to 350 million

K rove must have been on vacation, too. As soon as he got back he saw the advantage in milking some of the money. "$15 million? Not enough margin. $35 M? Still not enough. $350 M, now were talking some real money."

Wonder if the M$M is curious about the flip flop from 35 to 350?
That's pretty good jump from Wednesday's 35 to Friday's 350, dontcha' think?.

Problem is, by the time any of that money gets to the poorest of people, several hundred will have become very rich.

[Karenina]

12. Karenina in "cheerleader" mode

Gimme an S
Gimme a C
Gimme an A
Gimme a M
WHADDIT SPELL???

[Octafish]

13. Bush.

Cheney, too.

The BFEE makes money off war.
They deal in wholesale death.
Then again, if the disaster's big enough,
there may be some real money to be made there, too.

Here's something that slipped stealthily past the US media radar:

Halliburton leading contender in construction of British aircraft carriers

Construction News
LONDON (AFP)
Sunday November 21, 2004

Halliburton, the oil services giant once run by US Vice President Dick Cheney, has emerged as a leading contender to manage the construction of two British aircraft carriers, The Sunday Telegraph said.

The Ministry of Defence would not confirm or deny the report that Halliburton's subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) was one of two companies to have won the recommendation of MoD officials to take on a "physical integrator" role in what the Sunday paper said was a nine billion pound (17 billion dollar, 13 billion euro) carrier program.

SNIP...

Halliburton is under investigation in the United States for possible violation of army procurement rules in Iraq .

The Sunday Telegraph said defence industry executives fear that if KBR does win the integrator role it could have consequences for the future of Britain's shipbuilding industry.

SOURCE:

http://construction.news.designerz.com/halliburton-leading-contender-in-construction-of-british-aircraft-carriers-report.html

Karenina, these guys are the real deal.



Oh, how happy the day.

[seemslikeadream]

24. SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!

:hi:

[Karenina]

25. ROTFLMAO!!!!

Brilliant!!!!!

[SoCalDem]

17. The house will ram it through, and the Frist will add some anti-abortion

stuff into it, and "just enough" senators will "have to" vote against it.. Since more Dems will vote against it, Bush will go on tv and blame the OBSTRUCTIONIST DEMOCRATS for HATING tsunami victims because they did nto pass his boondoggle (which he never even wanted in the first place:(

[Octafish]

14. Iz juzz like de udda one. Take Perle. Please.

As pioneered by the Carlyle Group, Trireme Partners is meant to cash-in on the post-9-11 "security boom." Remember Richard "PNAC" Perle's meeting with Adnan Khashoggi (Iran-Contra middleman extraordinaire)? I know you do Karenina. Wonder how many others know Bandar wondered about Perle's raising $100 million could be seen as blackmail?

LUNCH WITH THE CHAIRMAN

Why was Richard Perle meeting with Adnan Khashoggi?

by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
The New Yorker
Issue of 2003-03-17
Posted 2003-03-10

At the peak of his deal-making activities, in the nineteen-seventies, the Saudi-born businessman Adnan Khashoggi brokered billions of dollars in arms and aircraft sales for the Saudi royal family, earning hundreds of millions in commissions and fees. Though never convicted of wrongdoing, he was repeatedly involved in disputes with federal prosecutors and with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in recent years he has been in litigation in Thailand and Los Angeles, among other places, concerning allegations of stock manipulation and fraud. During the Reagan Administration, Khashoggi was one of the middlemen between Oliver North, in the White House, and the mullahs in Iran in what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. Khashoggi subsequently claimed that he lost ten million dollars that he had put up to obtain embargoed weapons for Iran which were to be bartered (with Presidential approval) for American hostages. The scandals of those times seemed to feed off each other: a congressional investigation revealed that Khashoggi had borrowed much of the money for the weapons from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (B.C.C.I.), whose collapse, in 1991, defrauded thousands of depositors and led to years of inquiry and litigation.

Khashoggi is still brokering. In January of this year, he arranged a private lunch, in France, to bring together Harb Saleh al-Zuhair, a Saudi industrialist whose family fortune includes extensive holdings in construction, electronics, and engineering companies throughout the Middle East, and Richard N. Perle, the chairman of the Defense Policy Board, who is one of the most outspoken and influential American advocates of war with Iraq.

The Defense Policy Board is a Defense Department advisory group composed primarily of highly respected former government officials, retired military officers, and academics. Its members, who serve without pay, include former national-security advisers, Secretaries of Defense, and heads of the C.I.A. The board meets several times a year at the Pentagon to review and assess the country’s strategic defense policies.

Perle is also a managing partner in a venture-capital company called Trireme Partners L.P., which was registered in November, 2001, in Delaware. Trireme’s main business, according to a two-page letter that one of its representatives sent to Khashoggi last November, is to invest in companies dealing in technology, goods, and services that are of value to homeland security and defense. The letter argued that the fear of terrorism would increase the demand for such products in Europe and in countries like Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

The letter mentioned the firm’s government connections prominently: “Three of Trireme’s Management Group members currently advise the U.S. Secretary of Defense by serving on the U.S. Defense Policy Board, and one of Trireme’s principals, Richard Perle, is chairman of that Board.” The two other policy-board members associated with Trireme are Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State (who is, in fact, only a member of Trireme’s advisory group and is not involved in its management), and Gerald Hillman, an investor and a close business associate of Perle’s who handles matters in Trireme’s New York office. The letter said that forty-five million dollars had already been raised, including twenty million dollars from Boeing; the purpose, clearly, was to attract more investors, such as Khashoggi and Zuhair.

CONTINUED...

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact

A trireme was a Greek warship, powered by three decks of slaves. Sounds about right.



Thanks, Karenina! May you and yours enjoy a most happy, prosperous and peaceful New Year!

[BeFree]

15. Hey Octafish

May this New Year see your efforts bear great fruit. You continually amaze us with your research. Thank Gawd you are on our side, eh?

Let's hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

Peace.

[Octafish]

19. Hey, BeFree! Same to you and yours!

Thank you for the kind words. May the new year bring peace, prosperity, joy and justice to all.

A little parable from Aesop, courtesy of About.com with a little editing, helps explain why DU and DUers are so important:

The Bundle of Sticks

An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. (He had seen his sons grow arrogant and quarrelsome to the point where they no longer cooperated with each other and only fought one another.) He ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son: "Break it." The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the Bundle. In turn, each of the other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. "Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take a stick." When they had done so, he called out to them: "Now, break," and each stick was easily broken. "You see my meaning," said their father. And they understood.

Moral: Union Brings Strength

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_aesop_bundle_sticks.htm

[Tinoire]

16. He's basically told the world that already

Bush chooses his words more carefully than we give that criminal credit for.

==============

Describing the $20 million as a "line of credit," Ereli said, "We have identified an additional $20 million that we will be working to make available" to countries struck by the worst natural disaster in four decades.....

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2004/40083.htm

Daily Press Briefing
Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
December 28, 2004

(snip)

QUESTION: Adam, can you just -- the $20 million, exactly what is the status of that? Is that to be disbursed fairly soon or is it just --

MR. ERELI: Like the $11 million, it will be -- the 11 million additional, it will be disbursed to our missions and to local NGOs and other organizations as the need arises. The way to think of it is as a line of credit, frankly, that here is money available to be drawn upon to get equipment, to develop capacity, to provide supplies and relief to the people in need, as those needs are identified and as the institutions are identified that are capable of making use of the money. So think of it as a line of credit to be drawn down upon, as opposed to just a pot of money to be thrown out there.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/28/national1454EST0571.DTL


QUESTION: Is it cash, credits and goods, or all three, or what?

MR. ERELI: I believe it's credit. It's basically money available to pay bills.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2004/40083.htm

====
WHAT BILLS DO YOU ASK? As soon as Clinton put Chimp Boy in his place re his callousness & the 'US' position as 'world leader' and Chimp Boy heard that aid had reached $250 million....

U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday the United States, India, Australia and Japan have formed an international coalition to coordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts.

He pledged a multifaceted response that goes far beyond the initial U.S. pledge of US$35 million (euro26 million), including U.S. military manpower and damage surveillance teams in the short term and long-term rebuilding assistance.

(snip)

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/12/30/latest/20443Richestna&sec=latest

[WillowTree]

18. Ummmmm.........Different context

In this instance, the term "line of credit" is more of an account that the affected countries can tap as needed than a loan to be repaid. Because the devastation is so widespread and involves several different countries, it's more expeditious for those areas in need to be able to draw against a pool of funds rather than for us to try to decide which county needs how much and when. How do we know, here on the other side of the world, which countries are going to need how much? The governments and institutions of Sri Lanka and Indonesia and Thailand etc will each be able to determine what their needs are over the coming months and, in this context, the "line of credit" is a fund that's been set aside for any of the nations affected to draw upon as their needs arise.

Poor phraseology, to be sure, but not as sinister as it sounds. Face it, even if we did try to call it a loan, it will probably be generations before those countries would be able to repay any of it.

If the pictures and videos are this breathtaking in their horror, I can only imagine what the reality must be for those people. It's tough to wrap one's brain around the scope of this destruction.

[Octafish]

20. Traditional Mafia Tactics.

Astute, as always, Tinoire. For all his limitations, Bush is a cunning turd.

Now that Smirk's been called out for showing his true stingy nature in the face of a great human calmity, he'll do what he can to help those who've helped him get so powerful and rich. "Long-term rebuilding assistance" sounds like a job for Bechtel.

A recent thread (I can't find at the moment) described the work of a World Bank official who came clean and detailed how the US uses financial aid to take over developing nations' economies. It's the Mafia, BFEE-sized: Loan the business owner a bit to tide them through the disaster and when they can't pay it back, demand the whole store. And like the mob, the enforcers don't listen to any excuses.

[seemslikeadream]

21. No excuses

Amy Goodwin Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide

EXCERPT...

JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE: We had an army of 7,000 soldiers controlling 40% of the national region. Not only they led those coup, they had 32 coup d'etats, the last one 33. After the coup they led in 1991, they and members of a criminal organization, well known FRAPH, killed more than 5,000 Haitians. Some people don't like to hear 5,000 because for them it could be double or more than that. Let's say more than 5,000 people were killed by the army at that time with the help of the well-known criminal organization called FRAPH. When i went back on October 15, 1994, it was obvious that the Haitian people couldn't go ahead with killers. The Haitian people wanted people to protect them, not people to kill them. So, the army was disbanded. Now they reached a way to have more drug dealers, like Guy Philippe who was arrested for drugs in Panama, sent back to Santo Domingo and then back to Haiti with the assistance of those who pretend to restore peaces to Haiti, Chamblain was already convicted twice and now he is back. So having criminals, drug dealers, thugs who were convicted to come back with an army, then when they guess what we had through those 32 coup d'etats, leading Haiti from misery to misery while we want to move from misery to poverty with dignity, this is maybe what they have in their minds.

AMY GOODMAN: When the CARICOM U.S. Group came and negotiated the U.S.-backed peace plan that you accepted with Noriega, Roger Noriega, Assistant Secretary of State representing the United States, how did they refer to the opposition, how did they refer to the people you just described as Jodel Chamblain, Guy Philippe?

JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE: The meeting we had with members of my government and diplomats and heads of international delegations in my office, Mr. Noriega referring to those thugs terrorists said "I will call them killers", that's what he said. I'm shocked when today I still see members of the international community acting with those killers. More than that accompanying Guy Philippe, a killer, to distribute food to people, so trying to project another image of him when as a well-known drug dealer and a killer he should be put in jail. So, it is scandalous. The world needs to know that. The more they listen to what is going on in Haiti today, the more they may join the Haitian people to prevent the killers to continue to do the same, killing people.

CONTINUED...
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Haiti/Aristide_US_Role_Funding.html

[shance]

22. "forced conscription of capital that is taxation"?

Trying to understand the statement. Is he stating that companies like Halliburton, Bechtel receive their money through (forced) capital from taxation.

In other words their profits come mainly from our tax dollars?

[mockmonkey]

23. Halliburton has been hired to remove the bodies

You know what that means...
.
.
.

Wednesdays will be Soylant Green day.

[nascarblue]

26. What has been widely misreported...

...IS the fact that the initial US aid was NOT 35 million, or even 15 million, it was 400,000. 100,000 out of 4 embassies to 4 out of 10 areas affected. And why is FEMA and Jeb Bush going out there? Even on the Whitehouse mouthpeice newspapers (NY times, Wash. Post) they're pushing some political agenda about bringing "democracy" to the areas. What a bunch of BS, this government is the opposite of democracy. This is a humanitarian effort.

[Catchawave]

27. I just knew it !

As soon as our "humanitarian" aid jumped to 350m I thought Halliburton's involved somehow!

Why not just divvy it up amongst all the fine relief orgs who already have their boots on the ground?

[seemslikeadream]

28. My new spokesman