George W Bush's Legacy... is there one?

This article has filtered through in a slow news week as being a great summation of George W Bush's legacy... there isn't one!

I am truly disturbed...

The Redneck American at his ugly worst...

There is a great deal of videos on YouTube that are depicting Barrack Obama as Hitler.

A sample of this is below. It is pure unadulterated Hate Speech and those who believe in this rubbish should take a good hard look at yourselves and check yourself in to your friendly local mental health facility.

In fact I welcome anyone to come on here and try and "justify" this rubbish.

Special Comment on Sarah Palin

I havent been too bloggy of late and therefore have not really gotten into the US election campaign and in particular, a complete idiot of a person Sarah Palin who is the Vice Presidential Candidate for the Republicans. This woman would be #2 in the White House should McCain win.

But she makes no off the cuff speeches, she refuses interviews, she says very little in public and when she does she is seen as light weight and focuses on dirty politics.

If you agree with that statement, then you will enjoy this.



* kudos for Glenn for passing this to me.

Glad my taxpayers dollars aren't being used...

...to buy out bad debts like they are in the US!

The US Congress is debating the need to spend $700Bn of tax payers dollars to bail out bad debts from its financial institutions.

$700 billion dollars!

That is the largest rescue package ever since the Great Depression and is an alarming fact that the US economy - of which we're tied to the hip - is in severe trouble.

Of course, with the markets failing, investors move into secure / solid asset classes like Gold and Oil and the price of oil surged upwards by $25 a barrel which pundits here in Australia are saying will increase our bowser cost by 25 cents a litre.

$2 / litre petrol is not far away people!

So whilst our taxes are not being spent on this farcical payout, the trickle down effects on our costs of living will be huge.

Funny, I heard an ad on the radio this morning for a special on LPG gas conversion for your car... timely ;-)

US Presidential Elections - YAWN

The running mate of John McCain's teenage daughter is pregnant and there is a story breaking now that the potential VP of the United States also had an extramarital affair...

We've had Obama vs Hilary... we've had Clinton sex scandals prior to that...

Its all too much and goes on for far too long!

When is this election happening? Enough already!

If you want to read the latest, click here

Its Obama!

Well, finally the US Democrats have plumped for Barrack Obama to run for them in the US Presidential race… I have to say this seems like a good move as I believed Hillary Clinton was running for her personal ambitions rather than for any greater ideal about American politics.  One US political reporter stated that she wouldn’t throw in the towel for the benefit of uniting the Democratic Party because she is only interested in maximising the result for Team Clinton.

Putting aside the impeachment of her husband, I always thought Bill Clinton was a good US President and that he and the Democrats did a lot to further peaceful relations in the Middle East etc… but I just cant see Hilary doing that.  So from a US Foreign Policy perspective, I am glad Obama has the nod.

This in turns brings me to his Republican opponent John McCain.  If there was a person who was worse and more feared than George W Bush, then it’s this nutter.  You will never see a more militant right wing gun nut than John McCain.  He is already on record that he wants to “take out Iran” and “finish the job” in the Middle East.  This is a scary man!  And I fear that pre-election the current Republican regime will do something drastic in Iran.  To sum it up, I believe if McCain is the next US President, we’re all fucked.  Food, petrol up… economic recessions and depressions in and a world that will be unsafe anywhere as the already horrendous wars and terrorist events will only escalate up to new levels.

Hopefully a more moderate UK leadership, a UN still smarting from the lessons learnt from last time, and our own KRudd not towing the US policy mantra like Johnny Howard did will see us avert a worse crisis than what is going on today in Iraq.

I can’t vote, but I sure hope you Americans do the right thing at the polling booths!

More dumb Americans...

Can't believe they get on TV...

And watch for the last line... "You tricked me!"

Let me tell you sweetheart, it wouldn't be hard!

NFL Star Shot Dead

If you don't know already, I am a fan of American Football and in particular the Washington Redskins.  So it was a bit of a shock this morning to hear that Pro-Bowl Safety for the Redskins Sean Taylor was shot in his home overnight and died later in hospital.  ( story)

 

If you're following this story, it just doesnt make sense.  The guy plays for Washington, but lives in Miami, he was shot in the leg at around 2am in his bedroom and yet had to be airlifted to hospital in the wee small hours.  Surely an ambulance could have gotten there just as quick at 2am in the morning.  He was also shot in the leg and yet died.

 

Is this an indictment on US health standards or really is there something not being disclosed.

 

Nevertheless, it is a sad indictment on the US gun laws in which people can be shot - presumably execution style given the home invaders broke into his bedroom - at any time.

 

Another sad story arising out of the country that for some unknown reason we want to emulate.

 

Jesus!

And I dont mean "Jesus!" in the "hallelujah" sense, but rather in the "Jesus Christ, what are they doing now!" sense....

An American Church has been picketing and protesting funerals for dead US soldiers from Iraq / Afghanistan with slogans such as "Thank God For Dead Soldiers" and "God Hates America"...

Link

US$ Craziness

The Aussie dollar has hit US 93 cents... that, in my life time is unprecedented and given when I went to the US at one stage with the rate at 43 cents, I cannot fathom how this change has come on... the US cut interest rates last night whilst ours will probably go up next week so I anticipate this rate differential will see the Aussie dollar surge past the $1 mark and we will be stronger than the US currency.

 

And why do I propose this macro-economic theory on Foreign Exchange and how its influenced by the differentials in interest rates?  Is it because I am concerned about our budget surplus isnt working hard enough to pay off foreign debt?  Am I worried about the "Economic Tsunami" that Treasurer Peter Costello predicted last week?  Am I worried that the floundering US economy may propagate further military adventurism from the US as they seek to gain resources by force??

 

NO!

 

I am thinking of all the shit I can buy from the US at huge discounts!!  For me, next month, I expect to place large orders at www.us.gamesworkshop.com; www.amazon.com; www.thinkgeek.com; www.wizards.com; and of course I will be browsing www.ebay.com for bargains as well!!

 

Happy Days!

 

It is my birthday in early December,.... dont say I haven't directed you to somewhere appropriate for all your "Clay Gift Buying" needs :-)

And just for a laugh...

Here's another Chaser special clip on Americans...

Further evidence of stupidity

Further to my earlier posting today, here is a video clip from The Chaser interviewing Americans on the basic fundamentals of September 11. See what is happening people! Stupidity is catching!!

Thanks to Pete for bringing this clip to my attention.

When did the Taliban take over the US Justice System?

A 17yr old boy is sentenced to 10 years jail for receiving a consensual blow job from his 15yr old girlfriend.

 

Trivia:

 

Was this sentence imposed in:

a) Afghanistan

b) Iraq

c) Indonesia

d) The United States

When you have made your decision, read this and note the many biblical references...

Aussies Being Extradited To The US...

What would the American government say if we told them we wanted to bring one of their citizens to Australia and sentence them for 10 years even though that person had never set foot in Australia.

George Bush would give us the proverbial two fingers...

But not our Johnny! No way!! He puts our guys on a plane and flies them to jail in the US of A.

Well done Australia... way to go...

Oh, and what about David Hicks... nevermind...

Aussie software pirate extradited - Technology - smh.com.au

Save Paris!

Paris Hilton in the big house!  Love it!! About time one of these "famous for being famous" types gets a bit of a takedown...

"My people didn't tell me I had lost my license" was her tearful defence as the Judge (who deserves a medal) sent her down for 45 days...

Apparently he has stipulated no special treatment and that her stay at the Correctional Hilton at the pleasure of Governor Arnie would be as per any other misdemeanour sentence... which I believe in the State of California for an unemployed black man is 5 years hard time.... (I may have made that up?)

Now all we need now is for her to serve her time and then make a teary apology on Oprah or something afterwards...

Tee Hee.

Bush Denied Katrina Victims Aid

This is an interesting piece... seems as though George W Bush rejected offers of aid from around the world during the Katrina disaster.

Shameful, but you should read some of the comments from the Right Wing Nut Jobs who said that Katrina Victims should get off their collective arses and fix it for themselves as opposed to living off the state...

Pathetic! But really, what else do you expect from the Neo-Conservative Right Wing nutters that lead the US at the moment?

The Reaction -- by Michael J.W. Stickings: Fucking the victims of Katrina

Gun Control - Don't Put Guns In Plays

It seems that the Americans are not really seeing the big picture when it comes to gun control... they seem to be focused on the guys artistic writings and his macabre plays but at the same time not realising that guns and there ready availability are a direct consequence of what happened yesterday.  If Cho had not been able to purchase a gun he would not have been able to shoot 32 people.  The fact that he had taste in his arse when it comes to drama screen plays is not a point to be dwelling on.

For instance, if I was an American and I took out 30 odd people, would people raise the fact that I play role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons?  D&D was a subject of much debate in the 80's that it was akin to satan worship... now its considered a quirky hobby (nerdy yes, satanic no).

So, we have a Korean man studying English and Drama and consequently because English is not his prime language his screen plays suck... but this is the focus?  Unbelievable!!  How about the fact that a college student who is a foreign national can buy a gun in a department store??  How about perhaps some of the FAQ's below being considered as a possible reason???

Virginia state gun laws. Frequently asked questions:

Is a permit required to purchase rifles, handguns and shotguns? No.

Is registration required for rifles, handguns and shotguns? No.

Is licensing required for the owners of rifles, handguns and shotguns? No.

Do you need a permit to carry rifles and shotguns? No.

Is a permit required to carry a handgun? A permit is required only if the weapon is concealed.

Is there a one-handgun-per-month limit on gun sales? Yes

Are there limitations on assault weapons and magazines? No

May police limit the carrying of concealed handguns? No

Must child-safe locking devices be sold with guns? No

Are background checks required at gun shows? No

Are minors restricted from possessing guns? In part

Is a licence/permit required to buy handguns? No

Are all guns registered with law enforcement? No

Is safety training required for handgun buyers? No

Is it illegal for holders of concealed-weapon permits to carry guns into schools? Yes

US Shooting

The news is dominated this morning by the shooting at Virginia Tech.... Whilst I think the event is horrendous, you have to wonder about the mindset of the American people when they allow such events to occur with no gun control.

Why do people for no reason whatsoever need a gun?  Clearly this guy was emotionally unstable and depressed and he takes it out on the community.  He should never had easy access to the means to do this in the first place.  With the increasing firepower available to American citizens, these type of events will only get worse.  Columbine had victims numbering in the teens, this incident in the low 30's.  The next nutter (and I would bet that there will be a copy cat) will plan it better and perhaps will take out 50+.

When will Americans learn that this is so easy to prevent from happening... but when I think about it and how Bush again supports the National Rifle Assoc in the US, I cant help but make the flippant comment "Stupid is as stupid does".

Grow up America... you are no longer under threat from British Colonials and American Indians... you have no need to retain the "Right To Bear Arms".

Iraqi Hangings

One thing that caught me by surprise whilst on holidays was the execution of Saddam Hussein.  I believe I was probably one of the last person to know he was hung because I was away on hols without news, internet or spoke to anyone and it was only on the happenchance I bought a newspaper at the kiosk to read by the pool that I found out about his death.

At the time I was surprised at how quickly it came as I presumed it would have been drawn out with appeals and counter appeals.

I also felt instantly a bit cheapened that this guy was executed for only one charge.  Not meaning to denigrate the lives of the 147 people or so that were the victims in this once charge, I am sure that it would have been better to have ALL or as much as possible explain the extent of his tyranny.  To be charged on one assault on a village in the 1980’s and then have the book closed kind of defeats the concept of making a statement or example of him to others.

Now his henchmen have gone to the gallows and one was inadvertently beheaded (or was he?) in the process.  Why I bring this up today is that now Tony Blair in the UK and other leading bureaucrats from the UN et al have condemned the executions for their barbarity.  I am sorry, but storming a country twice in 10-15yrs and slaughtering thousands of civilians in the process and killing a large number of your own troops on a search for non-existent WMD’s is in itself a war crime and a barbaric one at that.

To turn around and say that the deaths of Saddam and his cronies is barbaric and in-humane kind of misses the point and just shows how much of a mess we are in.  The West has turned barbaric but I guess we have the best spin doctors to make it sound like a “worthy cause”.

Sad.

America Realises They Were Wrong

George Bush has been swamped.  At least the message appears to be getting through to the average American that this President, even more so than his father, has lead America and the majority of the western world including Australia on a wild goose chase through the Middle East.  Thousands upon thousands of lives either snuffed out or changed forever in the US, Iraq, Afghanistan and Great Britain.  Australia too has had a number of deaths attributable to the various wars in the middle east but those four countries have been changed forever.  Yes, Saddam Hussein will be hung but was it worth it and is it still worth it?  World oil prices up, risk of terrorism up, peripheral countries like Iran and North Korea more anxious and the world is generally worse than it was when compared to September 10 2001.

Two more years to come now though and I heard on the news this morning that Dennis Rumsfeld has resigned… that man should be with Saddam in the dock and his mate GwB should be with him.