Iraq: The Proof is in the pudding...

Another Point of View: Iraq: The Proof Is In The Pudding - Or So They Say
As Britain's inquiry into the origins of the 2003 Iraq War goes ahead full steam, "shocking" revelations already abound.

I use the word shocking in quotes because, to be humbly honest, these revelations so far merely confirm what has been known for years: that the Bush administration had no valid reason to go to war with Iraq other than securing oil resources, and that the Blair government simply went along for the ride to get its fair share of said resources.

Read on for more details...

War criminal invited to chat in Calgary

The Canadian Press: Protesters prepare for George Bush to break post-presidential silence in Calgary

Americans say "Investigate Bush"

Rumsfeld Knew His Guys Were Torturing People to Death, Which Is a Serious Crime | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet

Rumsfeld Knew His Guys Were Torturing People to Death, Which Is a Serious Crime

Monument to the shoe thrower

Let Freedom Rain: New statue in Iraq honouring shoe thrower

Silent as the Tomb: Another American-Backed Slaughter Ignored

Silent as the Tomb: Another American-Backed Slaughter Ignored | Chris Floyd Online - Empire Burlesque - High Crimes and Low Comedy in the American Imperium < Read the full post.

Before taking office, Barack Obama was chided -- in certain quarters, at least -- for his long silence on the slaughter in Gaza. Of course, as we noted here the other day, the main reason he stayed mum on the subject before his inauguration was that he was in complete accord with George W. Bush's stance on the American-backed massacre of civilians.

However, there is another horrific, American-backed slaughter that Obama has been silent about for even longer -- throughout his entire presidential campaign, in fact, and continuing into his presidency. We speak, of course, of the ghastly Terror War "regime change" operation in Somalia, where American bombs, American weapons, American training, American money -- and American death squads -- aided the military forces of the Ethiopian dictatorship in its brutal invasion and murderous occupation of the long-shattered land. [For more background, see this, especially the links at the bottom.]

Bush - Signature authorized torture

The Bush Administration's Most Despicable Act - TIME <read me

"This is not the America I know," President George W. Bush said after the first, horrifying pictures of U.S. troops torturing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq surfaced in April 2004. The President was not telling the truth. "This" was the America he had authorized on Feb. 7, 2002, when he signed a memorandum stating that the Third Geneva Convention — the one regarding the treatment of enemy prisoners taken in wartime — did not apply to members of al-Qaeda or the Taliban. That signature led directly to the abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay. It was his single most callous and despicable act. It stands at the heart of the national embarrassment that was his presidency.
...
Incredibly, the Bush Administration decided to have SERE trainers instruct its interrogation teams on how to torture prisoners.
(Read "Shell-Shocked at Abu Ghraib?")

Keith Olbermann on Gaza

LeDaro: Keith Olbermann on Gaza < watch me!

Death and destruction continues in Gaza - approved by Bush and Harper.

LeDaro: Gaza, Death and Destruction Continues

All the fair-minded people around the world are demonstrating against this uneven and unfair war. Palestinians in Gaza are already living in sub-human conditions and now this severe punishment. This approach of Israel will not bring peace in the region and may bring upheaval around the world. Sensible leaders must speak up. Unfortunately Bush and Harper cannot be considered amongst the sensible ones.

New book on why George W. Bush should be tried for war crimes

Why G.W. Bush should be frogmarched before the Hague | Crooks and Liars

Shoes thrown at Bush

YouTube - Shoes Thrown at President Bush

Obama compiling a list of Bush actions to quickly undo

Obama TCB | A Creative Revolution

This is good news

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama
have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and
executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House
policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and
other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and
experts working with the transition team.


A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in
virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes
Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now
consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and
potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most
onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who
was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of
the transition.

Bush fast-tracking pollution

Lame duck decider. | A Creative Revolution

Up is down, and down is still up in Conservatard land. There are
sweeping changes being made to regulations that protect consumers and
the environment. The Scorched earth policy of George Bush, will
continue for many years to come.

Two other rules nearing completion would ease limits on pollution
from power plants, a major energy industry goal for the past eight
years that is strenuously opposed by Democratic lawmakers and
environmental groups.

One rule, being pursued over some opposition within the
Environmental Protection Agency, would allow current emissions at a
power plant to match the highest levels produced by that plant,
overturning a rule that more strictly limits such emission increases.
According to the EPA's estimate, it would allow millions of tons of
additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, worsening
global warming.

A related regulation would ease limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants near national parks.

A third rule would allow increased emissions from oil refineries,
chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex
manufacturing operations.

More evidence of Bush war crimes

Bush Administration Committed War Crimes Against Prisoners, Reveals Physicians for Human Rights

The Bush Administration’s stamp of approval on a load of manure

NRDC: Press Release - Halloween Trick from Bush Administration: Treat to Factory Farms

The new rule:

 

• 
  
  Creates a loophole allowing facility operators to avoid permits by claiming they won’t have a discharge.
  
  
• 
  
  Adopts
  a scheme that allows facilities to avoid certain environmental
  enforcement. For instance, if an operator certifies that the facility
  won’t have a discharge, environmental authorities will ignore
  enforcement action, even if the facility discharges to the nation’s
  waters. 
  
  
• 
  
  Rejects
  improvements in technology that would reduce harmful bacteria and other
  pathogens contained in animal waste, missing an opportunity to prevent
  water pollution and threats to public health.
  
  

For Prosecution of Bush War Crimes, Planning Begins

The Raw Story | For prosecution of Bush war crimes, planning begins

"This is not a campaign event," said Professor Christopher Pyle of Mt. Holyoke College, during his speech to the conference. "It is a conference about how to restore governmental accountability in the wake of a criminal administration. It addresses the most serious crisis in our nation’s history -- the claim that the president and his secret agents can get away with torture, kidnapping, and even manslaughter."