RSS Feeds About us - contributors - the mission - write for us Contact us



  • Family

  • Comrades

  • In-laws


    		•

    Bush’s legacy


    by Ala
    20th November, 2008 at 4:56 pm    

    Just when things were looking up for the world as it sees the last of Bush, the US President has decided to leave an ever-stronger and more lasting legacy by working to dismantle at least 10 major environmental safeguards, some of which include:

    Exempting Industrial-size animal farms from the Clean Water Act and air pollution controls.

    Exempting the interior department from consulting wildlife managers about the impact of mining and logging before it approves such developments.

    Easing restrictions so power plants can operate near national parks and wilderness areas.

    Downgrading pollution controls on new power plants.

    Not regulating the dumping of waste into rivers and streams by mountain-top mine operators.

    Opening 2m acres of land in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado to the development of oil shales, the dirtiest fuel on Earth.

    If that wasn’t enough, expect announcements of further rule changes in the next few days which include one that would weaken regulation of perchlorate (a toxin in rocket fuel that can affect brain development in children) in drinking water.

    The office of management and budget website shows 83 rules reviewed from September 1 to October 31 this year – about double its workload in 2007, 2006 and 2005. In addition to forcing things out, the Bush administration is trying its best act slowly on court-ordered actions on the environment.

    The Guardian reports on the campaign which got under way in May when the White House chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, wrote to government agencies asking them to forward proposals for rule changes. Bolten had initially set a November 1 deadline on rule-making. The White House denies that the flurry of rule changes is politically motivated.


                  Post to del.icio.us

    Filed in: Environmentalism,United States






    13 Comments below   |  

    Reactions: Twitter, blogs
    1. » Bush’s legacy White House On Best Political Blogs: News And Info On White House

      [...] legacy Posted in November 21st, 2008 by in Uncategorized Bush’s legacy Just when things were looking up for the world as it sees the last of Bush, the US President has [...]


    2. » Bush’s legacy White House On Best Political Blogs: News And Info On White House

      [...] legacy Posted in November 20th, 2008 by in Uncategorized Bush’s legacy The Guardian reports on the campaign which got under way in May when the White House chief of [...]




    1. Rumbold — on 20th November, 2008 at 8:21 pm  

      This is pretty shabby by the President. But then it is not suprising.

    2. Sid — on 20th November, 2008 at 10:02 pm  

      The man has no shame.

    3. persephone — on 20th November, 2008 at 10:54 pm  

      Actually it is due to his management style.

      Bush is very learned in the Seagull School of Management:

      You hover over something, crap all over it and fly off leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.

    4. Sunny — on 21st November, 2008 at 3:32 am  

      Environmentally, Bush has been among the worst cretins on the planet.

      And still the left complains there’s no difference between Bush and Obama!

    5. aji — on 21st November, 2008 at 6:47 am  

      I think the biggest irony is that, the actions that were desined to (forcefully) plant the seed of democracy in the Middle East has probably back-fired in a big way. There is more carnage now against ethnic communities and minorities, as the Palestinian columnist, `Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar, writes in a column for the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam:

      In Iraq, a crime is currently being committed – another in a series of iniquities brought by the winds of change that came in the wake of the [U.S.] occupation, which sought to impregnate Iraq with the seed of democracy. [But] the [resulting] fetus emerged deformed and weird. The worst outcome of this situation is, possibly, the carnage against ethnic communities and minorities that has swept through Iraq. Neither Sunnis, nor Shi`ites, nor Christians, nor Kurds, nor Turkmen, nor [members of] other [groups] have managed to escape it.

      Statistics show that in 2005 the number of Christians in Iraq was as high as 800,000. By early 2008, it had dropped by half, [indicating] that 50 percent of Iraqi Christians had been expelled from their homes and lands.

      Today, this problem is also rampant in Egypt, Lebanon, Algeria, and Palestine – and while the situation may be slightly different in Palestine, the trend is the same.

      This just goes to show that, although leaders authorise and oversee actions aimed for a particular set of goals, they often have a lot of undesirable consequences.

      God only knows how long Iraq will remain “democratic” and relatively “peaceful”.

    6. Kismet Hardy — on 21st November, 2008 at 10:22 am  

      I just subbed an interview with Fatima Bhutto where she tells this rather charming story:

      “When (Abdul Sattar) Edhi (of the Edhi Foundation) met George W Bush during his last state visit to Pakistan he told him: ‘Be human and allow humanity to be possible.’ To which W responded: ‘We can be human when we need to’…”

      Priceless.

    7. Leon — on 21st November, 2008 at 10:55 am  

      Shame doesn’t come into it, its politics. Was anybody really not expecting Bush to do this in his last days?

    8. Sid — on 21st November, 2008 at 11:34 am  

      Shame doesn’t come into it, its politics.

      real politics. :D

    9. aji — on 21st November, 2008 at 11:41 am  

      Here are some of the dumbest things Dubya said:

      “We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease.” —Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

      “We both use Colgate toothpaste.” —after a reporter asked what he had in common with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Camp David, Md., Feb. 23, 2001

      “Do you have blacks, too?” —to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

      “This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.” —as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002

      “I couldn’t imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah.” —at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001

      “But all in all, it’s been a fabulous year for Laura and me.” —summing up his first year in office, three months after the 9/11 attacks, Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2001

      “I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.” —Washington, D.C. June 18, 2002

      LOL. For more Bushisms, check this out:
      http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes.htm

    10. El Gweilo Intrepido — on 21st November, 2008 at 1:10 pm  

      Ah yes! The beauty of the transition period.

      How else to allow the outgoing President to secure himself some kind of legacy and do his best to boobytrap the institutions of power if not with a little forewarning of the leanings of those that will succeed him?

      Best fasttrack your bills and line your pockets while you can Mr Bush and hope that no one notices.

      Endless fun and games!

      http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/…te-house- barack

      http://www.guardian.co.uk/commen…use-wall- street

    11. El Gweilo Intrepido — on 21st November, 2008 at 1:13 pm  

    Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

    Pickled Politics © Copyright 2005 - 2010. All rights reserved. Terms and conditions.
    With the help of PHP and Wordpress.