Greenies, Lefties and the Tsunami
I've been surfing the leftist and environmentalist blogs looking for their take on the tsunamis. Here are some cullings:
From Daily Kos:
This unimaginable, horrible catastrophe, had the potential to demonstrate the "compassionate" side of the United States and reap goodwill in the Muslim world (much like Clinton's Kosovo liberation did for some time.)
Instead, we just handed Osama Bin Laden a PR bonanza. And you better believe Muslim charities -- many run by radicals like Hamas -- will fill the void and fan the flames of discontent.
From Daily Kos:
This unimaginable, horrible catastrophe, had the potential to demonstrate the "compassionate" side of the United States and reap goodwill in the Muslim world (much like Clinton's Kosovo liberation did for some time.)
Instead, we just handed Osama Bin Laden a PR bonanza. And you better believe Muslim charities -- many run by radicals like Hamas -- will fill the void and fan the flames of discontent.
From 24 Hours to Live:
As I mentioned before this appears to be a natural disaster, however the conspiracy portion of my brain wonders if this natural disaster wasn't so natural.
Here's an interesting scenario to nibble on: The Bush junta is tired of explaining itself to the media. Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Rice are sick of the liberals in this country pointing out how many American lives are being lost in Iraq...so...Bush and his cronies devise a cunning and dastardly plan. In order to take people's minds off of Iraq why not create a natural disaster?
We've done underwater nuclear weapons tests before (see Bikini Atoll) and they have a significant seismic effect. Is it then possible that the Bush regime detonated a large nuclear device on the ocean floor off the coast of Indonesia? After all, a natural disaster of these proportions certainly takes your mind off Iraq...
From Peace Garden:
Love Mother Earth. She's the only one we got. And if we piss her off, there will be a price to pay. She can be a mean, nasty landlady. Remember the old commercial about fooling Mother Nature? Don't try it.
From Swami Uptown:
As someone struggling with the most basic concepts of Buddhism, I never really get past the first fact of life: The ground is not solid. Things change. Without any apparent reason.
[This is one of the reasons I so loathe George W. Bush and his inner circle-- their absolute certainty. And then they cover their smug sense of rightness with religion, which only makes them more ridiculous. Where in the New Testament is it written that Christ confers unerring confidence to those who believe?]
From Maggie Thatcher's Underpants:
There's something truly sickening about the condescending 'relief' efforts that rich, powerful Western nations mount whenever a natural disaster hits a poor part of the world. Contrast the billions spent on the fraudulent 'War on Terror' and Iraq invasion with the paltry, insulting, shameful amounts pledged to the people deeply affected by the Boxing Day Asian Earthquake.
...
Perhaps it's too much to ask - after all the Indian Ocean Tsunami is only one the of the biggest natural disasters to hit the world in the last century - but where's Tony Blair when some real leadership is needed? I'll tell you where; still on holiday in Egypt. So while 75,000 lie dead with as many again predicted to be found buried below the rubble, and more than 5m now homeless, Tony tops up his suntan.
From PSoTD:
As specific incidents of sheer human loss, the earthquake/tsunami toll is much, much greater [than 9/11]. It remains to be seen if the priorities of the wealthiest nations on the earth, in policy and expenditure, will accurately reflect that human cost in future decisionmaking. If the past is any indicator, it's unlikely.
From Iddybud:
"There are mysterious forces out there that are not fully understood by our oh-so-rational selves. I am reminded of the strange signs and omens that historians recorded before calamities: for instance the rain of frogs in Vietnam preceding the cataclysmic war. Or the odd celestial signs that preceded the death of Julius Caesar.
It is said that the very elements can be affected by the mystical powers of sages who have acquired superhuman powers through meditation and sadhana. I think we should all tread carefully, for now we are treading on things we do not know."--Rajeev Srinivasan
From That's Going Too Far:
George Bush is once again at his Texas ranch clearing brush, according to White House aides. The greatest natural disaster in modern times is unfolding in Southeast Asia, and he is moving bramble around on his godforsaken patch of dust like Sisyphus in a Stetson. How much brush can there be to clear? And what the hell is he “clearing” it away for? Is he planning to build a landing strip on the lower 40? Create the world’s largest ball of brush?
From The Daily Crow:
I mean, what the ****? 50,000 people killed from a **** earthquake and tidal wave fiasco?! Wow! That is truly stunning. I wonder if this is the start of very dramatic, much more dramatic, Mother Nature activity. There could certainly be more plate shifting, earth quaking activities. Scary, scary stuff.
Hearts go out to those poor folks. Mine sure does. It’s a good thing our lives are in “His” hands, and this is just a big part of “His” big plan for christians proving their love to “Him”. So, if you’re up there... **** You God!!!
From Informed Comment:
As John F. Harris and Robin Wright of the Washington Post cannily note, US President George W. Bush has missed an important opportunity to reach out to the Muslims of Indonesia. The Bush administration at first pledged a paltry $15 million, a mysteriously chintzy response to what was obviously an enormous calamity. Bush himself remained on vacation, and now has reluctantly agreed to a meeting of the National Security Council by video conference. If Bush were a statesman, he would have flown to Jakarta and announced his solidarity with the Muslims of Indonesia (which has suffered at least 40,000 dead and rising).
Indeed, the worst-hit area of Indonesia is Aceh, the center of a Muslim separatist movement, and a gesture to Aceh from the US at this moment might have meant a lot in US-Muslim public relations. Bin Laden and Zawahiri sniffed around Aceh in hopes of recruiting operatives there, being experts in fishing in troubled waters. Doesn't the US want to outflank al-Qaeda? As it is, the president of the United States is invisible and on vacation (unlike several European heads of state), and could think of nothing better to do than announce a paltry pledge. As Harris and Wright rightly say, the rest of the world treated the US much better than this after September 11.
From Ken Sain:
I mean, seriously, anyone who has looked at how [Bush] has spent the U.S. taxpayers' money cannot call the man stingy. He never saw a dime or nickel that our great, great grandchildren might one day have that he didn't want to spend.
From Swami Uptown:
As someone struggling with the most basic concepts of Buddhism, I never really get past the first fact of life: The ground is not solid. Things change. Without any apparent reason.
[This is one of the reasons I so loathe George W. Bush and his inner circle-- their absolute certainty. And then they cover their smug sense of rightness with religion, which only makes them more ridiculous. Where in the New Testament is it written that Christ confers unerring confidence to those who believe?]
From Maggie Thatcher's Underpants:
There's something truly sickening about the condescending 'relief' efforts that rich, powerful Western nations mount whenever a natural disaster hits a poor part of the world. Contrast the billions spent on the fraudulent 'War on Terror' and Iraq invasion with the paltry, insulting, shameful amounts pledged to the people deeply affected by the Boxing Day Asian Earthquake.
...
Perhaps it's too much to ask - after all the Indian Ocean Tsunami is only one the of the biggest natural disasters to hit the world in the last century - but where's Tony Blair when some real leadership is needed? I'll tell you where; still on holiday in Egypt. So while 75,000 lie dead with as many again predicted to be found buried below the rubble, and more than 5m now homeless, Tony tops up his suntan.
From PSoTD:
As specific incidents of sheer human loss, the earthquake/tsunami toll is much, much greater [than 9/11]. It remains to be seen if the priorities of the wealthiest nations on the earth, in policy and expenditure, will accurately reflect that human cost in future decisionmaking. If the past is any indicator, it's unlikely.
From Iddybud:
"There are mysterious forces out there that are not fully understood by our oh-so-rational selves. I am reminded of the strange signs and omens that historians recorded before calamities: for instance the rain of frogs in Vietnam preceding the cataclysmic war. Or the odd celestial signs that preceded the death of Julius Caesar.
It is said that the very elements can be affected by the mystical powers of sages who have acquired superhuman powers through meditation and sadhana. I think we should all tread carefully, for now we are treading on things we do not know."--Rajeev Srinivasan
From That's Going Too Far:
George Bush is once again at his Texas ranch clearing brush, according to White House aides. The greatest natural disaster in modern times is unfolding in Southeast Asia, and he is moving bramble around on his godforsaken patch of dust like Sisyphus in a Stetson. How much brush can there be to clear? And what the hell is he “clearing” it away for? Is he planning to build a landing strip on the lower 40? Create the world’s largest ball of brush?
From The Daily Crow:
I mean, what the ****? 50,000 people killed from a **** earthquake and tidal wave fiasco?! Wow! That is truly stunning. I wonder if this is the start of very dramatic, much more dramatic, Mother Nature activity. There could certainly be more plate shifting, earth quaking activities. Scary, scary stuff.
Hearts go out to those poor folks. Mine sure does. It’s a good thing our lives are in “His” hands, and this is just a big part of “His” big plan for christians proving their love to “Him”. So, if you’re up there... **** You God!!!
From Informed Comment:
As John F. Harris and Robin Wright of the Washington Post cannily note, US President George W. Bush has missed an important opportunity to reach out to the Muslims of Indonesia. The Bush administration at first pledged a paltry $15 million, a mysteriously chintzy response to what was obviously an enormous calamity. Bush himself remained on vacation, and now has reluctantly agreed to a meeting of the National Security Council by video conference. If Bush were a statesman, he would have flown to Jakarta and announced his solidarity with the Muslims of Indonesia (which has suffered at least 40,000 dead and rising).
Indeed, the worst-hit area of Indonesia is Aceh, the center of a Muslim separatist movement, and a gesture to Aceh from the US at this moment might have meant a lot in US-Muslim public relations. Bin Laden and Zawahiri sniffed around Aceh in hopes of recruiting operatives there, being experts in fishing in troubled waters. Doesn't the US want to outflank al-Qaeda? As it is, the president of the United States is invisible and on vacation (unlike several European heads of state), and could think of nothing better to do than announce a paltry pledge. As Harris and Wright rightly say, the rest of the world treated the US much better than this after September 11.
From Ken Sain:
I mean, seriously, anyone who has looked at how [Bush] has spent the U.S. taxpayers' money cannot call the man stingy. He never saw a dime or nickel that our great, great grandchildren might one day have that he didn't want to spend.
posted by Laer at 1:11 PM
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