Bush announces climate plan, world squirms uncomfortably
The world gave George W. Bush lemons, and he made some dee-licious lemonade. Yesterday, Bush said the U.S. would take the lead on the climate issue, convening a series of meetings of the world's top 10 to 15 polluting nations and setting long-term goals for cutting emissions. Coming amid criticism that the U.S. is blocking potential climate progress at next week's G8 summit in Germany, the news seemed sweet. But those who sipped his lemony concoction got all puckery. "The declaration by President Bush basically restates the U.S. classic line on climate change: no mandatory reductions, no carbon trading, and vaguely expressed objectives," said E.U. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. Tony Juniper, head of Friends of the Earth U.K., called it a "delaying tactic" that would push the climate issue onto Bush's successor. Making her own lemonade, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "What is positive is that we can see from the speech ... that nobody can ignore the question of climate change."
source: The Washington Post, Reuters, 01 Jun 2007
source: The New York Times, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, 31 May 2007
source: BBC News, Roger Harrabin, 31 May 2007
see also in Gristmill: Bush’s “new climate strategy”
Copenhagen talks ready for take off: 5, 4, 3…
Obama administration may (finally) offer greenhouse-gas targets
City preps and countries posture ahead of Copenhagen talks
Comments
View as Flat
GonzoDon Posted 3:25 pm
01 Jun 2007
I mean, good God! Things have gotten so bad that most Americans automatically assume we are being told lies, fed deceptions, and teased with diversions that have nothing to do with the Administration's real agenda. And we now all accept that as the way things are in America.
This story on Bush's "climate change action plan" is a classic example. The U.N. and the G8 already have a viable process underway for climate-change discussions. Clearly this is simply Bush's attempt to undermine that. So why can't he at least just come out and say so: "Even if climate change is a real threat, I ain't gonna impose any taxes or restrictions on fossil fuel use, 'cause I just don't give a damn. So get used to it. Heh heh. Heh."
But no. The privileged little pricks make a big show of how religious and righteous they are, and then lie shamelessly like a pack of mafia thugs.
Dude. What a sorry-ass state the Bush Administration has brought us to. This is what pisses me off more than the Bush Administration's political agenda. It is the way they have cut the legs out from meaningful political debate in this country. They've told so many lies for so long that even the dazed and confused press doesn't really know how to react. So they react by, um, headlining Britney Spears stories.
Yeah, I know: all politicians develop a skill for spinning B.S. But the difference is BushCo doesn't even exhibit any shame about being caught brazenly lying or openly shilling for their corporate pimps any more. Just ask Rumsfeld. Or Gonzales. Or Condi. Or Colin Powell. Or Julie McDonald. Or Jeff Gannon. Or ...
Sigh. How many more months of this crap is left to put up with? If we're not gonna impeach this bastard, then for God's sake please don't bother to wake me til November 2008.
Permalink
lifeisyoga Posted 3:11 am
09 Jun 2007
The constant stream of awkward lies is coverup for self-serving, publicly destructive behavior. In the background, wealthy corporate elite manage our "democracy" to maintain & expand their privileged position.
To restore sanity, try reading (available on CD) "The Cheating Culture" by David Callahan (professor, Harvard Business school). His website, http://www.cheatingculture.com, is worth a look. Another good contextual resource is "The Unsettling of America" by Wendell Berry (1977).
good luck, brother-
Permalink