Clipmarks | merrie's 'bush' clips

Internal World Bank Study: Biofuel Caused Food Crisis

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:20:37 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The news comes at a critical point in the world's negotiations on biofuels policy. Leaders of the G8 industrialised countries meet next week in Hokkaido, Japan, where they will discuss the food crisis and come under intense lobbying from campaigners calling for a moratorium on the use of plant-derived fuels.

It will also put pressure on the British government, which is due to release its own report on the impact of biofuels, the Gallagher Report. The Guardian has previously reported that the British study will state that plant fuels have played a "significant" part in pushing up food prices to record levels. Although it was expected last week, the report has still not been released.

The leaked World Bank study disputes that: "Rapid income growth in developing countries has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for the large price increases."

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.

A handful of corn before it is processed.

The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.

Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush.

"It would put the World Bank in a political hot-spot with the White House," said one yesterday.

Tags: corn biofuels, food price increases, world bank report, president bush, white house

Ralph Peters On The Successful & Unreported Bush Surge

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:33:40 GMT

clipped by: missjackson
clipper's remarks: Iraq is turning into a major success for the United States.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

A Clear Majority Of Americans Want To Drill Here

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:11:49 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Al Gore, philanthropist, Climate activist, and winner of the Nobel Peace prize, is the single greatest advocate in the war against humanity. Millions of innocent lives, people whose only crime is being poor. We need to protect not only others wellbeing, but our own freedoms, our own rights. We need to defend ourselves from Eco-Terrorist ideas, perpetuated by cheap theatrics and scaremongering. We need to defend ourselves against Eco Evangelist Al Gore.

Energy Independence: President Bush asks Congress to lift the 1981 drilling ban on offshore oil. The no-drill Democrats will call it flip-flopping. We call it change you can believe in.

The Democratic response to Republican determination to end our dependence on foreign oil has been to call for more taxes on oil companies and to pressure, even sue, OPEC. A group of 10 Democratic senators on Tuesday called for Bush to file a complaint against OPEC.

http://www.smartgreenusa.com/

Clip Source: www.smartgreenusa.com

Good energy policy is easy to distinguish from bad energy policy: Good policy leads to more supplies of affordable energy, and bad policy leads to less. The recently rejected American Energy Production Act of 2008 (S. 2958), sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell R–KY), sought for the most part to make it easier to access domestic energy supplies by undoing past constraints, including restrictions on domestic oil production.

Though intended to help consumers and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ethanol mandate has done just the opposite, contributing to high food and gas prices with little environmental benefit. Representative Jeff Flake (R–AZ) has introduced H.R. 5911, the Remove Incentives for Producing Ethanol Act of 2008, which would eliminate the mandate and other benefits for ethanol, and other measures may soon be introduced.

Heritage Foundation Condemns Bush Administration's Polar Bear Decision

Gore Financially Invested in Climate Cause

Exposing Eco Hysteria!

Tags: energy independence, lower gasoline prices, sen. mcconnell, sen. mccain

Bush Calls Out the Dems

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:45:49 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Next was ANWR, which can be exploited with "virtually no impact on the land or local wildlife." Finally, refining capacity:

It has been 30 years since a new refinery was built in our Nation, and lawsuits and red tape have made it extremely costly to expand or modify existing refineries. The result is that America now imports millions of barrels of fully refined gasoline from abroad. This imposes needless costs on American families and drivers. It deprives American workers of good jobs.

Finally, Bush laid the problem once again at the Dems' door:

I know Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past. Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions. If congressional leaders leave for the Fourth of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act.

Excellent stuff. We need to do this every single day.

Clip Source: www.powerlineblog.com

In his radio address this morning, President Bush went after the Democrats on energy:

The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world. One obvious solution is for America to increase our domestic oil production. So my Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to open access to new oil exploration here in the United States. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal. Now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction. So this week, I asked Democratic congressional leaders to take the side of working families and small businesses and farmers and ranchers and move forward with four steps to expand American oil and gasoline production.

Bush pressed the Dems to open up the Outer Continental Shelf, then added this:

The President went on to talk about shale oil development in the Rockies:

Tags: president bush, radio address, oil supply, democrats, obstruction, u.s. exploration, families, business, farmers, ranchers

US Diplomacy On Iran Amid Reported Israeli Attack Exercise

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:35:29 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "I can certainly understand that, given the fact that the president of Iran has talked about wiping Israel off the map," he said. "So Israel does see Iran as an existential threat. But again, I am going to have to kick any questions about what was intended by this exercise, what its purpose was, what they hoped to accomplish, to the Israeli government. They're the competent officials to talk about those issues."

Israel staged a long-range air strike to destroy an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1980, and last September it bombed a facility in northern Syria said by some analysts to have been a reactor being built with North Korean help.

Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but Israel and key Bush administration officials, among others, believe it is seeking a weapons capability.

Clip Source: voanews.com

The United States Friday reiterated its commitment to a diplomatic resolution of the Iran nuclear issue amid a report Israel conducted a simulated attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

U.S. officials are expressing understanding for Israel's concern about the Iranian nuclear program and pointedly have not criticized the reported exercise.

But they are reiterating the Bush administration's commitment to a two-track diplomatic strategy of incentives and sanctions to try to get Iran to drop its uranium enrichment project, and say they still hold out hope diplomacy will work.

An Iranian technician works at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facilities (UCF), 420 kms south of Tehran (File)

Israeli exercise was conducted over the Mediterranean Sea earlier this month. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

A senior official who spoke to reporters here said he did not think the Israeli military exercise would affect the Iran diplomacy

Tags: israeli military exercise, iran diplomacy, nuclear issue

President Bush Discusses Energy

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:50:14 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The problem is that Congress has restricted access to key parts of the OCS since the early 1980s. Since then, advances in technology have made it possible to conduct oil exploration in the OCS that is out of sight, protects coral reefs and habitats, and protects against oil spills. With these advances -- and a dramatic increase in oil prices -- congressional restrictions on OCS exploration have become outdated and counterproductive.

Republicans in Congress have proposed [...]
I call on the House and the Senate to pass good legislation as soon as possible. This legislation should give the states the option of opening up OCS resources off their shores, provide a way for the federal government and states to share new leasing revenues, and ensure that our environment is protected. There's also an executive prohibition on exploration in the OCS. When Congress lifts the legislative ban, I will lift the executive prohibition.

Clip Source: www.whitehouse.gov

In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil. And that means we need to increase supply, especially here at home. So my administration has repeatedly called on Congress to expand domestic oil production. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal -- and now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction. Congress must face a hard reality: Unless Members are willing to accept gas prices at today's painful levels -- or even higher -- our nation must produce more oil. And we must start now. So this morning, I ask Democratic Congressional leaders to move forward with four steps to expand American oil and gasoline production.

First, we should expand American oil production by increasing access to the Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS. Experts believe that the OCS could produce about 18 billion barrels of oil. That would be enough to match America's current oil production for almost ten years

Tags: president bush, white house, outer continental shelf, democrats, congress restrict access

Bush To Press Congress On Offshore Oil Drilling

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:19:37 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Bush also will reiterate his call for development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Perino said. McCain has opposed drilling in the refuge, maintaining that the pristine areas in northeastern Alaska should be protected from energy development.

On Monday, McCain made lifting the federal ban on offshore oil and gas development a key part of his energy plan. The Arizona senator said states should be allowed to pursue energy exploration in waters near their coasts and receive some of the royalty revenue.

Bush has made clear in recent weeks that the drilling moratorium in coastal waters should end to allow for more domestic oil production and help "take the pressure off the price of gasoline."

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president, opposes lifting the ban on offshore drilling and says that allowing exploration now wouldn't affect gasoline prices for at least five years.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

WASHINGTON — President Bush plans to make a renewed push Wednesday to get Congress to end a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, echoing a call by GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

Congressional Democrats have opposed lifting the prohibitions on energy development on nearly all federal Outer Continental Shelf waters for more than a quarter-century, including waters along both the East and West coasts.

With oil prices soaring and motorists paying $4 a gallon for gasoline, political pressures have been growing for more domestic oil and gas production.

"He will explicitly call on Congress to ... pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling," Perino said. "He wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur."

"The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time," White House press secretary Dana Perino told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Tags: oil, domestic oil and gas production, president bush, congressional democrats, prohibitions on energy development

Britain Announces New Sanctions Against Iran, Troops To Afghanistan

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:20:12 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are strained over allegations that the Taliban and Al Qaeda find sanctuary in Pakistan's border regions.

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates as they become available.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown says Britain will freeze assets of Iran's largest bank in a further move to discourage the country from developing nuclear weapons.

Brown said Monday at a news conference with U.S. President George Bush that Britain will urge Europe to impose further sanctions.

The prime minister said Britain will take any necessary action to impress on Iran that it needs to abandon any ambitions of developing nuclear weapons.

President Bush says the United States can help calm the "testy situation" along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But the president is not endorsing a threat by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to send Afghan troops into Pakistan to fight notorious Taliban leaders.

Speaking at a news conference in London, Bush says the mission for the United States remains to deny safe haven to extremists who want to kill innocent people. The president said, "That's the strategy of Afghanistan. It needs to be the strategy of Pakistan."

Tags: pm gordon brown, president bush, sanctions on iran, freeze iranian assets, nuclear weapons, afghanistan, pakistan, taliban, al-qaeda

APNewsBreak: Oil Companies Get OK: NW Coast Of Alaska

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:32:22 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "The oil and gas industry in operating under the kind of rules they have operated under for 15 years has not been a threat to the species," H. Dale Hall, the Fish and Wildlife Service's director, told The Associated Press on Friday. "It was the ice melting and the habitat going away that was a threat to the species over everything else."

"Polar bears are already protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has more stringent protections for polar bears than the Endangered Species Act does," Kempthorne said.

Administration and industry officials said oil companies enjoyed similar status in the Chukchi Sea from 1991 to 1996 and in the Beaufort Sea since 1993 and there was no effect on polar bear populations.

"These rules are essentially an insurance policy," said Marilyn Crockett, "They say if you conduct your operations in accordance to the requirement in this rule, you will not be held liable for the take of the bears."

Clip Source: ap.google.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than a month after declaring polar bears a threatened species because of global warming, the Bush administration is giving oil companies permission to annoy and potentially harm them in the pursuit of oil and natural gas.

The Fish and Wildlife Service issued regulations this week providing legal protection to seven oil companies planning to search for oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea off the northwestern coast of Alaska if "small numbers" of polar bears or Pacific walruses are incidentally harmed by their activities over the next five years.

About 2,000 of the 25,000 polar bears in the Arctic live in and around the Chukchi Sea, where the government in February auctioned off oil leases to ConocoPhillips Co., Shell Oil Co. and five other companies for $2.6 billion. Over objections from environmentalists and members of Congress, the sale occurred before the bear was classified as threatened in May.

Tags: president bush, oil companies, oil and natural gas exploration, chukchi sea, northwestern coast of alaska, fish and wildlife service

Douglas J. Feith His New Book, War And Decision

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:15:50 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Former undersecretary of defense talks about his book, the Iraq war, the Bush Administration, the media, and the American political class' approach to national security.

Show archives are at GlennandHelenShow.com. Music is by Mobius Dick.

Listen to this podcast (27:25) or download (15.7 MB) The The Glenn and Helen Show: Doug Feith on War and Decision (lofi version 4.7 MB). Free show subscription available at iTunes.

Clip Source: pajamasmedia.com

Douglas J. Feith served as Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from 2001 through 2005. His new book, War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism, looks at the response to the 9/11 attacks, the invasion of Afghanistan, and most significantly the Iraq war and its aftermath. Feith’s book is copiously documented, and he’s also made a lot of his documents available on his website. But the book, though selling well online, hasn’t gotten the kind of Big Media attention you’d expect.

We talk to him about the war, the Bush Administration, the media, and whether the American political class is up to dealing with matters of national security. And we discover that he’s donating all proceeds to veterans’ support groups.

Tags: douglas feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, war and decision, 9/11 attacks, afghanistan, donating proceeds, veterans' support groups

Saudis Pushing U.N. Démarche Against Israel

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:37:00 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The dispute over oil appears to be part of a larger rift between the two countries, with a London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi reporting recently that relations have reached their lowest point in years.

The Saudis seek strong American backing against Iran," Mr. Gold, a former Israeli U.N. ambassador who has written extensively on the kingdom, said. "They don't want to hear from Condi Rice about diplomatic progress between Abbas and Israel. They want to know what America is doing about Iran."

The Saudis, he said, base their policies on their strong alliance with America — or on Arab consensus.

When the Israeli government earlier this month announced that it was planning to build nearly 900 new housing units in Jerusalem, [S]ecretary-General Ban issued a strong statement: Israel's "continued construction in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory" violates international law and Israel's obligations under the road map and the Annapolis process.

Clip Source: www.nysun.com

The White House has not said whether President Bush will attend an oil summit, billed as a meeting of major oil producers and consumers to address rising petroleum costs, on June 22 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Prime Minister Brown of Britain has said he will attend, and the Saudis are hoping that other high-level Western officials, including Mr. Bush, will follow suit.

Washington has urged oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia to pump more oil to increase supply. But Saudi officials say the weak dollar and Israeli hints of an impending military attack on Iran, not declining production, are to blame for high prices.

Some Riyadh watchers trace the shift to a National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian nuclear progress, published in December. The report convinced the Saudis that America was not going stop Iran, a Saudi foe, from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the president of the Jerusalem Policy Center for Public Affairs, Dore Gold, said.

Tags: president bush, pm brown, oil summit, riyadh, nie, iranian nuclear progress, dore gold, former isreali u.n.ambassador

What Phase Two Senate Intelligence Report Says About Saddam's Hospitality

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:19:28 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Postwar information supports prewar assessments and statements that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was in Baghdad and that al Qaeda was present in northern Iraq.

But now, even in a partisan report designed to attack the Bush administration's credibility, the Senate Intelligence Committee has admitted that Bush and his officials were right to argue that Saddam was harboring al Qaeda fugitives. Both prewar and postwar intelligence assessments confirm their view.

And while the Senate Intelligence Committee got this issue right, it got many others wrong. The report is not even internally consistent and the committee simply ignored numerous pieces of information that got in the way of some of its conclusions.

Iraq and al Qaeda did not have a cooperative relationship.

[c]ommittee ignored the best evidence-Iraqi intelligence documents discovered in postwar Iraq.

Clip Source: www.weeklystandard.com

In reality, the report is little more than yet another attempt by partisan Democrats to make political hay out of flawed prewar intelligence.

Therefore, the report is intended to portray the Bush administration in the worst possible light. But even with this bias, the committee came to a noteworthy conclusion: The Bush administration was right to claim that Saddam's regime was harboring al Qaeda members.

The Senate Intelligence Committee's report includes this conclusion at the end of a terse section on the Bush administration's claims about Saddam's prewar terror ties:

Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other al Qaeda-related terrorist members were substantiated by the intelligence assessments.

Intelligence assessments noted Zarqawi's presence in Iraq and his ability to travel and operate within the country. The intelligence community generally believed that Iraqi intelligence must have known about, and therefore at least tolerated

Tags: saddam regime, prewar terror ties, iraq, prewar/postwar intelligence, al-zarqawi

Change "He Should Believe In"

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:15:50 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: He would become a responsible voice within his party by challenging his constituents to embrace progress in Iraq. Using his considerable influence to rein in the reflexive and poisonous antiwar rhetoric that has become the Democratic party’s standard rallying cry against Republicans, he would seek to alleviate the bitter divisions that plague our country.

Unfortunately, Sen. Obama has not been that kind of candidate. Instead, he has chosen the far easier path of exploiting the existing currents of public opinion for political gain. In his speeches, he downplays the gains achieved through the surge and dismisses as “spin” all evidence of progress, all the while repeating his call for a withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops within sixteen months of becoming president, no matter the conditions on the ground.

Even worse, Sen. Obama’s rhetoric on the Iraq war is beginning to jeopardize his stated goal of repairing alliances that he claims are in tatters.

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

Obama for years accused President Bush of stubbornly refusing to acknowledge changing realities in Iraq. Today, however, Sen. Obama is the stubborn one.

In May 2008, the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq was the lowest since the beginning of the war.Meanwhile, Sunni Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates are finally sending ambassadors to Baghdad; the Iraqi army has proven that it is capable of defeating Shia militias in battle; and oil output has risen to its highest level since early 2003. Additionally, in an important sign that Iraq’s political system is functioning, the country’s parliament recently passed a comprehensive law against oil smuggling that will help increase the Iraqi government’s revenues from the sale of oil.

Sen. Obama has billed himself as a truth-telling leader who is above partisan politics and who will do what is right even when politically inconvenient. That kind of leader would adapt his rhetoric to reflect the successes achieved in Iraq.

Tags: obama, president bush, american soldiers, iraq's political system, oil revenues

The Party of Defeat: Unfit To Lead

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:10:52 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: into supporting the war is itself the biggest lie of the war.

The Democrats changed their views on the war for one reason and one reason alone: In June 2003, a far-left Democrat named Howard Dean was poised to win the Democratic Party presidential nomination by running on the claim that America was the bad guy in the war in Iraq, and he would get us out.

That’s why in February 2002, a year before the war in Iraq, Al Gore was saying that “Iraq is a virulent threat in a class by itself” and that President Bush should “push the limit” to do what was necessary to deal with Saddam Hussein.

But the most self-serving and deceptive of the lies told by the Democratic leadership is this: you can support the troops and not support the war. No you can’t.

Such a party is unfit to lead this nation in war. To place it in a position to do so would be to invite a tragedy of epic proportions.

Clip Source: dickmcdonald.blogspot.com

Most conversations about the coming elections focus on the question of which candidate is most suited to lead the nation as it confronts the challenges and threats ahead. A better question would be to ask whether there is one party– the Democratic Party -- which has demonstrated in word and deed that it is unfit to lead the nation in war at all. Criticism of government policy is essential to a democracy. But in the last five years the Democratic Party has crossed the line from criticism of war policy to fundamental sabotage of the war itself, a position no American party has taken until now.

Starting in July 2003, just three months into the war in Iraq, the Democratic National Committee ran a national TV ad whose message was: “Read his lips: President Bush Deceives the American People. This was the beginning of a five-year, unrelenting campaign to persuade Americans and their allies that “Bush lied, people died,”

In fact, the claim that Bush lied in order to dupe Democrats

Tags: democratic party, iraq, sabotage war effort, president bush, nancy pelosi, harry reid

McClellan On Valerie Plame

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:55:18 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: On page 173 McClellan first mentions my Plame leak, but he does not identify Armitage as the leaker until page 306 of the 323-page book, then only in passing. Armitage, anti-war and anti-Cheney, cannot fit the conspiracy theory When Armitage after two years publicly admitted he was my source, the life went out of Wilson's campaign. In "What Happened," McClellan dwells on Rove's alleged deceptions as if the real leaker were still unknown

McClellan writes that Rove told him this about his conversation with me after I called him to check Armitage's leak: "He (Novak) said he'd heard that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA. I told him I couldn't confirm it because I didn't know." Rove told me last week he never said that to McClellan.

McClellan writes, "I don't know" whether the leaker -- he does not specify Armitage -- committed a felony. Fitzgerald's long, investigation found no violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, if only because Plame was not covered.

Clip Source: www.gopusa.com

By Robert D. Novak
June 2, 2008

Although the media response dwelled on McClellan's criticism of Bush's road to war, the CIA leak case is the heart of this book. On July 14, 2003, one day before McClellan took the press secretary's job for which many colleagues felt he was unqualified, my column was published asserting that Plame at the CIA suggested her Democratic partisan husband, retired diplomat Joseph Wilson, for a sensitive intelligence mission. That story made McClellan's three years at the briefing room podium a misery, leading to his dismissal and now his bitter retort.

In claiming he was misled about the Plame affair, McClellan mentions Armitage only twice. Armitage being the leaker undermines the Democratic theory, now accepted by McClellan, that Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and political adviser Karl Rove aimed to delegitimize Wilson as a war critic. McClellan's handling of the leak by itself leads former colleagues to suggest he could not have written this book by himself

Tags: scott mcclellan, cia leak, plame, wilson, wmd, armitage, robert novak, karl rove, patrick fitzgerald