Tag Archives | George W. Bush

George W. Bush Cancels Swiss Trip To Avoid Prosecution For Torture

By on February 6, 2011 in News 16
Mr. Blair (left) and Mr. Bush

Mr. Blair (left) and Mr. Bush

There was a British television drama a few years ago that had ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair being sent for war crimes prosecution at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Apparently ex-President George W. Bush doesn’t think that’s so far-fetched and is avoiding Switzerland for fear of being arrested, according to Reuters:

Former President George W. Bush has canceled a visit to Switzerland, where he was to address a Jewish charity gala, due to the risk of legal action against him for alleged torture, rights groups said on Saturday.

Bush was to be the keynote speaker at Keren Hayesod’s annual dinner on February 12 in Geneva. But pressure has been building on the Swiss government to arrest him and open a criminal investigation if he enters the Alpine country.

Criminal complaints against Bush alleging torture have been lodged in Geneva, court officials say.

Human rights groups said they had intended to submit a 2,500-page case against Bush in the Swiss city on Monday for alleged mistreatment of suspected militants at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S.

… Read the rest

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Equivalency?: Harper’s Editor Discussed Saying He Wanted to Kill President Bush

By on January 24, 2011 in News 15

BushCokeIn 2006 Ben Metcalf wrote:

Before I attempt to fill these pages with my disgust, which the odd reader who knows me will surely expect, I am obliged to address a preliminary concern, which that same odd reader may safely ignore. Some time has passed since I last raised my voice to the multitude, and whereas literary taste does not seem to have advanced much in the interim, and I assume is still arrayed so as to engage only the weak-minded and dull, I find that I am no longer able to discern with any accuracy where the bounds of simple human decency lie. This would bother me even less than does the taste issue were it not for the fact that ground gained or lost in the theater of decency tends now and then to affect the law, and it has long been a personal goal of mine to avoid capture and imprisonment.

… Read the rest

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Chances Are, They’re Not Nazis

By on November 26, 2010 in News 4

Bush & Obama As HitlerAaron Cynic writes at Diatribe Media:

Back in the halcyon days following George W Bush’s inauguration, detractors and opponents of many stripes referred to W and his administration as Nazi’s. Even before the days of borderline fascist government policies like the PATRIOT ACT or warrantless wiretapping and torture apologists, lefties and others handed out poorly Xeroxed pamphlets featuring W’s face with a Hitler mustache.

Now, the jack boot is on the left foot, with hard line right wing conservatives dropping the Nazi card when referring to all things not Right as some form or another of Nazism. Most recently, Fox News chief Roger Ailes called the top brass at NPR “the left wing of Nazism” and said they have a “Nazi attitude.” Allies’ comments refer to the firing of NPR news analyst Juan Williams, after he told Bill O’Reilly that Muslims make him “nervous.”

It seems somewhere along the line the word “Nazi” devolved to something of a schoolyard insult like “dork” or “geek” on the political playground.… Read the rest

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George W. Bush’s Interview With Matt Lauer (Video)

By on November 9, 2010 in News 2

It’s no secret that Mr. Bush’s book is out today, nor that he chose NBC’s Matt Lauer as his first television interviewer since his term as president of the United States came to a close. Here are some previews from the interview, covering the invasion of Iraq, Katrina, and of course Kanye West:

For the full set of clips from the interview go to the Today Show site. Lauer and Bush will talk live on the Today Show on Wednesday, November 10th.

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Could ‘Decision Points’ Rewrite History?

By on November 9, 2010 in News 14

Aaron Cynic writes at Diatribe Media:

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern published a brilliant and damning piece regarding former President Bush’s upcoming memoir, Decision Points. In his essay, McGovern points out W’s little talked about “damn right” remarks he made when authorizing the waterboarding of terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Not only did W sign off on the form torture as an acceptable practice, but added “damn right” and asserted that the torture saved lives.

McGovern not only points out the glaring falsehood in that assertion, but shows exactly how the torture of prisoners became a recruiting tool for insurgents in Iraq. In addition, he rightly states that the under-reporting of the torture issue in the media, coupled with plenty of support (or shoulder shrugging) of the American public at large implicates us all. The essay comes on the heels of Bush’s related comments regarding the “lowest point” in his presidency, when Kanye West hurt his feelings by saying he didn’t care about black people during Hurricane Katrina.

… Read the rest

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George W. Bush: The Insult By Kanye West Was The Worst Moment of My Presidency

By on November 3, 2010 in News 30

Kayne West & Mike MyersReally, Mr. President? Needless to say, there was a day in September that was pretty bad for the country. (And also a mega-disaster that precipitated West’s comment and to this day leaves many Americans displaced from their homes.) Wow, of all places, looks like Ken Tucker in Entertainment Weekly has broken this story:

President George W. Bush says that when he heard Kanye West say, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” “it was one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency.”

Bush has taped an interview with Matt Lauer that will air on a special prime-time Matt Lauer Reports on NBC Nov. 8. It’s to promote his forthcoming book, Decision Points. The subjects of the interview are wide-ranging, but the former president is very passionate on the subject of West’s criticism of the way Bush handled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. NBC has released some quotations from the interview.

… Read the rest

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George W. Bush Shares His Secrets – With Matt Drudge!

By on October 29, 2010 in News 2

Books George W BushOf course “W” fan Matt Drudge is first to crow over how wonderful our immediate past president was, with some exclusive revelations from Bush’s new book on his consistently conservative Drudge Report:

“It was a simple question, ‘Can you remember the last day you didn’t have a drink?’”

So begins President George W. Bush in the opening chapter ["Quitting"] from the most anticipated book of the season, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal. With Decision Points set for release November 9, Bush pulls back the curtain with a strikingly personal work that takes very few shots at his critics.

The former president even stays clear of Obama!

From 911′s “Day of Fire” to “Katrina” to “Financial Crisis”, Bush explains how he returned to his faith, time and time again.

And the faith of others.

The president details how he bonded with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia — and a magical bird!

… Read the rest

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Barack Obama Accused of Exaggerating Terror Threat for Political Gain

By on October 7, 2010 in News 8

Looks like President Obama has taken another page out of President Bush’s playbook.  From the Guardian:

UK terror threat level

UK Current threat level

A US terror alert issued this week about al-Qaida  plots to attack targets in western Europe was politically motivated and not based on credible new information, senior Pakistani diplomats and European intelligence officials have told the Guardian.

The non-specific US warning, which despite its vagueness led Britain, France and other countries to raise their overseas terror alert levels, was an attempt to justify a recent escalation in US drone and helicopter attacks inside Pakistan that have “set the country on fire”, said Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the high commissioner to Britain.

Hasan, a veteran diplomat who is close to Pakistan’s president, suggested the Obama administration was playing politics with the terror threat before next month’s mid-term congressional elections, in which the Republicans are expected to make big gains.

He also claimed President Obama was reacting to pressure to demonstrate that his Afghan war strategy and this year’s troop surge, which are unpopular with the American public, were necessary.

… Read the rest

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Addicted To Bush

By on July 24, 2010 in News 24

BushCokePaul Krugman says Republicans can’t live without a bit of Bush, in the New York Times:

For a couple of years, it was the love that dared not speak his name. In 2008, Republican candidates hardly ever mentioned the president still sitting in the White House. After the election, the G.O.P. did its best to shout down all talk about how we got into the mess we’re in, insisting that we needed to look forward, not back. And many in the news media played along, acting as if it was somehow uncouth for Democrats even to mention the Bush era and its legacy.

The truth, however, is that the only problem Republicans ever had with George W. Bush was his low approval rating. They always loved his policies and his governing style — and they want them back. In recent weeks, G.O.P. leaders have come out for a complete return to the Bush agenda, including tax breaks for the rich and financial deregulation.

… Read the rest

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