Bush: U.S. not recognized for generosity

[arcos]

Bush: U.S. not recognized for generosity

WASHINGTON -
President Bush, battling anti-America sentiment in Central and South America, said Wednesday the United States doesn't get much credit for its generosity in the region.

Bush made the comment a day before a weeklong trip to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico to emphasize U.S. programs of health care, housing aid and job creation for the poor.

"The American taxpayer has been very generous about providing aid in our neighborhood, and most of that aid is social justice money — in other words, it's money for education and health," Bush said in an interview with CNN En Espanol. Since he took office, U.S. aid to Latin America has gone from $800 million to $1.6 billion, the president said.

"And yet we don't get much credit for it," he said.

<snip>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070308/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_latin_america;_ylt=Ast3uaKTKCGaAHcm5cvMCtPMWM0F

[sakabatou]

1. No, really?!

:sarcasm:

[rusty charly]

2. the "shock and awe" keeps overriding the generosity part

[Aviation Pro]

3. Has there ever been a more clueless individual on the face of the planet?

Dear God, please give the Democratic Congress the wisdom to remove this alleged man from office.

[catzies]

4. He didn't mention that sometimes our generosity comes with stings attached

Oh another thing, you LYING SACK OF EVIL WEASEL SHIT:

If we're so generous (and unheralded for it) what about the "Global Gag Rule?" :banghead:

[daleo]

5. I would like to see numbers to back up those claims

I have a hunch a lot the aid is tied to military assistance and the war on drugs.

[arcos]

12. Most of it, and I would dare to say ALL... nt

[ixion]

20. exactly...

[ProudDad]

39. The full title is

"Phony war on drugs"

:hi:

[Hekate]

6. Could have something to do with how incredibly stingy the Bush admin has been...

...with everything but guns and bombs.

Foreign audiences can readily observe how BushCheney dealt with the Drowning of New Orleans and other home-grown disasters.

They can likewise observe that BushCheney have refused to send desperately needed dollars to help women's clinics abroad, unless clinic operators swear that no one will ever get an abortion or be referred for one for any reason.

BushCheney's immediate response to the Tsunami was typical -- an exceedingly low-ball offer of money and aid, followed by promises of more when public outcry became too loud.

We could all come up with more examples, but those are just off the top of my head.

What an idiot.

Hekate

[GainesT1958]

7. I guess the forthcoming "Diary of Jenna"...

Is supposed to make up for all that, huh?:eyes:

B-)

[Make7]

8. We've always been more than generous with guns, bombs, and troops.

As history would indicate:

http://www2.truman.edu/~marc/resources/interventions.html

There's just no pleasing some people.

-Make7

[struggle4progress]

9. If we give $1.6 billion a year to Latin America, you can bet it's almost all military

Unfortunately, contrary to what W says, it's increasingly Pentagon money. Over 40% of the $1.6 billion is the $600+ million we give in police and military aid or "drug-war" money to Colombia's death squad government. And crudely speaking, we do about $1 billion in weapons transfers to the continent annually. By 2004, tripling military expenditures led to about a 50-50 humanitarian/military mix but even then the Administration planned to reduce the humanitarian aid.

More US Aid Flows Through Pentagon (Dec 2005)
Jim Lobe
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=31445

Is Washington Losing Latin America?
Peter Hakim
From Foreign Affairs, January/February 2006
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060101faessay85105/peter-hakim/is-washington-losing-latin-america.html

THE BUSH EFFECT: U.S. Military Involvement in Latin America Rises Development and Humanitarian Aid Fall
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/MilitaryAidLA110405.html

[MisterP]

10. he said that in LATIN AMERICA?!

"We killed your children for you, what more do ya want?"

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

11. G.W. Dangerfield: "No respect! I don't get no respect at all!!"

At least Rodney Dangerfield knew he's being funny; I seriously doubt * has a clue of what an idiot he sounds like when he says crap like this.

[Judi Lynn]

13. He has wined and dined many of their leaders. Why are they not "putting out" for him?

It must mean they are terrorists at heart, and we've got to smoke them out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

State Department rights report reveals double standard on Venezuela, Colombia —again
Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Wed, 03/07/2007 - 23:48.

Here we go again. We noted two years ago that the annual State Department human rights report for the Americas displayed a blatant double standard concerning US client Colombia and Axis of Evil junior affiliate Venezuela. The new report goes one better, actually singling out Venezuela and Cuba as having the worst human rights records in the hemisphere. The report says that as of the end of 2006, there were at least 283 political prisoners or detainees in Cuba and 13 in Venezuela. Barry F. Lowenkron, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, said the situation in Venezuela is worsening under President Hugo Chavez's government, which he characterized as "regressive." (AP, March 6)

As they say, figures can't lie but liars can figure. If there are fewer political prisoners in Colombia, it is because dissidents are more often summarily assassinated there. Real human rights groups consider Colombia—Bush's top South American ally—the worst rights abuser in the hemisphere by far. The latest Amnesty International country report on Colombia found at least 70 trade unionists and seven human rights defenders were killed in 2005. At least 1,050 civilians were killed or “disappeared” in non-combat situations just in the first half of 2005. More than 310,000 civilians were internally displaced in 2005, compared to 287,000 in 2004. Amnesty's figures for Venezeula and Cuba are nowhere near so impressive. And as of the end of 2005 (most recent statistics available), Amnesty counted 70 political prisoners in Cuba—not 283.
(snip/...)

http://www.ww4report.com/node/3308

[Solly Mack]

14. Oh bother.

[NJCher]

15. from today's LA Times...more examples of our generosity

Lula has other priorities. Fearful of seeming too close to Bush, he is under heavy pressure from Brazilian farmers to protest U.S. agricultural supports — especially the 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol. But U.S. officials have flatly stated that they have no intention of seeking a reduction in the ethanol tariff. What Bush has offered instead is a variety of small anti-poverty programs that are dwarfed by Chavez's initiatives in the region. The "OPEC for ethanol" that the president is expected to create today with Lula won't actually open the U.S. market to Brazilian ethanol, and as a result it will accomplish little.

Brazil's sugar-based ethanol is more energy efficient and far cheaper to produce than U.S. corn-based ethanol, yet we impose a steep tariff on the Brazilian product to protect domestic corn growers and ethanol producers. The damage wrought by this policy is enormous. It raises consumer prices for all corn products, sabotages long-overdue attempts to move away from dirty fossil fuels and poisons the U.S. relationship with Latin America.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-ed-brazil08mar08,1,3681849.story?coll=la-news-a_section



Cher

[Judi Lynn]

16. Great article, NJCher! Looks like the writing is on the wall, doesn't it?

Can't wait to hear those first reports from Brazil. We'll all have to read between the (((((((spins))))))).

[rcdean]

21. How does the US get away with these tariffs under WTA?

What a hypocritical, short-sighted policy! I'd much rather be in the partial clutches of Brazil than in the complete clutches of the Arabs.

Plus, US corn producers are looking forward to an avalanche of gov. subsidized new demand. Wouldn't this be a good time to drop the Ethanol import tariff, since it would do little or no damage to domestic corn productions? Oh, damn! There's that common sense again!

[santaclawsz]

35. Blame senators in the midwest

Their states benefit from ethanol subsidies and tariffs.

[ProudDad]

40. For "domestic corn growers and ethanol producers"

substitute:

ADM: http://www.admworld.com/
Cargil: http://www.cargill.com/

Evil, evil, evil...

[Judi Lynn]

17. A dark underbelly of mass graves and electoral fraud

A dark underbelly of mass graves and electoral fraud

Congress is questioning a Latin American policy that has left George Bush with a best friend who is a major embarrassment

Isabel Hilton
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian


There is little to cheer a US president on a visit to Latin America these days. Where it once enforced its will on the region the US now looks increasingly out of touch. The presidents of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile were not elected as friends of the US, and China has quietly filled the economic gap left by seven years of US distraction and neglect.

President Bush's plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas has faltered; electorates blame free market liberalism for years of stagnation, and high oil prices help Venezuela's Hugo Chávez bid for Fidel Castro's crown as figurehead of the Latin left. When Bush visits Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala next week, he will be received politely, but with little enthusiasm.

Bush will be the first US president to visit Bogota since John Kennedy, and only in Colombia will he find an unconditional friend in President Alvaro Uribe, whom he has praised as an ally and granted billions of dollars in military aid.

But on the eve of the visit, Bush's best friend is becoming his biggest embarrassment. Uribe leads a country mired in corruption, violence and drugs - the source of 90% of the cocaine in the US - and where critics of the government receive death threats and drug barons and death squad leaders win amnesty.
(snip/...)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2028970,00.html

[HuffleClaw]

18. wow, a whole 1.6 billion

thats what? a couple weeks worth of 'iraq war'?

[donkeyotay]

34. More like a couple of days. Aren't we spending over $8 billion/month?

I guess grinding poverty and death squads make it hard to appreciate such generosity.

[annabanana]

19. "They will not lick the boot on their neck"

"Whaaa-aaa-aaa"

[pampango]

22. Opening our market to their exports and borders to their immigrants

are about the only ways that we have been "generous" to most of the Third World. Our aide programs are pretty minuscule compared to other industrialized countries.

[Briar]

23. Oh, he should have addressed that to the BBC

On the Today programme yesterday, when faced by a neocon bully whining about such lack of gratitude from the rest of the world, a BBC hack cringed before him and gushed out thanks. I was really glad I had skipped my breakfast.

[Javaman]

24. Of course we don't especially when everytime there is a catch. nt

[lebkuchen]

25. Why would we have $ to give to other countries when we're bleeding ourselves?

How full of crap can a Texan be?

[Megahurtz]

37. No Shit!

Of course he'll never give that one the time of day.

[bluedog]

26. they didn't BOW to the idiot in chief! n/t

[Auntie Bush]

27. They whole trip is just an excuse to go check out his new property in Uruguay

at taxpayer expense. Also helping Uruguay will insure he gets to live in a more friendly country when he's run out of this one.... which can't be too soon.

[BigDDem]

28. You better recognize our generosity

or we'll come liberate your country too!

[bemildred]

29. More brilliant rhetoric on the "peace and brotherhood" tour. nt

[Thor_MN]

30. Expecting recognition means you are not generous...

To truely be generous, one should not expect payback of any sort.

[Amonester]

31. Beware South-America, 'cuz...

Bu$che's Money Trumps Peace.

(I know, I know. You already know that.) :rofl:

[benld74]

32. Bush: U.S. not recognized for recognizing my stupidity in 2000!

[SOS]

33. US at bottom of list as % GDP:

[Megahurtz]

36. Not Much Generosity Here At Home! n/t

[ProudDad]

38. It must be the noise from the guns

of the right-wing death squads spending our tax money killing folks in Columbia that's drowning out the cheers from our brothers and sisters in the south...

Maybe it's all that money that was and still is being sent to the coup plotters in Venezuela that just isn't appreciated.

[Judi Lynn]

41. You may find this article and cartoon interesting:Colombian Minister Decries Web Cartoon

Colombian Minister Decries Web Cartoon

Friday March 9, 2007 5:16 AM


By TOBY MUSE

Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - With a cast of leering far-right paramilitaries, smiling skeletons climbing from mass graves and a buffoonish George W. Bush, an animated Internet cartoon that criticizes Colombia's peace process has prompted a rebuke from the nation's foreign minister.

The two-minute clip playing on the Amnesty International Web site is presented as a mock commercial for a new soap, Colombia Clean. It's a sarcastic reference to the Colombian government effort to make peace with illegal paramilitaries, a process that critics say absolves extremist right-wing warlords of savage massacres.

Colombia Clean, the bubbly narrator promises, will wash away ``dirty consciences'' and ``bloodstained histories.''

``We can wallow in the dirt of human rights abuses, but stay spotless with the nonstick blame repellant of Colombia Clean!'' a Colombian politician says.

``If you're a member of a ruthless paramilitary militia, you can come clean,'' chimes in an increasingly bloodstained paramilitary commander, ``And continue killing!''
(snip/...)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6467466,00.html

The cartoon, Colombia Clean:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/colombia/animation.html

[samscafe]

42. YOUR Bible tells you not to seek attention for charity.