POTUS vs. BabelFish, Round 2

The President of the United States spoke 09/26/05 at the Energy Department about hurricane effects on the energy supply. As i have done before, i will take some choice snippets of the President "speaking" and use Alta Vista's BabelFish to translate them to German. Then i will translate them from German back to English and see what happens. Keep in mind that the orignial snippets are real. Thanks to First Draft for pointing out which snippets to use.
On GA Governor Pudue's leadership:"Governor Perdue of Georgia I thought did a -- showed some leadership by saying we've got to -- anticipating a problem, here's what we need to do to correct it."
BabelFish Translation: "Automatic controller Perdue Georgia I of the thought did to A -- somewhat saying guidance showed by us has -- a problem anticipating to be repaired is here, which we must do, in order it." The translation almost works better than W's original.
Georgie Babble on EPA regulation:"And so while there's a shortfall because of down refining capacity, we will work with -- we have instructed EPA to leave the rules in place, or to suspend the rules that were in place, keep the suspension in place, which would make it easier to increase supply, and continue to get supply of gasoline here."
BabelFish:"And in such a way, while there is a deficit because of down the refining ability, we cooperate -- we instructed EPA, in order to leave the guidelines in the place, or, to shift the guidelines those in the place, hold the abolition in the place were simpler, for that it to increase form supplying material and would drive away to receive supplying material here gasoline." Exactly!
GDub said this about local officials: "I look forward to dealing with local -- talking to local leaders about what -- the situation and the problems they face."
Translation regarding natives: "I make to employ native ones -- speaking with local leaders about which -- the situation and the problems happy, which confront her."
Tha Prez on learnin' expectations : "And, therefore, we've got to have high standards and high expectations and focus money on Title I children to teach -- so that they -- so that children can learn to read." Yeah, someone needs to learn to read.
The BabelFish responds: "And therefore we have to have the high standards and high expectations and focus money on children of the title I, which can be informed, -- with it them -- thereby children to learn can read."
Our Dear Leader says stop dreaming and clean up the mess!: "I mean, when I go down to Mississippi, I appreciate the vision that they're beginning to think about, but my first priority was to help those local folks remove debris. And then the next question is, what do we do with the debris once it's removed."
Tranlation please: "I mean, if I go down to Mississippi, I estimate the sight, which they begin to think approximately but my first priority should help those local peoples to remove arrears. And then the following question, which we do with the arrears, is once, which it is removed."

To say that i am easily amused would be an understatement. Or, To say that I will easily maintain a Untertreibung would be.

This is cool..

Click here. Use your mouse to manipulate the falling prez.
Thanks to Crooks & Liars for the link.

Pat Tillman: Patriot, soldier, hero. Oh, and was totally against Bush and the Iraq war.

Hat tip to AmericaBlog for pointing me to this post at The Cunning Realist: "Anatomy of a Disgrace," which quotes the SF Chronicle's article detailing Tillman's family's struggle to get to the truth about his death. The US military has been lying about the circumstances surrounding his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan and politicians exploited his "heroism" for their selfish purposes. Turns out, Pat Tillman was killed by military incompetence and he hated Bush and was against the war in Iraq. Here's an account from Spc. Russell Baer, sho served with Tillman and was next to him when he died:

“I can see it like a movie screen,” Baer said. “We were outside of (a city in southern Iraq) watching as bombs were dropping on the town. We were at an old air base, me, Kevin and Pat, we weren’t in the fight right then. We were talking. And Pat said, ‘You know, this war is so f— illegal.’ And we all said, ‘Yeah.’ That’s who he was. He totally was against Bush.” Another soldier in the platoon, who asked not to be identified, said Pat urged him to vote for Bush’s Democratic opponent in the 2004 election, Sen. John Kerry.

This war is so wrong. Don't believe me? Try this. Absolutely disgusting.

"KatRita" update from a friend in the midst of it all

My friend, DTS forwarded a message to me from our friend Chris, who is once again volunteering for the Red Cross. Chris did some heroic stuff for the Red Cross in the aftermath of 9-11. Now he is efforting the recovery after Katrina and finds himself bracing in anticipation of Rita...

Howdy, folks -

Just a quick update on my whereabouts and doings. I'm still managing a shelter for the Red Cross here in Larose, Louisiana, about 45 miles west of New Orleans ...... a shelter whose population nearly doubled to 150 today in what me and the 13-member Red Cross crew I'm heading (10 mass care staff/3 nurses) are now referring to as our "KatRita" deployment. I've been in Louisiana for almost three weeks now; two weeks at this location with brief stints in Baton Rouge, Houma, and Grand Isle, Louisiana. This area is currently under a voluntary evacuation order for Hurricane Rita and after much talk of evacuating, we have now hunkered down here in the Larose Civic Center to ride out the storm. The Pennsylvania National Guard made a heroic entrance earlier in the evening with two gigantic, Mad Max lookin' trucks full of MREs which were unloaded by an impressive and efficient chain of military guys, Red Cross volunteers and shelter residents in record time. We were already loaded down with water and the building has a generator fueled to run for more than a week once we lose standard power. Our cable television and Red Cross satellite phones and internet access are holding up through the first squalls as we've experienced brief, intense outbursts of wind and rain, with the phones and 'net likely to remain constant as long as we can keep the dish out back from blowing over or away. At this point, we've been told to expect tropical storm force winds for 24 or more hours but every inch eastward you see the landfall projections move, the more intense things will get around here. The worst of it should hit just after midnight Friday night/Saturday morning so we're expecting our currently well-behaved population to surge further toward the Civic Center's maximum sheltering capacity of 300 or 400. Sounds like a party, no!!?!! So here I am ..... split three ways between feeling like I can really help here and all is well, wanting to be in the safe comfort of home with my kitties as I fear what's in store, and just loving the adrenaline rush of riding out this major storm and historical event. Regardless of my spin on it, we're here to stay now. I'm on my third set of plane reservations as I vacillated between trying to get out in advance of the storm and trying to project a safe time after it will have passed. My current schedule to fly out of Baton Rouge on Saturday will almost certainly need to be altered once again. Meanwhile, it should be an interesting ride!!

Hope you're all well. Check in if/when you can -

--Chris--

Godspeed to Chris. Stay safe.

The Bush Administration and the "F" word..Zogby and the "I" word

Tip o' the hat to Crooks & Liars for pointing me to this article by Marshall Auerback, blogger at PrudentBear, containing the following observation:

The reconstruction of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama provides a fascinating picture of how the Bush administration actually works. His government represents an odd melding of corporatism and cronyism, more in tune with the workings of 1930s Italy or Spain. In fact, if one looks at fascist regimes of the 20th century, it is appears that the Bush administration draws more from these sources than traditional conservatism. Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

(Source: The Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism, Dr. Lawrence Britt, Spring 2003, Free Inquiry)

Has anyone else noted this connection? You betcha.

####

Pollster John Zogby says he will only poll America about their support for Bush's impeachment again if the price is right or if the question is raised by congress. Here is Zogby's article dated June 30, 2005 showing the results of the first time the question was asked of Americans: 42% of those polled said that "if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment." 42% seems to me to be a big number, but proving that Bush "did not tell the truth" about reasons to destroy Iraq would be difficult, given that no one has ever "proven" that he actually knows what he is saying when he addresses the nation. And of course it would all depend on what your definintion of "truth" is.
In June, Mr. Zogby said he would pose the impeachment question "probably in a month from now" on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. An Austrailian blog called Wot Is It Good 4 has been corresponding with Zogby on this matter since August, and has gotten the run-around from Zogby's peeps. Karl Rove has gotten to them, apparently, so don't look for the "I" word to come up any time soon.

Two film strips to watch..

Educatonal filmstrips from Filmstrip International, just like when you were 12. It's called A--hole and it's about the current Administration. Here is version one. Here is another one, updated after Katrina. It features the song, "A-hole" by a band called Jim's Big Ego. Pass these links along to your friends and foes. Click here for more filmstrips from these guys. Worth your time and every dime.

Touched by His Noodly Appendage

On August 9, 2005 "The Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to include greater criticism of evolution in its school science standards, but it decided to send the standards to an outside academic for review before taking a final vote. The Kansas school system was ridiculed around the country in 1999 when the board deleted most references to evolution. The system later reversed course, but the language favored by the board Tuesday comes from advocates of intelligent design or creationism."
Intelligent Design (ID) proponents assert that an unidentified supernatural being created the universe and that ID should be offered in public schools as an alternative to theories of evolution. Scientists, academics, teachers and other sane people were outraged, and said that such pseudoscience does not belong in our classrooms. ID supporters were outraged by the outrage, setting the stage for a Scopes Monkey Trial Part Dieux.
A concerned citizen, one Bobby Henderson, heard about this and was disappointed to learn that only one theory of ID was being discussed. So he wrote to the Kansas Board of Education and told of his vision, in an attempt to persuade them to consider what he believes is the supernatural creator of the universe:
The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Behold Bobby's Holy vision in all His noodly glory!
Read his entire letter to the Kansas Board of Education here, and if you are not touched by his eloquence and persuaded by his sound reaoning of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (FSM), then you sir, are truly a soulless beast who shall be condemned to the hell of your own making. **insert sound of the Flying Spaghetti Monster smiting you here**

Here is an excerpt from Bobby's open letter to the KS Bd of Ed.:

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.
Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him...
In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

Read some responses he received from the Kansas Board of Ed.
Here are some interesting emails he has recieved.
And the FAQ.

Presidential Potty Break

This is real. I am not making this up. During the UN Security Council meeting yesterday (09/14/05) President Bush, in a hand-written note passed to SecState Condi Rice wrote, "I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible." Here is a photo. Here is a close-up. Okay, so he's not the smartest guy in the room wherever he goes. He still has not grasped the concept of punctuation, let alone issues of international diplomacy. We knew that already. But was he serious, or just trying to be cute? I heard he and Condi were playing hangman, too. Here is a peek at the puzzle that stumped the President:

Headline from English tabloid..

..is a bit unfortunate, but funny. I guess they have differnent names for things over there.

Art courtesy of Jena Sesow

This just in: Brownie to Resign as Head of FEMA

via Raw Story, FEMA Chief Resigns Post
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Coming soon: Dubya to award "Brownie" the Presidential Medal of Freedom for "doing a heck of a job." You may laugh at the absurdity of that last bit, but hey, Tenet and Bremer each got one.

The Bush Mea Culpa Watch

Thanks to PERRspectives Blog.

I'm not holding my breath waiting for Bush's "my bad" on his handling (or lack thereof) of Katrina aftermath, either. Bush promises to lead an investigation regarding "what went right, what went wrong." WTF? He's going to lead an investigatoin of himself? That should be enlightening. In case you couldn't tell, i was being sarcastic. Meanwhile, the Bubble Boy continues to be babied by his handlers who say, "Now is not the time to play the blame game."
To quote Jon Stewart: "Those who don't want to play the blame game are to blame."

Michael D. Brown = Gareth Keenan

Ok, not only is FEMA head Michael D. Brown totally unqualified to run a free lemonade stand, but he lied about his professional experience as well.
Check this!! He pulled a Garreth Keenan!

In the hit British comedy series, The Office, Mackenzie Crook played Gareth Keenan: a puny, brown-nosing office geek who always introduced himself as, "Assistant Regional Manager," only to be corrected by his boss: "Assistant to the Regional Manager."

According to Michael D. Brown's bio on the FEMA website, "His background in local and state government also includes serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight and as a city councilman" in the city of Edmond, OK.

As TIME reports, "according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was 'assistant to the city manager' from 1977 to 1980, not a manger himself, and had no authority over employees. 'The assistant is more like an intern,' she told TIME."
Is that precious, or what? I wonder if Chertoff ever put Brown's stapler in jell-o.

Read here and here and here for more of this phony's falsehoods.

Another day, another scandal in BushWorld. Maybe the mainstream media won't ignore this one, since you know, he's pretty much responsible for people dying and all.

Quiz: What does this mean?

Wish Hood Tall Cup Stare Sew Thick Can Tear Is

Keith Olbermann on Katrina and "our" government

Keith Olbermann broke his editorial silence Monday and lashed out against "our" US gov't and their response to the Katrina crisis:

"...these are leaders who won re-election last year largely by portraying their opponents as incapable of keeping the country safe. These are leaders who regularly pressure the news media in this country to report the reopening of a school or a power station in Iraq, and defies its citizens not to stand up and cheer. Yet they couldn't even keep one school or power station from being devastated by infrastructure collapse in New Orleans — even though the government had heard all the "chatter" from the scientists and city planners and hurricane centers and some group whose purposes the government couldn't quite discern... a group called The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And most chillingly of all, this is the Law and Order and Terror government. It promised protection — or at least amelioration — against all threats: conventional, radiological, or biological. It has just proved that it cannot save its citizens from a biological weapon called standing water. Mr. Bush has now twice insisted that, "we are not satisfied," with the response to the manifold tragedies along the Gulf Coast. I wonder which "we" he thinks he's speaking for on this point. Perhaps it's the administration, although we still don't know where some of them are. Anybody seen the Vice President lately? The man whose message this time last year was, 'I'll Protect You, The Other Guy Will Let You Die'? I don't know which 'we' Mr. Bush meant."

Read the full text here.
See the video of the above spiel here. Or here.
Mr. Olbermann hosts my favorite daily news show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC Mon-Fri at 8pm eastern. For my money, he's the best TV news man anywhere. If you don't watch him regularly, i would gently encourage you to tune in. Take the Grape Nuts challenge: watch Keith for a week, and see how much better you feel. i guarantee you'll get all the news you need along with your recommended daily allowance of context and perspective that won't leave you bloated. Keith has a knack for delivering the news with creativity, insight and honesty. And perhaps most importantly, he is appropriately cynical about the business of journalism and its role in our culture. That is why he is uniquely awesome.

Administration's View VS. Facts on the Ground

The Administration officials' official line about progress being made differs greatly from reports by those in the midst of the disaster. Sound familiar? It's the same M.O. used when they talk about the war in Iraq: lie, deny, distort, disinform. Oh yeah, and blame the media. Standard operating procedure.
From CNN:

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Diverging views of a crumbling New Orleans emerged Thursday. The sanitized view came from federal officials at news conferences and television appearances. But the official line was contradicted by grittier, more desperate views from the shelters and the streets.
These conflicting views came within hours, sometimes minutes of each of each other, as reflected in CNN's transcripts. The speakers include Michael Brown, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, evacuee Raymond Cooper, CNN correspondents and others. Here's what they had to say:

Conditions in the Convention Center
FEMA chief Brown: We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.

Mayor Nagin: The convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we are running out of supplies for the 15,000 to 20,000 people.

CNN Producer Kim Segal: It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children, you should see them, they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw... people who are dying in front of you.

Read the whole article.

Mr. Bush was on the ground in Biloxi, MS talking to two African-American women and a fella looking for help. Sounds like they shoulda looked elsewhere:

Bush to women: "There's a Salvation Army center that I want to, that I'll tell you where it is, and they'll get you some help. I'm sorry.... They'll help you.....
Woman 1: "I came here looking for clothes..."
Bush: "They'll get you some clothes, at the Salvation Army center..."
Woman 1: "We don't have anything..."
Bush: "I understand.... Do you know where the center is, that I'm talking to you about?"
Guy with shades: "There's no center there, sir, it's a truck."
Bush: "There's trucks?"
Guy: "There's a school, a school about two miles away....."
Bush: "But isn't there a Salvation center down there?"
Guy: "No that's wiped out...."
Bush: "A temporary center? "
Guy: "No sir they've got a truck there, for food."

Incompetence and cluelessness personified.