Bush unveils plan to tackle global corruption (not from the Onion really)

[IChing]

I found this story from another website where they thought it was from the Onion
but found out it was real



Reuters
Thursday, August 10, 2006; 5:26 PM

Bush unveils plan to tackle global corruption
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush launched a new global campaign on Thursday to combat kleptocracy, or rampant government corruption, which he said undermines democracy and development in poor countries.

"Kleptocracy is an obstacle to democratic progress, undermines faith in government institutions, and steals prosperity from the people," Bush said in a statemen




Bush's National Strategy To Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy follows the agreement by the Group of Eight powers at their summit in St. Petersburg, Russia to coordinate legal and financial policies to fight corruption.

"Our objective is to defeat high-level public corruption in all its forms and to deny corrupt officials access to the international financial system as a means of defrauding their people and hiding their ill-gotten gains," Bush said.>>>>>snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081001249.html



:puke: :puke: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[BattyDem]

1. We have just crossed over into The Twilight Zone!

This is just too f*cking absurd! :crazy:

[Avalux]

2. I read this last week and really did think it was parody.

Unreal. But then again, we are living in bizarro world where black is white and up is down. :silly:

[bridgit]

3. he really needs to eradicate ASStocracy imo...

that should flush 99% of the republicans right out of DC, which will, thereby, assist the "democratic progress" mightily round the world

:thumbsup:

[Starfury]

4. What, he's going to investigate himself?

[Ohio Joe]

5. ummm

Just when you think he could not possibly say or do something stupider then the last thing he said or did. Perhaps they believe if they say they are fighting corruption, people may not believe they are causing it. :shrug:

[xxqqqzme]

6. "...The goal of the policy is to

"block, at every level possible, their ability to take those monies and to store them for their own personal use or expend them for their own personal use," said Shiner, undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs.

Sounds like every person in the administration is a target.

Didn't someone say irony was dead?

[AspenRose]

7. What he really means is

he's going to export Diebold machines to right wing fascists in other countries so they can undermine their democracies, too.

[Oreo]

8. Maybe he'll start in Mexico

and have them redo their election

Kleptocracy... I can just picture him saying it. Must be on his word of the day calendar.

[IChing]

9. Just remember that he said this before he read Camus

or was it before?

Fuck
, bizarro world, twilight zone, 1984, V for Vendetta, Brave new world or other analogies, take your pick

[MrCoffee]

10. Damn dirty kleptocrats hate us for our offshore accounts.

[blogslut]

11. Hey, George

Jesus has a question for you:

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Matthew 7:3

[Cassandra]

12. Reminds me of something Earl Wilson said about Nixon.

Nixon said he wanted to be tough on crime, so he moved it into the White House where he could keep an eye on it.

[marions ghost]

13. I haven't got time

to post about a 100 :rofl: 's followed by 100 :cry: s

This is another test of your sanity (just like Dubbie reading Camus).

[Atman]

14. This is how the get The Backwash to follow them.

We've seen it at every turn with the GOP and the right wing extremists. From Jimmy Swaggart to Jim Baker to George W. Bush and anywhere the GOP gathers...if they say they're against it, or fighting it, you'd better check their closets because it only means THEY'RE ALREADY DOING IT!

Joe Backwash will simply look at this story and conclude that it MUST be true, because why would Bush point to something he was doing himself? Why would he risk busting himself by saying this? Why, indeed! The why is because of the reaction The Backwash have! The why is because they know there are plenty of people who still resolutely believe any press release the government issues. Them, and the 1%, are Bush base. The stupid, and the too rich to care.

[MadHound]

15. Well, you know what this means

He's going to start cracking down on the little guy, while he and his buddies get away scott free. So, if you work for a large corporation, and have ripped off some office supplies, watch out, 'cause Bushboy is now on the case:eyes:

[neebob]

17. No, he's just cracking down on kleptocrats in poor countries

so the bigtime kleptocrats from richer countries (read: George W. Bush & friends) will have more to klept.

[Jazzgirl]

16. Then he better start in his own house!

Geez...the nerve of this asshole! Why does he always project what he himself is guilty of??!!?? :spank: :shrug: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[LordLovesAWorkingMan]

18. Hide in plain sight, is the strategy

If you do as I say, not as I do, then you just might forget that I do as I please, not as I say.


Hypocrite.

[IChing]

19. The Democratic Party's responce:

I thought the list they used was way too short but

http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/08/bush_acknowledg.php

Today, in a White House press release, President Bush finally announced that his Administration would begin fighting the culture of corruption. He declared, "For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance and bred criminality and mistrust around the world. ... Our objective is to defeat high-level public corruption in all its forms and to deny corrupt officials access to the international financial system as a means of defrauding their people and hiding their ill-gotten gains."

The Washington Republican culture of corruption has led to the conviction of former Republican superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, the conviction of former Bush official David Safavian, the indictment and retirement of former Republican House Leader Tom DeLay, the retirement of former Republican Representative Bob Ney, the conviction of Ohio's Republican Governor Bob Taft, and the indictment of Bush fundraiser Tom Noe, among others.

Despite Bush's so-called commitment, his White House has refused to respond to the Democratic National Committee's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to receive the Worker and Visitor Entrance (WAVE) System records documenting White House visits made by Jack Abramoff's cronies, including Michael Scanlon, Grover Norquist, Patrick Pizzella, Ralph Reed and David Safavian.

"Fighting the culture of corruption starts here at home," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "We're pleased to see the President come around to support our call for an end to the Republican culture of corruption that has plagued Washington, and we will, of course, do our best to get rid of corrupt Republicans in the fall. But in the meantime, if the President is really serious, there is plenty he can do, including responding quickly and thoroughly to the DNC's request for information regarding visits to the White House made by Jack Abramoff's cronies. Democrats remain committed to honesty in government and real ethics reform in Washington."

Grover Norquist: Abramoff Lobbied for Choctaws; Norquist Funneled $1.15 Million from the Choctaws to Anti-Gambling Groups, Taking $300,000 For Himself. Abramoff lobbied for the Mississippi Band of Choctaws on "tax and tribal issues." Since 1995, the tribe has paid Abramoff at least $7 million. Norquist admitted to receiving over $1.15 million from the Mississippi tribes which he later funneled to two groups who were running anti gambling campaigns in neighboring Alabama. From the mid-90s through 2002, according to sources, the Choctaws poured about $1.5 million into ATR coffers, roughly three-quarters of which was used to help defeat an Alabama lottery referendum and a video-poker proposal that was pending in the state Legislature.

Patrick Pizzella: Pizzella and Abramoff Registered to Lobby For Chelsea Commercial Enterprise Limited, Front Group For Russian Energy Company Naftasib. According to Senate lobbyist filings, Abramoff was registered to lobby on behalf of Chelsea Commercial Enterprises in 1997, an effort that was described as being intimately liked to a diversified Russian energy firm known as Naftasib. In 1998, U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group with close ties to Abramoff and DeLay, received a $1 million donation from an undisclosed source. DeLay's former chief of staff, Ed Buckham, subsequently revealed that the donation was from Naftasib executives, and was specifically intended to influence DeLay's vote on legislation to protect the interests of these companies. In that same year, DeLay voted against a Clinton Administration proposal that was strongly opposed by Naftasib and other Russian oil companies, voting for the proposal only when the companies' concerns had been addressed.

Ralph Reed: Reed Helped Abramoff In His Effort to Stop A Key Hire At the Interior Department. Reed acknowledges he used his White House access for Abramoff. In December 2001 was eager to prevent Angela Williams from being appointed head of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs, which oversees the government's dealings with the Northern Mariana Islands, an Abramoff client...Reed assured Abramoff he had 'weighed in heavily' with the White House personnel office to block her appointment but had received no commitment. 'Any ideas on how we can make sure she does not get it?' Abramoff asked. 'Can you ping Karl on this? I can't believe they just don't get this done?' Reed replied, 'I am seeing him tomorrow at the WH and plan to discuss it with him as well."'

Abramoff and Reed Used Norquist To Launder E-Lottery Money. "Abramoff was lobbying for...eLottery Inc against a bill in Congress that would have banned most online betting. First the money was sent by eLottery to Americans for Tax Reform...headed by Grover Norquist, who knew both Reed and Abramoff. Norquist then wrote a check for $150,000 to a group called Faith and Family Alliance of Virginia Beach. Faith and Family Alliance wrote a check for the same amount to Reed's Century Strategies...One of Faith and Family's founders, Tim Phillips, was a vice president for Century Strategies."
David Safavian: Former Bush Official Convicted. "A jury Tuesday convicted a former Bush administration official of four counts of lying and obstructing justice in the first trial to be held in connection with the influence-peddling scandal of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Safavian was convicted on four of five felony counts of lying and obstruction. He had resigned from his White House post last year as the federal government's chief procurement officer. The verdict gave a boost to the wide-ranging influence peddling probe that focuses on Abramoff's dealings with Congress."


Michael Scanlon: Pleaded Guilty To Conspiracy. "Michael Scanlon, a former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay and a onetime partner of high-powered Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge Monday. As part of the deal with the Justice Department, Scanlon agreed to testify against Abramoff in a probe that also has implicated at least one member of Congress, two government sources have told CNN. Scanlon was charged Friday with one count of conspiracy as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation of his and Abramoff's lobbying activities. Scanlon, a 35-year-old public relations executive, agreed to pay $19.7 million in restitution for kickbacks he admitted receiving as part of the conspiracy to defraud his and Abramoff's clients."

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. They say you can use a thief to catch a thief,

but usually what happens is they both wind up stealing from you.

[ItNerd4life]

21. There is alot of corruption at the local level in many countries

and I agree that it needs to be dealt with. However, Bush will still encourage and allow corruption at the national level. Remember the mantra, lower levels of government and lower income people aren't allowed to make money.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. Relevant comments fro mteh index of helping developing countries

And although the US gave more money than anywhere else, its donation was the smallest of the 21 states in relation to the size of its economy.

Much of the US's aid, the CGD added, was contingent on the purchase of US goods, and so was in fact a "backdoor subsidy for American interests".

America was also criticised for its handling of aid in Iraq, with the CGD claiming that 90 cents in every dollar was lost to violence and corruption.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4785813.stm