Bush says: “We’re Making Progress in Iraq”

1. Well done video. The sad thing about it is that whenever Bush gives a speech saying “The Iraqis are making incredible progress,” it apparently satisfies people enough so that they avoid asking, “How do you measure the progress? What are some concrete examples of this progress?” But few ask that, or if they do, they are marginalized.

   Did you notice that the Osama bin Laden video just reported on was not made available to the public? If it was it was buried. I haven’t read the full text, but the excerpts that have been provided by AP stories make it sound like it is a 2004 speech that has been recycled. The video of Osama talking is blurry and only sort of looks like him, and his beard looks dyed (since in latter-day Osama photos his was mostly gray). Dying your beard is a violation of Islamic custom so it’s hard to believe that the person speaking is even Osama.

   Yet Bush was quick to pounce on the video as evidence of the importance of the mission in Iraq. Bush claimed the Osama video shows “we live in a dangerous world,” and because Osama refered to the insurgency in Iraq it means they are somehow connected to him. Basically Bush attempted his same old strategy of hoping to make people associated Iraq with 9/11. To me, the whole thing seems staged — Osama showing up with a mysterious video that nobody sees, at the exact same time that Bush is going to be held most accountable for the progress or lack thereof in Iraq. It’s funny timing anyway.

2. Did that go through? Here is the link to Osama’s speech.

   http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/transcript2.pdf

   It does seem to have some topical references. But it is still weird….something ain’t right.

3. I’m not sure if this helps or not, but here is the full Osama bin Laden video as provided by some guy and put on YouTube:
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_bPBdn31o

   So there’s the video available in the public.

   One could counter that it’s a conspiracy because the tape is filtered through media outlets (gov’t conveniently placing Bin Laden video through the MSM?) but it had to come from somewhere, right? Right?

   If anyone can provide a firmer proof that it’s genuine (posting weblinks closer to the original source… at your own risk), have at it.

4. And as far as the beard is concerned: It was reported on NPR that it is a common practice among “Arab men” to dye their beards. Only his hairdresser knows for sure.

5. Thanks for the link, NoReplyNecessary. I looked at the video. It’s weird. Osama looks like a puppet — it looks like one of those gag setups where it’s one person’s head and somebody else’s hands. I kept expecting the head to suddenly drop like in a wacky Japanese “Candid Camera”-style show.

   If that’s really Osama, he’s off his game. What the hell, the guy disappears for three years and then he barely has anything to say? No doubt he has a lot to worry about since there’s a $25 million bounty on his head, or whatever, but….it’s odd.

   The video is very blurry. How hard would it be to digitize Osama talking, given today’s incredibly advanced computer graphics? Or to find a look-alike? The voice has no particular inflection…it’s monotone.

   Is there any good reason to believe that Osama personally authorized and planned the 9/11 hijackings? People say he did, but what is the evidence? He may have known all about it. But does Al Qaeda even have a hierarchy, and if so, is Osama really at the top of it?

   Anyway…. Ugh. I am sick of Islamic fundamentalists and I am sick of our mega-corrupt government. Anyone catch the Rolling Stone article about the depths of the financial waste among the contractors in Iraq? Millions and billions of dollars, mysteriously vanished. Palates of money, tossed around like footballs, shrink-wrapped hot off the presses from the National Treasury, then whoops, lost in the deserts of Iraq. Halliburton and KBR charging millions for materials and tasks that never materialize, then not being held accountable but instead being given additional contracts. “Oh, so we gave you $200 million to build that thing and a year later you’ve only built a trash heap? Here, have another $200 million…”

   Halliburton was contracted to provide drinking water for U.S. soldiers. Somebody tested the water and found out it was basically poop water. But not just poop water — water that had even more bacteria than the average toilet. They reported this to Halliburton. What did Halliburton do? Nothing. A year later….still poop water. Mmmmm, poop water.

   There will be some interesting hearings this week about “progress” in Iraq. They are going to throw a bunch of statistics at us that will be slanted and confusing and out-of-context. It will be like Colin Powell’s UN speech times ten. “See these aluminum tubes? Those are for rockets to shoot at the kittens of American children!” It’ll be just like that except it’ll be, like, “You know how bombs in Iraq were killing people in markets and stuff? Now in Baghdad they are killing 20% less people per week.” They won’t tell you that it’s because there are 50% less markets, or that there are 70% more bombings in all the other cities.

   The Bush Admin can kiss my ass. They’ve systematically flushed the entire country down the toilet. Now we’re all drinking poop water.

6. On another Bush note, it’s almost too easy to make fun of the president. The sad thing is — he’s not really in charge. I don’t think he’s ever been, despite being “the decider.” I think he’s lost without his advisers.

   But anyway…. During the APEC meeting in Australia, Bush referred to the meeting as “OPEC.” Then when people laughed, he corrected himself and said, “APEC,” but added, “OPEC is next year,” or something like that, which didn’t make sense because Bush wouldn’t be invited to an OPEC meeting.

   He also referred to Australia’s troops as “Austrian troops,” which is hardly surprising since he often gets basic geographical/nationalistic references wrong.

   During this same speech, he tried to leave via the wrong exit — something he also did last year in Japan or China (which has led to one of the funniest photos of Bush ever taken, with his mouth strangely twisted while pulling the locked door handle).

   Maybe the guy just had jet lag. Yeah, that’s it. I feel sorry for him because I don’t think he’s really in charge, I think he is just doing what everybody has told him he ought to do for his whole life, and what he really wanted was to spend a lifetime clearing brush and drinking beer.

7. During this same speech, he tried to leave via the wrong exit…

   We’ve known for over four years that he’s had problems with exit strategies.

8. More about the Osama video: link

   It does appear it may be faked. All the topical discussion occurs during a section in which the video becomes still (as if due to a glitch). This would seem to indicate the video is not current but doctored to appear so.

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