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Looking for evidence of corruption in the White House? Look no further than George Bush’s bolstering of the head of the World Bank – old pal, Paul Wolfowitz – in his corrupt hour of need.

Has anyone noticed how Bush’s appointees continue to be supported by the US president, even when it is perfectly obvious they are either corrupt or incompetent?

Who will ever forget that infamous line from a devastated New Orleans – “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job…….” or the misguided support offered to Harriet Miers, or more recently, Alberto Gonzales?

Let’s face it, Bush couldn’t pick a working snowflake in a Colorado blizzard. “Jobs for the boys” is his criteria, and nothing else matters – least of all, qualifications and experience. Wolfowitz was simply part of the strategy.

Having ‘their man’ in charge of the World Bank would have been expeditious, given the expected easy victory in Iraq. Poor old, bankrupt, Iraq would have benefited from World Bank money to rebuild the infrastructure ready for the oil moguls to move in. Unfortunately, the insurgency – oops, sorry, “terrorists” – put paid to that. Of course, the ever optimistic Mister Bush is still hopeful his “surge” will solve the Administration’s problems and render Wolfowitz’s position useful once more.

It was remiss of Mister W to assist his girlfriend in a leg-up to a tax-free $193,000, particularly as he is hated and despised by all the Bank’s employees, who were champing at the bit for any opportunity to shop him to the Executive Board.

There is no doubt Wolfowitz is guilty of a corrupt act. Why else would he apologize so profusely?

Is it not reasonable for America to expect its highest official to condemn such actions? Why, then, is the President of the United States supporting the continued presence of this dishonest individual in a position of such authority?

Surely, this advocation of admitted corruption can hardly be described as the act of a moral president?

Filed under: Moral degeneration

I really wasn’t going to mention it. In fact, I’d made up my mind it truly wasn’t worth spending precious time writing of such a triviality. But, he wouldn’t let it rest. Tuesday night, he not only fixated on the issue for fifteen precious minutes – of a news program, that runs barely twenty once the advertising is removed – but he was at it again for another eight minutes tonight.

It’s just too much.

Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News have developed yet another obsession. All because some geriatric, so senile he can’t tell his ass from his elbow, spouts a comment about a few female basketball players.

Is this reality or have I fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole into some weirdly grotesque nightmare?

Once again, good old Yankee hypocrisy rears itself to full height and explodes in a shower of pompous self-righteousness.

Let’s get real here.

MSNBC has been broadcasting old Imus for one reason only – it makes them money. American radio is chocker-block with pretentious jackasses like Imus – take Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck as perfect examples. Anywhere else on the planet this shower of redundant has-beens would be sweeping the streets or cleaning public toilets, but it seems many Americans get a kick out of hearing plonkers like these shout their mouths off, belittling others usually better than they are.

For many Americans it plays to their sagging egos; bolsters their weird insecurities.

Anyone unfortunate enough to have their radio dial suddenly stick on any of the above aging infantiles, has to wonder what caused such a rumpus over Imus’ prattish comment about the Rutger’s basketball team being a bunch of “nappy-headed hos”. Far worse is daily masticated, swallowed, then ejaculated in a jet of verbal toxins on the inappropriately named “Talk Radio” shows disgorging around this nation.

Of course, the real culprit here was the media itself. Had NBC and other outlets done their job and focused on events that really mattered, any controversy surrounding Imus would have died rapidly. After all, kids all over America use this kind of verbiage constantly. Believe me, I drive a bus load of grade school kids every day. But no, America loves to be flogged up into a self-righteous frenzy, and God help any poor fool who gives the media chance to wield the whip. Throw in a good handful of black religious zeal, a la Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton – always ready to jump on any publicity bandwagon – and the whole nation, it seems, is poised for the lynching.

Personally, I don’t need to waste my time watching Brian Williams and cohorts giving their impression of a bunch of “….ever so ‘umble…” Uriah Heaps. If I tune to a news program I expect news.

Thankfully, prior to NBC’s watery offering each evening, the BBC manages to hone in on what really matters to the rest of the human race.

For those unfortunates unable to receive what little BBC news the American government allows over its borders, here are a few minor matters NBC missed while dissecting Don Imus:

1. The UK International Development Secretary Hilary Benn has said the World Bank must act on climate change. Meanwhile, the World Bank (remember a man named Wolfowitz?) is arranging deals catastrophic both to the planet’s climate and the poor beings victimized in the process.

2. The International Red Cross published a report today stating, “the situation for ordinary Iraqis is getting steadily worse”. This, despite US and UK politicians pretending that matters are improving.

3. George Bush is desperately trying to find a “war tzar” but no-one wants the job. One man approached, General John Sheehan, told the Washington Post: “The very fundamental issue is they don’t know where the hell they’re going.” Basically no-one wants the job while Cheney’s still around. I can’t say I blame them.

4. The Oxford Research Group, a prestigious and independent UK think tank, reports that British and US policy towards Iraq has “spawned new terror in the region”. Their spokesman said: “We are looking at a highly unstable global system by the middle years of the century unless urgent action is taken now.”.

America has forgotten Darfur. The rest of the world has not. The BBC reports from Darfur regularly. Nothing has changed; nothing has improved. Children are dying of starvation, women continue to be raped, whole villages are still being burned to the ground by the despicable janjaweed, on orders from the Sudanese government. You, America, labelled it “genocide”, but you are doing nothing. You don’t even remember. You prefer the thrill of debating Don Imus.

While America obsesses over the careless ranting of one old and rather sad individual, in other areas of the world thousands are suffering immeasurable hardships and death. Much of the catastrophe at the root of that suffering is directly or indirectly caused by the sick policies of the United States. America loves to be introvert. It will happily ignore all that goes on outside its boundaries – unless, of course, it happens to be American lives that are being lost. This is not a new phenomena. On the 11th September 2001, it took a catastrophic and terrifying series of events perpetrated on American soil, to force America to look up and recognize there is a world beyond this continent. Instead of realizing why 9/11 happened, this nation perpetrated a brutal and lasting revenge on innocents who had nothing to do with 9/11. It goes on to this day.

But America is bored with Iraq and Afghanistan. The “shock and awe” have long worn off. CNN is no longer exciting. Americans are once more turning their backs on the world outside, reverting to that old self-centered introversion.

The tale of Don Imus and the Rutgers women’s basketball team is just one more example of that old US self-obsession.

Will it take another 9/11?

Filed under: Memory loss

Today was Easter Sunday, the day when religious pontiffs and church leaders regularly venture out of their winter hibernation to harangue us all about the state of the world and what we are supposed to do about it. Mainly, it consists of attending church more regularly to pray for peace in the world, while generously donating as the silver platter is passed from hand to hand.

On this subject, two news items caught my eye, both from the BBC website.

The first details the Easter Day orations of Archbishop’s Rowan Williams of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, and John Sentamu, of York Minster. Williams called for “reconciliation in the world”, while Sentamu stood in a pool of water and baptized newcomers to the church. He managed to find twenty new recruits, which isn’t bad out of a total York population of just under 175,000.

Rowan Williams explained how the resurrection of Jesus shows us how reconciliation can be achieved today. If only, he said, those of us engaged in conflict can admit our faults we can escape the deadlock of mutual hatred and suspicion. It’s not known if Tony Blair was in the congregation.

Of course, in keeping with the much sterner attitude of the Catholic church, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of the Catholic Cathedral of Westminster, criticized the modern “now generation” culture in Britain. He almost certainly would have included America, but not being a member of the modern “now generation” was unaware his words would be carried across the Atlantic via that ‘new-fangled’ internet.

“Too often”, he said, “people expect everything almost instantaneously”, though church elders and members of the congregation are still attempting to work out in what context he meant those remarks. Unfortunately, the Bish was not available later for clarification, having retired to sleep off his Easter dinner of turkey and venison, followed by plum duff and six large chocolate Easter eggs, all washed down with a bottle or three of Chateauneuf du pape.

Across the Alps, his boss Popey Benedict, looking resplendent in his gold robes, was also having a strenuous day rattling away to thousands of pilgrims blocking the traffic in St Peter’s Square. Popey laboriously listed the problems of the world, and how we all needed to pray more to make things better. He lamented over Iraq, the suffering in Asia and Africa, but then perked up and announced he was pleased the Israelis and Palestinians were talking to each other. No-one liked to spoil his pleasure by pointing out that neither was saying anything of the slightest importance.

Finally, as his gold robes began to weigh heavy, the Papal belly felt ever emptier, and the bottle of Chateauneuf du pape waiting uncorked just beyond the balcony grew every second more desirable, he raised himself to his full height for the divine proclamation that would send a muted gasp of astonishment and admiration through the packed hordes beneath him in the great square. If ever there was a moment his divinity was obvious – leaving no doubt he would rapidly be following his predecessor down the road to sainthood – it was this moment. He turned to the hushed, eager crowds and spoke his final words of the day:

“Peace is sorely needed.”

Utterly exhausted, Popey lurched inside the Papal chamber, and was quickly whisked away to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo for a few necessary months of rest and recuperation, and a bottle or three of Chateauneuf du pape.

It’s a quaint little place, his summer residence – new to this Pope of course – overlooking Lake Albano and set in the hills outside Rome. Coincidentally, the tiny village of Castel Gandolfo is twinned with the French Provence town of – Chateauneuf du pape.

But then, it roughly translates as the “New House of the Pope”.

Filed under: Pious babble