(c) Copyright 2012 David Dilworth
This article is limited to fundamental Health and Safety topics. It does not include financial or social topics.
"War is Peace" - George Orwell, in the classic book "1984" |
||
(Blue=good acts- unless it has a link to reference. Then it is BAD.) (Red=bad acts - some bad acts APPEAR blue because of the links to the original source articles - sorry.) | ||
| Iraq War (4,429 US soldiers killed in Iraq as of Nov 2010) | Started War. Reluctantly lowered troop levels. | "Ended" War Oct 2011. Removed some "combat" Troops in 2010, but he leaves more than 50,000 US Troops and 86,000 private military contractors (Pentagon estimate); such as Blackhawk.(Ref: NPR) Killed Reuters reporter and civilians from a US helicopter. (Ref: Wikileaks video) |
| Afghanistan War (At least 10,000 civilians killed) | Started War. | Added 30,000 Troops the week before he received Nobel "Peace" prize. |
| Pakistan War | Though no official "War" he created a program that killed Pakistani civilians starting in 2004. | Started or continued Bush's "War." Quadrupled use of pilotless drones, killed 700 civilians in 2009, including children at a wedding. |
| Libya War 2011 | None | Started War with "humanitarian" excuse and cover from a UN resolution, with no Congressional authorization or reauthorization - before or after the 60 day legal limit). |
| Honduras Military Coup June 28, 2009 including kidnapping of President Zelaya | Unknown | Obama said he was deeply concerned, yet Provided political support with full acknowledgement that it was "illegal and unconstitutional." (Wikileaks, Truth-out.org, and Black Left) |
| Murderous Indonesian Government | Accepted Ban on funding training for murderous Special Forces called Kopassus. | Strongly endorsed the Indonesian military government by lifting a 12 year ban on funding training for their Special Forces called Kopassus that murders civilians. |
| Pilot-less Bombers (Drones) | Created program, killed Pakistani civilians starting in 2004. | Continues program. Quadrupled use of Military Drones since Bush. Killed 700+ Pakistani civilians from 2009 - 2010. (Not including the Granai Massacre in Afghanistan.) |
| Haiti's elected President Aristide Kidnapped, Assisted by US -CIA | Authorized Kidnapping Assistance | Fought to stop democratically elected President Aristide returning to Haiti through March 2011 |
come up with another permanent threat." -David Walton in 1989, upon learning of the Berlin Wall removal ending the "Cold-war." Electing Obama just "Traded One War Monger for Another" - Tim Gatto |
||
"We must be governed by the force of law, not by the law of force." -- William Sloane Coffin "Wherever Law ends, Tyranny begins." -- John Locke |
||
| Guilty Until Proven Innocent. (Legal Burden / Responsibility Turned Upside Down) | Anyone Bush didn't like. | Prior to any trial, Obama declared the guilt of 1) accused Wikileaker Bradley Manning, 2) Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and 3) anyone present in Pakistan disputed areas who were killed by Obama's drones, and of course 4) Osama bin Laden - who was never charged with any crime related to 9/11. Arranged Muammar Gaddafi's murder, though a native Libyan fired the bullet Oct 2011. |
| Assassination and Murder. Claiming "James Bond" authority to target and murder American citizens outside combat zone. | Asserted Executive Right to Assassinate Foreign Nationals, not Americans. | Ordered and bragged about the Assassination of at least one American Citizen and probably others, despite an Executive order banning assassinations, a federal law against murder, protections in the Bill of Rights and several international laws of war Obama killed hundreds, and as many as 1,629 foreign civilians, using US military drones outside "War" zone. Osama bin Laden was assassinated. Fighting to assert this authority. (Ref: ACLU.org/ofac) |
| Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda Founder and Leader | Remarkably unsuccessful at finding or capturing him. | Invaded a Foreign Country (that we were not engaging in war) to kill him without a trial or any formal charges in May 2011. |
| CIA Kidnappings (Doublespeak: "Extraordinary Rendition" means Kidnapping) | Refused to Prosecute and blocked Italian Prosecution of US-CIA agent who Kidnapped an innocent man. | Refused to Prosecute any of CIA's criminal acts including kidnapping innocent civilians. Blocked Italian Prosecution of CIA Kidnapping an innocent man. |
| Military Tribunals | Used them to evade higher legal standards of US Judicial System and Open Courts | Intends to keep using them, though implying they have ended. "Obama will resume military commission trials of Guantanamo detainees" - Daily Kos. Gitmo prisoner treatment is little changed since G.W. Bush. |
| Torture by Military including Rumsfield and Cheney who gave the Directions | "The Torture President" Refused to Prosecute all except lowest level staff. | Refused to Prosecute anyone. Then arm-twisted Spain and Germany to prevent international prosecution of Bush officials. (Motherjones.com and WikiLeaks) |
| Guantanamo Bay "GiTMO" - Offshore Prison to permanently keep accused away from American Courts | Opened and defended this facility noted for torture and abuse. | Prison still holds 172 prisoners as of February 2011 even though Obama pledged to close it by 2010. |
| DisHonest Science | Bush "suppresses, distorts and manipulates" scientific work. - Union of Concerned Scientists | Released a Scientific Integrity Directive in 2010. However, 25% of US scientists complain that they were required to "inappropriately exclude or alter technical information" in spite of Obama's Inaugural speech promise to "restore science to its rightful place". (See "We're waiting, Mr President", December 2010 by Peter Aldhous in NewScientist about Research by Union of Concerned Scientists) |
| Signing Statements | Objected to 1,200 sections of laws passed by Congress (1,200 provisions in about 150 bills). | Continues use of Signing Statements after condemning them during campaign. |
"Badges? We don't need no stinking Badges." - Film: Treasure of the Sierra Madre |
||
| CIA Kidnapping (sometimes wholly innocent) people to Secret Prisons by "Extraordinary Rendition" | Created this crime. Prisons in Romaina and a Lithuania Horse Arena. See also Wikipedia article | Falsely claims to have closed this program. New York Times reports in 2009 on the Bagram "Black" US Prison in Afghanistan. They argue the CIA Order does not apply because the prison is run by military Special Operations. Plus, an official (but secret) Obama policy allows detainees kept at black jails for 2 weeks. (See Extraordinary rendition brief by Frontline. and Wikipedia on Black Sites. |
| Torture "Enhanced Interrogation" including Waterboarding | Water Boarding crimes admitted | Executive Order stops torture in theory (Jan 22, 09), but "your mileage may vary" Obama keeps secret the information on interrogation and confinement of terrorists. In 2009 Obama's "Justice" Dept. argued in a civil case that the "illegality of torture was not clearly established" when the innocent prisoners were tortured. |
| Force Feeding Guantanamo Inmates | Began program | Continues program. (Ref: "Food Fight brews at Gitmo", NewScientist July 28, 2009) |
| "Patriot" Act | Created this broad and deep systematic Constitutional violation program allowing the FBI to search telephone, email, medical records and financial records without a court order. The FBI obtained more than one million financial, credit, employment records this way. | Obama signed two extensions, to continue the program, minus only those parts rejected by courts. He is trying to get a 3 year extension (Feb 2011) |
| Secret Home Searches, "Sneak and Peek" | Created this program with the Patriot Act. | Continues program, wants it extended. |
| Wire Tapping phone calls (and faxes) unrelated to Terrorism of all Americans domestically and without Court warrant. | Created this criminal program. | Continuing Program; expanding the international parts, & "adamantly" defending Bush's wiretapping ! (Ref: Court Case in SF Federal Court, July 15, 2009) |
| Allow DNA analysis for defendants (Supreme Ct case Osborne in Alaska, June 09) | Created this position to Oppose allowing Defendants to Prove their Innocence with DNA analysis. | Continues program to Oppose allowing Defendants to Prove their Innocence with DNA analysis. |
| Mail - Postal "Service" now Records all data on outside of all US mail "and more." Program created in 1998, during Clinton Term. | Continued program, First exposed in 2008 | Continues program |
| Miranda Rights | Did not weaken these. In fact, FBI agents read Miranda rights to several detainees overseas and were blasted by "conservative" pundits. | Suspended Miranda Rights for suspected "Domestic Terrorists" |
| Freedom of Information Requests | Hid essentially everything from Public requiring the media and interested people to go to court. | Theory: "Adopt a presumption in favor" of releasing information Reality: See the next items for how Obama is still fiercely hiding vital info. (Ref:January 21, 2009 Executive Order # 13489 titled "Transparency and Open Government") |
| Torture program documents | Refused to disclose any part of programs - even after media reports. | On Sept 1, 09 Obama's CIA refused to release torture program documents. |
| Torture Photos | Secret, Hid them until leaked. | Keeps them Secret (after promising to release them) |
| Attacking / Prosecuting the Messenger (Media) - Ignoring Murderers | Never prosecuted Cheney or Rumsfeld. | Massive Attack on Media (State Dept doesn't want students discussing Wikileaks.). No meaningful investigation of Murders of Iraqi Civilians and Reuters staff from US Military Helicopter "Collateral Murder" - video published by Wikileaks. |
| Hiding Photographs of US dead soldiers coming back from war. | Started this PR practice with Iraq to prevent American sympathy from growing. | Obama allows photos of coffins, but prohibits images of dead or wounded; plus Obama had Congress adopt a specific Exemption for these photos. (October 2009) |
| Bush / Cheney Documents | All Hidden from Public | Hides Bush/Cheney documents and the same documents from his own administration. |
| White House Visitor Logs | Secret (Energy Executives) | Providing White House Visitor Logs, after a year of keeping them secret, but only after being sued by CREW using FOIA. Obama Explicitly exempts "Presidential records" Financial Executives, "Health" executives as "not federal records" (Ref: Lawsuit by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, July 2009) |
| Secret Laws | Secret laws prevent American citizens understanding what laws Bush's strategies for interrogation, detention, surveillance and prosecution are operating under. | Obama's secret Awlaki memo prevents American citizens understanding what laws they are operating under. |
| Civilian Death Reports of Afghanistan & Pakistan | Unknown | Secret (but news of dead civilians at weddings and picnics leaked out) |
| Trying to Censor and damage WikiLeaks | Bush never bothered Wikileaks. | Using Pentagon and Secret Agencies (CIA, NSA) to attack WikiLeaks, investigate & try to prosecute them. |
| Secret Government Monitoring of Private Web Communication | "Created?" and increased a system that copies and stores all emails, phone calls and faxes passing through ATT to the CIA. | Continues Bush ATT program, AND Obama backed a bill that prohibits any communication that is encrypted and cannot be read by the US government. Oct 2010 |
| State Secrets broad Abuse, Keeping secrecy evidence and decision out of courts' jurisdiction. | Bush Started this outrageous program | Did set up Justice Dept review committee. "Just trust us" model - BUT Obama / Holder continues Bush practices (Sept 30, 09) even though he criticized it during campaign. |
| Improved Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Standards (first improvement in 32 years) | Began Program | Signed Bill into Law |
| Tongass Wilderness Logging | Started Program | Gave Final Clear-Cut Logging Approval July 15, 2009 |
| Western Oregon / Washington (WOPR) Logging Escalation | Created it and fought it all the way to court. | Canceled Program July 16, 2009, but did it illegally. Now logging corporations can overturn it in court. |
| Nuclear Energy Program | Supportive, but no serious effort put into it. | "We're trying to re-start it." - Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Nov 28, 2010. Even though Obama campaigned not to push Nuclear energy until waste problems were solved. (Waste problems are not solved: There is still is no place to put waste as of Fall 2012) |
| Polar Bear Extinction | Overruled Polar Bear's imperiled situation from limiting oil drilling. | Continued Bush Policy in 2009. Polar Bears are on their own; get no protection from oil drilling. |
| Deepwater drilling permits with no environmental review. (Gulf Oil Spill) | Issued Deepwater drilling permits in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico with no environmental review. | Issued new, 2011, Deepwater drilling permits in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico with no environmental review. Obama authorized use of toxic dispersants for oil spills – Bush didn’t. |
| Offshore Oil Drilling | Allowed Drilling with Faulty and Non-existent Environmental Review | Trying to Increase Drilling as of May 2011 |
| Air Pollution | Worked Hard to Weaken Clean Air Protection, but pretended to be making them stronger. | Killed plans to Reduce Smog, Sept 2011 |
| Obama's generally anti-environmental record is a dramatic contrast with the strong environmental protection record of the Congressional Black Caucus | ||
