One-third of Republicans in Louisiana believe Obama was responsible for the US Government’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina

katrina

A large number of Louisiana Republicans think President Barack Obama is to blame for the federal government’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday — despite the fact that the storm occurred three years before he took office.

The Democratic-leaning polling firm, which provided its results to Talking Points Memo, found that 29 percent of Louisiana Republicans said Obama was responsible for the Katrina response. Twenty-eight percent put the blame on President George W. Bush, whose administration did in fact oversee the federal response to Katrina. Nearly half (44 percent) of the Louisiana Republicans polled didn’t know who to blame.

Bush was heavily criticized at the time for the government’s response to Katrina, a storm that caused 1,833 fatalities, damaged an estimated $81 billion in property, and ranks among the five deadliest hurricanes in United States history. He remained on vacation in Texas as the hurricane rocked the Gulf Coast, before belatedly cutting his trip short and returning to Washington. An infamous photo of Bush peering out the window of Air Force One at the wreckage was also attacked as insensitive, and the former president himself later acknowledged the photo was a “huge mistake” in a 2010 interview.

Bush’s approval ratings plunged in the months following the disaster, and his administration was dogged by suggestions that race was a factor in its response efforts.

During a live concert for hurricane relief, rapper Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” a moment Bush later said was the “most disgusting moment” of his presidency. Condoleezza Rice, who served as Bush’s secretary of state, recalled in her memoir that there was clearly “a race problem” during Katrina, although she disputed allegations that Bush or his administration were racist.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/obama-hurricane-katrina_n_3790612.html

Malik Obama, Barack Obama’s half-brother, running for governor in Kenya

Malik Obama

A politician named Obama who is running for governor in Kenya can boast of one big claim to fame on the campaign trail: blood relations with the president of the United States.

Malik Obama — a half-brother of Barack Obama — is running for a governor’s position in the country’s nationwide elections on Monday, though he said he’s not sure what impact his relationship to the American president has on his campaign.

“I’m going into it as Malik Obama,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from western Kenya. “I can’t run away from my name and association with my brother, but I have the feeling that people somewhat want to see who the brother of Obama is.”

The president’s relative even invokes the message that Barack Obama leaned on during his groundbreaking 2008 political campaign: Change. Malik Obama says his platform is poverty eradication, infrastructure development and industrialization.

“I hope that you all out there will support me and vote for me for this important position so that we can bring change to the county of Siaya,” Obama said at a recent campaign stop.

Kenyans on Monday will cast ballots for a wide range of regional offices, but the most crucial vote is for president. Monday is Kenya’s first nationwide election since the 2007 vote devolved into massive tribal violence that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 600,000 from their homes.

The 54-year-old Malik Obama hopes to become the first governor of Kenya’s western county of Siaya. He is running as an independent candidate. Kenya’s new 2010 constitution created 47 new political divisions known as counties, to be headed by governors.

Obama is competing against candidates who are from well-funded parties, and the political newcomer may be in need of campaign cash. He asked an AP Television News freelance cameraman to contribute to his campaign. No contribution was given. Obama said he was asking for the individual to contribute, not for AP to contribute.

This is Malik Obama’s first run for office.

Barack Obama’s father was from Kenya and the U.S. president has several relatives in the country. Malik and Barack Obama have the same father but different mothers.

Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/03/01/president-obamas-half-brother-runs-for-office-in-kenya/#ixzz2MUZtgYfo

Chinese Communist Newspaper Falls For The Onion Naming North Korea’s Leader The “Sexiest Man Alive”

 

‘The Onion’ report named North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2012, and ‘The People’s Daily’ in China took it as real news and ran a 55-page photo spread on its website as a tribute to Kim.

The Chinese paper even quoted ‘The Onion’s’ story, writing “With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true.”

And it didn’t end there. The story went on to say “Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile.”

As for the photos, ‘The People’s Daily’ selected Kim on horseback and waving toward a military parade.

In other photos, he’s wearing sunglasses and smiling, or on an official government tour with his wife.

‘The Korea Times’, a South Korean daily, also reported ‘The Onion’ story as real news.

This isn’t the first time a state-run Chinese newspaper has fallen for a satirical report by ‘The Onion’.

Several years ago, ‘The Beijing Evening News’, ran an ‘Onion’ story that the U.S. Congress wanted a new building and was threatening to leave Washington (like sports teams do).

Two months ago, Iran’s ‘Fars’ news agency got duped by ‘The Onion’ as well. It printed a story about a “survey” that showed most rural white Americans would rather vote for Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than Barack Obama.

It included a quote from a phony resident of West Virginia saying he’d rather go to a baseball game with Ahmadinejad because “he takes national defense seriously.”

Of course, it’s not just news organizations that fall for some of ‘The Onion’s’ stories. Ordinary folks get duped too. For a round-up, check out LiterallyUnbelievable.org.

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/alt-news/chinese-communist-newspaper-falls-for-the-onion-naming-north-koreas-leader-kim-jong-un-the-sexiest-m.html?p=home&s=home