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guitar man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 12:58 PM
Original message
Can someone help me refute this?
This garbage started making its way around FB this morning. Sounds like RW garbage to me but I haven't found anything concrete to refute it yet

"The President & and 3,000 friends, family & staff are going to India for 10 days. The caravan is comprised of 40 aircraft. 500+ rooms have been rented at the Taj Mahal Hotel (the entire hotel). The carbon footprint of this 10 day trip ranks 75th on the list of emissions generated in ONE YEAR by U.S cities, right behind Raleigh, NC. Total cost of the trip...$200 million PER DAY! Yes, per day....$2 BILLION total."

thanks :hi:
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gmoney Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 12:59 PM
Response to Original message
1. Yeah, heard that as well... don't know the facts though.
I doubt it's all "friends family and staff" however.
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polichick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 12:59 PM
Response to Original message
2. There's a trip to India, but the numbers must be bogus. nt
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cynatnite Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
3. The numbers are pure bullshit...
Edited on Wed Nov-03-10 01:01 PM by cynatnite
Make them source it since they insist on spewing the lie. If they don't have it, then that should tell you all you need to know.
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guitar man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:04 PM
Response to Reply #3
6. All the sources I found it on
are right wing hack sites, haven't found it on any legitimate news sites yet.
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cynatnite Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:07 PM
Response to Reply #6
9. They have to specifically say where the numbers came from...
Without that information, this has no credibility.
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ehrnst Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:23 PM
Response to Reply #9
16. They're all quoting India news articles that are quoting an anonymous source.
Which may be why the very few legit western news articles aren't quoting those numbers.

After all, didn't a Chinese news agency reprint an Onion article a few years back?
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sandnsea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:03 PM
Response to Original message
4. India for 3 days, then Indonesia, Japan, Korea
A G20 summit is in there too.

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gateley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:04 PM
Response to Original message
5. I've found a couple of stories essentially saying the same thing, but I'm not
sure the information is "official" or accurate.

If it is, we should check on some of the trips Bush made and the cost of those. That's the only thing that might put this in perspective -- again, IF it is accurate.
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notesdev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:04 PM
Response to Original message
7. looks like the basics true
http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/9807-barack-obama-books-entire-taj-mahal-palace-hotel/

That's a 5-star hotel.

Apparently there is extensive naval security as well due to the fact that it is on the water.
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ehrnst Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:06 PM
Response to Original message
8. The more outrageous the numbers, the more the RW laps them up.
Edited on Wed Nov-03-10 01:15 PM by ehrnst
If there is no source, then challenge the accuracy of the numbers.

Edited to include:

The only place reporting those numbers are sourcing it from Indian newspapers. There are no western newspapers directly sourcing these numbers.


Mainstream source:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Barack-and-Michelles-Mumbai-darshan-plans/articleshow/6797379.cms

RW sources:
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-raleigh/obama-to-cost-taxpayers-200-million-a-day-on-india-trip

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/11/obama_india_trip_to_cost_taxpa.html


Yes, the president has booked the entire hotel - for security. And no, he's not going to go to an Indian version of Motel 6.

I think that the numbers are being twisted, however.
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sally cat Donating Member (544 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
10. Heard that also. Might be accurate with that large of an entourage.
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littlewolf Donating Member (920 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
11. here is the link to India newpaper
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/us-to-spend-200-mn-a-day-on-obama-s-mumbai-visit-64106

the money and people part seems correct ... includes press and gov't officials and Secret Service ..etc ...
not sure about 40 planes .....
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BlueState Donating Member (370 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 02:04 PM
Response to Reply #11
21. The money and the people seem correct???????
Not to me they don't.

First, 3000 people seems wildly excessive. Second that's $66,666 per person per day.
That would be hard to spend.

Also, the article says that the 3000 figure includes journalists. Journalists will
have their expenses paid by their employers not by the taxpayer.

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geardaddy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:10 PM
Response to Original message
12. If it's RW garbage...
why would they care about the carbon footprint?
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Ginto Donating Member (439 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:12 PM
Response to Original message
13. Makes perfect sense when you include press, security, etc. nt
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hayu_lol Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:16 PM
Response to Reply #13
14. About 3000 people involved in this trip...
this is high-risk travel with the heads of state involved.

Read the article yesterday but don't remember the site.
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ehrnst Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:21 PM
Response to Original message
15. Perhaps they're confusing those dollars with the ones that are being sent over by big business
In the way of outsourcing...
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meegbear Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:32 PM
Response to Original message
17. Call him on it - make him show you the numbers!
If this is true, then he should be able to prove it.

And if he does, look at the source.
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BeFree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:39 PM
Response to Reply #17
19. Source?
Obama needs to make available the costs.

Then compare it to how much we spend EVERYDAY on war.
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CTD Donating Member (732 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:39 PM
Response to Original message
18. It was pretty solidly debunked at, of all places...
Hannity's site

http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?t=2111901&

I found this thread while Googling to try to debunk it and was surprised to find the folks there largely calling bullshit on it as well.

By a few pages in, they are doing math to show how unlikely it would be (eg "even with 3000 people, that's still $66,000 per person per day. No way.").
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guitar man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 01:52 PM
Response to Reply #18
20. Thanks
That's great, a debunking a right winger can't deny :)
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BlueState Donating Member (370 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 02:16 PM
Response to Original message
22. Here is another article from an Indian news source with far lower numbers
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6850069.cms

It says $40 million for the whole trip and 500 people.

I can't speak to the accuracy of either source. Both seem to be
speculating.

But hey why not use it. The right wingers don't seem to care about
the accuracy!
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sally cat Donating Member (544 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 03:28 PM
Response to Original message
23. Apparently it was said repeatedly last night during election coverage. My daughter told me, and that
means millions might have heard it and yet the debunking today may go unnoticed. That sucks.
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Recursion Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-03-10 03:30 PM
Response to Original message
24. Trip to India, yes. Cost, no. Carbon footprint, no idea. NT
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