U.S. vs. Them

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• Reader Comments (11)

  Page 1 of 1 pages

  The missiles and the IMF are having their effect on us in the United States also. That is, our workers and poor are rapidly being “equaled out” by lowering wages, ending benefits, reducing services. We of course are not in near as much trouble as those in other countries but we will be if they meet their goals. The “Bring Down Bush” signs are not going to be enough. Those in power are more than just him and his cronies. If Chalmers Johnson is correct and I think he is, we in the USA have lost control of our own military industrial establishment. They are not going to let go of their Empire easily. I think the best hope we have is to peacefully convince them that a truly free world with free nations making their own decisions - not just a “free” market - is more to their advantage than the hate and failure they are building with the present practices of the CIA, Pentagon, Department of Defense, Multinational Corporations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, mainstream media and other very guilty institutions. I am supporting John Kerry because his statements on the issues seem to point to an understanding of this issue and a desire to try to deal with it. However, I wonder if anyone can stop the Empire builders at this late date. Maybe the best we can hope for is a reform of the use and aims of their power. I do hope and pray for better things. I fear the direction my country has taken in the last decades. 

  Posted by Judi Wills on Feb 13, 2004 at 8:42 AM

  “Peacefully convince” empire builders?
  Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha thats funny. go back to sleep judi.

  Posted by APRIL 26, 1992 on Feb 14, 2004 at 6:31 PM

  I have not been asleep, my friend, just realistic. I know how helpless we are in face of a force that has NO moral system, no conscience and no concern for people - in their system we are expendable. If you think they cannot wipe us out as fast as they do opposition in other countries think again! I think the real hope is that their ideas are self distructive in the end.

  Posted by Judith A. Wills on Feb 14, 2004 at 7:59 PM

  The World Social Forum is a complete waste of time. It’s just a talkfest where people get together and say, Gee, neoliberalism is bad, how I wish there was an alternative to it!

  In the meantime, the only viable alternative to both state capitalism and laissez-faire - Swedish social democracy - goes wholly neglected. The country with, all round, the highest performance on virtually ever social justice issue should serve as a model for those opposed to neoliberalism, but that fact seems hardly to have penetrated the thickheads who populate the antiglobalization movement.

  Recently, I wrote to the new so called ‘Boston Social Forum’ making this point. Someone from the Forum wrote back to me saying, You seem to have mistaken us for someone that gives a fuck (about creating a better world).

  For all we know, these Social Forum talkshops are designed to keep the left uncertain about what to do.

  Another world is possible? For fuck’s sake, one already exists - bruised and battered, to be sure, but better than anything else on offer. It should form the basis for any realistic alternative to laissez-faire.

   

  Posted by James Paterson on Feb 16, 2004 at 3:56 AM

  made it clear that “the number one problem facing the world’s poor today is Washington D.C.”

  Didn’t offer any proofs did he?

  Don’t think famine is a big problem?

  Over-population? 

  Ethnic/tribal warfare?

  Pollution?

  If these are recognized as genuine major problems of the poor, please advise of their primacy in Washington DC.

  Posted by Nus on Feb 18, 2004 at 11:53 PM

  Nus,
  as regards primacy in environmental issues such as pollution, maybe you didn’t see DC’s representative walk out of the Kyoto talks?

  P.S. Americans English and Spaniards killing Iraqis is tribal warfare.

  Posted by Owen on Feb 21, 2004 at 7:26 PM

  Regarding James Patterson’s comments about the Boston Social Forum above, he neglected to note that his original email to us was extremely rude.

  Our response to him was mostly a rejoinder to his fantasies about Swedish social democracy as panacea—although we said we failed to understand why an apparent member of Australian ATTAC was slagging the WSF, and that perhaps he should go bother Bernard Cassen and other ATTAC founders of the WSF instead of us.

  And our final quip was actually, “clearly you’ve mistaken us for a social forum that gives a fuck.”

  We realize we shouldn’t have spent venom on such a sad crank, but felt he deserved it for wasting our time and harshing our mellow. We expect that kind of behavior out of the right wing, not out of erstwhile social dems.

  Posted by a swedish-american fellow on Feb 29, 2004 at 10:21 PM

  “Harshing our mellow” that was great! I’m definitely gonna save and use for a deserving moment. . .

  Thank you for the article. . . Many people here in the U.S. would love to have such a gathering - the downside is, our own police tactics and surveillance apparatus have succeeded in making such a proposition unpalatable at the least and very dangerous at most if you have a family. As such, they’ve done their job.

  ëA Better America is Possible.í Very true. Keep up the good work and pray for defeat of Bush. You have correctly pointed out that the M-I complex is much more powerful than any single President could be, but as Kyoto demonstrated it sure does make a difference who occupies the White House.

  Our own country is going down the toilet but if we do not succeed in gaining crontrol of the beast it would be a shame to drag the rest of the world with us. Most of those companies have relocated to Bermuda anyways. If we all pray hard and work hard we might have a chance, but even a slim chance is so much better than none. . . To wit:

  George Washington had a pretty slim chance of beating Cornwallis too.

  Posted by Ed Mellon on Mar 5, 2004 at 11:50 PM

  “Harshing our mellow” that was great! I’m definitely gonna save and use for a deserving moment. . .

  Thank you for the article. . . Many people here in the U.S. would love to have such a gathering - the downside is, our own police tactics and surveillance apparatus have succeeded in making such a proposition unpalatable at the least and very dangerous at most if you have a family. As such, they’ve done their job.

  ëA Better America is Possible.í Very true. Keep up the good work and pray for defeat of Bush. You have correctly pointed out that the M-I complex is much more powerful than any single President could be, but as Kyoto demonstrated it sure does make a difference who occupies the White House.

  Our own country is going down the toilet but if we do not succeed in gaining crontrol of the beast it would be a shame to drag the rest of the world with us. Most of those companies have relocated to Bermuda anyways. If we all pray hard and work hard we might have a chance, but even a slim chance is so much better than none. . . To wit:

  George Washington had a pretty slim chance of beating Cornwallis too.

  Posted by Ed Mellon on Mar 5, 2004 at 11:50 PM

  “Harshing our mellow” that was great! I’m definitely gonna save and use for a deserving moment. . .

  Thank you for the article. . . Many people here in the U.S. would love to have such a gathering - the downside is, our own police tactics and surveillance apparatus have succeeded in making such a proposition unpalatable at the least and very dangerous at most if you have a family. As such, they’ve done their job.

  ëA Better America is Possible.í Very true. Keep up the good work and pray for defeat of Bush. You have correctly pointed out that the M-I complex is much more powerful than any single President could be, but as Kyoto demonstrated it sure does make a difference who occupies the White House.

  Our own country is going down the toilet but if we do not succeed in gaining crontrol of the beast it would be a shame to drag the rest of the world with us. Most of those companies have relocated to Bermuda anyways. If we all pray hard and work hard we might have a chance, but even a slim chance is so much better than none. . . To wit:

  George Washington had a pretty slim chance of beating Cornwallis too.

  Posted by Ed Mellon on Mar 5, 2004 at 11:50 PM

  “Harshing our mellow” that was great! I’m definitely gonna save and use for a deserving moment. . .

  Thank you for the article. . . Many people here in the U.S. would love to have such a gathering - the downside is, our own police tactics and surveillance apparatus have succeeded in making such a proposition unpalatable at the least and very dangerous at most if you have a family. As such, they’ve done their job.

  ëA Better America is Possible.í Very true. Keep up the good work and pray for defeat of Bush. You have correctly pointed out that the M-I complex is much more powerful than any single President could be, but as Kyoto demonstrated it sure does make a difference who occupies the White House.

  Our own country is going down the toilet but if we do not succeed in gaining crontrol of the beast it would be a shame to drag the rest of the world with us. Most of those companies have relocated to Bermuda anyways. If we all pray hard and work hard we might have a chance, but even a slim chance is so much better than none. . . To wit:

  George Washington had a pretty slim chance of beating Cornwallis too.

  Posted by Ed Mellon on Mar 5, 2004 at 11:51 PM

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Also by Jeff Conant

• U.S. vs. Them
  World Social Forum takes aim at empire