With a Harper majority, we will surely join any war effort in the near future that may make the Iraq War something like the Spanish Civil War in terms of heralding a global confrontation.

[ 30 March 2007: Message edited by: Fidel ]

Canada's role in Latin America will be even more destructive, riding shotgun with the US just like in the Middle East. In foreign policy more so than national politics is where the Conservative influence will be most baleful. CIDA new counterinsurgency involvement will not help either.

[ 31 March 2007: Message edited by: ceti ]

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Originally posted by ceti:
Whatever we call it, disaster is lurking just around the corner. The neo-cons have escaped unscathed from the Iraq debacle, and spreading their hegemony in Canada and moving towards yet another war.

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I think Bush's popularity is at an all time low in the States. Nevertheless, Obama and the rest of the choices for Liberal Democrat leadership are the same plutocratic party meant to appear as a separate and distinct political party, just like the situation with our two old line parties in Canada. And neither of our own powerful big money parties managed to scrounge more than 24 percent of the eligible vote in the last election. Democracy is at an all time low in Canada sine the FTA-NAFTA-GST betrayals.

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I think these are the key issues for the Left in Canada which will determine whether there is any real hope for the coming generation. ATM Fees ain't it.

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The NDP fought two elections against FTA and NAFTA.

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No, actually they didn't - particularly with the FTA. They were silent on the issue, and allowed the Liberals to own it.

[ 01 April 2007: Message edited by: Lard Tunderin' Jeezus ]

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Originally posted by Lard Tunderin' Jeezus:
Ummm...

No, actually they didn't - particularly with the FTA. They were silent on the issue, and allowed the Liberals to own it.

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The NDP won 43 seats in 1988 with Ed Broadbent campaigning against FTA and stood at 44 after a by-election. Canadians voted "strategically" again out of fear of another Mulroney majority. Mulroney won a phoney majority nonetheless, and the result was FTA in 1988, even though the majority of Canadian voters rejected the Tories on that election issue.

Canadians voted strategically again in 1993, and that time reduced the Tories to just two seats. And with one of the most distorted electoral results ever, a Quebec separatist party formed the official opposition with just 13.5 percent of the overall vote. Again the majority of Canadians voted against FTA. So the Liberals gave us NAFTA one year after the people said no to what would turn out to be the stupedist trade deal in the history of the solar system.

[ 01 April 2007: Message edited by: Fidel ]

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Originally posted by ceti:
I think it is sooner than people think or realize. What can ordinary people do?

With a Harper majority, we will surely join any war effort in the near future that may make the Iraq War something like the Spanish Civil War in terms of heralding a global confrontation.

I am not generally an alarmist, but everything is beginning to fall into place -- the carrier groups, the surge in Iraq, Britain's proxy provocations in Iranian waters, etc.

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If you don't feel a sense of urgency or alarmed over how the world is unfolding on multiple fronts, then go ahead and relax and keep sleepwalking to disaster.

For Iraqis, the apocalypse has already happened. Same for many species who are disappearing faster everyday.

Amrikan killing of civilians goes back as long as you want to count.

1898 - the Spanish American war - the subjugation of the Philippines - lots of civilians killed.

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnempire12.html

(chapter from Zinn's book)

after 1945 - ref. Blum's book Killing Hope
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/KillingHope_page.html

it seems like the nastiness had a "point of inflection" starting with the 2000 election.

it doesn't matter much who the Democratic nominee is. Hillary has already talked tough about Iran. Pelosi has refused to stop Bush on Iran.

by 2008, Bush-Cheney's work will be done. it will take many decades to clean up. if the planet ever recovers.

for so many nations, e.g. Vietnam, they have had their emergency.

but, generally, i agree with the original post.

Patrick Cockburn has been doing Yeoman's service in covering the debacle in Iraq. He shines a very bright light on the current standoff that began with US attempts to provoke a conflict with Iran by kidnapping high Iranian officials.

As for the grim prognostications here, I have also been thinking about India and China's exploding consumption levels, and the increasing inability of the US to actually halt the decline in its political culture. This has been developing over the last 30 years, leading to the literal death of the Republic. Worse, is that if the US cannot save itself, then the rest of the world has little chance.