>Nevertheless, the US has helped >directly and indirectly.
>The US pays 1/4 of the cost of >the UN, which is running the >transition to
democracy.
This sounds like a trickle down effect theory for enlightened foreign policy. The US finally paid off its arrears (at least allegedly in theory) and this supports peacekeeping everywhere, which somehow necessitates 'good' foreign policy from the US--whose foreign policies and vast military deployments are mostly unlinked to UN peacekeeping.
John Pilger and some other brave Australian journalists (some who were murdered by the Indonesian troops or militias) report something quite differently about US and Australian dithering as well as about irresponsible UK arms sales to the Indonesian government.
>Really. Name three places where >the US has militarily deposed a
>democracy in favor of a >dictatorship in the last ten years.
Why answer questions about history and current events from alternative universes? For one thing democracies are unsustainable in war zones and probably cannot in any real form be imposed from the top down. For example, Afghanistan, a country that seems to be in current events a lot lately.
Perhaps if Canadians elected a communist government you'd get your answer.
I suppose it makes for interesting thought experiments.
Paul again:
>Can America-haters see America's >modern role in the world with fresh
>eyes? Seems unlikely
Can Canadians like you ever stop vacillating between an overly simplistic anti-Americanism and an equally overly simplistic America worship? Seems unlikely. You'd have to KNOW something about the US first. I'm sure, Paul, you do lots of business in the US and therefore America is great.
And finally, Paul again from his Prescod.net web site:
>The primary virtue of the capitalist >system is that it is based upon the
>individual choices of millions of >free people rather than centralized
>decision making by elites.
PLUS
>Capitalism is also the only political >system that has been attempted >that
achieves reasonable success >at balancing the needs of the poor, >the middle
class, entrepreneurs >and the environment.
>Most important: capitalism is what >happens when you give people >freedom.
It is not a system that >individual countries choose. It is >the system that
arises when you >let individual people decide what >they want to do with
their lives.
Give me a couple million in capital Paul and I might start believing that. All is for the best in the best of all possible capitalist worlds because we all made free and informed decisions.
Charles Jannuzi