stridge said:
I don't know about any global elitists taking over the world through warfare or faked terrorist attacks. It's too big for me I guess.
It's more likely that if these free marketeers/"free trade" promoters get their way all across the board there will be a major global depression. It won't entirely be the fault of these free trade policies, but it will have greatly contributed to the mess that are the nations of south African nations in desperate need of worldly assistance in a similar way that they helped South American countries in the past. That globalization model doesn't work. It never has and it never will. It's too far to one side of the spectrum of regulation/deregulation/tariffs/nixing tariffs. If your model is to marginalize the poor then you will be looking at a huge problem across all social strata world-wide indeed. The effects they tend to have on health and the environment are costs no one can afford.
Plus, the way these models have been implemented have been practically at gun point. Sure on a micro-level I would take a job for 75 cents a day too if it was enough to afford me more than in the past, but that doesn't mean that I got a good deal. The more desperate one is the more likely one is to accept any terms to a deal. Unfortunately, the IMF, World Bank, and WTO have been out for the interests of multinationals as opposed to the bigger picture of actually giving poor nations a legitimate chance to experience a real economic upswing. Just let me catch the words privatization and water/electricity come across the lips of anyone in office here in Ohio(it's been proposed in some places here). Try to tell me who paid for the pipes again and oooh you'll find how thirsty some of us are. If what happened in California was allowed to go on for years longer than it was my God how many would be dead? Seriously. There's too many guns in this country for violence not to happen when the problem is that large and no one in government steps in to intervene/help. My feet would be in the street writing letters at the same time though if privatization was being lobbied here and seriously considered. "Privatization" in other countries worked so well. No population anywhere can afford the cost of the inevitable price manipulation that rears its ugly head with the kind of privatization we've witnessed the last 30 years or so.
At the least I've heard President Bush speak(rhetoric?) of no more loans and just giving aid instead to countries in need, but most of our foreign aid goes to Israel and Egypt. I think those two countries have received too much money when comparing countries that really need it. How can I believe this aid will be on the up-and-up without severe/crippling stipulations? I realize that the IMF and such are not the government, but who is at the controls there? There is a revolving door with those institutions as well. It makes you wonder what government's primary role is under one world economy. There are so many people tied together with similar interests it's scary. They know not what they do doesn't apply, but greed can blind.
As far as the world is concerned I don't think we can move forward in a positive way with so much of the world in poverty. The world is smaller, but is it any wiser? How can we come to a reasonable means of moving ahead long term when most of today's interests are anchored to relatively short-term ideas? I'm speaking of energy policy in particular, but all corporations are looking for the most money in the smallest time frame no matter what it's selling. As good as we have it because of their existence we cannot let them lead the way that they have traditionally. In other words we created a machine that works for one goal, moves only as fast as it possibly can, but forgot to include an off button. We'll gladly take the good with the bad if it creates a plush lifestyle in comparison to most of the rest of the world, but we can definitely limit the bad a bit better can't we?
I find conspiracies and ideas on the Illuminati interesting, however thoughts of the Illuminati and unknown individuals taking over the world through chaotic methods to me just sounds like a way to deal with the reality of how fucked we are while at the same time able to discuss such ideas as though the end is coming as sure as this Friday's party at our friend's apartment. It's kind of similar to how religion mainly functioned in earlier times although religion has obviously been a greater fluence in the world than any kind of belief in the existence of the Illuminati. "The end times are surely upon us." The end will surely come, but let's start working on the major problems facing humanity with more focus and determination. The world is much more complicated than a small group of individuals cunning and powerful enough to manipulate world affairs on behalf of an elaborate plan. There are plenty of shady business deals between people who know people in high places and the circle of "friends/business partners" are small enough to think there is a conspiracy, but working together to make money doesn't equal collaboration in a grand scheme. As stridge pointed out, on the surface it doesn't add up as far as what they supposedly want to accomplish through the means that were suggested.
The power is in the hands of what? whom? Bankers? The Federal Reserve and its other international equivalents? There are only a very few individuals who sit on the board of directors of the largest corporations. They are so intertwined it would seem that there is sort of an agenda and indeed there is to make money. Do these people have your interests in mind? If you own stock in one of these corporations then they think they do, but if the corporation pollutes the air or water and people in the local area develop lung disease or cancer finding fault isn't as simple as you'd think. A price needs to paid and I don't mean fines, but it doesn't mean that the corporation deliberately planned to kill innocent people. Looking the other way or deliberately hiding evidence that proves this polluting was happening is just as despicable, but not every top executive is guilty of murder. Still, to some small extent the public would be at fault perhaps for not pushing hard enough for stricter regulations. Surely, not the victims as I'm sure they were vehement about the corporations' practices. The cost to the environment and loss in lives far outweighs any major shortfall in some corporation. It's not conspiracy though...it's just such crimes are perpetrated by those who have lots of money and happen to be associated with anything, but violence/cruelty. White-collar/corporate crimes/laws are not easy to enforce and not easy to prosecute despite all the federal and state agencies that deal with investigating/enforcing such crimes(IRS, FBI, SEC, EPA).
On one extreme there are tremendous benefits for the developed nations while on the other extreme there are harrowing stories of people in the developing nations being buried alive in mine shafts after their deadline to leave the land had expired. These are the real-world correctable (albeit unforgiveable) problems we face. Not some faceless organization that is above the law of the land. WE MAKE THE LAWS! WE ENFORCE THEM! (yes, we can actually do that if it means enough to you) AS LONG AS WE STAND UP AND MAKE NOISE AND WORK TOGETHER WE CAN PREVENT FUTURE CRIMES AND ATROCITIES!
Now, I hope we can get back on track. 9/11. Discuss.
