As a Brit, I notice with interest the laughable comments revealed by American diplomats in Wikileaks. Do the Americans really think we are concerned by the "erosion" of the so-called special relationship? No. Our American "allies" have gotten more of our servicemen killed in thier illegal wars than the terrorists ever did. Do we need to have our reputation sullied with special rendition, torture of detainees or even the extra-judicial killings in Iraq? No. Not at all. Do I speak for the British Government? No, I'm a totally independent commentator. But the government is funded in part, and is in consultation with..guess where.? So why do we do it? Beats me..When we needed help in WWII the isolationist Americans wanted to support Hitler until he allied with Japan to start with, and turned up 3 years late. In the Falklands, when we asked for assistance, we got told to sod off. The US even funded the IRA terrorists that murdered my colleauges for over 30 years. So why, oh why don't we just let you drown in your own excrement? A trillion £ trading partner, reliability and good British blood is what you get. A little loyalty in return would be nice. Now our troops in Afghanistan are being criticised, after taking on one of the most troubled, hard fought-for regions on..For Who? If we did not support the US, we would have no Islamic enemies. In fact, we have a very racially diverse population with little or none of the US jingoist mentality, which I find personally perverse as the US is a nation of immigrants anyway. So where does this leave us? Well, if the US thinks this is the 51'st state, then think again. Friends and relatives maybe, but so are Canada, and they behave much better. Me? I'm just thinking out loud and wondering what all the fuss is about..I've got American friends too, and good ones. The people and the state are two separate things, and it's the state that's making me laugh. They take themselves so seriously! Good job no-one else does!
AntiWar.com: UK, US, W.Europe Back in the Great Game There are those who still get a hard-on for empire, even riding/hiding in yank coat-tails. If you really don't take these royal wankers seriously, why are your young men still killing and dying in the graveyard of empires?
I don't think we should laugh at the state but take them deadly serious. As serious as CCTV cameras on every street corner in London and the call for biometric identity cards. The problem is that we really do see the public as separate from the State and it should not be so. The State should be subordinate to the will of the people and not the other way around. Remember the 2 million activists who took to the streets in the UK to denounce British involvement in the war? Remember how it was ignored? That should not be tolerated. Also in the States the bailouts for Wall Street were overwhelmingly voted down and yet the government turned around a while later and went ahead with it anyway. If we hold the idea that the State is separate from the people then its the people who will suffer from the will of the State, as it would feel justified to engage in any behaviour deemed in their own interest which would of course be separate from those of the people. I mean what are we modern serfs? Demand accountability and transparency especially when it comes to internal affairs.If you cannot control what happens within the State you'll have no say on what happens outside of it in terms of policy. The problem is that the public is unwary and apathetic. The problem is that they are sleeping and distracted. I'm not one to say we should thrust ourselves into global issues as it becomes untenable but what we can do is create a ruckus at home. Just like the 400,000 Italian students protesting a hike in education costs. They went out into the streets all over Italy shutting down tourist areas and sitting on railroad lines disrupting transportation. I mean just look at it its a thing of beauty: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11878884 And here in pictures: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11879345 Unfortunately americans no longer have that kind of spirit and I doubt they will ever exercise it.
yes, people are modern serfs. also because it's not a true democracy. everyone is out for their self-interest and those who have the most power, get to make the rules. sure, the public rejected to the bailouts but not the bankers. how about the employees at general motors? i'm sure none of them were against the bailouts for them to keep their jobs. that's what happens in a capitalistic system. nobody cares until the fire's in their own building and then everybody is looking for an exit. the problems are deeply rooted and in every facet and loophole of government, structure and policy.
Well I was specifically referring to the bail outs of banks and other fraudulent financial institutions but yes I agree with you that the problems are deeply rooted within the government and economic structure. Americans were not voting for a collapse of the auto industry.
but they didn't support it either. but the point was that what someone supports or opposes depends on whether they are going to win or lose. in this case, the investors would lose so they wouldn't be the ones to vote against the bailouts.
You will have to show me evidence that there was no support for the auto industry by mainstream americans. What I believe they were against is a bailout of the auto industry without any regulation as to how they spent their money as they had been mismanaging the business in the past and producing goods that were not up to competitive standards.
