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You'd better watch it, with those kind of swipes in a discussion. "You sound like a Nader fan. He won't win this year." But maybe after Obama overturns the Bush Junta and straightens things all out, "he could take us over the top." Right. And, you know what? At this point, I'll be overjoyed if we're merely able to hold an election here, and have some minimal confidence that all the votes were counted (and that the Bushite voting machine companies didn't, for instance, shave Obama's mandate, or (s)elect a "Blue Dog" Congress to prevent even minimal reform). I know where we're at. And it's NOT a good thing--not a good thing at all--that our choice is between torture, mass murder, grand theft, treason and shredding of the Constitution, and MINIMAL reform with a more pleasant demeanor. That is dangerous. That means that if minimal reform fails, we're back to outright fascism. And we could go back there real easy, considering WHO controls the voting machines with the "trade secret" code.
Our choice--between torture, mass murder, massive thievery and the end of our Constitution, on the one hand, and warm spit, a wing and a prayer on the other--is not a good one. We have to try to turn warm spit, a wing and prayer back into democracy. To do that, we must first STOP LYING to ourselves about what Obama is and what he is not. His speech on U.S. foreign policy in Latin America tells me a lot about what he is not. He is not well informed. He does not understand the peaceful, democratic, leftist revolution that has occurred in South America--the most amazing bloodless revolution that has ever occurred, anywhere, anytime. He thinks we can walk back in, with Manifest Destiny on our sleeve, and pursue "our" (global corporate predator) interests because now we're nice guys with corporate "win/win" palaver on our lips. His position, as expressed in this speech (i.e., audience may have influenced content), is very unrealiastic and based on Bushite DISINFORMATION.
And that has me VERY worried. For one thing, because it fails to acknowledge the reality our dead economy and their live ones. South America is the future. Their mixed socialist/capitalist ideas, with strong goals of social justice and FAIR trade--trade among equals--are the future of this hemisphere. Global corporate predation is the past. It has been rejected by half the hemisphere! By MOST of the hemisphere's people, and by their DEMOCRATICALLY, TRANSPARENTLY elected leaders. WE are the ones whose democracy is in big, big trouble, not them. And we dare to preach to them about democracy!? We, whose country has done everything it could, recently and for decades past, to KILL their democracies!?
"Manifest Destiny" is dead--unless it is again enforced by violence. And there is every sign and omen that violence is what the Bush Junta intends, before this year is out. That is the minefield that Obama walked into, in Miami. He had only certain limited spaces he can walk on.
"Free trade" and the World Fucking Bank have destroyed South American economies. They are destroying Peru's economy, as we speak. And that is the NICE "free trade" deal that Obama supports. The only people who still welcoming U.S.-dominated "free trade" into their countries, in South America, are goddamned crooks (Peru) or fascist murderers (Colombia). Alan Garcia (president of Peru) is as crooked as they come. It is ALREADY disastrous. Peru is wracked by the kind of protests by the poor, especially poor food farmers, that we saw in Bolivia before they finally elected a president who represents the MAJORITY. Dirt poor people do NOT mount such protests unless they are HURTING, and hurting BADLY. In every case of U.S.-dominated "free trade," an upper class elite gets richer, and the majority gets fucked over. But more than this, the whole country gets fucked over--corporate agriculture drives millions of small food farmers off the land into shantytowns in the cities; food self-sufficiency is lost; the society becomes addicted to glitzy imported goods, and neglects local manufacturing, local food production, local infrastructure development and local arts. And this is often combined with ruinous World Bank/IMF loans, with the rich ripping off the money and leaving the poor to pay the debt. Education, medical care, small business loans and grants, social security, upward mobility--all out the window. The country goes bankrupt. The rich flee to Miami.
From OUR point of view--that is, the oblivious point of view enforced by our corporate 'news' monopolies, sweetened with warm spit (some ideas of niceness)--the fascist state of Colombia shouldn't be blessed with U.S. corporate predator "free trade" because they slaughter union leaders and poor peasants (using military equipment WE paid for). That's a no-no (i.e., corporate "news" unable to suppress the stories). We say we don't want the U.S.-funded Colombia military offing union leaders for Occidental Petroleum, Monsanto and Chiquita. Fine. But we then pose that EXTREME against U.S.-dominated "free trade" in a country the BUSHITES were able to worm their way into, via corrupt politicians (Peru), where they DON'T shoot union leaders (they are suppressed in "nicer" ways--tear gas, beatings, jail, calling them "terrorists"); we throw in a few labor and environmental protections ON PAPER--protections that a corrupt government can easily get around--and pat ourselves on the back (Obama) for being progressive.
THIS is why country after country in South America is saying "Nor more!". It is why they are forming a South American "Common Market" WITHOUT THE U.S. It is why they formed the Bank of the South. It is why leaders like Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Cristina Fernandez (Argentina), Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Tabare Vasquez (Uruguay), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua) and others are SO POPULAR, and keep getting elected. It is NOT because Hugo Chavez is a "demagogue." It is because the IDEAS of Hugo Chavez and all these other leaders are BETTER for the MAJORITY.
Obama dismisses all this as Chavez "demagoguery" and "checkbook diplomacy." Well, guess who's the demagogue? That is just crap. There is no VACUUM in South America. There is DEMOCRACY in South America, at long last. And the majority poor whom we have been fucking over for centuries will not be fucked over yet again by U.S. "leadership." We need them. They don't need us. That is the situation. And this fairy tale that Obama spins about the U.S. feeding the poor brown people and bringing them democracy is laughable. Does he know that? I dunno. I am not encouraged. Is he a tool of the corporate predators, playing "good cop/bad cop" and "divide and conquer" games? I really don't know. There is lots of evidence of it, in this speech.
In order to BECOME a respectful, legitimate, equal partner within the hemisphere's "Common Market," or in some other good trade relationship with it, WE MUST REFORM. Seriously reform. WE must get serious about social justice. WE must rein in our putrid global corporate predator monopolies. WE must stop bullying the world--economically and militarily. WE must clean up our act. And we must STOP DICTATING to Latin America--whether with a smile on our face, or with the 4th Fleet behind our threats. Or they won't have us! THEY are fundamentally changing the balance of power in this hemisphere in their favor. We can continue to let ourselves become the biggest "Banana Republic" on earth--run by fascist corporations--or we can LEARN from this leftist revolution in South America, and kick the global corporate predators the fuck out of our country , or, at least, reassert our SOVEREIGNTY as a people OVER them. If we don't, it is not South America that will suffer. They are on their own path to SELF-DETERMINATION. It is we who will suffer; we the people of the U.S.
Obama--if this speech is to be believed--wants to return to the old relationship with Latin America, minus the gunboats. It is the Clinton formula, basically. But conditions are VERY changed, BECAUSE of that failed policy. We cannot impose it now, even with the gunboats. They will fight back, this time. Why do you think Brazil proposed a South American-only defense group, without the U.S., which as been quickly agreed to by the others? Obama talks about our interest in "security" in South America. They're interested in it, too--security AGAINST the U.S. and its ill-intended global corporate predators. WE are their primary threat.
Hugo Chavez gave us a model of national sovereignty over global corporate predators. Venezuela nationalized its oil long before Chavez, but prior rightwing regimes were giving away 90% of the profits to multinationals. Chavez asserted Venezuela's right to set the terms for multinational involvement in Venezuela, by insisting on a 60/40 split in favor of the Venezuelan people, who are greatly benefiting from this money, in far-thinking social programs and economic policies. Norway's Statoil, France's Total, British BP and even Chevron agreed. Exxon Mobil ($40 BILLION in gas gouging profits last year) would not--and went into the first world courts seeking to freeze $12 billion in Venezuela's assets, as PUNISHMENT for Venezuela's assertion of its RIGHT to set the terms--and very possibly also in conspiracy with the Bushites to destabilize Venezuela and once again try to topple its democratic government. Exxon Mobil lost in a London court. They lose. The others win. That is how it SHOULD be. The PEOPLE rule. We should be ruling here, too. We are the sovereign rulers of this land--in theory. What we say, goes--in theory. We say who does business and who doesn't, and on what terms--in theory. But that hasn't been true here for some time. We need to re-establish that principle--the principle of our sovereignty--and the South Americans are showing us how it's done.
Obame would not be permitted to become President of the United States if he said this--if, instead of attacking Hugo Chavez, on the basis of BUSHITE lies, he attacked Exxon Mobil & brethren. I understand this. We may have to restore democracy here by increments. We are in a perilous situation, with criminals and traitors having been in control of our government for eight years--during which the POWER of global corporate predators over us has grown more lethal, and includes ALL corporate media. But we shouldn't close our eyes to our situation, make a wish and hope for the best. We should be fully cognizant of the facts, even if our candidates are not, or even if they are, and can't speak the truth. The Obama campaign is something of reclaiming of our democratic heritage. It does offer hope, of at least decent, honest government, if not real reform. Obama's SUPPORTERS, and the American people, want real reform. That is not going to happen--if this speech is any indication (even forgiving some of it, considering who the audience was)--and we need to be prepared for that--for disappointment--and for a long, difficult struggle to get our country back.
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