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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
This is where you are wrong. Colonialism isn't dead, it just morphed into something a little more well disguised and palatable to the masses. Why do you think we have troops stationed all throughout the world 20+ years after the "Cold War" supposedly ended? Why do you think we've been menacing the Middle East with our military the last couple of decades?
We're managing an economic/monetary (petrodollar) empire.
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Menacing the Middle East? How about playing a cat and mouse game with the former USSR? Keeping the USSR Navy out of the Indian Ocean and away from the West's petro? The Arab oil producing countries have done pretty good on the other side of this exchange. They made a ton of money and had to pay nothing for the protected provided by the US.
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
What does that even mean, global synergy? Sounds like propaganda.
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Sorry for the confusion. It was a term that I coined on the fly.
It is my way of describing how corperations are no longer rooted in one country. Many corperations have investors from all over the world. Since some of these investers are in the position of having an interest they have a good say on the direction of the corperation. That is one aspect. The other aspect is that today some of our most expensive and complex products such as airplanes are made in factories in multiple continents. These planes may be produced by Boeing or Airbus but these two companies have farmed out parts of the planes to companies all over the world. Why? To leverage the advantages of naural resources, cheap labor, skilled labor, taxes, finances, and so forth. These parts or components are shipped to assembly plants for the final process.
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
Globalization is just another way for the ruling elites to undermine national sovereignty in favor of an international system of government. It's much easier to manage the herds with one supranational government than it is through 200 smaller, less powerful governments.
There's not going to be any "playing nice". That's a fantasy.
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It is also a way to provide jobs to keep the home folks from storming the castle walls.
It is also a way to import technology, knowhow, and most important thoughts.
A good example of what I am talking about is the booming economy in the former Indo China area along with Indonesia. Per capital income is rising and it seems that oppresive governments in Myanamar and North Vietnam on the decline. By the way this area used to be UK, French, and Dutch colonies. Now it is comprised of indepenent countries. Also, the US military does not have any bases there to menace the local population.
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Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and is one of the emerging market economies of the world. The country is also a member of G-20 major economies.[10] It has a market economy in which the government plays a significant role through ownership of state-owned enterprises (the central government owns more than 160 enterprises) and the administration of prices of a range of basic goods including fuel, rice, and electricity. In the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis that began in mid-1997 the government took custody of a significant portion of private sector assets through acquisition of nonperforming bank loans and corporate assets through the debt restructuring process. Since 2004 the economy has recovered and growth has accelerated to over 6% in recent years.[11]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Indonesia
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Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy.[7] It has an open, pro-business environment,[8][9] relatively corruption-free and transparent,[10] stable prices, low tax rates (14.2% of GDP) compared to other developed economies,[11] and one of the highest per-capita gross domestic products (GDP) in the world. Its innovative yet steadfast form of economics that combines economic planning of Singapore Economic Development Board with free-market[12] has given it the nickname the Singapore Model. The economy of Singapore is dominated by government-linked corporations that produce as much as 60% of the country's GDP. These government-linked companies are owned by a government holding agency, Temasek Holdings. Notable Government-linked corporations include Singapore Airlines, SingTel, ST Engineering, MediaCorp and Singapore Temasek Holdings.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Singapore
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Burma has taken another step towards reintegration into the global economy with the announcement by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of a strategy that sets the stage for a resumption of full operations in a country cut off from western funds for decades.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-dev...mic-wilderness
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The dependent economy, with exports accounting for more than two thirds of its gross domestic product (GDP). In 2011, Thailand has a GDP at current market prices of THB10.54 Economy of Thailand is a newly industrialized economy. It is a heavily export-trillion[1] (USD345.65 billion approx.[13] ) with the growth rate of 0.1 percent, much lower than the expected growth rate of 3.5 percent due to severe damage from the historic flood the Kingdom confronted mainly in the last quarter of the year. In 2012, the Thai economy is expected to grow by 5.5-6.0 percent, a V-shaped recovery from last year’s flood.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Thailand
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
Look, man, this has always been the case. It has nothing to do with a new "global age". We've had a system of international trade for hundreds of years, where actions in one part of the world have an impact on nations on the other side of the world.
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The CSR debate has largely revolved around the conduct of multinational corporations (MNEs) and other large private companies which, due to their size, have the ability to significantly influence domestic and international policy and the communities in which they operate. Central to the debate is the perceived deficiency of national and international law remedies regarding corporate accountability, in particular the ability of available regulation to successfully regulate a corporation’s conduct in
jurisdictions outside the corporation’s home state. Proponents of CSR argue that the efficient functioning of global markets depends on socially responsible business conduct.
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http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi...%20business%22
[quote=ChartsandGrafs;6316765] We as a nation weren't even around back then. I'm talking about contemporary history here. You know,
relevant history.
The History from 3,000 years ago to current times has forged or molded the culture and society of the Middle East. To ignore its impact would be ignorant.
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
We've been meddling in the internal affairs of Iran since the 50s. Are you aware that we assassinated their leader and overthrew their government in 1953? Are you aware the we replaced their democratically elected leader with a dictator? Is it any wonder why they still hate us?
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To be accurate in 1941 the UK, USSR, and USA forced out one Shaw and install his son. The reason for the bloodless coup was that the older Shaw was entertaining the thought of allying with the Nazis. Another reason they hates us is the the Shaw used his secret police (SAVAK) to brutally keep his subjects at home and abroad in line.
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
Iran doesn't need to be militarily attacked to have their national interests threatened. They are being encircled by U.S. client states/puppet governments, and they're fomenting dissent outside their borders as a way to defend themselves
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A little thick on the rhetoric there aren't you. The US cannot even get a budget passed and you think we are the puppet master? Yes I agree that we have a lot of pull but there are other puppet masters in the mix.
You are correct about not being militarily attacked. It appears that the economic sanctions are having a big impact on Iran. As for threating Iran...they are bringing a lot of this onto themselves. They need to be open about their nuclear weapons program. By being open they probably could get some good deals like North Korea did.
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
They're not over here bombing and invading our neighbors. We're the ones doing it.
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Are you aware that Iran has put agents and special forces in Afghanstan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Sudan? These agents and advisors have carried out assassinations and helped the local insurgents stir up things.
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/11/what-is-the-quds-force/"]
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/1...he-quds-force/[/url]
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
You're kidding, right? Germany in the 20s and 30s was an advanced industrial nation with a rich military tradition and immense scientific and technological know-how.
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After WWI the ecomomy of eastern Europe was beyond needing life support.
Hyper inflation, demonstrations, bombings, unemployment, and starvation were the norm. Hitler used the Jews for his bogey man to get the German people riled up.
Also, Germany did not exist as a nation until the last half of the 19th century. Prior to that it was a loose federation of kingdoms.
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Originally Posted by ChartsandGrafs
How can you possibly compare the Arab/Muslim world to that? You're not being realistic. You've fallen for typical scare tactics.
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No I haven't. You are over looking an important fact. Warfare as we know it has changed in the last 100 years. Any country with the basic know how and motivation can deal us a painful blow. They do not need a carrier task force or an ICBM. A dirty bomb or two, a vial or two of some nasty germs, a back pack or two of Sarin gas, a truck of fertilzer, a highjacked airliner, and as of recent a computer virus can cause us great harm.
[quote=ChartsandGrafs;6316765To call the history of American foreign policy "spotty" is to be quite generous. I call it "criminal".[/QUOTE]
Sorry for sugar coating it. You are correct there were some criminal actions.
It is a wonder that anyone likes us.
[quote=ChartsandGrafs;6316765Fine, I'm all for having a rational discussion. Just don't try to sell me on globalization as the international version of singing Kumbaya and "playing nice". I'm long past that nonsense.[/QUOTE]
I believe that the world will never sit down and sing Kumbaya or even Free Bird. However I do believe that the world eventually for the most part figure out how to be economic partners instead of competting colonial empires.
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