<strong>Written By:</strong> rearguard
<strong>Date:</strong> 2006-10-05 09:27:36
<a href="/article/212736647-quotlesser-evilsquot-by-michael-ignatieff">Article Link</a>

An attack of this sort is already in the realm of possibility. The recipes for making ultimate weapons are on the Internet, and the materiel required is available for the right price. Democracies live by free markets, but a free market in everything -- enriched uranium, ricin, anthrax -- will mean the death of democracy. Armageddon is being privatized, and unless we shut down these markets, doomsday will be for sale. Sept. 11, for all its horror, was a conventional attack. We have the best of reasons to fear the fire next time.

A democracy can allow its leaders one fatal mistake -- and that's what 9/11 looks like to many observers -- but Americans will not forgive a second one. A succession of large-scale attacks would pull at the already-fragile tissue of trust that binds us to our leadership and destroy the trust we have in one another. Once the zones of devastation were cordoned off and the bodies buried, we might find ourselves, in short order, living in a national-security state on continuous alert, with sealed borders, constant identity checks and permanent detention camps for dissidents and aliens. Our constitutional rights might disappear from our courts, while torture might reappear in our interrogation cells. The worst of it is that government would not have to impose tyranny on a cowed populace. We would demand it for our own protection. And if the institutions of our democracy were unable to protect us from our enemies, we might go even further, taking the law into our own hands. We have a history of lynching in this country, and by the time fear and paranoia settled deep in our bones, we might repeat the worst episodes from our past, killing our former neighbors, our onetime friends.

That is what defeat in a war on terror looks like. We would survive, but we would no longer recognize ourselves. We would endure, but we would lose our identity as free peoples.

Full text here
<a href="http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/news/opeds/2004/ignatieff_less_evils_nytm_050204.htm">http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/news/opeds/2004/ignatieff_less_evils_nytm_050204.htm</a>







[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on October 6, 2006]

   

&#8220;Could we actually lose the war on terror?<br />
<br />
How&#8217;n the hell can a &#8220;war&#8217; be fought on a concept, Especially when that concept is fuelled by deceit?<br />
Eg, U.S. Government Caught Red-Handed Releasing Staged Al-Qaeda Videos<br />
<a href="http://prisonplanet.com/articles/october2006/051006redhanded.htm">http://prisonplanet.com/articles/october2006/051006redhanded.htm</a><br />
<br />
Foreign policies by the US, IMF, World Bank, et al are ignored while pap like &#8220;they hate us because of our freedoms&#8221; get full support of the media.<br />
<br />
A friend used to say to BS like that, &#8220;Don&#8217;t eat any of that shit, You&#8217;ll get sick!&#8221; <br />
<br />
Too late! And too many &#8220;shit eaters&#8221; <br />
Not enough critical sanity!<br />
<br />
When I read BS like this in mainstream press,<br />
&#8220;Consider the consequences of a second major attack on the mainland United States -- the detonation of a radiological or dirty bomb, perhaps, or a low-yield nuclear device or a chemical strike in a subway. Any of these events could cause death, devastation and panic on a scale that would make 9/11 seem like a pale prelude. After such an attack, a pall of mourning, melancholy, anger and fear would hang over our public life for a generation&#8221;<br />
I have to look at the presumption triggers* and propaganda contained in therein.<br />
<br />
This &#8220;stuff:BS&#8221; is carefully crafted to focus the readers mind on presupposed events and pull thinking away from the causes of any terrorist action that may exist, in other words the Hegelian dialectic in full force.<br />
<p>---<br>Diogenes said:<br />
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."

   

I also meant to include this<br />
<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/nd/danscorpio/presup.html">http://www.angelfire.com/nd/danscorpio/presup.html</a><p>---<br>Diogenes said:<br />
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."

   

I don't think I want this guy to be PM of my country.

"Our system is supposed to challenge the president every step of the way. Show me, prove it to me, give me the facts -- this is supposed to be the American way.

A war on terror puts this system under real strain. Checks and balances work slowly -- Congress must deliberate; the courts must review -- and meanwhile, the crisis calls out for decisive action. This is why terrorism's chief impact on democracy -- not just in the United States but also in every other free society and especially in Spain and Britain -- has been to strengthen the power of presidents and prime ministers at the expense of legislatures and the courts and to increase the exercise of secret government. Much of the war against terror has to be fought in secret, and the killing, interrogating and bribing are done in the shadows. This is democracy's dark secret -- the men and women who defend us with a bodyguard of lies and an armory of deadly weapons -- and because it is our dark secret, it can also be democracy's nemesis."

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Everybody got to deviate from the norm

   

Ignatieff is looney tunes material alright. The fact that the Liberal Party is seriously considering appointing this nutter means that the Liberal Party is chuck full of neocon/globalist freaks.

   

Yeah, but "they" hate our freedom. Who is "they" and what "freedom" does this statement refer to? Human nature has absolutely nothing do with freedom. I think one figures this out at about the age of 12.

   

So if we're "blessed" with Iggy as PM we'll be in for some more constitional amendments then. I propose an addition as well, that we should recognize not only God but also Allah, Budha and Zaphod Beeblebrox.

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Everybody got to deviate from the norm

   

The NAU story is now off the line, but here's a letter from Jack Layton on this subject that also fits well with the Ignatieff story.<br />
<br />
Ed Deak.<br />
----------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Subject: Defending Canadian Sovereignty - Jack Layton<br />
From: "Layton, Jack - M.P." <[email protected]><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thank you for informing me of your concern about the further integration of Canada with the United States and Mexico. <br />
<br />
At an October 4th press conference and in Parliament, NDP International Trade and Globalization critic, Peter Julian, outlined the NDP's opposition to plans to fast-track North American integration through the harmonization of 300 common areas of legislation and regulations. <br />
<br />
Mr. Julian stated, "This is the giving away of Canada’s command to the U.S. Republican administration and to North America’s largest corporations. We are seeing this with the Softwood Lumber Agreement and with the Canadian Wheat Board, as well as in a variety of other sectors." For more information, please see attachment below and visit: <a href="http://www.ndp.ca/page/4413">http://www.ndp.ca/page/4413</a>.<br />
<br />
The recent Banff meeting of top government, corporate and military officials from all three countries has heightened this concern. It was clear that organizers and participants intended to keep this important meeting on integration out of the public eye. <br />
<br />
Mr. Julian has been active on this file since the launch of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). (<a href="http://www.ndp.ca/page/1444">http://www.ndp.ca/page/1444</a>). Please be assured that the federal NDP will continue to demonstrate strong leadership on deep integration as we have on other important issues such as Afghanistan and the Softwood Lumber Agreement.<br />
<br />
Again, thank you for taking the time to convey your interest to safeguard our future and our Canadian sovereignty. Feel free to forward this email to all others who may share this concern.<br />
<br />
Sincerely, <br />
<br />
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth) <br />
Leader, Canada’s New Democrats <br />
<br />

   

Excellent! I am glad to see that Jack is still awake.
What do you mean by "The NAU story is now off the line,"?

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Everybody got to deviate from the norm

   

Blah! Blah! Blah!

Well Ignatieff, like the good little servant he is, is right on message with the viewpoints of his Republican and corporate friends.

I can’t remember who said it, but the fact that the West seems to be regarding itself as under pressure from terrorists is the greatest public relations coup in history. The fact that so many countries that have been suffering steady losses of life due to various terrorist groups for decades seems be lost on the average man or woman on the street.

A little knowledge of history might lead to a more balanced perspective and these blowhards couldn’t get away with this type of fluff.

Mike
Winnipeg


P.S.

When I first glanced at the headline for this article I thought it said "Lesser Elvis". Darn ...