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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Noel de Leon who wrote (49989)	10/7/2002 12:53:41 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

You have misunderstood my point. American Imperialism is a fact of life. Like it or not. And so is catholic Philipino oppression against the muslims of the southern Islands... And Philipine imperialism with regard to the Spratly Islands... Where next, if the world grants you the chance?? Who else will you dominate, if given the opportunity?? Why are US forces in your country helping you to beat up on a bunch of muslim "freedom fighters"?? Turn around is fair play... Plenty of Philipinos feel the "weight" of cultural imperialism that was imported by the Spanish, Muslims, Portugese, and Americans.. Philipinos are no different from any other nation... Expect you happen to be doing at a domestic level, and not internationally, and you're often doing in a manner than many considered "brutal".. So how does it feel to support a government that "brutalizes" it's own population?? Shall I ramp up the rhetoric to a level that will finally match yours?? (I will have to aim much higher.. :0) Listen Noel... you need to sit back, take a deep breath, and think about how the world works... The world doesn't "owe" the Phillipino people success.. you have to earn it and work for it.. And yes.. that can be hard when you're a small fish in a big pond full of sharks. But the US was just the same way.. It was a small nation filled with imperialistic empire building regimes. A democracy whose form of government threatened every authoritarian govt or monarchy throughout the world, (and still does).. As for military and business "imperialism".. we're the ones who PAID FOR THE USE OF THOSE BASES.. And IT'S YOUR NATION which benefitted from falling under the US military "umbrella" so they didn't have to defend themselves against other hostile nations. The Phililipines could have asked us to leave at any time, terminated the leases..etc, and the US would have packed up shop (which we, in fact, did eventually)... WE DON'T DEMAND BASES around this world. If you don't want to give us one.. then fine.. pss on you.. If you don't want to permit our businesses to have entry to your own markets, the pss on you.. go find some other nation to sell your goods to.. and some other nation to be your "patron".. The bottom line is that the Phillipines NEEDS US MARKETS more than the US needs Phillipine products... You guys are competing with cheap Chinese, Taiwanese, and Malaysian products. So if you don't want to sell stuff to us, then don't... I really don't know what your beef is?? If you think you can "go it alone", then by god.. do it!!.. But don't b*tch at the US for military and business imperialism, when in fact, many nations have severe restrictions on foreign ownership of their property and corporations. And while you're at it, while don't you compensate us for that nifty navy base at Subic we built for you?? Hawk

To: Noel de Leon who wrote (49989)	10/7/2002 2:01:18 PM
From: Mr. Forthright	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<<Your attempt to put words in my mouth about American Cultural Imperialism is not valid. I'm not talking about US cultural imperialism(which competes with many other cultures) but military and business imperialism(which is overwhelming).>> Excuse me but, I think you meant military dominance, not imperialism. It's not Washington's fault if the Canadian government and the E.U. countries are more interested in spending money on social programs than the military. The gap between the US and its "allies" keeps widening every day, so don't expect US military dominance to decrease in your lifetime. If the Europeans don't like US military dominance then they only need to get back in the game and that doesn't mean putting their faith in the U.N. I wish the Canadian and European hangers-on would quit the whining: they know full well that in spite of its current overwhelming military superiority the US is a great democracy and shows great restraint. Too bad the same can't be said of the last few "great military powers": the Soviet Union, Imperial Japan and the Third Reich.