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“Of all races in an advanced stage of civilization, the American is the least accessible to long views… Always and everywhere in a hurry to get rich, he does not give a thought to remote consequences; he sees only present advantages… He does not remember, he does not feel, he lives in a materialist dream.”
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Strange then - you do realize that most of the oil related professionals/those who have experience of other countries who post here (several of whom you reply to in copious quantity) believe that President Bush has been a true disaster for American interests - or do such fact based opinions not count as bashing, but merely acknowledging reality?
However, if you mean that political posturing or rhetorical emptiness is worth less than factual debate, I would agree.
And strangely, considering that the world's largest unarmed border is about to get armed boats (machine gun only and just a few, admittedly) on the Great Lakes for the first time since America last tried to liberate Canadian soil (pre-oil - since then, America has been very busy liberating people who just happen to have oil - ask the Iranians, who were able to enjoy monarchy again after irresponsibly exercising democracy, or the Iraqis, who have had bloody tyranny replaced with bloody chaos, to cover a good 50 years), will have passport controls implemented (wonder when the fingerprinting and picture taking will start, as with other good allies of America like Great Britain), and already decides who gets to fly into or out of Canada (the U.S. has actually turned back airliners which had passengers who were not landing in the U.S.), I would think you would have a few concrete points to 'bash' the U.S. with. Or are facts not bashing?
As for empire - tricky, tricky, question, but you have read your Thucydides, haven't you? The behavior and rhetoric of Athens through that period has a number of resonances to the America of today. Including the vast cleft between how the Athenians saw themselves, and how the rest of the Greek states experienced Athenian actions.
Pat, if u don't know history (by your comical empire defence), go to a history site. If u want to debate the ineptness of legislators, go to a political site. TOD was set up as a venue for the discussion of Peak Oil and while i appreciate that there are instances where we want to wander, it is no excuse for the ridiculous situation in which we find our forum this month where anything goes. It is very frustrating to go thru upwards of 300 post that are mostly musings ... not debate or discussion. And i don't mean just Drumbeat.
Well, Thucydides is a good historical reference (though I only read translations - I assume with your superior knowledge, you enjoy the classical Greek), and I left off the information about how the U.S. claimed its northern border ended at the 54th Parallel before 1846 (see this link - http://cvic.bc.ca/vancouver_island_history.htm - do note it is 'ca' which means Canadian propaganda) - after all, the U.S. set its southern border between 1846-1848 in a little thing called the Mexican-American War, which just happens to be one of those examples of conquest glossed over in American history books - however, do enjoy reading the information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War. Ah, Manifest Destiny - I am sure, just like the members of the Athenian dominated Delian League, the entire world now supports American Manifest Destiny as being in their self-interest. As a quick link about the Delian League, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delian_League is quite good, especially with how the Delian League originated - 'They surrendered the leadership of the ongoing campaign to Athens, which was eager to accept it. The Delian League was inaugurated in 477 BC as an offensive and defensive alliance against Persia. The principal cities in the League were Athens, Chios, Samos, and Lesbos, but many of the principal islands and Ionian cities joined the league.' Seeing how the Peloponnesian War developed from that is fascinating - and do especially note the Melian Debate, to get a certain flavor of current American justifications for its actions (the link at http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/MELIAN.HTM is fine for the purpose).
As for overflights, do read here - http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/airspace/restrictions/2006/200608237435.p... or for a quicker overview, here http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/faq/cache/120.html - do note the 'Are operating under an approved TSA aviation security program or have applied for and received written TSA authorization through the security authorization process.' which means a direct flight between Mexico City and Ottawa requires American approval of its passenger list. Cat Stevens won't be flying between those two capital cities any time soon, since Yusuf Islam is a very, very dangerous man in the eyes of the American government (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/22/plane.diverted.stevens/).
As for Iran having a monarchy restored, to have that monarchy then in turn overthrown by theocratic mullahs, or Iraq being a bloody chaos, I'm pretty sure links won't be required.
And though you may have missed it, in the case of Iraq, Iran, Canada, and Mexico, I have just mentioned four of the world's largest oil exporters - or is the fact that all four of those countries have experienced American terms being dictated, whether 'covert' (Iran of the 1950s), 'overt' (Iraq today), or something along the lines of free association (NAFTA in let us say the 1980s) mean they have nothing to do with peak oil.
As you wish.
But at least in Germany, the understanding (and fear) of Ressourcenkrieg is just a part of a normal understanding of how the world works. And watching it happen in real time is just another one of those little diversions of 2007.
You may note the article above the Drumbeat about Russian gas - or is that sort of thing also not really relevant? I think that most TOD:Europe readers would disagree. And somehow, the TOD:Europe discussions seem full of factual information discussed in a fairly rational manner.
(edit - added the Cat Stevens info, corrected a couple of spelling mistakes, etc.)
I am not interested in discussing History and the definition of Empire with somebody that knows nothing about the topic except what has been gleaned at anti-american disinformation websites.
If u have a question wrt Peak Oil, i'm available. Bye.
As an American citizen, whose mother worked for the CIA and whose father worked for the NSA, I find it fairly amusing to be told that the overthrow of a democratically elected leader in favor of a monarch to rule an oil rich country is a figment of some anti-American web site, or that such historical information has nothing to do with peak oil today. If you actually know any Iranians (I have known Persians, Assyrians, and Armenians from Iran, and Americans who worked in Iran training military units and worked in the oil fields - the country is quite interesting, actually, and what Iranians can do with rice is fantastic), ask them about such unimportant and utterly irrelevant historical trivia in terms of how they view current events, especially in light of the fact that Iran seems quite honest in accepting the fact that the oil will run out, regardless of what anyone else may think about it.
As it seems unlikely you read any of the links provided to such anti-American web sites as Wikipedia or CNN, here is an excerpt from a debate held about 2500 years ago, written by an Athenian -
Melians-
It may be your interest to be our masters, but how can it be ours to be your slaves?
Athenians-
To you the gain will be that by submission you will avert the worst; and we shall be all the richer for your preservation.
Melians-
But must we be your enemies? Will you not receive us as friends if we are neutral and remain at peace with you?
Athenians-
No, your enmity is not half so mischievous to us as your friendship; for the one is in the eyes of our subjects an argument of our power, the other of our weakness.
Melians-
But are your subjects really unable to distinguish between states in which you have no concern, and those which are chiefly your own colonies, and in some cases have revolted and been subdued by you?
Athenians-
Why, they do not doubt that both of them have a good deal to say for themselves on the score of justice, but they think that states like yours are left free because they are able to defend themselves, and that we do not attack them because we dare not. So that your subjection will give us an increase of security, as well as an extension of empire. For we are masters of the sea, and you who are islanders, and insignificant islanders, at that, must not be allowed to escape us.
Melians-
But do you not recognize another danger? For, once more, since you drive us from the plea of justice and press upon us your doctrine of expediency, we must show you what is for our interest, and, if it be for yours also, may hope to convince you:, Will you not be making enemies of all who are now neutrals? When they see how you are treating us they will expect you some day to turn against them; and if so, are you not strengthening the enemies whom you already have, and bringing upon you others who, if they could help, would never dream of being your enemies at all?
Athenians-
We do not consider our really dangerous enemies to be any of the peoples inhabiting the mainland who, secure in their freedom, may defer indefinitely any measures of precaution which they take against us, but islanders who, like you, happen to be under no control, and who may be already irritated by the necessity of submission to our empire, these are our real enemies, for they are the most reckless and most likely to bring themselves as well as us into a danger which they cannot but foresee.
Melians-
Surely then, if you and your subjects will brave all this risk, you to preserve your empire and they to be quit of it, how base and cowardly would it be in us, who retain our freedom, not to do and suffer anything rather than be your slaves.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/MELIAN.HTM
For anyone interested in how the story turns out - the Melians decide to fight to preserve their freedom, which leads to 'The Athenians starv(ing) out the Melians, who finally capitulate. In punishment for not surrendering in the first place, the Athenian generals put to death every male citizen of Melos and cart off the women and children into slavery.' Thucydides can be hard to read, since what he unsparingly describes is a generation of death and destruction, leading to the end of Athens as a democracy and as a free state, for no good reason but its own folly.