It doesn't have anything to do with where I want to move Dickey. I have pointed out before that people in those 3rd world countries have NEVER had the rosy set of circumstances freely given to them that you and I were given at birth, merely by being born in the USA or Canada, in far more favorable ecomomic and social conditions. And they almost certainly NEVER will.

I have no reason to want to move anywhere. I'm happy to be in Canada. Canada is safe, prosperous, and free.

You have to assess each society's progress on the present and past conditions THERE, not here, and on what is possible THERE, not here. Cuba was far better off to be under Castro than if it had stayed under Batista. The Venezuelans who voted for Chavez (a majority of them) obviously think Venezuela is better off under him, and it is the poor who vote for Chavez. It is the wealthy and the middle class who don't like him. Most Venezuelans are poor. The Nicaraguans who voted Ortega back in obviously feel they are better off that way too. You weren't there. What do you know about it that they don't?

Give up this tired old BS about me wanting to "move" somewhere, because it's absolutely stupid. Just reread this post whenever you feel tempted to say it again.

You have got to get out of this cultural thought bubble you are trapped in where you imagine that everyone in the world has the same problems and opportunities and choices in front of them that you do. THEY DON'T! They are dealing with wholly different problems and choices, and they don't view America as their saviour, they view it as their exploiter, and as a rogue nation that attacks people. That isn't the fault of ordinary Americans, it's the fault of your government, which is simply a tool of a bunch of giant corporations and a military-industrial complex which doesn't care whose life it tramples on in order to make more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Your government constantly issues inflammatory rhetoric (delivered via ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN) designed to get YOU to support its grotesque and illegal military interventions around the world. Your media criticize your government aggressively only when your giant corporate $ySStem is getting you all ready for an outer cosmetic change in the administration's face...meaning you are going to soon replace a bunch of gutless Republican corporate servant puppets with a bunch of gutless Democratic corporate servant puppets...and almost nothing will really change. Your elections are phony. Both of those parties serve the same corporate masters. If those masters decide the Iraq War is unwinnable, well then, they will use the media to crucify Mr Bush and his people for causing it and losing it, and they'll set about putting the next big game in motion, whatever that will be...and you'll swallow it, I'm sure.

The Canadian media frequently criticizes our government (and thoroughly enjoys doing so, I might add...). So does the public. ;-) It's a popular pastime, in fact. Always has been.

The USA has often told Canada to "go to hell" in so many words, but not with that much passion (like Chavez did to the USA), because the USA never really gets that excited about Canada. ;-) We're just not a place you guys can bother to get angry about. We basically cooperate with American plans for the most part, and besides, we're not important enough to get angry about. And that's a good thing. It means I probably won't see a US invasion of Canada before I die.


Petr - Excellent post. You have described the $$$ problem perfectly.