HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
As a US citizen who lived in and went to school in Canada - I'd like to throw in some thoughts. (1) Economic: Per capita national product is deceptive. It could be high in Brunei - but all the money might go to the sultan. In the US 1/5 of the population takes 1/2 of the annual product - and the top 1 percent takes the same as the bottom 40 percent. In terms of value delivered - the US has higher infant mortality and lower longevity than Canada per UN statistics. Who is better off? In terms of wealth, the richest man in the country is 1,000,000 times as rich ($50 billion) as the national average ($50 thousand). About 40 percent of the population has negative net wealth. (2) Social: My kids go to public school. They raffle off the parking spaces closest to the school - thus the rich kids park close and the poor kids may not even have a space in the lot. Kids can not play football unless they donate $100 per semester to the football boosters club. It now costs $25,000 per year to attend the law school at the state owned university. Of course - families must pay their own medical bills. The high school Senior prom requires a donation of $185 per kid. (3) Cultural: Give me a break. No matter how crass you may feel your culture is, you aint seen nothin until you live in the suburbs of Southern California. Most of my neighbors don't read - they get all they need to know from the TV. (4) Political: I assume you are aware of what has happened here. We have lost it to a group of people who are so evil I just can't find appropriate words. This whole Afghanistan thing is so upsetting I won't even try to deal with it. (5) Military and Diplomatic: No matter how bad it is there, you must admit that you are nowhere as bad off as in the states. Our government refuses to honor the Geneva convention, is headed by a President who has reinstated the star chambers, backs out of all important environmental treaties, refuses to honor the jurisdiction of the world court, is one of 5 nations that refuse to sign the UN referendum against executing teen agers, funds covert groups that destabilize countries that try to organize their economies in ways that don't benefit US corporations, is routinely voted down in the United Nations, etc. "Because the notion of Canadian decline is more nebulous than clear-cut in the world of the 21st century, the country's future is similarly uncertain. We seem to have four options. Ranging from the least to the most likely, and from the most to the least preferable, they are:" (1) Reinvigorating the Canadian nation. Indeed!! (2) Organic union with the United States. Be Serious. (3) The creation of Greater North America. - why not (1) and (3) (4) The status quo: national half-life. Take a hard look - I think you've got a damned good country. ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
