"Neoliberalism's unreserved endorsement of market-orientated global capitalism shows how far it draws from a narrow economic liberalism that is uninterested in other matters. Neoliberals are not concerned by the implications for democracy of the growing power of transnational corporations, the difficulty of reconciling unbridled consumerism and competitive individualism with any meaningful notion of human flourishing, or the threat posed to economic and cultural diversity by the emergence of global goods, the trend towards merger and monopoly, and the impact on the environment. Neoliberalism amounts to a form of market fundamentalism." (Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies - 2003 - an interesting read to gain valuable insight in various political possibilities shaping our world)

Patriotism breeds xenophobia.

No casus belli, no weapons of mass destruction, no legal case. "So what?" 33% of Americans believe weapons of mass destruction have been found and 22% are convinced Saddam used them during the war, but this is only due to patriotic TV channels that let rumors and suppositions make the news. In reality, the official reason for war was based on "forgeries and murky, inconsistent sources". The Peace of Westphalia (1648) guarantees absolute integrity to nation states, unless they present a "direct or imminent threat". "But Saddam was bad, he was killing his own people! It was our duty to 'liberate' them.." On these grounds, 3 million dead in D.R.Congo in the last 4 years should justify some kind of intervention, shouldn't it?

The truth is: the US under Bush has no commitment for global human rights, justice and democracy. Its sole interest is to protect its petrol and military industries and sustain its oil-guzzling lifestyle at any cost. No Kyoto. No International Criminal Court. No United Nations. No respect for the Geneva Convention. No respect even for its own constitution "Equal Justice under Law" for the Guantanamo detainees..

Occupation is terrorism.

yann (most info from FT July15-16th and for fun: Democratic Underground)