teh Forum

As the token Canadian in this group (gee, now I know how Jimmy Carl Black of The Mothers of Invention must have felt), I offer my sympathies to all of you who must be so distressed by the direction Dubya has taken your country. There's no denying it now -- The USA has become a rogue state... May this insanity come to an end very soon.

Hear Hear! I for one am ashamed to be an American right now. I feel so cheated that this is being done in my name; in my son's name; in my wife's name. We don't care about Iraq. We only care about the things that effect us daily here at home. I hope that this insanity ends before any more innocents die needlessly. How easy is expatriation these days? I'd like to go somewhere that values all life and true freedom; someplace where non violent drug offenders for example aren't locked up; someplace that has a leader not willing to go blindly into a situation that will most certainly not end up well.

Hey PB, what is the Canadian Government's official position on the war? Has Chretien come out in favor or against the aggression? Is there any groundswell of 'well we better support the Yanks in this cuz they are our closest neighbors and number one trading partner'?

My wife Carmen is currently in Cusco, Peru. She reports that there was a peace gathering in front of the cathedral last night, and hundreds attended, as did she. Some of the other Americans in her school group were afraid to join in and admit they were Americans, but she bought and lit a candle, and found that the reaction to her from the Peruvians was positive. They did not hold it against her that she hails from a country with a megalomaniacal hawk as its dictator. The anti-Bush movement crosses all boundaries, and unites all people, and will eventually triumph!

Erik - maybe France eh? Wouldn't it be nice to come from a country that is saying "fuck you" to Bush and his war. Now that is where I would feel some pride.

Much of the talk in Japan is about PM Koizumi's unconditional thumbs up to whatever Bush wants. You gotta admit though (and he does) that the last thing Japan needs in this time of unease with N. Korea is to get a thrashing from Bush the way France did. Yet 80% of Japanese are against the war. And what does that mean? Do they disapprove of the war or do they disapprove of Koizumi's backing of the war? What do you guys think? Is Koizumi justified? Does he have a choice?

I actually went to a peace rally in Tokyo Saturday (sorta stumbled into it). It wasn't a very thrilling event. A couple hundred people in a secluded park, tucked away in corner of Shibuya. A total case of preaching to the choir. We did not stay long, but apparently there was a march afterwards that may have been a little more vocal. But this is the land of acquiescence.