Golly. I just found out that Michael Ignatieff was in my neighbourhood this weekend, talking about his new book. And I can't BELIEVE I missed a chance to hear him talk about Russian history, ask him why everybody in this country writes about the past rather than the future. "We're a serious country. We take ourselves seriously. We've done serious things, tough things...You can't have faith in your future if you don't have faith in your past." Whether he believes that being too serious might be boring. Yawn. And of course whether he thinks it's time we put on our life jackets. Because I got that sinking feeling. I'd also ask him why an intelligent man like him can't seem to communicate with ordinary people.And suggest that he visit my university and learn how to craft a simple message. Like this one: Harper hates medicare. We LOVE it. or this one Harper's oil pimps Are DESTROYING Ontario. or this one...for those under 30. Don't jail kids Just legalize marijuana. Because even a simple message is better than nothing eh? Oh well I'm sure he wouldn't listen to me anyway. And he definitely wouldn't like my favourite message. Unite the Left. Crush the Cons. Nobody likes that simple message. But one day they'll wonder why it took them so long. In the meantime...put on your life jackets everyone. And get ready for Harper's World....
Well at least now we know how historians will sum up the Imperial Presidency of George Bush. He ruled for eight years. He cheated, he lied, he tortured, he murdered hundreds of thousands of people, he tanked the economy, he made ignorance a virtue. And before leaving office he set the stage for the Collapse of the American Empire. A government report released Thursday paints an alarming picture of an unstable future for international relations defined by waning American influence, a fragmentation of political power and intensifying struggles for increasingly scarce natural resources.
Wow. I don't envy the nasty Chimp. A hundred years from now the survivors of The Great Darkness will still be dancing on his grave. Or gnawing on his bones to stave off starvation. Just like I don't envy poor Obama who has to try to save the world. Even though some say it's already too late. Ongoing turbulence will make it harder to focus on long-term changes. Recent weeks have seen much chatter about a second Bretton Woods, a gathering of states to rescue the world's economy from its woes. But what if we have not yet reached 1944? What if we're still in 1914, when the world's first period of globalisation was about to end to be replaced by 30 years of upheaval, depression and conflict? Yikes. That IS pretty depressing. First the grinding poverty. Then the bloody carnage. Then the cannibalism. And then the planet burns. But I'm an optimist so I suppose it could always be WORSE. Eh? With house prices going down the toilet....and homeowners debating whether to use some rooms for fire wood, and others for chicken coops...so they can keep warm, eat, and STILL pay the mortgage. Imagine how awful it would be. If you were Hitler's real estate agent...
People I warned you. Make sure you have a bunker....and lots of chickens. This is going to be really BAD...
