11-10-2018, 05:42 AM
(11-10-2018, 05:18 AM)Bill the Piper Wrote:(11-09-2018, 09:27 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: They [the businessmen of Wall Street] disobeyed the law, and should have paid the penalty any criminal would pay suitable to their crimes. Business of course needs to be regulated; the best balance between free market and social responsibility is the best policy.
Criminals need to be punished, always. But every individual must be judged separately. The crimes weren't committed by a "Wall Street crowd", but by individuals. Collective responsibility against Big Business is unworthy of a democracy, like collective responsibility against Jews, Chechens or any other ethic group.
Quote:Obama did not incite Arab Spring riots, and they were not riots. They were non-violent protests and revolutions, which often became violent after the tyrants attacked them. It's important to get history correct. Obama's mistake was to go to the opposite extreme from Bush. Balance is needed in foreign policy. There was no basis for Bush's aggressive and unprovoked attack on Iraq, and the attack on Afghanistan was poorly carried out and probably should have focused on capturing bin Laden and his cohorts. Obama on the other hand should have given more support earlier to the Syrian rebels, so that Russia would not have been able to come in and take over. Obama was too passive when it counted.
Obama's foreign policy did not create the Arab Spring Revolutions. The Libyans themselves rose up against their tyrant, inspired by the rebels in Tunisia and Egypt; and so did the Syrians and others. The majority of revolutions don't work out historically; tyrants are often too strong, and rebels can become tyrants in turn. The western allies helped the Libyans, but then the Libyans didn't want help after their victory, and they should have asked for it instead to stabilize their country. It's all on them, and remains so.
It is very suspicious that the Arab Spring revolutions broke out in so many places at once. Some degree of unrest was unavoidable because of the Awakening going on in the region. But I maintain the Spring would have far less momentum without Western involvement.
https://clarionproject.org/nytimes-obama...ab-spring/
I agree that it would be the right thing to do to intervene in Syria and topple Assad back in 2011, before the war gave rise to ISIS. It would also be good to do some nation building in Syria. Unfortunately, America's resources are not infinite. Iraq and Afghanistan were projects already started, so Obama should have focused on finishing them rather than supporting the Arab Spring. After stabilising the situation in both counties, he could have intervened in Lybia and Syria. A good realistic pace, like toppling one or two tyrannies per decade.
Quote:A new progressive era is needed in the 2020s, and I hope it comes as I predicted, even despite the inevitable resistance from the powerful American right-wing that is making this era into a 4th turning crisis.
Wait! It was you who predicted that the 1T won't start before 2028. "It's in the stars", according to your astrological writings.
The intervention in Syria would result in what, exactly? I think Syria would have been an anarchic mess like Libya is now if the US succeeded. Both countries if you call them that are besotted with assorted tribes, ethnic groups, and religions that don't play nice. Any proposed intervention will result in what has happened so far everywhere the US decided to implement Neocon foreign policy, It's nothing more than a several trillion dollar clusterfuck. The US would have fared much better if those trillions of dollars went to rebuilt our rotten infrastructure, healthcare access, and a real job training program.
Yes, 2028. This 4T is going to be used to decide what the agenda will be. Neoliberal/Neoconservative dystopia, Back to the Garden utopia, a mishmash culture war policies dystopia, etc. The chosen agenda is what the 1T will build upon. I think that's when America's sign's head goes out of uranus. I think that's what's in the stars, man.
---Value Added