"It’s not the rosy globe of peace and love some wish it might be"

Bob Ellis
Dakota Voice

How many times have you seen the images on television of people in foreign countries railing against American presence and influence overseas? How many times have you seen angry mobs marching and burning the American flag in protest over something the United States has said or done on the world scene?
How many times have you seen this from crowds within our own country? Maybe you’ve heard people in your own political party say, “Everything would be so much better if we just kept out of the world’s business.”
If the United States really did that—pulled out our troops from around the world and just kept to ourselves—what would the world look like?
“The World Without US” is a 2008 documentary film by Mitch Anderson and Jason J. Tomaric, and through interviews with public figures around the world and some dramatic “what if” clips, it presents a startling vision of what that that world might look like.

And it’s not the rosy globe of peace and love some wish it might be.

The film begins with a dramatized segment of fictional American presidential candidate, “William Turner,” making a campaign commercial in which he presents the voter’s choice: continue to “overextend” U.S. military presence abroad, or use those resources to fix problems here in America.
Turner pledges that if he is elected, he will withdraw “all military presence from all foreign soil” and redirect half of the money saved to domestic programs.
In his campaign speeches, Turner says America manipulates and invades other countries “because they don’t serve our needs.”
The narrator, Anderson, grew up in Romania during the Cold War and communist oppression. He tells childhood tales of how the Romanian people had hoped Eisenhower would return after World War II to deliver them from the sphere of Soviet domination, but “it never happened.” As a young man, after many escape attempts, Anderson finally made it out of Romania and eventually to freedom in the United States.
Throughout the film, Anderson takes us on a tour of the world, talking with people in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
In Europe, we find that some people don't like the way America "acts," while grudgingly admitting they owe liberation from Nazi and communist oppression to America.
Considerable time is spent during the European segment examining the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavian republics. American intervention is credited with stopping tremendous suffering and slaughter, while Europe ignored the problem in its own back yard.
Dr. Niall Ferguson, a Scottish Professor of History at Harvard University, called American intervention in the former Yugoslavia a “desirable” form of imperialism, a “human rights imperialism.”

As the tour moves to the Middle East, Anderson examines the accusation that the Iraq invasion was over oil. The film points out that oil supply is no petty matter, and is a resource vital to modern civilization. We also see that while oppression and exploitation are the lot of most invaded countries, a different picture emerges in the wake of American invasions.
Dr. Ferguson points out that if there was no American commitment to stability in the Middle East, not only would there be no state of Israel, the entire area would rip itself apart as it has threatened to do on many occasions in the past.
As the film turns to Asia, we see clips from a cheery communist North Korean propaganda film telling about the paradise of rich fruits “swaying in the breeze” and “pretty girls.” The man who escaped the hell of North Korea, shown in silhouette to protect his identity, tells a different story, a story of oppression, brutality and starvation.
Interviews with South Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese officials reveal that these prosperous Asian countries remain very dependent on the United States military

Reuters

WASHINGTON—The United States told China Friday to act with restraint when dealing with protesters in Tibet and again asked Beijing to talk to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
U.S. ambassador to China, Clark Randt, used a meeting with senior Chinese officials in Beijing to formally voice U.S. concern over violence in Tibet's capital Lhasa, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"He took the opportunity, because of what was going on in Lhasa, to urge restraint on the part of the Chinese officials and Chinese security forces and not resort to use of force in dealing with the protesters," McCormack told reporters.
Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks in past days grew into the biggest demonstrations the remote Himalayan region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets months before the Beijing Olympics.
U.S.-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported Friday that at least two people were killed when Chinese police fired on rioting Tibetan protesters in Lhasa.
"We believe Beijing needs to respect Tibetan culture. They they need to respect multi-ethnicity in their society. We regret the tensions between ethnic groups and Beijing," White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters. "The president has said consistently that Beijing needs to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama."

Religious Repression Increased
The U.S. embassy in Beijing issued a message urging Americans to postpone travel to Tibet and if they were already in Lhasa to seek safety in hotels and elsewhere.
"All care must be taken to avoid unnecessary movement within the city until the situation is under control," said McCormack, adding there were no reports of U.S. casualties.
Asked whether human rights issues changed Washington's view of China hosting the Olympic Games, McCormack said the United States saw the games as a sporting event.
"We believe, and have urged China both in public and in private to use the opportunity to put China's best face forward to the international community, not only during but in the run-up and after the Olympics," said McCormack.
Human rights groups have urged the United States to increase pressure on China over its human rights record in the run-up to the Olympic Games.
The State Department's annual report on human rights worldwide, which was released Tuesday, called China's 2007 human rights record poor, but the host of this summer's Olympics escaped being listed among the world's worst offenders as it had been in previous years.
"The government's human rights record in Tibetan areas of China remained poor, and the level of repression of religious freedom increased," said the Tibet entry in the report.
"Authorities continued to commit serious human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and house arrest and surveillance of dissidents," it said.

HAVANA—Young Cubans frustrated by a regimented and austere life under socialism see little hope of change under the team of old guard revolutionaries who have taken over following Fidel Castro's retirement as president.

Seventy percent of Cuba's 11 million people were born after Castro's 1959 revolution. The younger ones dream of traveling abroad and want access to the Internet, iPods, trendy clothes, music and films.

Many were disappointed when Raul Castro, a 76-year-old army general, succeeded his ailing brother on Sunday as Cuba's first new leader in almost half a century, and other elderly communists were appointed top key posts.

"This is a dynastic succession. Everyone is so disappointed," said Virginia, a teacher who quit her state job earning $19 a month to work as a nanny.

Raul Castro's appointment as president was no surprise, but the new leadership team is more rigid—and older—than many young Cubans expected, or would like to see.

Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, a 77-year-old hardliner who fought with the Castro brothers in their guerrilla army in the 1950s, was named as Cuba's new deputy leader.

Carlos Lage, 56, who pushed market reforms in the 1990s and is respected by foreign businessmen, had been expected to take the job but he was passed over.

Young people are tired of poor salaries and food shortages, and feel constrained by a system that offers few opportunities to own nice homes, cars and other consumer goods. Some saw Lage as a leader who might help modernize Cuba.

"It should have been Carlos Lage. He has many good ideas. We should be rejuvenating," 20-year-old sociology student Maidolys said on Monday as she hitched a ride to classes.

Fidel Castro's government built up the mythology of his 1959 revolution, celebrating the anniversary of important battles and exhorting people to be like Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the late Argentine guerrilla who fought with the Castros.

But this has diminishing appeal to a younger generation that wants less Che and more Shakira.

"To them, change means not just better living conditions but the opportunity of freedom, the opportunity to live like the rest of the world does," said Andy Gomez of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies in Miami.

No iPods, No Yahoo

Even among university students who believe in the socialist system, especially the advances in education and health care, its failings have fueled impatience.

At a town-hall meeting last month, computing students peppered the head of the country's legislature, Ricardo Alarcon, with uncomfortable questions, including why their access to Google and Yahoo sites was blocked.

One asked why a Cuban must work two or three days to buy a toothbrush.

Raul Castro has fomented debate on the state's shortcomings and what needs fixing since taking over as acting president when his brother fell ill in July 2006. He has raised hopes of modest economic reforms but will move slowly and also vows to continue communist rule.

In his first speech as president on Sunday, he said he would move to lift some restriction soon but gave no details.

"Raul Castro's speech ... has not dispelled my doubts," said Yoani Sanchez, one of the few independent bloggers in Cuba ( http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/ ), adding that Raul Castro has not delivered yet on other promises of change.

The 32-year-old philology graduate says her generation saw their parents grow disillusioned with communism when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, causing severe shortages of food and basic goods in Cuba.

"We're a mixture of pragmatism, disbelief and cynicism that is not a good combination to believe in any ideology," Sanchez told Reuters on Monday.

In her new blog, she also said she would willingly forfeit the government's monthly rations of subsidized beans, rice and sugar "for an extended dose of freedom of expression".

Pichi, a former state driver turned odd-job man, said he did not even list