Chronique de Rodrigue Tremblay

Tragedy in the Making in Washington and on Wall Street: The Canadian Solution



"When troubles come, they come not single spies, but in battalions." Shakespeare (1564-1616) "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to the point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group or any controlling private power." Franklin D. Roosevelt (188...

Why Not Simply Abolish NATO?

(Traduction française)


[NATO's goal is] "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down." Lord Ismay, first NATO Secretary-General "We should immediately call a meeting of the North Atlantic Council to assess Georgia's security and review measures NATO can take to contribute to stabilizing this very dangerous situation." Sen. John McCain, (August 8, 2008) "If we would have preemptively worked with R...

La Russie, la Géorgie et John McCain: des fonceurs irresponsables aux commandes



"La prospérité apportée par la guerre est semblable à celle apportée par un tremblement de terre ou par la peste." "... La guerre est nuisible, non seulement pour les conquis, mais aussi pour les conquérants." "Pour vaincre les agresseurs il ne suffit pas de rendre la paix durable. L'essentiel est de se défaire de l'idéologie qui génère la guerre. " "La racine du mal n'est pas la construction de nouvel...

Candidate Obama: A Less Risky Alternative



In theory, candidate Obama and his advisers would have to make a bundle of mistakes and come out with very bad decisions to lose this election, when everybody is expecting the Democrats to gain several seats in both the Senate and House of Representatives on November 4.

The Illegitimate and Disastrous U.S. Military Occupation of Iraq



Let's keep in mind that the Bush-Cheney's military occupation of Iraq is doubly illegitimate, besides having been illegal from day one according to international law. First, a solid majority of Americans want American soldiers out of Iraq. Second, a vast majority of Iraqis also want American soldiers out of their country.

Candidate McCain: A Risky Choice



Many people write to me asking what I think of the current batch of presidential candidates in the U.S. —First, let me make a general observation. The American political process, especially at the presidential level, is inhuman and inefficient.

In a Casino Mentality, The Economy Goes From Bubble to Bubble



The American economy seems to be going from bubble to bubble: in 2000, it was the tech bubble; in 2005, it was the housing bubble; and now, it is the oil and commodities bubble. In fact, the entire world of investment is now a giant casino where speculators are in charge and where governments look the other way.

Permanent Wars for Oil and Permanent Terrorism



When the Bush-Cheney administration took over in January 2001, the international price of oil was about $22 a barrel. Now, nearly eight years later, the price of oil is hovering around $120 a barrel, a more than five hundred percent increase. Thus, as far as oil is concerned, things have not unfolded in Iraq as planned and expected by the Neocons in the Bush-Cheney administration.

When the Fed Goes into the Investment Business

For the first time since its creation in 1913, the Fed has turned itself into a government of the banks


" The power to determine the quantity of money... is too important, too pervasive, to be exercised by a few people, however public-spirited, if there is any feasible alternative. There is no need for such arbitrary power... Any system which gives so much power and so much discretion to a few men, [so] that mistakes - excusable or not - can have such far reaching effects, is a bad system. It is a bad system t...

Economic Cycles and Political Trends in the United States (Part II)



There are even much longer political cycles and trends in political philosophies and ideologies, and social trends, some lasting more than 100 years. Thus, some people may live an entire life without encountering their more extreme occurrences. These are the very long trends I am dealing with here.

Economic Cycles and Political Trends in the United States (Part I)



This article is drawn from a conference to be pronounced by Dr. Tremblay before the Florida Renaissance Academy, Marco Island Yacht Club, on April 4, 2008.

The U.S Financial System, the Debt Bubble and the Cancer of Excessive Deregulation



This mess all begun in the early 2000s, and even as far back as the early 1980s, when the Fed and the SEC adopted a hands-off approach to financial markets, guided by the new economic religion that "markets can do no wrong."

Stagflation is Here



After seven years of continuous indulging, of borrowing and debt building, the U.S. federal government is also in a fiscal bind and will find it difficult to effectively counteract the slowdown in the economy.

Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Future of the United Nations



[The] "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." Preamble- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's conflicts." Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights "Th...

Bush and Cheney: All Dressed up and no Place to Go



Left naked, Bush is now uttering lies and absurdities. First, there was his claim that he had "only learned of the new intelligence assessment" the week before, when it is a fact that the President is briefed every morning by the Director of the United States Intelligence Community (IC).

Questions About the Financial Crisis

What triggered the US subprime crisis? Can you compare it to past crises such as the 80's crisis?


Obviously, there was a lack of diligence and supervision on the part of central banks and of other regulatory agencies, especially in the United States.

A Financial System under Siege



The global dollar-based financial system is in crisis and is threatening the prosperity and stability of many economies. Financial excesses of all kinds have undermined its legitimacy and its efficiency. The U.S. dollar is losing its preeminence as the main international reserve currency while many banks are caught in the turmoil of the subprime credit crisis.

The Neocons' Crazy Dream of World War III



President George W. Bush should be actively working to prevent a nuclear war and to make such a disaster illegal, and not muse aloud how he could personally be involved in one.

The Iraq Occupation and the Coming War Against Iran

Political Wickedness and Moral Bankruptcy



First of all, you stop digging. —This is the simple lesson that the Bush-Cheney White House has so much trouble understanding. For Bush and his neocon crowd, they are militarily occupying Iraq and they intend to remain there, no matter what. It doesn't matter that this immoral and illegal occupation has caused the death of more than one million Iraqis and killed more than 3000 American soldiers.

A Fed Panic and a Massive Bailout of American Banks paid for by the entire world



This figure is bound to rise as more and more people confront the facts behind this most disastrous and ill-conceived war. Indeed, how many wars can this lobby be allowed to engineer before being stopped ? And, to what extent can the current financial turmoil in U.S. and world markets be traced back to the influence of this most corrosive lobby ?

The Twelve Main Failures of the Bush-Cheney Administration: A Terrible Legacy



The accomplishments of the Bush-Cheney administration are very few, if any, but its wrongdoings are numerous and comprehensive. This administration has been a virtual wrecking crew for anything it has put its hands on. Here is a summary of the twelve most glaring failures of this administration.

A Slowdown or a Recession in the U.S. in 2008?



While one may hope that economic conditions remain favorable or even improve, the conditions for another less rosy scenario, call it scenario B, are also present and could unfold in the coming months, if certain potential shocks were to materialize.

The Bush-Cheney Stupid Iraq War



"We know where [the weapons of mass destruction] are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." Donald Rumsfeld, (March 30, 2003) "The intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy [to invade Iraq]." Downing Street Memo (July 2002) "Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is a...

Time to Stop Bush-Cheney's War Crimes in the Middle East



"Today the world faces a single man armed with weapons of mass destruction, manifesting an aggressive, bullying attitude, who may well plunge the world into chaos and bloodshed if he miscalculates. This person, belligerent, arrogant, and sure of himself, truly is the most dangerous person on Earth. The problem is that his name is George W. Bush, and he is our president." Jack M. Balkin, Knight Profe...

Decadence, Waste, Corruption in the New American Empire [Part II]



Corruption and moral bankruptcy take many forms. They are usually the end results of an insatiable lust for money, power and privilege, above and beyond any common decency. And money in politics is at the nexus of nearly all forms of corruption.

Decadence, Waste, Corruption in the New American Empire [Part I]



A sure sign of decadence in an empire is when hard earned money seems to lose any meaning and is wasted left and right. There are instances that indicate that is what is happening in the United States today. There is a dance of the billions that defies imagination and that nobody seems to understand.

A Political War against the American People and its institutions



Second sorrow: "A loss of democracy and Constitutional rights as the presidency eclipses Congress and is itself transformed from a co-equal 'executive branch' of government into a military junta. Chalmers Johnson (Sorrows of Empire) "Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heave...

Commercialization and Future Access to the Internet Highway



"Perhaps the most obvious political effect of controlled news is the advantage it gives powerful people in getting their issues on the political agenda and defining those issues in ways likely to influence their resolution." W. Lance Bennett "The Bush majority on the FCC has bowed to the interests of the big cable and telephone companies to strip away, or undo, the Internet’s basic DN...

The 'Bush Doctrine' and Weapons in Space



"The dangerous patriot: "The one who drifts into chauvinism and exhibits blind enthusiasm for military actions. He is a defender of militarism and its ideals of war and glory. Chauvinism is a proud and bellicose form of patriotism . . . which identifies numerous enemies who can only be dealt with through military power and which equates the national honor with military victory." James A. Donovan, Colonel, US M...

The Politico-Religious Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Why It is Never Resolved/(PART I)



"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert Einstein (1879–1955) "For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticize any policies of the Israeli government is because of the...