Back to Bill Bonner...

*** U.S. forces proudly displayed the photo of a dead man yesterday.
Bombing a house to kill the man, reports said, U.S. airmen also killed
five other people - including a child. What the child did to deserve
the
death sentence was never addressed.

But this is war. And in a war, innocent people die as well as the
guilty,
especially when it is a war against nobody-in-particular.

What are we fighting for? We turn to the Commander-in-Chief for
elucidation:

'This is only the beginning. The message has spread from Damascus to
Tehran that the future belongs to freedom, and we will not rest until
the
promise of liberty reaches every people in every nation."

*** We walked home from work yesterday. Our course took us by many of
London's great monuments. Every few paces we were reminded of the
greatness of the empire. There was Nelson at Trafalgar, and Wellington
at
Waterloo. And there was Apsley House, given to the man who defeated
Napoleon by a grateful nation. And there in front of Buckingham Palace
itself, a large fountain commemorates the empire's victory over nature
and
economy, too...with statues showing her people bringing industry,
commerce
and agriculture under control. And then, at the end of the park are
pillars recording how the British Empire ruled not merely the waves,
but
the continents: Asia...Africa...North America.

Ah yes, what a great time to be white and English. When God was still
in
his heaven. When Queen Victoria was on her throne. When Brittania ruled
the world!

Passing by St. James Park, we caught a glimpse of the marshal splendor
of
it. There were horse guards, a band, and what looked like a whole
regiment
dressed in bright scarlet uniforms. And another decked out with gold
filigree. Exactly what the occasion was, we didn't notice, but we saw
that
it cost seven pounds for a seat in the bleachers.

As we walked through Knightsbridge, we saw more of the residue of
empire...or perhaps the marks of the new era of globalization. There
were
restaurants of every conceivable variety, from Chinese to Argentine.
And
on the streets, a Babel of languages. In the space of two blocks, we
heard
German, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, French, and a variety of African and
Indian languages we couldn't identify.

"The wogs start at Calais," the British used to say. But now the wogs
begin at Charing Cross - and they're taking over the city. Everywhere
you
look there are foreigners (ourselves included!). Forty percent of the
property in central London sold last year was bought by foreigners. And
last week's news reported that 45% of the City (equivalent to Wall
Street
in New York) is now owned by foreigners. Now, rich Persians sit while
Englishmen shine their shoes. Rich Indians drive around in new
Lamborghinis sold to them by middle-class Brits. Rich Russians rent
storefronts to English real estate agents, who sell their best
properties
to foreigners. That is how it goes, isn't it? You rule the
barbarians...until the barbarians rule you. The flies conquer the
flypaper.