E-mail 1

From AD

Bitch please Americans are the best, if that itches your vagina too fucking bad asshole, the next time tragedy befalls on a country we should just forgo any phony sympathy and laugh our asses off at your tragedy and instead blame your own country and claim it is a "conspiracy" we do shit for countries that we are not obligate do ( like eliminate evil dictators and people don't appreciate it) Yet we have to get on our knees because we get coffee from Brazil and Mexicans cut our grass. I hope you get your head cut off by a terrorist you America-hating asshole.

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From Z

You believe in taking others wealth by keeping the death tax? Why don't you get off your commi ass's and create your own wealth! Matter of a fact you lazy bastards, get the fuck out of my country since you seem to hate it so much! You are what is wrong with this country, thus the enemy within. I guess the killing of tens of millions under communism is just what, a slight reaction? Sod off and move to North Korea and take your hatred of my country elsewhere. Who am I? I am someone who believes in the American dream and 7th generation of man who put his live and fortune on the line to sign the Declaration of Independence, and know for a fact, he did not do it for you! You are disgusting traitors! Go apologize yourself and leave my beloved country out of your demented sick views or get down and kiss the ground she was formed on! WTF is wrong with this country is people like you. Get off your asses and move!

Your website I am sure is already being watched by the F.B.I. but I went ahead and forward it on to be sure.

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From JS

I just dont care about the third world.  If we had any more zulus and ricecake eaters (overseas) dictating policies for the United States I would puke.  I dont particularly care for George W Bush, President, but I have the natural American hatred of North Korea and Iraq, the latter being strong. If nuclear weapons did not hurt the global environment (beyond Iraq and Korea) I would fully advocate making Ping Pong and Ragbag glass.

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From NA

Thanks for your amazing website which I just stumbled on a few minutes ago. I began to get a sense of which way the wind was blowing back in 1992 when I began to listen to shortwave radio programs (in English) of various countries around the world. Since that time Radio Nederlands, in particular, has aired first-rate documentary programs on structural adjustment and human rights issues in developing countries. In fact, having discovered shortwave, I haven't paid much attention to the mainstream media in a number of years. About a year or so ago, I happened to listen to the local 6 o'clock news for the first time in eons and was truly shocked at the lack of substance. What's so odd is that I find that my sense of the world is mostly out of sync with that of other "well informed" Americans who depend largely on the mainstream media for their sources of information. Anyway, I hope your website stays up for a long time - and as a college English professor, I will try steer my students in its direction whenever I can.

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From JB

This has to be one of the best, if not the best, links' pages for progressive thought and argument. I hope you're able to stay committed to this project because you're doing a very great service to the real democratic principles upon which this country was founded.

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From Joe D

I have been logging onto thirdworldtraveler since April. I am a Political Science/History/Economics professor at a few colleges in the NYC area. I have found TWT.com to be enormously informative. So much so that I now list it in my course syllabi as a source of information for my students. You are doing a tremendous public service with this web-site.

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I just want to reiterate what a great job and service you're doing with thirdworldtraveler. Frankly, in these last six months since I logged on I've probably leaned more from your site than I did in graduate school. All of my students at ... College in NY have used TWT (at my instruction). In fact just this past week a student shared his fascination, particularly about the School of the Americas.

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From DC

your site is the most informative and interesting site i've seen on the web. i want to thank you so much for helping me wake up to the realities of injustice and see through the massive propaganda machine of the u.s. your web site helps seed real notions of freedom and democracy to all who come to it and then those who talk to those who came to it, and so on. you are doing a service that is amazingly valuable and worthwhile. i deeply respect what you are doing. my heartfelt appreciation to you.

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From MC

All in all, this website is informative but there are so many obvious inconsistencies that I just had to write this email. First of all, I am of Portuguese heritage. I have studied Antonio Salazar's regime at University of Lisbon and also here in the United States at Long Island University. Here are some facts that could shed some light on the rampant lies about Salazar.

1) First of all, Salazar did not "worship" Mussolini or Hitler. To say that is an insult to the whole Portuguese people as a whole. He openly condemned Hitler's invasion of Poland and Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia. He sympathized with Great Britain and the United States during WWII thus letting them open a vital air force base on the Azores three years before the war ended, not after!!! He sent food and supplies to London during Hitler's bombing campaign there and stayed neutral so the Allied ships could use Lisbon as a vital port for repairs, refueling and supplies.

2) Although Salazar was a fascist, he did not support Communism in any way. He openly fought communist entities in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea). Castro had sent thousands of troops to fight the Portuguese in Africa. China and Russia were supplying arms to the nationalists in return for influence and accessability in the area if Portugal were defeated. It is a fact that Communists were in the area because many were captured and killed my Portuguese Forces. How would you have liked a Communist Angola & Mozambique in Africa?? Communism would have spread like wildfire in these newly indepenedent countries because there leaders were corrupt and were easily influenced.

3) The United States did not back Portugal in any way during there colonial conflicts. It stopped selling Portugal weapons in the mid 1960's. The U.S. wanted to see a free democratic Africa, not one still with an influence of a European power present. The U.S. threatened Portugal on many instances with sanctions if it did not grant its colonies independence or at least negotiations peacefully.

4) Lastly, the concentration camps that you so carelessly posted on this site. Do you know what a concentration camp is? ever been to one? what happened there? Its very easy for you to just throw that out there but that depiction is not accurate. Although Salazar did silence his critics, the camps were prisons. Just like the American government did in California to all Japanese citizens during WWII. You make it seem like he was throwing his critics in a gas chamber and then into an oven. Salazar was a devout Catholic, in his frame of mind he was doing what he thought was best for his country.

Well, thank you for your time and next time try to read up on what your putting on your website you jackass.

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Steve's reply

Thank you for your comments. It's nice to see that some readers of my website are so "reasonable".

I did not write the Friendly Dictators information. Based on my knowledge that the material about most of the other dictators is accurate, I will leave the descriptions up until I have information that clearly disputes them.

I am not insulting the Portuguese people by putting up unflattering material on Salazar, any more than I would be insulting the American people by putting up unflattering information about Ronald Reagan (which I did). We get into big trouble when we equate politicians' actions with the wishes of the people over whom they have control. People don"t usually deserve the politicians they are forced, by the system, to accept. Politicians don't often act on behalf of the "people"; they act on behalf of the business interests and the wealthy elite.

You state that that there are "many obvious inconsistancies" on the site, but you only discuss the brief discription of Salazar. If the information about Salazar is incorrect, it is very small inaccuracy considering the size of the website.

You said that you studied history of Portugal. I also studied history, in this country, and have come to understand that much of what I was taught were lies, half-truths, misinformation, propaganda. These quotes about history are informative.

"History is written by those who win and those who dominate." Edward Said

"History is the memory of states". " Henry Kissinger

"History is fables agreed upon." Voltaire

"History is an account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools." Ambrose Bierce

You asked how I would like a communist Angola or Mozambique. That is a false choice. I would like neither fascism nor communism nor U.S.-dominated imperialism. I would like democracies in which the people of those countries have the opppurtunity to make their own mistakes and elect their own leaders democratically. The governments of the industrialilzed countries, led by the U.S., care nothing for the people of the Third World. Their only interest is to exploit Third World peoples' cheap labor and to gain unlimited access to their countries' resources and markets. That has always been the case and it still is.

The U.S. has no interest in democratic countries in Africa or any other Third World region. If it did, it would have supported socially-reformist governments which have been democratically elected in countries such as in Chile, Brazil and Guatemala, Iran, Egypt, Congo, etc., instead of supporting right-wing coups and propping up dictators. What the U.S. wants is a world filled with compliant Third World authoritarian regimes that "bow and scrape" to U.S. demands - client states that do the bidding of the U.S.. What they do to their own people in the process is of no concern to the U.S. government.

Salazar may have been a devout Catholic, but so were those who pursued the Inquisition. Being religious doesn't necessarily make one good or moral. Many evils have been done in the name of religion.

What the U.S. did to Japanese-Americans during WWII was an atrocity - a violation of their civil and human rights. What the U.S. "justice system" is now doing to many blacks and hispanics in this country is a violation of their civil and human rights as well. My website is most critical of U.S. policies, here and around the world. If you spent any time viewing the site you would see that.

The purpose of the site is to expose lies and propaganda that Americans have been fed for decades about the goodness of this country. It's time to "get real" and understand that we, in America, are subjected to the same kinds of propaganda that we charged that the people of the Soviet Union were subjected to. We are not immune to our government's manipulation of the facts, to our government's lying.

You may disagree with some of the material on my website, and you may have information about Salazar that disputes what I put up, however, since you are wrong about me - I am not a jackass - I must assume you may be wrong about Salazar as well.

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MC's reply

Thank you for your quick response to my email. Now that I had time to think about it, I apologize regarding the remark I had previously made. I was a little hotheaded at the time and sometimes we do things that we regret later.

Thank you for your explanation of the subject matter on your website and I do agree with your opinion on most matters now that I had some free time to thoroughly peruse it. But I firmly stand by the comments I made about Salazar. I have first hand knowledge of most of the thinks he did and did not do. My father Manuel was recruited for PIDE in the early 1970's. His main goal was to "uphold the integrity, security and ideas" of the State. He does not wish to discuss with me most matters of what happened because he feels that we should move on and stop thinking about the past.

Steven, I just want you to know that I am not defending Salazar in any way, shape, or form. As you know, the Portuguese people are one of the nicest and hospitable people in all of Europe. Portugal has come a long way since 1974 and the toppling of the fascist government. Its just very disturbing that any Portuguese, even Salazar, is depicted as worshiping Hitler or Mussolini. It makes me sick to my stomach. Also, please do not assume just because you read material about Salazar in some American history book that you know everything about him. As you have stated, propaganda and half-truths are all around us. I was born outside of Lisbon in 1969. I do remember the Carnation Revolution and I have spoken to hundreds of people regarding Salazar and his viewpoints. I compliment you, your opinion is the first that has actually made me write an email, so congratulations.

Well, Steven, you know what happens when you assume, right? You make an ass out of u and me.

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From Jeff

I wanted to e-mail you simply just to express my praise for your page. I think it is the best page I have looked at... ever, on the net. I went to see Dr. Chomsky speak today actually, for the first time. I was very touched by the personal experience of reading his body language, and other aspects of the human link to all of the topics he was talking about. I am very "green" to the Left or New Left, I guess you can say. I am not sure the proper terminology but I have always been drawn to the classic radical thinkers of the past... I am pleased to see this page recognizes many I have read and sympathized with in my life, and introduced me to some I will surely research. Thank you for spreading the information further,

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From JP

I cannot praise your web page highly enough.  You are truly one of the most courageous, thoughtful, and compassionate voices I have come across on the internet.  Please keep up the good work... I really thought I was losing my mind until I found your page.

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Steve's reply

Thank you for your comments. You have not lost your mind; the people who run our country have.

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From RL

I am an instructor of history at ... in West Virginia. I am working on incorporating the use of the internet into my Third World class. I am currently one month into the semester, but intend to develop more fully by the beginning of the fall semester. Imagine my excitement when I stumbled across your site!! I teach this course because I am passionate about the subject, both the historical background and the origins of the Third World, or the "Other World" as per the title of the text I am currently using. I also am passionate about the plight of the countries: social, economic; conflict; environment; exploitation by developed countries; government; gender issues and minority conflicts; well, the list of problems is endless. I am a hands-on teacher, and believe my students must be active in their learning process. Can you offer any suggestions for chat room, email, research through links, etc that my current and future students could use? I would love for them to be able to communicate with students in the Third World, and I understand there is an organization comitted to technology in some Latin American countries. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated, and thrilled to receive. In the spirit of learning,

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From Laine F

Why do we not see Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Michael Parenti, etc. represented in the mainstream media? why are they not hosting talk shows on ABC, CBS, NBC. why are they not writing editorials in the Washington Post, NY Times, Dallas Morning News, etc? I was talking to a friend of mine in California and he was amazed that "someone in Texas" knew who Noam Chomsky was. I'm a senior at the University of North Texas (don't pity me), and did an independent survey in several of my classes...not one single student had ever heard of the countless numbers who could do so much to disturb (shake up) the thinking of our future leaders. I'm aware of the obvious, and perhaps somewhat tuned into the more subtle implications of this veil of secrecy. But in your own words...why isn't someone moving these thinkers and their wealth of knowledge into the mainstream light? I plan to develop my independent research into the foundation for future graduate studies, and any insight you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

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This is my second message today...didn't tell you how much i appreciate your site. However, many of us see a distinct correlation between these third world issues and prevailing conditions in so-called post-industrial nations. I'm searching for a site similar to yours that addresses the disparity between the wealthy and the poor in this country; a site that addresses the ways that the poor are manipulated and used in the good old USA. And while I previously questioned the vehicles used by the left to "inform" the populous, I firmly believe that enough of us are armed with the truth that I now question why so little is being done in a substantive way to alter the course of mankind. The left movement still resembles the days of Eugene Debs and the course of action highlighted at the turn of the century...beat the subject to death with words. We're about to turn the corner on another century and all we have in hand is more intelligent sounding rhetoric, new relaxation techniques, and a prescription for Prozac. Can you point myself and my friends toward an organization(s) that does more than shuffle paper and give inspiring speeches? Anxiously awaiting your reply/replies...

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Steve's reply

Laine

You sound like I did several years ago. I asked that question and then went looking for answers. I began reading the left press - The Nation, The Progressive, In These Times, Covert Action Quarterly, New Internationalist, Toward Freedom, Mother Jones, Z magazine, Dollars and Sense, Multinational Monitor and others (and still do).

I bought books by Noam Chomsky, Michael Parenti, Edward S. Herman, Howard Zinn and other authors. I read about foreign policy, the military budget and the Pentagon, the IMF, World Bank and World Trade Organization, the media, economics, the justice system, education, health care, human rights, justice, and democracy (and still do).

I came to the conclusion that there is a ruling elite, a military-industrial-financial complex, a national security state, and a media that is controlled and that gives us propoganda instead of truth. That there are vested interests that want to keep Americans uninformed and distracted, and will marginalize anyone who tries to show that the "emperor has no clothes." That the idea that America is the good guy, supports democracy and human rights, and acts from altruistic and humane motives, is a myth.

So, what does a person do when he or she comes to the conclusion that much of what had been taken for granted is a lie. What I did was put up a web site to provide others with alternative views and alternative sources of information. I joined organizations that are fighting to make America a true democracy. I work with local activists to inform the uninformed and to try to change things.

Most Americans would get sick if they knew what their government is doing is their name and how these policies are impacting Americans here at home and others around the world. And they would be outraged if they began to understand that most of the news is propaganda, designed not to provide the truth but to distract people and to control their ideas. It is the responsibility of those who are knowledgeable to demand a free and open press, to work to reform our system, and to fight for true democracy and social and economic justice in the world.

We don't see Chomsky, Parenti, Herman and Zinn, or hear them, or read them because those in power don't want us to.

Therefore we must inform ourselves, we must inform others, and then we must demand change.

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From BJ

Get out of the country...the USA...if you are so adverse to it. Stop the diatribe from here, where you have freedom of expression. Try expressing yourself from another country...of your choosing. Say, a communist one.

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Steve's reply

I have heard all of this before. But, instead of "love it or leave it ", how about "change it."

We have a great system that is being screwed by people with too much money and corporations with too much power. The American people are asleep -- distracted by MTV, the Superbowl and Monica Lewinsky -- as their democracy is taken from them.

Our freedom of expression is even now being snatched from us. We will wake up one day to find that we can no longer disagree with Disney or General Electric or Microsoft. Already, the mainstream media is controlled by about ten transnational corporations whose only purpose is to make more money. They don't care if people have access to health care, a place to live, enough to eat, a job, or the truth.

Democracy in America is not a "slam-dunk". If we don't keep an eye on it and actively fight to keep it healthy, we will lose it. If we become another country without freedom, like Russia under communism, it will be because we didn't give a damn.

It's up to us.

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From J

I'm a history major--cum laude and dep't honors--and I've just found out the plethora of little-known facts in your site. As I type I have 5 browser windows on your site. I will be printing a lot and accessing your site frequently.

I think this site is great and I wish many people access it so they'll learn of the lies, manipulation, and crimes perpetrated by the CIA and by higher echelons of the US government.

I'm currently reading William Blum's "Killing Hope" and I am enjoying it immensely, and I know already I'll greatly enjoy your site.

And, to finish, a remark on email you received. I get particularly annoyed when people make comments like, "love it or leave it!" or "shut up commie" to those who publicize the truth like yourself. I am not a US citizen but spent many years in America and that's where I got my college education. I live and was born in Brazil and know full well of what it's like to live in a Third World society although I've been middle-class here and in America. And I guarantee you that many Brazilians, both educated and simple, often do not like America much as they perceive Uncle Sam to be arrogant and imperialistic.

A powerful and much-needed site. Keep up the good work!!!!

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From A

I am very impressed by the vast knowledge that you have gathered here on your web site. As a human I know that America the beautiful is not what it seems from it's image. I am in search on info that is linked to the MK-Ultra project, a.k.a "brainwashing technique" I have no doubt that the project is still in operation... I believe the people have the right to know about the truth about or leaders and their nation, even if it's an unbearable nightmare. If you have some info, please help me out here. I'm just a person in search of the truth...

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From TP

We on the left must speak out and let people know that they are being misled by the corporate media and by a national security state that has a very specific agenda which doesn't include true democracy.

We do feel isolated, but the Internet may be part of the solution to allow people who have no way of being heard to reach other people. Individuals can do very little, but organized people can have an impact.

Its time to join organizations and act with others for change.

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From W

Since you quote socialist after socialist, and even have a page dedicated to the great American-hater, pseudo-historian, Howard Zinn--I have a question. Why don't you go to one of these third world countries and *STAY* if the USA is such a rotten, racist society? Maybe the paradise of the African continent? There ARE regularly scheduled flights out of SFO, LAX, and Kennedy to Kenya, Ethiopia - take your pick! I'm sure you'll find them very democratic, a lot of "economic and social justice", and --hey-- I'm sure you can't beat their judicial system! You'll be enjoying the African pride that American blacks are so proud of preserving, while cursing the mean, terrible, oppressive - USA

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Steve's reply

I am a white, male, upper-middle-class professional. I am not a communist or a socialist.

I agree with most of the people I have quoted. I happen to think Howard Zinn is one of America's true heroes for telling the truth about American history, not just restating the myths that we have all learned from childhood.

I have traveled extensively in the Third World and I recognize the many great things about America. The problem is that most Americans (including me) are spoiled. We are just plain lucky that we were born here and not on the streets of Calcutta or Rio or Hanoi.

Most of the poor around the world didn't choose to be poor. They were just born in the wrong place, at the wrong time, to the wrong parents.

In my opinion, the most patriotic Americans are those who recognize how fortunate they are and want to make sure that others who are not as lucky get a fair shake in this world. But, too often, America has made it tough for many in the world to better their lives, enjoy freedom and democracy, and live lives of dignity. Too often America has just "looked out for # 1", and has hurt many people in the world in the process of protecting America's prosperity.

That's my belief based on my reading and my experience. There should be room in America for both my opinion and yours.

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From BK

Great web site. I have been a fan of the writing of Chomsky and Zinn for a few years now. You should set up some sort of chat line so everyone who has an independant thought doesn't feel like an ODDBALL like Chomsky says. People like you and me need to inform, not stay on the side. The only way to make a change is to get this great info to as many people as possible because without the knowledge they will all remain sheep of the corporate flock. Keep up the good work Steve.

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From Eric O

I am a graduate student studying to be a high school social studies teacher. I also live my life based on certain moral principles. The combination of these two aspects of my life often leave me with a tremendous amount of frustration. This frustration comes from the fact that even at the graduate level, History professors are all too often afraid to point out the hypocrisy, ruthlessness, and disgrace of our representative governments throughout the years. In seminar courses, as we discuss different books, my fellow students often spit out as much trivial drivel as they can stir up, never questioning the moral implications of these facts; or even whether they are facts at all. When I offer my view, which comes to me through a moral lens, I am answered with blank stares. My professor even told me that "although {he} agreed, it was not relevant to the course." In other words, I often feel helpless due to the fact that, I.......we, are greatly outnumbered in that very few want to think about what we ALL know is wrong.

So I wanted to thank you. Your website is a tremendous resource which leads me down many paths I have not yet looked into, and also because you ease some of my frustration in that I know that you and many others are out there. Any information about how I can use all this frustrated energy would be greatly appreciated.

With deepest thanks,

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Steve's reply

Eric

Thank you for your comments. Those of us with thoughts and ideas that do not coincide with those of the mainstream do feel isolated and alone. But we are not alone; we just have no way to communicate with others of like mind. The Noam Chomsky quote below says a lot about our situation and the situation of many others in our society.

"As long as people are marginalized and distracted [they] have no way to organize or articulate their sentiments, or even know that others have these sentiments. People assume that they are the only people with a crazy idea in their heads. They never hear it from anywhere else. Nobody's supposed to think that. ... Since there's no way to get together with other people who share or reinforce that view and help you articulate it, you feel like an oddity, an oddball. So you just stay on the side and you don't pay any attention to what's going on. You look at something else, like the Superbowl."

We are propagandized and distracted. We are told not to think seriously about the issues, unless our point of view supports the establishment's view.

In this regard, there are two kinds of Americans -- those who are uninformed and ignorant of the truth, and those who are informed but feel isolated and alone. We are in the latter catagory and there many out there like us. The solution for the uninformed is to become informed, by reading progressive books (Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Edward S. Herman, Michael Parenti, and other progressive writers), subscribing to progressive magazines (Z, The Nation, The Progressive, In These Times, Mother Jones, Toward Freedom, CovertAction Quarterly, and others) , and listening to listener-sponsored radio (Pacifica radio), and talking to the informed.

The solution for the informed, is to find other like-minded individuals, talk with them, and work with them in progressive organizations.

Those in power may have control of the system, but their policies are immoral and they are wrong. We are on the moral high-ground. We know more of the truth about this country and its policies than the uninformed do, and we have to find some way to get the information to them. The internet is my attempt to do that.

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From JZ

Steve, What is the point with your page? Where would you like to see us go as a society and under whose direction would you like to see us get there? Of course our gov't has lied to us repeatedly, but utopia just doesn't exist.

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Steve's reply

The point of this website is to inform people. The mainstream media is controlled. There is censorship. The terms of discussion are dictated by the corporate media which are the handmaidens of the ruling elite and the military-industrial-financial complex. Business calls the tune, not the voters.

This country is moving inexorably toward a Third World model - a powerful ruling elite, 10-20 % of the population doing well, the rest of the population in this country and in the rest of the world just expendible bodies for hire on business' terms.

First, people must have knowledge. Then, they must act together to reform the system so that it serves the majority, not a minority.

The problems are obvious to anyone who stops to think - better education, universal health care, living wages, fewer pesticides in our food and toxins in our water, reduced energy use, less waste, less interference in the lives of the people of the Third World, an informed citizenry, a real democracy, a just society that values truth and principles.

These reforms will only occur when informed individuals join together and act. Individuals alone can do little, but acting with other concerned people, we can have an impact.

If Americans do not become informed and join with others to make this a truely domocratic and just society, we will see the American experiment with democracy fail, and most of us will just be cogs in the wheels of the transnational corporations' global machines.

We can't just agonize; we must organize.

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From Sue B

Wow! I wish I had found your site much earlier. Thank you for having the courage to tell the world about these atrocities.

We have been living in Romania for the past 6 years (as missionaries working wilth the blind and physically handicapped ... and street kids). This country is being robbed, raped, destroyed ... and why? Do you know what is behind all this ... except to steal a country for big business? The rich are getting richer, and the poor, much poorer. Many are disgusted wilth "capitalism" and want to go back to the days before the Revolution. They say they had money, but little to buy in the stores ... and now ... plenty to buy, but no money.

So, the orphanages are full ... street kids are plentiful ... the elderly are seen on the street stopping cars... begging for money. A family only makes around $100 ... and their utility bills take up half of that ... if they have very many kids. And prices are as high as in the States. How much more can these Romanian people take?

What is going on? Crime is increasing, naturally, when there are no jobs ... no money except for those who are on top ... ironically, the same who were on top under Ceaucescu / Communism. (the security police, the Communists, military, politicians) Banks are springing up everywhere ... and yet, many Romanians, especially the elderly, are living on bread and tea ... and little else. They say, it's either eat or stay warm ... they can't afford both.

Who is responsible for this ... do you have any information on Romania? We took clothing and money to an orphanage in Soviet Moldova. The situation there is even more desperate than here. The blind people and handicapped haven't received their pensions in months. They have no heat and little water.

There is just too much unnecessary suffering in the world. God help us.

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From Lars

You include an interesting and disturbing quote from George Kennan on your web page. I'm not sure what the context of this quote was, but it contradicts what I have learned about Kennan. James O. Freedman of Dartmouth wrote:

"Yet Kennan was repelled by the virulence of the anti-communist rhetoric of the Cold War decades and by the headlong acceleration of the nuclear arms race. As he often stated, he preferred to emphasize the importance of following a rational, disciplined foreign policy based upon a recognition of the balance of power and a respect for the zones of vital interest of the contending superpowers."

My point is this: I'm sure you have some good things to say, but your message tends to get lost in noise and fragmented sound bites. What is the message?

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Steve's reply

Lars

Quotes are always out of context, but they give insights into the attitudes of their authors.

It may be that George Kennan was a decent man, and this quote may not accurately represent his overall foreign policy philosophy, but his statement does give pause to those, like myself, who were raised to believe that American policies toward the Third World were essentially humanitarian and altriustic.

Whether or not Kennan personally felt that the disadvantaged of the world should have rights and should not be exploited, as a high-level representive of the US government, he came to believe that social and economic justice and human rights for Third World peoples were a luxury that the US could not afford to support.

The history of US foreign policy reveals many Kennans and other individuals much more malign, who were willing to sacrifice the lives of the least powerful in the world for US profit and power. It is a history for which all who have knowledge but stay silent share guilt.

There is much more information out there than quotes. Check out some good progressive publications, and the rest of my website.

Those who don't want to support a US foreign policy of exploitation should become informed and then inform others. That is what I am trying to do.

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From Stan D

I just wanted to send you a small note in appreciation for your website. I am impressed with your links and quotes used throughout. I tend to be on the right on most issues involved with politics these days, but have not lost my mind enough to not have compassion for those less fortunate than myself. One quote I saw made me think. It was about conservatism being about the moral justification for greed. I would have to agree with your source on that one. I have many friends and associates that find ways to justify their desires for more. While at the expense of so many. I, myself, have no desire to become wealthy, but just to have enough to survive going into old-age.

In short, I feel this is one of the most informative and thought provoking websites I have ever encountered. I find that it allows for the use of critical thinking, and that it opens the mind up to new dimensions of information the public has little or no access to.

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From Bill A

I agree. U.S. leaders should worry about our country and not a bunch of third world scum. Fuck'em all. We should cut off all financial aid to these ungrateful bastards and let them make it on their own. Let continue their unending wars with each other to hell and let them starve so we reduce world population. Screw all of them.

But something tells me that if we have absolutely no involvement with any foreign powers I would predict they'd still blame us for anything and everything.

I don't need (or want, actually) a reply, I just wanted to let you know what I thought about all your anti-American propaganda. I bet they love you in Hanoi.

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From Adam B

Just wanted to express my appreciation for your Third World Traveler web-site. It's one of the best sites of it's kind that I've seen. I especially appreciate the Howard Zinn page. Thank you!

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From Leonard P

Came across your great web page and enjoyed reading all the material very much. Am sending along a quote that you might want to include. It ranks among the most outrageous to be sure.

" If all history is equal, as some now believe, there is no reason why we should study one section of it rather than another, for certainly we cannot study it all. Then indeed we may neglect our own history and amuse ourselves with the unrewarding gyrations of barbarous tribes in picturesque but irrelevant corners of the globe: tribes whose chief function in history ... is to show to the present an image of the past from which, by history it has escaped ..." Hugh Trevor Roper in the Rise of Christian Europe, Thames and Hudson, 1965

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From HG

I'm clearly amazed! This is the first time anywhere that I have seen anything truthful written and posted about what really happened in Grenada.

Incidentally, the U.S. bombed on the morning of my sister's eighth birthday. I was eleven. It has been so frustrating telling people the glimmering truth of what actually was occurring at the time. And, boy oh boy that great Reagan lie.

You tell the truth and the disbelieving public hold firm to their ignorance. As if our government, who treats its own people poorly, wouldn't treat a neighbouring nation any worse.

I remember right after we came back to the U.S. when my sisters and I were arguing with these "hicks" on the radio as to what "really" happened over there. Debating OUR very real experiences of my Mother having to respond to my little sister's query (who no doubt now has a complex about her birthdays), "Am I going to die on my birthday?" And, us sitting in a room with numerous people listening to our short-wave radio, while U.S. bombs are dropping all around, and hearing Reagan's lies coming in loud and clear.

So you try not to, but can't help sounding like someone who believes in conspiracy theories and extra-terrestrial aliens, especially all those vacationing aliens who simply can't wait to see all those U.S. landmarks!

Thanks a lot.

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From Kevin M

I am a high school world civilizations teacher and I found your site on friendly dictators to be quite interesting. However, I do believe that your short essay on Ian Smith of Rhodesia is slanted and does nothing more than restates what was the prevailing, pro-communist view of him and Rhodesia during the late 60's, thru the early 80's. A complete study of Ian Smith and Rhodesian situation shows a much different country than the one described in your short entry.
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Steve's Reply

Kevin

I did not research or write most of the information on the Friendly Dictators page, including that on Ian Smith. The point of the Friendly Dictators series is to show a consistant pattern of US support for any government that is friendly to US business and financial interests, no matter what the level of injustice and human rights abuse.

In order to ensure that transnational corporations continue to have access to the markets, raw materials and cheap labor of developing countries, the US has been willing to support unsavory leaders the world over. Ian Smith was one of them. His kinder and gentler form of apartheid may not have been as oppressive as that in South Africa, but his government sanctioned racial exploitation, exclusion, discrimination and injustice establishes him as a repressive, anti-democratic leader whom we should know about.

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From Kev

Thank you for this great page! Your site is one stop shopping for free speech and justice issues. The quotes are passionate and heartening. I am sending your url to all.

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From Jim

I notice that nowhere on your rather extensive 'Third World Traveller' page of quotes is there to be found a single one by Karl Marx. I find this a rather telling omission, considering the debt the world working class owes to Marx and to those who have followed in his footsteps, fighting for humanity's freedom. Of course, it is simplicity itself for a 'westerner' to write off Marx and marxism, especially if one comes from a narrow 'liberal' background, or if one casts off one's workingclass background in pursuit of the favors of the rich.

Of course you understand that we are 'encouraged' to know absolutely nothing about the organized workers' struggle for socialism, and also to accept at face value the rich's lies and half-truths about that struggle. Many have suffered and died on both sides, and we all know about the crimes committed on the 'communist' side -- the mass-media of the rich make sure of that -- but any balanced view demands that we acknowledge the crimes of the capitalists, as your site appears to well-document.

And so I ask you again: why is there a conspicuous absence of even one quote from the most influential fighter for human rights in the past 200 years?

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Steve's reply

The quotes I put up are from books and magazine articles I have read. I concentrate on comments about the hypocrisy and immorality of U.S. policies, especially toward the Third World.

Although I have read a little Marx - the Communist Manifesto and excerpts from Capital - I am not a student of his work. In my opinion he was a genius, he was prescient, and he was right about capitalism.

I am not an ideologue. Whether Marx was 100% right or not, there are others who have important things to say. I am not adverse to his ideas nor am I against using his quotes. If you have some you think would be of interest, please let me know.

Capitalism has achieved good things, but it is an inhumane and immoral system for most of the people in the world. However, I don't want to overthrow it, I want to change it. If we on the left cannot agree to disagree while we work together to change the economic system, the right will win and capitalism as it is now constituted will continue to dominate.

Our job should be to not just to criticize, but to inform and to try to provide answers in order to achieve a more people-centered and humane world economic system.


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