A very interesting thought. His prediction coming true wouldn't surprise me too much. There could still be a few more ripples first. Christians have been moaning about armageddon for 2000 years. Despite some terrible wars, it never came. There have been much worse generations than ours. The 14th century saw europe's population cut in half by means of everything that mt24 speaks about. There have been many worse generations than our own, especially for the poor people. As a poor person, i enjoy many freedoms.
There is some evidence that civilisation has peeked and crashed before, even perhaps millions of years ago. A human skeleton was found in an undisturbed coal bed. See forbidden archeology. Ancient hindu writings contain accounts of aerial battles and atomic warfare. Large areas of desert fused to glass. Radioactive sleletons found during excavation of ruins of mohenjo daro in northern india.
My theory is that the stresses in the world today are mainly the result the natures of the various cultures. Maybe different types of cultures are needed, to achieve an overall balance. It isn't impossible for these nations to learn to accomodate each other. Not too long ago, voltaire bragged that in england people of different religions were able to be employed side by side and carry on trade with each other. This was a new developement for europe. Today we take it for granted that people of different religions or races are able to work in the same areas. Why would it be impossible for nations to eventually accept the differences of other nations?
My point is simply that what happens in North America and Western Europe does not constitute the "order of the day" for the entire world, either in terms of a social security net or the benefits advances in medicine.
As for an "organized coherent opposition to the dominance of Western culture," it's already emerging within our own status quo. What happened in Seattle in 1999 and related opposition to the policies of the WTO, the IMF and the like is not going to vanish overnight. There will continue to be people in Western society who see the injustice of us sipping Starbucks and wearing Nikes at the expense of the Third World--and, less altruistically, others who see that if we want to maintain at least our core creature comforts in the future, we would do better not to keep on rubbing those comforts in the face of the rest of the world and thereby spawning religiously or politically motivated destructive radical movements.
Personally, I don't expect multinational corporations to wake up to that reality very quickly. (Why change anything when profits are being made, after all?) Which increases the likelihood of a new French or Russian Revolution taking place somewhere.
Yes, comment, 9/11 was very much a 'let them eat cake' and 'storming of the Bastille' sequence.
SaintSatan, "There is some evidence that civilisation has peeked and crashed before, even perhaps millions of years ago. A human skeleton was found in an undisturbed coal bed. See forbidden archeology. Ancient hindu writings contain accounts of aerial battles and atomic warfare. Large areas of desert fused to glass. Radioactive sleletons found during excavation of ruins of mohenjo daro in northern india." - Dude, sounds cool. Any hints or extra info on these rumors? The Tunguska meteorite released radiation that affected many lifeforms, including humans.
My comments were not about 9/11. I presume you were being sarcastic.
In that instance, you're dealing with religious fanatics, not revolutionaries in search of social change.
To take that one step further, though, it's to everyone's benefit to avoid fostering social conditions in which religious fanaticism can thrive, anywhere in the world. Such as intense poverty.
thanks for those refs. very ineresting. many points i hadn't read elsewhere. one possibility they did not mention was of nicola tesla experimenting with his toys. he did some quite deadly experiments, and one source, i don't have it handy, suggested that he may have been responsible for tunguska. i'm just adding this to the list of other good possibilities.
Alas, for the portion of humanity left behind technologically things get very bleak, indeed. Notice that Africa doesn't even get a mention in many serious or fictional extrapolations into the future. I admit this is the downside to the peaceful, technically advanced world order. Entire nations will kill themselves off with disease and internal war. The Afghans have largely depopulated their own country with war. I'm starting to wonder if places like Thailand may do the same with AIDS.
I contribute to CARE and Amnesty Int'l but not with a lot of hope for these people.
Sorry comment, I thought you were referencing 9/11. The US definately has had an Antionette attitude towards the Middle East, and there is a definate revenge against class in the WTC attack. I agree that your refutation on fanaticism is stronger.
SaintSatan, good links. That stuff Does ring some bells. I'll be borrowing "Fingerprints of the Gods" by Graham Hancock from a friend. Looks to be a riot of provocative unorthodoxy. hehe
