The Canadian military Chief of Staff was crticized by the government for his flying habits. Soon after, some one leaks a story about the flying habits of the minister of defence.

What a coincidence!

Just a little earlier, the top brass refused to carry out a government order to  reallocate staff. Now, In a democracy, we run the country - and the government we elect gives orders to the top brass of the military. It looks to me as though we're seeing a power struggle and a defiance which is a very unhealthy sign in a democracy.

Actually, it goes back to Rick Hillier, who openly criticized government military policy while he was still in the service. In any democracy, he would have been fired on the spot. A serving officer can, of course, exercise freedom of speech. But not while he is still in uniform.

And the question is ---who is (or are) encouraging this defiance? Is it the defence industry?  Is it the result of other forces outside Canada?

Today, we learned that Obama ordered the execution of an American citizen. And it was done. (I know he was a bad man. At least, Obama says he was.) But in a democracy, we have laws and procedures. A state in which a man can be executed without trial is not a very healthy one. Obama has the power to order that entirely on his own. Has he used it for other Americans that we haven't been told about? Almost certainly. An American president can now also jail a person without any charge or trial. And it has happened many times.  Obama has done even more damage to American freedom than Bush did. He's also more warlike. And we know the orders aren't really coming from him.

Canadians are killing civilians by the thousands in Libya. You cannot bomb a city without killing civilians. Intense bombing of a small city has been going on for a couple of weeks. We are told this is a humanitarian effort.

The US, close to war with Pakistan over its use of drones, has refused to stop bombing Pakistan.

Tony Blair, who lied to the House of Commons about reasons for the Iraq war, has now been discovered to be taking money, in very large sums, for supporting the Israeli position while he is supposed to be arranging the peace process. (He is the first British PM to become a multi-multi millionaire while in public service.)

As an aside, Mr. tough-on-crime Harper seems to have decided that Mulroney did nothing wrong in accepting bribes.

The arab spring seems to be coming to US cities as protestors dig in for a long, long protest.

Our laws, our freedoms, our killings, our democracy are changing very, very rapidly. We are on the edge of either total destruction or, at the minimum, self-destruction.

On the local economic front, we can expect a rapid privatization of just about everything - and soon. From that, and from lesser but infuriating things like a cabinet minister demanding office cards embossed in gold, we can expect civil disorder, and some very harsh measures against it.  Big business is going full tilt to show it is willing to use us in exactly the same way it exploits Haiti and Guatemala.

American corporations, the ones who really run the US, made their decision for world dominance and world exploitation by any means, no matter how brutal, a good fifteen years ago.l. The horse is now running out of control, and we are hitched to it.

As to when - we may be talking of months rather than years.

Too bad the church doesn't see any spiritual dimension to this.