I've decided to do a series of blogs (similar to Harper Watch) on the USA, since it is our neighbour, the most powerful country in the world, and the country to which Stephen Harper has purposely and consistently ceded Canadian sovereignty under the guise of bureaucratic efficacy (joint "security”, "prosperity” etc.  ),  thereby avoiding any public disclosure or discussion.
The June 26, 2011 edition of the New York Times featured an interesting selection of articles which are not only current news, but touch on matters I have been writing about for years:

• "U.S.  Falls behind in the Green Economy”.  "Many European countries – along with China, Japan and South Korea – have pushed development of carbon reducing technologies with a robust policy mix of direct investment, tax breaks, loans, and regulations. But with the U.S. Congress divided over whether climate change is real, American efforts have paled in comparison”. Hal Harvey of Stanford University estimates the new green business is worth $5 trillion and the USA is losing out. He says, "We have let energy policy succumb to partisan politics”. [In Canada, Harper has aped the U.S. stance on climate change].
• "Human Beings. Version 2.0”. "Faster, better, smarter. No, not human beings, but perhaps everything else.  In a world of the always improving and never-ending upgrade, it's possible that human beings are getting left behind. As workers get more expensive and equipment gets cheaper, the combination is encouraging companies to spend on machines rather than people…..But training human beings in basic skills may be waning.  With computer keyboards and smart phones increasingly occupying young fingers, the art of cursive writing is going the way of the quill and inkwell.”  Instead of raising their hands to answer questions in class, many students give feedback via Twitter etc. [This article is rather mild. Human beings are definitely being left behind because artificial intelligence is evolving thousands of times faster than human intelligence and the tipping point is only 10-15 years away. They are being replaced by machines because our current Free Market economic system strives for greater ‘productivity', which is the amount of work per person.  Obviously one person can get a lot more work done by supervising robotic machines rather than working side by side with other humans.  I wrote at length about this in my 2003 book, "Ageless Wisdom Spirituality: Investing in Human Evolution”]
• "Poisoning by lead a growing scourge in China”. A 2006 survey found that 33% of Chinese children showed elevated levels of lead in their blood! Another example of how Free Market "prosperity” is in fact won on the backs of the average person. You may have more $ in your pocket, but if you are the victim of environmental  or other non-monetary damage (likely if regulations are lax), you're on your own! The present Free Market ideology was pioneered by Reagan and Thatcher in the 80s using Milton Friedman's ideas.
• "Drones, some as tiny as bugs, are poised to alter war". Americans have been working on robotic flying machines (mostly for spying and killing), like the Predator which is 8 meters long with a wingspan of nearly 17 meters…basically a small unmanned aircraft.  They have already developed a prototype of the Hummingbird, 10 cm long with a 16 cm wingspan, weighing 18 grams. They are thinking of drones that can act like insect swarms and can have them ready before 2030.  This is scary sci fi stuff which is no longer sci fi. Think about the possibilities if the government (or perhaps a corporation) turns this technology against you! The fly on your wall may be a robotic drone!  While on the subject, the US catches "terrorists” by scanning emails..which includes your emails!  Suppose a President or a certain Canadian Prime Minister decides that "unpatriotic” thoughts and speech are "treason”!