You guys are all fantasizing.

WikiLeaks US Government document dump revealed nothing that you wouldn't know if you read the newspapers. In fact the only surprise was that there were no surprises.

If anything the document dump tended to show that all the conspiracy theorists were barking up the wrong tree. Since conspiracy theorists are mostly barking mad anyway that's no surprise.

Stratfor is a minor player in the private intelligence field. Most of its "intelligence" is a rehash of yesterday's CNN with a bit of editorial added.

It's all a storm in a teapot.

Nothing has changed. Nothings shows any sign of changing.

Get real folks.

'Clearly, the only thing that changes is the power of the 'weapons'.'

What is really worrying is the Machievellian ways in which human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch and supposedly grassroots activist groups like Avaaz have been seamlessly used as weapons to overthrow regimes in Libya, and now Syria and Iran, and to intervene in countries like the Sudan and Uganda. What has been successful on the world stage can equally be co-opted to manipulate grassroots activism to do the bidding of the powerful in Western democracies. It's getting harder and harder to know who are the good guys.

'Like Houellebecq, I was amused at the final paragraph. There's no evidence to suggest that females govern differently from men.'

Agree. This was a very weird segue from Arundhati Roy's brilliant speech on neo-liberal devastation in India. Let's face it. Women who share Roy's worldview would never climb to the top in the current system.

Stevenlmeyer,if it all is a storm in a teacup,why is Bradly Manning still in gaol with no legal council for leaking documents to Assange?You have a very blinkered view of a reality that is taking us all to WW3.

There is a movement to impeach Obama and he should be.He has trashed the US Constitution on many counts and now says he does not need permission from Congress to attack another country.Obama it seems now takes his orders from the UN and NATO.Congress is up in arms but does not have the guts to do anything.Most of them sold out to Wall St and the Bankers who feed them long ago.

Also note the US Enterprise,the oldest Aircraft Carrier of 50 yrs is headed for the Middle East.Some speculate that this aged ship will be sacrificed as another false flag attack in a ploy to attack Syria or Iran.Some 3000+ sailors are on board.Would they do it yet again?

farfromtheland
Some of this 'social revolution' is happening at the grass roots level (slowly) as well as changes in mindsets around consumption and simple living. There is a social revolution starting I feel, and it is those aspects of capitalism which foster the growth/consumption model run amok that are being questioned particularly after the GFC which was characterised by ineffective accountability regimes as well as greed. As individuals we can all make personal choices about how we live regardless of the status quo.

Maybe it will take aggressive competition of resources to force that new way of living which will then be largely out of our hands. Do humans have to always learn the hard way, sometimes we do. But there are great things happening as well such as seed banks saving vital heirloom seed and keeping diversity alive. I digress a bit.

steven, there is some cause to be positive. While Wikileaks, Occupy and whistleblower revelations have provided information - apathy, as farfromtheland rightly posits - means much of this is forgotten in the next 24 hour news cycle. However social evolution is slow and these movements play a role.

The revelations from WL and others are not in themselves surprising, afterall, history has revealed much more. A questioning of a high consumption lifestyle and power relationships between government and the corporate sector over the wellbeing of the majority particularly in developing countries.

I wonder if governments would be better run from a local level - maybe committees (I can hear sighs already at the word) of locals who then send 'delegates' to represent the thoughts and desires of the region, coupled with appropriate use of national/local referenda on some issues.

farfromtheland is right in saying the mechanisms might be difficult factoring in logistical problems but they are not insurmountable and the premise has to be better than the current disparity between constituent and governing body.

Most important in what you wrote is an effective and rigid accountability regime. This in itself is a disincentive or counter to corruption and helps to facilitate more honest relationships.