Thanks Killarney, the tenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centre last year was a sombre occasion. In front of tearful crowds gathered at the site of the towers, President Obama read from the Bible and George W. Bush read a letter written by Abraham Lincoln as president to a widow who had lost five sons in the Civil War. The letter said that those deaths were “a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”

The crowd heard the US had overcome slavery, Civil War, bread lines, fascism, recession, riots, communism and terrorism and was reminded, while the US is not perfect, its democracy is durable. Such lofty ideals were echoed by secretary of state Hilary Clinton in New York.

She stated the US and other nations of the world face a long-term struggle against the ‘murderous ideology’ of terrorism that continues to incite violence around the world.

US mainstream media wallowed in conveying such sentiments on a day awash with sound bites of a nation united in sorrow and determined to defeat the forces of barbarism. But, who is to save the world from the barbarism of the US?

US support for undemocratic, repressive regimes is there for all to see, whether Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the former Mubarak regime in Egypt or elsewhere. It has toppled democratically elected governments in Latin America and has torched, scorched and poisoned civilians throughout Southeast Asia.

It sells arms to repressive regimes and reports from numerous agencies document its creation of civilian bloodbaths across the world, from Nicaragua and Iraq to Pakistan and Afghanistan. US acts of aggression over many decades place it at the top table in terms of global terror states.

When all of the havoc brought about by the US abroad is taken into account, it puts passages read from the Bible and talk of ‘sacrifices at the altar of freedom’ into perspective, doesn’t it? Maybe not for most in the US, but it does for many of us outside who are tuned in to the wider picture.

Geoff of Perth, your sentiments about the U.S. mirror mine perfectly.

The fact that most people believe the crap that the U.S. dishes up is a tragedy. The fact that both sides of our Federal Government are taken in by its duplicitous indoctrination and lies is lamentable.

What does the U.S. have to do before people wake up? Isn't torture, rendition, killing millions, putting people in cages, crushing American dissenters, drones, depleted uranium, white phosphorous munitions, napalm, building military bases all over the world, cluster bombs, etc, enough?

The other day all sources were absolutely certain the Assad forces had committed the recent massacres. Now things do not seem so clear cut.

“Fresh eyewitness reports from the ground suggest that the horrendous Houla massacre in Syria was committed by rebel forces, not by loyalists to President Bashar Al-Assad…During the skirmish, the massacre itself began, in which armed Sunni rebels turned on Alawi and Shia families and slaughtered them.”
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=140217

What other certainties will be exposed as spin?

The lesson for Julie Bishop and the other honcho’s in the Liberal party is: don’t involve us in Syria -- keep the hell out!

what syria is really about

Obama's problem is, Netanyahu will probably not let him wait until after November's elections to attack Iran.

Netanyahu is most likely to start such an attack when he believes that it will be best militarily for Israel.

But there are some questions both leaders need to ask themselves, and their military and civilian leadership members and they are as follows:

What happens if such an attack is not a blitzkrieg, executed with deadly precision?!?

What if the war becomes protracted, and lasts over a long period of time?

How will Hezbullah respond?!?

What about the dangers of massive casualties in Israel?

And I would mention that American intervention in such a war may not guarantee a positive outcome, because the US government doesn't have the troop strength, the money, or the manufacturing to insure a positive outcome of such a war.

Additionally, there is absolutely no appetite for such a war on the part of the American people. They remember, painfully clearly (particularly if they have family or friends who were maimed for life or killed in Iraq) that the war against Iraq was predicated on an absolute pack of lies. Iraq was Israel's "existential threat du jure" at the time, and the horrific mess in which the US military left it was precisely the outcome Israel wanted to have happen.

And lastly, leaders of nuclear-armed Russia, China, and Pakistan have spoken out very publicly, stating that should Iran be attacked, they will come to its aid militarily.

So what we have here is the potential for a global nuclear confrontation over an alleged Iranian weapons program which cannot, to date, be proven to exist!!

So to Netanyahu and Obama, and all of the others in the bowels of power in Tel Aviv and DC: please be very careful what you wish for regarding Iran.

The unintended consequences of such a military strike
may well be horrific, and irreversible.
http://whatreallyhappened.com/

I just hope the Gillard government has the sense to steer clear of any involvement in the Syrian quagmire.

Webester Tarpley was in Syria late last year.He said that there were US backed forces there,pretending to be rebels,killing ordinary people at random.http://tarpley.net/

Iraq had nothing to do with 911 and had no weapons of mass destruction.Saddham was a US created tyrant who got out of control.He started trading oil in EUROs instead of designated US $.Aside from the theft of oil,this is the main reason why Saddham was murdered.Oil still supports the dollar.The USA backed Pol Pot who was responsible for the murder or 3 million Cambodians.Communism was never a threat to us.

The USA has invaded or attacked over 20 countries since 1942.Which country has the track record for aggression by far?

Russia has sent more troops and weapons into Syria.When Libya was invaded 30,000 Chinese oil workers were forced to leave.The war in Afghanistan is all about the containment of China.Both Paul Keating and Malcolm Fraser recently have made this observation.

If the Coalition want a nuclear conflagragation Julie,then keep backing the Western war mongerers.OLO is not a place to preach to the dumbed down masses who consume the corporate media lies.

Another excellent site Julie is http://www.globalresearch.ca/ Your survival and the rest of the planet depends upon the seeking of truth.