Grey; go back and read my short post at the beginning.What I said is in plain english in black and white.I know what I said and I stand by the meaning of what I said. If you obtained your information from unbiased sources,You too would be enlightened. But no, people like you fear the truth, you feel insecure,if what you read in the alternate press questions your notion that only the right wing is on the correct path. You are the one who has been brainwashed.
Irrefutable proof is out there in alternative reports. Open your eyes, dont descend to attempts at ridicule with derogatory remarks.
As for freeing the people of Iraq !!You certainly have drawn the long bow there...
After 12 years of sanctions, Bush invades a weakened Iraqi Army despite world wide opposition;He declares 'Mission Accomplished' with a flying suited caricature on an Aircraft Carrier after a few weeks of Shock and Awe which destroyed infrastructure and killed uncounted thousands of civilians possibly in excess of 100.000
He is then faced with opposition from Iraqi patriots whose numbers swell each time his armed troops kill more innocents.He has run his country from a surplus into a $US 200 Billion deficit whilst his regime throws more money at the quagmire he has created. His lapdog Tony Blair and deputy sheriff,John Howard are complicit and bring our country into disrepute.I truly fear for the future when people like you refuse to face the truth and hide behind your bias

maracas, I used to fear for the future as well, when people like yourself had the moral high-ground in this country. To actually come out and say that you refuse to condemn Cubas treatment of dissidents because of US actions is not only hypocritical, but shameful. But then people like you have no shame.

What a joke! The left have NEVER condemned any human rights abuses by any socialist state. Stalin, Mao, Ho-Chi-Min, Castro, all responsible for untold millions of deaths and not a word from you. Yet watch the left go into apoplexia when the name Pinochet is mentioned. He was responsible for maybe 3000 people missing. This is bad enough and he deserves condemnation, but for inhuman brutality and the perpetration of human misery, he's only a light-weight.

Reading this ridiculous article anyone would think that Castro was a little ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy and dangerous world. He's a vicious murderer who has always put the welfare of his people last on his list, well behind his hunger for absolute power, down to legislating how much food people can eat. Any relaxation in Cuban laws regarding free enterprise etc. has come about only from US sanctions, not any melting of the Castro heart. The only consolation is that the monster is on the way out, approaching 80 years old he's very frail (both mentally & physically)and hopefully doesn't have long to live.

Another consolation we all have is that hypocrites, appeasers and apologists like maracas and Tim Anderson are well along the road to obvlivion as well. Just like their beloved socialism, before too much longer, they'll be as dead as the Do-Do. But while you're still on your death-bed maracas, employ the space in the tiny cupboard of your mind to think about the hypocrisy of your words. It might make the parting a little easier.

By the way - "......people like you refuse to face the truth and hide behind your bias " Maybe you can take some of your own medicine.

You Right Wing apologists can't handle truth and you still can't get your facts right.
I'm still waiting for one of you cretins to say a word against the crimes perpetrated by American Imperialism, anywhere !!
In case you missed it, Ho Chi Minh is revered by Vietnamese patriots and through the support of the Vietnamese people, The American invaders were defeated. History has noted the criminal excesses of the American invaders who have yet to pay war reparations. So it will be in Iraq...The people of Iraq deserve to plan their own form of Government not have an American model imposed on them .
I support a democratic Australia; an alternative to economic rationalism; corporate globalisation and war, a sustainable society of Justice and peace.If you want to call that "Socialist" thats fine with me but don't knock it... Its better than what you support.

Bozzie says "What a joke! The left have NEVER condemned any human rights abuses by any socialist state."

Not this leftie! I've already made some comments about Cuba. Another point I'll make is that all states, whether democratic or authoritarian, should be critically examined and condemned for any infringement on human rights. Obviously this will occur more often in authoritarian states. However, it is quite legitimate to haul the US Administration over the coals re: Abu Grahib etc.

One major difference, of course, is that democratic states respond and rectify their human rights abuses. In places like Cuba they just shoot you. Another difference is that authoritarian states single out groups of people as "enemies of the state". Cuba has had gays. China prefers the Falun Gong and Tibetans. Russia under Stalin had just about everyone except himself.

Maracas, Can you explain to me how your support of justice and peace tallies with Saddam’s murder of his own people? How can you reconcile this admirable aim with Castro’s murder and jail sentences for dissidents? Or with the Chinese murder and imprisonment of Christians or their cultural rape of Tibet? So you hate war but are quite comfortable with State sponsored oppression and murder so long as it’s in the pursuit of a socialist utopia? You are a hypocrite of the highest order! Your proclamation of justice and peace is pap!

By Vietnamese patriots, you mean the butchers of the North who executed thousands of their fellow countryman, including Vietnamese Christians. In case you missed it, the Vietnam war was about an imperfect democracy trying to save itself from invasion by the communist north. So because the South Vietnamese resisted re-unification under communist rule, they were invaded. The South refused to hand over their country to the communists and put up a fierce resistance against the oppressors. Seems like a scenario that normally would have maracas all excited with tears in the eyes.

I’m more than happy to denounce US policy where need be. Their activities in Latin America left a lot to be desired. The US were mainly trying to stop communism cementing itself close to their doorstep. Can you tell me why Russia annexed virtually the whole of Eastern Europe? When it comes to meddling in the internal politics of other countries, your beloved communists & socialists are masters.

DavidJS is at least sane. The left might be economic idealists, but socially they have some admirable principles that I think most people would aspire too. DavidJS can at least apply these principles evenly and to all, fools like maracas do not seem capable of this basic logic.

maracas you have to remember that our right friends have a very basic view of life everything is red and blue. Your either for or against something with us or against us, So when you try to have to talk with one of them you have to remember that. You also have to remember they can't concentrate for long and go off topic, it must hurt or something. They also have a overwhelming need to paint every lefty as a Stalin fan boy so they’ll thrown in the old commies killed lots of people thing and ignore the excess’s of the right at the same time. From early posts you'll know that the right believe everything bad in the world is because of the left and anything the right do is justifiable. We see this in our own Gov in their refusal to say sorry for anything they get wrong.

We went to war in Iraq because there was a threat to the world from Iraqis WMD’s. Iraq didn't end up having any so in order to not take responsibility for the that, they say he was trying to get them or he was not a very nice person anyway. Remember also that the explanation by the rightwing leaders aren’t made to convince everyone they only have to convince the right wing lowbrows like we get on this site. So remember bozzie can’t help it he only see’s in red and blue. As a lefty you also have to be on your guard that your frustration doesn’t make you only see red.