see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1leQ-Pn90IU John Lennon is a very powerful orator at the end of this short video clip.

We are at the crossroads of a very important time in our history.The war mongering USA will be tempted like past generations to use war to unite a flagging domestic economy and maintain the reigns of power at any cost.The USA is stone motherless broke.

They have 700 bases around the planet and wars raging in 3 countries.They have mind boggling deficits of which they cannot possibly afford the interest,let alone repay the principal.

The question is:Are we going to stand up as individuals and stop this insanity before it is too late,or let our Govts seduce us into complacency?

Change will not happen unless we the people make an effort.Govt exists for it's own purposes and will drift along with the power of corporate money if we do not make a stand.

Arjay,
This insanity will not stop until those who direct this insanity ran out of morons to follow their orders. Greed is of course the one & only problem. Not just greed for monetary wealth but greed for power, lust & religion. Look at how it works. A handful of egotistical power mongers get elected by the majority bunch of non-thinkers & presto ! we have the mandate for more insanity. The threat of losing hard-earned & easily earned property & lifestyle is sufficient to get the non-thinkers to rise up against each other at the whim of the power mongers. What is a moron ? well, a moron can be stupid or from my personal experience, can also be highly educated. A moron is one who only thinks of themselves i.e. investment mongers who don't care if a young couple can't afford a house because the investment monger has bought it just so it'll be worth more in a few years by doing nothing & in the meantime charge exorbitant rent to those who save up for a house. A moron is one who screams global warming but goes out & buys a 2nd car & more air conditioners. A moron screams we need better roads & drives at 150Km/h. A moron falls over his own legs & takes somebody else to court for it. A moron ..........etc.etc.

The worst ills and evils always stem from greed and self interest. Many confuse the concepts of individualism and the rights of the individual. There is a difference and how that difference plays out in the real world can be catastrophic at times.

At it's worst, individualism constrains the rights of other individuals - particularly when we don't have the right sorts of governments. At it's best individualism can be creative and contribute to great advances and improvements in the lives of others.

Many Governments, are as Arjay describes - living entitities in their own rights without accountability or transparency nor are they truly representative or democratic; often hampering the rights of individuals to influence the decisions of 'their' governments.

Agreed. Individual and Pelican.The USA has forces 13 times bigger than it's nearest rival and they are still building new super carriers and expanding their bases around the planet.No one can challenge them and this war on terror is just a scam to bring in draconian laws to subjugate our populations.

Bin laden has been dead since 13 Dec 2001.They have kept his image alive with dummy Osamas and false voice overs.

Australia is now the 13th largest spender on arms on the planet.We too are continuing to ramp up defence spending.The USA is looking for excuses to invade Iran.Israel has between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them.Iran has yet to produce one.They are not a threat to anyone.

It is time to get out on the streets and demand that our troops be brought home.The US has on their agenda the use of tactical nuclear weapons since they cannot put the number of soldiers in the field that China can for example.This is the sort of lunatic thinking that will bring about a catastrophe.

We complain about boat people arriving here,yet it is our foreign policy and debt slavery created by the World Bank/IMF that creates poverty and hardship around the planet.

Careful Arjay and others,
You're starting to sound like a bunch of Socialist, whinging, sanctimonious, anti individual and profit, hypocrites. AKA humanists.
I say good on you all.

Seriously though, the biggest problem is, "we the people", not enough of us demand that our pollies and particularly major Political parties actually *represent* us first not the party or capital.

Despite all the above nasty names I and others get called, I note none of the opposers of social responsibilities actually address the criticisms we raise, directly. Obfuscation, diversion, ad hominem etc are the common tactics.
All of which simply confirm what we're saying, greed and power are the causal factors.

Fighting wars is expensive.
Putting aside the bank bailouts, according to anti-globalization activist, Naomi Klein, the projected total cost of the Iraq war is to be at least $3 trillion.
The total Obama (FY2010) defence budget request is $687 billion.
The additional amount estimated for Obama's Afghan surge is $40 billion.

Considering this, the pledge of $1.5 billion (fast track estimate by 2012 - $10 billion) to aid developing countries in implementing clean energy seems rather a paltry effort.

The money spent this decade by the American taxpayer on war would have been sufficient to fund all needed global investments in clean investments in clean energy out to 2030.

Adding to this, the Iraq war was responsible for at least 141 metric tons of carbon dioxide from March 2003 to Dec 2007.
This war emits more CO2 per year than 60% of all countries.
These are currently unrecorded emissions as they are exempt from national reporting requirements.