The reality is that the "rebels" are a small minority in Syria. That is why they have not been able to remove Assad from power despite almost a year of fighting. For the Arab League to demand his removal and the establishment of a democracy is the height of hypocrisy since many Arab League countries are not democracies themselves and often use force to crush rebellions. For the UN or anyone else for that matter to demand the Syria become a democracy is out of bounds. They are interfering in the internal politics of a sovereign nation and they have no right to do so. We are not talking about a leader who is committing mass genocide, we are talking about a sovereign government trying to put down a rebellion by a small minority of it's citizens. I personally do not like Assad or the way he rules, but that does not mean that the UN, NATO, or anyone else has any business getting involved. The Russians are against the UN action because of what happened in Libya. The Russians wet along with a no-fly zone to protect civilians. Then NATO under the banner of the UN went far beyond that mandate and started providing tactical air support for the rebels, striking at Gadhafi forces that were in no way threatening any civilians at the time. The NATO air campaign did not just protect civilians, the helped to overthrow Gadhafi. The Russians are basically saying they are not falling for that again. To put this in a context that people in the US can understand. What if there had been airplanes back in the 1860s and some organization like the UN had decided that the South had every right to their independence and to secede from the North during our own civil war. What if they then decided to "protect civilians" in the South from the North's military and started bombing North's military units. I know this sounds a little preposterous, but this is not much different from what the UN/NATO did in Libya. Sovereign nations have a right to settle their own internal political struggles without outside interference from the UN or anyone else so long as their is not mass genocide going on based on race, religion, etc.

Kevin whats your opinion of OWS?

Excellent response, South Dakota, North Dakota here, it seems we are the only area that thinks straight nowdays.

TexasZ....I think that the OWS folks have made their point. Now it's turning into a protest for folks who have nothing better to do but protest! If we really want change in this country we do it in the voting booth. This year we should ALL go into the booth and vote for the person that is NOT in office, FIRE THEM ALL!! I don't care what party you "think" is best because the one we have in office right now all SUCK!

MICHAEL-595198,

If you would have been awake during your American History classes, you would know that the President of the United States isn't supposed to "run the country". WE, THE PEOPLE ARE supposed to run the country. Don't blame Obama. Don't blame Bush. WE, THE PEOPLE have allowed our attention to be drawn away from what is important.

We watch "Dancing with the Stars" instead of C-Span. We do not hold our elected officials responsible, and we continue to listen to the same lies, campaign after campaign. We vote for people who "bring home the bacon" and then wonder why we keep losing freedoms. We scratch our heads when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is our fault. And, it is too late. We have let our guard down too long, and allowed the petty amusements that have been provided for us to distract us from our duty. Politicians have always been the same. It doesn't matter how they're labeled or their party affiliation. They will continue to be liars and reprobates as long as we let them.

There was a time when this country was on a higher plane. We had men and women in government who were truly sincere in their efforts. People who understood that in this country, we weren't supposed to be "led" by our officials. WE were supposed to lead them. It appears that we have collectively become much to lazy to be bothered with that.

So, the next time you...ANY OF US...start complaining about how things are going in this country, remember it was US who chose to watch "Survivor" instead of doing our patriotic duty, and that is keeping ourselves educated about the issues and not voting selfishly. Now our SURVIVAL as a nation may very well hinge on the degree of our past laziness.

- Edge

@Clete-4217311 - Thanks, but actually the "SD" is for San Diego. Unlike most of CA, San Diego and Orange Counties tend to be more on the conservative side so people tend to have a little more common sense than the rest of the state in general.

Not one more drop of American blood in the middle east. Your on your own Islamists, deal with what you have sewn and allowed for centuries. A pathetic area of the world, good luck losers.

JD poster #2.5 - You are always the dedicated spin doctor for dictators across the globe. Your persistent defense of the indefensible is amazing, but at this point to be expected and now quite entertaining. Without folks like you defending the slaughter of the innocent with cute and clever moral equivalency arguments (just love the stuff about the US Civil War, just brilliant!), how could guys like Assad or Gadhafi or Mubarak or Iddi Amin, etc... find anyone to believe that they really want the best for their populations - when they are using the military and police forces to crush internal dissent in the name of national sovereignty?

You provide a great service for the oppressors of the planet against those that are oppressed. You are quite harmless with your pedantry behind a computer keyboard, but your type of spin-logic permeates through the news media and the blogosphere.

You can defend these thugs (this is what they are) all that you like. Most of us believe in a post-WWII world in which every attempt should be made by the UN to alleviate the unjust actions of aggressor nations via collective security codified in international law. You embrace a world order that has existed from through millennia in which the weak are dominated by the strong, and as such that is your law. We'll agree to disagree on this and all points. I'd be ashamed and humiliated to have any commonality of opinion with someone like you who embraces these bloody actions of brutal dictators in the name of justice as you envision it to be.

Edge, great statement. Also remember we are funding communism and communist governments by buying junk from china and vietnam. Over 58,000 Americans died in vietnam fighting against communism and now we have forgotten this and buy their crappy products. We, the people can change this, it's up to us.

This article is about Russia and China vetoing the resolution, most comments seem to be digressing into irrelavantcy.

Russia and China have a monetary reason not to oppose Bashir, they supply the military.

Joe Mast.. you may well be correct. But as long as Assad restricts and otherwise forbids independent news to view and report, this is what you get. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in between Assad being totally supported and universally hated, but you don't "lob" bombs into cities if you're after a few rebels... you're targeting whole populations. In other words, your post is unsupportable.

JS... ha.. I thought the SD might be San Diego. Never would I think there was ANYTHING in common between San Diego and North Dakota. What support do you have that the rebellion is from just "a few"?

Rontron, I think Russia and China oppose any action of the U.N. based on actions against "the people".. they (China and Russia) might be next after Syria.

This vote will anger the neo-conservatives like William Kristol, Charles Krauthammer and Hillary Clinton.

Russia and China have lousy human rights records themselves, but nonetheless voted correctly.

TELL THE MEDIA TO TELL THE TRUTH!!!!! The overwhelming majority of Syrians are behind their own government.

Really, Joe, how do you know that? In a country that doesn't have free elections, or even free opinion polls, how can you know that the majority of Syrians are behind their government? Given all those exclamation marks in your message (which only weakens your credibility), I have to wonder how much the Syrian government is paying you for your propaganda.

@Anthony Seta

The Christian and Jewish communities in Syria are dependent on Assad for protection. If the Assad government falls, they are doomed. Syria will become an Islamic State.

You condemn Ghadafi as a thug, but have no problem with the new 'democracy' of Libya refusing to hand over power to the civilians torturing political opposition and beginning to 'ethnically cleanse' the black population of Libya.

The Jews in Iraq are now driven out, and the Christian population in Iraq is quickly shrinking. How's that Iraqi democracy working out?

Ghadafi was a moron, but what we unleashed in Libya is turning out to be far worse, the rebels have many links to Al Queda, where Ghadafi had none.

Good post Edge. So many of us have no idea how our own government works. Lack of education and greed has gotten us here. Blaming the black president won't solve anything.

Kevin in Texas, stated “ I don't care who you think you are but if you were a true American then you would respect and defend the President whether you like him or not!”

Sounds like you enjoy dictatorship. I think you Sir should move to Syria.

Jungleboogie

Did you just call Hillary Clinton a NEO- CONSERVATIVE!!!

Wow, just wow. I mean, I understand that you may not like her but really, try to find a label that isn't the direct opposite of her usual stances.

Well China and Russia... its best to side with the people and their will not an individual leader. Leaders come and leaders go...the will and word of the massses (when not suppressed ...cough cough China) will ultimately prevail and you will ultimately be remembered for that.

Sd...

..."People in...Orange county...conservative...more common sense....blah, blah, blah..."

Uh, huh.

Opposite Day again in San Diego, I see.

Time for the Arabs to do their own political police work. They have a lot more money than we do and it is an Arab regime in their own back yard. Let them handle it and keep the USA out of it totally. We need to back away from the role as global policeman and spend our money building up our own country. We need to get out of the foreign aid business too, as all it does is promote corruption.

You condemn Ghadafi as a thug, but have no problem with the new 'democracy' of Libya refusing to hand over power to the civilians torturing political opposition and beginning to 'ethnically cleanse' the black population of Libya.

Jungle .. did Anthony say that he had no problem with the current events in Libya? Its not an either-or thing. It is possible to deplore Ghadafi and deplore the subsequent events. This "if you favor this, you must oppose that" binary attitude is what's causing so many problems in our country right now.

Edge post 2.11: Great post man, your right on the money.

softdude 2.28: Your absolutely right. We don't need to be over there. They have been fighting and killing themselves for years. If it was genocide, that would be a different story. But it's not.

Thank you JS in SD (#2.5) for your informative post. We always seem to have a knee jerk reaction to a story like this and it is enlightening to read posts like this and understand that there are many sides to every story. Thanks for pointing that out.

JS the problem with the N vs S and comparing it to Gadaffey Is Gen Lee did not kill a lot of civilians with an in an unannounced attack

Some people need to be brought to Justice no matter what it takes.

Bin Laden was one and the 9 kid nappers in Somali needed to be taken care of. Even if it meant invading the host country's sovereign air space

In this case I think they should just kill each other off with out any help

America's politicians have yet to learn that you can't buy friends. If you look at history, our best friends are countries we whipped in a war ( England, Germany, Japan).

The president is elected to do the will of the people, something the last two have not done ( Bush and Obama). If the voters wake up, all incumbents will be going home in Nov.. Term limits, a balanced budget, and fixing the healthcare law ( tort reform, limits on insurance costs, limits on healthcare costs.)

Mark Twain said in 1902, " we have the best government money can buy."

Democracy cannot survive as a form of government. As soon as the voters realize they can vote themselves perks from the national treasury, they will continue to vote for the politicians who promise the most perks. The government will eventually collapse under it's own fiscal mismanagement, and is always followed by a dictatorship.

As of right now, the Democratic Party is promising the perks. See a pattern developing? The party in power when the collapse comes will have the best advantage of forming the dictatorship. And both parties know the fall is near.

nothing like a good old fashion rebuke'n...

Strange that the better comments get collapsed. MSN doesn't like when European Americans voice their concerns.

@SoftDude. Israel will never allow us to improve our foreign relations. It may actually make the U.S.A. better.

I would never expect Russia or China to side with the US and western nations. Russia and China hate us. Always have and always will. While Obama may have thought his magic would work with them, while he blamed Bush for poor relations, he now knows it doesn't matter who is in the WH the response from these two nations will always be the same. It would be nice to hear Obama admit he failed like Bush to "befriend" these two nations. Both countries would never support another country determining what goes on within their borders and thus they will not be advocating overthrowing other governments. I actually don't blame them in theory. The US and NATO have gone way over the line IMO.

How many in Egypt really wanted Mubarak to go and did they all agree on the reasons? It seems now that the protesters amounted to about 10 percent of the population. The majority of the population NOW want the strict religious groups to take over and make life like it was before the government collapsed eliminating the corruption and thus making life better for the masses. Of course that won't happen with the choice they made, but it was their choice. The US should never have said a word about who should go or who they should elect. Ron Paul is right about the police role the US is playing and frankly escalating under Obama.

Ditto with Libya. Russia and China know the US and NATO conspired to assassinate a world leader. Why not them next? If Mubarak hadn't stepped down, the US and NATO would have assassinated him as well.

It always helps to step in the shoes of others that are on the opposite side of the issue.

SD, Assad isn't targeting a few rebels. He's indiscriminately shelling towns all over his country. People held peaceful protests and snipers shot people. He's killed thousands of people and they weren't rebels. They were people who lived in towns where people don't support him.

Syria wants the UN and security council to help...well Syria..you know who to blame now for not getting the help (Russia and China)!

@softdude:

And how are we supposed to get out of the region? The war effort against Iran is heavy in the air, Israel wants a full blown war with Iran, Pakistan can't trust us, we will have to go back into Iraq with a civil war on the horizon (sadly), We're staying in Afghanistan for another year at least, and Tunisia is the only country so far to do justice to their revolution. And when I think foreign aid, I think not only of supplying Assad with weapons but sending food to the Horn of Africa. Pros and cons.

LMarcT.....Rontron, I think Russia and China oppose any action of the U.N. based on actions against "the people".. they (China and Russia) might be next after Syria.

I believe that's the case also. They wouldn't ever want to get onboard with anything like calling a government that uses military might against their own people bad. The only reason to oppose the resolution is if they want that very same option for themselves.

It certainly seems like the lines are being drawn and we should know who stands where soon.

well this dosen't surprised me at all. but one thing i will guarantee that all this regime

have to go. and soooon. this dictators all they do is kill innocent people. that they have no right to speak for themself.. and for sure u,s,a will do somthing good for those dictator to be gone,{ die die die die die .....} for good.

I partially agree with sanity. America is blessed with liberty and most people thes days fail to realise that it did not come without a price. Our founding fathers risked their lives for independence but they were too small a group to take on britain alone. It was the french who aided the colonists in their revolution. Many people these days look at these countries that are revolting and say that that is their problem not america's. If the french had done the same during the american revolution would we still have won? If a country seeks independce it is our obligation to offer sid as needed for democracy should be shared by all.

this disgust me a big time. to know this dictators still havin more time to kill. innocents

people. but i guaranty the u,s,a will do everything in there power to erase all this regime

thing. it is enough. they all have to die,die, die, die for goooood. then everthing will be

defferent. for good . we hope.

Kevin (2.3) I don't care who you think you are but if you were a true American then you would respect and defend the President whether you like him or not! COUNTRY FIRST!!

That bit about backing the president meant something, when our government actually represented the citizens of our country. Especially now, since the president can call you a terrorist at his or any future presidents whim, and take care of you. But you paobably feel that it couldn't happen to you, right?

karla from vancouver

this disgust me a big time. to know this dictators still havin more time to kill. innocents

people. but i guaranty the u,s,a will do everything in there power to erase all this regime

thing. it is enough. they all have to die,die, die, die for goooood. then everthing will be

defferent. for good . we hope.

Oh this is rich! You're willing to send MY husband, sons, and brothers but don't have the balls to send your own? You can f*ck right off lady, get YOUR Country to do something, leave mine out of it.

Do you think it's right to just stand by while a desperate dictator is using violence against his own people (women and children included) to hold onto power? I'm sick of people in this country sticking their head in the sand and pretending like America is the only country that matters on this planet.

If a country seeks independce it is our obligation to offer sid as needed for democracy should be shared by all.

Okay, folks -

Feel free to open up your wallet and give the Syrians ALL of your money in "aid", or better yet - why don't you hop on the next plane and go fly over to Damascus, join the fight with these "rebels", and straighten EVERYTHING out over there??? GO AHEAD. Go give Assad a piece of your mind. You DON"T need our permission. And feel free to take your kid to fight along the front lines with you. Okay? THAT should make you feel better.

Since when did the US bow to pressures from China and the USSR? Maybe we need to blow up another Chinese Embassy, like Clinton did to show them we aren't screwing around? "Opps, did our bombs accidentally blow you up? My bad."

trust.2112 ..and there you have it! The #1 reason why we are so well liked around the world.

Since I am a registered Democrat, I tend to vote for the issues, not the men/women. Also, I was taught virtually from Kindergarten on up to check facts before I started spouting off. And finally, I was conditioned never to call people bad names. So, when I read these comments, regardless of political party, I tend to skip a comment when words like "idiot" and "moron" appear in the first line of type. Why? Because name-calling invariably describes the person using the names and I lose interest.

This issue itself, however, is something I feel strongly about. Not one person who thinks we should "establish" democracies in the Arab Middle East understands that what works for us is not going to work for them. The Islamic countries are Theocracies. Look it up.

That means that Allah rules and has ruled those Theocracies (with, of course, boundary and name differences) for a millennia and a half. Period. Via, of course, imams and their aides who interpret his will. As within Christianity and, yes, Judaism also, Islam has two major factions, the Sunnis and the Shi'ites who vehemently disagree with one another. We cannot and should not take sides... it is their business, not ours.

Some of you will get the point that this is 180 degrees from the democratic ideal (and btw, the United States is a Republic as structured; it's based on the Democratic philosophy, however, that each human being here has individual rights to equal opportunity).

Thus, I feel strongly that we have no right whatsoever to tell those folks over there that they should be "democratic." It is just none of our business... We DO NOT have the right to tell the rest of the world what to do.

We do have the right to defend ourselves if they try to tell us what to do. Does anyone here, at all, see the logic? We believe in equal rights. Are we going to give them the right to do to us what we think we have the right to do to them?

I don't.

And please don't give me the answer that we must save the world. Our definition of "saving" is not a world-wide philosophy. If we really believed in human rights, we would stop trying to change others with whom we do not agree.

Bottom line... It's time for us, the United States, to get the he** out of Dodge aka the Islamic Middle East, and pay attention to our own survival for a change.

yakfitguy

No one is blaming the "Black President" because he is black. He is being blamed because he does not have the ability to do the job. And, there has been no evidence that he really wants to.

"Assad must halt his campaign of killing and crimes against his own people now. He must step aside and allow a democratic transition to proceed immediately," Obama said.

The last two times he has said this, we ousted the leadership. Here we go again.....

Bottom line... It's time for us, the United States, to get the he** out of Dodge aka the Islamic Middle East, and pay attention to our own survival for a change.

Yes please

@DSB

Yeah, I DO think Hillary Clinton is a Neo-Conservative.

Her platform wasn't much different than Romney's is now, and she hasn't met a war she didn't like.

Walks like a neo-conservative, talks like a neo-conservative, IS a neo-conservative.

And lest we forget, Krauthammer, Kristol, Coulter and the rest were oh-so-kind to her as compared to Obama in the Dem primaries.

JS in SD

@Clete-4217311 - Thanks, but actually the "SD" is for San Diego. Unlike most of CA, San Diego and Orange Counties tend to be more on the conservative side so people tend to have a little more common sense than the rest of the state in general.

=======

.....Ah yes, a little self-possessed are we now, JS? San Diego, land of the Mercedes, face lifts and socially acceptable chemical indulgences ...epicenter of American Middle Class struggles? Let's see now: Palin, Bachmann, Ryan, Cantor, Beck, Limbaugh, all poster children of the "common sense" movement in this country. Right....nice try!

Russia and China have done the right thing.

Let the resolutions against rulers of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and some other ME Sunni barbaric, beastly, feudal, highly corrupt and bigoted rulers come first.

Assad is the leasts evil of all barbaric Sunni rulers!

@Rontron:

Your post #2.17 hit the nail on the head. Russia and China have their own military/industrial complexes that require markets for their goodies and Syria is, undoubtedly, one of their better customers.

@Rontron:

Your post #2.17 hit the nail on the head. Russia and China have their own military/industrial complexes that require markets for their goodies and Syria is, undoubtedly, one of their better customers. Plus, I have no doubt that Russia and China both get a nut busting Obama's chops.

If you look at history, our best friends are countries we whipped in a war ( England, Germany, Japan).

We didn't "whip" England in the Revolution, and we pretty much got "whipped" by that same country in the War of 1812. As with the US in Vietnam, the political will to commit the resources needed for victory just wasn't there.

Whoops! Wrong thread.

I don't know who funds them, but as long as it is a Muslim on Muslim violence, it works for me. We should just watch from a safe distance.

Okay, there is now absolutely NO need to keep pretending China and Russia are our friends. They are not. They have continually voted against censoring the most outrageous acts of freedom. Stop shopping at Walmart and funding China. Chinese good are pre-broken in the box, anyway. Don't buy that garbage. And, don't vote for anyone who coddles Russia. They are our enemies. Grow a pair for God's sake.

Okay, there is now absolutely NO need to keep pretending China and Russia are our friends. They are not. They have continually voted against censoring the most outrageous acts against freedom. Stop shopping at Walmart and funding China. Chinese good are pre-broken in the box, anyway. Don't buy that completely worthless garbage. It will poison your kids with their lead paint. And, don't vote for anyone who coddles mafia-run Russia. They are our enemies. Grow a pair for God's sake.

Now the US has no reason to hold Israel back from Iran. Yeah I can kind of see Russia's point of view that they do not want the US to set up shop in there back yard. However we did not set up shop in Lybia. Trust be told China's Military is for its citizens they have protest that are shut out by the media and the protest are huge. China needs it military for its own people. Russia has Putin protest going on right now. These protest are directed a Putin. The only way he will be able to stop the Russian people is to pull an Assad and kill about 6,000 of them are so. Who ever said stop buying Chinese products I am on board with you. Every CEO that sent jobs over seas and left the USA for more money should be ashamed. Nothing wrong with making money but how much money do you need. We have solders that fight for us (sacrifice) we have teachers that put up with our kids (sacrifice) we have sate workers that fix roads and take care of sick people and protect us (sacrifice). We are supposed to have people that hold office and sacrifice their time and families for us but instead they turn public office into some kind of self investment. (Greed) We have CEOs that uproot companies and send them to slave wage countries with no worker rights. (Greed) We have millionaires that are only for self and can a community dead on its knees and would not even plant a tree. (Greed) oops kind of got off topic. Yeah stop buying made in china. Sacrifice and look for made in AMERICA or some where close.

Saudis and their Arab League puppet rulers, oil companies and their lobbyists are funding these uprisings.

Rating agencies, Wall streets and some more add their bits.

They were behind Iraq wars (1991 and 2003) to raise oil prices and transfer five trillion dollars from oil importing nations to oil exporting nations from 2003 to 2011.

Tell me: what was the big deal if Saddam had occupied Kuwait or even Saudi Arabia?

Let us worry about our problems at home! Why worry about Syria, Iran and others?

Muslims have to kill somebody.

If they don't get infidels, they have to kill each other.

Is it not better if these killing experts kill each other?

Bah, he has nothing to worry about. It's in the UN's hands now. If you ever want something to be not taken care of, put it in the UN's hands. Our sun will explode before they manage to decide on anything helpful.

woodsyhowl... ummm are you aware that the fabled "Boston Massecre" of March 5, 1770, was rather limited on casualties?

Amid ongoing tense relations between the population and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry, who was subjected to verbal abuse and harassment. He was eventually supported by a small company of troops, who were [also] subjected to verbal threats and thrown objects. They fired into the crowd, apparently without orders, instantly killing three people and wounding others. Two more people died later of wounds sustained in the incident.

There was a total of 5 people, four "Americans" (this was before the American Revolution so all of the people of the incident were still, technically, British), and one British sentry.

The word "massacre" is in the American history books. There is a saying "History is written by the victors." In English history book, it is called "The Boston Riots."

Interesting. btw hmm Merriam-Webster definition of the word "massacre":

mas·sa·cre/ˈmasikər/

Noun: An indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people: "the attack was described as a cold-blooded massacre".

Verb: Deliberately and violently kill (a large number of people).

It would seem there is a large difference of inference between the two different titles of the incident in the history books. We should keep that in mind while we read "news" articles written by our reporters, and those of other countries, even our allies.

The bad dream was having a limp like Bush Jr in office for 8 years and he left a total mess That President Obama had to fix even without the help of congress and those hitler want to be republicans, whats the matter did some one piss in you and michael's pepsi this morning?

Bush may have been a total buffoon but what did you expect him to do in the wake of 9/11 and Katrina? He had TWO catastrophes to deal with, y'all seem to forget that he too had a crap hand dealt to him and he did what he thought was best, hind sight is always 20/20.

..."Bush may have been a total buffoon but what did you expect him to do in the wake of 9/11 and Katrina? He had TWO catastrophes to deal with, y'all seem to forget that he too had a crap hand dealt to him and he did what he thought was best, hind sight is always 20/20".....

Wow. Bush had forewarning of ALL his forth-coming "crap hands"..

He didn't need Hindsite. He had PDBs!

He absolutely KNEW of New Orlean's potential for catastrophe and he did THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what he should have done!

Please stop apologizing for that complete buffoon.

It certainly looks as if the Bush administration...probably orchestrated by his friendly Dick...knew that 9/11/01 was going to happen.

It seems as if they allowed a tragedy because they needed one to solidify the nation, and go forward with their own preconceived personal agenda to invade Iraq, which his dad was smart enough not to do during the Kuwait thing.

That was a bunch of bad people in the White House, with a moron as leader.

The fact that New Orleans spent the billions of dollars given to them for their levee infrastructure got spent on other things was the President's fault how?

I'm not apologizing for him, I'm putting into perspective how I have to hear how President Obama was dealt a raw hand and he's doing what he thinks is best to "fix it" it's the same darn thing.

The "Kuwait thing" was Desert Storm and if he would've finished it then we wouldn't have had to go later.

...but we didn't have to go later.

The Bush administration wanted to invade Iraq!

"Mission accomplished....", remember???

HEY SHUT YOUR YAP ! What was that black ass of a Mayor doing while everyone was looting? What about all of those Buses he could have used to evacuate all of the old folks? he was busy giving interviews and had his thumbs up his ass while the banks of the Missisip were overflowing. Give me a FN break! WHERE WAS JESSE JERKSON, AND SHARPIE SHARPTON AND ALL OF THE OTHER BlACK LEADERS WHO ALWAYS HAVE THEIR YAPS OPEN WHEN THERE IS A WHiTE GUY TO BLAME, INCLUDING THE THEN SEN. OBUMMA !I GUESS THEY WERE ALL LEADING FROM BEHIND! Once in while try to call a Spade a Spade , if you have the balls !

While I don't agree with or like everything that Bush did, you can't say that he knew all of this was going to happen without blameing most of the Presidents before him.

Katrina - The government recommended repairs and upgrades to the flood defense system first back in the 1980's and there was a report done under the Clinton administration stating that the system would collapse if a catagory three or higher were to hit with the storm surge aimed straight for N.O.. The Clinton administration ignored this just as every other administration did because the money was deemed to be needed in the plain states with the annual flooding of the Mississippi. The Corp of Engineeres worked on the systems north of N.O. because these were systems that they knew would fail every year and not N.O. which would only fail if certain conditions happened. The real tragedy was on the part of State and Local governments who choose to wait until the last second to order evacuation and failed to utilize all forms of mass transit at their disposal. Does everyone remember the Parked flooded busses after Katrina. The federal government mobilized and staged outside of the danger zone prior to Katrina's strike on the US. They advised the Local and State governments to take proper steps. The Local and State governments failed to heed their warning or accept their help until it was too late. While no amount of response could have helped prevent the damage caused by the storm, cooperation by Local, State and Federal agencies could have eleminated almost all loss of life and would have prevented the looting of the city in the aftermath.

9/11 - Bush received the same update that Clinton had received. There was no new information given to Bush that Clinton hadn't seen. Clinton did no more than Bush prior to the attacks. It's easy to say he should have done more but you can't say that without pointing the blame at Clinton as well. For that matter, some of the signs were also present durring the First Bush administration.

Something else that everyone should keep in mind is that for the first two terms of Obama's administration he had complete control of both houses of congress, not just a majority. Obama and Pelosi could have passed through anything they wanted to. If you control 60% of the vote the Republicans would have been powerless to stop it without someone crossing over from the other side. If you watched, the Democrats wasted an opportunity that had not been seen in quite some time and probably never will be seen again. They fought with themselves instead of getting things done. What did they get done? They passed some of the biggest spending bills ever in US history and passed a health care bill that a vast majority of Americans did not want. Talk about egos.

Sorry, Should have been first two years of Obama's administration, Not first two terms.

He absolutely KNEW of New Orlean's potential for catastrophe and he did THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what he should have done!

Actually, the Army Corps of Engineers warned about New Orleans's potential for catastrophe decades ago and nothing was done by any administration.

Thank you Oom, it was the only thing I was going to correct four! on it's actually been since 1926 not the 1980s but the rest was spot on.

Yes I remember "Mission Accomplished" and um THAT particular mission WAS accomplished, Yes we DID have to go back later, I know all y'all can think about is the "lack" of WMD but to those that were there finding the mass graves was way worse.

Russia and China veto the Rebuke of Syria's President Assad.

My, that's is a big surprise---

Russia is still the USSR/China/Communist Red China. These 2 countries do plenty of their own slaughtering to their own people. It is just more "quiet" in Russia and China..

What has changed?----Iran is in cahoots with these 2 countries.

Where's Nikita Khrushchev?---he needs to pound his shoe at the UN again.

@ four! - How dare you bring facts to this debate. Everyone knows Obama is a God and Bush is a devil. Case closed. Your facts only server to ruin a perfectly good delusion. ;)

Syria deserves the right of self-determination. Let Syrians determine the type of government they want to live under.

How can the Syrian people do that when they're slaughtered for voicing opinions in opposition to their dictator? Only democracy can do what you want.

@Barry-NJ

Yeah democracy. Like the ones in Libya and Iraq? Sure worked out well for them.

We need to stay the hell out of it. That way when it all goes to hell in a hand basket, we won't be the ones standing there holding the damn hand basket.

Jungle ... obviously, those countries don't have democracy. OK, you tell me what form of government will allow the people of Syria to choose the type of government that they want, as Ken proposes, and to change it when they want?

So we vote the republicans out and the democrats in to get us out of the mid-east. ten years later we are still fighting over there. democracy? The media had no problem getting us into and out of vietnam, at their pleasure, to support take-over of the countries money supply by Central Banks- same reason we are in the mid-east now. It'll be over when the countries money is firmly in the hands of the Central Banks, including the Fed Reserve..

So we vote the republicans out and the democrats in to get us out of the mid-east.

When was getting out of the middle east part of the election platform of either party? As long as the middle east provides a substantial portion of the world's oil, we'll be involved. We have no other choice.

I agree I want to see Israel enjoying the multi-racial Empire lifestyle they created for the rest of us. It would do them alot of good to wake up to the nightmare Europeans are just barely able to endure.

Israel created cultural and racial diversity within a society?

I will put that with Palestinians are like the American Indian, and Iran would never attacks its neighbors.

johnny; don't know where your downer attitude comes from but whenever we get asked for help, we usually don't respond until it's nearly too late like in Libya. The trick is to get rid of the dictator, then get out and let the chips fall where they may. Islam is now at the same point Catholics were 500 years ago; a great upheaval is happening amongst them world-wide.

How can you be so heartless and deny your masters rights to continue to make a dollar beyond all human decency? Until we enact a real armed revaluation I think we will have to accept the Marxist-Liberal Empire for some time. One day people may long again for the republic that worked well for it's founding citizens without caving in to special interest groups and endless trumped up "wrongs of the past" or "Sins of the fathers" scenarios.

Could he bring a few jobs to Mississippi, please? I really don't want to have to move just to get a manufacturing job....Not to mention that MS has one of the highest unemployment rate in the Union.

In the last 6 months I've applied to 25 different places without a call back. I didn't even set my standards that high. I applied at McDonalds FFS. You know you're @!$%#ed when you don't get a call back from McDonalds.

Secondly, The Iraq war was planned to be extended into 2012. The only reason it wasn't was because the Iraqi government wouldn't allow immunity for troops stationed in Iraq. When Obama learned of this, he decided to use it as a publicity stunt for his way of ending the Iraq war. Obama didn't end the war. Iraqi Government did.

Well gee MFudski if it's so well and good why the hell is my W2 30 THOUSAND dollars less than it was last time?

I'm in the same boat as you Mike I actually landed a job for all of 3 months (they neglected to tell me when they hired me that it was only part time temporary) and your 3rd paragraph is spot on.

Mississippi doesn't get to complain about lack of jobs.

They voted for the president that's responsible for their loss - G.W. Bush.

And as for the Obama comparison to Captain Scantino, Obama is more like Captain Scully. He was given a doomed ship that was headed in a downward spiral and he brought it in for a safe landing.

Have a nice day.

shut yer yap,

Bwahahahahahahahhaha. Sniff, pffft! Ahahahahahahahaha.

Thanks for the laugh.

Any manufacturing jobs coming back today are due to the costs in foreign countries reaching a par with the USA, like happened in japan, and is happening in Mexico. The CEO of Intel says it costs 1 billion dollars more to build a semiconductor plant in the USA than anywhere else. Due to regulations, and taxes. labor costs are less than 10% of the extra cost. Companies are also learning the Chinese and other foreign workers are 1/4 as productive as American workers.

Russia needs to quit supplying arms and step in and help the commoners achieve peace, not supply their p.o.s government with the means to kill innocent civilians.

Well, the Russians aren't going to do that unless the US takes a leading role in making them change their behavior. That doesn't mean that we have to send troops everywhere, but it does mean that we have to have a vigorous foreign policy. We can't withdraw from the world and expect that somehow everything will magically turn out OK.

Barry-NJ: Withdrawing from the world.... How about becoming less like the Roman Empire just before its fall? Hell, I only posses a 2yr. degree, and I admit my ideas are just that... My heart always goes out to those who are downtrodden and weak. Americans are already experiencing the effects of a 100% fabricated democracy and are beginning to realize it's has always been about the United Corporations of America and their collaborated will for the people.

Fed Up ... it is quite possible to be active in the world without taking direct military action. Our military and economic strengths and, most important, our incredible soft power makes us the only credible leader for change. If we want a better world, we have to stay involved. There is no more, if there ever was, Fortress America that could ignore what was going on in the world safe in the knowledge that it was protected by two oceans.

Barry....I generally agree with your post, but our 'soft power' took some mighty serious damage under Bush/Cheney. I think The Obama administration is being quite masterful to achieve what it is. I don't believe we could muster up much of a 'coalition of the willing' after the last call to arms for the mysterious WMD. I think that damage is part of the reason we are having difficulty in dealing with Iran. Our allies just don't want another expedition with us, but really don't want to come right out and say so.

Crying wolf once too often was bad for us. Being perceived as too cozy with Israel isn't helping us either. This blah blah blah about Israel planning an imminent attack on Iran's nuclear facilities might just be giving other countries the willy's about getting too involved with another foray in the region. I'm betting they are asking themselves what the real motivation is.

johnny -

I think our 'soft power' took more of a hit when Clinton gutted our military. Why else do you think we have to use mercenaries now?

Tammy ... out soft power has little to do with the size of our military. Regardless of what Clinton did, our military was still sufficient to project our power anywhere in the world.

Johnnyt is right. Our soft power took a beating under Bush/Cheney, but not just because of the failure to find WMD in Iraq. It sustained severe damage because we betrayed the very underpinnings our society. Our soft power comes from our culture (including clothing, music, TV, movies, etc...), our economic power and our ideals. The words of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and even the famous poem on the Statue of Liberty carry powerful moral authority around the world. But, we've betrayed so many of those ideals with the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, waterboarding, our insistence on holding people for years without charge or trial and so much more.

Oh, great.

Now SYRIA is responsible for 911? I thought it was Saddam, all this time...

Have a nice day.

Unprecedented torture in Libya by those installed by us....

Unprecedented? Yeah, right. Ghadafi was such a humanitarian. Torture of regime opponents was widespread during his decades in power.

Barry -NJ. I am not exonerating Ghaddafi, but merely repeating statements by the International Red Cross and so on ( people who do have direct experience ). Other than that merely putting situation into a common contextual environment relative to the consequences of our involvement ( or not ) and the surrounds. Then the use of emotive terms in regards Syria just looks rather selective ( particularly as the death toll there is to the lower end of what seems to be 'acceptable' ) - much as we saw in the lead-up to the Iraq war when to be frank, we were propagandized by our own government to take us into war. My opinion is that all unnecessary death of civilians, wherever, should be highlight and roundly condemned regardless of those responsible.

There are no religions of peace. Religions, the books, are just the owners manuals for each society's war/slave system. None is better or worse than the other. They are all the same and from the same source. Men.

Your own bigotry is no better than theirs.

Prophetslayer....yep!

As Christopher Hitchens wrote: "religions poison everything".

Are you sure it's not liberalism?

Where is your proof? Provide proof of what you say, somehow you know more than others... and then the media will be compelled to report.

If on the other hand you are fabricating ideas based solely on conspiracy theories within the gray matter encased within your skull, then you are on your own. No sense in asking the media to report about non-existent beliefs that you have conjured up. Just do your own blogging. There must a at least a few dozen other folks across the globe that will embrace your madness. Just look at the idiotic posters on this site as example and perhaps some hope on your part that you'll be taken seriously by someone out there. Cheers mate!

Joe Mast... You are such a Troll, you aren't even slightly convincing.

I know that the Syrian gov wants everyone t believe this is a small group of insurgents. And it may well be. One way to prove it! Hold an honest election. Let unbiased UN observers in and give them free reign to monitor. The outcome would then silence everyone. IF the people truly back their government, that is....

Joe Mast said he was there, and as an eye witness, he should have some credibility. I, too, have been to Syria, several times in the years since Bashar Al Asad became president. I have family there and speak with them on a regular basis. They have homes in Homs in the neighborhoods where there is trouble. I also know a few hundred people with family in other parts of Syria. The eyewitness accounts I have heard are consistent with what Joe and others I know are saying - that some early demonstrations were held to start trouble by having "demonstrators" fire weapons out into the streets while holding the demonstrations, that snipers were on roofs in Homs firing at people walking down the streets and that these are the people the army was firing at during the "peaceful demonstrations." I also have first hand knowledge that Al Asad has been a very popular president during his tenure and I believe that the majority of people do support him. But then, I understand Arabic, and so when I see video on YouTube, I can understand what the people are saying. Does the foreign press? Why did Al Asad ban foreign press in Syria, because from the beginning, the press printed stories that were absolute LIES. The press has been agitating the world against the Syrian government, even though it is fighting a group of Islamists that would take the country from a secular government where all citizens share equal rights: muslims, christians, alawites, men, women and children into a country where women and children have no rights and even men lose many of their rights. For instance, being a secular government, no one in Syria is forced to practice Islam. There is NO shari'a law and so women wear what they want, drive cars, go to schools, including college, work outside the home if they want. Everyone can choose to drink or smoke or swear if they want. What kind of personal freedom do women in Saudi Arabia have? They can't leave the house without a male relative, they must completely cover themselves in public, they can't drive, and EVERYONE in the country is forbidden to drink, etc. Does it not seem even a little dubious that the US partners in this world media campaign against Syria are Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where the leaders' families have been in power for over 80 years and 95 years, respectively. And they want to overthrow a "dictator" who has held power for 11 years?

Anti-Semite troll at that! You don't need truth in Joe's world. You keep repeating the same falsehoods over and over again like a twisted montra and some will believe it.

Leila,

Nice way to bolster your spin. Pay no attention to this hand over here and look at what I have in this one. Typical of Syria as well. Since the 80's they have played both sides of terrorism. It's like being a arsonist and the fire department.

I do agree with your Saudi statement.

dsb: do you know why this supposed "impartial election monitored by UN" idea will fail? It's because the election result will be declared "unfair" until the result is what US and it's gangs want. There will be "irregularities", or "frauds" as long as Asad is still president after the election. When the losers revolt because they can't take a lose, and go on a looting, killing, burning rampage, it will be declared "peaceful demonstration". And when security forces are forced to take them down to restore peace, it will be declared a "massacre".

Same thing happens over and over again all over the world in regions where US and it's gangs want to get their hands in. The so called "free press" of the west plays a willing accomplice, twisting, and in many cases, manufacture blatant lies, to twist western public opinions. Ever seen the movie "wag the dog"? That describes the techniques.

@ LiarsInPolitics. Breaking out the big guns with the greatest debate ender ever the dreaded dun dun dun. Anti-Semite. But I'm sorry to tell you this Europeans are not cowing to anti-this that or "racist" anymore. It was used so much it lost it's effect. As for job stability just head north where alien loyalties scareicly exist.

Joe Mast. The sheep have been brainwashed to much. And the things you are typing while true causes a knee jerk reaction in their thought process. I don't know why some people can see above the true corruption despite a lifetime of brain washing and others are doomed to never wake up. For me. I learned to stop hating my European race as I learned I have nothing to be guilty or ashamed of and it has made me a better soul and human being. I challenge lies even when it is "racist" or anti-Semitic to do so. I am not afraid anymore. To combat against anti-semite use phrases like Rothchile-politics or Rothchild Banking. The man is so corrupted that not many can shore up against it being typed that way. As for racist-that usualy means anti-European all one can do is to continue to be proud of their racial extended family.

Joe mast is right on on this...NATO and the Cia are behind the unrest.....Assad enjoys popular support among most Syrians....this is an attempt by Nato for Regime change and to try and further Isolate Iran...

Joe...good to see someone else is paying attention...

I have no problem with China as they are not on our shores. I wish I could warn them though. Do not buy our debt. The globalist are not going to pay them back.

Nope, they will blame America

Only if you promise to do the same. Deal?

Won’t waste my time contacting congress, at least here you can get a response.

OK. I do vote. Do you?

Our Congress people have exactly what to do with how China and Russia vote?

Ursamajor finds himself instructing others in their civic duties. What a shame Ursa must do that since the rest of us are so dumb. Aloof and above it all eh, Ursa? I have a question. What are you doing here? Why don't you find a news article that is of interest to you and comment there? Let the rest of us do as we please and we won't bother you. Fair enough?

congress could give a $&!^ what we think

Contacted my congressman about where the privateley owned Fed Reserve gets the money it lends to the government, thus owning and controlling it, along with their propaganda arm the media.

Totally ignored, obviously.

Objective, that sucks, I know what my Congressman thinks of the Federal Reserve ( I may not live in his district but still consider him to be my congressman) my actual one will be voted out ASAP, hopefully you'll be able to do the same.

why am i going to waste my time writing to some globalist elitist traitor. they don't care about us.