Silly attempt by "forces that be" to provoke war.

[archibaldcrane]

Ok, great, at least that is cleared up. Some people choose to distinguish between "true" democracy and what America has by calling one a direct democracy and ours a representative democracy. You contend that it shouldn't be called "democracy" at all. I disagree, and feel that our polyarchy is also a representative democracy, with some limitations as described in your polyarchy article (no proper democratic representation for people in US-controlled territories, etc.) and is described as a "low-intensity democracy" in that article.

I don't think there are any functioning "direct democracies" in the world, are there?

Or, if you will, in theory it's a "representative democracy" but in practice it becomes a "Polyarchy".

[Poopfacekilla]

There have been examples throughout history where direct-democracy has manifested.

The recent election in Bolivia is an example.

[Faris]

When was the last time Iran went to war? or "messed around" with anyone..?

To all the people who think Iran is crazy. I think you should reconsider, the U.S is going on a War spree all over the place..be scared of the U.S government before anyone else.

[pohibaba]

America is a constitutional republic, by the way.

[Mizango]

President Bush could go out tomorrow and hold a press conference saying "I think that raping grandmothers is a great idea". Just because that doesn't represent the views held by most americans, doesn't mean he isn't a representative of america, and therefore a viable indicator of the actions america will take.

To make a more direct analogy: President Bush could hold a press conference tomorrow saying he has found incontrovertible evidence that aliens from Io have landed in Antarctica, that they plan to use a biological weapon to reduce all Terran life to its constituent proteins, and that the ICBMs are already on the way to destroy the mothership along with most of the dry valleys. It would be safe to assume that either you're having a strange dream, or the ICBMs really are already on the way. Whether the country itself sent them there or just the guy in the pentagon who gave the order is a matter of semantics.

If Bush were to say what you said verbatim I would accuse him of being a stand in. Everyone know that fearless leader could never pronounce half of the words in your post. His Linguistic skills are bound and strictly limited to the governing rules of quantum Dr. Suessness. Reading and being ask to convey anything over a 3rd grade level would result in massive brain hemorrhaging for the President.

[Kuya]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22631917/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22632161/

lol

Earlier Sunday in Bahrain, U.S. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Gulf, told Bush, who was in Bahrain as part of a Mideast tour, that he took the incident "deadly seriously."

lolol

ok ok, so i clearly don't support the US in this

[Kuya]

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - President Bush said Sunday that Iran is threatening the security of the world, and that the United States and Arab allies must join together to confront the danger "before it's too late."

Bush said Iran funds terrorist extremists, undermines peace in Lebanon, sends arms to the Taliban, seeks to intimidate its neighbors with alarming rhetoric, defies the United Nations and destabilizes the entire region by refusing to be open about its nuclear program.

"Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terror," Bush said in a speech he delivered about mid-way through his eight-day Mideast trip that began with a renewed push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact — an accord he said whose "time has come."

"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Bush said. "So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late."

Democracy push
Bush said advancing democracy and freedom is the core of his administration's foreign policy and critical to U.S. security.

"The United States has no desire for territory. We seek our shared security in your liberty. We believe that stability can only come through a free and just Middle East where the extremists are marginalized," the president said.

He noted democratic reform in Iraq. "You have made your choice for democracy and have stood firm," Bush said, speaking to the Iraqi people. "The terrorists and extremists cannot prevail."

Making an equally direct appeal to the Palestinians, Bush said "The dignity and sovereignty that is your right is within your grasp."

In renewing his "Freedom Agenda" — Bush's grand ambition to seed democracy around the globe — he declared that "democracy is the only form of government that treats individuals with the dignity and equality that is their right."

"We know from experience that democracy is the only system of government that yields lasting peace and stability," he added.

Rights limited in Emirates
Yet he was speaking about democracy in a deeply undemocratic country, the Emirates, where an elite of royal rulers makes virtually all the decisions. Large numbers of foreign resident workers have few legal or human rights, including no right to citizenship and no right to protest working conditions.

Some human rights groups have accused the Emirates of tolerating virtual indentured servitude, where workers from poor countries like Sri Lanka are forced to work to pay off debts to employers, and have their passports seized so they can't leave.

Officials in Abu Dhabi and the neighboring emirate of Dubai have said they are taking slow and gradual steps toward reform, both democratic and in labor rights.

In the country's first-ever elections in late 2006, the government hand-picked a group of voters to cast ballots to choose members of a government advisory panel.

But there is little clamor for elections in a wealthy country whose citizens are a privileged minority with access to free housing and lucrative government jobs. Many here say the galloping economy is evidence the government has done a good job.

[Kuya]

From the other article, for your conveniance.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran charged Sunday that the United States was trying to spread anti-Iranian sentiment in the Mideast by accusing Iranian boats of threatening U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. has said an Iranian fleet of high-speed boats zoomed dangerously close to a three-ship U.S. Navy convoy passing near Iranian waters on Jan. 6 in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian boats veered away as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire.

Iran has insisted its boats never threatened the U.S. ships and that the incident was a normal occurrence in the Gulf waters.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini reiterated Sunday that the incident was not unusual and would not affect Iran's policies in the region. He accused the Bush administration of trying to stir up tensions in the Gulf.

"Some political factions in the U.S. are pursuing adventurism to help Bush to spread Iran-phobia in the region," Hosseini said at a weekly press conference. "U.S. officials should apologize to Iran, regional countries and the American people."

Earlier Sunday in Bahrain, U.S. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Gulf, told Bush, who was in Bahrain as part of a Mideast tour, that he took the incident "deadly seriously."

On Friday, the Navy also said one of its ships had fired warning shots at a small Iranian boat in the Strait of Hormuz in December during one of two serious encounters with such craft that month.

But Hosseini on Sunday said: "This was not confirmed by any of the relevant authorities."

[guartz]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22631917/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22632161/

lol

Earlier Sunday in Bahrain, U.S. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Gulf, told Bush, who was in Bahrain as part of a Mideast tour, that he took the incident "deadly seriously."

lolol

ok ok, so i clearly don't support the US in this

It's all a matter of time before US (or we) starts bombing Iran. We(or U.S) might as well do away with all this ridiculous posturing of innocence, and go out and declare that U.S is an Empire and that it wants Iran as it's bitch.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22631917/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22632161/

lol

Earlier Sunday in Bahrain, U.S. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Gulf, told Bush, who was in Bahrain as part of a Mideast tour, that he took the incident "deadly seriously."

lolol

ok ok, so i clearly don't support the US in this

It's all a matter of time before US (or we) starts bombing Iran. We(or U.S) might as well do away with all this ridiculous posturing of innocence, and go out and declare that U.S is an Empire and that it wants Iran as it's bitch.

There is no need to declare that we are an empire. It's extremely obvious we are. Look at all the examples in history. Japan and Germany are now both sovereign nations. Afghanistan and Iraq are now on their way to becoming sovereign nations. Were just a bunch of fucking imperialists.

[Poopfacekilla]

Iraq won't become a client-state for awhile. It's become a breeding-ground for international terrorism.

BTW, the insurgency are not terrorists.

And fundamentalists or not, a terrorist to us are freedom fighters to others.

As much as I hate how the US moves from country to country like fucking locusts, I was surprised at Bush's statements about Israel 'occupying' the West Bank. It is an occupation anyways, but I thought a Zionist leader (Bush) wouldn't 'word' it that way.

It's sad how we pick and choose who to police. The Saudis were the home to most of the 9/11 hijackers weren't they? Yet, since they are economically friendly with us they aren't a 'threat'.

The US is an imperialistic empire just as the UK was before. However, I think we've become more parasitic or like vultures more than anything. There's 6 billion people in the world but only a fraction live well and the US is on the forefront of making sure the majority are subservient to the minority.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

Iraq won't become a client-state for awhile. It's become a breeding-ground for international terrorism.

BTW, the insurgency are not terrorists.

And fundamentalists or not, a terrorist to us are freedom fighters to others.

As much as I hate how the US moves from country to country like fucking locusts, I was surprised at Bush's statements about Israel 'occupying' the West Bank. It is an occupation anyways, but I thought a Zionist leader (Bush) wouldn't 'word' it that way.

It's sad how we pick and choose who to police. The Saudis were the home to most of the 9/11 hijackers weren't they? Yet, since they are economically friendly with us they aren't a 'threat'.

The US is an imperialistic empire just as the UK was before. However, I think we've become more parasitic or like vultures more than anything. There's 6 billion people in the world but only a fraction live well and the US is on the forefront of making sure the majority are subservient to the minority.

Because the whole world is our responsibility right? And just because the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia doesn't mean the government of Saudi Arabia was responsible.

Japan and Germany are both sovereign nations now. Iraq and Afghanistan will be once were done. How exactly are we imperialists?

How elequently put, but who the hell are we enslaving?

Edit: One of the things that makes this country great is that your free to leave it if you hate it so much.

[Poopfacekilla]

Iraq won't become a client-state for awhile. It's become a breeding-ground for international terrorism.

BTW, the insurgency are not terrorists.

And fundamentalists or not, a terrorist to us are freedom fighters to others.

As much as I hate how the US moves from country to country like fucking locusts, I was surprised at Bush's statements about Israel 'occupying' the West Bank. It is an occupation anyways, but I thought a Zionist leader (Bush) wouldn't 'word' it that way.

It's sad how we pick and choose who to police. The Saudis were the home to most of the 9/11 hijackers weren't they? Yet, since they are economically friendly with us they aren't a 'threat'.

The US is an imperialistic empire just as the UK was before. However, I think we've become more parasitic or like vultures more than anything. There's 6 billion people in the world but only a fraction live well and the US is on the forefront of making sure the majority are subservient to the minority.

Because the whole world is our responsibility right? And just because the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia doesn't mean the government of Saudi Arabia was responsible.

Japan and Germany are both sovereign nations now. Iraq and Afghanistan will be once were done. How exactly are we imperialists?

How elequently put, but who the hell are we enslaving?

Edit: One of the things that makes this country great is that your free to leave it if you hate it so much.

I don't hate this country. I don't really hate the government. I do disagree with most of it's foreign policy.

Don't give that cut-and-run bullshit. The truly great thing about this country is the fact that we can criticize it freely (to an extent).

The freedom in this country is unprecedented surely. However, it's a progression. A progression wrought through struggle AGAINST the norms (relative to the era).

People who disagree don't leave. They stay and change their country for the better. Which is what I believe people who criticize the US's foreign policy aim for. I don't have any malice in my words. I just want us to be BETTER.

I'll respond to the other stuff you wrote later. Going out w/ GF to see Juno, AGAIN!LFKDNADLFKNADLafLADKF Fuck.

[guartz]

There is no need to declare that we are an empire. It's extremely obvious we are. Look at all the examples in history. Japan and Germany are now both sovereign nations. Afghanistan and Iraq are now on their way to becoming sovereign nations. Were just a bunch of fucking imperialists.

I'm glad you asked, and you should have included a south america in your examples too. Once the nation is pacified, that is, with pro-washington leaders in power, the IMF kicks in, surrendering future labor to American based corporations.