but it won't do any good.

the empire will continue to stagger toward collapse, lumbered with an inadequate political structure.

but where does it say that that business will be conducted with charity?

america rewards greed, extolls greed, admires greed, until the wheels fall off again, and then suddenly greed is bad.

when obama comes up with a socialist constitution, work for everyone, pay incentives but no vast wealth, then he can complain when people are greedy, but as long as america runs on the 'take what you can' principle, his words are hollow hypocrisy.

1. it wasn't me, it was khevinet.

2. but i agree with him, the japanese have been reluctant to admit crimes. my chinese in-laws and korean acquaintances often remark on current activity in this regard. it may simply be face-saving, or reparation money saving, but the japanese are vastly different in their attitude, compared to the germans.

3. so you are way out of line, in my view.

4. you might reasonably have said that no country admits crimes until a gun is put to their head, and the japanese are no worse in this regard. they simply have done as little as possible, just as america has done about vietnam. but when you do as little as possible, you don't get credit for that much, and continue to be pressed for more.

5. japanese history books, for their children, are quite like american ones: "the army moves west, to bring peace and culture.everywhere they are welcomed by the local people."

6. none of them have a chapter headed: "the rape of nanjing."

people who live in a capitalist society should not complain when others act like they live in a capitalist society.

if you want socialism, say so. give us a plan to get there. invite america to support you.

but until you undertake to protect everyone, you're not allowed to complain when someone undertakes to protect themselves, knowing that you will do nothing to protect them.

or your complaints are hypocrisy.

america has been doing the same things for a long time. people don't mention the contras, the school of the americas, the phoenix program, free-fire zones, agent orange, assassinations and mass murders-

because obama is not the first to look forward, move on. and dubya is not even unique, much less notably evil. he's just another mass-murderer who isn't clear why he shouldn't use the marine corps to do whatever he wants.

you realize the character of the youessofay, and stop hoping for basic human decency.

but it would be nice if the torture apologists evinced some mild embarrassment at being compared to the uae prince.

in america, nor can anyone else. americans can only vote for people. this is not democracy, it's elective oligarchy. in fact, in view of the power of the president, it is elective monarchy.

the american president has similar power to george the 3rd. not surprising, the founding fathers had no revolution in mind, merely a transfer of power from english upper class to american upper class.

they were brilliantly successful.

of not living in a democracy?

don't you ever wish the government worked for the people?

if he wanted to, by enfranchising the american people: give them citizen initiative and the rest will follow.

without political power, they will remain serfs, passive subjects of the presidential will.

the president has too much. the people, almost none.

by no coincidence, the nation is run for the benefit of politicians, who get their instructions from corporations and foreign lobby groups.

if you want america 'for the people,' it has to be america 'by the people.' that is, citizen initiative as the primary law of the land.

americans, raised to be passive 'spear-carriers' in the struggles for supremacy of the various factions of the american oligarchy, have not the will, the self-respect, or leadership, to take power from the politicians.

they will continue to be the taxcows of the political elite, in spite of endless reports of cultural, endemic malfeasance.

because they are a natural, organic part of any society run from the top down.

obama is a king, elected makes no difference, and so was every president back to georde washington. the founders of the nation were intent on revolution of classes, but only the transfer of power from english upper class to american upper class. that is why they explicitly excised democracy from the constitution.

now, corruption and brutality arising from centralized power have permeated society so much that to reform any part risks exposing to the taxcows just what their status is: second-class.

whether liberal or conservative, ordinary americans are just spear carriers in the factional struggles for power of their political masters. that is why, when they are done describing some flaw, crookedness, or simple crime of politicians, they end with some variant of 'someone else should do something.' they can do nothing themselves, being disenfranchised from all decision making.

obama can't fix them, because real change, change that you can believe, comes from outside the political class. they are happy with things as they are.

the people must change things, if there is to be change. but americans are brought up as serfs, and are incapable of this change. they simply can not imagine being citizens.