He does not have the imagination or honesty or desire to make earnest attempts at peace in a win win style negotiation which would be beneficial to both sides...covert operations, sanctions and bombing are the only tools in his bag and he has badgered our Congress and the EU into going along with this by abusing the power of the office of President of the USA...backed by the corporate owned media who have become a de facto propaganda ministry.

True enough.

But there's an even larger game afoot; the other day, under the title, Iran: War or Privatization: All Out War or "Economic Conquest"? Michel Chossudovsky peeled the onion on what's really going on, and how the Iranian people cannot possibly win:  Bush, Great Britain, Israel, and probably France are bribing Iran's mullahs: If you merely allow our voracious, propaganda-driven consumerism -dependent corporations to turn your gentle, family values oriented population into the next American strip mall complete with a Bear Stearns on each corridor, we will allow you to stay in power (never mind all that trash we tossed at you about human rights heh heh; did you know we used to toss bits of tinfoil out of airplanes to fuzz radar signals?)

Iranian culture is an international treasure; Zoroastrianism, still the bedrock value system of Iran, if not its "official" religion, is the prototype of parts of Judaism and much of Christianity. A replica of the clay tablet on which Cyrus the Great inscribed the First declaration of Human Rights is on display at the United Nations The international community should declare the entire nation of Iran a protected historical site, lest it be looted in another one of Donald Rumsfeld's "stuff happens" moments.

But what would George Bush and his neocon handlers know of human rights and the United Nations?  That organization exists only to serve as Bushcon's shill; Appleton continues:

The idea of sanctions is that somehow if the people suffer enough they will overthrow their government. Would you the average middle class citizen try to overthrow your government if tomorrow Mr. Bush declared himself president for life for example? What would you do against the military and the police who have the keys to all the gun racks? Would you risk your life, limb and property to attempt the overthrow of your government? Don't ask other people to do what you haven't the courage to do yourself.

What are you going to do?

Those of you who live in Ed Royce's district in California:  listen to the glee in his voice as he describes how he expects the measures implemented with the Kyl Lieberman bill will cause Iranians to riot.  Does that disgust you?  What are you going to do about it?

Sign another petition? Try this one: An Open Letter to Barack Obama on Iran.  Over 150 people have signed this letter IN THE LAST HOUR.  

Call your congressperson another time, and get back the same boilerplate letter dictated by persons with a lot more money than you have?

Can you risk speaking out, or are you concerned that you might lose your job?  Do you fear that your phone might be tapped, your credit transactions monitored, your children's future impaired if you speak up, speak out, take a stand?

Is that why you remain silent?