The United States is running an empire and its goals will generally conflict with many people's aspirations for democracy and national self-determination.

With US courts demanding to see the worldwide accounts of Twitter, Google and Yahoo, the threat to Assange and Bradley Manning extends to any internet user anywhere.

If 775 isn't a huge number to Obama, then 56 is practically a fraction. That's the number of children executed by US drones in the first 20 months of the Obama administration.

When one of Obama's drones kills someone it must be because they are terrorists: if they are dead they must be guilty.

Still suckered by Obama's claim to be different from other presidents? See his glorification of Israel -- the country guilty of violating more international laws than any other in the world.

Like Iraq, sanctions are likely to intensify the crisis, impoverish ordinary Iranians and psychologically prepare the ground for war because of the demonisation of Iran.

There is nothing noble about invading and bombing a country into regime change if what one ushers in is mass instability along with tyranny and abuse by a different regime.

The generation that opposed the Afghan and Iraq wars in their millions is not going to stand for yet another conflict to waste resources, destroy lives and make the world an even more dangerous place.

There is no more evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons than there was for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction but that hasn't stopped the media stoking the flames of war.