yes loosehead i am from the west, canada eh. to be more precise just outside the city of vancouver on the u.s. border and as i am starting to feel like a white mexican i do have a problem with u.s. policy. and trust me 75% of the u.s. population feel the same way but as only about 30% vote they have no say, it's the same in canada. but if i did go to damascus i'll bet i could put my bank card into a hole in the wall somewhere and get money from my bank in their currency in under a minute. so why can't we all vote like this? the war criminal, human rights ignoring warmongers would never get in. this of course would be unexceptable. as noxlumos states i do not despise the west, quite the opposite the people are wonderful, and i have been to the states many, many times. if you asked the majority of iraelis that live there, they have no problem with the majority of the palestinians. it's the policies of the israeli government that the people have been conned into electing that is the problem. i am not on here to antagonize anybody, just to swap some opinions and maybe learn something, and in the short time i've been on i have so cheers eh!