the first casualty of war...

It is said that the first casualty of war is the truth. But whose truth? What truth? Whatever the answer, there seems to be an endless capacity for war and with it, an endless willingness to embellish or sidestep the truth of the situation. Which liar is anyone willing to believe?

-- The U.S. stated Thursday that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the rebels in its country. The U.S. has stated that use of chemical weapons constitutes a red line when it comes to greater American involvement in the slaughter that is Syria today. President Barack Obama said yesterday that the U.S. would help to arm the rebels. Specifics were not detailed. The Syrian government described the U.S. announcement of chemical weapon use as being "full of lies."

Edward Snowden

-- The British government has put airlines on notice: Edward Snowden, 29, a man who leaked information on top-secret U.S. government surveillance programs, is not welcome in England. Whether Snowden is telling a useful truth or a scurrilous pack of lies does not seem to be part of the British equation. Associatively in the Snowden (and Bradley Manning) arena, the creditable documentary film maker Laura Poitras has apparently been badgered in a variety of ways by the government whose activities she has examined in depth.

-- In Sao Paulo, Brazil, an estimated 5,000 pretty-pissed-off demonstrators took to the streets in the wake of a subway-fare price hike. The government claims the price hike is not even commensurate with inflation. The people who need to ride the subway in order to make a living seem to have a different point of view.

-- In Australia, a radio host was fired after he asked Prime Minister Julia Gillard if her partner of seven years were gay. He must be gay, the host suggested, because he was a hairdresser. The comment came in the midst of a mud-slinging, saber-swinging run-up to the Sept. 14 general election that Gillard seems destined to lose.