What total bullshit! AIPAC is a legal lobbying organization in the United States. It has all the rights to expression of its wants and desires to Congress as, for instance, CAIR, NOW, unions, NAACP, the AMA, just to name a few. They are neither more nor less democratic than those organizations. You may not like that or the organization, but, then, I'm not surprised: AIPAC's aims don't agree with Mr. Shaw's.

Hmm. Clearly a man signed up. :-) Now, Sunset John, I did not argue that AIPAC isn't legal. Booze and fags and fast cars are legal but they still do lots of damage. But, you see, what you are not telling us, in your staunch yet flawed defence of AIPAC, and what many yanks either deny (that'll be your media) or are scared to confront, is that AIPAC has Congress by the short and curlies. If a member of Congress briefs against Israel, AIPAC diverts lots of funding to their political enemies (and, if the miscreant was getting funding themselves, it's bye-bye to all that). This goes right to the top in American politics. President Obama knows that he cannot withdraw military aid from Israel, because, if he does, AIPAC will turn him into toast. Yet your electorate did not elect AIPAC. AIPAC consists of self-interested, wealthy and influential supporters of Israel, of all creeds and none (which is why you'll never catch me talking about "the Jewish lobby"). You live in a country that purports to lionise freedom and democracy. Yet you allow an unelected lobby group to dictate your foreign policy politics. If you think it stops at healthy and open lobbying, John, you are seriously deluded. But, again, that's your US media for you.