Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JBTFD who wrote (9349)	12/5/1999 7:23:00 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

Mark, I personally think it's a waste of time on this thread to discuss the merits or faults of the WTO. It is definitely off-topic. What I have taken issue with here is the ready willingness to believe that the governmental reaction to the events in Seattle are merely a "pre-game show" for some kind of Y2K response. Or that all of this is further evidence of some kind of scheme to subjugate America to the whims of some New World Order conspiracy. That is the only reason that I'm even participating in this debate/argument. I think people are far too quick to accuse police and the military of subverting our freedom, or of trying to peg them as storm-troopers for the Trilateralists. And it pisses me off. Let's put it this way though... The US economy makes up approximately 30% of the total GDP as this moment, a percentage that continues to outpace the growth of competing nations. So do you really think that US leaders will give up so much that US citizens (VOTERS) wind up getting screwed far worse than those of other nations?? Not hardly. The fact is that the US has one of the most free economies on this planet. It's not totally free as much is subsidized or protected (such as agriculture). But in comparison to nations like Japan, France, or many others, we adher quite closely to the concept of "free trade". And as such a large economy, we have the influence to ensure that if US concessions take place, that reciprocal concession will take place by another nation. Remember.. it is the US that has been so intransigent about not paying our UN dues on time. Only in this year have we finally seen Jesse Helms strike a deal that will permit paying off those arrears. Seems to me that this is a PRIME EXAMPLE of how controversial trade disputes will be settled. Maybe I am naieve, but heck... many folks have said the same thing about NAFTA, and I don't see Canadian or Mexican trade officials dictating US policy or subverting our sovereignty. Not yet anyway. Personally, I think most of your are freaking out over nothing. Were the US a minor economic nation, I would be able to see reason for concern. And maybe that is why OTHER NATIONS will have a harder time selling the benefits of free-trade to their priviledged and corrupt politicians and businessmen, than we will here. After all, they've been manipulating THEIR politicians for years. Regards, Ron

To: JBTFD who wrote (9349)	12/5/1999 7:56:00 PM
From: flatsville	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

greenspun.com greenspun.com and my personal favorite which will cause SPD more trouble than they can imagine: Seattle City Councilman says, "I had on a $400 suit, but last night, I was just another nigger." seattlep-i.com Councilman McIver yanked from car in melee Witnesses say police were overly aggressive Friday, December 3, 1999 By KIMBERLY A.C. WILSON SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER A Seattle City Council member said city police officers yanked him from his car, pulled his arms behind his back and started to cuff him as he drove to a World Trade Organization reception Wednesday night. The incident, which involved second-term Councilman Richard McIver, occurred as police and National Guardsmen tried to restore order to downtown Seattle after 36 hours of demonstrations and sporadic mayhem. It was witnessed by a U.S. congressman. McIver was driving to an evening reception to honor Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., and Gov. Gary Locke when he was twice accosted by uniformed officers who ordered him to leave. On the second occasion, McIver tried to explain that he was an elected official attending an event at the nearby Westin Hotel. "I don't want to aid the hooligans who are raising hell and I don't want to take on specific officers. . . . But there are huge flaws with the officers when it comes to people of color. I'm 58 years old. I had on a $400 suit, but last night, I was just another nigger." McIver, who is African American, said police did not use the term. But Deputy Mayor Maud Daudon said the mayor has launched an investigation. "If this behavior is going on in the Police Department we have to address it," she said. McIver said he had his business card in his hand when police approached him. "I would think when you see the gold crest on (a councilman's) card, a Seattle police officer would know what it is," he said last night in disgust. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, witnessed the incident near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Seneca Street as a passenger in a sport utility vehicle that pulled behind McIver's white 1992 Olds Cutlass. "What he describes is what I saw," Kucinich said last night from a speaking engagement in Southern California. "Four to five policemen converged on him and kind of spun him around. I thought the people who handled it were overly aggressive. I'm sure given the tension that existed in the city, there might be many cases where in hindsight they might do things differently but that seemed excessive." Bill Lambrecht, Washington, D.C.-correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, also was in the car with Kucinich and had a bird's-eye view of the exchange between McIver and the officers. "It was clear that he was telling them who he was. They seemed unpersuadable," Lambrecht said. "One of the officers pulled him out of the car and not gingerly." Learning about the incident yesterday morning, Capt. Nick Metz, who leads the Police Department's internal investigations section, called McIver and offered to take an official complaint. But while angered at having been detained, McIver, who has been a recent critic of the department's internal investigation process, said late yesterday that he was beginning to lean away from filing a complaint with the Police Department's internal investigations section