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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (4185)	10/10/2001 7:39:30 PM
From: bela_ghoulashi	Respond to of 281500

>> You people who support totalitarianism are on your way to the history books too. Freedom and individualism and democracy are in the ascendant, so get used to it and get out of the way. You might find a spare bunker to hide in with your mate Osama. << Oh, get real. You're barking up the wrong tree.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (4185)	10/10/2001 8:40:22 PM
From: FaultLine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

MW and bbm, you two have a history I need to know about? Cool it please. --fl

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (4185)	10/10/2001 9:58:04 PM
From: bela_ghoulashi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

FYI, Maurice I am a manager. What I manage is information. I withhold information, shield information, and protect information on a daily basis. I am obligated by law and by common decency to do so. Additionally, it is one of my roles as a manager to prudently and selectively withhold certain specific information at certain specific times even from my employees, for a wide variety of reasons, until it is appropriate and proper that they finally be apprised of it. Often, simply due to the passage of time and changing events, much of it simply becomes a non-issue anyway. So I don’t have a problem with sensible management of potentially sensitive information at all. That hardly qualifies me as a “supporter of totalitarianism” except in the minds of people with the brains of a soft-boiled egg. If certain portions of bin Laden’s post-attack broadcast were censored [I can only assume this was what you were referring to in your original post, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken] because the US military and the US government felt that some of the footage may have contained “coded instructions” to terrorist cells within the United States or other countries that potentially increases the risk of further attacks, I’m absolutely all for it being censored. I can’t imagine what useful or instructive information any of the censored footage may have contained for those still wavering on what side of the conflict they may fall on. As long as America and Americans, individually and en masse, are the target, the safety and security of my fellow citizens from further attacks on our soil is infinitely more important to me than satisfying the idle, self-important curiosity of droning onlookers who are not directly in harm’s way.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (4185)	10/11/2001 12:20:15 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

in a democracy and free world, yes, it's about what the individuals think. Maurice, I definitely agree that freedom, individualism, and democracy are in the ascendant, as you aptly stated... But during times of conflict with an opponent who has NO regard for your concept of individual rights and freedoms, there are sacrifices to be made, especially with regard to what we should be permitted to know when the lives of our troops, or our military/political strategy are involved.. This nation fought WWII without CNN, or MSNBC blaring every bit of news out there. The news reporters of that period UNDERSTOOD that the only reason they had the right to work in their respective positions was because there existed nations who promoted the occupations (jouralism).. They certainly knew that Hitler had only contempt for them and their profession, unless it suited his purposes. And during WWII, there was outright censorship of the American press... of letters sent home by troops deployed overseas, and monitoring of phone conversations. And it had to be that way because our freedoms make us naturally vulnerable to a ruthless enemy who seeks to take advantage of our openess. But despite all the censorship, imposed or voluntary, this nation, and the entire world, emerged more free than it had been before the war. It existed in a world that permitted far more openess and divergent opinions. So if you find your comments censored or moderated at times, be patient.. Just like a body that has suffered a traumatic injury, and is shutting down bloodflow to the extremities in order to protect the vital organs, this is temporary.. And we'll likely emerge from this even more free once these terrorist networks, and their ability to operate in their safe havens, have been eliminated. And I also suspect there will be a renewed push to deal with the economic issues that have provided a fertile breeding ground for these terrorists. No one's telling you that you can't think your thoughts, but be sensitive to the needs of the entire nation for unity of purpose and spirit during this period. There are far more things that unify us than divide, and we should be seeking those things out, rather than constantly harping on the divisive issues that will always be there. Hawk