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

To: JohnM who wrote (66943)	1/19/2003 12:21:15 PM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

John, Variety of protesters but not of leaders and organizers. Many good folks stood there in the cold and were forced to listen to anti american and anti israeli diatribes. You could tell by the applause when a more mainstream opponent was allowed to speak. Decibel level up. To be naive as i consider some of the protestors to be, is not to be bad. To be Ramsey Clark is something else. I chuckled at one of the kids response to a reporter that she hoped the demonstration ended at a reasonable hour because she had tickets to the Stones concert in NY. I watched the concert on HBO and it wasnt bad. Mick has not much voice left. Mike

To: JohnM who wrote (66943)	1/19/2003 12:50:58 PM
From: paul_philp	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

JohnM, There is a difference between the organizers, sponsors and participants of an event. It certainly appears that yesterday's protests were organized by an organization that has a Marxist ideology of a sort. The fact that they are allied with other organization that could contribute resources through sponsoring the event doesn't deflect from the who was organizing the event. I think it is fine and necessary to understand the motives of the organizers. They took advantage of the publicity to put forward their agenda thus their agenda needs to be examined. I went to a couple of their web sites and I am confident that the Marxist label fits. I have a different view of the protestors than most. I don't agree with their politics. I don't think they offering a compelling argument about the war with Iraq. I think they ignore inconvenient facts to give voice to their emotional concerns. I also think they are valid, needed and essential. Truth IS the first casualty of war. Government needs the ability to use propaganda during wartime. However, a government with an increased right of propaganda is dangerous. It needs to be held in check and we need mechanisms to hold them accountable. The folks who braved the cold yesterday should be commended because they know that a war time government needs to be watched and they are willing to stand in the cold for a few hours to remind us. I don't follow the logic of their argument but I appreciate the passion of their stand. ANSWER is clever. It was a good promotional opportunity for them. A good business strategy to expand their cause to a wider audience. Not unlike Pepsi organizing teen band tours in the summer time. Paul