On May 19, 2012, at 10:51 PM, [email protected] wrote: > I agree with your analysis of this, Christine. It's all about economics, > wealth, money and who controls it. G8, G20, the World Bank, IMF, they control > how public money (ie: tax dollars) are spent.
The G8 doesn't control how tax dollars are spent. It merely provides a platform so that the major countries can establish a moderate level of coordination and thus avoid financial ruin. > > These organizations are incredibly powerful yet (in the case of the World > Bank and IMF) not elected or in any way democratic. They are not answerable > to "the people". That's scary. > They are answerable to the governments elected by the people, or otherwise. > They tell elected governments what to do. That, too, is scary. They merely advise, and most of their advise is ignored. > > Since so much of the public purse is spent on the military, NATO is a big > piece of the puzzle. > > I'm sure that it's fair to say that many if not most of the protesters at > these conferences worldwide would prefer to see at least some public funds > diverted from the military to social and other programmes. > Most of the protesters, unfortunately, just want to protest. Getting one's face on television is the primary goal for most, it would seem. > Of course another big reason for these protests is that the world is watching; Exactly. And it costs us all a lot of money in that the police have to try to maintain order, and the sanitation workers have to clean up after. Yesterday, the Chicago police arrested a group that was assembling gasoline bombs. Nice. > they have a huge platform from which to publicize their causes and the media > is only too happy to oblige. > > Cheers, > frank > > "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." -- > Christopher Hitchens > > --- Original Message --- > > From: Christine Aguila <[email protected]> > Sent: May 19, 2012 5/19/12 > To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: NATO Nurses Rally at Daley Plaza Today > > Thanks, Paul. > > With respect to your question, Stan and Bob are right, in that, lots of > groups will use to advantage historical events that provide a handy--and > large--audience for a social, political or economic message, but I wouldn't > argue that's the main motivation for protest rallies with respect to NATO/G8. > > I readily admit I am not deeply read on every group's mission statement and > goals, and it's always tricky to speak for someone else, but at yesterday's > rally all the speakers and the signage did speak to a single overall position > uniting the various groups and organizations. In their view, G8 controls the > wealth of the world, and they do so mostly to the advantage of the ruling and > corporate elite, thereby creating hardship and disadvantage--and the new buzz > word, austerity--for the rest of the world's population. And they view NATO > as G8's military instrument to insure that advantage in various direct and > indirect ways--war, of course, being the most egregious, direct, and > expensive means--in their view. > > So, in demonstrating against NATO they also demonstrate against the G8; and > when they demonstrate against the G8, they demonstrate against NATO. > > All of what I just said is, of course, my interpretation, and I've probably > oversimplified for some, but it is my take on yesterday's event, though it's > *not* necessarily my own personal point of view, but I admit to being > sympathetic with some of the *economic* message points conveyed at the rally. > > Cheers, Christine/Chicago > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On May 19, 2012, at 6:10 AM, Paul Stenquist wrote: > >> Some nice pics. A bit bewildering though in that it's hard to see what any >> of this has to do with NATO. Would the occupants prefer that we not have an >> alliance of western democracies? >> Paul >> On May 19, 2012, at 2:53 AM, Christine Aguila wrote: >> >>> Hi Everyone: >>> >>> I flirted with the idea of starting a little memoir blog, if you will, on >>> our NATO weekend here in Chicago, but then chucked the idea--for the time >>> being at least. I haven't had a full day of photography like today for >>> probably 3 months at least, so it was a fun day. >>> >>> The nurses union had applied for a permit but had a set-to with the mayor, >>> but then he relented, so the rally went ahead. John Nichols, the >>> Washington D.C. correspondent for the magazine The Nation spoke, as did, >>> Andy Thayer, and Tom Hayden, that is, *the* Tom Hayden. Tom Morello >>> sang--he was great! Lots of other speakers from various progressive >>> organizations and unions spoke as well. >>> >>> The rally was orderly--quite tame actually--cheerful with lots of shouting >>> and singing. Morello sang This Land is Your Land, which was a moving >>> moment and will resonate long in my memory. But then it was over, and most >>> folks went along their merry way. The media reported some smaller >>> "splinter groups" headed into the loop, but it never amounted to much. >>> >>> The big day is Sunday, and I'm set to head down to the Petrillo Bandshell >>> and do the march to McCormick Place. If I get tired, I'll head home. >>> Darrel will be home on call if I need to be rescued. I've sought advice >>> from our Cotty, so I'll march with greater confidence WRT safety and >>> photographic strategy. >>> >>> There's nothing fancy or greatly artful about the gallery below, but you >>> will get a small sense of what the rally was like. The truth is when I get >>> to events like this I start shouting and singing with everyone else and >>> forget to take pictures. I did take a little video of the speakers and >>> performers, but I had the DA* 50-135 on the K-5, and holding that kit up >>> high in the Hail Mary position for long periods is not fun. It's a bummer >>> being short. >>> >>> There are captions below the photos. >>> >>> http://www.caguila.com/natonurses >>> >>> Cheers, Christine/Chicago >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> [email protected] >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. >> > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
