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[OM] ( OM ) OT Seattle photography implications. Long. Don't read if you

Subject: [OM] ( OM ) OT Seattle photography implications. Long. Don't read if you have sensitive stomach.
From: "Brian Swale" <bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 01:07:55 +1200
Hi all

Someone asked recently in discussion about the police molestation of a 
photographer near Seattle docks ?When did (USA) Congress declare war?, 
and somebody else responded that they hadn?t, but that certain non-state 
entities had, against the USA.

Then somebody else asked why people keep on raising these kinds of topic in 
the OM forum.

Well, the simple answers to these are that since we generally think of the 
participants in this internet community as our friends, we think reasonably 
that we should be able to discuss these matters which exercise our minds, in 
a civilised manner.  But, experience shows that as soon as somebody makes 
statements that some other person disagrees with, that somebody will be 
attacked, and not their argument (the old ?shooting the messenger 
syndrome?), as the writer is attacked personally.  It will not surprise me if 
such happens to me for writing this.

The second part of the answer is to be found in the Monroe Doctrine which 
may be found in a speech by USA President James Monroe  - his 7th annual 
message to Congress, on 2 December 1823. In this he declared that the USA 
would not tolerate any other major (European) nation having major influence 
in the ?American? hemisphere. There followed from this the most ghastly 
interference by the USA (which continues to this day) in the internal and 
international affairs in all of the countries of the Central Americas, South 
Americas, the Carribean and the sovereign state of Hawaii.  This policy was 
described by German President Bismark in 1898 as ?a species of arrogance, 
peculiarly American, and inexcusable?. 

Of course, other countries also had their own colonisation excesses - Great 
Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Japan, 
Israel, China, and Russia, to name quite a few. But only a few are still 
similarly involved.

However, it doesn?t end there, unfortunately. The USA government has 
extended its  Monroe Doctrine to cover the whole world, as if the rest  of the 
world is its own back yard. Even worse, many USA corporates behave in a 
similar or worse manner; consider the United Carbide disaster at Bhopal, the 
attempt (maybe successful for all I know) of a USA company to patent the 
ancient domestic Bismati rice strain of India, and to patent a particular 
miniature variety of Indian domestic cattle-beast. Then there is the matter of 
USA corporates interfering with the culture of individual countries.

In my opinion, the World Trade Centre buildings (beginning with the name!!) 
symbolised all that is implied in the paragraph above.  Thus the Centre was a 
prominent focal point which unsurprisingly resulted in the horrible disaster of 
11/9/2001. 

So - what are the consequences?  OK, I know I am writing in a world-wide 
forum  dominated by USA members - but, here goes.  People around the 
world will tell you that USA people are charming and nice people to know and 
be with.  But they will frequently tell you the exact opposite about the USA 
government and Corporate behaviour. They know that every major action of 
the USA government is run through a filter to test whether or not it will aid 
the re-election of the President - not whether or not it is moral or just.  
Many 
people workd-wide, detest the USA State and Corporate policies and actions. 
And, some people, as we have seen and continue to see, are prepared to 
take action to counter these behaviours, in defence as they see it, of the 
values and identity of their countries.

In my opinion, unless and until USA governments and Corporates butt out of 
interfering with the internal and international affairs of other countries, we 
can unfortunately expect more of the same. A very sad state of affairs, and I 
don?t expect to see it improve in my lifetime. 

OM content? Negligible, unfortunately. 638 words !! 

Brian
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