Allan, Could you direct me to a list dealing with Biodynamics and Organics?
As I intend to sub off this list shortly. Gil jsherry wrote: > April 20 Anti-war Protests Overwhelm Expectations > Don Hazen, AlterNet > April 22, 2002 > > Huge anti-war demonstrations on Saturday in Washington, San Francisco, > Seattle, Boston, Salt Lake City and Houston turned out considerably more > people than organizers and police authorities expected. District of Columbia > Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey estimated that 75,000 marched in Washington, > while estimates in San Francisco varied between 30,000 and 50,000. > > The size, energy and peacefulness of the marches was a big boost to > progressive forces across the country who have been very much on the > defensive in the post-9/11 period. "Saturday was inspiring evidence that > there is enormous grassroots opposition to the Bush agenda of endless war at > home and abroad," said Terra Lawson-Remer, one of the D.C. organizers. > > The gatherings, by far the biggest in the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks, > focused on an array of progressive grievances -- the undermining of civil > liberties, questions about U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and Colombia, > as well as the effects of corporate globalization around the world. > > But the protesters' most powerful message was their anger about Israel's > repression in the West bank. Chants of "Stop the occupation now" and "We are > all Palestinians today" emanated from the marchers, and the black, red, > white and green flag of Palestine dominated the visual landscape. > > Saturday's demonstrations in Washington were in contrast to the memorable > April 2000 actions in Washington, when protests against the World Bank and > International Monetary Fund led to a virtual shutdown of the downtown area. > At that time there were pitched clashes between police and demonstrators, > and many hundreds were arrested. In this weekend's protests, separate events > with differing goals were held on Saturday morning, but in the afternoon, > everyone -- despite some differences in strategy and tactics -- came > together to create a huge and peaceful crowd. According to the Washington > Post, Chief Ramsey praised the decorum of Saturday's demonstrations. > > "The organizers did an outstanding job," said Ramsey, baton in hand as he > watched thousands file past the Justice Department building. "This is really > what protests ought to be." > > The San Francisco four-hour protest caused widespread gridlock. "It's one of > the biggest protests in the past five years," San Francisco Police Commander > Greg Suhr told Jim Herron Zamora of the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's not > often that you see one where a crowd has formed in the Civic Center but > there are still people in Dolores Park who haven't started marching." > > The San Francisco demonstration was billed as a march against "the real axis > of evil: war, racism, poverty." But clearly, support for the Palestinian > cause transcended the other issues. The march included many Americans of > Palestinian descent, as well as immigrants from other Arab countries who > became politically active after the Sept. 11 attacks. One protester, Riad > Morrar, immigrated from Egypt 27 years ago, and now owns a technology > company in the Sacramento area. "There is nothing else I can do but tell > President Bush: 'You are wrong. Stop killing my people,'" Morrar told the > San Francisco Chronicle, as he marched with his wife and four children. > > "I spent 20 years avoiding the news, avoiding conflict. It is too > depressing," said Kais Menoufy, another Egyptian immigrant at the march. "I > love America. But I'm embarrassed and angry that my country is supporting > genocide." > > According to Herron Zamora, the oldest marcher in San Francisco was probably > Dave Smith, an 89-year-old member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, an > American group opposing nationalists in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-39. > "I am proud to fight fascism and oppression, whether it's in Spain, Nazi > Germany or Israel," said Smith. > > The youngest demonstrator might have been Hanif Amanullah, a four-month-old > from Oakland who slept in his father's arms. "I'm marching for this little > guy," said Shahed Amanullah. "I want him to grow up in a world without this > kind of violence." > > Not everyone agreed with how the rallies turned out. Robert Elan, an > inner-city school teacher in San Francisco, felt that Saturday's actions > were supposed to be about war, racism and poverty. "Instead of focusing on > U.S. corporate corruption, the attack on civil liberties ... and celebrating > the environmental victories just before Earth Day, the multi-issue > demonstration was dominated by solidarity with the Palestinian people," he > explained. "Palestinian Independence took the front seat and relegated many > other important issues to the back seat. By doing so, the rally > de-emphasized domestic issues and the problems associated with > globalization. I believe this was a missed opportunity. Some people are > calling this a huge success for it's large numbers. I think it was rather a > failure for its impact." > > Nevertheless, as John Nichols wrote for TheNation.com, "the size of the > protests is notable because they come at a time when most political leaders > and media commentators remain cautious about criticizing U.S. policies. > Organizers across the country argued that the turnout was evidence that > there is far more opposition to U.S. policy among the American people than > the relative silence of official Washington would indicate." > > The success of the organizing and the peaceful nature of the protests will > no doubt open up some political space for larger numbers of people to more > aggressively pursue a range of issues -- and perhaps give some elected > officials a little more spine. Furthermore, the presence of large numbers of > Arab Americans and immigrants represents a breakthrough in the American > protest movement. > > "Clearly the significance of Saturday was that Americans do not support the > way Bush is handling the war on terrorism, either domestically or > internationally," said Terra Lawson-Remer. "People came out to say that > supporting freedom and democracy and opposing terrorism does not mean > expanding war and cracking down on civil liberties." > > Behind the scenes, organizers were congratulating themselves. The fact that > 75,000 people came out in the streets of D.C. without the backing of > organized labor suggests that the left has expanded its base. And perhaps > for the first time, a clear message of common ground was established between > the anti-war and anti-corporate globalization campaigns -- that they are > both about promoting justice by challenging the U.S. might, whether military > or economic, that reinforces U.S. dominance at the expense of many countries > around the world. > > Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet.org. > ............................................... > > Be the change > you want to see in the world. > -- Mahatma Gandhi
