Andare, Partire, Tornare ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How very meta of me The work that sherrydarlin has been doing with Jubilee is quite interesting - it's in many ways a natural progression from her stint in the Peace Corps. In a very selfish way, I'm glad she's involved in this program, because it means she can explain things like debt relief, IMF, and the World Bank to me using small words and big diagrams, if necessary, and it saves me the puzzlement of trying to figure it all out using newspaper articles, protester signs, and the occasional discussion on Usenet. Being in the heart of Washington DC and seeing protesters sweep by, I always wondered things like "if they're anti-globalization, what are they pro-?" and "What, specifically, does the World Bank do that they don't like?" So now I'm beginning to get some of it. One of my biggest problems with writing these journal entries is that so frequently, I'm trying to capture the essence of a long discussion with Cher and Persia, usually held late at night over tortilla chips, salsa, and other munchies, with a movie playing in the background. I get interested, and decide to journal it, but can't seem to structure the discussion into something readable. In fact, I'm on the verge of giving this entry up for lost. Ok, back from a trip outside, where the temperature is nice and the sun is at least trying to shine. But I think my big statement on the Iraq situation is going to have to wait - I'm simply not in the right frame of mind for it. Suffice it to say that I think the kneejerk reaction I see from a lot of people, where they assume that Bush simply has the IQ of a turnip, is a little much, and it irks me no end. I do believe that oil has a large part to play in this, but I also know that having Saddam out of power would be a good thing. I think people would be more amenable to a war with Iraq if it hadn't cropped up so suddenly - the entire country was focused on Afghanistan, and the Iraq thing seemed to come up out of the blue. I also note that much of Europe was fine when Slobodan Milosovich was deposed, and yet Saddam seems to be an entirely different matter. Eh, forget it. We'll discuss this if you all come over and visit. Plan to stay late, and bring munchies. I'm much more coherent about political discussions at two am. 1:42 p.m. - 2003-02-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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