> As an ignorant foreigner, I am puzzled at why the above piece of news has
> been ignored by the list. Chauvinist vigilantes, singly or in groups, are
> hounding a dissident municipality and have contributed greatly all over
the
> US to silencing the media. Some of it may be organized by right-wing
> organizations but it appears to be largely spontaneous (as much as
anything
> can be in the media-blitzed land of the free). Doesn't this worry anyone
> over there?
Boycotting businesses that either engage in, or seem to be part of, activities that certain groups find offensive is very American and, to my knowledge, perfectly legal. Boycotts have been a staple of lefty efforts over the decades (righty ones as well -- see the ageless Donald Wildmon for this), and it would be very difficult for Berkeley -- of all places -- to cry foul when hit with this tactic. Now, it seems that many small businesses there do not share the stance of the city council (which went 5-4, hardly a rout), and if so they should make their opposition heard, not only to those who may or may not do business with them, but also to the mayor and city council (which I'm sure is being done). But for those who supported the resolution, they had to know, in the current environment, that there was risk involved; thus they cannot act surprised when the shitstorm hits. Sometimes taking a political stance will result in you getting punched in the face. Comes with the turf.
> I mean, items like this are obviously far less important than the
> earth-shaking issue of what may or may not have happened to Nancy Oden,
> which the learned list members continue to thoroughly dissect, may Allah
> increase their great wisdom.
Yeah, well, I'm a little mystified by all this Oden chat, too. If there is now, in place, an FBI airport web set to catch domestic leftists in mid-travel, why just Oden? I mean, Chomsky, whose name has been smeared all over the country, from and high and low, since 9/11, got to Central Asia without incident, and I'm sure he was carrying with him notes and papers filled with anti-"war or terror" comments, since he's giving rather incendiary talks in India and elsewhere. Why wasn't he kept from boarding his international flight out of the same airport that one of the 9/11 hijack teams took off from? I mean, is Oden that important? I notice some minor backpedaling over at Counterpunch on this point -- not much, as AC and JSC hate to admit error of any kind. But really -- hasn't the Oden affair been blown out of proportion?
DP