> Low blow. I don't make EPI policy.
> EPI is not a political organization.
> I'm an employee. I'm not even in
> management.
I fail to see how the parallel I drew with EPI is a low blow. I get the fact that EPI is a think tank, funded in large part by organized labor, and that the decision-making process in such an institution is of course going to be different than in a volunatary organization like MGJ. My point was to demonstrate that one could speak meaningfully about issues of globalization and global justice w/o addressing the current situation in Iraq.
(The significance of EPI not being a "political organization" means it can't advocate for parties or candidates, correct? It's free to criticize welfare reform or the administration's Iraq policy without losing its tax exempt status, no? What am I missing?)
> For any formation involved in any sort of
> political economy issue, neglecting Iraq
> right now is deeply misguided.
I recall you faulting an MGJ press release for our demonstration on April 20th of this year for not mentioning Palestine, which in your opinion should have overshadowed the issues surrounding the World Bank and IMF. Now we are again faulted for not highlighting opposition to the coming war in Iraq. Both the demo this Saturday and the one on April 20th were in the planning stages months before either Iraq or Palestine became a pressing issues. It's easy for a group like the IAC to change the message and content of their demonstrations -- as they did for A20, shifting from an anti-war stance to a pro-Palestinian message. But it's very hard for a group like MGJ, which operates on a consensus process (where one person can "block" any potential group decision), to turn on a dime like that.
> I fail to see how the demand you quote is
> germane to that context.
It addresses your previous assertion that MGJ doesn't emphasize the power the American goverment has in setting WB/IMF policy. We know they're not from Mars.
mark
> If you click on the "Trade and Globalization" link on the EPI's homepage,
> you won't see the word Iraq either. Foolishness in the extreme?
>
> Also, you must have missed the following:
>
> We furthermore demand that the United States government, the largest
> shareholder and most influential government in the World Bank and IMF, adopt
> the above demands, and work vigorously to compel the World Bank and IMF to
> implement them.
>
> http://sept.globalizethis.org/article.php?id=34
>
> mark
>
>