Vadim Antonov wrote:
On Sat, 15 Sep 2001 measl@mfn.org wrote:
And do what exactly? They have every right to speak, even if you don't happen to like the message.
Hmmm :) Now, are those the same people who set up firewalls? It's restricing free speech of crackers, you know? Where's your williness to give them "every right to speak"?
You're a hypocrite.
WOAH. Wait a minute, Vadim. Just because you (or anyone else) may have a right to free speech in your particular jurisdiction and circumstances doesn't mean you have a right to be received in my (or anybody else's, for that matter) ear canal or understood in my heap of synapses. Or that you have free access to airwaves etc etc. [..]
Now, let me tell you how it looks like from Russia: US is asking for help in dealing with terrorists, but does not want to curtail it's own support for terrorists waging a full-blown war on Russia. This is the message millons of people there get by the very fact of that site's existance.
Hmm. You know, you do have the right to ignore 'free speech' and proceed as if nothing happened. No matter what the 'container' of 'free speech' had inside. The application of slander in a free speech context is a quite problematic area. Again, this really belongs into a U.S. constitution discussion rather than here.
Does anyone have questions on why Russia's support for the proposed anti-terrorist strikes by NATO is lukewarm?
There are obviously a myriad of reasons, not the least the rather complicated relationship between Russia and NATO. I think that we would be all better off if Russia, the countries represented through NATO and the rest of the world unite in a common goal. Personally, while I'm outraged at these incidents, do believe supposedly peaceful smoothtalking isn't going to make any difference in this matter, I am very troubled by the invocation of article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. It sets a very dangerous precedent. I think NATO is an antique and needs to change with the times, but that's a seperate discussion. I think a response by force is needed. I don't believe anything but a sustained campaign by many means is going to be effective. I think that 'effective surgical strikes' is an oxymoron and that this world (the U.S. included) needs to accept that dealing with this problem will incur significant losses if we hope to make any difference whatsoever. Cheers, Chris