(snip)

> But yeah, I had the same reaction. *What* were they trying to do?

I had a somewhat similar reaction to the recent IMF/World Bank protests in DC. There was a lot of yelling about how a lot of nations are poor and exploited, but they seemed to be protesting the *fact* that nations are poor and exploited more than any coherent cause.

"Down with the IMF" seems an odd chant to me. Even if you completely buy the argument that the IMF/World Bank worsen the economic woes of poor nations (which is ludicrously oversimplifying things), it doesn't make sense to simply get rid of them. That, to me, sounds akin to solving the problem of a corrupt police force by abolishing law enforcement.

Besides, the demonstrators seemed to be protesting the post-Cold War system of globalization more than anything else. Unfortunately, the only way to end that system is to start destroying global communication.

The real solution to global poverty involves cooperation between governments, international organizations, and businesses. But I guess it's easier for a bunch of suburban hippies to get together and yell 'damn the man.'

Bal "Sarcasm, anyone?" anthlaus