From: "Dave Coull" <coull2-AT-btinternet.com>
Subject: RE: History, Curious, eh wot?
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 17:01:17 -0000



Erik wrote


> Bienvenue sur la liste Patrice


Oui, bienvenue Patrice. Moi, je suis Ecossais
(pas Anglais). Je parle seulement un petit peut
de Francais, mais je comprends plus.

The anarchy list was actually started in the Netherlands. 
My wife Keri is American, but lives in Scotland.
She thinks the anarchy list should be genuinely 
international. You commented on Keri's post 
in which she asked 


>> when did this damn list turn into an American list?


A few weeks ago we were in Paris. We happened to see
a small demonstration by people on bicycles wanting 
to make the city more "green". But no sign of anti-war
activity. I bought a copy of "Liberation", the issue 
of Samedi 18 et Dimanche 19 Janvier, which had a front 
page about "Irak   -  Le reveil des antiguerre", and 
inside many pages about the anti-war movement in the USA, 
the UK, and indeed worldwide. "LIberation" had an editorial 
about how different things were in France. Here it is:


"La mobilisation semble pour l'heure mois active en France
que dans certains autres pays, et qu'aux Etats-Unis meme.
On peut trouver diverses explications a cette apparente 
indifference Francaise. La principale etant sans doute
l'habilite de nos gouvernants, de Gaulle hier, Chirac
aujourd'hui, a afficher leur 'resistance' a Washington,
flattant ainsi l'antiamericainisme hexagonal, mais reduisant
d'autant la portee des manifestations de rue. Il faut aussi
peut-etre y voir les effets d'une vision moins naive des
affaires du monde, a l'oppose du moralisme, voire du messianisme
qui inspire la politique etrangere des Americains, convaincus
de leur rectitude politique, et de leur vocation a combattre
le Mal   -   Saddam pour Bush, la guerre pour ses adversaires."

It does seem to be true that while the French government
has been distancing itself from the warlike stance 
of Bush and Blair, there is less of an active anti-war
movement in France than in some other countries.
What do you think of Liberation's explanation
for this? 

Patrice wrote
 

> I'm reading this list for a while  now. This 
> is my first post. It might not be the last


That would be good. It's okay if you want to write 
a bit in English and a bit in French. Probably
quite a lot of people on this list can understand
French, even if they are less comfortable using
it themselves. 


> I'm  still wondering if this list is not
> for some kind of elite.


Help to make the answer to that "no".


Dave Coull