[LINK] {OT} Walk against War - sunday in sydney

[Damien Miller]

Grant Bayley wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Feb 2003, Damien Miller wrote:
> 
> 
>>Grant Bayley wrote:
>>
>>>Last I checked, polls != election results.
>>>
>>>And polls in the US != Australian election results.
>>
>>Democracy doesn't begin, or end, with an election.
> 
> Let me guess - it begins with 400,000 dictating what they think
> the national position in relation to world affairs should be to
> the other ~19,400,000?

I didn't see any "dictating" going on at the rally on Friday eve - I 
suppose this is just an emotive word that you use to make your point 
stronger.

The "other" 19m are quite entitled to start pro-war rallies, but I can 
only surmise from their absence that they they (partially) agree with 
the 400k or they don't care enough to attend either.

I have seen the opinion polls show that over 60% of Australians do not 
want a war without UN approval, and a sizable minority do not want war 
under any circumstances. You may choose to ignore them, but these 
numbers have been remarkably durable for something as typically fickle 
as public opinion.

> Where does it end, Damien?

I don't understand what you mean by this statement - protests by 
concerned minorities have been a part of political life before we had 
luxuries like the Internet.

If anything, I am more concerned by the influence that non-grassroots 
lobbyists (e.g. pharmaceutical, media and firearm industries) have on 
policy decisions. This happens behind closed doors and without very 
little public attention.

-d