I *still* don't think that either Obama OR Cameron *wanted* to go to war - neither country can afford it with missiles at £1Bn a pop!!!
With Putin coming onside, perhaps there might be room for some real statesmanship to emerge rather than the tub thumping disingenuous (ie LYING!) politicians we have had to put up with!!
With Cameron who would have marched them off to war no doubt wanting to claim the credit, ahem, ahem.
Now, that Rouhani also welcomed the Russian proposal, it all looks, going back to the original questionn about 'shaming', as the vote was the opposite - a triumph for England, as it started the chain of events that reversed, almost, the situation.
Amen!
Just passed the 900,000. It slowed down very fast yesterday but the second call seems to have speeded things up and now less than 100,000 to go to make the million. Now Obama has gone very much on the diplomacy tack, so things are looking a bit brighter. Fingers crossed for a peaceful solution.
avaaz stands at about 830,000. It should make the million some time during our night. No matter how the chemical weapons negotiations are going, this petition is making its point because of its signatories.
Difference is when Jugashvili had a bad hair day and more people copped it than any known petition or other poll has ever seen stick their moniker to it. Here, the debate has been great, watching politicians up to generally no good has been 'instructive' (for want of a better word) and there is an outside chance of innocent bystanders not becoming the anonymous incidental casualties.
you are welcome
Susan Boyle wasn't a campaign, was she? But when AVAAZ campaigned against Murdoch taking over BSkyB Jeremy Hunt backed down, he said so himself.
And on Syria they have an impressive record helping journalists reach places others orgs don't reach.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avaaz
Just listened, Alex - thank you!!
Morning, Cate - yes I am a great Dara fan too - particularly his face which is so hugely expressive :-)
One of the (many) things I love about SFN is the wide range of views, opinions and experiences here!
And having just discovered a nacent "bald patch" - I don't want to talk about "bad hair days" :-)
:)
And of the 13 how many will not be FFL?
No comparison between avaaz and the Susan Boyle poll. This is a non-political line, non issue specific campaigning platform that has been very effective throughout its five years. It does not contribute to the discussion, it responds to the need to react to a situation allowing other media to do the informing. People who are doubtful about how useful those sites are are probably better off ignoring them than making negating comments that are ultimately put downs. That way they do not come out of it looking silly.
Thanks for the link, Cate - good way to start the day!
What Syria means to us?
An excellent programme by John Kampfner today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bgy8g
Actually, AVAAZ is one of the most influential campaigning platforms/pressure groups in the world. Look it up, it's not just about politics but social and ecological issues too.
Goodnight, mate!!
I have been so impressed by the rapid response, the way this petition has built. OK - I know that even 1,000,000 "signatures" world wide is a flea bite - only just more than the readership of the Grauniad in the UK (around 700,000 I think) but the fact that it is truly international is almost mind blowing.
I think that it is brilliant that the French Government appears to have *listened* to the petition for increased support in French schools. *I* didn't vote, because I think that is a domestic matter - although I agree wholeheartedly with the objectives.
Thanks Catherine and James for creating this forum - it is great!!!
The debate for sure... now to put my little ladies to bed, goodnight all!