@Tom
Originally posted by Gruntboy
Embargo Iraq and you're a racist who hates muslims.
Embargo Israel and you're anti-semetic.
No?
I think what Grunty is getting at here is that if you ask for an embargo on a country, you are automatically accused of being a racist or a bigot or of having some other agenda besides protesting against that country's actions. Is seems to be impossible to separate religious intolerance and genuine dismay at specific actions when you are dealing with countries like Iraq and Israel. If you stand up and say "what you are doing is wrong" then the counter argument always seems to be "You wouldn’t say that if you did not hate me (and my religion), and so your arguments are meaningless".
These views get fed back into the political process and countries like the UK end up in an endless dialog that goes nowhere and results in little (or nothing) being done.
As for my view:
There will never be an embargo on China as it is a major player in the world economy at the moment. Too many billions of trade dollars are at stake to take risks antagonizing it.
The UK will always follow the lead of the US in the middle east (to the detriment of its position in the EU). If the US places an embargo on Israel (Ha Ha), then the UK will do the same. It the US lift sanctions on Iraq (Double Ha Ha), the UK will follow.
As a consumer, I could stop buying products from a particular country, but (with the exception of food) it is often very difficult to find out where a product is made. If you buy something like a TV or a computer or a moblie phone, the bits and pieces come from all over the world. Even with clothes, you are relying on acurate labeling and the place of manufacture is not always where the cloth is woven. I prefer to concentrate to trying to buy organically produced/Fair Trade type items as that way more of the money goes back to the producers.
I try to limit my politial activities to protesting against my own government and trying to get my own back yard cleaned up before I start to pretend that I am wise enough to fix up anyone elses problems.
