On 2023-03-27 22:55, John Hawkinson via tz wrote:
Brian Inglis wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2023 at 18:24:36 EDT:
Perhaps emphasize how *stupid* these actions make the politicians involved look globally, and how widely they will be mocked, as these are great stories for opposition politicians, inter-/national broadsheets and especially tabloids, as well as hostile foreign government controlled media, providing opportunities to denigrate the government, people, and country. Recognizing that policymakers and technical staffers and even politicans do read this list and its archive, language like this is setting ourselves up for defeat. Those who do read the list will likely agree! Sometimes managers and executives need a reality check - see Dilbert PHB. We want them to see they will set themselves up for defeat if they ignore the advice.
Do you think that any politicians may actually attend, rather than delegate to staff, or that those *not attending* will be influenced by our reasoned arguments? Point out the actual effects on how they appear, their status and reputation, and will be regarded and treated, and it may be passed along as a case study in "how to kill your credibility and reputation". Showing headlines with links to BBC, Times, FT, NYT, WSJ, WP, AlJazeera too in this case, articles may be enough, with some verbal reinforcement, to make the point. We are unlikely in any case to have any influence on those with giant egos, like Boris and Donnie, who live and believe in their own fantasies, and that the world will jump because they make a decision. My experience has been that they often will never notice if their unsound decisions are just quietly ignored - they assume they will be done, but rarely check! That would have been the best approach to have been taken by Lebanese media. ;^> If they become aware, they may even thank you, or you can respond like HAL 9000. -- Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis Calgary, Alberta, Canada La perfection est atteinte Perfection is achieved non pas lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à ajouter not when there is no more to add mais lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à retirer but when there is no more to cut -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry