Neil:
I agree with you that these are complicated issues. My posting here was a copy of my Facebook posting, where few people want to read anything long and complicated, and where even newlines can't be used in responses, to organize information.
I disagree with you that anyone who had a history of working with the military would certainly be involved in police work. As you should know, members of the military are expressly forbidden to engage in police activities. It is ludicrous to equate US military veterans with US police officers, who have no jurisdiction in Mexico. It is beyond imagination that any US agency would choose to send undercover spies sent to Bike! Bike! for any reason.
I doubt the part about Eric's history in "intelligence/secret services". Anyone who has had access to sensitive information would know that it is a bad idea to disclose that to random foreign nationals in a foreign country. I suspect that part was thrown in there for dramatic effect.
I agree with you that commodities trading is related to mining and harvesting resources. You completely misunderstood my comments on that matter.
I completely agree with excluding someone from Bike! Bike! if they are being disruptive or violent. Otherwise, let's make Bike! Bike! a place that welcomes anyone who supports our goals of promoting bicycle collectives and community bike shops.
From: Neil neisei@comcast.net Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2019 14:53:50 -0800 Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Kicked out of Bike!Bike!?!
These are complicated and difficult issues and I don’t feel that your over simplifications and straight up omissions are a help to the conversation.
The person in question was not simply “previously… a member of the US military”.
It was specifically stated that they have "a history of working in the military and in intelligence/secret services” and as such would almost certainly be involved in policing and/or enforcement. This was *not* an exclusion of someone who is simply a military veteran and to state it as such only confuses things.
Furthermore you seem to be suggesting that "commodities trading” somehow prevents "mining or harvesting natural resources that may harm the environment or oppress people”. Nothing could be further from the truth. it was specifically stated that the person in question currently works buying and selling gold, petroleum, gas and silver. The "steel, aluminum, rubber and plastic” that you say is necessary to have bicycles are actually not what they were said to deal in so I don’t know how that has any relevance to this case.