Pure corporate propaganda? Officially in reaction to the fictitious security alerts issued by the U.S. Government, my company 'Security Command Center' (sigh) is sending 'Travel Advisory' (sigh) emails explicitly requesting all employees to avoid demonstrations. American friends have confirmed receiving such emails at school or work, leading to beleive the neo-conservatists are behind all this..

March 26th: "Travel security tends to focus on air transportation, but now there are other personal safety issues for travelers, most notably avoiding anti-American/Coalition demonstrations in many parts of the world. Inadvertent exposure to these events could result in animosity or violence, and travelers could become targets of individual or crowd reaction."

February 10th: "There is significant concern that the initiation of military operations against Iraq will generate notable animosity in many parts of the world. This animosity will likely take the form of protests, demonstrations and possible terrorist activity. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn into confrontational situations and possibly escalate into violence.. Avoid locations where demonstrations or large gatherings may occur." (see full mail here)