We've got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don't care any more – providing we don't offend the Israelis. It's not clear how many of the Gaza dead are civilians, but the response of the Bush administration, not to mention the pusillanimous reaction of Gordon Brown, reaffirm for Arabs what they have known for decades: however they struggle against their antagonists, the West will take Israel's side. As usual, the bloodbath was the fault of the Arabs – who, as we all know, only understand force.
Ever since 1948, we've been hearing this balderdash from the Israelis – just as Arab nationalists and then Arab Islamists have been peddling their own lies: that the Zionist "death wagon" will be overthrown, that all Jerusalem will be "liberated". And always Mr Bush Snr or Mr Clinton or Mr Bush Jnr or Mr Blair or Mr Brown have called upon both sides to exercise "restraint" – as if the Palestinians and the Israelis both have F-18s and Merkava tanks and field artillery. Hamas's home-made rockets have killed just 20 Israelis in eight years, but a day-long blitz by Israeli aircraft that kills almost 300 Palestinians is just par for the course.
The blood-splattering has its own routine. Yes, Hamas provoked Israel's anger, just as Israel provoked Hamas's anger, which was provoked by Israel, which was provoked by Hamas, which ... See what I mean? Hamas fires rockets at Israel, Israel bombs Hamas, Hamas fires more rockets and Israel bombs again and ... Got it? And we demand security for Israel – rightly – but overlook this massive and utterly disproportionate slaughter by Israel. It was Madeleine Albright who once said that Israel was "under siege" – as if Palestinian tanks were in the streets of Tel Aviv.
By last night, the exchange rate stood at 296 Palestinians dead for one dead Israeli. Back in 2006, it was 10 Lebanese dead for one Israeli dead. This weekend was the most inflationary exchange rate in a single day since – the 1973 Middle East War? The 1967 Six Day War? The 1956 Suez War? The 1948 Independence/Nakba War? It's obscene, a gruesome game – which Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, unconsciously admitted when he spoke this weekend to Fox TV. "Our intention is to totally change the rules of the game," Barak said.
Exactly. Only the "rules" of the game don't change. This is a further slippage on the Arab-Israeli exchanges, a percentage slide more awesome than Wall Street's crashing shares, though of not much interest in the US which – let us remember – made the F-18s and the Hellfire missiles which the Bush administration pleads with Israel to use sparingly.
Quite a lot of the dead this weekend appear to have been Hamas members, but what is it supposed to solve? Is Hamas going to say: "Wow, this blitz is awesome – we'd better recognise the state of Israel, fall in line with the Palestinian Authority, lay down our weapons and pray we are taken prisoner and locked up indefinitely and support a new American 'peace process' in the Middle East!" Is that what the Israelis and the Americans and Gordon Brown think Hamas is going to do?
Yes, let's remember Hamas's cynicism, the cynicism of all armed Islamist groups. Their need for Muslim martyrs is as crucial to them as Israel's need to create them. The lesson Israel thinks it is teaching – come to heel or we will crush you – is not the lesson Hamas is learning. Hamas needs violence to emphasise the oppression of the Palestinians – and relies on Israel to provide it. A few rockets into Israel and Israel obliges.
Not a whimper from Tony Blair, the peace envoy to the Middle East who's never been to Gaza in his current incarnation. Not a bloody word.
We hear the usual Israeli line. General Yaakov Amidror, the former head of the Israeli army's "research and assessment division" announced that "no country in the world would allow its citizens to be made the target of rocket attacks without taking vigorous steps to defend them". Quite so. But when the IRA were firing mortars over the border into Northern Ireland, when their guerrillas were crossing from the Republic to attack police stations and Protestants, did Britain unleash the RAF on the Irish Republic? Did the RAF bomb churches and tankers and police stations and zap 300 civilians to teach the Irish a lesson? No, it did not. Because the world would have seen it as criminal behaviour. We didn't want to lower ourselves to the IRA's level.
Yes, Israel deserves security. But these bloodbaths will not bring it. Not since 1948 have air raids protected Israel. Israel has bombed Lebanon thousands of times since 1975 and not one has eliminated "terrorism". So what was the reaction last night? The Israelis threaten ground attacks. Hamas waits for another battle. Our Western politicians crouch in their funk holes. And somewhere to the east – in a cave? a basement? on a mountainside? – a well-known man in a turban smiles.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Leaders lie, civilians die, and lessons of history are ignored by Robert Fisk in the Independent
On financial reform, Europe should speak loudly and carry a big stick
'The European spirit was far away'. This was the headline of a Belgian newspaper, early in october. The occasion was the measures undertaken to save Fortis, Belgium's biggest bank. Now, a couple of months later, we see that Fortis is in Dutch and French hands. Elsewhere in Europe we see that the UK has put Iceland on it's terrorist list to freeze all bank assets. The past months, the European spirit was indeed far far away.
However, in the global play of social bloodbaths and financial disasters, there are no weak, no strong, only in more or lesser extent, victims. It is of the utmost importance that member states realise this to prevent this financial crisis from ever happening again. The member states have proven that a Europe where the only aim is to protect the free market, instead of the people, doesn't suffice. The member states have proven that European governance, instead of national governance, is the only policy level to tackle these issues sufficiently.
Therefore Ecosy – the young european socialists has made a plea against the deregulatory fetish and in favor of a fair globalisation, based on the ILO standards and regulations. Fair globalisation of course is a standard that is not only to be followed in Europe as it is to be followed by Europe as well. All bilateral and regional trade agreements must include enforceable commitments to implement core labour standards, decent work, sustainable development and human rights.
“Let go!”, the liberals say, “laissez faire that market!”. But in the same manner we as socialists refuse to let go of the market, we refuse to let go of the people. To parafrase Martin Schulz: “When the global financial market is on fire, we can not let the liberal pyromaniacs be in charge of our fire department.” We must seize this historic opening in the liberal Washington consensus to put forth a socialist and social-democratic consensus based on core values such as solidarity, freedom and equality. Finally, we as members of Ecosy – the young european socialists believe in a Europe that speaks loudly and carries it's (legislative and judicial) big stick for both companies like Microsoft and financial institutions with equal force.
Wai-Hoi Tsang
International Secretary animo
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
The nationalisation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Larry Elliot writes a good article on what is effectively the nationalisation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. He points out that, by doing so, the US government has added about £3 trillion to its national debt - which is more than twice Britain's GDP.
The events do show that the Bush administration is not as laissez-faire as it makes out. It does not want to wash its hands of the crisis in the way that people feel Hoover did in the early 1930s. It goes to show that, for all its talk of free markets, when it comes to economic crisis for which they are accountable for - the US Right have been willing to undertake the biggest nationalisation in world history to stop things getting worse. The US seems to preach free market policies to the Third World but, when it comes to the crunch, democratically-accountable politicians ignore their own preaching and go for what could practically help the American housing market.
Larry Elliot rightly points out that this whole episode is a blow to the neo-liberal idea that private financial markets are perfectly functioning and that there is no need for much regulation. There is thus an opening for more social democratic policies. With the right degree of boldness, both Gordon Brown and Barack Obama could seize this opportunity. Unfortunately, as Elliot sadly notes, both seem to be missing the chance of an open goal.
Monday, 18 August 2008
Friday, 15 August 2008
200 Words by Paul Dini - Janice Syndrome
At lunch the other day my friend TR brought up the case of an attractive well-known actress, who had opted to undergo rather severe plastic surgery in an effort to look younger. As he described the woman’s now-permanently half-lidded eyes, outrageously enhanced collagen lips, and radically diminished nose, I recognized all the telltale signs of another tragic victim of Janice Syndrome. That’s what I call the questionable decision by aging actresses to remake their faces into what amounts to an almost perfect likeness of the hippy chick guitarist from the Muppet’s Electric Mayhem band. The resemblance is so striking I suspect desperate women who grew up watching the Muppet Show are bringing Janice dolls to their plastic surgeon and demanding: “Make me look like her!”
I wonder what another famous puppet, Pinocchio, might have thought about this trend. Desperate as he was to become a real boy, I can see Pinoke shaking his woodenhead in dismay at the paradox of people trying to become puppets, or at least look like them. Then again, puppets don’t age, and in today’s narcissistic society, only a dummy would not jump at the chance for eternal youth. As Janice herself might say: “Fer sure!”
http://tinyurl.com/6cxhulTuesday, 12 August 2008
Operation Betancourt - animo responds to the Belgian crisis
You can express your displeasure about the current political crisis with throwing puddles of mud like small children in the sandbox. Eventually everyone gets sand in the eyes and nobody sees clear. animo refuses to fall to this flat populist trap.
People have no use for empty accusations such as 'French-speakers have done it. " Accusations as such do not help the negotiation, but only strengthen the controversy in the country. It shows political courage not to join these positions for electoral gain and work towards compromises that are utmost realistic and in service of the country. An ode to the failure of Leterme is in this matter not an helpful act. If there's one thing on which everyone could agree it is that the past year has produced no winners.
The economy is stretched under the burdeons of this political inefficiency. The man and woman in the street see after months of aimless and goalless policy a decline in consumentary power and rising energy prices. These negotiations aren't in their best interest. The government waves one promise after the other, turns the other cheek and does nothing once more.
Elections will not change this substantially. The real problems are put on hold, unrealistic and futile promises are renewed. animo considers a fundamental debate necessary. A debate about the perverse effects of the ongoing election fever which led to endless electoral auction. Therefor animo first of all makes a plea for coinciding elections. Secondly for a reflection on the necessity of maintaining certain structures such as the provincial council and Senate. Thirdly, our electoral system should be complemented with a federal electoral district in order to advance the representativeness and the negation of 'the other citizens' in our country.
To animo it is not so much the model but the people in charge within the current political system, who have failed. Moreover, the dictatorship of the minority, and animo does not only refer to the south, has created an immense apathy in a majority of the electorate. Cartels have an overwhelming responsability to this crisis. Parties that merely represent 6% of the voters paralyze an entire country. animo makes a plea for an operation Betancourt to set the CD&V and others free of their hostage takers. Only if this condition is fulfilled there can be a possibilty for reasonable and mature talks about state reform.
A first step in the de-radicalisation of the country should be in function of our capital. There needs to be conversation about Brussels in a pragmatic manner, free of demagoguery and lingual fetishism. Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde needs to be split on short term. This division can operate in the framework of an expansion of the Brussels Region. Which can only go ahead if in the Region firstly sorting out is made of among others the reduction of the powers of the municipalities and the guaranteed bilingualism.
animo does not shy away from the debate on a further going state reform. A state reform can contribute to a better functioning of the state .. However, the idea of solidarity needs to remains central. Solidarity together with efficiency are the two terms by which a social state reform should be formed. An efficiency not simply used as an excuse for the separation of the country, but an efficiency seeking a state that provides the best possible social services for everyone and ensures that the economic engine keeps running.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Female Orgasm..I care!
The 'Female orgasm...I care!' buttons are spotted all over Belgium. On people's t-shirt's, trousers and caps. But what does this slogan mean exactly, besides raising people's attention?
The 'Female orgasm...I care!' campaign is the latest campaign on youth and sexuality brought to you by animo, young Belgian socialists. They have a long tradition on campaigning on the theme of sexuality, from safe sex actions to 'cut VAT on condoms' revendications. With the 'Female orgasm...I care!' campaign they raise attention on sexual pleasure among young people and provokes a positive discussion on sex. This campaign focuses on the female sexuality and the female orgasm in particular. Because it's still very neccesary today.
Recent research shows that more than fifty percent of young women often fake orgasms. The media shows them how to be tempting and willing, not how to stand up for their own sexual pleasure. Furthermore the female orgasm is surrounded by harsh clichés and myths such as 'women perceive their pleasure as less important' or 'the female orgasm is so hard to achieve'. Complete nonsens says animo, these sterotypes need to be tackled. Women too often lower their expectations due to this stereotypical thinking on women's sexuality. And they absolutely shouldn't.
With this campaign, animo seeks some debate among young people on sex and sexuale pleasure of both men and women. The female orgasm is the teaser to do so. animo calls upon young women to dare enjoy their pleasure, young men to care for it. Let's face it, everyone is fan of the female orgasm. Female orgasm...I dare! Female orgasm...I care!
So if you haven't got the catchy button yet, ask the Belgian comrades to join the campaign, they will provide it with pleasure, same as for all extra information. Let's take this campaign to an European level through Ecosy-Young European Socialists!
www.animoweb.be
Join us at the facebook community group www.facebook.com > Female orgasm...I care!
Monday, 21 January 2008
Guarantee security for young people in flexicurity concept by Nils Hindersmann, Ecosy Vice-President
The EU Commission has recently published a communication called "Towards common principals on Flexicurity - more and better jobs through flexibility and security." With this document the EU Commission has started a debate about the mostly in the Scandinavian countries adopted combination of evitable necessary labour market flexibilisation and additional social security. Only by using the term flexicurity a lot of political reflexes have been generated already, although it is not clear yet which concrete political measures will be undertaken.
Thus, we as ECOSY - Young European Socialist clearly state that further flexibilisation of European labour markets alone will lead to more precarious working conditions in many European countries. It is not a secret that young, female and migrant workers are those who are mainly affected by precarious working conditions. The amount of limited working contracts in the EU has risen from 63 million to 104 million in the time period 2002-2006. This is an increase of 10 million limited contracts per year. A new generation of working poor has been created in Europe. In many European countries many young people in certain branches of the service sector work for less than the guaranteed social benefits. Although an economic downturn has hit many European economies in the recent years, the employment rate has risen. But the jobs, which have been created, are paid low, are part-time and are on a limited contract basis. In addition the productivity of the labour force has recently not increased as much as in other economies. That shows that the flexibilisation of working time and working contracts has neither led to better jobs nor led to higher productivity rates compared to other economies. But still the EU Commission is claiming in their recent communication that "a more flexible labour market" is needed for the "employers and employees".
The EU Commission claims also that the dynamic, successful knowledge based European economy needs to adapt more rapidly to change in a globalised world. For us as ECOSY - Young European Socialists this objective can only be achieved with a well educated, highly skilled and socially secured workforce. In order to achieve this social minimum standards are necessary. Although the Commission admits that more social security is an important factor for highly productive workforce, concrete political measures which should be undertaken are missing. Thus, we as ECOSY - Young European Socialists call for a European minimum wage and a maximum working time of 32hours. It seems also necessary to develop further instruments to combat chains of limited working contracts and a better protection of interns who are mostly highly skilled young workers without being paid or any social security.
In addition to this, a review of the Integrated Policy Guidelines of the Lisbon Strategy is necessary. For the next three-year-cycle of the Lisbon Agenda stronger guidelines linked to employment and social policy are needed. Thus ECOSY - Young European Socialists call for:
· more support for new skills, lifelong learning and modern education/training systems which is granted for free,
· more vocational training
· a youth guarantee (job offer or training activity),
· and promotion of an active migration policy,
· a parental leaf systems, which allows parents better re461
entering of the labor market,
· more investments in childcare.
Additionally, the broad macro-economic guidelines of the next three year-cycle have to be readjusted. Thus ECOSY - Young European Socialists call for:
· more investments in research and development as well as in innovations,
· integrative policy-led approach between the reformed Stability and Growth Pact and the new generation of IPGs
· more high-quality public spending for more sustainable development,
· strengthening and broadening coordination within the Euro-area.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Cheers for Obama!
A little late, but that doesn't make it less of a... Happy New Year!
I hope you did too. I wish you the very best for 2008!
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Time for a New American Soft Power by Dexter Thillien
In a recent special edition of Newsweek dealing with America’s future role in the world, a few contributors argued for the need of the USA to renew its soft power and the power of its ideas, especially in the Middle East; and to prove their point, they took the examples of the role of the USA in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, such as the role of Radio Free Europe for instance.
However, I believe that this is an erroneous analogy to make, as the Middle East is nowhere like Eastern Europe under communism, but is actually much more like Latin America during that period.
Let’s first see why I believe the Middle East is a totally different proposition than Eastern Europe was during the Cold War.
Firstly, as opposed to the Soviet Union, the Middle East does not offer a monolithic enemy bloc. At moment only Syria and Iran are considered to be rogue states by the American administration, the rest being allies on different levels; furthermore some of these allies, such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt, heavily backed by the USA, don’t exactly fit the model of promoting democracy that has been the rhetoric of American diplomacy.
Secondly, the hatred that existed towards communism and the Soviet Union during the Cold War is not matched by a hatred of Islamism in the Middle East; we can take Hamas in Palestine as an example.
Thirdly, I do not believe that the Islamic terrorist threat comes from states as such (with perhaps the exception of Iran), but from transnational organisations.
With these main differences, I believe that the Middle East is much more similar to what Latin America was during the Cold War and this is why:
Firstly, the USA prepped up authoritarian regimes to safeguard its interests, akin to what is happening in the Middle East in relation to oil; however, at the same time, it continued to have a rhetoric about promoting democracy in the world, there is an hypocrisy there.
Secondly the USA has not been shy about intervention to enforce their interests as they did in Irak, with differing success; examples are Guatemala in 1953, Cuba in the early 1960’s, Chile in 1973 and the Central American nations of Nicaragua, Grenada or El Salvador in the 1980’s.
The USA can learn 2 lessons from this; firstly that the way Latin America democratised itself in the 1980’s and 1990’s during the 3rd wave was much more an internal process than an external one, and that in some nations that process allied itself with anti-americanism which we can still see the remnants of the Bolivarian alternative of Hugo Chavez; and secondly that using the methods that may have worked in Eastern Europe will not work in the Middle East as the USA is seen more as an hypocritical power than a beacon of liberty.
It is time for the USA to have a new soft power, not reuse obsolete ways from a past that’s gone.
Dexter Thillien is a French freelance writer and journalist. His main interests are the European Union and general political questions, especially in France, the UK and Spain.
