Filed under: Uncategorized
Is the archive for the blogger formerly known as “Engaged Spectator“.All post from “Engaged Spectator” can be read here.
As of August 22/2008 I have moved to mediabuzzard.com.
Please update your links.
Despite all the talk about change from the Obama camp seems some things, will not be changing any time soon.
And that is,the U.S governments take on the Israeli/Palestinian issue.
Pretty much confirming Palestinian doubts…
that Mr. Obama or any other U.S. leader would reverse what they see as Washington’s bias toward Israel.
Indeed,according to Obama its a,”miracle“…
Well that’s one version of Israel history I suppose,and a peculiar one at that.
Obama seems to have over looked the fact that there was a pre-existing indigenous population.
Let’s hand it over to Nelson Mandela,his is a much more accurate assessment of the reality that is Israel. Miracle you say… ?
But then what did anyone expect,change…? Or as Obama likes to say..”change you can believe in” perhaps that should be changed to ,”change you can only hope for“.
After all,Obama also said…
So if Jerusalem is to be the Israeli capital,the negotiations are for what….?
Only time will tell whether Obama will be the one to bring real/meaningful change to the U.S and its foreign policy.
In the meantime lets not forget that this is just another political campaign,many politician promise all sorts of things only to disappoint.
That said I am prepared to give Obama the benefit of the doubt.
Perhaps once Mr Obama gets more involved in the Israeli/Palestinian issue,as promised,his views will change.
We can only hope,for the sake of the long suffering Palestinian people.
But…all said I won’t be holding my breath,particularly when Obama’s past remarks & actions speak more of preserving the status-quo than changing it.
What better time to re-print Nelson Mandela’s March 28/01memo addressed to Thomas Friedman, than on the occasion of Mandela’s 90th birthday(July 18/08).
Memo to: Thomas L. Friedman (columnist New York Times)
From: Nelson Mandela (former President South Africa)
Dear Thomas,
- I know that you and I long for peace in the Middle East, but before you continue to talk about necessary conditions from an Israeli perspective, you need to know what’s on my mind. Where to begin? How about 1964. Let me quote my own words during my trial. They are true today as they were then:
“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Today the world, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. In South Africa it has been ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. That mass campaign of defiance and other actions could only culminate in the establishment of democracy.
Perhaps it is strange for you to observe the situation in Palestine or more specifically, the structure of political and cultural relationships between Palestinians and Israelis, as an apartheid system. This is because you incorrectly think that the problem of Palestine began in 1967. This was demonstrated in your recent column “Bush’s First Memo” in the New York Times on March 27, 2001.
You seem to be surprised to hear that there are still problems of 1948 to be solved, the most important component of which is the right to return of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military occupation and Israel is not a country that was established “normally” and happened to occupy another country in 1967. Palestinians are not struggling for a “state” but for freedom, liberation and equality, (more…)
Filed under: Conservatives, Liberals, Omar Khadar, Politics, Take that"dumb" voters, Word-Smithing
Now I have no time for excuses whether from Conservatives or Liberals when it comes to the the Khader case.
Despite all the talk here , here and here in regards to the latest comments on the Khadr case by Conservative spokesperson Kory Teneycke….
The elephant in the room that everybody seems to be ignoring…
“The Liberals let this happen and the Conservatives refuse to bring it to an end.”
Both the Con’s and Lib’s dropped the ball in the name of political expedience,flip sides of the same coin the saying goes.
And all hand wringing/excuses aside,that fact is not going to be changed one iota.
The irony of Libs & Con’s attempting to occupy the moral & political high ground on this issue is laughable.
In hindsight its all just politics….
Both sides could care less that Khadr’s rights were violated,indeed,the actions of both sides have demonstrated as much.
The klaxon blares,damage control,damage control,pass the buck,pass the buck…
If I was to be asked my suggestion to Liberals would be,to put a sock in it, Canadian voters are not stupid.
The best Liberals can hope for,is that…
The continuing Conservative ineptness,in regards to their handling of the Omar Khadr file,might distract Cnd voter’s attention away from the Liberal’s own ineptness in regards to this issue.
Either that,or show some leadership and admit Liberal actions were wrong,anything less just rings hollow.
Filed under: B.C, Civil Rights, Criminalization of Poverty, Human Rights, Intolerance, Poverty, Racism, Vancouver
Yet again the do-gooder & busy bodies, backed up by squads of junior “fascists” in red,are on a mission to harass the people of the DTES & the Granville street area.
Their crime,being poor,and daring to walk the public streets & spaces
Security guards in Vancouver are discriminating against the city’s homeless by telling people sitting or sleeping on benches to move along, to stop binning in alleys, and by following and intimidating them.
In response to the tactics of the so called “Goodwill Ambassadors”,an initiative of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA).
The good people of Pivot legal society & United Native Nations have filed a complaint with the BC human Rights Tribunal.
Laura Track, a lawyer with Pivot, said the Downtown Ambassadors program, which is run by Genesis Security and the DVBIA, under the guidance of commissioner Geoff Plant, singles out street people and impedes their legal access to public areas.
The downtown core and in particular the DTES & Granville street happens to be home to nearly all Vancouver’s 6-7000 SOR’s(single occupancy rooms).Therefore if one is unemployed,disabled,living on welfare,trying to survive on minimum wage etc the chances of one ending up in the DTES are quite good.
Imagine leaving your room to walk the street or to just sit ,along comes some junior g-man in a dorky red outfit telling you to move on,like you’re some kind of dog.Or worse…
the guards follow and stare at people they find “undesirable” and take photographs and notes for unknown purposes.
Not because you have done anything wrong but because you are poor .Also if you happen to be native you are even more likely to be harassed
To add insult to injury…
The monies being used to fund,what is in affect a private business program aimed at forcing the poor from Vancouver’s public spaces & streets,are public funds.
Non-Partisan Association councillors “ignored council process and staff recommendations” to force public funding for a private business program through Vancouver City Council, a Vision Vancouver media release has alleged.
Read more here , here, and here
Also be sure to check out ‘Incivilty City‘ over at Creative Revolution.
