It is less than two weeks and already, there are noticeable changes, at home and abroad. The President's economic package has passed the House, even though not a single Republican supported it. They will rue the day. The President extended his hand to them, courted them and even visited them on the Hill and yet , they could not get over their petty jealousies and their partisan ways. They stuck to their traditional/ ideological line. They fiddled, while all around them, the signs are that the recession is here and has to be dealt with directly and immediately. Pres. Obama also sent a message that he is committed to his green policy, by issuing orders/ guidelines for the auto industry and taking other measures to show his seriousness. He also introduced "pay equity",( fair pay law), correcting the dioscriminatory policy of paying women and minorities less. On average women are paid 23% less than men and minority women receive even less. This law signed by Obama, amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and put the old Equal Employment Opportunity Commission standard, into law (the Supreme Court had struck it down in 2007, by a 5-4 decision, by declaring that claims must be filed 180 days of first offence and thus made it harder to sue. The EEOC HAD ARGUED THAT THE 180 DAYS BEGAN WITH EACH NEW PAY-CHEQUE).
Overseas, the Obama impact was seen in the Israeli rushing to withdraw from Gaza, before Obama was sworn in. He has appointed Sen. Mitchell as his special envoy to the region, Mitchell had successfully negotiated the end of the Northern Ireland violence. He has his work cut out for him, but Pres. Obama swift action has indicated his committment to this so far, intractable problem, unlike Bush who frittered the gains that was made during the Clinton years. His appointment of Richard Holbrooke to be his "super envoy" to Afghanistan and Pakistan, again demonstrate that he is engaged , no more buisness as usual. Holbrooke had successfull negotiated the Dayton Accord ending the genocide in former Yugoslavia. Both Hillary Clinton, Sect. of State and Holbrooke are on record as not willing to support the corrupt and ineffective Karzai administration. Clinton has referred to Afghanistan as a "narcostate"and Holbrooke has very critical in his speeches about Karzai's government, saying among other things that Afghanistan's " central government has shown that it is simply not up to the job". Any chance of success in Afghanistan must begin without Karzai. Pakistan is also being put on notice. The recent strikes by "drones", has shown that Obama is not hesitant to use force.
Russia is also signalling that it is willing to change its recent bellicose position on U.S. missile shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. Plans to base Iskander missiles in the western region of Klainingrad and direct them toward Europe, have been suspended. This avoids another Arms Race and another Cold War, because unlike the Bush Administration, Obama is, at least, for the time being not pushing ahead with the plan to deploy an anti-missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic, to "defend against threats from Iran". Common sense is prevailing, not jingoism.
There is more optimism, both at home and abroad. Pres. Obama 's appearance on al- Arabiya, and his direct address to the Muslim world during his Inaugural Speech, were clear signals that he wants to open dialogue without pre-conditions. This bodes well for the future.
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Finance Minister Flaherty, consulted and laboured and produced a hodge-podge spending spree, with short-term gain but long-term pain, all to please the Liberals and cling to power. It took the scatter-gun and not the surgical approach. It threw money at a lot of groups, but was not well targeted. It needed to make more money available immediately and directly to Canadians, in the form of tax cuts and social infrastructure spending.....schools and hospitals where most of the workers are women.... 40% of women do not make enough to benefit from the meager tax cut, they do not make enough to pay taxes. The budget lacks vision and is more political than economic. The despair of British Colonialism and the Promise of Tomorrow They came, they saw, they cried, they laughed and they marvelled. A day and a crowd like no other. Historic, monumental, stirring and peaceful. Over 2 million and not a single disturbance, not a single arrest, just goodwill and good feelings. It was spine- tingling, it was euphoric, it was unbelievable and yet it did happen The American constitutiion, written by America's first elite, ( 55 wealthy, white men), perpetuated elite rule and placed many protective devices, designed to ensure their control, through checks and balances, ( A written and rigid constitution, a federal system with residual powers to the states, a bi-cameral legislature, the House of Representatives elected every two years, the Senate, one third of whom are elected every two years but serving six years and a President elected every four years, not by popular vote but by an Electoral College, a Bill of Rights and an appointed Supreme Court with powers of judicial review). Change will be incremental, not revolutionary. Cruel Necessity/ Senseless Brutality Machiavelli, in The Prince, advised that " the first impression that one gets of a ruler and of his brains is from seeing the men he has about him ". George W. Bush surrounded himself with religious fundamentalists, Cold War idealogues and " good ole boys" from Texas and the result has been disastrous for America. Israel and the United Nations Francisco Goya’s painting, of two men fighting with clubs, up to their knees in the mire/quicksand, clubbing each other, slowly sinking, in a duel to the death( fig 1-a)….. They are Israelis and the Palestinians. There seems to be no end to this conflict (Abraham’s betrayal/rejection of Hagar and Ishmael of biblical lore, this blood feud, replaying itself over and over again, ad infinitum, becoming bloodier and bloodier. The safety of Canadians trapped in the Gaza, was dismissed by the supercilious Harper, as the responsibility of Hamas. Like Pontius Pilate ( fig-1b), he washes his hand and the fate of these several dozens are “the responsibility of Hamas”, according to his mouthpiece, Peter Kent, parroting the Israeli line ( the obsequious McKay and the obtuse Cannon follow suit ).. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees, on the other hand expresses “ profound shock and sadness”, at the rising civilian deaths and the continued blockade, that is keeping them in Gaza, and the U.N. refugee chief, Antonio Guterres, said that “this is the only conflict in the world in which people are not allowed to flee”. |
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![]() "Ecce Homo" ("Behold the Man"), Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem. ![]() figure 1-a ![]() (Fig 2a) The Death of Innocents Author Ishwar R. Prashad recently retired from over 47 years of teaching. Archives
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