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G-20 in Brisbane is a Waste of time

11/15/2014

It started out with Abbott of Australia threatening to "shirtfront" Putin and it continued with Harper's boorish behaviour, publicly(that is making sure the media horde was nearby), telling Putin to get out of Ukraine. Putin, responded to Abbott by sending the Russian navy deeper into the south Pacific and to Harper he shrugged and said that Russia was not in the Ukraine. Here are the 4 "hawks" ( Australia, Canada, UK and New Zealand) nipping at the Russian heel, while USA, China, Japan, Germany, India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, concerned with their own agenda and having little or no common with them. In the meantime, Italyy, France, Argentina and Spain are facing economic bankruptcy.
Teddy Roosevelt used to say that one should " walk softly, but carry a big stick", but the Bulldog, the beaver, the Kaola and the Kiwi are more about the show, more about grandstanding. There is little to be gained by this when the USA is more concerned about ISIL; China and Japan are at loggerheads about some tiny islands; India's Modi is getting his feet wet; Germany is more concerned with its trade and other deals with Russia and Brazil's Dilma has just eneded a bruising election campaign.
Joe Clark used to talk about our common "nordicity" with Russia/USSR. Under Harper this has been frozen as he trolls for votes, while neglecting the plight of missing women, especially among the First Nations; doing very little on climate change ( even as the USA and China sign an agreement to reduce emissions) and ramping up the call for an extended war in the Middle East.

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US...Mid-Term Elections. So What?

11/8/2014

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Billions spent and for what? Two-thirds of voters did not show up; the Republicans won a majority in the Senate and retained the majority in the House, and the sniping continues and the rush for 2016 has returned, more clouded than ever for the Republicans. It is going to be a bloodbath amongst the many aspirants, from Christie to Paul to Rubio to Romney to Bush and the rest of the wannabes.
On the Democratic front, president Obama has made it clear that while he is willing to compromise, he is not going to be bashful about using the veto ( the Republicans do not have the 60 votes to over-ride a veto). Immigration reform is front and center for Obama, while the Republicans are fulminating about the Health Care act. Mitch McConnell who has spent the last six years saying "no" to everything Obama, is not going to change his tactics now that he is majority leader in the Senate, and Boehner has his hands full trying to ward off the Tea-Partyers. In foreign policy, they are going to be more hawkish than the president and the still bitter McCain will be all over the place criticising anything that Obama does or try to do. They will push for an extended war against ISIL, even supporting ground troops, so Obama will have his way ( by the way, he is sending 1,500 more "trainers").
The congressional- military- industrial complex and the plutocrats are back in full force, helped by the millions spent by the Koch bros. and their corporate buddies and they will be looking to the Republicans to deliver on tax cuts, Keystone, fracking, less control on emissions and trade. It will be hot and heavy, with protestations, accusations, blame-gaming, back and forth and little will get done by Congress but Obama will act on immigration reform ( great for the Democrats with Latinos and minorities), defend the Health Care Act and continue his foreign policy ( even making more overtures with Iran , while the Israel lobby fumes)
It's all about 2016. The Republicans got their mid-term wish, for senate control, but this will come back to haunt them. The divisions and the rancor will be deafening. They will tear themselves apart, vying for the candidacy of the party, much to the delight of the Democrats. The Republicans made promises that they cannot deliver. Gerrymandering will allow them to hold on to the House, but the Presidency will belong to the Democrats.

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The battle with ISIL/ISIS

11/3/2014

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The Islamic State is faced with the full air power of the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and to a lesser extent Canada and the Netherlands, but after weeks of bombing, they continue to fight on in Syria, (especially the Kurdish defended city of Kobane) and in Iraq ( Anwar province).
Turkey is under pressure from the US and NATO to enter the fray, but has resisted so far, only stationing some tanks and troops on their border with Syria. They have, until recently refused to even allow any Kurdish fighters to cross into Syria to help with the fight in Kobane. The Turks are caught in a difficult situation. They have fought a 30 year-old insurgency with Turkish Kurds ( there has been a cease fire), and so feel that any help for the Syrian Kurds ( the Kurdish nation is split among Syria, Iraq and Turkey), may result in a stronger Kurdish claim for their own country. Turkey has made some demands. They want the US and NATO to train the Free Syrian fighters ; they want the removal of Bashar Asaad and they want a "no-fly zone" so Syria cannot bomb the rebels fighting to topple Asaad. They are also concerned with the Iranian support for Asaad ( so is Saudi Arabia and other Sunna states).
The Islamic state has seized much territory in Iraq and Syria and are proving to be a formidable force, attracting recruits from all over, especially of concern are those from Europe and North America.
The Obama administration is opposed to sending any foot-soldiers. They will instead train forces from the region to battle ISIL on the ground. That will take time and ISIL has changed its tactics, resorting to quick attacks by small forces (which are less of a target for the US planes). ISIL is very well armed, with weapons captured from fleeing Iraqi troops and using "oil money' to buy more.
The indomitable Kurds of Syria and Iraq are fighting valiantly but they need better arms and more reinforcements. It's a stalemate, but two things can change this.... more and better weapons and reinforcements for the Kurds and the entry of Turkey. Also it has to recognized that Asaad is not going to go away and that with Iran's support, and with the recruiting of the Iraqi Sunni tribes (they had been badly treated by the outgoing Maliki Shia govt. in Iraq), ISIL can be severely weakened and eventually defeated.

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The Palestinian State

11/3/2014

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Sweden has formally recoginsed the Palestinian State, joining Malta and Cyprus. Britain's parliament has voted in favor of recognizing it also and now 106 retired generals and heads of the security services has written a letter calling on Netanyahu to start serious negotiation based on the Saudi 2002 offer, supported by the Arab League and by Islamic League (Iran abstained). This offer was to recognize Israel in return for the establishment of a Palestinian state, based on pre-1967 borders and with discussions on land swaps and refugees.
The letter writers, noted that Netanyahu is a weak leader, blinded by political power. He is , too reliant on the religious right, the extreme Zionists ( Bennett) and the settlers/occupiers. He has shown that he will use the "security card" ( which the letter-writers state is no longer real), to rally support and has shown time and again that he is not interested in resuming the peace talks with his continuous sabotaging of it with more settlement building in East Jerusalerm and the West Bank.
The Americans are also becoming tired of this also as demonstrated in a recent interview by a high administration official, calling Netanyahu, among other things a "chicken-shit, and the the snubbing of the Israeli Defense minister on a recent visit to Washington.

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fig 2-b My Father and Mother to whom I owe everything

"Ecce Homo" ("Behold the Man"), Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem.

fig 1-b

figure 1-a

F. Goya
Two men fighting with clubs
circa 1819-1823

The Black Paintings Period

(Fig 2a) The Death of Innocents

Author

Ishwar R. Prashad recently retired from over 47 years of teaching.

He taught Political Science variously at Dawson College, Loyola College, Algoma University College, Sir George Williams University, Concordia University and Vanier College.

Previously, he taught for nine years in Port Mourant, Guyana.

He became Principal of Corentyne Comprehensive High School at the tender age of 21. During this time he turned down Scholarship offers to study overseas in England and the U.S.S.R.

He chose Canada and after graduating from Sir George Williams with a B.A Honours with Distinction, he accepted a Fellowship to complete his graduate work at McMaster University. He completed his first two degrees-Bachelors and Masters- in three years.

His last position was as Co-Ordinator of Political Science and Economics at Vanier College and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Concordia University.

He is married to the former Juliet Ramcharan (Library Supervisor, McGill University) and together they have three children – Indra R. Prashad, P.Eng. ,McGill (Presently Manager, Ontario Safe Water Drinking Agency), Ishwar R. Prashad Jr., B.A ,McGill (Presently, President, Kismit Gear Inc.) and Rabindra Y. Prashad, (Presently, Artist and Chef).They are the proud Grandparents of eight grandchildren-Miranda, Kamal, Ayesha, Élan, Anĵa , Étienne, Chloé, and Jasmine.

G-20 in Brisbane is a Waste of time

US...Mid-Term Elections. So What?

The battle with ISIL/ISIS

The Palestinian State

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