Unpopular Dissent

It’s been quite some time since I’ve updated, partially because I wasn’t motivated by any particular news item, but particularly because I tend to write the most when I’m procrastinating on something else. Nothing has changed: the Canadian government avoids governing; the incoming American government only Change™s faces, and; Israel invades the Gaza Strip. Nothing out of the ordinary. I figure it’s about time I write something about the world arbitrarily entering 2009 (as if the ‘New Year’ brings something ‘new’ to the table).

The ‘States continues to throw money at its problems, and Barack Obama has announced that his approach won’t be any different. Apparently, his Clintonite cabinet didn’t get Alan Greenspan’s memo that trickle-down economics is seriously flawed. So the privileged middle-class will maintain its status-quo mediocracy while the millions of working poor, unemployed, and homeless people continue to suffer the full extent of the oncoming depression, and as predominantly white, male, boardroom executives take their bailout packages and proceed to go on expensive vacations with the funds.

In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s prorogation of parliament set a stronger precedent for the complete avoidance of substantive politicking, further evidenced by his grossly self-interested financial update bill and the equally selfish response of the opposition parties to coalesce when their monetary interests were threatened (rather than all the other times where Harper had done something politically questionable). Temporarily alienating many of my politico friends, I took up a stance against both the coalition government and Harper’s continued rule. I fear that the emergence of a two-party system in Canada will further polarise the Canadian political discourse into a dichotomy. This possibility runs the risk of turning every issue into a binary rather than a multiplicity, in much the same sense as the American political discourse (eg. ‘liberals’ vs ‘conservatives’; ‘terrorists’ vs ‘freedom fighters’; ‘for us or against us’; ‘capitalism’ vs ‘communism’; ‘freedom’ vs ‘oppression’; ‘democracy’ vs ‘tyranny’; etc. ad infinitum).

Halfway around the world, Israel continues the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in Gaza by killing civilians and blaming terrorists. I recommend you read the article linked above and pay close attention to the rhetoric and hypocrisy employed by the Israeli politicians. By simultaneously treating Israeli citizens as in some way deserving a peaceful life while civilian Palestinians “will probably continue to get killed, unfortunately, because Hamas put them in the first lines of fire”, Israeli politicians subtly display their sentiments of superiority and self-importance that, to them, legitimise continued military action. Israel continues to treat Palestine like a petulant and dependent child, unable to maintain its own peace, autonomy, and chances at sovereignty.

To end on a slightly more positive note (depending on how you look at it), the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace deals with quite an avant-garde and topical subject: looming potable water scarcity. Despite the poor reviews, I actually quite enjoyed the continuation of the plot from Casino Royale, though a refresher viewing of the latter is recommended to enhance the the experience of the sequel. Although the Bond franchise is a major corporate undertaking, the writers of the past two movies have been able to very subtly work in criticisms of the neoliberal mentality and the unquenchable capitalist desire for accumulation without ends, amongst the nonstop product placement Hollywood producers are so famous for. Kudos to Daniel Craig for having the integrity to insist that the character he plays have some continuity.