history – Page 25 – Citizen Reporter

Zimbabwe Gets Me

Awhile back, my good friend BadHareDay in Lisbon, mentioned that he would like to see me talk more about what is going on in Zimbabwe and all the terrible things going on there over the past years. Although I’ve occasionally followed his wishes, and written about what’s going on there, the fact is I don’t often say the word Zimbabwe on the blog.

Which makes me wonder: why is that? I ask myself this as I sit down to write tonight, exhausted after two days of frisbee playing and nagging leg cramps. The only answers I can think of are possibilities; possible explanation for my choice not to make frequent references to the country and events unfolding there. You may not like all of them, but here they are:

To be completely honest, and obviously risking great condemnation now from readers, I actually thought the policy of redistributing land had a valid arguement behind it. (INITIALLY!) Obviously now I do not feel that way and the results have certainly been disastrous, sad, and a crime against humanity. But at that time, I looked at the situation in the country and on a very basic level I thought: why are all the big farms owned by white people? It struck me as odd and a sad fact. So I heard the idea of redistributing land and I thought — maybe this is what has to happen to finally stop the great income gap between black and white Zimbabweans.

Looking back, of course, we all know it didn’t take long for that idea to become a clearly destructive idea. As the country would lose its ability to feed itself, people would go hungry, and the government would continue on its path of iron fisted human rights violations and crack downs of all kinds. Perhaps this new reality was simply so sad and permanent feeling, that I had nothing new to add to what was already being said in the media.

So today I read somewhere on BBCnews that the government was taking steps to let white farmers acquire farms again. As the confiscated farms had been so mismanaged and unproductive since the evictions began. I think they called it an about-face of policy, presumably due to the lack of food and terrible shape the economy is in.

This has all been going on for years now, and I still struggle to understand Zimbabwe fully. I’ve read the history, watched events unfold, and even now I find it very confusing and moreover, frustrating. I guess a better place to read about all this is on “This is Zimbabwe” and not here. I somehow feel insufficiently informed or experienced to make sense of it all here on the blog.

Clearly a podcast topic for the near future.

Travelin South Is Good for the Sole

On the Amsterdam to Brussels snail-rail train this morning, I couldn’t avoid hearing an American couple across the isle. Nice little couple, in their 50’s, presumably travelling around Europe for the first time. They talked during the whole ride, it was exhausting. I put the volume up on the K’Naan album and luckily a hip-hop artist who grew up in Mogadishu can overpower the never ending child-like observations of Mr and Mrs Jones. Or Smith. or whatever.

But I did listen to alot of their observations, and some of it was interesting. They kept talking about what “was smart about european design” and what they should have in their homestate cause it would help with whatever problem they have back in Plansboro or boringsville Pennsyltucky. No offense to the Pennsyltukians, I’m sure you could teach the world a thing or to about something. Maybe.

So they did actually provide inspiration. Instead of just sleeping the whole ride down through the Netherlands, I looked out over the fields and the cities and I thought about the history of this place. How much things have probably changed yet if I look outside, the year could just as easily be 1955, if you cancel out the train that Im on, the mp3 player in my ears, and the whole wheat bagel I just ate. (who could find a bagel in 1950’s europe?)

I’m not a person with any religion, but I do love having 2 days off for easter. It’s always a weekend that reminds me of my familia; the A-Ren, and all the fun of being with them for holidays. But hey, here in the low countries, I have an equally great tradition from the past 4 years, of spending these days with my cousins in Brussels. Photos and vlog will be up soon, when I’m done eating pie for breakfast and lunch.

And since the photos aren’t uploaded yet, todays is of a dear friend who’s moving back to her island in the atlantic for the next 6 months.

UnCivil War and the American Public

Public opinion oh public opinion…. so often I find the significance public opinion to be one of the worst side effects of this era of alleged instantenous communication.

Not to undermine the importance of people’s thoughts, experiences, and ideas… those things are fundamentally of interest and should ideally – be shared. But often times I look at public opinion reports, consider the kinds of initiatives different publics have supported throughout history, and I start to think – why the hell should we trust what is called “public opinion”? Seems like more often the public has behaved like an angry and fickle mob, who will support some very violent or irrational practices and then change their minds a year later, only to change their minds again sometime later. And what contributes to such poor judgement and dangerous behavior? – Misinformation. Poorly educated – or rather – educated in such a way that their world view is skewed to be based on half-truths and nationalistic revisions of history.

I bring this up because lately I see the news stories and blog posts about the American public opinion regarding the occupation of Iraq. I see them all the time on blogs like Americablog and Talkleft – pointing out the lack of support the government has from its citizens on this issue.
Granted – this matters in this type of democracy, especially when an election is coming up. But what strikes me is the idea that this opinion is a good barometer to measure what is happenning in Iraq. It almost assumes that the American public is very in tune with what is REALLY going on in that country. This, in turn, suggestions that the more popular sources – CNN, FOXnews, NYTimes (less popular than the first two obviously) – that they provide enough information for the viewing public to make a proper evaluation. Which at a certain level, I do not agree with.

Some will say it’s very Machiavelli of me, to distrust the public. But I am one of the public, and one thing I know for sure, is that the basic education combined with the dominant media outlets, did not give me the critical tools and a broad world view, which would allow me to see world events unfold through a wider and more informed lense. That ability came from other sources, university professors, people in my life, the internet, life experience abroad… not the typical education the average person can afford or will seek. Which means although I respect collective action and social consciousness, I refuse to accept “public opinion” as a reliable measure of how foreign policy should be carried out. That may not add up within the American political system, but that is my personal opinion.

That being said – there are voices that have proven themselves more qualified over the years, especially as first hand observers of the events as they unfold. And one major source for me regarding Iraq observations, over the past 3 years, has been Chris Albritton at Back-to-Iraq. And indeed – he has described the situation as a medium-grade civil war. Similar observations have been made by a man who’s been at the epicentre for years – Robert Fisk. And then I look to infrequent bloggers like Dear Baghdad, and I get another clue to what’s going on.

Anyway all this to simply say – public opinion polls are nice and important in the foggy context of american politics. It is also nice, but somewhat wishful, to think that the American public is just now waking up from a deep sleep, and seeing things more clearly. But do I actually trust the opinion of the american public when I look back over the past 6 years? Hell no.

History is the Witness

It’s interesting, comparing the present to the past. And I’d add, it is not done often enough.

Let us start in the present, shall we; as the AP reports on the Saddam Hussein trial:

a defiant Saddam admitted in court that he had ordered the trial of the Shiites who were eventually executed, but he insisted that doing so was legal because they were suspected in an assassination attempt against him,

I’ve heard of such a crime, it’s referred to as treason in many countries. Matter of fact, I remember this, where was it again…. oh yes in the United States, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, here I’ll quote from Wikipedia:

The Rosenbergs were convicted on March 29, 1951, and sentenced to death under section 2 of the Espionage Act….The couple were executed in the electric chair on June 19, 1953. Reports of the execution state that Julius died after the first application of electricity, but Ethel did not succumb immediately, and was subjected to two more electrical charges before being pronounced dead.

Espionage. Treason. Whether its 2 people or 40 people, in the US or in Iraq, Saddam or Eisenhower, 1953 or 1988.. he’s not the first and certainly not the last. The main difference lies in who has the power, and presently he has lost his, while the US gets to re-write history. It comes back to the old saying – History is written by the victors. Something like that.

For this reason I don’t really care for the Saddam trial and I remain a firm admirer of Ramsey Clark, who has repeatedly defended the most infamous leaders on trial. Nothing good can come of it. A trial based on an illegal war cannot, in my eyes, lead to a fair and legitimate verdict. The world could have thought up a better way, this is a pretty amateur effort.

One last thing, which I’m also reminded of when reading about how Saddam justifies his terrible actions while president of Iraq. Sometime soon, they will try to execute Jose Padilla, whom they arrested in 2002 and still haven’t charged with anything. What will the crime be? A familiar one – treason.

Dump the Jesus of Italian Politics

We all have our wishes for the world in 2006. Many of them won’t come true, especially that one about world peace, I’m betting. But one wish I have, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable, is that the self-proclaimed Jesus Christ of Italian politics would be voted out or just have mercy on his citizens, we europeans, and the rest of the world, and simply resign.

To begin with I’m inclined to ask an Italian or any close observer of the show down there, how could a prime minister this inept maintain one of the longest running governments in the history of the country? But then that question seems silly cause, well, they re-elected GW over in the new world.

Come April, it is time to vote this oligarch, who owns most of the countries television channels, newspapers, and publishers, not to mention AC Milan, OUT! And why not have Romano Prodi, world reknown and respected leader, with his fantastic coalition of left and progressive parties that includes my favorite named party – La Margherita (Mayor of Rome’s crazy party), take back the country. And then finally it might be time for Berlusconi to face up to his financial failures, dirty secrets, and corporate crimes.

It’s one of my simple wishes for 2-0-0-6.

bm105 Health vs Jobs in Western India

In the town of Alang, in the state of Gujarat, India, the ship breaking industry once accounted for half of all the world’s ships that are broken down. It was also once a clean and beautiful beach. Neither is exactly true anymore, and the case of the Clemenceau may become the watershed moment in the history of Alang. Blogger and author Dilip D’Souza of the blog Death Ends Fun talks about his visit to the town and his analysis of what is going on and what the future holds for the workers, the community, and their environment.

AudioCommunique #105 (mp3)

Music:

Dropkick Murphys – Boys on the Docks
Coralie Clement – Indecise
Phil Ochs – Pleasures of the Harbor
Bright Eyes – Ship in a bottle