Pakistan retakes its sovereignty!

Pakistan's National Assembly has said no to U.S. imperialism and the destruction wrought upon the country by it. The cross-party resolution passed unanimously in the legislature and has been hailed by many as the first real step towards an independent and rational defence policy for the country. From now on the government of Pakistan will be engaging in dialogue with Taliban and Taliban-affiliated groups in the border regions of the country instead of simply attacking them and thereby whipping up more anti-government sentiment among the people living in that region.

The United States has used to War on Terror as an excuse to intrude on Pakistan's sovereignty and forced therm to accept attacks on their own soil, often times killing civilians and provoking further terrorist attacks in the area. It is a long overdue step on the side of the Pakistani government, especially one so firmly under the control of what is supposed to be a party of «change», the Pakistan People's Party. In any case, the deed is done, and there will be a significant difference in the way Pakistan handles rebels:

"Dialogue must now be the highest priority, as a principal instrument of conflict management and resolution," said the resolution. "The military will be replaced as early as possible by civilian law enforcement agencies." It also said Pakistan would pursue "an independent foreign policy" and, in a pointed reference to US military incursions into Pakistani territory, proclaimed that "the nation stands united against any incursions and invasions of the homeland, and calls upon the government to deal with it effectively". [Guardian, 24.10.08]

Libellés : Diplomatie, Guerre, Pakistan, Politique, États-Unis

par Borges à 11:03

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War and Refugees: Congo, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Sudan

• Over 200 000 people have been forced to flee from their homes in the war-torn region of Eastern Congo. Unfortunately war has been a reality for the Democratic Republic for most of its independence. One can only hope that some day the greed and corruption which are rampant in the country and fuel the war are someday swept away by the power of the working people and that the countries rich supplies of natural resources can be used to provide a basic human standard of living
  
• European MEPs have been warned not to take their eyes off of Bosnia-Herzegovina for fear that the carved-up state in Eastern Europe may yet again erupt in to conflict if the current political situation does not change. The complicated nature of politics in the 4 million strong nation-state ( which is split into the Serbian Republic and the Bosnian-Croat Federation) sees Serbian Republic Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and President of Bosnia-Herzegovina (as a whole nation) Haris Silajdzic stoking the fires of ethnic nationalism which rose in popularity after the fall of Joseph Broz Tito in the late 1980's. The international community has been told not to act as complacently as in the past.
• India's parliament has learned exactly where the government stands on refugees: they are unwanted. In response to a question by a Member, a government spokesman has confirmed that Tamil refugees will not be welcomed from across the Palk Strait to the shores of Tamil Nadu and that the responsibility is that of the Sri Linkan state.
• About 14 000 further people have been added to the roughly 1 million so far displaced in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur since the beginning of 2003. Continued fighting between government forces, their proxy militias, and the native rebels is part of a long running dispute over land and resources, in a Sudan where policies favour the rich and the Arab over the poor and the Black Africans.
  

Action can be taken to help refugees, and it should be done as a means of short-term salvation for many. Please make a donation to the UN High Commission for Refugees which is active in most of the world's trouble spots and is over-all making a difference to those displaced by war and persecution.

If only the root causes of these conflicts, most of which are said to be «ethnic» in nature, could actually be dealt with. The reality of the situation is that all the above-mentioned conflicts are results of the economy and competing interests between capitalists which use ethnic and religious differences in order to raise armies to defend their economic stakes in an area or expand or secure them. The only way out of this situation is an economy owned and planned by the common people!

par Borges à 10:12

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Québec Immigration: There simply aren't enough francophones...

Québec Liberal Minister for Immigration and Cultural Communities Yolande James has made it clear that the province, which has considerable control over the selection of skilled workers to migrate there, will not require all immigrants coming to Québec to speak French as has been suggested by some, and will instead focus on cultivating and improving potential immigrants' knowledge of French. Mme James has apparently based this decision on the assumption that the world does not have enough skilled Francophones to fill the skill shortages in Québec in a time-appropriate manner.

Last autumn the question of reasonable accommodation raged in the province, and to many this was most clearly represented in the immigration process which welcomes tens of thousands of individuals each year to work in the province who do not in fact speak the province's only official language. Many argue that the place of French in Québécois society is put in danger by lax immigration policy.

Such worries are misplaced. The language of education for all immigrants children is by law French, the language of work will for most be French, and the imperative for having a good knowledge of the language is essential in order to practice a skilled trade or profession in the province, thus, any non-Francophone skilled worker coming to Québec will no doubt be forced by the labour market and not the state, to learn the French language.

Libellés : Politique, Québec

par Borges à 13:31

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Is Harper using Québec?

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a document titled «The Harper Record», a compilation of analysis and criticisms of the Conservative administration, from economics to criminal justice, this manifesto is a comprehensive critique of the Harper government. In her discussion about Québec and inter-provincial and Ottawa-provincial relationships, Barbara Cameron sheds some light on the administration's balancing act with regards to la belle province:

The effect of trying to contain the national status of the Québécois within a framework of provincial equality is to reinforce a decentralising dynamic at the centre of Canadian federalism. Despite the often kneejerk reaction in the ROC that «whatever Québec gets, we get», the political reality is that progress on social rights and a Canada-wide level requires ending the link between the recognition of Québec and the notion of provincial equality. [Cameron, September 2008]

In summary «all provinces are not created equally, therefore Québec should have certain rights and responsibilities not necessarily granted to others because of its special status as a nation». Her observation about the governments attempt to decentralise through the back-door by using Québec as a catalyst for this destruction of the federal governments role is very perceptive.

So is she right, is the province of Québec a special case, deserving «reasonable accommodation» that other provinces are not entitled to? And is the Federal government using Québec to push for a new paradigm in federal policies and politics?

Libellés : Politique, Québec, ROC

par Borges à 13:13

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Obama supporters: Slaves to political correctness, liberated from logic...

Having occasion to speak to some of my American friends of colour, it is not surprising that almost all of them will be voting Obama for President. It's unfortunately not surprising to hear that the motivation for their voting for him is, for some, the colour of his skin.

People have openly admitted to me that they will tick the Democratic nominee this November «because he is Black». Others, Black and White, tout the «historical nature of his presidency», aka, he will be the first Black president of the United States. They don't seem to see the contradiction in terms, where they are voting for a person based on their beliefs in equality and civil rights, while simultaneously depriving another candidate (John McCain) their vote based on... the colour of his skin. 40 years on, and this is where America is at...

In other news...

An Obama supporter descended from American slaves has made the claim that John McCain's ancestors owned them, and surprise, will not be voting for him in this election. Though she has made it clear that people should let go of any hatred, I hope that anyone thinking like this University professor will make the logical leap of conciousness and withhold any support, financial or otherwise, from any West African nation, whose leaders are in many cases descended from the ethnic and tribal chieftains who traded her ancestors for guns and gold...

Libellés : Politique, États-Unis

par Borges à 10:36

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What Colin Powell's endorsement really means

Today on the American Meet the Press, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Barak Obama for the Presidency of the United States. Some will say that it is a triumph for Barak Obama, gaining the support of a key figure in the first Bush administration (2000-2004), and will attempt to analyse the motives for him doing so.

But the reality of the situation is that this endorsement simply proves what some have known all along: that there is no difference between Barak Obama and John McCain, or even George Bush for that matter. They are all slaves to capitalism, proponents of a «free» market which has ravaged the world. The United States of America has no choice in this election.

Even looking at it from a «democratic» point of view, this is not a defeat for the Republicans, however how could any so-called «Democrat» cheer at the endorsement of their candidate by such a stalwart of the «right-wing» Bush Administration. The logical conclusion for any Democrat should be that their candidate is appealing to the Bush clique, and if that is so, then they should be disgusted, shouldn't they.

Libellés : Politique, États-Unis

par Borges à 10:43

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What will another minority governmnent mean? The Liberal Party will decide...

The Liberal Party of Canada has made significant gains at the expense of the Conservatives (that would be Canadians «voting with their emotions»), with less than a week to go before the federal elections. One is delighted by this news, although during the current election campaign the party has been too focused on the Green Shift and business, and not enough on Working Canada. If the Liberal Party of Canada could form a minority government, there is chance at it being genuinely progressive, however if they form the official opposition, one is afraid that nothing more than the Ghost-Opposition status quo will exist.

As a future Official Opposition, the Liberal Party of Canada must stand by its values and its core beliefs, and ensure that the Conservative government not press ahead with its agenda. The progressive vote in Parliament is strong, with the Bloc, the NDP and the Liberals there is no question that so much more could be done to help stem the tide of Conservative law-making by working together (and not abstaining so much!).

The Conservative government must not be allowed to:

• Attack Canadian freedoms
• Cut culture subsidies
• Flagrantly disregard the common Canadian concern for the environment

The Official Opposition and other parties must push for:

• Nation child-care scheme
• Increased healthcare funding
• Free post-secondary education

Libellés : Libéraux, Politique, ROC

par Borges à 13:52

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Liberal policies have heart, however energies are misdirected

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion has been busy the past few days trying to cul the advance of the NDP on the national level by a. trying to advance his parties newest and most forward thinking policies, arguing that they are the heartened centre of Canadian politics, and b. by painting the New Democratic Party as an old-guard bastion of socialism, an anachronistic artefact of a by-gone era. Dion's main points:

• The NDP wants to tax companies, which will lead to job losses
• We want to cut taxes for everyone
• We will control the economy to a reasonable degree

Is this enough to compel people to believe that a more laissez-faire approach to the economy, that which is advocated by both the Conservative Party and unfortunately the Liberal Party of Canada? The Democrats and Republicans of the United States have both for years touted the hands-off approach towards the economy as the way forward, have they been vindicated? What the NDP wants to do is to take some of the massive profits which have been reaped by Canadian and foreign companies and invest it in the Canadian masses. Any party that is not in favour of that should take a good look at themselves and ask who are they working for?

There is much to be said for the Liberal approach, it at least takes notice that there are problems in the current taxation system, and that there must be a remedy. However placing all of their eggs in one environmentally-themed basket seems politically naive. Canadians care about the environment, but there are ways to address those concerns without neglecting other priorities, such as healthcare, housing, job security, and of course education.

Libellés : Libéraux, Politique, ROC

par Borges à 10:30

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Bloc Highlights: Their Platform «Présent pour le Québec»

In their 2008 Election manifesto, the Bloc Québécois has certainly convinced itself that it is party of a two-party system when Québec goes to the polls on the 14th, nearly every paragraph has some dedicated (unfavourable) comparison to the Conservative Party of Canada or Harper himself, but the document does end with some proposals for the future, which it promises to put forward in the coming legislative session, the best ones being:

• 8 000 tax credit to graduates who return to the regions to live and work
• Immediately increase the monthly benefits for the least wealthy seniors by 110$
• Adopt Federal Pay Equality Act

These are some genuinely worth-while proposals, and one can't think that any of the parties would be able to object to it. The development of the regions of this country (though in the Bloc's case they are referring to the Québécois regions) would be greatly enhanced by the granting of such a hefty tax credit to those who where planning on returning to their native rural areas and help offset the cost of living while trying to find sufficient employment in the often tough labour market. 1320$ extra for the poorest elderly, who could be opposed to that. And a Federal Pay Equality Act, well, it's really a no brainer.

Libellés : Pauvreté et développement, Politique, Québec

par Borges à 10:14

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