The Antisocial Socialist

I honestly kept forgetting that he was still alive. Happy to speak ill of the dead in this case, but it's not like he was up to particularly much in the last few years.

Related: Journalists Worldwide Really Struggling With Ariel Sharon Obituary.

It is quite simple, actually. Politicians, negotiators, and pundits are hereby forbidden from uttering the following hackneyed phrases: "painful concessions," "new realities on the ground," "Where is the Palestinian peace movement?/Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?", and "a democratic (and/or independent) Palestine and a secure Israel." Then, maybe, we'll get somewhere.

Okay, perhaps it is not the solution. But in watching the latest round of "breakthroughs," I am reminded uncomfortably of the Oslo Accords. Everyone seems to think that Obama's call for a return to the 1967 borders with the odd land swap is some sort of radical (anti-Semitic, in some circles) departure from the traditional U.S. line in these discussions, but really, it's the one thing that everyone but extremists (including myself and Benjamin Netanyahu, albeit for different reasons) seem to agree upon. As that last link puts it:

Although the use of the phrase “1967 lines” will irk many Israelis and delight Palestinians, the basic framework of an independent Palestine comprised of Gaza and the West Bank with land swaps to accommodate major Jewish settlements has long been American policy.

In fact, it's Harper, not Obama, who is Netanyahu's staunch ally this time around, (Obama's stance makes some political sense in context), drawing praise from such luminaries as convicted fraudster Conrad Black.

Harper's bluster distracts from the fact that there's really nothing new on the table, which is why May's posturing will inevitably lead to no change whatsoever. Israel under Netanyahu won't agree to the 1967 borders; the various factions within Palestine won't agree to a truncated and militarily neutered state, and two states divided on 1967 borders is likely demographically not feasible in the long term. The issue is not ultimately where the borders are adjusted to; the most perfectly drawn map in the world will not compensate for fundamental imbalances of power and resources, the refugee issue that no one wants to talk about, and the question of whether a state can be both "Jewish" and "democratic," especially once its non-Jewish population rises to equal its Jewish population.

As for the Palestinian Gandhi, lately we've seen what happens when Palestinians adopt—rightly so, by the way—the strategies of non-violence. A clash with the IDF at the Syrian border has left 20 dead. A very one-sided "clash,: since according to reports, the closest the protesters had to weapons were some rocks; if someone else were doing the shooting, we would call that a "massacre."

Here's an interesting editorial from the Guardian on non-violence in Palestine and India. (Is anyone talking about Kashmir anymore? I guess not.) And another one from Al Jazeera about the rhetorical use of children.

I actually don't think that peace is impossible, despite the overwhelming negativity in this post. Quite the opposite; I think it's inevitable, but only after Netanyahu's generation dies or retires out of politics, opening the way for pragmatists, and only after the continued entanglement of Jewish and Arab populations erodes the convenient fantasy that maps are the solution to the problem. One can certainly understand, though, given the recent violence, that no one wants to wait that long. Accordingly, I propose as a first step the purging of convenient and meaningless catchphrases from the political vocabulary in favour of a frank assessment of what is actually going on over there.

The murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis, which was probably a political assassination, represents an overwhelming loss to humanity. He was an incredible artist who devoted his life to art's highest possible purpose: creating a better future.

Here he is talking about the Jenin Freedom Theatre:



Mother Jones has a tribute. And here's the story of one of the lives he helped change.

There was a meme going around having to do with what tabs one's browser has open. So here's a snapshot of my morning reading:

1. Yahoo!Mail. This is always open.

2. Al-Jazeera. Also open frequently these days. Hugo Chavez, I am disappoint. The situation in Libya is long past diplomacy, and if you were half the anti-imperialist you claimed to be, you wouldn't give Gaddafi the time of day.

On a related note, I worry about Western intervention. It's not a knee-jerk reaction; I just don't trust our military or the Americans not to take advantage of the opportunity to further their own agenda in the Middle East. We do have a flawless track record of making everything worse.

3. More updates about Wisconsin.

4. A middle school student was suspended for holding the door open for a woman who had her hands full. And they say chivalry is dead.

5. The quiet unravelling of Canadian democracy.

Read the headlines, examine the evidence, plot the trend line dots and find that as Africans – from turnaround Ghana to impoverished Malawi – struggle to strengthen their democracies, Canadians are letting theirs slip.

6. Related to the above, the Government of Canada has now been rebranded the Harper Government in preparation for our Dear Leader declaring himself Prime Minister for Life.

7. The TDSB spends $11,000 to send trustees on a retreat to do team-building exercises. Meanwhile, schools can't afford books.

8. apperception sent me this article on insecure, whiny Nice Guys. I've read it twice now and I still can't tell if it's a parody. I am only relieved that the fellows mentioned in that article are removing themselves voluntarily from the dating pool. If they removed themselves from the internet, that'd be great too.

Oh! And exciting book on 19th century anarchists came in at the library. But I'm a third of the way into The Yiddish Policemen's Union, and I'm not sure I can put it down. What to read, what to read?

Can we stop talking about the Blade Runner sequel/prequel? It's a bad idea. End of story.

It was supposed to be a vigil for the maybe 150, maybe 300, maybe more, people killed in the Egyptian protests. Instead, the sadness turned to celebration with the news of Mubarak's resignation. There were the requisite speeches and moments of silence, but also music and dancing and people hugging and handing out candy. Despite the freezing weather (fortunately, frandroid brought tea!) I wouldn't have wanted to miss this.



( more under the cut )

P.S. Douchebag traitor Bob Rae was there, mugging for the cameras. Yes, the guy who said: “As Egypt transitions towards democracy, it is essential that stability be maintained through respect for their international obligations .....” because God knows Arabs can't be trusted with freedom and it needs to be qualified with "stability." I tried to get some folks fired up to confront him, but we couldn't find the exact quote to throw in his face in front of the cameras.

I was here, briefly, today. I think there were more than 400 people.

Here are some photos of the rally.

As anyway, if anyone knows something more helpful to do, I'm open to suggestions.

If you believe that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and sundry conflicts throughout the Middle East, will never be solved while current political and economic structures are intact, then I think you're likely right.

If you believe that said conflicts will not be resolved because you are the sort of curmudgeon who believes that people will always be fighting for some reason in one part of the world or another, then I disagree with you, but I'll shrug it off and not think any less of you for being cynical. I like cynics—I am one, at times—but if I didn't think a better world was possible, I'd have to pretty much give up, y'know?

If, however, you believe any of the following:

• there is something different about people in the Middle East that makes them fight more than people elsewhere, either because of a genetic factor or because of deeply rooted cultural values;

• Jews and Arabs have never gotten along and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on since the beginning of time and they never will get along because of something moronic written in some book somewhere;

• the ones who want to fight should be put on an island somewhere where they can duke it out and everyone else will shrug their shoulders and go on with their lives, and furthermore you are very clever for coming up with this solution all by yourself;

• "they" don't want peace;

• a resolution will only be reached once one population is deported or slaughtered; or

• the only way there will ever be peace in the Middle East is if a) the desert is turned to glass, b) the desert is turned into a parking lot, or c) someone drops a giant fifth-dimensional alien squid on a heavily populated area;

then really, you are an idiot, you lack historical perspective, and you are a racist schmuck. I got over that "turn the desert to glass" bullshit in high school at around the same time I got over Ayn Rand. It's basically the fascist end of the liberal "a plague on both their houses/cycle of violence" mentality and is just as absurd. The only reasons to think that you're living at the end of history are because you have an ego problem or are heavily invested in your own apathy, or both.

Yeah, just braid my hair and call me Pollyanna, motherfuckers. This too shall pass.

I haven't been posting about the ongoing crisis in Gaza, mostly because I've been too much in my own little world to add commentary more in depth than, "Man, that's awful."

I don't think that this is awful, though. I think it's a sign that human beings can't be kept in cages, be they the size of a prison cell or the size of a bantustan. It's a sign that no one will tolerate being deprived of the necessities of life—by their own pseudo-government or an occupying power—forever. It's going to end badly, of course. It always does.

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I've also been reading Maclean's more than I usually do, owing to an eye doctor appointment and a dentist appointment. Hence, I have learned some interesting "facts": The UN made up statistics on Canadian child poverty because, I suppose, it doesn't like Canada; the occupation of Afghanistan is going swell*; European textbooks are a communist plot for stating, among other things, that most start-up businesses are doomed to failure; you too can get rich off global warming; fibromyalgia patients are faking it; and giving Ritalin to kids increases their academic prowess in a way similar to how steroids improve athletic ability.

The latter two tidbits were from the same Barbara Amiel column. (She's also written some hilarious woe is me columns lately.) Can someone tell me why this woman is still allowed to write—or more to the point, why anyone still bothers to publish her incoherent ramblings? Unfortunately, the deeply offensive article where she shat all over people with chronic pain disorders for no apparent reason isn't online, but trust me, it's horrible. Of course, the only letters that get published in Maclean's nowadays are "your coverage of the occupation war Holy Mission in Afghanistan isn't positive enough!" and "OUR COPS ARE TOPS!" Sickening.

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In other news, the bear's preferred environment for defecating is a forested area.

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Vindication re: my reasons for being vegetarian.

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Evo-Psych finally investigates something useful.

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Have they actually admitted that we're in a recession now?

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* It isn't.

Last night, zingerella and I went to see Forbidden Lie$, about literary con artist Norma Khouri, at HotDocs. Toronto people—there's another showing on Friday, so if you get a chance, go! It's one of the best documentaries I've seen in ages (and you know I watch a lot of documentaries) and dovetails neatly with a few of my obsessions: the neo-conservative assault on the Middle East, feminism, and the madness that is the publishing industry.

( spoilers ahoy )

Remember, if you're in Toronto tonight and not incapacitated, come out to the IWW fundraiser at Smiling Buddha Bar! There will be beer. And music.

Oh, and sorry to harp on the hip hop thing again, but do we really need headlines that scream: "Hip hop code of silence envelops youths" and articles that blame Lil' Kim for Jane Creba's murder? Cause, yeah. Every other culture celebrates snitching, dontcha know?