The world didn’t get to vote in the US elections. And of course, as much as the election was a referendum on Bush-ism, the election was not a referendum on the occupation of Iraq or imperialism or capitalist globalization or support for Israel or paramilitaries in Colombia or destabilization in Venezuela or ecological devastation and climate change… since those are priorities that transcend anything anybody gets to vote for in the US or for the US.
I wrote a piece with some obvious stuff in it a couple of days ago and got some interesting hate mail, some bizarre reactions from outlets ranging from the Socialist Worker to the Globe and Mail. There is a whole lot more to say about the United States, its political culture, and the possibilities (or lack thereof). But this blog is mostly about the world outside of the United States, and there are things going on in that world that need to be reported on.
For example, if you want an analysis of an important election, take a look at Jonah Gindin’s article at venezuelanalysis.com that analyzes the very interesting and positive results of local elections in Venezuela. As usual, the world is flipped upside down in Venezuela, where popular movements have surged from one victory to another. The local victories put the Bolivarian movement in a much stronger position to put forward its reforms, particularly land reforms, and gives local activists fewer headaches about repression at the local level.
And in case you needed a reminder that not everything is Venezuela. The remarkale Colombian union activist Alex Lopez and member of Congress, who I interviewed over a year ago, has had a threat against his life advertised by paramilitaries. Paramilitaries have killed a lot of unionists, and they are threatening to kill Lopez. Imagine a sitting member of Congress in the United States getting assassinated by killers working with the American Army. Hard to picture? Maybe because there is no one in the US Congress that is the kind of dissident activist that Lopez is. And maybe because life under US controlled domains is different from life in the US itself. The events, as reported by the UK Colombia Solidarity Campaign:
1.On 25 October an envelope arrived with a type written address directed to “CHAMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES Plaza de Bolívar BOGOTA”. In the place of the sender was put “SINTRA EMCALI Calle 18 No. 6-54 B. San Nicolás. CALI received 25 October 2004 at 2:20 p.m.”. This envelope was apparently handed in to the post room in Congress and not sent by any postal service.
2.- On 27 October 2004 RAYMUNDO MENDEZ BECHARA, Private Secretary of the Congress Presidency directed the following communication to Dr ALEXANDER LOPEZ MAYA, with a copy to Colonel JERSON JAIR CASTELLANOS SOTO, Security Liaison Official for Congress: “Respected doctor: Following instructions of the Lady President of the Chamber of Representatives, Doctor Zulema Jattin Corrales, I forward an anonymous letter addressed to you”.
3.- The white envelope with red and blue edging (not often seen having fallen into disuse some years ago) contained a sinister manuscript addressed to Dr. ALEXANDER LOPEZ MAYA that read:
“ALEXANDER LOPEZ MAYA rotten gonorrhea – you are dead – you already smell of formaldehyde, son of a bitch, mother fucker – we are going to kill you for all the misdeeds and wicked things that you have committed against the people of Cali – but before that we are going to torture you- we will pull out your eyes – we will cut off your tongue – we will slit off your ears – we will tear out your nails – we will put a bullet in each of your knees – we will crush your balls with a hammer – we will put a red hot steel bar up your backside and we will open your stomach, we will fill you with stones and throw you in the [river] – we hate you, son of a bitch you are pure shit You already know who we are”
The text ends with a skull.
4.- It is important to point out that doctor ALEXANDER LOPEZ MAYA, was in Quito Ecuador carrying out his parliamentary activities and he only knew of this document on 2 November.
The sinister manuscript arrived last Wednesday to the congress presidency addressed to ALEXANDER LOPEZ.
They are asking for email protests to be done as follows — e-mail to Uribe: login to http://www.presidencia.gov.co and click on ESCRIBALE AL PRESIDENTE at the bottom of the page.
In Palestine, Yasser Arafat is close to death, and that will have major implications. More on that in another post, soon. But don’t expect his death to change Israeli behaviour: the Israeli army is happily shelling and killing in Gaza, two children (8 and 7, Ahmad al-Sameery and his cousin Mohammad al-Sameery), in Khan Younis, along with 5 others shot and 10 homes demolished.
And yes, one more thing seems to have happened. The predicted Fallujah massacre has begun. The assault would probably have happened even if Bush had lost, but since Bush won, it is time again for American politicians to prove how tough they are to the American public by slaughtering large numbers of helpless people. If America really is ‘deeply divided’ and ‘polarized’, that could help the people of Fallujah and Iraq quite a lot. If, on the other hand, the nation works to ‘heal its wounds’, it will be doing its ‘healing’ on the corpses of Iraqis.
Justin, I missed the Globe
Justin, I missed the Globe and Mail reference… what was it??
An incoherent paragraph in
An incoherent paragraph in an incoherent column by a columnist with decent intentions, Rick Salutin. I’d summarize the article but I’m really not entirely sure what he was talking about. Anyway here’s the quote.
“Spiritedness is all, in moments of defeat and despair. It’s not enough to limply talk about soldiering on in the cause. I liked Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, as the debacle unfolded. He was buoyant, quoting Kentucky Senator and Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning’s demented slurs on his foe, which others referred to only obliquely. “And this is the guy they elected!” he burbled. It’s your tone that lets the other side know you’ll keep fighting. I also liked Slate’s deadline, “Misunderestimated again,” for its feistiness.
“That’s way better than Greg Podur on the left-wing Z-net, who said the American people “lined up behind their killer leaders when they could have rejected them.” He sounded so disappointed, as if the voters let him down.”
And yes, he called me Greg. And yes, he focused on my *tone* rather than the things I was trying to say. I was disappointed because he is sort of the token leftist on G&M, and it’s a shame to see such a sloppy piece that shows such a lack of seriousness on such an important topic and time.