Apologies for the time away from blogging. I had the pleasure of being on a two-person panel with John Clarke of OCAP over the weekend, organized by the London Project for a Participatory Society (LPPS). We were talking about “taking back the city” and, as much as I enjoy being on a panel with John, he always puts me to shame. The talk was video recorded and might be available at some point on youtube.
Apologies for the time away from blogging. I had the pleasure of being on a two-person panel with John Clarke of OCAP over the weekend, organized by the London Project for a Participatory Society (LPPS). We were talking about “taking back the city” and, as much as I enjoy being on a panel with John, he always puts me to shame. The talk was video recorded and might be available at some point on youtube.
On to blogging business. First, I wanted to mention the March 6 national demonstration in Colombia. The idea of this mobilization is that it be what the government-sponsored mobilization in February was not – a demonstration against the major violence in Colombia and its major purveyors, the paramilitaries and the state. I’ll write more about that here in the coming days, or hope to.
Other notes. Castro stepped down. I don’t have much to say that others haven’t said about Castro, but I have been reading a lot of environmental literature lately and authors mention in passing that Cuba is the model for a post-carbon future. Organic urban agriculture, self-sufficiency, resilience to natural disaster, public health infrastructure. Unfortunately the writers I’ve read seem to go out of their way to try to distance themselves from Cuba’s government on account of its political system (as if Cuba’s is the only flawed political system or anywhere near the most repressive in the region) and no one can seem to write about Cuba or Castro without throwing in some smears. Cuba wouldn’t have its health infrastructure, or its food system, or its energy system, or its scientific infrastructure, without its revolution. The reason Cuba has these things and is able to deal with emergencies and problems is because of its institutions, organizations, and solidarity. It’s probably also worth mentioning, as I have before, that Cuba is a model of international solidarity. Haiti’s doctors have been trained by Cubans, who work in rural parts of the country that would otherwise have nothing. Venezuela’s poor have benefited from Cuban doctors and Cuban technology. South Africa’s freedom would have been delayed by many years without military help from Cuba against the apartheid regime. Reading the history from before the revolution to the present, it is pretty clear that Castro’s strategy was central in it. And is probably more important in Latin American events today than people recognize. I think a lot of the left governments in Latin America, especially Venezuela, have benefited from Castro’s advice and experience. That’ll be hard to replace. But don’t count the Cuban people out. As important as Castro was, the revolution was more than him and isn’t going to disappear when he goes.
The Pakistan elections were very positive. What pessimists were looking at as the only two possible forces, the Islamists and the military, were both dealt blows. Of course, Musharraf might do another coup and the US can always mess things up (so can the military). But this is yet another example of a people, given even a tiny bit of breathing room, using it to do exactly what’s needed and exactly what could give the whole region a chance. My friend Badri Raina wrote a simple commentary for ZNet about it from the Indian perspective, just called “Well Done”.
The Canadian (conservative) government released its federal budget, with low-growth projections, tax cuts, subsidies to manufacturers, debt payments, money for police and nukes. The other parties, including the liberals, supported the budget, which makes them responsible for it, as they were the previous round of tax cuts in October. Not much to say about this just now, other than it’s more of the same – the conservative strategy in power of reducing the revenue stream, feeding friends and coercive powers, and setting things up so that services can be cut as unaffordable. The nuclear business is obviously troubling – given what the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is currently suffering trying to stop uranium mining on their land (with their chief, Bob Lovelace, having been sentenced to jail for opposing the mining) – perhaps nuclear is being offered as the solution to climate change. It isn’t (and more on all this before too long, I should think).
Perhaps I’ll conclude today’s roundup with a word on Palestine. Gaza’s quietly been put back under siege. I think it’s fair to say Palestinians have done their share (like the Pakistanis with the election). What about the rest of us?
