Author: Justin Podur

Author of Siegebreakers. Ecology. Environmental Science. Political Science. Anti-imperialism. Political fiction.

And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time…

Sorry for returning to Christmas musings so soon, but I have been hearing that Live Aid/Band Aid song far too often recently. You know the one with George Michael, Boy George, Bono, etc., from the 1980s? Bono’s line in it is: “Well, tonight thank god it’s them, instead of you…”

I don’t know the whole story of this Band Aid effort but I know that it went on during the famine in Ethiopia. I also know that the singers were motivated by decent intentions, as people like Bono have been since.

And yet, there is something wrong with that song, isn’t there?

Continue reading “And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time…”

If I wrote fiction…

I would re-write Voltaire’s ‘Candide’. It’s a great little book – Voltaire’s writing in the 18th century (I think). The opening scene has this professor Pangloss explaining how everything is for the best and that this world is the best of all possible worlds. Then the main character, Candide, undergoes a series of disasters that were all quite routine for people at that time.

I think a re-write of such a book would be quite appropriate. Candidates for Pangloss abound, from Francis Fukuyama to any of the more upbeat right-wing types in the US. And think of all the disasters the modern Candide could undergo? You don’t need to use your imagination. In fact, Jonathan Schwarz has put together an absurdly tragic story of an Iranian family who just lost their jobs. That’s at Under the Same Sun. Check the cartoon too.

Encounter with a conservative nationalist

In my explorations of the Canadian political landscape I hit upon a complex figure – a person who calls himself a ‘conservative’ but stands for things one wouldn’t normally think of when the concept of ‘conservatism’ comes up. His name is David Orchard and I found his book interesting enough that I thought I should interview him. I read the book and did the interview looking for serious flaws in his framework and analysis. But while we have some honest disagreements, I did find his ideas to be very interesting and worth serious consideration. I also found him to be a person of integrity – he doesn’t dodge questions or shrink from honest debate. Last, even if you disagree, he is someone who gives serious thought to questions of political strategy. There are a number of things radicals could learn from people like Orchard. Take a look at the interview.

Orchard is an unabashed Canadian nationalist. Samir Hussain is an activist with the Indigenous People’s Solidarity Movement based in Montreal. In contrast to Orchard, Hussain finds Canadian nationalism to be offensive. You will find his latest piece on Canada to be an interesting contrast with the Orchard interview.

And since no entry about Canada today would be complete without some mention of Haiti, there are two articles worth looking at about the recent demonstrations against Canada’s role in turning Haiti into a protectorate. One in Quebec Indymedia, the other in The Dominion.

Unrelated but sad, Exemplary journalist Gary Webb has died under mysterious circumstances.