Playing dominoes

BLOG POST posted on November 10, 2009 by isaac

The issue with not writing often is that things pile up in the list of things to discuss. I mean, the world just seems to have gone mental since my last post.

I spent the past few weekends, apart from enjoying the usual festivities about town, going to Fresh Media and Media Democracy Day. Represent and all that. Excellent events with excellent people.

I come back and find more than one email about this little "documentary" called The Arrivals. Couple friends back in he old country were interested by its content. So I watch. And since they're 10 minute episodes X 50, it took a while. And now my eyes hurt, and so does my brain. It's not the typical conspiracy doc since it tries to bring together everything, and I mean everything. Aliens, Raelians, Israelians, NWO, the anti-christ and even Madonna (and more). As with most of these, I didn't believe it, but liked the few new facts it gave me, such as that a good number of the political elite in Washington are related regardless of party affiliation (Obama is apparently Bush's ninth cousin, something removed).

Anyway, back to reality.

I posted a follow-up this week to the situation in Yemen, titled War in Yemen Means Business. And things have already changed on the ground; so I'm going to be updating here.

So, what's more embarrassing than one government getting trounced by a bunch of rebels? Two. Saudi has thrown its weight into Yemen to fight the Houthi/Hawthi rebellion there. Apparently the Yemeni govt. was far too inept to handle it alone. Saudi's reason for this want to crush Houthis? Well, it told the US that the Houthis are Al Qaeda, and then told Europe that they're backed by Iran. I guess Saudi's hoping that the US and Europe don't talk to one another. If you read the Asia Times, you'd be fairly convinced that the Iran-Houthi connection is as solid as a rock. Or Iraq (damn I miss Arrested Development). I have trouble believing that Iran has all that much time for these things, what with it being Green November and all.

The rebels have taken their fight to Facebook, where they posted this video of a captured Saudi soldier.

Bit of good news from the region - my birthplace the UAE has decided to have female muftis doin' thangs by 2010. Fifteenth century, here we come.

A bit more good news specific to Yemen - WFP is finally able to get supplies to about a third of the refugees there.

So they've decided to set up giant dominoes where the Berlin wall used to be. To commemorate the domino effect of sudden economic shock therapy in the region that began the year the wall fell, I guess. Wouldn't it make far more sense to place giant dominoes, say, from the South China Sea, through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and into Burma?

Or, more topically, in the Middle East? Palestinian lads around the same time took down a chunk of the wall (ahem security barrier) the Israelis were putting up. 'Course, Obama never pointed his nose at Netanyahu and told him to take down his human rights barrier, so we won't get a movie and nostalgic commercials about this moment.

Noam Chompsky has once again called US foreign policy similar to the domestic policy of the mafia. Luckily, most of the would-be button-men seem to look their mafia counter-parts (well, specifically like Big Pussy) - fat and unable to carry a gun overseas. Good for the rest of the world.

Which is why Taliban fighters may have recently been able to push against the US in Afghanistan, seizing a bunch of equipment and arms. If you check the Al J video in that link, you'll find essentially the average Taliban(s) - big, lean farmers who've been walking the mountains of that country for ages wearing just salwar, turban and shawl. It's really something, stepping outside of politics and into the sphere of military strategem, to see them win out like that against one of the most sophisticated armies in the world.

In essence the US is not only repeating its mistakes in Vietnam, but also those of the Soviets in Afghanistan, in Afghanistan.

Russia - the country where you get canned from the police for venting your (and may I say, rather legitimate) complaints on Youtube.

Oh and did ya hear? They say Karzai's brother is a CIA stooge. Shock on my face. Japan's been pumping money into the country too. Something about wanting to give money to any country that has zero whale populations.

Yeah, dominoes. The Koreas are having a bit of a tiff over coastal sovereignity. Hopefully it won't go the way of the Gulf of Tonkin incident. That was a bad incident.

Hezbolla's little victory in Lebanon is being called the beginning to the fall of dominoes there. Israel is actually worried that Hez is being a bit too quiet, y'know like before the storm. I've given up on trying to ascertain what Israel wants at this point. They talk about treating soldiers for PTSD, and leave generations of kids in Gaza with the same issue.

Liberian Pres. Taylor echoed what I've just said when he told the ICC that the US was plotting to "get him" as part of its big plan to colonize the continent. Sudanese Pres. al-Bashir won't even leave home for an all-Muslim nation conference. Not that both aren't complete wankers, but I don't completely disregard accusations against the US of puppetry.

Ah, and a big shout to the lads that want to liberate the Kenyan coast from, well, Kenya.

My big pre-new-year resolution was to cover more local and national stuff (notice how I started this blog?). So here goes:

With the Van Olympics around the corner, Toronto's coming under pressure as well. The 2015 Pan Am Games will be going there, so that city'll get a dose of what we here on the west coast shall soon experience. But maybe not as dictatorship-y?

A mirror to the crack-down on homelessness in Van - the 2010 World Cup host South Africa is planning to do precisely the same to its impoverished cities.

And this is a big 'un: Canadian Federation of Students staffers have been tricking people into signing a counter-petition to a large referendum being asked for by students. More here. A leaked copy of the counter-petition is here. Love WikiLeaks.