Politic Blunder Boycotts BBC

Long-time readers will remember that I have had my problems with the BBC news service in the past. The kinds of stories they choose to cover venture dangerously close to tabloidism, as does their treatment of more serious issues. 

The issue of the Disasters Emergency Committee ad not being aired reaches another level, though. As many of you will have heard, the BBC chose not to air an ad by the DEC asking for donations to provide blankets and other basic supplies to the victims of the recent Gaza conflict. The BBC have aired many DEC ads before for other crises, but have refused to air this one for fear of "giving the public the impression that the BBC was taking sides in an ongoing conflict" (in the words of BBC head Mark Thompson, an overweeningly arrogant ignoramus).

That this is a ridiculous stance to take is obvious. The DEC is a humanitarian organisation composed of such members as the Red Cross, World Vision, and Oxfam, and the ad is distinctly non-political. By not showing the ad, it is the BBC that is taking an explicitly political stance, in that they are concerned that Hamas might possibly benefit from schools being built in the areas they control. 

For these and other reasons, Politic Blunder will be boycotting all BBC news sources for exactly one year, at which point it will be subject to review. This means that I won't be visiting any BBC websites, and I will not intentionally watch any BBC televised programming. 

If any of you want to donate to the DEC for Gaza relief, go to this website: DEC

Alternatively, the address is:

DEC Gaza Crisis

PO Box 999

London EC3A 3AA

If you want to read the infuriating text of Mark Thompson's attempt to justify his "moral cowardice" (in Bill Bailey's apt words), go here.

If you want to see a haplessly retarded BBC newsreader trying to justify a decision she's too stupid to have an opinion on to aged British socialist Tony Benn, go here.

Bolivia's New Constitution - Actually A Good Idea

Bolivia yesterday approved its new constitution by a fairly large margin, with 60% voting yes on the document, whose main features are greater rights for indigenous groups and greater powers for the president.

Criticism is already piling up for Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, and a very controversially leftist figure in an incredibly polarised country where the wealthy, rich, and very white minority control Eastern portions of Bolivia, as opposed to the vast majority of poor indigenous Bolivians that form the hinterland. The constitution is being framed as a vaguely Chavez-esque power-grab, yet another ill-fated foray into socialism that simply won't work.

But the constitution itself (see a summary here) is really quite good. The proposed changes give greater rights to self-determination for the country's 36 indigenous groups, as well as reserving them a seat in Congress. Land tenure has had a (fairly high) ceiling imposed to curb landowner domination, religious and sexual freedom is guaranteed (which the rich white Catholics are really freaking out over), and the Supreme Court has been reformed such that judges are now popularly elected, rather than appointed by Congress. All in all, these seem like reasonable, fair changes, actually intended to improve the country. The only cynical rider is Morales's change of the re-election rules, which normally allow a maximum two non-consecutive terms. Morales has changed this to allow two consecutive terms, instead. This is unfortunate, but a long way from Chavez and his dreams of being president-for-life.

But that doesn't mean the constitution won't be bad for the country. Bolivia's natural gas wealth is concentrated in the rich, white-dominated regions of Santa Cruz and its surroundings, and the opposition leaders there seem more than willing to tear the country apart before accepting a more prominent role for socialism or the marginalised indigenous groups. Morales needs to offer something to these constituents too. He can't survive long if he insists on implementing reforms in spite of a third of his country.

Small-Minded American vs. Small-Bodied Chinawoman!

Ever since people figured out that martial arts prowess would determine the fate of the world (or ever since those teenagers who always believed this grew up and took positions of influence) China has been a solid pick for at least one of the belligerents of World War III. Politic Blunder is proud to bring you the comically inept warm-up bout to the cataclysmic war, with this overblown tiff over currency.

US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner started the ruckus with his comment that China was manipulating its exchange rate to give itself a trade advantage. It is ostensibly doing so by pegging its currency to the dollar, a long-standing Chinese policy. China responded "tartly", according to the New York Times (Politic Blunder notes that the required expression of all Chinese government representatives is actually "obsequious menace"), stating that such an attitude could sour relations and revive trade protectionism.

This, of course, made the USA freak out. A fantastic article (here) on the Herald Tribune demonstrates the mixture of awe, hatred, and fear that permeates the way China is viewed by the country. Awe in that they care what a country actually thinks of them (There aren't many articles that amount to "USA worried that UK might not like it anymore"). Hatred in that American experts on China are claiming that China was sad to see Bush go since now China doesn't look like the good guy by comparison any more. Most importantly, fear, in that to finance its $825 billion plan for economic recovery, Obama will have to steam Hu Jintao's dumplings extensively, asking America's biggest creditor for yet more loans.

So what Timothy Geithner (pictured above with the man who will beat him harshly for his lack of wisdom) said was perhaps a bit hasty, especially since manipulating the currency supply and exchange rates are pretty basic tools to manage a country's economy. Note the USA's deliberate policy of devaluation over the past few years to promote its exports. 

All I'm saying is, when Bruce Lee (China), faced off with Chuck Norris (USA), in the Coliseum (global politics), Bruce Lee ended up getting a fistful of chest hair (American debt), and Chuck Norris got a faceful of fist (burgeoning Chinese political and economic clout). Look it up (here).

And I Woulda Gotten Away With It, Too!

Laurent Nkunda, the mastermind behind the recent rebellion that wracked Eastern Congo, was arrested on Thursday by Rwandan government troops. 

This is unqualified good news for several reasons. First of all, Laurent Nkunda was an incredibly evil man and the world would do better off without him. His ruthless campaign elevated soldiers to leadership positions on the merit of their brutality, recruited over 2500 child soldiers by some accounts, and displaced over 250 000 civilians, causing a massive refugee crisis. That is entirely omitting the number of people he's had killed.

The arrest is also great news because the Rwandan government did it. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have had bad blood for a while, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, where over 800 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were systematically slaughtered. Rwanda accuses the DRC of supporting remnants of the genocidal elements within their territory. A UN report (referred to here) validated this suspicion, but also added that the Rwandans had been sponsoring Nkunda's devastating rebellion. Seemingly, once the game was up, both parties collectively said "whoops" and gave a cheeky smile.

So Rwanda arrested Nkunda and is considering extraditing him to the DRC, while his rebellion dissipates and the Congolese army tentatively takes control once more of the East. The DRC, for its part, has agreed to joint Congolese-Rwandan military operations to ferret out the Rwandan rebels (the FDLR, if you're curious about meaningless and ephemeral acronyms) that are harbouring the genocidal goons from 1994.

Good news? It seems so. In a tv show, this is where the episode would end and we'd get a montage of Rwanda and the DRC co-operating, patching up their differences, getting an ice-cream on the pier, and maybe sharing a tentative kiss. So I guess this would be a good time for both my readers to put on their most sentimental rock song and slowly turn the brightness of their screen down, resolving never again to read the news.

No But Seriously, Though. #2

Pictured left, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the moment of delectably unbearable sexual tension before a passionate Sapphic embrace. This interracial gay kiss will undoubtedly spark the ire of Muslims and lesbian nuns in crotchless habits, diverting attention away from both the brutal Gaza occupation and the upcoming Republican handover of power. 

More speculation on the ramifications of lesbian love at the highest levels of politics in upcoming, better funded editions of Politic Blunder.

No But Seriously, Though.

 

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshal and Hollywood exile George Clooney. Spot the terrorist!

(Clue: The terrorist is George Bush.)

Strike Me Down...

Earlier this week Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of the Sri Lankan newspaper The Sunday Leader and an outspoken critic of the Sinhalese government, was assassinated, being shot twice by men in a motorcycle. He leaves behind a wife and three children, and a posthumous editorial which, in true Obi-Wan Kenobi style, will be far more powerful than he could ever imagine due to his death.

Mr. Wickramatunga feared for his life for weeks prior to his murder, and prepared an editorial to be printed on the occasion of his death. You can read this very good piece here. It's long and a bit shrill, but it's well written and quite moving. This killing underscores, as Mr. Wickramatunga intended, the dangers of being a critical journalist in Sri Lanka today. Sri Lanka's continuing war against the Tamil Tigers' independence movement is an oft-forgotten conflict that has nonetheless killed thousands and spawned one of the more repressive and racist regimes in recent memory. Nowhere else would you find a Buddhist monk with a seat in parliament calling for the extermination of all Tamils. 

Mr. Wickramatunga will probably not be remembered for long, in Sri Lanka or internationally. There's no denying that journalists are players in the way we see politics and world affairs, but there's a conflict in our perception of them. They are often afforded a certain amount of scorn, scum who would do anything for cheap titillation and are utterly unconcerned with issues that really matter. It's good, then, that Mr. Wickramatunga can remind us that journalists are the people from whom "you learn the state of your nation, and especially its management by the people you elected to give your children a better future." There should be more like him.

A Warranted Strop

Everyone's favourite Latin American semi-demagogues are at it again! At least that's what one would think from the headlines saying that both Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, and Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, have expelled their respective Israeli ambassadors from their countries and broken off normal diplomatic relations with them. This seems like just the sort of stunt they would pull, along with condemning the USA for their inability to establish a socialist utopia, or the sogginess of their cereal.

But it is warranted. Israel's actions should make it an international pariah, and in these circumstances, Venezuela and Bolivia are the only executives acting with a modicum of sanity. Having normal diplomatic relations with Israel is tantamount to agreeing that the actions of the government are justified, or that they constitute a technical difficulty (Will Hamas stop firing bottle rockets with no houses? No children? No hands?), rather than a moral wrong.

Hats off to them, for noting that this conflict, which has killed over 1000 Palestinians and four Israelis, was not only completely unnecessary, and entirely counterproductive. Importantly, it was also very, very wrong.  

America Gets It Right on Embodiments of Evil

Unambiguous good news from the USA today, which sentenced the son of notorious Liberian ex-dictator Charles Taylor to 97 years in prison. Mr. Taylor's son, also called Charles, was born and raised in Boston before moving to Liberia in his teenage years. He became head of a paramilitary force and engaged in acts of torture and sexual degradation such as using cattle prods on people's genitals and shoveling fire ants on people after shoving them down pits. He is also a known murderer. 

The decision to convict Mr. Taylor is significant as it is the first instance of the USA convicting one of its own citizens for acts of torture committed abroad. The USA is known for its flexible stance on torture, so it is good to see that at least this disgusting caricature of depravity is enough to move the American courts to action. Both Taylor Sr. and Taylor Jr. have represented the wanton sadism and cruelty which has tragically become distinctive of African conflicts, so we should all have a drink and celebrate the end of this bloodline.

Piracy FTW in Somalia

Regular readers will remember the fantastically plucky pirates who seized the largest ship ever pirated two months ago, and since then have held it for ransom. Today it emerged that the Saudi owners of the ship have agreed to a ransom of $3 million, down from the pirates' initial demand of $25 million. The tanker itself is worth far, far more, and contains over two million barrels of oil, making the pirates either endearingly naive or admirably generous.

The pirates divided the loot on the spot after it was parachuted onto the tanker (you can actually see the parachute in the top right corner of the photo). They are now rumoured to be headed to the coastal pirate town of Xarardheere. 

Welcome Back, Politic Blunder!

As perhaps one of you will have noticed, due to a combination of imminent coursework deadlines and an Israeli invasion of Gaza, your Politic Blunder correspondent hasn't been active in the past few days. Behold my triumphant return!

The picture (above), in addition to being a peace offering to my gay male and straight female readership (and concomitantly a defiant affront to my straight male and lesbian readership), flags a truly shocking story. 

In Senegal, nine men were yesterday convicted of conspiracy to commit "unnatural acts" and were sentenced to eight years in prison, which they frankly may or may not see out alive. The pervasive and violent homophobia in Africa is an often forgotten issue, and this is especially heinous an oversight given Africa's AIDS epidemic, which the clandestine gay communities of Africa are particularly sucseptible to. Several countries in Africa including Senegal, Namibia, Egypt and Somalia criminalise homosexuality under the term "unnatural acts", and several more are in the process of pushing similar laws through parliament. Mugabe has openly called homosexuals "worse than pigs and dogs", and the president of Gambia has threatened to behead any homosexuals he catches in his country.

It is a matter for academic debate whether the backwards religious or socially motivated bigotry is a cause of Africa's poverty, or a product of it. What's clear is that this is a huge problem in Africa, and one that Politic Blunder hopes is the subject of more attention in the future.

The Rockets Aren't Working, But Soldiers DEFINITELY Will. Seriously.

Israeli forces today initiated their ground assault of the destitute and overcrowded Gaza in the hopes of permanently destroying Gazans ability to shoot home-made rockets at them. It's not clear at this point how the ground assault will achieve this, but in the meanwhile it has provided ample opportunities to destroy apartment blocks and subsequently blame the cowardly Hamas members for sleeping with their families at night, instead of out on a field alone.

The air strikes that preceded the ground invasion of Gaza have been strongly criticised by some within Israel, and everyone else outside, with protests in Tel Aviv, London, Paris, and basically everywhere in the Middle East. Despite this, most governments have been fairly compliant in maintaining the illusion that Israel is engaging in self-defence, with the President Bush arguing that Gazans brought the massive loss of life on themselves by targeting Israeli civilians.

So far the proportional loss of life has been pretty much the same as it has always been, with anywhere between two and four Israelis and over 500 Palestinians having been killed, making this the worst fighting in decades in the country.