Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:42 pm Post subject: Keep it simple
Quote:
Keep it simple MICHEL COLLON
What exact rules govern the right to secession and, more generally, self-determination of peoples? Some tell us these rules are confusing. And if we believe the corporate media, we might think:
In Asia, Tibetans have that right. Not Iraqis, nor Afghans.
In the Middle East, Israelis have this right. But neither Palestinians nor Kurds.
In Africa, the gangster Generals of the East Congo have this right. But not Western Sahara.
In Latin America, wealthy (rightist) provinces of Bolivia and Venezuela have this right. But not Indigenous peoples of Chile, or of Mexico, etc...
In the Balkans, Albanians of Kosovo have this right. But not Serbs of Kosovo, nor those of Bosnia.
In Western Europe, the Flemish might have this right, but not the Northern Irish, nor the Basques.
Complicated, indeed. How can it be simplified? Like this: Only those people who are "with us" are entitled to self-determination. Noone else.
And as long as we're here, let's replace the word "democratic" by "with us" and the word "terrorist" by "against us."
One day the earth's population will hopefully develop to the point where the only national division lies in which football team you support! 'Ritualised warfare' as it was called in some movie featuring the Dali Lama.
haha, well you shouldn't need too much to be convinced that a simulated battle in a stadium (with only the occasional, mostly overacted, death) is a touch better than killing a few million!
i read some chomsky once talking about sport and how its used - i'm not sure where it was but i just found this on google that briefly summarises what he was saying
Quote:
"First of all, spectator sports make people more passive, because you're not doing them -- you're watching somebody doing them. Secondly, they engender jingoist and chauvinist attitudes, sometimes to quite an extreme degree.
...It's spectator sports that engender those attitudes, particularly when they're designed to organize a community to be hysterically committed to their gladiators. That's very dangerous, and it has lots of deleterious effects."
...
"...to take apart the system of illusions and deception which functions to prevent understanding of contemporary reality, that's not a task that requires extraordinary skill or understanding. It requires the kind of normal skepticism and willingness to apply one's analytic skills that almost all people have, and that they can exercise. It just happens that they exercise them in analyzing what the New England Patriots ought to do next Sunday instead of questions that really matter for human life, their own included."
That's the case in an ideal world, but I know from watching the religious bigotry that exists here in Glasgow that it's a lot better to let those feelings fly at a football match than on the streets. We still get the occasional sectarian killing, but it's a lot less common these days.
Sorry to flow off-topic for a second, but speaking of Glasgow, have you seen the documentary "How to Live to 101 Without Trying" faceless? Glasgow was featured, but unfortunately not for the longevity of its residents. (I capped it but haven't converted it yet.)
Kosovo/Serbia, Palestine/Israel, Tibet/China
By Noam Chomsky at Mar 25, 2008
A sustainer recently asked Noam the below question on the ZNet chat board, where Noam hosts a forum:
Sustainer: Professor Chomsky, Are there parallels between the situation unfolding in Kosovo/Serbia and the recent history (since 1948) of Palestine/Israel?
Noam Chomsky: I doubt that there is much in the way of useful analogies, in this case. Maybe I'm missing something.
Seems to me there is a much closer analogy between the Palestinian occupied territories and Tibet right now. There are dissimilarities too. Thus, rightly or wrongly, Tibet is internationally recognized (by the US too) as part of China, so what is happening there is internal. In contrast, outside of Israel (and in practice, the US), no one recognizes the OT as part of Israel, and in an authoritative judgment, confirming early Security Council resolutions, the International Court of Justice determined that the Geneva Conventions apply to the OT, so all settlement activity is in violation of international law, as are all measures (like the "separation wall") to protect settlers (the US Justice concurred). However, despite the sharp legal distinction, there are some instructive parallels that can be explored.
Take the recent US-backed Israeli violence in the OT and Chinese violence inTibet. The former is far greater, and the justifications far weaker. Just imagine how the US and Israel would react if Palestinians in illegally annexed East Jerusalem were to burn down a bank and Jewish stores, attack Jews, etc., as in Tibet We can then compare the actual reactions. In the case of US-backed Israeli violence and illegal actions in the OT, overwhelming support for embattled Israel. In the case of Chinese violence in Tibet, much grandstanding, as when Nancy Pelosi -- an enthusiastic supporter of Israeli violence -- declares passionately that if we don't stand up for Tibet we will lose our "moral authority" (she didn't explain on what that authority rests).
One can proceed -- that is, if one is interested in truth and justice and immune to shrieks of horror and a deluge of brickbats.
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