This (self-employed) wage slave is praying for a wind...
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The black hole of Blackwater
Katherine Fallah has written an excellent piece in the SMH on the dirty world of private military contractor Blackwater:
Its professional newsletter, the Blackwater Tactical Weekly, paints a different picture. Its articles include a passionate defence of the proposition that "it's fun to shoot some people" and it showcases bumper stickers spouting witticisms like "law not enforced is not law" and "lifes short break the rules" (sic).
It was a pretty quiet year, relatively speaking. Only 457 Palestinians and 10 Israelis were killed, according to the B'Tselem human rights organization, including the victims of Qassam rockets. Fewer casualties than in many previous years. However, it was still a terrible year: 92 Palestinian children were killed (fortunately, not a single Israeli child was killed by Palestinians, despite the Qassams). One-fifth of the Palestinians killed were children and teens - a disproportionate, almost unprecedented number. The Jewish year of 5767. Almost 100 children, who were alive and playing last New Year, didn't survive to see this one.
Since last September I've been doing a Masters in London. All that has now ended in something of a blur. In a period of 3-4 weeks I went from last minute memorising for exams to moving my precious few belongings across town away from the centrally located university residences to the not-so-distant, predominantly Bangladeshi Whitechapel part of the east end. The reality of life outside the student bubble has perhaps been best reflected in the fact that I can't walk to my local hang outs, or embellish the word 'narrative' or 'discourse' in my conversations as freely (supermarket attendants are far from chatty). Otherwise I'm quite enjoying my new location which has two features I shall never tire of rejoicing in - fruit and veg street markets that sell good, cheap produce; and kebab shops open 'til very late.
Certainly the past year has been a rewarding one. I learnt a great deal; happily, mostly information which built on matters I already understood to some extent. Perhaps the greatest surprise was just how diverse the student population was. I met people from all over the world and from various different professional backgrounds and age groups. Notwithstanding that, most of the students came from affluent backgrounds. To give but one example, one of my flatmates was the child of one of the most powerful Israel lobbyists in the United States. Not to worry, there were no issues in the hall ways. Believe it or not, I'm not the type of person to bring politics into the private sphere, although I did enjoy wearing my Palestine and Malcolm X t-shirts heh.
What begins now is perhaps my fifth transitional phase. Sometimes I get a bit tired of the constant change of environ. I don't think I've been in one city for more than a year now for the past 4 years. But in truth I love it. Deep down I'm an intellectual nomad. Privilege and a Western upbringing have affored me this luxury. So I choose to live it up. Notwithstanding this, expect, in time, some challenging writings from some not-so-luxurious environs.
I remain committed to radical change and figuring out how to actualise said change. Oh and I'm still angry as ever.
Don't miss our screenings of the newly released Occupation 101, an award-winning documentary film (90 min) that provides an objective and basic overview of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for anyone wanting a better understanding of the Middle East tragedy and why it's important to Americans in the U.S.! ... more
In Australia we like to think we have a strong anti-authoritarian streak. Yet this trait rarely expresses itself outside the realms of sport and race politics. Prime Minister Howard won an election on the back of the statement that "we will decide" who will come into our country. Opposition sporting teams generally find Australian crowds intimidating in their energy and enthusiasm. But that energy and enthusiasm seems to dissipate when it comes to the elephant in the room: the lack of meaningful political leadership that has plagued this country for most of its history.
Ironically, this emptiness is best reflected in the way Australia relates to political leaders. As I write this the city of Sydney is under lock down for President Bush and the APEC summit. Many Australians have taken this opportunity to protest Bush and his criminal war in Iraq. But many others have decided simply that now is a good time to take a holiday. Most will suffer the inconvenience of having much of the metropolitan public infrastructure shut down peacefully and without complaint.
This is the type of society Australia is in 2007. Not entirely the most divided or devastated of countries in the world to be sure. But increasingly a society fractured along class and cultural divides where our collective silence acts as the divide itself.
Listening to Malcolm speak always gets me charged. There is a precision to his speech that somehow channels anger into a powerful message of hope and resistance. He also reminds me how little the fundamental social issues have changed over time. But would we ever hear the current generation of 'leaders' speak like this? Could we ever imagine hearing Obama delivering a speech like this?
You can purchase a complete set of Malcolm's recorded speeches here. Buy it, distribute it, maintain the rage.
I'm going to rent myself a house In the shade of the freeway Gonna pack my lunch in the morning And go to work each day And when the evening rolls around I'll go on home and lay my body down And when the morning light comes streaming in I'll get up and do it again Amen. Say it again Amen.
I want to know what became of the changes We waited for love to bring Were they only the fitful dreams Of some greater awakening? I've been aware of the time going by They say in the end it's the wink of an eye When the morning light comes streaming in You'll get up and do it again Amen.
Caught between the longing for love And the struggle for the legal tender Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring And the junk man pounds his fender. Where the veterans dream of the fight Fast asleep at the traffic light And the children solemnly wait For the ice cream vendor Out into the cool of the evening Strolls the Pretender He knows that all his hopes and dreams Begin and end there
Ah the laughter of the lovers As they run through the night Leaving nothing for the others But to choose off and fight And tear at the world with all their might While the ships bearing their dreams Sail out of sight
I'm gonna find myself a girl Who can show me what laughter means And we'll fill in the missing colors In each other's paint-by-number dreams And then we'll put our dark glasses on And we'll make love until our strength is gone And when the morning light comes streaming in We'll get up and do it again Get it up again
I'm gonna be a happy idiot And struggle for the legal tender Where the ads take aim and lay their claim To the heart and the soul of the spender And believe in whatever may lie In those things that money can buy where true love could have been a contender Are you there? Say a prayer for the Pretender. Who started out so young and strong Only to surrender.
Say a prayer for the pretender Are you there for the pretender? Say a prayer for the pretender Are you there for the pretender? Are you prepared for the pretender?
