http://www.dominionpaper.ca/photographer/nadine_wiepning

I was surfing around the net for more information on the conflict in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and I stumbled upon the site Global Issues – it is quite impressive, especially considering it is all written and maintained by 1 person. It is an amazing collection of information, links, and documents. The article on the DRC is not very detailed, but it does have many solid links, Anup Shah, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Global Issues, Updated: March 27, 2008

The conflict in the DRC is probably the worst in the world, with over 5 million dead and between 300 000 and 500 000 woman raped. There are many guilty parties, the Congo, Belgium, the US, Rwanda, Burundi, major corporations and cell-phone users, but no clear answer to solutions.

If one week of television coverage, as we saw with Haiti, were given to the DRC, I am sure the world’s perception of the issue would change dramatically.

Article on Coltan in cell-phones

Article on corporate profits in the DRC

Another article on the general issues in the DRC

In Canada, the government has copyright over its publications, paid for with your money. The copyright extends to laws, regulations, and other documents. A copyright makes it difficult for companies and non-profit organizations to reproduce government information without their explicit permission. This slows innovation, reduces transparency and adds bureaucracy.

As part of the ongoing copyright, intellectual property and information technology consultations in Ottawa, Crown Copyright is being discussed. It is very, very important for the future of Canadians and their government that the Federal government change the existing structure. Please take 1 minute of your time to sign the petition found here at Visible Government, a non-profit organization for the transparency of government.

When I tuned in, Olbermann was not at his desk; instead, Howard Dean filled Keith’s shoes. While I may be sympathetic to Obermann’s general political opinions, having Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic Party, fill in for Keith seems like a bit of a stretch. Can you imagine Stephane Dion filling in on CTV or Stockwell Day taking the anchor chair on Global?

Not only was Dean hosting the show, he was interviewing Arianna Huffington of the liberal Huffington Post – both working together to attack the “bonus bankers” and advocate a higher tax or cap on their incomes. When I think of the word “opinion” I think of objective, researched views on the benefits and pitfalls of a given stratey. Not some gut feeling you label as gospel.

At the end of the day, Dean and Arianna were making what I like to call “liberal white noise” to offset the “republican white noise” on Fox. But as anyone with an old TV knows, white noise plus white noise just makes noise – not a signal.

This mindless partisan banter only furthers the impasse in American politics. The best summary of this charade is Jon Stewart’s infamous tirade on the now defunct CNN show Crossfire.

So, in their bureaucratic wisdom, the Quebec government commissioned a study on how to fix the problem. Their solution: a code of ethics. Bravo.

The simplest, quickest, and cheapest way to rid an organization of corruption is to increase transparency. The more eyes looking at it, the less likely someone will try and pull a quick one.

With the power of the internet, cities and governments are moving towards transparency. Obama is a leading, as usual, on this front, with recovery.gov and usaspending.gov which lists where government contracts are going. Both Toronto and Vancouver have endorsed the concept of an ‘open-city’ where data and information is freely available to the citizens.

Where is Montreal on all this? Still in the woods. In a meeting with the city last year, I actually brought up the point that contaminated sites in Montreal are very difficult to locate – the city should list them on google maps (or something of the sort). The response I got was, “Why would we do that?”. The insular nature of our french island has put us 5 years behind on many technological fronts – government transparency being a major one.

Some companies see their employees as tools to be worn to the bone – a sure fire way to mobilize workers into groups that can protect themselves. Treat others the same way you wish to be treated. Regardless of the reason of formation, unions are very bad for the individual and the company.

The best explantion I’ve heard of the negative aspects of unions was recently given by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, at a Wired conference. Unions create a two tiered work environment.

Part of the problem with Detroit, he [Elon Musk] says, is the union system. “It’s not out of the question to have unions, but if there’s going to be a union, they’d better understand that they’re on the same side as the company,” he added. “I’m against having a two-class system where you’ve got the workers and then the managers, sort of like nobles and peasants…

“Most of our experienced factory workers come from unionized environments, and we asked them what benefit did they see in unions,” he added. “They said, ‘Well, if their boss was an asshole, they had recourse.’

“I said, ‘Let’s make a rule: There will be no assholes.’ I fired someone for being an asshole. And I only had to do that once, actually.”

Not much to add, just no douches.

It seems obvious to me that Canada should open up our borders to talented people from around the world who are prepared to invest their lives in our society. Confusingly, some people think immigration is a zero-sum game. If you bring someone into the country, they will take the job an unemployed Canadian. Really, immigration is anything but a zero-sum game, new businesses mean new jobs, new wealth and new suppliers.

In fact, many of the greatest Canadian businesses were started by immigrants who came for free land; Seagram’s, Magna International, and many others. South of the border, over 50% of Silicon Valley businesses have been started by non-americans, I would imagine the same ratio holds for Canadian businesses.

As such, opening up our borders and offering our technological, legal and physical infrastructure to willing people will undoubtedly bring job and wealth growth. Let us not fool ourselves, at a paltry 35 million people in the second largest country in the world, we still have A Lot of Space. Just as we once offered free land to eastern Europeans willing to farm, we should offer easy visas to people willing to plant their intellectual seed in our nation.

If the world is flat, we should make canada the valley where the water collects – that is where the animals gather to feed.

First, let me state this clearly, I believe in absolutes. There is such a thing as The Truth. We can never be perfectly just nor perfectly true, that would be disingenuous of us – but it is something we can live into, something to constantly strive for. Too often we settle for compromise, we are told “beauty” is in the eye of the beholder, “justice” is relative, and “truth” is hidden – these are stories to help us sleep at night. The most fundamental human truth is very simple: all people have equal rights. Consequently, any situation that violates this rule is unjust.

Ah! But what of the fog of war and the clouds of perception? Merely obstacles to finding the truth and honoring it, not excuses to hide behind. The use of a “comprimise of ideals” is perhaps best illustrated by Israel’s behaviour. They claim to be unable to abide by UN resolutions, the Charter for Human Rights and other protocols because of the threats they face, they are wrong and they are wronging all of us when they say so.

On Israel, emotions are particularly sensitive. From my writings and postings on Israel, I have received much love, a good deal of indifference and too much hate; I hope to convert some of that hate into compassion. Nearly all the indignation against the defense of Palestinian rights, at the perceived expense of Israeli “self-defense”, emanates from good, decent people. In response to negative remark of Israel’s behaviour, the reaction from the Jewish community, without major exception, is a genuine sense of anger and offense. In all other walks of life, these same individuals are kind, generous, and loving, but when it comes to Israel, they quickly become enraged, threatening, and disrespectful of all but their own opinion. It is not their fault. The Israelis and their supporters see the world differently than you and I.

The supporters of Israel have been conditioned. They have been trained to believe that the nation, and its people, are on the constant brink of annihilation – from Hitler, to Iran, to Hamas – they are scared. Similar to America’s overreaction to 9/11, Israel has been in a constant state of convulsion, unable to see what they have done and who they are becoming. A major hurdle to a reasonable agreement between the Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbours is the military culture that has been created in Israel. When every 18 year old child is forced to join in the military, and most see some form of action, they grow up thinking that war is normal. It’s not. The only way to break the culture and conscription is to alleviate the genuine concerns Israelis have for their safety.

Most of Europe had conscription until the 1980s, nearly 35 years after WWII. Once the EU had been established and there were clearly no wars on the horizon, the countries could relax their military systems and effectively remove conscription. It will take a similar amount of time in Israel, but dismantling the military culture will be a fundamental part of and consequence of genuine peace and co-operation with their neighbours. Because of their military culture, Israel sees hatred and threats rather than opportunity or an open hand; in effect, they see the world through emerald glasses. In addition to the European model, the struggle for rightful representation through non-violence in India, South Africa and Segregated America stand as a beacon of light and possible inspiration for the Palestenians.

Remove these glasses and by most lengths of the stick, Israeli citizens share more with their Arab neighbours than they do with Americans, Canadians or Europeans. With their neighbours, they share history, food, culture and most importantly – location.  Israelis, in the national sense of the word, are brothers with the Arabs, and cousins with the rest of the world. If we build on this shared heritage, peace is possible.

In the struggle for Indian independence, Gandhi and his followers clearly stated that they were not fighting the British people, but rather The British System. The Israeli System, not so dissimilar, with its external American support, has corrupted its institutions, ideals and principals – to its own detriment. It is the system which must be fought, not the people.

How to fight such a system? I believe in massive non-cooperation and non-violence. Palestinians should refuse to work for Israeli companies, liberal minded citizens of the world should not purchase items which contribute to the construction and growth of the settlements and countries should not sell weapons of agression to Israel. Gandhi laid out his views on Israel and Palestine quite clearly,

“Through these friends I came to learn much of their age-long persecution. They [the Jews] have been the untouchables of Christianity. The parallel between their treatment by Christians and the treatment of untouchables by Hindus is very close. ” … Gandhi went on to say, “The Palestine of the Biblical conception is not geographical tract. It is in their hearts. But if they must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs. They should seek to convert the Arab heart. The same God rules the Arab heart, who rules the Jewish heart. … Let the Jews who claim to be the chosen race prove their title by choosing the way of non-violence for vindicating their position on earth. Every country is their home including Palestine, not by aggression but by loving service.”

Published in Harijan on November 26, 1938

A fundamental tenet of Gandhi’s philosophy is the extraction from the past, forgiveness of your enemy and the triumph of love over fear. The Palestinians and their supporters must be just and show Israel how wrong it is. Israel must be shamed into accepting the equality of the Palestenians and Israel must step out from it’s historical context into the modern, international, world. Avraham Burg, former Knesset speaker, has written a wise and timely book title, “The Holocaust is Over; We must Rise from It’s Ashes“. His main thesis is that Israel and her supporters lean on the Holocaust, pogroms, wars, suicide bombs and other traumatic events as a reason not to act and an immunity against criticism. They live in the past and cannot move forward. He goes on to say that whenever criticism is brought up against Israel, it is placed against the backdrop of the holocaust – making it more palatable. When he stated his objections to the Gaza war, his Israeli friends replied, “It’s not the holocaust!”, of course not. And in contrast to it, the Gaza war seems moderate. To break the cycle of violence, the current conflict must be removed from the historical context.

Too often, the defenders of Israel state proudly, “Israel is the only democracy in the region, the only country to tolerate a pluralistic society and defend women’s rights” and then expect that this somehow excuses them from their gross abuses of international and human rights law. There are numerous democracies that have descended into folly, democracy guarantees neither a healthy or just society and does not offer a shield cloak against criticism and legal prosecution, if anything being democratic means the people are responsible for the government. Let us pause and think about what the Israeli system has become.

Imagine what could have been. Israel, a home to the jewish people, victims of terrible crimes, could have been a beacon of hope, tolerance and peace. It could have stood up for the people in Rwanda, the Tibetans, the people in Darfur, the blacks in segregated America, the monks in Burma, and the black South Africans during Apartheid. That would have been a noble state indeed. Imagine, what could have been and what can still be, if only we try with all our hearts.

Notes.

Below is an interview concerning the book by Avraham Burg:

In fact, their is little anthropological evidence to support a genetic Diaspora, the Jewish faith spread around the Meditaranean basin, not the people (Source).

See this interesting BBC debate that degenerates into Alan Dershowitz calling Michael Scheuer a bigot. Avraham Burg, same mentioned above, and Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN (Likud), were also present at the heated debate.

Further Suggested Readings:

The Fateful Triangle – Noam Chomsky

A Defense of Israel – Alan Dershowitz

Peace, Not Apartheid – Jimmy Carter

From Beirut to Jerusalem – Thomas Friedman

All the Articles I have posted to Facebook since January 1st, 2009 as of April 8th, 2009:

Op-Ed Columnist – Israel Cries Wolf – NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor – Israel on Trial – NYTimes.com

BBC NEWS | Middle East | New support for West Bank outpost

Palestinians serenade survivors in Israel – International Herald Tribune

How some military rabbis are trying to radicalize Israeli soldiers. – By Christopher Hitchens – Slat

Soldiers’ accounts of Gaza killings raise furor in Israel – International Herald Tribune

The Palestinian Perspective: What the World Looks Like from the West Bank an…

Israel has plans for 73,000 settlement homes | Reuters

The novelist in wartime | Salon Books

Reflections of War – 14 Feb 09 – Part 1

Obama, take away the pain in my stomach

Charlie Rose – A conversation with Jimmy Carter

Carter’s One Regret – The Daily Beast

www.zcommunications.org- Chomsky on the recent War on Gaza

Edge: HOW WORDS COULD END A WAR By Scott Atran & Jeremy Ginges

globeandmail.com: Anti-Arab sentiment swells among youth in aftermath of Gaza war

Eyeless in Gaza – The New York Review of Books

Palestinian Astrophysicist in US Recounts How His 11-Year-Old Son Died in a Israeli Warplane Bombing

Gazan Doctor and Peace Advocate Loses 3 Daughters to Israeli Fire and Asks Why – NYTimes.com

Charlie Rose – An update on Gaza

Richard Silverstein: The Israeli foreign ministry itself is asking volunteers to flood news websites

Gaza: satirizing world media

Israeli strike on UN headquarters in Gaza a ‘total disaster’: UN director

King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein (1882-1951)

Pro-Israel Against Gaza…Max Blumenthal

Israeli public broadly backs the war against Gaza – International Herald Tribune

Naomi Klein: Enough. It’s time for a boycott of Israel | Comment is free | The Guardian

BILL MOYERS JOURNAL | Bill Moyers on Mideast Violence | PBS

Robert Fisk’s World: Wherever I go, I hear the same tired Middle East comparisons – Robert Fisk, Com

Charlie Rose – A conversation with Bob Simon

Israeli / Palestinian Coffin Counter

AGORAVOX – The Citizen Media

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Propaganda war: trusting what we see?

Everything boils down to action-reaction, where you control the action, you can control the reaction. By iterating rapidly over many actions, you can identify the best and most effective way to obtain the change you seek. Gandhi exemplified this strategy by repeatedly defying unfair laws, inciting a disproportionate reaction from the government, which further highlighted the injustice of the law. If the reaction did not meet his expectations, he would simply try something different. This strategy of continuously tweaking your approach strikes me as a fundamental principle of everything, from business to science to politics. Iterate, Iterate, Iterate.

Last summer, I was in Zanzibar where I met a UN observer who was embedded with the DRC troops. To put it mildly, this guy was a crazy russian. As a UN military observer, his job was to fill out reports and send them on to headquarters, he could not intervene in any way. He told stories of rape, murder and burning villages. I can’t even begin to imagine such horrors.

The Eastern Congo truly is the most dangerous place on the planet and well over a million people have died there over the past fifteen years. There are many reasons for the ongoing violence, notably the belgium dictatorship followed promptly by that of the US backed Joseph Mobutu, but the shear size, ethnic variety and rich mineral resources makes it ripe for becoming a conflict zone. Even Rwanda has profited handsomely from the conflict – exporting over 250 million dollars worth of Coltan, a substance used in our cellphones and computers. That being said, the news of Nkunda’s arrest in conjunction with the war crimes investigation of ex-congolese leader Jean-Pierre Bemba is a ray of a hope in an otherwise dismal picture. What lessons can we learn from this conflict?

During my recent flurry of posts on the Israeli-Gaza situation, I was criticized for singling out Israel which has arguably done less ‘evil’ than other nations. When I suggested a boycott of Israeli products, I was asked, “Why don’t you boycott Rwanda for their support of DRC rebels?”. Some of reasons a boycott of Rwandan coffee would be ineffective include the level of poverty, development and history in the region; however, ultimately I think Rwanda is already on the right path. Israel, I fear, is not. For a poor country in a remote area of the world, the Rwandans’ ability to compromise has deeply impressed me; their decision to crack down on this rebel and former ally reinforced my hope of Rwandan development.

The Rwandans, though far from perfect, were able to see that after the genocide in the 90s, any sort of “revenge” or “communal punishment” on the Hutus would backfire. Much like the Nazis, the Rwandan government prosecuted the serious criminals and pardonned most of the low level thugs who partook in the massacres. This was largely done without foreign aid and despite remaining tribal rivalries.

It would have been easy to seek revenge and lay blame, but they saw beyond that. This small lonely country, surrounded by instability and violence, lost a million citizens to tribal warfare; and yet, they forgave and compromised. Israel could learn something from this remote, poor, African nation.