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Bush sets them up, Obama knocks them down.
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

In honour of Dubya's last official press conference as President of the United States of America I thought I'd try to generate a list of his accomplishments (never accomplished alone, of course, but with lots of help), since during the press conference that took place today he discussed his legacy.

Here it goes:

1. Not reading enough into intelligence that predicted 9/11. (Or is that Clinton's bad?)
2. Reading too much into intelligence that predicted Iraq had 'weapons of mass destruction' and had something to do with 9/11.
3. Reducing Iraq to a burned out shell.
4. Trying to build a stable democracy inside that burned out shell.
5. Not admitting to reading too much into intelligence that predicted Iraq had 'weapons of mass destruction' and continuing to look for those weapons and talk about them until the rest of the world called him on it.
6. Not paying enough attention to Afghanistan.
7. Really pissing off everyone in New Orleans.

Feel free to add to the list ... I know there's more but I don't have enough time to think of it all.

My favourite quote from his press conference today?
I think that would be this one. In reference to the current situation in Iraq:
Pres. George Bush: "Will the democracy survive? ... That's going to be a challenge for future presidents."
Translation: "You're welcome, Obama. Enjoy."

January 12, 2009 | 2:48 PM Comments  1 comments



Freedom of movement (with some restrictions of course)
About this event: TakingITGlobal Live Chat on Youth Migration

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

TakingITGlobal hosted a Live Chat just before the holidays on Youth Migration, which turned out to provide an interesting portrait of just what youth are facing when they attempt to take advantage of the 'shrinking world' and 'increasing connectivity' we're all meant to be benefiting from as a consequence of globalization. If the sarcasm in that last sentence wasn't obvious then I should explain that what we all understood from the portrait drawn by our speakers of Youth Migration in our day and age was that it is not necessarily made easier by 'globalization' and that it is in fact often a dangerous, disappointing and victimizing experience.

Migration is one of those issues that is especially relevant to youth but for some reason is not readily recognized as a youth issue, or is not often associated with youth when it is discussed at higher levels. Migration is a youth issue because youth are the largest group affected by, participating in and victimized by migration. It is similar in this way to an issue like HIV/AIDS, which is affecting youth more than anyone else, and yet youth are so often left out of the processes and policies addressing it.

Youth decide to migrate to another country for countless reasons - education, work, living conditions, etc - and you might think that now it must be easier than ever for this to happen. Thanks to new communication technology youth are more aware than any other generation of what is going on in the world around them, the internet lets us learn about opportunities in distant places and increasing international travel makes it more likely that we can get to those opportunities. I think most of us will have heard at one time or another how globalization and communication technology are bringing us all closer together and breaking down the geographical, political and technological barriers that used to separate us - right?

The opposite is happening for the majority of youth migrants. What we learned during the Live Chat is that globalization has created new barriers to keep people out, rather than breaking down the old ones. It seems that the greater connectivity globalization has created amongst economies and industries has increased the dangers of migration, because it has narrowed the channels for legal migration, therefore forcing more and more youth to attempt illegal migration. The global free market economy, Naomi Onaga (Director of Migrants Rights International) explained, makes keeping certain people in their countries working for low wages attractive and therefore channels for legal migration narrow except in the case of temporary labourers. Temporary labourers are denied citizenship, job freedom, and residency. They become vulnerable to abuse by employers because of this. The type of low-wage labour they are allowed to participate in means that they will bring little skill or knowledge back to their native communities.

It all makes for a pretty bleak picture, made worse by the dangerous journeys ahead of those who attempt to illegally migrate. Migrants - most often youth - are drowning while attempting to cross from North Africa to Spain or Italy, dying in the desert attempting to enter the USA, or are becoming victims of forced migration. If they make it to their destinations they will likely be greeted by a population that is mostly hostile to them, and sees them as dangerous.

The whole discussion had a special relevancy for me, because I will soon be a migrant myself. Leaving Canada for an overseas opportunity, but I'm lucky, because I will be migrating legally, will enjoy all of my rights and be relatively safe while doing it - or as safe as anyone can expect to be on an international flight these days. The Live Chat really sharpened those inequalities that mean that I will be able to take advantage of an opportunity in a different country, and others will face nothing but misery for trying to do the same.

To try and not end on a bad note, there are those working towards international recognition of migrants, more opportunities for legal, safe migration and, maybe most importantly, opportunities for work, education and a better life for youth in their home countries and communities. These people include the speakers who took time out of their busy schedules on December 18 - International Migrants Day - to join our Live Chat.

The biggest hurdle of all might be to change people's perception of migration and migrants themselves. I thought the image above was a great way to think about that issue. Of course, technically refugees and migrants are considered to be in different categories, but I think it speaks to the same fear of foreigners, immigrants, migrants or refugees being 'dangerous' or 'bad'. In fact, communities that welcome these people and make the best use of their skills benefit from them. Einstein is a pretty good example.

These are the organizations that supported our Live Chat on Youth Migration:

Migrants Right International
December 18
Young People We Care



January 7, 2009 | 1:43 PM Comments  0 comments



Canadian politics is getting heated.
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

It's not very often that there can be a blog title like this one. Canadian politics = exciting? What? Where am I? But for once - we've got something going on. I think what is happening now in Ottawa might actually be more exciting than what is happening right now in American politics. What is happening right now in American politics is Obama naming Hilary Clinton his Secretary of State which isn't exciting because everybody already knew it was happening two weeks ago.

Whereas no one in Canada saw this one coming. Bam! The Liberals, NDP and Bloc have all been secretly scheming against our latest Harper government since they all 'lost' to him during an election featuring one of the worst voter turnouts of all time.

If Harper's government tries to pass a budget that includes no stimulus package for the Canadian economy and cuts public funding for political parties they are going to pounce! If Harper's government presents a revised budget they will probably pounce anyways! Bringing down the government in a no-confidence vote and then asking to create a government made up of a coalition of Liberal, NDP and the Bloc when they feel like it.

This is pretty exciting for people who like watching Harper's sneaky plans to establish a Conservative monopoly within Canadian politics blow up in his face.

I like the coalition idea because it's a risk, it's new, it's sticking it to Harper, and it feels more like real politics than anything I've seen in Canada in a long time.

I don't like the coalition idea because it will make Stephane Dion Prime Minister, it will give the Bloc a lot of power to decide which coalition legislation goes through and which doesn't, and it will be unstable in a period where stability would be good.

So it's more like choosing the lesser evil. The stability of knowing you have a sneaky grinch as your Prime Minister. Or the potential of having five bickering 'Prime Ministers' (Dion, Ignatieff, Rae, Layton and Duceppe) and then a swift return to the grinch.

December 1, 2008 | 3:34 PM Comments  0 comments



Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu ... Bye.
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Soon-to-be no longer President of the United States of America. You know you'll miss him.

November 4, 2008 | 1:03 PM Comments  4 comments



Blog Action Day 2008: Which side are you on?
About this event: Blog Action Day 2008
About the book: "The Politics of Empire: Globalisation in Crisis (Transnational Institute)"

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

A few years ago when researching for an essay, whose topic I can't remember anymore, I happened across this passage from a book introduction by Russian sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky and economist Alan Freeman:

"... The globalised world is an imperial one: this fact simply conforms to direct daily experience outside the charmed circles of Western economic fortresses."

It really struck me at the time because it seemed like such a fitting description of the state of things. Instead of classic imperialism there is economic imperialism. And the imagery used in the passage - a 'fortress' - really stuck with me. It seemed to describe a world where there are walls dividing those people who belong to 'charmed circles' - and who are safe and certain within these 'economic fortresses' - and those who live outside the walls, with constant uncertainty and no guarantees. At the time I was particularly obsessed with the fact that it seemed to describe me: a relatively safe and happy person with little idea of what daily life is like for those who aren't lucky enough to be a member of the middle-class in a prosperous country like Canada. And today - Blog Action Day - this passage came back to me again, because today thousands of bloggers will be talking about the 'state of things' described by Kagarlitsky and Freeman: the inequality that exists in our world and the extreme poverty that it produces.

Today the 'Western economic fortresses' seem an especially relevant topic, because the fortresses seem to be shaking - stock markets in New York, London, Tokyo, Moscow, Toronto and elsewhere have spent the last week fluctuating at rates that have never been seen before. This doesn't necessarily mean that the sun is going to stop shining on any of the 'charmed circles' described by Kagarlitsky and Freeman- actually those most affected and hardest hit by an 'economic slowdown', or 'global recession', or 'global financial heart attack', will most likely be those already living with poverty. The same answer applies to the global problems of rising food prices, climate change, and global health threats - like HIV and AIDS, malaria or TB. [Of course calling them 'Western' economic fortresses ignores the poverty that exists inside what are traditionally referred to as 'Western' countries, and there are definitely those living with poverty in both rich and poor countries alike.]

I don't have a particular solution to propose, or action that I think everyone should take, except - if you haven't already - recognizing which side of that divide you might be on. For me, recognizing that was a big step towards getting more informed on the causes of poverty, the proposed solutions, and the biggest threats. Obviously there isn't any big miraculous solution to the issue, but there is always something you can do as an individual, even if it is as simple as recognizing your place within the greater state of things. I think the more you understand about a topic like poverty - not just globally, but within your own community - the more you'll be able to effectively contribute when that opportunity comes along for you to be part of a solution.

[The passage I quoted is from the book 'The Politics of Empire: Globalization in Crisis', pg 27 of the Introduction by Boris Kagarlitsky and Alan Freeman]


October 15, 2008 | 4:07 PM Comments  0 comments



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