interviews Film maker Robert Greenwald and Author Norman Solomon,
both of whom have recently returned from Afghanistan. KPFK, 90.7 fm.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/oct/16/obama-isnt-helping
Obama isn't helping. At least the world argued with Bush
By Naomi Klein:
The GuardianUK: 16 October 2009
Of all the explanations for Barack Obama's Nobel peace prize, the one that
rang truest came from Nicolas Sarkozy. "It sets the seal on America's return
to the heart of all the world's peoples." In other words, this was Europe's
way of saying to America, "We love you again", like those weird
renewal-of-vows ceremonies couples have after a rough patch.
Now Europe and the US are officially reunited, it seems appropriate to
consider whether this is necessarily a good thing. The Nobel committee,
which awarded the prize for Obama's embrace of "multilateral diplomacy", is
evidently convinced that US engagement on the world stage is a triumph for
peace and justice. I'm not so sure. After nine months in office, Obama has a
clear track record as a global player. Again and again, US negotiators have
chosen not to strengthen international laws and protocols but to weaken
them, often leading other rich countries in a race to the bottom.
Let's start where the stakes are highest: climate change. During the Bush
years, European politicians distinguished themselves from the US by
expressing their unshakable commitment to the Kyoto protocol. So while the
US increased its carbon emissions by 20% from 1990 levels, European Union
countries reduced theirs by 2%. Not stellar, but clearly a case where the
EU's break-up with America carried tangible benefits for the planet.
Flash forward to the high-stakes climate negotiations that have just wrapped
up in Bangkok. The talks were supposed to lead to a deal in Copenhagen this
December that significantly strengthens Kyoto. Instead, the developed
countries formed a bloc calling for Kyoto to be replaced. Where Kyoto set
clear and binding targets for emission reductions, the US plan would have
each country decide how much to cut, then submit its plans to international
monitoring - with nothing but wishful thinking to ensure this all keeps the
planet's temperature below catastrophic levels. And where Kyoto put the
burden of responsibility squarely on the rich countries that created the
climate crisis, the new plan treats all countries the same.
These kinds of weak proposals were not altogether surprising coming from the
US; what was shocking was the sudden unity of the rich world around the
plan - including many countries that had previously sung the praises of
Kyoto. And there were more betrayals: the EU, which had indicated it would
spend between $19bn and $35bn a year to help developing countries adapt to
climate change, came to Bangkok with a much lower offer, one more in line
with the US pledge of . nothing. Oxfam's Antonio Hill summed up the talks
like this: "When the starting gun fired, it became a race to the bottom,
with rich countries weakening existing commitments under the international
framework."
This isn't the first time a much-celebrated return to the negotiating table
has resulted in overturned tables, with hard-won international laws and
conventions scattered on the floor. The US played a similar role at the
United Nations conference on racism in April. After extracting all sorts of
deletions from the negotiating text - no references to Israel or the
Palestinians, nothing on slavery reparations - the Obama administration
decided to boycott anyway, pointing to the fact that the new text reaffirmed
the document adopted in 2001 in Durban.
It was a flimsy excuse, but there was some kind of logic to it, since the US
had never signed the 2001 agreement. What made no sense was the wave of
copycat withdrawals from the rich world. Within 48 hours of the US
announcement, Italy, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and
Poland had pulled out. Unlike the US, these governments had all signed the
2001 declaration, so they had no reason to object to a document that
reaffirmed it.
It didn't matter. As with the climate change talks, lining up behind Obama -
with his impeccable reputation - was an easy way to avoid burdensome
obligations and look progressive at the same time: a service the US was
never able to provide during the Bush years.
The US has had a similarly corrupting influence as a new member of the UN
human rights council. Its first big test was Judge Richard Goldstone's
courageous report on Israel's Gaza onslaught, which found that war crimes
had been committed by both the Israeli army and Hamas. Rather than prove its
commitment to international law, the US used its clout to smear the report
as "deeply flawed" and to strong-arm the Palestinian Authority into
withdrawing a supportive resolution. The PA, which faced a furious backlash
at home for caving in to US pressure, may introduce a new version.
And then there are the G20 summits, Obama's highest profile multilateral
engagements. At the April meeting in London, it seemed for a moment there
might be some kind of co-ordinated attempt to rein in transnational
financial speculators and tax dodgers. Sarkozy even pledged to walk out of
the summit if it failed to produce serious regulatory commitments. But the
Obama administration had no interest in genuine multilateralism, advocating
instead that countries should come up with their own plans (or not) and hope
for the best - much like its reckless climate-change plan. Sarkozy, needless
to say, did not walk anywhere but to the photo session, to have his picture
taken with Obama.
Of course, Obama has made some good moves on the world stage - like not
siding with the Honduras coup government, or supporting a UN women's agency.
But a clear pattern has emerged: in areas where other rich nations were
teetering between principled action and negligence, US interventions have
tilted them toward negligence. If this is the new era of multilateralism, it
is no prize.
***
Resistance Then, Resist Now! –
The Ash Grove Honors 45th Anniversary of The Resistance –
a meeting of the resisters of the military draft and Veterans For Peace
Sunday, October 25 at Arlington West in Santa Monica
The Ash Grove Foundation in its ongoing series of "Beyond
November" community events will honor the 45th Anniversary of The Resistance
draft resisters movement with "Resistance Then, Resist Now!" on Sunday,
October 25th at Arlington West in Santa Monica, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Admission
is free. The event also honors Arlington West and Veterans for Peace.
Arlington West is a temporary memorial erected every Sunday on the beach by
Veterans For Peace, immediately north of the Santa Monica Pier:
http://www.arlingtonwestsantamonica.org/.
The Resistance was an organization of draft resisters founded in 1964 and
quickly grew nationally. The actual anniversary date and gathering of
original members of The Resistance will take place the previous day on
Saturday, October 24th.
Resistance Then, Resist Now! brings together the original
Resisters and current Veterans For Peace, emceed by famed peace activist,
Veteran Ron Kovic who became disabled in the Vietnam War.
Kovic was profiled in the film Born On The Fourth of July, based on his
memoir and the inspiration for Jane Fonda's film Coming Home.
Two groups of speakers will be framed by cultural presentations: spiritual
drumming from the S.H.I.N.E. Mawusi women's drum alliance, members of the
ADAAWE women's percussion group, with a drum circle to close the event.
Also, Get Lit Players - teenage wizards with poetry from the sonnets of
Shakespeare to hip-hop - who tour Southern California school assemblies,
also competing nationally in contests, and Roy Zimmerman, who the Los
Angeles Times says, "…displays a lacerating wit and keen awareness of
society's foibles that bring to mind a latter-day Tom Lehrer." Zimmerman
writes fiercely funny songs about ignorance, war and greed. In eleven
albums over 20 years, Roy Zimmerman has brought the sting of satire to the
struggle for Peace and Social Justice.
The speakers on the first 20-minute panel will focus on The Resistance, then
and now. Guests include: Joe Maizlish from The Resistance, letter read
from a US Marine currently in Iraq and a speaker from The Coalition for
Alternatives to Militarism in Our Schools (CAMS). The second 20 minute
panel will focus on the war budget and poverty draft with historian and
unionist Gordon Alexandre. A public health advocate will address "It's
Healthcare or Warfare."
The Ash Grove (1958 – 1973) on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood was a pioneering
musical and political venue. The performance standards and creative
interplay among musicians, young and old, produced many great artists,
enriched the lives of audiences, and gave the club a leading role in the
culture of a generation. Archived Ash Grove concerts from that era are
available for listening or download at WolfgangsVault.com. "Beyond
November – Party with a Purpose" – brings together an assortment of artists,
advocacy and social action organizations, to entertain, to inform and to
enthuse by tapping into the vast energy for positive change sparked by the
November elections.
For more information about the event: (310) 391-5794 or
ag50vols@mindspring.com.
###
AshGroveMusic.com
CAMS: http://www.militaryfreeschools.org/
Get Lit Players L.A. Times article: http://tiny.cc/eqm0Q
ADAAWE women's percussion group: http://adaawemusic.com/
Roy Zimmerman: http://www.royzimmerman.com/
Media contact:
Teresa Conboy P.R.
teresaconboypr@yahoo.com
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