A necessary history lesson for anybody who wants to forget the reasons South Africa and Israel were once good friends:
In October 1985, as it happens, the editor of [Israel's biggest newspaper] Yediot Ahronoth’s weekend magazine, Aharon Shamir, came to South Africa to meet with a mid-level Foreign Ministry functionary. When the bureaucrat complained that South Africa was being denounced everywhere as undemocratic but could not risk giving blacks the vote, Shamir advised: “Give the blacks the vote very slowly. See how it works. Bit by bit. If you see that your bit by bit approach is not working, change it. But make the world believe you are sincere. You have to be hypocritical to survive.”
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You have to be hypocritical to survive.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.
That reminds me of something I just wrote. 8-)
You have to be hypocritical to survive.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm.
That reminds me of something I just wrote.
8-)
"...at worst a willful blindness to Israel's own sordid history of supporting a white supremacist regime."
ReplyDeleteWhy all the shock and dismay? White supremacist regimes support white supremacist regimes.
Sorry to break up the thread, but since some of you have asked, here is an update on the strike at UPR:
ReplyDeleteAn overwhelming majority of University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras campus students ratified in a general assembly Thursday the indefinite strike vote that has kept the state-run academic institution shut for 23 consecutive days.
The assembly, which had been endorsed by UPR President José R. De la Torre, Río Piedras campus Chancellor Ana R. Guadalupe and Board of Trustees president Ygrí Rivera, was initially questioned by the striking students who considered it a "desperate attempt" by university administrators to coerce the students into lifting the strike without considering their demands.
"They tried to ambush us. Today we went to their assembly, at a place of their choosing, in their own terms, and we won. This clearly demonstrates our strength," Student Negotiating Committee member Giovanni Roberto said.
"They should negotiate. They should stop being so intransigent," added the student leader.
Also, here is a (Google) translation of what the institution is "all about":
Those who in recent weeks have talked about the University of Puerto Rico since the absolute misinformation and especially to those who may think that the University of Puerto Rico is a burden for the country, I present the Rio Piedras Campus University of Puerto Rico, the University of the unspoken, the university where he studied and where I work 20 years ago.
<span><span>It certainly sounds like a wonderful university, but what is this "overwhelming majority" in favor of an indefinite strike and what right do they have to deprive others of their classes? I am not too keen about a group of people who will graduate and move on, dictating policy for a university. Input yes, veto power, no. The initial post said the main beef was the curtailing or elimination of tuition waivers for special groups. Athletes and employees children? Sorry, I can't seem to muster much sympathy for those issues. Why on earth should athletes get a break?</span></span>
ReplyDelete"HEY DAD, WHY DOES THIS COUNTRY PROTECT BILLIONAIRES, AND NOT TEACHERS?"
ReplyDeletehttp://notinhisname.blogdrive.com/
To be honest with you, vza, I share your point of view. However, the university administration has bungled this badly. If you see how our elected representatives carry on in the legislature, the students' behavior is exemplary by comparison.
ReplyDeleteAnyway the whole issue (as many in PR) has become a partisan political issue between the two main parties. I don't sympathize with either (which is why I haven't gotten anywhere fast in my career at the state university, but that is a topic I won't delve into here ;) ).
However, as I said before, this has become a lightening rod for disgruntled victims of the current administrations massive retrenchments in the public sector. Unions are now calling for a general strike next week in support of the students.
Do these financial barons create economic value or are they just siphoning off wealth from other parts of the economy? Is their work productive or are they just blowing air into the next financial bubble that will explode in our faces?
ReplyDeleteAll I need do is whisper "labor theory of value" [begun, by the way, by such communists as Adam Smith and David Ricardo] and an exaggerated roar of violent criticism rains down upon me. Go figure.
By the way, the background to the strike is on wikipedia.
ReplyDeleteThe UPR has held an important place in Puerto Rican history as a place where social struggles in Puerto Rican society explode and manifest themselves.
ReplyDeleteInteresting bit of background. I see what you mean about the wider implications of the strike.
Realistically though, just about everybody is having to cut programs and services. How do they propose to pay for everything?
U. S. hypocrisy is regularly critiqued by the world at large, and certainly with gusto by the Left. Why should Lula get a pass? Countries...(and people!) regularly do hypocritical things when they perceive it to be in their best interests.
ReplyDeleteTrue. Everyone is suffering cuts. However, the educational institutions should be low on the list of 'targets' to get cuts since our economies depend on them, now more than ever and more than some of our "leaders" realize. That goes twice for our state institutions that are often one of the few conduits for lifting communities out of poverty. By the way, our governor seems to have been enlightened by the strike (or more likely by his plunging popularity). Lets see what he does in the coming days and weeks.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had time to translate this thoughtful column on our strike by eminent author Eduardo Galeano.
I read all kinds of sources, including those I don't agree with. That article was simply begging for a response.
ReplyDelete