Pakistan After the Floods: 'The Situation is Explosive'
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/aug2010/pakl-a17.shtml
"The Pakistani ruling class are afraid of a possible mass upheaval against the government and the state.."
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Donations now being accepted at LCBO stores for Pakistan flood relief efforts ...with an added bonus that you get to send an HST donation to the needy Harper Government in Ottawa. Let's cut corporate taxes some more!!
Pakistan floods: Senior UN figure criticises response A senior United Nations official has called on the global community to urgently step up its response to the floods that have struck Pakistan.
These are tens of millions of desperate human beings in need. Give what you can and expect nothing in return.
U.S. militarism’s role in the disaster Floods in Pakistan not ‘natural’
From natural disaster to social catastrophe
But the real problem is much simpler: the American ruling establishment has spent the last several years blaming Pakistan for its woes in Afghanistan. This has found an ugly corollary in the already rampant Islamophobia in the U.S. and Europe.
Washington, for instance, manages to give Pakistan $1 billion every year for its help in fighting the Taliban along the Afghan border. But when it comes to humanitarian relief, the U.S. could only find a meager $70 million.
Part of the reason for this paltry sum is that the U.S. is more concerned with its own geopolitical agenda in the region than humanitarian aid. But it also reflects political pressure from the conservative wing of the U.S. political establishment, which blames Pakistan for the American failures in Afghanistan.
Other countries are also providing limited aid. Neighboring India, for instance, a country well placed to offer substantial assistance to Pakistan, has put political rivalry ahead of humanitarian assistance, offering just $5 million in aid. Political opportunists in India are warning that any aid to Pakistan will go into the hands of "terrorist organizations."
The ordinary people of Pakistan are caught between the war in Afghanistan that is killing increasing numbers of Pakistanis and the corrupt politicians who are wrecking the economy. The U.S. and Pakistani response to current flooding is a damning indictment of the failure of both governments to provide genuine help the people of Pakistan.
Given how America treats its own flood victims with distain if they are black why would you expect the evil empire to treat Pakistan's any better. This is the real face of American concern for the population. The current regime continues in the great American tradition of exploitation by military might. They appear to be as bad as Clinton was and not reversing any of Bushes excesses.
Nothing sums up the plight of Pakistan like what happened—or did not happen—at the Shahbaz military base in Jacobabad. The U.S. Air Force has been operating out of that base since the war in Afghanistan began nine years ago. According to Pakistani media, Jacobabad was in the path of the approaching flood waters. The waters were diverted to save the base, inundating the town of Dera Allahyar instead. Some 800,000 people were added to the swelling list of millions already displaced by the floods.
In other countries, floods are humanitarian catastrophes. In Pakistan, they are security threats.
http://newamericamedia.org/2010/08/how-us-fears-over-flood-play-into-pakistan-armys-hands.php
Floods For Pakistan; Floods of Money For Its Leader - by Tariq Ali
http://www.counterpunch.org/ali08272010.html
"A million Iraqis dead since the occupation; who cares? Afghan civilians dying every day: It's their own fault. Pakistanis engulfed in floodwaters. Indifference. That is undoubtedly one reason for the lack of response..."
Thanks for the link to Tarik Ali. Canada's role in the UN's "international military mission" (that's what Project Ploughshares call it) is costing us $100 MILLION a month, so that those little girls will have the right to go to school and not wear a veil when they grow up. And we found $35 million for this terrible disaster. I think there is "Pakistan fatigue" for a lot of us. Pakistan is a religous (muslim) country like Israel (jewish)
Drowning Pakistan
http://kasamaproject.org/2010/08/31/drowning-pakistan/
"But while global warming may be to blame for the worst-ever flood in Pakistan, it alone cannot be held responsible for so much suffering...The problem is not a lack of resources, but that the interests of those who control them and the whole imperialist system are in antagonistic contradiction to the interests of the masses of people everywhere.
The US and its junior partner in crime, the Pakistan military - might as well just come out and admit that their arms and technology esist to oppress the people and that they don't give a damn what happens to millions of poor and common people in Pakistan - except insofar as instability threatens their interests.."
Unions from across Canada have shown their support for survivors of Pakistan's devastating floods by donating more than $180,000 to Oxfam Canada's relief efforts.
I don't like to brag, but the above stats on the general stingy response to Pakistan's disaster are persuasive, so I just made a substantial donation to Oxfam, enjoying the thought that Harper's government is matching it.
Yes, it's an excellent way of making Harper cough-up some money for a good cause.
"The problem is not the lack of resources but that the interests of those who control them..."
Canada has 9 armoured earth movers, Badgers, in Afghanistan. Glowingly described with pictures at
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/land-terre/news-nouvelles/story-reportage-eng.asp?id=4078 The Badger is built on the chassis of the Leopard I main battle tank and is equipped with a twin, super-charged, 840-horsepower engine. Its many capabilities include a large dozer blade, a telescopic excavator arm, a capstan winch capable of a constant pull of 35 tonnes and a welding system. This heavily armoured engineer tank can be driven cross-country, even at night, using light-amplification optics. Click to enlargeA Badger from 1 CER in Edmonton is used to fill dirt into protective walls or Hesco Bastions while helping to develop a compound for Afghan National Army and Canadian soldiers to use.
Why can't these machines, their operators, their mechanics, be used to help in Pakistan. Instead of building stuff like Route Summit, right through homes and farms, they could be doing something we believe in.
I think there may be another problem with donations. If considered some sort of menace, we can lose everything for donating something to a group connected to a group connected to a group linked to the resistance. I believe it's that vicious now.
I shut my eyes and sent a chunk to the Red Cross, figuring I just also bought someone lunch in Geneva. But I figure we need the Geneva part, too.
But the US kept the Red Cross out of Sheberghan prison for a long time, according to PHRUSA who also couldn't get in there for ages in Jan 02.
Wilf, I don't know about Oxfam, but when I sent $$ to the MacPaps for Haiti, I truly doubt Harper's ghouls matched that to the Mac Paps. Anyone got a fine line on the matching funds definition?
Pakistan Is Dying - The World Yawns
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_61146.shtml
"The hidden purpose of the destruction of Pakistan - This time freakish nature, very likely tied to global warming, got its hand into the game and finished off the destruction begun by the Pakistan government in collusion with Washington, with the alleged purpose of getting rid of the Taliban and other Mujahideen..."