GUEST BLOG: Lois Griffiths – Toxic Trio, All Mates … Cartoon by Latuff
Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff, of Lebanese ancestry, is an internationally well known political cartoonist. His cartoons, particularly those dealing with the oppression of Palestinians, get widespread pubication. Other issues Latuff addresses are imperialism, global capitalism, all part of his “artistic activism” .
This ‘toxic trio’ cartoon, my labelling, should warn us about what a dangerous time we live in. The US, Israeli and Saudi regimes are close allies. This relationship began long before Trump. It’s not just those 3. The cartoon should refer to Brazil under its new president Bolsonaro. It should refer to the UK , a major exporter of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
The extremely lucrative international ‘population control’ and high tech military industries need to be challenged and condemned. Israel, a major weaponized drones exporter, uses Gazans as guinea pigs to test its weaponry. Boris Johnson when he was here in NZ, admitted that the UK exports weapons to Saudi Arabia because, if UK didn’t, someone else would.
At stake is our belief in humanity, or is such a concept ‘quaint’ ? Also at stake, my environment friends, is any chance of stabilizing the planet’s climate system that human life depends on. The world’s militaries are the major fossil fuel users, and CO2 emitters.
There is more opposition to militarism than one would know from reading our mainstream media. In October this year there was a huge, UNPRECEDENTED 1000 women march on the Pentagon demanding an end to militarism.
(Some reports say there were up to 1500 taking part, including some men). An international peace activists’ conference was held in Dublin, very recently, in November this year, demanding the abolishment of NATO.
What does this have to do with little New Zealand? New Zealand could be ‘the mouse that roared’. New Zealand should withdraw from military alliances and instead become an international centre for conflict resolution and diplomacy . Many who read this will react by saying no, no, this is unrealistic. But is it? Is it ‘realistic’ to look the other way, turn a blind eye to genocide in Yemen and in Gaza, to the oppression of the Rohingya, to the rising cases of famine especially in Africa because of climate breakdown?
The people of the world deserve better leaders than the thugs who are so powerful now: Netanyahu, Trump, Mohammed bin Salman and their corporate backers.
We live in dark times. What kind of world will the next generation know?
Lois Griffiths is a human rights activist
This lot make some of our prisoners look like pussy cats
Organized gangsta have usurp our planets well-being for too long now. Bikini Island being an example where the United Snakes of America exploded 1 Hydrogen bomb a day for 12 years also displacing the indigenous population and using them as guinea pigs to test how effective their radiation reacted to human contact. Sickening!!!
Lois
I totally believe that this is a possibility, given the will
Living in the Pacific with no troublesome borders with other countries, having a brief period of time which nevertheless earned us the reputation of being progressive and
independent (Kirk and the Frigate,and all his forward thinking policies..ohu schemes, support for a Palestinian State, Lange and the Oxford address,Nuclear free etc)is something to build on
Our universities could be famous for our peace and conflict studies, international law and history, cutting edge solutions to fossil fuel dependence, climate change mitigation, developing different models of food production
Unfortunately the social contract has been broken and for 30 years NZers have been forced in to a dog eat dog, every one out for themselves mentality.
Sedated and further individualised by cheap trinkets and electronic devices
Internationally our policies are directly linked to trade, no matter how much we try to dress it up in faux moral stances.
For instance, have been listening to RNZ this morning on the Kerch incident, the background of which is the “annexation “of Crimea in 2014
A referendum of the Crimean people to rejoin Russia is not recognised by the
“international Community” despite even western polling outfits verifying that the majority of Crimeans want this.Another referendum with international observers is refused by that same I.Comm.
On the other hand Israel calls all the shots in the Golan Heights, occupying and issuing drilling permits to an American oil syndicate(Genie Energy)despite the UN ruling that the Golan Heights belong to Syria.
The “International Community” completely backs Israel
Lois you would have heaps of support for this notion, but also a heap of loud, braying “realists”….as if its realistic to think that we’re going to survive this era bristling with weapons and very poor quality politicians
Wnenever someone puts up a post that has a message of pacifism and disarmanent(traditionally a very left notion) it is studiously avoided by many posters who would otherwise engage enthusiastically in a thread about whether Santa is an outrage or not or whether Maggie Barry is a total bitch
Nice to know what draws a crowd here on the Daily Blog
Well said. “The world’s militaries are the major fossil fuel users, and CO2 emitters.” Where is the world’s media on this and why isn’t it headline news daily. Apart from the awful impact on citizens lives, which causes the immigration/refugee problems, this is one of the unspoken causes of the mess we find ourselves in.
Love Latuff and totally agree Lois.
Beyond those tutting at these three and their arms facilitators but doing nothing more also similarly same with the CCP right now too.
But hush with those concentration camp whispers too..those who with pride wanted whole world to marvel at our StandUp SpeakOut stances dont seem to dare skew our Trade GDP for the sake of stating NZs non $ driven concept of human rights and genuine humanity?
No matter hue Blue or Red?
Jax
Love Latuff and totally agree Lois.
Beyond those tutting at these three and their arms facilitators but doing nothing more also similarly same with the CCP right now too.
But hush with those concentration camp whispers too..those who with pride wanted whole world to marvel at our StandUp SpeakOut stances dont seem to dare skew our Trade GDP for the sake of stating NZs non $ driven concept of human rights and genuine humanity?
No matter hue Blue or Red?
Jax