Starting the week
First, we mourn the passing of the great Solomon Burke, one of the most awesome and underrated soul singers of his (or any) generation. Nice tributes from Nestor, Funky16Corners, Breath of Life, Fifty Cent Lighter, Muzzle of Bees, Radio Exile and Ethan Jayne. This is one of my favourite of his songs, already posted by Stroppy:
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The only reason I’ve not linked to this excellent post before is I wanted to write something more substantial about it, but I haven’t yet, so please just go and read it: Chris Dillow on Ed Miliband on immigration. On a related topic, see Martin Ruhs and Bridget Anderson on Britain’s economic dependency on underpaid migrant workers.
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A radically different view on the Tea Party from the one we normally get from the Guardian. [UPDATE: Just notice Carl already posted on this. My view is slightly different from his, as I may write more fully one day if I manage to find time.]
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Michael Ezra on our shared obsession: Chomsky and Cambodia. Because of Harry’s Place’s irritating policy of deleting comment threads, I add here a link dug up by Tim B, of Margaret Thatcher interviewed on Blue Peter (a BBC children’s TV programme) from 1988, which is truly disgusting.
Margaret Thatcher:
I think when the Vietnamese have left and when we have some hope of getting a truly representative government in Kampuchea, yes, I think the British government will be prepared to give aid, and that’s what I promised, when I went to see so many of them in a refugee camp. But the first thing, you know, is to get the Vietnamese out. We hope they will go out but it’s going to take a time yet. And then, really, the next thing is to ensure that Pol Pot doesn’t get back into government, because they would all fear him. And so, Prince Sihanouk, who is their head of state, was before the Vietnamese invaded, has been working very hard, with all the other people from all the other groups, to try to make arrangements for a government that will be suitable for everyone.
Presenter:
What do you think we’re going to be able to do to make sure that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge are kept out of the country?
Margaret Thatcher:
Most people agree that Pol Pot himself could not go back, nor his - some of his supporters, who were very active in some of the terrible things that happened. So, there’s quite an agreement about that. Some of the Khmer Rouge, of course, are very different. I think there are probably two parts of the Khmer Rouge, there are those who supported Pol Pot, and then there’s a much, much reasonable grouping within that title, Khmer Rouge.
Presenter:
Do you really think…
Margaret Thatcher:
Well, that is what I am assured by people who know. So, you’ll find that the more reasonable ones of the Khmer Rouge will have to play some part in the future government, but only a minority part
Britain’s refusal to provide aid to this beleaguered country under the period of the Vietnamese liberation/occupation is shameful, and its support for a government in exile led by the disgusting Prince Norodom Sihanouk and including “reasonable” elements of the genocidal Khmer Rouge is even more so.
Incidentally, while glancing at Wikipedia, I found out something I hadn’t known about Sihanouk: his concurrent marriages to several child brides.
Comments
the blog post about black conservatism was good however. those who delude themselves into believing that obama´s typically democratic politic will help blacks and other poor people of color get out of poverty, will result in a reactionary response, where they do the typical blame the victim game, and there you go, "black conservatism".
On Michael E at the Cambodia thread, I have significant differences with his analysis. I think he is way, way too generous towards Nixon and Kissinger, to the point at times of whitewashing them.