and I am not sure how I feel about them. Two things happened in the world of international politics over the past week that are leaving me unsettled.
The first is the new presidency of OPEC. Iran for the first time in 36 years is the new president of OPEC. OPEC nations account for two-thirds of the world's oil reserves, and, as of April 2009, 33.3% of the world's oil production. OPEC as an organization has huge control over oil prices and production globally. As an example when Brazil was asked to join OPEC in 2008, oil prices went to an all time high because of the amount of oil that Brazil produces. This joining would have given OPEC even more control over the oil. Brazil declined the offer to join however.
Normally a nation getting that seat wouldn't be a big deal, the problem is that it is Iran. More so it is that Iran's outward hostile view of other nations, such as Israel. Now the rest of this portion is speculation, but follow me down the rabbit hole if you will. Iran is now the leader of OPEC, single handedly the most powerful oil conglomerate in the world. The US doesn't like Iran to begin with, so if Iran who too doesn't like the US decided to play dirty with the US then I can see this going badly. The US is still and ever growingly dependent on oil, they drink that shit for breakfast. There is no proof that the war in Iraq (most resent) was because of oil, but it doesn't take much to see why they went there. The US is a major backer, still, to Israel, and again Iran doesn't like Israel. Iran having the seat just makes my stomach tingle, and not in the good way. I just hope that it stays business as usual.
The second thing that happened is that for the first time EVER in the history of the UN, Canada did not get a seat on the Security Council. Canada has had a seat on it since its inception 64 years ago, but this year lost out to Portugal. There is a slew of reasons that we didn't get it, and all of them have to do with our governments foreign affairs policies and how they represent us in the global community. I am embarrassed and enraged that this has happened. This is a black mark on our governments record that I hope that they do not walk away unscathed from. How can you fuck things up that bad? We were part of the origins of the UN and now we can't even hold our seat. We are a G8 country that the world no longer looks to for help and safety. It is going to be a long road ahead to regain the faith of the world, and I think it should start with the outing of the current government. Harper has always been weak on the international front, and this is the exclamation point on that. This, I am sure, will have far reaching consequences when it comes to future diplomacy and trade.
Thank you for your time.
Some things are happening...
On
2010-10-18
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6 comments:
And this is just funny.
Maybe the changes within OPEC will finally force the issue on alternative energy. Hope springs eternal.
And, our losing the seat on the security council may be the kick in the ass our government needs to review its' foreign policies. Besides which, who says we have to be on the council? Sometimes getting kicked out of the cool kids club can be a benefit in the long run.
I'm feeling optimistic today, what can I say?
What do you mean "our seat?" Canada has been elected to one of the 10 rotating seats about every 10 years. We missed out this time, so maybe it will be 12 years... or 20. There may have been some widespread belief that it was our "turn," but I'm guessing a lot of the 73 countries who have never held a seat might not think it too unjust.
Canada's record on the UN Security council
1948 – 1949, 1958 – 1959, 1967 – 1968, 1977 – 1978, 1989 – 1990, 1999 – 2000
Harper is a dick and embarrassing. At least we shall not dispute that.
My wording was a bit off... let me try that again. This is the first time that Canada has not won a seat on the security council that it has bid for. Every other time we have won our seat.
And this is a direct quote from here., which is the United Nations Association in Canada.
Experience and the Security Council:
The positive light in which other countries view Canada has led our country to take a seat on the UN Security Council on six separate occasions. 1948-49, 1958-59, 1967-68, 1977-78, 1989-90, and 1999-2000. The repeated re-election of Canada to the Council has illustrated the faith other states have in Canada's ability to work well and fairly with other states. They know that Canada is in a strong position to advance the cause of world peace, due to its involvement in peacekeeping and its balanced position on major issues before the UN. The election of Canada to the Security Council is an affirmation by the world community that Canada's goal of a strong United Nations benefiting all nations is shared by all.
I think they may want to change that write up soon, as I don't think it is the case anymore.
In a live comment board on a CBC site somewhere I got involved in a discussion about the SC seat. My question to the esteemed presenter was something like this:
"Do you think the world sees 'Canadian' and 'Canada's Government - ie Harper' as synonymous?"
The answer was, thankfully:
"No, the current conservative government is what was being reviewed, and essentially panned, here."
The speaker went on to explain that conservative governments are frequently viewed less favorably on the world stage because of hawkish foreign police stance, protectionist tendencies and a stagnation (sometimes regression) on social policy progress. This vote is simply a verification of that.
As for OPEC - I'm going to side with Lord Jim on this one. The optimist in me really believes that we have to figure the solution to the energy problem (after which all other problems become solvable).
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