2024 leaving no wig unsnatched

OTTAWA—Pim pim (meaning “welp”). Big tings a gwan. What a beautiful long weekend amidst the world burning. Literally. Alberta and British Columbia’s fire seasons started early this year with forest fires already blazing in February. The National Post reports: “The wildfire season typically runs from April to October. However, Alberta declared an early start to their wildfire season at the end of February, and has 52 active wildfires as of April 16. Ontario declared the start of fire season on April 1.” The unusually warm fall and winter meant less snowfall, which created abnormally dry conditions. A hot summer will exacerbate those conditions, eventually manifesting into wildfires (for much of the winter, Calgary temperatures were above zero). Canada experienced its worst wildfire season last year, and this year threatens to be worse. Putting that into perspective makes the Conservatives’ bloviation particularly irritating and insulting to those of us who want to live in a world that’s not on fire. But then the Conservatives slander existing Liberal policy without having counter-policies to replace those which are necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change. On May 19, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash. This should have interesting political implications for the country, given that Raisi was considered next in line to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This dude never met a violent crackdown he didn’t like, as Al Jazeera informed: “In 1988, he was part of a committee overseeing a series of executions of political prisoners.” He also “led the country during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police, a period during which the UN said Iran committed crimes against humanity.” Charming. On May 20, the head prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, applied for arrest warrants against Hamas leadership—Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif), and Ismail Haniyeh—for war crimes including the taking of hostages, torture, and murder. Khan has also applied for warrants for Israeli officials: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. They stand accused of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war, murder as a war crime, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and other crimes against humanity. Khan contends that Israel has committed these crimes as part of a systemic and systematic framework conceived by Israel: “We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to State policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.” Khan cites that Israel intentionally kept humanitarian aid from the population, leaving them to starve alongside Israel’s “obstruction of aid delivery by humanitarian agencies; and attacks on and killing of aid workers,” among other crimes. The year 2024 continues to snatch wigs. I thought we were told by White House national security communications adviser John Kirby that “they have made a commitment to increase that humanitarian assistance.” The United States and European countries that cut off aid to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are partially culpable for the starvation of the Palestinian people. The Financial Times concluded: “The problem with unplugging UNRWA is that there is no organization that can possibly take its place. The agency provided a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza and further afield, long before this crisis.” No UNRWA, no effective humanitarian aid. There seems to remain a delta between the aid, infrastructure, expertise, and experienced staff in the region that UNRWA provided, and humanitarian aid efforts without the organization. In-between lies famine. Israel’s accusation of terrorists embedded in UNRWA, and the closing of humanitarian corridors have created conditions of intense and unnecessary suffering for the people of Gaza. The Financial Times reports: “An independent review commissioned by the UN has said that Israel has not substantiated allegations it made that staffers working for the body’s agency for Palestinian refugees were members of terror groups.” At least the Canadian government restored that funding, making it look less murderous. Spurious allegations seem to be part of the concerted effort to starve Palestinians as a means of warfare. I have reached out to Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly’s office to ask how Canada is ensuring the distribution of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Her office did not respond. These arrest warrants, if granted, prove a couple of things: the South African case for Israel committing genocide has teeth and truths, and the anti-genocide protesters and the students are correct. Hopefully those who have been involved in silencing those who disagree with them will face some sort of karma, but then the ruling class is never held to account. Erica Ifill is a co-host of the Bad+Bitchy podcast. The Hill Times

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2024 leaving no wig unsnatched

Between climate change standing on our necks, and alleged war criminals getting gathered, the world is literally burning.

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