Birds of a feather flock together, you are the company you keep. These are phrases and sayings which go back centuries and something I’m sure we have all been told at least once in our life. As trite as those statements may be, as generalising as the may seem, they do hold many truths especially when it comes to politics and statecraft. The company heads of governments or nations keep says a lot about what they hold dear and what values they are willing to go to the mat for, as such the responsible and active citizen watches like a hawk the company their leaders keep.
With all of that being said, it is notable both the absence of criticism laid at the feet of this administration and persons leaping to their defence as they continue to rub shoulders with some rather unsavoury characters. Most recently the PM has been seen rubbing shoulders in the US with Sen Rubio and Sen Cruz, both of the ruling Republican party. Now I am not going to say that the PM should not have gone to the states, I am not even saying he shouldn’t have met with members of Congress and by extension members of the ruling party. I am saying however that his choice about who to meet is utterly disgusting, maddening and should be questioned and looked into further.
Both men are not only members of the ruling party but represent some of its most insidious and odious factions (which up until a few years ago were the attention of the world’s hatred until the advent of Trump). Both men represent what can only be called the vulture arm of capitalism and this is something they have never hidden. These men’s economic policies consist solely of mass privatisations, an elimination of any semblance of a social safety net, massive tax cuts to the wealthy, heavy tax increases to the poor and middle class and finally state handouts to golden calves in the private sector. Their stance on foreign policy is equally reactionary as both men seek to oust the governments in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela, by violence if necessary, in short, these men represent the very same factions of a foreign power which brought destruction to this island. This says nothing of the fact that both these men have little to no leverage in the cabinet and may as well be dead as far as the president is concerned.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the PM and his entourage then went on to meet with Mr Kushner the president’s son-in-law (who may very well be under investigation when the new US Congress is sworn in) who is known to operate a company which practices slum-lord tactics while employing robber-baron means to avoid paying taxes. The meeting with Mr Kushner, however, should not come as a major shock as Kushner is a bosom buddy of the nation, we seem to be hellbent on getting in bed with.
The budding relationship between Jamaica and the state of Israel must be the reason why the PM met Mr Kushner and that relationship above and beyond all else needs to be looked at. For while one can get away with saying either of the two senators may be the next Republican standard-bearer (and the US is the imperial behemoth in whose shadow we quake) there is no such excuse for cosying up with this nation which has no respect for anyone, anything and any nation which does not tow their line (apart from the oceans of blood they are responsible for shedding).
What reason could be given as to damper the fire raging in persons like me who read this and see these images? We are told it is because the Israelis are the masters of national security, have an awesome irrigation management system and a booming tech and pharmaceutical sector (all areas we have an interest in), but all of these could be got elsewhere and without the shame which this association carries.
They could have, for example, received all of the aforementioned from the same persons in the US who they are chummy with now. They could have gained this from the French, or Italian or German or even British (if they wish to avoid the Chinese route) but instead they choose the last nation in the world which openly supports apartheid tactics and policies. The party preaching prosperity has gone and made friends with nations and individuals whose modus operandi is to impoverish and rachet up rates of inequality. The PM and his crew have chosen to align themselves with persons and states who feel that every problem is a nail which must be met by the hammer, pardon me if I then re-state that you are the company that you keep.
The recent SOEs, ZOSOs and the marked increase in the police clear up rate (see the death and arrests of suspected criminals) must be looked into in the light of these bourgeoning relationships as both of these new friends have a long track record of using policies such as these with awful human rights consequences. In the light of these friendships, the entire economic plan which this administration has brought forth must be looked at carefully, as both these nations will be closely advising us, and both of these nations have gone rather ironically from prosperity to a deracinated middle class with the kind of persons our ruling party now calls friends in charge.
And honestly, in the light of these friendships, any and all contracts signed with companies from these nations must be scrutinised intimately, as both of these nations are well-known havens and bastions of corruption and graft (how many Israeli PMs have been locked up for graft?). The PM and his group in light of his choice of international friends must be watched carefully as their actions could very well presage his, maybe not in the exact form but in spirit. Will he invite Mr Liberman of the racist Yisrael Beiteinu to visit if he becomes PM? Will he after meeting Cruz and Rubio now further condemn our ally Venezuela? Will the security measures become more draconian? And will we begin to see a private sector free from any fear of state intervention or regulation? Some of these questions have in some ways already been answered and it doesn’t look good.
We need to watch these friendships as they could very well end up harming us the citizens. Maybe its paranoia and maybe I am too much of a bleeding heart, but I find it nigh on impossible to trust these people if only because of their friends, however, the population by and large seems cool with it. Time will tell if our ‘prosperity’ PM emulates his new friends or simply uses them for the cash and though both options are atrocious I pray that we haven’t burned our international goodwill for nothing and the citizens will see some rewards for keeping such awful friends.
jamaicachange 