{"id":28668,"date":"2025-02-07T02:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T02:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=28668"},"modified":"2025-02-07T02:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T02:30:18","slug":"riviera-of-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=28668","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRiviera of the Middle East&#8221;&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"528\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Netanyahu-Trump-.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28682\" style=\"width:1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Netanyahu-Trump-.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Netanyahu-Trump--300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Netanyahu-Trump--768x406.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Disaster Capitalism<\/strong>&nbsp;is the practice of exploiting crises\u2014such as wars, natural disasters, or economic collapses\u2014to push free-market policies that benefit corporations and elites at the public&#8217;s expense. In&nbsp;<em>The Shock Doctrine<\/em>, Naomi Klein argues that during moments of chaos, people are too disoriented to resist privatization, deregulation, and austerity measures that would otherwise face opposition. Governments and businesses use these shocks to sell off public assets, cut social programs, and secure lucrative contracts, often worsening inequality. Real-world examples include post-Katrina New Orleans, the Iraq War, and COVID-19 bailouts, all demonstrating how disaster capitalism turns suffering into profit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28680\" style=\"width:1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>On Tuesday, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed reporters at the White House, where Trump outlined his plan for the U.S. to \u201ctake over\u201d Gaza, relocate Palestinians to neighboring countries, and redevelop the war-torn enclave into what he described as the \u201cRiviera of the Middle East.\u201d \u201cThe US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,\u201d Trump said, unveiling what he called his \u201clong-term ownership\u201d and redevelopment plan for the enclave, much of which has been reduced to rubble after 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This proposal aligns with&nbsp;The Shock Doctrine\u2019s&nbsp;thesis, leveraging a devastated society to enable large-scale privatization of reconstruction efforts. Elite capital investment, backed by governments, promises major profits while undertaking an ethnic cleansing of the Palestenian population . Disaster capitalism thrives on instability, using shock tactics to push through unpopular economic transformations that serve the wealthy at the expense of the vulnerable.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump-.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28679\" style=\"width:1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump-.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump--300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Net-Trump--768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/gaza-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16197\" style=\"width:1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/gaza-3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/gaza-3-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/gaza-3-768x505.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gaza-1-update.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20354\" style=\"width:1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gaza-1-update.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gaza-1-update-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Gaza-1-update-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Court-Painter-GAZApxm.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28686\" style=\"width:1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Court-Painter-GAZApxm.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Court-Painter-GAZApxm-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Court-Painter-GAZApxm-768x525.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disaster Capitalism&nbsp;is the practice of exploiting crises\u2014such as wars, natural disasters, or economic collapses\u2014to push free-market policies that benefit corporations and elites at the public&#8217;s expense. In&nbsp;The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein argues that during moments of chaos, people are too disoriented to resist privatization, deregulation, and austerity measures that would otherwise face opposition. Governments and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/?p=28668\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;\u201cRiviera of the Middle East&#8221;&#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-images","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28668"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28687,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28668\/revisions\/28687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allanhardingmackay.ca\/courtpainter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}