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Kay Bradley

News Analysis - Trying to Buck Odds, Obama Takes On 3 Big Mideast Tasks - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...01assess.html

Israel Middle East

shared by Kay Bradley on 01 Sep 10 - Cached
  • simultaneous progress on the most vexing and violent problems in the Middle East — Israeli-
  • is attempting a triple play this week that eluded his predecessors over the past two decades: simultaneous progress on the most vexing and violent problems in the Middle East — Israeli-Palestinian peace, Iraq and Iran — in hopes of creating a virtuous cycle in a region prone to downward spirals.
  • resident Obama is attempting a triple play this week that eluded his predecessors over the past two decades: simultaneous progress on the most vexing and violent problems in the Middle East — Israeli-Palestinian peace, Iraq and Iran — in hopes of creating a virtuous cycle in a region prone to downward spirals.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • resident Obama is attempting a triple play this week that eluded his predecessors over the past two decades: simultaneous progress on the most vexing and violent problems in the Middle East — Israeli-Palestinian peace, Iraq and Iran — in hopes of creating a virtuous cycle in a region prone to downward spirals.
  • It turned out that the reverse was true as well: When one of those efforts fell apart, so did the other two.
  • Kay Bradley on 01 Sep 10
     
    matthew says this is important
Kay Bradley

COP26: Key Outcomes From the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow  | World Resources I... - 0 views

www.wri.org/...comes-un-climate-talks-glasgow

shared by Kay Bradley on 01 Dec 21 - No Cached
  • The world still remains off track to beat back the climate crisis.  
  • ministers from all over the world agreed that countries should come back next year to submit stronger 2030 emissions reduction targets with the aim of closing the gap to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees
  • Ministers also agreed that developed countries should urgently deliver more resources to help climate-vulnerable countries adapt to the dangerous and costly consequences of climate change that they are feeling already —
  • ...46 more annotations...
  • curb methane emissions,
  • halt and reverse forest loss,
  • align the finance sector with net-zero by 2050
  • ditch the internal combustion engine
  • accelerate the phase-out of coal,
  • end international financing for fossil fuels,
  • “Not nearly enough” to the first question, “yes” to the second. 
  • 151 countries had submitted new climate plans (known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs)
  • To keep the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C within reach, we need to cut global emissions in half by the end of this decade.
  • these plans, as they stand, put the world on track for 2.5 degrees C of warming by the end of the century.
  • If you take into account countries’ commitments to reach net-zero emissions by around mid-century, analysis shows temperature rise could be kept to around 1.8 or 1.9 degrees C.
  • some major emitters’ 2030 targets are so weak (particularly those from Australia, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Russia) that they don’t offer credible pathways to achieve their net-zero targets.
  • a major “credibility gap”
  • To fix this problem, these countries’ must strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets to at least align with their net-zero commitments. 
  • as well as ramping up ambition
  • the pact asks nations to consider further actions to curb potent non-CO2 gases, such as methane, and includes language emphasizing the need to “phase down unabated coal” and “phase-out fossil fuel subsidies.”
  • This marked the first time negotiators have explicitly referenced shifting away from coal and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in COP decision text.  
  • this COP finally recognized the importance of nature for both reducing emissions and building resilience to the impacts of climate change,
  • Did Developing Countries Get the Finance and Support They Need? 
  • In 2009, rich nations committed to mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 and through 2025 to support climate efforts in developing countries
  • developed countries failed to meet that goal in 2020 (recent OECD estimates show that total climate finance reached $79.6 billion in 2019).
  • The Adaptation Fund reached unprecedented levels of contributions, with new pledges for $356 million that represent almost three times its mobilization target for 2022. The Least Developed Countries Fund, which supports climate change adaptation in the world’s least developed countries, also received a record $413 million in new contributions.
  • COP26 also took steps to help developing countries access good quality finance options.
  • For example, encouraging multilateral institutions to further consider the links between climate vulnerabilities and the need for concessional financial resources for developing countries — such as securing grants rather than loans to avoid increasing their debt burden. 
  • COP26 finally put the critical issue of loss and damage squarely on the main stage
  • Climate change is already causing devastating losses of lives, land and livelihoods. Some damages are permanent — from communities that are wiped out, to islands disappearing beneath the waves, to water resources that are drying up.
  • Countries also agreed to operationalize and fund the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage, established at COP25 in Madrid, and to catalyze the technical assistance developing countries need to address loss and damage in a robust and effective manner.  
  • International Carbon Markets.
  • negotiators agreed to avoid double-counting, in which more than one country could claim the same emissions reductions as counting toward their own climate commitments.
  • his is critical to make real progress on reducing emissions.
  • Common Time Frames. In Glasgow, countries were encouraged to use common timeframes for their national climate commitments. This means that new NDCs that countries put forward in 2025 should have an end-date of 2035, in 2030 they will put forward commitments with a 2040 end-date, and so on.
  • Transparency. In Glasgow, all countries agreed to submit information about their emissions and financial, technological and capacity-building support using a common and standardized set of formats and tables.
  • 100 high-level announcements during the “World Leaders Summit"
  • including a bold commitment from India to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 that is backed up with near-term targets (including ambitious renewable energy targets for 2030), 109 countries signing up to the Global Methane Pledge to slash emissions by 30% by 2030, and a pledge by 141 countries (as of November 10) to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 (backed by $18 billion in funding, including $1.7 billion dedicated to support indigenous peoples).  
  • Glasgow Breakthroughs, a set of global targets meant to dramatically accelerate the innovation and use of clean technologies in five emissions-heavy sectors:
  • power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.
  • 46 countries, including the U.K., Canada, Poland and Vietnam made commitments to phase out domestic coal,
  • 29 countries including the U.K., Canada, Germany and Italy committed to end new direct international public support for unabated fossil fuels by the end of 2022
  • Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, led by Costa Rica and Denmark — with core members France, Greenland, Ireland, Quebec, Sweden and Wales — pledged to end new licensing rounds for oil and gas exploration and production and set an end date that is aligned with Paris Agreement objectives
  • Efforts were also made to scale up solar investment
  • new Solar Investment Action Agenda by WRI, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Bloomberg Philanthropies that identifies high-impact opportunities to speed up investment and reach ISA’s goal of mobilizing $1 trillion in solar investment by 2030.
  • Non-state actors including investors, businesses, cities and subnational regions also joined collective action initiatives aimed at driving economic transformation.
  • Over 400 financial firms which control over $130 trillion in assets committed to aligning their portfolios to net-zero by 2030
  • banks, asset managers and asset owners fully recognize the business case for climate action and the significant risks of investing in the high-carbon, polluting economy of that past.
  • 11 major automakers agreed to work toward selling only zero-emission vehicles globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets.  
  • In the year ahead, major emitters need to ramp up their 2030 emissions reduction targets to align with 1.5 degrees C, more robust approaches are needed to hold all actors accountable for the many commitments made in Glasgow, and much more attention is needed on how to meet the urgent needs of climate-vulnerable countries to help them deal with climate impacts and transition to net-zero economies.
Kay Bradley

What we do - Corruption by topic - 0 views

www.transparency.org/topic

corruption international organizations NGO

shared by Kay Bradley on 06 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 06 Sep 12
     
    Transparency International
charlesleesohn

How Singapore can secure its economic future, Economy News & Top Stories - The Straits ... - 2 views

www.straitstimes.com/...can-secure-its-economic-future

shared by charlesleesohn on 29 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • Technicians with highly specialised skills
  • REMAIN ATTRACTIVE TO COMPANIES
  • awyers and businessmen negotiate deals spanning multiple countries across the region
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • We have to keep the environment conducive for allowing different industries to come and go... Singapore must remain an attractive place to do business for highly specialised, high value-added companies... There's no way of knowing what kind of industries they will be in. MR SONG SENG WUN, CIMB Private Bank economist
  • charlesleesohn on 29 Sep 15
     
    Really cool ideas being shared on how a modern city-state can develop its economy.
  • smowat on 29 Sep 15
     
    Interesting to see how just the geography of a country can shape its economic growth and international trades importance. Also how improving internal infrastructures affect international trade and domestic econmies.
Kay Bradley

Francis Fukuyama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 1 views

en.wikipedia.org/...Francis_Fukuyama

clash of civilizations terrorism

shared by Kay Bradley on 11 Sep 11 - Cached
Kay Bradley liked it
  • He is best known for his book The End of History and the Last Man (1992), which argued that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies may signal the end point of humanity's sociocultural evolution and become the final form of human government.
  • also associated with the rise of the neoconservative movement,[2] from which he has since distanced himself.
  • Bachelor of Arts degree in classics from Cornell University, where he studied political philosophy under Allan Bloom.[5][8] He initially pursued graduate studies in comparative literature at Yale University, going to Paris for six months to study under Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida, but became disillusioned and switched to political science at Harvard University.[5
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  • He is now Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow and resident in the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.[
  • Fukuyama is best known as the author of The End of History and the Last Man, in which he argued that the progression of human history as a struggle between ideologies is largely at an end, with the world settling on liberal democracy after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Fukuyama predicted the eventual global triumph of political and economic liberalism:[citation needed]
  • As a key Reagan Administration contributor to the formulation of the Reagan Doctrine, Fukuyama is an important figure in the rise of neoconservatism, although his works came out years after Irving Kristol's 1972 book
  • In a New York Times article of February 2006, Fukuyama, in considering the ongoing Iraq War, stated: "What American foreign policy needs is not a return to a narrow and cynical realism, but rather the formulation of a 'realistic Wilsonianism' that better matches means to ends."[14] In regard to neoconservatism he went on to say: "What is needed now are new ideas, neither neoconservative nor realist, for how America is to relate to the rest of the world — ideas that retain the neoconservative belief in the universality of human rights, but without its illusions about the efficacy of American power and hegemony to bring these ends about
  • Fukuyama began to distance himself from the neoconservative agenda of the Bush administration, citing its overly militaristic basis and embrace of unilateral armed intervention, particularly in the Middle East. By late 2003, Fukuyama had voiced his growing opposition to the Iraq War[15] and called for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation as Secretary of Defense.[16]
  • Kay Bradley on 11 Sep 11
     
    Disagrees with Samuel P. Huntington's thesis
artemisiam2021

Poland rejects international criticism over LGBT rights - ABC News - 0 views

abcnews.go.com/...ce-lgbt-people-poland-73286272

LGBT_Rights Poland ABCNews

shared by artemisiam2021 on 28 Sep 20 - No Cached
  • artemisiam2021 on 29 Sep 20
     
    Despite an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives, Polish officials deny any suggestions of infringement on LGBT rights. This is in direct contradiction with the claims Polish leaders have made that LGBT rights pose a threat to the 'traditional family'.
samuelws

Amnesty International to close Hong Kong offices this year - 0 views

abcnews.go.com/...ong-kong-offices-year-80765747

shared by samuelws on 26 Oct 21 - No Cached
  • samuelws on 26 Oct 21
     
    While not directly related to the freedom and equality paradox, I think this article is related. As freedom is going down with government restrictions on speech in Hong Kong, equality is too (as human rights abuses are more likely to continue). So maybe the freedom-equality inverse relationship is only the case in terms of economics.
  • Kay Bradley on 26 Oct 21
     
    yup, I think so.
anikar2023

International Aid to Pakistan during Terrible Flooding - 2 views

abcnews.go.com/...lood-ravaged-pakistan-88991289

shared by anikar2023 on 30 Aug 22 - No Cached
  • anikar2023 on 30 Aug 22
     
    Monsoons in Pakistan have killed thousands of lives this past summer, so multiple neighboring nations sent aid to help those stranded. Heavy rains may be caused by climate change, and the unprecedented monsoons have washed away infrastructure/homes.
  • sebastianw2023 on 01 Sep 22
     
    Overall, there has not been as much news coverage of this flooding as many other events going on in the world. However, I noticed that emphasis on aid to this climate catastrophe has been covered even less. What does this say about news bias and possibly even censorship?
  • Kay Bradley on 06 Sep 22
     
    Good questions, Subby. I think that charitable donations are down, even as intense needs are rising. see https://afpglobal.org/covid-era-fundraising-stalls-donations-soften-and-donors-retention-rates-fall-first-quarter-2022
aleishaallen

How many Yemenis need to die before we stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia? | Kate Allen ... - 0 views

www.theguardian.com/...menis-die-uk-arms-saudi-arabia

arms trade UK Saudi Arabia Civilians Yemen

shared by aleishaallen on 10 Sep 16 - No Cached
  • aleishaallen on 10 Sep 16
     
    The US has proposed blocking the flow of US arms into Saudi Arabia, but the UK will not do the same. There have been many civilian deaths in Yemen due to the arms being provided by the US and UK. Lawmakers in the UK have proclaimed that the continued supply of arms to Saudi Arabia breaches several international humanitarian laws. However, even after extensive evidence of the damage the weapons are doing to civilians, the UK refuses to consider stopping the trade.
smowat

In Budget Plan, Japan Proposes More Spending and Aims to Borrow Less - The New York Times - 6 views

www.nytimes.com/...rease-government-spending.html

shared by smowat on 28 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • ublic spending in Japan will rise to a record level
  • But in a sign that the country may be starting to address its huge debt, budget planners said Japan would borrow less money even as it spent more.
  • Although the economy has been struggling, Japanese corporations are earning record profits
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  • The key to the budget is a continuing expansion in tax revenue.
  • The government increased the national sales tax in April, a widely resented move
  • If the government’s budget projections hold, Japan will meet an official target of halving its deficit, minus the cost of debt service, to 3.3 percent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2015, from 6.6 percent in 2010.
  • jacquelinec56 on 29 Sep 15
     
    This article was incredible informative about the current major areas that are sucking up a lot of Japan's spending like social benefits and military spending. But it also gives a detailed outline on how Japan aims to combat their debt but I'm unsure if these predictions are too optimistic?
  • ...3 more comments...
  • quinnlewis on 29 Sep 15
     
    I found the Japanese projections to be a bit unreasonable given the rate of spending and borrowing. I am nowhere close to as qualified as these executives but from outside the country their plan seems idealistic and likely to result in more debt- especially seeing as they have the largest public debt at the moment I would think they would be more conservative in this situation
  • kylerussell on 29 Sep 15
     
    After visiting Japan this summer, the issue of massive migration to urban areas and the aging populations seems to not receive the attention it deserves. Although it is mentions, the aging population is going to cause a crisis because most of the agricultural industry is taken up by elderly people, who will soon be out of the workforce in a decade or less. With the future cost of healthcare, the Japanese government cannot afford to increase its military power in order to compete with China.
  • alisimons on 29 Sep 15
     
    It's strange that the increase in sales tax perhaps caused the recession in Japan but can also help Japan's economy recover. I don't quite understand how Japan plans to ease its national debt when it is increasing government spending. From where will they get their money?
  • Kako Ito on 29 Sep 15
     
    It's interesting to see how Japan's government is interacting with the market in an attempt to create a flow of money that will ease its deficit. The fact that they raised their sales tax is very interesting when we consider how Japan entered its recession in 1997 because the government raised the national consumption tax to 5% from. Has Japan learned its lesson and will it enter another recession again as a result of their new tax hike?
  • charlesleesohn on 29 Sep 15
     
    It is cool to see precisely which sectors are consuming the larger portions of Japan's budget through data. I also liked how Japan thought about balance their budget.
sawyerthompson

I.M.F. Cautions on Concentrated Positions in U.S. Mutual Funds - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...itions-in-us-mutual-funds.html

shared by sawyerthompson on 29 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • sawyerthompson on 29 Sep 15
     
    The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday of the large positions that mutual funds in the United States have built in high-yielding bonds issued by risky companies here and in emerging markets around the world. The warning comes at a time of increased nervousness about China and other emerging markets like Brazil.
Kay Bradley

International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - 1 views

www.spiegel.de/international

Industrialized Democracies

shared by Kay Bradley on 20 Sep 10 - Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 20 Sep 10
     
    Germany's leading news magazine
Heather Anderson

China Spreads Aid in Africa, with a Catch - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...22namibia.html

shared by Heather Anderson on 22 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Heather Anderson on 22 Oct 10
     
    China is gaining a reputation for corruption. One of it's most secretive areas of spending is in international aid, which seems to be a vehicle for huge kickbacks for very few people. Namibia accepted China's offer of millions of dollars to use to buy special scanners that analyze cargo containers for illegal or dangerous contents. China did not let Namibia choose the company to buy from or compare prices of companies; instead, a Chinese company was chosen for them, Namibia was to buy the scanners for a ridiculously inflated price, and the head of the scanner company received millions of dollars that had nothing to do with the scanners: "Investigators charge that Nuctech agreed to hire Ms. Lameck's consulting company, Teko Trading, in 2007, a month after President Hu's visit. Nuctech agreed to pay Teko 10 percent of the contract if the average price of one scanner was $2.5 million. If the price was higher, Nuctech would pay Teko 50 percent of the added cost. A subsequent agreement fixed the amount of commissions at $12.8 million, according to court records." China is using international aid to give friends huge amounts of money and fund national businesses. That is not how aid is supposed to work.
Rachel Katzoff

EU enlargement: The next eight - 4 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-europe-11283616

EU

shared by Rachel Katzoff on 12 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Rachel Katzoff on 12 Oct 10
     
    This article talks about the next eight countries trying to gain entry into the EU. The most likely country to join the EU is Croatia and they may be approved as early as 2011. Each of the countries that applied as some internal issues they have to work out before they will be admitted. The process of being admitted is interesting to me because the countries first have to submit and application, get confirmed as a candidate, and then they begin talks. In the case of Turkey, the process has been going on since 1987.
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Curtis Serrano on 14 Oct 10
     
    Its incredible what the EU requires of joining nations, turkey has been trying for over 20 years. Its also interesting that many of these countries seem to be denied based on organized crime problems.
  • Kay Bradley on 17 Oct 10
     
    If you refer to the graphic representation of national debt among EU nations, bookmarked above, you'll see that wealth disparities among member nations is a potential deal breaker too.
  • anonymous on 18 Oct 10
     
    I think it's fairly comical how the EU is really a gentlemen's club for the golden boys of Europe and how they are now fiercely attempting to reject their less desirable neighbors while maintaining this facade of being open and welcoming. Of course, it's hard to embrace someone when you're holding onto your wallet with both hands.
  • Rick Rodgers on 18 Oct 10
     
    I think the problems in Greece point to why the EU has to be careful about who is let and who is not. That being said, this process with regards to Turkey is taking way too long. It would be a big step if Europe could build strong ties with Turkey, as it is one of the most accessible means of diplomatic and cultural communication with the ME (Israel is useless). Perhaps in this case, it would be best for the EU to forgive Turkey some minor problems in Cyprus, recognize that they have made improves with the "Kurd problem" and just let them in the damn club already. Perhaps greater improvements with internal Turkish issues that don't appeal to the UN could be made even more easily once Turkey has already joined.
  • Catherine Binder on 18 Oct 10
     
    I had no idea that it was this difficult to become a member of the European Union - being confirmed as a candidate can take more than a decade. Poor Turkey began the process 23 years ago, and is expected to require at least 10 more years to be fully prepared for membership. What an endeavor!
  • Gregory Freiberg on 18 Oct 10
     
    I think this is very interesting and I cannot agree with Jack more. When these countries are thinking only with their pocket books it is hard to be genuinely welcoming to other nations. In my opinion, making Turkey wait 20+ years to join is far too long and a bit ridiculous especially when you compare it to the time other countries had to wait. Croatia joined in less than 5. Very unfair...
Matthew Schweitzer

Natural Resource Riches May Not Help Papua New Guinea - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...26papua.html

Less Developed World:

shared by Matthew Schweitzer on 26 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Matthew Schweitzer on 26 Oct 10
     
    An interesting article from the International Herald Tribune about an area not often covered in the papers. 
Kay Bradley

International IDEA | Voter Turnout - 0 views

www.idea.int/vt

international voter

shared by Kay Bradley on 29 Sep 10 - Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 29 Sep 10
     
    Want to compare voter turnout in different countries? Check this out!
Catherine Binder

Say hi to the Crazy - 3 views

www.sfgate.com/...article.cgi

shared by Catherine Binder on 04 Oct 10 - No Cached
Kay Bradley liked it
  • Catherine Binder on 04 Oct 10
     
    This article is a few weeks old, but the writer brings up interesting points about Islam, the NY mosque debate, and the United States' international relations. His mention of Hiroshima's Peace Park in comparison to the US' plans for Ground Zero is intriguing. Heather's article about the syphilis experiment in Guatemala is just one recent example of why the US is perceived as domineering. I never thought to question our plans for the former site of the World Trade Center, but I completely agree with the writer - why are we building a gaudy shiny tower instead of something more inviting that could facilitate discussions between countries? He states that "It would be nice if our ground zero could become an international home of reconciliation. Instead of continuing the hatred, defuse it."
  • ...2 more comments...
  • anonymous on 04 Oct 10
     
    I like how Jon talks about "the Crazy." I sometimes get caught up in trying to figure out how and why some people have seemingly immoral opinions about things. I first have to remind myself that I'm not always right myself, and if after that I think the issue really is a simple difference between right and wrong, I try to think of the reasons as to why people would think differently from me. It's one thing to think that all of those people are just stupid, all of them have to be evil to think such a thing, all of them don't know what they're talking about. Truth is, it's a mix. I wish I knew more about the mosque issue to be able to have a solid opinion on whether or not it should be built, but I do think the people on each side of the matter need to stop generalizing about the other. The anti-mosque-ians should recognize that terrorists are part of every religion. The pro-mosque-ians should recognize that some of their opposers know what they're talking about, but a lot of them are just caught up in "the Crazy." Both sides should try to understand the other as to dispel any false notions they have about each other (or themselves) and to try and come to a rational, peaceful decision.
  • Heather Anderson on 04 Oct 10
     
    I never thought of comparing 9/11 to the bombing of Hiroshima. Although what happened on 9/11 was absolutely terrible, the scale of the tragedies is really different: 2,000 vs 100,000, a few crazies vs a nation's decision to use extreme power. I don't want to sound insensitive, but I feel as though 9/11 is sometimes blown out of proportion; there have been worse tragedies in the world, at least statistically speaking. However, the emotional and symbolic significance definitely hit the U.S. hard: so many people killed, so much fear, being attacked so close to home, over different religious beliefs. I get the feeling that the author is comparing 9/11 to Hiroshima partially to appeal to people who view it on that scale. I never thought much about the plans for the new towers, but when I did, I suppose I thought it was good we were picking ourselves up and moving forward. But perhaps we would be moving forward in the wrong direction. I really like the idea of a peace garden or a building dedicated to world peace. I think that would be a very inspired way to address the tensions that caused 9/11. I hope parts of the new building will be dedicated to working for peace. Although I doubt anyone will suddenly change the plans for the tower, I think it is actually quite possible that some parts of the building will serve this purpose.
  • Gregory Freiberg on 04 Oct 10
     
    I agree with Alison. All to often we get caught up in our own opinions which sometimes means that we contend every other opinion is wrong. For example, I think that the mosque should be built near ground zero. I think this because to generalize against a whole religion because of a small part of one of the largest religions in the world seems dumb; however, after thinking about this I do realize that the other side to this argument is valid. Why a mosque? Can't we accomplish something similar in terms of fostering peace by building something else? As heather said, this still could be moving forward in the wrong direction. I do not know. But I am trying to be open about the other side to this very multidimensional issue. It is wrong of us to think it is an ethical issue with two side of right and wrong, there is in fact a lot of grey areas.
  • Rick Rodgers on 04 Oct 10
     
    Hey all, I'd just like to remind everyone that the "mosque" is not being built at ground zero (in fact it's in a Burlington Coat Factory blocks away: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sledge/just-how-far-is-the-groun_b_660585.html. I think the ethical debate surrounding the issue is just further testament to the fact that many Americans unconsciously subscribe to media hype, regardless of their positions on issues. While I agree with what has been said about the ethics of a hypothetical mosque at ground zero, we should realize that this ethical dilemma is a fallacy and exists only as a headline. Also, I think the we/the press/everyone should be more careful who we label as "crazy irrational terrorists". We should realize that those guys didn't get on the planes on 9/11 because they were born without enough of X hormone, they were there because of a long history of western intervention etc. in their home countries. We shouldn't be so quick to dismiss terrorism as an irrational act by sick people, it only allows us to forget the underlying complicity that we have with the issue.
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