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fiona hou

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'Racism' claims at Lebanon beach clubs - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8200001.stm

Lebanon migrant Human Rights

shared by fiona hou on 14 Aug 09 - Cached
  • fiona hou on 14 Aug 09
     
    The BBC's Andrew North reports on how migrant workers are allegedly being turned away from many of Beirut's thriving beach clubs.The Lebanese office of campaign group Human Rights Watch says a majority of beach clubs it surveyed are preventing many migrant workers from Asia and Africa from using their facilities.
xinning ji

China still interested in Asia-Pacific plan | The Australian - 0 views

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/...0,25197,25971687-16953,00.html

shared by xinning ji on 24 Aug 09 - Cached
  • China understood the proposal was a multilateral issue that would be considered separately from the present difficulties besetting the Sino-Australian relationship .
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 24 Aug 09
       
      I think what the decision China made is rational and considerable. this is because when the emergence of globalization, China begun to face up to criticizes from foreign countries, like human rights, democrcy, one party domination... finally, national issues quickly became international business. among these criticizes, some are honest but some are fake. With these pressures, nevertheless, China has changed even if it is slowly. During these days we can explore the tension on the relationship between China and Australia due to several issues. however, this article makes me happy to see the growth of China. the reason is that China learned to how to communicate to the world. although China would like to participate into the multilateral issue, it does not mean its compromise on other issues. As Chiese ambassador stated that a multilateral issue and the present difficulties are two different things. in other words, China still insists its own right on national sovereignty. what I trying to say is that every country has an obligation to build up a peaceful and mutual respect and understanding world. we can hold our own right, we respect each other, and we live together in one world.
  • anonymous on 25 Aug 09
     
    Rudd's proposal of an Asia Pacific Community akin to the European Union is a ridiculous idea. There already exists several organisations in the region (ASEAN, APEC, ASEAN + 3, etc.) which serve to achieve exactly which Rudd proposes an Asia Pacific Community will achieve. Not only is Rudd participating in "megaphone diplomacy" which will likely undermine Australia's relationship with many Asian countries but next to no thought has gone into how this organisation will operate or even what countries will be included.
Christoph Zed

The Axis of Honour: Honour, Modernity, and al Qaeda « The Sensible Jew - 0 views

sensiblejew.wordpress.com/...-honour-modernity-and-al-qaeda

globalisation terrorism al qaeda values society capitalism pluralism secularisation colonialism moral honor

shared by Christoph Zed on 23 Aug 09 - Cached
  • So many scholars and commentators attribute suicide terrorism to such factors as poverty, foreign occupation, or religion, among many other things.
  • Over the past two hundred years, there has been a global, though highly uneven, shift within the values systems of various societies.
  • One particularly profound transformation has been the relegation of one’s religion to the private sphere, as a matter of purely personal choice.
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • So societies that have embraced modernity, have effectively “privatised” religion. Indeed capitalism has been the driving force behind secularism because it required the dismantling of the communalist society.
  • Replacing the old communalism is heterogeneity and pluralism. These have eroded not only religious monopolies, but their centrality in various societies. The end result of this is a society’s secularisation.
  • Globalisation, in which western technological and cultural products predominate, is often framed as a form of colonialism.
  • Ironically, the rise of transnational Islamist terrorism is also a product of globalisation.
  • As the power of the nation state diminishes, religious ideology’s mobility allows it to permeate shifting borders.
  • The current face of modernity is therefore ideally suited to –  and an ideal breeding ground for – the creation of suicide terrorist groups.
  • In order to fortify the in group, moral strictures must become ever more rigorous, while condemnation of transgression must become ever more vociferous – and violent, thus intensifying the demarcation between “good” and “bad”.
  • terrorism implies a crisis of legitimacy
  • But can we say that such a crisis of legitimacy applies to transnational terrorists such as al Qaeda?
  • modernity is an attempt to destroy community and communalism…, all those forces which created identity and authority
  • such threats to communalism result in feelings of humiliation amongst those who do not benefit from the new order.
  • humiliation therefore “links the concepts of honor and human rights in an enlightening way, providing a framework both for ideologies and for the transition between them.”
  • Scott Atran identifies the primacy of honour throughout Arab societies, noting that the Arab perception of being humiliated by outsiders is a prime motivator for suicide attacks.
  • There emerges from the collective sense of humiliation something of an obligation to demonstrate outrage and embark on actions – even if they have little chance of success – in order to avenge honour. Martyrdom is one such example.
  • Beit-Hallahmi writes, that under such circumstances, “contemporary martyrdom can be viewed as an uprising against the end of history and the final triumph of liberal capitalism.”
Christoph Zed

To climb Uluru or not? Up, down or all over | Ayers Rock - 0 views

www.theage.com.au/...or-all-over-20090910-fiyc.html

culture identiy faith belief clash indigenous uluru australia

shared by Christoph Zed on 17 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Standing 348 metres above its surrounds, this 400-million-year-old loaf-shaped object is easily one of the most recognisable on Earth.The question is whether I should climb it.
  • The traditional owners have asked us not to because of its spiritual significance.’’
  • ‘Human footsteps are eroding the surface and idiots peeing on the top are polluting the waterholes.’’
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • ‘because it’s there”,and his partner in crime Mr Patriotic because ‘‘it’s a national icon and a rite of passage’’, are already planning their assault on the summit the next morning.
  • ‘That’s areally important, sacred thing that you are climbing,’’ continues the sign. ‘‘You shouldn’t climb. It’s not the thing to do.’’
  • ‘I understand the traditional owners’ connection to the land,’’ the Birthday Girl says. ‘‘But what about my need to connect with the land?’’
  • photographer Ken Duncan, who said to me recently: ‘‘No person should own copyright on creation.
  • ‘Please allow us to have our own beliefs and experiences, too.’’ And there lies the rub.
  • From our group, two chose to climb it and loved the experience; some didn’t climb because they respected the traditional owners’ request not to; others stayed on the ground because they were either afraid of heights or didn’t think they were fit enough to make it. But, we all had the choice and that’s what matters. A better question is: should our right to make that choice be taken away?
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