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Christoph Zed

Melbourne's tepid brown river: it's coffee - 0 views

www.theage.com.au/...-its-coffee-20090916-frm0.html

coffee identity australian

shared by Christoph Zed on 17 Sep 09 - Cached
  • coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee. Can't we celebrate something else? Canberra is the political capital and Sydney is the economic capital and Brisbane is the lifestyle capital and Melbourne, we're the capital of brown boiled bean-juice that gives you morning-breath and loosens your stools with colonic laxativity
  • And I'd chosen the coffee machine because, as a resident of this city, I felt it was my municipal duty.
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.”
jung moon

Korean families reunite for a few days - 3 views

news.theage.com.au/...-a-few-days-20090928-g8w3.html

shared by jung moon on 30 Sep 09 - Cached
  • jung moon on 30 Sep 09
     
    Even though South and North Koreans are 'Koreans', we cannot communicate each other because of many reasons.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Nora Ibrahim on 04 Oct 09
     
    It is amazing isn't it.. so similar yet very different in many ways. Cultural differences due to the distance?
  • xuejiao lin on 05 Oct 09
     
    When I was in Liaoning University of China (it is located in the capital city named Shenyang in Liaoning Province, which adjoins North Koreans), I had a very good friend as my roommate who came from Pyongyang. She was quiet and polite all the time. Meanwhile she even did not like to see those called Roman porn films made by South Korean. She was really different from those many South Korean oversea students in China. Once a time, I asked her to tell me about the confliction between north and south in nowadays. She would say nothing but insisted that "finally, they(the south) will come to us(the north)". Unfortunitlly, she got disappeared at the beginning of the second half semester. Is she a spy?
  • jung moon on 07 Oct 09
     
    From Seoul to Pyongyang (capital city in North Korea) takes only 30 mins I heard. But these families (in the article) couldn't see each other over 50 years....
  • jermaine lee on 07 Oct 09
     
    I knew that South Koreans and North Koreans can't cross the border to visit each other, but i really don't know that they can't even send e-mails. It's such a pity that they don't know when they will see their relatives next time.
  • anonymous on 07 Oct 09
     
    It is reminiscent of families being split in East and West Germany. People would plan trips to Lake Balaton in Hungary to catch up. But that said they could send (censored) letters and make phone calls. If the North Korean Government are so kean to keep these families split up why are they allowing these meetings to take place? The cruelty of it all is hard to comprehend, seeing a loved one never to know if you will see them again.
Andrew Ooi

Can Atheists Be Parents? - TIME - 0 views

www.time.com/...0,9171,877155,00.html

shared by Andrew Ooi on 27 Aug 09 - Cached
  • If they fail in their appeal, Eleanor Katherine may have to leave the only family she has ever known and await adoption by another couple whose religious convictions satisfy the State of New Jersey.
    • Andrew Ooi
      Andrew Ooi on 27 Aug 09
       
      Sounded like something we could talk about. Perhaps with cultural capital or something else.
  • Superior Court Judge William Camarata raised the religious issue.
  • Judge Camarata denied the Burkes' right to the child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.
  • the child should have the freedom to worship as she sees fit, and not be influenced by prospective parents who do not believe in a Supreme Being."
Wye Keen Wong

Chinese film directors' withdrawal from Melbourne festival supported at home_English_Xi... - 0 views

news.xinhuanet.com/...content_11760493.htm

shared by Wye Keen Wong on 29 Jul 09 - Cached
  • Jia Zhangke and Zhao Liang, had withdrawn their films from the festival in protest at the inclusion of a documentary about Rebiya Kadeer, leader of the World Uygur Congress (WUC), which the Chinese believed to be behind the deadly July 5 riot in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 30 Jul 09
       
      It is the hot topic during these days, not only in Australia but also in China. This Xinhua News is governed by Chinese government. Basically, it serves for government.
    • Wye Keen Wong
      Wye Keen Wong on 05 Aug 09
       
      Article in today's AGE on apge 3 about Rebiya Kadeer who is in Melbourne to attend the film's opening
  • had attracted more than 4,000 comments. Almost all of the postings were in support of the two directors.
  • Only a couple said Jia was trying to earn publicity, but they were immediately criticized by others, defending Jia as a talented director who had always been low-key .
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 30 Jul 09
       
      It is a kind of strategy the press used in PR. It is trying to convince the publics what is the right decision Jia made. Also the word "only" it used is trying to say that nearly all Chinese support Jia, and no one has disagreed.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  •    Jia said in a letter to festival organizers that the Urumqi riot had caused many deaths and many people believed the WUC headed by Rebiya Kadeer had unavoidable responsibility for the violence
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 30 Jul 09
       
      I would like to believe it is the truth. What Jia did was not imposed by the government, because I watched this riot on TV, and it made every Chinese upset and hurt. It was terrible to see the violence, in which innocent people were killed and beat on the street, many shops and restaurants were robbery, and cars were burned. What they did was not going in an appropriate way to ask the government for the independence. they really made social disorder and ruthless
  •  "However, the Melbourne film festival organizers have turned it into a political drama by inviting Rebiya Kadeer, a political liar," he said.
    • Wye Keen Wong
      Wye Keen Wong on 05 Aug 09
       
      Is a separation beween art and politics ever possible?
xinning ji

China to appeal WTO ruling on book, movie imports - 0 views

news.theage.com.au/...vie-imports-20090817-ens6.html

shared by xinning ji on 18 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Beijing is boosting demand for pirated products by limiting access to legitimate goods
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 18 Aug 09
       
      it is the biggest issue in China. copyright is illegal in West but the law in CHina is not strict and not enough to exhibit it. Also pirated products are everywhere in CHina, not only in capital city. THe government tried to exterminate them but the copyright market is large, so it is a difficult thing to work out.
  • The WTO said Beijing should allow foreign companies to import and distribute master copies of books, magazines and newspapers and to receive the same conditions and charges as Chinese companies for distributing reading materials.
  • The WTO said Beijing should allow foreign companies to import and distribute master copies of books, magazines and newspapers and to receive the same conditions and charges as Chinese companies for distributing reading materials.
xinning ji

Going to the wall: touring Melbourne's street art - 0 views

www.theage.com.au/...-street-art-20090730-e34v.html

shared by xinning ji on 13 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Largely regarded as the cultural capital of Australia, Melbourne offers world-class arts and cultural heritage institutions and internationally recognised artists, while imaginative design and architecture abound.
xinning ji

Disney is Unfaithful: 1/4/09 - 1/11/09 - 0 views

disneyisunfaithful.org/2009_01_04_archive.html

shared by xinning ji on 24 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Ironically Mickey Mouse, a global symbol of American capitalism, will don a new Mao-inspired outfit in Hong Kong
    • xinning ji
      xinning ji on 24 Aug 09
       
      when one culture accesses into another culture, it is no long the original culture. Rather, the culture is loclized and has tried to serve for local people.
xinning ji

China Concubines Return Thanks To Increasing Capitalism - 0 views

www.huffingtonpost.com/...cubines-return-t_n_269482.html

shared by xinning ji on 06 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Concubines are no longer kept hidden away behind closed doors. In modern China's far more open society, concubines can be seen in the shopping malls and cafes of the cities, especially in the south, where there are thousands of what are known as "er nai" or "second breast".
  • "China's future will be undermined in those corrupt officials' hands," wrote one outraged citizen. Another described the corrupt cadres who keep concubines as "absolutely superfluous, vampires, corrupt scum. They deserve to be killed".
  • xinning ji on 08 Sep 09
     
    I don't know if concubines should be moral issue or not. in traditional China, man had right to re-marry and lived with more than two wivies. today, even though the law doesn't allow re-marry, many men still can find lover outside without marital relationship.
Andrew Ooi

Thousands Defend Role of Press in Italy - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...04italy.html

Freedom of Press Freedom of Information Berlusconi Italy Protest

shared by Andrew Ooi on 04 Oct 09 - Cached
  • ens of thousands of protesters thronged to a historic square in one of Europe’s largest capitals on Saturday to defend press freedom amid concerns of growing government interference in how the news is reported in Italy.
  • Free information, not on a leash
  • Mr. Berlusconi dismissed the protest as “a real farce.” Speaking at a political convention in northern Italy, he said, “Freedom is far greater in Italy than any other Western country,”
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • For years accusations of conflict of interest have dogged Mr. Berlusconi, who owns the country’s leading private television networks and a publishing empire. His government also oversees the state broadcaster RAI.
  • Andrew Ooi on 04 Oct 09
     
    The elites and their control again...
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