Wall Of Speech

Invasion

2009-09-09T00:13:00.000+01:00

They are already inside our country. And it is a dangerous enemy, almost invisible to us. They can be inside our neighbor, at church, basically everywhere you go…

Also they know no mercy, they spare no one… Little by little, they make many victims. They kill pregnant women, children, and old men!

It is a war that we are losing every day, every minute!!! And the government? Well they don’t do anything! They just sit back and relax. Our country isn’t safe and they don’t want to spend one dollar!!!

The name of the enemy: virus; bacteria, etc; Their group: Health Problems!!!

P.S. I want to thank the kind words of Rednex_X and all the others. Because of this I decided once again to start writing … Hope that this time I won’t stop it… And also I hope you find the patience to read me...

This blog is in Coma!

2008-06-05T09:51:00.003+01:00

Hi everybody, for the third time I tried and for the third time I failed. It was a great experience while this blog was active but I have to admit that it has been to long since I posted regulary. While I am still not prepared to declared this blog dead, I have to say that for the time being it is in a "Coma State".

This means that the experience it is not over yet but will wait for a better chance and time to be out of this "Coma State".

I would like to thank everyone who helped here and hope that we keep in touch.

A doubt

2008-05-13T17:56:00.001+01:00

Does anyone have a clue how we are going to live in 20 years?

Underlying Truth

2008-05-07T11:29:00.004+01:00

Only now I've seen the documentary of Al Gore. It was a disapointment. I had already some anti-bodies against him. At least since he won the Nobel, but I expected to be a great film.

But nevertheless there was a underlying truth that was not explored: we won't have any solution for the climate crisis. The time and efforts necessary to reverse that tendency is impossible to achieve.

But that does not mean that the World will end, rather it will solve the problem in a rather old-fashioned manner - through Darwin's Law!

Olympism

2008-04-09T16:51:00.005+01:00

Olympic Charter, Fundamental principles

"1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

2. The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.

3. The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of Olympism. It covers the five continents. It reaches its peak with the bringing together of the world’s athletes at the great sports festival, the Olympic Games. Its symbol is five interlaced rings.

4. The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. The organisation, administration and management of sport must be controlled by independent sports organisations.

5. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.

6. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC."

Finland: Thought crime or not?

2008-04-08T11:00:00.003+01:00

(please follow this link to read more)

"Yesterday a Finnish blogger, Mikko Ellilä, was convicted of what could be called, despite all the political and legal jargon, a thoughtcrime. What he did was tell several hardly disputable facts: that, on average, white people have a higher IQ than Africans (this difference may be due to nutrition, education and/or genetics but that's beside the point), that crime rates are exceptionally high for Africans (or their offshoots such as African-Americans) and that immigrants consume more of society's resources than what they contribute, i.e., that immigration is a net loss, at least in a welfare state such as ours." (Sandt's Observations )

I don't think that all this thoughts are without dispute. For instance:

- "on average, white people have a higher IQ than Africans" how did they conclude that? Did the studies picked persons from the same level of degree and social background? What I am saying is that you can only conclude that if you pick two persons who are equal and the only diference is the race (one thing that is almost impossible)

- "that crime rates are exceptionally high for Africans" again you have to exclude all things besides race to reach this conclusion. Mixing factors will not allow you to reach a valid conclusion.

- "immigrants consume more of society's resources than what they contribute" my doubt goes if the study did valued the benefit that all Finish have for having lower wages workers? And the jobs they have, don't they create value to Finland?

For me the hard part to believe is that a lawyer could not say that what this blogger said wasn't true, because the hard part is to prove that that claims are true and not the opposite. It is nearly impossible to single out race as a factor for having less IQ or being more prone to violence. There is no cientific proof for this claim. Is this a thought crime? I don't think so.

But this imposes a big and diferent question: Where is the limit for freedom of speech?

What is the Olimpic Spirit

2008-04-07T16:02:00.003+01:00

"China views the demonstrations as contrary to the Olympic spirit because the torch belongs to the world." (Bloomberg)

With everything that is happening with this olimpic games, I have a doubt: What is the Olimpic Spirit?
If by chance any generous soul drops here I would like to know what does "Olimpic Spirit" means to you!

Where is going the freedom of speech

2008-04-03T10:02:00.003+01:00

UN rights council passes Islamic resolution on religious defamation (From Herald Tribune)

I could not believe these news, I am yet trying to find the full text of this resolution. But if this is true we just took one step back in terms of freedom of speech. I think that religion is a very sensible subject. It is about our own beliefs and it has a strong emotional component.

But religion is also becoming an excuse to allow behaviour that is not normal, and not aceptable in our society.

I think that defamation is always bad, no matter if it is religious, personal or political. But this is diferent from criticizing. My doubt is if a law can trully sepparate both in this subject. For instance the movie that I posted below is it defamation or criticizing? Or saying that some islamic pratices are bad a critic or a defamation?

For instance "The document, which was put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, "expresses deep concern at attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations.""

My question is in this matter: This concern is about our newspappers, some videos or does it extend to Bin Laden and other terrorist leaders? From my point of view this link is more strongly defended by the terrorist themselves when they kill in the name of Allah!

Another example: ""urges states to take actions to prohibit the dissemination ... of racist and xenophobic ideas" and material that would incite to religious hatred."

Does this mean that Bin Laden movies will be banned? Or that some programs (like a lebanese program for kids that promote hate against Jews) are going to end?

One example of what can be misunderstood is: "The pressure to protect religions from defamation has been growing ever since a Danish magazine published caricatures of Muhammad, provoking riots across the Islamic world in 2006 in which dozens of people were killed. The publication of a different caricature in a Swedish newspaper last year again led to protests from Muslims."

I think that the reaction to that cartoons was complete non-sense. I saw all the cartoons, and the truth is that there was no defamation to Islam. I know that Islamic law does not allow representation of Muhhamad (may Peace be Upon Him) but Dannish do not live under Islamic law. And I think this separation has to be clear. For instance Islamic view of whoever eats pig is that it becomes a pig. Should this be considered a defamation of our society? I don't think so, and I am not offended at all when someone said that.

Tollerance and respect is a two way street!

Freedom of showing...

2008-04-01T23:20:00.002+01:00

Because freedom of speech must be defended and not be an argument of extreme-right movements to gain power.

I decided to show this movie (from T. Van Gogh) because:

a) Shows a reality that some women go through and must be condemmed by everybody so it won't be repited.

b) Shows how much we have changed in four years.

P.S. This is my second time that I try to comeback. Sorry for not being writing...

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

2007-12-27T15:57:00.000Z

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today. This is perhaps one of the worst things that could have happened to Pakistan at this time, as she was the best chance of getting rid of Musharraf. I'm interested to hear what people think will happen now. I think it is likely that Musharraf will declare another state of emergency and postpone the elections indefinitely.

You can read the NYT story here.

Letter to Santa Claus...

2007-12-24T13:17:00.000Z

Hi Santa Claus,

I know that last year was impossible for to you to give me any present. I thought it was too easy, but it seemed it was the other way around.
So this year I will try to ask something simpler. This year I will be more selfish and I will only ask some gifts for myself.

First, I would like to be able to move around in December without being steeped, kicked and pushed around. Probably you don’t know, since you are extremely busy this time of the year, but people get crazy in December. You cannot buy anything without having the sensation that you are in the savannah, in the middle of a stampede.

Second, as you already know I love to travel, so I would love, as a present, to be able to travel around the world without feeling afraid or feeling that there are people around me that live a more miserable life than mine.

Finally, since I want to travel, I just would like you to replace me over the next year on my job. That way I can travel as you will be working for my salary. Don’t be afraid, my job is easy. If you can manage to deliver all presents to the world in only 24h, for sure you can do my job easily.

Hope that you receive my letter on time,

Best Regards,

Stran

Life without Christmas presents…

2007-12-24T13:13:00.000Z

Responding to a challenge here is my view of life without having to buy presents.

What would I do with the money I would save if I did not buy the presents for Christmas?

When she first asked me this I had no answer. I never thought of this question in my entire life, so I had no answer. I thought, and thought, and thought until smoke came out of my head. I though that I would give a Social Institution. Or that I would buy something to myself, etc…

But as I thought of this, something in my mind told me that this would not happen. Well it is not that I do not wish to do that, but rather that I would not do that.

Then it stroke me. Really nothing of that would happen. If I did not spend the money on these presents, nothing significant would change in my life and in the world. I would just spend on little stuff like a coffee, or one more magazine, or a drink in the rest of the year. Just that! Why? Well, because I would not have in my mind that I had to buy presents in December, so I would be freer to spend it in insignificant stuff.

So, it is good that someone created Christmas so we can buy a present to the ones more close to us.

In our fast pace world we need this mandatory stuff to make us stop a little bit and appreciate the people around us. It is sad, but true…

Congratulations Europe

2007-12-14T12:37:00.000Z

It is not a perfect union, but, nonetheless, it is a successful one. After many wars, countries that were almost historical enemies taught a lesson to the world a created this space that we now call European Union. Some generations don't know how it was before, and how we progress with this Union.

Yesterday in Lisbon we took another step forward, and everything considered it is a good progress. Only the future will tell what it is going to happen next but I am looking forward to reach what this treaty points to - a True Union!

Without net...

2007-11-19T17:29:00.000Z

This last two weeks I have been without Internet.

I do not remember the time I was that long without the possibility of going to the net. Normally when I go on vacation I do not miss it, don’t even think about it, but being here (and being too lazy to go to a net cafe), doing my normal life but without the possibility of blogging or surfing the net was, without a doubt, a very odd experience. It was like something was missing, like I have been cut out of the world.

It made me realize that this little tool already gain its own importance in my life. Not a vital importance, but nonetheless a importance.

A Question to You All...

2007-11-12T15:53:00.000Z

Hi everyone!

Just a question to everybody here... should I carry on with my chronicle?

I'm not trying to sound silly (although I might do anyway!) - but I've noticed a huge lack of response to my chronicles! Am not guilting anybody into commenting, of course, but they do take a large chunk of my time to write....

Let me know, lovelies!

And In Tonight's News...

2007-11-09T10:45:00.000Z

(See my previous entry for a brief explanation to this two-part chronicle!)

Part Two - News and Media

Think about the last time you saw, heard or read the news? How much of what was reported was good news that put a smile on your face? My bet is, unless it was the local newspaper you were reading there was very little in the way of happy stories.

I can't claim to know a lot about American news broadcasts, as I have only seen it a handful of times in my life when visiting New York - but the news that I did see really opened my eyes to the way they don't just inform people of the news, but they make them fear the news.

Compared with UK news (which I will talk about in a moment) their style is faster - with headlines issued in dramatic bullet points. If you went by some of their news alone, it almost seems that the USA is constantly under threat by some way - be it terrorists, dangerously faulty products or animal attacks!

But again, I stress that I have only seen a handful of news broadcasts in America, so these could all be isolated occasions - I am happy for people to prove me wrong!

Also, this does not mean I am sitting here saying that the news in the UK is any better - whilst not as edgy and fast-paced as out American counter-parts, it is still made into a dramatic event to watch the news. We are constantly told our homes, health, family, money and country all could be at risk from various elements.

Don't get me wrong - having access to the current events and knowing what is going on is very important, and I am not arguing that at all, what I am talking about is the way the news is presented. One could argue that it needs to be dramatic to get our attentions and make us sit up and notice.

I also put to you the newspapers - once more, I don't know what newspapers outside of the UK but many of the newspapers here sensationalise everything sometimes I often think more time is spent on eye catching headlines then the story and facts itself.

Another point I would like to raise is how can we trust 100% what we are reading, seeing or hearing? In the UK there have been notable scandals in print - what is to stop this happening again? Here are a couple of examples:

In April 1989 at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield, England, a tragedy occurred when a human stampede occurred resulting in the death of 96 people (all Liverpool football fans). However, The Sun's report on this event was grossly altered with the addition of shocking facts to, presumably, sell more copies of their publication. This backfired on them terribly, and people in Liverpool to this day hardly buy the paper. For a more detailed account:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster#The_Sun_newspaper_controversy

Piers Morgan, former editor of Daily Mirror was fired in 2004 for a scandal that rocked the country and everyone talked about - he authorised the publication of faked photographs of Iraqi prisoners being held and abused by British Army personnel. The Daily Mirror countered that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for their publication.

Of course, all this is my personal view and once again I am not 'slagging off' the news as such, just the way it is presented to us, the general public.

What do you think? How is the news presented where you live? And do you agree or disagree with any of my points?

A concerted effort !

2007-11-05T14:01:00.000Z

Life has been extremely busy in the last week, plus I am hitting the high road again for a week to all points south, so will try to get some photos posted of my travels. Then off to the Baltic for three days.

I feel the need to pass comment on the man of very little honour, Sir Ian Blair, who feels no sense of personal shame in his role in the shooting to death with Dum Dum bullets a totally innocent man.

I feel the need to comment on the 'requirement' to keep innocent men and women locked up pending enquiries for upto three months.

I feel the need to oppose the authoritarian ravings of 'Balls' dragooning the next generation with threats of Court action if they fail to obey.

Being so busy I feel I have taken my eye off the ball, and let another two weeks of the State grabbing more power without me noticing.

I'm Ready For My Close-up, Darling...

2007-11-02T09:14:00.000Z

In light of the recent rantings and ravings of Heather Mills-McCartney against the UK press*, I decided to do this chronicle about the media, both here in the UK and what we actually get see of the press from around the world. I'll make this over a couple of chronicles otherwise it will be a very long entry....!

Part One - Celebrity

I decided to start with one of the most obvious things we think of when we consider the media and the press - celebrity. It seems today you can hardly switch on the TV, open a newspaper, browse a magazine or surf the Internet without being bombarded by stories, pictures and quotes from these people.

More common than not, nowadays, are quotes from celebrities complaining about the way paparazzi treat them. Many well known faces and names continually bemoan how the press focus on how they look, where they go, what they do and how they live. They urge people to not by the tabloids which - according to them - always contain false stories and quotes.

Whether you are interested in celebrity gossip or not, it is hard to get away from the fact the world seems to be obsessed with them.

Should the paparazzi leave them alone? Just because they sung that song, acted in that movie or wrote that book does that mean that we have to see pictures of them in their daily life? Why shouldn't we relish photographs of them looking rough - after all it shows that nobody's perfect...
But the trouble is, do we really - deep, deep down actually care? Could the obsession with fame be simply a way of avoiding looking at our own lives? Celebrities aren't perfect - we all know that, but why do some people need the round the clock, daily evidence of this?

Why do people hero worship these men and women, who in reality have as many - if not more - flaws than we do! Their rise to fame is closely monitored, they have praise and adoration lavished upon them and then eventually the world relishes in their eventual downfall.

Perhaps you think that they should, if not embrace, at least tolerate the attention they receive? After all - you can't possibly become famous and not expect to see your picture in the newspapers or attract interest when you pop to your local corner shop!

So - what do you think, should they stop complaining and actually use their positions to become role models for the younger generations, or do you think they have a right to 100% privacy when they are not purposefully in the spotlight?

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*External Links re: Heather Mills McCartney

GMTV - http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=27356
BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7070634.stm

Jingle Bell Rock

2007-10-30T09:12:00.000Z

Well, it's officially started over here. The UK is buzzing with thoughts of Christmas... in October!

Nearly every person I've spoken to feels the urge to mention "x number of weeks till Christmas". Great, thanks a lot - that makes me feel really fabulous. I don't know about you, but the thought of Christmas sends me into a panic, but normally I can to wait until December 1st to to have a meltdown over presents, gift wrap, gift tags, sellotape and ribbon. Don't even mention the food!

Switching on the television last night I was greeted by an advert for a well known catalogue singing out "I wish it could be Christmas every day...." and more toy commercials then you could shake a tinsel covered stick at!

Why do they feel the need to sell Christmas to us? Why do supermarkets pipe the smell of freshly baked mince pies through the air ducts to tempt us into buying them? Why bombard us with adverts telling us that their product will make it the best Christmas ever? Surely it goes without saying most people will spend a ton of cash on Christmas without making us start two months early!

I also wonder how they get away with it - after being warned against showing the Union Jack in England during the football World Cup in case it offended people I wonder why is there isn't a similar rule? Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and by no means am I a Scrooge, but if you personally don't celebrate Christmas - for whatever reason - do you really want to be reminded of it everywhere far earlier in the year than is really necessary?

I read recently that some smaller towns have has their local Council banning Christmas lights and a tree going up in the town centre in case it offends people with other beliefs. Is that political correctness gone mad or a reasonable step to take?

Christmas is a lovely time of the year for spending time with the family, eating lovely food and having time off work, but as we all know it is a religious celebration - so why don't we have the similar mass advertising on other religions festivals? One could argue that Christianity has been the main religion of England for many hundreds of years - many people belong to the Church of England - and therefore we have that 'right' over other religions, but is that fair?

Who draws the line between what might offend other people and what wouldn't?

---------------------------------------------

Sorry that this post is late, by the way! The area where I live has been having major cable issues and I have only just got my Internet connection back!!!

Elisabeth

Europe?!?

2007-10-22T15:31:00.000+01:00

It was said that last week was an important week for the future of Europe. Under Portugal’s presidency, the main figures of power finally agreed upon a common text that will change European Union!

Saying this, I some questions arose in my mind:

Which Future?

It seems now that is the fundamental question. We have to find out what is our vision for E.U. in 5, 10 or 50 years. Being a federalist it is easy to guess my vision for the future, but it is not a peaceful view, and I don’t know if there are many supporters of a Federal Future.

Where is the document?

I tried to find out over the Internet but I could not find it. Probably I did not search it right. I read a lot of comments, news, people who form opinion, but I can not find the actual document, proposal, or a glimpse of paragraphs of the future treaty. So how can I formulate a position? How do these leaders want the public opinion to have a mature opinion about it?

It seems that for most leaders that is irrelevant. They conduct the policies and we have to prey that they are doing the right choice. I don’t like to be kept blindfolded in a subject that will affect my life in the future and most important I, a voter, would like to have the same importance as reporters, since it seems that they had the chance to read the document to formulate their opinions…

When do we get involved?

It is important to bring the debate to the people. At the same rate that E.U. grew, population grew apart E.U. It seems now that E.U. is a bunch of bureaucrats that everyday try to find a way to complicate our lives. I think that everyday that passes a new Euroceptic is born and in a few years there will be no space to E.U. to have a future…

Dream a Little Dream of Me.

2007-10-19T09:37:00.000+01:00

I became inspired to write a small piece on dreams following a rather peculiar dream I myself had a couple of nights ago. It made me think about dreams in general and the way they affect us.

I am aware that dreams, as a whole, seem to be a bit of an ongoing mystery amongst the science wizards. Taken from Wikipedia:-

"There is no universally agreed-upon biological definition of dreaming.

General observation shows that dreams are strongly associated with REM sleep. REM sleep is the state of sleep in which brain activity is most like wakefulness, which is why many researchers believe this is when dreams are strongest, although it could also mean that this is a state from which dreams are most easily remembered.

During a typical lifespan, a human spends a total of about six years dreaming, (which is about 2 hours each night). It is unknown where in the brain dreams originate — if there is such a single location — or why dreams occur at all."

So, as one of those mysteries of life, many people speculate about them and why we have them. A high percentage people believe in dream symbolism - that dreaming a certain thing means that a good or a bad event is likely to occur in your life

Other theories I have heard include that dreaming is a way for the mind to "clear up" unwanted information or "data" whilst we sleep. Freud even went so far as to suggest that dreams protect our sleep.

Whatever the reason is, I personally love having dreams and hearing about other peoples dreams and listening to their interpretation of the dream.

I wonder - can dreams create a feeling of adoration, or even love, for someone? If you have a romantic, happy or even sensual dream about a person you know - whether you are close to them in life or not, could that dream mean you have feelings towards them, whether consciously or not?

On the other side of that, if you have a dream about a close friend or a loved one hurting you, either emotionally and physically, would you feel any differently about that person the next day? I know I have had a dream like that before and the next day I felt unreasonably stressed and irritable at that person and it actually took me until the evening of that day to realise why.

I also think that if you have a really quite frightening dream, be it violent, a horror movie scenario, or just featuring a personal fear, it is often difficult to completely get rid of that spooky feeling when you wake up - whether you wake up naturally or as a result of the bad dream.

I believe that dreams are an amalgamation of various components. A series of random images, events, noises, people and places which the brain tries to put in some sort of logical order as it 'unwinds' ready for sleep. For example, have you ever had a dream that has had a 'plot' similar to a storyline on a TV show or move that you watched recently? Do you ever dream about a person who you saw and spoke to that day?

I would love to hear your views and ideas on this - what do you personally think dreams are? Have you ever had a dream affect you outside of sleep?

Elisabeth

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Thank you for taking the time to read my first chronicle!

I appreciate my posts will be different to what you are normally used to seeing on here, but I do hope you'll enjoy them! I'll be writing on a different topic, idea or event every Friday; I am aiming to entertain as wide an audience as possible and I would love to receive any comments or suggestions you may have!

I look forward to many happy Friday's here!!

Elisabeth's Chronicle

2007-10-18T16:24:00.000+01:00

The Wall of Speech (WoS) is not a static wall. It tries to improve itself as time goes by. Some changes were already madeand it is now time for another one.

A few days ago I came up with the following site (Wine Glass Logistics), and while I was reading I immediatly came with a new idea. So I asked the author to join and, lucky for me, she accept it. Starting tomorrow, Elisabeth will begin hers weekly chronicle.

Hope you'll enjoy it

Stran

The Material Brain

2007-10-15T16:56:00.000+01:00

Salon.com has a great interview with Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein in which they discuss, among other things, the idea of consciousness going beyond the physical mechanics of the brain.

Virtually all religious believers think the mind cannot be reduced to the
physical mechanics of the brain. Of course, many believe the mind is what communicates with God. Would you agree that the mind-brain question is one of the key issues in the “science and religion” debate?
PINKER: I think so. It’s a very deep intuition that people are more than their bodies and their brains, that when someone dies, their consciousness doesn’t go out of existence, that some part of us can be up and about in the world while our body stays in one place, that we can’t just be a bunch of molecules in motion. It’s one that naturally taps into religious beliefs. And the challenge to that deep-seated belief from neuroscience, evolutionary biology and cognitive science has put religion and science on the public stage. I think it’s one of the reasons you have a renewed assault on religious beliefs from people like Dawkins and Daniel Dennett.
The neuroscientific worldview — the idea that the mind is what the brain does — has kicked away one of the intuitive supports of religion. So even if you accepted all of the previous scientific challenges to religion — the earth revolving around the sun, animals evolving and so on — the immaterial soul was always one last thing that you could keep as being in the province of religion. With the advance of neuroscience, that idea has been challenged.

This question has always been fascinating to me, partly because I know a lot of progressive people who see the hypocrisy of religion, and the brilliance of scientific thinking, and yet have such a hard time with the idea that everything you think and feel can be reduced down to material mechanisms in the brain. Some are even offended by the notion that feelings such as love don’t have some sort of extra-physical existence.

To me, complexity does not mean that we need to step out of the realm of the physical to attempt to explain something. The brain is truly a remarkable organ, and every day we learn more and more how remarkable it is. People have always turned to religion, to spirituality, to explain what they could not understand - and the workings of the brain are perhaps the last refuge for these people. It’s the last pillar of religious belief to fall.

Something to think about it…

2007-10-12T16:02:00.000+01:00

When I was younger I would always look forward to the future. My main Idea was that in future we would be in power and so all the injustice that we felt those days would end. It was as simple as this: once we reach the years to make decisions (political, economical and social decisions) would change because we would do the right decision.

Well reality is now different and no revolution came, little changes happened but nothing worth enough to be proud. Well a pessimistic would say: “That is life!” but my eternal positive view of the world does not allow me to support that view.

For now I only would like to know this:

If you had a chance what would you change in this life?

Well just something to think about the weekend …

(If you want please leave a comment on this question)

Multiculturalism

2007-10-11T17:31:00.000+01:00

This news (click here) made me think about limits of freedom and multiculturalism. For me it was shocking when I read: “Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs.”

This is nonsense. If people feel that they can not do some particular part of a job because of religious beliefs then he or she should quit. I don’t know how people feel at ease to even ask if they can complete the course without taking this lectures or exams. But the worst was the fact that “Sainsbury’s is permitting Muslim checkout operators to refuse to handle customers’ alcohol purchases on religious grounds”. This for me is going too far and is extremely dangerous.

First, if someone is so religious to the point that it does not touch a bottle of wine (for example) then it should also be that strong in terms of not working there. It has the choice, but it can not force his beliefs on others. For me it is a lame excuse for not working, nothing more. It has no grounds to support such action, or even allow it in a company.

Second, there are limits to freedom and to the notion of multiculturalism. For me it is not multiculturalism to endorse such actions, not from the company and not for the costumers. It is the promotion of an attitude that it is not in our common values. People shouldn’t forget that we live in a part of the world where discrimination is a crime. Those people are using the “discrimination factor” only in one way. The reality is that by fearing to be viewed as discriminators we are allowing other people to discriminate.

I don’t know where people got the notion that they can wear a Burka on the street (I am against) but they are allowed to refuse to handle customers’ alcohol purchases.

In general the message that we are giving everybody is that is ok to become more radical, to loose values that were so dear to us. I don’t know if it is out of fear or belief in radical multiculturalism but either way is wrong. People should be free to have their religion beliefs but it should be an inner choice and not a social choice. By endorsing this attitudes we are promoting religion to enter the social area, a place that we thought it had left a long time ago.

The only reason that I think this is allowed is because of our eternal pride and belief of our moral superiority. Imagine that you live in a country where you couldn’t buy something because you are homosexual, and it is a common religious belief to be against sexual promiscuity, do you really endorse such an attitude?

I am just sorry that I am not a Sainsbury’s customer. If I was I would stop being as a protest against their acceptance of discrimination of customers. And I really think you should do the same!!!

One Year - Many Lessons

2007-10-10T17:16:00.000+01:00

It is been one year since this Project started, and many lesson were learn. This are a few:

1-No matter which country you come from, you find great people that are very helpful and with strong opinions that should be read;
In the beginning, when I started this project I had no idea how to create a blog. In the process I found many people that help in terms of articles, ideas, design, etc… People that don’t know my real name, where I come from, or what were my ideals, but that immediately started to help. For all of them a Big Thank You, and an even bigger apologize the last semester…

2-In one year this blog passed all the life cycle that is possible: birth, growth and death;
I found that Life is quick and also in terms of blogs. Around April I had a writers block and that was the beginning of the end of my articles. I also found that just writing an opinion it is not enough to keep it going. That lesson will be the moto of this new year of WoS. I will put my efforts on Direct Speech, and to create new sections that are innovative and more interactive with society worldwide. I will also try to bring more people from around the world to participate in this project. Of course the main purpose will continue, to build a space for free speech.

3-You can never tell that a blog is dead until it is deleted!
More than a lesson this is my wish for next year…

"In the Name of the Father"

2007-05-02T17:43:00.000+01:00

I have just seen this film (which I strongly recommend) and it was amazing the parallel that you can make with the present time. The plot to few that might not know is:

"A small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London. Bullied by the British police, he and four of his friends are coerced into confessing their guilt. Gerry's father and other relatives in London are also implicated in the crime. He spends 15 years in prison with his father trying to prove his innocence with the help of a British attorney, Gareth Peirce. Based on a true story." (source: IMDB)

Which I found very similar to this old news:

"MAHER ARAR, Subject of Canadian Government Commission Report: I wanted to clear my name. Today, Justice O'Connor has cleared my name and restored my reputation.

JEFFREY BROWN: On Monday, a Canadian government commission report concluded that Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was wrongly accused of having ties to terrorism by Canadian officials and improperly taken by U.S. authorities to the Mideast, where he was tortured." (to know more click here)"

OK, it was a different sentence, different number of people implicated and different type of person but is the same irrational reaction to fear from authorities. The first happen 30 years ago, the second a few years ago.

It's war Jim, but not as we know it

2007-04-03T13:17:00.000+01:00

It appears as if Britain really is at war with Iran - well, a war of words to be more precise - and mealy-mouthed words at that. However, it seems that no one can hardly accuse the British government of being disproportionate in its response to this apparent act of war by Iran, or how the Times (London) puts it 'casus belli'.

Well, what else could you call the latest Iranian military actions? If anything, the ambush of some 15 British soldiers by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards represents something of a propaganda and military coup for the ever increasingly embattled Iranian authorities. When it comes to the art of war, the British government's image in the eyes of the world is increasingly perceived as second-rate and 'softly-softly'. Such a military strategy by Britain will only succeed in encouraging even more ambushes.

A week has now passed and the British government have failed to set any deadlines for the immediate release of the soldiers, it's as if our political class have been struck down with a chronic case of 'risk aversion'. There is a serious flip side to pursuing a cautious approach - such a risk averse strategy is actually bordering on moral cowardice in the face of the enemy.

It's as if the British government have fully and wholeheartedly embraced a cautionary strategy, that is remarkably similar to the doctrine commonly known as the Precautionary principle, much loved by the environmental movement, which states that under no circumstances should action be ever taken, unless you can be certain, without doubt that there will be no negative consequences as a result of your actions.

More recently, risk averse societies like Britain would tend to strike first on the basis that pre-emptive action was a legitimate form of self-defence. Today, the adoption of a precautionary strategy seems to have led to paralysis in policy making. It appears that our political elites are relying more on the words of lawyers in terms of strategic and political leadership. Our government itself seems paralysed in the face of a blatant act of war - they are fearful that any military action against Iran could have a negative 'boomerang effect' - so, instead of 'going in' and saving the marines, thereby averting a disaster, they fear that action would only realise another catastrophe - not the kind of things politicians really desire. (1)

Britain’s precautionary approach to Iran has only succeeded in slowly dragging this whole affair along, rather than settling it - none of this has been lost on the Iranian authorities who have used the past few days to ratchet up the political and military stakes. With a government like ours, there is one thing we can be certain of, their increasing obsession with risk, and aversion to risk, will only succeed in inviting even more ambushes, and other such 'gestures of defiance' in the not so distant future.

(1) The Risk Society at War: Terror, Technology and Strategy in the Twenty-First Century By Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen - p93 and p199.

EU slams United States, Australia on climate change

2007-04-02T15:50:00.000+01:00

By Jeff Mason at Reuters

"BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union accused the United States and Australia on Monday of hampering international efforts to tackle climate change.

"We expect ... the United States to cooperate closer and not to continue having a negative attitude in international negotiations," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told delegates at a United Nations-sponsored meeting to review a report on the regional effects of rising global temperatures.

"It is absolutely necessary that they move because otherwise other countries, especially the developing countries, do not have any reason to move," he said. (...)"

Guido the 'prat' meets Michael White

2007-03-29T17:06:00.000+01:00

Watching the TV performance of the blogger extraordinaire Guido Fawkes, with the heavyweight political editor Michael White, on the BBC's Newsnight programme last night - the words 'way out of your league' sprang immediately to mind. It's been a little while since I've seen anyone get so savagely and systematically demolished (politically speaking) as Guido did last night.

It certainly appeared that Guido had stepped into the gladiators arena, only to find out that he was going to be fed to the lions anyway - indeed, I didn't know what was more humiliating, watching Guido uming and r-ring, or watching the self-righteous Jeremy Paxman step in to 'defend' Guido. Either way, Guido certainly looked like a right first-class 'prat', as described by Michael White.

There are a few serious lessons to be learnt when dealing with the likes of Michael White on TV - for a start, you had better make sure you know off-by-heart every imaginable question that might be thrown up. Secondly, have (at the very least) a half decent progressive answer for those questions - or else you might end up looking like Guido - a laughing stock.

A few choice words on this matter from the Devil's Kitchen, well worth reading.

Also, Benedict White over on the Conservative's blog now wishes he had never voted for Guido in the first place to appear on Newsnight.

Oliver Kamm, the anti-blogger, who describes himself as being 'hostile to the whole medium of blogging', throws in his two penth worth here.

Finally, some words from Guido himself, who said 'the live interview was definitely a mistake and against my better judgement'. You can say that again!

I am not stealing I am an Activist!!!

2007-03-29T11:15:00.000+01:00

I just saw the site of yomango (literally I Steal) and my world changed. They present an all new perspective to the world of robbery. It is no longer an illegal activity it is a political statement. I have to admit that the founder of this movement was really imaginative. And they are really organized too. They have a forum where they discuss the techniques of stealing, they perform legal advice and they support all that with their political statement.

Probably that was what Winona Rider was doing when she was busted.

Time to Think

2007-03-27T09:50:00.000+01:00

Just a thought. If you had to create an entire society would you create the society that you are living it?

Direct speech: Eric Langager

2007-03-19T16:30:00.000Z

When I thought of creating this section I immediately thought of China because of the recent comments about

China

censorship of internet sites. I wondered how it was living there and what could be the point of view of someone living there. So it was then that I came up with Eric´s site and contact. Eric Langager is the writer of Eric’s Beijing Diary, a blog about his stay in

China

. He lives in

China

since 2003, where he teaches. He already lived in four different countries and had many professions.

Once again I would like to thank him for the immediate response and sympathy that allowed the following interview:

In a few words describe yourself (so people can get to know you better).

Eric Langager (EL) - Who am I? The story really begins with my grandfather, who was from Norway, and came to the US as a homesteader in the early days of the 20^th Century. I myself was born in Tokyo, and grew up in the north of Japan where my parents were missionaries. I took my first trip to America when I was three, but we returned to Japan, where I lived until I was thirteen. After that, I lived in the United States. Mainly four states (North Dakota, Minnesota, Oregon and Arizona) except for seven years in the trucking industry when I spent some time in every one of them. After driving to the moon and back (600 thousand + miles), I cleaned out my truck and decided to go back to my profession (I had been a teacher). However, I didn't want to return to the public school system, so I studied for Microsoft certification and became a technical trainer. During the four years I taught at a private software university in Arizona (UAT), I decided to become a database specialist, and obtained Oracle certification. In 2004, I joined the faculty of the Software College here at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

You already lived in 4 different countries (Japan, USA, Canada and China) and visited many places and people. What did you find similar in those places/people and what did you find completely different?

(EL) - Kipling said that "East is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet." Japan has spent the years since World War II trying to disprove that notion, and has largely succeeded. So while there are ways that Asian cultures differ from a western culture like America, there are also ways that a developing country like China differs from developed nations like Japan and America. China today reminds me so much of the Japan of my childhood: growing economically, yet somehow simpler, slower paced, and more relaxed than the more frenzied developed societies.

What was the biggest shock when you start living in China?

(EL) - You know, I went through major culture shock when I moved to America as a thirteen-year-old kid. I didn't ever want to go through anything like that again, so I took great pains to prepare myself to live in China. But there is always something you don't anticipate. For me, it was food. I thought I would be able to adapt to a different cuisine. I was prepared to suffer through food that tasted very different from what I was used to. What I was not prepared for, was the seemingly unlimited variety of incredibly delicious dishes in the seven cuisines of China. It really shouldn't be legal to make food so delicious.

You live in China for about 3/4 years. How is the day-by-day life in a dictatorship and how do you feel their presence?

(EL) - First of all, China cannot really be called a dictatorship, because in order to have a dictatorship, you need to have a dictator. The leadership of China is very different from the early days of liberation in that respect. Mao certainly was a dictator. And I suppose you could say the same thing about Deng Xiao-ping, because, although he was very different from Mao, he did tend to lead by dictate that went beyond legal authority. The most far-reaching of his famous economic reforms really began in the nineties, after he had relinquished all formal official positions.

But the modern leadership is not this way. The days of one man being able to arbitrarily overrule the party are history (at least for now). Don't get me wrong, Hu Jin-tao is not just a figurehead. He is an executive, much like the US president, or the British prime minister. He is essentially the "CEO" of China. But he does not by any means wield absolute authority. Truthfully, it is not that easy to define exactly how things work in China, because it is changing so rapidly. The only thing we know for sure is that it is very, very different from the way it was before. China is not a democracy in the American sense of the word, but it is not the oligarchy that some in the West suppose, either. True, the government is controlled by the Communist Party, but remember, the Party has 60 million members.

Now, as to the main part of your question: What is it like? Well, when times are good economically, it's great. I took a drastic cut in pay to come to China (about 75 per cent). But I also saw a 90 per cent cut in cost of living. Simply put, in terms of day-to-day living, it is easier (at least for a single person) to get by in China. I don't have a car. I don't want a car. There are lots of busses, I have a bicycle, and taxies are not expensive.

But what would life be like in an economic downturn? There could be problems, because corruption is quite widespread in China. A booming economy absorbs much of that. China has close to a 200 billion dollar trade imbalance with the United States. That means that every five years or so, the United States of America pours a trillion dollars in hard, cold cash into the Chinese economy. That's a lot of money.

We talk about censorship in China a lot but how is it he felt in China? What does the common Chinese feels about it?

(EL) - Basically, if you can read English, you can get the information you need in this country. I read the China daily, and watch a couple programs on the 24 hour English channel. In addition, I go to the coffee bar and read the Wall Street Journal. Every day, I listen to BBC Newshour. I also listen to Morning Edition on National Public Radio, and I watch one American news program each week. It's called "Mclaughlin Group." I download the Quicktime video file for this half-hour program from their web site.

Chinese people seem to be amazingly resigned to getting news from the sources that are allowed to them in Chinese. This is not all bad, because there are some very good papers in China (such as Beijing News), that operate as close to the edge as the government will let them. But I encourage them to use the Internet to avail themselves of other perspectives.

In your opinion, how does the Chinese people perceived the western countries?

(EL) - Generally favorably. The US has lost credibility because of the Iraq War, but Chinese people are generally very friendly to westerners.

What is the effect of China economic growth in the common Chinese person, and what is changing because of this?

(EL) - Deng Xiao-ping's economic reforms lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty (at least the population of the United States). So it is much better than before, but there are still lots of poor people in this country.

Still, many more people than before have the money to provide their children with good education even if they did not pass the National Entrance Examination.

What do you find more appealing in teaching and living in China?

(EL) - Well, I alluded to it before...I don't know, I guess I just like being able to decide for myself how modern I want to be. I ride a bike, but I carry my laptop with me.

Being connected to technology what was the best inovation for you? And what innovation do you want to see in the future?

(EL) - The most useful innovation since I have been in China, is that all the coffee bars in this area have set up free high-speed wireless Internet connections. Regarding future innovations, this may seem strange coming from a technical trainer, but I hope China doesn't develop too many new innovations. Life tends to get complicated when you do that. I guess if there is one thing that would be nice, it would be the development and enhancement of remote communications.

[All pictures were taken from Eric's site]

Direct Speech

2007-03-19T14:17:00.000Z

Direct Speech is a new section of Wall of Speech. In this section it is conducted some interviews with people around the world. The main focus is to get to know some interesting people and their inside view of topics that are discussed in many blogs and newspapers. There is no regular schedule to do these interviews and they will occur every time there is an opportunity and relevance.

The first person to be interviewed is Eric Langager, Associate Professor who is currently teaching in College of Software, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and will be published tomorrow.

ID(eal) or not ID(eal) System

2007-03-14T12:02:00.000Z

I came up with this discussion at Matt's Site (click here). I have to admit that I couldn't understand the problem about the implementation of an ID Card System in the UK. After being explained and reading 22 reasons against this system at a site that Matt pointed me (click here) I had a clearer picture of the problem.

I have to admit that the system is quite different from the one that regulates my country. Here is mandatory to have an ID card and to always use it (if you don't have the policemen can take you to the police station to identificaty). But for this system to be secure (and not misused) there is one thing that must be always present: there can not be any cross reference to other personnel information. I know that this is difficult to secure, for instance when you open a bank account you have to put your id card number, but is quite effective. There is no direct link from this information database with another (for example a person has a different ID card number, Social Security number and Tax payer number and these informations are independent and it is prohibited for the state to have a common database with this information).

These rules were created so that the state isn't able to hold complete information about a citizen and misuse it like it already happen in the past. This notion is vital for the all system to work, otherwise politicians will have access to much information that is not necessary for them.

I know that we now live a time where security is almost number one value of many regulations and we are losing our freedom for that. For now it is not yet present the danger of these changes because we still live in an open democracy but what about in the future? Is this the ID(eal) system to protect us or will be more helpful for future leaders that will be more totalitarians?

I think that we are slowly loosing our freedom, not understanding that this will have a major impact in our future freedom of choice and speech.

Wall Of Speech is banned in China

2007-03-13T16:21:00.000Z

It's not as if the Wall Of Speech is the hub of anti-Chinese propaganda in the West, but for some strange reason (unknown to me) WoS has effectively been banned in China. No one in China can visit or view this site.

To find out if your own site is available to be viewed in China simply take this test that I discovered over at the heavyweight Conservative blogger Elle Seymour .

If anyone has any ideas as to why WoS in banned in China, I would surely like to hear it.

Letter from Santa Claus

2007-03-07T14:32:00.000Z

I have just received a letter from Santa Claus answering my wish list letter that i sent him this year.

"Dear Mr. Stran

First of all I am sorry for only writing you back now but I have been in the hospital until today. For now you know that I could not fulfil your request. But what you call "simple request" was completely impossible to obtain.

I first went to see George W. Bush but immediately he kick me out (literally) of his office saying that the next time I was there he would make me USA public enemy #1 and would bomb my house for preventing reasons.

I then went to Iran but he just told me if I thought that he really believe in Santa Claus and kick me out (once again literally) saying that he make a "Fatah" against me. Then came the suicide bombers but I was almost blown away buy one and had to get out of there in a hurry.

Being near, I went to Israel but they direct me back to Palestine telling me that only after they declare the same thing they would accept to make this statement. The Palestinians said the same thing and direct me back to Israel. I was like that for days until I gave out.

As for Ben Laden do you really think that I could find him?!?

Then, I went to see the G7 leaders but when I was arriving to the place I remembered what George W. Bush told me and thought it was better for me not to go (after all I need my factory intact to give the presents to all the other kids).

Finally, I tried to convince all countries in the world to comply with the obligations of the charter of the UN. For some it was easy but for the rest, let me just say that I was shot at, stabbed and beaten up and end up in an hospital where I remained until yesterday (because of this it was Mrs Santa Claus that gave the presents this year).

I am sorry that you didn't received your present but like I told you it was impossible.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Santa Claus

[P.S. Next year, if you ask me the same or similar I quit!!!]"

New Look of Wall of Speech

2007-03-06T14:36:00.000Z

I have just completed the changes in the blog. The first of all and most obvious is the looks. I hope that you liked the change (hope that you don't find it too dark), and that it will be nicer for you to read the posts.

But that was not the only change. First of all there is no more google ads (I just left them in WoS Internal talk to whoever is interested).

Besides this, I have created the following:

1) Blog Feed: I putted the feed of the blogs of the main contributors so that you can see what is being written there.

2) Labels: I introduced the labels so that you can easily see the posts by themes. I also put the author of each article (hope that you don't mind) so that people could also view articles by Author (I will ask you a favour: if you could always label your article with your name in order to not miss any article)

3) Wall of Speech quick links:

*Open Invitation (if people want to participate they just need to leave a message or send an email)

* WoS Statement (tells what the site is about);

*WoS Internal Talks (link to the discussion blog about this site);

*Box of Suggestions (new): I have created this article so people would suggest improvements or could complaint about anything they dislike;

*Quick Speech (new): this space is created to enable people who don't want to be a member to write articles to be published;

These change aim to improve the appearance of the blog, to improve the its quality and to build up the participation, hope you liked it.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the writers of this blog for their great articles and for making possible the fulfilment of the initial idea. Besides this, I would also like to thank Matt M. for the big help that he gave me to enable me to change the appearance of this site .

Thank you to everybody and I hope that you continue to have fun at this blog.

God-shaped hole

2007-03-05T17:18:00.001Z

There’s a piece on the New York Times website today in which Scott Atran, “an anthropologist at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, with joint appointments at the University of Michigan and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York”, puts forward a version of the God-shaped hole argument – the idea that human beings are “wired” to believe in the supernatural.

The work done by Atran is fascinating, especially the “African magic box” experiments, but I think he takes his findings a step too far.

“Why do we cross our fingers during turbulence, even the most atheistic among us?” asked Atran when we spoke at his Upper West Side pied-à-terre in January.

I don’t. In fact I quite enjoy turbulence, especially if it’s a long flight. For what it’s worth, I’m not superstitious: I don’t cross my fingers, I don’t mind the number 13, I don’t touch wood, I walk under ladders and on cracks, etc. I’d also quite happily put my hands in Atran’s magic box. I rather suspect I’m not alone in this.

This isn’t to deny that there’s a general tendency towards beliefs in the supernatural in some form. However, it’s far from as strong as some people seem to think. Most superstitious behaviour is probably a result of upbringing – it’s always difficult to shake off the beliefs you were brought up with, and they often remain, lurking, at the back of your mind – and the, understandable, desire to somehow influence events beyond our control.

I’d bet that Atran had a far more ”religious” upbringing than I did – the opening paragraph of the piece seems to confirm that. Which might explain why it appears to be a lot harder for him to shake off superstitious beliefs than for me.

Atran says he faces an emotional and intellectual struggle to live without God in a nonatheist world, and he suspects that is where his little superstitions come from, his passing thought about crossing his fingers during turbulence or knocking on wood just in case.

For him, atheism is counter-intuitive because he was raised to see the world in a completely different manner. For me, it’s the opposite way round: I find theism to be counter-intuitive and I’m far more comfortable with the atheistic, naturalist view of life.

That the God-shaped hole is more an environmental than biological issue would also seems to be confirmed by the changing attitudes towards religion in the UK, as shown in this Telegraph article. Atran, presenting himself as a typical case, argues that his superstitious side will probably become stronger as he becomes increasingly aware of his impending demise. However, an increasing number of people seem to be heading in the opposite direction.

Not for America, not for the World!

2007-03-02T11:42:00.000Z

The Bush’s 15 minutes of Fame are almost over. His presidency is reaching is final time and his Legacy will be clearer in the future. He will leave the Presidency failing almost all goals and will be a great candidate for the worst USA president of all time.

The recent plans for the Iraqi war shows us that his quest for war was not to make USA or the World safer. Also, was not to gain economic power at long term. Instead the war was intended to make some companies very profitable during his presidency and to support his personnel revenge against Saddam Hussein. With his decisions, he made UN weaker, to the point that is no longer sure that it will survive at long term.

In terms of internal affair his policy also failed, but I believe that it is better for Americans to write about this subject (I am an outsider).

The worst part, the part that American citizens are guilty is that he won two elections. While the first was very imprecise, the second one was clearer that USA citizens had a chance to change for better and did not take it. You can say that Democratic Party had a weak candidate, but I think when making a decision you have also to take into account the team behind the man and the republican team was really bad.

Now that every thing is almost over, we can just hope that in future the presidents will be better and able to correct so many mistakes. Bush was a terrible president and work only for his personnel goals. He clearly was not the right president.

Not for America and not for the World!

Serbia cleared of genocide

2007-02-26T20:29:00.000Z

By Mark Oliver, Mark Tran and agencies,
Monday February 26, 2007
Guardian Unlimited.

Serbia was guilty of failing to prevent the genocide of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995, the UN's highest court ruled today.

But the international court of justice cleared Serbia of direct responsibility for genocide and complicity in genocide in Bosnia, in the 1992-1995 war.

The decision took the form of several votes. In the key verdict, the court decided by 13 votes to two that Serbia had "not committed genocide, through its organs or persons whose acts engage its responsibility under customary international law". In another vote, however, the court found by 12 votes to three that Serbia had "violated the obligation to prevent genocide".

£300 million

2007-02-22T17:13:00.000Z

The taxpayer is going to take a hit for £300 million because of NuLab's inability to give the farmers their money on time. Another Government IT failure ? and they reckon that ID cards will be secure- We need a new chief executive for UK plc

Blogger's block

2007-02-22T14:43:00.000Z

Just like a writer’s block I am having a blogger’s block.

I look at the news and can not find anything relevant enough to write about. I look to what divide us and yet not a single word comes into my mind. I look at the world and it is the same. The war did not end, the hunger still exists, diseases are killing and there is no cure for cancer. So why this is not affecting me enough to, at least, write something about it.

Is it a blogger’s block or am I just to tire to talk about the same things?

A brief look at the World

2007-02-16T12:18:00.000Z

Watching some headlines it seems that we are on the Apocalypse. For instance on Reuters I read that "Taliban deploy 10,000 fighters for attack"and that "U.S.-Iraqi forces meet little resistance in Baghdad". At BBC I read that "Chad may face genocide, UN warn s". It is war, war and more war. I know that it has been always like that (I don't remember one year of my life that there was a war in this world). But it seems to me that there is a difference between old wars and the XXI century world. We no longer have ideology behind a war. There is no different sides that want to develop people welfare through different means (like Communism Vs Capitalism).
Some say that ideology is dead. I am a sceptic, I don't believe in that, I rather believe that we are living a period that ideology is resting, probably to "blow up" in a near future...

Love the sinner, hate the sin?

2007-02-12T18:42:00.000Z

In Internet and other debates a distinction is often drawn between attacking a person’s ideas and attacking the person themselves. The first is seen as healthy, objective criticism, while the second is merely an ad hominem attack designed to rouse tempers rather than provoke discussion.

But can the distinction be so easily made? Can we draw a line between a person and the ideas they hold? I don’t think we can.

Consider the following: “It’s not you I’m calling hideous, just the clothes you wear!” Or, closer to home for a lot of us here: “I didn’t insult you, I just called your blog a mess of infantile, badly-written drivel!”

Both would be perceived as attacks on us by association: I choose the clothes I wear, I write my blog, etc. The same can be said for more ideological matters: Can we really separate criticising a religion from criticising those who believe in it?

Our ideas often have an emotional investment simply because they are our ideas. They reflect who we are and our ability to think. Suggesting that someone’s political views are misguided, for example, is inevitably to suggest that they themselves stupid enough to hold such views.

If we were purely rational beings, selecting ideas purely on a cost-benefit type basis, then we’d have no trouble adopting or abandoning them in light of new information. But we’re often more emotional/instinctive beings. The ability to rationally determine which political/economic system is best for 60 million odd fellow-citizens living in an increasingly connected world is beyond most of us, so we rely on gut-instinct and the emotional impact of certain events to guide us in what’s hopefully the right direction: a simple distrust of government, or experience of poverty can have more influence over our political thinking then the works of Smith, Marx, Keynes and Milton combined a lot of the time. Rational arguments are then drawn up after the fact to support our own beliefs and attack those which are different.

Human beings crave certainty: we like to think that our ideas are correct and that the life we’ve chosen is the right one. To this end, we wrap ideas and concepts around us like a protective cloak. To have someone start pulling on a loose thread can be an uncomfortable experience.

Climate Problems

2007-02-02T14:04:00.000Z

“The IPCC, the most authoritative group on warming grouping 2,500 scientists from more than 130 nations, predicted more severe rains, melting glaciers, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels, especially if Antarctica or Greenland thaw.

The final text said it was "very likely" – or a probability of more than 90 percent -- that human activities led by burning fossil fuels explained most of the warming in the past 50 years.” (Taken from here)

First of all let me start to say that I like driving my car, I like travelling by plane, I like the products that some polluting industries give me, I like my lifestyle.

Saying this I have to say that I would like to see politics taking into account climate changes and its problems in their actions.

Why?

I won’t be moral about this issue (leave that for Greenpeace) but show one of my egoistic reason about this issue:
The natural resources that we use are scarce. What this affects me? Well, scarce resources will lead to nation conflicts (we have Iraq war as a good example) and to war. Almost all wars have economic reasons, more than moral reasons, to happen and most of them can be linked to the necessity of controlle of scarce resources. Also scarce resources will become more expensive to us which will lead to the end of our lifestyle.

I would like to leave a question: when will we start solving this problem?

Behind a great man…

2007-01-29T13:56:00.000Z

… Probably it is better to rephrase that.

Hillary Clinton announced, without big surprise, that she is running to the Presidency. This makes her the second woman that is trying to reach a G7 country Leadership (the other is Segolene Royal in France). If both win we will have a unique scenario. For the first time we will have 3 female leaders at G7 or 2 Female leader with the veto power at the Security Council of the U.N.

Will this change Politics? Is this the dream time of feminists? Is it good? Well I don’t have a straight answer for these questions. I don’t think that gender will influence the politic world and also I don’t think that they are prerequisite for being a leader. But this scenario shows us that some barriers are being broken. It is not a huge step but rather a small step to a more equalitarian and representative society.

Iraq's Absentee Government

2007-01-24T18:18:00.000Z

The New York Times has an interesting article about the problem of the Iraqi Parliament members not showing up for sessions.
They're paid hansomly, with additional funds for security - and yet still do not bother to show up.

Some of Iraq’s more seasoned leaders say attendance has been undermined by a
widening sense of disillusionment about Parliament’s ability to improve Iraqis’
daily life. The country’s dominant issue, security, is almost exclusively the
policy realm of the American military and the office of the prime minister.

While a large part of the problems in Iraq are unquestionably security related - part of the problems might also be related to the fact that the Iraqis don't feel like they have control over their own government. Even the Iraqi government doesn't feel like it is in control. Maybe if the Parliament were allowed to make a difference the members would start taking it more seriously.

Moshe Katsev

2007-01-23T16:41:00.000Z

Moshe Katsev the President of Israel is facing charges of Rape, and is being urged to resign rather than bring the office of President into disrepute.

America's image

2007-01-23T15:07:00.000Z

According to BBC World Service poll, the global view of the United States’ role in world affairs is negative. This questionnaire was taken across 25 different countries (you can see it here).
Of the 25 countries only 3 countries (Philippines, Nigeria and Kenia) strongly think that USA influence in the world is mainly positive.
For me this is not surprising, but rather a confirmation of what i imagined.
With the recent disasters in terms of foreigner affairs, with Iraq as major example, USA proved these lasts years that it is not prepared to be in the position that it is now - the major, and probably only, super power in the world. I don't now if it is the responsibility of that role or if it the vanity of the name, but they failed completly.

DOOMSDAY CLOCK

2007-01-19T22:44:00.000Z

ATOMICCRISIS AND CLIMATEENDANGERMENT: WORLD TO END IN 'FIVE MINUTES'
The Doomsday Clock a symbolic clock with which prominent scientists denounce how close we are to the ending of the world, is put two minutes closer to midnight.Its now five to twelve.Motives are the crisis surrounding nuclear programmes of North Korea an Iran and the changing of climate.Its the first time climate is reason to change the clock.
The Doomsday clock was established in 1947 when it was put at 7 minutes for twelve.Since then it is put forward and backward 18 times.Closest to midnight, 2 minutes, it was put in 1953 when the USA succeded a test of a hydrogen bomb.Farthest from midnight, 17 minutes, it was put in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.

London Eye

2007-01-12T16:55:00.000Z

Having spent my first week in London (my debut experience in an Anglo-Saxon country), I had one of my best experiences in a foreigner country. And it was an experience that I won’t forget. The multi racial city that is London, the environment of freedom and sympathy of the people were overwhelming.

It was really good to feel this experience of (in my opinion) a true multi-cultural city, where more then pointing out the differences I felt that it only matter the human being for itself.

I don’t know if London is unique or if I only saw the best of the city and citizens. In a world where people judge easily others cultures I have to admit (and probably I am making the same mistake) that it is difficult to be in a city where freedom is more respected. And being this site about freedom (freedom of speech), I had to start my first post of 2007 with this little reference to this city.

Respect, not race

2007-01-08T17:26:00.000Z

With the British National Party grabbing a few headlines at the moment, I thought that I'd offer my own take on the issue of nationality and citizenship as my first WoS post of 2007.

Coming from a pretty multicultural city, I’ve worked alongside people from across the world, some of whom I’ve considered good friends. Most of the time, when either bitching about work or sharing a drink, their ethnicity or their reasons for coming to Britain simply hasn’t struck me as important – a brief topic of conversation, at best.

In a desperate attempt to make my English degree mean something, I like to put this down to my love of reading. Bear with me. On my bookshelves sit cherished works by the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Anton Chekhov, Franz Kafka, and various other writers from a diverse range of backgrounds. If I’ve learnt only one thing from this esteemed collection of writers (and that’s quite possible) it’s that the character of a person is far more interesting and important than where they come from. Things like nationality or ethnicity don’t define someone, but their outlook on life can.

In his excellent essay on identity, ‘Citizens of the World’, K. Anthony Appiah tells us that one of the last pieces of advice his father left him was that, wherever he lived, he should try to leave it “better than you found it”. A perfect motto for the internationalist outlook. That’s what’s important to me: If someone respects their fellow citizens then, regardless of where they came from, I’m more than happy to live alongside them.

Greenpeace: profiteering from whaling too

2007-01-05T18:37:00.000Z

According to the environment section of The Guardian, the environmental organisation Greenpeace have been making more money from whaling than Iceland. These claims were made by Captain Paul Watson, the co-founder of the Greenpeace Foundation and Greenpeace International.

Captain Watson flatly refused to attend last years Greenpeace office Christmas party, he argued that the Greenpeace campaign against whaling was really all about 'making whale "snuff flicks" and exploiting bleeding, suffering whales to wring out every emotional dollar it could from the public'.

Greenpeace have indeed made boatloads of money from weeping over whaling, $103m (£53m) according to The Guardian - and for what? For sailing two ships to the Antarctica in 2005, taking a few photos and holding up a couple of banners?

In defence of immigration

2007-01-04T09:48:00.001Z

Most people these days (even in Britain) seem to accept that immigrants make great contributions culturally, politically and economically to the nation they migrate to. Even the critics of Britain's current open-door policy find it difficult to dismiss the benefits gained from the current wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe - except, Migrationwatch that is.

Having said that, the chairman of Migrationwatch, Sir Andrew Green, actually conceded that of 'course many immigrants make a useful contribution to the economy but, taken in total, the economic benefit is at best marginal'. The fact that the host nation and the immigrants themselves both benefit seems to be lost somewhere in translation. Indeed, it is left to the astute blogger, Tim Worstall, who kindly reminds us all that such benefits is normally known as 'Pareto improvement'.

Who needs the British National Party when we've got Migrationwatch?

Saddam Hussein's Execution

2006-12-31T06:54:00.000Z

You can watch the complete video of Saddam’s execution here. And by complete I do mean that you can watch the actual hanging.

I’m posting this because I believe that if a society allows it to happen, they should be able to watch it.

Christmas Whish List

2006-12-22T15:08:00.000Z

This is a time for people to ask for presents. I don’t believe in Santa Claus but to be safe I will write him the following letter:

"Dear Santa Claus,

I don’t know if I was good this year so I don’t ask you much. Well I won’t ask you big presents like a winner lottery ticket, a house, a car, an Ipod or the new Playstation3. No, this year I just want to hear some words from some particular persons. This are the phrases that I want to hear:

From George W. Bush: “I quit!!!”
From Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “I have just cancelled all the nuclear projects to create a nuclear bomb”
From suicide bombers: “Not today, not tomorrow, and not ever!”
From Palestine Authorities: “We will live in peace”
From Israel Authorities: “We will live in peace”
From Ben Laden: “What I did was wrong”
From all countries in the world: “We won’t break the obligations of the charter of the UN”
From the G7 Leaders: “We forgive the undeveloped countries debt”

Well, Santa Claus, for now it is what I remember (if I know anymore I will write you again).

I don’t think it is much. Do you?

Best Regards,

Stran"

[Final Note: I will take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope that everything you wish will come true!]

An help on Freedom of Speech

2006-12-21T12:21:00.000Z

[Note: if you find this product important please link or send this post or advertise the content of it]

I never thought of talking on this site about a product, but I think this one can make a change on the use of Internet in countries that have censorship. On the 1st of December it was release the Psiphon software. This software is a "censorship circumvention solution that allows users to access blocked sites in countries where the Internet is censored. Psiphon turns a regular home computer into a personal, encrypted server capable of retrieving and displaying web pages anywhere.
Psiphon operates through networks of trust. There are Psiphon providers who install and administer a Psiphon server (psiphonode) in an uncensored country, and Psiphon users (psiphonites) who log in and access the server from a country that censors the Internet". (taken from here).

You can download this software for free from the Psiphon site (click here). The idea is that the Psiphon providers will have a secure URL that Psiphon users can use when navigating the web. This URL is only given by the providers to persons that they want by the process of social networking (emails, posting on blogs, etc...). Since I am not a Web software expert I urge you to go to the site to know more (they have a good explanation on their FAQ which is in English, Spanish and Chinese) .

I already downloaded it and I am currently still learning how to use it. I know that for now probably it will be easy for the countries that have censorship to single out this addresses and find who is using it (i am not completely sure about this statement) but in the future if there is a massive existence of Psiphon providers it will be eventually impossible for authorities to single out and block this URL's.

I don't know if I am being too optimistic but I really think that we can make a difference by using this software and contribute to reinforce the freedom of speech and the free use of the Web.
Sometimes a little effort can make a huge difference, I hope that this will be the case.

Poverty: what is to be done?

2006-12-19T21:35:00.000Z

The Conservative press consultant Ellee Seymour, provides a good piece on what poverty is like in her neck of the woods, Norfolk, England.

As to the question of 'what is to be done'? It seems that many on the right in Britain haven't got the faintest idea. I argued that rapid and unprecedented economic growth should do the trick for the worst off in our society.

However, in the comments section, I thought it was rather worrying, that even amongst some Tories', who are normally pro-economic growth - there was a palatable air of disdain about the notion of rapid economic growth - what seems to me to be an obvious answer to poverty.

Christianophobia

2006-12-19T19:19:00.000Z

When cartoons depicting Islam in an unfavourable light were published by a Danish newspaper there were calls for censorship, bomb threats, death threats and Danish embassies set on fire - as far as I recall, there was little response from the non-Muslim Danish public.

However, when a small Christian congregation tries to get a few squatters evicted from their building there's a 1000-strong protest involving clashes with the police.

TIME's Person of the Year 2006

2006-12-19T17:21:00.000Z

First of all congratulations to us, net users!!!

Taken from Time (to see the complete article click here)

"(...)But look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.

The tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web. Not the Web that Tim Berners-Lee hacked together (15 years ago, according to Wikipedia) as a way for scientists to share research. It's not even the overhyped dotcom Web of the late 1990s. The new Web is a very different thing. It's a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. Silicon Valley consultants call it Web 2.0, as if it were a new version of some old software. But it's really a revolution.

And we are so ready for it. We're ready to balance our diet of predigested news with raw feeds from Baghdad and Boston and Beijing. You can learn more about how Americans live just by looking at the backgrounds of YouTube videos—those rumpled bedrooms and toy-strewn basement rec rooms—than you could from 1,000 hours of network television.

And we didn't just watch, we also worked. Like crazy. We made Facebook profiles and Second Life avatars and reviewed books at Amazon and recorded podcasts. We blogged about our candidates losing and wrote songs about getting dumped. We camcordered bombing runs and built open-source software.

America loves its solitary geniuses—its Einsteins, its Edisons, its Jobses—but those lonely dreamers may have to learn to play with others. Car companies are running open design contests. Reuters is carrying blog postings alongside its regular news feed. Microsoft is working overtime to fend off user-created Linux. We're looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it's just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy.

Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?

The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you. (...)"

The Future of European Union

2006-12-15T11:48:00.000Z

Today is the final day a summit of the leaders of EU in Brussels. Many issues were debated and the most important ones were the enlargement of EU, the reform of EU and EU constitution. Of course the most mediatic topic was the Turkey's application. It was decided to slowdown this process. To the others aspiring members the message was dubious: "We understand the need to combine the strategic vision of enlargement with the capacity of integration of the European Union" said Jose Manuel Barroso, Commission President (Taken from here)

In my opinion this constant indecision about the enlargement of EU is affecting all the processes inside the EU. In the past 5 years the main focus was in integrating new countries in the Union and we totally abandon the reinforcement of the internal relations and institutions. There were "injuries" that didn't heal and there were no effort in doing that.

There is still no common voice in foreigner affairs (the Iraqi crisis was a good image of that) and most of the population of the countries inside the Union still have a negative image of the politics of the Union (the politicians are guilty for this because they used the excuse of EU rules to implement unpopular politics).

We need to have clearer goals for the Union, so for me the future of this Union passes through this definition before more countries enter it.

I am a strong Federalist supporter, can this be future?
Well, I hope so!

Zimbabwe

2006-12-12T12:19:00.000Z

Middle Classes Tooling up

2006-12-11T11:58:00.000Z

First Post is reporting that the middle classes are quietly arming themselves with a variety of weaponary easily available on main land europe. A Smith & Wesson being far more effective than an ASBO unquote.

Its hardly surprising, the Police are largely in effective against crime, and where as I once I would have intervened in street disturbances, there is no way that I would contemplate doing so, as the chances of getting stabbed a really quite high, and the probability of getting shot in Bristol is also quite high. CCTV has not reduced crime, merely displaced it to the suburbs.

I feel I am entitled to defend my home and family by whatever means are available, sadly the Law does not agree. If the State is failing to protect the Citizen, the Citizen is entitled to protect himself.

EU-Turkish talks in balance as crunch week begins

2006-12-11T11:05:00.000Z

[Taken from Reuters by Mark John]

"BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU foreign ministers met on Monday for crucial talks on how to penalize Turkey for failing to normalize trade with Cyprus at the start of a week that could derail Ankara's troubled entry negotiations with the bloc.

EU capitals are split between those who would shed no tears if talks with the large, mainly Muslim nation collapsed, and others who say Europe must embrace a strategic partner to bridge the Western and Islamic worlds and secure a future energy hub.

Even before the meeting started, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said positions were too far apart for agreement to be reached on Monday, raising the specter of a crisis summit of the 25-nation bloc on Turkey from Thursday.

But he told German ARD television: "I am very confident that there will be an agreement at the end of this week."(...)"

ID Cards

2006-12-04T07:17:00.000Z

The Telegraph is reporting a youGov poll that there is is significant opposition to the intrduction of ID cards.70% of the 50% opposed said it was on priciple. There is no logical evidence that ID cards would prevent terrorism, home grown terrorists would be entitled to one anyway, and what is man made can be replicated, as the BBC programme 'my passports and I will show'. For all the pretence of combatting terrorism, the proposed introduction of ID cards is largely seen for what it is, another attempt by government to take control over our private lives.

GUTHRUM

Intelligent Teaching

2006-12-02T12:30:00.000Z

New Labour’s attitude towards the teaching of Creationism and Intelligent Design has always been a bit slippery, while they never come out in actual support of these so-called alternatives to the theory of evolution they don’t seem that eager to stand in their way either. So it comes as little surprise that they’re doing nothing to prevent the use of information packs provided by ID advocates Truth in Science in science classes.

Both the parliamentary science and technology select committee and Department for Education and Skills have declared the packs inappropriate and unscientific, but they’ve found some support with Education Secretary Alan Johnson and some teachers. They claim that teaching ‘alternatives’ to evolution is the best and most scientific way to go. And on the face of it that’s a fairly credible stance.

The problem with teaching Intelligent Design though is that it’s 10% bad science and 90% bad metaphysics. The only aspect of it that has any real claim to being scientific is the concept of Irreducible Complexity, an idea dismissed by the majority of the scientific community and the subject of not one peer-reviewed paper or article. When held up to the harsh light of day it represents about as credible a challenge to evolutionary theory as breatharianism, and as such it seems quite pointless taking up valuable teaching time to deal with it.

This isn’t to say that Darwinism should be regarded as a ‘sacred cow’. Science at GCSE level should be aimed at teaching students basic scientific principles within the context of mainstream scientific opinion. Emphasising the speculative nature of science and letting children know that a number of important theories are disputed by some is essential for them to really grasp the way science works. But teaching theories accepted only by a minority of people is a waste of time and resources, and should ideally be left for higher education. Even then it shouldn’t rely on information packs from biased organisations.

Animal Killing

2006-11-30T17:51:00.000Z

I respect the Japanese culture. In many aspects they are very advanced and a very respectful society, but coming up with this video I could not be more shocked. It is not the fact of killing dolphins that shocked me, which I already knew that it was happening there. But what shocked me the most was the brutal way that they do that.

I wonder how a society that is so shy it terms of human contact (where a social kiss can be a very stressful event) can support this kind of activity!!!

Immorality and Religiosity

2006-11-28T19:09:00.000Z

From Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion (in which he is quoting Sam Harris):

Sam Harris in Letter to a Christian Nation writes:

While political party affiliation in the United States is not a perfect indicator of religiosity, it is no secret that the ‘red states’ are primarily red due to the overwhelming political influence of conservative Christians. If there were a strong correlation between Christian conservatism and societal health, we might expect to see some sign of it in red-state America. We don’t. Of the twenty-five cities with the lowest rates of violent crime, 62 percent are in ‘blue’ states, and 38 percent are in ‘red’ states. Of the twenty-five most dangerous cities, 76 percent are in red states, and 24 percent are in blue states. In fact, three of the five most dangerous cities in the U.S. are in the pious state of Texas. The twelve states with the highest rates of
burglary are red. Twenty-four of the twenty-nine states with the highest rates of theft are red. Of the twenty-two states with the highest rates of murder, seventeen are red.

Dawkins notes that in the U.S. red is conservative and blue is liberal, which is the opposite of how it is in most of the world. I understand that this data may be anecdotal at best, but you can not deny at least some correlation.

This serves as yet another example of how morality does not come from religion. Examples such as the problems in the middle east and elsewhere can even serve to show that perhaps it is immorality that stems from religion.

Obviously not all religious people are immoral, and not all non-religious people are moral, but trends are trends. Why do people feel such a need for religion, even with evidence such as this?

Slavery: reparations for today's blacks is immoral

2006-11-27T17:08:00.000Z

The issue of reparations for descendants of slaves, is on top of this weeks British political agenda - but, it's still not entirely self-evident as to why the British state should have to pay monies to today's blacks, for a system that was abolished long, long before any of our parents were even born (let alone my generation).

If anything, the very idea of reparation for today's black Briton’s is in the first instance, a diabolical insult. The assumption underlying reparation is that slavery still shackles the feet of today's black Briton's - this notion is rubbish. What I find most objectionable, is the fact that it's millionaire black American lawyers who are the driving force behind all much of this foolish talk.

Besides, Britain cannot seriously afford to entertain ideas about shelling out tonnes of cash to all who demand compensation for things that happened in the distant past - because, it would be only a matter of time before the descendents of Chinese opium dealers come banging on British court doors demanding millions in compensation. Followed closely behind by the Boston tea merchants, and why not South African Boer farmers?

Multi-million pound payout will not heal any division there may be in our society, but it will surely succeed in incensing a whole generation of white Briton's who could rightfully argue that all this nonsense 'is not fair'.

A simple story

2006-11-17T12:00:00.000Z

Palmdale, California - USA. The day was April 12, 2005. A person lost his life. Another also lost his life, not physical but social. The full story is here.

What strokes me was how can a society condemned 13 years old Greg Harris Jr. to a 12 years of confinement in a youth detention centre. I know that a kid died because of his actions, but what does a society gain with this sentence?

Nothing done will bring back to life that person, and nothing good will be achieved with this sentence. So why? It was the question that yesterday was in my mind and didn’t go away. It was a tragic event, but not rational, not like the sentence. This sentence will kill this kid life. He will spend as much time inside as outside of the youth detention centre. His values will be gain in that youth centre, not the best place to grow, I think.
One question pops up: “Who condemns the condemner?”

And if you read the story I ask I many of you where close to be in Greg’s shoes? Do you feel like a criminal and that you should be locked away? Sometime it was only luck that separated us from Greg. The luck that we had that this little kid didn’t have.

Final note: His appeal just started. I sincerely hope that the sentence will change.

'War' on climate change? Looks just as 'bogus' as the 'war on terror'

2006-11-15T18:58:00.000Z

According to Michael Meacher, the former environment minister, the British state is now apparently 'at war' over climate change, just like back 'in 1939'. The ex-minister added that 'I think we are at war over climate change and I think we [New Labour] can lead the country'. In case we didn't quite understand what Meacher was saying, he noted that global warming was a challenge to the very 'future of the human species on the planet'. Ok, message received.

Is Meacher really calling for the re-militarisation of our society, with his ideal image of WWII and wartime rationing? Even back then in 1930s, wartime rationing was only achievable by terrifying the British public into believing that Britain was about to be invaded, hence the need for militarising society and austerity measures.

More to the point, Meacher's bogus call to arms against climate change is totally unconvincing - the idea that the future of the whole of humanity somehow hangs in the balance because of climate change, is risible. This is not science speaking, Meacher's doom and gloom predictions are based on pure speculation.

Meacher once took the British government to task for its role in the bogus 'war on terror'. He bemoaned the fact that Britain had launched a full-scale war against Iraq based solely on dodgy information about WMD. Yet, Meacher's theories about the 'end of humanity' are just as 'bogus' as the original reasons why Britain went to war with Iraq. Indeed, Meacher’s theory has failed a basic test, Karl Popper's test of falsifiability. Meacher's dire warning says far more about him, than it does about the future of humanity.

WoSie Awards

2006-11-14T16:18:00.000Z

Another year is about to end. Many events occurred during this year that marked our lifes. In this sense and in conformity with the spirit of this site we created the “WoSie awards”. This is an “open giving” awards which you have a major role.

The categories and respective nominations are completely free, and during this month you can send an email to mywosie2006@hotmail.com with your suggestions or leave here a comment with your proposal of categories, nominations or simply supporting an already created category and/or nominations. Your imagination will be the only limit to this Award.

In December the top 10 categories (and respective nominations) will be presented to voting, after the quality vote of members, and the Winners will be presented on 3 of January 2007.

[See some proposals on comments area]

Corruption

2006-11-13T11:16:00.000Z

Recently it was turned public the 2006Corruption Perceptions Index. From the results it is obvious the link between poverty and corruption. Like Huguette Labelle said “corruption traps millions in poverty”.

Once again (like in other development index) Scandinavian countries are on top of this index (Finland is the first) as countries with less perceived corruption.

Globally industrialized countries have less perceived corruption and the poorest countries have stronger perceived corruption. In terms of evolution Algeria, Czech Republic, India, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Mauritius, Paraguay, Slovenia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uruguay had a significant improvement of this index and Brazil, Cuba, Israel, Jordan, Laos, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and the United States had a significant worsening of this index. In the case of USA he is on the 20th place equal to Chile and Belgium.

When discussing development and inequality between countries we sometimes forget of the internal causes of poverty. Corruption acts as a break in the development of wealth permitting people to profit from unjustly acquired wealth. An example is Kenya. Bribery costs about US $1 billion each year to theirs population, but more than 50% live on less than US $2 per day.

Britain needs a Bill of Rights

2006-11-09T17:21:00.000Z

In her speech to the Royal United Services Institute, Margaret Beckett (the British Foreign Secretary) has joined her New Labour colleagues in calling upon British Muslims to lead the fight against Islamic extremism. The speech followed the well worn path of: “We know most Muslims despise these extremists, but it would be nice if they could actually tell us when they hear about a terrorist plot.” Most notably, she’s called upon them to spread the good word about life in Britain when they travel abroad to Islamic countries. Presumably in the hope that some deranged Islamist will abandon his plan to attack Britain after hearing from his brother’s friend’s aunt that really we’re not so bad.

When it comes to the Muslim community, New Labour is really trying to have its cake and eat it: repeatedly stating that we’re all in this together, then singling out Muslims as a special case. Muslims must do more to tackle extremism, we’re told. So does that mean the rest of us can carry on as we are? Yes, one of the biggest threats we face is from Muslim extremists, but there are better ways of getting the message across. Less divisive ways.

It’s the responsibility of everyone to deal with extremists - be they political, religious, or nationalists – including, as they’re part of British society, Muslims. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together. It’s not just Muslims who come into contact with extremists, and it’s not just non-Muslims who are affected by their actions.

The debate about extremism, and how best we can deal with it, is part of a much larger debate about citizenship: What does it mean to be a British citizen. While we’ve had numerous speeches about the British “way of life”, Ministers have continually ignored the most fundamental requirement of an inclusive and democratic society: a set of rights guaranteed to every citizen. Such a democratic ‘Bill of Rights’ (unlike the one we already possess) would firmly emphasise that those it applied to were full British citizens, and provide a means of addressing grievances, should anyone feel they’ve been treated unfairly or singled out.

While talk of citizenship remains abstract it remains too elusive. We need something concrete. Maybe then we’ll be in a position to argue over how best we can tackle those who mean us harm.

Defending your ideas

2006-11-08T17:07:00.000Z

Okay, why is academic freedom important? Because in order to think, in order to exercise your freedom, you need to be educated – and in order for people to be educated they need to have the freedom to consider a very wide range of ideas, to have their own preconceptions questioned, and questioned vigorously. They have to learn how to tolerate ideas that are really abhorrent to them. They need to learn the difference between ideas and actions. They need to learn that people can have very different ideas, and they can debate them without coming to blows.

You know, in our world today, one way you can stop people from coming to blows about their conflicting ideas is by teaching them how to argue, and teaching them not to be afraid of argument. There’s an important difference between being embarrassed or feeling intellectually or emotionally wounded because you’re at the losing end of an argument, and actually being physically assaulted. I think it’s incredibly important for students to learn how to argue, and to learn how to appreciate and even enjoy argument.

Wendy Kaminer on academic freedom.

Minority and Majority

2006-11-07T16:14:00.001Z

"Truth always rests with the minority, and the minority is always stronger than the majority, because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion."

A century ago Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said the above. So there is no reason to ignore the power of minorities. But because of the fact that minorities represent a tiny obstacle between majority and totality or total purity, they are being pushed to the edge everywhere. Even in a democratic environment all what the nationalist movements do is the inclusive categorization of human beings forcing minorities to conform or change.

Naeem Mohaiemen writes with rage towards his fellow Bangladeshis about maltreatment of the religious minorities especially Hindus. While Rama portrays how Muslims are being neglected by the Hindu majority in India.

Is that a problem of the Indian subcontinent only? Such treatments against minorities exist everywhere, visible or invisible, big or small. For an example while driving in Berlin my every trivial mistake is let known by a honk (it is treated as a social duty) by the vehicle following me. Call me cynic but I am trying to find an answer why the same mistakes by the locals are mostly ignored by the same.

Or is this how minorities think? Is it an inferiority complex? Why do majorities have to always keep in mind that minorities can be sensitive. Minorities can be tyrants also. A dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority: what it abominates most is the dissent of the majority.

I think the need for reconciliation and integration of minorities is vital in every society. We all need to broaden our mind and accept others as fellow human beings irrespective of their race, culture or nationality. Minorities and majorities should learn to respect each other and clear all the confusions and misconceptions between them. They should feel what actions can hurt and what actions can heal.

Naeem coins his act of conscience:

I shout at all of you with rage, because I refuse to accept a haven for me that is a nightmare for others. There is still time to stop this with our words, our actions and our bodies.

I wish we all could think like him.

Carbon rationing? Emm... No thanks

2006-11-07T15:42:00.000Z

Normally whenever I think about rationing, I think about the period of instituted austerity for civilians during World War II, that didn't even end until the 1950s. The image is of people queuing up in long lines with ration books in hand to get their 'fair share' of scarce resources like food or clothing.

These days, the scarce resource seems to be energy, and environmentalists are demanding that it's time we made World War II like sacrifices for the sake of the planet. In the Newstatesman, Mark Lynas argues that it's not enough to drive less, fly less or consume less, we need to do much, much more that. Indeed, he argues that the;

"best indication of whether a person truly grasps the scale of the global climate crisis is not whether they drive a hybrid car or offset their flights, nor whether they subscribe to the Ecologist or plan to attach a wind turbine to their house. The most reliable indicator is whether they support carbon rationing".

In an era of plentiful, Lynas is openly advocating imposing harsh austerity. It hasn't even occurred to Lynas, or George Monbiot that there might be an alternative to green authoritarian carbon rationing. The author Daniel Ben-Ami points out that giant hydroelectric dams and nuclear power for example do not emit any greenhouse gas - geoengineering also offers many possibilities in the future in terms of energy. Ben-Ami also adds that carbon rationing 'would literally leave billions of people mired in poverty' - but what would environmentalists care about that? All they seemed to bothered about is the 'war against climate change', like nothing else mattered

USA Elections

2006-11-07T11:21:00.000Z

Today, at 11:00 GMT (6 a.m. EST) United States will start to decide all 435 House seats, 33 Senate seats and 36 governorships. The polls start to close at 23:00 GMT (6 p.m. EST) but in some cases the results will be known pass many hours from the closure time.

While is almost sure that the Democrats will win control of the House of Representatives (last time that this happened was in 1994), the control of the Senate will be uncertain till the count of the votes.

If these previews occur then, no longer will Bush (and Republicans) have total control of Democratic Institutions in USA. Will this affect his politics, or will it make no difference at all?

Saddam

2006-11-06T09:45:00.000Z

It seems a little telling that the voices who complained about the timing of the Lancet report on the Iraqi deathcount have been fairly muted about the decision to announce the execution of Saddam Hussein so close to the US Mid-Term Elections. (The Times has a cartoon of the judge about to announce the verdict when Bush pops up, noose in hand, stating: "I'm George W. Bush and I approve this message").

The trial of Saddam Hussein was supposed to mark a fresh beginning for Iraq, a symbol ogf justice to help usher in a new era of democracy. Instead, it's seemed little better than the show trials held under the rule of the former dictator: the verdict decided on Day 1, followed by a pantomine of a trial for the cameras.

Iraqi blogger Riverbend is particularly scathing of the whole sorry mess:

When All Else Fails...
… Execute the dictator. It’s that simple. When American troops are being killed by the dozen, when the country you are occupying is threatening to break up into smaller countries, when you have militias and death squads roaming the streets and you’ve put a group of Mullahs in power- execute the dictator.

Everyone expected this verdict from the very first day of the trial. There was a brief interlude when, with the first judge, it was thought that it might actually be a coherent trial where Iraqis could hear explanations and see what happened. That was soon over with the prosecution’s first false witness. Events that followed were so ridiculous; it’s difficult to believe them even now.

The sound would suddenly disappear when the defense or one of the defendants got up to speak. We would hear the witnesses but no one could see them- hidden behind a curtain, their voices were changed. People who were supposed to have been dead in the Dujail incident were found to be very alive.

Judge after judge was brought in because the ones in court were seen as too fair. They didn’t instantly condemn the defendants (even if only for the sake of the media). The piece de resistance was the final judge they brought in. His reputation vies only that of Chalabi- a well-known thief and murderer who ran away to Iran to escape not political condemnation, but his father’s wrath after he stole from the restaurant his father ran.

So we all knew the outcome upfront (Maliki was on television 24 hours before the verdict telling people not to ‘rejoice too much’). I think what surprises me right now is the utter stupidity of the current Iraqi government. The timing is ridiculous- immediately before the congressional elections? How very convenient for Bush. Iraq, today, is at its very worst since the invasion and the beginning occupation. April 2003 is looking like a honeymoon month today. Is it really the time to execute Saddam?

A number of groups have rushed to condemn it as well.

Ted Haggard Steps Down

2006-11-03T17:44:00.000Z

Ted Haggard has stepped down as the president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a male prostitute in Denver claims that they had a three year long 'business' relationship. Following the downfall of Ted Haggard, aka “Art”, here’s a round up of some of his most shining moments as the leader of over 30 Million bigots.
Richard Dawkins lets Ted Haggard talk at him, from the series “The Root of all Evil”
Ted Haggard’s wikipedia page- keep checking back for updates about the latest scandal.
Ted Haggard’s personal webpage.
New Life Church webpage.
PDF of the New Life Church Press Release about Haggard putting himself on administrative leave.
OneGoodMove’s piece.
The Denver Post - Haggard Admits Some Indiscretions.
The New York Times article.

Militias kill 63 in Darfur

2006-11-03T11:30:00.000Z

By Opheera McDoom at Reuters

"TINE, Sudan (Reuters) - Attacks in West Darfur have killed at least 63 people, half of them children, as rebels on Friday accused Khartoum of remobilising Arab militia after suffering two military defeats on the Sudan-Chad border.

"The government have begun mobilizing the Janjaweed widely, especially in West Darfur, because they want to clear the area and move north along the border and defeat us," said Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, a leader of the National Redemption Front (NRF).

Rebels from the NRF alliance said of the 63 dead, 33 were children. The United Nations said 27 of those were under 12 and urged the government to protect civilians.(...)"

Flag burning? Why not, it's a free country

2006-10-31T16:35:00.000Z

The Guardian reported that the British police want to see the burning of flags at demonstrations in the UK outlawed. Indeed, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Len Duvall argued that people;

"have the right to [demonstrate] but they must do so peacefully and without causing undue offence."

The Labour MP Shahid Malik also supports the police proposal; he added that these 'appear to be sensible proposals which I believe all sensible people, irrespective of religion or race, will support'.

Well, I'm sorry, but the police and Shahid Malik are talking complete and utter nonsense. For a start, the proposal is a blatant restriction on our right to free speech. I personally don't go around burning flags at demonstrations, but in a free society if other people want to do such things, why can't they?

Whether we like it or not, flag burning is a form of political speech. If the police, or anyone else for that matter finds it offensive, then that's just tough. I certainly wouldn't want to live in a society where the police determine how offensive a demonstration may be.

I militantly agree with Brendan O’Neill’s assessment of this issue, it's bad enough that free speech is under attack, on top of that, the police want to restrict our right to be offensive at demonstrations too - well, as O'Neill rightfully argued, they can just f**k right off.

Iraqi Crisis

2006-10-31T16:06:00.000Z

Two years and 8 months has passed since America decided to invade Iraq and there’s still no solution to problem created by Bush’s decision.

With the last kill October ranked 4^th in the most deadly month to American troops in Iraq reaching 100 soldiers dead this month. Since the war started 2.801 US troops have died and among this ones 18% aged between 18 and 20 years old (if you increase the period to 22 years old then the percentage increases to 43%). But war has a different king of “causalities”. Approximately 10 to 15 % of US troops returning home suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and about the same percentage suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Depression and those returning go home to face a more during “war”, normal life, as you can read in this Washington Post article.

But not only are US troops suffering from this war, this war is even more dramatic to civilians. In October 2004 Lancet Journal issue a study were they estimated that 100.000 civilians were killed since the invasion and now estimates that can exceed the 600.000 civilians causalities.

With this I am not saying that we were better off with Saddam’s regime, it was a blood driven dictatorship (for example the Kurdish genocide), far from any value that I defend. But I think ,next time, before an American president (this case Bush) decides to commit a country in a personnel war he must think of the consequences of his decision. After all while people are dying in Iraq he is drinking his whiskey in the comfort of the White House.

Another mouth shutted…

2006-10-30T17:27:00.000Z

Li Jianping was found guilty of incitement to subvert state power based on his articles written on the Internet and was sentenced to two years in prison. (to know more here)

Li was an Internet essayist who recently run a medical supplies business. He was also founder of Independent Federation of Shanghai Universities (which participated on 1989's Democracy Movement)

With its recent development and openness to foreigner companies we sometimes forget what China still is: a Dictatorship where basic rights are not granted, and where writers still end up in jail.

Bangladesh in turmoil

2006-10-29T22:47:00.000Z

Bangladesh is going through turbulent times as the row over an interim caretaker government chief persists who will lead the country towards the upcoming parliament election in January 2007.

This unique caretaker government (CTG) system adopted in Bangladesh constitution worked in past three elections. However this time the opposition parties led by Awami League (AL) and its fourteen party alliances were protesting that the designate Chief Justice KM Hasan not to be allowed as Chief of CTG because his past involvement with the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and because of the government’s deliberate attempts to keep him in this position by extending the retirement age of the judges. They claimed that Hasan was too close the government and have accused the outgoing administration of trying to rig elections. Drishtipat group blog has details on the crisis.

On October 27, the Bangladesh government comprising of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the four party alliance ended their five year tenure. In recent times the ruling coaltion was battered by constant opposition protests crippling the country, failure to curb price hike and inflation and mishandling the power and energy sector as demand increased supply, and some dissidents within the party. Former president Badruddoza Chowdhury and a former dissident of BNP and 24 dissident active BNP members led by Oli Ahmed MP formed a new political party called Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) couple of days ago. They have accused the government of carrying out widespread corruption, alleged absence of democracy in the party and supporting the Islamic fundamentalists.

Bangladesh is passing through anxious moments as the events develop. On Saturday 28th Thousands of protesters blocked roads into the capital of Dhaka Sunday as they awaited the word on who would take his place.

Violence erupted in many places across the country as the oppositions protest continued. The protesters had stabs and oars in their hand as prescribed by their party leaders and were put in use as their rage went on when they were attacked by police or the ruling coalition supporters. Bangladesh was in turmoil as 18 persons reported killed and more than 2,000 injured in total. Shahidul News has some first hand pictures of the clashes.

Drishtipat Group blog and The Third World View have updates of the crisis and are providing backgrounds and discussions of ordinary Bangladeshis. Drishtipat urges every Bangladeshi not to be emotional with the current proceedings and try to be sane in tackling the issues. The events took a dramatic turn on 28th of December as Justice KM Hasan refused to take oath “for greater interest of the country”. This has prompted President Iajuddin to call BNP and AL to talks. Then in a surprised move the Presdent Iajudding Ahmed offered himself to be the chief adviser after AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil and his BNP counterpart Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan could not agree on any former judges to head the caretaker government.

Sheikh Hasina, chief of Awami League rejected the offer outright and urged the president to follow the constitution.

Dhaka anxiously waited today to know what decision the President takes. Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of conversation with the optimist analyzes who may be next.

The general Bangladeshis are disgusted with the political acrimony of the two major players who have divided the country rather going forward in unison.

Blog-A-Rythm proposes that BNP and AL leaders should be awarded Nobel acrimony award for turning the peaceful country into chaos in just 14 hours.

In a latest development President Iajuddin Ahmed took oath as the Caretaker government chief at 20:00 hours Bangladesh time despite strong objections by the Awami League and allies.

Rumi of Drishtipat comments: “Here is how democracy dies. Here is how BNP turns into an autocratic party. Good Bye democracy (whatever we had).”

People are contemplating that Army may soon take control to calm the situation. It need not be a coup but the president may declare state of emergency. Earlier it was predicted that Army is reluctant to get into the mess.

In the event of an emergency or martial law, the first casualty is information. The media will be shut down and internet blocked. Somewhere in, a software company and owner of the wap-internet based site Aawaj has taken a revolutionary step. Now people of Bangladesh can send news to the world via sms using their mobile phone. Drishtipat Blog has details to send information to the world if the internet is down.

The Great Fence of USA

2006-10-27T10:22:00.000+01:00

Probably inspired on the great wall of China, George W. Bush signed the bill that will allow USA to built a 700-mile border fence along 1/3 of U.S. Border with Mexico. Nobody knows how much will it cost but the value of $1.2 Billion dollars were allocated to this project with the signature of this bill.

He expects with this fence to control the flux of illegal immigrants that go through this border. "Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise," Bush said.

Many people criticizes this politic not only abroad but also inside the USA. One example is T.J. Bonner, head of the National Border Patrol Council which states that: "A fence will slow people down by a minute or two, but if you don't have the agents to stop them it does no good. We're not talking about some impenetrable barrier".

Well I think that T.J. Bonner is quite right, not only USA will spend billions of dollars, but also will give a bad image of itself, for a measure that ultimately will have little effect. But looking on the bright side , in a far future tourists will have another attraction to see in the USA: "The Great Fence of USA".

[Quotation taken from here at CNN]

Head of Commission for Racial Equality, is a bigot

2006-10-26T17:11:00.000+01:00

It's bad enough that the British government have unveiled a dodgy plan, to basically treat Romanians and Bulgarians as if they were the new 'white niggers' of Europe. On top of that, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips, thinks it's perfectly acceptable to label these migrants as 'racists' , even though he admits it's based solely on 'anecdotal evidence'.

Neil Davenport, a writer for Spiked Online recently commented that 'Phillips comments also show what a dramatic turn around there has been on the immigration debate'. He's not wrong there. In the past, it was old-fashioned racists who wanted tighter controls on immigration to keep blacks out. Today, it's anti-racists who demand stricter rules on new migrants all because they apparently want to keep racists out of Britain. The truth is, old school, and new school ignorant attitudes towards immigrants, are just bad as each other.

UPDATE: The Times (London) also thinks that Trevor isn't all that clever.

Janjawid attacks

2006-10-26T12:35:00.000+01:00

[Because not all wars get the media coverage of Iraqi war]

Product of the Sudan’s crisis and supported by Sudanese government, Janjawid militia continues their reign of terror, attacking villages in eastern Chad. They are an extremely violent group, normally destroying entire villages on their attacks, looting everything and killing many villagers.

Here is a satellite picture taken of Bir Kedouas village in Chad before and after a Janjawid attack:

Before:

After:

“When the Janjawid arrived, I took my daughter in my arms and ran away but I was shot in the leg and had to slow down. That is when my daughter Husna was shot.”
The father of a three-year-old girl who was killed in Bir Kedouas (taken here).

(The Pictures were taken from here)

Pyongyang threatens war if S.Korea joins sanctions

2006-10-25T15:56:00.000+01:00

At Reuters

"SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea warned South Korea on Wednesday against joining U.S.-led sanctions against Pyongyang and said it would take action after any such move by Seoul.

South Korea's participation in sanctions would be seen as a serious provocation leading to a "crisis of war" on the Korean peninsula, a North Korean spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.(...)"

United Nations Day

2006-10-24T16:51:00.000+01:00

October 24th is United Nations Day. It should be a day to honor the noble ambition of the international organization. Instead, today makes me contemplate the fecklessness of the UN - as rogue countries such as the United States ignore the recommendations of its councils and act unilaterally. The arrogance of the United States to take actions - let alone start wars - without the approval of the other UN member nations astounds me.
What can we expect the UN to be able to accomplish in the world - if we (as Americans) demonstrate that it can be ignored? By our actions we are showing the rest of the world how ineffectual it actually is. Shame on the US for its actions. And shame on the UN for allowing it.

Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006

2006-10-24T13:53:00.000+01:00

[to see the complete list click here]

Not much as change in the last positions in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006.
Facts like the torture death of Turkmenistan journalist Ogulsapar Muradova, a number of Eritrean journalists imprisoned in recent past and the total control of the media from North Korean leader gave this three countries the last place in this index.

The US continues to fall (from 17th in 2002 to 53rd this year), mainly because of Bush administration use of "national security" reason to consider suspicious any journalist who question his politics. The following facts also helped this drop:

"Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been held by US authorities in Iraq since April this year" (taken from here at RSF site).

Congratulations to the two new comer's at Top 20, Bolivia (16th) (being in the same place of Canada and Austria) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (19th) placed above some European Union member-state neighbours like Greece and Italy.

On top, Denmark lost its place because of the "cartoons incidents" so the in the first place is
Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands.

["Reporters Without Borders compiled the Index by asking the 14 freedom of expression organisations that are its partners worldwide, its network of 130 correspondents, as well as journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists, to answer 50 questions about press freedom in their countries. The Index covers 168 nations. Others were not included for lack of data about them." (Taken from this article at RSF site)]

The freedom of dressing

2006-10-23T11:50:00.000+01:00

Should people be entitled to dress whatever they want? If we lived in a "black and white" world then the answer should be yes. And should people be entitled to wear veils in public places? Probably the answer would be also yes. But the world is "grey" and these answers aren’t so easy.
Dress codes exists for a long time and are not new now. For instance, going to one extreme, imagine nudists. Where I come from is against the law to be naked on public places, but why shouldn’t we let people be free to wear (or in this case not wear) the clothes? And, if a teacher goes naked to school? Probably you would answer no, she can not. And why, for one simple fact that is public indecency. But why? Because in our culture (almost common to all western culture) the nudity is, in our minds, connected to sex, and in catholic cultures (and many others also) sex is indecent. Isn’t the same process happening with veils?

Straw branded a 'Christian fascist'

2006-10-21T20:08:00.000+01:00

By David Paul, Daily Express

"Muslim demonstrators hurled insults at Jack Straw yesterday, calling him a “Christian fascist” and saying he had “declared war” on the Islamic community.
The Commons leader was jeered by furious protesters as he arrived for a surgery in his Blackburn constituency.
Protected by tight security for his visit to a community centre, Mr Straw, who wants Muslim women to remove the veil in face-to-face contacts, refused to speak to the 70 demonstrators. They included a number of women wearing veils.
Police had earlier banned a planned demonstration by 8,000 Muslims on safety grounds.
The crowd included Tasaddiq Rehman, from the Blackburn Muslim Council, who said: “Jack Straw didn’t really start a debate. He declared war against the Muslim community and then he wants a debate.
“This talk about the veil is another affront to the Muslim community. Jack Straw is a Christian fascist.
“He has actually segregated the community in the name of trying to call for Muslims to integrate.”
A group of women wearing niqab veils chanted: 'The veil is our choice and our liberation. The veil is our freedom.'"

Iran says Europe may get hurt for backing Israel

2006-10-20T17:20:00.000+01:00

By Alireza Ronaghi at Reuters

"TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday Europe was stirring up hatred in the Middle East by supporting Israel and warned it "may get hurt" if anger in the region boiled over.

"You should believe that this regime (Israel) cannot last and has no more benefit to you. What benefit have you got in supporting this regime, except the hatred of the nations?" he said in a speech broadcast on state radio.

"We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away, but you are the neighbors of the nations in this region. We inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt."(...)"

The value of nothing

2006-10-20T12:35:00.000+01:00

How much is the value of nothing? You could answer nothing. But I think is not quite like that. Think about it.

Imagine agricultural products, everyday you go to the market and you see a lot of agricultural products, but as you can imagine not all products are sold, so they will rotten and go to the garbage. If the purpose of fruit is to be eaten or to be made in a different plant then all those fruits were for nothing, but they cost a lot (not only money but also resources).

Imagine now CD’s. Every year, record companies produce numerous CD’s, but like vegetables and fruits not all are sold, with time they loose any value for the company so they are destroyed. If the purpose of a CD is to be listen then all those CD’s were for nothing, but they cost a lot (not only money but also resources).

Like this two examples many products go to the garbage or are destroyed and will never be used or consumed. You can say that the real value of them is nothing, well probably that is true, but it is a nothing that costs a lot.

Being British

2006-10-19T18:18:00.000+01:00

Recent comments by a senior MP in Britain have stirred up a great deal of debate over Islamic dress, and with it has come a lot of talk about integration and Muslims becoming “more British”. But what exactly does that mean?

Over the past year or so the government has attempted to define (in order to encourage) a greater sense of “Britishness” amongst the population – yet, no matter how many lists of values and attributes they come up with, no real satisfactory definition of our national identity has been found. Too vague and it’s too weak to create a sense of community. Too specific and it proves too divisive, leaving out large sections of the country.

Part of the problem is that there often seem to be two separate concepts melded together…

1) Relationship with the state: obeying British law, using British services, voting in elections, standing for public office, etc.

2) Relationship with society: engaging in social affairs, sharing in cultural trends, etc.

It’s hard to see something like the veil as a real barrier to No 1. as extreme clothing doesn’t really affect your legal status. With one or two exceptions (passport photos for example) women can comply with the law, use public transport, and vote or stand for office while veiled.

This is the reason why the state has no business regulating something like clothing. (Unless it’s somehow dangerous to others).

However, it’s the second relationship which sees a number of problems arise.

The main reason for a lot of the unease about Muslims (and other minorities) is the perceived lack of a common frame of reference. No matter which part of the country a “native Brit” comes from, I have a fair idea of what their life is like, and what their views could be. This sense of understanding is lacking when it comes to “alien” cultures - which could explain the ease with which distrust and suspicion spring up. We’re constantly told that a clear barrier exists between the majority of this country’s Muslims and those committing terrorist atrocities in their name, but how many of us have a clear enough understanding of Islam and the Islamic world to judge that assertion properly? How many of us are in a position to judge whether the veil is oppressive or not?

(In the same way: does a lack of understanding of mainstream western culture feed the sense of a general war on Islam among Muslims?)

A sense of “solidarity” across the various religious/ethnic communities in Britain can only come through increased interaction – we need to learn more about them as they learn more about us. This has to be done in a genuine spirit of co-operation. Attempt by one group to force their ideas and values onto another will only increase the sense of separateness.

Blair and his army, marching to different tunes

2006-10-19T17:53:00.000+01:00

The British Prime minister Tony Blair, went to extraordinary lengths last week to deny that there was any difference of opinions between him and the head of his army General Sir Richard Dannatt.

Blair tried in vein to argue (but rather unconvincingly) that, in fact, he had agreed with 'every word' that Gen Dannatt had said in the Daily Mail interview. The truth is, the generals’ comments have sent the government all out to sea, more importantly, it has exposed deep divisions and lacklustre loyalty amongst the higher ranks of the military, and the government.

Ever since the Gen Dannatt made his comments, many have hailed him as some type of 'hero'. Indeed, the Stop the War Coalition wasted no time in reprinting the army chief's remarks in their national petition, demanding that the British government withdraw from 'a war and occupation which is now opposed not only by the majority of the British public but by their own army chief'. It's as if the anti-war movement are using the military commander as some kind of pin-up poster boy for peace.

The anti-war movement, while they were falling over themselves must have forgotten that General Dannatt only wants to withdraw from Iraq because he wants those troops to fight in Afghanistan instead. In any case, who ever heard of a serving British general attending an anti-war demonstration?

Six car bombs, clashes kill 20 in Iraq's Mosul

2006-10-19T17:40:00.000+01:00

By Ziad al-Taei from Reuters

"MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Six suicide bombers including one in a fuel truck blew themselves up near police stations and U.S. forces in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday in violence that killed at least 20 people.
Another car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least eight people and wounded 70 people in an attack aimed at an Iraqi army patrol in a crowded market area.
U.S. Major General William Caldwell said the Mosul attacks by suicide bombers in vehicles were aimed at three Iraqi police stations and two U.S. patrols in the city, which is a flashpoint of insurgent activity north of Baghdad.
Nine charred bodies lay on the debris-strewn streets after the fuel truck attack, which killed 11 people. Shortly after the explosion, insurgents fired mortar shells at another police center and clashed with police. Nine more people were killed in the violence, police said.
Caldwell declined to say whether any U.S. forces were killed in the attacks, which come a day after the U.S. military announced the deaths of 11 U.S. soldiers in one of the bloodiest days in the war for U.S. troops.(...)"

Strong International Organization Wanted

2006-10-19T12:10:00.000+01:00

Humankind is currently looking for a Strong International Organization:

Responsibilities (more here):
To maintain international peace and security;
To develop friendly relations among nations;
To cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights;
To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Skills Required:
Accuracy and diligence;
A strong sense of Justice;
A forward-thinking approach to the management of world problems;
A team builder who can develop and maintain good relationships and gain the confidence of conflicting countries both within the organization and outside.