Perspectives

The Continued, Planned Persecution of the Baha'i Community in Iran

2006-03-22T13:58:00.001+02:00

As Naw-Ruz celebrations to usher in the New Year -- 163 B.E. according to the Baha'i calendar-- began, an announcement by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief regarding the deliberate persecution of the Baha'i Community in Iran seized hearts ....

UN Religious Freedom Official expresses fears for Baha'is in Iran

UNITED NATIONS, 20 March 2006 (BWNS) -- Representatives of the Baha'i International Community reacted with alarm today to a United Nations official's statement about actions of the Iranian government against the Baha'is in Iran.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, stated that she was highly concerned and expressed her apprehensions in a press release posted today about "a confidential letter sent on 29 October 2005 by the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Iran to a number of governmental agencies."

"The letter," she said, "which is addressed to the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard and the Police Force, states that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, had instructed the Command Headquarters to identify persons who adhere to the Baha'i faith and monitor their activities. The letter goes on to request the recipients to, in a highly confidential manner, collect any and all information about members of the Baha'i faith."

"We are grateful that Ms. Jahangir has brought this activity to light," said Bani Dugal, the Baha'i International Community's principal representative to the UN. "We share her concern for the welfare of the Baha'is and shudder to think what this might mean. Because of the unprecedented character of the government's action, we are addressing a request to the Ambassador of Iran for an explanation."

Ms. Jahangir also "considers that such monitoring constitutes an impermissible and unacceptable interference with the rights of members of religious minorities."

"The Special Rapporteur's concern that such information could be 'used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Baha'i faith' is clearly well-founded," said Ms. Dugal.

Such actions come in the wake of mounting media attacks on the Baha'is, the nature of which in the past have preceded government-led assaults on the Baha'is in Iran. "Kayhan," the official Tehran daily newspaper has carried more than 30 articles about the Baha'is and their religion in recent weeks, all defamatory in ways that are meant to create provocation. Radio and television programs have joined in as well with broadcasts condemning the Baha'is and their beliefs. In addition, the rise in influence in Iranian governmental circles of the Anti-Baha'i Society, Hojjatieh, an organization committed to the destruction of the Baha'i Faith, can only heighten the fears for that beleaguered community.

"We well know what hateful propaganda can lead to; recent history offers too many examples of its horrific consequences. We make an urgent appeal to all nations and peoples on behalf of our Iranian coreligionists that they not allow a peace-loving, law-abiding people to face the extremes to which blind hate can lead," said Ms. Dugal. "The ghastly deeds that grew out of similar circumstances in the past should not now be allowed to happen. Not again."

Statement by Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, in the wake of the announcement of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief concerning treatment of followers of the Baha'i Faith in Iran

20 March 2006 New York City

The statement of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief about recent actions taken by the Government of Iran concerning the Baha'is arouses grave apprehension in the Baha?i International Community about their fate. The Baha'is have been the victims of an unrelenting persecution ever since the revolution of 1979, and one hesitates to think of what horrors could be implied by the combined effort of intelligence, military and police agencies to identify Baha'is and monitor their activities, as has been ordered by the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces at the direction of the Head of State. We are dreadfully afraid for the lives of our fellow Baha'is in Iran.

Because of the unprecedented character of the Government's action, we are addressing a request to the Ambassador of Iran for an explanation.

Such actions come in the midst of mounting media attacks on the Baha'is, the nature of which in the past have preceded government-led assaults on them. "Kayhan," the official Tehran daily newspaper, has carried more than 30 articles about the Baha'is and their religion in recent weeks, all defamatory in ways that are meant to create provocation. Radio and television programs have joined in as well with broadcasts condemning the Baha'is and their beliefs.

We know what hateful propaganda can lead to; recent history offers too many examples of its horrific consequences. We make an urgent plea to all nations and peoples on behalf of our Iranian coreligionists that they not allow a peace-loving, law-abiding people to face the extremes to which blind hate can lead. The ghastly deeds that grew out of similar circumstances in the past should not now be allowed to happen. Not again.

Background

Recent media attacks on the Baha'is in Iran

In recent months, Iranian newspapers and radio stations have been conducting an intensive anti-Baha'i campaign. From September through November 2005 alone, the influential, state-run Kayhan newspaper ran nearly three dozen articles defaming the Baha'i Faith with the clear intention of arousing in readers feelings of suspicion, distrust and hatred for the Iranian Baha'i community. The articles engage in a deliberate distortion of history, make use of fake historical documents, and falsely describe Baha'i moral principles in a manner that would be offensive to Muslims.

Before the onset of previous government campaigns of persecution against Baha'is, such as in 1955 and 1979, similarly defamatory articles and radio programs were run against the Baha'is, stirring up animosity and prejudice, apparently to prepare the public for what was to come.

For more information, including copies of the Kayhan articles in Persian and summaries in English, please click here.

The Anti-Baha'i Hojjatieh Society

Founded in 1953 as a specifically anti-Baha'i organization by a charismatic Shiite Muslim cleric, the Hojjatieh Society has today re-emerged in Iran as an influential if secretive faction that has been linked in news articles and web blogs with the current Iranian administration.

During the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Society played an important role in stirring animosity against Baha'is. However, in part because of differences in theology - among other things the Hojjatieh believe a truly Islamic state cannot be established until the return of the 12th Imam - the Society fell into disfavor and was banned by the regime in 1984.

Outside observers have connected the Society's re-emergence with the return of hardliners to positions of power in the government, including the president who has frequently stated his expectation that the 12th Imam will return soon.

For more information on the Hojjatieh, please reference additional documents on The Growing Threat to Iran's Baha'is. -- UN-BK-060320-1-PERSECUTION-432-N

Contacts:

Ms. Bani Dugal
Principal Representative
Bahá'í International Community, United Nations Office, New York
1-212-803-2519; uno-nyc@bic.org

Ms. Diane Ala’i
Representative
Bahá'í International Community, United Nations Office, Geneva
41-22-7985400, bic@geneva.bic.org

Did China Discover America?!

2006-02-26T14:32:00.000+02:00

Above is the controversial map which allegedly provides proof that the Chinese eunuch-mariner, Admiral Zheng He, was the first to discover America and circumnavigate the world.

After a packed press conference, intrigue set-in when eminent lawyer Liu Gang made the sensational assertion that the map in his posession-- bought for $500 from a Shanghai dealer in 2001--is a treasure: a record of an alternative past historians dare not believe:

"When I [Liu] told friends that I was going to unveil the map, they told me I was crazy.... They told me I would start a war. On one side are only two men - Me and Menzies. On the other are 10,000 well-armed scholars. And behind them politicians. How, they said, could I expect to win?"

If true, the map is provides evidence that Admiral Zheng He not only set foot in America before 1418 --more than 74 years ahead of Christopher Columbus--but also navigated the waters around the north and south poles, Africa, the Mediterranean and Australia, as well as charting the northwest passage.

The claim is controversial indeed:

It took dozens of western expeditions hundreds of years to map the globe in such detail, but Zheng's cartographers were said to have done it all in the space of just 13 years between 1405 and 1418.
The accurate depiction of latitude and longtitude used techniques not developed in the west until more than 100 years later
The map contains descrptions of the people and cultures encountered of the alleged voyage, including black-skinned Australian aborigines, "all naked and wearing bone articles around their waists, " Native Americans with skin "black-red and feathers wrapped around their heads and waists", and Peruvians who made human sacrifices.

Believing such a claim requires several leaps of faith:

The map - entitled a "general chart of the intergrated world" - is dated the 28th year of the Qian-long reign (1763) and inscribed with the name of Mo Yi-Tong, who claims it is a copy of a 1418 map.
Even if the spectography tests prove the paper and ink date to the 18th century, we must still take the word of Mo Yi-Tong, a long dead and unknown figure, that this is truly a copy of the map produced more than three hundred years earlier.
Chinese cartographers, historians and calligraphy experts seem more sceptical than western counterparts. They keenly point-out Mr Liu's map contains several anachronisms, including religious and geographic terms introduced to China by European missionaries in the 16th century.

Missing from the discourse is any mention of Viking-explorer Leif Ericson, who is probably tossing in his grave....

Read more: BBC News Link to "China Map Lays Claim to Americas"

My Dear Curious Minds

2006-02-15T15:01:00.000+02:00

My sincere apologies for such a long interlude between blog entries. Please be assured it was not blog lethargy, but rather technical difficulties which prevented me from updating with new postings. However, given the curious demand and surprising readership, I do hope to post a redemptive, worthy entry as soon as possible. In the interim, thank you for your continued interest and encouragement. And, please, comment....it is the only way for a dialogue to emerge and meaningful discourse take shape.

Sincerely,
Kathryn

Not So Simple Media Lessons: Tact and Wisdom

2006-02-07T10:43:00.000+02:00

From China to Denmark, Media Lessons

Please consider this commentary on the C.S. Monitor regarding the need for tact and wisdom while exercising freedom of expression.

Pointing to the examples of Google in China and the incendiary "Muhammad Cartoons" from Denmark--which "have more in common than 2.7 million search hits the phrase produced"--it is evident that such freedom demands the absolute maturity to use it wisely and responsibly. While the grave consequences were surely not anticipated, they were wholly avoidable. What response did the cartoonist expect from his caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad? Controversy, perhaps, but violence and the burning of Danish flags and their embassy, certainly not. Was printing such a provocative cartoon the most productive way of making a commentary, creating discussion, encouraging a change in mindsets about the Muslim community as a whole which has felt the onslaught from both within and without? While the repercussions from this latest media faux-pas have escalated beyond control, at best it will *hopefully* serve to make both the media industry and individual journalists more accountable in their reporting and publishing.

Given such irresponsible behavior, it is no wonder media journalists in Turkey are under incredible surveillance and being brought before the state judicial system. Unfortunately in this case, it is for their responsible reporting.

New Species Found

2006-02-07T10:27:00.000+02:00

Pictured to the right is the first known photograph of the Berlepsch's Six-Wired Bird of Paradise, first described by hunters in the 19th Century, taken during a recent expedition by a team of international scientists--from the US, Indonesia and Australia--surveying a region near the Foja Mountains in the Papua province in eastern Indonesia, which covers an area of more than a million hectares (two million acres) of forest, in which many new species of animals, plants, frogs, and butterflies were discovered, as well as a few thought to be extinct, such as the Goldeb-Mantled Tree Kangaroo. One of the scientists commented that some of the creatures the team came into contact with were remarkably unafraid of humans: two Long-Beaked Echidnas, primitive egg-laying mammals, allowed scientists to pick them up and bring them back to their camp to be studied. The team, originally organised by the US-based organization Conservation International together with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, hopes to return to the area within the next year. "We just scratched the surface. Anyone who goes there will come back with a mystery." First, they must present their findings their peers in the scientific community before the discoveries can be declared officially.

Source: BBC News, New Species Found in Papua "Eden"

Sentenced to a Public Hanging for Self-Defense

2006-02-06T09:59:00.000+02:00

An Iranian court sentenced Nazanin, 18, to death by public hanging after the teenage attempted-rape victim weepingly confessed to unintentionally killing one of the three assailants who had attacked both her and her niece. The state-run daily Etemaad reported that the pair, along with their boyfriends, were spending time together in a park west of the Iranian capital in March 2005 when three men began to assault them with stones. After their boyfriends deserted them (quickly escaping on their motorbikes), the two young women were left to fend for themselves, and no one else came to their rescue. Nazanin, merely 17 at the time of the incident, described how the men pushed her and her 16-year-old niece Somayeh onto the ground and attempted to rape them, at which point she took-out a knife from her pocket. She stabbed one of the men in the hand, and in the girls' escape, stabbed one of the men in the chest as they continued to pursue them. Although women have become accustomed to carrying knives--given the rise of attacks and rapes--they are not permitted to defend themselves or carry such weapons in self-defense.

The European Union and international human rights groups have been pressuring Iran to stop executing those under age 18, and the UN General Assembly has adopted a non-binding resolution denouncing the practice of executing minors in Iran. According to Iranian law, a boy can be executed from the age of 15, and a girl from the age of 9. However, execution is carried out when the offender is over 18 years-old. At least 81 people were executed in Iran last year, according to an Associated French Press tally of press reports and witnesses. Amnesty International says that at least 159 people were executed in Iran in 2004.

For more details, please visit the articles posted on the following websites:

And for Perfect Attendance, Johnny Gets... a Car?!

2006-02-05T16:10:00.000+02:00

In last week's Presidential State of the Union Address George Bush included the No Child Left Behind Act as an important initiative maintaining America's competitive economic and technological edge:

In a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors, like China and India, and this creates uncertainty, which makes it easier to feed people's fears.... Tonight I will set out a better path: an agenda for a nation that competes with confidence; an agenda that will raise standards of living and generate new jobs. Americans should not fear our economic future, because we intend to shape it.... Keeping America competitive begins with keeping our economy growing. And our economy grows when Americans have more of their own money to spend, save, and invest.

The American people are receptive and have taken this to heart. In schools across the nation, children and parents have new incentives for model attendance: money. Depending on the record of attendance, children may be granted $25 and in other cases, to entice parents, there is a months' rent, cars, ipods, and DVD players. Of course, the response has been stupendous in rural and lower income districts. In the more robust areas of the country, the attitude is quite different; as Miss Viggiani comments, "It's $25. I mean almost nobody cares."

It seems from a very young age these children are being able to partake in the Presidential plan for the country and learn to save, invest, and contribute to the economy. On the other, the carrot on the end of the stick method is a bit disheartening. It does not solve why school attendance is inconsistent. Are children bored? Is the curriculum wanting? Is there no passion communicated in the learning process? This scheme may assist in the short-term, but over all more profound questions need to be asked and addressed instead of meeting attendance quotas for a bigger budget.

For more information please visit And for Perfect Attendance, Johnny Gets... a Car by Pam Belluck of the New York Times.

Scandal in Scandinavia

2006-02-03T09:58:00.000+02:00

Over the past few months, scandals have overtaken Scandinavian headlines, particularly in Denmark-- a country often praised for its socially progressive and unified populous. Now the Danes find themselves challenged to show forth the progressive ideals they so pride themselves on. Like the whole of Scandinavia, Denmark is a homogenous community and their scope of interaction and experience with other nations and cultures has been limited. Recent demographic fluctuations and the rise of immigrant populations--specifically Muslim populations-- in Europe have challenged and infringed upon their comfortable status quo.

In the wake of such changes across the entirety of Europe, will Scandinavia be inclusive and capable of modelling to others their exceptionally progressive attitudes and values? This is a question the Queen of Denmark put forward months ago; unfortunately, she was criticized for making such statements--what else is a Queen to do if not offer a voice of encouragement and reason to her countrymen? It comes then as no surprise that the focus of controversy has been in the land of the Danes. Cartoons grossly depicting Muslims, a Member of Parliament referring to Muslims as cancerous growths, and now another caricature, this time portraying the Prophet Muhammad, have created an egregious situation indeed.

Timeline:

30 Sept: Danish paper publishes cartoons

20 Oct: Muslim ambassadors complain to Danish PM

10 Jan: Norwegian publication reprints cartoons

26 Jan: Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador

30 Jan: Gunmen raid EU's Gaza office demanding apology

31 Jan: Danish paper apologises

1 Feb: Papers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain reprint cartoons

Denmark is just one example of many. Immigration, which has often been a contentious issue in the United States, has become increasingly problematic in Europe and come to the fore of recent political campaigns and elections, whether in Britain, Denmark, Sweden, or France, to name but a few. The onslaught of failing states and political instability in both Africa and the Middle East has forced many peoples and families to seek asylum elsewhere--most conveniently in Europe. However, racism and prejudice aggravated by the fear of terrorism, and the quandary of what to do with a rising majority of traditionally religious Muslim immigrants into pridefully secular European countries/populations, in tandem with the frustration of first-generation immigrant youth finding themselves estranged between two cultures and deprived of the equal social and legal status needed to access educational opportunities and gainful employment is severe. To be fair, Europe's unemployment rate, especially among youth, has been incessant, but the situation is only amplified for those of immigrant and minority backgrounds. Unemployment in Europe, the frustrations of youth, and the place of religion in general are issues truly challenging the European peoples and continent, and for many years, but with these new currents they can no longer be swept aside, under the rug. Yet, such problems seem to point to the inability of the current configuration of the state apparatus to cope with the domestic as well as international challenges which are aggrevaited by the rise of fanaticism, materialism, and shifting demographic patterns; sadly, the European Union is not doing much better...or rather all is silent on that front...

President Bush, echoing a Presidential Address given to the Philadelphia World Affairs Council on 12 December 2005, stated in his 31 January 2006 State of the Union Address: "In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting—yet it ends in danger and decline." And, "to confront the great issues before us, we must act in a sprit of goodwill and respect for one another." This is a watershed moment not only for America, whose founding President in his farewell address endorsed fierce isolationism, but for all nations. No one can afford to be passive or idle.

For Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark, diversity and socio-economic extremes are quite foreign. From it's inception, America, unlike Europe, has dealt with diversity of culture, creed, incomes, etc.... It is a country of immigrants, a country which was forced to confront religious plurality, racism, and other social issues throughout its history. It continues to be challenged, but at each impass, learns to be inclusive and more appreciative of its diverse population. President Bush, in his address to the World Affairs Council correlated America's strength and advantage with its diversity: of people, experience, thought, religion, and talents.

Most of Europe's interaction with diverse cultures and peoples has not been at home, or domestic, but rather on foreign territory and imposed by colonialism. Now, it is seriously confronted with diversity at its front door. It has yet to appreciate its own natural diversity, though none can deny Europe has made exceeding strides: it is not the Europe of the 20th century.While most likely, in the short-term, the agitation will continue and worsen, in the long term, the people and countries of Europe will have to go past the facade of a diverse and unified European Union, embody equality and truly appreciate diversity. This pressure and fire provides an equal, though different challenge, to minority cultures and peoples within Europe, especially Muslims. Attitudes on both sides need to change, and close-minded fundamentalist mentalities as well as exclusivist ideals--whether secualr or religious--will serve no one.

The clairvoyant letters of Shoghi Effendi and the statements of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (offered over 80 years ago) respectively come to mind:

… [T]he Western Hemisphere [is] now entering is a step fraught with possibilities such as no mind can adequately envisage. Its challenge is overwhelming and its potentialities unfathomable…. The hatreds that inflame, the rivalries that agitate, the controversies that confuse, the miseries that afflict, these races, nations and classes are bitter and of long standing. The influence and fanaticism, whether ecclesiastical or political, of potentially hostile organizations, firmly entrenched within their ancestral strongholds, are formidable.

... The issue of paramount importance in the world today is international peace. The European continent is like an arsenal, a storehouse of explosives ready for ignition, and one spark will set the whole of Europe aflame….

Unless this tide of hatred, racism, and prejudice are quelled, Paris aflame is only the beginning….

To read more, please visit the following links to articles from:

Update [07.02.2006]: For fresh insights please reference the following blog entry, "Anti-Islamic Comics in Denmark", by my pal Omeed Rameshni.

Top NSA Climate Scientist Claims US Gov't Censorship

2006-01-29T15:10:00.000+02:00

'James E. Hansen, top NASA climate scientist, on Friday at the Goddard Institute in Upper Manhattan claims the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking-out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.

Dr. Hansen said he would ignore the restrictions: "They feel their job is to be this censor of information going out to the public."'

Further reading:

Climate Change and Global Warning

2006-01-29T08:19:00.000+02:00

According to a recent Fortune Magazine article, Cloudy with a Chance of Chaos, "a distrubing consenus is emerging among the scientists who study global warming: Climate change may bring more violent swings than they ever though, and it may set in sooner."

It does not take a scientist to see this is indeed the case. Within the last winter weeks, severe weather conditions have gust through Asia, South Asia, and Europe burdening Russia, India, Japan, Georgia, Turkey, Europe and Sacandiavia. Many of these countries and populations are inexperienced and unequipped to cope with the extreme weather; arctic temperatures and hazardous conditions have resulted in hundred of deaths. Many businesses and schools have shutdown, while infrastructure is also severely effected. Not only the cost absorption, but also the lack of natural resources, gas in particular, and consistent energy sources have compounded the matter. Georgia's president, had to excuse himself from the World Economic Forum in Davos to deal with his country's crisis. Although Iran has promised emergency supplies to Georgia, it will take days for the resources to arrive. As a retaliatory message to "GasPutin", Georgia has cut the Russian Embassy's gas supply.

In this last year, the devastation from climate change has been severe:

Intense heat has set parts of Australia and the US aflame
Earthquakes have shaken Pakistan and Afghanistan
Hurricanes devastated Mexico's Cancun and the City of New Orleans in Louisiana; climate change is suspect, as warmer waters provide favorable conditions for hurricanes to survive and gain momentum
Arctic ice shelf, known as Larsen B, shattered and drifted to sea

RECORD LOWEST TEMPERATURES
Verkhoyansk, Siberia: -68C
Fairbanks, Alaska, US: -54C
Winnipeg, Canada: -44C
Moscow: -32C
Vladivostok: -30C
Narvik, north Norway: -20C
Punta Arenas, Chile: -12C
Calcutta, India: 7C
Mombasa, Kenya: 16C
Recife, Brazil: 18C

Such occurrences serve to bring these issues to the fore; in fact, they are included on the agenda of this week's World Economic Forum. If one were to project, the pending energy crisis--the scarcity of oil, natural gas, and the limitation of electrical energy resources--coupled with the effects of extreme weather caused by global climate changes, along with the rise of international natural disasters and their subsequent devastation and relief efforts, will continue to agitate and strain both national and international economies and as well as the ties between countries--as is the case between Georgia and Russia. These problems demand not only unified thought, but also unified action; they need be confronted at the same level on which they occur. Even if the impact is limited to one country, the effects are felt globally--similar to a stone skimmed across a body of still water.

Moreover, it hardly seems fair for certain countries to have a monopoly over such resources (even if they do rest within the country's borders); they belong to the Earth and should be distributed to her inhabitants based upon need. It is unjust for a human being, out of mere incidental circumstances of birth, to suffer cold and be deprived of energy because they live in a land/country deficient in gas and other natural resources. These are not luxury goods, but necessities. If you feel otherwise, please visit those hapless families and children who are deprived of many opportunities simply because their basic needs go needlessly unmet. For example, the International Energy Agency, could help manage such an enterprise by monitoring need and distribution and compensating the countries in which these resources are mined; this would also help stabilize costs. Many of the countries who are in possession of such resources, be it Venezuela, the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc... and regardless of the degree to which the oil and gas resources are privately or publicly managed or exploited, the people of such countries do not seem to benefit: the money does not trickle down or transform into more substantial public goods and services.

Update [30.01.2006]: For more indepth information on Global Warming, please visit an excellent site,"Global Warning" hosted by BBC News--just discovered it myself.

Breaking News in Palestine: Fatah Exits Stage Left For Hamas To Take Center

2006-01-26T12:37:00.000+02:00

The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, and cabinet today resigned following what appears to be a dramatic election win for Hamas. Although results are not due until this evening, a senior official for Fatah - the formerly dominant force in Palestinian politics - conceded that the party had lost its majority in parliament. Former PM Qureia, said the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, would have to ask Hamas to form the next government.

"This is the choice of the people. It should be respected," Mr Qureia said as he announced his resignation.

As events unfold, please reference [aside from the previous blog entry "Sesame Street Move Over!" on Hamas's recent PR overhaul] the following articles:
Palestinian PM and Cabinet Resign from the Guardian Unlimited, Palestinian PM Quits After Poll, Hamas Heading for Poll Victory, Who are Hamas?, and New Hamas? On the Campaign Trail with Hamas from BBC World News.

Peanuts + Cement = Sustainability

2006-01-26T08:14:00.000+02:00

"Tanga Goes Nuts for Sustainability"

'Why would a multination cemenet company take the bizarre step of becoming a cashew nut farmer in Tanzania?' Perhaps it's because the company can:

Save Money
Improve its environmental performance
Create hundreds of jobs, addressing local poverty
Boost relations with both the local and national government'

In short, a sound business plan with an exemplary corporate responsibility strategy for creating sustainable livelihoods.

It's old news, but good news, so read more.

When it suits the pocket, human ingenuity comes through

2006-01-25T17:34:00.000+02:00

With such high prices for non-renewable resources, such as petroluem, radically driven by demand and controled by OPEC [cough-cough: and its predominate oil-producing countries in the Middle East and then Venezuela], both Europeans and Americans seem to be increasingly more conscious of eco-friendly alternatives. When it hits where it hurts (i.e., the wallet), human ingenuity is incredible, and with all the science and technology directed towards warcraft, this cannot be questioned. It's cliche, but where there is a will, there is a way! Now, if human intellect and economic resources were fully-concentrated on more productive avenues than warfare who knows what might be possible....

Again, Britain comes to mind. With such such high-prices and exponential energy demands, the country is desparate to find cost-effective solutions to both short- and longterm energy sources of energy: the lastest being sea-energy, tidal and wave generated energy, expected to meet 5% of England's energy needs at competative prices.

Update [26.01.2006]: The rising costs of energy is at the top of the World Economic Forum's agenda.

Quiz: What does wheat have to do with automobiles?

2006-01-24T16:51:00.000+02:00

Answer: Petrol, or rather bio-fuel.

Bioethanol made from grain produces 65% fewer greenhouse gases than petrol, according to the UK government agency.

To read more, please click here.

Update [26.01.2005]: Thanks to an informed commentator, if you'd like more information please visit the following: Wikipedia site on Bio-diesel and Green Fuel Online.

Signs of a Global Community: Bagpipes in Egypt?

2006-01-24T13:08:00.000+02:00

At the the opening ceremony of the African Nations Cup in Cairo on Friday, Egyptian guards of honour played their bagpipes.... I don't recall plaid in Ancient Egypt

Forecasting and Preparations for the "Sleeping Giant" to Awaken

2006-01-24T11:56:00.000+02:00

It is not only the uncertainty and fear of China's growing influence and power, but also the incredible opportunities that might lie ahead that has brought due attention the country known as the “sleeping giant” Many speculate China's economic boom will continue, thus learning Chinese has become a new craze not only for today's professionals to align themselves with lucrative employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, but also the younger generations to follow. Pre-emptive measures are being taken: South-Asian foreigners are flocking to China for immersion, posh New York socialites are hiring Chinese aupairs to train their future entrepreneurs, and last week Brighton College was first in Britain to make Chinese language compulsory in school curriculum. Whether or not this is a fad akin to the obsession with Russia during the Cold War is yet to be seen—it is all speculation. Regardless, the current craze will serve to open portals of understanding and cultural appreciation; this interaction is of value to all—including the Chinese.

As the mass of Chinese people awaken to the new opportunities within their own country and increase not only their interactions with the rest of the world, but also their interdependence, tolerance for the restrictions under the current regime may falter. Economic growth may be the impetus to much more: it may stimulate the people to demand both the social and political freedoms that should accompany economic girth. Moreover, the government's inadequancy to deal with gross inequity as well as the SARS and Avian Flu pandemics present more immediate challenges to its structure and policies. The Chinese people—with their renowned ingenuity, focus, and great spirit—will awaken, but China as we now know it may not be able to withstand the force of its empowered and enlightened masses.

Minxin Pei, senior associate and director of the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has cast doubts not on China’s (until recently) untapped cultural, human, and economic potential, but rather the current regime’s ability to change and adapt to the growth stirring within:

“It may appear the Chinese Communist Party has never had it so good. Inside China, the party faces no serious challenges to its authority. Internationally, talk of China collapsing is out, and China rising is in. We are regularly told that globetrotting Chinese diplomats are running circles around their American and European counterparts…. [However] its chances of staying in power…are slim. Ultimately, the party may fall victim to its own economic miracle. The party’s unwillingness to establish the rule of law and refrain from economic meddling may yet slow the remarkable growth…. [And] if economic success does not end one-party rule in China, corruption probably will. Governments free from meaningful restraints on their power grow corrupt and rapacious. That is true of China today. Party discipline has broken down…. Autocracies that are expanding economically contain the seeds of their own destruction, mainly because they lack the institutional capacity and legitimacy to weather economic shocks [at a minimum]…. A party capable of reinvention and regeneration might be able to skirt these looming dangers. But, the Chinese Communist Party is growing arthritic…. One party regimes have no intrinsic incentive to reengineer themselves and little capacity to correct course.”
(Excerpt taken from “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Chinese Communist Party,” Foreign Policy Magazine, September/October 2005)

Update [25.01.2006]: Check-out my pal Sean's 23.01.2006 blog entry on China and the Clash of Civilizations; he recommends a very interesting article/statement from leaders in China on Harmony in Diversity.

Discourse: The Tongue

2006-01-23T14:37:00.000+02:00

"The Tongue" is an excellent blog entry by my pal, Omeed Rameshni; I recommend you check it out.

Sesame Street Move Over!

2006-01-23T08:02:00.000+02:00

As part of a so-far very successful public relations overhaul, Hamas has launched a television station, Al Aksa, in Gaza. Hazim Sharawi, also known as 'Uncle Hazim', the host of the new children's show expected to air on Al Aksa commented in a recent interview, "Our television show will have a message, but without getting into the tanks, the guns, the killing and the blood." Somehow I just don't find that comforting....

Of Islamic Values and Comic Books...

2006-01-22T12:09:00.000+02:00

Introducing five of "The 99," comic characters : from the left, Mumita (speedy), Dr. Razem (a gem expert), Rughal (mystery powers), Jabbar (expandable) and Noora (sees truth).

A controversial approach to connect Muslim youth and children to Islamic virtues through super-hero role models:

Excerpt: "'Muslims believe that power is ultimately God, and God has 99 key attributes,' Mr. Mutawa [the comic creator] said. 'Those attributes, if they all come together in one place, essentially become the unity of God.' He stresses that only God has them all, however, and 30 of the traits deemed uniquely divine will not be embodied by his characters. Still, this is tricky territory. Muslim religious authorities reject attempts to personify the powers of God or combine the word of God in the Koran with new myths or imaginative renderings more typical of the West. But Mr. Mutawa is seeking to reach youngsters who are straddling the cultural divide between East and West. They like comics and Western entertainment, and yet are attached to their roots and intend to hold on to their customs."

Not to be cheeky, but what Godly virtue are children to learn from Dr. Razem the gem expert? To see beauty? Perhaps...

To read more, please click here.

Women in Political Affairs

2006-01-22T08:27:00.000+02:00

This month has witnessed an influx of women reaching positions of great political influence. Just recently Japan has passed a bill to allow women to ascend from Parliament to the Throne, Michelle Bachelet has been elected Chile's first female president, and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been sworn-in not only as Liberia's first female president, but also as Africa's first elected female leader. While these firsts may be very exciting, what is of more import is whether or not these women will be known for more than their gender and prove themselves--not only through an upright character, but also effective leadership--well-suited for such critical posts within their respective countries and spheres of influence. In the long term, this is much more profound and meaningful for gender equality.

In other news, Bolivia's President-elect, Evo Morales--to not discriminate against majority demographics--promised to scrap the Ministry for Women along with the Ministry for Indigenous Affairs, assuring Bolivians both women and indigenous persons would be included in his cabinet.

Welcome!

2006-01-20T16:24:00.000+02:00

Welcome!
Unfortunately I can't tell you what to expect on this blog, since I have never ventured to keep a blog before. So, we shall see what precedes.... Meanwhile, enjoy the view.