In this bastion of democracy amongst an otherwise hostile terrain of authoritarian regimes and despotism, how do we reconcile natural democratic values of expression with this draconian law? Human rights organisations have begun to battle, but as the years unfold it remains to be seen how such a law will pan out and how Israel will maintain its democracy.
Unfortunately, the events of the Libyan conflict have thus far only reinforced the lesson that there is no such thing as a “cheap” military solution to a political problem. To continue to operate under this seductive myth will only compound the error. By breaking the Libyan regime, the international community has bought its problems.
There is no single normative Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. All world religions encompass diverse components and we might as well come to grips with the internal diversity of religions. After generations of theological harmonization, we recognize the obvious and admit that there is no single Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, but only Judaisms, Christianities, Islams.
Salam Fayyad, the western-educated economist/Prime Minister of the West Bank, has been the point man for western backed development efforts throughout Palestine. With the controversial vote on Palestinian statehood approaching and the reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas nearly complete, Fayyad may soon find himself a victim of the inconsistencies and contradictions in his national strategy.
I riot because I have absolutely nothing to lose. I riot because I’m angry. Anger envelopes me like a blanket every day of my life. I’m angry because I’m poor, I’ve always been poor, and I know I will never be able to afford all those nice things people are supposed to have. I’m angry because my life is shit and I know it’s always going to be shit. You want to lock me up for it? Go ahead. It means nothing to a nothing like me.
America is the only industrialized power that does not use its state intelligence apparatus to steal commercially valuable information on behalf of its domestic companies. What is happening today is that many US based firms are awakening to the advantages that their overseas rivals have gained from intelligence and adopting these practices themselves to fight back.
On July 9th diplomats celebrated the birth of Africa’s newest country, South Sudan, like over-stimulated toddlers at a party. The media followed suit, with trivial and sometimes patronising stories about the new national anthem and flag, and the admittedly strange plan to create cities in the shapes of African animals. Sadly, those involved should have focused on the agenda items they failed to address before sending out the independence day invitations.
Palestine now only requires a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, or 129 votes, to be admitted as the 194th member of the United Nations. The long conflict between Israel and Palestine has shed enough blood. It is high time that the international community worked to support the peaceful future of two sovereign states.
What has begun as the “War on Terror” and is now a series of “overseas contingency operations” could in fact only go on in the global fashion that it did for almost ten years now because of the services provided by several hundred thousand contractors. In short, private contractors serve as enablers of this decade-old war, much like they have become enablers of most major Western militaries.
Advancing human rights to the level of global justice requires more than the current circus of councils, commissions, and committees with tedious documents deliberated in lengthy meetings. Coming closer to people in their daily pursuit of liberties and livelihoods is the most productive perspective for progress in the 21st century.
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