Life Under The Taliban
Posted on February 28, 2009 - Filed Under International Politics, News Item, Religion | Leave a Comment
Here’s a NYTimes video report from Swat Valley in Pakistan. The Taliban have succeed in shutting down all girls’ schools in the region, and the Pakistani government recently more or less ceded control of the area to the Taliban in exchange for a cease-fire. If the Pakistani state can’t control parts of its territory 100 [...]
Israel Protests in UCC
Posted on January 13, 2009 - Filed Under College, International Politics | 1 Comment
I understand the sentiment, but what good is shouting slogans on campus supposed to do for the people of Gaza? Also, why is it that only Israel draws these kind of protests? I don’t recall any anti-Chinese protests last year when China started cracking heads in Tibet. I don’t recall any protests against the Burmese [...]
Israel and Gaza Part II
Posted on January 11, 2009 - Filed Under International Politics | Leave a Comment
Again, I’ve no expertise on the matter, but I saw something in the paper earlier that I can’t stop thinking about. It was a picture of an 11 year old Palestinian girl sitting upright on a table/desk/bed in some makeshift medical centre. Instead of legs she had two heavily bandaged stumps. She’s never going to [...]
Israel and Gaza
Posted on January 7, 2009 - Filed Under American Politics, Film, International Politics | 1 Comment
I have nothing particularly original to say on this matter and I find the whole affair sadly reminiscent of other Israeli-Arab conflicts. It has a seemingly implacable militant group, unrestrained Israeli counter-aggression, a massively lopsided death toll (reports vary, but at the time of writing it stands at something like 600 Palestinian dead to under [...]
Chaves sticks it to Uncle Sam by shutting down McDonalds
Posted on October 11, 2008 - Filed Under International Politics | 1 Comment
I have no time at all for McDonalds and their godawful food, but this latest action by Chavez just makes him look like a big baby.
Kim Jong-il About to Kick the Bucket
Posted on September 9, 2008 - Filed Under International Politics | Leave a Comment
As somebody studying medicine, news such as this probably shouldn’t cheer me up: WASHINGTON — The North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is seriously ill and might have suffered a stroke weeks ago, an American intelligence official in Washington said Tuesday, after Mr. Kim failed to attend an unexpectedly small-scale celebration of his country’s 60th anniversary. [...]
Hezbollah-Israel Prisoner Swap
Posted on July 17, 2008 - Filed Under International Politics | Leave a Comment
Long-time readers will know that I tend to be rather critical of Israel’s interactions with its neighbours, especially the Palestinians (who, I know, are not technically neighbours, since they don’t have a proper state of their own at present), but I really feel sorry for Israel on this matter. Five live prisoners for two dead [...]
Bush, Democracy, and the Olympics
Posted on April 8, 2008 - Filed Under American Politics, Freedom, International Politics, International Relations, Political Philosophy | 2 Comments
W says he fully intends to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, even if the Chinese flatly refuse to negotiate or even speak with the Dalai Lama. This doesn’t really come as much of a surprise, but it does underlying the extent to which his pro-democracy posturing in the last 7 long [...]
Dick Cheney is a Stupid Asshole
Posted on March 23, 2008 - Filed Under American Politics, International Politics | 3 Comments
He’s being writing more blank cheques to Israel on his latest visit: Mr Cheney said the US would never put any pressure on Israel over issues he said would threaten its security. Speaking in a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, he described America’s commitment to Israel’s security as “unshakeable”. Mr Cheney will [...]
More on Tibet
Posted on March 15, 2008 - Filed Under China, Freedom, International Politics | 1 Comment
From The Economist. It seems to be uglier that I at first thought: Within a couple of hours, fires were blazing in the streets across much of the city. Some buildings caught fire too. A pall of smoke blanketed Lhasa, obscuring the ancient Potala—the city’s most famous monument, which covers a hillside overlooking the city. [...]
Anti-Chinese Protests in Tibet
Posted on March 14, 2008 - Filed Under China, Freedom, International Politics | 2 Comments
Good for the Tibetans! They’ve kicked up the biggest civil disturbance in ‘China’ (Tibet isn’t really part of China; the Chinese annexed it in 1951) since 1989, in the year that the world’s most powerful totalitarian state seeks to ‘normalise’ its image abroad through hosting the Olympics. Let’s hope that some of the Western leaders [...]
Palestine & Israel / John McCain Endorsement
Posted on March 6, 2008 - Filed Under American Politics, International Politics | 1 Comment
I’m currently writing an essay in which I’ve been asked to “discuss the Palestinian refugee problem” in 1,500 words, which somehow doesn’t seem like quite enough. However, it’s surprisingly easy to summarize the whole business in 4 words: the Palestinians got screwed. I kind of knew much of the background to this sorry chapter in [...]
Musharraf Cartoon
Posted on February 20, 2008 - Filed Under Funny, International Politics | Leave a Comment
Link.
Bush, Israel and Palestine
Posted on January 10, 2008 - Filed Under American Politics, International Politics | 5 Comments
US President George W Bush has said Israel must end occupation of Arab land taken in 1967 so that a viable Palestinian state can be created. He also urged a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue which would involve paying compensation. Source: BBC News. Sounds like a marked departure from previous US statements on the [...]
Venezuelans Reject Dictatorship
Posted on December 3, 2007 - Filed Under International Politics | 1 Comment
The Venezuelan electorate has voted against a raft of autocratic proposals in a referendum that president Hugo Chavez had hoped would clear the way for his assumption of indefinite control of the petro-state. In fairness to Mr Chavez, he accepted the defeat graciously enough, saying: “To those who voted against my proposal, I thank them [...]
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