 |  |
Jun 12, 2012
Entrenched prejudice
Entrenched prejudice: Pakistan, India and Bangladesh share more than just a common history. All three countries are also battling entrenched discrimination for different reasons against certain sections of the population. .....
The biggest little Buddha
The biggest little Buddha: An enormous emerald, unearthed in Africa after perhaps two million years and reincarnated in Thailand as an image of the Lord Buddha, has been given the mission of promoting global peace and begun wha .....
| |
As writers migrate to the Internet, reviewers follow suit
As writers migrate to the Internet, reviewers follow suit: Earning 1 million yuan (US$157,000) a year is a faraway dream for most Chinese book critics, as low pay tends to come with the career.But a new platform may make it possible. Cloudary Corp, which run .....
| |
Towards a new Arab cultural revolution
Towards a new Arab cultural revolution: As the Arab Awakening veers sharply from being a project of reform and democracy towards a Gulf states-funded initiative to restore regional Sunni primacy, the strategy is becoming clear. Qatari and Saudi dollars will steer "stirrings" towards radical Salafism so their absolute monarchies can assert leadership of a new, wider Muslim polity. The cultural shift towards intolerance and hegemony is already causing uncertainty and desperation across the region. - Alastair Crooke (Jun 12, '12)
Researchers find link between spying programs
Researchers find link between spying programs: Experts say recently uncovered Flame shares software code with Stuxnet virus that targeted Iran's nuclear programme.
Coroner finds dingo took Australian baby
Coroner finds dingo took Australian baby: A 32-year legal mystery has came to an end in a case that split national opinion and attracted global headlines.
Turkey to allow Kurdish lessons in schools
Turkey to allow Kurdish lessons in schools: Reform aimed at easing tensions with Kurdish minority hailed as "a historic step" by Turkish prime minister Erdogan.
Denialistan: Part Two
Denialistan: Part Two:
Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities Affairs, was murdered for speaking out against blasphemy laws. Photo: Youtube user AlJazeeraEnglish
In the first installment of Denialistan Shah called some of a book club’s members Denialistanis after they criticized her book Slum Child for its depiction of the discrimination Christians face in Pakistan.
Some of the other members of the book club said that as a writer, I had the right to write whatever I wanted, and that the “truth” is a subjective concept anyway. Besides, what was wrong with pointing out the ills of our society? Isn’t that what a writer is supposed to do? “But it will give a negative image of Pakistan to the world,” came the response. Yet Slum Child had to be written, I said. It’s my job as a writer to speak honestly about what I see.
Then a woman further down the table spoke out, saying she was a Christian and that everything I was talking about, she had experienced. She started talking about how many times she’d lost out on a job opportunity or been humiliated for her religious beliefs. She said that she had been called “shameless” and other epithets, and that she was told Christians had corrupted the “pure” religion, a belief common to many Muslims, and one which I had written about in Slum Child.
She kept seeking out my eyes, and I felt the strongest bond of connection that I can remember feeling with another human being, let alone a complete stranger. It was as if she was telling me that she knew I understood. And I was telling her that I did. In writing the book, and speaking the way I had that evening, I had validated her experience of being discriminated against. I had shown her that her struggle had not gone unnoticed. That, to me, was “the truth.” Knowing that I had reached one person who needed to hear this message felt better than if I’d sold a million copies and appeared on Oprah’s Book Club.
For many days after the event my mind kept going back to that Christian woman in the book club, who, when the evening ended and I was preparing to leave, took me aside and asked me how I had the courage to write and speak about such controversial subjects. She thanked me for coming that evening, and said that I had given her the courage to talk about her experiences. Previously she had bottled them up inside her, unable to write them down. “Every time I tried, my pen would just stop after a few paragraphs,” she said.
I told her I was stupid, not brave. She was the brave one for living that life, not me just for writing about it.
Should Pakistani writers hide their country’s problems from the world?
Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities Affairs, was murdered for speaking out against blasphemy laws. Photo: Youtube user AlJazeeraEnglish
In the first installment of Denialistan Shah called some of a book club’s members Denialistanis after they criticized her book Slum Child for its depiction of the discrimination Christians face in Pakistan.
- Pakistan is a country of contradictions – full of promise for growth, modernity and progress, yet shrouded by political, social and cultural issues that undermine its quest for identity and integrity. My bi-monthly column “Pakistan Unveiled” presents stories that showcase the Pakistani struggle for freedom of expression, an end to censorship, and a more open and balanced society.
- Bina Shah is a Karachi-based journalist and fiction writer and has taught writing at the university level. She is the author of four novels and two collections of short stories. She is a columnist for two major English-language newspapers in Pakistan, The Dawn and The Express Tribune, and she has contributed to international newspapers including The Independent, The Guardian, and The International Herald Tribune. She is an alumnus of the International Writers Workshop (IWP 2011).
Then a woman further down the table spoke out, saying she was a Christian and that everything I was talking about, she had experienced. She started talking about how many times she’d lost out on a job opportunity or been humiliated for her religious beliefs. She said that she had been called “shameless” and other epithets, and that she was told Christians had corrupted the “pure” religion, a belief common to many Muslims, and one which I had written about in Slum Child.
She kept seeking out my eyes, and I felt the strongest bond of connection that I can remember feeling with another human being, let alone a complete stranger. It was as if she was telling me that she knew I understood. And I was telling her that I did. In writing the book, and speaking the way I had that evening, I had validated her experience of being discriminated against. I had shown her that her struggle had not gone unnoticed. That, to me, was “the truth.” Knowing that I had reached one person who needed to hear this message felt better than if I’d sold a million copies and appeared on Oprah’s Book Club.
For many days after the event my mind kept going back to that Christian woman in the book club, who, when the evening ended and I was preparing to leave, took me aside and asked me how I had the courage to write and speak about such controversial subjects. She thanked me for coming that evening, and said that I had given her the courage to talk about her experiences. Previously she had bottled them up inside her, unable to write them down. “Every time I tried, my pen would just stop after a few paragraphs,” she said.
I told her I was stupid, not brave. She was the brave one for living that life, not me just for writing about it.
Forced Abortions in Hunan
Forced Abortions in Hunan:
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have forced a woman to abort the child she was carrying at seven months after she failed to pay a large fine for exceeding local birth quotas under the "one-child" policy, she and her relatives said Tuesday.
Speaking from a local hospital in her home county of Zhenping, Feng Jianmei said she had been forced to have the procedure by local family planning bureau officials after she failed to pay a 40,000 yuan fine for an "excess birth" under China's draconian population control policies.
Feng, speaking briefly from her hospital bed, said that she hadn't consented to the procedure.
"I have just given an interview with a reporter. My head really hurts...No, it wasn't [with my consent.] It was forced. That's what happened."
Feng's husband Deng Jiyuan said his wife was taken away on June 2 by officials from the local family planning bureau and given an injection at the Zhenping county hospital without her consent. Two days later, she lost the baby.
A photograph taken at the time and later posted on the Tianwang rights website's discussion forum showed Feng lying in a hospital bed with her dead baby beside her.
"They gave her the injection on June 2, and the child was stillborn at 3:00 a.m. on the morning of June 4," Deng said. "They gave the injection directly into the child's head."
"She didn't agree to this...They grabbed her hand and forced her to sign," he said.
Deng said he and Feng had agreed to pay a fine of 40,000 yuan levied by officials as a fine for the unapproved birth, but that they had forced her abortion anyway.
He said the child would have been the couple's second.
One-child policy
An employee who answered the phone at the hospital where Feng was staying confirmed she was there.
"I heard them talking about this woman this morning," the employee said. "Family planning is a basic national policy, which we implement, and provide services for afterwards. We have here such a thing as a special birth permit."
The employee denied that forced abortion was a regular part of China's one-child population controls. "There is no coercion," the employee said. "There is ideological work, but we can't force [people]."
"I don't know the details, but I don't think that we would do such a thing. She is probably just exaggerating things on the Internet. I am guessing that there is no truth in it."
Asked if she saw a number of terminations, the worker replied, "No, because we are person-centered and we have to become more humane... Only the leaders can answer your questions."
Changsha
Meanwhile, Cao Ruyi, a resident of Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, said she had also been forced to abort her child after she received a notice to terminate her pregnancy and a demand for 10,000 yuan in fine money after she got pregnant without official approval.
Changsha officials freely admitted that abortions could be carried out as late as six months in cases of unapproved pregnancies.
"She should have gotten the permit first and had the baby afterwards," said an official who answered the phone at the Hongshan neighborhood committee in Cao's home district of Kaifu. Asked if she wouldn't be allowed to have a baby if the permit wasn't issued, the official said, "Those are the rules."
"As for forcing, there's no use in her saying she doesn't want it. We try to talk her round, work with her, I guess."
"Her pregnancy is an illegal one. If she really doesn't want [to abort] we will have to pursue it through legal channels."
Asked if there had been a relaxation in family planning controls in recent years, the official replied, "Who says there's been a relaxation?"
Asked about the abortion of a seven-month-old fetus, the official said: "If she agrees, then we would definitely go through with it."
An employee who answered the phone at the Women and Children's Baojian Hospital in Changsha confirmed that the hospital carried out abortions on behalf of family planning officials.
"Here, we need to see a permit from the family planning bureau," the employee said. "If the family planning department wants us to terminate it, we'll terminate it."
The official said the limit for terminations was six months, adding, "But we'll proceed according to circumstances."
Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service and by Hai Nan for the Cantonese service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have forced a woman to abort the child she was carrying at seven months after she failed to pay a large fine for exceeding local birth quotas under the "one-child" policy, she and her relatives said Tuesday.
Speaking from a local hospital in her home county of Zhenping, Feng Jianmei said she had been forced to have the procedure by local family planning bureau officials after she failed to pay a 40,000 yuan fine for an "excess birth" under China's draconian population control policies.
Feng, speaking briefly from her hospital bed, said that she hadn't consented to the procedure.
"I have just given an interview with a reporter. My head really hurts...No, it wasn't [with my consent.] It was forced. That's what happened."
Feng's husband Deng Jiyuan said his wife was taken away on June 2 by officials from the local family planning bureau and given an injection at the Zhenping county hospital without her consent. Two days later, she lost the baby.
A photograph taken at the time and later posted on the Tianwang rights website's discussion forum showed Feng lying in a hospital bed with her dead baby beside her.
"They gave her the injection on June 2, and the child was stillborn at 3:00 a.m. on the morning of June 4," Deng said. "They gave the injection directly into the child's head."
"She didn't agree to this...They grabbed her hand and forced her to sign," he said.
Deng said he and Feng had agreed to pay a fine of 40,000 yuan levied by officials as a fine for the unapproved birth, but that they had forced her abortion anyway.
He said the child would have been the couple's second.
One-child policy
An employee who answered the phone at the hospital where Feng was staying confirmed she was there.
"I heard them talking about this woman this morning," the employee said. "Family planning is a basic national policy, which we implement, and provide services for afterwards. We have here such a thing as a special birth permit."
The employee denied that forced abortion was a regular part of China's one-child population controls. "There is no coercion," the employee said. "There is ideological work, but we can't force [people]."
"I don't know the details, but I don't think that we would do such a thing. She is probably just exaggerating things on the Internet. I am guessing that there is no truth in it."
Asked if she saw a number of terminations, the worker replied, "No, because we are person-centered and we have to become more humane... Only the leaders can answer your questions."
Cao Ruyi at the Women and Children's Baojian Hospital in Hunan province, June 8, 2012. Photo courtesy of Women's Rights in China.
Meanwhile, Cao Ruyi, a resident of Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, said she had also been forced to abort her child after she received a notice to terminate her pregnancy and a demand for 10,000 yuan in fine money after she got pregnant without official approval.
Changsha officials freely admitted that abortions could be carried out as late as six months in cases of unapproved pregnancies.
"She should have gotten the permit first and had the baby afterwards," said an official who answered the phone at the Hongshan neighborhood committee in Cao's home district of Kaifu. Asked if she wouldn't be allowed to have a baby if the permit wasn't issued, the official said, "Those are the rules."
"As for forcing, there's no use in her saying she doesn't want it. We try to talk her round, work with her, I guess."
"Her pregnancy is an illegal one. If she really doesn't want [to abort] we will have to pursue it through legal channels."
Asked if there had been a relaxation in family planning controls in recent years, the official replied, "Who says there's been a relaxation?"
Asked about the abortion of a seven-month-old fetus, the official said: "If she agrees, then we would definitely go through with it."
An employee who answered the phone at the Women and Children's Baojian Hospital in Changsha confirmed that the hospital carried out abortions on behalf of family planning officials.
"Here, we need to see a permit from the family planning bureau," the employee said. "If the family planning department wants us to terminate it, we'll terminate it."
The official said the limit for terminations was six months, adding, "But we'll proceed according to circumstances."
Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service and by Hai Nan for the Cantonese service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Groups Highlight Rights Concerns
Groups Highlight Rights Concerns:
Rights groups have highlighted deteriorating human rights, government intimidation of the opposition, and land grabs in Cambodia on the eve of a visit by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to Washington for talks with his counterpart U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The one-day visit will take place on Tuesday, during which Hor Namhong is expected to discuss with Clinton and other senior U.S. officials issues related to security in Asia, regional use of the Mekong River, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Cambodia is chairing this year.
He will also request the U.S. to cancel Cambodia’s debt of around U.S. $440 million, including interest, which it incurred through agricultural aid during the Lon Nol era of the 1970s. Prime Minister Hun Sen has called the loan Cambodia’s “dirty debt.”
In a petition addressed to Clinton, Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy and Khmer People’s Network for Cambodia wrote that human rights conditions in Cambodia have gone “from bad to worse” over the last two decades.
“Initially, the victims of human rights violations had mostly been people who Prime Minister Hun Sen, his wife, and his associates considered potential opponents, competitors, detractors, environmentalists, unionists, and human rights defenders,” the statement read.
“Now, they have widened their focus to include land owners, members of their families, and those who sympathize with their causes.”
Rights petition
The groups requested Clinton push the Cambodian government to reinstate parliamentary immunity to three opposition lawmakers from the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), to allow the return of self-exiled party leader Sam Rainsy, and to reform the National Election Committee ahead of parliamentary polls slated for mid-2013.
Sam Rainsy currently lives in exile in France and is facing a two-year jail sentence for uprooting markers at the border with Vietnam in 2009, if he returns. He has said that he plans to return for the elections to lead the opposition against the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
Hor Namhong said Sunday that the government is considering revoking Sam Rainsy’s passport, though an SRP spokesperson said that as a legal citizen of France, the opposition leader can travel on his French passport and his overseas plans should not be affected.
The U.S.-rights groups also pointed to a longstanding dispute between tens of thousands of residents of capital Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake district who were evicted from their homes, or are in risk of losing them, and developers looking to turn the area into a luxury residential and shopping center.
Last month, a Phnom Penh court ordered 15 women jailed for between one year and two and a half years for their part in protests which authorities said “encroached on private property” on the site. The rights groups called for their release in the petition to Clinton.
The rights groups have also asked for U.S. assistance to “ensure the full independence of the judiciary branch of the government,” which opposition lawmakers have called a “political tool” of the CPP. The top officials of Cambodia’s Supreme Court are CPP members.
The visit has brought criticism from Cambodian rights groups who say they will hold protests in front of the U.S. State Department on Tuesday during the meeting between the two diplomats.
Aid suspension
SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua, who is visiting the U.S., said she held talks with Clinton Monday in Boston, Massachusetts, at the inauguration of a two-week women’s leadership conference.
She said in her talks, she asked Washington to suspend any military aid to Cambodia as the authorities in Phnom Penh had used the armed forces to evict people in land disputes.
Mu Sochua also sought Clinton’s help to bring about the release of the 15 Boeung Kak women villagers being held at Prey Sar prison.
“I requested her [Clinton] to suspend military aid to Cambodia,” she told RFA after the talks.
“Madame Hillary Clinton has promised me that she would seek a solution to make sure women’s rights will be respected and put an end to violence.”
Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy coordinator Saunora Prom said he believes pressure by the U.S. could help to influence Cambodia on the issues.
“I am confident that the U.S. will resolve these issues because they are in the U.S. interest,” he said.
Mekong initiative
Speaking to reporters before he left Phnom Penh Sunday, Hor Namhong said that besides raising Cambodian issues with Clinton, he will also discuss issues linked to ASEAN and the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI).
The LMI was created following a 2009 meeting between Clinton and the foreign ministers of the Lower Mekong countries, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, in order to enhance cooperation in the areas of environment, health, education, and infrastructure development.
Hor Namhong said Sunday that he expects Tuesday’s meeting with Clinton to yield improved relations between the two nations and their role in the Asian region.
“The U.S. and Cambodia, we have many cooperation forums … we will also talk about regional issues,” he said.
He said he hoped that the U.S. would consider cancelation of Cambodia’s debt, despite earlier talks where the two sides had failed to see eye-to-eye.
“We have negotiated many times already, and we hope that we will do whatever we can for the two parties [U.S. and Cambodia] to reach an agreement,” he said.
Clinton is due to visit Phnom Penh in mid-July to participate in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
Reported by Samean Yun and Sok Serey for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Rights groups have highlighted deteriorating human rights, government intimidation of the opposition, and land grabs in Cambodia on the eve of a visit by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to Washington for talks with his counterpart U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The one-day visit will take place on Tuesday, during which Hor Namhong is expected to discuss with Clinton and other senior U.S. officials issues related to security in Asia, regional use of the Mekong River, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Cambodia is chairing this year.
He will also request the U.S. to cancel Cambodia’s debt of around U.S. $440 million, including interest, which it incurred through agricultural aid during the Lon Nol era of the 1970s. Prime Minister Hun Sen has called the loan Cambodia’s “dirty debt.”
In a petition addressed to Clinton, Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy and Khmer People’s Network for Cambodia wrote that human rights conditions in Cambodia have gone “from bad to worse” over the last two decades.
“Initially, the victims of human rights violations had mostly been people who Prime Minister Hun Sen, his wife, and his associates considered potential opponents, competitors, detractors, environmentalists, unionists, and human rights defenders,” the statement read.
“Now, they have widened their focus to include land owners, members of their families, and those who sympathize with their causes.”
Rights petition
The groups requested Clinton push the Cambodian government to reinstate parliamentary immunity to three opposition lawmakers from the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), to allow the return of self-exiled party leader Sam Rainsy, and to reform the National Election Committee ahead of parliamentary polls slated for mid-2013.
Sam Rainsy currently lives in exile in France and is facing a two-year jail sentence for uprooting markers at the border with Vietnam in 2009, if he returns. He has said that he plans to return for the elections to lead the opposition against the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
Hor Namhong said Sunday that the government is considering revoking Sam Rainsy’s passport, though an SRP spokesperson said that as a legal citizen of France, the opposition leader can travel on his French passport and his overseas plans should not be affected.
The U.S.-rights groups also pointed to a longstanding dispute between tens of thousands of residents of capital Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake district who were evicted from their homes, or are in risk of losing them, and developers looking to turn the area into a luxury residential and shopping center.
Last month, a Phnom Penh court ordered 15 women jailed for between one year and two and a half years for their part in protests which authorities said “encroached on private property” on the site. The rights groups called for their release in the petition to Clinton.
The rights groups have also asked for U.S. assistance to “ensure the full independence of the judiciary branch of the government,” which opposition lawmakers have called a “political tool” of the CPP. The top officials of Cambodia’s Supreme Court are CPP members.
The visit has brought criticism from Cambodian rights groups who say they will hold protests in front of the U.S. State Department on Tuesday during the meeting between the two diplomats.
Mu Sochua prepares for an interview at RFA, June 8, 2012. Credit: RFA
SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua, who is visiting the U.S., said she held talks with Clinton Monday in Boston, Massachusetts, at the inauguration of a two-week women’s leadership conference.
She said in her talks, she asked Washington to suspend any military aid to Cambodia as the authorities in Phnom Penh had used the armed forces to evict people in land disputes.
Mu Sochua also sought Clinton’s help to bring about the release of the 15 Boeung Kak women villagers being held at Prey Sar prison.
“I requested her [Clinton] to suspend military aid to Cambodia,” she told RFA after the talks.
“Madame Hillary Clinton has promised me that she would seek a solution to make sure women’s rights will be respected and put an end to violence.”
Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy coordinator Saunora Prom said he believes pressure by the U.S. could help to influence Cambodia on the issues.
“I am confident that the U.S. will resolve these issues because they are in the U.S. interest,” he said.
Mekong initiative
Speaking to reporters before he left Phnom Penh Sunday, Hor Namhong said that besides raising Cambodian issues with Clinton, he will also discuss issues linked to ASEAN and the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI).
The LMI was created following a 2009 meeting between Clinton and the foreign ministers of the Lower Mekong countries, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, in order to enhance cooperation in the areas of environment, health, education, and infrastructure development.
Hor Namhong said Sunday that he expects Tuesday’s meeting with Clinton to yield improved relations between the two nations and their role in the Asian region.
“The U.S. and Cambodia, we have many cooperation forums … we will also talk about regional issues,” he said.
He said he hoped that the U.S. would consider cancelation of Cambodia’s debt, despite earlier talks where the two sides had failed to see eye-to-eye.
“We have negotiated many times already, and we hope that we will do whatever we can for the two parties [U.S. and Cambodia] to reach an agreement,” he said.
Clinton is due to visit Phnom Penh in mid-July to participate in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
Reported by Samean Yun and Sok Serey for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Jun 11, 2012
Majority of Union Members Favor Obama; a Third Back Romney
Majority of Union Members Favor Obama; a Third Back Romney: Fifty-seven percent of union workers who are registered to vote would support Barack Obama, while 35% would vote for Mitt Romney. Workers who are not union members tilt toward Romney over Obama, 48% to 44%.
Congress Approval at 17% in June
Congress Approval at 17% in June: Americans' approval of Congress is at 17% in June, similar to the 15% in May, and continuing the generally low levels seen since last June.
Jeb Bush Takes Aim at Fellow Republicans: Mr. Bush said today’s Republican Party is out of step with the legacy of his father and Ronald Reagan.
How the Khmer Rouge dehumanised their “enemies”
How the Khmer Rouge dehumanised their “enemies”:
Photo courtesy of Akshay Mahajan (Creative Commons licence)
After a long period of relative silence, the most tragic period in Cambodia’s history has experienced a renaissance of interest. Spurred by the ongoing tribunal and a slew of excellent films including Enemies of the People, Lost Loves and Brother Number One, this attention demonstrates the continuing efforts made towards understanding the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as the difficulty of achieving reconciliation with such a traumatic past.
Yet one aspect of Democratic Kampuchea remains neglected, and relates to the way the Khmer Rouge used language to facilitate their murderous policies. As well as using dehumanising language to denigrate ‘New People’ (neak thmei) as unworthy of human compassion, Khmer Rouge parlance constantly applied metaphors of health and the body to both individuals and society at large.
Physical and moral purity were consistently emphasised by cadre who demanded behaviour bordering on pious religiosity, with Angkar the recipient of reverence. Inability to meet such high standards denoted disease and decay that were likely to infect others, with prophylaxis and excision the only method employed to stop the rot.
Enemies were ‘worms’ (dangkow) who ‘gnawed the bowels from within’ (see roong ptai knong). They represented ‘no loss’ (meun khaat) when ‘weeded out,’ (daak jenh) whilst victims of enforced migration were ‘parasites’ (bunhyaou k’aek) who ‘brought nothing but bladders full of urine’ (yoak avey moak graowee bpee bpoah deuk) The sick were ‘victims of their own imagination,’ (chue sotd aarumn) unlike the party who remained ‘strong’ (kleyang) and ‘healthy’ (dungkoh).
All this is, of course, nothing new. For the Soviets, the Cossacks were ‘malignances’ to be ‘removed’, Tutsi victims in Rwanda were labelled ‘cockroaches,’ whilst perhaps the most obvious victims of such an exclusionary discourse were the Jews in Nazi Germany, as famously documented by Victor Klemperer. This practice not only dehumanises victims, but it also legitimises violence by glorifying it and insinuating that it promotes ideals of purity and health in the broader socio-political body.
This pseudo-medical discourse is essentially an aesthetic undertaking. It envisages an ideal society as culturally and often racially homogenous, and attempts to justify horrific tragedy as the price for harmonious utopia. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge demonstrated how an aesthetic vision can quickly degenerate into a society devoid of the traits of humanity. As a result, we should be particularly wary of regimes that employ such remedial, exclusionary rhetoric, because of the inherent dangers its implementation may portend.
Fionn Travers-Smith is a history postgraduate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Photo courtesy of Akshay Mahajan (Creative Commons licence)
After a long period of relative silence, the most tragic period in Cambodia’s history has experienced a renaissance of interest. Spurred by the ongoing tribunal and a slew of excellent films including Enemies of the People, Lost Loves and Brother Number One, this attention demonstrates the continuing efforts made towards understanding the Khmer Rouge regime, as well as the difficulty of achieving reconciliation with such a traumatic past.
Yet one aspect of Democratic Kampuchea remains neglected, and relates to the way the Khmer Rouge used language to facilitate their murderous policies. As well as using dehumanising language to denigrate ‘New People’ (neak thmei) as unworthy of human compassion, Khmer Rouge parlance constantly applied metaphors of health and the body to both individuals and society at large.
Physical and moral purity were consistently emphasised by cadre who demanded behaviour bordering on pious religiosity, with Angkar the recipient of reverence. Inability to meet such high standards denoted disease and decay that were likely to infect others, with prophylaxis and excision the only method employed to stop the rot.
Enemies were ‘worms’ (dangkow) who ‘gnawed the bowels from within’ (see roong ptai knong). They represented ‘no loss’ (meun khaat) when ‘weeded out,’ (daak jenh) whilst victims of enforced migration were ‘parasites’ (bunhyaou k’aek) who ‘brought nothing but bladders full of urine’ (yoak avey moak graowee bpee bpoah deuk) The sick were ‘victims of their own imagination,’ (chue sotd aarumn) unlike the party who remained ‘strong’ (kleyang) and ‘healthy’ (dungkoh).
All this is, of course, nothing new. For the Soviets, the Cossacks were ‘malignances’ to be ‘removed’, Tutsi victims in Rwanda were labelled ‘cockroaches,’ whilst perhaps the most obvious victims of such an exclusionary discourse were the Jews in Nazi Germany, as famously documented by Victor Klemperer. This practice not only dehumanises victims, but it also legitimises violence by glorifying it and insinuating that it promotes ideals of purity and health in the broader socio-political body.
This pseudo-medical discourse is essentially an aesthetic undertaking. It envisages an ideal society as culturally and often racially homogenous, and attempts to justify horrific tragedy as the price for harmonious utopia. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge demonstrated how an aesthetic vision can quickly degenerate into a society devoid of the traits of humanity. As a result, we should be particularly wary of regimes that employ such remedial, exclusionary rhetoric, because of the inherent dangers its implementation may portend.
Fionn Travers-Smith is a history postgraduate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
The Miseducation of Mitt Romney
The Miseducation of Mitt Romney: Diane Ravitch
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Republican candidate Mitt Romney participating in a 6th grade class at Universal Bluford Charter School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 24, 2012.
On May 23, the Romney campaign released its education policy white paper titled “A Chance for Every Child: Mitt Romney’s Plan for Restoring the Promise of American Education.” If you liked the George W. Bush administration’s education reforms, you will love the Romney plan. If you think that turning the schools over to the private sector will solve their problems, then his plan will thrill you.
The central themes of the Romney plan are a rehash of Republican education ideas from the past thirty years, namely, subsidizing parents who want to send their child to a private or religious school, encouraging the private sector to operate schools, putting commercial banks in charge of the federal student loan program, holding teachers and schools accountable for students’ test scores, and lowering entrance requirements for new teachers. These policies reflect the experience of his advisers, who include half a dozen senior officials from the Bush administration and several prominent conservative academics, among them former Secretary of Education Rod Paige and former Deputy Secretary of Education Bill Hansen, and school choice advocates John Chubb and Paul Peterson.
Unlike George W. Bush, who had to negotiate with a Democratic Congress to pass No Child Left Behind, Romney feels no need to compromise on anything. He needs to prove to the Republican Party’s base—especially evangelicals—that he really is conservative. And this plan is “mission accomplished.”
Romney offers full-throated support for using taxpayer money to pay for private-school vouchers, privately-managed charters, for-profit online schools, and almost every other alternative to public schools. Like Bob Dole in 1996, Romney showers his contempt on the teachers’ unions. He takes a strong stand against certification of teachers—the minimal state-level requirement that future teachers must pass either state or national tests to demonstrate their knowledge and/or skills–which he considers an unnecessary hurdle. He believes that class size does not matter (although he and his children went to elite private schools that have small classes). Romney claims that school choice is “the civil rights issue of our era,” a familiar theme among the current crop of education reformers, who now use it to advance their efforts to privatize public education.
When it comes to universities, Romney excoriates Obama for the rising cost of higher education. He claims that more federal aid leads to higher tuition, so he offers no new federal funding to help students burdened with debt. His plan does not mention the fact that tuition has increased in public universities (which enroll three-quarters of all students) because states have reduced their investments in higher education and shifted the burden from taxpayers to students. Romney will encourage private sector involvement in higher education, by having commercial banks again serve as the intermediary for federal student loans, an approach Obama had eliminated 2010 as too costly. (Until 2010, banks received guaranteed subsidies from the federal government to make student loans, while the government assumed nearly all the risk. When the program was overhauled by the Obama Administration, billions of dollars in bank profits were redirected to support Pell Grants for needy students.) To cut costs, Romney encourages the proliferation of for-profit online universities.
The Romney education plan says that no new money is needed because more spending on schools will not fix our problems. However, he proposes to dedicate more taxpayer money to the priorities that he favors, such as vouchers, charter schools, and online schools. He also wants more federal money to reward states for “eliminating or reforming teacher tenure and establishing systems that focus on effectiveness in advancing student achievement.” Translated, that means that Romney is willing to hand out money to states if they eliminate due process rights for teachers and if they pay more to teachers whose students get higher scores on standardized tests and get rid of teachers whose students do not.
In making the case for vouchers—which provide government funding to pay the tuition at any private or religious school that parents choose—Romney exaggerates the evidence; indeed, some of his claims are simply false. He points to the D.C. voucher program, which began in 2004, the first program to use federal tax dollars to subsidize private-school tuition—as “a model for the nation.” He asserts that “After three months, students [in the D.C. voucher program] could already read at levels 19 months ahead of their public-school peers.”
This is flatly wrong. A Congressionally-mandated evaluation of the D.C. program found that students with vouchers made no gains in either reading or math. As the report stated, “There is no conclusive evidence that the OSP [Opportunity Scholarship Program] affected student achievement.” Romney claims that 90 percent of voucher students graduated from high school, as compared to only 55 percent in the low performing public schools of D.C. But here he exaggerates. The federal evaluation of the program said that 82 percent of the students receiving vouchers graduated from high school as compared to 70 percent of the students who applied to the voucher program and were not accepted. This is a respectable gain, but nowhere near as large as the numbers Romney cited. Because students who enter a lottery tend to be more motivated than those who do not, reputable social scientists usually compare the outcomes of those who won the lottery and those who did not.
Paradoxically, Romney’s campaign takes credit for the fact that Massachusetts leads the nation in reading and mathematics on the federal tests known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But Romney was not responsible for the state’s academic success, which owes to reforms that are entirely different from the ones he is now proposing for the country. Signed into law a full decade before Romney began his tenure as governor in 2003, the Massachusetts Education Reform Act involved a commitment by the state to double state funding of public education from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $2.6 billion by 2000; to provide a minimum foundation budget for every district to meet its needs; to develop strong curricula for subjects such as science, history, the arts, foreign languages, mathematics, and English; to implement a testing program based on the curriculum (because of costs, the state tested only reading and math); to expand professional development for teachers; and to test would-be teachers. In the late 1990s, again before Romney assumed office, the state added new funds for early childhood education.
Romney’s plan, by contrast, is animated by a reverence for the private sector. While little is said about improving or spending more on public education, which is treated as a failed institution, a great deal of enthusiasm is lavished on the innovation and progress that is supposed to occur once parents can take their federal dollars to private institutions or enroll their child in a for-profit online school. Massachusetts attained success by raising standards for new teachers, not by lowering them. Nor did Massachusetts eliminate teacher tenure, that is, the right to a hearing for experienced teachers before they can be fired. Higher education, we are assured, will flourish when “innovation and skill attainment” matter more than “time in classroom.” Put in plain English, the last sentence is claiming that higher education will become more affordable when more students enroll in online universities, most of which are low-cost and for-profit. Of course, online universities are cheaper; they have no capital costs, no library, no facilities, and minimal staff. Some are under investigation for fraud because of their methods of recruiting students; they have fended off federal regulation by a heavy (and bipartisan) investment in lobbying.
The Obama administration’s first response to Romney’s proposals was to scoff and say that Obama’s K-12 policies had the enthusiastic support of prominent conservative Republican governors, such as Chris Christie of New Jersey and Susana Martinez of New Mexico. Unfortunately, this is true. Apart from vouchers and the slap at teacher certification, Obama’s Race to the Top program for schools promotes virtually everything Romney proposes—charters, competition, accountability, evaluating teachers by student test scores. If anything, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been as outspoken on behalf of charters and test-based accountability as Mitt Romney. And, like Romney, Duncan has disdained the issue of reducing the number of students per teacher.
Romney’s proposal for private-school vouchers is red-meat for the right wing base of the Republican party, especially evangelicals. Vouchers have been the third rail of education politics since Milton Friedman proposed them in 1955; they have been put before the voters in several state referenda and have been consistently rejected. As a general rule, the public does not want public money to support religious schools. And many religious schools are wary about accepting public money and the regulations that eventually are tied to it. But in the past few years, vouchers have been revived by state legislatures in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Louisiana without resorting to popular vote.
The results are already troubling. In Louisiana, where Governor Bobby Jindal’s education reform legislation was enacted in mid-April, the new law declares that students in low-performing schools are eligible to take their share of state funding to any accredited private or religious school. About 400,000 students (more than half the students in the state) are eligible, but only some 5,000 places are available in the state’s private and parochial schools. When the state posted the list of participating schools, the one that registered to accept the largest number of voucher students was the New Living Word School, which offered to enroll 315 of them. But its current enrollment is 122, and it has no facilities or teachers for the new students, though it promises to erect a new building in time for the beginning of the school year this fall. Most of its instruction is delivered on DVDs.
Another school, the Eternity Christian Academy, which currently has 14 students, has agreed to take in 135 voucher students. According to a recent Reuters article, students in this school
The Reuters reporter described the Louisiana law as “the nation’s boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children.” Next year, all students in Louisiana will qualify for a voucher to take courses from private vendors or corporations offering courses or training. Expect a boom in new education businesses in Louisiana.
What Governor Jindal is doing sounds like a template for the Romney plan. With no increase in funding, all the money for vouchers and private vendors and online charters will be deducted from the state’s public education budget. Governor Jindal and Mitt Romney should explain how American education will be improved if taxpayer dollars are used to send more students to sectarian schools and to take their courses from profit-making businesses and online schools.
In the vision presented by Mitt Romney, public dollars would flow to schools that teach creationism. Anyone could teach, without passing any test of their knowledge and skills and without any professional preparation. Teachers could be fired for any reason, without any protection of their freedom to teach. In some states and regions, teachers will be fearful of teaching evolution or global warming or any controversial issues. Nor will they dare to teach books considered offensive to anyone in their community, like Huckleberry Finn.
And candidate Romney should explain how privatizing the way we school our children will further his goal of “restoring the promise of American education.” “Restore” suggests a return to the past. When in American history did the for-profit sector run American schools? Which state ever permitted it until the advent in our own time of for-profit charter corporations and for-profit online corporations? Which founding fathers ever railed against public education? John Adams, that crusty conservative, said this:
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Republican candidate Mitt Romney participating in a 6th grade class at Universal Bluford Charter School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 24, 2012.
The central themes of the Romney plan are a rehash of Republican education ideas from the past thirty years, namely, subsidizing parents who want to send their child to a private or religious school, encouraging the private sector to operate schools, putting commercial banks in charge of the federal student loan program, holding teachers and schools accountable for students’ test scores, and lowering entrance requirements for new teachers. These policies reflect the experience of his advisers, who include half a dozen senior officials from the Bush administration and several prominent conservative academics, among them former Secretary of Education Rod Paige and former Deputy Secretary of Education Bill Hansen, and school choice advocates John Chubb and Paul Peterson.
Unlike George W. Bush, who had to negotiate with a Democratic Congress to pass No Child Left Behind, Romney feels no need to compromise on anything. He needs to prove to the Republican Party’s base—especially evangelicals—that he really is conservative. And this plan is “mission accomplished.”
Romney offers full-throated support for using taxpayer money to pay for private-school vouchers, privately-managed charters, for-profit online schools, and almost every other alternative to public schools. Like Bob Dole in 1996, Romney showers his contempt on the teachers’ unions. He takes a strong stand against certification of teachers—the minimal state-level requirement that future teachers must pass either state or national tests to demonstrate their knowledge and/or skills–which he considers an unnecessary hurdle. He believes that class size does not matter (although he and his children went to elite private schools that have small classes). Romney claims that school choice is “the civil rights issue of our era,” a familiar theme among the current crop of education reformers, who now use it to advance their efforts to privatize public education.
When it comes to universities, Romney excoriates Obama for the rising cost of higher education. He claims that more federal aid leads to higher tuition, so he offers no new federal funding to help students burdened with debt. His plan does not mention the fact that tuition has increased in public universities (which enroll three-quarters of all students) because states have reduced their investments in higher education and shifted the burden from taxpayers to students. Romney will encourage private sector involvement in higher education, by having commercial banks again serve as the intermediary for federal student loans, an approach Obama had eliminated 2010 as too costly. (Until 2010, banks received guaranteed subsidies from the federal government to make student loans, while the government assumed nearly all the risk. When the program was overhauled by the Obama Administration, billions of dollars in bank profits were redirected to support Pell Grants for needy students.) To cut costs, Romney encourages the proliferation of for-profit online universities.
The Romney education plan says that no new money is needed because more spending on schools will not fix our problems. However, he proposes to dedicate more taxpayer money to the priorities that he favors, such as vouchers, charter schools, and online schools. He also wants more federal money to reward states for “eliminating or reforming teacher tenure and establishing systems that focus on effectiveness in advancing student achievement.” Translated, that means that Romney is willing to hand out money to states if they eliminate due process rights for teachers and if they pay more to teachers whose students get higher scores on standardized tests and get rid of teachers whose students do not.
In making the case for vouchers—which provide government funding to pay the tuition at any private or religious school that parents choose—Romney exaggerates the evidence; indeed, some of his claims are simply false. He points to the D.C. voucher program, which began in 2004, the first program to use federal tax dollars to subsidize private-school tuition—as “a model for the nation.” He asserts that “After three months, students [in the D.C. voucher program] could already read at levels 19 months ahead of their public-school peers.”
This is flatly wrong. A Congressionally-mandated evaluation of the D.C. program found that students with vouchers made no gains in either reading or math. As the report stated, “There is no conclusive evidence that the OSP [Opportunity Scholarship Program] affected student achievement.” Romney claims that 90 percent of voucher students graduated from high school, as compared to only 55 percent in the low performing public schools of D.C. But here he exaggerates. The federal evaluation of the program said that 82 percent of the students receiving vouchers graduated from high school as compared to 70 percent of the students who applied to the voucher program and were not accepted. This is a respectable gain, but nowhere near as large as the numbers Romney cited. Because students who enter a lottery tend to be more motivated than those who do not, reputable social scientists usually compare the outcomes of those who won the lottery and those who did not.
Paradoxically, Romney’s campaign takes credit for the fact that Massachusetts leads the nation in reading and mathematics on the federal tests known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But Romney was not responsible for the state’s academic success, which owes to reforms that are entirely different from the ones he is now proposing for the country. Signed into law a full decade before Romney began his tenure as governor in 2003, the Massachusetts Education Reform Act involved a commitment by the state to double state funding of public education from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $2.6 billion by 2000; to provide a minimum foundation budget for every district to meet its needs; to develop strong curricula for subjects such as science, history, the arts, foreign languages, mathematics, and English; to implement a testing program based on the curriculum (because of costs, the state tested only reading and math); to expand professional development for teachers; and to test would-be teachers. In the late 1990s, again before Romney assumed office, the state added new funds for early childhood education.
Romney’s plan, by contrast, is animated by a reverence for the private sector. While little is said about improving or spending more on public education, which is treated as a failed institution, a great deal of enthusiasm is lavished on the innovation and progress that is supposed to occur once parents can take their federal dollars to private institutions or enroll their child in a for-profit online school. Massachusetts attained success by raising standards for new teachers, not by lowering them. Nor did Massachusetts eliminate teacher tenure, that is, the right to a hearing for experienced teachers before they can be fired. Higher education, we are assured, will flourish when “innovation and skill attainment” matter more than “time in classroom.” Put in plain English, the last sentence is claiming that higher education will become more affordable when more students enroll in online universities, most of which are low-cost and for-profit. Of course, online universities are cheaper; they have no capital costs, no library, no facilities, and minimal staff. Some are under investigation for fraud because of their methods of recruiting students; they have fended off federal regulation by a heavy (and bipartisan) investment in lobbying.
The Obama administration’s first response to Romney’s proposals was to scoff and say that Obama’s K-12 policies had the enthusiastic support of prominent conservative Republican governors, such as Chris Christie of New Jersey and Susana Martinez of New Mexico. Unfortunately, this is true. Apart from vouchers and the slap at teacher certification, Obama’s Race to the Top program for schools promotes virtually everything Romney proposes—charters, competition, accountability, evaluating teachers by student test scores. If anything, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been as outspoken on behalf of charters and test-based accountability as Mitt Romney. And, like Romney, Duncan has disdained the issue of reducing the number of students per teacher.
Romney’s proposal for private-school vouchers is red-meat for the right wing base of the Republican party, especially evangelicals. Vouchers have been the third rail of education politics since Milton Friedman proposed them in 1955; they have been put before the voters in several state referenda and have been consistently rejected. As a general rule, the public does not want public money to support religious schools. And many religious schools are wary about accepting public money and the regulations that eventually are tied to it. But in the past few years, vouchers have been revived by state legislatures in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Louisiana without resorting to popular vote.
The results are already troubling. In Louisiana, where Governor Bobby Jindal’s education reform legislation was enacted in mid-April, the new law declares that students in low-performing schools are eligible to take their share of state funding to any accredited private or religious school. About 400,000 students (more than half the students in the state) are eligible, but only some 5,000 places are available in the state’s private and parochial schools. When the state posted the list of participating schools, the one that registered to accept the largest number of voucher students was the New Living Word School, which offered to enroll 315 of them. But its current enrollment is 122, and it has no facilities or teachers for the new students, though it promises to erect a new building in time for the beginning of the school year this fall. Most of its instruction is delivered on DVDs.
Another school, the Eternity Christian Academy, which currently has 14 students, has agreed to take in 135 voucher students. According to a recent Reuters article, students in this school
sit in cubicles for much of the day and move at their own pace through Christian workbooks, such as a beginning science text that explains “what God made” on each of the six days of creation. They are not exposed to the theory of evolution.The pastor-turned-principal explained, “We try to stay away from all those things that might confuse our children.” Some of the other schools that have been approved to receive state-funded vouchers “use social studies texts warning that liberals threaten global prosperity; Bible-based math books that don’t cover modern concepts such as set theory; and biology texts built around refuting evolution.”
The Reuters reporter described the Louisiana law as “the nation’s boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children.” Next year, all students in Louisiana will qualify for a voucher to take courses from private vendors or corporations offering courses or training. Expect a boom in new education businesses in Louisiana.
What Governor Jindal is doing sounds like a template for the Romney plan. With no increase in funding, all the money for vouchers and private vendors and online charters will be deducted from the state’s public education budget. Governor Jindal and Mitt Romney should explain how American education will be improved if taxpayer dollars are used to send more students to sectarian schools and to take their courses from profit-making businesses and online schools.
In the vision presented by Mitt Romney, public dollars would flow to schools that teach creationism. Anyone could teach, without passing any test of their knowledge and skills and without any professional preparation. Teachers could be fired for any reason, without any protection of their freedom to teach. In some states and regions, teachers will be fearful of teaching evolution or global warming or any controversial issues. Nor will they dare to teach books considered offensive to anyone in their community, like Huckleberry Finn.
And candidate Romney should explain how privatizing the way we school our children will further his goal of “restoring the promise of American education.” “Restore” suggests a return to the past. When in American history did the for-profit sector run American schools? Which state ever permitted it until the advent in our own time of for-profit charter corporations and for-profit online corporations? Which founding fathers ever railed against public education? John Adams, that crusty conservative, said this:
The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.Restoring the promise of American education should mean rejuvenating public schools, not destroying them.
Former East Timor justice minister receives jail sentence | East ...
Former East Timor justice minister receives jail sentence | East ...: ABC Radio Australia Updated 8 June 2012, 18:47 AEST - East Timor's District Court has sentenced the former Justice Minister, Lucia Lobato to five years jail for the misadministration of funds. Lobato was found not guilty of ...
Jun 10, 2012
Syrian Group Picks Kurdish Dissident as Leader
Syrian Group Picks Kurdish Dissident as Leader: The main opposition group outside Syria chose a Kurdish dissident as its new leader, an attempt to forge a broader coalition against the regime of President Bashar al Assad.
LinkedIn Breach Exposes Light Security Even at Data Companies
LinkedIn Breach Exposes Light Security Even at Data Companies: Part of the problem may be that there are few consequences for companies with a lax attitude toward data. There are no legal penalties, and customers rarely defect.
Syria rebels gaining ground, strength
Syria rebels gaining ground, strength:
BEIRUT — An increasingly effective Syrian rebel force has been gaining ground in recent weeks, stepping up its attacks on government troops and expanding the area under its control even as world attention has been focused on pressuring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to comply with a U.N. cease-fire.
Read full article >>
BEIRUT — An increasingly effective Syrian rebel force has been gaining ground in recent weeks, stepping up its attacks on government troops and expanding the area under its control even as world attention has been focused on pressuring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to comply with a U.N. cease-fire.
Read full article >>
President Obama bristles when he is the target of activist tactics he once used
President Obama bristles when he is the target of activist tactics he once used:
Barack Obama entered the stately Roosevelt Room and assumed his customary spot. Many of the nation’s leading immigration advocates had been waiting for him inside the windowless meeting space in the West Wing, eager to make their case. The president’s reserved chair was situated at the center of the long conference table, its back slightly elevated, a gentle reminder of power, but this did not seem to intimidate the activists on that March afternoon in 2010.
Read full article >>
Barack Obama entered the stately Roosevelt Room and assumed his customary spot. Many of the nation’s leading immigration advocates had been waiting for him inside the windowless meeting space in the West Wing, eager to make their case. The president’s reserved chair was situated at the center of the long conference table, its back slightly elevated, a gentle reminder of power, but this did not seem to intimidate the activists on that March afternoon in 2010.
Read full article >>
Obama’s political gaffe will be fodder in general election
Obama’s political gaffe will be fodder in general election:
Here’s an unpopular opinion: Political gaffes matter.
In the wake of President Obama’s assertion Friday that “the private sector is doing fine” — and his subsequent attempt to clean up the rhetorical mess he had made for himself — many Democrats insisted that while it wasn’t his best moment, it was far from consequential in his reelection race.
Read full article >>
Here’s an unpopular opinion: Political gaffes matter.
In the wake of President Obama’s assertion Friday that “the private sector is doing fine” — and his subsequent attempt to clean up the rhetorical mess he had made for himself — many Democrats insisted that while it wasn’t his best moment, it was far from consequential in his reelection race.
Read full article >>
Look But Don't Touch….Yet: Internet Activism in #TimorLeste ...
Look But Don't Touch….Yet: Internet Activism in #TimorLeste ...: This modern-day utterance came not from the secretary of a high-school prom organizing committee, but rather from the youngest Board Member of Ba Futuru, Timor Leste's preeminent peace building and human rights ...
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
Noir nights in Phnom Penh:
In the midst of the ongoing debate about Cambodia’s present government, power structure, levels of injustice and impunity, etc., it’s nevertheless clear that there is an immense transformation taking place at this moment in Cambodia. Huge and rapid capital accumulation by a small elite, waves of internal immigration by young people from the rural/farming areas into Phnom Penh, a barely controlled influx of foreigners and investment from China, Russia, Korea, Europe, Australia, South Asia, North America and even Africa, a multitude of small business being started, so many NGO’s that they seem to be colliding with each other in their competition to “do good”, altogether a redefining of what modern Cambodia is and what it is becoming.
“Noir Nights in Phnom Penh” is a view of the present moment filtered through my perceptions and point of view as an artist rather than an academic or objective analysis. But perhaps the imagination, intuition and instinct can sometimes provide illumination in a way that eludes a more rational and scientific approach………
Lexus SUV in Phnom Penh Night – Chris Coles
It probably cost 100,000 plus USD, more than a lifetime income for most Cambodians, much less what they might save………it’s shiny, invulnerable, air-conditioned to the max and takes one of Cambodia’s Big Men wherever he wants to go………
Bargirl in the Phnom Penh Night – Chris Coles
Usually from one of Cambodia’s rural provinces, usually with at least one son or daughter, unlikely to have gone to school more than 6 years, the ex-husband or boyfriend AWOL, her mother and father subsistence farmers scratching out a few hundred dollars a year…….it all comes down to her, sitting alone in the Phnom Penh Expat bar, hoping to somehow find a way out………
Nite Cafe Phnom Penh – Chris Coles
Scattered around the Phnom Penh night, in between the pools of darkness, there are more and more Nite Cafe’s……liter bottles of Angkor beer, Khmer pop music, spicy food, snacks, warm and lively conversation, a re-knitting of the social fabric after so many years of destruction…………
Phnom Penh Hi-Rise – Chris Coles
Rising high above the rest of Phnom Penh, massive cement condos to be filled with large-screen plasma tv’s and newly rich Khmer, business guys from China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, NGO chiefs from North America, Europe and Australia…..
Phnom Penh Night Market – Chris Coles
It’s late but the night market’s still open, at least some of it….piles of Cambodia fruits…a few rats scuttling through the trash……..
(to view more of Chris Coles “Noir Nights in Phnom Penh” photo essay, click here…………)
Phnom Penh Street at Night – Chris Coles
While Phnom Penh’s come a million miles since the Khmer Rouge and Year Zero, it’s still a city with an edge, especially at night. Entire buildings and city blocks are often dark and unlit, sidewalks and streets in disrepair, piles of garbage are strewn in every direction. A small group of “Big Men” have their Mercedes, Toyota Land Cruisers and Lexus SUV, but most of the people who inhabit Phnom Penh grind away on almost nothing, living day to day with no real savings, no prospects, a daily darwinistic struggle for low-level survival with just a faint glimmer of hope far, far away, on a distant neon horizon.In the midst of the ongoing debate about Cambodia’s present government, power structure, levels of injustice and impunity, etc., it’s nevertheless clear that there is an immense transformation taking place at this moment in Cambodia. Huge and rapid capital accumulation by a small elite, waves of internal immigration by young people from the rural/farming areas into Phnom Penh, a barely controlled influx of foreigners and investment from China, Russia, Korea, Europe, Australia, South Asia, North America and even Africa, a multitude of small business being started, so many NGO’s that they seem to be colliding with each other in their competition to “do good”, altogether a redefining of what modern Cambodia is and what it is becoming.
“Noir Nights in Phnom Penh” is a view of the present moment filtered through my perceptions and point of view as an artist rather than an academic or objective analysis. But perhaps the imagination, intuition and instinct can sometimes provide illumination in a way that eludes a more rational and scientific approach………
Lexus SUV in Phnom Penh Night – Chris Coles
It probably cost 100,000 plus USD, more than a lifetime income for most Cambodians, much less what they might save………it’s shiny, invulnerable, air-conditioned to the max and takes one of Cambodia’s Big Men wherever he wants to go………
Bargirl in the Phnom Penh Night – Chris Coles
Usually from one of Cambodia’s rural provinces, usually with at least one son or daughter, unlikely to have gone to school more than 6 years, the ex-husband or boyfriend AWOL, her mother and father subsistence farmers scratching out a few hundred dollars a year…….it all comes down to her, sitting alone in the Phnom Penh Expat bar, hoping to somehow find a way out………
Nite Cafe Phnom Penh – Chris Coles
Scattered around the Phnom Penh night, in between the pools of darkness, there are more and more Nite Cafe’s……liter bottles of Angkor beer, Khmer pop music, spicy food, snacks, warm and lively conversation, a re-knitting of the social fabric after so many years of destruction…………
Phnom Penh Hi-Rise – Chris Coles
Rising high above the rest of Phnom Penh, massive cement condos to be filled with large-screen plasma tv’s and newly rich Khmer, business guys from China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, NGO chiefs from North America, Europe and Australia…..
Phnom Penh Night Market – Chris Coles
It’s late but the night market’s still open, at least some of it….piles of Cambodia fruits…a few rats scuttling through the trash……..
(to view more of Chris Coles “Noir Nights in Phnom Penh” photo essay, click here…………)
Pacquiao loses WBO title in shock defeat
Pacquiao loses WBO title in shock defeat: Judges hand victory to US fighter Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, with decision derided as "unfathomable" by promoter.
Jun 9, 2012
Syrian cities endure intense shelling
Syrian cities endure intense shelling: Activists say shells raining down on Homs and Deraa as Russia says situation in the country is becoming "more alarming".
INDONESIA: Report card on disaster preparedness
INDONESIA: Report card on disaster preparedness:
 | JAKARTA, 8 June 2012 (IRIN) - JAKARTA, 8 June 2012 – A new World Health Organization (WHO) assessment reviews Indonesia's emergency preparedness and identifies needed improvements, which experts and government officials agree are critical. |
Guards 'Vanish' From Chen's Village
Guards 'Vanish' From Chen's Village:
Chinese authorities have withdrawn hundreds of security personnel from round-the-clock guard duty in the home village of escaped blind activist Chen Guangcheng as his relatives accuse officials of destroying evidence of abuse ahead of an official investigation.
"The guards who were watching [the village] have all left," Chen's brother, Chen Guangfu, said on Friday. "They demolished two guard-houses, where they slept, and where they beat up countless people who tried to visit Chen Guangcheng, in the space of a single night."
"They have even taken their litter. There isn't a single trace. My feeling is that they want to destroy any evidence."
Chen's daring escape in April from his closely guarded home in Shandong's Dongshigu village and flight to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where he sought refuge for nearly a week, came just ahead of annual strategic dialogues between U.S. and Chinese officials, prompting a diplomatic crisis and frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The crisis was defused after Chen was allowed to fly to New York, where he is a special student in law at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute of New York University.
Hundreds of security guards had stayed at their posts at Dongshigu village, manning checkpoints, surveillance cameras, and guard-houses for several weeks after Chen fled.
Chen's fellow villagers told the Associated Press that they feel liberated by the removal of the guards.
Chen told the agency by phone from New York that security measures should have been removed long ago, pointing to a promise that a central government official had made to him in May.
"I feel that there is nothing to be happy about," said Chen, adding that his nephew, Chen Kegui, was still being held in a detention center and denied access to lawyers hired by his family.
Chen has repeatedly hit out at the charges, saying Chen Kegui acted in self-defense after a sudden and vicious attack by officials in the wake of his flight to Beijing.
Chen Guangfu said he had been given details on Wednesday at the Yinan county legal aid center of the two lawyers hired by the authorities to represent his son, who has been charged with "intentional homicide."
"They told me the names of the two lawyers, and I wanted to meet with them, but that wasn't possible," he said.
"I just managed to exchange a few words on the phone with one of them. I asked him if he had met with Kegui, and he said he had. I asked him how his injuries were, but he didn't give me a straight answer."
Defense lawyer
One of the lawyers, Wang Haijun, confirmed on Friday that he had been appointed to represent Chen Kegui, but declined to give further details.
"We are acting as defense lawyers, and our main priority is to protect the interests of the defendant," Wang said. "That includes his privacy, so in the absence of confirmation of your relationship to him, I can't tell you any more."
Meanwhile, Beijing-based rights lawyer Ding Xikui, who was appointed by Chen Kegui's family to represent him, said the authorities were still preventing him from meeting with Chen Kegui.
"They're not even picking up the phone now," said Ding. "I have no way of contacting them."
"I can only continue to negotiate with them, and see if it is possible to make a trip at some point in the future."
Last month, the Shandong branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party removed from office one of the province's most powerful law enforcement officials, Bai Jimin, in a move which analysts said could be linked to Chen's demand that officials who authorized the mistreatment of him and his family be investigated and punished.
However, Bai didn't receive any kind of public sanction, and was simply transferred to a less high-profile post at the provincial People's Congress.
Reported by Grace Kei Lai-see for RFA's Cantonese service, and by Xin Yu for the Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese authorities have withdrawn hundreds of security personnel from round-the-clock guard duty in the home village of escaped blind activist Chen Guangcheng as his relatives accuse officials of destroying evidence of abuse ahead of an official investigation.
"The guards who were watching [the village] have all left," Chen's brother, Chen Guangfu, said on Friday. "They demolished two guard-houses, where they slept, and where they beat up countless people who tried to visit Chen Guangcheng, in the space of a single night."
"They have even taken their litter. There isn't a single trace. My feeling is that they want to destroy any evidence."
Chen's daring escape in April from his closely guarded home in Shandong's Dongshigu village and flight to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where he sought refuge for nearly a week, came just ahead of annual strategic dialogues between U.S. and Chinese officials, prompting a diplomatic crisis and frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations.
The crisis was defused after Chen was allowed to fly to New York, where he is a special student in law at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute of New York University.
Hundreds of security guards had stayed at their posts at Dongshigu village, manning checkpoints, surveillance cameras, and guard-houses for several weeks after Chen fled.
Chen's fellow villagers told the Associated Press that they feel liberated by the removal of the guards.
Chen told the agency by phone from New York that security measures should have been removed long ago, pointing to a promise that a central government official had made to him in May.
"I feel that there is nothing to be happy about," said Chen, adding that his nephew, Chen Kegui, was still being held in a detention center and denied access to lawyers hired by his family.
Chen has repeatedly hit out at the charges, saying Chen Kegui acted in self-defense after a sudden and vicious attack by officials in the wake of his flight to Beijing.
Chen Guangfu said he had been given details on Wednesday at the Yinan county legal aid center of the two lawyers hired by the authorities to represent his son, who has been charged with "intentional homicide."
"They told me the names of the two lawyers, and I wanted to meet with them, but that wasn't possible," he said.
"I just managed to exchange a few words on the phone with one of them. I asked him if he had met with Kegui, and he said he had. I asked him how his injuries were, but he didn't give me a straight answer."
Defense lawyer
One of the lawyers, Wang Haijun, confirmed on Friday that he had been appointed to represent Chen Kegui, but declined to give further details.
"We are acting as defense lawyers, and our main priority is to protect the interests of the defendant," Wang said. "That includes his privacy, so in the absence of confirmation of your relationship to him, I can't tell you any more."
Meanwhile, Beijing-based rights lawyer Ding Xikui, who was appointed by Chen Kegui's family to represent him, said the authorities were still preventing him from meeting with Chen Kegui.
"They're not even picking up the phone now," said Ding. "I have no way of contacting them."
"I can only continue to negotiate with them, and see if it is possible to make a trip at some point in the future."
Last month, the Shandong branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party removed from office one of the province's most powerful law enforcement officials, Bai Jimin, in a move which analysts said could be linked to Chen's demand that officials who authorized the mistreatment of him and his family be investigated and punished.
However, Bai didn't receive any kind of public sanction, and was simply transferred to a less high-profile post at the provincial People's Congress.
Reported by Grace Kei Lai-see for RFA's Cantonese service, and by Xin Yu for the Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Altantuya and Malaysia’s 13th general elections
Altantuya and Malaysia’s 13th general elections:
As Malaysia’s thirteenth general elections draw near, the ghost of Altantuya appears to haunt the Prime Minister.
On 19th April, 2012, a Paris court began inquiry into the Scorpene submarine deal when Najib Razak was the Defense Minister:
As Malaysia’s thirteenth general elections draw near, the ghost of Altantuya appears to haunt the Prime Minister.
On 19th April, 2012, a Paris court began inquiry into the Scorpene submarine deal when Najib Razak was the Defense Minister:
Suaram (Malaysia’s leading human rights organisation) has announced that an inquiry into the alleged corruption, misuse and abuse of taxpayers money, linked to the purchase of the two Scorpene class submarines, back in 2002 will commence on Thursday, 19 April at the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI), a first degree court that deals with civil litigation matters.John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinel editor, has extensive coverage of the intricasies of this case in this article:
French investigating magistrates probing the US$1.2 billion sale of submarines to the Malaysian Defense Ministry are targeting, among other things, a Hong Kong-based company called Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd., whose principal officers are Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s close friend and the friend’s father.Most shocking to date has been this article by Roger Mitton, writing in the first person, in the Phnom Penh Post:
Investigators believe that at least some of the €36 million funneled through Terasasi ended up in the pockets of Najib, who was Malaysia’s defense minister and deputy prime minister when the two Scorpene submarines were purchased from Thales International or Thint Asia. The state-owned defense giant DCN, later known as DCNS, and Thales established a joint company named Armaris to manufacture the submarines in 2002.
Soon after meeting her in Hong Kong, Razak took her off to tour Europe in his red Ferrari, wining and dining at all the best spots and finally ending up in Paris where they met Najib.While it is unlikely that the court case in Paris and the media reports will have much influence on the United Malays National Organisations (UMNO) hard core supporters as well as large traction of rural poor and indigenous people at the coming general elections, the case itself will have far reaching implications on Malaysia’s leadership and its international relations, if Prime Minister Najib Razak is found guilty, ironically in a foreign country.
Multilingual Tuya, as well as being drop-dead gorgeous, was also smart and quickly learned about the huge bribe for the sub deal and doubtless envisaged a handsome cut for herself.
But succumbing to “fatal attraction syndrome”, she clung relentlessly to Razak, and he, fearing that her indiscretions might bring him down, tried to end the affair.
She would not have it, and in desperation, he spoke to Najib and the police were called in to keep her away.
Two aggressive Special Branch officers took their assignment literally and kidnapped her.
Then they raped her, shot her in the head and blew up her body with C4 explosives from Najib’s defence ministry – and for good measure, erased her entry into Malaysia from immigration records.
Majority of Chinese Prioritize Environment Over Economy
Majority of Chinese Prioritize Environment Over Economy: Fifty-seven percent of Chinese adults say environmental protection should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth. Less than half of residents in the country's biggest cities are satisfied with their air quality.
Mormons Widely Favor Romney; Jewish Voters Back Obama
Mormons Widely Favor Romney; Jewish Voters Back Obama: Mormon voters widely back Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy, with 84% saying they would vote for him compared with 13% for Barack Obama. Jewish voters, a traditionally strong Democratic group, favor Obama by 64% to 29%.
Rand Paul endorses Mitt Romney
Rand Paul endorses Mitt Romney:
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has endorsed Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, throwing his weight behind the presumptive GOP nominee even as his father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), has yet to fully terminate his White House bid.
Read full article >>
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has endorsed Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, throwing his weight behind the presumptive GOP nominee even as his father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), has yet to fully terminate his White House bid.
Read full article >>
Woodward and Bernstein: 40 years after Watergate, Nixon was far worse than we thought
Woodward and Bernstein: 40 years after Watergate, Nixon was far worse than we thought:
As Sen. Sam Ervin completed his 20-year Senate career in 1974 and issued his final report as chairman of the Senate Watergate committee, he posed the question: “What was Watergate?”
Countless answers have been offered in the 40 years since June 17, 1972, when a team of burglars wearing business suits and rubber gloves was arrested at 2:30 a.m. at the headquarters of the Democratic Party in the Watergate office building in Washington. Four days afterward, the Nixon White House offered its answer: “Certain elements may try to stretch this beyond what it was,” press secretary Ronald Ziegler scoffed, dismissing the incident as a “third-rate burglary.”
Read full article >>
As Sen. Sam Ervin completed his 20-year Senate career in 1974 and issued his final report as chairman of the Senate Watergate committee, he posed the question: “What was Watergate?”
Countless answers have been offered in the 40 years since June 17, 1972, when a team of burglars wearing business suits and rubber gloves was arrested at 2:30 a.m. at the headquarters of the Democratic Party in the Watergate office building in Washington. Four days afterward, the Nixon White House offered its answer: “Certain elements may try to stretch this beyond what it was,” press secretary Ronald Ziegler scoffed, dismissing the incident as a “third-rate burglary.”
Read full article >>
Greg Sargent: Mitt Romney: We don’t need more cops, firefighters or teachers
Greg Sargent: Mitt Romney: We don’t need more cops, firefighters or teachers:
When Republicans attack public workers, they often take care to exempt cops and firefighters, because they are culturally sympathetic figures, and muddle the message that government workers are parasites who are destroying the economic conditions of ordinary Americans.
Read full article >>
When Republicans attack public workers, they often take care to exempt cops and firefighters, because they are culturally sympathetic figures, and muddle the message that government workers are parasites who are destroying the economic conditions of ordinary Americans.
Read full article >>
Pelosi marks a quarter-century in the House
Pelosi marks a quarter-century in the House:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, is celebrating 25 years as a member of Congress on Saturday and the celebrations and commemorations of the milestone have been epic. There have been million-dollar fundraisers and lectures with former presidents; San Francisco streets have been named after her and there were concerts with rock star Bono and the remaining members of the Grateful Dead.
Read full article >>
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, is celebrating 25 years as a member of Congress on Saturday and the celebrations and commemorations of the milestone have been epic. There have been million-dollar fundraisers and lectures with former presidents; San Francisco streets have been named after her and there were concerts with rock star Bono and the remaining members of the Grateful Dead.
Read full article >>
A bad week for Obama and the Democrats
A bad week for Obama and the Democrats:
All you need to know about the week the Democrats just had can be summed up by noting that both President Obama and former president Bill Clinton, the two best campaigners their party has seen in decades, had to clean up verbal messes they’d made earlier. And, oh yes, Mitt Romney’s campaign raised more money last month than Obama’s — by more than 25 percent.
Read full article >>
All you need to know about the week the Democrats just had can be summed up by noting that both President Obama and former president Bill Clinton, the two best campaigners their party has seen in decades, had to clean up verbal messes they’d made earlier. And, oh yes, Mitt Romney’s campaign raised more money last month than Obama’s — by more than 25 percent.
Read full article >>
Approval Rating for Supreme Court Hits Just 44% in Poll
Approval Rating for Supreme Court Hits Just 44% in Poll: Three-quarters of Americans say the Supreme Court’s decisions are sometimes influenced by personal or political views, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)