Egypt

AOG, Madrid

It looks like the winds of change have begun to blow in the Arab world. 

The events which unfolded in Tunisia two weeks ago ousted a Government, and, like wildfire, the same spirit for change and democratic reform seems to be sweeping across other Arab countries. 

Particularly Egypt, where its presidential dictator, Hosni Mubarak, has been in power since 1981.

Given the state of affairs, he has said he will not stand for reelection in the Fall. Isn't it amazing how the powerful will do anything to stay in power no matter what? His country, it would appear, will have to put up with him until then. 

However, it seems like the people of Egypt are not having it. They want him out. Or at least the majority do.

 

 Will this affect the rest of the region? It would seem so. Jordan, one of the most stable states in the Middle East for decades, has had a change of Government. There have been protests in Yemen. 

Even Iran -not an Arab country but yes an Islamic nation-, seems preoccupied with these events.

Closer to home, the West, that is Europe and the US, have been more lukewarm in their appraisal of the situation. As an example, these kind words from the former British Primer Minister, Tony Blair, who assures us that Mubarak has been "immensely courageous, and a force for good."

In the case of President Obama, also disappointing, as this article from the Huffington Post points out.

The word in the street is that no one thought in Europe that Mubarak was a dictator.

I guess that kind of thinking belongs in the 'No one thinks Hitler is Austrian' school of thought. 

Let us not kid ourselves, the West, for all its pro-democracy demagogy, is quite happy to let sleeping dogs lie. Such is the case with notorious human rights violators such as Cuba, and China. 

Of course, the West only takes issue with such regimes when they begin to rock the boat, as is the case with North Korea.  But even then, all that we ask for is that you remain quiet and move along quickly. 

As usual, trade and vested interests are more powerful than any democratic ideology we in the West might want to peddle. And, of course, these regimes know it. 

I've read in the press that the only country which has shown some concern about the whole situation is Israel. According to some press reports, they rather have a dependable dictator to deal with, than... well, nobody knows for sure what will come next. 

So the lesser of two evils, is still pretty evil. 

Time to find a new motto?

Work in progress

AOG, Madrid

Today I applied for a job. I had to write a letter. This is what I wrote.

"Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once wrote "Man has set for himself the goal of conquering the world but in the processes loses his soul".

 From the beginning of the modern era, the common man has been caught in between politics and technology, both of which have harmed and aided him in almost equal parts. The anonymity of the Middle Ages was swept away by the arrival of the modern state. Today, everywhere, Human Rights violations are the rule, rather than the exception.

Organisations such as the Red Cross have always sided with the common man, and have utilised technology in his/her favour. My personal motivation is to help out this Amazing organisation in the best way I know how: by distributing is message in the best possible way.

In our globalised society, where common people are increasingly challenging the "powers that be" by uploading images from a mobile phone, accessing the Internet and writing about abuses and crimes in their communities, I am convinced that we need a globalising and globalised message. And here the ICRC can be of great help. Ironically, man alone cannot face mankind.

One that brings not just hope, but help. As  Leo Buscaglia wrote, "the opposite of love is not hate - it's apathy. It's not giving a damn".

Professionally, I have always believed that free speech is one of humanity's most basic rights. It is key to my work. Without it, my profession becomes a hoax.

Giving a voice to those that need help is a task much greater than I can achieve by myself. However, by working for the ICRC, the task is, though certainly not smaller, it is at least doable.

These are the reasons why I would welcome the chance to work for the ICRC, because it helps me to marry my professional and personal interests into one."

I don't know why I'm sharing this, but I thought I had to. 

Salt Lake OKs gay rights laws with Mormon backing

AOG, Madrid


I think it is a sad day when bodies such as “a church” have a say at basic human rights- whether they are for or against them. I just don’t see the relevance or the competence of an institution which, in theory, deals with spiritual ideas and theories concerning the hereafter, sin, etc etc. Human rights are above any concern institutions dealing in transcendental theories might have.

We are not living in the Dark Ages, and the opinion of religious folk should go no further than the pulpit they pray at. Certainly it does not belong on the mainstream by any stretch of the imagination. If you need guidance, choose ethics, not religion. They are the closest thing to “universal truths” we have. Or need.

Thank you Mormons, but keep it at home next time. I don’t tell you who to pray to, and you don’t tell me who to love.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sotomayor's Medical History Sparks Wider Debate

AOG, Madrid

I agree that a post at the US Supreme Court is a very important post. I understand that service is lifelong. But to use health as criteria is, quite frankly, a form of prejudice.

People with Type 1 Diabetes have as much a right to hold high office as those without Type 1 Diabetes.

What if she developed the disease after being sworn in? No longer useful? Less able or capable because of it? I doubt it.

As a country we should be enlightened enough to take a chance on people whose health may not be 100% since, after all, nobody's health is 100% at any one time.

As a species, we start dying from the minute we are born. I think we should be able to look beyond the physical and concentrate on the intellectual.

Sonia Sotomayor should not be disqualified for suffering from a human condition.

About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The Story You Aren't Hearing About Israel

AOG, Barcelona

I have always supported the state of Israel. Despite everything else, it is the only democracy in the area.


However, it is also true that it is fighting a monster, and in so doing, has become a monster itself.


Mort Zuckerman writes:

"The response has been rocket fire, terrorism ...not to mention an ongoing historic campaign to defame, denounce, denigrate, and delegitimize Israel in every international forum."


All I can say is that, unfortunately, Israel does seem to be providing a lot of the ammunition its enemies use for free.


When referring to Hamas, he says it is: "a terrorist organization dedicated to killing Jews".


I think Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to killing people.


Please don"t anybody say only "Jews" die because of Hamas" actions.

Many Palestinians die because Hamas often hides its members amongst the civilian population.

If, as Mr. Zuckerman says, "we are much closer to the establishment of two Palestinian states" than to reaching a two-state solution then we only have the Palestinians and Israel to blame.

It would be a great mistake if this were to happen. The ensuing desire to unite both Palestinian states henceforth is a tragedy waiting to happen.


I don't envy Israel's present situation, but I cannot abide by many of its actions. Unfortunately, they are often as brutal as the actions of those who wish to destroy Israel.


I had a Sociology teacher in Texas who always said "You don"t cover dirt with mud".

About Israel
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dubai and the gay

AOG, Madrid

This past weekend Madrid celebrated Gay Pride 2008. It was meant to be held last week, in conjunction with Barcelona's Gay Pride, but organisers thought it best to avoid it clashing with 1- the Eurocup, which Spain won, and 2- Rock in Rio Madrid, which, strangely enough was held over two weekends, with the heavy guns reserved for the last weekend of the two (like Amy Winehouse who stumbled both on and off the stage, the drunk drug addict that she seems to be).

The positive thing is that this year, should you have so wished, you could have visited three of Spain's Pride celebrations one week after another for three weeks since Valencia holds its celebrations a week before Madrid and Barcelona. So this 2008, one could have done Valencia, Barcelona and then Madrid.

Personally, I think it is a great idea and should be kept as such for next year. But it probably won't be.

During the celebrations, we met with a couple of friends of ours (who happen to be a couple in real life) who moved from Barcelona to Dubai two years ago.

I of course had a lot of questions regarding their new home. Sadly, their answers made me never want to visit that country.

They said that, well, gay life is very limited, even though the country is bereft of homosexual men.

"It is all very underground", one of them said, "which is quite funny since Arabic men are always very physical with each other".

But what saddened me most was this bit of information: every now and then, and increasingly so lately, the police are rounding up gay men and throwing them in prison. See this article on Dubai's police.

And the best part, once there, they get injected with male hormones. Not Western men, only the locals and the foreign workers from Asia and Africa.

I was aghast when I heard this. Also, disappointed. Here I thought that the smaller Gulf states were ever more liberal (considering their history and religion) and were getting acquainted with Western ways of thinking.

They certainly like Western property investors if their thirst for impressive skyscrapers and island developments is anything to go by. I typed "Dubai" on Google images, and page after page showed only skyscrapers and property developments such as this image on the left.

When I was last in London I remember reading an ad for property opportunities in Dubai; not as expensive as you might think (though pricey when you consider you are living close to one of the planet's most explosive hot spots and it is, basically, a city built on a desert next to the sea).

I thought to myself that maybe one day I could invest there. It would be interesting, it certainly "looks" increasingly so from an architectural point of view.

But this information really makes me never to want to live or visit that part of the world.

It is outrageous if it is true.

Never did Spain look so forward thinking as in that minute when they told me this. How sad for us all.

Humanity I mean.

Tibet 1-China 0

AOG, Madrid

For the past few days, Tibet has sought to free itself from China's control. The Chinese Government, ever the eternal sentinel of totalitarianism, managed to control the flow of information at first. Few images, and most of these heavily censured and biased.

However, thanks to modern technology, more images soon surfaced- on the free world anyway (I'm surprised I just typed those words; I had relegated them to the "Cold War" portion of my brain). In China, television images today showed a return to calm. Shoppers shopping,kids playing in school, and no demonstrating monks in sight. Some of the Western papers are amazed that this situation did not surface earlier.

Quick to accuse everyone of wrongdoing, the Chinese Government has accused the Dalai Lama of trying to boycott the Olympic games and the Dalai Lama has threatened to resign if the violence in Tibet goes on and welcomes any investigation by China's authorities to prove that he has not.

I find it amazing that this is their main concern. It reminds me slightly of the situation in Buenos Aires in 1978.

Back then, the Argentine military Government was busy detaining, torturing and killing a few dissidents in order to show the world its best face. So that no one suspected anything, many people died.
For all intents and purposes, the 1978 World Cup was held in complete normality. Alas, along came the Falklands invasion and the military Government collapsed. Argentina and its democracy never looked back.

I am still amazed that the IOC chose Beijing as the best place to hold the 2008 Olympic Games. In 1980, Moscow, as a nuclear power, somehow managed to organise the games whilst ensuring a large boycott because of its invasion of Afghanistan. I remember thinking at the time, as my parents pointed out, that politics and sport should not mix. And yet, when do they not?
Four years later, the Soviet Union retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

It is too late to ask why Beijing will hold these games.

Certainly the Chinese Government has spent millions on building and organising the event and I am sure that for most people in China, hosting the games will be a source of joy as well as national pride. For many in Beijing, the Olympics will help China to continue its -controlled- conversation with the world. It already acts as its factory.

However, I can't help but think about the lack of human rights, the persecution of dissidents, and this latest instalment in Governmental repression by a Communist regime.

According to The New York Times, "To earn the right to play host to this summer’s Olympics, Beijing promised to improve its human rights record. As its behavior in Tibet — and the recent arrest of the human rights advocate Hu Jia and others — demonstrates, China does not take that commitment seriously."

Should this country then be allowed to hold the Olympics? 28 years later I ask myself the same question. Then I said yes, of course, politics and sport should not mix.

But, today, 28 years later, knowing full well that both of these have, in fact, mixed, I am not so quick to support China's "right" to hold the Olympics. Not under these circumstances. Not in a country where people's lives are not held in a very high esteem by their own government.

Some Historians have argued that the Olympics, amongst other things, helped to liberate the stodgy Soviet Nomenklatura of the USSR. By 1990, only 10 years later, the Soviet state was falling apart. We are still living with the consecuences of that socio-political and economic capitulation to liberal capitalism (albeit not Western-style democracy yet).

Perhaps in 20 years time, China might be freer- or even free.

But I am sure that between now and then, many people will continue to die; human rights will continue to be violated; and the West will, hypocritically, continue to allow it to go on given its economic dependence on China. It is hard not to notice that the US removed China from its list of top 10 human rights violators just as the biggest anti-China protests in 20 years erupted in Tibet.

Since no Government is impermeable to criticism, here's a petition to ask it to stop its actions in Tibet.

Hopefully it will make a difference. It does not matter how small.

The protests began March 10, the anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.