This blog is the official class blog of Escenarios Regionales del Mundo Contemporaneo 2009. (Blog 2)
Students, you will use this blog to post anything interesting that you find, comment on each other's findings, and generally write reflections of classes so that everyone is learning together and contributing to making this blog a real online space in which we can discuss important world issues. This is in addition to other online spaces on YouTube, and the class wiki.
This is not meant for you to take sides, for it is peace, not Israel nor Palestine who needs your support.
Alarming problems are growing near Jerusalem's holy compund. We've seen in class the importance of Temple Mount, a site that is both important for Judaism and Islam. Being this a disputed land, precious for these two religions, I believe it is comprehensible the impact that any riot ocurring in this place will have in both Jewish and Palestinians. Last week, 12 people were arrested in the Temple Mount by the Israeli police, which claims the arrested were youngester who were throwing rocks and petroleum bombs. Confusion and mixed opinions are all over, for the Israeli police denied they made any entrance to the al-Aqse mosque, while there on the other hand, there are Palestinians saying the Israeli police even sealed the compund, leaving around 100 worshipers inside. Last september, Palestinian protesters presumably attacked non-Muslims with stones. The police from Israel counterattacked them using tear gas. In this story, there are also two variants: Palestinians who say those "non-Muslims" were actually Jewish extremist with intentions of damaging Jerusalem's holy site; and Israeli police saying those "non-Muslims" were tourists who were just visiting the place. Today, an extremist Israeli tried to attack al-Aqsa and its worshipers. The Islamic Endowments Department arrested the man and handed him to Israeli authorities, saying they figured out he might have wanted to open fire inside the mosque in a radical, massacre attempt. We know that in this world, every cause has an effect; each clash between Israeli sand Palestinians will continue to have enormous consequences in political decisions and people's minds. In Jordan, various movements in protest have been happening. There was a Jordanian march last October that asked the Israeli ambassador to leave Amman and that criticized Arab governments for their "calm" while people was facing this kind of problems. A group of Jordanian's also burned an Israeli flag at the time they urged Jordan's governement to abolish the peace treaty made with Israel in 1994. Pro-Islamic people in Turkey have also joined protests against Israel.
More information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8324539.stm http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6891249.ece http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/09/content_12202767.htm http://www.unnindia.com/english/story.php?Id=5527
Israel has lately been involved in a new turmoil since the appearance of the Goldstone Report which accuses Israel of having committed war crimes during the Gaza War last winter. Curiously, though the report acusses Hamas of violating human rights as well, Israel has been the main focus in all this matter. U.N.'s Human Rights Council has taken this case after a vote for adopting the report was made. Mexico was one of the 47 members that abstained from giving its vote. Israel expressed its gratitude to our country for adopting that position and asked Mexico to continue supporting Israel in future meetings. Israel has been pressured and adviced to conduct an independent investigation, but the Israeli has refused, claiming the report is nothing but biased. The report has already been sent to the Security Council. The United Nations has already offered Israel two options: either they start an investigation during the following six months or Israel will have to face international prosecution. More information: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6891249.ece http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8326153.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8322584.stm http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574480932924540724.html http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemexico/notas/n1370995.htm
Sometimes I feel the United States sees itself as the ultimate saviour of the world and therefore, that he needs to be involved in every single conflict and act as (or sometimes just pretend to be) the wise peacekeeper. Like in marital problems it is better to have no third-person participating, sometimes world conflicts need the US to step aside. Of course, if the problems within the marriage evolve into overwhelming verbal and physical abuse, there will be a need of intermediaries... and then, the world needs the United States to use its power of a dominant nation and do its best to stop the quarrel. However, being the US the key for the cease of conflict, it is extrasupermegaimportant to perform its peacekeeper role with neutrality and non-biased political movements. Really hard to do, considering the US is another country, not an alien arbiter, and so it will always have its own interests. Knowing this reality, it is crucial that, at least, it presents itself committed to the end of conflict, but always minding the power of the government's words and its consequences. Why am I saying all this?Palestinians are now accusing Clinton of slowing down and damaging peace talks in the Middle East. Their statement comes once Clinton began to praise Israel for its progressive attitude concerning the negotiations with Palestinians and the restrain concerning the Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory. Mohammed Nazzal, member of Hamas said in relation: "The Arab and Muslim people know well that the U.S. position is biased."Palestinians are urging Israel to freeze the expasion of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Rage has grown for Israel had already accepted to halt the settlement activity back in 2003, but the action never occured. And you know, none of them respects the other's territory, this problem will go on forever. Moreover, Saeb Erekat said Palestine will refuse to continue any further peace negotiations unless the Israel redirects its "natural growth" back to Israeli territory, outside from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.I have never really trusted numbers (being a human invention, numbers can fool you any time), but according to some information given on a newspaper, there are about 500 000 Israeli settlers both the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Persuaded by my skepticism, I decided to look around if there was any other number and I found in the World Factbook that there are 187 000 settlers in the West Bank and around 177 000 in East Jerusalem. Notice that even if you add these two last numbers, you do not obtain the first number (500 000) and in the real world, more than 100 000 settlers really make a difference. So who am I to believe?And even though Clinton praised Israel for its commitment, it seems that Israel will not limit itself in East Jerusalem and that will obviously not please Palestinian leaders. Clinton also told Abbas that it was impossible for the United States to persuade Israel to immeadiately freeze the construction of settlements. Saeb Erekat expressed himself again with the following words: "If America cannot get Israel to implement a settlement freeze, what chance do Palestinians have of reaching agreement with Israel on permanent status issues?" See the importance of the US in this conflict? :)
More information: http://dailyme.com/story/2009110100002405/palestinians-accuse-clinton-hurting-peace-talks.html http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1256799053633 http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/internacional/64186.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html
Newspapers all around the world are now providing an alternative future for the European Union, different to the one thought to be having Tony Blair as president. Remember he was the one most likely to occupy the post? Well, now it seems he will have more competition since during last Brussels' summit, President Sarkozy announced the possibility of another candidate for the job. Rumours indicate some possible leaders that might occupy the pesidency:
Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker
Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende
Chancellor of Austria, Wolfgang Schüssel
Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy
Rumours have also spread concerning who will be the "foreign minister" once the Lisbon Treaty is completely ratified. David Miliband's name has come to be the most mentioned in this topic, though he has said he is neither a candidate nor is he avaible for the foreign minister role. Slowly but surely, the Lisbon Treaty is approaching its final approval. Klaus has already said he will no longer stop the ratification course of the Lisbon Treaty, anymore. The Czech Republic will give its final say this November. And as this day comes closer, we'll be surely receiving news of how the new European Union begins to be build, for it is expected to have both the Foreign Minister and Presidency working by January 1st.
More information: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/merkel-and-sarkozy-unite-to-end-blairs-european-dream-1812260.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/29/david-miliband-eu-foreign-minister http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/31/content_12363525.htm http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jp4Lx1DtsiixahWoc0q7EyaTN2fQ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/30/david-miliband-eu-foreign-minister http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/29/eu-presidency-tony-blair-rivals
Persepolis is a wonderful movie that won the Prix du Jury at 2007's Cannes Film Festival. Written by Marjane Satrapi, this film is a nautobiographical work that shows the life of a girl who grows up in Iran and experiences the changes of her country after the revolution of 1979. Needless to say, Iran made its complaints against the presentation of the movie at the film festival and accused France of being biased and using cinema as a political weapon. Persepolis is based on the comic strip made before by Satrapi and neither the film nor the comic are allowed in Iran. You may be wondering why is it rejected by Iranian authorities. Well, it is actually very simple. In the film, you can easily perceive the deceipt of the Iranian society and the discomfort that grew after the foundation of the Islamic republic in Iran for, after the fall of the Shah, the people did not receive the "independence and freedom" they were promised to have. There is plenty of information you can take out from the movie and it really helped me understand a little bit more the situation in Iran (the influence of the United States and the UK during all the process of the revolution, the communist ideas that were drowned, the mind control over youngsters by the Islamic forces, the war between Iraq and Iran, etc.), as well as to get interested in the country. However, what impressed me the most was the repression suffered by women.
I guess it was because I am a woman and the whole movie comes from a feminine perspective of the facts. I would've expected Iran to have more rights for the citizens after the revolution, but it seems it all happened the other way around... and that I find unconceivable, but there it is, it's true. We can see at the beginning how women are active in the revolution, how they follow western fashion, and how they behave more freely before the new government seized control. All of the sudden, their rights are embarrasingly reduced. Women began to dress up, completely covered from head to toe, specially if they were in front of a man. There is even a scene were Marjane is running and the police stops her, claiming her derrière moves indecently down her clothes. And if you didn't know, Iran is one of the top countries where more nose jobs are done. The main client? Women. If their face is what the only thing they can show, of course they'll try to make the best out of it., to feel as beautiful as far as the law permits it. Women were banned from singing in public and "western degradation" was prohibited by the law. You can see in the movie how Marjane has to illegaly buy Iron Maiden music and how some of her male friends had to escape from the police since they were partying with girls, with techno, alcohol, and western clothes. Women were turned into submissive creatures. Surely, Marjane's story is not the only one. Women all across Iran might have suffered injustice due to the Islamic reforms and Iran can send some secret service police right now to kill me for saying all of this stuff, but I cannot tolerate this cruelty and tyranny. The actions of this regime have not only stayed in the surface, but it has psychologically penetrated women. In the West we have the media controlling our minds and in Iran they have religion-based codes making decisions for us. And I am not against Islam, but I'm in favor of human rights. So think about it. I know I wouldn't like to be left with little pieces of myself, of my body, my freedom and my mind and neither I can stand happily here knowing there's people, women, like me, forced to endure that kind of life.
I must say I find it interesting how people spent so much time worrying about Ireland’s second referendum coming this October and that, as polls finally start to show a possible “yes” vote from the Irish, another challenge to the guaranteed unanimous decision over the treaty began to flourish— Czech Republic’s plan to delay their ratification until they see clear results from the Irish, that is. A group of Czech senators are looking forward to file a complaint against the Lisbon Treaty and they would like the Constitutional Court to revise it and confirm there is no contradiction between the treaty and the constitution of the Czech Republic, backed up by the fear of losing, of course, the republic’s sovereignty (which they claim will be undermined), in order to proceed with the ratification. This process would take time and even moths until the final appeal is given and it looks like President Klaus is not willing to sign the ratification at any moment before he hears the final word from the Constitutional Court. This will unquestionably increase the nervousness of the European leaders and the people who has been waiting for quite some time for a resolution. And in case Ireland, or Poland or the Czech Republic rejects the treaty… what would happen then? It would be a second failure for the reforms of the European Union. As anxiety grows in Europe, the uncertainty of the European Union’s future prevails and so it will continue if nations do not completely agree on the Lisbon treaty. Is it possible to continue growing as a community in the very same conditions? Maybe it is, but in a slower pace, I believe. But as long as that intense fear of losing power stays alive within the members, there will be no definite approach to a more integrated union.
We know that in many places of the world, “freedom of expression” is nothing more than a myth. Just yesterday, Guinea presented an awful proof of the repression that governments tend to have over its people, especially in countries where democracy is an ideal more than something practiced by the nation.
Soldiers attacked a group of pro-democracy citizens at a peaceful rally, which were led by opposite parties concerned about the possible participation of Camara (current president of Guinea) in the next elections. Fire was open, civilians were shot, some others were injured and stabbed; some women were stripped and sexually assaulted. What a shameful assault to human rights that is! If I could only express my disgust with every adjective, of every language and dialect in Earth, I would certainly do it, really! And as people shivers at the pure thought of the savage incident, the Guinean government claims the civilians were the ones who acted violently and that most of the registered deaths were caused by suffocation in the crowd, not because of the troops’ movements.
Institutions and organizations’ eyes instantly posed on the cruel event and they didn’t hesitate to demonstrate their disapproval by condemning the political decision of the Guinean government. It was obviously a very impulsive, unwise action that both ended up harming and injecting fear into its population, as well as damaging the country’s international relationships. Human Rights Watch, the African Union, as well as the European Union deeply criticized the tragedy. France decided to suspend their military ties with its ex-colony and asked Camara to stand aside from the elections. There will soon be a meeting (perhaps tomorrow) at a European Union level, to discuss what other processes should be initiated regarding Guinea’s attitude.
Democracy may not be clear in sight and it will never come to be realized if there is no real dialogue between the government and the people. The country certainly needs to instil respect in both sides in addition to mutual commitment for development that will hopefully and finally lead to a more stable future.
The world of cinema would not have been the same without Roman Polanski, director of the classic “Chinatown” and famous “The Pianist”, both of them films that helped this man climb up high and jump directly into the restricted rank of legendary and well-respected moviemakers.
During these last few days, his name has been filling the news and tabloids, making headlines all around the world. His initial intentions of attending a ceremony to receive an award for his career achievements were utterly altered by his unexpected arrest in Switzerland, after the US gave orders of finally capturing Polanski.
The incident itself aroused a long catalogue of conflicting opinions. And that is just a side of the story, for his arrest has now escalated into an international-scale concern. I was extremely surprised after reading about France and Poland’s requests for the liberation of the filmmaker. It really made my neurones work a little bit harder –and my heart too, if you wish-. Of course it disappointing and extremely heartbreaking that someone you admire is being held under the force of the law, accused for a criminal act, and knowing he is being arrested for it. But we live in a world controlled by rules and his case is nowhere far from having violated them—he even pledged guilty about his accusation years ago and so he fled to France. Had it been an unrecognized person, stranger for most of the world, his actions would have been fiercely condemned at the very least. Rape is not one of the usually forgiven crimes, but one of those that keep you under the scrutiny of public eye, the harsh words spoken by innumerable tongues, and the punishments of our beloved justice. Our beloved justice I said… really? We seem to only ask for her divine intervention when we want her to. It might be because we never promised justice our unconditional love (though we make her believe we did… and we also fooled ourselves thinking the exact same thing). That must be it. And Polanski’s case is showing how we can easily bend and soften the law whenever we feel it is most “appropriate”. I repeat: I truly admire him for his work, but rape… that is another thing. How could he possibly be above law? Why should he receive more compassion and help from authorities than the rest of men and women that have been sent to jail because of the same crime? This event is really putting at stake the credibility of our laws and the respect we have for them. The issue here goes beyond Roman Polanski's legal condition and the feast his situation is giving to entartainment TV channels. It is about the commitment of our governments towards the law.
The real problem was that this case was not solved since the very beginning. Why did it take the US so much time to try to reinitiate the trial? Did they said: “Oh, well, we’ll free the man and let him do more movies for us, yay” And then what? They did not like his most recent films and tried to arrest him then? Honestly, it is not like he was secretly hidden!
Also, why is Switzerland taking an active role in all this disaster so suddenly? Polanski has been spent years coming and going out of the country without any single problem and, as reports mention, he even has a property there! It is kind of weird that the Swiss authorities decide to arrest him all of the sudden.
And meanwhile, France and Poland have already sent a message to Hillary Clinton so she can take action and reflect on their desire of releasing Roman Polanski and drop out his process of extradition to the US. Sarkozy has requested a rapid solution for all this drama.
"In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America that has just shown its face."
And from French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner:
"It's a little sinister, this business, to be quite frank.”
For more information in case you are interested :)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10600231
http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=27405
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/roman-polanski-arrested-switzerland-faces-extradition-1977-statutory/story?id=8685935
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/378af0e0-ac62-11de-a754-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6851581.ece
Constituted in the beginning by only 6 members, the European Unions has not ceased expanding across the territory surrounding the countries that initially founded it, accomplishing the unification of a continent that for a while was separated as a result of political and military actions. Nonetheless, we cannot say yet that every and each one of the countries of the European continent are together thanks to a vote of union, nor we can say that they are all represented by the image of this organism that is the European Union. Despite the fact that some countries have been left out from the community, either because of their own will or because they have not received the permission to enter, the European Union maintains an enlargement policy that hopes that, as years go by, more countries are added to enrich this intended integration.
Event though, it is clear that as more members join, more challenges and difficulties will make their appearance, and they will complicate the decisions and frustrate the objectives of the European Union. Taking these risks into consideration, the European Union has implemented a series of requirements that have to be met by the candidates before they proceed into the Union. Some of the criteria expect that the candidate:
-Is a democracy
-Respects humans rights
-Protects and respects minorities
-Has a functioning market economy and that the country is able to overcome any kind of difficulties that may emerge in the economic area.
-Assumes responsibility and fulfils its obligations as a member once he is accepted.
-Is, needless to say, willing to continue and cooperates for the well-being and development of the European Union.
Currently, there are three countries that are considered as candidates: Croatia, Turkey, and the Former Yugoslav State of Macedonia. Turkey is, perhaps, the country who has caused more controversy after its request to become part of the European Union, and after its acceptance as a candidate in 1999. It is easy to build up debates concerning the acceptance or the rejection of Turkey. Just go into Youtube, search for a video related to Turkey, and you will see hundreds of comments that mention its accession. Opinions find their way through and even mini wars are started among people all around the world who differ and turn this theme upside down with the purpose of finding a conclusion. Outside the virtual world that serves as a mirror of a reality in which diplomats and citizens hesitate, a number of studies are being opened in order to evaluate Turkey’s petition, the consequences and its capability for integrating the European Union.
I believe that this indecision and these doubts are not just an exaggeration. They all come out because there are many aspects that have to be considered before determining the Turkey-EU situation, which could end benefiting the European Union or damaging it, in some sense.
As I read some web pages, I found out some of the most noticeable aspects that people tend to argue about, concerning the access of Turkey into the EU:
1. Geography
This is one of the most used arguments, especially by those who want to immediately silence every person in favour of Turkey’s acceptance into the EU. For us, it is easy to know which countries belong to the American continent, because there are oceans all around, separating us from the world. But to whom does Turkey belong: Europe or Asia? There are people who say it belongs entirely to Asia. Others claim that a part is in the European Continent and the rest is located in Asia. If Turkey were Asian, it would be “easy” to end this debate (“if it is not European, why should it be included within the EUROPEANUnion?”). But when people say that Turkey is divided between two continents, what do we do then? It would be ridiculous to accept only one small piece of the country (if we were still using the same argument of acceptance if Turkey = European).
At the same time, there is another notorious point: its proximity to the Middle East. Some people think this would be a threat to the EU’s security and stability, as for them Turkey will serve as an entrance for the “problematic nations”, like Iran and Iraq. On the other side, there are people who think Turkey would carry out an important and useful role regarding the European-Asian relations, working as an intermediary to “soften” and making negotiations smoother with the Middle East.
2. Population
Turkey has an estimated population of 76 000 000 people (according to CIA’s World Factbook). If Turkey entered the European Union, it would easily become on of the most populated countries, behind Germany. To this we can add the fact that Turkey has a high quantity of young people that would serve a working force, which will at once help “resolve” the problem of the aging population in Europe. Also Turkey has a higher birth rate in comparison: 18.66 births/1,000 population against 9.9 births/1,000 population from the EU. Turkey could then bring workers that would generate money to pay for the pensions, but it would as well bring more responsibilities towards a bigger population.
3. Religion
(Mainly) Islam vs. Christians
I think I have nothing further to say in this point but that. Oh, no, wait. I believe this should not be a problem at all, considering the EU is based in respect and freedom (which includes freedom to choose your religion), and that all of its members should agree with these values, am I not right?
4. Human Rights
The EU thinks Turkey needs to improve in this area and guarantee the authentic respect of human rights inside the country, by changing, for example, the violence against women. There is also some old history involved, since in the 1900’s there was a campaign (taken as “genocide”) to eliminate the Armenian population in Turkey… or the Ottoman Empire, as it was known then. However, Turkey has not accepted is responsibility, which is, in a certain way, a refusal to accept its not-so-straight position on the subject of human rights.
5. Energy
Pipelines across Turkey supply Europe with oil and gas.
6. Economy
Even though Turkey has experienced an economic growth, it is still too “poor” for joining the European Union. Some argue that is adherence would dry out the EU’s resources and that Turkey would need some help for improving its economy, which would leave the poorest countries that are already members of the EU without the necessary attention and support.
Turkey is already a trade partner for the European Union. They even share a customs union since 1995. As far as it goes, Turkey has done various reforms to “please” the EU’s wishes and obviously for Turkey’s own sake and prosperity (a new penal code, prohibition of death penalty and torture, and has given rights to minorities), in order to be honestly considered as a candidate. On of the web pages I read, the author closed its article with a quote I would also like to use to end this post: "We are talking a lot about Turkey's readiness, but really it's the readiness of the EU that we need to be talking about, the readiness of Europe to embrace Turkey in the way they expect to be embraced." (Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, German politician). It really leaves you thinking about who is the most unprepared: the EU or Turkey? Because Turkey can continue changing every law to make them match the European Union’s desires, but no one can really assure that they will be accepted in, at least on a near future.
Talking about the European Union in class, we have evaluated the economical and political consequences and problems, as well as the reasons that have triggered the economic integration in Europe. We have also seen the European Union’s “need” to present itself as an authentic union at the eyes of every spectator and partaker of the international economic and political affairs. And to a certain extent, the EU has accomplished its goal. It is easy for foreigners to picture most of the European countries as a community that shares and discuss for both their national interests and the welfare of the continent in general— I know I do. But there are two aspects that I believe will never be merged into one and those are the social and cultural areas. For example, it is simply impossible to have the same image of a French and an Italian. Their customs and history have build up their identity, the one that distinguishes them and the one that is perceived by the rest of the world. And I think that on a national and worldwide level, nearly all the population resists to the idea of transforming Europe into a single culture or a single country—it would be an outrageous attack to the unique richness of each European state. However, as this ongoing integration keeps bringing European countries closer and closer together, it is normal that a sense of threat to sovereignty and to national identity is awakened. And furthermore, a rise of racism and xenophobia is apparently expanding and taking new forms. Definitely, this is translated into an additional challenge that the European Union has to deal with because it is important to base the community over foundations of respect, tolerance, and diversity. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (previously known as the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) is in charge of protecting human rights as well as promoting them among the European citizens; and these responsibilities have conducted them to create the Diversity Day, a counterattack to racism and xenophobia. But this is only one initiative to fight discrimination, which will obviously not eliminate it completely from some minds, mainly because, as I mentioned above, racism, discrimination, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia are being exhibited in various ways, which have to be combated with different techniques and programmes. But whatever measures are taken, diplomats must not forget the importance and the impact on society that the reduction of this problem will have, and how this will affect the so dearly loved economic and political development of the European Union. Because, at the end of the day, it is impossible to maintain stabilized such a large community, when its people and the social life of its member states are not positively balanced. In case the problem is not solved, can you imagine the controversy when the European Union decides t go deeper concerning a common immigration policy? Debates will find their way, of course. The following information is just to show you some examples of problems, statistics, and decisions that concern the European Union and the defence of human rights, in opposition to racism and xenophobia. The data has been acquired from an official EU's report (the link at the end) together with other useful sources.
Growing appeal for extremist, ultra-nationalist, anti-foreigner, neo-nazi, neo-fascist parties
A small number of EU members have official criminal data concerning racism cases (not that there are no hate crimes, but that there is no real control and collection of information).
2006-2007: Ireland, Austria, Poland, Sweden and the UK --> upward trend in racist crime. Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, and Finland --> downward trend in racist crime.
Victims due to racist motivations are mainly Roma, followed by Sub-Saharan African, North African, Turkish, Russian, and Ex-Yugoslavian
Employment discrimination: Since 2008, it has been declared as illegal the advertisement of jobs with nationalistic ideologies that prevent migrants from being employed.
- Case of a Belgian company which only recruited white employees. - Nearly 50% of Spanish students believe that foreigners “steal” the jobs in their country. - Linked to initiatives from Spain and Czech Republic? (Offer of incentives for immigrants to leave their country and promise not to come back in the next few years. “Subtle discrimination” or desperate for helping/pleasing (some) “original” citizens during economic crisis?)
There is a racial attack every three minutes in the EU.
Obvious educational and health care barriers for Roma and Sinti population, as well as for children from illegal immigrants and refugees
- Hate speeches and language discrimination - Case in Greece in which Roma parents were not allowed to enrol their kids in a local primary school.
Directive on Compensation of Crime Victims (Founded by the European Union)
Proposal to extend the protection against discrimination in more areas, such as social security, healthcare, education, and access to and supply of goods and services.
Racial Equality Directive of 2000: member states should establish equality bodies to promote justice and equal treatment.
More information: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/Library/PressReleases/58-15_09_2009_en.asp http://www.diversityday.eu/ http://www.fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/home/ar2009_part2_en.htm http://euro-med.dk/?p=1082 http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2004/issue4/0404p32.html
Only after I finished my last post was that I remembered the film "The Sum of All Fears", a movie with Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, that describes an scenario in our times of what would happen if a nuclear attack took place. Was it the Russians? Could this start a war? How would diplomatic deals work?
I leave the trailer here and also the link to IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164184/ If any of you are interested I have the film!
After watching the most recent Tarantino film (related to World War II), I came to realise about the value of propaganda during the nazi domination. What would have been of Hitler’s intentions without the support of the people? Absolutely nothing. So it was really clever of him to start a propaganda program in order to accomplish his ideals. For such matters, it was Joseph Goebbels who was named as the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Undoubtly, Goebbels made an extraordinary work. I am no pro-nazi and I am nowhere near of supporting their “perfect breeding” and “pure race” thoughts. It goes the completely opposite way for me: I deeply regret that humanity had to experience such difficult, savage, and violent times under the nazi regime. But it is also up to me to recognize the “good” (if it can possibly fit the word’s sense) strategies they had.
Please, read carefully Goebbels’ title: Reich Minister of PublicEnlightenment and Propaganda. Could their intentions have been even clearer? Nazis were looking forward to “open” their country’s eyes to what they believe it was “right”, achieve to go back to the pure origins of their nation.
Goebbels successfully used the media to reach Germans. Cinema was one of the tools used, for it was a media that received massive attention. Both Hitler and Goebbels agreed that by repeating over and over again their ideas through every possible mean, they would eventually get inside the people’s mind and make them be of the same opinion. They exerted complete control over cinema by revising and approving each movie (which obviously had to go along with the nazi model) to be displayed on any screen that was on a nazi occupied area. Needless to say, the films had a very high heroic content, they supported the war, emphasized the “glory” of being German and their superiority.
So how weak are we? Where does the power of government over the population ends? To what did this/could this control lead? Is this happening nowadays, how and where?
The rise of the Soviet Union and the dominance that it acquired after the Second World War were reasons enough to create certain “paranoia” in the United States, a fear of communism spreading worldwide. Though we could also say it was not an unfounded alarm, but a reality likely to happen. To defend democracy from the threat awaken by growing communism, the United States adopted its famous policy of containment (as we saw in class). In 1947, president Truman said that it was the United States’ duty to help any country vulnerable to fall to communism. Out from this idea, the United States began to take various actions. One of them was the Truman Doctrine, the “beginning” of American war against communism. After World War II, the United Kingdom supplied some countries, such as Greece and Turkey, with financial aid. However, the UK reached a point where it was unable to carry on with the help, so they asked America for a plan B. The reason why it was important to continue contributing with these two countries was that Greece was going through a civil war and Turkey was still on a process of recovering and modernization, which made them susceptible to adopt communism one day or another. American support resulted in the defeat of the Greek Communist Party. But this was not the only consequence. The importance of Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment, established within American minds, led later to “bigger” things, such as the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam and Korean war.
Was it all worth it? Was it really America's responsibility to maintain communism aside? Was it the right way to stop communism?
For more information: http://www.conservapedia.com/Truman_Doctrine http://www.johndclare.net/cold_war8_TrumanDoctrine.htm http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=qXeRALIwozgC&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=greece+communism+us+truman+doctrine&source=bl&ots=hymjFEMYBa&sig=Suh2WYEmasrAIEJXGF12y2xdsqU&hl=es&ei=oHqbSoeMEY_-tQOsm_iUDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=&f=false http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1780.html
