Unite for Human Rights - May 15 - Special Post

Given that this blog has committed itself to blog about human rights on 15 May on Bloggers Unite for Human Rights, we have picked some urgent issues to highlight the continuing prevalent human rights violations that are occurring around the world…

Marking the 200th post…

To commemorate having reached the 200th mark, we have compiled a list of our 20 most favourite posts (not in any order) which you should read (if you haven’t).

1. Nakba Day, 15 May - this post was made last year to remind us of the continuing sufferings of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. While Israel will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Gazans continue to live under the shadow of the economic blockade…

2. Situation in Darfur worsened for second half of 2007 - Given that the situation in Darfur has yet to improve, we should pay special attention to the humanitarian crisis in the region.

3. Failure of US- Iraq Invasion - two recommended books on current American’s foreign policy. Bob Woodward’s State of Denial provides an insight on the Bush Administration while Patrick Cockburn’s The Occupation details the failure of the Iraqi invasion at ground zero.

4. I think you should have a speedy Gonzales departure! - Torture American style and its Australian detainee, David Hicks…

5. May Day Rallies around the World in 2007 - Workers around the world celebrate May Day…

6. Suu Kyi “cannot stop her calls for sanctions” - a posting on the Burma uprising last year and why the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is caught between a rock and a hard place. To date, the military regime continues to adopt a ‘close- door’ policy against international organisations. This is despite the current humanitarian crisis which is causing thousands of deaths.

7. Liberal Upbringing = Happy Children - an earlier post on why a liberal atmosphere might be conducive to bringing up happy kids.

8. Americans want change… so does the world… - Given the American Presidential elections are coming in a few month’s time, this post reveals how Americans yearn for change. Who would the Americans vote for? Will there be any differences in American’s foreign policy if a Democrat were to be voted into office?

9. Dennis Kucinich - The Most Progressive Democratic Presidential Candidate - America loses a potential president who could possibly made a difference.

10. Time to boycott the China Olympics - The idea of a boycott has been raised by fringe groups. Should sports have a priority over human rights? Given that China has steadfastedly refuse to improve its human rights record, what can human rights organisations do?

11. Repealing Death Penalty is not imposing post-colonial will - Asian autocrats claim that the death penalty is congruent with its Confucian values. This posting exposes the oft-repeated myth.

12. How Asians Commemorate Human Rights Day 2007 - The peoples of Asia desire and fight for human rights and democracy too.

13. Law Society, Mas Selemat and the ISA - The escape of Mas Selemat, a detainee who was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Singapore, opens up a window of debate for the repeal of the legislation. The ISA is a piece of draconian legislation in Singapore and Malaysia which allows detention without trial.

14. The relationship between Human Rights and Democracy - Democracy is not just about conducting periodic elections. Human Rights Watch exposes this misconception and the West’s implicit endorsement of authoritarian regimes.

15. More by Tariq Ali - Excerpts and Links - Tariq Ali remains one of the generation’s most vocal and sharpest critics against Western hypocrisy especially with regards to Pakistan and Palestinian issues.

16. War on Democracy reveals sinister US administration - Watch ‘War on Democracy’, award- winning journalist, John Pilger’s first made for movie documentary which documents the US administration’s history in undermining Latin America’s democracy.

17. Panel agrees Howard government has managed to silence dissent in Australia - Howard might be gone but the damage he has done could outlast his legacy. This is an event review of a forum whereby politicians, academics and media commentators criticizes his government for censoring free speech.

18. Taiwan commemorates 20th anniversary lifting of martial law - Taiwan has become a member of the democratic club with a successful and mainly peaceful transition. Yet, it has been rejected by the UN as a qualifying member state. As Allison Hsieh who was quoted in this posting remarked, “Western countries that claim to support democracy and freedom must be much more assertive in their support for Taiwan’s right to self-determination…”

19. Amnesty (for) American Abductions - The current neo-conservative American Administration conducts illegal abductions under the banner of ‘war on terror’…

20. Sorry - The Australian government has apologised to the Indigenious community for its Stolen Generations policy but stops short of monetary compensation. This is in tune with the advancement of indigenious rights which has recently been recognised on the UN level when the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly September last year.

Oil and Food Costs

A side effect of the rising price of fuel is the increase in the cost of food staples around the world, especially rice.

A recent AFP article quoted Kevin Cleaver (an assistant president in a department of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development):

“in some 33 countries there is now civil disturbance, food riots caused by food shortages and higher prices”

Even if we ignore the effect that climate change could have on food production, it seems that the world will have some major problems in the coming years as the high cost of oil will continue to put pressure on food production costs.

Looking around the world this week - there seems to be a stream of stories about rice. Here are just two such stories.

Philippines
The price of a kilo of rice has now hit P20 in a country where some poor families only have an income of P120 per day. The National Food Authority is going to be distributing more than 15000 bags of rice to the poor families in 12 of the countries high population areas.

Haiti
Recent riots over the cost of food have prompted the government to bring the price of rice down by 15 percent. Haiti used to be self-sufficient in rice production, but that changed in the mid 1980 with trade liberalisation, where cheap (and subsidised) US rice has led to a collapse of the local rice production industry. Now that the cost of oil is increasing, the cost of imported rice is also increasing - leading to the recent riots over the cost of food.

Two countries on different sides of the world suffering from the same problem.

And it appears that countries such as India, Vietnam, Argentina and China will cut exports to protect their own people.

The cost of food production threatens us all, and may well be the biggest threat mankind faces in the coming years.