Praemonitus praemunitus
TED on Humanity |
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Listen to Chris Abani talk about growing up during the Biafran war (16:14). There are some serious highs and serious lows. My fave is the sheep anecdote.
Download the MP3 here if you want just the audio. More talks at TED.
No Terrorism in Dubai? Just you wait. |
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Dubai has emerged as a global finance powerhouse, also serving as a tourist center and travel hub between Europe and Asia. The growth is real—presently, 25% of the world’s construction cranes (30,000) are operating in Dubai. Dubai is multicultural, with 85% of its population of 2 million being foreign, and regularly hosting international sports events and Hollywood and Bollywood stars.
But while Western expats flock to the city and skyscrapers reach upwards, locals are becoming increasingly alienated by the foreigners flocking to their homeland and are enjoying precious few benefit from the experience.
First on the economic front, locals are being priced out of all markets. As expats and celebrities purchase the best homes, locals often aren’t even permitted to view the most luxurious homes. Property prices continue to rise (no sign of the credit crunch in the UAE) and natives are shunted into ghettos on the fringes of the city. Arabs are first in line for government jobs, but perk-laden, tax-free jobs in big foreign corporations go to candidates flown in from London.
Then on the cultural front, locals are confronted by a very foreign culture at every turn. Expats flaunt short skirts and skimpy tops and get drunk on the beach, yet local female students require a pass-card to leave the university campus in fully covered black garb. Fashionable restaurants only permit Western clothing and turn away men in Arab costume. Friday is the holy day in Islam, but it’s the day of drunk partying and sexual debauchery for Westerners. And there is almost no cultural integration between the locals and the foreigners.
Compounded by all this is the fact that Dubai is a hereditary monarchy with no parliament. Ordinary people have no way for their voice to be heard except in the streets and mosques were fury is reportedly growing. A terrorist attack could be carried our by a disgruntled local—but not necessarily. Dubai’s high regional profile makes it a likely target for Al Qaeda, which now seems incapable of launching an attack in the West, and who could see Dubai as an easy chance to kill some infidels.
What would happen if just one act of terrorist violence targeted expat tourists or resident professionals?
International investment would dry up; the million tourists who flock here to shop and sun themselves each year would melt away; the footballers and pop stars who have bought exclusive villas on the new Palm Islands development, such as Michael Owen and Rod Stewart, would doubtless move to safer shores.Moreover, since Dubai is the Middle East’s cosmopolitan melting pot, and its experiment with Islamic capitalism could become the blueprint for surrounding Arab states, its failure would have dire consequences for the entire region.
Deny his citizenship |
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The Economist reports on the situation of Faiza M., a Moroccan woman who married a French citizen and moved with him back to France. She applied for citizenship and was rejected on the basis that she wore a burqa, a “radical practice” that is “incompatible with the essential values of the French community, and particularly with the principle of sexual equality.” One (female Algerian) official is quoted as saying “[The burqa] is not a religious sign but the visible sign of a totalitarian political project preaching sexual inequality.”
Get over it. The burqa is just a piece of cloth. It is clothing and it is not the state’s role to intervene into what type of clothing people wear. The motto of France since the French Revolution is: Liberté, égalité, fraternité. This decision makes a mockery of France’s “essential value” of liberty.
The sad thing is that Faiza M. only started wearing the burqa at the request of her husband when they arrived in France. As long as it is her choice, she should be able to wear whatever she likes. If, however, she is being forced to wear a certain kind of clothing against her will, then the state should step in to protect her personal freedom. Religion cannot be used as a shield. Legal and religious institutions are rightly separated, and a country’s laws are applicable to all citizens equally. Using religion to flout the laws is unacceptable, like the Muslim woman in Florida who refused to reveal her face for a driver’s license photo.
Finally, I would just like to stress that I am by no means a Muslim apologist. All faiths have their whackaloons. The bottom line is: I am a freedom-loving libertarian, and am willing to defend that position.
Westward to Cipangu |
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From strange maps comes this map of the Atlantic Ocean and its surroundings, authored by Florentine mathematician and astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli in the 15th century.
Toscanelli was no explorer, but he proposed to the Portuguese king that he send an expedition to sail west as a shortcut to reach the fabled Spice Islands. He was not successful, but his map inspired Columbus, who took the above map with him on his first transatlantic voyage in 1492, and resulted in Columbus being perhaps the only person to land in the Bahamas on the belief that he had reached Japan.
The actual dimensions of North America are superimposed in light blue.
“Cippangu” is the name by which Japan had been known in Europe since Marco Polo’s eastern trek. The name derives from an early Chinese word for Japan, Ribenguo, and Polo described the island as being extremely rich in silver and gold. Although highly inaccurate, this triggered the imagination of Europeans for many years to come. (Cathay was labeled as the northern Chinese kingdom by Marco Polo, with southern China being Manji. Cathay probably comes from Khitan, a tribe in northern China.)
Cuban Missile Crisis Redux? |
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The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. It seems history may rhyme after all if current news reports are to be believed. According to the AFP, there was discussion in the Russian news of Moscow flying long range bombers to Cuba again.
Russia would cross “a red line for the United States of America” if it were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba, a top US air force officer warned on Tuesday.”If they did I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America,” said General Norton Schwartz, nominated to be the air force’s chief of staff. He was referring to a Russian news report that said the military is thinking of flying long-range bombers to Cuba on a regular basis.It was unclear from the report whether that would involve permanent basing of nuclear bombers in Cuba, or just use of the island as a refueling stop. In his confirmation hearing to become the air force’s chief of staff, Schwartz was asked what he would recommend if Russia were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba. “I would certainly offer the best military advice that we engage the Russians not to pursue that approach,” he said.
The newspaper Iszvestia on Monday cited an unnamed senior Russian air force official in Moscow as saying that Russia may start regular flights by long-range bombers to Cuba in response to US plans to install a missile defense system in eastern Europe. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on the Russian report because there had been no “official response from the Russian government.”
I’ve written about the missle shield here and here but in short, my position is that Russia’s rhetoric merely masks its continued role of trying to play the spoiler for US policies and is using it as an excuse to ‘misbehave’ elsewhere under the cover of so-called US aggression. Do readers more knowledgeable on missile defense and nuclear affairs have a more detailed take?
As things stand, the missile shield wouldn’t pose any real threat to Russia’s nuclear deterrent for some time and could at most destroy a few of thousands of missiles, making it essentially useless. However, as time goes on, so does technology and the shield could one day pose an actual threat. On top of that, where is the line between defense and offensive missiles? Not being an expert, I’m not sure how valid of a point this is. Wouldn’t the agreements with the Czech Republic and Poland prohibit stationing offensive or nuclear weapons at these sites?
Lastly, my understanding is that the only real threat the missile shield presents now is that of almost giving the US first strike capability. Given the poor state of Russia’s military, nuclear weapons and radar system, a 2006 Foreign Affairs article argued that the US could soon have the ability to strike first and take out most of Russia’s first and second strike sites. The few missed, should the missiles even launch (due to poor maintenance, command and control etc.) the new shield could protect against them.
Readers, what are your thoughts on the US missile shield? What legitimate points does Russia have? And what could the stationing of Russian bombers in Cuba lead to, assuming it is even a real possiblitiy?
B-52 down in Guam |
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... emergency responders were called to duty around 9:45 a.m. when the B-52 crashed Northwest of Guam. ... The debris site is located approximately 25 nautical miles Northwest of Guam and as of four o’clock this afternoon, officials were still searching for the six crew members believed to be on board.
This is the fourth military crash at Andersen AFB this year (see also Bye bye B-2). Is this just a reflection of increased activity at the base and can be chalked up to statistical error? Or is there a gap between the rate of growth at Andersen and the state of the infrastructure that is causing these accidents? Either way, here’s hoping they find the six missing aircrew alive and well.
Via Eaglespeak
Food Crisis Global Review, Part 2: Export Controls |
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Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture has come out with a map, published recently in the Nikkei Shinbun, on the growing numbers of countries implementing food export prohibitions and tarrifs on exports.
Sacrilege against Bacon |
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In January 1832, British diplomat Alexander Burnes set out from India for Afghanistan to make diplomatic overtures towards the Amir of Kabul.
Going native was the watchword for Burnes, who also had skills as a keen Central Asian linguist. He shaved his head and dyed his blonde beard black, wore native dress, and did not bring any of the typical comforts such as a tent, table, bed, or even silverware. His easy-going manner was apparently very successful in winning him friends, although his “close attention” to the Afghan ladies resulted in some hostility (he wrote that the covered women of Kabul “made ample amends when indoors for all their sombre exhibitions in public.”)
Writing of the Afghans to his brother, Burnes wrote the following passage:
When they ask me if I eat pork, I of course shudder and say it is only outcasts who commit such outrages. God forgive me! for I am very fond of bacon, and my mouth waters as I write the word. I wish I had some of it for breakfast, to which I am now about to sit down.
Taken from The Savage Frontier by D.S. Richards.
True web-savvy politicking |
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Sean Tevis, an Information Architect running for Kansas State Representative, takes the whole “Politics 2.0” scene to the extreme by introducing himself in the form of an homage to webgeek comic xkcd. This guy is sure to steal all of Ron Paul’s followers. However, how much of the long tail resides in Kansas? How useful is this kind of web-politicking in local elections?
Food Crisis Global Review, Part 1: Stratfor on Global Implications |
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More and more media outlets are reporting on the food crisis, but few countries have a comprehensive analysis. Stratfor has published a map on the global food crisis identifying the causes of the food crisis worldwide.
What’s more, stratfor takes notes in an article published last month that 2008 actually looks to be a good year for food prices under ordinary circumstances because a good harvest season is expected. However, as fuel prices are expected to rise, along with increasing demand, inevitably a poor harvest season will mean critically high food prices in years to come. Stratfor also has a podcast on the topic here covering the winners and losers.
More on this topic to come over the next few days. Watch this space.
