reduced and recycled » Abroad

misery upon misery

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:39:12 +0000

I wouldn’t want to be Burmese today.

If I were Burmese, alive and standing amidst the bodies floating on still water, like the bodies of buddhist monks face down in dark streams, how would I feel. I don’t know. I wouldn’t be sane, by then. I would be a gibbering mess, laughing and trying to claw my eyes out.

I won ...Continue

help the burmese protestors - sign up!!

admin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:38:53 +0000

Wanna help the Burmese and the Saffron Revolution?

You can help put pressure on the governments that can actually do something about it.

I’m reproducing an urgent appeal for support and signatures by Avaaz.org to put pressure on the “non-interfering” actors of the ASEAN stage, amongst others, to get a life and do som ...Continue

Alan Johnston is Free, thank God!

admin — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:12:38 +0000

Been away for almost a week or so, what with the year-end crunch time. So it’s truly good news to hear that Alan Johnston’s been freed. Hamas has, definitely, proved itself capable of delivering on its promises - which is the whole point of the efforts to free Alan Johnston.

Of course the effort was driven by politics, but the ...Continue

the drc on my way back

admin — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:41:30 +0000

I was driving back from Pasir Gudang when I heard a horrendous, horrendous story on BBC’s Outlook programme (check out the Wednesday, 23rd May 2007 edition). It featured a young mother from the ...Continue

maxing out tragedy

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:29:37 +0000

I retreat to the blog in utter frustration. What else is there? There are times when stringing together thoughts in a coherent paragraph just isnâ€™t the way to get a little piece of mind.

Ugh. The thing about writing is, you get to see what youâ€™ve just written and you sorta feel the pauses between the sentences. Itâ€™s ...Continue

more death threats to critics of Islam

admin — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 11:10:41 +0000

One more victim living under threat. I’m not sure how to put this, and I’m not sure how the pro-islam lobby will see this, but I can almost hear it: “more anti-islam polemics! when will they leave us alone??”

Well, when you start doing something about your breathren threatening other people, obviously. But you don& ...Continue

more deaths in Darfur

admin — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:18:29 +0000

A short question: what’s the utility of ascertaining the real death toll in Darfur to-date? Imagine experts tussling over the exact figures. What’s the going rate these days? I read â€œ70,000â€ in some reports, and I’ve read about others disputing the figure: they say â€œ200,000â€. Some say â€œ400,000â� ...Continue

rushdie, hirsi ali, the pope - who’s next?

admin — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:23:54 +0000

So how does one explain the violence, insults and rage? The Brussels Journal calls it a moral victory for the Pope, and it cites some instances of leaders admitting that they protesteth too much. I donâ€™t think its surprising given how the mainstream media has spun this, ...Continue

the Pope must not apologize or retract what he has said

admin — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:31:17 +0000

Because while he shows a sense of historical awareness, Islamists who can’t handle the truth of their militant past are up in arms over what he’s saying. And his quotation of Manuel II Pelaiaologos was not merely central to what he was saying, it was central in the theme of what he was saying.

See, maybe Muslims don’t real ...Continue

doctoring the truth

admin — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:24:43 +0000

Itâ€™s an old, hackneyed phrase: allâ€™s fair in love and war. I think no one doubts what that means; winning is the only motive and the only necessary imperative, no matter the method. This of course only means that any talk about ideals and justice in war is just so much fluff without substance; but I should get off my soapbox now and ...Continue