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A Death in the Family, ARCS Video Collaboration Workshop, China and the Olympics
Just before we were about to head off to the second session of our fortnightly Call of Cthulhu game (Masks of Nyarlathotep, Horror on the Orient Express), ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caseopaya received a 'phone call that her brother had died at home the night before at the rather young age of 49. Although the cause of death has not yet been determined, he suffered from type II diabetes and had a nasty foot infection; I am guessing blood poisoning and subsequent septic shock at this stage. I had only spent a few days with the 200cm, 120 kg ex-biker with a surly morning mood, but I found him quite likeable (after 9.30am). He was a genuine person of substance who appreciated the same and clearly cared a great deal for his little kid sister and the feeling was reciprocated; caseopaya is currently making arrangement to go to Perth for the funeral.
Twice in the past fortnight I've had to attend the three-day ARCS Video Collaboration Workshop twice, once in Adelaide and once in Melbourne. Both went well, and I will never cease to be amazed by the endurance of Access Grid advocate Jason Bell who can, quite literally, talk for the better part of three days on the subject. For my own part, slides and notes of the presentation I gave are available. I've also put in a application to present to Linux Conf Australia where I'll try to summarise the three-day experience into a single session!
I readily admit upfront that I care little for the elite of competitive sports; I consider the real "medal count" of a country is the general level of activity and health, rather than how well a highly specialised select group performs. Australia may do very well in the Olympics, but when the average member of the population has questionable levels of fitness I think we are a failure rather than a success as a "sporting nation". This aside however, the media spotlight on China has been at least successful in uncovering how frightened this totalitarian dictatorship is of even modest criticism; spending $100 million USD on the opening ceremony where a sixth of the population lives on less than $2 USD per day is an obscenity. Whilst China itself has lost the media battle, in "free and democratic" Australia Channel 7 censored a Tibet advertisement; they (and some of their advertisers) will be receiving some terse correspondence from yours truly.
caseopaya received a 'phone call that her brother had died at home the night before at the rather young age of 49. Although the cause of death has not yet been determined, he suffered from type II diabetes and had a nasty foot infection; I am guessing blood poisoning and subsequent septic shock at this stage. I had only spent a few days with the 200cm, 120 kg ex-biker with a surly morning mood, but I found him quite likeable (after 9.30am). He was a genuine person of substance who appreciated the same and clearly cared a great deal for his little kid sister and the feeling was reciprocated; caseopaya is currently making arrangement to go to Perth for the funeral.Twice in the past fortnight I've had to attend the three-day ARCS Video Collaboration Workshop twice, once in Adelaide and once in Melbourne. Both went well, and I will never cease to be amazed by the endurance of Access Grid advocate Jason Bell who can, quite literally, talk for the better part of three days on the subject. For my own part, slides and notes of the presentation I gave are available. I've also put in a application to present to Linux Conf Australia where I'll try to summarise the three-day experience into a single session!
I readily admit upfront that I care little for the elite of competitive sports; I consider the real "medal count" of a country is the general level of activity and health, rather than how well a highly specialised select group performs. Australia may do very well in the Olympics, but when the average member of the population has questionable levels of fitness I think we are a failure rather than a success as a "sporting nation". This aside however, the media spotlight on China has been at least successful in uncovering how frightened this totalitarian dictatorship is of even modest criticism; spending $100 million USD on the opening ceremony where a sixth of the population lives on less than $2 USD per day is an obscenity. Whilst China itself has lost the media battle, in "free and democratic" Australia Channel 7 censored a Tibet advertisement; they (and some of their advertisers) will be receiving some terse correspondence from yours truly.
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What do you have to say regarding the conditions of Tibet pre-Chinese hostile-takeover? What about the accusations of a theocratic dictatorship where the average citizen fared little better than the citizens of North Korea do now in terms of quality-of-life?
I'm not well-versed at all on the China/Tibet debate, and it seems like an issue where everyone falls on the side of Tibet, with the exception of a view voices whom you'd expect to deliberately be against the grain.
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Regardless of this however, all nations have the right of self-determination. I am not an advocate for or against Tibet's independence or integration into China. What I am in favour of is Tibetans being allowed to choose which path they take for their own country.
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I mean, yay Tibet and all, but what happens if they seek self-determination and the nation is unable to support itself?
I have pondered this question a lot over the year or four.
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Then they carry the responsibility for making a wrong choice and will have to rethink their decision.
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In general however a dictatorial government is best overthrown by the people who have lived under it.
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I have to wonder about this policy. Will there be actions against Russia, do you think, for the ongoing combats in Georgia? What about the Sudan?
I wonder if the UN isn't hamstrung by it's own bureaucracy (which is necessitated by the interaction of so many nations and cultures, granted). I've read a few interpretations of law that say that Iraq wasn't even, by UN standards, a "sovereign nation" when the US/Coalition force invaded it this latest time, which takes a lot of the wind out of a lot of anti-war sails, in my opinion. (Then again, I'm one of few people who will admit to a [somewhat reluctant, in this case] pro-war stance)
In general however a dictatorial government is best overthrown by the people who have lived under it.
In this case, the ones who are starved, both of food and of information? The lifestyles of the North Koreans constitute an atrocity, a gross act of inhumanity by a shrewd, callous, morally bankrupt government. So long as we permit the deliberate starvation and illiteracy and totalitarian rule of the North Koreans, what justification or consistency do we have with regards to interactions anywhere else?
Perhaps the standard of "You're not harming anyone else, so do your own thing" is appropriate for an individual - "Stockpile weapons? Sure! Do drugs? Fine. Start shooting your neighbors? Police get called." - but is it really appropriate when we're talking about entire human lifetimes lived in abject misery, eating grass and caged like animals from the rest of the world? Especially in a time of unprecedented travel, freedom, and enlightenment through information sharing?
When does the standard change? When do we stop allowing one person, or small groups of people, to destroy the lives of others for nothing more than power's sake?
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Russia is a member of the Security Council; thus any peace keeping actions have to be carried out with their agreement. Whilst the international community has hitherto ignored Ossetia's right to self-determination, I actually think the Russian intervention was largely welcomed by people in the region (the opposite applies to Chechnya)
So long as we permit the deliberate starvation and illiteracy and totalitarian rule of the North Koreans, what justification or consistency do we have with regards to interactions anywhere else?
I think the justification is "what do you want us to do?". Engaging in military intervention under the current circumstances is highly unlikely. China probably views NK as a buffer state. NK isn't exactly the sort of environment you want to fight a war in either.
At the moment I must say I prefer the south korean approach; break down NK's isolation, get the people on the north side the border to experience freedom and a decent standard of living.
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At the moment I must say I prefer the south korean approach; break down NK's isolation, get the people on the north side the border to experience freedom and a decent standard of living.
Agreed, and for the record, I wasn't necessarily advocating a military approach to the issue. I was mostly just concerned about the idea of "national self-determination over all else," which was your justification for the freedom of Tibet, regardless of the situation it was in before the Chinese takeover.
Being that I haven't much love of the notion of "nations" to begin with, I don't know where our common ground will be about this. I honestly think that nations, and the emotions and dramas they create and inspire, are one of the largest detriments humanity faces at the moment, and that we (humans) ought to be turning our ethical and philosophical talents toward the task of being rid of them in favor of unification of "human" goals over "national" ones.
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I read this post and was disappointed there were no references to Robin
(Remembering is an entirely separate issue).
Re: I read this post and was disappointed there were no references to Robin
Re: I read this post and was disappointed there were no references to Robin
Re: I read this post and was disappointed there were no references to Robin
I'm fairly certain your paths would have crossed.. similar scene and all.
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On the other hand, I'm impressed by the athletes. America, too, battles the wave of epidemic obesity in our populations. That doesn't stop my awe at the beauty of a gymnasts routine or the spectacular performance of a diver. I could care less about the medals. Its about the athleticism for me. :-D
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Ugh. Such trivialities are one of the things I loathe most about mass media - they don't want to be "controversial".
Yes, the Great Wall is interesting. Yes, the cuisine is interesting. But in context...
That doesn't stop my awe at the beauty of a gymnasts routine or the spectacular performance of a diver.
Oh, I agree.. athletes are gorgeous. :)
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That's sad and tragic. Too young to die :(
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That said, the ignorant view that many leftists have, that because this is a Chinese issue, they are somehow not imperial, or that Tibet shoudln't be freed, is really disgusting. I don't understand how people can be for Iragi, Palestinian and Ossetian freedom, yet oppose the same when it comes to China / Tibet. Pure hypocrisy.
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Tibet is considered strategically important and I'm sure all the major powers would like to 'influence' it, regardless of the wishes of the Tibetans themselves. Of course, the presence of the Olympics in China is a good time to raise human rights and nationality issues whilst attention is focused there.
I don't understand how people can be for Iragi, Palestinian and Ossetian freedom, yet oppose the same when it comes to China / Tibet. Pure hypocrisy.
Oh that's easy. China apparently is socialist and therefore can't be imperialist and rather than national self-determination they are engaging in an "international brotherhood".
Yes, fascism can come in many colours and sometimes that colour is red.
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I have not watched the olympics; I could not stand thinking about what all that money, spent by every participating group but especially China, could have done towards the welfare of its disadvantaged people.
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