8.20.2007
Arctic arena
News source: Same old power play
Welcome to...
THE ARCTIC ARENA!
Putin, Harper, Bush, Rasmussen and Stoltenburg.
ROUND 1:
3...
2...
1...
FIGHT!
At the top of the world, everything is heating up.
With the advent of global warming, the frigid, frozen Arctic Ocean is defrosting at an ever-increasing rate. Scientists speculate that this ice cover could further diminish in the immediate future, until all the Arctic ice disappears in the summer. In view of this, policymakers of many national governments have initiated their reports on the implications of an ice-free Arctic Ocean. Five nations which border the Ocean - all economically developed - have expressed interest in claiming parts of this area, namely Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark and Norway. In so doing, they have created a fresh international bone of contention.
Anyway, what is it that these adept policymakers see in a watery North Pole, to warrant such a hullabaloo? First up is none other than money. The Arctic sea floor potentially holds a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. In a world addicted to energy, black is the new gold, and it is highly lucrative to possess fossil fuel deposits. Furthermore, an ice-free Arctic would open up new trade routes for shipping. Also, one must consider that each side has a desire to preserve intrinsic national pride and honour, regardless of the value of the claim (or lack thereof).
It is fundamentally due to this that the five nations are willing to expend vast amounts of funds, technology, manpower, effort, and time, in order to put themselves ahead in this rat race. In short, I understand their reasoning, but below I voice my disappointment over the way they substantiated their claims.
All five nations have approved scientific missions to map the sea floor off their respective coasts, evidently to exploit trivialities in sea floor topology, especially the extent of the continental shelf.* The Canadian and Russian governments have an all-out Arctic policy, with Canada constructing Arctic military installations, and Russia planting the Russian flag on the North Pole sea bed.
I find it particularly disturbing that the primary course of action of these two nations is to use primitive means to aggressively provoke their neighbours, and ignore the alternative option of engaging in diplomatic dialogue. As the Prime Minister of Denmark said of another territorial dispute, "It is time to stop the flag war. It has no place in a modern, international world." It is disconcerting that developed nations fail to practice what they preach - peaceful resolution, and not mutual aggression.
The Arctic arena was, in the first place, bred out of climate change, which is in turn ironically due to industrialization and development. As the author writes, "In a better world we might hope to see that kind of money and manpower going into the development of fossil fuel alternatives." The developed world still cannot recognize the need for sustainability. As adroit as those policymakers are, can they not foresee fossil fuels running out?
Perhaps we have been blinded by momentary prosperity, and rendered incapable of seeing in the long-term - which hardly makes one feel at the top of the world.
*In addition, Russia is claiming the North Pole because the undersea Lomonosov Ridge, which extends thousands of kilometres off the continental shelf, is apparently connected to the Eurasian continent. (If you don't really know who Lomonosov is, nor what his ridge is, you'll understand just how nitty-gritty the claims get.)
# posted by splot @ 00:48
8.18.2007
Sacrilegious sedition
News source: Student faces rap for mocking the national anthem
Youtube video: Negarakuku by Namewee (may be removed)
He may have broken the law, but has the law broken him?
Wee Meng Chee, a Malaysian final year student at a Taiwanese university, recently sparked unabated debate in his home country by uploading a satirical video clip onto the video-sharing website Youtube. This clip allegedly insinuates Malaysia, as well as her national anthem Negaraku. Its contents include fragments of Negaraku, divided by portions of mostly Mandarin rap, which criticizes the police, the government and its Bumiputra policies, and Malays themselves.
It is necessary to first examine various justifications that have been put forth to substantiate Wee's actions.
A prominent one is that Wee was unaware of the consequences. However, I feel that simply feigning ignorance cannot excuse him from the full force of Malaysian law. As an adult, and as a university student, Wee should have known better than to proceed with something which was obviously controversial, without first checking if this could potentially be considered illegal. Personally, I sense that this was not a rash act or a case of misplaced angst, but rather that Wee truly believes in the perspective that he advocates. It was a conscious choice of his to distort Negaraku as a means to his ends.
Yet another attempt to absolve Wee has centered around the concept of freedom of expression in a democracy. But how valid is this point without accounting for the possible illegality of his actions? Furthermore, freedom does not come without responsibility. One cannot allow the freedom of expression beyond the bounds of reason. Wee's views were largely unsubstantiated and provocative, which directly led to the backlash. Had he taken more care to back up his opinions, his video would have been an insightful one, raising pertinent Malaysian social issues in a careful and considered manner.
While his actions are legally inexcusable, the crux of the matter is far more fundamental. Perhaps the very inkling that Wee is adamant about holding such strong opinions, and is willing to propagate these views on the internet to his fellow Malaysians, is indicative that the issues he raises do have a certain magnitude in Malaysia. If he is really feeling subjugated by his own government, then as a believer in equality, I do have some sympathy for his cause. If his sentiments are indeed representative of significant portions of the Malaysian population at large, the government should take notice of the discontent and work to resolve it promptly.
It should be noted that while the issues raised could be true, and the cause he advocates could be valid, his methodology is unforgivable. Whether he intended it or not, Wee ended up in much trouble for insulting his national anthem, his national government, and his nation's Malays.
Wee has since apologized, but does he truly mean it? He may not be the only one in danger of being charged with sacrilegious sedition.
# posted by splot @ 23:04
5.20.2007
Rash rage
News source: Shock, Outrage, Shame
One cannot possibly condone his rash rage; it was inexcusable, unbecoming, and inherently wrong. In a fit of anger and frustration, he punched a bus captain for doing his job, and sparked a wave of controversial debate.
Firstly, the whole incident was caused by the retention of an inconspicuous EZ Link card. This trivial causus belli definitely did not warrant such a violent response from the student. He could have taken the calm approach and asked politely for an explanation, but he evidently chose not to. It is possible that under those circumstances, he felt compelled to take immediate action. However, he had no right to physically injure others in the process, and should have considered the consequences beforehand. A response written by the student published by the press corroborated with this.
As a student from a top school, one might expect a certain degree of civility and maturity from him higher than that of the typical student. While I can personally identify with this, is the uncouth manner in which he behaved any less forgivable? Although this could well be a once-off case, it highlights the increasing infiltration of violence into our society, which is worthy of concern. A teenager myself, I admittedly could be underestimating the scale and magnitude of this issue, but I am yet to observe such behaviour become widespread. Despite this, solutions are necessary to inculcate values in our youth and reduce the impacts of a violence-saturated upbringing.
The father of the student in question, probably blaming himself for the incident, apologised in public to the bus driver and knelt for forgiveness on behalf of his son. Some argued the father's parental obligations did not extend so far; rather, the student himself ought to take responsibility for his own actions and take the required steps to remedy any mistakes. While I concede that the brunt of the responsibility should be borne by the student, seeing that he is well capable of making decisions, the father's recognition of fault does not necessarily translate into a lessening of his son's guilt. As long as the student realizes that his decision alone caused the misdeed, he has learnt his lesson.
Based on the school's report of his consistently good conduct, I hope the bus captain retracts assault charges and allows the student a second chance. He appeared to be aware of his horrible mistake soon after the incident, and did show remorse for his actions. His youth is testament to how much his character and attitude could change after this incident, and we should not strive to restrict his future as a result of a single blunder. However, this does not absolve him of all punishment.
Regardless of the extent of corrective measures, for any student - hell, for anyone - to utilise violence to get their way is plainly unacceptable. Rash and rage could have common components, but to put them side by side spells disaster.
(This blog post should not be termed a disaster because of its title.)
(To put 'rash' and 'rage' side by side spells 'rashrage', not 'disaster'.)
(It is unconfirmed whether the common components (RA) are disasters yet.)
# posted by splot @ 14:02
5.16.2007
Plastic perversity
News source: Mixed bag of reactions...
In a bid to improve the energy efficiency of our 'garden city', the NEA has embarked on an initiative to raise public awareness about environmental issues through Bring Your Own Bag Days (BYOBDs). Indiscriminate disposal of plastic bags contributes to emissions of greenhouse gases which drive climate change. While many find this to be a cause for celebration, skeptics are concerned about other possible implications.
A previous campaign to lessen the consumption of plastic bags yielded mediocre results. Rather surprisingly, this scheme attracted the participation of most major supermarket chains across the island. With the advent of climate change and global warming becoming more and more evident, it is inspiring that these companies have incorporated environmentally-friendly practices into their societal contribution plans. Furthermore, a majority of customers were contented to buy a reusable bag or to donate 10 cents to environmental projects for every plastic bag they used. Somehow, the typical Singaporean kiasu attitude has found an exception in caring about the environment. Usually unwilling to pay a single cent extra for any item, consumers appear to have switched sides in this case. Perhaps, with the implications of global warming in Singapore becoming clearer, residents here are finally realising the severity of the situation and feel obliged to do their part for the ailing environment.
The opposing camp argues that to bring multiple reusable bags for shopping trips is unfeasible and inconvenient, especially when visiting a store unexpectedly or after work. I can understand how troublesome it can be to lug another bag along, just for a slight possibility of using it. However, these circumstances would not occur on a regular basis, hence not warranting faithfully carrying the reusable bag around 24/7. Besides this, there is no guarantee that the environmental projects receiving donations would indeed save the environment at all. If one were to buy large quantities of the reusable bags recommended, how long would it take for the cost to the environment from manufacturing to equal out to the cost to the environment from using plastic bags? An effort as it may be, BYOBDs may not be an efficient way of helping the environment.
Personally, I support the environmental cause, but this is limited to sustainability. In other words, I advocate the exploitation of the environment as a means to humanist ends if and only if continuity is ensured. Considering the current relatively dire situation requiring immediate international action, this would slant me towards an environmentalist's perspective. As a Singaporean, while I definitely approve of the government's heightened emphasis on global warming, I am still doubtful that Singaporeans are truly becoming environmentally-friendly. Singapore could have been too caught up in socio-economic development to protect our fragile urban environment.
Ironically, humanity acts to utilise environmental resources on one hand, and yet carelessly discards it on the other. If we are to resolutely take action against global warming, we ought to be coordinated globally as well. This BYOBD plastic perversity is only the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg.
# posted by splot @ 21:30
2.27.2007
Brazen barter
News source: Indonesia bans sand to Singapore
In modern day diplomacy, brazen bartering bares its head. Making a mountain out of a molehill seems to have turned into an art integral to intergovernmental exchanges, as nations mutually utilize wars of words and baseless accusations to outwit and manipulate others.
Most recently, the Indonesian government has decided to ban sand exports to
Being a Singaporean, my views could be distorted or biased by psychological tendency to side
Of course, from the Indonesian perspective,
Regardless of frustration, governments should not resort to cutting off supplies in order to apply pressure in the diplomatic process. One cannot blame nations for protecting their own self-interest. Indeed, it is human nature to take the best for oneself. However, in the shadow of globalisation and world trade, nations can no longer afford to fuel hostilities, and should work towards resolution, rather than pulling in other completely unrelated points to feed the poisonous broth. Even long-time foes
World leaders have spoken at great length about world peace without effect, so maybe there ought to be a ban on mountain manufacturing too, irrespective of whether the molehills are sandy or otherwise.
# posted by splot @ 23:17
Real roots
News source: Calling for change, Obama makes it official
(Note: the above website demands registration after a certain number of hits, disallowing one from accessing it.)
The Obama candidacy brings up many contentious issues applicable around the world. Being the first 'black' to run for the U.S. presidency, Senator Barack Obama has already broken multiple records and misconceptions - a great achievement for someone with the middle name 'Hussein' in post-9/11 America.
Much controversy surrounds his race. As usual, humans attempt to classify and categorize down to the last detail. This mindset encourages segregation and discrimination, despite conclusive scientific proof that race has no clear biological basis. The perceptions of some are reliant on a psychological divide. America and the world has had its fair share of racism, from South Africa to Nazi Germany, fractures have been driven through the essence of humanity to fulfill the desire to differentiate superiority.
Americans often praise their country's constitution of freedom, but are they truly a land of opportunity where all are welcome? The same people who demand their right of freedom of expression can turn around to oppress a minority view in the same sentence.
Living in multi-cultural Singapore, I have been educated and bred under the banner of equality and meritocracy since birth. This has not given me an identity crisis, but instead empowered me to transcend boundaries and see further than people from homogeneous societies. It allows me to walk on a street in a foreign country and spot fellow Singaporeans from a mile away. Of course, tensions between groups are hard to alleviate. And of course, without any groups, there would be no tensions to alleviate. Even Singaporeans should be acutely aware that ours is neither a perfect society nor a system without prejudices.
This nurturing of an undefined spirit is more important than any grades in school. One cannot blame teenagers in America for holding racist opinions, since these are imposed on them by society and environment from birth. Racism is only skin-deep, reflecting the shallowness of the people who practice it. It is an illness, plaguing society at large. The crux of the problem, therefore, lies with teachers and parents to lead by example.
Obama claims to be an African-American, but his ancestry is as ethnically diverse as the people of America, themselves migrants. His father is a Kenyan Muslim, originating from the Arab states. His mother is a white American, originating from Europe. His stepfather and half-sister are Indonesians. The beauty of this is incredible, but with the preconceived notion of racial stereotyping, some are absolutely blind. Whites and blacks alike condemn him as neither white nor black. These attitudes are the driving factors behind the deep-seated racism in today's world.
Obama is testament to how far we have gone to remove the divide, and also gives us a hint at how much more there is to be done. While we hail him as an example, we must not forget to follow him. When one realizes how superficial racial separation is, roots and real roots don't quite matter as much.
# posted by splot @ 23:11
