Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Dosas and Cherry Blossoms
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sun Run 2008
The past Sunday was the Vancouver Sun Run. This is a yearly event in Vancouver, where thousands of Vancouverites compete in a 10 kilometre run through scenic parts of downtown and the westend of the city. This year, a record 59,000+ participants took part. I was one of them!
But I didn't run. I walked. Yes, for me this was a chance to enjoy the sun after a hectic term at school (my last exam was two days prior to the event). It was a nice warm sunny day.
We had to start the "run" in stages. The serious and well trained competitors start first, and each batch thereafter progressively lacks the competitive spirit. I, for one, was in the LAST stage, along with the pram pushers! Yes, there are parents with children who too would like to partake in the event, and so they have their own group...where they can run (or run and push) their child in their pram.
I had gone to the event with some friends, but they got placed in the 3rd group, and me in the 5th. They started earlier than I and it was impossible to catch up to them, even though they too were only walking. They were about half an hour ahead of me. But I enjoyed the walk. I took some photos and really enjoyed being in Vancouver.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Government of China
Back in 2003, in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq, anti-US sentiment was quite high. Till today, the image of the US abroad has not quite recovered. "US Bashing" was not only common, it was accepted.
Today, China seems to have taken on that role. The Olympic flame has been touring the world, and with it protests against China's claim over Tibet have sprung up too. Talk of Tibet has led to talk of other grievances people have with the government of China; human rights (eg freedom of speech), democracy, the environment, economic practices are some of the very broad issues people have with this government.
For Tibet, the argument that the government has presented for its occupation is that Tibet belonged to China throughout history, and thus should now too be a part of China. But according to that logic, Pakistan and Bangladesh should join India, East Timor should join Indonesia, Yugoslavia should join back right away. And what about China's neighbour, Russia. Shouldn't all the former CIS countries be reconquered by Russia? This argument seems to lack precedence, and even logic.
Again, comparing the US of 2003 to the China of today, what strikes me is the pride both these governments have. The Bush administration didn't care what the world had to say about its invasion. They thought they had the moral right, and the best army in the world; enough to win over Iraq. 5 years later, they are still in there, and it is a mess. The government of China too has a sense of pride and arrogance. They are proud that China is today on the rise economically. China is booming, its people are getting richer and a more comfortable lifestyle is now attainable by some of its people. After the dark days of colonialism and imperialism, China is now soaring.
Pride is not always a bad thing, but there is a limit to how much you should flaunt it, especially when there are so many grievances against you on other fronts. Yes, you are an economic powerhouse and yes, you got the Olympics. But what about the censorship of the internet, newspapers and other media? What about the displacement of millions of your population due to the three gorges dam? What about the environmental costs of this dam? What about the brutality in Tibet? After all, no one likes a bragging bully.
I see the protests around the world not only about Tibet, but against a government that is controlling its people to an unacceptable level. I am curious to see how this plays out in August, during the Olympics...and whether the Chinese government has opened the gates to making "China Bashing" acceptable.
---------
C.
Today, China seems to have taken on that role. The Olympic flame has been touring the world, and with it protests against China's claim over Tibet have sprung up too. Talk of Tibet has led to talk of other grievances people have with the government of China; human rights (eg freedom of speech), democracy, the environment, economic practices are some of the very broad issues people have with this government.
For Tibet, the argument that the government has presented for its occupation is that Tibet belonged to China throughout history, and thus should now too be a part of China. But according to that logic, Pakistan and Bangladesh should join India, East Timor should join Indonesia, Yugoslavia should join back right away. And what about China's neighbour, Russia. Shouldn't all the former CIS countries be reconquered by Russia? This argument seems to lack precedence, and even logic.
Again, comparing the US of 2003 to the China of today, what strikes me is the pride both these governments have. The Bush administration didn't care what the world had to say about its invasion. They thought they had the moral right, and the best army in the world; enough to win over Iraq. 5 years later, they are still in there, and it is a mess. The government of China too has a sense of pride and arrogance. They are proud that China is today on the rise economically. China is booming, its people are getting richer and a more comfortable lifestyle is now attainable by some of its people. After the dark days of colonialism and imperialism, China is now soaring.
Pride is not always a bad thing, but there is a limit to how much you should flaunt it, especially when there are so many grievances against you on other fronts. Yes, you are an economic powerhouse and yes, you got the Olympics. But what about the censorship of the internet, newspapers and other media? What about the displacement of millions of your population due to the three gorges dam? What about the environmental costs of this dam? What about the brutality in Tibet? After all, no one likes a bragging bully.
I see the protests around the world not only about Tibet, but against a government that is controlling its people to an unacceptable level. I am curious to see how this plays out in August, during the Olympics...and whether the Chinese government has opened the gates to making "China Bashing" acceptable.
---------
C.
Monday, April 7, 2008
WMD dumped into the oceans
During World War 1 and 2, the allied forces and Germany both produced hundreds of thousands of tons of chemical weapons, such as Mustard Gas. After the war, these were simply put into barrels and dumped into the ocean.
Dumped onto the ocean floor. I saw a documentary on CBC's excellent show, The Passionate Eye, that dealt with this issue. All around the world, there are millions of tons of chemical weapons sitting on the ocean floor in rusting barrels. These dumping sites are not far from land, and occur where fishing is carried out today. Examples are Bari in Italy, Halifax in Canada, Savannah in the US to name a few. The fish we eat swam within these toxic waters.
"During the Second World War, Canada produced more chemical weapons than any other of the Allies. After the war, and during the Cold War era, massive weapons stockpiles were simply dumped into the ocean by the United States, Britain, Canada, the Soviet Union and Germany." (source)
It is nearly impossible to clean up this toxic mess from the past because governments are not willing to admit that they have knowingly overseen the poisoning of their population, and also over time these sites are widening due to the ocean currents carrying the mess further afield. Also, fishing trawlers that fish along the ocean floor find these rusting barrels but throw them back into the ocean. They don't want themselves or their boat to be exposed to a deadly nerve gas, nor do they want to carry the extra weight these toxins constitute.
When will governments accept that their predecessors made a mess of our oceans? And when will they accept that a global body should be setup to map-out and clear up this danger from the past?
---------
C.
Dumped onto the ocean floor. I saw a documentary on CBC's excellent show, The Passionate Eye, that dealt with this issue. All around the world, there are millions of tons of chemical weapons sitting on the ocean floor in rusting barrels. These dumping sites are not far from land, and occur where fishing is carried out today. Examples are Bari in Italy, Halifax in Canada, Savannah in the US to name a few. The fish we eat swam within these toxic waters.
"During the Second World War, Canada produced more chemical weapons than any other of the Allies. After the war, and during the Cold War era, massive weapons stockpiles were simply dumped into the ocean by the United States, Britain, Canada, the Soviet Union and Germany." (source)
It is nearly impossible to clean up this toxic mess from the past because governments are not willing to admit that they have knowingly overseen the poisoning of their population, and also over time these sites are widening due to the ocean currents carrying the mess further afield. Also, fishing trawlers that fish along the ocean floor find these rusting barrels but throw them back into the ocean. They don't want themselves or their boat to be exposed to a deadly nerve gas, nor do they want to carry the extra weight these toxins constitute.
When will governments accept that their predecessors made a mess of our oceans? And when will they accept that a global body should be setup to map-out and clear up this danger from the past?
---------
C.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
