Global Dilemmas:



Rights for Who, Defined by Whom?

What local (tribal, regional or national?) social, (cultural, political or economic) "freedom" is there in a global system where many actions are severely limited on many different levels (legally, politically, militarily, etc.) for good -or for bad?



The International Community -Problem or Solution?

Sometimes problems can get too difficult for a single person (or group) to deal with. Outside help can then become very useful (and sometimes essential).

In some cases, common problems can only be solved by cooperative effort. In which case, the situation becomes more complex because of the need to take account of the different needs and abilities of all those involved in the collective effort. This is tricky enough within small groups, such as a family, a tribe or a village. It becomes even more difficult (but perhaps more profitable) on a local regional or "national" level -and perhaps almost impossible on an intra-national level.

However, the real problems start when the "support system" starts to take over -and dictate to everybody how they must behave.

Organising systems of social cooperation is difficult enough when everybody is well intentioned and everybody is equal.

So what happens when individual (or group) ambitions start getting in the way -or some members of the team are much more powerful than others?

Who gets to decide when outide help (or interference) is useful -and when it is harmful?


Time to Stop the Propaganda and Start Thinking Seriously about Problem Solving?

If the problem lies more with the "international community" than with the "average man (or woman) in the street" -then don't intellectuals need to address the question of how we (as intellectuals) respond to the international community -more than concentrating on the need for the average person to understand something that they have absolutely no say about, despite the impact it might have on them?

The struggle for power is ultimately meaningless -if those who finally gain power have absolutely no idea of how to use it wisely.

Gaining wisdom is therefore always more important than gaining power.

 Perhaps one can gain "power" through wisdom -but unfortunately, "wisdom" almost never seems to be aquired through power.


Some Specific Examples:

Perhaps the same problem manifests itself in different ways -but how can we recognise it, if we don't know what we are looking for?

When solving problems, it is often the questions that are more important than the answers -although of course, the questions should also (at some point) lead to answers -or they too will become meaningless.


Vietnam's new breed of dissident

Perhaps it is important to think about:
  •  The "western training" of these people.
  •  The impact of their attitudes on the local society (for good or bad)
  •  The role the lawyer played in apparently defending locals in the international legal system
  •   Questions about the Vietnam war:
    •  What was it all about (on both sides)
    •  What was the final result (for Vietnam, the US and perhaps others)
    •  Who paid the price for the war (in human as well as in economic terms)
    •  Who who will reap the benifits (in human as well as in economic terms)
    • What meaning does the "independant nation state" have -if it has no autonomy?
  •   What is the actual level of "free choice" given to the government and the people of Vietnam by the international community?

These questions are not intended to condone or condemn Vietnamese politics -they are simply intended to show that whatever our answers are, we are all fundamentally involved in the same questions.


Perhaps it is important to ask:


Having a laugh in India


Matt Frei's diary: The Noughties


Campaign funding free-for-all?
  (Some selected comments on Mark Mardell's US blog on the BBC)

Perhaps we should also look at the system that Vietnam and China are apparently trying to protect themselves from -and which rich Indians are being increaingly exposed to. Does the US really represent the perfect socio-political system? Is it the model that we should all be following -or does it have problems of its own (and a need for outside help from friendly foreign advisors, perhaps)?

Maybe the US is simply another example of the complexity of the issues of governance involving legal systems. I strongly believe that these are the debates that politically concerned people should be having -and not bothering themselves with (dubious) propaganda for the masses.

La Creme de la Creme?

So What is Knowledge?

The Calendar:

The important thing to realise is that calendars are human creations based on astronomical observations for their form and historical or cultural landmarks for their start points. These numbers have no significance in the Universe as a whole. If Charlemagne had not become king we might still be using the Roman Calendar. If Muslim forces had conquered Europe then the Muslim calendar might now be the world standard.



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On one level, the practical problems are merely (possibly extremely painful) symptoms

 -it is the cure that we need to look for.

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