Dominatio Per Malum

The New York Times has an excellent retrospective on the fall of the Berlin Wall, some 20 years ago to this day. It was a moment of historical purport, made all so fascinating because it was partly caused by Bureaucratic confusion over travel regulations. It marked a watershed moment in history and changed forever the dynamics of international power balance. Now 20 years later, that euphoric moment where freedom triumph over repression is captured beguilingly by the first person anecdotes, pictorial juxtaposition and nostalgic accounts of a time where, to borrow the lyrics of Scorpions, we were all “Listening to the wind of change.”

In particular, i liked the collection of poetry commemorating this date.

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close,like brothers
The future’s in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
–”The Wind of Change”, by The Scorpions

TIME

Modern Homo sapiens is still evolving. Despite the long-held view that natural selection has ceased to affect humans because almost everybody now lives long enough to have children, a new study of a contemporary Massachusetts population offers evidence of evolution still in action.

A team of scientists led by Yale University evolutionary biologist Stephen Stearns suggests that if the natural selection of fitter traits is no longer driven by survival, perhaps it owes to differences in women’s fertility. “Variations in reproductive success still exist among humans, and therefore some traits related to fertility continue to be shaped by natural selection,” Stearns says. That is, women who have more children are more likely to pass on certain traits to their progeny.

New York Times

All the students at Luolang Elementary School, a yellow-and-orange concrete structure off a winding mountain road in southern China, know the key rules: Do not run in the halls. Take your seat before the bell rings. Raise your hand to ask a question.

Education officials promoted the saluting edict to reduce traffic accidents and teach children courtesy. Critics, who have posted thousands of negative comments about the policy on China’s electronic bulletin boards, beg to differ. “This is just pitiful,” wrote one in a post last year. Only inept officials would burden children with such a requirement rather than install speed bumps, others insisted.

Los Angeles Times

The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria’s 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire.

It’s hard for churches to carve out a congregation with so much competition. So some pastors establish their credentials by accusing children of witchcraft.

WTF! It appalls me that this is still happening in 2009!!!

There is an article in the New York Times by Timothy Egan titled “An Innocent Abroad” about one Amanda Knox accused of murder in Italy. It is an Opinion piece, not a news report and in it the author Egan does more than merely insinuate, he practically accuses the Italian justice systems of unfairness and casts grave aspersions on the character of the prosecutor. Now, Knox may or may not be guilty of murder and every accused is of course entitled to be presumed innocent. However, Egan’s article (the title tells you all about its slant) comes across as a puff piece that puts his perception of the truth without even bothering to give balanced account of both sides of the story. That is the sort of writing that may pass muster at a lesser paper, but to be associated with as august a paper as The New York Times is quite sad. I wonder if the NYT is slipping in terms of quality control? Because quite simply the article (albeit listed as an Opinion piece) was simply a disgraceful piece of writing.

This is not to say if Knox is or is not guilty. That is not the topic discussed. It is instead the ethics of writing a blatant puff piece casting various assertions with skimpy evidence. Indeed the article is thick with irony as it castigates an allegedly crooked prosecutor for accusing Knox with insufficient evidence even as it blatantly defames the prosecutor with equally threadbare “evidence.”

The Deadly Toll of Abortion by Amateurs - Series - NYTimes.com

Worldwide, there are 19 million unsafe abortions a year, and they kill 70,000 women (accounting for 13 percent of maternal deaths), mostly in poor countries like Tanzania where abortion is illegal, according to the World Health Organization. More than two million women a year suffer serious complications. According to Unicef, unsafe abortions cause 4 percent of deaths among pregnant women in Africa, 6 percent in Asia and 12 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Scientists hail stunning fossil

The beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old, lemur-like creature have been unveiled in the US.

Although details of the fossil have only just been published in a scientific journal - PLoS One - there is already a TV documentary and book tie-in.

The hostile takeover at AWARE, and the resulting media drama that has unfolded provides some of the most exciting piece of entertainment around. Like the plot of a HK soap drama, it is filled with twists and turns, hidden agendas and shadowy masterminds. It also lays bare the tension between the secular and the religious space, and the role of civic society in Singapore.

I start with a basic proposition, which is that while the coup by AWARE’s new exco (”new guard”) is stealthy, underhand and dishonorable, it is nevertheless legitimate. It was done in accordance with the Constitution and the means with which this takeover has been carried out may be unethical, but it is not illegal. Now, some might argue that it was not a takeover, but a group of women who never knew each other but have serendipitously decided to join AWARE and coincidentally were encouraged by the same feminist mentor, and who attend the same church. But seriously, the weight of all the circumstantial evidence overwhelmingly suggests otherwise.

While it may be a covert, hostile takeover, it is nevertheless something that is permitted. Part of the blame lies with the ease of joining AWARE and the ability to get voted in even if you have no experience whatsoever. The inclusiveness of the old AWARE was its greatest strength, but ironically also its fatal weakness. Nevertheless, despite my misgivings over the way they have taken over, they did get in on the strength of a democratic vote and that is something the old guard has to recognize. And that is the importance of democracy. Democracy works only when people exercise their right to vote. The complacent members allowed a new influx of members to radically change the agenda because they did not care enough to be at the first AGM. A democracy answers to the power of the individual vote, and the reality is that there will be times when the people vote in someone who is the very antithesis of the organization. There will be times when the people vote for those who are bigoted, fundamentalist or plain incompetent. The US voted in George Bush, Jr. Twice, i might add. So if you respect the idea of democracy, you also have to acknowledge that people can vote stupidly and elect really lousy leaders. As they say, Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty. But the true question is, do you believe in democracy? If you do then, then it is necessary to accept that the democratic process can vote in someone you vehemently disagree with. To then attempt to annul the results of the election would be to dismantle the foundations of democracy.

But what the old guard has chosen to do, is to call for an EGM. Presumably, a no-confidence vote will be tallied. That is also perfectly legitimate, and within the Constitution (i think, because i do not profess to be an expert in AWARE’s constitution). Even within the democratic process, there are ways to get rid of people you have voted in, and it acts as a sort of fail-safe in those instances when you really made a bad decision. Nixon resigned, but if he had not he would almost have been impeached over Watergate. Clinton was also nearly impeached but he managed to dodge the bullet. So yes, even within the democratic system there is a fail-safe that allows us the remedy our egregious mistakes.

AWARE’s EGM is thus the final showdown, the last stand as it were. So far, the old guards have done an admirable job of stating their positions and defending the ideals of diversity. Indeed, the coup seems to have galvanized the apathetic, the fence-sitters into action. And that is one good that has come out of it. It has revealed the undeniable presence of a concerted fundamentalist movement that wishes to maintain the discrimination against homosexuals and impose their conservative values upon society. They have every right to say what they believe, and to form their own church-affiliated organization to advance their cause, but to hijack another organization is dishonorable and speaks poorly of their integrity. In the days following their takeover, the new exco has been non-committal, evasive and have at times given contradicting stories. It was only recently that they revealed that Dr Thio Su Mien was the mastermind behind the takeover. Their acts, from firing long serving committee heads, AWARE staff, changing the locks and disparaging AWARE’s CSE programme simply because it treats homosexuality as a neutral term has only reduced my already low opinion of them.

At stake in AWARE’s EGM is the very values of society, whether we embrace true equality, diversity and inclusiveness, or we retreat into a dogmatic, religious-driven viewpoint. So yes, it is an issue of concern because it touches on the very social contract of our society. Thus far, the state has been able to establish a good divide between church and state, but with the AWARE saga that is being threatened. Vivian Balakrishnan calls for religion to be kept above the fray of politicking, but that is nigh impossible when religion is inextricably intertwined with the issues that are being ventilated.

While i definitely support the old guard, whom i feel has handled this crisis with grace, the end result of the EGM is still up in the air. Certainly the old guard has been rallying, especially online for support and i believe they have managed to galvanise supporters who have previously been apathetic. However, given their skill at orchestrating the first takeover, i think it would be foolish to underestimate the ability of the new exco to get new members and support. But whatever the result of the EGM, it represents a true example of democratic expression, a commodity that is increasingly endangered in Singapore. And if the old guard fails in their “impeachment” attempt, then perhaps it is time to let go. Still, a part of me hopes that reason, logic and fairness will prevail over fear mongering and intolerance.

Drinkers’ Red Face May Signal Cancer Risk - NYTimes.com

I now have a legitimate reason to refuse alcohol. It apparently means i am ALDH2-deficient.

There is something seriously wrong with the education system when students turn psycho and start stabbing their professors and then commit suicide. I can’t help thinking that if guns were legal, we could potentially have a Virginia Tech incident.

Cash crisis threat to Auschwitz

This is Birkenau, the largest camp in the Auschwitz complex, where most of its 1.1 million victims - 90% of them Jews - were murdered.

With every passing year the urgency to preserve what is left of the site grows, and while steps are being taken to do so, crucial conservation work is hampered by a shortage of funds.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is quite literally disintegrating. It is of of those places which i hope to visit before i die. I believe that Auschwitz-Birkenau should be preserved, if only as a physical reminder of the horrors of the past. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Auschwitz-Birkenau is reminder that “all that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing,” as Edmund Burke might say. It is a place of great historical significance, and it would be a pity to lose it. It is one of those few places in the world where disrepair actually adds to the morbid charm of the place.

The New York Times

This month, Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the majority in Herring v. United States, a 5-to-4 decision, took a big step toward the goal he had discussed a quarter-century before. Taking aim at one of the towering legacies of the Warren Court, its landmark 1961 decision applying the exclusionary rule to the states, the chief justice’s majority opinion established for the first time that unlawful police conduct should not require the suppression of evidence if all that was involved was isolated carelessness. That was a significant step in itself. More important yet, it suggested that the exclusionary rule itself might be at risk.

The Herring decision “jumped a firewall,” said Kent Scheidegger, the general counsel of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a victims’ rights group. “I think Herring may be setting the stage for the Holy Grail,” he wrote on the group’s blog, referring to the overruling of Mapp v. Ohio, the 1961 Warren Court decision.

To be fair, i think that on the facts of the case itself, the ruling can be justified. But this decision is a chip on the armor of the Fourth Amendment. Ultimately the policy can simply be put as whether we should be more or less protective of defendant’s rights. And i tend to fall on the side that personal liberty should be given the greatest respect. The difficulty here is that on the facts, i actually tend to agree with the majority’s reasoning that carelessness itself should not automatically invoke the exclusionary rule. This is one of those cases where as a matter of policy, i agree with the dissenting position, especially as laid out by Justice Ginsberg, but on the facts, i accept that the majority’s reasoning is justifiable.

Trials for Parents Who Chose Faith Over Medicine - NYTimes.com

Kara Neumann, 11, had grown so weak that she could not walk or speak. Her parents, who believe that God alone has the ability to heal the sick, prayed for her recovery but did not take her to a doctor. …

The Neumanns, who had operated a coffee shop, Monkey Mo’s, in this middle-class suburb in the North Woods, are known locally as followers of an online faith outreach group called Unleavened Bread Ministries, run by a preacher, David Eells. The site shares stories of faith healing and talks about the end of the world.
An essay on the site signed Pastor Bob states that the Bible calls for healing by faith alone. “Jesus never sent anyone to a doctor or a hospital,” the essay says. “Jesus offered healing by one means only! Healing was by faith.”

Another example of the tragedy of blind faith. Or how faith overrides common sense. This should be treated as a case of child abuse and gross parental negligence and dealt with accordingly. Freedom of religion is no excuse and no defence against acting like an idiot. If you are an adult and you wish to refuse medical treatment for religious reasons, by all means do so. The world will probably be a better place, but do not foist your ignorance on your children who have no choice on who they are born to. Remember, there is no such thing as a Christian child, a Muslim child or a Hindu child but rather children of Christians, Muslims or Hindu parents. And in a somewhat Kafkaesque turn, there is a website in support of the Neumann’s actions and argue that there should be no liability for their actions. The website actually dares to argue that faith healing is no less effective than medicine. For example it tries to argue that:

“So you see, many hundreds of thousands die in the U.S. every year trusting in drugs and doctors and not even 100 die attempting to trust fully in God.”

I mean seriously. There is a malaise in logic and reasoning here. It is not a case of one or two loonies believing that prayer alone can cure diseases, but a significant number of people who believe in this lunacy. I don’t know which is sadder: the fact that a young life was lost because her parents believe that prayer was all they needed, or the fact that large numbers of people believe in this deluded stuff.

Singapore government to tighten laws against protests

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s deputy prime minister said the island state, which is hosting a summit of Asia Pacific leaders this year, may further tighten laws against public protests, according to reports.

Wong Kan Seng, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said the government is reviewing public order laws and may pass legislation to deal more effectively with illegal protests and other acts of civil disobedience

Somewhere, another nail is hammered down the coffin of liberty…

BBC NEWS | Middle East | UN chief demands Gaza ceasefire

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to fighting in the Gaza Strip during a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.

Mr Ban criticised both Israel for its bombardment of Gaza and Hamas for firing rockets into Israel.

Is it just me, or is the UN looking more and more like its impotent predecessor the League of Nations? It talks and talks and doesn’t actually do anything constructive. And dear Israel, as much as i am sympathetic, you have the tendency to do stupid things. This is one of those. Airbombing Gaza will not stop rocket attacks. It really doesn’t do anything useful other than help with political grandstanding and breeding even more crazy suicidal martyrs. In the end, it is the innocents who suffer and the cycle of violence will continue its inexorable path of carnage.