Co este, aby boli spokojni?

Papez sa ospravedlnuje.

Vsetci si davaju pozor, aby boli korektni.

Ale zatahovat do toho aj Mozarta?

"Berlin's Deutsche Oper canceled four planned November performances of Mozart's ``Idomeneo'' on concern that the production's reference to world religions, including Islam, raises an ``incalculable security risk.''"

Update: zda sa, ze to nezaujalo len mna. A vyzera to, ze Idomeneo aj s odrezanou Mohamedovou hlavou napokon v berlinskej opere bude.

Posted by: skMarine at 19:27 | link | comments (1)
islam

Du gamla, du fria...

Kedysi som sa chcel prestahovat do Svedska, ale dost ma odradzal tamojsi socdem system.

Tak uvidime, co s tym borgerliga allians dokaze urobit. Ak by im vyslo vsetko tak, ako o tom rozpravaju... :-)

Posted by: skMarine at 14:40 | link | comments (3)
europe

Ahmadinejad The Great

zda sa to len mne, alebo sa velky Mahmud naozaj odmlcal?

Ak hej, tak to mu to blogovanie vydrzalo este kratsie ako mne vsetky konicky v detstve. Rekord mam pri fotografickom kruzku, kam som sa prihlasil, potom som to nenasiel a ani raz som tam nebol. Na tenise som bol aspon raz, druhy raz som to uz nenasiel. Hm, ako dieta som musel mat nejake problemy s orientaciou.

Mimochodom teraz mi detailnejsi pohlad na Ahmadinedzadov blog prezradza, ze v Irane asi maju problemy s orientaciou v case.

Pozrite si datum jedineho prispevku. V perzstine je spravny moslimsky rok 1385, v arabcine uz ale je 2006 (sic! vzdy som myslel, ze to Arabi zaviedli ten Mecca time :-)

Podla US/anglickeho casu by vsak mal byt rok 2473.

Posted by: skMarine at 20:38 | link | comments (8)
fun, iran

9/11: The Special Edition

Styri lietadla

Styria ludia

Styri otazky

V povodnom zneni a bez komentara. S niektorymi sa da suhlasit bez vyhrad, ine su na diskusiu. Ale vo vsetkych sa da najst nieco zaujimave na zamyslenie. Len na tomto blogu :-)

1. What do you think, how would the world look like without 9/11? Do you think it would be totally different or do you think that the events even without 9/11 would have led to war on terrorism?

2. If you had to pick one most important consequense of 9/11, what would it be?

3. Do you think that there is a threat of an similar attack on US soil or America took the lesson and is prepared already?

4. Do you think that in 100 years time from now the date 9/11 will be as important historic date as for example is the beginning of the WWII or its importance will by time diminish and it will be just one of many "normal" historical dates?

Mathieu Deflem   Peter Lehr   Kurk Dorsey   Bill Durodie

Posted by: skMarine at 21:52 | link | comments (3)
usa

9/11: The World Has Changed

Mathieu Deflem
Professor of Sociology
University of South Carolina





1. Yes, the world is very different today because of 9/11. There has been terrorism before and there probably always will be terrorism, of various kinds and in various degrees. But September 11 was unprecedented and of ascale that is quite different, especially because it occurred in the United States, on American soil, which had never happened before with such an enormous impact. Also, the scale of the attacks was unique, considering the strategy of the planning and the huge loss of life. Without 9/11 there simply would be no war on terror that has now taken on global proportions, because 9/11 is also important in other nations.

2. The most important consequence is the exposure of the inequalities and tensions that exist between various nations, especially those of the West and thos of Islamic influence. This has exposed the injustices that exist, but also the various ways inwhich those injustices can be responded too. Obviosuly, terrorism is one such response, but it causes a lot of other reactions that are problematic.

3. Yes, there is still a threat and, mostly because of the war in Iraq, that threat is bigger than ever. Nowadays, in the US, the relevant organizations are better prepared, but it will be difficult to prevent another attack... Most of the experts agree that something will happen again. It is sad but true.

4. That is difficult to predict, but my speculation would be to assume that it can be as important as WWII indeed. Of course, over longer periods of time, all major events disappear from our minds...

© AIF 2006

Posted by: skMarine at 21:37 | link | comments
usa

9/11: Insult Which Couldn't Be Ignored

Peter Lehr
Research Fellow
Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence
St. Andrews




1. Without 9/11, there wouldn't have been a war on terrorism. This current Global War on Terrorism (GWoT) has been launched by the USA because their own home land has been attacked by these new'global terrorists' and not only did these new terrorists attack any part of the country, but they attacked the symbols of power of the last remaining superpower. That was not only a very spectacular terror attack, it was an insult as well and a challenge which couldn't possibly be ignored. Take this attack away, and there simply wouldn't have been a reason strong and compelling enough to wage a war on terrorism, all the attacks on US and other Western states' interests (embassies, hotels, tourist resorts) notwithstanding. These attacks were of 'nuisance value', but not more.
 
That means, in a world without 9/11, there wouldn't have been an attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan as well. Please don't forget that Washington initially was very keen to support the Taliban regime in Kabul, because only the Taliban seemed to be capable to hold Afghanistan together and to guarantee the security of the planned oil pipelines which were meant to run through the country.
 
However, I am of the opinion that the war on Iraq would have taken place anyway even without 9/11, since the 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' has more to do with geopolitics than with counter-terrorism. In my view, 9/11 was a rather convenient pretext for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein; first, to install a democratic system, and second, to control Iraq's oil. A (functioning) democratic government in Baghdad would put pressure on other Middle Eastern governments to also democratise, and in regard of energy security, it would lessen the dependence on Saudi Arabia (which is not always a convenient ally - to put it polite).
 
Ironically, the war on Iraq would have resulted in a wave of anti-Western terrorism even without the spectacular 9/11 attack. So, in all probability, attacks such as those in Bali, Madrid and London would have happened in this 'non-9/11 world' as well. But, again, I would dare say that without a spectacular attack on the US home land, these attacks wouldn't have sparked off a war on terrorism. As sad - or cynical - as it may sound, all these targeted countries have learnt to live with terrorism.
 
2. There are many consequences of 9/11, but the worst in my opinion are the consequences for our own liberal democracies. A telling case in point is the passing of domestic laws meant to enhance public security, but curtailing civil rights. 'Indeterminate detention', 'renditions', and places such as Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay don't augur well for the future of liberal democracies.
 
4. That depends whether al-Qaida or any group subscribing to the same ideology succeeds in launching another spectacular and devastating attack, for example with weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). In that case, 9/11 would enter our history books as a turning point in history, comparable to WWI and WWII - being the first incident of acts of 'hyper terrorism' or whatever term would be coined for this new wave threatening the very survival of our societies just like the 2nd World War.
 
If 9/11 remains a single incident, marking the high water mark of al-Qaeda before its inevitable fall (that's what I think/hope to be more likely), 9/11 will probably recede from public memory as time passes. It will definitely enter history books, but, as you said, as one date of many - to be learnt by unfortunate school children

© AIF 2006

Posted by: skMarine at 21:29 | link | comments
usa

9/11: Wake Up Call To A Global War

Kurk Dorsey
Professor of History
University of New Hampshire





1. Without the events of 9/11 or some similar event, American citizens would have continued their drift into isolationism and there would have been no support for US military action in Afghanistan or Iraq.  We would still have  terrorist attacks like the attack on the USS Cole and the embassy bombings in  East Africa, but most Americans and Europeans would not have noticed any  effect.

2. The most important consequence of 9/11 is that it provided a rationale for the Bush Administration to advocate war to remove Saddam Hussein.  We do not yet know the long-term consequences of that war, but the short-term  consequences include a drastic decline in American prestige in the world and the risk of a humiliating defeat in Iraq.

3. Yes, there is still a threat, but the increased attention to al Qaeda and similar groups has made everyone in the west much safer than we were on 9/10.  And yet, we would be foolish to discount the possibility that a terrorist organization could buy a nuclear weapon and transport it to the United States.  That has been my greatest fear since 1994 or so.

4. In the United States it will be like Pearl Harbor day, a date that will  always be taught in school and one that future generations will hear about from people who were alive on 9/11/01.  It will be seen as the wake up call to a global war with many fronts, just as Pearl Harbor forced Americans into a global war that they had resisted (and some of the decisions in World War 2 were as risky as invading Iraq).  But I am less certain about the rest of the world.  I suspect that each European country will tend to focus on some deadly event in its own land or a neighbor's territory, Arab states might place 9/11 in the context of the Iraq War, and who knows what will happen in China.  My guess is that in the long run, the really important event of 9/11-12/01 was that China joined the World Trade Organization.

© AIF 2006

Posted by: skMarine at 21:18 | link | comments
usa

9/11: Culture of Fear

Bill Durodié
Senior Lecturer in Risk and Security
Defence Academy of the United Kingdom





1. Even without 9/11, most societies across the developed world and beyond were developing a culture of fear. Fear of global warming, fear of eating beef, fear of using a mobile phone, fear of getting your children vaccinated, fear of genetically modified crops, fear of letting your children out to play, etc...
 
Most of these concerns, and the demand to regulate accordingly to protect us from perceived threats, had their origins in the old political left and their allies in environmental movements. 9/11 simply allowed this obsession that human beings are vulnerable and need protection to spread to the old political right too.
 
That is why 9/11 had so much purchase on the imagination. Not because it was something new, but rather because it was the continuation and generalisation of an already well-established trend.
 
Without 9/11, it is likely that governments around the world would have needed and looked for other demons to define themselves against. This may have been drugs-traffickers or criminals, but also people who are perceived to damage the environment or our children.
 
Fear had already, over the last years of the twentieth century, become the organising principle for societies lacking the imagination and ambition to shape themselves more positively toward the future.
 
2. The response to 9/11 confirmed that the dangerous and illogical ‘act now, find the evidence later’ imperative of precautionary thinking has become the guiding framework of our times. This has allowed governments to avoid the difficult goal of identifying a positive purpose for society by promoting the more immediate task of safeguarding vulnerable people.

Social disengagement and cynicism enabled those who claimed to be acting on behalf of the public not to be held accountable for their related actions and opinions. But absence of direction, an exaggerated perception of threat and identification as victims are the drivers of contemporary misanthropy and its associated forms of terror. The refusal to identify our pessimistic culture as the root of terrorism and other ills, together with the assumed need to be seen to be doing something, has postponed social progress.


4. How important 9/11 is in one hundred years depends on what we do in between now and then. If we choose to continue to organise ourselves around fear and a sense of vulnerability, thereby requiring governments who lack the imagination to do anything else to protect us, then things are likely to get a lot worse. 9/11 will then be seen as being the starting point of a new phase of society.
 
Already, in the UK, fear that other adults may abduct or abuse your children has led to measures being taken this autumn to vet anyone who works in any capacity with children for their criminal records. This includes cleaners in hospitals and catering staff in schools. In fact it covers about one-third of the working population. In effect, we are teaching our children that adults can not be trusted and that we can not protect them without legislation.
 
On the other hand, we could, as responsible citizens, with a sense of confidence in ourselves and the human potential, say that enough is enough. We do not need protection from exaggerated fears. What we need is some clarity of vision and a sense of direction and purpose with which to inspire ourselves, others and future generations.
 
In that case, 9/11 would come to be seen as one of the last scares of a dying generation that organised itself around fear. History is still young and the future is ours to make as we want to. That is why a few of us in London have initiated a project, known as the Manifesto Club (www.manifestoclub.com) to remind people of what is possible and begin the project of shaping it.

© AIF 2006

Posted by: skMarine at 20:59 | link | comments
usa

I have a dream

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

(...)

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Martin Luther King vo svojom slavnom prejave snival o svete, kde by farba pokozky medzi ludmi nerozhodovala.

Bohuzial, ani dnes to este nie je pravda.

New York Times informuje, ako mestske reklamne spolocnosti v NYC musia pod hrozbou pokuty prijimat cernochov do vrcholovych pozicii.

"Finding that just 2 percent of the upper echelon of the advertising industry is black, New York City officials said yesterday that they had reached agreements with several of the nation’s biggest ad firms forcing them to bring more black managers into this crucial sector of the city’s economy.

(...)

The commission has the authority to fine companies up to $250,000 or to sue them, but officials said that they believed the threat of pressure from agency clients like Pepsi and Citigroup was a more effective stick in bringing corporate leaders to the negotiating table".

America, the land of free, kam sa to uberas? :-(

Posted by: skMarine at 20:47 | link | comments (1)
usa

Mr. Nasrallah, SD (spin doctor)

V tom Nasrallahovi sa uz fakt neda vyznat.

Este pred par tyzdnami tvrdil, ze ak by vedel, co unos izraelskych vojakov sposobi, nesiel by do toho. (vid predchadzajuci post).

"We did not think, even one percent, that the capture (of the two soldiers) would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude," said Nasrallah. "You ask me, if I had known on July 11... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not."

A teraz?

"The capture was exploited [by the Israelis] for the timing of the war ... but we think it hastened a war that was going to happen anyway and this was to our advantage and the advantage of Lebanon," Nasrallah said in an interview with the Lebanese daily newspaper As-Safir, published on Tuesday.

"I say we did not make a mistake in judgment. Our calculations were correct and we do not regret it."

(via Al-Jazeera)

Yo a smrt tisicky Libanoncanov a znicena krajina je podla neho velke strategicke vitazstvo. Naozaj, ale naozaj by ma zaujimalo: ako potom vyzera prehra?

Posted by: skMarine at 19:12 | link | comments (3)
middle east