The United Nations Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon must spearhead the world condemnation of Israeli invasion of Gaza.
The failure of the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire and the role of the United States government in blocking a United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution must be deplored by all peace-loving nations and peoples.
The United States President-Elect Barrack Obama, who will be inaugurated as US President in a forthnight’s time, should pledge to end all US carte blache support to Israeli aggression under his administration.
The Israeli invasion of Gaza, wreaking death and destruction, chalking up a death toll of more than 510 people, mostly civilian casualties including women and children, is a crime against humanity.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet with roughly 1.5 million people which even prior to the most recent escalation was undergoing a humanitarian crisis as the region has been held under siege for almost 18 months and was already struggling with lack of food, medical supplies, power, and other necessities.
The governments of the world must support all international efforts to condemn the Israeli invasion of Gaza, call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza imposed by the United Nations and backed unequivocally by the United States to create sustainable peace in the Middle East.
#1 by Justitia on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 12:27 am
” Why pick a military fight with someone who is clearly overwhelmingly more powerful and know that you will get beaten up or kick in the ass”
Why did David fight Goliath? Same reason. – Undergrad 2
There are many differences in the case of David and Goliath. Just a couple here. First, it was a representative fight on a one-on-one basis – no collateral damages to the rest of the nation. Second, there were clear conditions on what the victor gets. This conditions were accepted and that was why David met Goliath and fought alone. Incidentally, the Philistines have been trying to “renegotiate” the terms ever since. :-) I do not want to protract this debate. The overwhelming blog response here is more for an even handed treatment with respect to blame or condemnation. Seriously, this is not the BIG issue in my view for us here in M’sia. We have bigger fish to fry such as the economic crisis that is beginning to bite hard here. Our energies should be focussed on dealing with this versus dealing with someone else’s quarrel that is not even in our neighborhood.
#2 by vsp on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 12:39 am
If all sides were to leave the Israelis and the Palestinians to solve their problems without religion, hyprocrisy, and plain ignorance being thrown into the mix, I think the problem would be solved. They have been living on that same piece of land for centuries without killing one another. It’s only because of the egging and provocations from others that the problem seems to be insurmountable.
Stop all the stupid demonstrations, support and rhetorics. They are the victims of other people devices. Let them solve the problem themselves.
#3 by melurian on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 1:26 am
“Why pick a military fight with someone who is clearly overwhelmingly more powerful and know that you will get beaten up or kick in the ass?”
it reminds me an old mel gibson movie about scotland defending against england outnumbered cavalry. why fight ? why not just surrender and comply to the “prima nocte” and oppression. why mpaja guerilla continue to fight against technology superior japanese armies. why lks do not just join bn and make life easier ? israel land belongs to palestinians; as long the israelis continue to occupy that land, hamas as representative of palestinians would not relent their struggle.
#4 by vsp on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 1:32 am
Just a thought.
Just imagine:
1) After being gassed by the Nazis in the ovens and being ill-treated by nearly all the European countries, they were considered as wretched people.
2) The British, being the superpower at that time, were very sympathetic and supportive of the Arabs, yet they were the ones who made it possible for the Jews to return to their homeland.
3) When they returned to Palestine, they were refugees from all over the world speaking a babel of different languages. The British restricted the number of refugees that were allowed to enter Palestine.
4) The British and other Europeans trained and supplied the armies of the Arabs. The Jews, being not a nation, before the Partition, were not allowed to have an army. Yet the Jews were able to smuggled weapons right under the nose of the British.
5) The population of the Arabs were 50–100 times of the Israelis. Yet Israel could defeat 7 Arabs armies, which are superior in training, military hardware and population.
6) The Arab countries are very rich in oil and influence and yet the American throw their weight behind the Jews. By human behaviour, it natural to befriend someone who would bring benefits to you. Why support a nation which has nothing and which would only bring curses and resentment on your head from 3/4 of the world?
Don’t you think this might be due to divine intervention? How can a wretched people be able to survive such terrible misfortunes that no other race have ever gone through? It a miracle, really.
#5 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 3:03 am
The Jews were punished by God for their sins. Start from there.
#6 by Loh on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 4:24 am
When one joins a competition such as in badminton, one cannot blame the opponents for disproportionate use of power to win. That too is when they are willing players. When one party infuriates others into retaliation, can one expect the unwilling opponent to reserve the use of full power to keep the game in play?
#7 by shakarul on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 5:00 am
Why Hamas attacked Israel? It sounds insane and suicidal for a weak opponent to provoke an enemy of overwhelmingly stronger strength. There was certainly a hidden agenda for Hamas to initiate such seemingly unwise action.
You would be surprised to realize that the Hamas’ motive is closely linked with the crude oil prize which has been dipped below USD 40 from USD 150 per barrel recently. The Arabs will be facing severe financial difficulty if the present prize of crude oil prevails. They urgently need to put in some impetus to boost up the prize of crude oil which is almost their major source of incomes. The first country to face the gallows is UAE. The development in Dubai, which at one time has been idolized as the jewel of modern development in Arab world, has been slowed down tremendously.
We still remember that when USA attacked Iraq, the prize of crude oil rose at a staggering pace. So it is sensible to conclude that war acts as a barometer to push up the prize of crude oil especially when it occurs in the Middle East region.
No one can doubt that Hamas needs the financial support from their neighboring Muslim countries. When they are told to act for the benefit of their supporters or perhaps with a promised reward, refusal to obey will result in loss of financial support and of course eventually will lead to loss of power. So when they were ordered to bomb Israel, they have to act obediently. It is just like a father telling his son to do something for him, if not he will not give him any pocket money.
I really feel sad and mentally disturbed as a human being on the unnecessary deaths of the Palestinian civilians.
#8 by Lee Wang Yen on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 5:20 am
Some have argued that Israel’s action is disproportionate. However, many of us make this accusation on questionable assumptions, which have been challenged by Alan Dershowitz’s in Jerusalem Post:
‘There are some who claim that Israel has violated the principle of proportionality by killing so many more Hamas terrorists than the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets. That is an absurd misapplication of the concept of proportionality for at least two reasons.
First, there is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of innocent civilians and the deliberate killings of Hamas combatants. Under the laws of war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of even one innocent civilian.
Second, proportionality is not measured by the number of civilians actually killed, but rather by the risk of civilian death and the intentions of those targeting civilians. Hamas seeks to kill as many civilians as it can. It aims its rockets in the general direction of schools, hospitals, playgrounds and other entirely civilian targets. The fact that it has not killed as many civilians as it would have liked to is a tribute to Israel’s enormous devotion of resources to the building of shelters and to the construction of early warning systems.
Hamas, on the other hand, refuses to build shelters, precisely because it wants to maximize the number of Palestinian civilians inadvertently killed by Israel’s military actions. It knows, from experience, that when it forces Israel to take military actions that result in the deaths of even a small number of innocent Palestinian civilians, many in the international community will condemn Israel. Israel understands this sad reality as well, and goes to enormous lengths to reduce the number of civilian casualties, even to the point of foregoing legitimate targets that are too close to civilian areas. Accordingly, Israel’s actions satisfy the principle of proportionality as well as the principle of self-defense against armed attack.’
#9 by trublumsian on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 6:17 am
hamas instigated it.
some jerk keeps shooting peas at u that stings but do not really kill u, would u at some point snap n just wanna blow the shxt out of the jerk??
#10 by vsp on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 6:35 am
“The Jews were punished by God for their sins. Start from there. –” undergraduate2
————
Yes, I think I agree with you. The Jews were the most obstinate people. Throughout their history they have been punished many times, like the Egyptian captivity where they were used as slaves to build the pyramids; then Jerusalem was sacked numerous times by different powers; they were blamed by many Christians for being responsible for the crucification of Jesus Christ – that the reasons why Christian Europe treated them horribly; and finally, the horrors of the Holocaust.
Any people that have gone through such tribulations would have been wiped out from the face of this earth. Without divine intervention they would not be able to survive the odds that were laid heavily against them.
#11 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 6:51 am
Loh Says:
Today at 04: 24.05 (2 hours ago
“When one joins a competition such as in badminton, one cannot blame the opponents for disproportionate use of power to win …”
The Middle East conflict which has gone on for almost five decades and has taken a heavy toll in human lives – women and children and innocent civilians – is not a badminton game. To trivialize a conflict in those terms and making a mockery of the value of human life, Jewish and Palestinian, is deplorable to say the least.
#12 by frustrated doctor on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:02 am
Why is it anything that Isreal does makes headlines the world over but news such as the one below are buried away. Are the lives of Africans less in value to those in Gaza. The residents of Gaza are paying the brunt for voting in a militant govt which even went against even their brothers – the ruling Fatah. But the massacre in Congo is much much more henious. Don’t get angry due to religious lines but get angry for all inhumane actions being done.
Ugandan rebels kill 400 in DR Congo: charity
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081230/wl_africa_afp/ugandadrcongounrest
KINSHASA (AFP) – Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebels killed more than 400 people in Christmas massacres in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Caritas aid charity said Tuesday.
The rebels denied any responsibility and accused troops from DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan of “bombing” the victims, but a statement from the United Nations Secretary General condemned the alleged LRA atrocities Tuesday.
The LRA targeted a town where a Christmas Day concert was being held and a Roman Catholic church, and attacks were going on along the Sudanese border, the Catholic charity said in a statement.
Caritas workers say that “over 400 people have been killed in the attacks in an area of northern Congo including Faradje, Duru, Gurba, Doruma, and Province Orientale,” it added.
The archbishop of Dungu-Doruma, Monsignor Richard Domba, told AFP that at least 150 people had been killed at a Christmas Day service at Faradje and later, 80 at Duru and at least 200 others at Doruma and in the surrounding villages.
“It is a dramatic situation that we are living through here,” he said. The rebels “are indescribably barbarous and savage.
“They kill with machetes, axes and clubs. They burn people alive with their property in their homes.”
The LRA also “captured young boys and girls whom they will conscript and force to work in their fields,” he said.
In Bangadi, near the border with Sudan, 48 people died, and in Gurba 213 people were killed. Approximately 6,500 people have found refuge in the area with the Catholic church, Caritas said.
“The rebels have committed terrible acts of violence,” said the director of Caritas in Dungu-Doruma, Abbe Come Mbolingaba.
“They decapitated several people. In the villages hardly anybody is moving.
“Everyone is in psychological shock. The death toll could be above 400 because it is difficult to find all the bodies.”
Aid workers are worried by the lack of access in the region to local people who are wandering in search of shelter and help.
The Caritas statement said that the areas had been plundered, leaving the population in desperate need of aid. It said that the number of dead bodies risked spreading disease.
From New York, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the alleged LRA atrocities in a statement issued by his office Tuesday.
“The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms the appalling atrocities reportedly committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in recent days” in both DRCongo and southern Sudan,” it said.
Ban called on the LRA to “respect all rules of international humanitarian law.”
He also repeated his support for the December 22 UN Security Council statement that “welcomed the joint measures taken by Uganda, DRC and southern Sudan to address the security threat posed by the LRA.”
The United Nations mission in DR Congo (MONUC) said the LRA attacks followed the launching on December 14 of the joint military operation against it by the three countries.
The operation followed the repeated refusal of LRA leader Joseph Kony, who is believed to be accompanied by several hundred supporters, to sign a peace deal with Kampala.
A spokesman for the LRA said it was not responsible for the massacres, blaming the deaths on bombs dropped by the three African forces and said it had never harmed anyone
He questioned how the three countries would let LRA forces kill civilians.
In April the Ugandan authorities initialled a peace deal designed to end one of Africa’s most savage and long lasting civil wars.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in Uganda in two decades of fighting between the Ugandan government and the LRA. The group is notorious for abductions of children for use as soldiers and sex slaves.
The Ugandan army said Sunday that rebels had massacred 45 civilians in a church Friday, most of them women, children and the elderly.
The rebellion began in northern Uganda in 1986 after Yoweri Museveni came to power. It blends a form of Christianity with traditional beliefs and extreme cruelty and brutality.
Recruits may be forced to kill a family member to ensure they are not tempted to desert and go home.
#13 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:10 am
Lee Wang Yen PhD
You got your PhD on the philosophy of religion. Let’s hear your views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not some quotations from some obscure Jewish journalist on the so-called Principle of Proportionality. That’s a lot of bull.
#14 by rockdaboat on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:36 am
Someone stirred the hornet’s nest, knowing very well the consequences, and was stung to death as a result.
Who do you blame, the someone or the hornet?
#15 by rockdaboat on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:44 am
“The Jews were punished by God for their sins. Start from there.”
The Jews were also the God’s chosen people.
#16 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 8:38 am
That’s why they were made to face God’s wrath – because they are God’s chosen people. “Chosenness” has different interpretations.
#17 by k1980 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 8:44 am
“The Jews were punished by God for their sins.”
Not fair one. No 72 virgins waiting for them when they enter Paradise. But the jihadists can one lah. NEP in Paradise?
#18 by Bigjoe on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 9:15 am
While I support your statement, it worries me because its no different than anyone else who is trying to help/lead this conflict out of its mess.
It seems to me that world leaders are lost at what do to and its clear Israelis and Hamas are both dysfunctional in solving the conflict.
All I see is lines being drawn and yet more and more people are more confused about what is really going on – that the danger here is the world is getting played by this issue which is started by irresponsible people. All the show of support, the statements issued, underlying it is real danger this can end up drawing deeper lines between Muslims and non-Muslims and yet more and more are oblivious to it.
The Isrealies don’t do stupid things and they don’t fight wars they can’t win. Palestinians may be highly committed to their cause but strategically they can’t match the Israelis. This is the real danger, the bad vs. the no-so-bright. The evil genius only loses in fairy tales, not in reality.
#19 by Lee Wang Yen on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 9:31 am
No, my PhD is not in the philosophy of religion.
Please don’t make false statement.
#20 by Lee Wang Yen on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 9:33 am
oops… ‘… STATEMENTS…’
#21 by Lee Wang Yen on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 9:34 am
My PhD has nothing to do with religion and theology.
I’m surprised by Undergrad2′s readiness to assert things he doesn’t know.
#22 by taiking on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 9:46 am
Dont know. Not familiar with middle-east history and politics. So dont know who is right and who is wrong. But without going into the who is right thingy, I just want to say that all armed attrocities must be condemned. Such actions ought to have ended 50 years ago together with the second world war. That was when mankind and the world were tought a hugh lesson about fighting each other. No one will triumph. Problems will not go away. Bitterness between rivals will only escalate.
It would be pointless here to find out who was first in the wrong. The fued had gone on for so long that knowing who threw the first missile is no longer relevant or important.
Carter started peace talks there and for a while that part of the world was quiet and, I presume, peaceful. The effort continued for sometime under subsequent presidents of the US. What caused the about turn that we see now? Bush was desperately trying to re-assert US’s position as world leader without much success. Has he messed-up the order of things there?
US has been a strong ally to Israel for decades. But US no longer commands the same international standing it used to in terms of military might and economy. US economy is in shamble and US has shown itself to be unable to fight conventional war despite its advanced war machines. US will soon see a non-white president and will also turn into a white minority nation in a generation from now. In other words, this important ally of Israel is losing its world influence. Is this a respond to fear on the part of the Israelis?
Perhaps China is in a better position to mediate. In some small ways China is extending its foreign influence. But the West are ever suspicious of any such move by the chinese. Nevertheless for the sake of world peace and better tommorrow China must take a more active role in the matter.
#23 by melurian on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 10:35 am
i watched mhi today on tv3, the prof said palestines are the victim here. since hamas held power, the state has been sanctioned by europes and us and job/food/supply/economy were scarce. and still hamas tolerated and signed ceasefile 6 mths ago hoping to have the sanction lifted. and then israel attacked gaza on november and when the ceasefile treaty expired, hamas retaliated by firing rocket hoping to get internation attention on their suffering and injustice. but us and europes lauded israel for taking action as self-defense.
the prof also claimed since partition in the year 1948, there isn’t fairness to palestines, their land was carved, given way and they force to make themselves refuges to the “pendatang” from all europe.
so who’s the victim here?
#24 by manusia ada akal on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 10:36 am
Internet has provided information on matters around the world events but a person still has to decide what best for himself/herself.
Below information has been doing its round in the emails.
***** Begin *****
Islamic columnist on Jews
By: Dr Farrukh Saleem.The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist
Why are Jews so powerful?
There are only 14 million Jews in the world; seven million in the Americas , five million in Asia, two million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa . For every single Jew in the world there are 100 Muslims.
Yet, Jews are more than a hundred times more powerful than all the Muslims put together. Ever wondered why?
Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. Albert Einstein, the most influential scientist of all time and TIME magazine’s ‘Person of the Century’, was a Jew. Sigmund Freud — id, ego, superego — the father of psychoanalysis was a Jew. So were Karl Marx, Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman.
Here are a few other Jews whose intellectual output has enriched the whole humanity:
Benjamin Rubin gave humanity the vaccinating needle.
Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine.
Albert Sabin developed the improved live polio vaccine.
Gertrude Elion gave us a leukemia fighting drug.
Baruch Blumberg developed the vaccination for Hepatitis B.
Paul Ehrlich discovered a treatment for syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease).
Elie Metchnikoff won a Nobel Prize in infectious diseases.
Bernard Katz won a Nobel Prize in neuromuscular transmission.
Andrew Schally won a Nobel in endocrinology (disorders of the endocrine system; diabetes, hyperthyroidism) .
Aaron Beck founded Cognitive Therapy (psychotherapy to treat mental disorders, depression and phobias).
Gregory Pincus developed the first oral contraceptive pill.
George Wald won a Nobel for furthering our understanding of the human eye.
Stanley Cohen won a Nobel in embryology (study of embryos and their development) .
Willem Kolff came up with the kidney dialysis machine.
Over the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 15-dozen Nobel Prizes while only three Nobel Prizes have been won by 1.4 billion Muslims (other than Peace Prizes).
Why are Jews so powerful?
Stanley Mezor invented the first micro-processing chip. Leo Szilard developed the first nuclear chain reactor; Peter Schultz, optical fibre cable; Charles Adler, traffic lights; Benno Strauss, Stainless steel; Isador Kisee, sound movies; Emile Berliner, telephone microphone; Charles Ginsburg, videotape recorder.
Famous financiers in the business world who belong to Jewish faith include Ralph Lauren (Polo),
Levis Strauss (Levi’s Jeans), Howard Schultz (Starbuck’s) , Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Donna Karan (DKNY), Irv Robbins (Baskins & Robbins) and Bill Rosenberg (Dunkin Donuts).
Richard Levin, President of Yale University, is a Jew. So are Henry Kissinger (American secretary of state), Alan Greenspan (Fed chairman under Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush), Joseph Lieberman, Madeleine Albright (American secretary of state), Casper Weinberger (American secretary of defense), Maxim Litvinov ( USSR foreign Minister), David Marshal ( Singapore ‘s first chief minister), Issac Isaacs (governor-general of Australia ), Benjamin Disraeli (British statesman and author), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian PM), Barry Goldwater, Jorge Sampaio (president of Portugal ), John Deutsch (CIA director), Herb Gray (Canadian deputy PM), Pierre Mendes (French PM), Michael Howard (British home secretary), Bruno Kreisky (chancellor of Austria ) and Robert Rubin (American secretary of treasury).
In the media, famous Jews include Wolf Blitzer (CNN), Barbara Walters (ABC News), Eugene Meyer (Washington Post), Henry Grunwald (editor-in-chief Time), Katherine Graham (publisher of The Washington Post), Joseph Lelyyeld (Executive editor, The New York Times), and Max Frankel (New York Times).
Can you name the most beneficent philanthropist in the history of the world? The name is George Soros, a Jew, who has so far donated a colossal $4 billion most of which has gone as aid to scientists and universities around the world. Second to George Soros is Walter Annenberg, another Jew, who has built a hundred libraries by donating an estimated $2 billion.
At the Olympics, Mark Spitz set a record of sorts by winning seven gold medals. Lenny Krayzelburg is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Spitz, Krayzelburg and Boris Becker are all Jewish.
Did you know that Harrison Ford, George Burns, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, Kirk Douglas, Goldie Hawn, Cary Grant, William Shatner, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk are all Jewish?
As a matter of fact, Hollywood itself was founded by a Jew. Among directors and producers, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Oliver Stone, Aaron Spelling ( Beverly Hills 90210), Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Andrew Vaina (Rambo 1/2/3), Michael Man (Starsky and Hutch), Milos Forman (One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Douglas Fairbanks (The thief of Baghdad ) and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) are all Jewish.
To be certain, Washington is the capital that matters and in Washington the lobby that matters is The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Washington knows that if PM Ehud Olmert were to discover that the earth is flat, AIPAC will make the 109th Congress pass a resolution congratulating Olmert on his discovery.
William James Sidis, with an IQ of 250-300, is the brightest human who ever existed. Guess what faith did he belong to?
So, why are Jews so powerful?
Answer: Education.
Why are Muslims so powerless?
There are an estimated 1,476,233,470 Muslims on the face of the planet: one billion in Asia, 400 million in Africa, 44 million in Europe and six million in the Americas . Every fifth human being is a Muslim; for every single Hindu there are two Muslims, for every Buddhist there are two Muslims and for every Jew there are one hundred Muslims. Ever wondered why Muslims are so powerless?
Here is why: There are 57 member-countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and all of them put together have around 500 universities; one university for every three million Muslims. The United States has 5,758 universities and India has 8,407. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
compiled an ‘Academic Ranking of World Universities’ , and intriguingly, not one university from Muslim-majority states was in the top-500.
As per data collected by the UNDP, literacy in the Christian world stands at nearly 90 per cent and 15 Christian-majority states have a literacy rate of 100 per cent. A Muslim-majority state, as a sharp contrast, has an average literacy rate of around 40 per cent and there is no Muslim-majority state with a literacy rate of 100 per cent. Some 98 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world had completed primary school, while less than 50 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same. Around 40 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world attended university while no more than two per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same.
Muslim-majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The US has 4,000 scientists per million and Japan has 5,000 per million. In the entire Arab world, the total number of full-time researchers is 35,000 and there are only 50 technicians per one million Arabs (in the Christian world there are up to 1,000 technicians per one million). Furthermore, the Muslim world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the Christian world spends around five per cent of its GDP.
Conclusion: The Muslim world lacks the capacity to produce knowledge.
Daily newspapers per 1,000 people and number of book titles per million are two indicators of whether knowledge is being diffused in a society. In Pakistan , there are 23 daily newspapers per 1,000 Pakistanis while the same ratio in Singapore is 360. In the UK , the number of book titles per million stands at 2,000 while the same in Egypt is 20.
Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to diffuse knowledge.
Exports of high technology products as a percentage of total exports are an important indicator of knowledge application. Pakistan ‘s export of high technology products as a percentage of total exports stands at one per cent. The same for Saudi Arabia is 0.3 per cent; Kuwait , Morocco , and Algeria are all at 0.3 per cent while Singapore is at 58 per cent.
Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to apply knowledge.
Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren’t producing knowledge, Because we aren’t diffusing knowledge., Because we aren’t applying knowledge.
And, the future belongs to knowledge-based societies.
Interestingly, the combined annual GDP of 57 OIC-countries is under $2 trillion. America , just by herself, produces goods and services worth $12 trillion; China $8 trillion, Japan $3.8 trillion and Germany $2.4 trillion (purchasing power parity basis).
Oil rich Saudi Arabia , UAE, Kuwait and Qatar collectively produce goods and services (mostly oil) worth $500 billion; Spain alone produces goods and services worth over $1 trillion, Catholic Poland $489 billion and Buddhist Thailand $545 billion. (Muslim GDP as a percentage of world GDP is fast declining).
So, why are Muslims so powerless?
Answer: Lack of education.
All we do is shout to Allah the whole day and blame everyone else for our multiple failures.
***** End *****
#25 by ablastine on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 10:42 am
Why does DAP concern itself about what is happening between Hamas and Israel and worse still take sides. There is never only one side to a story and there are many stories all over the world to be concern with if DAP is so interested in them. How about in Congo where most of the women are mass raped and killed at this very moment, children army, starvation affecting millions, human trafficking, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, poverty, environmental pollution, economic depression, flue epidermic, tainted milk-there are no lacking of issues. I suggest as a growing political party that is rapidly increasing in strength and respect, it should never take sides and blind itself to complicated situations like in Middle East.
If the Israel incursion is so damn wrong and is so much a crime against humanity as you put it, why are the Western nations and US not taking action but in fact tacitly supporting Israel. They cannot even get the Security Council to agree on a Statement to make! So the Jews have infiltrated all the Parliments and psyche of the Western world at the expense of the Palestinian and Hamas to wage its war and incursion against Hamas in Gaza with impunity. How come they got so much clout. They are only so few few Jews in the world.
So it is right for Israel to be exterminated, its 5 million Jews burned and vapourized so that Palestinan can get back their land as Melurian wants. How sure is he that the land was given by God to Palestinian. How come Palestinian got land Israel with its millions did not. How come Israel is so advance and the Palestinians are not. How come the entire Middle East which is so huge cannot accomodate the Palestinians so much so that they have to exterminate 5 million minions Jews who is occupying perhaps 2% of all the land in the Middle East. If DAP cannot answer any of this and more questions in the Middle East I suggest it confines itself to politics in Malaysia which is no less challenging. I can assure you that if PR fails to kick out BN in the next election and BN continues to rule for a couple of terms more, the country will first be as poor as the Palestinians then the Zimbaweans.
#26 by scorpian6666 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 11:07 am
Israel’s action – crime against humanity ? Maybe but………………
When Israel asked the civilian to leave, the World did nothing – like offering to transport/house the civilian for safety… This is the real crime !
Hamas chooses to fight from mosque and “civilian” residency. That should be condemned !
Please readers ! There is nothing wrong with Islam. Remember the “Crusader”, it has nothing to do with Christianity.
There will be peace on earth when human ceases to exist !
#27 by k1980 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 11:21 am
Hamas: We’ll kill Jewish children anywhere
Behold the brazen hypocrisy: Hamas launches attacks from civilian areas and uses children as human shields, and then uses the deaths of Palestinian children to justify murdering Jewish children anywhere in the world. And the world yawns and issues another condemnation of Israel.
#28 by sizzerpac on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 11:26 am
Palestine and Israel was divided equally during the start. Its the Arab countries around them that caused the problem. After they attacked Israel and lost, they just left the Palestinians to rot. Even the neighbouring Arab countries didn’t want to deal with the Palestinian refugees.
Give them PAlestine and they’ll fight against each other. There’s no bloody peace with these guys.
#29 by chengho on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 11:54 am
The problem is all about politic why Fatah and Hamas still not unite afterall the general election already show the legit result.
#30 by monsterball on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 12:08 pm
Many may think..this is a territorial war..which is party true…..but mainly…it is still a religious war….under the disguises from USA and Israel Govt..it is not.
Judaism and Islam fought for….hundreds of years.
Palestine fighting for Gaza and Jerusalam…..what for..for land?
#31 by Tickler on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 12:29 pm
Egyptian President Mubarak says he wants an Israeli victory in Gaza
Monday 5th January, 2009
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stunned visiting foreign ministers Monday when he said he wanted Israel to emerge as the winner in the current conflict in Gaza.
The European foreign ministers, headed by Karel Schwarzenberg of the Czech Republic, whose country currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, met with Mubarak in Cairo before travelling on to Jerusalem.
The ministers met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni after arriving in Jerusalem and briefed her on their discussions with the Egyptian president.
It was at that meeting that ministers confided that Mubarak had told them ‘Hamas must not be allowed to emerge from the fighting with the upper hand.’
Hamas believes Egypt is trying to broker a ceasefire and sent a delegation to the city on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meantime has told visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Israel will not honour a ceasefire imposed by the UN Security Council. It will only honour an agreement that it agrees to, the Israeli prime minister told Sarkozy.
Israel wants the rocket attacks to stop, and the smuggling of weapons from Egypt to cease. Mubarak, whose country patrols the border with Egypt, was insisting Monday there was no smuggling, that supplies to Hamas were coming from ships off Gaza.
#32 by Tickler on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 1:08 pm
Mr. Lee Wang Yen, obviously some commentors are not well equipped. I notice one comment for instance:
“not some quotations from some obscure Jewish journalist on the so-called Principle of Proportionality. That’s a lot of bull.” – undergrad2
You are ABSOLUTELY correct on “I’m surprised by Undergrad2’s readiness to assert things he doesn’t know.”
I did a check and Alan Dershowitz is described:
“Alan Morton Dershowitz (born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and is known for his extensive published works, career as an attorney in several high-profile law cases, and commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.”
#33 by merdekablog on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 1:29 pm
My response to Khairy on his protest against Israel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3tAdnlGQ2s&feature=channel_page
#34 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 2:26 pm
I am not saying Harvard’s Alan Morton Dershowitz’s views on Hamas-Israelis conflict are fair or not fair.
Neither would I denigrate his intellectual/legal brilliance and achievement. When pastor Jerry Falwell filed a $10 million lawsuit against Penthouse, the magazine (equivalent to Playboy) was represented by Alan arguing (successfully) PentHouse’s case before Supreme Court based on free speech civil liberties and the First Amendment. ..) [See this in the entertaining Movie – “The People vs Larry Flynt” starring Woody Harrelson (as Larry, Penthouse publisher, and Courtney Love, as his wife and Edward Norton as Alan Dershowitz].
However it should be pointed out that Alan was born to mother Claire and father Harry, both devout orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, New York (same as the other famous actress/singer/socialite/political activist Ms Babara Striesand).
Alan himself has adhered to the orthodox Jewish faith. In early days when Dershowitz sought employment immediately after school, thirty-two Wall Street law firms rejected him, despite his excellent academics, due to his Jewish heritage. He has fought Jewish causes against anti-Semitism since as far as anyone remembers..
This also pertains to the issue of objectivity and sympathies.
#35 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 2:42 pm
Alan is probably right about Israel’s right to self defence by international law. However issue of “proportionality” extends beyond legal issues into the realm of morals, military strategy etc but whether or not a specific response action is proportionate is again often influenced by one’s subjective sympathies based on cultural, religious background etc….though all may perhaps agree (to quote an extreme example) that nuking Gaza is definitely disproportionate response amounting to genocide that cannot be defended on “self defence” principle.
#36 by shortie kiasu on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 3:21 pm
Hamas is an organization practising violence and terrorism on their perceived ‘enemies’. It is of course supported financially and weapon supplies by the powers behind.
Hamas took control of Gaza from P.A. which is under Abbas, by force, not through votes of the people.
It controlled and ruled Gaza with terror and impoverished the people by pooling whatever financial resources to acquire weapons, like rockets to be launched at its neighbour Israel.
It is an act of defiant provacation although it was and had been warned times and again to stop the rockets attacks at Israel.
Defiant Hamas refused and continued, so as to attract the world and its sympathisers to whatever their hidden agenda in the Middle East at the expense of the poor and innocent people who live in Gaza.
Through their selfish acts, defiant stance and terrorising policy, it has invited the attack and incursion by Israel.
In any attacks, incursion and war there is bound to be casualties of the innocent. Who to blame?
The humanity track record of Hamas has left much to be desired. To achieve its motives and agenda, Hamas does not give a damn to the poor and innocent by their terrorising action on its neighbour.
#37 by trublumsian on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 3:28 pm
the six-day war was fought like david vs goliath. for the jews it’s deja vu. guess who won and do u know why? the palestines know it, so does all of the arab world. israel will never fall without the permission of You-Know-Who. no, not the u.s of a, dumb dumb melurian.
#38 by Loh on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 4:53 pm
Undergrad2,
Read again what I wrote. I did not compare the conflict in middle east with a badmiton game. Try to quote the right sentences if you must comment.
#39 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 5:39 pm
“Why does DAP concern itself about what is happening between Hamas and Israel and worse still take sides” – ablastine Today at 10: 42.14 (6 hours ago)
That’s interesting – and a valid question. It is a global concern? Or maybe a local one (KT by elections) to take same side as ruling party? :)
#40 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:06 pm
Loh,
The only two words missing from your analogy is Israel and Palestine or Hamas. You’re not telling readers how you won your last game of badminton, are you? How you used disproportionate power?
That was a cut and paste. What is not there I couldn’t have cut and pasted. Duh?
#41 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:13 pm
For the convenience of readers, here’s what Loh wrote (delivered to those who bother to read through the magic of ‘cut and paste’).
Loh Says:
Today at 04: 24.05 (14 hours ago)
When one joins a competition such as in badminton, one cannot blame the opponents for disproportionate use of power to win. That too is when they are willing players. When one party infuriates others into retaliation, can one expect the unwilling opponent to reserve the use of full power to keep the game in play?
The thread is about the invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces – the use of disproportionate military power by Israel has been condemned by many around the world.
#42 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 7:18 pm
The triviality with which this blog contributor, Loh treats the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is shocking to say the least.
#43 by Loh on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 9:41 pm
When the term ‘disproportionate use of power’ is used as a basis to condemn a war, would it mean then that a proportionate response is acceptable? It would then imply that a proportionate use of power would be able to keep both parties engaged in a war. It would then be like a game for others to watch. The term ‘disproportionate use of power’ used in describing conflicts serves to trivialize the war like a game. That was what I tried to convey in my last posting. It would appear that it carried the opposite meaning, or perhaps only to one person who chose to understand it in the way that he could make comments.
#44 by Tickler on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 10:00 pm
And today, another Hamas Top Cat Terrorist bites the dust (he thot his proportions would save him):
IDF kills head of Hamas’ rocket unit in Gaza
01.06.09
The IDF has killed the head of Hamas’ rocket unit in Gaza in an aerial attack on the Jabalya neighborhood in northern Gaza.
Ayman Siam also served as the head of the Islamist group’s artillery forces.
#45 by alaneth on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 10:04 pm
manusia ada akal…. I read your post with surprise as you are stating facts, I assume.
Thought I read somewhere that Jews have the highest IQ in the world followed by PRC Chinese… But I got this IQ link from wiki :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations
If we associate IQ with intelligence, then the most intelligent people in the world comes from East Asia. Hongkies are the most intelligent & also hardworking. That’s why there are no wars in this part of the world, except for ‘cold no-talking’ wars. That’s smart. Malaysia ranks 37, surprisingly just 4 steps behind Israel of rank 33. From this chart, Malaysia is also the top muslim country in terms of intelligence, a far cry from S’pore rank 5. EU countries come behind East Asian countries. African countries come last. Middle Eastern countries generally don’t score well except Turkey, Egypt which are Israeli supporters.
The facts shows….. I don’t need to explain further. Where in the world are the most fighting? Poverty? – Africa. What happens if Middle Eastern oil dries up in the future? Will they be like Africa? too poor to fight? Time will tell.
#46 by Tickler on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 - 10:16 pm
Israel left Gaza in 2005, and all it got for that unilateral effort was kassams that rain down on Sderot and other Israeli communities throughout Southern Israel. People within range of the kassams have less time to react than they do to read this post. They have seconds.
That conditions for Gazans is bad now is the fault of no one but the Hamas terrorists who wished for a war with Israel, and Hamas all they could to ensure that one would bring the maximium amount of civilian casualties.
None of this matters to the many anti-Israel demonstrators around the world who display their real intentions. It isn’t anti-war sentiments driving much of the demonstrators, but raging anti-Semitism. Israel’s existence is sufficient for the demonstrations, and the grievance theater surrounding these displays shows just how deluded so many of these people are. They demand nothing less than jihad and the destruction of Israel – in so many words.
#47 by OrangRojak on Wednesday, 7 January 2009 - 12:35 am
“disproportionate military power” is artillery barrages, cluster bombs and tanks used on residential targets. I’ve seen people say “any country would do the same”. Not before the War on Terror, they didn’t. I was detained while walking across London at night in 1990 (as were many) on the basis of a large rucksack and immigrant (to the UK) parents who gave me a name that was almost sufficient by itself to land the bearer in the dock in England for much of the 20th century. The Stock Exchange had been bombed by the Provisional IRA only months before, and the Metropolitan police were understandably cautious.
At no point in the Irish Republican Army’s campaign did the UK use bombs or tanks against them. Even over-zealous SAS ‘hits’ were heavily criticised and even the subject of successful legal actions against. I remember a Private Eye front cover, just after the “Death on the Rock” episode in Gibraltar, showing SAS snipers on rooftops with speech bubbles “why did you shoot him 39 times?” “because I ran out of bullets”. Perhaps the Troubles could have been brought to a precipitous end by carpet bombing Ireland, but I suspect it would have hardened people’s attitudes in the long run.
“Bombing back to the Stone Age” has only recently become fashionable again. Objecting to it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, and everything to do with concern for my fellow humans.
#48 by Justitia on Wednesday, 7 January 2009 - 1:01 am
“Objecting to it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, and everything to do with concern for my fellow humans.” – Orang Rojak
I applaud such concern for the sufferings of fellow human beings. So, where and when were you objecting when the rockets were fired at Israel where other human beings were being put in danger?
#49 by One4All4One on Wednesday, 7 January 2009 - 1:32 am
In this convoluted and confused world of ours where there are as many different opinions as there are the number of people, who also have their very own ideas just about everything, how do we expect the convergence of thoughts and objectives?
When there is such a diversity of opinions and interests (self ), there are bound to be conflicts and disagreements. This is very evident even in this particular blog. Just imagine how such a small difference in world-view could multiply to become a full-blown and large scale war ( of words, and in the very real, cunning, selfish and cruel, and sometimes evil world of ours, into a real physical military war).
The question is how do we come to a compromise and come to a peaceful and amicable conclusion which is acceptable and good for all?
The distorted human nature is such that people would try to secure their own position and interest first, and then only would they consider those of others. It is this selfish and inconsiderate trait of human that contributes most to the turbulence, atrocities, inhumane conclusions, and all the troubles and problems that had besieged mankind since time immemorial.
Back to the question : when will we ever learn, just when will we ever learn…?
Surely there must be a permanent solution to this seemingly elusive and paradoxical human failing.
Therein, lies FAITH.
If there is true faith, most of the sufferings and shortcomings of mankind would be solved. It is precisely due to the lack of faith that the problems that we see and observed continue to stalk mankind. Evil begets evil. And surely, faith begets faith.
There must be a convergence of faiths in order to usher in true peace and harmony amongst the peoples of the world. If we choose to be confrontational, how do we expect to achieve agreement, let alone a long lasting one? If we choose to be belligerent, how could there be peace and calm? If we choose to be cynical, how could we have trust?
In the quest for more knowledge, material wealth and positions, it seems that mankind had forgotten to be human. Human nature in the uncorrupted state is amiable; until it is twisted and affected by conflicting and me-first positioning that the evil form begins to take shape. And, as often said, the rest is history.
What we will accomplish eventually depends entirely on how true we are to our senses and how sensible we choose to be. Simple, but true.
#50 by One4All4One on Wednesday, 7 January 2009 - 1:50 am
No matter where we stand, we would always try to justify our positions.
It is such a premise (true or imagined ) that leads to confrontation among peoples.
If inflicted death and suffering are so despised and unacceptable, then the wars waged are equally despicable and objectionable and should be avoided at all cost.
Hence the current military conflict cannot be accepted or justified, either by the Israelis or the Palestinians. The perpetrators on both divide must be charged and indicted for war crimes, mostly for the killing of the innocents and the unnecessary destruction of properties and belongings, and the right to peaceful existence.
By right, no war is justifiable or could be justified.