George Orwell

George Orwell - Politics and the English Language.

Communist Manifesto

Trends than Marx and Engels observed in their time, can we observe today too?

The Communist Manifesto, Chapter 1

United Nations

Some background info:
A brief history of United Nations
Founding of the United Nations


Current Affairs:
The U.S Relationship with the United Nations
China-Taiwan-UN relationship

FOX News: Oil-for-food Scandal
Myths and Facts: Oil-for-food


Related to Singapore:

1. UN Urges Singapore Not to Execute Nigerian for Drug Trafficking
   The United Nations has called on authorities in Singapore not to go ahead with the planned execution of a Nigerian sentenced to death for trafficking in heroin.

   The UN expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, says the planned execution of Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi on Friday would violate international legal standards on the use of the death penalty.
   Alston says “the standards accepted by the international community is that capital punishment may be imposed only when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence, leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts.”

2. Singapore "too ruthless" to be asked into Eastern Timor UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, when asked whether he would pressure Singapore to contribute troops along with Australia to alleviate suffering in East Timor, was hesitant. “Singapore troops are simply too ruthless,” the Secretary General’s office insisted. “Singaporeans are known throughout the world as extremely courageous and honourable, ever since they fought so bravely in intense battles with Malaysia for their independence a few decades ago. But we simply don’t need such skill and precision in our operations with East Timor. We are also worried that the Singapore troops will frighten the local population and this might work to our detriment.”

Economists question dominance of free-market ideas.

The biofuel myths.

Biofuels are clean and green.
Biofuels will not result in deforestation.
Biofuels will bring rural development.
Biofuels will not cause hunger.

Environmentalism

For reference:
Myth that Green protection hits Economy, UNEP Says
Report calls on Europe to move on global warming
Serious Effects of Global Warming Already Have Begun, says IPCC
Should the United States ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
Global Warming is Unstoppable and Humans are to Blame, says UN Report
Controlling Global Warming is Cost-Effective and Within Reach
Cleaning Up the Environment Could Save 13Million Lives Annually, Report shows
Indoor Pollution from Cooking Fires Kills 1.5Million People Annually
World Water Day: A Billion People Worldwide Lack Safe Drinking Water
Scholars Predict 50Million Environmental Refugees by 2010

2007 J2 CT2 GP Compre

Answer Scheme.

Using rape as a weapon.

Iraq's diverse cultures share a way of understanding the family, "patriliny," in which identities ranging from religion to ethnicity to clan are conferred by fathers alone, not mothers. Understanding patriliny can help shed light on inter-group conflict in Iraq, specifically on the inter-sectarian rapes and killings that take place every day.

Caste System in India

An almost-all-encompassing article on the Indian Caste System. explains what it is, how it was enforced, how it evolved, justification and criticisms with regards to its existence as a social model. (the wikipedia article is largely inaccurate with regards to this topic)

Mahatma Gandhi vs. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (the first 12 paragraphs would be relevant) :
While Mahatma Gandhi justified the caste system, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar anticipated the limitations of using caste as a political resource and instead, emphasized on eliminating the concept of caste from the society.

How prevalent is the Caste system in "Modern" India?:
A 'Broken People' in booming India

Just to get an idea of how many hundred castes there are in India, you might want to visit these matrimonial websites, Jeevan Sathi and Bharat Matrimony and click on the drop down menu that says select caste.

Only traditional Islam can do it (counter fundamentalist Islam).

Is Marriage still relevant in today's society?

The case for same sex marriage

Engels and the origins of human society

Much Of The World Has Been Deluded by Singapore’s Hollow Roars Of Success.

Whistle-blower in India uses a blog for protection.

"Third World Traveler": MANY good articles on this website.

Came across this site, THIRD WORLD TRAVELER; I'm sorry for not having found this earlier.

The articles are categorized region (Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc), by international organization (WTO, IMF, UN, etc) and by issue (Democracy, Globalization, Patriotism; Oil, Drugs, Food, etc)

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO EXPLORE THE SITE. There is no need to read EVERY article there, nor even MOST of them. Look at the titles of the articles, and read which ever catches you fancy.

A few categories I found myself visiting often:

Definitions of "Third World"

Transnational Corporations and the Third World

Oil-related World Issues

Globalization

Do dip into this resource regularly!

(I will spend the next few posts excerpting some of the articles from THIRD WORLD TRAVELER I have read recently.)