Author: Mr. Lakhaney

TOK Teacher

Inside the Hunt for the World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist

August 12, 2021

Terrorism online presented a new twist—never before had the United States been involved in a conflict where the enemy could communicate from overseas directly with the American people. And just months before I arrived at the FBI in 2007, working as a special counsel and later chief of staff to Director Robert Mueller, a new online tool named Twitter launched. We had no idea then how much power it would give to online extremists.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/21/junaid-hussain-most-dangerous-terrorist-cyber-hacking-222643/

The demise of the nation state

August 12, 2021

After decades of globalisation, our political system has become obsolete – and spasms of resurgent nationalism are a sign of its irreversible decline. By Rana Dasgupta

When we discuss “politics”, we refer to what goes on inside sovereign states; everything else is “foreign affairs” or “international relations” – even in this era of global financial and technological integration. We may buy the same products in every country of the world, we may all use Google and Facebook, but political life, curiously, is made of separate stuff and keeps the antique faith of borders.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/05/demise-of-the-nation-state-rana-dasgupta

Underwater: Human Rights Impacts of a China Belt and Road Project in Cambodia

August 12, 2021

This report, based on interviews with over 60 people over two years, shows how officials within the Cambodian government, and CHNG and its subsidiaries, did not adequately consult with impacted communities and affected families before or during the construction of the Lower Sesan 2 dam. It documents how officials ignored communities’ concerns and objections, dismissed calls for discussion of alternative project designs, provided wholly inadequate compensation to impacted communities, and failed to set up an effective grievance mechanism to address disputes. Government and company officials made no attempt to obtain the “free, prior, and informed consent” of affected Indigenous peoples, as specified under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/10/underwater/human-rights-impacts-china-belt-and-road-project-cambodia

(Above is the full report, below is a shorter news story about the report)

Alleged abuses linked to China’s ‘Belt and Road’ projects: report

Almost a third of the alleged abuses recorded from 2013 to 2020 have taken place in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/11/china-belt-and-road-dam-a-rights-disaster-for-cambodia-report

Why the World Bank Should Embrace Human Rights

August 12, 2021

Embracing human rights also has implications beyond the bank. It could set the bar for other development banks and help build borrowing countries’ capacity and support for human rights. On the other hand, there is the risk that the bank’s dilution of human rights standards can weaken existing rights. As the case of the Ethiopian cash-for-work program illustrates, discrimination on the basis of political opinion – or a person’s language – violates human rights but apparently not bank policy. It is a grim sign that the definition of discrimination in the United Nations’ proposed Sustainable Development Goals does not explicitly include discrimination against people for their political opinions or language.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/-why-the-world-bank-shoul_b_7989002?utm_hp_ref=human-rights

Ethiopian Indigenous People Demand Accountability from World Bank for Contributing to Grave Human Rights Abuses

August 12, 2021

The complaint alleges that the Anuak people have been severely harmed by the World Bank-financed and administered Protection of Basic Services Project (PBS), which has provided 1.4 billion USD in sectoral budget support for the provision of basic services to the Ethiopian Government since 2006. A legal submission accompanying the complaint, prepared by Inclusive Development International (IDI), presents evidence that the PBS project is directly and substantially contributing to a program of forced villagization, which has been taking place in the Gambella Region since 2010.

https://www.inclusivedevelopment.net/ethiopia/ethiopian-indigenous-people-demand-accountability-from-the-world-bank-for-contribution-to-grave-human-rights-abuses/

Rwanda: A Poster Child for Development With a Dark Side

August 12, 2021

East African nation emerges from genocidal past with substantial growth, but critics question the numbers and what they say is President Paul Kagame’s authoritarian rule

Supporters and critics describe Mr. Kagame—a former rebel commander who now has 1.4 million followers on Twitter and hobnobs with Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Clinton —as a disciplinarian with little tolerance for the corruption that has plagued other African nations. In his early days in power, Mr. Kagame would go on drives through Kigali with the capital’s mayor, pointing out things that should be improved. The result is visible today on its palm-lined, trash- and pothole-free streets.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rwanda-a-poster-child-for-development-with-a-dark-side-1541500201

Transitional Justice in South Africa

August 12, 2021

The term “transitional justice” describes a set of approaches that communities can use to move toward a lasting peace. Transitional justice typically has three key elements: ensuring accountability for crimes and atrocities, establishing truth, and fostering reconciliation. What does transitional justice look like in practice? Judicial actions, like trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, are a key part of seeking justice; so are reparations. Official apologies, government reforms, memorials, and education also have roles to play. Since the 1970s, truth commissions have become one of the most widespread components of transitional justice. Of the more than 40 such commissions dealing with violence and abuses of human rights, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is perhaps the best known.

https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-11/transitional-justice-south-africa

Iraq: Just War Revisited

August 12, 2021
Iraq: Just War Revisited

Could this be a ‘just’ war?

Originally devised by Greek and Roman philosophers, the “just war theory” was developed by Christian theologians. With some variations, it is widely cited and applied by various religions today.

Here we outline the six steps to a just war and square them with the issues at stake.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2724019.stm

Just War — or a Just War?

The war can be waged only as a last resort, with all nonviolent options exhausted. In the case of Iraq, it is obvious that clear alternatives to war exist. These options — previously proposed by our own leaders and approved by the United Nations — were outlined again by the Security Council on Friday. But now, with our own national security not directly threatened and despite the overwhelming opposition of most people and governments in the world, the United States seems determined to carry out military and diplomatic action that is almost unprecedented in the history of civilized nations. The first stage of our widely publicized war plan is to launch 3,000 bombs and missiles on a relatively defenseless Iraqi population within the first few hours of an invasion, with the purpose of so damaging and demoralizing the people that they will change their obnoxious leader, who will most likely be hidden and safe during the bombardment.