Challenges of Development

Would the thought of losing your left hand be enough of a deterrent to not commit a crime? It certainly would be for me! Heck, the thought of a fine or public scrutiny would be enough to keep me at the speed limit! These are the thoughts going through my head when I read about a Nigerian Islamic Court baring a Twitter feed discussing dismemberment for criminal punishment. So not only are the sentences harsh, but the Islamic Court also ruled that discussion of it via Twitter should be silenced – just another sign of a blossoming theocracy!

Sharia law. I think the Iranian’s were the first to instill it during the ’79 Revolution and its institutionalization in several Islamic nations has since been adopted. The intermingling of Islamic tenets and the law dictate the conduct of the citizens. Yet I don’t think Islam and democracy are or should be ever contradictory.  Rather a bizarre interpretation of Islamic preachings are used as a political tool to instill fear, squash dissent and ensure that the ruling elite are never challenged. I’m not an expert, but in my ignorant eyes today, I see Sharia law as a cop out to real leadership and equate it with a police state.

On the other hand, harsh punishments for criminal offenders also take place in other areas of the world – drug traffickers in Thailand, kidnappers in China- though none that I can think of had ever enforced bodily dismemberment as a tool for justice. It reminds me of something out of the Middle Ages, one where human rights, international law and political retribution were obsolete.  These deterrents may be strong deterrents for criminal activity, but one that isn’t humane and life sentences or losing a hand for petty crime is not a solution. Economic development, social services and education may have lead these vagrants on another path away from criminality and a life sentence and towards prosperity and opportunity. Money put towards these goals would be money well worth it in the long run, yet the long run is rarely in the best interests of political leaders in nations such as these. Therein lies the challenges of development.

Something to Believe In

What a crazy world we live in! It’s no wonder that we look to God for guidance and perseverance every Sunday in the hopes that our strength will  be revitalized and courage invigorated. Yet, as we all know, the Church has its criticisms, notably the sex scandals that were uncovered over the decades. It’s ironic that, especially, the Catholic Church as an institution exists to lead the congregation on the conduct of their daily lives and yet itself strays from its own preachings. This alone would make anyone cringe and start searching for something else to believe in. But the Church recovered nicely, the crowds at the Vatican on Easter will attest to it, yet it never truly reformed, as the Vatican’s condemnation this week of  Catholic bishops and their cover-up of sexual abuse proves.

Pope Benedict XVI’s recognition that the abuse still exists and that bishops are turning a blind eye, shows the Pope’s commitment to ensuring the safety of young Catholics, (although critics say he hasn’t gone far enough), but also highlights the difficulties in enforcing a universal code of conduct throughout the globe. People look to the Church for guidance, not abuse and the Church’s role as a leader in society is again questioned. Should we follow the word of God if its representatives don’t?

I’m not sure if criminal acts make you any less Christian, but it certainly doesn’t do anything for your social status. So if you can’t trust the leaders of the Church, but know your instincts, the law and the respect that each human being affords to another, then perhaps faith in a higher being can be replaced by faith in each other and that their conduct will support you, give you courage and all the love that is needed in a lifetime?

I don’t think that spiritual enlightenment will never go away and people will always continue to search for evidence or guidance from a higher being (myself included). It’s interpretation though gets a bit muffled along the way, and hence brings the need for an ‘interpreter’. I just think that some people rely on and are so devoted to those religious leaders that it teeters on the edge of calamity – in all religions, not just Christianity.  A certain cautiousness has to be demonstrated when walking through that threshold to the congregation and common sense used in trusting religious leaders, after all we all need something to believe in.

Baby Steps on the Road to the G8

The G8 is coming, the G8 is coming! Roll down the windows and roll out the policy debate! As early as January when the PM made an appearance at Davos, he un-characteristically unveiled a novel idea that suggested looking to the future and the challenges that lay before the G8 and not simply dwell on the issues of meetings past. And so he set the course to rally behind maternal and children’s health issues – and what a cause to support! One would have thought the PM was taking his leadership role seriously and setting in place an initiative that would reverberate throughout the most influential countries in the world. Little did we know of the plans that the PM was laying in store for the government’s policy, to be fretted over and debated until its unveiling closer to the G8 meetings, avoiding what may have been a backlash from Canadian constituents. And then along came Haiti, and then Chile and all the efforts that Canada laid out to help those in need and a policy in its infant stages rushed to its maturity only to be unveiled by a disorganized and disgruntled government that clearly had no idea of what the other was intending. Or so is what I’m reading this morning - it would appear that the Conservatives are finding it a little difficult to step outside of the box, try on a new policy and run with it. Instead, the ‘maternal and children’s health issues’ that Canada was hoping to address on a wider scale didn’t actually address one of the major issues of the 21st century – contraception – at least not until the PM was hounded by aid agencies, NGOs, journalists and even a UN official citing the importance of contraception for maternal health. The Foreign Minister and the Minister of Int’l Cooperation both were ignorant of the PM’s plans and instead issued statements stating the contrary. So now, the PM is supporting contraception, leaving his Minister’s in the dark, but also condemned strongly abortion.Meh, good enough for now I suppose.

I can understand the difficulties in stepping outside of the box and erring on the side of liberalism (and the better they are for it!) but what I don’t understand is how a policy’s direction could so clearly have been misunderstood by the Minister’s most affected by the policy itself. Is the PM just playing with fire, baby steps here, see what happens, baby steps back? No one likes a PM with no backbone, especially is Cabinet. Recognizing the challenges of a minority government and holding on to the fragile balance of power, political uncertainly is bound to follow, yet the PM’s been at this for quite a while. At this point in his tenure, it would be worthwhile to grow a backbone, show the G8 that it’s PM knows what it wants to achieve and how it’s going to get there. If it doesn’t work out, then it was never going to anyway and if it does that at least you have something to show history you’ve achieved.

It’s all Personality to Me

My last post mentioned my passion for the environment and how much I enjoy traveling and marveling at the beauty that the earth has to offer, beyond the city-scapes and artificial-ness. So I was really excited a few months ago when BRAVO came out with a reality-show, PhotoExplorers, documenting a photographer’s journey into the wild to find the almighty ‘perfect shot!’ I was excited and knowing my own challenges in trying to do the same while travelling (the things I went through to get a photo!) made me incredibly intrigued and I promptly scheduled my recording device so I wouldn’t miss it! …. Talk about one of life’s disappointments :S It wasn’t that the cites were dull, the landscapes boring or the colours lustre – it was that the photographers were lifeless!! There were certainly interesting stories to be told, but done in such a monotone and uninteresting way a la retired librarian that made me want to hit the mute button! There was absolutely NO personality in any of these photographers! This was also a shock, thinking that their personalities would match the quality of their proofs, but no – mistakenly wrong. Come to think of it, cooking shows often do the same – loads of great info and tantalizing masterpieces, but none of the pizazz that brings a smile to your face or motivates you to watch the next episode.

Thinking of these two shows definitely shed a bit of light on the importance of PERSONALITY!!! It’s certainly not something that they teach you in school or that can even be learned, but it’s what draws you to them for conversation, for business, for interest and they inevitably become magnets to those around them – a likely asset to any firm or company! And it’s these personalities, whether on tv or in the real world, which bring a certain penache to life and keeps things interesting. Humour helps, actually it helps a lot and being able to not take yourself too seriously.  People are people no matter where you go, no one likes to scowl all day or brim with stress throughout their work breaks and, when used strategically, a  good laugh will get you a long way!

I’m always eager to meet new people, for the sheer curiosity of which personality I’ll uncover, hopefully one that doesn’t leave me snoozing and might even help to make my own more intriguing

Blurring the Line

It’s been on everyone’s mind for the last several weeks, but no one has dared whisper it for fear that we’ll be jinxed and it’ll fade into the distance like a dream. It’s been hinted at and even overjoyed when we got a snippet of it a few days ago…the sun! Winters are everlasting in Canada and Mother Nature simply can not make up her mind, flip-flopping back and forth between sunny rays and dreary days that I simply just want to hid until it makes up its mind! I marvel at it though, thinking that the sun is such a life-source for every person, animal, or plant on the earth and we never get tired of it. Won’t ever be replaced by Apple’s newest ap or NASA’s expanding technology. Instead, we imitate it , thank God for it and trade stories about what it was like when we didn’t have it.

In general, I love natural landscapes or environments and all things that are a part of it. In fact, most of my ‘to-do-before-I-die’ List is based on natural landscapes / scenery.  So, it should be no big surprise that when I saw Disney’s ‘Earth’, I really enjoyed it.  It shadows four animals and the struggles that they go through to survive, most of which meant migrating with the sun to warmer climates at different times of the year. It really was fascinating and showcased exactly how these animals were having to deal with global warming. It also highlighted the importance of forests, fauna and ecosystems as vital for human development and sustainability.

I don’t want to complain about my government…again – then I’d really turn into a broken record! What I do want to do is more or less to highlight how many people have turned their profession in to a cause in support of conservation, sustainability and advocacy. Journalists, social scientists, film-makers.  There clearly are scores of people out there who have made the environment,conservation and spreading awareness about it a priority, but I’ve noticed that the line between environmental advocacy and reinforcing social norms is getting to be a bit blurry.

The documentaries nominated at last week’s Oscar ceremony were phenomenal and most of them to shed light on hidden atrocities.  The film that won, The Cove, documented a particular Cove in Japan where dolphins were lured and then killed for their meat. In light of the typical Western view that dolphins are the beloved Savior of the Seas, it’s an awful reality, but one that may also be a Japanese food source, like cattle would be in middle America. It is Difficult to enforce  social norms on other nations, isn’t it? Just as I’m sure that dogs in China, guinea pigs in Peru, tarantulas in Cambodia or crickets and scorpions in Thailand are not exactly the delicacies of the North American palate, as long as it is safe to eat and they are not endangered of extinction, then I find it difficult to condemn a practice that may be to the locals as what salmon is to us. If the documentary highlighted how the dolphins were endangered or were vital to other ecosystems in the area, then I might feel more inclined to appreciate this type of cinematography. And although I don’t like to see murdered dolphins, I can accept it as synonymous to a poultry farm or other meat breeding establishments.

By blurring the line between environmental conservation and social advocacy, we’re not really getting anywhere – just a lot of hot air.