Is One Jelly Bean Ever Enough?

"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans."  - Ronald Reagan

As the intent of an international organization aims to serve the good of its purpose, so many often fall by the wayside.  Rather it be politics, economic factors, leadership ability, or an abstract of reasoning only few have remained true to their cause.  

One of the main problems found in international organizations is their ability to grow, adapt, and diversify.  Often, diversification will find them outside of the realm of their purpose and redefine their goals.  Complexity of the organization becomes intense and before long their scope is tremendous.  Without focus or direction, their intent becomes misconstrued limiting or allowing for their overall success or failure.

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Who's got gas?

“Governments spend as much as $300 billion a year total in subsidies that encourage consumption and discourage efficiency. The subsidies delay the transition from dirty energy to more climate-friendly sources of power”, said a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report.  

These subsides are hindering proactive fuel-efficient long term sustainability efforts.  Studies, such as those of the UNEP indicate that elimination of these subsidies would result in a 6% reduction in green-house gas emissions.

“The subsidies delay the transition from dirty energy to more climate-friendly sources of power,” said one UNEP report.  Kaveh Zahedi, UNEP’s climate change coordinator further stated that subsidies "don't always help the poor who need it most." They often benefit the wealthy.  He also said, “Some countries spend more on subsidizing oil than they do on health and education combined."  For villages that are not privy to electricity, where poor families consume only modest amounts of fuel, low electricity prices are meaningless. 

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Are there Universal Human Rights?

Identifying the fundamentals of human rights is complex and controversial.  For the most part, scholars such as Shashi Tharoor with the United Nations, agree that the basic necessities to sustain life that is ‘free from want’, such as food and shelter are critical to the human rights debate.  Others, like Francis Fukuyama argue that these rights are limited to civil, religious, and political rights granting freedom that implies more of an independent nature of survival.    Regardless of their differences and intricacies of perspective, there is a universal accepted acknowledgement that humans, as individuals, are entitled to ‘human rights protection.’

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted in 1948 by the United Nations, acknowledged “traditional rights and freedoms, as well as new economic, social, and cultural liberties.”  Although the intent of the UDHR was globally accepted, the application of human rights protection in the developing world was and remains controversial.

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You want to play GOD?

Well, guess what – you do every day.

30,000 of our children die each day of hunger related issues that you and I could have prevented.

Every 3 seconds a child dies.......and it could have been prevented.  What would you do if this were your child?

How many will die just in the time it takes to read this article?  Here’s a test:  Read this article and time yourself.

From the micro to macro level the death tolls are approximately 200,000 each week, 800,000 each month, and a whopping 10+ million every year.   Additionally, 3.5 million people die annually from malnutrition, and another 1.02 billion people are chronically deprived of food = more than the population of USA, Canada, and European Union combined according to statistics presented by the FAO, the WHO, and UNICEF.

 Are you responsible?  Yes.  Every minute that passes that you choose to not take action, then consequentially you are deciding the fate of these children.  It’s time to be accountable.

Their life is in your hands and the ultimate question is:   

Will they live or will they die?

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Genocide in your Backyard

191 Languages in America alone are near Extinction

Over 50% of the world’s 6700 languages are seriously endangered and liable to be lost within 1 to 4 generations.

Visit the Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
©UNESCO  (note: this is a super neat gadget!)

 Deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of people defines cultural genocide.  Luingicide involves the death of a language leaving no competent speakers or interpreters.  Encapsulated in language is the wisdom of a culture inclusive of spiritual beliefs, particular communicative techniques (i.e. navigation, time), and local knowledge of natural systems such as medicinal plants, flora, fauna, and ecological systems.  “ When a language is gone, irreplaceable knowledge is gone with it (UNESCO, 2010).”   While languages have been decreasing over time, modernization and globalization have accelerated this process.

“Every time a language is lost, one vision of the world disappears” – David Crystal

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To be or not to be..... HAPPY?

What is happiness?  Is it defined by a specific set of variables that are dictated by our assumptions of a level of bliss enriched by a sense of fulfillment?  Is happiness a flexible concept that differs based on the attainment of a set of expectations?  If so, then how are expectations commissioned and governed to fruition? 

  

  Are you pursuing your own happiness, or rather trying to find happiness in the ‘handbook’ of societal norms?

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Jimi Hendrix on Love and Peace

"When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power the World will know peace." 

-Jimi Hendrix

Democratic Theory and the Pursuit of Freedom, by Vance Kirklin, MBA (Guest Blogger)

Vance Kirklin, MBA was chosen as a "guest blogger of honor" to be published by International Observation due to his articulated insight into the evolution of the democratic state and world affairs.  While his discussion is particular to his worldview of democracy his view presents an educated assessment of current affairs, enlightening addition to previous discussions, and further emphasizes the diversity of perspectives regarding theories of democracy. For reference, I encourage readers to refer to the earlier post "Democratic Peace: Real or Imagined?" which can be found in an earlier segment.

 If we are indeed moving toward a socialist democracy, then it is in direct opposition to the foundational principles upon which our nation was established. The unfortunate implementation of federal socialist programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, and other entitlement programs has resulted in unforeseen consequences that simply lead to greater entitlement demands. Individuals, families, communities and religious bodies once fulfilled the role of support for the “widows and orphans” of our world. Now we can stand, disinterested, on the sidelines, and expect our munificent government to fill that role. Gone (or at least dwindling) is the personal responsibility to be our brother’s keeper, with all the requisite empathetic contact that requires. Instead, the government gives and the government taketh away…by coercion via taxation. I won’t go into the lack of a single example of an efficient and effective government program at this time. Suffice to say that Medicare and our newly bankrupt Social Security provide adequate evidence to the contrary.

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What about YOU?

Most, well all (except the first), of my posts have been the direct result of a comment or question in response to an article of interest from the site. While I do enjoy political discussion, it seems to have overshadowed other significant topics. I have alot of ideas for future input, each focused on a different area. But this group was not created for my own self-serving gratification of knowledge nor for me to impose what I feel to be most important. Although I aim to present unbiased and researched information, by picking and choosing my own topic of interests then I am in a way being biased.

So I want to know, from YOU..... what do you want to discuss? What do you feel has the most direct impact on your personal life? What topic inspires you to promote change? Is there an area in which you feel particularly passionate?

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Environmental Diplomacy: A Proactive Solution to Environmental Degradation

United States foreign policy addresses environmental issues through several institutions that oversee and implement environment protection and enforcement.  However, the problems that arise from environmental degradation are trans-state in nature and require international support and cooperation.  While there is a collective agreement worldwide that the effects of environmental degradation, such as global warming, are an international concern, the domestic priorities of first and second tier countries are in conflict which intensifies the difficulties of achieving a consensus on the proper resolution.  President Bush stated in 2002 (as cited by U.S. Dept of State, http://www.state.gov/g/oes/env/trade/index.htm) that “History shows that as nations become more prosperous, their citizens will demand, and can afford, a cleaner environment.”  

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And The Winner Is......

This post is in response to the same reader to whom I responded in the previous post.  In the second question I was asked: Which method of election is better suited for democracy?

Both the United States and Costa Rica are Democratic Republics with power vested in the President.  Each has an electoral system that relies on majority vote through a “first-past-the-post” system, otherwise known as single-member district plurality.  Greece is a Parliamentary Republic consisting of a President and Prime Minister, who performs all business affairs of the state.  Singapore is also a Parliamentary Republic, with power vested in the President and Cabinet.  Until recently, the President served primarily a ceremonial role but now has authority over extended affairs limited to legislature, budget, and security matter.  The electoral system of both Greece and Singapore relies on proportional representation.

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Democratic Peace: Real or Imagined?

What is Westernized democracy?

Democracy as understood by Westernized principles is the theoretical solution to globalization and democratic peace.  Still there is much debate regarding a true and correct definition of democracy and the implications of freedom on an evolving democratic state.  The notion of democracy as having global applicability requires deep exploration considering the variant international personalities of states.  Realists often argue that war is inevitable and that if all countries are democratic they will still find something to disagree on.  Huntington’s “Clash of the Civilizations” lends support to this claim.  Arguably, democracy and globalization go hand in hand.  For a full democratic system to be employed across all nations, then there would be no reason for conflict as democracies do not fight other democracies according to the democratic peace theory.  According to this theory, though collective action, corruption is reduced and justice is further promoted.  Democracy is also credited with its ability to increase prosperity, protection, peace, and security.    To be more specific:  the more democracies in international relations, the more peace in the international society.  Additionally, through economic and political ties any disagreements would seemingly be curbed as not to disrupt a global system.  Yes, disagreements are inevitable, but war is presumably not in a fully democratic international society. 

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Is Pleasable Feasible?

“I find the misconceptions of America to be very frustrating. America is without a doubt the largest contributor to other countries in the form of direct aid and charitable giving. In times of great crisis, one does not proslytize for democracy or on behalf of other socio-political philosophies but rather sets aside political fervor and gives til it hurts. As a young country, yet the one with the longest continuity of representative democracy on the planet, we certainly appreciate freedoms and the ability to strive for success while understanding that success is not guaranteed. Our committment to helping the unfortunate in society is to make a better world, not to define or fulfill a political vision. It is unfortunate that much of America's foreign aid goes into the accounts of terrorists, dictators and ignorant third world bureaucrats”


This response came from an anonymous reader on one of my networks.  This is a rather valid argument (in my perspective) as we are in a time of global crisis, in more ways than one.  Collaboration and cooperation should be at the forefront of our political agenda, but is it at the forefront of others?  I further questioned America's role as a global leader of peace and how it came to assume that role.  In this examination I find a direct correlation in the "good neighbor" policy and dependency theory which I argue lends to the misconceptions of America's giving and challenges the legitimacy of its actions.

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Economic Injustice: "WE WERE ROBBED...... "

Democracy defines the American vision which is increasingly being adopted by fellow nation-states.  What role does ‘money’ play in our attempt to fulfill that vision?  Is it democracy that we are so vigorously pursuing, or is it something else?  Stating “we were robbed” provokes the question(s).... Is it an economic injustice or a democratic one?  

A reader commented on a previous post with the following statement:

I read your article carefully. By "Western Regions" I think you mean America in particular. In fact we already give, both thru government & private giving, many, many billions of dollars to the developing countries you refer to. This is what the climate treaty meeting was all about...the re-distribution of wealth (ours).

As promised, here is my response:

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The Global Window of Political Opportunity

As states continue to commit to a global society and embrace the international community, boundaries will become less concrete. In the past fifty years alone the world has experienced an overwhelming transition into a technological era opening the doors for communication and economic integration. Examining the past one-hundred years is even more revealing as to the rapid pace of adjustment and interference regarding territorial claims and the importance of supranationalism for sustainable development. The changes that have occurred in the evolution of international boundaries have been profound and brings question to the relevancy of these boundaries altogether. States have united with others through supranationalism, supporting a common goal rather it be economic, political, cultural, militant, or otherwise.

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A Letter to the President

United States of America
To:  President, Mr. Barak Obama
From:  Helena Baillio
Date: 2/3/2010
Re: Environment/Development Debate

Comments: First, Mr. President, let me congratulate you on your positive diplomatic approach to dialogue between nations.

Negotiations have evolved in the international community into a process of considerations between enhancing the economic growth and development of states and the preservation of environmental resources. Though development does not necessarily rely on the conservation of resources, it has contributed to the degradation of those resources. Conservation has thus emerged as a world recognized matter of importance that has begun to influence the behavior, thoughts, and actions of states in their development attempts. These developments further evolved into committees aimed at sustainable development which incorporated environmental concerns into the process of development.

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