Archive for the ‘International’ Category

Still a Jackass (of the week)

January 14, 2010

Recently China and Google got into a spat with the international company announcing their withdrawal from the Chinese market if they’re unable to produce uncensored search results.

The international stage has been largely positive to Google. With support from Yahoo! and human rights advocates like Wei Jingsheng, and Amnesty International lauding the difficult financial choice.

Even tech pundits feel they can throw their 2 cents into the fray (why not, here we sit), sometimes to poor results. Ron Enderle is quoted in the Bangkok post, “Google was in a no-win situation,” Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle told AFP. “The choices they’ve got are all bad, but this one allows them to claim the high ground at home by standing up to evil China.”

I whole heartedly disagree with government censure, or generally any of the practices that China has been accused of, but declaring the whole of China as evil? It’s too slapdash saying an entire sub-continent is evil, when we disagree with their government, not the people.

For declaring an entire group of people as evil, I’m impelled to give Ron Enderle the Jackass of the week placard. May he hang it with dignity.

Americans vs Serbians.

February 23, 2008

After years of national unrest in the Balkans (but seriously, when isn’t there unrest in the world?) the secession of Kosovo from Serbia attracted the attention of American Newspapers. Mind you weeks ago the Serbs knew the Albanian majority in Kosovo wanted to leave, state officials made tours throughout the Nato countries arguing it was a bad idea. Of the papers read today, the New York TImes and USA today (very much american publications), both describe the conflict thusly:

Just 10% of Kosovo’s people are ethnic Serbs, yet it is considered Serbia’s ancient religious heartland.” (USA Today 6A – Friday, February 22, 2008)

While technically true, it fails to illustrate exactly how important Kosovo is to your average Serb.

In the year 1389 the medieval Serbians were defeated by the Ottomans at Kosovo Polje. This defeat by the Muslims is heralded throughout Epic-poem tradition as a “Custer’s last stand” for Serb Christianity. It was 619 years ago but when a national identity persists, some things cannot die.

Admittedly my knowledge of politics and international affairs is lackluster, but in the late nineties the United States bombed Serbia. Effectively supporting the Albanian independence. At the time they denied that would happen, they were merely stopping the mistreatment by the Serbian country. Words are poor substitutes for action, and the U.S. sent mixed messages. The rhetoric said no independent Kosovo, the bombs said otherwise.

Can you see why maybe the ethnic Serbs are mad at the United States?