Voices of outrage that were silent before
Charles F MoreiraPublished: Mar 9, 2001 12:19 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
In the letter, [#1]Sidetracking that does not help any issue[/#], S Nair wrote: "We also do not have to excuse superpower involvement in Afghanistan's politics in making the case for rescuing its Buddhist heritage. Consequently, speaking out against this senseless and defiant action by the Taliban government is the responsibility of all humanity."
Where were people like S Nair when Nato's sanctions against Iraq have caused impoverishment and hardship for the Iraqi people, the US-imperialist sanctions against Cuba caused the stoic Cuban people so much hardship and when imperialist Nato bombed Yugoslavia, causing so much death and destruction and when children in Afghanistan were starving?
I agree MGG Pillai on many points he raised ([#2]The Bamiyan Buddhas and the Taliban[/#], March 5).
In any case, the Buddha himself may probably have objected to Buddha images had there been any around during his time, since they would probably be a hindrance to the spiritual development the Buddha intended for his followers.
While latter-day Buddhist monks and scholars say that images serve a purpose to remind his followers of their master, a lot more ignorance and delusion have built up around Buddha images than any spiritual development. Just look at the common practice in Thailand where people buy gold leaf to stick on Buddha images, believing that it will bring them merit.
Anyway, like Pillai, I am more concerned about the plight of living people - especially oppressed people - than inanimate objects or trees and so on.
Have 'concerned' people roundly condemned the NATO-Imperialists' bombing and destruction of Yugoslavia in early 1999 to further their imperialist geopolitical schemes?
Have such people found it within themselves to condemn the fund manager's manipulation of the Asian and Malaysian economies and currency which have caused us so much grief these last few years?
The various concerns people gravitate to reflect their political outlook. Hitler loved animals and children but gassed six million Jews to death and by the way, the Nazis appealed to green sentiments among the middle class there to win followers. The Green movement, a form of hippy-ism and the New Age movement are not something which started with the 1960s radicalism in the United States but existed in Germany at the beginning of the last (20th) century.
Tree huggers see it fit to implant spikes in trees which cause the saw to shatter, injuring the lumberjack or person cutting it, while Paul Watson, a Canadian environmental activist sees fit to be a self-appointed protector of the earth by ramming trawlers deemed to be fishing illegally. By the way, the boat is funded by a casino owner - someone who makes money by exploiting people's weakness for gambling.
An American environmentalist told me he knows a greenie who believes that the world should be nuked to save it, while a chapter of the environmentalist Sierra Club in the US blamed immigrants for causing environmental degradation.
Students in Thailand now show more interest in defending the traditional lifestyle of indigenous peoples in the forest than in child labour and the plight of workers in sweatshops. Labour issues aren't fashionable any more.
Singapore is just as guilty of suppressing political and personal freedoms as Malaysia, as well as freedom on the Internet but what do 'concerned' people have to say about that?
By the way, the imperialist media and nations don't see fit to condemn Singapore as much as they condemn Malaysia, though we actually have more political space and total freedom on the Internet in Malaysia - a freedom malaysiakini enjoys - courtesy of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Finally, did 'concerned' people condemn the Soviets for helping keep the leftist government in Afghanistan in power and defending it against the Mujahideen?
Under the leftist government there, women had opportunities to attend schools and universities, to take part in the economic life of the country and you didn't have the leftist government blowing up statues.
The US-imperialists backed the Mujahideen and after the Soviets pulled out, thanks to that traitor Gorbachev, the Mujahideen took over and different factions started fighting among themselves and finally the Taliban took control and now they have this.
Was there ethnic cleansing and constant bloodshed in Yugoslavia during the time of Marshal Joseph Broz Tito? Look what they have now, after Yugoslavia broke up and its member republics joined the western imperialist camp. 'Democracy' and 'freedom' are such lovely things isn't it?
What have people like S Nair said about that?
What has malaysiakini said so far about all the above?
Pillai is right about the one-sided nature of this condemnation; just as it's OK for the imperialist nations to possess nuclear, chemical and biological weapons but not for a small, Third-World nation, likewise the condemnation of the Taliban's action is one-sided, with double-standards being practised.
Where were people like S Nair when Nato's sanctions against Iraq have caused impoverishment and hardship for the Iraqi people, the US-imperialist sanctions against Cuba caused the stoic Cuban people so much hardship and when imperialist Nato bombed Yugoslavia, causing so much death and destruction and when children in Afghanistan were starving?
I agree MGG Pillai on many points he raised ([#2]The Bamiyan Buddhas and the Taliban[/#], March 5).
In any case, the Buddha himself may probably have objected to Buddha images had there been any around during his time, since they would probably be a hindrance to the spiritual development the Buddha intended for his followers.
While latter-day Buddhist monks and scholars say that images serve a purpose to remind his followers of their master, a lot more ignorance and delusion have built up around Buddha images than any spiritual development. Just look at the common practice in Thailand where people buy gold leaf to stick on Buddha images, believing that it will bring them merit.
Anyway, like Pillai, I am more concerned about the plight of living people - especially oppressed people - than inanimate objects or trees and so on.
Have 'concerned' people roundly condemned the NATO-Imperialists' bombing and destruction of Yugoslavia in early 1999 to further their imperialist geopolitical schemes?
Have such people found it within themselves to condemn the fund manager's manipulation of the Asian and Malaysian economies and currency which have caused us so much grief these last few years?
The various concerns people gravitate to reflect their political outlook. Hitler loved animals and children but gassed six million Jews to death and by the way, the Nazis appealed to green sentiments among the middle class there to win followers. The Green movement, a form of hippy-ism and the New Age movement are not something which started with the 1960s radicalism in the United States but existed in Germany at the beginning of the last (20th) century.
Tree huggers see it fit to implant spikes in trees which cause the saw to shatter, injuring the lumberjack or person cutting it, while Paul Watson, a Canadian environmental activist sees fit to be a self-appointed protector of the earth by ramming trawlers deemed to be fishing illegally. By the way, the boat is funded by a casino owner - someone who makes money by exploiting people's weakness for gambling.
An American environmentalist told me he knows a greenie who believes that the world should be nuked to save it, while a chapter of the environmentalist Sierra Club in the US blamed immigrants for causing environmental degradation.
Students in Thailand now show more interest in defending the traditional lifestyle of indigenous peoples in the forest than in child labour and the plight of workers in sweatshops. Labour issues aren't fashionable any more.
Singapore is just as guilty of suppressing political and personal freedoms as Malaysia, as well as freedom on the Internet but what do 'concerned' people have to say about that?
By the way, the imperialist media and nations don't see fit to condemn Singapore as much as they condemn Malaysia, though we actually have more political space and total freedom on the Internet in Malaysia - a freedom malaysiakini enjoys - courtesy of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Finally, did 'concerned' people condemn the Soviets for helping keep the leftist government in Afghanistan in power and defending it against the Mujahideen?
Under the leftist government there, women had opportunities to attend schools and universities, to take part in the economic life of the country and you didn't have the leftist government blowing up statues.
The US-imperialists backed the Mujahideen and after the Soviets pulled out, thanks to that traitor Gorbachev, the Mujahideen took over and different factions started fighting among themselves and finally the Taliban took control and now they have this.
Was there ethnic cleansing and constant bloodshed in Yugoslavia during the time of Marshal Joseph Broz Tito? Look what they have now, after Yugoslavia broke up and its member republics joined the western imperialist camp. 'Democracy' and 'freedom' are such lovely things isn't it?
What have people like S Nair said about that?
What has malaysiakini said so far about all the above?
Pillai is right about the one-sided nature of this condemnation; just as it's OK for the imperialist nations to possess nuclear, chemical and biological weapons but not for a small, Third-World nation, likewise the condemnation of the Taliban's action is one-sided, with double-standards being practised.
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