h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Please take a moment to sign the h2g2 Amnesty Internationl Petition...

"We, the undersigned, support the aims of Amnesty International and the freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We call for the freeing of all prisoners of conscience; the right to fair and prompt trials for political prisoners; the abolition of the death penalty, torture and other cruel treatment of prisoners; and the end of political killings and human rights abuses."

http://www.h2g2.com/A455528

Read the torture Entry...

http://www.h2g2.com/A453296

Hi, John, great page! I really dig how concerned you are with the causes of people all around the world. I signed the Amnesty International petition against torture - it has no place in the world, it must end NOW!!! I am outraged by what is happening in Tibet, I have personally been enriched immensely by the teachings of Tibetans, I agree one hundred percent with everything the Dalai Lama said in his millenium declaration. From now on I'll try to keep abreast of what is happening in Tibet and I'll do what I can from my side. I am also concerned about Africa, the place where I live, and the relations between the First and the Third World in general. Feel wellcome to come and visit my page! I'll tell other people who are also committed to peace in the world about your page. Best of success!

By the way - the world can be really confused. The government of my country happen to be great friends of the Chinese.

Thanks for the kind words and the invitation; I'll pop over for a visit.

The world certainly is a mixed up place. Many western governments are taking a pretty cosy position with the PRC because of the fantastic economic stakes involved. I find myself a bit uncertain about the issue: on one hand, it can't be good to promote unfettered commerce with a country in which the army is the fastest growing commercial concern, and which itself relies heavily on the labour of political prisoners... slaves essentially; on the other hand HH the Dali Lama himself promotes a greater openness with the Chinese, in the belief that the only way to influence conditions within China is to embrace China as a part of the global community. The question of Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics is a case in point: Is it better to let the Beijing host the games in the hope that the international exposure of the games, and its culture of equality and celebration of essential humanity, will promote an elevated standard of human rights, or should they be awarded to somewhere else because the human rights record of the PRC is so abysmal? It's a difficult question to answer.

JTG

Hi, John! How DO you make a difference? I think HH the Dalai Lama has a point. It is impossible to force people to see the error of their ways. I cannot tell governments what they should do, but I think people should reach out to China, and TELL them what they are doing wrong, EXPLAIN it to them so they UNDERSTAND it; keep hammering in the message. You have to work on people's hearts and minds. You can try and force change from the outside, and maybe from the outside things will appear to be changing, but on the inside the problem will still remain. It has been that way here in SA. We have changed because we were forced to change, but in people's hearts they still hate, fear and distrust each other. And the problems haven't really become less. The same kinds of problems that were present during Apartheid are still present. But I do think that there is now a better chance of improvement than there was before. A change to people's hearts and minds is underway.

But maybe we still should consider practical steps that governments should take. I wonder if governments should not also be more "human" in their actions; regard the other guys as equals, don't try to manipulate them, but also don't take too much nonsense from them. Treat other countries the way you would treat your friends and family. Keep in mind that you need them and they need you; you can't ignore them or get rid of them, so you have no choice but to take the situation that you have and try as hard as possible to make the best of it. Governments should also look beyond the external, material things like money and resources and issues touching the power of the mighty few, and consider that they are dealing with millions of ordinary, flesh and blood people who have thoughts and feelings, needs and wants.

But still, this is the battle we must fight: changing people's attitudes. Once more, this is something that cannot be forced. You cannot control or manipulate people, but you can exert a positive influence on them. How can we make people more caring? First of all, merely by caring more for them, and by living out an attitude of caring. Love must radiate from us to others; we must emphasise it, constantly work at keeping the love in ourselves alive, nurturing it so it can grow ever stronger. Love will find love; love will induce love. We must have this attitude even to those we consider evil-doers.

We must LIVE OUT a set of priorities that value people, and life, and constructive interaction, above everything else. People will recognise
it, and they will be attracted to it - they all want to find meaning in their lives. We must work to make people realise just how special, how wonderful, how precious, how important they themselves are. And also all other living creatures. Talk about people, talk about human potential, talk about the amazing things people are capable of, encourage people to develop to their fullest. The contrast between people who are allowed to be everything they want to be and the people who are deprived of everything they need, must be extremely visible. People must more and more come under the impression that there is something very, very wrong with the abysmal conditions that so many people on Earth have no choice but to live under.

We must also teach the interconnectedness of things. We must demonstrate repeatedly that if things are bad in Asia or in Africa, it negatively effects everybody. We must idealise about the future we want to have, we must kindle people's hopes and dreams, encourage them to think BIG, in terms of the whole world. The common man must be empowered, to the extent that he realises the world is his responsibility, and he can make a difference.

From childhood people must be encouraged to make and keep friends, so that they can learn the importance of human interaction, the bonds we form between ourselves and others. They must also be given opportunities to get close to animals, and explore beautiful natural places. People have a built-in positive attitude to these things; when people are denied these things, they turn bitter, destructive, irresponsible, helpless, confused and desperate.

So basically I think you'll understand that I believe the way that will lead to the biggest rewards is one of teaching, communication and constructive interaction. Humans must, above everything else, help each other to grow. Here on h2g2 I will urge everybody who wants to make things better to speak out and communicate as much as possible, in as many ways as possible and in as many different forums as possible - online as well as IRL. Keep discussing the issues, keep trying to enrich people's understanding, keep strengthening your commitment to and improving your involvement with other people, and encourage THEM to do the same!

Hi John! I'd be happy to sign your petition. I'm involved with Amnesty International here at Kent State University (U.S.A.) and it's a great organization. We just had a big rally against the death penalty (which is still practiced in most states here), and now we're working on sweatshops. ON, not AT. Did you know that an average worker at a Nike shoe factory would have to work 44,992 YEARS just to earn as much money as Michael Jordan makes in one Nike commercial? Anyway, I'll be sure to let the other Amnesty guys know about this at Wednesday's meeting. Thanks for all your efforts!

-Zarquon (Yes I realize I'm logged in as the HVS. I'm lazy, ok?

Thanks. I should emphasize though that the petition isn't mine; I've just been trying to call as much attention to it as I can in the hope that we can get a respectable number of Researchers to sign it. The Nike statistic is interesting. Shoe manufacturers, particularly, have often come under the gun for exploiting sweatshop labour; but they aren't the only ones, or probably even the worst. Has your group discussed Suzuki and its use of what amounts to slave labour in Burma? The executives of many corporations have a lot to answer for. Oil companies are lining up to rape the Tibetan Plateau; which, apart from driving another nail into the coffin of the long-suffering Tibetan people, potentially exposes the source of fresh water for 40% of humanity to ecological disaster. These are the same oil companies which have played a significant and deplorable role in human rights abuses in Africa.

The key to having a meaningful influence on people, I agree, is to offer them a more attractive alternative to the way they are living. I read recently that the world community of emigre Chinese may end up having the greatest positive affect on the PRC. On an individual level people are basically the same the world over; they have the same hopes and dreams, and the same fears and prejudices. The deep-rooted xenophobia that seems to drive the government of the PRC is based on a quite understandable reaction to the historical relationship of China to the outside world. Perhaps the success of ethnic Chinese communities abroad, and the positive roles they play in diverse cultural settings, is our best hope for winning the trust of the people in control behind the Great Wall.

JTG

I'm pretty sure everyone in our Amnesty Int'l group is fully aware of the oil companies, particularly the Shell situation in Nigeria, but I haven't heard anything about Suzuki. I will mention it at tomorrow's meeting. And yes, I know it's not just the big famous companies like Nike that are doing it, but they're the most successful, and therefore cause the most damage. We need stricter international laws to keep big multinationals in line, but instead the leaders of the "free world" are all supporting groups like the WTO whose goal is to "liberalize" trade relations (translation: give them even more slack to continue their unethical practices). The next meeting of the WTO (ok, one of it's subsidaries) is the Trans Atlantic Business Dialouge (TABD) and it's going to be right here in Ohio, Cincinatti to be specific, on November 17th. I'm going to be there with lots of other students as well as nonstudents, protesting the TABD beacause it supports sweatshops, environmental destruction, animal abuse, loss of labor rights, and just about everything else imaginable. I am not against globalization, just unregulated globalization. We need to stop the abuses now.

Good luck with the protest rallly. I hope it is effective and that no one gets hurt. My wife and I marched with about 4,000 other people through the streets of Washington this summer to protest in front of the World Bank and the Chinese Embassy. The march was basically ignored by the press because it was completely peaceful. It seems that the media don't give a hoot about anything unless it involves bloodshed and destruction... it's a sad comment isn't it?

JTG

Good luck with the protest rallly. I hope it is effective and that no one gets hurt. My wife and I marched with about 4,000 other people through the streets of Washington this summer to protest the Chinese rape of Tibet in front of the World Bank and the Chinese Embassy. The march was basically ignored by the press because it was completely peaceful. It seems that the media don't give a hoot about anything unless it involves bloodshed and destruction... it's a sad comment isn't it?

JTG

Actually it probably would have made the news if it wasn't for one thing: The mainstream media is dependant on advertising from the same big companies that are involved in the WTO, World Bank, etc. An interesting little story: At the protests outside the Republican Convention in Phillidelphia this year (which I was not at, but I know people who were), apparently some idiot threw a rock, and the police went nuts and started shooting off tear gas in every direction. They ended up spraying a reporter for a major network (I'm not sure which one). THAT ONE made it to the press!

-Z

Sorry about the double post.

At the protest march to the Chinese embassy, everything was going smoothly, and there was no hint of any nastiness, until the crowd arrived in front of the embassy. The police on traffic duty started to press the protesters off the road and onto the sidewalk; while, at the same time, the goons in front of the embassy building were forcing people away from the entrance back onto the road. It was very tense for a few minutes, with the same people having conflicting demands shouted at them, until the march organizers saved what could have turned into an ugly scene by directing the march on to Delaware Circle (I think that's the right name). It certainly wouldn't have taken much provocation for the security guys in front of the embassy to start swinging their riot batons... even though a good portion of the crowd were women in traditional dress, many with children.

It's very easy to see how situations can quickly escalate into something beyond anyone's control.

JTG

Hi JTG! How the heck have you been?

While I support Amnesty International in general, and I support the petition in general, there is one item that is preventing me from signing........


I support the death penalty.

I support it, assuming it is used fairly and accurately. Unfortunately this is often not the case, but I still support it.

Sorry, but I had to be honest. Please do feel free to continue advertising in my forums - I'll even throw an ad into the newsletter, if I ever get off my lazy butt and update it!

-tvf