Category Archives: peace

Japan Moves to Permit Greater Use of Its Military – NYTimes.com

 

The new policy cannot go into effect until at least this autumn as Parliament must still clear legal barriers to broader military action by revising more than a dozen existing laws, experts and lawmakers said. However, with Mr. Abe’s governing coalition enjoying a comfortable majority in both houses, the change seems all but certain to become reality.

Still, even under the new policy, the Japanese military, called the Self-Defense Forces, will face strict limits that will allow it to act only when there is a “clear danger” to Japan or its people, and to use only “the minimum level of force necessary,” according to the text of the cabinet decision.

via Japan Moves to Permit Greater Use of Its Military – NYTimes.com.

Thousands rally against expected decision by Japan to allow greater military role

The Cabinet is expected to announce the decision Tuesday. It is one of the biggest changes in Japan’s security policy since World War II. Previously the constitution has been interpreted as allowing the use of arms only for Japan’s own self-defence, and critics say the change undermines the charter.

Abe says the revision is needed because of China’s military expansion and missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.

via Thousands rally against expected decision by Japan to allow greater military role.

Deja vu WWII build up? In September 18, 1931, a group of Jap­anese soldiers stationed in the no­rthern Chinese province of Manchuria, masquerading as Chinese bandits, blew up a few feet of the Japanese-controlled South Manchurian Railway. The clumsily orchestra­ted incident was used as a pretext to launch an attack by the Kwantung Army (Japan’s field army in China), which aimed to occupy the whole of the province and bring its rich resources under Japanese control. This was the start of a decade of escalating violence that would culminate in the German assault on Poland and the start of World War II.

Within months of the Japanese seizure of Manchuria, the fragile international order of the 1920s was in tatters. The League of Nations did little to protect China from Japanese aggression, and in February 1933 Japan left the League altogether. Japanese statesmen and military leaders had grown frustrated by an international political and economic order that they thought gave them a second-rate status. 

Blessing the Body – Beauty for all Genders –

The most frequently asked questions I receive from people have to do with my skin, teeth, the brightness of my eyes and overall looks; they want to know what’s my beauty regime. The secrets? So few & simple! And yet so important & profound!

What people need to understand is that the state of my skin, thick nails, white teeth, lustrous hair, etc. are all a byproduct of self love. It frustrates & disappoints me that, whenever I start telling the questioneer about what I do to & with my body, which starts on the inside -not the outside-, they either roll their eyes and zone out until I shut up, or they interrupt “Yeah yeah, but what do you put on your skin, hair, teeth…”. People’s obsession with disregarding their inner world (both the physical and the non-physical) irritates me. And I wonder Why do you ask for an honest answer if you don’t want to hear it?

The way I care for my body often sounds strange to people who want a fast and practical solution, “fast food” style. But if you’ve known me for any substantial amount of time, you’ll know that I don’t do quick fixes. Everything I do in life, I do in a slow, deep deep deep-to-the-core, progressive, curiosity-fuelled, self adoring style, leaving no stone unturned as I make love to myself. Uh-oh, have you already zoned out, dear reader? 😉

via Blessing the Body – Beauty for all Genders –.

The “Simplification” Of The Issues « The Dish

 

The “Simplification” Of The Issues « The Dish.

What Osma bin Laden wanted, it seems to me, was to bait the West into a direct fight on Muslim soil. That immediately elevated the cause of jihad, internationalized it, galvanized a generation of religious fanatics, and, even better for the radicals, broke a country in the heart of the Middle East so that sectarian violence could be exploited for further radicalization. Obama’s great achievement has been to steer the US, so far as possible, away from taking that poisoned bait. Cheney’s achievement was to fall for it, hook, line and sinker.  I say this as someone who also took the bait – with good intentions and in good faith, but blinded by trauma and ignorance. The choice we face is really between those two long-term strategies for surviving the Islamist wave. I favor Obama’s. I favor the future over the past.

{Anyone really in control of Iraq?} ISIS Fighters Advance Toward Large Iraqi Dam – NYTimes.com

Separately on Wednesday, Mr. Maliki rejected calls for a caretake

r government, as he has before, but it appeared to be a repudiation of the Western leaders who have asked him to agree to share power with Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds.

via ISIS Fighters Advance Toward Large Iraqi Dam – NYTimes.com.

Settlers vandalize 12 Palestinian cars in East Jerusalem | Maan News Agency

Settlers vandalized 12 Palestinian vehicles and a school bus in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina on Monday, locals said.

Owners of the vehicles told Ma’an that three masked settlers raided the al-Ashqariya neighborhood at 3 a.m. and punctured tires on 12 cars.

The settlers also sprayed “Death to Arabs” and “Revenge” on a school bus and another private vehicle.

Local resident Mahmoud Shanak told Ma’an that this is the first incident of its kind in al-Ashqariya.

The damaged vehicles belong to Riyad al-Halwani, Ramadan Bader, Mahmoud al-Shanak, Muhammad al-Shanak, Alaa al-Leftawi, Ulfat al-Bakri, Muhammad Hussein Barqan, Nisreen Hamad, Younes Ghazawi and Issa Jabarin.

via Settlers vandalize 12 Palestinian cars in East Jerusalem | Maan News Agency.

Chennai children sing for peace – The Hindu

On the occasion of World Music Day, students from city schools – both private and Chennai Corporation-run institutions — are singing to promote harmony and peace.

On Saturday, carnaticworld.com will have school students and professionals sing across the city. Beginning 6 a.m. at Gandhi statue in Marina beach, there will be performances through the day at PSBB School in T. Nagar, Citi Centre Mall and Narada Gana Sabha. “Around 250-300 children will participate and we want to pass on these ideals to the next generation,” said musician K.N. Shashikiran. There is also an event in the evening at Narada Gana Sabha.

On Friday, 500 children sang folk, classical and semi-classical songs at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Anil Srinivasan, musician and founder of Rhapsody Music Foundation, said, “The idea is to bring communities together, to see music as an educational tool and not just as art.”

via Chennai children sing for peace – The Hindu.