A Canadian Girl in England

I'm living it up in Brighton England this year and I've been here for too long to have not posted so here goes!! First I've had to get used to the fact that I'm thought of as American most of the time because they can't tell the difference in accents and there are a lot of Americans at my school. But luckily they realize that I'm definitely not American after talking to me for about 5 mins!!

Speaking of English traditions I experienced Bonfire Night last evening which happens on the 5th of November (well 4th this year) in Lewes a small pretty town a train stop away from UniSussex. It was crazy!! They burn public figures (giant recreations) in response to the political situation of the time, but mostly its a traditional night to commemorate the burning of Guy Fawlkes who plotted to burn down parliament and the commeration of his death burnt by the Catholics. I think that's the gist of it anyways.

I'm slowly getting used to living in Britain, I've been really lucky as the weather in the South has been unusually sunny and warm so I haven't had to experience too many gloomy rainy days. The people are a little bit strange; they use different words, they like different bands but underneath we're all similar. Students are students, rez is rez, school is school. The English are great people at parties because they like to have a pint and talk your ear off! I'm so lucky being here because I'm so close to London and the rest of Europe and I have to say I've been able to see a lot; Oxford, Canterbury, Bath, Cambridge, Much of SouthEast England and I'm going to Ireland in December.

My housemates are mostly English but I also live with some exchange students from France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Malaysia and Angola. Everybody loves that I'm a Canadian because they assume we're such friendly sociable people (luckily I am otherwise I might give off a bad impression of canada!). It's always funny to hear them try to speak 'Canadiana' because they always end up sounding like valley girls. They get me to say typical english expressions in a very bad english accent. Living in a completely different setting from at home has been a real trip! I've been meeting people from all over the world because we have a lot of international students which has been fabulous!

New Blog Header

I designed a new blogger heading for my blog, but I'm having some technical difficulties, but they'll have to be figured out another time. I have too much studying to do to be fiddling around in photoshop anymore tonight. Enjoy the massive picture. Hope all my readers enjoy the changes (not that there are many).

Just trying to find my place in the world!

I really should be writing an essay on Women in Muslim Sects in the 15th Century (which I have to admit is a really interesting topic) but I feel I need to write a blog instead. I want to talk about change, personal and on the world level.

They say life can change in a single moment. I don't agree, I think monumental change is a collection of moments that can happen in rapid succession. I've been going through a lot of change in the past couple of months and I feel like I'm finally arriving at some kind of direction in my life. I don't know when it started but I can definitely pin point the beginning of the monumental moments to early January when, with absolutely no warning my grandfather had a heart attack and passed away. I can't tell you how devastating it was for myself and my family that a healthy, thriving, socially active man suddenly left us. I can look back on this now and tell you that if nothing else my personal tragedy has made me realize how short life is and we have to make every moment count (I realize the cliche but bear with me). Since then I've moved my life forward so quickly; I decided to go to England next year and study Development and to free myself from some personal barriers that have held me back in the past couple of years.

I won't get into the rest, but I wanted to provide some background to what I'm going to say next. I just came from a lecture in my Israeli Political Identity course that was so exhilarating it inspired this blog. I have struggled for the past few years with my choice of University degree, it never felt right. Now I realize that it has been the best preparation I could ask for. I want to spend my life studying and analyzing and developing strategies to combat conflict. I'm talking about Peace and Conflict Resolution at the international level. I realized that I love taking a problem, pulling it apart and then solving it. I thought that I would be happy doing it at a small level, but now I realize that the reason why I was so drawn to International Development was the prospect of solving problems at the world level. On one hand I see that I'm insane, that world identity clashes are never going to be solved, blah blah, but I'd like to at least be a part of the process.

So that moves me on to the next part of my blog, it'll be quick I promise. Today in class we discussed peace in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Palestine. My professor is a leader in his field and brought up some incredible points. One of those was discussing the prospect of peace through the spread of democracy in places like Iraq. It is an inherent characteristic of this region that democracy will never be achieved in the manner of Western liberal democracy because it is in contradiction with the Islamic ideology. So maybe we should admit defeat and move on, even the US (some scholars anyways) is in realization that the future of Iraq is not going to achieve a truly democratic state or secular even. I won't get into this because its too big for me right now. What I want to talk about is change from within. In order to achieve the end of conflict between Palestine and Israel (as my professor taught us today), the two states need to become normalized. In order to become normal, there needs to be peace. In order to achieve peace there needs to be a change in Identity. Now in order for change at an Identity and an Ideological level there has to be a sort of catalyst, in France, Germany, China it was catastrophe. In some instances (ie. The Cold War) it was achieved through learning. That is what I want to study and learn and work with, the changing from within through learning. Could it be that peace could be achieved in this messed up world simply through the learning and the use of Cold War tactics?

Just a crazy thought, but wouldn't it be neat if it worked?

Identity

Too busy to write a real post but this is what I was thinking of the other day. I'm writing a paper on Identity, Nationhood and Military in Israel. It has been a very interesting paper that I've actually enjoyed writing. Actually I'm writing it right now, it's due at 8 am. I wish I'd had more time, so it is inspiring me to devote a 2 part blog on it. Two part meaning, I'm starting it now but I'll finish it post-essay. My first question is this: If we didn't have nations, or common affiliation would war be obsolete? If we were completely isolatied and individualistic wouldn't that be the end of war as we know it (haha.. a bit of BNL for any of you fans). There would be nothing to fight over, no commonalities, no group-think, no connections outside the nuclear family. So why then if we are become more individualist, liberal as a world are we at the cusp of one of the most violent eras of mankind? Is it because, fundamentally we are afraid?. Afraid of change, afraid of others, afraid of ourselves?

La Belle Vie et Les Insectes Cyborg

In honour of my possible summer employment I decided to go with a French Title. That's right! I will probably be living in La Belle Montreal cet ETE! The possibilities are endless. I was there this weekend and went to an Art Gallery, watched Canadian Idol Auditions (it was really funny), walked around for hours and just enjoyed the French city like its meant to be enjoyed. Besides Vancouver, Montreal is my favourite place to be in Canada. Actually I like Montreal better. Maybe because it reminds me of Europe, and oh how I miss France, Italy, Holland, etc etc.

Onto the Blog. I'd like to discuss today something I read the other day on BBC NEWS. The title of the news report was Pentagon Plans Cyber-Insect Army. The title alone warranted a blog. But further reading revealed that it was a definite bloggable article. The basic premise is that the US has commissioned a study on implanting chips into insects during the pupae stage in order for the insect to grow around the micro chip and have it incorporated into its physical being. The chip then remote controls the insects movements. The insects can check out explosives, send transmissions and do various other tasks. In reading more about this it seems that there is a history of the US using animals in military operations. But the manipulation of Insects to become army spies through altering their physical state seems a little sci-fi. What next? Create super bugs that can kill, bomb, maim, torture? I can just see it. What makes it morally acceptable? I don't agree with animal testing and I sure as hell don't agree with the use of animals/insects/whatever for military advancement. It gives the US and other powers the right to manipulate nature by exploiting it for their own gains. We've done enough damage to the earth, why do we have to use animals to do our dirty business? Why can't warfare be more simplified. War had rules once, not necessarily official but it was understood. What happened to the Ethics of War, when we've seen a trend in Intent to Harm rather then Intent to Kill (The difference being the Intent to harm civilians or the Intent to simply kill combatants). If we read up on Jus in Bellum, Jus in Bello, the IR theories explain that war should have cause and a goal. I don't see that in the daily press on war around the world, there is no just cause in the wars being fought today. The development of 'cyber-insects' is just another example of the unfairness of war today. What are we to do when we can't even trust that our opponents in this ever violent world will act in a just manner?


Any thoughts?

Springtime in the City

It's that time again. Spring is upon us, in a few weeks the air will get warmer and finally catch up to the sunshine that's been casting a bright light on the city all week. I don't know what it is about spring, whether its the fact that it means only a month of school left in April, or if its just the weather but I love it. I feel like everything and everyone finds a bit more hope in their situations. Since its almost time for a new season, it makes one contemplate the season that is about to pass. Cold, dark and long, winter (maybe with exception of our city winter it was quite mild this year) can bring even the most cheery person down sometimes, but for me it was more than that. I'd like to talk about loss today- the loss of a loved family member, the loss of trust, the loss of focus. For many people in the world today loss is a daily tragedy: with ever increasing natural and man-made disasters it seems that you can't read the paper or listen to the news without hearing a story about personal tragedy. I guess the cynics out there would say that the people don't want to hear about the good news stories that disaster, crisises, loss, turmoil sells. So is it a fact of life that an inevitable part of life is loss? Or can someone be overwhelmed with tragedy that seems a little more then the inevitability of life?

Darfur, Pakistan, Tsunami, Famine, War, Africa, Middle East, Congo, Death, Rape, Violence, Terrorism. All of the latter are places, terms, people that have become a constant occurence in conversations in my circles more often then peace, harmony and happiness. What can we do? I'm working on a research paper right now about civil war and the fight over Kashmir. What I've learned so far is that there is no clear solutions to the strife in Kashmir, but moreover there seems to be no answer at all. So my question for my peers, and anyone else out there reading, is this: Is there a peaceful solution to tensions in the Middle East and if the West stopped their interference would they know peace?

So in danger of sounding cliched, with springtime around the corner and the opportunity to start anew; is there also opportunity for us in the West to change our attitudes and to do something concrete about reducing our meddling and interference that causes so much turmoil. If loss is truly inevitable in life, can it at least have a reduced impact on those who need a bit of spring cheer the most.

Foreign Affairs Dialogue #1: Cartoon Controversies

Just a quick post today, the essay writing machine that is school has me tied up for the next week in a hermit-like existence. During a quick study break I changed my blog's look and I think its rather sharp. Let me know.

To the topic of the hour that has been plaguing news headlines, blogs and conversations of late. The Muhammad Cartoon Controversy. I have to say personally I find the reaction of Muslims and religious clerics around the world, and even in Canada to be a blatant manipulation of an issue and an overreaction by protestors. However I also understand that these cartoons are an insult to the Islamic doctrine that forbids publishing images of the Prophet while to what degree they are to demand this same actions from non-Muslims is not as understanding.

I'm sure everybody is aware of the violent protests that have been occurring throughout the Middle East and around the world in response to some editorial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in various disparaging and humorous poses aimed at ridiculing various aspects of Muslim current affairs, including Jihad and women's rights. Now many Muslims feel personally insulted by these cartoons that have been re-published in newspapers across Europe (they had originated in a Danish newspaper in September, 2005). If you would like to see the cartoons, and read an interesting take on them from another blogger Michelle Malkin go here. Generally the response of the Muslim population has been to attack the Danish people, to boycott buying Danish products and to destroy Danish embassies/other properties in the Middle East as happened today in Beirut. One of the issues that has come up in many articles and opinions on this matter is that the Muslim community have no right to condemn non-Muslims in the international community for publishing images of Muhammad which are forbidden in Islam. The point being is that censorship and freedom of speech are under attack here; if Western people were to give in to the Muslim reaction to the cartoons we would be giving in to the opinions of many Muslim people that the West should be censored in every aspect that concerns Islam.


Another point is that publishing of images of the Prophet is not new. What is it that now with these cartoons is making the reaction so strong and widespread. Today on Diplomatic Immunity, one of the panel, Edward Luttwak described the backlash as being a manipulation of Muslim leaders to attack Western culture and life for its values. So why then when images throughout history have depicted Muhammad have they not received such a violent reaction from the Muslim people. Is it because of the heightened tension between Western and Muslim values? Is it because of Post 9/11 changes in dichotomy? Regardless of the reasons, it does not justify the violent means of protest that are occurring in the Middle East as we speak. Nor would it justify a reaction of violence on the part of the EU and other Western governments. What it does pose is the simple question of whether or not the West has been justified in interfering in Middle Eastern politics and in the politics of other countries in general. It thus proves the injustice of interference in autonomous societies and maybe should serve as a reminder to the leaders in the UN and the superpowers that they must be more careful in how and why we interfere in the lives of others.

New Blog, in Need of A New Tittle

Changed my blog, what do you think? Also I'm trying to find a new title for my page so if you have any ideas!! Let me know.

My new blog header is a photo of Downtown Toronto taken from St.Michael's Hospital on Queen Street by M.G. © 2005.