increased harassment of lawyers and activists, repression of Tibetan and Uighur minorities, and a tightening of already strict controls on the internet

as evidence. Also predictably, China hit right back at the US, saying

“At a time when the world is suffering a serious human rights disaster caused by the US subprime crisis-induced global financial crisis, the US government still ignores its own serious human rights problems but revels in accusing other countries.

And I have to say I agree with them. Now, I’m not saying that China doesn’t have human rights problems. Clearly, it does. But the US does tend to experience a kind of selective amnesia when it comes to human rights issues. Have they forgotten Guantanamo already? Or the many abuses during the invasion of Iraq? Or the fact that not too long ago, the US denied a whole section of its population the most basic human rights based on race alone?

It’s a peculiarly Western habit, I think, to have one standard for the Europe and the US, and one for the rest of the world. Western states are all too eager to relegate human rights to the sidelines when it suits them, only to bring humanitarian and justice concerns trumpeting back out if a non-western state does something to displease. A case of throwing stones from glass houses, I think.

And people wonder why the rest of the world resents the West.

It did make me think though; without the immigrant population here, that kind of inter-racial communication and problem-solving would have been impossible. I know a lot of people don’t like immigration; I’ve head all the rants about how immigrants are stealing jobs and taking over the country. But frankly, I think we should remember that we were all immigrants at some point. I myself moved here to New Zealand from England when I was four. I’m much  more a Kiwi than an Englishwoman now, but I can still be classed as an immigrant.

I love the fact that I can eat food from all over the world due to the fact that immigrant families open up restaurants and eateries selling food from their homelands; who doesn’t enjoy a doner kebab or some bulgogi? And the different perspectives brought to our education system are amazing; I have only one lecturer at the moment who was born in NZ. The others are from the US, Canada, and Korea.

So really, before you start immigrant bashing, maybe take  a moment and consider what we wouldn’t have if immigrants didn’t come here. Our economy certainly wouldn’t ve the same, that’s for sure, and the world would be a far more boring place to live.

In an interview on TV One’s Close Up, Morrison said it was “celebrity drivel”, “pathetic” and that given Bingle’s career as a model, “not that unique” that nude photos of her were taken. Basically, she was asking for it. What a pig. All Morrison cared about was that the cricket team lost one player because he wanted to be with his loved one at a difficult time. Simply because Bingle is a model does not mean that men can can unsolicited photos of her against her will and then distribute them to the world. It shows a complete lack of respect for women and their rights. As Bingle said:

“Women should not have to accept that sort of behaviour just because a boyfriend or partner wants to impress their friends. It is demeaning and disrespectful of us.”

I think it’s unfair to blame it on the couple’s “celebrity mentality”; perhaps they actually love each other? Just because they happen to be famous doesn’t mean they can’t act like a normal; couple in love would in trying times. And his suggestion that a game of cricket should come before a loved one is ridiculous, and frankly with chauvinistic. The male domain of sport is clearly far more important to Mr Morrison. His complete disregard for the violating effect and impact on Lara Bingle is disgusting, and his demeaning attitude towards her relationship with Clarke is typical of an old-fashioned chauvinist. He believes she is bringing him down and holding him back, with no thought for the fact that it may be an equal partnership of love and respect. Shame on you, John Morrison.

Here’s a link to the story on the Close Up website.

A succinct look at the hypocrisy of the West, and the growing postcolonial backlash to Western arrogance.

An excellent example of the arrogance of some Western nations. It seems George Bush’s influence has rubbed off on the UK.

First, Gordon Brown tries to pass the buck by justifying the war in terms of international law: “Iraq was in breach of UN resolutions – and that “rogue states” could not be allowed to flout international law.”

What he doesn’t mention is that the Iraq coalition flouted international law itself by ignoring a ruling from the UN saying the law was illegal.

Mr Brown also says that he feared the “new world order we were trying to create would be put at risk.” To me this begs the question: who decided what this “new world order” would be? And who gave the UK/US the authority to impose it on unwilling nations? The world order Brown is talking about is a purely Western creation, and it is unfair to assume that the entire world sees things the same way.

I don’t think that the UK is in a position to decide which countries “need to change.” While some good things did come out of the war in Iraq (the removal of Saddam Hussein), I think it creates a dangerous precedent for imposing Western values and agendas in areas where they just don’t fit.

I must admit I had no idea these parties existed! You learn something new every day…

There’s an interesting point at the end. Xu Hui, vice-chairman of the China Democratic League (CDL), says that China’s political system has advantages over those used in the West.

“In our system it’s much easier to reach agreement and to put our policies into reality,” he said, referring to the lack of formal constraints on the ruling party’s power.

“In some countries they spend a very long time discussing a small problem. If they cannot get agreement, the work is just put aside.”

I must admit I agree with him. I’ve been studying the American governmental mechanisms, and I’m shocked they get anything done at all. It’s a bureaucratic nightmare! Our Prime Minister here in NZ has more actual power than Barack Obama when it comes to policy and law making.

Files have been released showing that Portuguese police dismissed dozens of potential sightings of Madeleine.
Leads from around the world – including the CCTV footage from New Zealand of a child looking strikingly like the missing girl – were filed away under the heading ‘not relevant’.

One of the sightings was right here in New Zealand, at a store in Dunedin. Someone rang the news tonight, though, and said that it was actually them in the CCTV footage, not Madeleine. Perhaps the rest of the evidence is also simply a case of mistakene identity? I certainly hope so; to think that something which has been sitting in a file for 2 years could have saved that little girl is sickening.