carbon atlas

the guardian has taken the latest Energy Information Administration figures (covering 2006) and put them in a nifty carbon atlas (a very cool graphic).

a brief explanation of the figures is given by duncan clark. the bottom line: global co2 emissions went up by 2.4 per cent in 2006, to 29,195m tonnes. china overtook the united states as the top emitter, producing 6018m tonnes. it's per capita production is only 4.6, while the united states' is 19.8.

hong kong is ranked 43, producing 85m tonnes, with 12.1 per capita. that's pretty high..

race discrimination: employment code of practice

the equal opportunities commission (eoc) has extended the public consultation period for the employment code of practice regarding hk's new race discrimination ordinance to 19 january 2009. it has also translated the draft code of practice into urdu, nepali, hindi, thai, tagalog and bahasa. these can be downloaded here.

Primarily, the Code is intended to help employers to understand and comply with the RDO and to promote racial equality in the workplace by encouraging good practice. It is also intended to give employees a general understanding about the law and their rights, and what to do if they feel they are discriminated against on the ground of race by their employers.

the eoc is seeking to encourage ethnic minority (and all other) groups to better understand the code and give their opinions on it, which will be incorporated before it is tabled at legco in march 2009.

more information regarding the race discrimination law (which is quite poor in terms of rights protection) can be found here.

international human rights day; 60 years

today is international human rights day. it is also the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, adopted at the end of world war II. on this occasion, amnesty international has taken out a beautiful children's edition of the declaration, with wonderful illustrations.

although the declaration has become the cornerstone of international human rights principles, and has resulted in other international treaties and norms, there is a stark gap between principles and practice. this is unfortunately true for most regions of the world.

with regards to asia:

(Hong Kong, December 8, 2008) “There is no getting away from the fact that 60 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the actual enjoyment of human rights in most countries of Asia is even less than what it was 60 years before,” said Basil Fernando, director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the UDHR, Fernando noted that while there is now more talk about human rights in Asia, the region’s systems are mostly non rule of law systems. “The primary focus in human rights work should therefore be institutional reform,” he said.

According to the Hong Kong-based rights group, the primary obstacles to human rights protection are the defects in justice administration systems. Such defects exist because of the lack of political will to devote adequate funds to the administration of justice, as well as deliberate attempts to subvert justice institutions, so as to place the executive above the law and outside accountability.

In its statement marking the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, the AHRC distinguishes rule of law countries from non rule of law countries. While there are many limitations on human rights even in countries where rule of law systems are well established, in countries where the systems are fundamentally flawed, even the possibility of rights protection does not exist...

“What we have pointed to is a very serious problem,” said Fernando. “After 60 years of the UDHR, we cannot claim that the human rights situation in the region has improved. In many countries, both in civil and political rights, as well as in economic, social and cultural rights, there is a very significant deterioration. We may talk about human rights more than before. The people may be demanding human rights more than before. In actual fact however, violations of human rights have become far greater,” he stressed.

The work of the AHRC reveals that various forms of arbitrary deprivation of rights, torture and denial of fair trial are widespread in many places. There is more unemployment, and despite greater education, particularly among women, the actual enjoyment of rights has not become any easier for large sections of the population, who remain poor. Domestic violence against women is common, as is the deprivation of their personal liberties. Anti-terrorism is increasingly used as a pretext to suspend the rights of entire populations. Life for many remains a nightmare.

malaysia: yoga haraam

according to malaysia's national fatwa council, yoga's hindu origins would 'corrupt' muslims and therefore should be banned:

The National Fatwa Council's chairman, Abdul Shukor Husin, said many Muslims fail to understand that yoga's ultimate aim is to be one with a god of a different religion — an explanation disputed by many practitioners who say yoga need not have a religious element.

"We are of the view that yoga, which originates from Hinduism, combines physical exercise, religious elements, chanting and worshipping for the purpose of achieving inner peace and ultimately to be one with god," Abdul Shukor said...

The edict reflects the growing influence of conservative Islam in Malaysia, a multiethnic country of 27 million people where the majority Muslim Malays lost seats in March elections and where minority ethnic Chinese and mostly Hindu ethnic Indians have been clamoring for more rights.

Recently, the council said girls who act like boys violate Islam's tenets. The government has also occasionally made similar conservative moves, banning the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims earlier this year, saying it would confuse Muslims...

In recent years, yoga — a collection of spiritual and physical practices, aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit — has been increasingly practiced in gyms and dedicated yoga centers around the world.

There are no figures for how many Muslims practice yoga in Malaysia, but many yoga classes have Muslims attending.

In the United States, where it has become so popular that many public schools began offering it in gym classes, yoga has also come under fire.

Some Christian fundamentalists and even secular parents have argued that yoga's Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state. Egypt's highest theological body also banned yoga for Muslims in 2004.

among those practicing yoga in malaysia are cancer patients, for whom yoga, qi gong and line dancing sessions are organized as methods of relaxation and light exercise, as well as group interaction to "promote positive thinking and unity among survivors of different race and religion".

hmm, i wonder what the reaction to this will be at my markaz yoga group?!

someday

i will not think of the friends i have lost
of the friends i could not make
of the time wasted
of the memories forgotten
of hearts broken.

i will not think of the places i never visited
of the journeys i never made
of the roles i never played
of a me i never found.

i will not think of the opportunities i did not take up
of the articles i did not write
of the presentations i did not make
of name cards thrown away.

i will not dwell on what could have been,
on a time long gone

i will not think.

someday, i will not think.

soul satisfaction

the past three weeks or so have been awesome in terms of reading and music satisfaction. it started with 'bee season' by myla goldberg. while the plot was not bad, it was the prose that really engaged me, as well as several unique perspectives. the 'kaleidoscope' room at the end took the cake, i think. before finishing 'bee season' i also started reading kate atkinson's 'when will there be good news?'. apart from the aptness of the tile (this was around the time the usd 700 billion bailout plan was making waves), atkinson is one of my favorite authors. admittedly, she hasn't written anything as brilliant as her debut 'behind the scenes at the museum', but her recent foray into the literary mystery/suspense world has been very fruitful. i am already anticipating her next novel, in which two of her protagonists have to get together.

while in the middle of these two novels, i started listening to new music as well: jason mraz, travis' 'ode to j smith', leona lewis (not worth mentioning though) and ani difranco's 'red letter year', which is the best of the lot, not to mention 'nicer' than her previous music. on my waiting list are still new albums by keane, tracy chapman and dido; these should happily get me through the rest of the year (and beyond).

to top it all off, i have just started reading 'the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society', which is great; i am already in love with the characters. it's a very short novel and i can see myself soon mourning its end.

to have read three highly enjoyable books in succession is not such a common experience. to have the experience interspersed with wonderful new music is even rarer. i don't know what i will read next, but i will thoroughly enjoy tglappps first. recommendations are always welcome.

horoscope

"you need to come to terms with the fact that a certain situation has altered irrevocably and things will never be the same again. the time has come to move on. it should not be a problem as you like challenges. whatever comes next will be even better than what has passed."