Issues on Politics and Ethics  Look here for a gw positioning on everyday's issues: Alliances | Anorexia and Models | Bank Secrecy |Biofuels | Blackmail and Olympic Games | Boycott of Olympic Games | Criminalization of HIV Transmission | Discrimination and Infectious Diseases | European Army | Excess Freedom of Religion | Extorsion and Olympic Games | Famine | Freedom of Expression and Religion | Freedom of Non-Expression |Fashion and Anorexia | Freedom of Religion and Excesses | HIV Transmission and Criminalization | Hunger | Infectious Diseases and Discrimination |Media and Religion | Military Alliances | Modeling and Anorexia | Models and Anorexia | Nato | Olympic Games and Protests | Press and Religion | Private Sphere |Protest and Olympic Games | Religion and Excesses | Religion and Press | Renewable Energy | Solar Energy | |
Alliances, European Army, Military Alliances, Nato Military alliances must be reinforced to allow cost-reductions in defense worldwide. The costs for remaining militarily dissuasive against potential enemies are unsustainable for developing nations. Globwatch strongly opposes the creation of European Army, and wishes instead to see a larger North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), one that extends to countries with similar democratic values. Russia that opposes an enlargement of NATO should seek to build its own alliances with neighbouring countries. Only military alliances can ensure national sovereignity and integrity at lower costs. Read also Military Alliances, stability and cost-saving opportunities |
Anorexia and Models, Fashion and Anorexia, Modeling and Anorexia, Models and Anorexia Anorexia nerviosa may be a reflexion of a plagued society, hostage of an OEC system that abuses people for the sake of profits. Legislation is the only way to prevent perversions of the system. For as long as this system exists, Globwatch recommends strong regulations to encourage better working environments in the fashion industry and protect the health of models. Among a set of rules, globwatch advocates body-weight legislation that forbids modeling below a Body-Mass Index (BMI) of 18. The Law must protect models, this is Globwatch' stance. In return, globwatch demands that models act responsibly, because they are a mirror of this world's beauty, an example of lifestyle that inspires admiration of those who seek to integrate socially, namely the youngest. Related article in IPD: FR-April 17, 2008 Read also: Drugs and Prostitution Related news:
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Bank Secrecy/Freedom on Non-Expression/Private Sphere Bank secrecy is part of an individual's right to privacy. Gw calls it freedom of non-expression, a natural law often used as a response against uncertainty and justified in cases of legitimate defense. Related article in IPD: UK-April 7, 2009 Read also: Ethics and Freedoms and Bank Secrecy and Capital Movements Related news: |
Biofuels, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Renewable energies such as geothermal, hydro and solar power should be promoted to supply more than half of world energy-needs. Other renewable energies like biofuels, because of their potential negative impact on the Environment and the supply of food, should in all cases be geographically limited - no export of the product - and be produced in harmony with the environment - no intensive harvesting with the use of pesticides, and no destruction of forests -. Related Articles in IPD: US-Mar 27, 2008 and WD-Apr 21, 2008 Read also: Solar Energy and Biofuel Related News:
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Blackmail and Olympic Games, Boycott and Olympic Games, Extorsion and Olympic Games, Olympic Games and Protests, Protests and Olympic Games Some groups of people use the Olympic Games as a way to draw worldwide attention on their political cause. While the Olympic Games is a great opportunity to better inform the world on specific issues or injustices, this type of opportunitism should not lead nations to threat a host country with a boycott, diplomatic or economic sanctions, because the nature - and degree of urgency - of the matter, for example the independence of Tibet, does not justify concessions obtained with blackmail or extorsion, which are contrary to the spirit of human rights and the very goals pursued by the group in question. The English law defines blackmail as follows: If, with a view to gain for himself or another or with the intent to cause loss to another, he makes any unwarranted (illegitimate) demand with menaces; and for this purpose a demand with menaces is unwarranted unless the person making it does so in the belief: a. that he has reasonable grounds for making the demand; and Applied to the case of the Olympic Games: Those who decide to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games look to gain for themselves diplomatic victory against the victim, China, and to cause a financial and reputation loss from lower sponsorship that a boycott of the opening ceremony would provoke. They make demands that are illegitimate since the demands for greater autonomy of Tibet is an ongoing problem, as there are thousands of them around the world, that belongs to Chinese internal-affairs as defined by international law. In addition, China has a responsibility of maintaining the nation united under that same law. Those who want to boycott the opening ceremony threaten China by setting ultimatums for a dialogue with the Tibetans, and know that withoug diplomacy their boycott will produce zero results; in other words, it is not the proper mean as defined by the law to achieve the desired results. In fact, the use of threat is a mimic of criminal behaviour which, in this instance, must be ruled out immediately. Related article in IPD: WD-April 9, 2008 Related news:
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Criminalization of HIV Transmission, HIV Transmission and Criminalization The HIV infected individual who knowingly transmits or willingly exposes others, or even believes he could transmit HIV through, for example, sexual relations, without consent, commits a crime even if he wore preservatives. Globwatch's view rejects British law's notion of 'reckless' behaviour on the side of the HIV positive. Globwatch believes that even if an HIV positive uses all precautions to avoid a transmission, if he transmits his disease to an HIV negative without his consent, he commits a crime. Furthermore, Globwatch rejects dual responsibility between partners in cases where there is no consent, because Globwatch will never assume that partners meet under suspicion of being infected, rather with the conviction that the relationship is healthy and trustworthy. While Globwatch rejects dual responsibility between partners, it recognizes a shared responsibility between the infected and Society. While the former holds the power to injure others, the latter does not do enough to erradicate or treat the infectious disease, or protect individuals against future infections. As a result, the burden of responsibility of new infections should fall on the HIV infected and Society alone. This stance may create discrimination of HIV infected. Therefore, it is necessary that every effort is being made to allow infected people to live a normal life, even if stained by the infection, by allow them an easy access to well-organized communities of people. The public health issue that questions the efficiency of criminalization because it might lower HIV testings is resolved, in that, even if the HIV positive subject believes he could be infected without testing, he could be prosecuted, if he transmitted the infectious disease. It is everyone's responsibility to know his state of health before engaging into physical relationships with others, and to behave in such a way as to prevent new infections, even if this means abstinence. Related Articles in IPD: W-May 26, 2008 Read also: Communities of People and Discrimination and Infectious Diseases Related News: |
Discrimination and Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases and Discrimination Situations where there is a threat to the life or health of individuals are often discriminatory because they split groups of individuals who are addicted or infected from others who are not. One modern example is a widespread law that bans smoking in bars and restaurants or public buildings. This law rejects smokers from certain areas to preserve the comfort and health of non-smokers. Is it morally justified to discriminate smokers knowing the habit of smoking is recognized as an addiction? Individuals or groups of individuals may also be forced into quarantaine because of the risks their health condition pose to others. These sanitary decisions violate civil rights, they are extremely discriminatory. But, sometimes we have to make difficult choices to preserve the health of others, such that civil rights may be sacrificed to protect the physical integrity of human beings. And yes, they are morally justified because a large scale practice that would protect civil rights against the fundamental right of living in times of plagues could mean the extinction of the human species. All in all, nothing is more important than the preservation of life. Related Articles in IPD: W-May 26, 2008 Read also: Communities of People and Criminalization of HIV Transmission Related News: |
Excess Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Religion and Excesses, Religion and Excesses It is an excess of religious freedom for parents or custodians to impose a religion on children, to allow for a baptism or to press for a non-secular education, that is, in schools managed and controlled by religious authorities or community-centers. Children have a fundamental right to a laic education, as well as to adhere to a religion of their own choice at the age of maturity. Related article in IPD: US-April 13, 2008 Read also Religion and Laicity Related news:
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Famine, Hunger, Disaster Relief, International Disaster Relief Famine is one of this world's biggest political disasters. Governments have been unable to handle the problem with other means than offer more humanitarian aid knowing this would never solve the underlying problems. Humanitarian aid is needed when in the scope of a realistic plan to erradicate hunger extraordinary events like droughts arise and jeopardize the outcome of the plan. The trouble is, there is no realistic plan to erradicate famine. The UN Millennium Development Goals formulates a set of eight targets to be reached by 2015. Among these targets, more education, sanitation as well as a fifty-percent reduction of hunger are mentioned. But as the world undergoes its biggest food-crisis ever, the Goals of the plan may not be achieved by 2015 or even 2100, because the mother of all problems was not even mentioned into the United Nations' problem-solving equation, namely population growth. Governments must face reality: the problem of famine can only be solved with demographic policies that curb the demand for food over the long term, that is, in the size of 365 cities of 200'000 inhabitants each year, which represents yearly world population-growth. The UNSC must act, new international laws such as an international disaster relief law must be voted and implemented to prevent the loss of more human lifes because of the inaction of irresponsible governments. Related article in IPD: I-June 3, 2008, BU-May 16, 2008, WD-Apr 21, 2008, US-Mar 27, 2008 Read also: Population, International Disaster Relief Law: immunity in self-defense Related News:
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Freedom of Expression and Religion, Media and Religion, Press and Religion, Religion and Press An honest man deserves respect, also after his death. He should not be defamated. Evidence of wrongfull doings brought to a judge after his death is useless, because the presumption of innocence of the deceased can no longer be defended. Cartoons that portray this man in any way are irrespectful. Cartoons that suggest prophet Mohammed was not up to the job, which may have caused the death of innocent people, are a profanation; they are not only irrespectful and offensive, but also unfair for making assumptions against which the deceased cannot defend himself. Criticism of religious texts is correct, as long as it is made scientifically, in a comparative investigation. By contrast, partiality may lead to segregation and racism, in which case, if not prohibited, criticism should be openly condemned. Related article in IPD: NL-April 6, 2008 Read also: Laicity in Education Related News:
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