King Fish in Port Antonio
The rainy season makes it a little harder to enjoy the beaches of Portland, on the North Coast of Jamaica. But that can't stop us from indulging in the bounties of the sea!
Saturday had us at a nice place on the outskirts of Port Antonio, in the Parish of Portland, called Anna Banana. The king fish steak, steamed, was excellent.
Limitations of Rationalism
Political Science. It was so easy to say, back at university, answering "what's your major." What a wonderful feeling, learning grand models that could not only explain but help you predict human behavior.
Now, having lived in the realm of international relations, in one form or another, for a number of years, I long for those days of confidence. Not to exaggerate the simplicity of my education, of course - there was plenty of skeptical back and forth. But at the end of the semester you still walked away with your grand theories.
Human, or government for that matter, behavior, presents itself as irrational more often than it rings of realism or liberalism etc, in far too many cases. Navigating the webs of relations and causes/effects can leave one with head spinning...
Country Driving
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- The biggest Avacado ever
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- Awesome lunch at Mr. Lee’s
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- Mr. Lee’s roof, St. Mary
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- Avocado Tree
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- Giant spiders in St. Mary
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- Unique Advertising
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- Washing Clothes in the river
2010 Human Rights Reports are out!
Human Rights Reports
Every year the U.S. State Department tasks its officers around the world with gaining insight into the state of human rights, freedom and other aspects, and reporting to Washington, and all of civil society, through the annually published Human Rights Reports.
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." Reports on several countries are included that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.
The reports cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Defunding Diplomacy
An evisceration of the State Department's finances, backing out of America's obligations to the United Nations? Of course! Reduce the amount of blood and gold being spent on military activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, however, or hold back some of the billions dumped into the bolstering of Israel's military defenses? Forget it!
The budget proposed by a Republican budget plan goes in that direction, according to the AFP, slicing the State Department budget by about 8% from the previous year.
Human Rights Law
Perhaps the gravity of the issues the fine folks at the Independent Jamaican Council on Human Rights have to deal with every day has something to do with their irrepressible and contagious good nature and ability to have a good time.
The Council draws lawyers and interns from around the world to join the amazing Jamaicans working (and mostly volunteering) there - presently, there is an inspired group consisting of lawyers and students from England, India, Spain, the USA, and other countries.
Friday and Saturday of this week, the Norman Manley School of Law, at the University of the West Indies, hosted a seminar on Human Rights in the Inter-American System. Human rights advocates, policy makers, journalists, and academics from around the region came together in Jamaica to discuss everything from Jamaica's place in the system to the ongoing problem of extra-judicial killing in the country to education and human rights to the future of the Inter-american system.
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- Human Rights Lawyers
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- UN Rep on Refugees in the Caribbean, and me
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- Inter-American Human Rights, Norman Manley Law School
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- UWI, University of the West Indies
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- President of the Jamaican Senate, presenting on Human Rights at the Law School
Blue Mountain Hike
Perhaps the most impressive Physical Challenge undertaken by this island hopper in quite a while, I climbed yesterday into the mountain-goat of a Jeep of a fellow diplomat and drove out of Kingston, accompanied by one of the Marines posted at the Embassy, and headed towards the fabled Blue Mountains in Jamaica's interior.
Despite the nearly deadly and impassable road that snakes and cuts its way over boulders and through rivers and is sometimes mostly swallowed by landslides, we found ourselves playing Spades with a local Jamaican by the light of kerosene lamps, our stomachs full of peas and rice and curry chicken, at a hostel perched amidst a coffee tree grove, one of a few flat places part way up to the top of the Blue Mountains, which reach a respectable 7,402 feet.
View Larger Map
View Larger Map
Labor and Media in China
I spent the past five days meeting people and learning about conventions, practices, international agreements and organizations, etc that are consequential to labor, both in the United States and around the world. Today, at the Solidarity Center, the focus was on the international labor movement, especially how labor activists in the US were not only forging and maintaining bonds with communities of workers in other countries but how they are supporting labor movements in countries where labor standards are not as well enforced as they are in places like the US, Canada, and many others.
China was always an interesting caveat in these discussions, since the government controlled union is one of the world's largest and because it is illegal to form private unions. While this poses challenges to the broader community of workers seeking solidarity with the workers of China, that is not to say that labor plays a small role in the country. On the contrary, despite the controlled nature of much of China's news media, labor activists that I talked to today said how prominently workers issues, working standards, and worker actions against unacceptable work conditions were featured in Chinese media.
Even Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping remarked recently on the importance of labor unions in the country - see "China's labor unions play unique role: Vice President" in The People's Daily, a national English Language news source from China.
Obesity in Malaysia
Well, I certainly could have predicted this... Drench everything in coconut curry and coconut oil and top it off with durian and condensed milk and see what happens!
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Saturday, February 4th at 0:18 
Ted Meinhover
Friday, February 3rd at 13:52 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/1/china-plants-bitter-seeds-in-south-american-farmla/?page=3
China plants bitter seeds in South American farmland
www.washingtontimes.com
Few were surprised when Venezuela announced a deal with China last week to restore 1.4 million acres of unproductive farmland across the oil-rich but impoverished South American nation.
Ted Meinhover
Thursday, February 2nd at 12:04 What would you do with $5.0 million?
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/31/us/politics/super-pac-donors.html
Who’s Funding the ‘Super PACs’
www.nytimes.com
The Times is tracking donors to “super PACs” as they file reports on Tuesday detailing their activities in the final three months of 2011.
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