Happy Sunday Everybody!
How are you all doing after the first working week of 2015?
After the tragic events of this week, I should say I prefer the “eventlessness” (I know, I just made this word up) of the past few weeks, when there are not much to read and post about. I do hope the rest of this year will be filled with much more positive news.
France’s Open Wound / La Plaie Béante de la France
Great, great post about the two sides of this sad story. I myself shared the #jesuischarlie hashtag a few times since the tragic event unfolded, and not for a moment did it occur to me that in doing so, I am supporting islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments. I firmly believe that in “being Charlie” we do not agree with every single, many times undeniably offensive publication of Charlie Hebdo, but we condemn the attack while offering solidarity with those who had to die for their opinions. In “being Charlie”, as a content provider (if boastfully, as a blogger, I may call myself one) I refuse to be daunted to moderate my thinking. That is why I continue to be Charlie, but at the same time, also continue to condemn punishing whole Muslim communities for the acts of a few. Besides the obvious tragic nature of this attack, the rise of islamophobia and xenophobia is a very sad long term and irreversible consequence of it that I do not and never will share community with.
Palestine and the ICC: An (Imagined) View from Inside the Court
Now we also know that Palestine will become member of the ICC as of this April. And I am also one of those who are surprised at the vehemence of protests among international scholars. The Court was set up for a reason. It is hard enough to start a prosecution as it is, why take away its power by saying, we want justice to be done by this Court, except for some cases where justice being done simply would not suit us. I do hope international justice doesn’t work that way. It certainly should’t.
Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU (1 January – 30 June 2015)
Links to the full program and short explanation of the Latvian Presidency. I used to enjoy studying these programs of EU presidencies, perhaps I should try again this time.
