Picture and Story of the Day: East TImor
Photo courtesy of Adrees Latif/Reuters
Man... sucks to live in fear, but whatcha gonna do. Welcome to East Timor.
The "World's Youngest Nation" is going through some growing pains (read: "militia uprisings.") It happens with new countries (see: Iraq.) Luckily the good ol' Aussies parked their ships off of the island paradise and are in process of restoring order.
Check it: In East Timor, Refugees Born of Chaos, Carnage and Fear (NYT 05292006)
Quiz Time:
I will give a prize to the first person who can tell me where East Timor is located and if you can tell me from which country did East Timor gain its independence?
EXTRA BONUS POINTS: if you can tell me how to get to East Timor from Washington DC.
You can find out more about The World's Youngest Nation" here: CIA FactBook: East Timor
posted by YodaBeesh at
7:27 AM
7 Comments:
WOW, an American writing about East Timor!!!
Yoda, I am impressed...
No one in your country cared about the fact that in East Timor 100thousands of people were slaughtered in a terrible "war", the media in the States most often didn't even cover the topic with small Reuters tags...
What a coincidence Indonesian government was supported by the USA for years...
In that sense: Welcome to the real world and thanks for pointing this out.
In case I won the price: Send it to Amnesty International, ok?
;-)
By
Anonymous, at Monday, May 29, 2006 11:29:00 AM
I'm glad that my blog has captured an international audience (SWITZERLAND).
Believe it or not, some of us actually keep track of foreign affairs. I can even locate Iraq on a map (gasp)
The US didn't intervene in East Timor as "it was not in our interests." You can also apply the same logic to the following: Liberia, Rwanda, Congo, Nepal, and (insert name of third-world shitbox country here), etc.
Its a shame that things work out that way, but that's just how it is over here. Do I adhere to that policy? Nah.
By
YodaBeesh, at Monday, May 29, 2006 11:54:00 AM
I just re-read the above commentary... I do want to clarify that I do give a sh*t what happens in other parts of the world.
I'm not "america-centric", and its not very fair of you to say that "no on in your country cared..."
So shut your pie-hole and go make some chocolate, byotch!
By
YodaBeesh, at Monday, May 29, 2006 12:01:00 PM
Well, Yoda, I am not talking about what's happening now, I am talking about 1975 and the following years... During that time there was almost zero press coverage in the States of the slaughterings in East Timor. If you are interested in what happened at that time and how media was reacting, google for "Amy Goodman" who was trying to report during that period.
There were almost 1 million people killed and at that time, there was no internet, so not even you, as an interested and well-educated person would have known what was going on except you would have had access to alternative media. In that sense I think it's correct to say that no one cared...
No need to get personal because of that. Peace.
By
Anonymous, at Monday, May 29, 2006 12:29:00 PM
Well, when you put it in that context (mid-1970s), then yes, no one probably cared. In the US we had lots of problems with gas prices, hostages, and serial killers on the loose. At that point in time the US was probably in post-Vietnam withdrawal as well, so more conflict was the last thing we needed.
I do have some thoughts though re. "national interests." I think its the responsibility of the president and congress to act in the best interests of one's country. The US just does that to a very hyper-level. On the same token, as they are elected officials in a democracy, they should be a voice for the concerns of the people. I cannot say that the latter is occurring now (I don't believe it is), but I think that if you watch the congressional elections this November in the US, you will see a lot of change. Many citizens will take their civic responsibilities more seriously by voting in/out officials that truly represent our personal interests.
Didn't mean to come across as an insensitive ass in my last posting. I just want to debunk the perception that all americans are closed-minded and ego-centric. The word "all" is an absolute term.
By
YodaBeesh, at Monday, May 29, 2006 12:43:00 PM
Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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By
Anonymous, at Thursday, June 08, 2006 4:08:00 AM
Nice! Where you get this guestbook? I want the same script.. Awesome content. thankyou.
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By
Anonymous, at Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:50:00 PM
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