With around 15% of Global GNP given over to organized crime, it is clear that while crime is global, policing is still often local. This book looks at how a global approach to law enforcement can be achieved and highlights role that transnational moral entrepreneurs are playing in pushing new legislation through across international borders. Issues such as the treatment of animals, women's rights, racial equality and the treatment of minors are all given as examples of how we as global citizens are moving towards a point of convergence in law making albeit at differing rates. The books authors are... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 10:28 PM Comment

Tags: health, law, religion, sociology

A few points on the asylum seeker issue: The basic problem is that the conflict has gone on for over half a century (with roots going even further back) with no clear system for now resolving it. The Hindu Tamil dominated north should have been given a measure of local autonomy when the country became independent of Britain in 1948. Instead, an increasingly nationalistic majority Buddhist Sinhalese government in Colombo has ignored the local community demands. This has brought on its own adverse reaction from the Tamil community. As with other localized conflicts, one thing led to another in a... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 9:20 PM Comment

Tags: sociology

Witchcraft is now on the agenda of the United Nations. The UN itself - as a secular organization on the church/state split of the United States Constitution -cannot get involved in the official propagation of witchcraft or any other sort of religion. But witches who are persecuted for their religious belief may become "refugees" and so very much a matter for the UN. Like all other humans, they have basic human rights. In my current radio interviews I am making three points 1. Witches as Victims The current media interest (September/ October 2009) comes from discussions at the UN refugee... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 7:28 PM 1 comment

Tags: Africa, Europe, religion, sociology

Samoa has made history - it has changed from driving on the right to driving on the left. The September 2009 changeover has been done at the right time - this tiny South Pacific country is gradually getting wealthier and there will soon be more motorized vehicles on the road. If it was going to make the change, then this is the best time to do it.                     The irony is that Samoa has changed from driving on the right to driving on the left. In recent history, all the changes... Full article »

Tags: sociology

The Melbourne Cup is the horse race that stops a nation. This year's race will attract even more interest than usual because of one of the horse owners: Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov has been compared with "Stalin" because of his treatment of political opponents. A person making this comparison, courageous human rights journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was coincidentally shot dead a few weeks later in Moscow. (She risked her life offending powerful interests in Russia). Allegations against him have been filed at the European Court of Human Rights. But he has not been found guilty of any crime. Chechnya is... Full article »

Tags: Asia, conflict, sociology, sport

There is controversy again over some people seeking to arrive in Australia. People have been on the move since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden - and so this is a continuing issue with a very long history! It is necessary to make a distinction: "migration" (whereby Australia currently accepts about 170,000 people per year) and "refugees" (whereby Australia accepts about 13,500 people per year). Migration" is based on each country's own requirements. In Australia's case, the two main categories of migrants are those arriving to do particular jobs where there are shortages of labour (such... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 9:32 AM Comment

Tags: Australasia, law, sociology

The International Commission of Jurists Australia and the Community Justice Coalition are hosting a seminar on 5 September 2009. The seminar "Our Prisons - Human Rights, Mental Health & Privatisation" will take place in the elegant surroundings of the State Library of NSW. This is the first of a series of seminars on the custodial system for adults and juveniles. The Hon John Roberston MLC, Minister for Corrective Services will open the seminar with Mr Victor Dominello MP who is speaking on behalf of Shadow Attorney General Greg Smith SC MP. Featured speakers also include Dr Eileen Baldry, Associate Dean... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 12:25 AM Comment

Tags: health, law, sociology

Edmund Campion, Melbourne: David Lovell Publishing. 2009 This is one of the most inspiring books I have read for some time. Though I can imagine Ted Kennedy being unimpressed with my praise! He was not that kind of person! Father Ted Kennedy (1931 - 2005) was most well known for this parish work in Redfern, inner Sydney, home to one of the country's largest urban populations of Indigenous Peoples. It was poverty-stricken, rundown and neglected by the politicians - even though it is only literally walking distance from the State Parliament House and business district. It is a world away... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 10:01 PM Comment

Tags: Australasia, religion, reviews, sociology

Global Insights reader and long term friend and work collegue of Dr Suter, Barbara Ferguson talked to us about her motivation for setting up the "Train the Counselor" program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We caught up with her on the set of her training DVD as she prepares to head back to Africa later this year.  The Keith Suter blog team wish Barbara and her team all the best for the coming months and look forward to sharing her updates with you via the blog. Barbara Ferguson taking a break from making her training DVD in Sydney earlier... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 12:24 AM Comment

Tags: Africa, charity, conflict, health, sociology

                    In rugby league circles a sobering thought has been gaining momentum. Players are getting suspended, fined and fired for consuming the products of on-air TV sponsors which they are supposed to promote. In a non-descript bar in inner Sydney the audacity of hope has once again come to the rescue. One of the game's leading thinkers was forced to pause mid-schooner as he reeled from the shockwaves of not one but two flashes of pure genius. Rugby league and grog he realised were inseparable and what's more if it's ok... Full article »

Posted by: Roger Pugh at 10:23 AM Comment

Tags: entertainment, health, sociology, sport

There are occasional scares in the Australian media about the number of asylum seekers coming here by boat. I have just been reading an excellent publication which helps set this issue in a wider context. Dr Khalid Koser, Director of the New Threats and Human Security Programme at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, has written The Global Financial Crisis and International Migration: Policy Implications for Australia. It is available free of charge from the Lowy Institute for International Policy website:  (The Lowy Institute, based at Sydney, is an independent international policy think tank). Dr Koser spoke to his report... Full article »

Tags: Australasia, economics, law, sociology

Rating:

• Currently 5

Al Qaeda has vowed "dreadful revenge" on France over suggestions that France may ban the burqa. The burqa is the full-length woman's dress that leaves only a small gap in the facial covering, which is often a mesh net for breathing and seeing where she is going. French MPs have now set up a commission to decide if it should be made illegal for women to hide their faces in public. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has endorsed the move. Al Qaeda's North African network have called on French Muslims to react with "the utmost hostility". They see this as a... Full article »

Tags: religion, security, sociology

                    World News Before It Happens NZ will shortly hold a referendum on whether it should be legal for parents to smack children. Of course it should. Smacking prepares Kiwi kids for the treatment they can expect later in life from Aussie sporting teams. However it should be applied with a certain restraint. Heaven forbid that Kiwis should become pains in their own arses. Rumours are emanating from North Korea that Kim Jong Il doubts whether any of his sons has what it takes to succeed him as Dear Leader. As... Full article »

Tags: Australasia, entertainment, sociology

                      There are clear signs the US is in a mid-season slump what with money worries, the middle east, a young inexperienced president and Arnie threatening to terminate California. It's time for their old mate Aussie to take on a coaching role and help them lift their game. The trouble is Americans are constantly being told by politicians and the media that they are the greatest people in the world living in the greatest country in the world and you can forget all the rest. Secure in that knowledge in... Full article »

Tags: America, Australasia, entertainment, sociology

Project Censored is an organisation with a mission to "teach students and the public about the role of a free press in a free society - and to tell us the news that didn't make the news and why". The organisation was founded in 1976 by Carl Jenson in the USA and has been training students and the community and researching underreported news stories ever since. The organisation's web sites contains a wealth of information and links to some of those "news that didn't make the news" stories. To find out what stories have made the top 25 censored stories... Full article »

Tags: America, sociology

Rating:

• Currently 3

                  From those wonderful people who brought you the mexican wave and mariachi music comes swine flu which is just as catchy. The NSW Government was potentially well-equipped to deal with swine flu through applying measures similar to those developed for equine flu such as quarantining pigs and pig farmers and suspending pig racing. Kevin took a commendable initiative on swine flu by advising the nation to wash their hands thoroughly and often. The NSW Government took him at his word and washed their hands of the whole thing. As a... Full article »

Tags: Australasia, entertainment, health, sociology

More than twenty five years after the world first became aware of AIDS, it is clear that AIDS is still a threat in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its debilitating cycle definitely impedes on many aspects of the continent's development. Unfortunately, the death toll has been so heavy and overwhelming that official policies and strategies have tended to place more emphasis on treatment rather than prevention. On the other hand, community responses throughout Africa have mirrored their social base and have generally adapted their initiatives to local needs and available resources. In so doing they have focused mostly on prevention and mitigation. Prevention,... Full article »

Tags: Africa, charity, health, sociology

On February 16th 2009 the Eminent Jurists Panel released their report 'Assessing damage, Urging Action' to enable governments "to re-examine laws and ensure that the high standards of Australia's rule of law has not been unnecessarily trampled by the political imperative to be seen to be doing something" according to John Dowd AO QC, President of the International Commission of Jurists Australia. Work to compile the report commenced in the wake of the 9/11 attack on the US to restore, as much as possible, human rights standards set aside by such laws. The Eminent Jurists Panel is comprised of some of the... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 2:41 PM Comment

Tags: Australasia, law, religion, security, sociology

Download The Report Here: assessing damage urging action.pdf    Background and Executive Summary of the Report: This investigative report assesses the damage caused by terrorism and counterterrorism measures and urges immediate action. The panel underscores the compelling need to bring counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices into line with human rights law. Without decisive remedial action now the damage done to the human rights framework risks becoming permanent. The Eminent Jurists Panel is an independent eight-member panel of international jurists, convened by the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to conduct a global inquiry into the compatibility of counterterrorism laws and... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 1:26 PM Comment

Tags: law, security, sociology

Campaigning for peace is good for your health. That seems to be the message of the life of Margaret Holmes, who has just turned 100. On May 9 2009 I was a speaker at a commemorative event organized by the NSW Branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) - which Margaret created 50 years ago - to celebrate Margaret's life and achievements. Margaret unfortunately could not be there because she was having a holiday with one of her sons and his family on the NSW North Coast. Margaret is in good form for a 100 year... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 12:13 AM Comment

Tags: Asia, Australasia, media, peace, reviews, sociology