Buddhism

What is the aim of Buddhism, one of the world great religions? What does Buddhism teach?

Generally, all religions want people to live a good and happy life. According to Buddhism, life is suffering and therefore Buddhism attempts to end suffering by attacking its causes. Since the causes of suffering are, greed, hatred, illusion, for example, Buddhism urges its followers to overcome these feelings. It teaches people to sow love where there is hatred, generosity where there is greed, wisdom where there illusion. On a higher level, Buddhism encourages people to realize that the world is illusion. That is, it is not real, and nothing in it is lasting. Buddhism warns us not to groap or cling to anything as being a self or belonging to a self, because clinging causes suffering. Nothing truly belongs to us, not even our bodies or our lives for we cannot control either. We cannot escape from sickness, age, or death, All three make people suffer. The more we try own anything or cling to it the more we suffer. Buddhist want others to realize this truth of life so they too may escape suffering.

Asian countries launch swap agreement

March 24 2010
By Kevin Brown in Singapore
Financial Times

Thirteen Asian countries on Wednesday launched a $120bn currency swaps agreement to provide emergency US dollar liquidity to nations facing a foreign exchange crisis.

The Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation agreement, 80 per cent financed by Japan, China and South Korea, is a multilateral extension of a network of bilateral swaps deals reached after the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.

However, economists said it was unlikely to pave the way for an Asian Monetary Fund that could provide a regional alternative to the International Monetary Fund.

“There is certainly no harm in it, but it is quite a long way from here to any form of AMF,” said Michael Buchanan, Asia chief economist at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong.

“If you want to have true objective conditional lending, that is quite hard for neighbouring countries. It is much easier to rely on the IMF for that,” he said.

The agreement allows the three main financing countries and the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations to seek emergency dollar funding of between 0.5 and five times their contributions to the fund.

However, 80 per cent of any swaps approved will be subject to IMF conditions, such as economic reform programmes of the kind imposed by the global lender in 1997/98.

This leaves only 20 per cent of the fund subject to a purely Asian decision-making process. As a result no member country will be able to receive more from the fund than it has contributed, unless the IMF approves.

Officials say this restriction may be eased once a proposed regional surveillance unit is established to monitor economic trends and supervise the use of disbursements from the fund.’

However, much of the urgency behind the drive for a broader Asian financial institution has dissipated in the wake of the huge foreign exchange reserves accumulated by many Asian countries since 1997/98 through large and sustained trade surpluses.

The initial proposal for an AMF was made in 1997 by Eisuke Sakakibara, then Japan’s deputy finance minister, but it was never established because of strong opposition from the US.

The idea continues to surface in policy discussions, notably in Japan. Supporters such as Masahiro Kawai, dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo, say an AMF could promote exchange rate stability, encourage regional bond market liquidity and project an “Asian voice” on financial matters.

It also retains some traction in south-east Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand that were angered by tough conditions attached to emergency loans extended by the IMF in 1997/98.

The Asean members of the multilateral agreement are Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Brunei and Laos. Hong Kong participates as a self-governing Chinese territory.

Open University

Do you ever think of the advantages and disadvantages of having an open university? These have been argued for a long time. Can an open university be called an educational institution if its admissions are unlimited and open to all? Usually a committee is set up to consider all the matters concerned. Open university students do not have to take entrance examinations while students of other universities do. That is why and open university faces the problem of too many students enrolling each year, but other universities don't. A lot of people consider an open university a sub-standard one. They are not sure that all students will get a good education, though it cannot be denied that a number of students do. The number of these students is perhaps small. Those who do get a good education see its advantages. At least, it does give a large number of students who fail to enter other universities a chance. In many developing countries, sex or seven open universities is too few to give educational services to those who need them. A great deal of thinking has been given to this matter. So do think of the advantages of an open university and do be broad-minded enough to accept its good points.

Hun Sen controls the courts: Sam Rainsy

10 Oct 2010
By Meas Sokchea The Phnom Penh Post

OPPOSITION party head Sam Rainsy said yesterday that Prime Minister Hun Sen's declaration on Wednesday that he is "the key" to the fugitive Leaders potential return is evidence that the premier controls the courts and the National Assembly. Speaking by phone from Paris, Sam Rainsy said Hun Sen "can order the court and assembly to do anything he wants", and said the premier owned both. "That shows the power in Cambodia is only with one [Hun Sen]," he said. But Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said yesterday that Hun Sen was trying to say that Sam Rainsy's fate lies in the hands of the courts. Sam Rainsy has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in connection with his allegations of border encroachment.

Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy exchange barbs, accusations and counter-accusations

Hun Sen (L) vs. Sam Rainsy (R)

Friday, 1 October 2010
By Khmerization
Source: RFA

Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy have traded insults, accusing and counter-accusing each other of begging for forgiveness.

The latest exchanges of the war of words between the two leaders followed Mr. Sam Rainsy's lodgement of latest criminal lawsuit against Prime Minister Hun sen in the U.S court.

In 2005, Mr. Sam Rainsy had lodged a criminal lawsuit against Mr. Hun Sen in the same U.S Court, accusing him of masterminding the 1997 grenade attacks which killed 19 and wounded 190 peaceful protesters. There are claims that Prime Minister Hun Sen had begged Mr. Sam Rainsy to withdraw that lawsuit in exchange for allowing Mr. Rainsy to return to Cambodia safely.

However, speaking during a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, Mr. Hun Sen said it was Mr. Sam Rainsy who had written a letter to beg him for a royal pardon which he had agreed. "Who begged whom? In 2005, (Rainsy) wrote a letter of apology clearly, asking me to request for a royal pardon from the king. He has acknowledged that he had falsely accused me for a lot of things, like launching the grenade attacks in front of the National Assembly aimed at assassinating up to 6 prominent people such as His Excellency Sam Rainsy himself, Prince (Norodom) Sirivudh and even used the (derogatory) term 'ah'....etc. He had used such word as well. Sorry, if a dog bites my leg, I will not bite his leg back but I will use my leg to kick him. Please wait and see, boy!", declared Hun Sen.

However, Mr. Sam Rainsy claimed the opposite had happened. During a video conference from his exile in France on 24th September, Mr. Rainsy said the New York Court had served Mr. Hun Sen with the summons at his hotel when he visited New York in 2005. Mr. Rainsy claimed that Mr. Hun sen was so scared of the summons that he asked him to withdraw his lawsuit in exchange for allowing him to return to Cambodia safely. "In 2005, the (U.S) court had served Mr. Hun Sen with the summons and he was so scared! He was staying in his hotel and the court officials appeared at his hotel to hand him the summons to appear before the court. He was scared, he was very shocked. And when he had returned front New York, he begged me, Sam Rainsy, to withdraw my lawsuit in the U.S and he will agree to withdraw his lawsuit against me in Cambodia" said Mr. Rainsy.

Mr. Yim Sovan, spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the case against the perpetrators of the grenade attacks in 1997 cannot be closed, even if Mr. Sam Rainsy had once withdrawn his criminal lawsuit. "Criminal offences have no statute of limitation. Criminal offences cannot be traded like exchanging the apologies between people. The importance is to find justice for the victims. We want the perpetrators brought to justice", he said.

On 30th March 1997, four grenades were thrown into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators, killing 19 and wounded 190 people, including Mr. Sam Rainsy and Mr. Ron Abney,a U.S citizen. The U.S FBI launched a criminal investigation and found that Prime Minister Hun Sen's Bodyguard Unit posted nearby was behind the attacks.

Mass Communication

Mass communication is a feature of the modern world. With the help of television,radio, telephone and telegraph, for instance , we are able to communicate with people all over the world more quickly than ever before. Mass media play and important role in the modern world. The world is shrinking because of it. We often hear people say "It's a small world ." No one can deny this when people from every corner of the world can watch the Olympic games on television. Long ago continental travel-from Asia to Europe or America-took months. Now we jet from Thailand to America in less than a day. Information of all sorts is available to us. Remote events no longer go unnoticed.
In our small world the merits of mass communication are obvious. As a rule, how ever, anything that has great merits can also have drawbacks. Take fire, for instance, which can be a boon or a disaster. Even though mass media make the world a more pleasant and convenient place compared with a century ago,can we say it is more civilized? What-ever takes place anywhere-good or bad-can be quickly known. When people hear of an earth-quake in aremote area they can send aid almost at once. But imitation of bad things is just as rapid. Many people believe that the current vogue for letter bombings, political kidnappings, media. T.V. certainly influenced the style of demonstraions, just as it has publicized the example of streakers and hippies and hippies has been widely imitated.