What Do Syrians Want?

I've heard  and seen on TV enough to convince me that something must be done to alleviate the suffering of Syrians whether they are still living in Syria or have become refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey or some other Arab country.

But what do Syrians want?  It  is clear Syria isn't going to give up its arsenal of chemical weaponry en toto.  The plight of all Syrians is dire, because of political unrest. Do Syrians want a in change in government?  If so, who will represent their interests?

 I believe a cease-fire moritorium should declared by the U.N. and the interests and will of the Syrians whether in the country or in some nearby country should be ascertained. Could there be a referendum, as is being proposed for the eastern regions of the Ukraine?

Scotland's First Try at gaining independence

Hooray for the Scots!  In an apparent attempt to have greater stature in the EU, Scotland is to vote on secession from the UK this year.  It has been said that should it model its future after what Denmark has achieved in Scandanavia, it might even succeed in this initial effort,

What I assume the Scots want to preserve is its Scottish character, dating back through the Centuries.  Its language and customs should be the hallmark of its culturally rich  heritage.

Historically, countries have unified for the sake of commerce and trade across their borders:  standardization of terminology and transactions for the ease of communicating and fulfilling contractual obligations.

Today, there is little need to homogenize any land to a model that all countries are to employ.  Apartment buildings and corporate structures that look alike regardless of location can now be avoided!  Local character and charm are factors that should be integrated into contemporary design of landscapes.  And, independence of a country enables the people of that country to see themselves as incorporated in a distinctly unique environment of their own creation--not something foisted on them by a ruling or dominant nation! 

Now there is always the question of whether a country can afford to be different from its neighbor.  How will it deal with an ever-impending doom that independent countries must face, namely, bankruptcy!  This is the very same question that the Ukraine is facing now.  And the ready-made answer that may cost them their independence is to submit to a dominant nation that promises to pay their debts outstanding--in this case, Russia. 

But I say to you, Scotsmen, and to you, Ukrainians, that there are financial means available through international lending organizations--like the IMF, or the World Bank; as well as countless others, including soon, the Bank of the EU--that money is available to faltering nations and these lending institutions are prohibited to force an indebted nation to ally with one or another country!

Scotland will probably not become independent as a result of its referendum in September.  But the advantages of being independent will slowly be recognized as a vision the Scots will come to cherish for their country!

Saturday, February 15, 2014

--the editing of Social-X should be drawing to a close by the end of the month!  Then, more research dealing with Social Meaning (SM)--the yet-to-be written remaining section.

--I'm hoping to buy a used computer to access Internet from my apartment soon.  That should vastly increase the speed at which items are entered onto one of my four current blogs, even as I am finding need to do research at some university library, e.g., University o Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) for the various items.

--I'm preparing to write on religion in a new series in the Didactics blog I entitle Christian Pragmatics, the first item of which will probably deal with how a worshipper comes to have a religious experience through the Mass.  The series will center around practices as conducted in Christianity, though the points to be made relate to any religion, I shall contend.