Viewpoint by John Scales Avery* COPENHAGEN (IDN) — Measurements of the carbon dioxide content of the earth’s atmosphere as a function of time have been made ever since 1958 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. The resulting graph is called the “Keeling Curve”, in honor of Charles David Keeling, who started the monitoring and […]
Wanted An International Court of Ethnic Disputes
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Just before he died at the end of the twentieth century, the great philosopher Isaiah Berlin said, “It was the worst century that Europe ever had. Worse, I suspect, even than the days of the Huns. And why? Because in our modern age nationalism is not resurgent; […]
Would The US Surrender to the Taliban Bring Peace to The Region?
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — It may not be as dramatic as the Vietcong tanks crashing through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon while the US airlifts its last troops by helicopter at the end to the Vietnam war, yet the US troop “withdrawal” from Afghanistan this month looks nothing but […]
New Equations in South Asian Security with High Tension in Afghanistan
Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira COLOMBO (IDN) — A transformation in the security dynamics in South Asia is taking place at such a fast rate that experts on regional security are totally confused and puzzled about the future scenario. The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, the gradual expansion of Taliban control in the country, India’s […]
Pressing Need for International Criminal Court ‘With Teeth’
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — “Too little too late”. It’s as true of Bashar al-Assad as it was of Muammar Gadhafi, as it was of Saddam Hussein and Pol Pot. The problem always has been not lack of early warning but lack of early action. We have known, literally for decades, that […]
Combating COVID-19 and Ensuring No One is Left Behind
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, and Bambang Susantono Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Kanni Wignaraja is the Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Bambang Susantono is the Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB). BANGKOK (IDN) — If the world wants […]
US Should Commit to A No-First-Use Nuclear Policy
Viewpoint by Van Jackson* WELLINGTON, New Zealand (IDN) — It was one of the most potent lessons of the Cold War—nukes are good for deterring others from using nukes, but not much else. Weapons capable only of spasmodic mass violence are too crude as a credible tool of coercion in most circumstances. If the United […]
Our World in The Year 2250
This column concentrates mainly on the culture of the Western world. Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In 1776 Adam Smith published his “Wealth of Nations” which has guided economists and political thinkers ever since. It marks the start of the Industrial Revolution that began in Britain and then spread throughout most of […]
Europe Should Be Taking the Lead to Agree on Putin Summit
Merkel and Macron Ready to Talk Despite EU Refusal Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — That bar, the Red Star, on the far side of eastern Europe is closed. So why is the Black Star on this side of the street still open, and even extending its drinking hours? Once the Warsaw Pact […]
COVID Recovery Needs Universal Civil Registration and Vital Statistics
By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, Omar Abdi* BANGKOK (IDN) — With health systems at a breaking point, hospitals at capacity and desperate family members searching for oxygen for loved ones, the devastating second wave of COVID-19 that has swept across South Asia has felt unreal. Official figures have indicated record-breaking daily coronavirus cases and […]