Viewpoint by Slavoj Žižek* LJUBLJANA (IDN) – The current spread of the coronavirus epidemic has also triggered a huge contagion of ideological viruses, which had been lying in a dormant state in our societies: fake news, paranoid conspiracy theories, outbursts of racism, and so on. The founded and real need for the implementation of quarantine […]
COVID-19: A Global Buddhist Network Contributing to Overcoming the Pandemic
Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada Following is the text of a press release conveying President Harada‘s Message in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [Read in Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.] TOKYO (IDN) – Japan, where until recently we hoped that we would contain the spread of COVID-19, has now entered into a […]
The End of Bernie Sanders’ Socialist Agenda
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – The Socialist-Democrat Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ended his campaign as it lost momentum – and the coronavirus pandemic changed everything. Claiming that he is a democratic socialist, he wanted to stage a political revolution in America. The dreaded words “socialist” and “revolution” are anathema to Americans […]
COVID-19: Trump’s Bizarre Performance Blocked His Emergence as a ‘Hero’
Viewpoint by Dr. Alon Ben-Meir The writer is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. NEW YORK (IDN) – For a man who is a self-absorbed, power hungry narcissist who wants to be recognized as one […]
What the Dickens, Let’s Fight the Stress of Coronavirus
Viewpoint by Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani * The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of people, institutions or organizations that the author is affiliated with, in a professional or personal capacity. TORONTO (IDN) – Humanity is in the midst of an unfolding global […]
Violence Against Women Is the Growing Shadow Pandemic
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Following is the statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women on 6 April 2020. NEW YORK (IDN) – With 90 countries in lockdown, four billion people are now sheltering at home from the global contagion of COVID-19. It’s a protective measure, but it brings another deadly danger. We see […]
COVID-19: Why the Nordics are Our Best Bet for Comparing Strategies
Viewpoint by Paul W. Franks* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Daily updated graphs illustrating the rising COVID-19 death rates in different countries raise hopes that we can understand impact of the virus and work out how to stop it from spreading further. But when comparing countries as different as South Korea, China, Italy and the UK, […]
A Resilient and Sustainable Future Needs Asia-Pacific Response to COVID-19 and Climate Emergency
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana The writer is Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). BANGKOK (IDN) – The unprecedented public health emergency triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and its multi-faceted impact on people’s lives around the world is taking a heavy toll on Asia and […]
COVID-19: Is This Snark in Fact a Boojum?
On the Future of Capitalism after the Pandemic Viewpoint by Albena Azmanova* This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News. LONDON (IDN) – While nursing his gravely ill godson in the spring of 1876, Lewis Carroll […]
COVID-19: A Pandemic of Fear?
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Let’s get death in proportion. True, Coronavirus is an appalling disease but the number of deaths it has caused this year is far lower than deaths caused by either common flue, car accidents, drug taking, alcoholism or cigarette smoking. Governments don’t like these things and make an […]