Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Politics is a fickle beast. Barack Obama won more votes among blue-collar workers than did his opponent, Senator John McCain. But it was those very blue-collar workers who tipped the scales in Donald Trump’s victory. They weren’t racists or they wouldn’t have voted for Obama in the […]
Kazakhstan Reaffirms Willingness to Assist in the Maintenance of Peace and Security
By Marat Beketayev, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan The UN Security Council organized on 17 May 2018 a High-Level Open Debate on “Maintenance of international peace and security: Upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security,” reflecting the purposes of United Nations as spelt out in […]
UN Chief’s Disarmament Agenda Faces Rough Waters
By Jayantha Dhanapala The UN Secretary-General’s new Disarmament Agenda entitled, Securing Our Common Future, “seems unlikely to secure our common future with the present actors,” writes Jayantha Dhanapala, a retired Ambassador of Sri Lanka and a former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament. “We will either have to wait for a change of actors or search among […]
Malaysia Starts on a Journey Towards a New Beginning
By Jayant Menon* MANILA (IDN) – The world has seen a number of unexpected electoral outcomes lately; the most widely reported being Brexit in Europe and the election of President Donald Trump in the United States. But the ouster of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government in Malaysia was not only unexpected; it was amazing. […]
Why Tony Blair Should Be Prosecuted Over Iraq
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. His predecessor George W. Bush was. Apart from anything else his administration tortured captives. Was the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the closest ally of Bush […]
Asia’s Buddhists Should Step Forward to Pave the Way to Sustainable Development
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne* SINGAPORE (IDN) – Buddhists across Asia are going to temples, bathing the baby Buddha, giving food to monks, lighting lamps and offering incense sticks accompanied by chanting paying homage to the Buddha on Vesak day, May 29 this year. While keeping with these traditions is important, Asia’s Buddhists are letting go […]
How About Beginning With Sport To Face Down Trump?
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Can you smell the whiff of smoke? You surely can. But the gunfire? Not yet. But it must start soon if the battle has any chance of success. President Donald Trump has to be faced down. Not only because of his sabotage of the Iran nuclear deal […]
Blockchain Technology Could Be Vital in Helping Improve Humanitarian Aid Across the World
Viewpoint by Natalia Fuller TOKYO (IDN) – Several aid groups are now looking at blockchain’s potential to improve humanitarian aid. By providing refugees with a virtual identity, and assuring the public that their money is being properly spent, aid groups are hopeful that they can attract more donors. UNICEF is one of the largest charitable […]
Time Has Come For Europe To Be Tough With Trump
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Don’t cry for me, Europe. The time for diminishing Europe’s self-esteem is over. It’s time for toughness and retaliation. Even a personal intervention by his favourite European head of state, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, failed to move President Donald Trump on the gravest of all policies […]
In A Sense, We Are All Marxists
Viewpoint by Peter Singer* MELBOURNE (IDN) – It is not far-fetched to suggest that the predictions of Karl Marx – whose 200th anniversary fell on May 5, 1818 – have been falsified, his theories discredited, and his ideas rendered obsolete. So why should we care about his legacy in the twenty-first century? From 1949, when […]