By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, 18 May 2023 (IDN) — My fellow Americans: I’ve changed my mind. With a heavy heart, I am announcing that I will not seek or accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2024. The poll numbers indicate that I would be a burden on the party’s national ticket next […]
Making the World More Equal Is a Hard Nut to Crack
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden, 16 May 2023 (IDN) — Maybe, after all, there is an argument for saying that the world needs more violence not less if we are to make its societies more equal. This is one conclusion we can derive from Walter Scheidel’s important book, “The Great Leveller”. He starts from what […]
Nuclear Energy: Problem and Solution
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarães Capt. (ret.) Brazilian Navy* Climate change and a third world war are the two main threats looming over humanity today. Nuclear energy is closely linked to these two threats in a paradoxical way: in the first as a solution and in the second as a problem, says the writer. RIO […]
The Climate Emergency and Urgency of System Change
By Dr Asoka Bandarage The writer, a scholar and practitioner, has taught at Yale, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke (where she received tenure), Georgetown, American and other universities, and colleges in the U.S. and abroad. Her latest book, Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World: Colonial and Neoliberal Origins: Ecological and Collective Alternatives will be released by […]
Turkish Voters Must Not Forget Erdogan’s Evil Deeds
By Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra* NEW YORK, 10 May 2023 (IDN) — Whether or not Erdogan wins the May 14 presidential election, his legacy will be marred by his authoritarianism, corruption, and ruthlessness. The Turkish people have now a historic opportunity to oust him and begin a process of healing the nation under the […]
‘Settle the Ukraine Crisis, Avoid a Nuclear Confrontation’
Japanese Buddhist Leader’s Urgent Appeal to G7 Hiroshima Summit Viewpoint by Daisaku Ikeda* TOKYO, 10 May 2023 (IDN) — The Ukraine crisis, which in addition to bringing devastation to the people of that country has had severe impacts on a global scale—even giving rise to the specter of nuclear weapons use—has entered its second year. […]
There Is More to Immigration Than Cheap Labour and Racism
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden, 9 May 2023 (IDN) — Every developed country is importing cheap labour, yet all too rarely are the pro and con arguments discussed with real profundity. The path-breaking book “The British Dream” by David Goodhart, the founder of the intellectual magazine, “Prospect”, dared to deal with the shibboleths. There are […]
Is Peace Possible in Ukraine?
By Sergio Duarte The writer is a former UN High Representative for Disarmament. NEW YORK, 9 May 2023 (IDN) — Under the inspiration of the five powers that won World War II, the United Nations Charter was adopted in 1945 with the objective of regulating international relations and preventing war. Its Preamble expresses “the determination […]
India: Gandhi, His Murderer Godse and the RSS
Viewpoint by Ram Puniyani* NEW DELHI, 7 May 2023 (IDN) — In April 2023, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) decided to make many deletions from school textbooks. Apart from the parts related to Mughal history, the mention of Gujarat violence and the origin of Caste Varna system, what stands deleted is […]
Sri Lanka: The Die is Cast
By Neville de Silva* LONDON, 5 May 2023 (IDN) — Sri Lanka’s stand-in president Ranil Wickremesinghe is no Julius Caesar. But he is ready to cross his own Rubicon as he must. For time is running out fast for him after almost 50 years in politics and slowly nudging his 75th birthday.