 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Viewpoint by David Robie *
This article was issued by the Asia Pacific Report and is being republished with the author's permission.
AUCKLAND (IDN) — Timor-Leste, the youngest independent nation and the most fledgling press in the Asia-Pacific, has finally shown how it’s done—with a big lesson for Pacific island neighbours.
Tackle the Chinese media gatekeepers and creeping authoritarianism threatening journalism in the region at the top.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Plato, the great scholar of Ancient Greece, said that the differences between rich and poor should not exceed a ratio of one to four. In the eighteenth century the influential writer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who gave birth to the notion of the “Social Contract”, argued that the invention of private property and immoderate accumulation are the origins of great discord among peoples.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf
A satirical essay that skewers the age of instant experts
BONN (IDN) — A glance at the analyses and conclusions of just about any major newspaper or news website will confirm: the self-proclaimed military experts are in charge, ready to explain to us what "heavy weapons", "no-fly zones", "anti-aircraft guns", "flagships" etc. are. And why not? They’ve been dealing with the matter for quite some time now, a whole two months since February 24, 2022.
Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani
This article is the 20th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.
Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs
This article was published in Il Sole 24 Ore for the Trento Festival of Economics, June 4, 2022, and is being republished with the authors’ permission
NEW YORK (IDN) — Fifty years ago, Italian business leaders in the Club of Rome gave a jolt to the world in their path-breaking report Limits to Growth. That thought leadership continues today as Italian business leaders launch Regeneration 2030, a powerful call for more holistic, ethical, and sustainable business practices to help the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
Viewpoint by Anabella Rosemberg
The writer is International Programme Director at Greenpeace International.
AMSTERDAM (IDN) — On days like World Environment Day, intriguing, outraging and surprising data about the damage being done to the environment are often shared and spoken of. Too often these stories about our ailing planet only further eco-anxiety and stunt rather than spur action. After all, there are plenty of terrifying facts to choose from. An awful lot. Scarily too many.
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene
The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.
ABUJA (IDN) — After the primary by Nigeria’s opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s candidate for next year’s presidential election, political leaders in the South of the country have been hurling abuses at the North for betrayal.
Viewpoint by Neville de Silva
This article was issued by Asian Affairs (London) and is being republished with the author's permission.
LONDON (IDN) — In resurrecting old political stalwarts and refusing to relinquish power, Sri Lanka’s president looks set to further betray the people.
There is a saying in Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka’s majority, which loosely translated recalls that the departing devil delights in smashing the pots and pans.
Viewpoint by Jan Servaes
BRUSSELS (IDN) — Several years ago, when I provoked a discussion about the word "ho" during my hitherto popular "Hip hop for social change" course at the University of Massachusetts, nearly half of the enrolled students immediately cancelled me. They didn't show up again the following week. “How could I, a straight white male, have dared to use the 'slang' word for 'whore/bitch'?” I was told, as it appeared in the conversations of both 'white' and 'black' students (they/them/their) all the time and was central to most hip-hop and rap music.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Henry Kissinger used to be a totally different kettle of fish than he is these days. It was Kissinger who helped engineer a coup d'état in democratic Chile that led to a great deal of torture and suffering. Second, turn to the war in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, America's biggest war since World War 2, that ended in an ignominious US retreat and defeat. Its people were ravaged beyond description. It was President Richard Nixon and his national security advisor, Kissinger, who had decided “to bomb the hell out of the North Vietnamese”.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.