OPINION

The Promise of the Treaty on Prevention of Nuclear Weapons

Viewpoint by Dr Joseph Gerson*

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Treaty on the Prevention of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has received its 50th ratification and will go into force in 90 days – January 22, 2021. Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bomb survivors, activists from ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) and the diplomats are celebrating this contribution to the long struggle for a nuclear-weapons-free world.

The next and most critical step will be winning the signing and ratification by one or more of the nuclear weapons umbrella states, a European NATO member or one of the newly christened, “quad”, envisioned as an Asia-Pacific NATO: Japan, Australia and India. (The U.S. is the fourth member of the quad.)

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 October 2020

Photo: Bloodied Nigerian flag from after the massacre. CC BY-SA 4.0

The 'Lekki Toll Gate' Massacre and What It Means for Nigeria

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – It was hard to keep up with the torrent of posts as the power of social media was deployed in all its ferocity for good and evil. Through it all though, one thing was constant on my mind on October 20 night: the images of vulnerable, distressed youths fighting for their lives. You couldn’t make up the chaos if you tried.

[Nigerian Armed Forces shot at #End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, Amnesty International states that at least 12 protesters were killed.]

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 October 2020

Photo (left to right): Alyn Ware (World Future Council, PNND), Vanda Proskova (PragueVision) and Saber Chowdhury (PNND, IPU).

2045: A New Rallying Call for Nuclear Abolition

Viewpoint by Alyn Ware, Vanda Proskova and Saber Chowdhury*

NEW YORK (IDN) – On October 2, 2020, 77 Heads of State and Government Ministers addressed a United Nations High-Level meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons, along with the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly and two representatives of civil society.

One of the proposals highlighted by some of the governments and supported by the two civil society representatives was an appeal to UN member states to commit to the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2045, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 October 2020

Photo: MTA New York City Transit Department of Security Eagle Team enforces fare payment aboard SBS. Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit.

Colonial Past Rooted Police System Terrorizes the Poor and Minorities

Viewpoint by Justin Podur*

This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

TORONTO (IDN) – The Minneapolis City Council’s attempt to defund police may have fizzled out for the moment, but the problem of police violence across the United States is unresolved—and much of it stems from the institution’s colonial, counterinsurgency roots.

Here are seven counterinsurgency features of policing and the inequities in the criminal justice system.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 21 October 2020

Image: A coloured engraving that depicts the Peterloo Massacre (military suppression of a demonstration in Manchester, England by cavalry charge on August 16, 1819 with loss of life) in Manchester, England. Richard Carlile, Manchester Libraries. Wikimedia Commons.

Ye Are Many, They Are Few!

By John Scales Avery

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – I would like to announce the publication of a new book, which discusses the question of how oligarchs maintain their grasp on an excessive share of wealth and power when, as Shelley pointed out, the have-nots are many, while the power-holders are few.

Here the link to a new freely downloadable book

http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ye-are-Many-They-are-Few-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 20 October 2020

Photo: Vladimir Putin & Donald Trump in Helsinki, 16 July 2018. Credit: President of the Russian Federation. CC BY 4.0

Exploring Whether Trump or Putin Is a Dictator

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Who comes closest to being a dictator? Is it President Vladimir Putin or President Donald Trump?

Until Trump came on the scene as America’s number one, Putin took the prize for autocracy. No longer. Who uses his power to stir up violent, anti-democratic, movements? Who incites racism?

Who cares barely a fig for poor ill people? Who cossets the rich? Who threatens the world’s existence most – the one who spends more on increasing armaments than the other has altogether?

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 20 October 2020

Photo: Reverend John MacArthur. Credit: Wikimedia.

The US Pastor Who Preaches Climate Change Denial

Viewpoint by Paul Braterman*

LANCASTER (IDN) – Every so often you come across a piece of writing so extraordinary that you cannot help but share it. One such piece is a sermon on global warming by American pastor John MacArthur. Full of beautifully constructed rhetorical flourishes, it is forcefully delivered by an experienced and impassioned preacher to a large and appreciative audience.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 19 October 2020

Photo: Nurses working in a South African COVID-19 clinic, based on a train, which travels to reach different communities. Credit: EPA-EFE

COVID-19: Europeans Can Learn from Developing Countries

Developed Countries Should Change Their Mindset

Viewpoint by Maru Mormina and Ifeanyi M. Nsofor*

OXFORD | WASHINGTON (IDN) – Nine months into the pandemic, Europe remains one of the regions worst affected by COVID-19. Ten of the 20 countries with the highest death count per million people are European. The other ten are in the Americas. This includes the US, which has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the world.

Most of Africa and Asia, on the contrary, still seems spared. Of the countries with reported COVID-related deaths, the ten with the lowest death count per million are in these parts of the world. But while mistakes and misjudgements have fuelled sustained criticism of the UK’s handling of the pandemic, the success of much of the developing world remains unsung.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 18 October 2020

Photo: We will never know whether or not Reinoehl was guilty of murdering Danielson, as he was not given a chance to stand trial. Source: Insider.

Death Before Due Process in Trump's America

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – The federal government’s killing of Michael Reinoehl exactly two months before the November 3 presidential race ought to have been one of the most high-profile election issues being discussed in America. Instead, it has been almost forgotten save for some media outlets starting to question the official narrative of his death.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 October 2020

Photo: Demonstration of 25 November 1989 in Prague. The Velvet Revolution with half a million participants in peaceful protests in Czechoslovakia from 17 November to 29 December 1989 helped undermine the authority and confidence of the 41-yearlong communist government. CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons.

Peaceful Resistance Has Proved to Be More Effective Than Violent Protests

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Non-violent protests seem to be erupting all over the place. Martin Luther King would be happy. So would Mahatma Gandhi. In Russia in the eastern city of Khabarovsk marchers, each Sunday for the last three months have been protesting the arrest of their governor. In Belarus, even larger numbers protesting the recent manipulated presidential election are still marching every weekend. In the United Kingdom, the anti-Brexit marches last year were mammoth.