SYNDICATION

Photo: President Trump departs from the Pentagon alongside Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Jan. 27, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jette Carr)

Mattis-Trump Duo Uncovers China and Russia as US Adversaries

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The American secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, has declared a new era: "There has been a return of great power competition ……great power competition – not terrorism – is now the primary focus of U.S. security." In the new national defence strategy document*, unveiled on January 19, China and Russia are singled out as "adversaries".

Although the U.S. is now spending on defence three times as much as China (1.7% of its GNP as against America’s 3.3%), Mattis is worried that the U.S. military advantage over its adversary has eroded "in every domain of warfare". The military, he said, was coping with "inadequate resources" and he called for Congress to appropriate it more billions of dollars.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 23 January 2018

Photo: Leonardo Boff. Credit: onepeterfive.com/

The Earth’s Future Will Not Come from Heaven

Viewpoint by Leonardo Boff

The author is a Brazilian liberation theologian, author and campaigner for the rights of the poor and disadvantaged. He is a professor of theology, ethics and philosophy at universities all over the world and a member of the Earth Charter Commission. This article is a slightly modified version of an article that first appeared in Other News.

RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN) – Most readers will find it difficult to accept what I am going to express here. Even though it is based on the best scientific minds that have been studying the universe, for almost a century the situation of planet Earth and her eventual collapse – or qualitative leap to another level of reality – has not penetrated into either the collective consciousness or the major academic centres.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 20 January 2018

Photo: The ministers of foreign affairs and other officials from the P5+1 countries, the European Union and Iran while announcing the framework of a Comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme. April 2015. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Iran Nuclear Deal Is Menaced by Trump's Cynical Gambit

By Kelsey Davenport

The writer is director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, where it first appeared on 17 January.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – President Donald Trump’s Jan. 12 decision to waive sanctions on Iran keeps the United States in compliance – for the time being – with its obligations under the multilateral nuclear deal with Tehran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump’s ultimatum that Congress pass legislation to unilaterally address what he describes as "flaws" in the agreement is based on flawed assumptions. His demands are unrealistic and put the future of the accord in doubt.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 18 January 2018

Money is Not Wealth: Cryptos vs. Fiats!

By Hazel Henderson*

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (IDN) – After a few drinks, most bankers, economists and investors will admit that money is not wealth. Like inches and centimetres, money is a metric, and it used for tracking real wealth: human ingenuity and technological productivity interacting with natural resources and biodiversity undergirding all human societies along with the daily free photons from our Sun.

So brainwashed are we by the false money meme of “money as wealth” that whenever anyone proposes needed infrastructure maintenance, better schools and healthcare or any public goods, we are intimidated by some defunct economist who says “Where’s the money coming from?” They ought to know better, since, of course money is not scarce, it is just information.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 18 January 2018

Democracy Under Assault and in Retreat Around the Globe

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Is democracy in decline? If you talk about the quality of democracy the answer is clearly yes. The US, the world’s first and most important democracy – although at the beginning a limited democracy for white men only – is in trouble.

President Donald Trump has brought old problems to the surface – the money that buys candidates and policies, gerrymandering, an increasingly polarised electorate and a deadlocked Congress. He has added his own negatives – misusing his power to threaten his opponent, Hilary Clinton, with jail, waging a war against the media and attempting to make it clear that he has the sole power to use nuclear weapons and that he will use them against North Korea, even if North Korea has not used its.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 16 January 2018

Photo: Human rights : Letting values prevail over politics. Credit: The Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue.

CSOs, Experts Address the Plight of People on the Move

By Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement

GENEVA (IDN-INPS) – In response to the protracted migrant and refugee crisis that has affected primarily Europe and the MENA region, a coalition of international organizations took the initiative to adopt the 2017 Geneva Declaration entitled “Mobility and human solidarity, a challenge and an opportunity for Europe and the MENA region” pledging increased cooperation between decision-makers to address the adverse impact of the crisis.

The Geneva Declaration is the fruit of a panel debate entitled “Migration and human solidarity, a challenge and an opportunity for Europe and the MENA region” that was organized by the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue – a think-tank holding special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council - on 14 December 2017 at the United Nations Office at Geneva.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 16 January 2018

Photo: Shashi Tharoor and Malavika Banerjee at Taj Bengal on December 28, 2017 for the second meeting of Kalam Club, a subscription-based book club that offers its members an opportunity to meet authors. Credit: Pabitra Das

Eminent Writer-MP Tharoor Shreds Indians' Colonial Mindset

By Chandreyee Ghose, The Telegraph India

Photo: Lynda Carter, star of the TV show “Wonder Woman” from 1975 to 1979, at the launch of a campaign for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Credirt: AMANDA VOISARD/UN PHOTO

Sexual Harassment at the UN Is Alive and Persistent

By Laura E. Kirkpatrick, Passblue

BUFFALO (IDN) - As its people of the year, Time magazine recently named the Silence Breakers -- people who have spoken against sexual harassment and launched the hashtag #MeToo into an international phenomenon with more than seven million hits on social media.

Just before the announcement, more than 230 women who work in national security for the United States, from former ambassadors to military personnel, signed a public letter protesting sexual harassment, under the hashtag #MeTooNatSec.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 13 January 2018

Chinese peacekeepers marking International Women’s Day in Gao, a base in the UN mission in Mali. China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has presented a policy paper on UN reform that suggests a leap forward on the world stage as the US, by contrast, recedes. MARCO DORMINO/MINUSMA

China Strives for UN Reform by Filling the Growing Vacuum Left by the US

By Kacie Candela, PassBlue

NEW YORK (IDN) - China has presented its position on United Nations reform, and it aligns with Secretary-General António Guterres's own agenda. It pushes for practicalities, such as a transparent process, a stronger peace and security pillar, streamlined internal management and more geographic diversity in hiring practices in peacekeeping and the UN Secretariat.

"The world is undergoing major developments, transformation and adjustment, but peace and security remain the call of our day," the position paper begins, alluding to the upset of the Western-dominated global order. "The trends of global multi-polarity, economic globalization, IT application and cultural diversity are surging forward; and countries are becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent."

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 09 January 2018

Image: Principally practiced in antiquity, it is one of the most well-known execution methods due to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Credit: list25.com

Torture Begets More Brutality

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Looking for a good cause for 2018? Something you can do while sitting in your arm chair. Something that needs to be done if we are to live in a “clean” planet. Campaigning against torture is what it is. It can be done by e-mail, s-mail, phone, text and petition signing. In the past, water dripping on a stone has worked and can be made to work again.

“Torture works. OK, folks? Believe me, it works…..And waterboarding is your minor form, but we should go much stronger than waterboarding,” said Donald Trump while campaigning to be president.

At the moment, as far as I know, the U.S. is not torturing anyone. President Barack Obama put a stop to the practice of it by the administration of President George W. Bush. Even Trump says that since the Secretary of Defence, General James Mattis, is against re-introducing it it probably won’t happen. But one day Mattis can be sacked and someone more pliant installed in his place.