Viewpoint by Robert Blasiak* STOCKHOLM (IDN) – The MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef in Mauritius in late July 2020, leaking 1,000 tonnes of oil into the crystal blue waters of a lagoon, threatening mangrove, seagrass and mudflat habitats. Since then, dozens of dead dolphins and porpoises have washed ashore. Anger has grown and sadness […]
Of Joyce, Univ. College Dublin and Sustainable Development
By Ramu Damodaran The writer is Chief of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), an initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the UN. The following article was published on the UNAI website. NEW YORK (IDN) – An old college friend, Pramesh Ratnakar, shared with me William Butler Yeats’s recollection of his first meeting, […]
Many Police Can Hardly Be Distinguished from Armed Vigilantes
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) – Police in America, whose […]
Breaking the Law over Brexit: How the UK is Playing Dirty in EU Talks
Viewpoint by Simon Sweeney* YORK, United Kingdom (IDN) – The UK government seems to be doubling down on threats to leave the European Union without a deal unless the EU gives in on issues of state aid and fisheries. These two concerns are as important in Brussels as they seem to be in London. In […]
COVID-19 Pandemic Threatening Peace and Security
By Rosemary DiCarlo UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Following are extensive excerpts from Ms DiCarlo’s briefing to the Security Council on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peace and security. NEW YORK (IDN) – It is sobering to realize that the risks the Secretary-General identified to this Council on 2 July are […]
UN Report Presents A Unified Assessment of The Critical State of Our Earth System
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – As global temperatures continue to hit new highs, the choice, according to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, is between “business as usual, leading to further calamity, or using the recovery from COVID-19 to provide a real opportunity to put the world on a sustainable path”. Speaking at […]
Mass Direct Action Might Be the Only Way to Stop Trump from Stealing the Election
Viewpoint by George Lakey * This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. PHILADELPHIA (IDN) – The warning drums for a contested election are beating louder and louder. At a recent campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Trump once again laid the groundwork for […]
Mass Direct Action Might Be the Only Way to Stop Trump from Stealing the Election
Viewpoint by George Lakey * This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. PHILADELPHIA (IDN) – The warning drums for a contested election are beating louder and louder. At a recent campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Trump once again laid the groundwork for […]
Why The November U.S. Election Is Critical
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery * COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Why did Prof. Noam Chomsky call the US Republican Party “The most dangerous organization in the history of the world”? He did so because the party is characterized by climate change denial and by support for giant fossil fuel corporations. According to the 2018 IPCC Report, […]
Death of The Leader Of “The Killing Fields” Raises Questions
Will there be more genocides that the world will ignore until it is too late? Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – One of the cruellest men ever to have lived died on September 2 in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Kaing Guek Eav, popularly known as “Duch”, was 77 and had been […]