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• 2017, Week 38

  18 Sep - 24 Sep

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  Everybody Hurts

  

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  • (Português) Inspirador: casal resgata centenas de animais de circos, laboratórios e matadouros em todo o mundo
  • (Português) George Orwell e a crítica à exploração animal (*)
  • (Français) «L’Étreinte du Serpent»: Colonialisme et Destruction
  • (Português) Inaugurado o Banco de Uranio no Casaquistão

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  • The Universalism of Imam Moussa Sadr: A Relevant Approach to Contemporary Uncertainty

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Peace Journalism Perspective

EDITORIAL

The World–Where Are You Heading?

Jurisprudence and the legal model; why not, and the alternatives? Answer: A deeply rooted model seeing social reality as actors, individual or collective, responsible for their acts, answerable to the law. An indispensable perspective to be enriched with a systemic perspective: action is not only conditioned by actor intention and capability, but also by good and bad structures; hence changing bad structures, not only punishing illegal actors, or restoring them.

FEATURED RESEARCH PAPER

The Universalism of Imam Moussa Sadr: A Relevant Approach to Contemporary Uncertainty

The Arab world is the geographic, historic and cultural point of convergence of the Muslim World. Islam was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabic language in the Arabian Peninsula and, from there, the message spread across the world. The abodes of Islam remain platforms for debate and incubators for tensions and conflicting ideologies despite the passing of fourteen centuries since the Revelation. Certain issues of contention date back to the earliest years of Islam and have, remarkably, gone unresolved to this day. Such issues include succession (the Caliphate) and alternation in power, the separation of religion and State, innovation (Ijtihad) and imitation (Taqlid), and much more. Exploring these issues is no mere intellectual luxury. Even today these are still pressing matters as current political situation is mired in turmoil, uncertainty, and lack of vision.

TMS PEACE JOURNALISM

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“An invaluable resource for UN practitioners who wish to broader and challenge their conceptual frameworks.” --Alejandro Bendaña (Nicaragua) – Author and former Senior Mediation Expert, Department of Political Affairs, United Nations

NOBEL LAUREATES

Dear Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi

11 Sep 2017 - So far, you have warned against “fake information” and “terrorists”. We have not, however, heard a word of support or even comfort for the people that, as amply documented by international organizations and media, are subject to a campaign leading to death, widespread suffering and desperate escapes over the border. The 1991 Nobel Prize was given to honor your heroic and unflagging efforts for peace and prosperity in your country and, let’s remember, to support efforts to achieve “ethnic conciliation by peaceful means.”

Other Commentaries

TRANSCEND News

TRANSCEND Member Sergio Duarte Is New President of [1995 Nobel Peace Laureate] Pugwash

7 Sep 2017 - The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is proud to announce that Sergio Duarte, former UN Undersecretary for Disarmament Affairs and a retired career diplomat from Brazil, has become its new President. He succeeds Jayantha Dhanapala, who after ten years in the role retired at the conclusion of the 62nd Pugwash Conference in Astana, on 29 Aug 2017.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Examining Global Peacemaking in the Digital Age: A Research Handbook

A major academic textbook on peace is scheduled for release Nov 2017. It contains a foreword by Prof. Johan Galtung and chapters by Rais Neza Boneza and Claude Shema Rutagewngwa, from the TRANSCEND Network, among other peace scholars.

BY TRANSCEND MEMBERS

A Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan

13 Sep 2017 - A new facility designed to help prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons – the Low Enriched Uranium Bank – was inaugurated last August 29 at Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The inauguration coincided with the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, declared in 2009 by the United Nations.

35 Years after the Sabra-Shatila Massacre Where’s “The Resistance”?

This week commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Wed, Sep 15 to Sat, Sep 18, 1982 Sabra-Shatila Massacre in the Fakhani neighborhood of Beirut. For many of the families and loved ones of the victims, as is certainly the case with this observer, it seems as though the Sabra-Shatila Massacre was committed at most four or five years ago. So vivid still in our memories are the horror images of that orgy of slaughter.

Remembering Ebrahim Yazdi

For all those dedicated to the attainment of real democracy, the name and life of Ebrahim Yazdi is a precious legacy worth reflecting upon because it has so much to teach us today. Among those who struggled for an Iranian future that was Islamic, genuinely democratic, and humanly decent no one was more steadfast and clear about their commitment than Dr. Yazdi.

Open Letter to [Nobel Peace Laureate] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

As your fellow countrymen, with deep roots in our troubled birthplace, we are writing to you to share our sadness and concern about your personal legacy as the nation’s leader, the plight of our people, and the future of Myanmar as a nation. When you delivered your first speech in 1988, declaring that “as my father’s daughter I could no longer remain silent when the public remains subject to decades of oppression”, we were deeply moved and inspired by your determination and courage.

We Need Their Voices Today! (13) Count Leo Tolstoy

Count Leo Tolstoy, great author and humanist, pioneer of nonviolent resistance, we need your voice today!

What If the 9/11 Whistle-Blowers Are Speaking the Truth?

Today (the day after 9-11-2017) I received an email message about my last Duty to Warn column about 9/11 that he had just read the day before. It simply said: “Gary, if what you and Dr Fetzer say is true, aren’t you afraid of being ‘taken out’? I’d like to see a list of important 9/11 people who have been silenced.”

Swami Vivekananda: Relevance of His Stirring Speech in Chicago in 1893

His speech delivered in the Parliament of Religions in Chicago on 11 Sep 1893 was a unique and path breaking one that helped not only the delegates but also the general public to get an idea of what the Hindu religion, one of the most ancient religions of the world, signified and what was its relevance at that time to the world.

Despair of Despair

16 Sep 2017 - How can I be an optimist in view of what's happening here every day in Israel? The practical annexation of occupied territories? The mistreatment of the Arabs? The implantation of poisonous settlements? But optimism is a state of mind. It does not falter in the face of evil. On the contrary, evil must be fought. And you cannot fight if you do not believe that you can win. There is nothing to despair of but despair itself.

World Law to Protect Refugees and Migrants

On 19 Sep 2016, the UN General Assembly held a one-day Summit on «Addressing Large Movements o Refugees and Migrants» and set a new agenda for responding to large movements of people crossing frontiers. The UN resolution is called The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. There needs to be strong cooperation among the UN and its Agencies, national governments, and NGOs to deal more adequately with current challenges and to plan for the future.

Radhika: Unheard Voices of Patriotism in Nepal

Another participant of my study was Radhika Thapa (pseudonym). I came to know that she was a conflict affected child from the CPN (Maoist) side. At that time, she was a school student and ten years armed conflict ruined her schooling so I think she was a suitable participant for my study and I decided to meet her.

IN FOCUS

When Is a Genocide a Genocide?

(Or, why is the world allowing the Rohingya to be slaughtered?) There is a genocide happening before our eyes. If only we can bear to look. A humane, compassionate, professional, incisive, and brutally honest report of the state of the world, specifically the unending failures and complicity of the UN system of nation states in cases of genocides and other crimes of barbarity.

Buddhist Man Calls for Jews to Help Myanmar’s Rohingya People

13 Sep 2017 - In March, London-based Burmese Buddhist and human rights activist Maung Zarni stood on the train tracks outside of Auschwitz and asked his companion to press record on his video camera. “If anyone would understand what is happening to the Rohingya, it would be you, the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the survivors and their families,” Zarni told.

Why Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech

8 Sep 2017 - Freedom in a free society is supposed to be for all. Therefore, freedom rules out imposing on the freedom of others. You are free to walk down the street, but not to keep others from doing so.

ANGLO AMERICA

Ensuring Catastrophe: The Price of Climate Denial

“For the moment, of course, Trump is ascendant with the fossil fuel industry,” said 350.org founder McKibben. “But like many things that Trump touches, I think that this is a last gasp. People are coming to associate the insanity of going full speed ahead into this greenhouse future with the most reckless and crazy president that we’ve ever had.” So as climate-change-fueled disasters ravaged the U.S., Trump — the man who called climate change a Chinese hoax — was doing all he could to ensure future catastrophes.

SPORTS

The Unspoken Truth behind the Colin Kaepernick Story

16 Sep 2017 - Two recent sports news items have reminded me of incidents from my own athletic past. And those memories in turn have brought my reflections back to the current news regarding the failure of any NFL team to sign quarterback Colin Kaepernick to a contract, and the recent boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

ASIA & THE PACIFIC

U.N. Brands Myanmar Violence a ‘Textbook’ Example of Ethnic Cleansing

11 Sep 2017 - The United Nations’ top human rights official today slammed Myanmar for conducting a “cruel military operation” against Rohingya Muslims, branding it “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein’s comments to the UNHRC in Geneva came as the official tally of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar and crossed into southern Bangladesh in just over two weeks soared through 300,000.

Rohingya Genocide: The World Can’t Help Until Myanmar Changes Its Ways

The international community is powerless to stop the Rohingya genocide – mainly because the countries that could do it have other interests in the region.

ARSA: Who Are the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army?

13 Sep 2017 - Maung Zarni, a non-resident fellow at the European Centre for the Study of Extremism, told Al Jazeera that the group's actions were borne out of "systematic abuses of genocidal proportions" by the Myanmar military. "This is not a terrorist group aimed at striking at the heart of Myanmar society as the government claims it is," Zarni said. "They're a group of hopeless men who decided to form some kind of self-defence group and protect their people who are living in conditions akin to a Nazi concentration camp," he added. "ARSA's actions resemble Jewish inmates at Auschwitz who rose up against the Nazis in October 1944."

BRICS

Principles of Persecution: India’s Systematized Human Rights Violations

16 Sep 2017 - Arbitrary detentions, torture, mass graves and mass rapes. These are words that describe matters recurrent in the “world’s largest democracy”, India… For the sake of humanity and fundamental human rights, the Indian government must be pressed to demolish these pillars of systematized persecution and uphold standards of law and justice.

EXPOSURES / EXPOSÉS

European Glyphosate Safety Report Copy-Pasted Monsanto Study

15 Sep 2017 - Caught red-handed: Monsanto application copy/pasted into EU food safety body. See for yourself. Dozens of pages from the Renewal Assessment Report "are identical to passages in an application submitted by Monsanto on behalf of the Glyphosate Task Force, an industry body led by the company."

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

The Other 9/11: Unremembered and Unatoned

Not that such memorials aren’t appropriate. They are simply insufficient. They fail to commemorate another 9/11 tragedy, one that took place 28 years earlier, in 1973 — not in America, but in Chile — and which caused the death – not of thousands, but of tens of thousands — while torturing and exiling 200,000 more. I refer to the brutal coup d’état that overthrew the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, and replaced it with nearly two decades of murderous dictatorship under Generalissimo Augusto Pinochet.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

Israeli Website Claims ISIS Commander Revealed as Mossad Agent

Libyan security forces arrested a Daesh commander in the city of Benghazi — only to find out soon after that the man they had captured, Ephraim Benjamin, was also an agent of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Was he working to defeat Daesh or to strengthen it?

PALESTINE / ISRAEL

The United States Was Responsible for the 1982 Massacre of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila, Beirut

Washington had explicitly guaranteed their safety—and recently declassified documents reveal that US diplomats were told by the Israelis what they and their allies might be up to.

THE UNITED NATIONS

UN Human Rights Chief Points to ‘Textbook Example of Ethnic Cleansing’ in Myanmar

11 Sep 2017 – He lashed out at the treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar which has led to more than 300,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh in the past three weeks, as security forces and local militia reportedly burn villages and shoot civilians.

South-South Cooperation Key to Overcoming Inequalities, Says UN Deputy Chief

12 Sep 2017 – “South-South cooperation should not be seen as a substitute for North-South cooperation but as complementary, and we invite all countries and organizations to engage in supporting triangular cooperation initiatives,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said today, urging all developed nations to fulfill their Official Development Assistance commitments.

SCIENCE

Why Seismologists Didn’t See Mexico’s Deadly Earthquake Coming

The Tehuantepec gap in southeastern Mexico, where last week's massive earthquake originated, was long thought to be 'aseismic.' On Sep7, scientists learned otherwise. At 8.2, it is Mexico’s strongest earthquake since the invention of modern seismic-measurement tools.

ENVIRONMENT

Urge, Splurge, Purge

As Milton Friedman, one of the architects of neoliberal ideology, put it, “Ecological values can find their natural space in the market, like any other consumer demand”. But there’s a flaw. Hurricanes do not respond to market signals. The plastic fibres in our oceans, food and drinking water do not respond to market signals. Nor does the collapse of insect populations, or coral reefs, or the extirpation of orangutans from Borneo.

Follow Kenya’s Lead on Plastic Bags

14 Sep 2017 - Plastic bags are often used for a few minutes before enjoying an eternal afterlife, clogging storm drains, stuffing landfills, killing animals that eat them and contributing to the eight million metric tons of plastic in oceans every year. Kenya and more than 40 other countries have taxed, limited or banned plastic bags. The rest of the world should, too.

Hostage to Myopic Self-Interest: Climate Science Is Watered Down Under Political Scrutiny

Scientific reticence allows politicians to neglect the real dangers we face. But waiting for perfect information means it will be too late to act.

Floods, Hurricanes, Droughts… When Climate Sets the Agenda

11 Sep 2017 - When officials and experts from all over the world started the first-ever environmental summit hosted by China, they were already aware that climate and weather-related disasters were already seriously beginning to set the international agenda – unprecedented floods in South Asia, strongest ever hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and catastrophic droughts striking the Horn of Africa, among the most impacting recent events.

ENERGY

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017

The debate about nuclear power was similar to talking about a religion. It was seldom grounded in all the relevant facts- each side had a religious belief in their point of view boosted by whatever ad hoc facts supported their view. Because of that history, this 2017 World Nuclear Industry Status Report is perhaps the most decisive document in the history of nuclear power. The report makes clear, in telling detail, that the debate is over. Nuclear power has been eclipsed by the sun and the wind. These renewable, free-fuel sources are no longer a dream or a projection-they are a reality that are replacing nuclear as the preferred choice for new power plants worldwide.

MEDIA

Preferred Conclusions: The BBC, Syria and Venezuela

13 Sep 2017 - As the late media activist Danny Schechter wrote, when it comes to the corporate broadcast media: ‘The more you watch, the less you know.’ Schechter’s observation only fails in one key respect: ‘mainstream’ output does tell us a lot about which foreign governments are being lined up for regime change.

MILITARISM

The Politics of Military Ascendancy

15 Sep 2017 - Clearly the US has escalated the pivotal role of the military in the making of foreign and, by extension, domestic policy. The rise of ‘the Generals’ to strategic positions in the Trump regime is evident, deepening its role as a highly autonomous force determining US strategic policy agendas.

CAPITALISM

Ordinary People Left Behind by God & the Free Market

16 Sep 2017 - The automatization of production creates a challenge for humanity: what to do with those “left behind” by progress? And this superfluousness also has broader implications across society.

Hurricane Irma Unleashes the Forces of Privatization in Puerto Rico

12 Sep 2017 - Vultures circling the wreckage of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Irma are closing in on a long-sought prize.

For the Love of Money: Wall Street’s Money Addiction

These traders despised anything or anyone that threatened their bonuses. Ever see what a drug addict is like when he’s used up his junk? He’ll do anything — walk 20 miles in the snow, rob a grandma — to get a fix. Wall Street was like that. In the months before bonuses were handed out, the trading floor started to feel like a neighborhood in “The Wire” when the heroin runs out.

TRADE

South-South Trade Cooperation Key to Sustainable and Inclusive Model of Globalization

13 Sep 2017 – With more than 80% of the world population living in developing countries, South-South trade has the potential to increase in the years to come and to become a vector for economic growth and prosperity for a major world region whose potential has not been fully tapped during past decades.

ECONOMICS

Venezuela Reports Oil Prices in Chinese Currency, Shunning the ‘Tyranny of the Dollar’

Venezuela, the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, began on Friday [15 Sep] to report its crude oil prices in the Chinese Yuan following the imposition of U.S. sanctions, bucking the oil market norm of pricing in the U.S dollar.

BIG BROTHER / SPYING / SURVEILLANCE / WHISTLEBLOWING

Interview with Edward Snowden: ‘There Is Still Hope – Even for Me’

12 Sep 2017 - Whistleblower Edward Snowden discusses his life in Russia, the power of the intelligence apparatuses and how he will continue his battle against all-encompassing surveillance by governments.

Chelsea Manning: The Dystopia We Signed Up For

13 Sep 2017 - For seven years, I didn’t exist. While incarcerated, I had no bank statements, no bills, no credit history. In our interconnected world of big data, I appeared to be no different than a deceased person. After I was released, that lack of information about me created a host of problems, from difficulty accessing bank accounts to trouble getting a driver’s license and renting an apartment.

HISTORY

This Week in History

Sep 18-24, 2017 ~ QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth. Instead of its bringing sad and melancholy prospects of decay, it would give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world.” - Maurice Chevalier

INSPIRATIONAL

True Skill

The yogi Raman was a true master of the art of archery. One morning, he invited his favorite disciple to watch a display of his skill. The disciple had seen this more than a hundred times before, but he nevertheless obeyed his teacher.

HEALTH

How to Fast Safely: Considerations before Starting a Fast

If you haven’t done the research, you might find yourself wondering if fasting is safe. You may have heard from people who’ve never even tried it that it’s crazy, dangerous, or just pointless. And yet, for thousands of years, many cultures have embraced fasting wholeheartedly. This ancient practice leads to numerous health benefits for most people—when done correctly.

POETRY FORMAT

Unreal Dreams

How long I've dreamed, Is it possible to take its normal course, So that the gardens can blossom, So that the bird's scent does not stop,

And Night

I was watching the mist with you It spread over the brim of the cliffs, Eaves that drooped and disappeared Once the sun began to show

IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGES

(Português) Inaugurado o Banco de Uranio no Casaquistão

13 Set 2017 - Uma nova instalação destinada a auxiliar a prevenção da proliferação de armas nucleares – o Banco de Urânio Levemente Enriquecido – foi inaugurada no último dia 29 de agosto, em Astana, capital do Casaquistão, a qual coincidiu com o Dia Internacional Contra os Ensaios Nucleares, declarado em 2009 pelas Nações Unidas.

(Français) «L’Étreinte du Serpent»: Colonialisme et Destruction

Dans cette œuvre cinématographique qui a récolté une reconnaissance internationale unanime, le cinéaste colombien Ciro Guerra expose de manière saisissante ce que le phénomène de colonisation et le processus de domination ont toujours voulu réduire au silence. Il explique la rencontre entre les indigènes et les explorateurs européens, inversant les points de vue de ce qu’on appelle la « Découverte du Nouveau monde« , maintenant vue du côté des indigènes.

(Português) George Orwell e a crítica à exploração animal (*)

12 set 2017 - O homem é a única criatura que consome sem produzir. Ele não dá leite, não bota ovos, é muito fraco para puxar o arado, não corre rápido o suficiente para pegar coelhos. Sim, ele é o senhor dos animais. Ele os prepara para trabalhar, e lhes entrega o mínimo que os impedirá de morrer de fome. O resto ele mantém para si mesmo.

(Português) Inspirador: casal resgata centenas de animais de circos, laboratórios e matadouros em todo o mundo

Uma britânica ganhou um prêmio global por seu trabalho de libertação de animais selvagens de seus captores humanos.

SHORT VIDEO CLIPS

Where Does Your Entertainment Come From?

Sea Shepherd Releases Powerful Video on the Same Day Japan Begins Its Annual Dolphin Hunt

Everybody Hurts (Music Video of the Week)

From R.E.M.’s best-selling 1992 album, Automatic for the People

SATIRE

Lacked and Loaded

No comment…

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Weather Forecasters

A tribe of American Indians on a reservation heard on their radio that there would be a cold winter. So they stacked up plenty of firewood.