Articles by UN
We found 3812 results.
Statement by the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide about Rohingya Refugees from Myanmar
Office of the UN Secretary-General – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Mar 2018
12 March 2018 – “Let us be clear: international crimes were committed in Myanmar. Rohingya Muslims have been killed, tortured, raped, burnt alive and humiliated, solely because of who they are. All the information I have received indicates that the intent of the perpetrators was to cleanse northern Rakhine state of their existence, possibly even to destroy the Rohingya as such, which, if proven, would constitute the crime of genocide.” — Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
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(Português) O assassinato de Marielle Franco foi uma enorme perda para o Brasil — e para o mundo
Shaun King – The Intercept,
19 Mar 2018
Na quarta-feira [14 março], em pleno Rio de Janeiro, uma importante líder de direitos civis foi morta por tiros que partiram de um carro. Seu nome era Marielle Franco. Ainda não sabemos quem assassinou Marielle e seu motorista, embora haja indícios preliminares de que a polícia pode estar envolvida. Ela lutava contra a epidemia de violência policial no Brasil.
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The Assassination of Human Rights Activist Marielle Franco Was a Huge Loss for Brazil — and the World
Shaun King – The Intercept,
19 Mar 2018
On Wednesday [14 Mar], in the middle of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a massively important civil rights leader was shot and killed in a brutal drive-by assassination. Her name was Marielle Franco. We don’t yet know who murdered Marielle and her driver, though early indications are that the police might have been involved. She fought against Brazil’s epidemic of police violence.
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Addressing Violence and Extremism: The Importance of Terminology
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2018
Jan 2018 – In recent years, “countering/combating violent extremism” or “preventing violent extremism” has become a must in most peace building programs. Yet, the fast-growing interest in this topic belies the fundamental problem of the lack of a clear and broadly accepted definition of the VE concept. This paper aims to contribute to a more accurate definition of the terms used in the context of extremism and violence, to attempt a descriptive model of the extremization process, and to discuss the various approaches to de-extremization.
→ read full articleA Stream of Consciousness about Stream of Time
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2018
This essay about time is actually about human dignity. We are not drifting along something called time willy-nilly, like falling down pulled by something called gravity. Time is change; being masters of much change relevant to us we can create new contexts and call that moving forward in time, and recreate old contexts and call that moving backward in time.
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If You Want Peace, Don’t Focus on the Violence and the Evil Guy
Jan Oberg | Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Mar 2018
A Personal Pledge Provoked by the Debates about Syria – About 95% of all debates about conflicts and war that we see in politics, mainstream media, the Internet and social media focus on the violence, who uses more or less of it and who is, therefore, the evil party.
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(Italiano) 15 casi di politica estera USA costruttiva / distruttiva
Johan Galtung | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Mar 2018
Una teoria è qualcosa verificabile lungo i suoi margini (Quine), quel che se ne deduce; e per me il “margine” fondamentale è l’azione implicata e le sue conseguenze.
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Genocide: Why We Let It Happen | Full Panel Discussion
Oxford Union – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Mar 2018
Genocide leaves the darkest stain on the conscience of humanity, yet today we are again witnessing international passivity in the face of the genocide in Myanmar. Why have we failed to learn our lesson from these atrocities and why do we allow this stain on our conscience to continue to grow?
→ read full articleMeanwhile, Around the World
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Mar 2018
The world is getting worse. Violence used to cluster around the global power of USA and the regional power of Israel. Now two more:
“The unstoppable growing power of China.”
“Erdögan’s Neo-Ottomanism at a Dangerous Turning Point.” And “Military buildup on the reefs” in South China Sea.
Not War on Terrorism but Dialogue for Solutions
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Feb 2018
I am sitting somewhere in Afghanistan. Across the table are three Taliban; Pashtuns like most Taliban. My opening question is standard: “What does the Afghanistan look like where you would like to live?” with some equally standard follow-up questions: “What is the worst that happened to you?”, and “Was there a good period in the past?”
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Scholars, Activists and Politicians in Germany to Hold an International Conference on Myanmar Genocide at the Jewish Museum in Berlin
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Feb 2018
On 26 February, a group of prominent human rights activists, genocide scholars and practitioners of international law are gathering at the Jewish Museum of Berlin for the first-ever conference in Germany on Myanmar Genocide of the Rohingya people.
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Haiti’s Latest Indignity at the Hands of Dogooders, Oxfam’s Sex Scandal
Mark Schuller – Counter Punch,
26 Feb 2018
International donors had pledged $10 billion for the Haiti response at a March 31, 2010 UN conference. According to the UN Special Envoy’s office, this amount was later upped to $13 billion, while individual donors worldwide contributed just over $3 billion. The 16-billion-dollar question was, often asked, “Where did the money go?”
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Maung Zarni: Myanmar Feels like a Big Cage for Rohingyas
Rifat Islam Esha – Dhaka Tribune,
26 Feb 2018
19 Feb 2018 – Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar from the Myanmar army’s perspective is a tactical retreat in the face of heavy artillery of international condemnations, criticisms and reimposition of sanctions, and it might take around 10-20 years to complete.
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Is Oxford University Complicit in Aung San Suu Kyi’s Genocide Denial?
Maung Zarni | Open Democracy - TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Feb 2018
Just as Suu Kyi dismisses allegations of Myanmar’s international human rights crimes as designed to tarnish the image of Myanmar, the administration at Oxford University considers this a “public relations” issue.
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Nikki Haley: The U.S. Embarrassment at the United Nations
Robert Fantina – CounterPunch,
26 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 – Nikki Haley has proven repeatedly that she is an embarrassment on the world stage, and the fact that she seems completely oblivious to her repeated acts of appalling stupidity is only further evidence of it. Her most recent foray into the world of head-scratching nonsense occurred on Tuesday, February 20. She basically, in her most eloquent way (not!), told the Palestinian government that she wouldn’t ‘shut up’, as was very appropriately suggested to her. She suggested that the Palestinians take “…the path of negotiation and compromise”.
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Nuclear Abolition: A Sisyphean Task?
David Krieger | Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Feb 2018
15 Feb 2018 – Nuclear weapons threaten everyone and everything we love and cherish. Why do we accept and tolerate these intolerable weapons? Every thinking person on the planet should stand against these omnicidal weapons and work for their elimination. Nine leaders in nine countries have their fingers on the nuclear button.
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The Berlin Conference on Myanmar Genocide
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Feb 2018
26 February 2018 – To Be Webcast LIVE – The conference aims to inform the German civil society and European public about the on-going genocide of Rohingya people in Myanmar/Burma.
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Boycotting Israel Is the Right Thing to Do
Philip Giraldi – The Unz Review,
19 Feb 2018
Israel’s War on Free Speech Continues
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A Trinity Talk with Nobel Peace Laureate &TR Member Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Leeds Trinity University – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Feb 2018
11 Dec 2017
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South Korea Minister Says Military Option ‘Unacceptable’ on North Korea Crisis
Soyoung Kim | Reuters – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Feb 2018
25 Jan 2018 -“The nuclear issue has to be solved through negotiations and diplomatic endeavors. This idea of a military solution is unacceptable,” Kang Kyung-wha said at a news briefing on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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Today I Said Good Bye to Mom
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Feb 2018
Through the transparent cover
With her eyes closed, Mother looked at me
As if she were saying
“Why are you mourning over this biomass in this air-conditioned coffin?
It ain’t me here! Not any more, if ever there was I.”
Letter of Concern to Oxford University Press regarding Dr Jacques Leider and ORE Asian History Series
Noam Chomsky, Johan Galtung, Maung Zarni, et al. - TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Feb 2018
5 Feb 2018 – Oxford University Press, Myanmar Genocide, & Its Choice of Dr Leider as the Expert on Rohingyas
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15 Cases: Constructive vs Destructive U.S. Foreign Policies
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Feb 2018
The right column is sadly familiar; add more recent cases. The left column also carries an element of sadness but nothing really radical; more like common sense that could easily be translated into political practice. A theory is something tested along its edges (Quine); what you deduce from the theory–and to me the key “edge”–is its action-consequences.
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Permaculture in New Zealand: Joanna Santa Barbara’s Atamai Village (Part 2)
Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Feb 2018
Permaculture for Peace: Presenting the Atamai Village Project – Joanna Santa Barbara is a member of TRANSCEND International.
→ read full article2018 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review Released by Trump Administration
David Krieger and Rick Wayman | Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Feb 2018
2 Feb 2018 –The 2018 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, released today, represents a reckless realignment of an already dangerous U.S. nuclear policy. Trump administration plan calls for smaller nuclear weapons making nuclear war far more likely.
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America’s National Defense Is Really Offense
Philip Giraldi | Strategic Culture Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Feb 2018
26 Jan 2018 – Today the Pentagon released an unclassified summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy report. Reading the summary is illuminating, to say the least, and somewhat disturbing, as it focuses very little on actual defense of the realm and relates much more to offensive military action that might be employed to further certain debatable national interests. Occasionally, it is actually delusional, as when it refers to consolidating “gains we have made in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.”
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Hannah Beech: “Journos’ Power without Moral Responsibility”
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Feb 2018
4 Feb 2018 – Hannah Beech’s select writings on Wirathu & Rohingyas (New York Times, 1 Feb 2018) have done lasting damage to Myanmar’s inter-communal relations and credibility of Rohingyas’ tales of horror while reinforcing Myanmar military’s popular misinformation against Rohingyas.
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North Korean Athletes Arrive in South Korea for Olympics
Hyung-Jin Kim | Associated Press – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Feb 2018
1 Feb 2018 — North Korean 32-member delegation of skiers and skaters arrived today at a South Korean airport to participate in the Winter Olympics that has brought a temporary lull in tensions surrounding their country’s nuclear program. The Olympics start on 9 Feb.
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The Top 10 Outrageous Things about ISIS the Western Mainstream Media Ignores
Robert Bridge | Strategic Culture Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Feb 2018
31 Jan 2018 – The top 10 very strange circumstances that led to the rise of ISIS. It seems to be an appropriate time to reflect upon a set of very strange circumstances that led to the rise of this loathsome terrorist group.
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Livin’ and Dion: Fall River a Perfect Backdrop for Kennedy Response [to Trump’s State of the Union]
Marc Munroe Dion - The Herald News,
5 Feb 2018
27 Jan 2018 – We are the struggle. Fall River is one of those left-behind places, one of those forgotten, unfashionable places, one of those American places that is neither New York City nor some quiet little suburb, nor some farm town. We are not igniting any national trends. Perhaps because of this, when U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III offers the Democrats’ rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday [30 Jan], he will speak from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School.
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Killing Floor: The Business of Animal Slaughter
Paul Tritschler - CounterPunch,
5 Feb 2018
Morality is at the heart of the matter. As a child, I found it difficult to draw the distinction between martyred saints and murdered animals. We are morally responsible for all of our choices, including the choice to kill.
→ read full articleMissing: Conflict Literacy, Peace Literacy
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Feb 2018
I feel sad. I feel betrayed. I am in the West, the West is in me. Unrealistic are the present US-EU policies. Whoever moves too far away from reality will be punished: USA by being isolated, EU by warfare turning potential friends into enemies. If they want to go down, continue. Alternative: join the world. So, permit me two wishes, two dreams.
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The Billionaire Boom: 82% of Global Wealth Produced Last Year Went to Richest 1%
Ben Dangl - CounterPunch,
5 Feb 2018
25 Jan 2018 – Across the world, poor people’s labor fuels the rising concentration of wealth. “Dangerous, poorly paid work for the many is supporting extreme wealth for the few,” Oxfam explained. “Women are in the worst work, and almost all the super-rich are men.
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Conditions in Myanmar Not Yet Suitable for Rohingya Refugees to Return Safely – UN Agency
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
23 Jan 2018 – The necessary safeguards for Rohingyas to return to Myanmar are absent, and there are ongoing restrictions on access for aid agencies, the media and other independent observers, the UN warned today, two months after Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a plan for the refugees’ voluntary return to their homes.
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A Rare Glimpse into the Inner Workings of American Empire in the Middle East
Edward Hunt – MintPress News,
29 Jan 2018
22 Jan 2018 – Four former U.S. diplomats provided remarkably candid commentary on recent U.S. involvement in the Middle East, revealing that it is still about oil and regional dominance.
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Policy of the Cruel and Absurd: Sleep Deprivation in California’s Prisons
Charlie Hinton, Verbena Lea and Willow Katz | Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 – In prison isolation units throughout California, guards wake prisoners up every 30 minutes under the guise of suicide prevention. These “security/welfare checks” cause ongoing sleep deprivation. The UN and many sleep and mental health experts have long defined sleep deprivation as a form of torture.
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Keeping Haiti in Perspective
John Carroll, M.D. - CounterPunch,
29 Jan 2018
23 Jan 2018 – What word Trump used to describe Haiti is not important. It is his attitude behind the word. It is the connotation that Haiti is not worth our time. This is the danger. Keeping Haiti in perspective is important. Understanding President Trump’s motives is not difficult. But after that, we need to be careful.
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Wealth Concentration Continues to Increase
Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
29 Jan 2018
23 Jan 2018 – As the ‘masters of the universe’ gather for their annual retreat at Davos, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has just published its Inclusive Development Index (IDI) for the second time.
→ read full articleMeanwhile, Around the World
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
One thing is wealth, another is life expectancy: Japan and Spain are Nos. 1 and 2, Norway No. 14, USA No. 25. No doubt the Japanese diet based on le cru, not le cuit, and the Spanish Mediterranean diet, also based on the sea, the plains and the mountains, play major roles… A small but important signal from La Nucia in Spain: no more permits to build new houses for some time. La Nucia wants to stop growing. 30,000 inhabitants in 2030 is the limit; with no limitation on restoration, beauty, art, well-being.
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War Pay: Another Good Year for Weapons Makers Is Guaranteed
William D. Hartung - TomDispatch,
29 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 – As Donald Trump might put it, major weapons contractors like Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin cashed in “bigly” in his first year in office. They raked in tens of billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, while posting sharp stock price increases and healthy profits driven by the continuation and expansion of Washington’s post-9/11 wars. But last year’s bonanza is likely to be no more than a down payment on even better days to come for the military-industrial complex.
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Permaculture in New Zealand: Joanna Santa Barbara’s Atamai Village (Part 1)
Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
Permaculture for Peace: Presenting the Atamai Village Project. Joanna Santa Barbara is a member of TRANSCEND International.
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How Will I Explain Extremist Buddhism to My Children?
Khin Mai Aung | Lion’s Roar – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
Khin Mai Aung once worried her children would pick up dogmatic views from her husband’s Catholic faith. Now, she struggles to explain to them the terrible violence in Myanmar, her country of birth — incited by members of her own faith, Buddhism.
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Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s True Colors Shine!
Dr. Maung Zarni – TRANSCED Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
25 Jan 2018 – We are witnessing nothing short of the emergence of a cold-hearted and immoral Burmese politician. Suu Kyi’s evident priority to turn the killing fields of Western Burma (stretching over 100 KM in length) into a lucrative opportunity for the local cronies who financially support her and her party is utterly morally repugnant.
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How the Establishment Undermines American Democracy
Philip M. Giraldi | Strategic Culture Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
18 Jan 2018 – There is a growing consensus among many observers in Washington that the national security agencies have become completely politicized over the past seventeen years and are now pursuing selfish agendas that actually endanger what remains of American democracy.
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(Italiano) Due modi d’essere Occidentali: Cristianesimo e Scienza
Johan Galtung | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jan 2018
5 gennaio 2018 – Due istituzioni basilari nella storia e nella vita individuale occidentali: il Cristianesimo – che offre Salvezza a coloro che seguono le leggi e i comandamenti, e la Scienza, che offre la Verità a coloro che credono alle leggi scientifiche.
→ read full articleThe US Syria “Strategy” – Recipe for Continued Disaster Even for the US
Jan Oberg | Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jan 2018
We’ve of course seen it all before. It’s about bases (like, say, Kosovo), about control of resources (like, say, Iraq), about regime change (like, say Saddam Hussein and Moamar Khadafi) and it’s about the exceptionalist belief that God’s own country has God’s mandate to create US Imperial peace everywhere – no matter how many times it has already gone madly wrong and no matter how many innocent people are killed and wounded in the process.
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Be the Change: Enter Peace Journalism
Sebastian Eck, Antonio C. S. Rosa | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jan 2018
TRANSCEND Media Service editor Antonio C. S. Rosa talks about Peace Journalism as a new paradigm for journalists reporting on conflicts.
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The Responsibility to Protect the World … from the United States
Ajamu Baraka - CounterPunch,
22 Jan 2018
12 Jan 2018 – One of the most ingenious propaganda weapons ever developed is that the powerful nations of the West—led by the United States—have a moral responsibility to use military force to protect the rights of people being repressed by their governments. This “responsibility to protect” (R2P) always had a dubious legal standing, but its moral justification also required a psychological and historical disengagement from the bloody reality of the 500-hundred-year history of U.S. and European colonialism, slavery, genocide and torture that created the “West.”
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Reworking the Colonial-Era “Indian Peril”: Myanmar’s State-directed Persecution of Rohingyas and Other Muslims
Maung Zarni & Natalie Brinham - TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jan 2018
Myanmar’s transition from the military dictatorship to the adoption of a Chinese model of great commercial opening with a calibrated political liberalization has one unintended consequence for the military-controlled-government: ugly things get exposed. All of a sudden, the dark secrets of this predominantly Buddhist nation of 51 million people with diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds are laid bare for all to witness.
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Joanna Santa Barbara TRANSCEND Address
Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jan 2018
TRANSCEND International members address present and future members.
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US Ally Uganda Attacks Congo’s Beni Territory
Ann Garrison interviews Boniface Musavuli - CounterPunch,
15 Jan 2018
The Congo crisis is now one of the greatest humanitarian emergencies in the world and the most underreported. An average of 5,500 people a day flees violence and insecurity, even more than in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Unlike Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, however, the Congo wars are undeclared and there’s no front line.
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Wrongs of Rights Activism around Rohingyas
Maung Zarni – Prothom Alo [Bangladesh],
15 Jan 2018
I do not believe in Knights in shining armour or the White Saviours. The survivors have no rescuers. They need to struggle for their own survival and beyond. I am only a supporter who offers them my uncompromising solidarity as a fellow human. This piece, I wrote based on my 30-years of non-stop activism since I joined proudly the Amnesty International campus chapter at the University of California as a youngish graduate student in early 20’s. Now I am almost 54.
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Trump, Kim Need to Grasp Reality of Famed Photo’s ‘Fruit of War’
Vox Populi, Vox Dei - The Asahi Shimbun,
8 Jan 2018
5 Jan 2018 – A barefoot boy, probably around 10 years old, waits in line at a crematorium. Strapped to his back is his dead baby brother. Staring straight ahead, the boy utters no words. This photo, titled “The boy standing by the crematory,” was taken in Nagasaki at the end of World War II by U.S. Marine photographer Joe O’Donnell (1922-2007).
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After 1,000 Days of Conflict, Yemen Sliding into ‘Deepening Catastrophe,’ UN Agencies Warn
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jan 2018
30 Dec 2017 – As the conflict in Yemen passes the grim 1,000-day milestone, the United Nations is warning that if humanitarian workers cannot gain greater access and the violence does not subside, the cost in lives will be incalculable.
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(Português) Dia Mundial da Paz: Um momento para expandir a consciência
Bruna Araújo - ANDA Agência de Notícias de Direitos Animais,
8 Jan 2018
O Dia Mundial da Paz é celebrado anualmente no dia 1 de janeiro em todo o planeta. A data foi criada pelo papa Paulo VI em 1967 tendo como proposta unir todas as religiões com o objetivo único de criar um mundo pacífico e harmonioso. Saiba mais sobre esta importante data e repense antigos hábitos.
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Putin Foresaw Death of US Global Power
Finian Cunningham | Strategic Culture Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jan 2018
Like a good wine, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s famous speech delivered in Munich 10 years ago regarding global security has been rewarded with time. A decade on, the many facets contained in that address have only become all the more enhanced and tangible.
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Meet Antonio C. S. Rosa: Pioneer in Peace Journalism
Sebastian Eck, Antonio C. S. Rosa | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jan 2018
“TMS HAS INTEGRITY”: Meet the man behind TRANSCEND Media Service-TMS
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2018 Brings No End to Violence against Rohingya as Refugees Continue to Flee to Bangladesh
UN International Organization for Migration – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jan 2018
5 Jan 2018 – This week, Rohingya refugees were still arriving in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – the New Year bringing no end to the reports of violence and fears, which forced them to flee their homes in Myanmar.
→ read full articleAmerican Diplomacy with North Korea and Vietnam
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jan 2018
There seems to be a stalemate, with 8 million or so in and around Seoul being as hostages to North Korean artillery should there be a US attack. North Korea will not launch a first strike, but they want to show USA-Japan-the World that they are equal to USA in offensive capability with an invulnerability of force and value–people–unmatched in human history. Mantra: “1952” NEVER AGAIN!
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Ghosts in the Propaganda Machine
Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank - CounterPunch,
8 Jan 2018
5 Jan 2018 – Is this what online journalism looks like in the era of Russiagate fever? A fake writer catfishes CounterPunch and a dozen other online websites. A handful of her articles are published over a two-year period. Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank expose an entire network of internet trolls.
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An Appeal to the TRANSCEND Membership by TMS Editor Antonio C. S. Rosa
Sebastian Eck, Antonio C. S. Rosa | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
“Dear colleagues, dear friends, dear TRANSCEND members, let’s grow younger. Let us bring together competent young people from across the world for Nonviolence, Mediation, and Peace Journalism.”
→ read full articleReligion – A Source of Conflict or the Path to Peace? Its Role in Preventing Violence
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
A constant and widespread communication process on religious reflection, inclusion and participation should prevail as a showpiece for conflict prevention, resolution and resilience. Doing good and promoting peaceful behaviour is not enough. Extensive inclusive participation and communication on the subject matter must be undertaken in order to provide a counter-weight to toxic conversations, the spreading of violence and extremism.
→ read full articleTwo Ways of Being Western: Christianity and Science
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
Two basic institutions in Western history and individual lives: Christianity offering Salvation to those following Laws, Commandments, and Science offering Truth to those who believe in scientific laws. After Enlightenment ushered in a godless world, one is waning and the other vexing, seen as antithetical to each other.
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Suspected Cholera Cases in Yemen Surpass One Million, Reports UN Health Agency
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
22 Dec 2017 – The total number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has crossed one million, the World Health Organization reported today. “If we cannot bring in medicines and medical supplies, we cannot save lives.”
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(Português) Síndrome das Pernas Inquietas: Doença causa “alfinetadas” a noite inteira e não tem cura
Nuno de Noronha | SAPO – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
27 Dez 2017 – A Síndrome das Pernas Inquietas é uma doença crónica e progressiva com impacto importante na qualidade de vida das pessoas. Alguns descrevem-na como uma espécie de “agonia nas pernas”, “comichão nos ossos” ou “alfinetadas”, explica o médico pneumologista Bruno Santos.
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Alternative Dispute Resolution or Legalism? Conflict Transformation!
Theresa Sing | Galtung Institut — Transcend Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
Under the umbrella term Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), discourses around mediation and other non-judicial approaches to conflict resolution have been constrained by a predominantly legal narrative ultimately founded on an ‘either-or’ dichotomy between status quos instead of allowing a third way resting on a ‘both-and’ approach.
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Lamenting Venezuela’s “Humanitarian Crisis” while Blocking Its Resolution
Roger Harris – CounterPunch,
1 Jan 2018
29 Dec 2017 – A New York Times headline screams “As Venezuela collapses, children are dying of hunger.” Lurid pictures show dead infants. The key to understanding the wellspring of the Times’ indignation about humanitarian issues confronting Venezuela is hinted at in the by-line to the article: “Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world.” The stakes are high for the US empire.
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Galtung on Trauma, Drama: What Does North Korea Really Want?
Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
Prof. Johan Galtung, founder of Peace Studies, offers actionable nonviolent and dialogical solutions.
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Mediation Perspectives: Peace, Conflict and Mediation in Islam
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
Religions promote peace and provide moral guidance and legal injunctions to restrict and moderate the use of violence. Followers of a religion can comply with these guidelines or transgress against them as such followers are neither angels nor devils. Instead, they are human beings with all the complex aspirations to peace and temptations to violence that the human condition entails. In that respect, Islam is no exception.
→ read full articleAn Irreverent Activist and His Year’s End Gift to Himself
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
‘I can’t be taken down.
For my feet have always been firmly on the ground.
My career can’t be destroyed.
For I have never pursued one.
Aung San Suu Kyi for Democracy or Buddhist Fascism?
Maung Zarni - Prothom Alo [Bangladesh],
25 Dec 2017
22 Dec 2017 – Truths and totalitarianism are irreconcilable. They have never co-existed, they do not coexist, and they never will. In this sordid political climate in Myanmar, the formerly pro-human rights public, peaceful Buddhist Order and pro-human rights dissidents, from Aung San Suu Kyi and former student leaders of the Great Uprising of 8.8.88, have closed ranks with their former military jailors and torturers.
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UN Rights Expert ‘Disappointed’ by Myanmar’s Decision to Refuse Visit
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
20 Dec 2017 – The UN expert on the human rights situation in Myanmar today expressed disappointment at the government’s decision to deny her all access to the country. “This declaration of non-cooperation with my mandate can only be viewed as a strong indication that there must be something terribly awful happening in Rakhine, as well as in the rest of the country.”
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In 2017, the World Let another ‘Genocide’ Unfold
Ishaan Tharoor | The Washington Post – Chicago Tribune,
25 Dec 2017
18 Dec 2017 – The volume of utterly horrifying stories emerging from Myanmar can feel overwhelming. Since late August, more than 626,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled a systematic campaign of attacks by the Burmese military and local militias— the most rapid exodus of a community since the Rwandan genocide.
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2018, America’s New Corporate Tax Cuts, and Future of the World
Irwin Jerome | Countercurrents – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
23 Dec 2017 – It doesn’t take a mystic to look into a crystal ball. As all the corks of the champagne bottles continue to pop for the prospects of what the new year holds for the ultra-rich .01% and the rest of us, what no doubt now will follow will be a rush amongst the world’s corporate/financial structure to either implement similar corporate tax cuts within their own countries or inspire a new “offshore rush” of the world’s corporate infrastructure to re-locate within the borders of the United States to stick their heads in the pig trough along with all the other greedy ones to partake in the financial feeding frenzy that will ensue.
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Galtung on Trump’s USA: Demoralization, Destructuration, Deculturation
Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Dec 2017
Prof. Johan Galtung on the U.S. Empire’s Disintegration
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Rohingyas Are Survivors, Not Security Threat
Maung Zarni | Prothom Alo – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Dec 2017
13 Dec 2017 – Can you imagine BBC, Chatham House, Rand Corporation portraying as potential “Jewish terrorists” the survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ravensbruick, Dachau and other world infamous death and labour camps? Of course not! But that is precisely what is now happening to the survivors of my Buddhist country’s genocide, whose name even the entire Catholic Church in Myanmar, and by extension, Pope Francis, have dared not pronounce.
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A Religion Called Economy
Michele Migliorino | Countercurrents – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
4 Dec 2017 – You can see how the Economy Religion destroys everything: forest, seas, living species, ourselves and our infinite cultures existing over the whole planet. By now, realism would tell us that it is time to throw the Economy GOd into the wastebasket history and try to create a society which won’t imply such a despicable waste of energy and resources.
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Conservation Goal for the Amazon Exceeded: More than 60 Million Hectares Protected
World Wildlife Fund | EcoWatch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
1 Dec 2017 – The World Wildlife Fund announced today that the Program for Protected Areas of the Amazon, a joint venture with the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, has reached the goal of protecting at least 60 million hectares. This effort represents the conservation of 15 percent of the biome’s territory in Brazil.
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Johan Galtung’s Acceptance Speech of the People’s Nobel in Sweden
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
2 Dec 2017 – The People’s Peace Prize According to Nobel’s Will
Celebration-Seminar-Banquet, Orust Peace Movement at Svanvik, Sweden
Palestinians Recognize Texas as Part of Mexico
Alex Huntley | The Beaverton – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
6 Dec 2017 – In response to Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will recognize Texas as a state of Mexico, since it was violently annexed by the United States in the 1840s. He says that this is a new approach to Mexican-US relations, and hopes it will help ease the tension between the two countries over security and immigration.
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A Message from Johan Galtung to the TRANSCEND Network
Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
A New Year’s Message
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Both Parties Pushed Trump toward Reckless Action on Jerusalem
Stephen Zunes | The Progressive – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
6 Dec 2017 – President Trump announced today that the United States will formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that the U.S. embassy would be moved to that multi-ethnic and multi-faith city… In the Senate, the bill was cosponsored by such prominent Senate Democrats as Joe Biden and John Kerry and only one Democrat (the late Robert Byrd) voted no. On the House side, just thirty out of 204 Democrats voted no, along with the independent then-Congressman Bernie Sanders.
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Careless Disposal of Antibiotics Could Produce ‘Ferocious Superbugs,’ UN Environment Experts Warn
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
5 Dec 2017 – Growing antimicrobial resistance linked to the discharge of drugs and some chemicals into the environment is one of the most worrying health threats today. “The warning here is truly frightening: we could be spurring the development of ferocious superbugs through ignorance and carelessness.”
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Special Session on the Human Rights of the Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar
UH Human Rights Council – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
5 Dec 2017 – The Council condemned the alleged systematic and gross violations of human rights and abuses committed against persons belonging to the Rohingya Muslim community and other minorities in Myanmar.
→ read full articleIssue of Jerusalem Must Be Resolved through Direct Negotiations between Parties, UN Chief Stresses
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
6 Dec 2017 – “In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear: there is no alternative to the two-state solution. There is no Plan B,” said Mr. Guterres. In his remarks, the UN chief noted that it is only by realizing the vision of two states “living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine, and all final status issues resolved permanently through negotiations,” that the legitimate aspirations of both peoples will be achieved.
→ read full articleJohan Galtung Is Awarded Peace Prize in Nobel’s Spirit
Jan Oberg | Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Dec 2017
On 2 December 2017 Johan Galtung is awarded the alternative peace prize, The People’s Peace Prize In Accordance With Nobel’s Will.
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Yemen: Today’s Guernica
Cesar Chelala - CounterPunch,
4 Dec 2017
On the market day of Apr 26, 1937, at the bequest of General Francisco Franco, a bombing of the Basque town of Guernica took place. The attack, under the code name Operation Rügen, in which hundreds of people died, became a rallying cry against the brutal killing of innocent civilians. 80 years later an even more criminal action is carried out against Yemeni civilians by Saudi Arabia with the complicity of the United States. World powers have not yet learned the lesson from Guernica.
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The Criminalization of War. Tun Dr. Mahathir’s Open Letter to Muslims in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Yemen
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad – Global Research,
4 Dec 2017
28 Nov 2017 – This message is also addressed to the U.S. and its indefectible British ally which have relentlessly supported Saudi Arabia’s war against the people of Yemen, a criminal act tantamount to genocide under international law.
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The Richest 1% Now Own More than 50% of the World’s Wealth
David Meyer – Fortune,
27 Nov 2017
14 Nov 2017 – The richest 1% now owns more than half of all the world’s household wealth, according to analysts at Credit Suisse. The Swiss bank released its latest Global Wealth Report today, together with a statement that contained the immortal phrase, “The outlook for the millionaire segment is more optimistic than for the bottom of the wealth pyramid.”
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Iran, Russia and Turkey Agree to Hold ‘Syrian People’s Congress’ to Bring Together All Warring Sides
Abdus Sattar Ghazali — Countercurrents,
27 Nov 2017
24 Nov 2017 – Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his Iranian and Turkish counterparts have supported a proposal to hold a “Syrian people’s congress” with opposition figures. On Nov 22 he hosted Hassan Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, just as some Syrian opposition groups met in Riyadh before UN-sponsored talks in Geneva.
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Why We Need to Take Animal Cruelty Much More Seriously
Wendy Wolfson and Ken Levy - CounterPunch,
27 Nov 2017
At first glance, this was just one more mass shooting that could not have been anticipated or prevented. But in addition to the assaults against his wife and child, there was another big warning sign: Kelley was cited for animal cruelty after he had viciously beaten a Husky puppy for running away and then dragged the puppy by his neck back to his camper. Kelley paid a $368 fine and the animal cruelty charge was dismissed.
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Fukushima Darkness
Robert Hunziker - CounterPunch,
27 Nov 2017
22 Nov 2017 – The radiation effects of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant triple meltdowns are felt worldwide, whether lodged in sea life or in humans, it cumulates over time. The growing problem of Fukushima’s radiation conundrum.
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What Makes Google’s Eric Schmidt so Afraid? And What Should He Be Afraid of?
Jan Oberg | Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Nov 2017
21 Nov 2017 – This very powerful corporate leader with an open political orientation has decided that the Internet and his hugely dominating search engine,
a) shall cave in to political pressure,
b) de-rank at least these two Russian media organizations because
c) he knows they are “propaganda outlets” (it isn’t discussed at all or compared with US or other countries’ media) and
d) in the name of political correctness it is OK to limit the freedom of opinion-formation.
Myanmar’s Myriad Challenges Don’t Excuse Toxic and Unfounded Racism against Rohingya
Khin Mai Aung | HuffPost – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Nov 2017
20 Nov 2017 – The Rohingya humanitarian crisis has shone a bright and unflattering light on the deep and ugly antipathy within Burma/Myanmar to the Rohingya people. The prevailing perception of the Rohingya as foreign and fundamentally not “Burmese” is misplaced.
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The TRANSCEND Method: Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means
Johan Galtung | Governance and Social Development Resource Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Nov 2017
The TRANSCEND Method is based on the central thesis that to prevent violence and develop the creative potential of a conflict, there has to be transformation. At the root of the method is the understanding of conflict as incompatible goals, meaning as a problem to be solved; not as incompatible parties (persons, countries etc.), meaning as one or more parties to be controlled (usually not oneself).
→ read full articleMeanwhile, Around the World
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Nov 2017
Trump is trumping himself by making America Last, not in the sense of long-lasting, but in the sense of going down. There is something to learn for those receptive to learning, and Islam puts it forcefully: togetherness, and sharing. We would add: as equally as possible. But Trump politics is the opposite of that, and the price is increasing. And so is today also much of Muslim politics, to their detriment.
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(Français) Esclavage en Libye: merci l’OTAN!
Bruno Guigue | Investig’Action – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Nov 2017
Une découverte, les pratiques esclavagistes filmées par CNN ? On tombe vraiment des nues ? Certainement pas. Le 11 avril 2017, l’Office international des migrations publiait un rapport indiquant que des milliers de migrants transitant par la Libye étaient vendus comme du bétail sur des marchés aux esclaves, avant d’être soumis au travail forcé ou à l’exploitation sexuelle. Cette réalité, tout le monde la connaissait, et personne n’a rien fait.
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Waves of Genocidal Terror against Rohingyas by Myanmar and the Resultant Exodus Since 1978
Maung Zarni and Natalie Brinham | Middle East Institute – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Nov 2017
14 Nov 2017 – This essay aims to highlight the scope and rhythmic nature of Burma’s persecution of Rohingyas and the devastating impact on the Rohingya population. First, it sets out to describe and help readers understand the evolving pretexts given by the successive Burmese governments and the methods of group destruction and resultant waves — five in total — of the outflow of Rohingyas in large number. Then it attempts to offer an interpretive framework within which this cycle of violence-exodus-lull is best understood.
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Texas Shooting Shows Once again That Animal Cruelty and Human Cruelty Are Strongly Linked
Martha Rosenberg - CounterPunch,
20 Nov 2017
15 Nov 2017 – What do Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Devin Kelley the Texas church killer and a host of other killers have in common? They tortured animals and delighted in the pain they inflicted. Why the Texas shooting shows that animal cruelty and human cruelty are linked.
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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24 Nov 1864 – 9 Sep 1901)
Toulouse-Lautrec Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Nov 2017
At the age of 13 Henri fractured his left thigh bone, and at 14, the right. His legs ceased to grow, so that as an adult he was only 1.54m. tall, having developed an adult-sized torso, while retaining his child-sized legs. He is also reported to have had hypertrophied genitals. Physically unable to participate in most of the activities typically enjoyed by men of his age, Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in his art. An alcoholic for most of his adult life, he was placed in a sanatorium shortly before his death.
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