Articles by UN
We found 3812 results.
Rohingyas, the Victims of Sustained Genocidal Persecution for Nearly 40 Years
Amine Tuna Ertürk - İHH İnsani ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Merkezi (Turkey),
27 Jul 2015
Interview with Dr Maung Zarni – “Humanitarianism is all well and fine. It plays an ameliorative role. But the root cause is politically and racially driven genocide. In situations of genocide, humanitarianism is woefully inadequate. It is a band-aid, not a cure.”
→ read full articleElephant in the Room: The Pentagon’s Massive Carbon Footprint
Lisa Savage - CounterPunch,
27 Jul 2015
According to its own study, in 2013 the Pentagon consumed fuel equivalent to 90,000,000 barrels of crude oil. This amounts to 80% of the total fuel usage by the federal government. If burned as jet fuel it produces about 38,700,000 metric tons of CO2. The Pentagon is also exempt from an executive order by President Obama requiring other federal agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
→ read full articleCapitalism, Engineered Dependencies and the Eurozone
Rob Urie - CounterPunch,
27 Jul 2015
Syriza in Greece can be as ‘socialist’ as it wishes to be as long as the broad reorganization of society that the term implies ends at the foot of an armchair. The Troika, piling on to historical IMF structural adjustment policies, is fine with economic democracy as long as markets are open, public resources and processes are for sale to politically approved bidders, a capitalist banking system has free-rein over the creation and allocation of financial capital, labor is unorganized, desperate and pliable and public policies are dictated by external creditors.
→ read full article(Italiano) TPP-TTIP-Tisa: la soglia critica per la democrazia
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Jul 2015
Questo editoriale vede i tre accordi come una soglia critica per la democrazia; ma, verso dove? Lontano dalla democrazia come processo del e da parte del popolo, e lontano dalla democrazia come società per il popolo, eccetto che nel senso di prezzi più bassi. Addio Lincoln.
→ read full article(Italiano) T-tip, il nostro futuro greco
Francesco Martone, Comune Info – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Jul 2015
21 luglio 2015 – Per uno paradosso o una significativa coincidenza lo stesso giorno nel quale processava Alexis Tsipras, il parlamento europeo avrebbe votato il rapporto Lange sul Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-tip). Raffigurazioni plastiche ed evidenti di come il progetto europeo di spazio di cittadinanza comune abbia ceduto il passo a quello elitario dell’austerity, e dell’ordoliberismo a tutti i costi, ed agli interessi delle imprese e dei mercati anche a costo della sopravvivenza di uomini e donne in carne ed ossa.
→ read full articleIran’s Nuclear Deal, a Great Achievement, but Hard Work Ahead
Prof. Farhang Jahanpour - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
20 Jul 2015
14 Jul 2015 – The announcement of the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers is a rare moment in history that gives us hope and provides a basis for optimism. By contemplating what the alternative would have entailed, any agreement, no matter how defective, is a great achievement and has to be welcomed.
→ read full articleRacism: Focus on Myanmar’s Islamophobia!
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal – Asian Tribune,
20 Jul 2015
Racism sponsored or promoted by a state, like terrorism of all sorts, remains an ugly embodiment of modern corrupt civilization. Today, in the post Sept-11 hoax setting, Islamophobia and media targeting of Muslims serve the racial cause for brutality in many anti-Muslim nations.
→ read full articleCongratulations and Thank You, Iran!
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
20 Jul 2015
It is a revolution – namely, solving problems at the table rather than through yet another failed, counterproductive and self-defeating Western war on a Middle Eastern country. A victory for nonviolence and intelligence over violence and human folly; for civilisation, for civilised manners – and with the “object” itself being a civilisation.
→ read full articleAesthetics as One Road to Peace?
Johan Galtung, 20 Jul 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jul 2015
The focus is on one Sultan, Ibrahim Adil Shah II, of the central Indian kingdom of Bijapur, between Mumbai and Goa; we are talking about early 17th century. The Sultan is described as “an erudite scholar, a lute player, poet, singer, calligrapher, chess master and aesthete”. How different from Western rulers with military-political skills; how similar to many Chinese rulers, emperors, mandarins with poetry, calligraphy and more as indelible part of their legitimacy.
→ read full article(Italiano) OXI o NAI?
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Jul 2015
OXI, No, ce l’ha fatta, come ci si aspettava, con il 61%. Un gran giorno per la Democrazia, per la Grecia, per l’Europa, per il mondo.
→ read full articleOne Lesson from Srebrenica
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Jul 2015
12 Jul 2015 – World is busy commemorating yet another anniversary of a genocide. One major lesson from Srebrenica is that there is no lesson learned or incorporated into today’s responses to Myanmar’s genocide. The world of power and influence is in the final instance a world of shameful deeds, dishonest policies and business-as-usual inhumanity. Sad, unconscionable and outrageous – but painfully true.
→ read full articleTPP-TTIP-Tisa: A Tipping Edge from Democracy
Johan Galtung, 13 Jul 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Jul 2015
This editorial sees the three agreements as a tipping edge from democracy; but, to what? Away from democracy as a process ‘of and by’ the people, and away from democracy as a society ‘for’ the people, except in the sense of lower prices. Goodbye Lincoln.
→ read full article
Johan Galtung on the Greek Drama Unfolding
Naakow Grant-Hayford and Johan Galtung,
13 Jul 2015
11 Jul 2015 – Naakow Grant-Hayford’s Skype interview with Johan Galtung: OXI, NAI, Tsipras, Varoufakis, IMF, Troika, Financial Crisis, Conflict Resolution…
→ read full articleJuly: This Month in Nuclear Threat History
Jeffrey W. Mason – Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,
6 Jul 2015
July 1, 1968 – The U.S., U.K., the Soviet Union, and 58 other nations signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Preamble of the agreement, which today includes 191 state parties, referred explicitly to the need for a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which has not yet been realized due mostly to the U.S. Senate’s unwillingness to ratify it.
→ read full articleUnited Church of Christ Votes [80%] to Boycott & Divest from Companies Profiting from Israel’s Occupation
United Church of Christ Palestine-Israel Network – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Jul 2015
June 30, 2015 – UCC PIN hopes that this modest initiative will help encourage the Israeli government to end the occupation.
→ read full articleNot Just Apologies but Repentance
Nassrine Azimi – Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,
6 Jul 2015
Few countries have been as mired in as much warfare within as brief a period of history as the United States. Since WWII, the number of revolutions, coups d’état, invasions and wars it has directly or indirectly instigated has been staggering. The United States has yet to apologize for unleashing nuclear terror on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
→ read full articleOXI or NAI?
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Jul 2015
OXI, No, made it, as expected, with 61%. A great day for Democracy, for Greece, for Europe, for the world.
→ read full articleGreek Crisis Awaits Other NATO Partners
Finian Cunningham – Strategic Culture Foundation,
6 Jul 2015
The US military-industrial complex and its German, French and British counterparts stand to rake in billions of dollars over the coming years from the junior NATO members who are suitably scared witless from the “Russian spectre”. But if the history of militarism in Greece is anything to go by, a Greek-style debt crisis is in store for the Baltic states, Poland and the Scandinavians. US-led NATO protection? More like US-led NATO protection racket.
→ read full articleA New Mode of Warfare: The Greek Debt Crisis and Crashing Markets
Michael Hudson - CounterPunch,
6 Jul 2015
I’m in Germany now and have heard from Germans that the Greeks are lazy and don’t pay taxes. There is little recognition that what they call “the Greeks” are really the oligarchs. They have gained control of the old coalition Pasok/New Democracy parties, avoided paying taxes, avoided being prosecuted (New Democracy refused to act on the “Lagarde List” of tax evaders with nearly € 50 billion in Swiss bank accounts), orchestrated insider dealings to privatize infrastructure at corrupt prices, and used their banks as vehicles for capital flight and insider lending.
→ read full article(Italiano) La nemesi della razza
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Jul 2015
Ci è stato ammannito un dibattito ombra fra “delitto d’odio” e “terrorismo razziale, interno”, l’uno che la buttava sullo psicologico, l’altro sul politico. Va bene “assassinio”, legalmente. Ma è affiorato un altro dibattito ombra, su una bandiera a piena asta in cima al massimo edificio pubblico del South Carolina. Ci si può chiedere perché qualcuno non l’abbia tolta con discrezione; nessuno l’ha fatto, finché i candidati presidenziali non hanno temuto che potesse nuocere alla loro campagna.
→ read full articleThe Nuclear Age at Seventy
David Krieger – Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,
6 Jul 2015
The first explosion of a nuclear device took place at Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Just three weeks later, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and three days after that on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
→ read full articleThe Nemesis of Race
Johan Galtung, 29 Jun 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jun 2015
We have been treated to a shadow debate of “hate crime” vs “domestic, racial terrorism”, one psychologizing, one politicizing. “Murder” will do, legally. But another shadow debate came up, about a flag on full mast on top of the key public building in South Carolina. One may wonder why somebody did not discretely remove it; nobody did, till presidential candidates feared it could hurt their campaigns.
→ read full articleWhy We Should All Be Indebted to Syriza: Three Victories of the Greek Government
Jacques Sapir - CounterPunch,
29 Jun 2015
It is from now on clear that the Greek Government has achieved a spectacular victory. It has been improperly labeled ‘a government of the radical left’ or ‘the Syriza government’, but in reality it is a coalition (and the fact that this union has been made with the ‘sovereignist’* party ANEL is significant).
→ read full articleUN Human Rights Council—Report of Independent Commission: Israel’s Ravagement of Gaza
Norman Pollack - CounterPunch,
29 Jun 2015
Norman Pollack examines Israel’s array of war crimes.
→ read full articleOutrageus Attempt at Killing a Deal with Iran
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
29 Jun 2015
25 Jun 2015 – Internal elite power games in Washington are now putting Middle Eastern and global stability and peace at stake. The Iran nuclear issue can only be solved through mutual respect, dialogue and fairness and a principled policy that precludes the idea of “one set of rules for you and one for us”.
→ read full article(Italiano) Papa Francesco: teologia spirituale, liberatoria
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jun 2015
Che dono per l’umanità, questo papa! Scegliere il mutamento climatico globale come tema fra i principali del suo papato è nello spirito dei tempi. Ciò che è rivoluzionario, ed egli usa sovente la parola, è il punto focale sui poveri. Grazie, papa Francesco, per il tuo punto focale: la violenza strutturale.
→ read full articleThe Contrasting Fates of Tunisia and Libya
Stephen Zunes – National Catholic Reporter,
22 Jun 2015
Four years later, the current political situation in these two neighboring North African states could not be more different. The reason has much to do with how their authoritarian regimes were overthrown.
→ read full articlePope Francis: Spiritual, Liberating Theology
Johan Galtung, 22 Jun 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jun 2015
What a gift to humanity, this Pope! To choose global climate change as a major theme of his papacy is in the spirit of the times. What is revolutionary, and he uses that word often, is the focus on the poor. Thank you, Pope Francis, for your focus–structural violence.
→ read full article(Italiano) Nel frattempo, sbocciano grandi narrative
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jun 2015
Il declino e la caduta: della presa dell’Impero USA sul mondo; dell’Occidente; del sistema statuale – con il sorgere del sistema delle transnazionali, delle organizzazioni governative internazionali, delle ONG, delle regioni, delle nazioni, delle autorità locali; il sorgere dell’Est e del Sud, della Cina – molti dettagli passano per il tavolo di un capo-redattore, ispirando qualche ripensamento.
→ read full article(Italiano) “Farla franca con l’omicidio”
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jun 2015
È il titolo della (come al solito) brillante analisi di Susan George sulla situazione bancaria dopo il collasso bancario USA dell’ 11 settembre 2001 e il crollo del 2008.
→ read full article
Why Are We Being Fed by [Monsanto] a Poison Expert?
The Undercurrent – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jun 2015
Jun 5, 2015 – Is the ‘old’ Monsanto, the one responsible for producing Agent Orange, PCB’s and DDT and a terrible record at covering up and denying the tragedies that have resulted from their use, the same as the ‘new’ Monsanto, the one at the forefront of research in plant gene technology?
→ read full articleMeanwhile, with Great Narratives Unfolding
Johan Galtung, 15 Jun 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jun 2015
The decline and fall of the US Empire’s grip on the world; of the West; of the state-system–with the rise of the TNC-IGO-NGO system, regions, nations, local authorities; the rise of the East and the South; of China–many details cross an editor’s desk; inspiring some rethinking.
→ read full article“Getting Away with Murder”
Johan Galtung,
9 Jun 2015
is the title of Susan George’s (as usual) brilliant analysis of the banking situation after the US banking 9/11, the 2008 crash.
→ read full article8 June: World Oceans Day
The United Nations – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jun 2015
The ocean is the heart of our planet. Like your heart pumping blood to every part of your body, the ocean connects people across the Earth, no matter where we live. It regulates the climate, feeds millions of people, produces oxygen, is the home to an incredible array of wildlife, provides us with important medicines, and so much more!
→ read full article(Italiano) Un avvertimento contro l’argomentazione di Kaplan per cui “È tempo di riportare l’imperialismo in Medio Oriente”
Johan Galtung e Naakow Hayford – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jun 2015
Piuttosto li si aiuti a creare un califfato con le migliori qualità del suo predecessore ottomano: la tolleranza, i millet per le minoranze, addirittura la saldatura potenziale dello squarcio fra sunniti e sciiti. Si usi il peacekeeping militare per proteggere, difensivamente, le minoranze esposte e minacciate. Si negozi uno spazio per Israele. Ma non ci si perda in sterili rivalità di potere militari; già perse dagli USA.
→ read full articleJune: This Month in Nuclear Threat History
Jeffrey W. Mason, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation - TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jun 2015
June 3, 1980 – President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski was awakened by his military assistant, General William Odom, around 2:30 a.m. and informed that NORAD’s computers had detected a launch of 2,200 Soviet ICBMs heading for U.S. targets. The incident was one of many so-called “false warnings.”
→ read full articleBreaking the Promise to Russia
Jonathan Power - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
8 Jun 2015
President Bill Clinton decided to expand NATO’s membership to former members of the Soviet Union’s Warsaw Pact. George Kennan, America’s elder statesman on Russian issues, characterized it as the most dangerous foreign policy decision that the US had made since the end of the Second World War.
→ read full articleAs Nobel Winners Gather to Speak Out About Rohingya, Where is Myanmar’s [Nobel Peace Laureate] Suu Kyi?
Robin McDowell, Associated Press – Star Tribune,
8 Jun 2015
The meeting featured video statements from Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu, José Ramos-Horta and Mairead Maguire, and others like philanthropist George Soros, who escaped Nazi-occupied Hungary.
→ read full articleNuclear Weapons: Grand Bargain Is Not So Grand
David Krieger, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jun 2015
The five nuclear-armed countries that are parties to the NPT (US, Russia, UK, France and China) appear more comfortable working together to maintain and modernize their nuclear arsenals than they do to fulfilling their disarmament obligations under the treaty. Their common strategy appears to be “nuclear weapons forever.” The US plans to spend $1 trillion on modernizing its nuclear arsenal over the next three decades.
→ read full article(Deutsch) IS-Terror Made in USA
Rainer Rupp - junge Welt,
8 Jun 2015
Ein am Wochenende bekanntgewordener, bisher streng geheimer Pentagon-Bericht beweist, dass die USA die Terrormiliz »Islamischer Staat in Irak und Syrien« (ISIS bzw. IS) geschaffen haben. Der IS sollte danach Washington als Werkzeug zum Sturz von Syriens Präsidenten Baschar Al-Assad und als Vorwand für die Rückkehr des US-Militärs in den Irak dienen.
→ read full articleBurma’s Stateless Muslims: The World’s Most Persecuted Minority
Katrin Kuntz in Sittwe – Der Spiegel,
8 Jun 2015
In Burma, thousands of members of the Rohingya Muslim minority are fleeing persecution from Buddhists. Abused by smugglers, they are being turned away from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
→ read full articleThe Full Text of the Oslo Communique on Myanmar (Burma)
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jun 2015
Today (28 May, 2015) the Oslo Conference to End Myanmar’s Persecution of the Rohingya ended. It was held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Voksenaasen. The call made by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to end Myanmar’s genocide is supported by six additional Nobel Peace Laureates: Mairead Maguire, Jody Williams, Tawakkol Karman, Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee, and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.
→ read full articleAgainst Kaplan “Bring Imperialism Back to the Middle East”
Johan Galtung and Naakow Hayford,
1 Jun 2015
Rather, help them create a Caliphate with the best qualities of its Ottoman predecessor: tolerance, minority millets, even potentially bridging the Sunni-Shia gap. Use military peacekeeping to protect, defensively, exposed and threatened minorities. Negotiate space for Israel. But do not get lost in sterile military power rivalries; already lost by the USA.
→ read full articleThe Friends of Nukes Are Losing
Gunnar Westberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
1 Jun 2015
There is more hope today for a ban on nuclear weapons than we have seen for twenty years. No less than 159 states agreed that they must be abolished. Even more important, 107 countries asked for legal measures for a prohibition of nuclear weapons – use, threat, production, storage.
→ read full articleMyanmar Officially Rejects the Oslo Conference to End Systematic Persecution of the Rohingya Since 1978
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jun 2015
Read press release from 31 May 2015.
→ read full article(Deutsch) Doppelte »Chance« – Westliches Interesse am »Islamischen Staat«
Rainer Rupp – junge Welt,
1 Jun 2015
Wären die sogenannten Qualitätsmedien, einschließlich Die Zeit, im Umgang mit der Wahrheit nicht so sparsam, wüsste der empörte Leser längst, dass der IS von den Mächtigen in Washington und den Hauptstädten der europäischen Verbündeten sehr schnell gestoppt werden könnte. Dadurch nämlich, dass die westlichen Regierungen aufhören, die salafistischen Gewaltextremisten insgeheim mit Waffen, Material und Geld zu unterstützen.
→ read full article(Italiano) Sulla violenza: suicidio, omicidio – e l’uno e l’altro
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jun 2015
Ciò non vale per il terrorismo di stato a terra o dall’aria: l’omicidio di decine, centinaia di migliaia senza incorrere in rischi, né suicidi incorporati nell’atto, cioè più come un lavoro d’ufficio. Seppure il suicidio può arrivare in seguito, odiandosi per gli omicidi commessi.
→ read full article(Deutsch) Auf dem Weg zur EU-Armee (Teil I): Vereint marschieren
Sabine Lösing und Jürgen Wagner - Informationsstelle Militarisierung,
25 May 2015
Die Bündelung militärischer Fähigkeiten der Mitgliedsländer der Europäischen Union soll Kosten reduzieren und langfristig weltweiten Einfluss sichern.
→ read full article(Deutsch) Auf dem Weg zur EU-Armee (Teil II und Schluss): »Germanische Macht«
Sabine Lösing und Jürgen Wagner - Informationsstelle Militarisierung,
25 May 2015
Eine gemeinsame europäische Streitkraft wäre vor allem im Interesse der Bundesrepublik. Andere Mitgliedsstaaten stellen sich deshalb quer.
→ read full article(Italiano) Israele, Germania, e tre vicini parenti
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 May 2015
Nel bel mezzo del Medio Oriente c’è Israele, che culla sogni di un Israele ancor più grande che quello di re Davide. Gli stati seguiranno l’autorità morale del mondo d’oggi, papa Francesco, temendo di riconoscere la Palestina troppo tardi, tanto quanto temevano di farlo troppo presto. Il sionismo di Netanyahu è sconfitto, non militarmente ma moralmente.
→ read full article(Italiano) L’anno 2015: rapporto sul primo quadrimestre
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 May 2015
La Cina è proattiva nei “cortili” UE e USA; realizzando guadagni in modo nonviolento quando altri ci perdono violentemente per inazione e sfruttamento. Perché? Forse la Cina considera Africa e America Latina in ascesa come più competitive che UE e USA in declino; pensando in grande, a lungo termine, come fanno loro.
→ read full articleOn Violence: Suicide, Homicide — and Both-And
Johan Galtung,
25 May 2015
This does not apply to state terrorism on the ground or from the air: homicide of tens, hundreds of thousands with no risk incurred, no suicide built into the act, more like an office job. The suicide may come later, though, hating oneself for the homicides
→ read full articleIs Everything for Sale? The Ethical Demise of the American Psychological Association
Geoff Gray - CounterPunch,
25 May 2015
13 May 2025 – The conscience of the APA is slowly dying as it facilitates torture, cheats its own members, and hussles junk science boondoggles to the defense industry. But the APA wasn’t always this way.
→ read full articleStatistics Reveal the Link They Wanted to Hide: Breast Cancer and Nuclear Sites
Dr. Chris Busby - CounterPunch,
25 May 2015
Do nuclear sites cause increases in cancer in those living nearby? This is the question which has always been the key to stopping the development of nuclear energy. For if the answer is Yes, the laws would cut in; human rights would cut in. Check Mate. The nuclear industry and its supporters have always known this, just as the cigarette companies and the asbestos makers recognised their own specific nemesis.
→ read full articleMore Than a Newsman – Behind the Media’s Assault on Seymour Hersh
Shamus Cooke - CounterPunch,
25 May 2015
19 May 2015 – He’s the most respected journalist in U.S. history, and for decades Seymour Hersh has consistently broken major international stories, winning him the Pulitzer Prize among other prestigious awards of journalism. Hersh’s recent report on the killing of Osama Bin Laden and his prior investigation of Obama’s aborted 2013 bombing of Syria have attracted a synchronized media smear campaign.
→ read full articleHillary Clinton, Phosphates, and the Western Sahara
Stephen Zunes – National Catholic Reporter,
18 May 2015
Morocco has ignored a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a landmark World Court decision underscoring the right of the Western Saharan people to self-determination. In 2002, then U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Hans Corell determined that the exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara is a “violation of the international law principles applicable to mineral resource activities in Non-Self-Governing Territories.”
→ read full articleIsrael, Germany, and Neighbors Three Removed
Johan Galtung,
18 May 2015
In the middle of the Middle East is Israel, harboring dreams of an Israel even greater than King David’s. States will follow the moral authority in today’s world, Pope Francis, being as afraid of recognizing Palestine too late as they were of being too early. Netanyahu’s Zionism is not militarily, but morally defeated. Think peace.
→ read full articleBurundi: Plan Genuine Humanitarian Intervention Now!
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
18 May 2015
The coup d’etat of May 13 [2015] has failed, its masters being arrested. President Nkurunziza who was in Tanzania when ousted will return as soon as he feels he can trust enough loyalists; there may well be increased repression of the people everywhere and violence between loyalists and opposition. Toward civil war? Toward genocide?
→ read full articleThe Year 2015: First Third Report
Johan Galtung, 11 May 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 May 2015
A third of the year 2015 has now passed; let us take stock.
→ read full articleToday’s V-Day as a Lost Opportunity for Peace-Making
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
11 May 2015
Today, May 9, Russia commemorates V-Day – 70 years ago they won over Nazi Germany. The price they paid were 20-26 million human beings of which 9 million soldiers. But on the order of Washington, all European leaders–recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize–with the remarkable exception of Chancellor Merkel, today ignore the sufferings of the Soviet citizens and stay away as a protest. Permit me to call it insensitive, shortsighted and narrow-minded.
→ read full articleUniversities, Inc. – How Academia Became a Business
Ben Agger - CounterPunch,
11 May 2015
We use shorthand for evaluating faculty: “She is productive.” Factory work may be too grubby a metaphor for genteel academics. The antonym is worse: Loser, slacker, non-publisher. Universities are forced to become business-like, produce human capital; we need gadflies, poets, and activists, too. We want a university—and society– in which people question the meaning of “productivity.”
→ read full articleU.S. Reveals It Has Known About Israel’s Nuclear Program for Over 50 Years
The National Security Archive, George Washington University – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 May 2015
April 15, 2015 – Despite denials for decades, the U.S. has finally declassified information affirming its knowledge of Israel’s Dimona nuclear program since 1960. Included in the report are a myriad of other documents indicating dubious practices on the part of the U.S., Israel, the UK and even international agencies.
→ read full articleBurundi: Denying or Hoping Won’t Do
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
11 May 2015
Everyone who cares will see all the red lamps and hear the alarm bells. We have a history of genocide in this country and neighbouring Rwanda just a few years ago. There is something to build our early warnings on. But who is listening? Who is taking action, serious political action?
→ read full article(Italiano) Il discorso del primo ministro giapponese Abe al Congress USA – e commenti
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 May 2015
Seguono 18 punti selezionati del discorso di Abe nella seduta parlamentare congiunta USA del 30 aprile 2015, “Verso un’alleanza di speranza”, con relativi commenti.
→ read full articleMay: This Month in Nuclear Threat History
Jeffrey W. Mason – Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,
11 May 2015
May 1, 1982 – The Washington Post featured an article by Bill Prochnau titled, “With the Bomb, There Is No Answer,” in which he reported that marijuana was discovered in one of the underground missile control launch centers of a Minuteman ICBM squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.
→ read full articleHubris versus Wisdom
David Krieger – Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,
11 May 2015
Humankind must not be complacent in the face of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. The future of humanity and all life depends upon the outcome of the ongoing struggle between hubris and wisdom. Hubris is an ancient Greek word meaning extreme arrogance. Wisdom is cautionary good sense.
→ read full articleIn Praise of the Four “R”s: Riot, Rebellion, Resistance and Revolution
J.A. Masko – CounterPunch,
11 May 2015
There are at least three potential audiences for this piece: those that are saying, “What the hell is this guy saying? Violence is good? Criminal thuggery revolutionary?” And then there are those who are wondering, what does he mean exactly? Is he just being sensationalists or radical chic? And then there are those who get it.
→ read full articleCriminalizing Palestinian Resistance – Amnesty International: Whitewashing another Massacre
Paul de Rooij - CounterPunch,
11 May 2015
Palestinians should be wary of Mother Teresas peddling human rights snake oil. In exchange for giving up their resistance and complying with AI’s norms, it is not likely that Palestinians will obtain a pixel of justice. One should be wary of human rights groups that don’t push for justice, play the role of Israel’s lawyer, and are bereft of solidarity with the victims.
→ read full articleUS Sends Hundreds of Troops to Quake-Stricken Nepal
W. A. Sunil, WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 May 2015
4 May 2015 – The United States has significantly increased its military presence in Nepal as part of the relief operations underway following the devastating earthquake that struck the country on April 25. As it has done in previous disasters in other countries, the Pentagon is exploiting the tragedy to forge closer ties and collaboration with its Nepalese counterparts.
→ read full article(Italiano) L’Occidente contro se stesso
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 May 2015
Si prenda il 70° anniversario demarcazione della vittoria sul nazismo… La Polonia perse il 20% della sua popolazione; l’Unione Sovietica 27,1 milioni, 16%, con 1.710 città e 70.000 villaggi cancellati; il Regno Unito l’1.1%; gli USA 0.4%; la Norvegia 0.32%.
→ read full articleJapanese Prime Minister Abe’s Speech in US Congress
Johan Galtung,
4 May 2015
Below are 15 selected points from the Abe Joint Session US Congress speech 30 Apr 2015, “Toward an Alliance of Hope,” with comments.
→ read full article
Galtung Book Launching
Perdana Global Peace Foundation – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 May 2015
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, launches Johan Galtung’s two new books at the closing of the International Conference The ‘New World Order: A Recipe for War or Peace!’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
→ read full articleBehind Every Refugee Stands an Arms Trader
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
4 May 2015
These boat refugees run away to another continent without shoes, money or belongings because their lives are unbearable and they have absolutely no hope. Refugees are not happiness-seekers. Using “migrants” instead of “refugees” takes away our attention from why they flee, from our own complicity in all this and it reduces our responsibility to protect refugees.
→ read full articleBurundi: Early Warning and Violence Prevention
Jan Oberg - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
4 May 2015
The present conflict is rooted in power politics, structural-economic inequality throughout society and in woefully inadequate international attention and assistance. The Hutu-Tutsi difference is not a basic cause, but, of course, cynical manipulators may later use it to mobilise energy for violence.
→ read full articleOklahoma Mysterious Iron Cup Embedded in Million-Year-Old Coal
Universe Explorers – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Apr 2015
It’s a perfect piece of metal and it was discovered in 1912 in a mine in Wilburton, Oklahoma. The coal that originated from those mines is estimated to be around 300 million years old. This is where the story ignites and goes cold according to some.
→ read full article
Chopin “Fantasie” Impromptu (MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK)
Yundi Li – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Apr 2015
Li Yundi, born Oct 7 1982 in China, was the youngest pianist to win the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition in 2000 at the age of 18. He resides in Beijing.
Did you know that Chopin disliked this piece? He composed it when he was 24 years old and regretted it.
How the U.S. Contributed to Yemen’s Crisis
Stephen Zunes – Foreign Policy In Focus,
27 Apr 2015
Washington’s support for Yemen’s former dictatorship — and of Saudi efforts to sideline the country’s nonviolent pro-democracy movement — helped create the current crisis.
→ read full articleThe West against Itself
Johan Galtung, 27 Apr 2015 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Apr 2015
Take the 70th anniversary demarcation of the victory over nazism… Poland lost 20% of its population; the Soviet Union 27.1 million, 16%, with 1,710 cities and 70,000 villages erased; UK 1.1%; USA 0.4%; Norway 0.32%.
→ read full articlePowerful Nonviolent Resistance to Armed Conflict in Yemen
Stephen Zunes and Noor Al-Haidary – Open Democracy,
27 Apr 2015
As with the initial uprising against the Saleh regime four years ago, an unarmed civil society movement rises up to challenge the Huthi militia.
→ read full articleMass Surveillance is Driven by the Private Sector
Bill Blunden - CounterPunch,
27 Apr 2015
The Lesson of Hacking Team’s Malware – In a nutshell: contrary to talking points that depict hi-tech companies as our saviors, they’re accomplices if not perpetrators of mass surveillance. And you can bet that CEOs will devote resources towards public relations aimed at obscuring this truth.
→ read full article(Deutsch) Günter Grass: Was gesagt werden muss
Günter Grass (Literatur-Nobelpreisträger) – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Apr 2015
Günter Grass (16 Oktober 1927-13 April 2015) warnt in der “Süddeutschen Zeitung” vor einem Krieg gegen Iran. In seinem Gedicht mit dem Titel “Was gesagt werden muss” fordert der Literaturnobelpreisträger deshalb, Israel dürfe keine deutschen U-Boote mehr bekommen. Dieses Gedicht hat eine hitzige Debatte in Deutschland und Israel.
→ read full articleGünter Grass (16 Oct 1927–13 Apr 2015): ‘What Must Be Said’
Günter Grass (Nobel Literature Laureate) – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Apr 2015
Poem published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung created a heated debate in both Germany and Israel.
→ read full article“Consciousness Creates Reality” – Physicists Admit the Universe Is Immaterial, Mental & Spiritual
Arjun Walia – Collective Evolution,
20 Apr 2015
Consciousness has been (for quite some time) studied by numerous scientists, especially in its relation to quantum physics and how it might be correlated with the nature of our reality. What is consciousness? It includes a number of things. It’s how we perceive our world, our thoughts, being aware, our intentions and more.
→ read full articleCriminalizing War: Twenty Recommendations
Johan Galtung,
20 Apr 2015
20. Criminalization is ambiguous and may also harden and prolong wars; should go together with the positive approaches to the right to peace, of removing war causes, and removing war as a socially evil institution.
→ read full article(Português) Universidade Brasileira Forma Sua Primeira Turma Composta Só por Índios
Bruna Angélica Pelicioli Riboldi – Conexão Lusófona,
20 Apr 2015
14 Abr 2015 – A Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina formou a sua primeira turma composta só por índios. O grupo se gradua em Licenciatura Intercultural Indígena do Sul da Mata Atlântica. São 85 alunos das etnias guarani, kaingang e laklãnõ/xokleng.
→ read full article(Italiano) Gandhi e Mandela: due sudafricani
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Apr 2015
Il SudAfrica offrì ai due avvocati un tirocinio per mutare la legge in uno strumento di libertà trasgredendola – implicito anche nel concetto di Legge – operando contro l’aspetto del castigo che diede a tutti e due l’aura di icone sofferenti per la propria causa.
→ read full articleGandhi and Mandela: Two South Africans
Johan Galtung,
13 Apr 2015
South Africa offered a stage for the two lawyers to turn law into an instrument for freedom by breaking it–also implicit in the Law concept–working against the punishment aspect that gave both the aura of icons suffering for their cause.
→ read full article(Deutsch) NATO: Aufrüstung gegen Russland
Tobias Pflüger - Zeitung gegen den Krieg,
13 Apr 2015
Deutschland führt Speerspitze der NATO
→ read full article(Italiano) Criminalizzare la guerra: venti raccomandazioni
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Apr 2015
La criminalizzazione è ambigua e può anche inasprire e prolungare le guerre; dovrebbe accompagnarsi agli approcci positivi al diritto alla pace, alla rimozione delle cause di guerra e alla rimozione della guerra quale mala istituzione in termini sociali.
→ read full article(Italiano) Stalin il comunista e Mao il comunitarista
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Apr 2015
Churchill e Hitler fecero la storia ma non la cambiarono; dopo la guerra le loro società ritrovarono le proprie vecchie forme. Stalin e Mao cambiarono sostanzialmente le loro società molto più grandi, e conferirono nuove linee di faglia e alleanze al sistema statuale westfalico.
→ read full articleIran Nuclear Deal – They’ve Done It!
Farhang Jahanpour - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research,
13 Apr 2015
The truth of the matter is that both sides have made some concessions and sacrifices, with Iran making the greatest concessions in return for as yet uncertain rewards. However, under the present circumstances and in the current highly charged climate this was the best outcome that one could hope for.
→ read full articleTraitors From Developing Countries Unite! – Those Who Collaborate with the West
Andre Vltchek - CounterPunch,
13 Apr 2015
It is much easier to rule over those people who have lost all their dignity. Now there is a great number of countries fighting for a better arrangement of the world. Almost all Latin America, Russia, China, South Africa, Eritrea, and Iran, refuse to succumb to the Empire. Others are joining.
→ read full article(Português) O Big Bang nunca existiu e o Universo nunca teve começo e nunca terá fim, dizem novos cálculos complexos
Bruno Rizzato – Jornal Ciência,
13 Apr 2015
O nosso Universo, de acordo com as teorias de Einstein, possui cerca de 13,8 bilhões de anos de idade e foi formado a partir de um ponto infinitamente pequeno. Enquanto a maioria das pessoas aceita este modelo, os cientistas ainda não conseguem explicar o que aconteceu dentro deste pequeno ponto ou o que veio antes dele.
→ read full articleSituation Assessment of Yarmouk Refugee Camp: What Happens Next?
Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies & Consultations – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Apr 2015
8 Apr 2015 – Sudden fighting broke out at the Yarmouk Refugee Camp in Damascus between groups affiliated to ISIS and the Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis group. ISIS took control of nearly 80% of the RC area. While the Palestinian groups remain under siege by ISIS in the south and the regime in the north, the option to withdraw could be unlikely, meaning the Palestinian groups’ options boil down to reaching either settlement or engaging in a suicidal battle with ISIS or the regime.
→ read full article(Italiano) Mao e Gandhi: due asiatici
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Apr 2015
Cominciamo col riassumere. Stiamo considerando sei importanti capi di forze e movimenti che plasmano i secoli – Churchill-Hitler-Stalin-Mao-Gandhi-Mandela – confrontandoli, due alla volta.
→ read full article(Italiano) Hitler e Stalin: due europei
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Apr 2015
Hitler riguardava la razza, Stalin la classe. Due secolarismi genocidi versati in vecchie bottiglie di chiesa.
→ read full articleDid Israel Lobby “Bullying and Threats” Push Univ. of Southampton to Cancel Conference?
Ali Abunimah – The Electronic Intifada,
13 Apr 2015
2 Apr 2015 – Organizers of an academic conference on Israel are proceeding with an urgent legal challenge after the UK’s University of Southampton today confirmed that it has canceled the event. More than 900 academics from all over the world have signed on to a statement in support of the conference.
→ read full articleMao and Gandhi: Two Asians
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Apr 2015
Gandhism went beyond India, Maoism stopped at the borders of China. Hinduism sees itself as universal whereas China sees itself as unique. What remains from both of them is the fight against oppression-exploitation, the search for horizontality, and from Gandhi nonviolent struggle, satyagraha.
→ read full articleYemen Beware as It Threatens US-Backed Order
Finian Cunningham - Strategic Culture Foundation,
30 Mar 2015
The old order has been backed by the United States and its allies among the Persian Gulf Arab dictatorships as a bulwark against a popular uprising that could lead to democratisation in the poorest Middle Eastern country. If such an outcome were to succeed, the repercussions for the autocratic Gulf monarchies would be deeply destabilising.
→ read full articleEmpire and Colonialism: Rich Men in London Still Deciding Africa’s Future
Colin Todhunter – TRANSCEND Media Service,
30 Mar 2015
In return for receiving aid money and corporate investment, African countries have to change their laws, making it easier for corporations to acquire farmland, control seed supplies and export produce.
→ read full article