OPINION

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump withe Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Source: The While House.

US-China Trade Deal – The Show Isn't Over Yet

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Dr. Yiyong Liang*

NEW DELHI | BEIJING (IDN) – Trade wars are fascinating where not only the outcomes but also the tactics and strategy matter. Sun Tzu said: “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

The world was waiting with a baited breath for easing out of tensions between the U.S. and China during the meeting of President Donald Trump with Vice Premier Liu He. The ongoing China-U.S. trade war resulted in profound consequences including contributing to conditions pushing the entire global economy to the edge of a possible recession in 2020. The accompanying contortions including contradictory reports and veiled criticisms alongside high rhetoric from both sides was not of much help either.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 January 2020

Photo: Ukrainian troops in Donbass, March 2015. CC BY 2.0

Breaking the Impasse on Donbass

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The struggle for the Donbass region in the eastern and southern Ukraine goes on, seemingly never endingly. It’s now six years since dissident militias threw off the yoke of the central government in Kiev and declared their de-facto independence.

They were supported by Russian troops which at first president Vladimir Putin denied and then later admitted. It was the Russians who supplied the missile launcher that accidentally shot down a Malaysian airlines passenger jet. Altogether 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in this conflict.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 January 2020

The Multinational Nestlé a New Colonial Power

Viewpoint by Franklin Frederick*

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (IDN) – On November 14 the Canadian group Wellington Water Watchers organized the «All Eyes on Nestlé» conference in the city of Guelph, Ontario, bringing together indigenous’ peoples and citizens’ movements fighting Nestlé’s water takings from Canada, the U.S., France and Brazil. Following this public event, the representatives of the organizations involved met for a workshop to exchange information and discuss possible common strategies of resistance to this giant corporation water grabbing.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 12 January 2020

Photo: John Scales Avery. Source: escape.org

The Laws of Nature and the Passions of Mankind

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery

The following are excerpts from ‘The Passions of Mankind’ in which John Scales Avery discusses human emotions from an evolutionary perspective. The book consists mainly of chapters and articles that he has previously published, although some new material has been added. It can be freely downloaded and circulated from the following link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Passions-of-Mankind-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 January 2020

Image source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran Discards the Last Key Component of Nuclear Deal Operational Limitations

Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson*

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) - Iran announced its fifth breach of the 2015 nuclear deal January 5, stating that it “discards the last key component of its operational limitations” put in place by agreement. In the January 5 statement Iran said its nuclear program “no longer faces any operational restrictions,” however Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did say that Iran will still continue to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 09 January 2020

The US-Iran War Continues Though Current Crisis Is Averted

Viewpoint by John Feffer

The writer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus, which first carried it on 8 January. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has been an Open Society Foundation Fellow and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The United States has been in a 40-year cold war with Iran.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 January 2020

Photo: Presidential Office Building in Taipei. CC BY-SA 3.0

The Significance of Taiwan’s Forthcoming Election

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – In the Chinese government's eyes it has three rebellious parts of China on its plate – Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Tibet, protestors from time to time have clashed with police and soldiers. In Hong Kong, the reform and freedom demonstrations are now in their eighth month. In Taiwan, society has constructed a form of democracy anathema to Beijing.

On January 11 Taiwan goes to the polls. China does not welcome this and indeed President Xi Jinping over the last two years has been increasingly strident in his criticism of Taiwan’s continuing policy of remaining apart.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 07 January 2020

Photo: Asked, 'Which country do you think is the greatest threat to peace in the world today?' international respondents overwhelmingly chose the United States. Credit: Staff Sgt. William Tremblay / U.S. Army / Creative Commons)

‘U.S. Is Greatest Threat to World Peace’

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – American philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky has criticized Washington's policies on Iran and referred to polls from prestigious centres, which show that America is the biggest threat to world peace. According to Iran Press/America, he told a New York school on January 4 that the former Republican Party had now become a "radical rogue" that has abandoned any parliamentary policy.

"They may succeed in raising sanctions and even secondary sanctions on other countries, and may take other measures to keep Iran out of agreement with the United States," Chomsky added.

: Jamshed Baruah; OPINION; 06 January 2020

Collage by IDN-INPS: With images from Wikimedia Commons – Scared Child (left), 1909 painting ‘The Worship of Mammon’ (centre), and Hate (right) from CMON.

Fear, Greed and Hate as We Enter the 2020s

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – In a world in which the institutions that govern us are rapidly losing their moral compass, it is difficult not to realise that in 2020 we are now entering – or have already entered – a new low point in the history of humankind.

Today, for example, we face an unprecedented existential threat brought about by the climate crisis. According to scientists, we have until 2030 to stop climate change, after which the writing is on the wall for the planet. Yet, we have just had a world conference in Madrid on climate change, which ended in nothing.

: Roberto Savio; OPINION; 03 January 2020

Turbulent Start to a New Decade for Central Europe

Viewpoint by Wojciech Przybylski

In 2020, Central Europe will observe plenty of electoral races and will be exposed to a few important economic and security impulses, writes Wojciech Przybylski, Chairman of the Res Publica Foundation and Editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight where this article was first publisehd.

WARSAW (IDN-INPS) – In February parliamentary elections will be held in Slovakia which will result in fragmentation and instability. The ruling socialist SMER-SD party and its current coalition partners will not be able to form a governing coalition again.