OPINION

The Campaign Against Greta is an Index of the Loss of Values

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – Since the powerful march of hundreds of thousands of students in 1,000 towns against climate change, an unexpected campaign of delegitimation, ”demystification” and demonisation has started against Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who started the movement. After searching the media, social media and websites, this campaign can be divided into four different groups.

The first could be called the stupid. A writer reports pictures of Greta eating a banana, claiming that this proves she has double standards. She wants to reduce gas emissions, and then she eats banana which come from far away. Why does she not eat an apple, which are produced locally in Sweden?

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 28 March 2019

Gender and Corruption: Where Do We Go from Here?

Viewpoint by M. Emilia Berazategui

The author is Director of Political Institutions and Government for Poder Ciudadano. Her article was carried by Transparency International.

LONDON (IDN) – In a world in which only six countries give women and men equal employment rights, where it will take 108 years to close the gender pay gap, and 202 years will be needed to bring about parity in the workplace, should we be surprised that corruption affects women disproportionately?

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 27 March 2019

Photo: Russian President Putin with U.S. counterpart Trump during the G20 Summit in Hamburg on July 7-8, 2017. Credit: en.kremlin.ru

Not Collusion with Russia but Trump’s Confrontational Policies Threaten Peace

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Donald Trump has been exonerated of collusion with Russia. As I wrote a while back, I expected this conclusion from the investigation carried out by Robert Mueller.

The big clue lay in Trump’s anti-Russian posture. Trump has continued the expansion of NATO which Russia, more than understandably, sees as a provocative, unfriendly and dangerous move. Then there is the unwillingness to step forward to negotiate an end to the Ukrainian situation.

: Jonathan Power; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 26 March 2019

The System, Youth and Democracy

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – If we ever needed proof of how the political system has become self-referential and unable to update itself, the latest student march in more than 1,000 towns is a very good example.

Of course, politicians referred to it in declarations and, in a totally demagogic gesture, Jean-Claude, President of the European Community and an old political fox with a lot of mileage, even kissed the hand of Greta Thunberg. She is the 16-year-old Swedish girl who, frustrated with the pace of government action to deal with climate change, launched a "school strike for climate" in 2018, setting off an international youth movement and widespread demonstrations in an unprecedented initiative on climate change.

: Roberto Savio; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 24 March 2019

Photo: Canterbury Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Time to Address Socioeconomic Issues in Terrorism Reporting

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – The reporting of the attack in New Zealand on March 15, 2019 where a White terrorist of Christian background mowed down over 50 Muslims praying at a mosque in Christchurch has obviously focused on religion and migrants.

In a statement released following the Christchurch massacre, Australian senator Fraser Anning from Queensland blamed the New Zealand immigration program which “allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate” who promote a “violent ideology” as the cause of the attack. He was condemned widely in Australia for spreading such hate speech, but his diatribes distracted attention from the socio-economic issues that have fuelled the attack.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 21 March 2019

'From Village Boy to Global Citizen'

In Memory of Dr. Shelton Gunaratne, journalist and professor, who became world-renowned for merging Eastern philosophy with Western communication theory.

By Dr. Ari Wijetunga, Dr. Asoka Dias and Dr. Junius Gunaratne

NEW YORK (IDN) – Dr. Dhavalasri Shelton Abeywickreme Gunaratne, a former Sri Lankan journalist and professor emeritus of Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) in the United States, passed away on March 8, 2019.

A prolific academic, Dr. Gunaratne, made substantial contributions to the field of mass communication. He wrote and published numerous books and academic papers that analyzed media in the developing world, reflected on freedom of the press internationally and constructed theoretical frameworks to explain media development, particularly in Asian countries.

: J Nastranis; OPINION; 20 March 2019

Photo: Ottoman capitulation at Nikopol, 1877. Credit: Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky | Wikimedia Commons.

Exploring How Europe Conquered the World

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – By 1914 Europeans ruled 84 percent of the globe. How did they do it? Eleven hundred years ago Europe was a backwater. There were no grand cities, apart from Muslim Cordoba in Spain, and the remnants of Rome and Athens. The Middle East, India and China were further ahead. It was the Arabs who kept alive the teachings of the Ancient Greek' knowledge of science, medicine, architecture and philosophy.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 19 March 2019

India at Crossroads as Modi's Promises Remain Unfulfilled

By Ram Puniyani

This article is the sixth in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

MUMBAI (IDN) – Elections in a democracy can rightly be called as festival of the masses. They determine the course of the country in times to come. That is generally the case and Indian democracy has been steering this path, deepening the democratic process so far. It is not that there are no problems. Many issues related to money power, muscle power, electronic voting (EVM) machines' reliability have marred the objectivity of the process.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 18 March 2019

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Credit: UN

Countering Challenges Affecting Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The following are extensive excerpts from remarks by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), at the International Conference on 'Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control' in Berlin on 15 March 2019.

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – Many of us feel a growing sense of unease about the challenges rapid technological developments pose to disarmament, arms control and international peace and security. The international community urgently needs to explore, articulate and confront these issues at the highest level. Because one thing is clear: the march of technology waits for no one.

: Jaya Ramachandran; OPINION; 16 March 2019

Photo: Ambassador Azeez chairing the UNCTAD Trade and Development Commission in Geneva, 12-14 November 2018. Credit: UNCTAD.

Reflections on Evolving International Security Landscape

Viewpoint by A.L.A. Azeez

The writer is Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva.

GENEVA (IDN) – The security landscape in most regions, as well as globally in general, is becoming increasingly constrained by the day. It is, therefore, timely to reflect on some trends and developments in the international security landscape, and to seek to persuade the parties or forces that shape them, to take all possible steps in the direction of assuring and strengthening international peace and security.

The Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is in jeopardy. Dialogue needs to be encouraged between the States concerned. As expressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, it would do well if parties could consider extending the New START Treaty for another term, from when it is due to expire.