Peace &
nonviolence
•
Can
war be fought for humanitarian
reasons?
Kevin Kelly reports on two very different views in the
Utne Reader.
•
Manifesto
2000 for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence
The Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence was written by the Nobel Prize Peace
Laureats, in order to create a sense of responsibility
starting on a personal level; it is not an appeal or
petition addressed to a higher authority. It is the
responsibilty of each and every individual to put into
practice the values, attitudes and forms of behaviour
which inspire the culture of peace. YOU can sign here!
Other UNESCO
links to culture of
peace...
Armament and the
new Cold War
•
US
secret exercises - central to US foreign
policy
The public has no way of knowing what these operations
entail or with whom the U.S. military is
collaborating. One wonders how many of these exercises
are cementing covert ties to governments and elites
who may prove to be on the wrong side of democratic
forces and change in the future - writes Bill Arkin in
Washington Post.
•
Japan
moved to increased militarism
The Japanese Parliament announced Jan. 21 that it will
begin a formal, five-year review of its constitution.
The document, penned under the auspices of U.S. Gen.
Douglas MacArthur after Japan's defeat in World War
II, renounces the use of force to resolve
international disputes - from Stratfor.com.
Globalisation
•
The
Economist on multinationals and
NGOs
It seems to tell us that governments are bad,
multinationals good and NGOs
somewhere in between. The latter may be right -
particularly when they increasingly become
Near-Governmental Organisations...
Kosovo/a -
•
The
use of depleted uranium there and in
Iraq
The US used rounds of depleted uranium shells and
refused arrogantly to tell UN investigators the
location of its atacks.
•
Why
Kosovo is also not talked about in
Davos
The Balkans is not a place where problems have been
solved. The international community -- and
international forces -- are likely to remain engaged
in the region for years. Those attending Davos will be
discussing the questions raised by that sad,
corrugated, peninsula for years. At least, they
should...
•
The
UN in Kosovo up against 3-4 government
structures
Here is one more dimension of the quagmire the
international community has created in Kosovo/a - and
will remain unable to get out of in the foreseeable
time.
Militarism versus
development
•
Madeleine
Albright writes in Annals of Internal
Medicine
What does the
Secreatary of State do there? She defends
sanctions...
What was the truth
then? Today?
•
Talking
point about Iraq
Frequently Asked Questions on Iraq. Here's an initial,
quick set of answers. Not comprehensive, even in terms
of the questions, but some of the FAQs. The times are
very grim. There were too many dying children even
before the bombing began. By Phyllis Bennis.
Development
•
Food
as an aspect of global
violence
Some eat too little,
some too much - and it wouldn't cost much to change
the sorry state of world food affairs.
EU and the
world
•
Iranian
- EU relations - and an Iranian view on
NATO
The attention on the NATO charter and NATO's actions
is at the very heart of Iran's foreign policy - from
Stratfor.com.
•
European
military force to head KFOR in
Kosovo
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
announced Jan. 22 that Eurocorps, a five-nation
European military organization, will head the Kosovo
International Security Force (KFOR) for a six-month
period. Although Eurocorps officials in Strasbourg,
France, were quick to point out that Eurocorps has
always been available for NATO missions, this is the
first instance in which a non-NATO entity has been
selected to lead a NATO operation. The prize for
achieving European military autonomy could be
inheriting the Kosovo quagmire - writes Stratefor.com.
•
EU
militarization continues
-
This is the same story told by CNN. The unexperienced
Europcorps to use Kosovo as a training
ground...
Trouble
spots
•
US
plans huge aid package to Columbia
The training of the Colombian military immediately
raises red flags for human rights workers and many
Members of Congress. Legislation sponsored by Senator
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) cut off training of the Colombian
military two years ago because of evidence of
systematic human rights abuses. Now, the United States
must carefully screen each individual for involvement
in past human rights abuses. Critics of the plan worry
that the increase in training will cause the screening
process to become less effective and perhaps allow
ineligible troops to participate -- perhaps causing
additional human rights abuses.
•
Big
money and oil - from Kosovo to
Chechnya
As the Russian army tightens its grip
around the Chechen capital of Grozny and Moscow
becomes increasingly assertive, analysts stress that
manoeuvring over huge oil-transit deals is the real
issue of the Chechen war. So, why are we told ithey
are ethnic conflicts?
•
Russia
and US/NATO compete for Georgia's
loyalty
Georgia cannot maintain its balancing act
indefinitely. As long as it does, both Russia and the
United States will apply pressure, urging Georgia to
choose a side. Unfortunately for Georgia, it is
unlikely that this increasing pressure will bring it
any substantial benefits - says
Stratfor.com.
Watch
out!
•
How
NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia undermined international
law
Professor Robert Hayden, Director, Center for Russian
& East European Studies,University of Pittsburgh
writes one of the best critical analyses of the
humanitarian hypocrisy. "The war supposedly in defense
of human rights has produced war crimes by NATO, and a
civilian casualty rate that is at least three time
higher than the casualty rate of the "intolerable"
violations of human rights that NATO was supposedly
acting to correct. This article argues that this
perversion of humanitarianism is the logical result of
NATO's action, and that humanitarian catastrophes are
likely to be inevitable when the excuse of
"humanitarian intervention" is used to justify
aggression."
WIRE Editor
Jan Oberg with TFF
Associates
Tell a friend about this article
Send to:
From:
Message and your name