Politics

The global campaign against nuclear weapons has picked up steam recently through a shift in approach from its previous emphasis on challenging the nuclear weapon states (NWS) towards a greater focus on empowering the non-NWS to implement their right to a nuclear weapons-free world.

This was advanced in the 2010 NPT Review Conference agreement.

A group of activists protesting capitalism in general and Quebec’s tuition hikes in particular – tried to walk on Crescent Street with «Pot and Pan» on the Montreal street most closely associated with Canadian Grand Prix but police and security guard stop them. Thousands of Formula One fans flock to Crescent St. for the expensive cars, the fee swag and the popular nightclubs.

Under the sub-head Aspiring, Sticky-Sweet Authoritarian Dictator Remains Firmly in Power, Dr. Glen Barry (usually only speaking out on environmental topics), wrote on the situation as he finds it in this currently in-the-news north American city and state in a personal essay. Can be viewed at:
http://drglenbarry.tumblr.com/

The EU continues to be unable to solve its crises. The risk of a default of Greece on repayment of its debt in the next 3 months, or of the country leaving the Euro has increased considerably

Hopes that the situation would calm down after the second rescues package for Greece in March 2012, combined with a non-payment of part of the debt to banks have proved illusory

Faced with a crisis surrounding the uproar against the Quebec Government, started by the planned hike in tuition fees, the government has chosen to take the most cowardly and irresponsible route possible: it chose to push through a special law to to take away the rights of all citizens–not just students–to demonstrate.

India had more than one message for China prior to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 3 day visit to Myanmar, the world’s newest darling of democracy being wooed with ardour by the two Asian giants and the US
From New Delhi went the un-subtle message that prime minister’s visit was actuated by the neighbourly intent of peace and prosperity; and, not by any expansionist design.

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said today that if they get UN authorization, his country might launch a military intervention in Syria, the scene of conflict between the government and armed opposition.
According to Panetta, his main responsibility is to guarantee that Washington gets the support needed from the international community to deploy its troops in Syria.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s protracted effort to fight extradition to Sweden suffered a body blow this week. Britain’s Supreme Court upheld the arrest warrant, issued in December 2010. After the court announced its split 5-2 decision, the justices surprised many legal observers by granting Assange’s lawyers an opportunity to challenge their decision.

In April of this year, I wrote that the upheaval in Syria (the Sunni majority revolt against the Alawite-dominated regime) has turned into a battleground between the Sunni axis led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia and the Shiite axis led by Iran. As events continue to unfold in the region, particularly the Sunni Islamists’ monopolization of the political processes in … (read more)

“To which faction would you have given your support? Whether on the side of the pure or the wicked, you would only have increased your folly”.

Silo, “Humanize the Earth” (Collected Works), Latitude Press, US.

We publish this opinion article about the conflict in Syria and more broadly in relation to the regional conflict in the Middle East.