TWICE A VICTIM: PRO-DEATH PENALTY BIAS IN US CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Losing a family member to murder is one of the most traumatic experiences an individual can undergo. In the aftermath of their terrible tragedy, survivors must deal not only with the loss of their loved one but also with the criminal justice system -a system that does not always put victims first.

ATHENS OR SPARTA AS INSPIRATION?

In the last three decades, Central America has undergone a far-reaching qualitative change in its political and economic life. Armed conflicts have come to a halt, all of the countries have more democratic and pluralistic systems than in the past, and great progress has been made in terms of institutional foundations and freedom. But History must not be forgotten, because ours has not been an easy path, nor are there infallible antidotes against the actions of certain individuals or groups attempting to return to the past.

MEXICO AT WAR, THE US IS TO BLAME

November 20 was the hundredth anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, the first major social revolution of the 20th century: a heroic deed carried out by two legendary popular figures, Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, whose victory was a victory for workers and peasant farmers: rights, agrarian reform, free, non-religious public education, and social security.

NEW YEAR, NEW COUNTRY?

From the time I was capable of reason I remember hearing this old refrain, full of optimism, commonly remarked in Cuba around Christmas: "A new year, a new life." The expression is charged with unfulfilled desires, postponed goals, and possible hopes for the life that will begin with the new year -as if thinking about mere possibility was a way of getting closer to this "new life", better and different.

ELIMINATING NUCLEAR WEAPONS: EDUCATION IS CENTRAL

Upon hearing the stories of atomic bomb survivors, a high school student in Manhattan remarked, "It made me realise how fast and instantly the world as we know it could turn literally into nothing but dust and ashes."

A NEW CONSENSUS FOR AN HABITABLE WORLD FOR ALL

History will judge us severely if we are incapable of responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by the global crisis. Instead of using 50 billion dollars to eradicate poverty, which was one of the agreed Millennium Objectives, the consensus among governments was to grant fifty times that amount to save the speculating banks that “are too large to let fall”, contradicting their own neo-liberal doctrine of allowing the market to regulate itself without government intervention.

GLOBALISATION: ENGINE OF A NEW WORLD ORDER

Citizens around the world have been hit with a flood of startling news recently: the Wikileaks revelations about how US officials see the world and how speculative financial capital takes advantage of the weakness of states, now also in Italy and, it seems, on the verge of moving into Germany. Meanwhile national budgets are being slashed in all the industrialised countries and waves of layoffs imposed.

A CIVIL SOCIETY PRO-WATER PARTNERSHIP

Any marketing professional who keeps abreast of global tendencies is aware of the advantages that generate added value to corporations from investing in nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Corporations strive to associate themselves with causes that enjoy the sympathy and support of clients, which increase brand recognition, and improve corporate reputation in the market and in society at large.

RIGHTING THE WRONGS OF OVERFISHING AND ILLEGAL FISHING

Fishing rights must respect human rights. The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) believes that the development of responsible and sustainable fisheries is only possible if the political, civil, social, economic, and cultural rights of fishing communities and wider society are addressed in an integrated manner. Industrialised overfishing and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by industrial vessels is a scourge on everyone's human rights, but especially on the right to life and livelihood in communities that depend on small-scale artisanal (SMART) fishery activities.

HOPE IN DURBAN FOR A CLIMATE-SAVING DEAL

Next year will be another big year for civil society, a year which will see every effort focused on achieving climate justice: getting a good deal for the climate out of the United Nations World Conference on Climate Change in Durban, but also making sure that governments and corporations take action outside of the so-called political process.

SOUTH-SOUTH CO-OPERATION MUST BE ROOTED IN POLICY DIALOGUE

At the dawn of the Millennium, the world of the South was unimaginably different from what we see today.

HIDDEN WATER

“Future generations, I am certain, will think of us and bless us for our farseeing patriotism, and it will be said of us, as Isaiah said of old, ‘they made a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desertÂ'” (Premier John Forrest, 1903).[1]

WEEKLYLEAKS

The revelations contained in the wave of WikiLeak documents that have taken the world by storm are an indictment not only of US diplomacy but of today's diplomacy in general. What kind of ludicrous language is this, so focused on the pathology of mainline media discourse? It is negative and concentrated on individual actors, usually from the elites of elite countries. It is immature gossip, the kind of "analysis" of power typical of adolescents. Where is the analysis of culture and structure which is far more important than actors who come and go? Nowhere; they are incapable of it. Where are positive ideas? Where are the ideas about how to convert the challenges, such as climate change, into cooperation for mutual and equal benefit? Like water distillation projects using solar energy at Israel's borders with Lebanon and Palestine? Like positive US-Iran cooperation on alternative energy?

BHUTAN SAYS YES TO BIOPLASTICS, BEFALLS AND HAPPINESS

A decade ago the Queen of Bhutan Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, visited the ZERI pavilion at the World Expo in Hannover, the largest bamboo building in modern times, constructed with a German building permit. The pavilion demonstrated new emerging business models proven to work in Colombia, Brazil, Namibia, and Sweden. As the driving force behind these innovative development models, I was invited by the Queen to come to Bhutan.

THE WORLD NEEDS WOMEN TO MAKE PROGRESS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

A year after much-touted climate change summit in Copenhagen, country negotiators from around the world are together again to work out an international response to climate change. While many believe we should lower our expectations for this year's climate change summit underway in Cancun, this would be a mistake. As global temperatures rise, so do the challenge's for the world's poorest citizens- women, especially those living in developing countries.

HONOURING THE FATHER OF PEACE STUDIES

Johan Galtung from Norway, universally recognized as "the father of peace studies", who recently turned 80, has been awarded the Korean DMZ Peace Prize for 2010. The award ceremony will be held in Seoul on 7 December 2010. The selection committee cited "his long-lasting work for world peace and Korean reunification".

THE ARCTIC: A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF CONFLICT

As the Arctic has only recently moved toward centre stage, there is still much we must do to understand the true nature of the changes that are occurring there.

THE FALL OF THE WEST

The last G20 meeting showed us that we are far from global governance. It's clear that national interests, although interdependent, do not coincide, and that the era when the West could impose its will on developing countries is over.

THE GOOD SIDE OF GLOBALISATION

Is globalisation, which is shaping our societies whether we like it or not, a threat to identity? If we were to believe all that we hear, the winds of globalisation are wreaking havoc everywhere, uprooting identities and cultures which for centuries have been shaping human relations, sweeping away all local values and customs.

CUBA: CHANGE ON THE WAY

After a long wait and numerous postponements, the Cuban Communist Party, which oversees and directs the politics of the island, has decided to hold its sixth congress, in April 2011. The last was held in 1997, more than 13 years ago.

CURRENCY CHAOS THREATENS GLOBAL RECOVERY

The past few weeks have seen the emergence of global currency chaos, which is a new threat to prospects for economic recovery.