'Unseen' News and Views
By Oxfam*, 19 January 2015 – The combined wealth of the richest 1 percent will overtake that of the other 99 percent of people next year unless the current trend of rising inequality is checked, Oxfam warned today ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.
Source: Oxfam
Pressenza, 19 January 2015 — The West is behaving with unspeakable physical violence against the Muslim world, just as the Western economic system is behaving with unspeakable economic violence against their own populations. It is not a surprise that unspeakable physical violence by “terrorists” in Paris, London, New York, Madrid and other places is the result. Nevertheless this violent response is ultimately pointless because it will not work.
**Pro-nonviolence protesters at an anti-globalization protest | Author: Carolmooredc | Wikimedia Commons
Why is a nonviolent response so important? Well Gandhi and Luther King have shown us the power of active nonviolence in practice. They have shown how it is possible to bring down apparently unbreakable systems without throwing a single stone or hitting anyone else.
For Gandhi’s and Luther King’s supporters the first thing they learnt was how to control the responses they gave in front of violent stimuli. They had to learn to control their anger and channel it elsewhere so that it could be effective.
19 January 2015 (WSWS) — For the first time in at least half a century, low-income children make up the majority of students enrolled in American public schools, according to a report by the Southern Education Foundation (SEF).
**United States Student Association Logo | Author: Cmichael.files | Wikimedia Commons
The percentage of public school students who are classified as low-income has risen steadily over the past quarter century, under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
In 1989, under 32 percent of public school students were classified as low-income, according to statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) cited by the report. This rose to 38 percent by 2000, 48 percent in 2011, and 51 percent in 2013.
These figures are the result of decades of deindustrialization, stagnating wages and cuts to antipoverty programs.
Since the 2008 financial crisis in particular, the US ruling class, with the Obama administration at its head, has waged an unrelenting assault on the social rights of working people, carrying out mass layoffs, driving down wages, and slashing social services during the recession and the “recovery.”
Hanoi, Viet Nam, January 2015 – The National Zero Hunger Challenge (ZHC), a major initiative to eradicate hunger in Viet Nam, was launched today by the Government of Viet Nam in collaboration with the United Nations, including FAO.
Vietnamese farmer harvesting longane fruits. Nhan My, Viet Nam. | Source: FAO
The launch, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dũng along with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, and other leaders of line ministries symbolized the Government of Viet Nam’s commitment to achieving Zero Hunger by 2025.*
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 17-24 January 2015 — How the world’s smartest cities are re-imagining essential systems to solve the interlinked issues of water, energy and climate while also encouraging economic growth and resiliency will be discussed at next week’s World Future Energy Summit, the Middle East’s largest gathering of international leaders to drive viable solutions to address the world’s pressing energy challenges.
Source: World Future Energy Summit
Hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, WFES is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), January 17-24, a yearly platform to address the interconnected challenges of energy and water security, climate risk and sustainable development. Since its establishment, ADSW has helped reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as an international energy hub – a true energy leader, promoting new and traditional sources of power.*
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