USS “Stoltenberg” – Norway, now the newest US aircraft carrier
Fredrik S. Heffermehl
Some years back Norwegian foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg took wise steps to reduce confrontation with Russia through a Barents Council for civilian cooperation.
This was in prolongation of a long Labor tradition, initiated by the legendary Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, who started a policy of low tension with the neighboring Soviet Union: No foreign bases, restraint with military exercises in the North, no nuclear weapons in Norway or our waters.
Last week Stoltenberg´s son, Jens, now leader of NATO, dishonored a high-level meeting for civilian corporation in the Arctic Council in Reykjavik by NATO holding a large navy maneuver in that part of the Atlantic.
May 2021 (Wall Street International)* — The notion of political parties in the non-United States existing along a neat and orderly linear continuum from left to right (or right to left depending on your predilection I suppose) is yet another American fantasy about ourselves, outdated at best and madly simplistic at worst.
31 May 2021 (United Nations)* — Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.
Emphasizing the critical role of parents in the rearing of children, the Global Day of Parents recognizes that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children.
31 May 2021 (WHO)* — Tobacco causes 8 million deaths every year. When evidence was released this year that smokers were more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19 compared to non-smokers, it triggered millions of smokers to want to quit tobacco.
Quitting can be challenging, especially with the added social and economic stress that have come as a result of the pandemic, but there are a lot of reasons to quit.
The benefits of quitting tobacco are almost immediate:
After just 20 minutes of quitting smoking, your heart rate drops.
Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
Within 2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and lung function increases.
Within 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
Within 5-15 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
Home secretary Priti Patel seems set on returning public opinion on migration to pre-2016 levels
Priti Patel has accused those who disagree with her stance on immigration of ‘seeking to sow dissent’ | PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
28 May 2021 (openDemocracy)* — On Monday 24 May, home secretary Priti Patel laid out the next steps in her department’s plan to ‘overhaul’ the UK immigration system. It followed proposals earlier this year to rip up the UK’s refugee protection principles.
The political scenario before the presidential elections
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The millions who voted for the plebiscite demanding a new Constitution also want a new country and a new way of doing politics | Image from Wall Street International.
25 MaY 2021 — (Wall Street International)*— On November 21, Chileans shall vote in the first round of the presidential elections. If there is no winner with 50+1% of the votes, there will be a runoff election between the first two majorities on December 19, from which the future president will emerge.
US foreign policy is increasingly promoted by billionaire funded foundations. The neoliberal era has created individuals with incredible wealth and through “philanthropy”, they flex their influence and feel good at the same time.
While these philanthropists can be liberal on some issues, they universally support U.S. foreign policy and the “free market”.
29 May 2021 (UN News)* — A renewed focus on boosting the production of millets and highlighting their benefits, is critical to reducing over-reliance on more commonly grown crops, boosting diverse diets, and food security.
ICRISAT/Agathe Diama | Women carrying pearl millet harvest home in Mali
That’s especially true during periods of natural disaster when food becomes scarce, according to Dr Nancy Aburto, an agriculture expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
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She spoke to UN News earlier this year, saying that following the UN General Assembly’s recent adoption of a resolution proclaiming 2023 as the International Year of Millets in March 2021, efforts are afoot to promote cultivation as a solution to climate and global food security challenges.
High-level event co-hosted by FAO, Costa Rica, Spain and the Vatican
Women at work in an Amazonian food system.
ROME (FAO)* — Indigenous peoples and afro-descendants’ knowledge, innovations and resilience capacities are essential for the transformation to a more sustainable and climate-friendly world and should be included in the policy-making processes, agreed the High-Level Seminar convened on 27 May 2021 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the governments of Costa Rica, Spain and the Vatican.
HYDERABAD, India (IPS)* – As the sun sets over the canopy of Albizia amara trees, a thin blanket of fog begins to descend over the forests of the Malai Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, which lies roughly 150 km south of the Indian city of Bangalore.
