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Viewpoint by John Scales Avery
The following are excerpts from ‘The Passions of Mankind’ in which John Scales Avery discusses human emotions from an evolutionary perspective. The book consists mainly of chapters and articles that he has previously published, although some new material has been added. It can be freely downloaded and circulated from the following link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Passions-of-Mankind-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf
Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn *
NEW DELHI (IDN) – Will Uncle Christmas fulfill Nicola Sturgeon’s wish this year? In the aftermath of the British elections that painted England blue, Nicola presented her formal request for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence and has called for the Scottish parliament to be given permanent powers to hold subsequent referendums on independence from the UK.
A man of his words, Boris Johnson as the incumbent prime minister plans to redeem his pledge on BREXIT when Britain shall leave the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020, and the Department for Exiting the European Union will be wound up.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | BLOEMFONTEIN (IDN) – The modest home of the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Brandfort, Free State, where she was forced to live when banished in 1977, has become a museum.
The Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Brandfort House Museum in Majwemasweu, Brandfort, is now complete, according to the national Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
By Mark Weisenmiller
TAMPA, USA (IDN) – The UN General Assembly will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its memorable 15th session in 2020. Never before in history had so many extraordinary historical and political leaders of a century been gathered in one place at the same time.
Yet for Frederick H. Bolan of Ireland (President of that General Assembly) and Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden (the then UN Secretary-General), the number of heads of state or government present – 32, by far the most at any one time in the history of the United Nations – was the least of their concerns.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) – It goes back to the French revolution of 1789. At the Revolutionary Convention the most radical of the insurgents decided to seat themselves on the left side. “Why not on the other side, the right side, the place of rectitude, where law and the higher rights resided, when man’s best hand could be raised in righteous honour?” wrote Melvin Lasky in what was then Britain’s most influential intellectual monthly, Encounter. “Anyway they went left, and man’s political passions have never been the same since.”
Deutsche Welle Interview
BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – "I think democracy has got a lot of strengths that may not be evident in the short run, but will play out over the longer run because the ability to change your leaders, ability to hold them accountable is really important," American political scientist and writer Francis Fukuyama, author of the much debated 1989 "The End of History" article, told Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).
Viewpoint by A.G. Noorani
India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah claims that if it wasn't for the country’s first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been in India’s possession. The truth is, if Kashmir is a part of India, it is almost entirely because of Nehru, writes A. G. Noorani, an Indian lawyer, constitutional expert and political commentator. This article first appeared in The Wire on 9 August 2019.
MUMBAI (IDN-INPS) – The Sangh parivar’s hatred of Jawaharlal Nehru is perfectly understandable. At the time of the Partition of India, he stood by Gandhi and bravely fought back the rising surge of hate fostered by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS supremo, M.S. Golwalkar’s plans to exterminate Muslims were detected, as the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Rajeshwar Dayal revealed in his memoir A Life in Our Time.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – The anniversary of the passing of Ghana’s first Prime Minister and President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, prompted reflections by Ghanaians on social media of his legacy and contributions.
He led the 'Gold Coast' to independence as the nation of Ghana from Britain in 1957. An influential advocate of pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962.
Dr. Nkrumah’s daughter Samia, in an open letter, wrote: “Kwame Nkrumah may not be with us physically but he lives in our hearts and minds as the fire he lit burns aloft giving us guidance for the total liberation and unification of Africa.”
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – By 1914 Europeans ruled 84 percent of the globe. How did they do it? Eleven hundred years ago Europe was a backwater. There were no grand cities, apart from Muslim Cordoba in Spain, and the remnants of Rome and Athens. The Middle East, India and China were further ahead. It was the Arabs who kept alive the teachings of the Ancient Greek' knowledge of science, medicine, architecture and philosophy.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
This article is the 27th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.
NALANDA, India (IDN) – It is believed that more than 2500 years ago Gauthama Buddha chose to preach in Pali rather than Sanskrit because the latter was the language of the elite while Pali was spoken by the masses. Today nobody speaks Pali in India, but, the Buddhist scriptures that were originally written in Pali are still used to educate monks as well as in Buddhist chantings.
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