IV500 - September 2016

International Viewpoint 500 PDF magazine

The victory of the 5 Star Movement (M5S according to its initials in Italian) and its young candidates, Virginia Raggi and Chiara Appendino, in the municipal elections of June 2016 in two symbolic cities of Italy (the capital, Rome and the main industrial city of the country, Turin) has revived many questions about the political role and the nature of the group founded by the comedian Beppe Grillo.

Wayne County and Detroit are creating a human catastrophe by tossing thousands of homeowners into the streets for inability to pay unlawfully assessed taxes,” stated Michael J. Steinberg, Legal Director of the ACLU of Michigan at a mid-July press conference after filing a lawsuit in Third Circuit Court in Wayne County. “This short-sighted practice not only violates federal law, it destabilizes families, destroys neighborhoods and undermines the economic recovery of the region.”

On April 1st each year the United Nations Security Council devotes a meeting to a debate about the issue of Western Sahara and the tasks of the “MINURSO” mission. The meeting starts with a report by the UN secretary-general followed by interventions by the permanent members and the non-permanent members. It ends with issuing of the decision that sets out the plan for the next year as regards negotiations between the two parties to the conflict and numbers and funding of the mission.

South Africa’s deepening economic and social crisis is rapidly morphing into a political crisis. In turn, the political crisis is further undermining a stagnating economy. The political crisis centres on different components of the state that are involved in a series of proxy wars. At a recent NEDLAC Summit, the Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, was forced to acknowledge the depth of the conflict: "We call upon the state machinery, if not to have a ceasefire, at least to act in a way that will not disturb the stability that our people call for."

Without an agreement for Assad to step down and allow a transition toward a pluralist government, no cease-fire stands a chance.

Sara Rougeau reports on the thuggish attempts by oil companies to repress a massive Native encampment against the Dakota Access Pipeline project

Malek Adly, a well-known human rights lawyer and activist, emerged from an Egyptian prison in late August after spending three months in solitary confinement.

This week, Benjamin Netanyahu’s adviser on questions of security, Jacob Neguel, went to Washington to sign a strategic ten-year agreement with the United States, a little matter of $3.8 billion [sic] After having covered Barack Obama and his administration with insults, the Israeli Prime Minister had no problem about taking the money, and I imagine he even said thank you, out of the corner of his mouth.

While overall the UK voted to Leave the EU Northern Ireland was one of the regions, alongside Scotland and London, that voted in favour of Remain. People in the North voted 56% to 44% to stay with 11 out of 18 parliamentary constituencies favouring Remain.